to the night before. We had a power outage last night and I was trying to prepare my message and it was dark and then I got up early this morning and I actually prepared my message by candlelight. So I apologize that I don't have a PowerPoint for you. Hopefully I can be dynamic enough that I don't lose your attention but I don't have a PowerPoint for you.
So you're just going to have to follow along. It's going to be audible today. I'd like to speak a word today of encouragement and hopefully my message today will strengthen you and I believe that we as Christians are living in a day when we absolutely need to be strengthened in our conviction and I'm going to be doing a bit of a mini-series looking at lessons in the life of Joshua and the message that I'm going to share today is actually very personal. It affected me a lot because recently I had to make a really tough decision.
I resigned from a company that I spent a lot of time and was very involved in building and I came to some life-altering decisions for me and I had to step out and make a fairly tough decision. Have you ever had a time in your life when you came to a fork in the road? When it was either a left or a right and you had to make a life-altering decision? Well, in recent weeks I came to that fork in the road for myself and I made a hard life-altering decision.
While I was going through that in my daily reading, I was reading through the book of Joshua and God used some of the words of that book to give me strength and courage to step out with God. And so my message today is really focused with a little bit of that background on strength and courage to step out and to follow God. The book of Joshua is a book of courage. It's a book of victory.
Maybe one of the most positive books of all the Old Testament in the life and the history of Israel when it wasn't really focused on their failure, it was focused on their victory. And in our spiritual life, I believe it's more pertinent today, maybe than ever before, that we need to have a life of strength and courage. Maybe what we're going to face as Christians in the near future is really going to bring us to critical moments in our life where we will need to stand for what we know is right. And up until now, life as a Christian in Canada has been pretty easy.
But what I'm sensing is what's coming down the road, it's not going to be that easy. And every time that we are faced with a decision, it's either a decision of compromise or a decision of conviction. When you're faced with life-altering decisions, do you take the easy road? Do you take that emotional decision that says, well, it's comfortable for me just to go along?
Or do you actually take a decision based on your conviction and stand for it? And that's really what I'm going to talk about today. I'm going to ask you to turn to the book of Joshua. And we're going to read, first of all, in Joshua chapter 1.
And we are going to look at lessons in the life of Joshua. I'm going to read a number of different verses and I've asked them to bring it up on the screen. So we're going to look first of all in Joshua chapter 1, and we're going to read at verse 1. Now after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke unto Joshua the son of none, Moses' servant, saying, Moses, my servant is dead.
Now arise and go over this Jordan, thou in all this people into the land that I will give unto them, even unto the children of Israel. Now I want to stop there for a moment. I want to make this point. I believe it was Charles Wesley who first made this comment.
God buries his servants, but his work continues. Moses, the man of God, was one of the greatest leaders of the Old Testament. Maybe of the entire Bible. And God had incredible purpose, but as Joshua was learning through the lessons of his life, it came to a point where now Joshua was raised up to do a work for God.
Now imagine Joshua. He's gone through the desert for 40 years. At this point, there's 2.5 million people. Did you get that?
2.5 million people. There's maybe a million people in Nova Scotia. Joshua has got the charge of 2.5 million people, and God says, get up, go through the river Jordan, and go into a land of fortified cities where there's giants and conquer territory for God. This man has to be strong.
He has to be strong. Here's what God says in verse 3. Every place that the soul of your foot shall tread upon, I have given it unto you. As I said unto Moses, verse 5, this is a tremendous verse.
There shall not be any man able to stand before you all the days of your life. What? There shall not be any man who will ever stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, I will be with you.
I will not fail you, and I will not forsake you. Be strong, and of good courage, for unto this people shall now divide for an inheritance, the land, for seven only be thou strong, and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law which Moses my server commanded thee, turn not from it, not to the right, not to the left, that thou mayest prosper where thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth. But you will meditate therein, day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein, for then, thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Have not I commanded you, be strong, and of good courage, and be not afraid. Neither be thou dismayed for the Lord thy God is with thee wherever you go." So what happened? Moses commanded the officers of the people, passed through the host, and commanded the people, prepare. There are four lessons that I want to present to you that I have learnt myself personally from the life of Joshua.
And if you forget everything that I say, I want you to remember four words, four words. I wish I had them up here on the screen, but just remember these four words. Meditate, move, mortify, and motivate. These are four lessons that God told Joshua if he was going to be successful.
Meditate in the word of God. Don't ever let it depart from your mind. Read it. Meditate upon it, day and night, and obey it.
Secondly, God said this, when God moves, you move in step with God. This is why you got to be strong. You know what happens to us? We get paralyzed by fear.
I don't know if you've ever experienced that, but I have. And I got it just a couple of weeks ago. When God says, get out of the boat. Are you paralyzed by fear?
And Peter in Matthew chapter 14 says, Lord, is it really you? Do you really want me to get out of the boat? God says, come. Peter, the disciples are probably saying, are you out of your mind?
This is a storm. What are you? Peter, get back in the boat. But Jesus said, come.
And Peter puts his hands on the edge of that boat and gets out and starts walking. This is a lesson that Moses learned in his life. God takes him to the river Jordan. We're going to read about it in the second and chapter three.
And God says, when you see the high priest and the ark of the covenant, go down into the river Jordan, then you shall follow. What is the ark of the covenant? It speaks of the presence of God. Can I ask you, brother and sister, I don't know what you're facing in your life, but are you moving in step with God?
When God moves, do you move? Or do you stay on the safety of the shore? It's four lessons that God taught Joshua. He said, number one, meditate on the word of God.
Number two, move and step with God. When God moves in your life, sense it and move with him. I believe that many of us don't reach our full potential in our spiritual development because we missed the opportunity and we don't move sometimes and step with God. Do you know why?
Because we want our comfort. Because sometimes we make easy emotional decisions that are less costly. If we are reading the word of God and if we are convicted by it, we will obey it. And we will step out and we will move when God says move.
Lesson number three, this is probably the toughest lesson in your life. Mortify sin in your life. Wow. This is something that we often don't talk about, but I will say this, every red-blooded human being struggles with sin.
And God says, mortify it. Do you know why? Because sin will destroy you if you don't destroy it. That is an absolute fact.
The end of sin is death. And I'm not sitting here or standing here talking about something that I haven't struggled with myself. I have struggled with it. I'm going to share with you some experiences that I've learned in the life of Joshua.
So when God said meditate on the word of God, what do you think Joshua thought about? What do you think went through his mind? And I'm going to suggest to you what went through his mind. There was a day in Exodus 24 when God called Moses to go up Mount Sinai.
And you know what he did? He took Joshua with him. You can read it. Exodus 24.
Joshua goes up the mountain. A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity of visiting Egypt and I climbed Mount Sinai. And I thought about this very passage. It takes about eight hours to hike up to the top of Mount Sinai.
And it's easier now because they have donkeys than they have a path. But I think of Moses, the man of God, and Joshua is a young man. He had an experience with God in the Mount. And he was there.
And the smoke of God's presence covered the Mount for seven days. And then Joshua is there. And God is giving Moses the law of God. Do you think that made an impression on him?
He probably didn't sleep or eat much for 40 days. He was in the Mount with God. And today when God says, remember to meditate on the law of God. Don't let it depart out of your mouth.
Don't turn left or right. Be accurate. Follow it. Obey it.
He's remembering Mount Sinai. What do you think he's thinking about when he learns this lesson about mortifying sin? Well, there was an experience that Joshua had in Exodus 17 when one day Moses, that man of prayer, he's up on the Mount and he says, Joshua, he says, go choose some men. Go down into the valley and fight Amalek.
Do you know this passage? Exodus 17. Joshua chooses men of courage, men of strength, and goes down into the valley. And he's fighting against Amalek.
Do you know what God said about Amalek? I will utterly destroy Amalek. You can read it. From the face of the earth, I will utterly wipe out his memory.
God says, I will blot out Amalek. Why? Amalek speaks of the flesh. It is a powerful message that God wants to blot out to destroy, to mortify sin in the flesh.
We go a little bit further in the history of the nation. Do you remember when Saul failed in his obedience to God? And they bring out King A-Gag. And Samuel said, well, why haven't you killed him?
And he said, well, I saved. I say, he said, you disobeyed. What did Samuel do with a sword? You could read this.
This is in the Word of God. He took a sword and he cut A-Gag to pieces. You don't happen to Saul? The last reference of Saul's life is in Second Samuel, when he's wounded and he's there on Mount Gilboa.
What happens? And Amalekai comes along and with the sword finishes off Saul. Here's a huge lesson in this. God told Saul to destroy Amalek.
But he let Amalek live. You know what happened in the end of Saul's life? Amalek destroyed him. What a powerful lesson.
When we come to the book of Colossians, it says, mortify the members of our flesh. Put them to death. We all wrestle with this. What an amazing lesson in the life of Joshua.
Joshua, if you're going to reach your full potential for God, you're going to need to meditate on the Word of God. You're going to need to spend time alone with God in the secret place. Can I ask you brother, sister, father, raising children in this wicked world, mothers, do you have that quiet time with God? Meditate on the Word of God.
Let it fill your mind. Let it be the resource from which you make decisions. Meditate on the Word of God. Move and step with God.
You won't be able to move and step with God if you are not dwelling in the presence of God. If you're not walking with God, you're going to miss the way if you're not walking with God. In Psalm 90, it says, no, 91. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
What does Jesus say? He says, don't go say your prayers before all the people. But He says, I say unto you, get into your closet. Call to your God in secret.
And He who sees you in secret will reward you openly. I'm not very bright, but I'm bright enough to know this. You can't do work for God if you haven't dwelt in God's presence. You have no power in yourself.
You can't go down on the street and preach the gospel. You can't have power to witness for Christ. You won't have power to live your life effectively and you won't reach your full potential if you're not spending time in the Word of God meditating on the Scriptures. Meditate in the Word of God.
We're going to read a few verses about that a little bit later. Lesson number one, meditate on the Word of God. Lesson number two, move and step with God. Lesson number three, mortify sin.
When they're about to cross over and go through Jordan, let's read about it. Go to chapter three, Joshua chapter three and verse three. And they commanded the people saying, when you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the priests and the Levites bearing it, you shall remove from your place and you will go after it. Verse five, Joshua said unto the people, sanctify yourselves.
For tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you. You want to see the wonders of God? Sanctify yourself. But in Jesus Saint John chapter 17, he said, sanctify them through thy word, thy truth.
The word is truth. If we are reading the Scriptures, we will become sanctified. Verse seven, in the Lord said unto Joshua, this day, today I will begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, I will be with you. Verse 10, Joshua said, hereby shall ye know that the living God is among you, and he will without fail, drive out from you the Canaanites, the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the parasites, and the Jesuitsites, and the Amorites, and the Jesuitsites.
That's a promise from God. Guess what happens when they get to chapter five? Verse two, at that time the Lord said unto Joshua, make sharp knives. Ouch.
Make sharp knives and circumcise the children of Israel the second time. There is a deep spiritual lesson. There comes times in our life when the flesh must be cut off. It's a hard lesson.
It's very, very uncomfortable in a spiritual sense to be able to mortify sin in your life. Now maybe I'm speaking to somebody here today and you're not a Christian. And you don't know what I'm talking about. If you are a believer, you will have this conflict, this battling of the flesh.
If you are an unbeliever, maybe you are completely oblivious to what the battle between the spirit and the flesh is. Let me just say to you, all of us have sinned against God. Every one of us have a sinful nature. And if we follow our sinful nature, it will take us down a path of destruction and we will end eventually in hell and we will be punished for our sin.
There is a monster living inside every one of us that will destroy our life. Maybe you're new to this church. Maybe you're sitting here and you're wondering what does God have for me? God wants to save you.
God wants to cleanse you from your sin. God wants to make you something for God. He wants to sanctify you. And that's why Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.
Every single one of us have fallen short of God's glory. We are sinners. On the cross. 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ died for our sin.
He was buried and he rose again and he is alive. He conquered sin, death, hell and the grave. And he's given us a victory. If you have never come to know Jesus Christ in your life, you're dead.
Dead in sins and trespasses. You haven't experienced this other dimension of life. Have a spiritual living vital relationship with God and Jesus Christ. And you need to be saved.
Because when you humble yourself, bow your knees before God and say, God, I have sinned. I'm guilty. Forgive me. God will say to that person that he's found a ransom.
And the ransom is found in Jesus Christ. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's son cleanses us from all sin. You need to get life if you're dead. You need to have a relationship with God.
And then you need to get on this path of following God and having victory in your Christian life and being strong in your faith. Those are the lessons that God's teaching Joshua. So here's another big lesson. Motivation for living.
Can I ask you a question? What are you living for? Well, you know, here's the all American Canadian dream. You get a good education.
You go to college. You go to university. You accumulate student debt. You get a job.
You get a mortgage. You have a wife. You have children. You settle in.
You try to have a nice vacation. You try to build our recipes. You make it through life. Hopefully you get to retirement if you don't get laid off or...
And then you die. What is your life? What are you living for? If you were to take the whole 70, 80, maybe of God gives you 90 years and distill it all down.
What is your life worth? What are you living for? Do you know what God wants to give you? Abundant life.
And it requires hard decisions. It requires following God taking up your cross. Mortifying sin. Believing God stepping out in faith.
Following Jesus Christ. Do you want to make something out of your life? I do. I don't want my years to be wasted.
That's why I go down and tell people the gospel. You want to make something out of your life? Raise your children for God. In still, into them Christian values.
Read the scriptures at your table. Get down on your knees. Let your children hear you. Call upon God for their salvation.
Live the Christian life before them. Don't just talk about it. Let your life be that role model of living for God. Having a job and making money and paying your mortgage is just the side things of life.
That's not life in itself. Because we are eternal beings. We have a soul inside of us. And when the body dies and goes to the grave, the soul goes on.
One day you're going to stand before God. We shall all give account for the things done in the body. Whether they have been pleasing to God or not. And if we are going to reach our full potential for God to have spiritual victory, we're going to need to meditate on the Word of God.
We're going to need to move in step with God. We're going to need to mortify sin. We're going to need to be motivated to living for Christ. Turn over to Joshua 24.
I want to challenge you with this verse today. Joshua 24 and verse 15. When Joshua gets to this point in his life, he's 110 years old. Okay, let me just back out for a second.
Let me tell you a little bit about Joshua. Joshua was born into slavery in Egypt. Yes, he experienced slavery. Joshua trained under Moses.
He saw the mighty works of God when God brought them out. He was strong in faith. He wholly followed the Lord. Just two people.
It's set up in the nation that wholly followed the Lord. He was spirit led and spirit filled. It says that about him. Filled with the Spirit of God.
He was fierce in his exploits for God. Conquering territory for God. You know what Joshua did? In the daytime, he was fighting the armies and the battles of God, and he was killing, and he was destroying people that God said, go into that land and utterly destroy them.
We're going to read this verse and most people take huge exception to this as written in the Bible. They say, how can that be the God of the Bible? God said, go into these cities and utterly destroy everything that breathes. Man, woman, child, ox, donkey, everything.
That's a very, very, very strange thing to come from the God of the Bible. But there's a reason for that. And I'm going to explain it to you a little bit later. This man conquered territory for God.
He was fierce. He was obedient to following God's word and his commands. And he did most of his mighty works in his life after he was 90. Did you get that?
When Caleb and Joshua are at Kedish Barnea. And God says, go into the land, conquer this nation. I am with you. Joshua and Caleb, they go and they spy out the land and they come back and they say, yes, we can do this.
And everybody else says, are you out of your mind? We can't do this. This is crazy. We are not equipped.
There's giants. You should see these grapes. They're huge. They're fortified cities.
We can't do it. Joshua and Caleb, holy, follow the Lord. This man was all in for God. To an avenue.
He spent from the time he was 40 until the time he was 80. Would you not say those are the best years of your life? From the time you're 40 to the time you're 80. He spent 38 years wandering in the desert because of someone else's sin.
But you know what? He never got discouraged. He never disengaged. He never threw his hands up and said, I'm done with this God.
No, he had a vision. He had a focus. He holy followed the Lord. And when he crossed over the Jordan and he's going into the land.
Remember that day what we're going to read about it? Because I'm going to go through a number of messages on this. But Caleb comes to me and he says, give me this mountain. And he says, Joshua, you remember when we were at Kedish, you remember I was going to go into the land.
You remember that Moses promised. He says, I am now over 80 years old. And he said, my strength is not abated. I am as strong this day as I was 40 years ago.
Give me this mountain. There's a man of courage. There's a man of strength and boldness. Can I ask you a question?
What are the mountains that you're trying to conquer in your life? I don't know what they are. But maybe you are sitting here right now and you're struggling with a mountain in your life. Maybe it's addiction that you're trying to get away from.
Maybe it's a financial mountain that is insurmountable. Maybe it's depression anxiety. Maybe it's a health issue. Maybe it's a wayward son or a wayward child that's gone away from God and you struggle with it.
Can I give you some encouragement today? Here's what Jesus said. Not my words. Here's what Jesus said.
If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you would say unto this mountain, be removed and be cast into the sea. And you would obtain that promise. This is the character of Joshua and Caleb. These were men that said, give me this mountain.
I will conquer territory for God. Joshua moved every day with the promise. There's not a man that will ever be able to stand against you. Every piece of ground that the soul of your footsteps on I will give to you.
Can I give you encouragement, Church? If God be for us, who can be against us? One man totally sold over to God against the whole world as a majority. I am learning these lessons again and again in my life.
It is hard to face a very tough decision that you know you will morally compromise your own conscience if you go along with it. It's an easy route and you say no. I will not do this. Let me give you some examples.
Do you know a man called Joseph? A young man, a handsome man, a man who had all the red blood that you have. And he was faced one day with a temptation. There was no one in the house.
And Potiphar's wife says, lay with me. And he said, I will not do this wickedness and sin against the Lord God. That was a decision of conviction, not a decision of compromise. How about Abraham?
God promised that all the promises of God are in his son Isaac. And God takes him up a mountain. And God says, put your son on the altar and kill him. And Abraham is like, I can't do this.
But you know what? Abraham obeyed God. And it was counted to him for righteousness. That was a life altering decision of conviction.
Let me take you to another one. One day, Naomi, she's in the country far away from God in Moab. And here's Ruth and Orpah. And she's got two daughter-in-law's in.
She said, I'm going back. I'm going back to God. I'm going back to the house of bread and going back to Bethlehem. And they go so far.
And they get to a fork in the road. And Orpah says, I can't go with you. I'm going to return. She says, go.
Return. Ruth says, I'll go with you. Naomi says, no. Just go back to your own country.
Find somebody to marry. Just that's what you know. That's what you're familiar with. Just what does Ruth say?
No. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God. Where you go, I will go.
Where you die, I will die. What a life altering decision of conviction. Did God bless her for that? You want to believe God blessed her for that.
Did she know what was going to happen when she gets to Bethlehem? No. That's where I am. That's where you are in your life right now.
We make tough decisions of conviction. And we step out of the boat and we follow God. And you know what he does? He opens up the way.
He gives us the courage to have faith to follow, to stand for conviction, to meditate on the word of God and to step out with God. I don't know what you're facing in your life, but I think some of you right here are sitting here right now. I've got some pretty tough things to face in the next week, maybe two weeks. I'm trying to strengthen your faith.
And I'm going to tell you this, if you are walking and step with God, and if you are convicted and you have waited in prayer, and it lines up with the word of God, whatever he says to you, do it. What did Mary say in John chapter 2? Jesus, they have no wine. You remember that story?
She says to the servant, she said, listen, whatever he says to you, do it. I say that to you today. If you are walking with God, and you are reading the scriptures, and you are convicted about something, whatever he says to you, do it. Step out with God, you will never be disappointed.
I want to show you some practical, exhortive verses in the New Testament that's backing up everything that I'm saying, because I never want anyone to think that I'm just out here, basically giving you my own thinking. I want to show you what the scripture says. So I'd like you to turn to Ephesians chapter 6. Ephesians chapter 6, and if you could pull it up here, it would be great.
Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 10. This is what God says to you right now. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and against rulers of darkness in this world and in spiritual places of wickedness.
Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God. Where do you get the armor of God? Right here in this book, it is the truth of the living God. That's why you need to read it, meditate upon it, get it into your heart, and stand on it.
Take on the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day. What day is that? That's today. Okay, here's a wake-up call if you haven't figured this out.
Today is an evil day. This is an evil day. This is an evil day that you may be able to stand in the evil day, having done all to stand, stand therefore. There's some action required here.
There's some courage. There's some boldness. Do you have it in your bones to stand for what is right? It's going to cost you.
I'm telling you right now because I've experienced some of this stuff. It's going to cost you. But you need to stand for what is right. And then you know the rest of the verse.
That's a very practical application. I want to turn to Psalm chapter 1 for a second. You know, a lot of people will say that, oh man, my life is busy. I don't have time to meditate on the scriptures.
I really don't. I got a lot going on in my life and my days are packed. I got kids. I got a busy career going on and I really don't have a lot of time.
You know the greatest enemy of today's world is in this evil day? Right here. It's called the iPhone. Do you know what this does?
It sucks your time. Completely sucks your time. And I'm telling you, full disclosure, me too. This right here is the enemy.
This right here is your friend, the word of God. And I'm going to tell you what it says in Psalm 1. Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly. Nor stands in the way of sinners.
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of God. Doesn't this sound like Joshua? Yes.
Meditate on the law of God. His delight is in the law of God. And in his law, does he meditate day and night? What are the benefits?
He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season. Its leaf shall not wither. And whatsoever he does shall prosper. Do you know what God said about Israel?
This verse just came to mind. It's not in the script. Jeremiah chapter 2. My people have committed two evils.
I think it's Jeremiah 2 and 13. My people have committed two evils. They have forsaken the fountain of life. And they have hewn out their own cisterns that are empty, that hold no water.
Where are your resources coming from? The iPhone? This is a broken cistern that holds no water. Or the word of God.
The source of eternal joy. The source of eternal life. If you get nothing else today, get this. Meditate on the word of God.
Read it. Digest it. Think about it. And let it change your life from the inside.
I want to show you a new testament passage. Go to 1 Timothy chapter 4. First Timothy chapter 4. Let no man despise I youth.
Verse 12. Be down example of the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to the iPhone. No, it doesn't say that.
Till I come, give attendance to reading. Neglect not the gift of God. Give attendance to doctrine. Neglect not the gift of God that is in the, that was given the by prophecy with the laying on the hands of the press security.
Meditate. There's my word. Meditate upon these things. Give thyself wholly to them that thy profiting may appear to all.
I'm going to tell you something. We have all heard many people speak, preach sermons. We see them all on YouTube. I don't know if you watch sermons on YouTube or not.
There's a difference between a person that has been in the presence of God and has power with God and has conviction and can speak truth that resonates and somebody that's just up here talking. You know what? Words are cheap and words are empty, but conviction is powerful and the living word of God will never return void will always accomplish what God intends it for. It's a sharp two-edged sword and it cuts into our very conscience and it changes us.
I counsel you today to let the word of God cut your heart. Let it get into your soul. Follow it. Pursuit.
Meditate upon it. And then your profiting will be seen to all. In 1 Peter 2, it says, desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby. Okay, so God wants us to grow.
Yeah, I missed this. I want to go over this for a second. What does God want from us in our life? He wants us to be strong in faith.
He wants us to read the scriptures and he wants us to grow. Are you growing in your spiritual life? Are you the same that you were five years ago, 10 years ago, or maybe have you regressed? God wants us to grow.
How do you grow? You grow in faith. You grow in grace. You grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
You know what Paul said in Hebrews chapter 5? I think it's a relevant statement today. Paul is writing to these people and he says, by this time you ought to be teachers. You ought to be teachers, but you're still on the milk.
Are we growing spiritually? Can I challenge you today to have a spiritual mandate to grow? How about serving God in your life? You know, there's four or five things that probably are the most predominant things that prevent us from serving God.
I'm going to tell you what they are and you tell me if you think they're right or not. Four or five things that prevent us from serving God. Number one, fear. Fear.
We are paralyzed by fear. We don't want to do something because it's going to cost us. Number two, lack of faith. We really don't.
We really don't. We don't want to ask God for too much. You know what happens when you ask God for too much? What if he doesn't answer?
Let me tell you a really beautiful story. Joshua is in a battle and a battle is a thick hard battle and he's running out of time because he looks at his iPhone watch and he goes, the sun's going down. My job's not finished. I got him.
I got to finish this battle. And you know what it says? He says before all Israel, not just like, God, please, please do this for me. I, I, I, no, he says in front of all Israel, stand still in the sky, thou son and thou moon.
Don't move. I need another 24 hours to finish this battle. You should read it. Guess what happened?
The sun stood still in the sky and the moon did not change for the space of a full day. Do you know what it says in that verse? It says on that day, the Lord listened to a man. Do you think God hears you when you pray?
He does. Do you have enough faith to ask God for something big? Ask God for something that's out of the ordinary? Step out with God.
Ask God for something that's big. How about Elijah? He was a man of light passion as we are. And he prayed that it would not rain and it rained not in the earth for a space of three years.
And he prayed again that it would rain and it rained. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man. Who's a righteous man? Someone who's meditating on the word of God.
Someone who's obeying the truth of God. Someone who has confidence that steps out with God. Joshua was that man. He was a man who had power with God.
You know, they say about ships that they look so beautiful, tied up in the harbor and they're so pristine and ships weren't made to be tied up in the harbor. They're made to be out crossing the sea in the billows of the ocean. Are you going to be a person that just plays it safe all your life? Like a ship that's just at the dock tied up and you don't want to go out there in case something might happen to you?
Or would you rather be willing to put yourself out there and to move and step with God do something big for God. Do something. Ask God for some crazy miracle and watch him work in your life. In 2 Timothy 1 and 7 it says this, God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power and of a sound mind.
1 John 5 and verse 4 says this, this is the victory that overcomes the world. Even our faith. This is the victory that overcomes the world. Even our faith.
I want to encourage you today to grow spiritually. To walk with God. To make life altering decisions that are based on the conviction of the scripture. And I'd really like to see everyone in this church press on to spiritual maturity.
Salvation is just the starting point. That's where we begin. But our life in development with God in spiritual maturity is where we really experience God in our life. I'm going to leave you.
You might call it a benediction. I'm going to leave you with a couple of verses that I want to read and then I'm finished. It's in 2 Peter chapter 1. Peter gives us his godly words of wisdom.
2 Peter chapter 1. Here's what he says. We're going to read at verse 4. By which are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises.
That by these you might be partakers of the divine nature. Having escaped the corruption that is in this world through lust. And beside this give all diligence. Add to your faith virtue and to virtue knowledge and to knowledge self control and to self control patience and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness love.
And then it says this. If these things be in you and abound they make you that you will neither be barren or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacks these things is blind and cannot see far off and has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather brother and give diligence to make your calling and election sure for if you do these things you will never fall.
Wow. What an amazing promise from God. I hope that today we've all been strengthened from the word of God. Whatever challenges you're facing this week read the scriptures.
Move in step with God. Step out in faith. Pray and grow spiritually. Let's pray.
Father we thank you today for the word of God. We thank you that you have given us the victory that is in Jesus Christ. We thank you that even as you said to Joshua that there will be not a man that will ever stand against you all the days of your life. You have said to us I will never leave you nor forsake you.
So that I may boldly say the Lord is my helper. And if God before us who can be against us help us Lord to go on the strength of these words today. Help us to step out in faith. Help us to grow unto spiritual maturity.
Help us Lord to gain victory and claim territory and possess the land spiritually for God. So that the days of our life at the end of our days would be something that would be valuable and of eternal value as it goes through the fire of God when we stand before you. We love you and we thank you for this time that we can open the scriptures and we pray that you would encourage and bless this church as we part. And we give thanks Lord for food.
We're about to partake of this great dinner that has been prepared and we just pray that you would bless it to us and we thank you for it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.