To Prepare means: “To make ready, to equip or to furnish, to make ready by putting together the parts; To cut for something in advance.”
When God gives you a Word, a vision (“Anointed Utterances”) it is to take you from where you are to where you are supposed to be!
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear… not absence of fear.” -Mark Twain.
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Courage: “Mental, moral strength to persevere, and withstand danger, fear or difficulty; The ability to face and deal with a dangerous or difficult situation; a quality of mind or spirit enabling one to meet danger or opposition with fearlessness.”
To be fearless means to be devoid of fear, to not be afraid. However, I think… many have displayed courage while experiencing a degree of fear.
Maybe Mark Twain described it best when he said: “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear-not absence of fear.”
- (Hebrew word) “To fasten upon; to seize; to be strong; courageous, strengthen, cure, help, repair, fortify; to conquer.”
- (Greek word) “boldness, To have confidence.”
God speaks to His servant Moses and then Joshua (3 times):
- Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you”
- Deuteronomy 31:7, “Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance”
- Deuteronomy 31:23, “The Lord gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them an oath, and I myself will be with you”
TEXT: Deuteronomy 34:1-8, “Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land from Gilead to Dan, all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.” And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over.”
Joshua 1:1-9 (NIV), “Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “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 Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand 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 ancestors to give them. “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. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; 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 afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
God speaks to Joshua 3 times: “Be strong and courageous!” The word “strong” is the same Hebrew Word in Joshua 1:6 as in 1 Sam 30:6, “encouraged”.
(Hebrew word: chazaq) “To fasten upon, seize, be strong, cure, repair, fortify, to conquer”
I want to focus on 2 words: “NOW” & “AFTER.”
The book of Joshua is a transitional book: “I’m Going to the Other Side”!
To “transition” is the act of passing from one state or place to another.
- Someone will cross over…
- You will take possession…
- You are coming out of “wandering”…
It’s a book of possessing the things of God. I don’t just want to be philosophical about an “idea” of possession, but “material”! It is time we possess the Promises of God and see His provision manifest in our life and church!
When we look at Joshua, we are looking at a people who are “seizing!”
Gatekeepers are merely people assigned to keep over & watch your stuff until you get it, and “occupy.”
God is saying “I have a prepared place for a prepared people.”
The struggle is not to prepare the place, but to prepare the people!
