Before preaching Stephen Van Rhyn recommended two books on the poor that are being launched here at the conference. You can download the audio or read my notes here. Stephen began by speaking about the impact that Nelson Mandela has had on the history of South Africa. He explained that Newfrontiers was at an era changing moment. He then spoke about the transitional time in which we currently found ourselves. In the Bible when transition occurs, it always calls for courage.
Deuteronomy 31:7-8 Moses calls Joshua to courage. This is a new era. The people of God are going to stop living in tents nomadically and will settle in homes.
1 Chronicles 28:20 David tells Solomon to be bold and courageous. It is not just leadership succession but era change. God is moving from the tabernacle to the temple.
Acts 23:11 God tells Paul to take courage.
As we embark on a new era courage is the essential ingredient.
Joshua 1 On three separate occasions God calls Joshua to courage. Why? He knows what is about to happen.
Events that could easily discourage him:
1. New era, new leader For us there are many leaders. Who would want to lead after a great leader who has gone before?
2. New era, new challenges that require new responses Moses didn’t tell him how to deal with Jericho. You can’t simply say “we cant do that because we haven’t done it that way before.” Things change. We don’t like it. If we don’t embrace it we will cease to be a movement and become a monument. We don’t want to be a relic of history.
3. New era, new sacrifices. They were all required to be circumcised. We can think that the sacrifices have been made already in the past so we can surf the wave. Young and old must make sacrifices.
4. New era, new issues. They had been trained not to hoard. But Achan sins in this area. He stole things that were meant to go to the Lord’s treasury. Consequences were very serious. In Joshua 17 there was dependence. Joshua tells them to get to work. You have to grow up and fight your own battles. We must move from dependence into interdependence. Courageous leadership is required that embraces generosity and responsibility.
5. New era, new identities. Now there would be 12 tribes making up one whole. Previously had been seen as one people. In Joshua 22 we see 9½ tribes on one side of the river and 2½ on the other. The 2½ built an altar, and the 9½ wanted to kill them. There will be different emphases, contextualizing. We mustn’t have a suspicious spirit about each other.
Denominations try and control through a rule book that leads to death. Better to have courage and allow difference, and when needed confront to the face rather than gossip behind his back.
How do we obtain courage?
1. Gods mission. God tells him, it is time for mission. Its not your past that determines your future but the courage to continue. When you get on mission, courage is galvanized. Don’t wait for courage before you do something. Do something and you will get courage. Stephen quoted Spurgeon as follows:
“God save us from living in comfort while sinners are sinking into hell . . . Brethren, do something; do something; do something. While committees waste their time over resolutions, do something. While Societies and Unions are making constitutions, let us win souls. Too often we discuss, and discuss, and discuss, and Satan laughs in his sleeve. It is time we had done planning and sought something to plan. I pray you, be men of action all of you. Get to work and quit yourselves like men. Old Suwarrow’s idea of war is mine: “Forward and strike! No theory! Attack! Form column! Charge bayonets! Plunge into the centre of the enemy.” Our one aim is to save sinners, and this we are not to talk about but to do in the power of God.”
C. H. Spurgeon, The Sword and Trowel: 1874 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), 88.
We don’t exist to put on conferences. We exist to make the name of Jesus famous. We exist to plant churches.
2. Gods word We will not be successful if we water down the word of God. If we do that we sign our own death warrant. We become irrelevant if we simply try and copy the culture. Teach them to obey everything Jesus has commanded us. Correct rebuke, encourage with great patience. Gods word will encourage you.
3. God’s empowering presence. If God is with you then everything is possible. Gates of hell cannot prevail. We can miss the awesomeness of this. A mature believer never grows out of a dependency on the presence of God. If God is going with us that should make all the difference. The tension point is between relying on God vs relying on yourself. When we rely on God all things are possible. Without him we can do nothing. There is a real danger of running hard for Jesus in our own strength. This is poison. Gods word is not slow down. Nor stop running. But it is what he said to Jeremiah “if you have raced with men on foot…” If you cant manage in easy places, how will you manage in tough places? God would call anyone running in their own strength to repent. God wants us to do something impossible for him that requires his help!
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