WHAT DOES GOD MEAN BY BEING STRONG AND COURAGEOUS IN LIVING AND FACING OUR CHRISTIAN LIFE?
( Joshua 1:9 ) [9]Have not
I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be
thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
*
INTRODUCTION:
a.
Joshua in this situation will take over the leadership of the Israelites, the
people of God. Joshua needs strong and serious encouragement from God because
Joshua surely will be discouraged when there is a group of people that do not agree
to his leadership. Also, Joshua needs to be strong and be courageous against the
enemy of the people of God.
c. So
Joshua needs to be strong and be courageous; it is very important armor for Joshua. He needed more physical armor to face. To be strong and courageous is spiritual
armor we Christians always need in
order to face our widespread enemy, the Devil.
( Ephesians 6:10-18 ) [10]Finally,
my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
[11]Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be
able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
[12]For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
[13]Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of
God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to
stand.
[14]Stand therefore, having your loins girt about
with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
[15]And your feet shod with the preparation of the
gospel of peace;
[16]Above all, taking the shield of faith,
wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
[17]And take the helmet of salvation, and the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
[18]Praying always with all prayer and
supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and
supplication for all saints;
5.
BIBLICAL REASONS WHY GOD SAID TO JOSHUA TO BE STRONG AND GOOD COURAGE.
1.
BECAUSE GOD IS ALWAYS WITH JOSHUA.
* God
is bigger and more powerful than our enemy, the Devil.
* God
is a Creator God, and the Devil is only a creature of God.
* God
is an all-knowing God. He knows how to defeat the enemy, the Devil.
2.
BECAUSE GOD IS ALWAYS READY TO PROTECT US FROM THE ATTACK OF THE DEVIL.
(Psalms 91:1-10) [1]He that
dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of
the Almighty.
[2]I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my
fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
[3]Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of
the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
[4]He shall cover thee with his feathers, and
under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
[5]Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by
night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
[6]Nor for the pestilence that walketh in
darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
[7]A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten
thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
[8]Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see
the reward of the wicked.
[9]Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my
refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
[10]There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall
any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
3.
BECAUSE GOD DESIGNED THE LIFE OF THE CHRISTIAN TO ALWAYS BE VICTORIOUS IN
CHRISTIAN LIFE.
( I Corinthians 15:57 ) But thanks
be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
* ( 1 John 5:4-5 ) [4]For
whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that
overcometh the world, even our faith.
[5]Who is he that overcometh the world, but he
that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
*
Jerusalem Church always experiences a deep persecution from the hand of sinful
people in the world, but God always protects them.
( Acts 5: 17-20 ) [17]Then
the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of
the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,
[18]And laid their hands on the apostles, and put
them in the common prison.
[19]But the angel of the Lord by night opened the
prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,
[20]Go, stand and speak in the temple to the
people all the words of this life.
* ( Acts 5:26-29 ) [26]Then
went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they
feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.
[27]And when they had brought them, they set them
before the council: and the high priest asked them,
[28]Saying, Did not we straitly command you that
ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with
your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.
[29]Then Peter and the other apostles answered and
said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
4.
BECAUSE GOD HAS ALL THE SUPPORT FOR GOD'S PEOPLE TO BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS IN
THEIR CHRISTIAN LIFE.
* The
prayer of God's people is big support.
( Jeremiah 33:3 ) Call unto
me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou
knowest not.
* The
united prayers of the local Church.
( Acts 1: 13-15 ) [13]And
when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both
Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and
Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of
James.
[14]These all continued with one accord in prayer
and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his
brethren.
[15]And in those days Peter stood up in the midst
of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred
and twenty,)
5.
BECAUSE GOD SENT THE HOLY SPIRIT TO US TO HELP US TO BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS
IN CHRISTIAN LIFE.
( John 16:13 ) Howbeit
when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he
shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak:
and he will shew you things to come.
( Acts 1:8 ) But ye
shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall
be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and
unto the uttermost part of the earth.
* The
Holy Spirit helps us to do the right things God wants us to do.
( Romans 8: 26-31 ) [26]Likewise
the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray
for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be uttered.
[27]And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what
is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints
according to the will of God.
[28]And we know that all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose.
[29]For whom he did foreknow, he also did
predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the
firstborn among many brethren.
[30]Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he
also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified,
them he also glorified.
[31]What shall we then say to these things? If God
be for us, who can be against us?
* God
bless you all always. *
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