From His Heart

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Are you ready to step up to the plate for Christ? Here's Pastor Jeff Shreve.

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God has called us to be strong and courageous. We are twice born people living in a world of once born people. We follow the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The world does not. There is going to be friction.

If you think you can live the Christian life effectively without being strong and courageous, you are mistaken. There is treasure, there is love, there is hope that you always dream of. He can hear every scar.

Speaker 1

The word courage is defined in the dictionary as the ability to do something that frightens you. Today on From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve, he begins a powerful new series called Strong and Courageous to help you discover how to stop letting fear call the shots in your life and how to start living a life of unwavering courage that points others to the truth of God's word.

The message today is entitled Stepping up to the Plate, and he's going to share three steps that you can take to walk in faith and not by sight and find real courage, comfort, and calmness in the storms of this life.

Now, if you miss some of the broadcast or any of these messages from this brand new series this month, just go to fromhishheart.org and listen. Once they've already aired here, you can also download a free MP3 of this or any program.

Click the Listen link now, though, open your Bible to Joshua Chapter one, and let's learn that the best way to hit a home run for Christ is first by stepping up to the plate.

Speaker 2

In Deuteronomy, Moses, when he was commissioning Joshua to take over after him, told him twice, "Be strong and courageous" (Joshua, Chapter 1). God tells Joshua three times, "Be strong and courageous." At the end of Joshua chapter one, the people tell Joshua, "Be strong and courageous." This message was very important for Joshua as he was to take the mantle of leadership and lead God's people. But it is also very important for you and me today. We live in a world today where we're surrounded by Christian cowards—people who are unwilling to stand up, speak up, and take a stand. God has called us to be strong and courageous. We are twice-born people living in a world of once-born people. We follow the King of Kings and Lord of Lords; the world does not. The whole world lies in the lap of the power of the evil one. We are on the narrow road that leads to life, while everyone else is on the broad road that leads to destruction. There is going to be friction. If you think you can live the Christian life effectively without being strong and courageous, you are mistaken.

The prayer in the Bible that God longs to answer is found in Acts chapter 4: "Lord, grant your servants boldness that we may speak as we ought to speak." God wants to answer that prayer because He wants us to be bold. He wants us to be strong and courageous. My friend Dennis Rainey, who led Family Life Ministries for many years, often asked a thought-provoking question when he would sit down at a dinner party or gathering: "Tell me the most courageous thing you've ever done in your life." That's a really good conversation starter because it prompts you to think about what you did that was courageous. We often think of someone jumping into the ocean to save a loved one from drowning or jumping off a ship at sea to save someone. However, we may not have many stories like that. But something in your life was courageous. What is the most courageous thing you did?

Now, God wants us to be strong and courageous. That is what He wanted from Joshua. "Have I not commanded you?" He said. "Be strong and courageous. Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." It takes strength and courage to answer the call of God, and that's what we're going to talk about today. How can you do it? How can you be a person who steps up to the plate, so to speak, who steps up in faith and does not retreat in fear?

In Joshua chapter one, I'll begin reading in verse one: "Now it came about after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' servant, saying, 'Moses, my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the great sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory. No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. I will not fail you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous. Be careful to do according to all the law which Moses, my servant, commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.'"

In these nine verses, three times he receives the command: "Be strong and courageous." Step up to the plate, walk in faith, and don't walk in fear. So how can you be a person who is strong and courageous? How can you be a person who walks by faith and not by sight, as Joshua did? You can follow his three-step action plan. Joshua took three key steps that we see in chapter one.

The first step is to accurately assess the situation. It is important to do that—accurately assess the situation. When I was selling chemicals, we had questions we would ask prospective customers: Where are you now? What are you doing now? Where do you want to be? How are you going to get there? How are you going to monitor progress? Those are four key questions that apply to all of life. Where are you now? Honestly assess the situation. I like the quote I came across concerning Union General William Tecumseh Sherman. He said, "I would define true courage to be a perfect sensibility of the measure of danger and a mental willingness to endure it." You have to have a sober look at the situation.

Now, what was Joshua's situation? God says in verse two, "Moses, my servant, is dead. Now therefore arise and you're going to cross the Jordan and you're going to lead my people." Moses was a person in scripture who was larger than life. He was everything to Joshua—his leader, mentor, and arguably his best friend. Joshua was the servant of Moses. He didn't worship Moses, but he had tremendous respect for him. Moses led the people out of Egypt and was supposed to lead them into the Promised Land. However, he sinned against God by striking the rock when God specifically told him to speak to it. Because he failed to hold God holy before the people, the consequence was that he would not enter the land.

Moses died on Mount Nebo, and the people were east of the Jordan River. They had to cross the Jordan River to get into the Promised Land. They were supposed to enter the Promised Land earlier, remember at Kadesh Barnea, when they spied out the land and said, "We can't do it; it's too hard." Joshua and Caleb were the two who said, "Yes, we can do it." But the ten spies with the bad report swayed the congregation, and they said, "No, we have to go back to Egypt." It was a disaster. God then declared that all the people 20 years old and older would die in the wilderness, and their children would take the land.

Moses was the one who wrote the first five books of the Bible during those 40 years. He met with God face to face. You talk about big shoes to fill—you're going to follow Moses, lead God's people, and enter the Promised Land to fight those giants. That can seem overwhelming. When God gives you a task and calls you to do something, just know the task will be much greater than your capabilities. If you could do it, then you wouldn't need God.

So, God gives you a task, and you might think, "How can I do that? I'm not able to do it. I'm not equipped, strong, or smart enough." Do you remember in Judges chapter six, where the Lord came to Gideon, who was threshing wheat in a hole in a winepress? That's not where you thresh wheat; you do it on a hillside. But he was hiding because he didn't want the Midianites to steal his lunch. The Lord appeared to him and said, "Hail, mighty man of valor, the Lord is with you." Gideon was confused and said, "Who, me? A mighty man of valor?" He felt inadequate, saying, "My family is the least in Manasseh, and I'm the least in my family."

The task will always seem much greater than your capabilities. Now, think about the guy who has to follow Moses. God buries His workers, but He doesn't bury the work. The work still has to go on. You're the one who has to follow Moses—who wants to sign up for that? This is what the Lord says about Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 34: "Since that time, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face for all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land."

"Moses, my servant, is dead. Arise. Take his spot." Good grief, Lord, can we have someone else be the fall guy? It's always easier to follow someone who didn't do very well than someone who did great. Joshua assesses the situation: he has to follow Moses, possess the land, and fight giants. This isn't a cakewalk; the Promised Land isn't a vacant piece of property. It's a land where you have to fight.

He knows the people can be very difficult, prone to grumbling, griping, and complaining. God had all those people die out, but these are their children who grew up with the same attitudes. He looks at the task and thinks, "This task is so great." So here's the question: What is God calling you to step up to? Does it look insurmountable? Does it seem overwhelming? Maybe God is calling you to teach a class, and you think, "I can't do that; I don't know how." Perhaps He's calling you to sing in the choir, and you feel too nervous. Maybe He's calling you to change careers, and you know that's been on your heart, but you think, "How can I do that? It would mean a financial step back."

You must accurately assess the situation. Just know that the task will be greater than your capabilities. But here's the good news: the task will force you to see your great need for God. Joshua hears this news. How is he going to do what God has called him to do? Joshua is a man of faith and courage, but this is beyond his ability. He knows he will have to trust God.

John 15:5 says, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from me, you can do nothing." You can't do anything on your own. Remember Samson? He is an enigma in scripture—this Hebrew strongman. Nobody has ever been as strong as Samson. You wouldn't want to get in the octagon with him; he would rip you to shreds. He tore a lion with his bare hands. But Samson forgot that all his strength came from the Lord.

When he revealed his secret to Delilah and she cut off the seven locks of his hair, he said, "I will go out as at other times and shake myself free." But he did not know that the Lord had left him. His strength wasn't in his hair; that was just a symbol. His strength came from God. When he broke his Nazarite vow, he became weak as any man.

The task will force you to see your great need for God. So, accurately assess the situation. Secondly, you must wholeheartedly trust the Lord. How are you going to do what God has called you to do? You will only do it if you trust God. Charles Stanley was once asked what verse he writes when he signs books. He said, "I always put my name and then my favorite verse: Proverbs 3:5-6. 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.'"

This is how we live our lives: we trust Him with all our hearts. The Bible doesn't say it's bad to have understanding; it's good. What you don't do is lean upon your understanding. You must lean upon God's word. The Lord says in verse three, "Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the great sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory."

That's a big piece of property—someone has said it's 300,000 square miles. But they never occupied all of that. It was given to them, but they never accepted it, just like you and I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). But how many of those do we actually possess? You have to go get what God has given you.

In verse five, God says, "No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. I will not fail you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall give the people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them." How was Joshua going to do what God called him to do? He was going to have to trust the Lord and trust what God had promised. What did God promise him? "Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. I will not fail you or forsake you."

God will not drop you into grief; He will not let go of you.

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You're.

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You pull a Samson, I will go out as at other times and shake myself free. And he did not know that the Lord had departed from him. All the strength is from the Lord. And the Lord promised Joshua. I'm not ever going to do that. And so Joshua trusted the Lord and to get that kind of promise, just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you now.

God was so powerfully with Moses. It was undeniable that God was with Moses. I mean, the things that the Lord did through Moses were just mind-blowing. You know, the greatest Old Testament miracle is the parting of the Red Sea. And they were talking about that for all throughout the Old Testament time period. I mean, God parts the sea, but he did it through Moses. Moses, stretch out your staff. And as you stretch out your staff, I'll part the sea. And God did that. And they passed through on dry land.

And then when the Egyptians came after them, God caused the sea to come together and drowned all those Egyptians. I mean, that is big stuff. Because in Joshua chapter two, when they talked to Rahab the harlot, she said, we heard what happened and we were wondering, why was it taking you guys so long to come get the promised land? You know, we're just wandering around for 40 years because we knew that your God can do anything. Our hearts melted in fear when we heard of how your God defeated the Egyptians.

The miracles that God did. You know, when people came against Moses. The rebellion of Korah in Numbers chapter 16. And God showed up for Moses, opened up the earth, and swallowed Korah and his associates—250 people total. Boom. The earth opened up and swallowed them alive. And they went down to Sheol.

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Alive.

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That I mean you talk about, whoa, a fear producing situation. Water from the rock, fear woe producing situation. God did all that through Moses. And then God spoke to Moses face to face. Remember, Moses is the guy whose face would shine because of his speaking with the Lord. Just, just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. What a great promise.

Now here's what we have in the New Testament. God says to all his children, just as I have been with Moses, just as I have been with Joshua, I will be with you. Hebrews 13:5. I will never leave you, nor will I ever forsake you. It's a direct quote from Joshua, chapter one. He himself has said, I will never leave you, nor will I ever forsake you. So that we may confidently say, the Lord is my helper. I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?

Hebrews 13:5 is better than Joshua, chapter 1, verse 5. Because in Hebrews in the Greek, God says not only I will never leave you nor forsake you, but he says it in such an emphatic way in the Greek language. There are five negatives in Hebrews 13:5. I will not, never, never leave you, and I will not, never forsake you, is what Hebrews 13:5 says in the Greek. And if the Lord is with me, if God is for you, who can be against you?

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A truer word never spoken. You're listening to From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve, and today part one of the lesson called "Stepping Up to the Plate" from his new series, Strong and Courageous. And what a way to start ditching the fear with courageous determination to speak up for the truth. Fear is everywhere in today's world, but God calls us to live with bold faith.

Pastor Jeff Shreve is in his new six-message series, Strong and Courageous, that he began today, and he unpacks God's commands to Joshua to stand firm and move forward in the face of fear. God's command to you and me today is the same he gave to Joshua when he told him in Joshua 1:9, "Be strong and courageous." This authoritative and encouraging series will help you stop letting fear call the shots, free you to walk confidently in God's promises, and help you live out your faith boldly in a culture that desperately needs the truth of Christ.

This new six-lesson series, Strong and Courageous, is Pastor Jeff's thanks for your gift of support to From His Heart this month of any amount. He is a volunteer for this ministry, receiving no income from it. All you give goes to helping us get these programs on many hundreds of stations each day around the world. And we thank you for joining with us to tell the truth to the world.

So we hope you'll request your copy today when you call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or go to fromhisheart.org. You can get this series on a USB flash drive, CDs, DVDs, or an immediate MP3 digital download. And thank you for your partnership with From His Heart. We literally could not do it without you.

Well, our time is gone for this Monday broadcast, but we trust you'll be here tomorrow when Pastor Jeff continues with a short review and then completes this first of six messages in the Strong and Courageous series. It's called "Stepping Up to the Plate." Make plans to join us then, and be sure to share our website with someone you believe needs to hear this kind of lesson. That's fromhisheart.org; click the listen link.

Join us on Tuesday when we'll again open up God's Word and share real truth, real love, and real hope From His Heart. From His Heart is the listener-supported broadcast ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve, speaking the truth in love to a lost and hurting world. Remember, no matter what, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Find out more at fromhisheart.org.