| Teacher: Keith Tyner Series: Stand Alone |
Keith's Notes | |
Living hopefully and confidently in an uncertain time.
On March 22, 1984 Sam was a confident freshman and I was a smug grad student. I gave him the favored team and 3 points for the pizza. It was about the time I finished the last piece when I told him the game was tape delayed and I knew the score before the game started on local TV!
When you know stuff, like the outcome, confidence increases.
We live in an insecure, uncertain society which creates more insecurities and uncertainties.
The essence of my perception of the first 3 chapters of Joshua are summarized.
Joshua would not have occurred without the life of and message of Moses. His message would have been unnecessary without the life and message of Adam. Adam’s message is, HE didn’t trust God, his faithlessness left all humanity with a flawed spiritual DNA called sin.
It is not an action, but a thing. The original design of life stopped at that moment! Adam and Eve learned fear as did the animals and creation because of Adam!
Jesus died so we can have the thing extracted from our being!
Those 2 college students were confident in their roles and the limited range of our responsibilities as students. But just a few months later real life would intervene, and they would each have to choose how to respond!
Foundational Ideas for Confidence
Joshua 1
The followers of Jesus in the old covenant didn’t have the living presence of God in their spirits. They had to borrow courage from the living God as the circumstances of life were presented.
The new covenant believers received the Spirit of God united with their spirits making them courageous beings. Courage was a result of their being and not an act from their flesh.
Consider the idea of trusting God. When His Spirit encourages you to do something which seems risky to the world, if you follow His lead, is it courageous? If you trust His promises, is it risky or courageous? These actions in a new covenant believer are simply the process of yielding to His Spirit’s directing.
When the old covenant believers in Joshua 1-3 recognized the promises God had offered, their simple response of obedience was all the courage necessary. The courage to believe God was good for His word.
If you know He gives to His loved ones. If you know He cannot lie and His promises are trustworthy. If you know He fights on your behalf, then life becomes a more confident journey.
A challenge is to know His promises. It is to establish a deeper friendship with Him and know what He has already given or promised you!
A couple of absolutes that are foundations upon which I begin each day are:
1 John 5:11-13 -- I know I have eternal life
Ephesians 1:18 -- I know He values me greatly, like an inheritance.
On March 22, 1984 Sam was a confident freshman and I was a smug grad student. I gave him the favored team and 3 points for the pizza. It was about the time I finished the last piece when I told him the game was tape delayed and I knew the score before the game started on local TV!
When you know stuff, like the outcome, confidence increases.
We live in an insecure, uncertain society which creates more insecurities and uncertainties.
The essence of my perception of the first 3 chapters of Joshua are summarized.
Joshua would not have occurred without the life of and message of Moses. His message would have been unnecessary without the life and message of Adam. Adam’s message is, HE didn’t trust God, his faithlessness left all humanity with a flawed spiritual DNA called sin.
It is not an action, but a thing. The original design of life stopped at that moment! Adam and Eve learned fear as did the animals and creation because of Adam!
Jesus died so we can have the thing extracted from our being!
Those 2 college students were confident in their roles and the limited range of our responsibilities as students. But just a few months later real life would intervene, and they would each have to choose how to respond!
Foundational Ideas for Confidence
- There is one God.
- He expressed Himself in humanity as Jesus, 2000 years ago.
- He was assassinated by the political and religious powers of the day in the presence of many witnesses.
- He arose from the dead, lived a few days on earth & ascended to heaven in the presence of many witnesses.
- He came back to live His life through those who believe Him to be God, 50 days later.
- If you believe what I just said, you have eternal life and are invaluable to the God I just described.
- The smaller your god is, the more challenging the mental game of life will become for you.
- The larger your God becomes the more powerfully He will express Himself to you in Life.
Joshua 1
- God GIVES (verses 2, 3, 6, 11, 13, 14, 15)
- He promises 1) I’m giving you, 2) No one stands in your way, 3) I will not fail or forsake you
- Be strong and courageous (verses 6, 7, 9)
Joshua 2 - God’s enemies hearts melt (verses 9, 11, 24)
Joshua 3 - Follow the Ark (God) (verses 3, 6, 11, 19)
- Be still, stand firm, Rest! (verses 8, 13, 14)
The followers of Jesus in the old covenant didn’t have the living presence of God in their spirits. They had to borrow courage from the living God as the circumstances of life were presented.
The new covenant believers received the Spirit of God united with their spirits making them courageous beings. Courage was a result of their being and not an act from their flesh.
Consider the idea of trusting God. When His Spirit encourages you to do something which seems risky to the world, if you follow His lead, is it courageous? If you trust His promises, is it risky or courageous? These actions in a new covenant believer are simply the process of yielding to His Spirit’s directing.
When the old covenant believers in Joshua 1-3 recognized the promises God had offered, their simple response of obedience was all the courage necessary. The courage to believe God was good for His word.
If you know He gives to His loved ones. If you know He cannot lie and His promises are trustworthy. If you know He fights on your behalf, then life becomes a more confident journey.
A challenge is to know His promises. It is to establish a deeper friendship with Him and know what He has already given or promised you!
A couple of absolutes that are foundations upon which I begin each day are:
1 John 5:11-13 -- I know I have eternal life
Ephesians 1:18 -- I know He values me greatly, like an inheritance.
RSS Feed