Be Strong and Courageous: Joshua's Faithfulness

Show Notes

Episode 478: 
In this episode, The Bible Guys dive deep into the book of Joshua, exploring the themes of faithfulness, courage, and obedience. They start by discussing the transition from Moses to Joshua, highlighting Joshua's 40 years of faithful service and leadership preparation. They unpack Joshua chapter one, focusing on God's command to Joshua to be strong and courageous. They discuss the importance of meditating on God's word, obeying His commands, and the promise of success that comes from aligning with God's will.

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You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in practical ways. Okay, we're back. I'm Jeff and this is Kyle, and we are the Bible Guy. That's right where the Bible Guys this week? Anyway, Yes we are. Chris is out of town and so I have the great privilege of being with Kyle dobbin Meyer. Kyle is a good leader and a good Bible guy, and so I think it's gonna be fun to this. I'm excited. So we have to talk about this in fun and practical ways. Yes, you heard the rolling, Yes, so exactly, let's do it too. So one of the things, you know we've been talking about was, you know Moses. We we read earlier this week. You know Moses, he's passed epic life. Yes, and so you know we've been talking a little bit about our ministry experiences. You and that's right because Moses and us were very very similar to you means easy comparis. So I'm going to ask you a few questions actually about my ministry experience and see if you. Know me very well and I know Jeff, you know, oh yeah, here. I swear he remembers everything he reads or sees, so this may be easier for him, but I'm gonna try to keep I'll keep an easy one. Okay, we'll start off an easy one. So you're going to ask yes, your like ministry history questions to see how well I know. It, and I'll probably stick with true and faulty like that sort of thing. Okay, Okay, well this is assuming I've been paying attention. Well, yeah, exactly, who knows? Who knows? And yes, some of these you'll be like, what was your name again, Carl? You just introduced me. Okay, So first thing, first things first, and hey, hopefully you're paying attention earlier. But when I was did I did I feel called in the ministry when I was younger? Like when I when I was growing up? Was there ever a time where I felt called in the ministry? Called in the ministry? I know you resisted being called in the ministry when you were young? Did you feel called? No? Yeah? I think yeah, I think you you were paying attention to an episode. Or two ago. That's good. So yeah, so you didn't feel cold. It wasn't until I was older. I was actually twenty two on a mission trip to Westford and and the church I was a part of. I was serving as a high school leader. Wow, and had no interest ever before that, Just like you, I was like, you know, resistant to the whole idea for sure. Good okay, okay, well that was good. Then I knew that one. Yeah. Yeah. What year did did I start at Heritage Church? What year? Oh? No, you've been here? This is a tough one. Yeah. Well, see, COVID messes everything that does. Uh COVID was what eighteen years ago? It was like, yeah, hang on a second, I know this one. Have you been with us eight years? Nine years, seven years, seven years, seven years? Okay, I knew that years. Yeah, so then that would be twenty seventeen. Okay, yes, it was good. Yeah. I was trying to so I offered you a job when my son was getting ready to marry your sister, and so I was trying to remember how long of them been married? That that's why what year was it? Twenty seventeen? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, okay, I mean there there was a lot of trains, a few things, you know, in twenty seventeen and twenty eighteen. Uh that God was I think testing and challenging with hair, but also a lot of great things. There was the kids space, there was the youth space, and also that's when I started. So a lot of great things happened that year. Yeah, okay, next question. So I was a youth pastor for ten plus years. Did I ever leave a student on a trip? Accidentally leave? Did you ever leave a student? I'm almost positive you did. Okay, yeah, didn't you? No, I didn't you never have that one. No, I said, I did. You ever leave? Because you were a youth pastor for a long time, I never did. So I threatened till if I told everybody, if you weren't on time, I'll pull away and leave. Yeah. And there's been more than one time. I was driving to the front of the parking lot when somebody came running you know. Oh yeah, we weren't asking to leave. Yeah. When I think back on that, I was kind of I mean, I was kind of a jerk sometimes, but you know, for some of it, for good reason. We go on these mission trips cross country, be driving, you pull and forty fifty people with you, and you're just thinking we're getting the car, use the bathroom now. By the time we get in the car. We're not stopping these big vans. And if you know who Connor meat is, feel free to give him a shout out, because that kid, we would he would it be an hour down the road. He'd be like, I have to use the bathroom. I'd be like, nope, no, And I did not win any favor with his parents for a period of time there. But Connor meade smallest bladder on the trip for a while there. So man, But so for me, I've always been I hate being I hate being a minute late. Yeah, okay, hate it. Hate being a minute late. So I always shoot for being five ten minutes early. And then if I say, well, sometimes and you've been a part of this before, sometimes where we've had there's traffic problems out out on the road or whatever, and people come say, hey, we need to start the service, you know, five minutes late, and I'm like, no, we start on time. Remember, it's just a frustrating thing for people. So as a youth pastor, I was like, if I say we leave at five, I do not mean we leave at five fifteen or five o five. The youth pastors, I will leave you. At five o'clock, right, and your mom and dad will have to figure out how to get you home or whatever. Yeah, and my kids were always just scared enough that I really would do it that I never had the leavening. I just want to brag for a minute, as just because you understand the challenge of this and the youth when you're homeing people across country. I made an agenda. This is I don't know, eight nine years ago, coming home from Nashville, Tennessee with the group of students. And I made an agenda three months before the trip, and that I gave you to the parents where I said I'd be home on Saturday at four thirty pm or whatever whatever. The time was, four thirty pretty much Saturday. I had made that agenda. We pulled into the parking lot at four thirty pm, literally, and you're talking. We stayed in the hotel the night before. We got a couple of gas breaks along the way. That's impressive. We stopped and got gas off the exit off six ninety six, and I was like, I told people, four thirty And it's funny because I. Was doing ninety five miles an hour and a bus is not a good way to do that. Yeah, but I was pretty proud of myself. I was made to speed limits and yeah you got them there. Good job, Okay, okay, good hey man, Okay, so you didn't have to leave anybody. Did you have another one? Yeah, I'll give you another one, just a truer false question. And this is for anybody who pays attention to famous mega church pastors. Okay, true or false that I met Stephen Ferdick. You met Stephen Ferdick. I'm going to say that is false, and you. Are right, good jolly. I never met him. No, okay, I don't think. I think he's a good speaker, but I'm not actually, actually, I don't think I've been to a conference. Oh maybe I did. I went to I went to a to one that. Hed Kregershell and him or the or the or the headlining speakers, which I'd like to meet Gregorshell. That'd be cool, right, Yeah, he's a great leader. He'd probably greatly like five minutes of nuggets of wisdom and great leader. Yes, great? Yeah, Well, good, Hey, that was very interesting and I think I got three three, three out of four. You assumed I left a kid at I as soon. As you left one, But I remember Zarba did and I thinking, you know, as youth pastors, if you haven't almost left a kid, Oh yeah, you're not that good of a youth passage that you're not trying hard though, did you almost? Absolutely? Okay? Well good, well, hey, Now Moses in this past as we're going through the key passages throughout the Old Testament, we've gone through Genesis through Deuteronomy, which are the called the Books of Moses. Obviously, the last couple of words in the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses didn't write about his own death right, so somebody buttons that up. I think the way that it's so kind to Moses and all those things, I bet you it was Joshua. They helped write that, or somebody like that, like Joshua. But then, just before Moses dies at one hundred and twenty years old, he lays hands on Joshua and he says, be strong and courageous. God's going to use you to lead the people into Israel, right into the Promised Land, and there's going to be battles ahead, so you're gonna have to be strong and courageous. Well, then, now in Joshua, Chapter one, very creative title to Joshua's book, it's called Joshua, and it's all about his leadership and how God uses names. There's not the Book of Moses anywhere, right, but there's Joshua has one book, and it's called Joshua. So in Joshua chapter one, it says, after the death of Moses, the Lord's servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua, son of Nun, Moses's assistant. He said, Moses, my servant is dead. Therefore the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River, into the land I'm giving them. I promise you what I promised Moses. Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you. From the Negev Wilderness in the south to the Lebanon Mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites. No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live, for I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction, continually meditate on it day and night. You'd be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then you will prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord, your God is with you wherever you go. Yeah. Wow, that's a man. I love that. It's my favorite, my favorite leadership passage in the whole bottom my gosh, right there. Love it. Yes. In fact, a lot of people I know, I know, people like Joshua. One nine is like a life verse, right in so many ways. Well, I mean, you could really go this entire little section here, But for somebody who's looking for a life verse, if you're out there and you're like, man, I don't have a life verse, this is a good one to adopt, right, just because I mean I think we could remember this on a daily basis, right, Yep. I think. Uh, we're quick to embrace the verse nine, be strong and courageous, and I'm gonna bless you. Uh, and we forget study this book of instruction cantatally, meditate on it day and night so you'll be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. That is an unbeliev promise from God. So we like the be strong and courageous, and I'm going to make you successful. But God tells us the exact He gives us the exact formula for being successful, and that is use my words, meditate on them day and night, be careful to obey everything I've said, and only then will you be successful and everything you do. You know, there's there's very few times in the Bible God talks about being successful in everything we do, and two of them are when he talks to Joshua. Both times he has this kind of an argument, or this kind of of if then promise is not argument, this kind of if then promise. If you are meditating on my word, you're taking it in, you're memorizing it, you're learning it, you're building your entire life around it. You're making decisions based all of your decisions based on what my words say. If you do that, and if you choose to obey me in everything that I say to do, then only then will you have the exact formula for success. So then of course you should be strong and courageous. Yeah, and then even while Joseph old testament, Joseph says that the Lord is with Joseph, and he succeeded and everything he did, and it's oftentimes you said, oh and he was successful, Well, the Lord is with him. Like the source of it was not Joseph, it was it was God. Being with him. You know. The thing that stood out to me when I was reading over this stuff the first time, I was just noticing the missy here. I love when he says to him, he says, I promise you what I promised Moses, wherever you set foot, you'll be. On land I have given you. And I don't know, I just something about that is just so cool because it just makes me think, like this is land I have given you. And I just like how he said wherever you step foot, Like I think he was going down to like the simplest form in a way of like your footsteps just you know, every footstep you take is the land that I have given you. And it's so just thinking about how that even applies because obviously that was a command he gave, that was instructions he gave to Joshua. And you know, we shouldn't take the Bible right away and apply it to ourselves. Oftentimes I think people mistake that when they read the Bible, they think it applies to you know, me here and in twenty twenty four. First you have to apply it to them. You have to apply it to their context, their life. What was God saying to those people? And after you pross you know, then you take it and apply it. Then you take the principles principles. Yeah, so this statement here is made directly to Joshua. Yeah, yep, right exactly. So he didn't say that directly to Jeff. Yes, yeah, he said it directly to Joshua exactly. But I can take the principles that he says, if you do these things, then I will do this for you. And I can take those principles and go, okay, well, then God's the same yesterday Todayever, the way that God treated those leaders, then he will treat leaders today if we choose to do the same things right. Yeah, And with that, it just makes me think though that like when he's saying, we know, wherever you step foot, this is the land I've given you, And how often, you know, do we take some of those things for granted right in. Our own lives? You know? And I've witnessed it too. You probably have what people you're talking to. Just don't even realize that the land that they're walking on, the house they've been given, the job that they have, the family they have, almost taking it for granted. When it's like, well, God's like wants to remind somebody today maybe that that the things that you have, whether it's tangible things or the life you have, or the things that are seen or unseen, that God has actually given it to you. It's the land, the land He has given you. And so I think it was really cool reminder, I'm sure for Joshua, instead of just thinking, you know, he's a leader, he's probably thinking twelve steps ahead and that God was bringing downright to the simplest forms and hey, just you know, every step you take, this is this is mine. I've given it to you. I provide this is my provision that you have these things. Yeah, So here they are. Now, they're in what is considered modern day Jordan, right, So they're on the east side of the Jordan River. I'm going to be in Jordan in three weeks and I'll be right near this plain where they are, because Aman Jordan's not very far from there. And so they're in modern day Jordan. And he's telling them everything from the Euphrates River, which is modern day Iraq, all of Jordan, everything from the mountains of Lebanon, all the way down to the Negev, which is all the way down to the Red Sea in into the Arabian Peninsula. Right, that's a massive space, much larger than what Israel is today. God said, hey, I'm promising all of that to you if you'll go take it. So it's pretty amazing how the promises of God are available. But then they had to go defeat these enemies, and we'll read through Joshua's life and they defeated many of them, but they didn't defeat all of them, even though God had promised. And sometimes we're surprised by the fact that there are battles that have to be fought, that there's a struggle in the Christian life, right, But there's no victories without a battle, and we're always surprised by this. So he chooses Joshua as the leader. It's interesting Joshua had already led the armies of Israel a couple of times right against the Amorites, attacked them and a couple of others, and God had already used Joshua was kind of Moses's military guy. And so here they are. They've been wandering through the wilderness for thirty nine years. Right, They've spent one year at Sinai. Then they wandered through their wilderness for thirty nine years. Only Caleb and Joshua said as spies, Hey, we should go in. God promised it. We can go take it. So thirty nine years ago, this leader said we can take it. I believe God's going to give it to us. We can. We can do it. So then everybody else is dead, including Moses. Moses also didn't push to go across the river, right, he just listened to the people. So everybody except for Joshua and Caleb, they've all died. So now Joshua is the second oldest guy in the whole country. We know Caleb was older than Joshua, and he's standing up, going, okay, because the very is God gives him these nine verses. Be strong and courageous, obey everything I've command, meditate on, and I'll make you successful everything you do. And then Joshua steps up and gives the same speech back to the people. Hey, God says, if we if we follow him, he's going to give us our right. As for me and my house, we're going to cirve the lord. Kind of mentality, right, that's not where he says it, but it's kind of that attitude that we're going to do the right thing and God's gonna bless us. And he's ramping them up for this battle that's coming. And so they're lined up along the shore of the Jordan River, which in those days used to flood, and they're looking across the river. Now, remember thirty nine years ago, ten of the twelve Spies came back and went, dude, look at the size of these grapes. The olives are incredible, the groves are amazing, the food is spectacular. The problem is they're all a bunch of giants. We're a bunch of runts. We look like grasshoppers in their sight, they are so much bigger and tougher and stronger. It's like a whole bunch of flyweights going in and had to fight against heavyweights. Right, that's what they think is gonna happen. We are gonna get stomped if we go there. Well, nothing has changed except those cities are more fortified than they were thirty nine years ago. Right, that's it, And the rumor has gotten out now that Hey, the people of Israel are right across the river. Looks like they're going to want to come over here. So they're all ramping up their fortifications. They're all building. And we know this from the next story Rehab, where they've been anticipating for a while something bad's gonna happen. Israel's coming across the river. But the people of Israel, God keeps having to remind them to be strong, to be courageous. He has to remind he'd already given victories to Joshua. He'd already fulfilled exactly the promise. Listen, you are the only You and Caleb are the only two that are going to survive. Everybody else is going to die. He'd already Joshua had already seen them walk across on dry ground. Yeah, Joshua had already The God had fed the people for forty years, dropping food out of heaven. Yes, right, he'd already seen. He'd already given them an incredible victory over the Amorites when they should not have won, won a battle that they were not equipped for. God had done so many amazing things, and yet when it's all done, God has to come to Caleb or Joshua and go, okay, listen, be strong. Yeah, and didn't I I think I read in there that's three if between six and nine is the three times he says it be strong? Yep, three different times. Yeah, they says be strong and courageous. And you know in scripture reading, whenever there's a repetition or or for three for example, that never three is. Are very important. You know, we see that a lot throughout scripture. The time three three of something being said has a lot of significance throughout you know, from being to end. So it's very important, you know. But it is funny because you're like, like you're saying, Jeff, like when you think that they would know, right, But no, they need to be reminded to be strong and courageous, and then he ends the verse by saying, for the Lord, your guy is with you wherever you go. And you know, for me, I was thinking about this. Because you know, I have one of my daughters is a very she's a little bit of a nervous nelly, a little bit anxious spirit. Ever since she was younger, I don't know, ever since she was little, she was afraid. A little more cautious. Yes, it's little more cautious, yes, yeah, littlere cautious. Everything she does just overthinks things, you know, And I remember she had this, We had this this time where this is like the verse that she like adopted as like a five year old. You know, we'd read it over before she go to bed, you know, for the Lord's your guys with you ever ago, and so i'd have her this great this saying I would actually say, uh, I would ever say, I say knightly. You have to say say this after me say. I am brave, i am strong, I'm not afraid God is with me. And so it became like a thing, I'm brave, i am strong, I'm not afraid. God is with you. Became like a mantra, be first you have somethings that going a wrong, like Knightley, what do we say? She's like, I'm brave, i am strong, I'm not afraid God. You know, she'd say it's something her tears, you know. But it's interesting because it's like it's one thing to say those things, it's a different thing to believe them. And I think what God was trying to do is get them to believe that that, hey, you have to here's some things to do, be strong, courageous. And then also, I'm gonna be with you wherever you go, and I have been with you wherever you've gone. Right, So I'm sure that was very reassuring for them. The other thing that really jumps out at me is how faithful Joshua was in sticking with it for thirty nine years. Joshua already he could already see the promised land. He could already envision. He and Caleb both could already envision the all the land flowing with milk, honey, and all the blessings of God, that God would fulfill all of his promises. But then the people said no. And instead of Caleb and Joshua just grabbing their own little army and doing their own invasion or going and taking their own village. They stayed with the people of Israel. And you know, I think a lot of times people bail. They bail on their church, they bail on their small group, they bail on their ministry team. When one little conflict comes up, or one tension. Oh my goodness, this little tense moment lasted for six months, or it lasted a year. I'm bailing thirty nine years, thirty nine years. But you know what happens at the end of the thirty nine years. Joshua is the leader of two million people. And God is going to fulfill every single promise that Joshua believe you would have fulfilled thirty nine years ago. God is going to fulfill those things now. And I think that there's something to be said about somebody who's faithful to their people, faithful to their family, faithful to their tribe, even when the other people just can't. It's not that he went ahead with them and went ahead and doubted God, and he was still faithful. He still served Moses right, he still looked forward to the promised Land. He did the right thing all along. He didn't go ahead and concede to them. But what he didn't do is he didn't give up on them either. Yeah. Right, And there's something to that to just say, hey, you know what, I think. We bail on marriages too fast, we bail on friendships too quickly, we bail on career opportunities too fast. We bail on our jobs, we bail on our ministries, we bail on our churches, we bail so fast on stuff, as opposed to just going, hey, if this is where God has me today, I'm just going to be faithful here. And at the end, you know, God gave Caleb everything he wanted, and God gave God gave Joshua the entire nation and trusted him to lead the people. And there's something honorable about that. And I remember hearing something recently they refer to the generation probably actually more of the millennial is the unfollowed generation, because we've grown up in a society where you can just if somebody you disagree with unfollowed or you know, cancel culture, that sort of thing. But unfollowing, I remember that's sticking with me, just that idea of like, hey, you're you're dead to me, you're done me, And I think you're right, like I think it's so easy with the church, small group, family friend, just to cut somebody off over one or something small. And even for me, I'll be honest, Like I remember in my church experience for a few I had actually bounced around from church to church for a little bit, and remember somebody that I really looked up to a lot finally kind of challenged me. He said, Hey, the next place you go to, you need to like put in roots and just see the see the the fruit of that and the outpouring of what God's going to do with your faithfulness. And even for me, I mean, I've loved being you know, the church, were both a part of It's our local church here in Michigan, and I love being a part of it. But even being asked for the new Stony Creek campus, which is open up this fall, I remember just like it was kind of interesting because I didn't really pursue that. I mean, I when it was being discussed about the new campus, I had people coming to me saying, well, for sure you're gonna be that, and I'm like, no, I'm I'm just doing my job. I'm trying to keep my head down and be you know, I'm not going to be the person who in the past would have been striving for the next thing. I was like, I'm just gonna keep my head down and just keep and it's been really cool again, and just with God's faithfulness, I think it's shown that, like there's something to that now. I didn't have to wait thirty nine years, you know, but you see this and you're like, man, what a beautiful principle of the fact that he was faithful. He served underneath Moses' leadership, and then when the time came, God used Joshua big way. I can remember many years. I was thirty four when I came to here to church right, and so the church doubled and doubled again in four years. So we went from two hundred and forty five people to a thousand people in four years. And through a series of events, I wounded up getting invited this thing that Rick Warren was hosting with a few pastors out in California, and so I was the young guy because all of Rick's friends were, you know, fifteen twenty years older than me. So I was the youngest pastor in that group at that time. No as me and one other guy from Arizona and so Rick came over at one point and just sat down and say, hey, tell me your story. How do I not know you? You know whatever? So I start talking about things and he goes, hey, that's pretty great. Four years man, this is God's got you on a pretty gret journey. He said, you want to know what the real test of your character and who you really are is? And I said what? And he said, the greatest churches are led by pastors that have been there for fifteen years or more. He said, so talk to me when you're fifty four. Wow. Right, And I'm fifty three. So he said, you know, the greatest churches are not the ones that spring up fast and you know, just some guy that can do a thing. It's the person who is able to lead well for a long period of time and consistent growth over long periods of time and building up disciples. And there's a faithfulness thing to it. And I can tell you this. The things that used to stress me out when I was thirty four and I didn't even know the answer. Now literally, I can make that decision in five minutes on a Tuesday morning. Yeah right, just because I have so much more experience sticking with it. I instinctively know the politics of our organization well. I know who the power players are. I know where the tension points are going to be. I know what we're doing well and what we're not yet doing well. I know where our vulnerabilities are. I see all those things because I have been here so long, right, Yeah, And there's just something to that. And I think that the reason why God chose Joshua instead of going out and going on indeed and just trying to find some leader this available right now, was because Joshua understood the intricacies, the ins and outs, because he was faithful for so long to stay in there. And if you want to accomplish something really great with God, a part of that in ministry is just being able to stick with it and being faithful for a long period of time. That's good, and that's what happened. So that he was there forty years. That's the unspoken thing here, by the way, So having wandered with Moses for forty years, then Moses dies, he faithfully serves, he doesn't pull off a coup. Yeah, Moses chooses him. Then he said, God says, be strong and courageous. Then he says meditate on my word all the time, memorize that, learn it, know it. Make all of your decisions based on the word. Obey everything I commanded you, be strong and courageous, and I'll make you succeed in everything you do. Right. He brackets this strong and courageous. Squeezed in the middle is obey and know my words and obey everything I say, and I'll make you outrageously successful. But all of that, none of that promise would have been made if he hadn't been faithful for forty years. First, that's wow. Yeah, that's great with them. That's super good stuff. Man, That's why I love this passage. We can talk about this for the rest of the week if we want to, but we got to wrap it up there. Man, dig into the Book of Joshua. I think you're gonna love it as a as a reader, as a listener. And we're going to continue tomorrow in the Book of Joshua here on the Bible, guys, yep, see tomorrow.