A Word of Encouragement | Daniel Bentley

Nov 12, 2023

Devotional

Day 1: God’s command to be strong and courageous

The world is full of reasons to feel afraid and discouraged. Yet, in the midst of such times, God speaks a clear and direct word to His people. He calls them to a strength that is not of their own making and a courage that presses on in spite of fear. This is a strength of character, conviction, and faith, gifted by the Lord Himself to face the challenges before us. He knows the obstacles we see and the insecurities we feel, and His command is our empowerment. [09:10]

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9 (NIV)

Reflection: What is one specific situation in your life right now where God might be calling you to step out in strength and courage, rather than giving in to fear or discouragement?

Day 2: The Lord’s promise to be with you always

One of the most profound sources of encouragement is the abiding presence of God. He does not call us to walk a difficult path and then leave us to navigate it alone. His commitment is to never leave nor forsake His children. This promise was true for Moses, it was true for Joshua, and it remains true for all who follow Him today. Knowing He is with us changes everything, removing the sting of fear and giving us confidence for the journey ahead. [35:17]

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.
Joshua 1:5 (NIV)

Reflection: When you feel alone in a challenge, how can the truth that God is with you—and will never leave you—practically change your perspective and your next step?

Day 3: Holding onto God’s great and precious promises

God has given His children everything they need for a godly and victorious life. His Word is filled with great and precious promises that are like blank checks, waiting to be cashed by faith. Yet, many believers live far below their means, settling for a fraction of the spiritual abundance available to them. The challenge is to actively seek out these promises, to stand upon them, and to walk in the fullness of what God has already provided. [33:31]

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
2 Peter 1:3-4 (NIV)

Reflection: Which of God’s promises are you currently standing on, and which one do you need to more fully embrace to live in the victory He has for you?

Day 4: The encouragement found in God’s Word

In times of discouragement, God’s Word serves as a vital source of life and hope. It introduces us to the heart of our heavenly Father, revealing His goodness, compassion, and trustworthiness. As we read the stories of those who have gone before us, our faith is strengthened, knowing the same faithful God will carry us through. The Scriptures provide the lens through which we can interpret our circumstances and see that God is working all things according to His plan. [43:47]

They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
Luke 24:32 (NIV)

Reflection: How can you create more space in your daily routine to open God’s Word, allowing it to speak encouragement and reveal Jesus to you in a fresh way?

Day 5: Our confidence that God is for us

The ultimate source of our courage is the settled conviction that God is both with us and for us. This truth dismantles the power of any opposition we face. If the Creator of the universe is on our side, then no enemy, obstacle, or insecurity can ultimately stand against us. This is not a denial of very real challenges, but a proclamation of a greater reality: we are more than conquerors through Christ, and we walk in the victory He has already secured. [46:56]

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:31 (NIV)

Reflection: In what area of your life do you most need to shift your focus from the opposition you face to the truth that God is for you?

Sermon Summary

After Moses’ death, Joshua receives a clear summons to lead the people across the Jordan into the land God promised. Repeated commands to “be strong and courageous” confront the weight of enemies, swollen rivers, and the memory of a legendary predecessor. Fear and discouragement threaten to paralyze leadership: fear keeps people from beginning, while discouragement saps heart and stops them from finishing. The narrative reframes courage as living “out of the heart” and discouragement as losing that vital center, producing shells of former selves who cannot move in faith.

Three sources of divine encouragement emerge as practical antidotes. First, divine promises anchor hope: ancient covenants to Abraham and the repeated assurances that “every place you set your foot” belongs to God supply a strategic framework for faith and action. Second, God’s abiding presence removes the power of fear; the pledge “I will never leave you nor forsake you” reframes trials as passages accompanied by God rather than as isolating defeats. Third, the Word sustains courage by revealing God’s character, recounting faithful histories, and focusing hearts on Jesus—whose unfolding in Scripture reorients sorrow into burning conviction, as on the road to Emmaus.

The teaching presses the community to act. Encouragers are vital: people who pour hope into others resemble Barnabas and function as spiritual lifelines. Believers must claim promises, cultivate intimate awareness of God’s presence, and habitually immerse themselves in Scripture so faith becomes muscular and practical. The land-image expands into a spiritual warning: abundant spiritual blessings remain available but unused by many, just as Israel never fully possessed all God offered. Finally, bold declaration and communal confession—“My God is with me; my God is for me; no one can stand against me”—become weapons of faith. The combination of promises, presence, and the Word equips weary hearts to face ongoing opposition, not by illusion of comfort but by rooted conviction that God’s resources and companionship ensure ultimate victory.

Key Takeaways

1. Be strong and courageous God repeatedly commands strength and courage because leadership requires more than skill; it requires rooted heart-action. Courage means pressing forward despite fear, acting from the heart rather than shrinking into safety. Regularly naming and rehearsing God’s promises empowers leaders to move when circumstances point to retreat. [09:32]
2. Fear and discouragement oppose leadership Fear attracts confirming evidence and paralyzes beginnings; discouragement drains heart and stops finishers. Recognizing these twin saboteurs clarifies why many projects stall: the inner narrative supplies plausibility for retreat. Confronting both requires spiritual diagnosis and practical steps—confession, community, and truth-laden speech. [11:27]
3. God’s promises are anchors Promises tether present anxiety to a faithful past and a certain future; they convert abstract hope into actionable claims. Grasping covenant language—land, people, blessing—reorients ambition from scarcity to inheritance. Walking in those promises demands movement: claim, meditate, and step into what God has spoken. [25:54]
4. Presence and Scripture empower God’s promise to never leave removes the terror of trials; the Word reveals God’s character and history of deliverance. Scripture strengthens faith like exercise strengthens muscle, and reading it brings Jesus into present experience. Daily immersion in Scripture and attention to God’s presence turn fear into confident obedience. [34:43]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:13] - Announcements & Veterans Honored
[01:49] - Mourning: Mark Waldorf Remembered
[02:34] - Heshvan, Violence, and Spiritual Roots
[04:10] - Call to Build an Ark of Salvation
[05:08] - Corporate Prayer
[06:21] - The Need for Encouragement
[08:00] - Reading: Joshua 1:1–9
[09:32] - Strength, Courage, and Their Opposites
[25:54] - Encouragement Through God’s Promises
[34:43] - Encouragement Through God’s Presence
[39:13] - Encouragement Through God’s Word
[45:43] - Application: Proclaiming Faith
[47:35] - Closing and Benediction

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading: Joshua 1:1-9 (ESV)
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Observation questions

What specific obstacles and sources of fear did Joshua face as he prepared to lead the people?
According to the passage, what are the three primary things God uses to encourage his people? [25:54]
What does God command Joshua to do with the "Book of the Law" and what is the promised result of this action?
How many times does God tell Joshua to "be strong and courageous" in this passage, and what does this repetition reveal about the human condition?

Interpretation questions

The opposite of strength is fear, and the opposite of courage is discouragement. [11:27] Why are these two states—fear and discouragement—so effective at paralyzing a person's faith and ability to move forward?
God tells Joshua that "Moses my servant is dead" before giving him his new assignment. What is the significance of this statement, and why is it necessary for Joshua to get his eyes off of the past delivery system of God's power? [19:57]
The root of the word "courage" means to act "out of the heart." How does discouragement, or becoming "disheartened," change the way a person lives and operates in the world? [22:56]
God's promise of land was tied to an ancient covenant with Abraham. How does understanding the history and certainty of God's promises change the way we approach the obstacles in our own lives?

Application questions

The enemy often uses fear to paralyze us from starting something new and discouragement to make us quit before we finish. [11:51] What is one thing God has placed on your heart to do that fear has kept you from beginning? What is one thing you started in faith that discouragement is now tempting you to abandon?
God's promises are like blank checks waiting to be cashed, yet many believers live as spiritual paupers. [32:30] Which of God's specific promises do you most need to "walk in" and claim by faith this week to confront a current challenge?
The abiding presence of God is the ultimate antidote to fear. [34:43] In a moment of anxiety or fear this week, what would it look like to practically pause and declare, "My God is with me; my God is for me; no one can stand against me"?
Scripture is meant to be more than read; it is to be spoken, meditated on, and lived out. [39:13] What is one practical step you can take this week to move from merely reading the Bible to truly meditating on it and allowing it to shape your actions?
Encouragers are like Barnabas, walking around with a pitcher of hope to pour into others. [24:27] Who is one person in your life that God is calling you to intentionally encourage this week, and what specific, hope-filled word can you speak to them?
Israel never fully possessed all the land God had promised them; they settled for less. [31:29] In what area of your spiritual life have you settled for a fraction of the abundance, victory, or peace that God has made available to you in Christ?

Sermon Clips

29s

#PresenceOverParadise

“And I wonder if we could say the same thing. Like, what if you could have everything your heart desire? What if you could have heaven? I mean, with streets of gold and no death, no war, no disease, no and nothing nothing bad, all that stuff gone. You could have heaven, but Jesus isn't there. Could you be satisfied? For Joshua and Moses, they would say no. The presence is everything, and without the Lord, I have nothing even if I possess everything.”

31s

#ClaimYourInheritance

“God has given you everything that you need for victory, for abundance, for for a godly life. It's all there, all for the taking. Yet, sadly, how many of us settle for a fraction of a percentage of what's available to us? Think of it like this. What if, you know, you ran into Bill Gates, he decided he liked you and decided to, you know, deposit a billion dollars into your account? He's got enough money where he wouldn't even notice it was gone. Like, he's got that in loose change in his car. But for you, it changes your life.”

30s

#FearFindsReasons

“And he cripples us or paralyzes us with fear. But if that doesn't work, then he circles back around, and he seeks to discourage us from finishing what we started. So he uses both fear and discouragement. Let me give you another point on fear. Fear will always attract whatever information is needed in order to support its existence. You'll always find logical reasons to be afraid. And and certainly that was the case with Joshua.”

40s

#CourageToLead

“And it takes courage to lead, to go against the grain, to go against the popular opinion of the day, to step out in faith, trusting the word of the Lord when that's all you have to go on. And so the Lord tells Joshua, not once, not twice, not thrice, but four times, be strong and courageous. That is not just the word of the Lord to Joshua in that day, but that is the word of the Lord to you in this day. Now if you look at verse nine, he flips it essentially, and he says, and don't be afraid or become discouraged.”

35s

#GodWithUsInTrials

“Now I love that scripture for a lot of reasons, but you'll notice with me, it doesn't say if you pass through these trials. It says when. But God will be with us, and if you know he's with you, then the tentacles of fear that wrap themselves around your heart, they are released, and you can move into those trials with confidence even to the point where you can face death without fear. The the really scary thing for the believer isn't death. I mean, it's just a translation from from here to heaven. Right? The Bible says you fall asleep here and you wake up in the presence. That's not bad.”

29s

#ClaimGodsPromises

“So God's given you everything that you need for godly living, a godly life, a victorious life. How do you tap into that? By by grabbing hold of these great and precious promises. There are over 7,000 of them. They're sprinkled like Easter eggs throughout your Bible, and every time you find one, you can grab hold of it, you can stand upon it, and it's like a blank check that is just waiting to be cashed. But you've gotta walk in those promises, and God has given to them to you to encourage you.”

40s

#StandOnGodsWord

39s

#HopeForTheWeary

“And I would say hope and confidence in the future in these days is at an all time low. And perhaps that describes how you're feeling today. You're here and you came and good on you for that. But if truth be told, you're barely hanging on by a thread and you're starting to lose hope. And for anyone in here who might be feeling that way today, you're like, I don't know how much more I can take. You picked the right weekend to come to church. God has a word for you, and he wants to speak life over you, and he wants to fill you with new strength, new hope, and encouragement.”

32s

#GuardAgainstDiscouragement

“This world abounds with discouraging words and circumstances. Right? All you have to do is flip on the local news or perhaps pull out your phone and begin to scroll. And what happens? Your your heart rate increases, your anxiety goes up, and your hope for the future diminishes. In fact, the definition for the word discouragement according to Webster's dictionary is a feeling of having lost hope or confidence.”

40s

#FourTimesCourage

29s

#PeaceInHisPresence

“But David had learned to walk so closely with the Lord that in Psalm 23, he could say, yay, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil because you are with me. And when you walk so closely with the Lord, I've been there in the room with so many people over the years who were transitioning from here into the next life, and they had a peace in their heart because they had the abiding presence of the Lord with them, and I hope that encourages you today. The Lord is with you.”

38s

#HeavenlyBlessings

“And all they had to do was walk in it. And you see that in verse three. Every place you put the sole of your foot is a place that I've given to you. This is what the Lord says. And yet they stopped short. They settled for less. And it would be easy to point our finger at Israel and say, how could you? But aren't we guilty of the same thing? You see in Ephesians chapter one verse three, the Lord speaks through the apostle Paul, and he says that he, that is God, has blessed us, that is the church, in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”

31s

#FaithBuiltByTheWord

“You see, this book is not here just to provide you with some tips and tricks on how to maximize your joy. This book exists to introduce you to the heart of your heavenly father, and the more you get to see how good he is, the more encouraged you will be. Your faith will grow too when you read this book. As you open the word, faith comes from hearing, and it's like a muscle that gets strengthened through use. And so as you just sit under the teaching of God's word, your your faith is being built.”

38s

#OvercomingImpostorSyndrome

“My dad was not only the pastor of this church for the better part of four decades, but he was also my my own personal hero. And so when I was tapped on the shoulder and anointed as the next senior pastor of this church, oh, you better believe there was some insecurities that bubbled up within me. And I would stand side stage for months getting ready to come out and stand behind this pulpit that I had heard him preach from hundreds of times over the years, and the devil would assault me with all of these these attacks. And he would say, you're an impostor. You're a fraud. Nobody cares what you have to say. Who do you think you are? You don't have what it takes.”

40s

#CourageCommanded

33s

#IAmDoingANewThing

“It wasn't until Uzziah was taken off the scene that Isaiah could see the one whom Uzziah represented, which was the Lord. And Joshua, in a similar way, needed to get his eyes on the Lord so that he could lead the people into this new season. The Lord said this through the prophet Isaiah, and this is Isaiah forty three nineteen. Let's read this together out loud. See, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up. Do you not perceive it? I'm making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

33s

#ImWithYouAlways

“These are the words that Jesus echoed in the great commission, lo, I'm with you always even to the end of the age. The God of the Bible is the God who never leaves us nor forsakes us. And when Joshua heard the Lord say that, it must have been like music to his ears. You see, he had learned from his predecessor, his mentor Moses, to value the presence over and above everything else in this life. Moses cherished the presence. We we talked about that a few weeks ago in our study, talking about lingering in the presence.”

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A Word of Encouragement | Daniel Bentley

Devotional

Day 1: God’s command to be strong and courageous

Day 2: The Lord’s promise to be with you always

Day 3: Holding onto God’s great and precious promises

Day 4: The encouragement found in God’s Word

Day 5: Our confidence that God is for us

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

A Word of Encouragement | Daniel Bentley

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