NOTES: Unstuck, Part 2
Sermon: Unstuck 2- Unmasking the Spooky
Text: Joshua 1:1-9
Date: Sunday October 20, 2022
Joshua 1:1–10 (ESV) God Commissions Joshua “After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 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 good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Let’s Connect
Philippians 3:14, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Our Text Explained:
When God spoke and commissioned Joshua it was after 38 years of being STUCK.
They saw that it wasn’t safe, and cowardice won the day.
Numbers 13:32 (ESV)
32 So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height.
Numbers 13:33 (ESV)
33 And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”
Numbers 14:11 (ESV)
11 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?
As followers of Christ, we’re called to a life that is not safe
…but VERY assured!
What will it take to live a life like in which self-preservation is not our primal pursuit?
ILL: “Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion." "Ooh" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion"..."Safe?" said Mr Beaver ..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.” C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
John 12:24–25 (ESV)
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Philippians 1:21–22 (ESV)
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.
Being Christ-centered and Kingdom-focused requires a paradigm shift…
…that is no longer dictated by our fallen nature,
…but a new courageous nature being formed in us by the Spirit.
Think about the things that most cause you to act cowardly and why?
God commissions and empowers Joshua:
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Relating and Applying:
Courage (the real kind) is…
…it is doing what is right, especially when it cost something.
…is the confidence to take a righteous action, no matter how spooky!
…the result of active faith in God and His Word, through Christ Jesus.
2 Corinthians 5:6 (ESV)
6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord,
Hebrews 13:6 (ESV)
6 So we can confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”
Israel Unstuck— crossing the Jordan:
Challenge
Our courage increases as our faith increases.
Faith increases through listening: God’s Word - Fellow believers - Remembrance
(Unstuck!) Grow your faith not your fear!
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”