Be Strong and Courageous

Joshua 1:1-11

October 16, 2005

Dr. Larry D. Thorson

 

            Those of you who have been with us for the past few months know that we’re in the midst of a sermon series entitled “Ordinary People with Extraordinary Experiences.”  It’s a solute to a God who takes regular, ordinary people and does extraordinary things with them.  It gives me hope that God can take me, an ordinary guy, and do some extraordinary things through me. 

Today we’re going to take a break from that series so that I can preach my annual stewardship sermon.   If you’ve been around churches for awhile you know what stewardship sermons are.  These are sermons where the minister tries to convince you that he’s not really talking about money but about the use of your time, talents and if you insist…money.  But who’s he kidding?  It is about money.      

            Sometimes those sermons are offensive like the guy in Texas who told his congregation that there was good news and bad news regarding next year’s budget.  The good news was that despite having a 30% increase in budget next year, he said they had the money to meet it.  The bad news was he said ; “it’s still in your pockets.”

 I would like my annual stewardship sermon to be a state of the church address.  I would like to review God’s specific calling for our church and challenge us to press on to the promised land of that fulfillment. 

That’s why I’ve chosen the story of Joshua in the Old Testament.  It’s a story about the fulfillment of a promise from God to deliver the people of Israel into the land that God had promised to give them.  Let’s read the story now. 

Jos 1:1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, a  the LORD said to Joshua b  son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 

Jos 1:2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River c  d  into the land e  I am about to give to them f  —to the Israelites. 

Jos 1:3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, g  as I promised Moses. h   

Jos 1:4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, i  and from the great river, the Euphrates j  —all the Hittite k  country—to the Great Sea 1 on the west. l   

Jos 1:5 No one will be able to stand up against you m  all the days of your life. As I was with n  Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake o  you.

Jos 1:6 “Be strong p  and courageous, q  because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers r  to give them. 

Jos 1:7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey s  all the law t  my servant Moses u  gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, v  that you may be successful wherever you go. w   

Jos 1:8 Do not let this Book of the Law x  depart from your mouth; y  meditate z  on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. a   

Jos 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; b  do not be discouraged, c  for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” d  

Jos 1:10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: e   

Jos 1:11 “Go through the camp f  and tell the people, ‘Get your supplies g  ready. Three days h  from now you will cross the Jordan i  here to go in and take possession j  of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.’ ”

Now imagine the nation of Israel being a church and imagine Moses being Pastor Moses who led you through a very difficult time in your church’s life.  Now in our story he has recently passed away and his associate pastor, Joshua has inherited the mantle of leadership for your church.  Of course in the Presbyterian church the associate pastor is never allowed to succeed the pastor, a ruling I was glad to tell the people of my former church when I saw some of them last week. 

Now imagine young Pastor Joshua’s first sermon claiming that he received a message from the Lord to have your church sell your property and move across the Jordan River to occupy the Promised Land that your beloved Pastor Moses had talked about for forty years but hadn’t been able to cross that river.     

Forty years is a long time to wait for a promise to be fulfilled. To put that into perspective forty years ago was 1965.  There was a Texan in the White House.  We were getting deeper into the civil conflict in Vietnam to stop a spreading terrorist ideology called communism from taking over the world.  Gas was 50 cents a gallon.  A nice new car could be purchased for under $2500 and Toyotas were some strange cheap little “made in Japan” car that you would have to order from a dealer in southern California if you didn’t live here because they didn’t have many dealers.   This sanctuary didn’t exist.  The Family Center was a group of old houses across the street.  I was a fat 9 year old fourth grader. 

A lot happens in forty years and it’s a long time to wait.  People started doubting that their old pastor could take them into the promised land.  In fact, God had told Moses that he wouldn’t take them in.  So they adjusted their life to  living cramped up on the shore of the Jordan, not expecting that they would ever enter into the promised land. 

But now their beloved long time pastor/leader was dead and his God appointed successor had a message from the Lord saying “it’s time.”  The message God gave to Joshua was pack the family and move.  Now.  Don’t form a committee.  Don’t send in consultants to assess the viability of taking over the land.  Don’t survey the people to see if they want to move.  Just go.  Now. 

The problem with surveys is that if you ask people whether they want to move from their safe tents on the shore into a land occupied by big mean people they’re going to say no, I’m not going.  As cramped and stifling as their tent city was, it was home.  It’s where their children were born.  A lot of them didn’t know anywhere else to live.

But God wanted to give them so much more.  A land filled with milk and honey.  A land with room to expand, to build schools and places of worship.  A land where they could be a witness to the world of God’s greatness.  To enter that land would be scary because it involved change and change is hard.  

What we have to understand is that when God gives us a calling God always provides a way to do it but we will almost have to do it by faith.  If we’ve learned anything from our series about ordinary people it’s that to have an extraordinary experience with God always requires us to take that uncomfortable step of faith.  I’m sorry that’s the way it is but that’s the way it is. 

When we step out in faith God is there to catch us.  Now I want you to see and remember three promises God gave Joshua to go with his command to lead the people into the promised land.  Promise number one is in verse three; “I will give you every place where you set your foot.”  In other words go, it’s yours for the taking.  Promise number two is in verse 5; “No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life”.  In other words, you’re going to have opposition.  Count on it but that opposition can’t overcome you.  Promise number three is also in verse 5; “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

             I want you to totally grasp this concept that when God gives you a calling and you step out in faith to do it, God always fulfills it.  God will give you what you need to do that calling.  No one will be able to stop you even though they may try.  God will never abandon you when the going gets rough.

When I first interviewed at this church I was told that this is basically a one generation church but that you believed God had called you to be a church of multi-generations.  I heard it in your conversations.  I read it in your literature.  It was more than a longing, it was a calling and a calling that I believe came originally from God.  Your decision to call the pastors you called was based on that calling to be a multi-generation church.  For us becoming a multi-generational church is our promised land.

I have been asked both here and in my former church how I am going to lead this church into that promised land.  But I am reminded by this story that Joshua didn’t know the strategy to lead them into their promised land.  More important than strategy is a willingness to step out in faith and go.     

            Imagine this becoming an intergenerational church where in the process the elderly weren’t ignored because they could no longer contribute like they once had.  Imagine a church that didn’t cater to the double digit givers who could finance a new addition.  Imagine a church where it didn’t matter whether you had a masters’ degree or had failed the GED exam.  Imagine a church that recognized God speaking through a person regardless of what gender they were born.  Imagine a church, a Presbyterian church where the people were passionate about Jesus Christ and cared about people because Christ died for them.

            When I was a church consultant in San Jose I discovered that church after church wanted to attract young families and did everything they could to cater to that age group at the expense of the elderly.  In Plano, Texas older people visited our church and told me that every church they visited there catered to the young and had nothing for them. 

            That’s why God’s calling to make this an intergenerational church is so important.  This will be a church that values the elderly, the middle aged and the young equally.  This will be a church that values the leadership of males and females equally.  This will be a church that values the contributions of educators and construction workers equally.  It will be a church of bankers and store clerks.  It will be a church for counselors and retired pastors.  It will be a church of first career folks and final career folks, people we call retired. 

            We will build houses with Habitat and Baja Christian Ministries.  We will serve meals at Valley Restart and we will help victims of domestic violence through Pastor Martha’s Peace and Safety in the Christian Home.  We will tell the  families that surround this facility of which over 90% of their children receive subsidized lunches that we love them and want to help tutor them in our weekly tutoring program.  We will use our resources to help support pastors who lost their churches in Katrina. 

            In the weeks to come you’re going to see a whole new missions ministry emerging.  Our vision is to develop a place of involvement in missions for every age group from young children to the 90 plus group and every possible skill level.  Last month we launched our ministry to Tijuana, Mexico in partnership with my former Texas church.  People say to me “why not build for the poor right here?”  We will very much continue to be involved with Habitat for Humanity whose local office is in our facility.  We will invite the unchurched to join us on these projects like my next door neighbor who wouldn’t be comfortable coming to church but is very interested in a Tijuana or Habitat project. 

This fall we’re launching small groups throughout the church that will touch every age group and will be connected by a network of small group leaders.  If you would like to be in one of those groups let me know.  One of those groups is Family Fellowship where the children outnumber the parents. 

            Our adult choir that less than a year ago was disbanded has roared back with a passion.  On Sunday December 18 they will be presenting a Christmas cantata during a combined Sunday morning service, a sign that choir is back and it is back to stay.

            Despite being an older congregation, this church has always had a youth ministry.  Out of that youth ministry God raised up Glen and Andrea Ahern who remained faithful to minister to whatever youth God sent their way regardless of what those youth could give back to that church.  God will bless that faithfulness.   We are in the preliminary process right now of launching two new youth groups, one for junior high and one for high school starting this January. 

            You heard earlier today about the prayer cards in the pews.  These are provided by our worship committee but ultimately they will greatly improve our pastoral care.  Your prayer requests will be taken to our Wednesday morning prayer group who will also pray for them.  I will pray over them during the week and then our deacons will be able to call you in the weeks to come to see how God answered our prayers.  No prayer will be considered insignificant and no one who comes into our worship services or is home bound should have to suffer alone. 

            That’s just a sample of some of the things that God is doing right now in our midst to get us ready to enter into our promised land of being an intergenerational church.         It is my belief that God is presently equipping and calling someone to launch a bell choir ministry here and I believe that ultimately it will be larger than the four bell choir ministry of my former church.  It is my belief also that children’s choirs will be launched here soon.

We have the right staff, the right people, the right facility, the right location.  Pack up, let’s go.  Because this is God’s calling, we can do this thing.

            What we need right now is courage to forge ahead.  We live in a time when gas prices are altering our lifestyle, utilities are threatening to double, stock prices are flat, medical insurance is covering less while your body is needing more and you’re probably not going to make more next year than you made this year.  Not to mention that we just finished giving to the tsunami relief work and Katrina hit.  Before the ink is hardly dry on our relief checks for Katrina, Pakistan falls in an earthquake.  We need courage to forge ahead because God will provide what we need for our calling.