Quote from Forum Archives on February 8, 2005, 11:25 am

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

STANDING TALL #2/9
FACING LIFE WITH COURAGE
February 6, 2005

Text: Joshua 1:1-10

September 11th vividly brought home to Americans that we are engaged in a
war on terrorism. It is not a war of our own making; it is not something
that we have willingly engaged in. It was brought upon us and upon other
members of the world’s communities by an insidious enemy intent upon the
destruction of freedom. Once again, Americans are called upon to stand up
against tyranny. And, like our parents and grandparents before us,
Americans are responding to the world-wide threats of tyranny.

But not without concerns and not without fears. The threats of war do
cause anxiety and fear. People are anxious about the uncertainties that
prevail in times like these. However, these anxieties and fears are not
new. We may not like them - we may not even know what to do with them -
but they are not new. When storm clouds were threatening the peace and
security of Europe in 1939, C. S. Lewis was asked to address the students
at Oxford about the fear of war. Lewis challenged them to look at the
situation and life itself from a Christian perspective. He advised them,
“War creates no absolutely new situation so that we can no longer ignore
it. Human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice. Human
culture has always had to exist under the shadow of something infinitely
more important than itself… We are mistaken when we compare war with
‘normal life.’ Life has never been normal.” (C. S. Lewis, “Learning in
Wartime,” The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses)

For the most part, I do not go out of my way to offend someone else. I
try to be polite around other people. So I warn you that some of my
remarks this morning might be taken as an offense by some. There was a
certain reaction found in America to 9/11 and other major world crises
that, frankly, I do not understand.

The reaction to which I refer is the phobic fear that was highlighted in
people across the nation. Common people like you and me were interviewed
after 9/11 and expressed not just shock and disbelief and fear, but a
psychotic fear that affected their sleep, their appetite, and even their
relationships. I did not get it then, and I do not get it now. Let me
clarify myself some. Sure, those who actually survived the attacks, or
who had family or friends killed, injured, or involved in the attacks, or
those who worked with financial institutions in high rise buildings -
anyone associated in some way with the attacks or nature of the attacks -
would certainly be affected by the attack. I understand that. What I do
not understand is how someone who is not associated with any of this in
any way, like me for instance, would suffer fear so much that it would
impact me physiologically. I just don’t get it.

And this is where you may find my remarks offensive. Maybe you felt that
way after 9/11, or knew someone who was affected that way. Ultimately,
though, it does not matter if I get it or not. It does not matter if
people are living in fear or not. What matters is how God addresses the
issues. And He does address our contemporary issues of the fear of
terrorism and war.

In this week’s Bulletin Journal we read, “Living in a setting where
terrorists strike repeatedly is like having the same bad dream night
after night. War is worse.” Consider Joshua. Joshua has inherited the
mantle of Moses’ leadership and has thousands of soldiers depending on
him. Joshua is about to spend many years leading his people in warfare.
When Moses sent him and the other eleven spies out into Canaan forty
years earlier, ten of his companions failed to have the courage to enter
the Promised Land because of the many unknown factors. “We don’t know if
we can beat these trained military giants. We don’t know if we can take
these walled cities. We don’t know. We don’t know!” Only two spies
believed God - Joshua and Caleb. They believed God would keep his promise
and give them the land. Why did they believe? Because they faced the
unknown with confidence in the known.

What did Joshua know? First, he knew God was in control. That is apparent
in the text. In verse 2, God says, “I am about to give them . . .” and in
verse 3, “I will give you.” This is much more than a military operation.
God is in control. He is the one giving Joshua and the Israelite army the
land of promise. Joshua may be a general, but the Lord God is the
Commander-in-Chief! The Reverend Roger Haber, pastor of Central Baptist
Church in Middleboro, Massachusetts, relates taking a flight shortly
after 9/11. He relates, “When I got on that plane in September of 2001, I
didn’t know if I’d be in Cleveland or heaven when that plane stopped
flying. But what I did know was that God is in control. I know I need to
trust him even as I’m living in a world of terrorism and wars and rumors
of wars.” (Roger D. Haber, “Face the Fear of Terrorism and War,” Standing
Tall Pastor’s Manual, Mainstay Church Resources: Wheaton, Illinois, 2004,
p. B25)

God is not sitting up in heaven wringing his hands. He is not surprised
at what is going on in our world. I know this is difficult. We see
suffering all around us. How could God truly be in control? This is where
we need faith more than ever. The same faith that enables us to put our
trust in God for salvation needs to sustain us as we live in a world
marred and scarred by evil. God is in control!

Second, Joshua knew that God would be with him. In verse 5 we read, “As I
was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake
you.” This is the same promise Jesus gives his disciples, including you
and me! Before he left his disciples, he said he would be with us always
- until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).

If the apostle Paul could have spoken to Joshua, he might have said,
“Don’t worry about walls, giants, and battle plans. If God is for us, who
can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) We can know that God is with us!

Third, Joshua knew he needed to be strong and courageous. Three times in
this text we read, “Be strong and courageous.” The New Testament teaches
us that our strength comes from the Lord. Paul told the Philippians that
we “can do everything through him who gives [us] strength” (Philippians
4:13).

We don’t know a lot of things as we journey through this dangerous world,
but we know Christ, the source of our strength. When Paul was concerned,
the Lord said to him: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is
made perfect in weakness.” And Paul went on to write, “Therefore I will
boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may
rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in
insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am
weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10) We need to be strong and
courageous! We can be, because Christ gives us his strength!

Fourth, Joshua knew he had to be obedient. The Lord told Joshua to make
sure that he was careful to obey. He had to be careful to do everything
written in God’s Law. You know what the song says: “Trust and obey, for
there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.”

One of the marks of discipleship is that Christ-followers obey their
Lord. Jesus said that if we love him, we will obey him. A soldier has to
trust his commanding officer. There are lots of unknowns, but we know
that our commander knows what he is doing, so we must listen to what he
says. We need to be obedient!

Another pastor, Reverend Craig Burton, relates one of those stories that
makes you shake your head in wonder. He tells us that “years ago, I read
the story of a man living in Chicago in the ‘50s who was found dead in a
flop house. The man had died of starvation. On his body was a belt with a
pocket that contained $32,000 - a huge sum not only today, but especially
in the 1950s. The man starved to death because he didn’t use what he had.
Likewise, some Christians may be overwhelmed by the problems of worry and
fear because we don’t use what we have - namely, the Word of God.” (Craig
Burton, “Standing Tall Against the Fear of Terrorism and War,” Standing
Tall Pastor’s Manual on CD, Mainstay Church Resources: Wheaton, Illinois,
2004)

That brings us to what you and I can do over these next fifty days to
apply this principle of facing the unknown with confidence in the known.
Listed in your journal are our eight themes along with eight passages for
you to consider memorizing. We are encouraged to select some of these
passages, it does not have to be all of them, and memorize them over the
next fifty days. Put a check in the first box when you choose to memorize
a particular passage. Then check the second box after you’ve memorized
it. For instance, one of the Scriptures is Romans 8:38-39. Let’s read it
together: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels
nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to
separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Now there’s something we can apply in the face of living in a world where
threats of terrorism and war abound. Nothing can separate us from the
love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus! Joshua stood tall with the
courage from God. Paul stood tall with the courage from God. We, too, as
disciples of Christ, can stand tall because we are still given courage
from God.

Rev. Charles A. Layne, pastor, First Baptist Church, Bunker Hill, IN