From His Heart

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Today on From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve, we'll learn why God's children need to ditch the fear and start speaking the truth.

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Listen moms, when times are tough with your little kids, you show them a mom of faith, not a mom of fear.

Don't speak words that would cause them to be nervous about finances or the future. You speak words of faith.

Fear begets fear and courage begets courage. Will you trust and obey and be strong and courageous?

Speaker 1

It's been quoted many times that we as Christians are twice born people, but living in a world of once born people. We're following the king of kings, but the world is not, and there's inevitably going to be friction. If you think you can live the Christian life effectively without being strong and courageous against the lies of the devil, you're misguided.

This is From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve. Thank you for joining us today as he begins to teach believers how to step up to the plate in faith and not retreat in fear. In today's powerful message, Pastor Jeff shares three steps that we can take to walk in faith and not by sight. The message is entitled "Stepping up to the Plate," and it's the first in the new six-lesson series, Strong and Courageous. You can find out more about this series and today's message when you go to promisheart.org and click the listen link.

Now though, open your Bible to the book of Joshua, where we're clearly directed to be strong and courageous. Here again is Pastor Jeff.

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In Deuteronomy, Moses, when he was commissioning Joshua to take over after him, told him twice to be strong and courageous. In Joshua, chapter one, God tells Joshua three times to be strong and courageous. At the end of Joshua chapter one, the people tell Joshua to be strong and courageous. This emphasis on strength and courage 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. 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?

Joshua took three key steps that we see in chapter one. The first step is to accurately assess the situation. It's important to do that—accurately assess the situation. What was Joshua's situation? He was going to follow Moses, lead God's people, and enter into 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 that the task will always seem much greater than your capabilities. But here's the good news: the task will force you to see your great need for God. Jesus said, "He who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing." You can't do anything if you do it on your own. The task will indeed force you to see your great need for God.

The second step is to 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. How was Joshua going to accomplish 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." What a great promise! 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 states, "I will never leave you, nor will I ever forsake you." This is a direct quote from Joshua, chapter one. The verse continues, "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 even more emphatic than Joshua, chapter 1, verse 5. In the Greek, God says not only "I will never leave you, nor forsake you," but He emphasizes it with five negatives: "I will not, never, never leave you, and I will not, never forsake you." The Amplified version captures this well, stating, "I will never, under any circumstances, desert you, nor give you up, nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless, nor will I forsake you, or let you down, or relax my hold on you. Assuredly not." We can rest in that promise. We can say, "The Lord is with me." If God is for you, who can be against you? The answer is nobody, because the Lord is with you. Therefore, you can trust the God who is with you.

Does He lead us down some difficult roads? Yes. Sometimes we wonder. The Christian life is a life of surrender. It's like the Lord is there on the side of the road, and we pull the car over. When we open the back door for the Lord to get in, He closes the back door and comes to the driver's side. He says, "You go. You move over. I'm taking over." His business card says, "King of Kings and Lord of Lords." He drives; He controls things. We watch the Lord drive, and we might think, "I wouldn't go that way, Lord. That's not a good way. It's so much better to go this way." But we must be quiet and let Him drive. We are often tempted to grab the wheel and say, "Get in the back, Lord, because I want to drive." But we can't drive; He drives.

Being filled with the Spirit means letting the Holy Spirit control you. Yes, He will take you places and do things that don't make sense to you. That's okay because they make sense to Him. Because He is with us, we can trust Him and do what He commands us to do, which is to be strong and courageous. He says, "I'm with you. I'm going to empower you and enable you to do what I'm calling you to do." So, be strong and courageous. Be strong and very courageous. Don't tremble or be dismayed, but be strong and courageous. God commands that of you and me: "Trust me." As you trust Him, be strong and courageous.

Isn't it interesting when you think of the parable in Matthew, chapter 24, of the Talents? The master calls his slaves and gives one guy five talents, another guy two talents, and another guy one talent. He says, "Do business with this until I return." A talent is a sum of money, a weight of 60 to 80 pounds. Five talents of silver is a lot. Even one talent—can you imagine having 60, 70, or 80 pounds of silver? That would be substantial. The five-talent guy made five more, and the two-talent guy made two more. They both received the same commendation from the master.

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Well done.

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Good and faithful slave. You were faithful in a few things. I'm going to put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master. The one talent guy, what did he do with it? He buried it in the ground. He did nothing with it. And he tells us, when the master comes back, he tells us why he did that. He said, I knew you were an exacting man. I knew that you gather where you scatter no seed. And he said, and I was afraid. And I buried your talent in the ground. I was afraid.

How many times do opportunities pass us by because from the Lord, because we're afraid? Listen. Fear begets fear and courage begets courage. Fear begets fear, and courage begets courage.

I heard a story that James Dobson told years and years and years ago. You know, it's amazing what your mind will remember as you listen to things. Now, I'm an auditory learner. I like to listen to sermons and talks and things like that. And so I was listening to James Dobson Focus on the Families decades ago.

He was talking about, when he was a psychologist, he said, I went to a meeting. And he said, it was a meeting. I forget how many people were there, probably like 25 or so. And he said, we're all sitting, I think, if I remember correctly, sitting in a semicircle.

And this woman that was leading the meeting then he said, we had a time where, you know, at the beginning of the meeting, she says, now we can break to see if somebody wants to get a donut in the back. They had donuts set up in the back. But she didn't just say, let's break and everybody go get a donut. She did it person by person, by person.

And she went to the first lady that was at this meeting. She said, do you want to go and get a donut? The lady was like, well, no, I just. I'm fine. I'll just stay here. And then the second lady, do you want to go up and get a donut? It's before everybody, you know, I mean, you got to stand up and walk and get a donut.

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Everybody's watching.

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And then you bring it back to the table. I mean, it's really weird. I don't know if this was a test or what. And so the first four or five ladies, they said, no, they didn't want to go up and get a donut. And then they came to Dobson. She said, you, sir, do you want to get a donut? He said, you know, I think I do. And he got up and he got a donut, and he came back to his seat and he said, after I got up and got a donut, every single person after me got up and got a donut. Isn't that interesting? Because when the first one was a little nervous about doing it and the second one a little more nervous and the third one a little more nervous. Nervous. Fear begets fear and courage begets courage.

Listen, moms, when times are tough with your little kids, you show them a mom of faith, not a mom of fear. Don't speak words that would cause them to be nervous about finances or the future. You speak words of faith. Fear begets fear, and courage begets courage. Billy Graham said, this courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened. Hey, when you trust in the Lord, then you can be strong and courageous. Because it doesn't depend upon you, it depends upon your faithfulness. But God is the one who has to bring the victory. The horses prepared for the day of battle, Proverbs tells us, but victory belongs to the Lord.

Now, I think about that verse a lot. When I get up to preach, I say, Lord, I've prepared. I'm prepared for the day of battle, but I can preach truth. Only your spirit can impart truth. And so, Lord, if you don't impart truth, this will go nowhere. The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory belongs to the Lord.

So the first step, you accurately assess the situation, see what's going on. And then when you see the situation, you take your eyes off the situation. You put your eyes on the Lord. You wholeheartedly trust the Lord, Lord. And then thirdly, you can become a student of the book. A student of the book. That's what Joshua is going to become, a student of the book, a student of the Bible.

Well, Joshua was called by God to be a student of the book. He says in verse seven, only be strong and very courageous. Be careful to do according to all that 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. Joshua, you need to be a student of the book.

Now, there is great power in the Word of God. Great power in the Word of God. Because Hebrews 4:12 says, the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit of both joints and marrow, and is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. It's living and active, it's quick and powerful. All scripture is inspired by God, literally God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be equipped, thoroughly furnished for every good work. There's power in the Word.

And I love how he says, the book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, your mouth. Remember what Jesus said to the devil on the mount of temptation. In Matthew 4, he said, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. From God's mouth to our mouth, and we meditate on the Word. The word meditate in Hebrew means to mutter. It means to growl. It's the person that's musing and kind of just chewing on that. It's a picture. That Hebrew word is a picture for a cow chewing its cud.

If you've ever been around cows, you know that cows, some people say cows have four stomachs. They really only have one stomach, but their one stomach has four compartments. Cows will eat and they take some grass in. They don't chew it very much. They swallow it and it goes in their stomach, in their rumen. And then they regurgitate it to chew on it again, and it goes back in there and then they bring it up again. It's pretty gross. But that's what they do. That's how a cow. God made cows. And they chew the cud. Well, that's what we're supposed to do with the word of God.

This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth. But you shall meditate on it day and night. It shall be in your mouth and you shall be thinking about it and chewing on it and memorizing it and spending time with it. Now, however you do it, you read for distance, you read for depth. You need to spend time in the Word of God, morning and evening. You need to meditate on that day and night. It needs to be in your mouth; you need to be speaking it. And when you memorize it, then you can speak it to yourself. And that increases that meditation time.

I remember when I was at UT and I was walking from my apartment to go on campus and I was trying to memorize Colossians, chapter three. A great chapter. And if then you've been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

And I was saying that to myself, and all of a sudden, verse four just stopped me dead in my tracks. And it said, when Christ, who is our life. And I said, Lord, you're my life. I don't have a life apart from you, because when I got saved, I gave my life to you. You gave your life to me. You are my life. As Paul said, I've been crucified with Christ, and it's no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and delivered himself up for me.

When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. And it was just amazing how that scripture that I'd been reading and memorizing, all of a sudden it took on new meaning. That's how the Lord speaks through his Word. As you meditate on it, little things will come up. It's like, wow, I knew that, but I didn't know that. I saw that, but I didn't see that. And it just changes everything.

And listen, as you speak the word, David said in Psalm 15, he speaks the truth. A righteous man. What does he do? He speaks the truth in his heart. Some of us are terrible about tearing ourselves down. Ephesians 4:29 says, let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.

And we say, well, I got to be careful. Careful what comes out of my mouth when I talk about this person, that person, the other person. How about when you talk about yourself? You're so stupid. You're such an idiot. You can't do anything right. You always mess everything up. We say those things to ourselves. We don't speak words that build ourselves up. We speak words that tear ourselves down. And we need to say about ourselves what the Lord says about us.

First Peter, chapter two, verse nine. I did a sermon on this verse. I called that sermon identity theft. Because the devil wants to steal your identity. This is what the Lord says about us. But you, little O you, you're a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. For you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God. You had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

What if you just said, hey, I'm going to speak truth to myself. I'm going to let God's word be in my mouth. I'm going to meditate on that. And when the devil comes and tells me I'm no good, I can't be forgiven. God will never do in my life. It works for other people. It doesn't work for me. I'm going to just say, that's a lie. I'm going to believe what God says. You can become a student of the Book. There's power in God's word, and there's great success in doing God's word.

We don't want to be forgetful hearers, as James says. We want to be effectual doers. And that's what God told Joshua. The book of the law shall not depart from your mouth. 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.

What is success? Is success having a lot of money on the world's standards? It is not in God's. Remember what God said in the parable, what Jesus said about the guy that built the bigger barns. He said, I have many goods stored up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink and be merry. And the Lord said to him, you fool, this very night your soul is required of you. Now who will own what you have prepared? So is the man who is rich on this earth is not rich toward God.

Being a success with dollars doesn't necessarily mean anything. Being a success with educational degrees doesn't necessarily mean anything. Achieving fame and fortune in this life doesn't mean anything. What matters is, have you been faithful and true to him? What is the success? It's the guy. It's the girl at the end of his life. When the Lord looks at you and says, well done, my good and faithful slave. You were faithful in a few things. I'm going to put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.

Adrian Rogers used to talk about the Christian life. And he said, the Christian life is lived on the railroad. The T and O trust and obey. For there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. That's what Joshua was called to do. You be a student of the Word and you trust me and you obey me and you be strong and courageous and I will use you to follow Moses to lead the people to conquer the land.

Hey, in closing, what's God calling you to do? Will you trust and obey and be strong and courageous?

Speaker 1

We hope that these have been heartening and emboldening insights for you today on From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve. If you'd like a copy of this message called "Stepping Up to the Plate" to listen to again or share with a friend, go to fromhisheart.org and click the listen link there too. You can download it and also the sermon notes from Pastor Jeff and discover more about this broadcast ministry called From His Heart.

From His Heart is a nonprofit organization created to share the good news of Christ to a lost and dying world. We're sustained through gifts from our listeners. Pastor Jeff is a volunteer and receives no income from anything related to From His Heart. So we boldly ask you if you will join us in this effort with a gift today. You will be making an impact, an effective impact around the world. Your gift today will make this possible as together we can call men and women and young people all around the world to walk in courage and share God's truth.

To say thank you for your gift today, Pastor Jeff wants you to have the brand new six-message series "Strong and Courageous," where he takes a close look at the command God gave to Joshua in Chapter One, Verse Nine of the Old Testament that says, "Be strong and courageous." He didn't say it once, but three times. Why? Because the battle ahead would not be easy. There would be giants to face, walls to break down, enemies to drive out, and fear to overcome. Joshua needed to know that his strength and courage came from God alone. We still need this same reminder today, and that's why we're so grateful for your partnership to help proclaim this good news of Jesus to a lost and hurting world that also needs to be strong and courageous.

For your gift, we'll say thank you by sending you the brand new six-lesson series "Strong and Courageous" as our thanks for your gift of any amount. You can get it on a USB flash drive, CDs, DVDs, or an MP3 download. Request your copy in the format of your choice when you call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or go online to fromhisheart.org.

Thank you for joining us today on From His Heart. Join us on Wednesday when Pastor Jeff Shreve will open up God's Word and share real truth, love, and 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.