Charles Stanley - A Time for Courage
Fear can grip the heart of a person or it can grip the heart of a whole nation. It can be created by what we know and what we don't know, motivated by false information or true information. It can either drive us or paralyze us. It depends on how we respond. And if you and I respond in an improper fashion, if we respond by giving in and yielding to fear, we lose all the way around. And when I think about what it does to us, it divides our mind. It shatters our emotions. It impedes our progress. In fact, every aspect of our life is affected by it. And yet people live in fear. You may say, Well, there are a lot of things going on these days that would cause people to fear and I understand that.
There are many things that are happening around us that would cause us to be afraid. But are we to live in fear or are we to live by courage and faith? Are we to live worried about, anxious about all the things that possibly could happen and you and I can look in the scriptures and think about all the things that our Lord has warned us about that would come in the latter days. Are we to live in fear of these things or are we to live by courage, faith and trust in our Lord? It's interesting that how many times our Lord tells us to fear not. For example, in the tenth chapter of Matthew, three times He says, "Fear not, fear not, fear not". And somebody has said, and I don't know whether it's true or not, that there's one fear not for every single day of the year. Now when I count 'em I don't come up with three hundred and sixty-five but I do know this, that the same Heavenly Father who said it once, says it to us every day. We do not have to fear because we have the Lord Jesus Christ living on the inside of us.
Now there are many, many people out there who are afraid, who have fears, who live in fear, who have a reason to. If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, if you don't have a relationship with God through Him you have lots of reasons to be afraid. Because the truth is you have no assurance of today, no assurance of tomorrow and certainly no assurance of life after death. What I want to talk about in this passage of scripture here, and many others is this, "A Time for Courage". A time for courage. And even though our Lord says to us, "Fear not". that does not mean that He doesn't understand when you and I hit those situations and circumstances. Sometimes those things that come upon us without any warning, that suddenly we feel fear. It's not a sin to feel fear. But what happens is when we let it become anxiety within our life and doubts and frustrations and all the rest. And oftentimes we find ourselves indeed our energy is gone, our mind is divided, and what's happening, we're not making the best of life because we're living in fear. God does not intend for us to live in fear.
So, I want us to look at a passage of scripture that not only says to us we should not be afraid, that we should be courageous, but also in this passage there are the reasons and the ways and the steps to building courage into your life. And the truth is, no one wants to be a coward. We all want to be courageous and bold and face life no matter what's going on. How do we do it? So, I want you to turn if you will to Joshua chapter one. In Joshua chapter one, what is happening is Moses, God's servant who has led the nation of Israel, the Hebrew children, for years and years and years now, from the very beginning, and now the Lord has called him home. And he has been given the responsibility, that is Joshua, who has been his general and his associate and the man who stood by him all those years. He has been given the responsibility.
And this is the way God said it to him. He said, verse two of chapter one, "Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all 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," that is Joshua, "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 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; then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success".
Now watch this next verse. "Have I not commanded you"? that is, as before he says the same thing again He says, "Have I not commanded you"? This is not a suggestion to Joshua. Have I not commanded you, question mark? What's that? "Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go". Now you know what? That very ninth verse that says, "Be strong and courageous". He says, "Don't tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go". As much as He said that to Joshua, He says that to you and me every single day of our life. All of us who know Jesus Christ as our Savior have that same promise. He will be with us no matter what we face in life and whatever's going on.
Now, what I want to do first of all is I want to define what courage is. Because courage is not just a matter of being strong, it is more than that. Listen. It is calmness in the midst of fear and what I want to say a couple of times here now is this. It is not a sin to experience fear. You and I can think of all the catastrophes that have happened in our country recently. We can think of the things that have happened to us personally maybe. And there are those moments or those periods of time when we may have been gripped by fear, overwhelmed by fear. In the midst of danger sometime, whatever's going on. It isn't a matter of experiencing it, it is what we do with it. It is how long it lasts in our life. It is what we allow it to do to us and in us and through us. And so I'm not saying that fear in itself is a sin because sometimes fear can protect us. And sometimes it can motivate us. And so therefore, that is fear in itself is not a sin, but it should not, listen, it should not live in the life of a child of God.
So what I'd like to do is I would like to just give you a simple definition and that is this. Courage is that attitude of mind and heart that enables us, listen, that enables us to face dangers, obstacles and the challenges of life fearlessly, firmly and calmly. To face those dangers and obstacles in life, those challenges in life fearlessly, listen, fearlessly, firmly and calmly. That is, even in the midst of danger and difficulty and hardship there can be a sense of calmness and tranquility within us no matter what is going on.
Now here's the big question. How do we develop courage? What has to happen in our life? What must we do? How must we think to become courageous, bold people in whom God can live His life, through whom God can do His work, and through whom He can confront evil and wickedness in this day and time? Well, I want to give you several things. It's all right here in this first chapter. Look at this, verse eight, "This book of the law," the law of God which He'd given to Moses and written it down, "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; then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success".
Here, listen, here is the first step to becoming a courageous bold person who can face if God says "wait". Whether it's imminent danger, death, you name it. And the first step is this. Begin to meditate upon the Word of God. Now what does meditate mean? It doesn't mean just read through the Bible. It doesn't mean just pick out a verse here and there. It means when you come to read the scripture, you ask Him questions. God, what are You saying to me personally? How do I apply this to my life? What are You saying to me today? What are You saying to me on how I'm to relate to this person or whatever it might be?
What happens is, when you're meditating upon God's Word, watch this, you're taking, you're taking the thoughts of God, placing them into your mind. They become a part of your very being, your subconscious mind, so that you can refer to them consciously or subconsciously, both they are there. You beginning to fill your mind with the mind of God. You're beginning to think the way God thinks. Therefore, what are you gonna do? You're gonna respond the way God responds. God is fearful of nothing. And so when you and I begin to meditate upon the Word of God, here's what we do. We're learning the ways of God. We know what God is thinking and what He says about this situation, that, and the other.
So the first thing He says, meditate upon the Word. The second thing that's involved here is this. Look at what He says. He says, "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, not once in a while so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; then you will make your way prosperous, then you will have success". Not be full of fear but make your way prosperous, and be full of success. How, what's that? He says, "Not only mediating upon it, but do what it says".
You see, people say, "Well, I read the Bible and they're living a backslidden condition". You know why? They may be reading it, but they're not doing what it says. When you are living a life of obedience to the Word of God, there is a strength. There is a stamina. There is an energy, there is a confidence, there is a boldness that naturally overflows in your life as a result of, listen, keeping God's Word in your heart and doing what it says. That's two steps. There's a third step here, and that is, listen, to recall the faithfulness of God in past circumstances. Now think about what he said to him. He said in verse three, verse two, "Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all 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".
What's happening? He is challenging Joshua to remember, listen, The faithfulness of God to Moses in the past. And He says, listen, He says, "Just as I was with Moses, I'm gonna be with you. You think about how many times God has brought you through difficulty". How many times He's brought you through things that you think, God, this is it. I don't think I'm gonna be able to handle this. And He brought you through it. That's why we should keep a diary. That's why we should write down, listen, we should keep a record of the things that God has done in our life so that when we hit these situations and circumstances, we look back and say, Well God, here's what You promised and here's what You did. You were faithful here, You were faithful here, You were faithful here. Why should I be afraid? Why should I be afraid now when You have been faithful every single time? You know what happens? Your courage begins to soar.
When you begin to reflect on the times in your life when God has brought you through things, you think, God, how in the world am I gonna face it? He brought you through it. Recalling, listen, recalling those difficulties. Recalling those hardships. Recalling those times of doubt. Recalling those times of fear when you would search the scripture and say, God, what do You want, what do You want to do in my life? Here's, here's what I'm facing, God. And you flipped through and you read maybe some of the Psalms or the Proverbs or some parts of the Epistles and you're asking questions. And God began to speak to your heart. And what happened? As He spoke to your heart you began to say, Well God, you know, that's, that's how You brought me through it last time. And no matter what you keep moving.
Another very important step is this, observing courage in other people. Listen, what He said to him, He says, "Just as I was with Moses, I'm gonna be with you". And what I want you to see is that all through Moses' life there's courage. Did he ever make any mistakes or sin? Yes, he did. Did he ever have any fears? Yes, he did. In fact, you know, you know what he said. When God said, "I want you to go see Pharaoh and he gave Him all this long bunch of reasons why he couldn't do it". You know why he couldn't do it? He was afraid. Naturally he was afraid. But he obeyed. And I was thinking, in preparation of this message, I was trying to think about how many times in my life have I really and truly been afraid? Now if you expect me to say "none", you're wrong because I have been. I've been afraid.
And I thought of three significant times, real significant times in my life when I was afraid. One time I was afraid because I just knew the consequences were gonna be more than I thought I could handle. Another time, because I knew I was not equipped and capable of doing what God was calling me to do. Another time, I was just scared. I was afraid of the criticism because I figured I was gonna fail. Have I ever been afraid? Yes, I have. But I can tell you this. Each time I ultimately obeyed God. Each time He put such pressure on me, here's what I discovered. I was more fearful of meeting Him than failing. In other words, it didn't make any difference. I knew that I had to be obedient because I couldn't live with myself. There are gonna come those times when you're gonna feel it, but here's what I want you to remember. Your Heavenly Father knows all about that. You look back in your life how He's helped you survive. You look at other people around you and if there's ever been a time in the life of this nation when we have hundreds and thousands of examples of courageous bold people.
Courageous people, who've been willing to sacrifice their life for what they believed in and what they were committed to. Then I want you to notice something else that's very, very, very important here, that is not here in a particular verse but it's here. And listen carefully, and if you're listening, I want you to say amen. Listen carefully. One of the things that builds courage into us is facing those circumstances and, listen, here's what happens. What will determine what we do, watch this now, is what we see as being at stake. That is, what's at stake here? What's hanging in the balance here? Joshua probably was fearful. But what was hanging in the balance? What was hanging in the balance is the nation of Israel, God's chosen people through whom the Messiah would come, through whom the Savior of the entire world would come for all time and eternity. And what was at stake was getting these people into the land that God had given them, promised all the way back to Abraham. This wasn't some little journey. What was at stake, listen, was God's great plan of redemption for mankind.
Now here's what you and I have to think about. When you and I are challenged, we're confronted and we could either be fearful or we could be courageous. What we have to stop and ask is, What's at stake? Now watch this. Here's somebody around you criticizing and knocking Jesus and the Bible and the church and all the rest and all those Christians and lah-dah-dah and, you know, this, that, and the other. Do you just walk away and stand quietly and say nothing? Or when somebody says, Well, Jesus is just like all those other gods. Well, the God of you Christians, He's just one of many gods. Let me ask you a question. What's at stake? There's more to, listen, what's at stake is not your reputation. What's at stake is not what you, what's at stake is this: the name of Jesus. The God of the Christian, Jehovah God, that's what's at stake. What's at stake is that you and I defend His name.
And you and I know that people can talk about God, God, God; when you mention the name of Jesus, they throw a fit. And you know why? Because everything He represents strikes against the sinfulness and the wickedness and the vileness of their life. And they don't like His name. What's at stake is the name of Jesus. What's at stake is the name of Jehovah God. Should we be bold and courageous? Yes. Act silly? No. Act ungodly? No. But to, listen, fearlessly, firmly and calmly defend the name of the Son of God. That is our responsibility. Listen, it doesn't make any difference what anybody thinks. One thing they cannot deny, you have a conviction that you're living by, a boldness they don't have, a courage they cannot understand. And that goes a long ways in your witness and your testimony.
One other thing I would say about this whole idea of how to build courage in our life and I hope you're jotting these things down because they're all important. And the one last thing is this. Not only observing courage in other people and not only having a clear understanding of what's at stake, but the last thing I'd mention is this. And that is recalling the promises of God. Recalling the promises of God. And listen to what He said to Joshua. He said to Joshua, "Be strong and courageous, strong and courageous, strong and courageous". He knew the promises of God to give that land to the Hebrew children of the nation of Israel. God wants us to recall His promises because He's never failed to keep one. What has He already said to us? "I'll never leave you nor forsake you".
Now listen clearly. This is the bottom line of all courage. That you have unwavering faith, in not a fact. You have unwavering faith in the truth that your God is with you in every single circumstance of life every single moment of your life. And that with His presence comes His power, His protection, and His provision.
And Father, how grateful we are for the wonderful truth of Your Word. And that You want us to be bold and courageous. Because You're living on the inside of us, we represent You. I pray the Holy Spirit will speak to every single person who hears this message, pointing them to Yourself as the beginning of all true genuine life, life eternal found in Your Son, Jesus Christ. For we ask it in His name, amen.
Now, I asked you should you be afraid of death so let me say this. If you've never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, let me ask you a question, what's gonna happen to you when you die? You say, Well, I'm going to Heaven. On what basis? I have been... sorry. The Bible is so crystal clear that your behavior and your conduct will not get you into Heaven. So, what's gonna happen to you when you die? Well, I guess I'll just become nothing. Sorry. You're gonna live forever, so that doesn't work. What's gonna happen to you when you die? Well, I guess I'm going to... yes, not guess, you are going to stand in the presence of the Living God and give an account to your life for having rebelled against Him, chosen to live outside of His will and purpose and plan for your life. And you tell me that you're gonna face death with no assurance.
Listen. You say, Well, this is just what I believe. But what is the basis of your belief that you're going to Heaven? What's the basis of it? Do you have a true, genuine, unshakeable provable basis for believing that you're going to Heaven? You gonna face death, no assurance and tell me that you're gonna do it fearlessly and boldly and bravely? No, you're not. It's easy when we're healthy and strong and walking and doing our thing to talk about how bold we are and how brave we are and how courageous we are and how fearlessly we live. When all of a sudden, your strength is gone and you're lying flat on your back, and you can hardly raise a part of your body and you're breathing toward your last breaths and you're telling me that you're courageous when you know that in maybe a few moments or a few hours at the most, you're going to die. And you'll have to admit that it's possible that there is a God, and that He's holy, and that He offers us His Son, Jesus, to die in your behalf and you turn Him down. You'll have to acknowledge that's a possibility. And you're gonna die without Him.
Listen to what God said, not some preacher. "It is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment," period. My friend, the only way to leave this life and head into the next one joyfully, confidently, and courageously is having accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior by faith, which means that you accept His death at Calvary as full payment for your sin. And you're taking Him as your personal Savior. And you can do that by simply asking Him to forgive you of your sin. Telling Him that you do believe that He died in your behalf and that you're receiving Him as your personal Savior here and now. That'll change your eternal destiny.