“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.”

The Lord sent this message in various forms to Joshua 7 times, 6 of them prior to crossing into the promised land.

I am not a man who gets a lot of visions or dreams but a few years ago I dreamed someone was carjacking me.  I woke up beating the clothes in my closet, with my reading lamp.

I was not letting someone steal from me.  This is the point the Lord was making to Joshua and His people.

They had been at this spot 38 years before.

It had taken them two years after crossing the Red Sea to learn how to serve the Lord.  They had built the tools, symbols, utensils  for Worship.  The Tabernacle was completed.  The Lords presence was there.   They had followed the tribe of Judah,  (Praise), as the Lord led.

The Lord said:  “ Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.”

They were ready, cross the Jordan, take the promised land.  He had given them a promise:

Deuteronomy 7
“When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, (He names them), seven nations greater and mightier than thou;  And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:”

The Lord promised to destroy the 7 Nations that inhabited the promised land.  They send in the 12 spies and an evil heart of unbelief, overtook them,  (they couldn’t believe Joshua and Caleb’s good report); and sentenced themselves to 38 more years, wondering.

So the Lord encouraged Joshua and the people 7 times.  ” 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.”

” for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
“go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn  to give them;.”
” bring the children of Israel into the land: and I will be with thee.”
” thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware to give them.”
“Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, shall be put to death: “
” for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.”
 
All these promises began or ended with:  “Be strong and of good courage “.

Today as we leave behind this body of sin and death, the Lord has promised to cast out the many Nations that have inhabited our promised land.

These may well be the 7 deadly sins:

Proverbs 6:
” These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,   An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,   A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.”

Like the 7 Nations, the Lord will destroy these sins, if we smite them,  don’t let them linger and grow, we must show no mercy……cut them off.  Quit entertaining them. 

As we walk in the Promise of Salvation,  we must gain the victory over sin, with His help.  We cannot do it ourselves and He won’t do it with out our participation. 

So:  “Be strong and of good courage “.

bill theunfetteredpreacher cote