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Be Strong and Courageous
PROMISED LAND ECONOMICS
The period from the entry to the Promised Land until the peak of the reign of Solomon was about 500 years.
During that time Israel went from being slaves wandering in the desert, to a nation so prosperous that other world rulers sought their wisdom.
Much of this social and economic growth occurred without a king, in contrast to the surrounding, competing nations.
PREREQUISITE TO SUCCESS
A prerequisite for moving into the Promised Land was to trust God that He would give them success. God wants us to move forward in life, trusting Him to give us victory.
Joshua 1:2-9 (NIV)
"Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them--to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.
Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates--all the Hittite country--to the Great Sea on the west.
No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.
Joshua 1:2-9 (NIV) continued
Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.
Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
Deuteronomy 1:32-36 (NIV)
... you did not trust in the LORD your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.
When the LORD heard what you said, he was angry and solemnly swore: "Not a man of this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your forefathers, except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly."
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Numbers 13:30-33 (NKJV)
Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it."
But the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we."
And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, "The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature.
There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight."
WHY GOD WANTS US TO HAVE COURAGE
· Courage is a sign of trusting God.
· You can't have a victory without courage.
· Fear and intimidation are the enemy's top weapons to keep God's people from success.
Hebrews 10:35-39 (NIV)
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him."
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
Daniel 3:16-18 (NIV)
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.
If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king.
But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
Courage is knowing what not to fear. ~Plato
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. ~Eleanor Roosevelt
One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest. ~Maya Angelou
WHAT THEN SHALL WE DO?
· Is there something that you know you're supposed to have, but you're afraid to go for?
· Make it a point to only say ENCOURAGING words to those around you.
· Learn to recognize the false voices of fear and despair, and be armed against them with scripture and testimony of God's faithfulness.
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