Promises: Courage - Joshua 1:5-9

As children of God we are created to live in the promises God made to His creation.

Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. (Hebrews 6:16-18 NLT)

Lesson Focus: To Be Or Not To Be? . . . Courageous, that is.

No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 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 good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:5-9 ESV)

We have all felt the nudge of the Holy Spirit gently moving us out of our comfort zone. It is usually a call to encourage someone we barely know, or shift the conversation with someone we do know to a greater level of intimacy and trust. It is very rare that the nudge involves leading the Israelites into the promise land. That makes it easier to dismiss those times we let fear ruin a divine moment. What are we missing? A Promise Sandwich!

The Promise Sandwich: A hearty slice of “I will not leave you or forsake you”, then three pieces of “be strong and courageous”, topped with another thick slice of “the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

Joshua ate a lot of promise sandwiches. It took great strength and courage to take the promise land – by faith.
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. (Hebrews 11:30 ESV) [Our hall of faith verse.] Jericho was a Canaanite stronghold that God would use to show the world that trusting in the glory of the Lord resulted in miracles. Jericho lies between Jerusalem and the west bank of the Jordan River. There is a winding mountain road between the two cities that passes through the Valley of the Shadow of Death we know of from Psalm 23. Jericho is the lowest inhabited place on earth at 853 feet below sea level. (New Orleans is -8’) [Read Joshua 6:1-27]
God “nudged” Joshua to follow a very specific set of unusual instructions and Joshua chose to “be strong and very courageous”, doing exactly what God asked to destroy this ancient stronghold.

Promises Kept: We all have “Jerichos” in our lives. Pray wholeheartedly to God to bring down the walls around your “Jericho”. Pray for those in your My Place group. Pray for all of us who worship together as Origins. Be strong and very courageous, for the Lord is with you wherever you go. “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4-5)

Promises: Crosswalk - Matthew 16:24-26

As children of God we are created to live in the promises God made to His creation.

Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.

(Hebrews 6:16-18 NLT)

Lesson Focus: Crosswalk – when following Jesus gets personal.
"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." – Tolstoy
There is a point in each of the gospels when the disciples finally understand that Jesus is going, they don’t get to go, and it sinks in that Jesus thinks they are going to spread the Good News. In John’s gospel Jesus encouraged them by saying, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12) In Matthew’s account Jesus challenged them with a promise. Knowing how lost they felt He said, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26 ESV)

Crucifixion is a shocking metaphor for discipleship. A disciple must deny himself (die to self-will), take up his cross (embrace God’s will, no matter the cost), and follow Christ. What are the challenges this promise creates for you today?

Let’s look at our Case Study from the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11.
By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. (Hebrews 11:24-28 ESV)
Moses chose to leave a life of great personal pleasures to follow the Messiah (v 26). (die to self-will) (embrace God’s will, no matter the cost) Are there some personal pleasures that tend to get between you and Christ? (i.e. Distractions like TV that you consistently replaces personal worship time)

Following the parable of the rich young ruler Peter feels the need to remind Jesus of the sacrifices He, and the others, had made. Jesus replied with another great promise about dying to self will.
And Peter said, "See, we have left our homes and followed you." And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life." (Luke 18:28-30 ESV)
What are some of the ways God has blessed you for taking up your cross and following Jesus?


Moses considered the promises of God to be worth more than the riches of Egypt. How much stuff does it take to make you happy? Last year some researchers from Princeton University decided to find out if money could truly buy happiness, and how much happiness costs. As it turns out, past $75,000.00 a year in household income most don’t get any happier. Only a third of American households make more than that. Obviously there are plenty of us who make less. The point is, being rich isn’t what makes people happy. In the midst of the disciples worldly concerns Jesus said, "What is impossible with men is possible with God." (Luke 18:27 ESV)

The riches of God always lead us back to the same place - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:22-24 ESV) It’s a crosswalk, “Take up your cross and follow me,” “crucify the flesh,” and a divine game of follow the leader. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:25-26 ESV)

Promises Kept: We have created an information system that tempts us with worldly pleasure constantly if we allow it. A one hour television show now contains only 42 minutes of actual “acting”. That means there are at least 36 commercials. With the new trend of 15 sec. “hooks” you could boost that to around 50 ways to put your cross down and have a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese before you agonize over the setting on your Sleep Number Bed. There is a discipline to the crosswalk. The Message Bible paraphrases the walk well, Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for? (Matthew 16:24-26 MSG)

So . . . Stop, Look, and Listen

Promises: Live Loved - Romans 12:9-10

As children of God we are created to live in the promises God made to His creation.

Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. (Hebrews 6:16-18 NLT)

Lesson Focus: Live Loved

“God’s love does not hinge on yours.  The abundance of your love does not increase his. The lack of your love does not diminish his.  Your goodness does not enhance his love, nor does your weakness dilute it.  What Moses said to Israel is what God says to us:

“The LORD did not choose you and lavish his love on you because you were larger or greater than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations!  It was simply because the LORD loves you.”  (Deut. 7:7-8 NLT)

God loves you simply because he has chosen to do so. He loves you when you don’t feel lovely. He loves you when no one else loves you.  Others may abandon you, divorce you, and ignore you, but God will love you.  Always.  No matter what.” – Max Lucado

What keeps us from loving each other like that?
Human relationships generally flow in a send and receive pattern. When we live inside our own emotions we damage this process. We send out feelings of love to someone and expect a certain reaction, if they don’t meet our expectations we cut off the flow. That’s why it confuses people so much when the opposite emotional transaction happens. Someone says something hurtful to us and we respond with unexpected kindness and understanding. Believe it, or not, unconditional love is how we were created to react.

The Apostle Paul explains this gifting and the way to live loved. [All of Romans 12 in the New Living version for discussion]

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

[living in God’s promises makes the following possible]

Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

   “I will take revenge;

I will pay them back,”

      says the Lord.

Instead,

   “If your enemies are hungry, feed them.

      If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.

   In doing this, you will heap

      burning coals of shame on their heads.”

Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

What do these principles look like in your life?

God has also promised to equip us to love like this.

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another. (Galatians 5:16-26 NLT)

Promises Kept: Relax, loosen the grip you have on life and let the Holy Spirit lead. We were created to dance, but not to lead. “Part of the joy of dancing is conversation. Trouble is, some men can't talk and dance at the same time.” – Ginger Rogers. Living loved will make you light on your feet. “All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.” (1 John 4:15-16) That's a promise.

Promises: Parenting - Proverbs 22:6

As children of God we are created to live in the promises God made to His creation.

Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. (Hebrews 6:16-18 NLT)

Lesson Focus: Parenting, By Faith (We are taking a timely detour to explore how this plays out in our current world crisis)

When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly." Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, "Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God." . . .  

And God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her." Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before you!" God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year." (Genesis 17:1-8, 15-21 ESV)

This passage is the historical focal point of the Middle East conflict we are experiencing today.

[Warren Weirsbe’s masterful summary] God had made the covenant, and God would fulfill it. All Abraham and Sarah had to do was wait by faith (Heb_6:12). Alas, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak! In the previous chapter, Abraham listened to God and exercised faith, but here he listened to his wife and revealed his unbelief. He ceased to walk in the Spirit and began to walk in the flesh. We have seen that “faith is living without scheming,” but at this point both of them tried to help God accomplish His plan. This explains why God had to wait until they were old before He gave them the child. They had to be dead in themselves before He could work (Heb_11:11-12). In Gen_16:2 Sarah blames God for her barren condition and hints that He is not good to them (see Gen_3:1-6). She turns to the world for help — to Hagar, the Egyptian — but the whole scheme fails. The works of the flesh now appear (Gal_5:16-26). God did not recognize the marriage. He called Hagar “Sarah’s maid” (Gen_16:8). This is the first mention of the Angel of the Lord in the OT, and is none other than Christ. God cared for Hagar, instructed her to submit to Sarah, and promised that her son, Ishmael, would be a great man, but a wild man. “Ishmael” means “God will hear” (see Gen_16:11).

When Isaac, Sarah’s son, entered the family, there was no room for Ishmael and he was cast out (Gen_21:9). Eventually, Ishmael fathered twelve sons (Gen_25:13-15), and their descendants have been enemies of the Jews for centuries. 

Gal_4:21-31 teaches that Sarah pictures the New Covenant and Hagar the Old Covenant. Hagar was a slave, and the Old Covenant enslaved people (Act_15:10); Sarah was a free woman and Christ makes us free (Gal_5:1). Ishmael was born of the flesh and could not be controlled. Likewise, the Law appeals to the flesh but cannot change it or control it. Isaac was born of the Spirit, a child of promise (Gal_4:23) who enjoyed liberty.

Do not miss the practical lessons here: whenever we run ahead of God, there is trouble. The flesh loves to help God, but true faith is shown in patience (Isa_28:16). We cannot mix faith and flesh, law and grace, promise and self-effort. [Weirsbe’s Expository Outlines]

Egyptians still find themselves caught in the middle between Isaac and Ishmael.

Are any of you still dealing with trouble handed down to you from past generations?

Legacy (something that happened in the past or that comes from someone in the past) is an important Biblical principle.

You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. (Deuteronomy 11:19)

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth!

I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us.

We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God. (Psalm 78:1-8)

As you can see God is actually leading us to break down destructive human legacies by turning to and trusting Him and his promises. There are also practical lessons in Biblical parenting, which also focus on following Christ.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother" (this is the first commandment with a promise), "that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land." Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:1-4 this passage was repeated to the Colossians in 3:20-21)

What are some of the good things that have been passed down to you from your parents?

As it was with our “Hall of Faith” legacy:
By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones. (Hebrews 11:20-22)

Promises Kept: We can invoke future blessings on our children by “training them up in the way they should go (Prov. 22:6);” mainly “the way, the truth, and the life (John 14.6).” There is no greater legacy you can leave your children than “to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. (Colossians 1:25-28)