Good evening. Please turn with me in your bibles to Joshua chapter 1.
Last time we began a new series of sermons through this book, and I opened with a question. I asked everyone what makes them fearful. What scares you?
God tells Joshua several times in the opening of this book not to be afraid, and so we talked for a while about things that made people fearful. It could be fear of the future, fear of a leadership transition, fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of what other people think about you.
All sorts of possible fears surround the people of God, especially as they face a transition, both in leadership, and a transition into a new place. They are on the edge of the promised land, about to enter into the land and do battle. No doubt there were some who were really nervous about what was about to happen.
Tonight, I want to continue some of the same themes, but instead of focusing on the fear, I want to come at the issue from the other direction, and think about the spiritual virtue of courage. Spiritual courage.
You don’t hear many sermons on the spiritual virtue of courage, but it really is the flip side of the command not to be fearful. And that makes sense to those of us who are familiar with the New Testament.
We’re called, not merely to put off, but to put on something. It’s not enough to simply put off sinful fear, but we should put on courage, we should take heart. Don’t simply reject fearfulness, put on faithful boldness.
That command permeates this chapter: Be strong, be courageous, do not fear. Do not be frightened, do not be dismayed. Be full of courage. That’s a major theme of this chapter, and indeed the entire book, and it is a theme to which we will return throughout this series, and it will be our topic of study tonight. Spiritual courage.
Let’s see that in our text. I’ll begin reading at the beginning of the chapter, and we’ll focus on verses 10-18. Joshua chapter 1:
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[a] 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.”
10 And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, 11 “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’”
12 And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, 13 “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, 15 until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.”
16 And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses! 18 Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”
After the commissioning of Joshua as the new captain of the people of God in the first 9 verses, the attention shifts to the people. Verses 10 and 11 explain that Joshua tells the officers or the leaders of the people get everyone ready. In three days we’re heading out. We’re going to cross over the Jordan and we’re going to take possession of the land that God is giving to us.
That’s simple enough.
And then the attention shifts to a sub-section of the people. Joshua specifically speaks to the tribes of Ruben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh. What’s that all about?
Let me fill in a little back story, for those that might be a little rusty on their Old Testament history. God in Genesis 12 makes a covenant with Abraham that he would give him a son, and from that son nations would come, and kings would come, and he would give to his family a place.
That covenant promise was passed on to Abraham’s son Isaac, and then from Isaac to Jacob. Jacob was the one who wrestled with the Lord in Genesis 32, and God gives Jacob a new name: Israel.
Jacob, now renamed Israel, has 12 sons, and these 12 sons are the heads of what eventually becomes known as the 12 tribes of Israel. Each tribe was to receive an inheritance tied to the promised land, in partial fulfillment of the Covenant God made with Abraham.
Now, we later see in Numbers chapter 32, a modification of what we would expect. The tribes of Ruben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh are said to have asked for a special arrangement from Moses. Rather than receiving a plot of land for their tribes INSIDE the promised land, they wanted to have land on the east side of the Jordan river.
The text said that they had large herds of animals, and they saw the land and that it was good for livestock, and so they wanted to stay where they were and settle in Gilead, rather than crossing over with the rest of the people of Israel, across the Jordan, and into Canaan.
So most of the people of God would cross the Jordan and have their inheritance in the land, but Ruben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh would be east of the Jordan.
Why does all this history matter? And what does it have to do with spiritual courage? Good question. And in the answering of that question I want to us to see the link between unity and courage. The link between the unity of the people, and courage.
It matters because of what Moses says specifically to Ruben and Gad in Numbers 32 when they ask him for this special accommodation to remain east of the Jordan.
They say in verse 5: “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land [land east of the Jordan, outside of Canaan] be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan.”
6 But Moses said to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here?7 Why will you discourage the heart of the people of Israel from going over into the land that the Lord has given them?”
Moses knew that disunity among the people of God would discourage the hearts of the people of Israel. If the rest of the tribes had to go across the Jordan and battle and fight and risk their lives, while Ruben and Gad sat on the east banks of the Jordan and watched, then there would be a real chance of discouragement.
A lack of unity, a lack of connectedness in the fight, a lack of mutual service, serves as a real impediment to the spiritual health and courage of God’s people.
Have you ever considered that connection? That the unity of God’s people is linked to their courage, and therefore the strength of their stamina in the fight of faith?
Or to say it the other way. To act divisively, or to undermine the unity of God’s people, puts stumbling blocks in front of our Brothers and sisters, and could weaken them as they continue in the fight of faith.
We know from the New Testament, in places like Ephesians 6, that the Christian life is a battle. We’re not called to take up swords and go wipe out the Canaanites. In the New Covenant, we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood, Paul says.
But we are still called to fight. We battle in spiritual warfare. This isn’t a new battle, it goes all the way back to the garden.
Remember what God said in Genesis 3? He promised that there would be enmity, or hostility, between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. There is, and has been since the fall, conflict between the faithful and the unfaithful. A battle between the holy and unholy.
And it is important for us to see that this spiritual fight, this spiritual war, is in no way an individual battle. How we wage war, and how we fight or don’t fight, has impact upon the other brothers and sisters in the faith.
We can behave in ways that edify and en-courage people in their fight, or we can behave in ways that undermine the unity of God’s people, and dis-courage them in their fight, just like Moses warned Ruben and Gad about.
So what would be some ways that we can en-courage the people of God? How can we actively support, bolster, and aid our brothers and sisters as they seek to grow in the virtue of spiritual courage?
Before we answer that, I want to first discuss the virtue of spiritual courage itself, and then discuss it’s connection to unity and the people of God.
I found this week a wonderful chapter on Spiritual Strength or Courage, and I want to share some insights from that chapter with you. It’s found in a work called The Christian’s Reasonable Service written by a Dutch theologian named Wilhelmus a ’Brakel.[1]
Father Brakel, as he was known in his day, was beloved in his time because of how practical and understandable he made the Christian faith and doctrine. I commend his writings to you.
First, Brakel is helpful in giving us a definition of spiritual courage. Building on his work, we might define spiritual courage in five parts: a steadfastness of heart, given by God, built on hope, that overcomes fear, and perseveres in obedience.[2] I’ll go through each of those 5 components.
First, spiritual courage is characterized by steadfastness of heart. Steadfastness of heart. Older generations might have used the word fortitude to describe a steadfastness like this. It is a resiliency, a stability of heart, that is the opposite of the fool described in scripture as someone who is tossed about like a ship on the waves.
Psalm 112 verses 7 and 8 describe such a person possessing steadfastness of heart:
He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
8 His heart is steady (or firm); he will not be afraid,
until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
Or in Proverbs the righteous are described as being as Bold as a lion, Proverbs 28:1. Spiritual courage produces a steadfastness, a stability of soul, that helps sustain through the trials of this life, rather than shrinking back in fear.
Second, spiritual courage has a steadfastness of heart that is given from God. It is given from God. God is the origin of any and all spiritual virtues, including spiritual strength or courage.
Every good gift comes down from the Father of ights, James says, and that includes the spiritual strength of courage.
The Psalmist says in Psalm 31:24, that the Lord shall strengthen your heart.
Or Isaiah 40:29, which was our scripture reading this morning, says that the Lord, “gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might, he increases strength.”
Likewise, Psalm 27:1 says the Lord is the strength of my life.
Any Spiritual strength or courage we have has its origin in the Lord himself. More on that one later.
Third, spiritual courage is a steadfastness of heart that is given from God and built on hope. It is built on hope.
That much is clear in this passage alone. God tells them to be strong and courageous, but reminds them over and over again of the success that is guaranteed.
Don’t be afraid, for the Lord is with you wherever you go, verse 7.
Get ready to go over the Jordan, into the Land that the Lord is giving to you, verse 11.
The Lord is proving you a place of rest, verse 13.
You will help your brothers possess the land and have rest in the land, rest that the Lord gives in land that the Lord is giving to them, verse 15.
Then you shall return to your land and possess it. Not maybe. You will return. You will possess it. Hope built on the sure foundation of the word of the Lord.
Spiritual courage is built upon the sure foundation of the promises of God given to us in the word. It’s not some flimsy hope. It’s not some wishful thinking. It is an assurance of soul built upon the strongest foundation possible: the very character and promises of God.
Fourth, Spiritual courage is a steadfastness of heart, given from God, built on hope, that overcomes fear. It overcomes fear.
That’s all over the first chapter of Joshua. Be strong. Don’t be afraid. Be courageous. Don’t fear or be dismayed.
You’ve seen this kind of courage in people around you I’m sure. Something has you anxious and worried, something news is really weighing on your heart and making you afraid, and another person has a totally different reaction to the news. They’re not scared. They’re not afraid. They might even express that they’re eager to see how the Lord will work this all out.
That’s spiritual courage. Courage and strength that overcomes fear.
Psalm 27:1 again says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?”
Or the well-known verse, Psalm 23:4, Yea, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
Spiritual courage overcomes fear, even in the valley of the shadow of death. Even the darkest and scariest places of our spiritual battle, we don’t have to fear. Spiritual courage overcomes fear.
Fifth, Spiritual courage is a steadfastness of heart, given from God, built on hope, that overcomes fear, and perseveres in obedience.
Courage that wilts when things get hard, is no courage at all. Courage that stands only while things are easy, that’s not courage at all.
When things get tough, the courageous don’t back down. We might even somewhat-playfully describe spiritual courage as holy stubbornness. The spiritually-strong don’t back down when the going gets tough. They persevere.
Paul describes such a disposition in 1 Corinthians 15: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
Or Paul’s exhortation to the Thessalonians in his second letter to them: “Stand firm, and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us.” Persevere in faithfulness. Don’t deviate from the path. Hang on.
It sounds a lot like Paul’s exhortations to Timothy: Fight the good fight of faith. Keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Hang on until the end. Persevere. That’s the mark of true spiritual courage and strength. It isn’t occasional. It isn’t every once in a while.
Courage is a habit, a propensity of soul.
So there we have 5 components of the spiritual virtue of courage: steadfastness of heart, given by God, built on hope, that overcomes fear, and perseveres in obedience.
And if those are accurate, if that definition is the case, where does that leave us? As you examine your own soul, do you see that you are marked by spiritual courage and strength?
Are you like David, rejecting the armor of Saul and boldly going out to face the giant Goliath, even when no other man in Israel was courageous enough to do it?
Or do you see yourself in that story, not in the character of David, but as one of the Israelite soldiers, cowering behind the lines, afraid of the size and strength of the enemy, and forgetful of the promises of God?
I know too often that’s me. I’m quick to forget the promises of God, neglectful of the hope that he’s given, failing to persevere in the good work of spiritual courage.
I’m so thankful that God sent another in my place. Just like David was courageous even when a nation of men cowered in fear, so too has a son of David come and earned the victory in our place.
He stood against the enemy, not Goliath, but Satan himself, the final enemy, and withstood the best temptation that Satan could offer. Yet without sin.
And he prayed in the garden, under such stress he was sweating blood, he could have fearfully backed out. And yet he courageously submitted to the will of the Father, that he would be killed on the cross in the place of a fearful and cowering people.
Christ is the greater and final Joshua, the captain of our salvation, and the greater son of David, who feared no evil, even though he walked the valley of the shadow of death.
He did not wilt when the going got tough. He didn’t fall away and throw in the towel. He persevered to the very end, which was the grave itself. And because he was never sinfully fearful, he earned the reward of perfect courage.
He earned eternal life in the land, not simply a life in Canaan, but eternal life in the heavenly promised land. And if you believe in him, that reward is your too. If you’re trusting in Christ, take heart, that your life and safety is secured in Christ, even though you don’t have the courage that you should.
Even though you’re often anxious and worried and forgetful of his promises, he was faithful. He didn’t forget. And he wasn’t scared. He was as bold as a lion, so that we might be spared from the prowling lion who seeks do devour us.
And because our Captain was faithful, we too can grow to become more like him, which includes growing in spiritual courage ourselves. We don’t have to be consigned to a life of perpetual fear and anxiety.
We’re not destined to miserable and cowering all of our lives. We’re given from Christ his very own Spirit. Imagine that. The Spirit of our perfectly courageous Lord now resides within us, with our spirit. He helps us walk, not in fear, but in the power of His might.
Trust in this Christ and remember his promises, that he is the source of our strength and courage, he is the provider and protector of our souls, he has overcome the fearful darkness of the grave and sin, and he has earned for us the entrance into the heavenly Canaan that we all crave.
And because of that, we can walk with boldness in this age. We know that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Nothing can snatch us from our father’s hand. Nothing.
The promises are secure, not because of the strength of our courage, not because of any absence of fear within us, but because of the courage of our great captain, our great giant-slayer, our Son of David, who sits on His throne forever.
And if that is the case, then let’s now go back to the previous question. The previous point about a link between our behavior among the people of God and their courage.
Remember, Moses warned Ruben and Gad not to DIS-Courage the other tribes by their walking away and not being united in the work.
If us not being united with the people has the risk of dis-couraging other brothers and sisters, then what does that say to us about our duty to the people of God?
Shawn just preached a sermon on this, so I won’t belabor the point, but Hebrews 10 specifically links courage and the gathering of the body of believers.
Hebrews 10:25, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another”
Don’t neglect to meet together…but encourage one another. Don’t skip the assembly, but rather build up their courage.
Or we could flip it the other direction. When we neglect gathering together, it can dis-courage the saints. When we neglect the assembly, we’re tempting others to not be as steadfast in their courage, not be as hopeful, not be bold, and to be fearful.
That’s the connection in the text. It’s almost like we are being warned no to commit the possible sin that was before Ruben and Gad. Just like they were warned not to neglect their unity with the people of God, not to sit on the sidelines and watch their brothers do all the battle, so too are we warned not to sit on the sidelines and watch everybody else do all the work in the body of Christ.
To be united to the people of God, is to be bound by a duty to them. We have obligations. If we’re going to be part of God’s people, part of the bride of Christ, then it comes with obligations.
You can read all through the New Testament and see the commands that permeate those books. Pray for one another. Stir one another up to good works. Encourage one another. Strengthen and support one another. Serve on another.
And you can’t do one bit of that if you’re not regularly gathering with the body, if you’re willfully neglecting the assembly.
American individualism combined with sinful pride tempts us to think we can pick up the church and use it when it suits us, and we can put it down when the cost/benefit analysis doesn’t meet our liking.
We like the church when it benefits us, and then drop it when it doesn’t.
Believers, we’re called to more. We’re called to pick up arms with our brothers and sisters and to join in the fight of faith.
We’re called to put on the whole armor of God and join the ranks of the faithful. Called to pray for one another, serve one another, lay down our lives for one another, just as Christ has laid down his life for us.
If you’re neglectful of the body, or tempted to let other folks do all the work while you sit on the comfy side of the Jordan watching others fight the battle, then I urge you on the basis of scripture to repent of your slothfulness.
Remember the faithfulness of Christ and his sacrifice in your place, and remember that when you joined yourself to Christ, he called you also to love His bride. Remember His promises and His provision, and linger on those, until your heart is again warmed to the bride that Christ has purchased with His own blood.
We’re called to love the bride as she is, not love her as we would like her to be.
And if you’re not trusting in Christ, then let me warn you, you have no reason or ability to have any of the spiritual courage of soul I’ve described tonight. You have no access to His spirit or to His peace. You’re disconnected from the only means of lasting courage and rest, which is union with Christ by faith.
From that perspective, consider this: you currently have nothing but peace with the devil and with the world, and Satan wants to keep you under that illusion. But that sense of peace is a false peace, a false feeling of security, for it will only end in your judgement. You’ll be no different than the Canaanites that fell by the sword because of their wicked rebellion against God.
Your fate is death because the wages of sin is death. You’ve earned it. Every time you’ve lied out of fear, trying to cover your own skin. Or you’ve stolen, taken what wasn’t yours, because you were afraid you wouldn’t have enough. Or every time you have spoken rashly out of fear, all of that is sin, and it earns for you an eternal weight of punishment in hell.
But there is another way. A way to escape punishment and enter into life. Spiritual life now and eternal life with Christ later. And all you have to do is trust in Christ as your savior. Faith alone in the promises of God is your only hope.
Trust in Christ and you can be spared a life of fear, fear of sin, and fear of punishment, and fear of death. All that can be left behind, and you can become as bold as a lion, if you would first trust in the lion of our tribe, who is Jesus Christ. I hope you will.
[1] Wilhelmus à Brakel and B. Elshout, The Christian’s Reasonable Service: In Which Divine Truths Concerning the Covenant of Grace Are Expounded, Defended against Opposing Parties, and Their Practice Advocated, as Well as the Administration of This Covenant in the Old and New Testaments / Vol. 3 / Transl. [from the Dutch] by Bartel Elshout (Pittsburgh, PA: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1994), 331–48.
[2] Modified from: Brakel and Elshout, 331.
