Truth That Changes Lives

JP Jones: Joshua was given the land as a possession, but he had to go in and possess it. Never take that for granted. God does miracles. He has absolute power, but he calls us to step into what it is he's doing.

Greg: Thank you for joining us on Truth That Changes Lives. Pastor JP Jones is the senior pastor of Crossline Community Church in Laguna Hills, California, and a professor in Biblical Studies at Biola University. Today on Truth That Changes Lives, Pastor JP will be giving us a message from a series entitled Heroes. Let's listen in as JP gives us part two of Joshua.

JP Jones: This book is filled with promises that God has made, many of them that have already been fulfilled in history supernaturally, and many more to be fulfilled for God's people, for us, for this church. In fact, this church was founded on these promises, and on prayer and on belief of what God has said. Every year, the pastors, the executive pastors, and elders of this church, we get away and we review those promises.

We review what God has said and we see how God has fulfilled those, and what God wants to fulfill this next year. We've been talking among ourselves, and we're going to get away in August and re-look at all those promises that God gave to us to start this church, and all those miraculous prayers that we prayed in terms of what we believe God wanted to do through us. We're going to recount the things that he has done already that we rejoice in, and then we're going to look to this next year and say, "And what do we believe God's going to do this next year?" Because we believe that God is faithful.

Not only is God personal and faithful, he's powerful. He's powerful because he says to Joshua that he's going to lead these people across the Jordan and take possession of the land. He is going to have victory over anyone who would oppose him, over all his enemies. Now, first of all, he says you're going to lead these people across the Jordan. They didn't have any big superstructure bridges across the Jordan in those days. They didn't have mobile bridge building equipment like the Army Corps of Engineers or the Navy Seabees.

God did a miracle. He parted the waters, and Joshua and all of Israel walked across on dry land, because God's in the miracle business. This morning, as I came into church, I was talking with one of our members, and he was talking about a surgery that he was going to have on his shoulder. He asked me if I would pray for him. I said I'd love to pray for him and then I said, "Do you mind if I pray that God would miraculously heal you?" He said, "Please, do."

I just read yesterday in my quiet time, I was up at Lake Santa Margarita and I was walking around the lake and I sat down on one of the benches there and was reading in Scripture. In the Scriptures that I'm reading through, I read in Mark chapter seven how Jesus was in the Galilee area healing people, and he went up to Tyre and Sidon. Tyre and Sidon is modern-day Lebanon. He's up in an area outside of Israel. He's not dealing with Jewish people. He's dealing with people who were pagan idolaters.

And yet, one of the women, a Syrophoenician woman, comes up to him and asks Jesus to heal her daughter. Jesus said the food is for the children. And she said, "Yeah, but when the crumbs fall off the table, even the dogs get to eat it." She called herself a dog, and Jesus said, "I haven't seen any kind of faith like that in all of Israel. Your daughter's healed." He healed that woman's daughter because her belief that God could do it and would do it because he was good.

Then it says that Jesus left the area of Tyre and Sidon in Mark chapter seven and he went back to Galilee and went over to the Decapolis. Decapolis in Greek means the ten cities. It's a Greek name because they were Greek refugees living in that area. This was not an outpost of Jewish people. Again, these were Greeks, pagans. But it says Jesus went over to Decapolis, and there was a man who couldn't speak and couldn't hear. Jesus touched his ears and spit and touched his tongue, and he said, "Be open," and the man was able to hear and speak.

Jesus did a miracle up in Tyre and Sidon. He did a miracle over in Decapolis. Then in my reading I turned over to John six, because that's what I was reading, and in John six, all these people crowd around him. He says to his disciples, "Where are we going to get the food to feed them?" And they said, "Man, this is going to be several months' wages." And they said, "Well, here's a guy with a few fish and some bread," and Jesus takes it and multiplies it and does a miracle and feeds the 5,000.

So many people gathered around him that he got away from them. The disciples went ahead of him in a boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They were in Tiberias and they went over to Capernaum, and Jesus walked on water in the night and met them. I'm sitting there in my quiet time thinking, "My gosh, Jesus does miracles in just the course of his life." He heals them up in Tyre and Sidon, heals them over in Decapolis, feeds the 5,000, and walks on the water.

I thought, "Why is that in the Bible?" It's in the Bible to inspire me that that's the God that I have a relationship with. He does miracles, and nothing in my life is outside the miraculous touch of Jesus. So I said, "Can I pray that God will do a miracle for you?" He said yes. Now, I want to tell you, this is not name-it-claim-it theology. I don't get to claim any miracle I want to have. Jesus is the one who does the miracles, but I should ask for them because he does them.

He did them and he wants me to ask for them. There were probably other women up in Tyre and Sidon who needed to be healed that Jesus never encountered. There were probably other deaf people over in Decapolis that he didn't meet. There were probably people in Tiberias that didn't get in on the free lunch. The doing of the miracle, that's Jesus's business. The asking for it, the believing that he can do it, that's our business. God is a powerful God who does miracles.

So what God said to Joshua was, "You're going to cross the Jordan." So guess what? A few days later, he loaded up all his stuff, walked right into the Jordan, and it parted, and they walked across on dry land. God did a miracle. They got into the Jordan. He says, "Not only are you going to get into the land because I'm going to take you across the Jordan, you're going to possess it." We've got to possess our possessions. That was their inheritance, but Joshua had to go in and possess it.

We're celebrating here this Fourth of July weekend the freedom that we have in our country, but we're celebrating a freedom that's been possessed by some people who put it on the line. Some of you here have served. We were at the beach yesterday, Dawn and I, and we were walking down the beach in San Clemente, these four young kids came walking by. They weren't any older than my son, Taylor, but it was obvious they were Marines on a break. I said to Dawn, "Those kids, in a few months, they could be in Iraq or Afghanistan."

And I just welled up in tears. I just started crying. I thought, "Oh my gosh, they're not even any older than my son, and yet these are young guys that could be defending my freedom." Joshua was given the land as a possession, but he had to go in and possess it. Never take that for granted. God does miracles. He has absolute power, but he calls us to step into what it is he's doing. God reveals himself here to Joshua, and God is personal and God is powerful.

God's also good. He's good because in Joshua chapter one he says, "I was with Moses and I'm going to be with you. I'm going to bring you into this land and I'm going to give you victory over all your enemies. I'm going to give you success and I'm going to give you prosperity and I will never forsake you." Think about all those good promises that God makes. God is good. That's his nature. He can't be anything other than who he is.

A.W. Tozer in his book, *The Knowledge of the Holy*, says this: "The goodness of God is that which disposes him to be kind and cordial and benevolent. He is full of goodwill towards men. He is tenderhearted, he's quick with sympathy, he is unfailing in his attitude towards all his creation. By his nature he is inclined to bestow blessedness, and he takes holy pleasure in the happiness of his people." That God is good is taught in every page of the Bible, and it must be received as an absolute essential of faith.

It is a foundation for everything else that we believe about God. The goodness of God is the drive behind all of his blessings that he daily bestows upon us. Divine goodness, as one of God's attributes, is self-caused, infinite, and perfect and eternal. Since God is immutable, that is he never changes, he will never change in his goodness towards us. God is good. And so Paul, writing to the Romans, reminds us even when we doubt it, or even when we question it, or even when we're confused, we are to remember that he causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose.

That doesn't mean all things are good, but because God is good, he works all things, even bad things, for the good, you see. Joshua is being commissioned by God. He's seeing that God is personal, that God is faithful, that God is powerful, that God is good, and then he's reminded in this encounter that God is available. God is available because God says, "I will never leave you and I'll never forsake you. I'll be with you wherever you go."

God is available, not only here as we gather to worship, but he's available as you walk out to your car. He's available as you get in your car and drive home, and he's available 24/7. That's the experience that we have. That's why Jesus quotes from this passage in Matthew chapter 28 when he says, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

And that's why the writer of the Hebrews quotes this in Hebrews chapter 13 when he says, "I will never leave you and I will never forsake you." He himself has said that. God is always with us. And Jesus, to even remind it more clearly to us, said in John chapter 14, speaking to his disciples, preparing them for the reality that he was going to go to the cross and be resurrected and ascend back to the Father, said, "I will ask the Father and he will give to you another helper, the Holy Spirit, the spirit of truth, who will not only be with you, but he will be in you forever."

We have the Holy Spirit living inside of us. We have God with us. That's what the term "Emmanuel" literally translates as, "God with us." We have Emmanuel all the time as believers in Jesus Christ. God is available. Now, in the context of that revelation of who he is, God speaks to Joshua and tells him, "I'm going to lead you to go into the land and take possession of it. I'm charging you to take my word and meditate on it and obey it, and I'm promising that I'm going to be with you always."

In each of those three statements, he says to Joshua, "Be strong and courageous. Be strong and courageous. Be strong and courageous." The charge to be strong and courageous because of Joshua's fear isn't a charge for Joshua to somehow muster up from within himself a reservoir of strength and a reservoir of courage because he didn't have it. The problem was he was afraid. So it wasn't like God said, "Don't be afraid. Be strong, courageous." That's not what's going on.

That's what we think sometimes God asks for us. No, God is revealing himself to Joshua. He's affirming him, he's inspiring him, he's letting him know that he's always going to be with them. And then out of that revelation, he says, "Be strong and courageous. Be strong and courageous in my promise to give you an inheritance." That's what he promised him, an inheritance. They were going to go up Transjordan, present-day Jordan on the other side of the Jordan River.

They were going to be encamped across from Jericho. They were going to go into the Jordan River. God was going to do a miracle. They were going to go into the land. They were going to take possession of it and they were going to have the inheritance. And so God says, "Be strong and courageous in my promise of an inheritance." And God has an inheritance for every believer. Ephesians chapter one says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him."

In love he predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself, and he lavished his grace upon us to the praise of the glory of his grace. We've obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to his plan to the praise of the glory of his grace. You also, after listening to the message of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is given as a pledge of our eternal inheritance to the praise of the glory of his grace.

God has given us an inheritance. He's blessed us with every spiritual blessing. And so he says, "Be strong and courageous and possess your possession." Believe what's true about you. Believe what you believe. Do you ever have to remind yourself to believe your beliefs? I do all the time. God says, "Be strong and courageous in your inheritance." Then he says to Joshua, "Be careful to obey this law. Don't deviate from it to the right or to the left. Don't let it depart from your mouth. Meditate on it day and night."

Be careful to obey all that's written in this, and then you'll be prosperous and then you'll be successful. Be strong and courageous. We not only need to be strong and courageous in the promise of an inheritance, we need to be strong and courageous in the promise of God's word. We've got to talk about it, we've got to meditate on it, we've got to be careful to do it, and God says we'll be successful when we do. We'll be prosperous when we do. Talk about it, meditate on it, do it.

And then he says one more time, "Be strong," and then he adds, "and very courageous." Then he also adds, "and don't be terrified and don't be discouraged because I will be with you wherever you go." It's interesting. Be strong and courageous, be strong and courageous, be strong and very courageous. Don't be terrified. Don't be discouraged, for I will be with you wherever you go. So he intensifies the last charge because it's the promise of God's presence with us.

And I guess that's what we're most afraid of. I guess we're most afraid that we're just going to be out there on our own, cut loose. That we step out in a direction and all of a sudden we look back and we're all alone. And we're so afraid of that that we don't even take the first step. Maybe it's trusting God with our marriage, maybe it's trusting God parenting our kids, maybe it's trusting God with our finances. Maybe it's just trusting God.

Maybe it's that first step of crossing the line and becoming a believer in Jesus Christ. We're so afraid that we'll look foolish or we won't be able to live up to the demands of what it really means to be a Christian, or what if it's not true and we committed ourselves to something that's not true? The fear stops us from even taking the first step of becoming a Christian in the first place. But God says, "Be strong and courageous, very courageous. Don't be terrified, don't be discouraged. I will be with you wherever you go."

Anytime we take a step of faith in following God, he's with us wherever we go. God is with us. You see, courage is not getting all the fear out of your life. It's trusting God in spite of your fears. That's why Joshua's a hero. Because when you read the rest of Joshua 1, Joshua 2, 3, 4, he did it. He did exactly what God told him to do. And God did exactly what he told Joshua he'd do. He was with him. He parted the Jordan. He gave him victory in the land. Fear can be a powerful motivator. It can be the most debilitating emotion in our life. So what God says is, "Be strong and courageous."

Greg: What a great message for all of us today. Pastor JP provides us with great insight. That is why we'd like to make it available to you on CD. Just get in touch and mention today's date. We'll send it your way for just $5. Or if you'd like to support this ministry, you can write us at Truth That Changes Lives, 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California, 92653. Or give us a call at 949-916-0250. That's 949-916-0250.

For your gift of $25 or more, we will send you a signed copy of JP's new book, *Facing Goliath*. Please join us every Sunday at 9:00 or 11:00 AM at Crossline Church in Laguna Hills. The address is 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California, 92653. Or check us out on the web at crosslinechurch.com. We're going to get to the address and phone number again in a moment, but before we do that, Pastor JP, do you have any insight from today's message?

JP Jones: Thanks, Greg. Fear can drive us to despair or it can drive us to our knees to trust in God. Every person deals with fear. We're looking at the story of Joshua and he was a man who dealt with fear. But his fears were replaced with courage because he put his eyes on God and he trusted in God. What are you doing with your fears? Are you acknowledging your fears? Are you confessing your fears? Are you asking God to deal with your fears?

Are you taking all of your anxiety and casting it upon the Lord? Are you accepting Jesus's invitation to come to me and find rest for your soul? Are you looking to God rather than looking to the giants and challenges and Goliaths in your life? Are you giving in to your fears or are you allowing God to turn your fears into courage? Every person deals with fear. Joshua in the Old Testament dealt with fear. But God said to him three times, "Be strong and courageous."

God speaks to us today and he says the same message: "Be strong and courageous." He's not asking us to kind of pull ourselves up by our spiritual bootstraps and make ourselves strong. He's not asking us to somehow be like Rambos for Christ. No, he's asking us to put our eyes on him, to abide in him, and to trust in his promises. In fact, in the three commands to be strong and courageous in Joshua chapter one, God ties each one of those exhortations to a truth.

In Joshua 1 verses five and six, it says, "No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous." God says he will never leave us and never forsake us. That's the truth that is to give us strength and courage. We're to understand that God loves us, he has a plan for us, he's committed himself to us, and he will never leave us and he will never forsake us.

The second exhortation to be strong and courageous is found in verses seven and eight: "Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go." We're to be strong and courageous as we take God's word as God's word and put it into practice and obey it. We're to be strong and courageous as we obey God's word, study God's word, memorize God's word, and live by God's word.

Our strength and our courage is to come as a result of really internalizing all the truths of Scripture and hiding it in our hearts and thinking about it in our minds and speaking it with our mouths and living it out in obedient lives. Our strength and courage is to come from God's word because we're living in it. And here's the third exhortation to be strong and courageous that God gave to Joshua. It's in verse nine: "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

Our strength and our courage is to be based on the certainty that God will be with us wherever we go. God is with us. God is leading our lives. God is for us. That's what the Apostle Paul says in Romans chapter eight: "If God is for us, who can be against us?" He who did not spare his own son but delivered him up for us all, how will he not also through him freely give us all things? Did you know that God is for you? Did you know that God loves you?

Did you know that God has a plan for your life? Did you know that God wants to use you? Did you know that God will be with you wherever you go? When we think those thoughts which are true thoughts, that's when we get courage. That's when we become strong. None of us are immune from becoming fearful. It's what we do with our fears that matters. It's what we do with our fears that determine whether or not we become heroes for God.

If we're to be like Joshua, it's because we hear that word from God: "Be strong and courageous. Be strong and courageous. Be strong and courageous." We take our fears and we put them on God. We cast our anxieties upon God. We have a God-sized vision. We see God as God. We see God's promises as true for us just like they were true for Joshua. We see God's presence as abiding in us and with us right now. When those things are true of us, we have strength and we have courage and we become heroes for God.

Would you ask God to do that for you right now? God, make me a man like Joshua. Make me a woman who will follow in the path of Joshua. Make me a person who is strong and courageous because I see you for who you are and I take your promises as your word to me right now. In Jesus's name, amen.

Greg: We want to help you in your relationship with Christ. Please get in touch with us at Truth That Changes Lives, 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California, 92653. Or call us at 949-916-0250. On the internet, you will find us at crosslinechurch.com. We hope to see you at one of our services every Sunday at our new campus in Laguna Hills. For more information and directions, please go to crosslinechurch.com. Please join us next time on Truth That Changes Lives.