Dwelling Place

Al Pittman: We are not consumed this morning in Christ because God does not change. He's never stopped loving you. He never stopped caring for you. Amen! God changes not. Men change. Hairstyles change. Thank God fashions change from the 70s. Amen!

Things change. People change. They like you one day, they hate you the next. But God never changes. Aren't you glad about that today?

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening to the Dwelling Place, a radio ministry from Pastor Al Pittman of Al Pittman Ministries. The purpose of this radio program is to encourage you, strengthen your walk with the Lord, and grow.

To support this program financially or learn more about the ministry, visit us online at alpittmanministries.com. That's alpittmanministries.com. Thank you for partnering with us. Now here is Pastor Al.

Al Pittman: We are in Joshua chapter 1, and I am definitely taking my time. Hallelujah! We'll be looking at verses five to nine today. I remember years ago Pastor Chuck Smith—some of you know who he is—but he would go to one verse and spend 45 minutes on that verse. I'd go, "Wow, how do you do that?" And now I know how. Amen!

So we're looking at verses five to nine, and the series of messages is entitled through the book of Joshua: "Courageous Warrior." We want to talk about the warrior's mentality today, which is so important. Every athlete will tell you that attitude and your mental health are essential and important to your preparation. Every athlete will tell you that it's very important for you to compete.

Athletes are challenged with all types of challenges all the time, and they really need to be in good mental shape and have a good attitude because of those challenges. I was reading an article here recently, and it mentioned some of the challenges that these athletes face. Here are a few of them: One is coping with pain and injuries. The other is dealing with adversity.

Thirdly, multitasking sports with other life responsibilities and tasks. And lastly, making daily decisions relating to integrity and responsibility. I thought about those in the spiritual sense, that spiritually we can relate to these as believers. Because do we not have to cope with pain at times and spiritual injuries?

I know some of you may have limped in here today with an injury in your heart or whatever, but the Lord is with you. And there are times that we have to face adversity as believers, and times that we have to multitask and we feel sometimes overwhelmed, and times when we have to make decisions every day regarding our integrity and responsibilities in Christ.

So as a believer, if it's important for an athlete to have a healthy mentality in preparation to compete, how much more is it for us as believers to have a healthy mentality in our walk with Christ? It's very important, I would say. Last week we saw where God had commissioned Joshua to cross over the Jordan, to lead the children of Israel over the Jordan to the land of promise, the land of Canaan.

Today we will look at the fact that the Lord says not only is it important to lead them over, Joshua, but also to lead them over with the right attitude, the right mentality as we get into God's word here. So we begin here at verses five and six where the Lord charges him to cross over with the right mentality. And so the word of God says, "No man," verse five, Joshua chapter 1, "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life.

As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them." Let's stop there. Let's look at this charge that the Lord is giving to Joshua. Really, it's a charge to live according to legacy.

Legacy, you could say, is a warrior's spiritual mentality. Legacy inspires the athlete to compete. If your school has been number one in basketball or whatever, you want to play, you want to live up to that legacy. Legacy is what inspires the soldier to serve. You want to live out the legacy or perform in a way that carries on the legacy of your unit or what have you.

I've had friends—guys that have served in the United States Marines. I don't know if there are any former Marines or currently serving Marines here, but a friend of mine told me, "Once a Marine, always a Marine." I'm like, "Dude, the war's over. You're a pastor, you love people." But he'll still take you out, though. He's still got that Marine mentality within him because of the legacy of the Marine Corps.

For us as Christians, God reminds Joshua here of his legacy. Not Joshua's legacy, but God's legacy of faithfulness. "As I was with Moses, so will I be with you." Amen! Legacy—the legacy of God—is the warrior's spiritual mentality. We love to talk about those that the Lord used in the Old Testament and New Testament, great men and women of God down through the years.

We like to read about their lives. We like to study the word and preach and study the great accounts and stories in scripture. And all that's great. But I think sometimes in our own hearts, we feel like that was for them, but it's not for me. That somehow God has changed; he doesn't do that anymore. But the reality is that God has not changed. Amen!

Malachi chapter 3 says the Lord God says, "For I am the Lord, I do not change. Amen! Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob." We are not consumed this morning in Christ because God does not change. He's never stopped loving you, he never stopped caring for you. Amen! God changes not. Men change. Hairstyles change. Thank God fashions change from the 70s. Amen!

Things change, people change. They like you one day, they hate you the next. But God never changes. Aren't you glad about that today? The legacy, the faithfulness of God should be an inspiration really to all of us. As we study through the book of Joshua, I don't want you to forget that. We're going to be in Joshua for a long time. Strap yourself in, get comfortable.

But as we go through this book, remember we're not just looking at these great stories, but the same God that was with Moses, that was with Joshua, is the same God that is with you. He changes not. Therefore be strong and of good courage. The Lord God said to Joshua, "Be strong." What does it mean to be strong?

To be strong is not some instantaneous thing, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. That's not what the Lord is saying. "Be strong." When you study the word, that phrase "be strong" in Hebrew—the word that's given for "be strong" in the Hebrew language, the language of the Old Testament—means to strengthen, it means to harden, it means to become strong, it means to grow firm, resolve. Listen to this: to be sore. Amen!

To be sore. Why would it say that? Because it's a process. Being strong in the Lord. Exercise can make you sore. Amen! Somebody ought to be saying amen. Nobody's saying amen because we're not exercising. Amen! No, exercise will make you sore. The old sports adage is true: no pain, no gain. Amen! And we want to have gain, but we don't want any pain.

Spiritually speaking, temptations and trials, similar to weightlifting, may make you sore. We may have to suffer. We go through things. Amen! But the workout, if you will, is necessary for our spiritual development in Christ. You say, "I don't know about that, Pastor. I don't think God wants me to go through a tough time. God doesn't want me to suffer."

But without resistance—you talk to anybody that trains with weights—your muscles get stronger because of resistance. When you pull that 130 pounds off that bench and it's coming down to your chest, that's resistance. You've got to push through that resistance. It's the same thing in going through temptations and through trials in our lives.

You want to be careful about that, but that's the same principle that applies. If there's no resistance, you can do this all day long to the air. But until you put some weights on that weight bar, only then can you really grow strong. And so God allows those trials and tribulations many times in our life, not because he likes to see us suffer, but so that you can become strong, that you might become resolved.

James knew this. This is why James says every time we read this in James, we think James is out of his mind, but he was speaking truth. James chapter 1, he says, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing, the resistance to your faith, produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

Count it all joy that there's resistance, that you have to push through that trial, push through that temptation, push through that resistance so that you can become strong, you might have patience and grow in the Lord. Joshua, here in our text, really has been prepared by the Lord for this very moment. Think about it. Joshua was with Moses in the wilderness.

He served Moses in the wilderness for 40 years. And I'm sure during that 40-year period, there were times that he thought, "What is God doing? I don't understand why we have to go through this." The people, the Bible says, murmured and complained against Moses. And Joshua is his assistant. So they probably murmured and complained to him in hopes that he would tell Moses.

Maybe going to Joshua saying, "You know what, can you pass this on to Moses? Can you do something about Moses? I don't like the way he's doing..." They would complain to him like a lot of times people won't complain to the pastor, but they'll complain to his assistants and some even to his own wife in hopes that it will get to the pastor. Amen! People do that. I know it happens.

And imagine Joshua being in that position as assistant; he was probably catching a lot of flak. The people were complaining, and they wouldn't tell Moses, but they would tell Joshua. So he was in a situation where he was going through a very difficult time in the wilderness, and yet he served there and probably wondered, "Lord, why are you doing this? I don't understand why we have to go this route, why these trials and all."

The Bible doesn't speak about it, but Joshua's just a man, a person like us, just a regular guy that God was using. But it's the same with us, is it not? Times in our lives when we go, "Lord, I'm in the wilderness. Why did you make me turn this way? Why did you close that door? Why did you—God, I don't know what you're doing." And we get frustrated with the Lord many times, do we not?

Let me tell you what's happening. I'll put it to you this way: the trials we face today are fashioning us for the faith we will exercise tomorrow. God is preparing you for something. What Joshua was going through in the wilderness was preparing him for this very moment. I look at my life and I think of the things how God molded my mind even before I came to Christ.

How God enabled me through my father's career—he was in the Army, we moved around a lot—and I was used to being in different situations, being around all types of ethnicities and different people and all that. And I believe he was preparing me to pastor this church. I didn't know it at the time, because I'll be quite honest with you, some people who walk into a room of other people that are not their color are intimidated, and they feel, "Oh," even in church sometimes.

It goes both ways. You have a black person walk into an all-white church, everybody turns around and looks at him. "What's he doing here?" Or a white person walks into an all-black church, "What's he here for?" Amen! Come on, you know what I'm talking about. You know how we do. But the Lord has blessed me to be able to be around all manner of ethnicities and different people and all.

And so I fully expect God to do what he has done because he had prepared me for this very moment. And then all the trials and the tribulations and things in your life where you're going, "God, where were you and why did this happen?" Now as I look back, I can say God was preparing and molding me for this very time. Thank God for his faithfulness. Amen! Give him praise and glory.

But give God glory in your own life. The things that you have gone through have made you the person you are today so that God might use you in situations that he can't use maybe somebody else. And so he prepared Joshua for this very moment. God allows trials in my life. I don't like it. Amen! I don't know anybody who says, "I love trials."

Of course, James said he did, but it's James. But anytime you see anybody—trials are like exercise. Just like physically we don't want to exercise, trials can be like exercise. It's something you just don't want to do, but you know you have to do it if you're going to get strong. You see anybody on television that's smiling and they're working out? They're lying to you.

If you're really working out, man, this is grueling. I remember I used to jog with a good friend of mine. He's in heaven now, but he'd be talking to me the whole time we're jogging. I just want to stop and slap him. Because, dude, I can't answer you! I'm trying to breathe! I'm having trouble breathing instead of thinking about what you're saying and trying to give you an answer. I just couldn't do that.

So it's grueling sometimes, but God sends testing and trials in our lives many times to strengthen our spiritual abs, our spiritual biceps and triceps, etc. Amen! To strengthen us so that we might benefit. What's he strengthening us for? That he might deliver us, that we might be overcomers when it comes to the fear of man. He makes you strong in him so that we will serve him rather than serve out of the fear of men.

So verse five, the first part of verse five, the Lord talks about the very fact that, "Joshua, I want you to know no man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just be strong in me and of good courage." Proverbs 29 tells us that the fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe. We can't enter into the promises of God, we can't possess the land, we can't be what God has called us to be if we fear people.

You can't serve the fear of man and walk in the fear of God. There's just no way you can please both. You try to please everybody, you're going to not please anybody. Please God. Joshua could not take the land by himself. He surely couldn't take the land if he feared men. What was waiting for Joshua in the land? Well, we know that the rich and the powerful, the affluent, the strong in stature occupied the land.

And there's no way Joshua was going to be able to take the land in his own strength. He didn't match up. But he could through the power of God. Why? Because God was his personal strength coach. Amen! They have strength coaches on football teams and other sports and they teach you how to get strong. God is our personal strength coach.

"And Joshua, you can take this, but be strong in me, not in yourself." And so he was and he did prevail. We know Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Christ is my strength coach. He's strengthening us. What you're going through right now, he is strengthening you so that you can be strong in the Lord and of good courage in our Lord and Savior for his glory.

So Joshua, the Lord exhorts him and says, "As I was with Moses, I will also be with you." And as he remembered Moses—as Joshua remembered Moses—he remembered God's power when God parted the Red Sea, and the children of Israel went across on dry land. When he remembered Moses, he remembered that God is faithful to guide him, as God provided the pillar of cloud by day that led the children of Israel and the pillar of fire by night that led the children of Israel.

God is a God who will lead me, he will guide me. As he remembered Moses, he remembered God as a provider, God's provision, as God rained down manna from heaven that the children of Israel might have something to eat. As he remembered Moses, he remembered God's presence on top of Mount Sinai when Moses went to receive the law from the Lord, and Sinai was full of fire and smoke representing the awesome presence of God.

So all these things he remembered, which is why God told Joshua to remember Moses. Because remember all the things I did for Moses? I will do the same thing for you. God's power will do the same thing for you. God will be the power in your life; he will give you power and strength. The Bible says that to those who have no strength, God gives them strength. Amen!

He will be a guidance to you. His word is a lamp to your feet, a light to your path. He will be the God who provides for you. He's Jehovah Jireh; he'll meet our needs above and beyond even what we can ask or think. Amen! He's the God of presence. In other words, in the spirit of the Lord, "In your presence, Lord, is the fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

This is the God who is calling you to be strong and of good courage. For as he was with Moses, he was with Joshua. As he was with Joshua, he is with you. Do you believe that? "Oh, he did it for Moses and Joshua, but not for me." No, he'll do it for you, too. Amen! Give him praise and glory. Amen! The remembrance, the legacy of God's faithfulness to Moses caused Joshua to have an attitude adjustment.

"Be strong and of good courage." When we remember the faithfulness of God, it should change, alter our attitude. "I know what I'm facing, but the God of Moses and Joshua, he is with me and he promised he would never leave me or forsake me." God is with us. God is with you. And because I'm strong in the Lord—the second part of that exhortation is "be strong," but also "and of good courage."

I can have good courage today. Now what does that phrase "good courage" mean? In the Hebrew—the Hebrew word for the phrase "good courage"—it means to be alert, to have mental courage. Think of it this way, and it's so true: when I'm strong in the Lord, I'm in my right mind. My mind is right when I'm strong in the Lord. The foolishness of the world and the lies and deceit of the world have no place when I'm strong in the Lord.

One of the benefits of working out when I used to be a gym rat—amen! always at the gym when I was a young man, amen! not anymore—and one of the benefits, man, I just love it when you worked out for probably almost a couple of hours. You hit the showers and, oh man, you felt just great. Your mind was sharper and all. Same thing spiritually.

When you're strong in the Lord, you've worked out. Amen! You're walking with God. Your mind is right. You think clear. There's just more resolve. You have mental clarity. You have good courage. And when I'm walking with good courage, the darts of the enemy that are always flying about cannot penetrate my heart as they could in times when I wasn't walking with the Lord, when I wasn't strong in the Lord, but I was strong in my flesh.

Guest (Male): Learn more about Pastor Al and his ministry by visiting alpittmanministries.com. Also consider supporting us financially. You can send a check to Al Pittman Ministries at PO Box 50584, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80949, or visit us online.

Thank you for your prayers and your support. Your generosity keeps this radio ministry going. Lastly, we would love to hear from you. You can contact us by emailing info@alpittmanministries.com. That's info@alpittmanministries.com. And we look forward to hearing from you. Again, thank you for joining us, and we'll see you next time on the Dwelling Place. God bless.

Guest (Male): Have you been wanting to hear Pastor Al teach live? Well, now's your chance! "Your sanctification is under the Father's authority. How God's going to provide for you is under his authority. How God is going to strengthen you in all—it's under his authority. Faith is trusting God for his part while doing my part."

Join Pastor Al at Legacy of Faith Church in Denver, Colorado, on Palm Sunday, March 29th. There, Pastor Al will be teaching a dynamic Palm Sunday message that you don't want to miss. Doors open at 9:15 AM, service begins at 10:30 AM. Head to legacyoffaithchurch.com to get directions or get more information. That's legacyoffaithchurch.com. We'll see you there.