Faith Over Fear
Notes
Transcript
Each day we have to decide if we are going to let the fear of what is before us keep us from living the way that God wants us to live or are we going to let our faith in the unseen allow us to reach heights we never thought possible.
Every day we must decide if we are going to be ruled by fear or by faith. We cannot allow ourselves to be afraid of everything that comes at us in life. We cannot be afraid to step out in faith because we are afraid to fail.
Today we are going to turn to the book of Joshua chapter 1.
Moses, the leader of the Israelites has died and God is speaking with his successor Joshua.
God is going to encourage Joshua to “Fear Not!”
Joshua is going to be facing what would seem to be an almost impossible task, the task of taking the Israelites into the Promised Land.
Not only is he going to lead the people, he is replacing a legend in Moses who had taken them out of Egypt.
• Let us turn to Joshua 1
• As we look at this passage we will be able to see three things that will allow our faith to overcome our fear!
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying:
2 “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel.
3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.
4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and 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; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.
Our faith can overcome our fear if we understand that:
I. GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES. (6)
I. GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES. (6)
God has just given Joshua a big job to do. I wonder what was going through his mind as he was listening to God?
I am not sure but I think he had to be a bit overwhelmed because you find in these nine verses that God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous three times in verses six, seven and nine.
Joshua 1:5 - 6 (NASB) 5“No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. 6“Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
5 “No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.
6 “Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
After God tells Joshua what He wants him to do, God remind Joshua that Joshua was going to take the people into the land which God swore to their fathers.
God also reminded Joshua that He had been with Moses, so Joshua could see God’s track record.
God is reminding Joshua that God keeps His promises.
One of the things Joshua needed to understand if he was going to let his faith have victory over his fears was understanding that God is the ultimate promise-keeper!
Joshua needs to know this because there would be times where it would look impossible to do some of the things God wanted him to do with the people.
In Romans 4, Paul speaks of Abraham and how Abraham was made right (or justified) by faith.
18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,
Verse 20 tells us that Abraham did not waver in his faith. When things got tough, Abraham had his faith to hold on to. This helped him to overcome fear with faith.
When you are facing a difficult choice, if you understand that God keeps His promises, it will give you something to cling on to.
If you do not believe that God has given you eternal life, you will not stay strong; your fear will overcome your faith.
Take this promise of God for an example....Romans 8:28
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
9 “Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments;
Our faith can overcome our fear if we understand that:
II. OBEDIENCE BUILDS FAITH. (7-8)
II. OBEDIENCE BUILDS FAITH. (7-8)
In verses 7-8 God encourages Joshua to be strong and very courageous!
7 “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.
In the midst of encouraging Joshua to be strong and very courageous, God talks to him about obedience.
He tells Joshua to be CAREFUL to do according to ALL the law which Moses MY servant commanded you.
I find it interesting that God would stress this in the middle of trying to encourage Joshua to be strong and very courageous.
He tells him not to turn from the right or left from what has been commanded by Moses and then God gives Joshua a promise.
If Joshua is obedient God says he will be successful wherever he goes!
God is telling us that our obedience can be a way for us to build a strong faith.
Obedience to God’s word leads to success. But what kind of success?
Faith grows
Fears vanish
God’s increases in your life
You decrease in your life
Replacing fear with faith always comes with obedience.
If you look through out the Bible, people got in trouble when they were being disobedient to God. They would get in trouble when they would rationalize that it was all right to change something God had told them. They would go to the left or right of what God told them. Adam and Eve, David, Saul, and the nation of Israel just to name a few.
Let’s go back to Joshua. Look at verse eight with me.
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 success.
This obedience thing is very important. God tells Joshua that ignorance is no excuse. God tells Joshua that he had better study the Word so he would know it and know what he needed to obey.
Folks, we are cheating ourselves when we do not read, study, and meditate on God’s word.
Obedience is a key to success.
When we are being obedient to God, we can know that we will succeed. We can know that our faith can overcome our fear!
Put time into learning God’s word. God literally wrote the book on how to handle your money, how to be a good parent and spouse. Obedience to God’s word will help you succeed in everything you do.
Our faith can overcome our fear if we understand that:
III. GOD IS ALWAYS WITH US. (9)
III. GOD IS ALWAYS WITH US. (9)
9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
God is encouraging Joshua a third time to be strong and courageous. He further tells him not to tremble or be dismayed!
God gives Joshua a reason that he can be strong and courageous. God is going to go with Joshua no matter where he goes!
God is letting Joshua know he will not be in the battles alone. He will not have to carry out the will of God without God being involved with him!
How many times in your life have you let fear overtake your faith because you thought you were all alone?
I have felt this way at times and it is a terrible feeling. It is a bad thing to feel like you are going into battle all alone.
For a person in Joshua’s position, it can be lonely at the top as they say, but Joshua’s faith can overcome his fear because God is with him every step of the way.
It is sad to see people struggling and struggling by themselves. I se so many folks who run from God when they are having trouble.
God is with you no matter if you feel it or not.
Do you think God sent His Son to die on the cross so He could joyfully sit back and watch you fail? Do you think He wants to watch you waste the sacrifice He made by sending Jesus to die for you?
Do you think that God abandon you? NO! He is with us when we take the bad turns in life. He is there waiting for us to reach out to Him for help.
Many times we let fear overcome us because we feel like we are alone.
God tells Joshua not to even tremble or be dismayed because God is with Him.
I think many times we feel alone because we are not is step with God. It goes back to the obedience thing.
Romans 8:1 reminds us that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.
You are not alone in the dark, God is with you. That should instill the confidence we need in Him to be able to Fear not!
CONCLUSION
You have a choice to make; you either are going to live by fear or by faith.
If we realize that God always keeps His promises; that our obedience to Him can strengthen our faith in Him; and that God is always with us, we are well on our way of living a victorious life God wants us to live. All for His honor and glory of course.
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
The choice us ours, have the abundant life God wants us to have, or we can have the defeated life Satan wants us to have.
Live by faith, not by fear!