Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Friday, November first. When you seek God's truth, you'll uncover the blessings promised to those who surrender to His will. Here's more on the courage to obey from the book of Joshua chapter one.
Wherever you are, wherever you're listening, you'll want to take some notes today. Because whatever you're facing in life, you're going to come to those times when you need courage to face them, whether it's with your family, your job, whatever it might be. So, listen carefully and remember this, because the illustration happened several thousand years ago, it is just as true today as it was then because God never changes, principles don't change. So, let's take a few moments to look at the background of what's going on in Joshua's life at this point. Moses brought the children of Israel to the brink of the Promised Land forty years before. They had a problem. They had a faith failure. They sent twelve spies to look at the land. They came back and only two, Joshua and Caleb, were the ones who said, we can take it. The rest of them said, oh no, because they have walled cities and all the other excuses they gave. So, now forty years later, after wandering in the wilderness for forty long years, and remember now, the people that we're talking about now grew up in the wilderness fighting to some degree and all kinds of rumblings that were going on and all the strife they had with Moses.
A very, very bad time, forty years. Now, here is Joshua at the same place with the same proposition before him. How do you lead all these people into a Promised Land that God had given them and where there are seven nations that they will have to fight in order to accomplish God's purpose for them here? So, let's look at this passage. Go back to, if you will, verse three and look at this.
Now, watch this. You say, well, that's a promise to Joshua. That's not to me. Well, I can give you a whole lot of promises.
We'll come to some in a few moments. I give you some promises in the book of Psalms and Proverbs only. Just those two books alone that are specific promises to every child of God. Specific promises to every child of God. Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path. He says, I will teach you in the way which you should go. I will guide you with My eye upon you. He says, do not be afraid.
I am with you. I will uphold you. I will strengthen you with My righteous right hand.
On and on and on we could go with the promises of God. Listen to what He said to Joshua. Number one, verse three, every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you just as I spoke to Moses. He doesn't say I might. He doesn't say if you fight. Well, He says I've already given it to you, promise number one.
From the wilderness in this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites and as far as the great sea to the setting of the sun will be your territory, speaking of the Mediterranean. Listen to this, another promise. No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. That is, stand against you successfully because God would be with him. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. I will not fail you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. I promise. Only be strong and very courageous, careful to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you.
Don't turn from it to the right or to the left so that you may have success wherever you go. You say, well, I'm just a homemaker. Let me ask you a question. Tell me a job any more difficult than being a godly wife and living with a husband and raising godly children. In a society that is so absolutely ungodly, all of us have responsibilities.
All of us have challenges in life. And listen to what he said. This book of the law, and I say, what's the book of the law? The book of Deuteronomy is the book that Moses wrote, inspired by God to guide his people throughout the rest of their years. Deuteronomy is the book of the law. And so he says, this book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, for what reason?
So that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. Then you'll make your way prosperous. Then you'll have success. Now look at what he says.
He says, you want success and prosperity? Then you've got to stay with the truth of My Word. You've got to meditate on it day and night. Now why do you say a day and night?
I'll tell you why. How many times have you read a verse or two and said, I'm going to remember that and in about two hours you can't remember it to save you. They didn't have Bibles like we have them, and you know that. But there was a copy. The book of Deuteronomy written in Hebrew.
And so, that's what he had. And he said, I want you to meditate on this book day and night because you're to guide these people wisely. You're guiding them in, listen, into a culture of paganism. We don't want them to become pagans. We want to keep the nation of Israel pure. Now, you say, well, how do I apply that to my life? Well, it's just as simple. What does it mean to meditate upon the Word of God?
It was the key to everything that happened in Joshua's life. To meditate upon the Word of God means you read it. Now watch this carefully.
You read it. You ask this question. What are You saying to me, God, in this passage of Scripture? Is there something in my life that You want to bring to my attention that You want me to deal with? Is there some way in my life that You want to change?
Is there some habit in my life that You want to change? Lord, what are You saying to me? I'll be surprised if you read many passages of Scripture that God doesn't bring up something to you. You think, oh my goodness, yeah, that's right.
Because you see, here's what happens. A lot of people surrender their life to God partially. So all this over here surrendered to God. In fact, almost all of this over here and this over here surrendered to God.
But there's one little area of here they've kept for themselves. And I guarantee you, you meditate upon the Word of God and He's going to bring to your mind, there's a section, an area, something about your life that, listen, it isn't that God wants to harm you. He wants to make you the best person you can be. He wants you to have the best character. He wants you to be a godly person. Listen, He wants to prosper you. He wants to enable you to succeed in what you do in life. He wants you to have the character. He wants you to have the know-how. He wants you to be able to do your best at whatever you do. And so He said to him, be careful. He could have said now, wait a minute, God, you want me to lead these almost two million people and you're telling me I've got to read every morning and read every night the book of the law?
Yes. He didn't say read it often. He said, notice what He said, day and night.
That was God's way of saying consistently. Don't lay it aside. Don't close it. So I'd ask you this question. Please don't answer this. It would hurt my feelings. How many of you close your Bible on Sunday and open it the next Sunday to please don't answer that?
I would hope that not a single one of you do it. And I think most of you do read the Scriptures. But here's what I want you to say. He said, this is God who knows everything, saying to Joshua, whom he loves. Joshua, be careful. Be careful that you meditate on it day and night.
It's easy to get off track. This is the Word of God. This is the message of God.
This is God personally talking to you through His Word. He knows all about your background. He knows all about your weaknesses, frailties. He knows all the things you're going to face in life. He knows what you need, what you want, what you think you want, what He knows you ought not to have. In other words, He knows what He wants to give you, what He wants, how He wants to prosper you.
He knows that more than anyone else in the world. He says, meditate on My Word day and night. He knew that Joshua would need to keep coming back and seeing what God said in order to lead those people successfully. Well, let's just look at, as a father, as a dad, you need to be in the Word morning and evening. Whether you read a small passage or long passage is up to you. How are you going to know how to be a godly father, a godly grandfather, godly mother, a godly son or daughter if you're not having continuous conversation with God? And that's what it's all about to meditate on His Word.
Remember all the questions. God, what are You saying to me? What do I need to change? What do You want to alter in my life? Does that mean that I've got to read this whole Scripture and say, should I do this, should I do that?
No. You read the passages of Scripture that God lays upon your heart. Listen, the Holy Spirit who indwells every single believer, who is the one who guided the writing of the Scripture, He will interpret those verses, those words that suit your particular situation and circumstances. God knows exactly who you are and what you need to hear. What is the key to this courage? Meditating upon the Word. So, now watch this. I want to give you a list of things that happen when you begin to meditate upon God's Word. And see if this is what you would want in your life.
Number one, the fruits of it. It quietens your spirit. When you're worried and you're fretting and you're discouraged and you want to go to a counselor, I'll tell you, the best counselor in the world is called G-O-D. Almighty God, Jehovah God.
And so, what happens? Reading the Word quietens your spirit. Why do you think people when they're feeling terrible and in trouble, they read, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. And they can quote you that backwards and forwards. They've got verses in the Scripture that quietens their spirit.
Secondly, it purifies their heart. When you read the Word of God, what God does, He says, for example, the Word of God is a lamp to my feet. That means it's going to show me the way. A light to my path. He's going to show us things in our life that ought not to be there and things that please Him that are in our life. So, it lightens our path.
And then thirdly, for example, it sharpens our perception. When you get into the Word of God and you begin to meditate upon God's Word, you begin to understand things that you wouldn't understand otherwise. And here's what'll happen. You'll read a passage and you'll say, well, what does that word mean? And you'll find out. And you'll think, well, what else does it say that in Scripture?
And God will lead you to passage after passage. And what you will discover is that you, listen, you build this bank of promises. You have a promise bank. How many of you have a promise bank? Well, a few of you do.
The rest of you in bad shape. You don't have a promise bank. Listen to this, for example. Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him. He will direct your path. That's in my promise bank. It ought to be in your promise bank because all of us need direction. He says, I will teach you in the way you should go. I will guide you with my eye upon you.
I need direction. That's in my bank. And we could just go on and on and on in my favorite promises and your favorite promises. What does He say? This is the confidence that we have in Him. That if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, we know that we have the petition we desire to Him in the bank. Now, if you don't read the Word of God, you don't have anything in the bank.
Spiritually, you're empty. What would happen if you went to some first national bank and said, I want to withdraw one thousand dollars? And they said, what's your name? You gave them your name. They looked and they said, we don't have your name in here. You wouldn't get anything. And I think about people who live with this book closed.
You know what happens? You're missing putting it in the bank. You're concerned about putting money in the bank. The best thing you can put in your bank is promises. Promises, and listen, in the bank that God has given you in your heart and your spirit. You fill that up with the promises of God and listen, you're rich, you're wealthy. He'll show you how to prosper in the things that you need to prosper in. Then, of course, the next one is this.
You know, we could have a sermon on each one of these, but clarifies our direction. That is, there are times in your life you think, God, what should I do? Should I buy this or should I not? Should I take this job or should I not? Should I keep dating this young lady or should I not?
Should I buy this car or should I not? In other words, God will give you clear direction what to do. Then, next of all, confirms or cautions our counsel. When you ask other people what you should do, be careful who you're asking. Be careful that they're giving you godly counsel because here's what most people do.
They will do what they think will make you feel good. Well, that's not what you're looking for. You're looking for wisdom. The best place to go for wisdom is the Word of God.
You'd be surprised how very specific the Word of God is in some areas when you're asking direction for it. Then, of course, it increases our faith. When you obey God, He blesses you in ways you hadn't been blessed before.
And what happens? It builds your faith over a period of time. And when you think about the Word of God, in fact, there's no faith builder to match this. Here's what God said, here's what He does. Here's what God said, here's what He does. Here's how God warned us, here's what He does. Here's God's judgment because here's what He said He would do.
Absolutely keeps His Word. It increases our faith. Then it enlarges our view of God.
Once you see how God begins to work. And no matter what your age may be, God wants us to see Him as He is. He's this awesome God who resides in heaven but lives in you. Listen, He lives on the inside of you as a believer through the Holy Spirit.
You've got the best and the best prospects on the inside of you. Likewise, it keeps us aware of God's presence and His power. Here's what God did in your life and His life and her life as a result of listening to Him and obeying Him what He wanted you to do. And then, of course, the last, He guides us to success. In other words, think about this. God doesn't want you to be a failure in anything you do.
Watch this carefully. He doesn't want you to be a failure in anything you do. He may allow you to fail in order to teach you something He wants you to learn in order to be the success He wants you to be. So, all of us have had failures, so to speak, and disappointments in life and rejection and all the rest. But if you remember Romans eight twenty-eight, He turns it for good. And I look back in my own life at things that have happened, things that you would think that there's no way any good can come out of this every single time God turns it to good. If we obey Him and just do what He says. So, we have to make a choice whether we're going to obey God or not. And I want to give you one last statement that I have over my desk.
And I read it probably not every single day, but most days. Look at this. When a man or a woman has the conviction that he or she is doing the work God gave him or her to do, there is a zeal and a courage in his or her soul that all the forces of this world cannot destroy. You need to write that down.
Look at that. When a man or a woman has the conviction that he's doing the work God called him to do, there is a zeal and a courage in his soul that all the forces of the world cannot destroy. So, the question is this. Are you doing what God has called you to do at this point in your life? Are you doing what God has called you to do?
Or are you making choices in life and ignoring the Word of God? Listen to what He said. He promises. He promises if you will meditate upon His Word, He will make your way prosperous.
You will have good success. No matter what goes on, He will turn it for your good. If you're willing to obey Him, remembering what we said in the very beginning, it is always wise to obey God.
Always with no exception. And that's my prayer for you, that you be wise enough to obey Him, meditating upon His Word, following His direction, walking in obedience, and watching Him do His awesome work in your life. Thank you for listening to Part 2 of The Courage to Obey. For more inspirational messages like this one, visit our online 24-7 station. And if you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
