Be Courageous!
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September 10, 2007 |
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 "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..." (Joshua 1:7-9)
The kind of courage of which God speaks is not physical or material courage with which the people of this world are familiar; it is spiritual courage and confidence by which we will be unashamed and without fear before the all-knowing God who is to judge according to His justice. It also refers to the kind of courage by which one can make any sacrifice – even it means the loss of his own life – to accomplish the kingdom of God.
God desires His children to become courageous workers showing His grace and saving countless souls wherever and with whoever they are. What steps can we take to become spiritually courageous workers of God?
1.We must abide by and put into practice "all the law," which is God's Word.
The passage on which the message in this issue is based, Joshua 1:7-9, is God's Word for Joshua who is on the verge of conquering Canaan. Before entering the Promised Land of Canaan, the Israelites first had to cross the overflowing Jordan River and battle the people already living there. That is when God promised to be with Joshua at all times and told him to be "courageous."
Yet, God's promise was conditional on one factor: the Israelites were "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" (Joshua 1:7). Joshua made sure to obey all of God's commandments and, with God at his side, Joshua was able to conquer Canaan.
This applies to all of you today as well. Through His death on the cross for the sinners, Our Lord has indeed set us free from the curse of the law, which dictates, "The wages of sin is death." That does not mean, however, we have also been set free from having to obey the law. The fact that Our Lord has fulfilled the law with love signifies that we are to obey the law not only out of formality but with a heart filled with love so that we could obey the law – God's Word – more wholly. Only when we wholly obey and live by God's Word and walk in the light can we boldly drive away darkness and be victorious.
1 John 3:21-22 tell us, "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight," while 1:6 reminds us, "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth."
One may claim to be a child of God but without living by His Word, she could not say she has fellowship with Him. God is almighty and therefore can give His children anything they desire but if they fail to live by His Word and walk in the light, God will be unable to give them freely and His children could not ask Him for things with confidence.
Yet, if you walk in the light by putting to practice each of God's commandments you learn, you will have the confidence and receive from Him everything for which you ask.
Of course, the pursuit of trying to live by God's Word can bring about a variety of trials of faith. If we make certain not to turn to the right or to the left, however, courage will settle in our heart and we will easily overcome any difficulties.
2.Our hearts must never waver.
When you first accepted the Lord and received the Holy Spirit, you were probably filled with joy and gladness in knowing that you had received the kind of love that no one in this world could give. You probably changed on at full speed to cast off all untruths and accomplish a truthful and spiritual heart.
Yet, as time passed or as you endured trials of different sorts, has your heart changed? Has the praise stemming from true joy disappeared? Have you ceased praying? Have you ever felt burdened by God's Word as you came to realize that you were unable to keep all the commandments and begun harboring things of this world in your heart, caught up in idle thoughts, and wasted your time away?
You may renew the vow made to yourself to be transformed each moment you receive and experience God's grace but with such a wavering heart, when difficulties come your way, that vow may be destroyed and you may find yourself back at the starting point. When these patterns are repeated, frustration and feeling of emptiness at your unchanged self will only grow. In such a state, you will not be able to ask God for the desires of your heart with confidence and even if you did ask Him, His answers will be slow in coming.
People's heart wavers because of their willingness and desire to switch their attitude and positions depending on each situation. Therefore, you must make every effort to cast off hearts of the flesh and "Watch over your heart with all diligence" through fervent prayer (Proverbs 4:23); even if you may have accomplished your heart with the truth up to a certain point, all that for which you have worked could come crashing down at any moment if you fail to watch over your heart.
Therefore, you have to make a relentless effort to watch over your heart and cast off the fleshly heart. Only then will you have accomplished an unwavering spiritual heart and gain confidence before God. Furthermore, entering New Jerusalem (Revelation 21) which you desire the most requires you to keep running forward without wavering.
At times, as you march onward towards whole spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23) and New Jerusalem and discover untruths within yourself, you may feel as though your heart remains unchanged and may even wonder, 'Can someone like me go to New Jerusalem?' However, casting off evil and accomplishing sanctification cannot be done by our own might alone. Of course, striving to cast off untruths in obedience of God's Word is our share of work but we must also believe that we can cast off untruths by God's power (1 Thessalonians 5:24).
Therefore, you need not be worried about your present condition but, in firm belief that you will be transformed by God's power and be led to New Jerusalem, and always keeping in mind God's grace by which He guides and transforms you, you must keep watch over your heart and put God's Word into practice at all times. As you will then be able to show the deeds of your obedience to the Word, your life will be filled with experiences of the power of the almighty God by having confidence before Him and receiving whatever you ask Him.
3.You must love God above all else and have the heart to love others.
In the end times in which we live, it has become difficult to find true love as love has grown increasingly cold in people's heart. Even at a time when love has become depleted, God still wishes to pour out His love and give us everything in His love.
Furthermore, God is merciful and full of compassion for the mankind tormented by sin. Remember that the Lord loved us sinners to the point of sacrificing Himself on the cross. If you fathom this love of our God and Lord, it will be easy for you to live by God's commandments. Even if you are punished for the sins you commit out of your weakness, you will nevertheless feel the earnest love of the Father who does not wish His children to end up in death.
Spiritual love, however, is not something you can readily share or show merely by having heard God's Word and thus knowing and understanding a great deal about it. In order for one to love God above all else and love others from the heart, he must first fathom God's love from the depths of his heart and must accomplish his heart by the truth as much and often as he hears the Word. Only then will spiritual love settle in his heart, and only this kind of love accomplished in the depths of the heart will be the strength by which one can be courageous and victorious.
The man of faith Joshua could lead the Israelites because he had his mentor Moses who had trod the same path before him. Moses was filled with love and more kind-hearted than anyone; in his love for God and the Israelites, Moses could boldly pass through the treacherous wilderness.
Anyone who is confident before God is confident not because of his own strong-willed personality or because he is equipped with the knowledge of the truth. Spiritual confidence and courage are accompanied by meekness; it is the kind of confidence and courage by which you tolerate and embrace all people and become filled with love, kind-hearted, and bold so that you will be able to magnificently accomplish God's kingdom and righteousness.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, by possessing the kind of courage and confidence of which God speaks, may each of you boldly testify to the works of the Holy Spirit and bring many souls to salvation so that you will be rewarded the position of great glory in heaven, in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ I pray!
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