Israel and Repentance

"Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest" (Josh. 1:1-9). You may note that in this short commission given to Joshua by God, that three times he was told by the Lord to "be strong and of a good courage." The one true faith of Christ is no place for the squeamish, I can assure you. Like Joshua and the children of Israel of old, we are called to be a tried and proven people unto the Lord. Peter put this across in no uncertain terms so that we would not be intimidated by the obstacles that we have been called to overcome: "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy" (I Pet. 4:12,13).

Peter made it even clearer that our very salvation depends upon our successful endurance of the trials that we must face in this life: "Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls" (I Pet. 1:6-9). As it was with Joshua, so we need to be fearless in the face of any and all adversities in order to conquer our trials, and come out on the other end of them with nothing but increased faith, love, peace, and joy in the Lord. The beloved apostle gave us the one and only prescription for having the fearless faith that overcomes the world and lays hold on victory in Jesus: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love" (I Jn. 4:18). That's it, to have completeness, which is to say perfection of God's love in our hearts is the only way to erase all fear from our hearts and spirits, and to face our trials with the confidence that we WILL overcome them, rather than them overcoming us. And the way to achieve this perfection of love in our hearts is the same way that was also prescribed to us by John: "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he [Jesus] is pure" (I Jn. 3:2,3).

Jesus made made it pointedly clear, to say the least, that the stakes are as high as it gets in regard to whether or not we prove to be "more than conquerors through him that loved us:" " He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the FEARFUL, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Rev. 21:7,8). You may note that he stipulated being "fearful" before the other sins were mentioned. The reason for that is because fear is the gateway to every other sin because being fearful means that we are being overcome by demon powers rather than by the faith of God's mighty love and power toward us. The apostle Paul knew this and therefore gave us this admonition to keep as a constant reference: "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked" (Eph. 6:18). The same apostle also gave us the reason why we CAN take the "shield of faith" into every spiritual battle that we face: "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Rom. 8:31). And Peter added this to the equation for good measure: "And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?" (I Pet. 3:13). So in conclusion just let me say that like Joshua we not only must be "strong and of a good courage" in order to overcome the obstacles that lie ahead, but we also have every reason TO be courageous; and that reason is the same one that was declared by an ancient prophet in a time of great trouble: "Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's" (II Chron. 20:15). And all I can to that say is, AMEN!