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Episode Notes
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TranscriptIntroduction
We are just a few weeks away from the end of Season 35, and I’m so very excited about our topics for Season 36. But we mustn’t get ahead of ourselves, because there’re still really important things to talk about now.
If you’re brand new to the show, I pray we draw you closer to God today. To that end, we have free episode notes, a transcript, and related resources linked for you in the description of today’s episode. Those items are there to help you further your study of today’s topic. And—speaking of today’s topic, let’s dive right in. Topic
Parenting can be a scary thing. We parents can be tempted to be afraid of Satan and his forces, our culture, our government, our children’s influences, our own inadequacies, and—quite often—we’re tempted to be afraid of our children.
But the most oft repeated command in the whole of Scripture is “fear not.” Perfect love drives out fear, and God has not given us a spirit of fear. Therefore, we need to pursue courage. That’s what we need. We need to be courageous parents. And that’s what we’re going to discuss today. We’re going to lay the groundwork for courageous parenting, and then we’re going to include a lot of amazing resources in the description so you can study the other necessary facets of this conversation like the nature of fear, peace in your parenting, and the like. But before we move any further along in this conversation, I’d like to share with you that our goal for 2026 is to become a sustainable ministry so that we can continue serving families for years to come. We’re at the place where—in order to care for my own family—we need to raise more money for this non-profit, or I need to pursue a different job. Honestly, forming those words is so difficult. I love this ministry with a fervent passion. I want so badly to continue opening God’s Word to help dads and moms better worship God with their parenting. I want to equip families to be unified and strong. I desire to create more and more resources that will point people to God’s will for their lives. But without consistent annual giving, we’re going to have to close our doors. But you can help us. All you need to do is wisely and prayerfully commit to being a monthly donor. Listen, it doesn’t need to be a lot. Whatever your family can justifiably set aside each month can be added to what others can do. And it will ultimately be God Who gives the increase. So, please visit TruthLoveParent.com/donate to learn how you can give tax-exempt gifts to our 501(c)(3) nonprofit. And—just so you know—we’re striving to be courageous over here. We trust the Lord and know that whatever He ordains for our lives is best. And—speaking of being courageous—let’s read Joshua 1:1-9. It’ll seem like a longer passage, and it will be easy to not pay close attention, but of everything you’re going to hear today, God’s inscripturated Word is the most important. “Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of Yahweh, that Yahweh spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ attendant, saying, 2 “Moses My servant is dead; so now arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. 3 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory. 5 No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous to be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn aside from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be prosperous wherever you go. 8 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 successful, and then you will be prosperous. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be in dread or be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go.”” For starters, when we read passages like this, we need to consider . . . 1. The Historical Context A. God’s promises to specific people cannot be applied to other people unless additional biblical passages explain or illustrate that application. We modern audiences are not to cross the river Jordan and drive out the Canaanites. God is not promising that any of us (if we’re not Jews) will inherit the Promised Land. God is not telling us that no man will be able to stand against us. God is not promising to be with any of us like He was with Moses. Things are different in the New Testament dispensation. God interacts with us differently, and He has different promises for us. Now, that doesn’t mean that the Old Testament has no value for us. It has tremendous value as a revelation of Who God is. Jesus Himself is a revelation of the Father, and the Old Testament is a gorgeous revelation of the Godhead that helps us better love Him and understand the New Testament. However, when God promised that Mary would give birth to the Messiah, none of us should think that we can clam that promise for ourselves. In the same way, there are many, many, many promises made to many people all throughout the Bible, and we need to be careful claiming them for ourselves. This passage promises Joshua that if He obeyed the Lord, he would be prosperous wherever he went. And the Old Testament frequently sets the material terms of that prosperity. That material prosperity is not for us. The prosperity gospel, the health-and-wealth preachers are lying when they say that God wants us to be rich and materially prosperous. They will quote passages like this and lead well-meaning, but biblical ignorant people astray into materialism—all the while padding their own pockets. This is why it’s mandatory that we modern Christians understand . . . B. God’s promises to the New Testament believers are not tangible, but spiritual. God does promise us great and precious things. He does promise to make us prosper, but nowhere in the New Testament do we see promises of tangible, material blessing. Instead, we see promises of tribulation and persecution and trials and distresses and hatred. It happened to Jesus, it will happen to us. God has never promised you that you will be physically healthy or rich if you follow Him. He tells you that you will be hated by the same people who hate Him. However, God does promise us spiritual wealth, spiritual health, spiritual bounty, and spiritual prosperity. He promises us grace, strength, mercy, salvation, sanctification, peace, joy, contentment, gratitude, righteousness, and a slough of other spiritual blessings like the Fruit of the Spirit and the evidences of spiritual life in II Peter. It’s important for us to recognize that God commanded Joshua to do certain things in order to attain the promises the Lord had given him. And we know from other passages of Scriptures that—though the promises to us may be different—God expects us to do the exact same things Joshua was supposed to do. Joshua received his promises by obeying God, and we will receive our promises by obeying God. So, what are the Lord’s expectations for us and what is He promising us New Testament parents if we obey Him? 2. The Modern Application Let’s start by first looking at . . . A. The Promises First, God promises to be with us. In verses 5 and 9 of this passage, the Lord promises to be with Joshua. He said, “I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.” And we have similar promises extended to us. I Corinthians 3:16 tells us that the Holy Spirit dwells within His people. That’s a glorious reality the Old Testament believers didn’t have the same way we do. Quoting from the Old Testament and applying it to us, the author of Hebrews writes “I will never leave you, nor will I ever forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5-6). Philippians 4:9 tells us that when we obey Him, the God of peace will be with us. And James 4 commands us to draw near to God so that He will draw near to us. And I could keep going. We New Testament believers should definitely grasp hold of God’s promises to be with us because we absolutely need that and are called to have it. We cannot parent to His glory without His power and proximity. The second promise we see in this passage is what I’m calling Personal Parental Prosperity. Verses 7 and 8 talk about prosperity and success, and though the New Testament offers zero promises of material prosperity for believers, we see abundantly greater promises offered to us. As a small example, John 15:4-5 is the famous passage that tells us that we can only bear fruit in Christ if we are in Him. The Philippians 4 passage as well as Romans 8:5-6 promise peace. II Peter urges believers to add virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love to their lives through the knowledge of God. The Scriptures promise to show us God’s will, give us grace, mercy, joy, and contentment. We’re promised that we can be thankful in all things. We know that we have the power of God to pursue the will of God. We have the promise of answered prayer that aligns with God’s plan for us. The Lord promises spiritual growth, a greater understanding of God’s truth, deeper fellowship with believers, and so many other glorious truths. And each of these promises has direct application to our parenting. God is promising me and you that if we follow His expectations for our lives, we can always escape temptation to fear and anger in our parenting. We can always be patient and wise. We can always know what Scriptures to bring to bear in our kids’ lives. We can always have the spiritual strength to do the things we need to do even when we feel like we can’t take another step. This is the Personal Parental Prosperity. It’s personal because nowhere in the Scriptures does God promise that my actions will cause my kids to “turn out right.” My actions invite God’s personal promises to me. I can be at peace when my kids are off the rails. I can be loving when my kids are being hateful. It’s prosperity in my spiritual life and maturity. I might not always have a big paycheck, but I will always have access to all the spiritual vitality that I will ever need. And it’s parental because—as was mentioned before—each of God’s promises has equal application to my parenting as it does every other facet of my life. So, those are the promises for us. God will be with us and prosper us. But, like the majority of the promises all throughout the Bible, these promises are contingent on something. They are conditioned on the fact that we will do our part. So, let’s turn our eyes to . . . B. The Expectations Now, here’s something interesting. Most of us came to this podcast episode expecting to learn how we can be courageous in our parenting. Let’s face it . . . that’s literally the name of the episode. But some of you were expecting that courage was going to be one of the promises God had for us. It’s something that must be given to us if we’re ever going to have it. But it’s not. Interestingly enough, being a courageous parent is actually the very first command. 1. Be strong and courageous. Verse 6 says, “Be strong and courageous,” verse 7 reads, “Only be strong and very courageous,” and verse 9 tells us, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous!” The Hebrew word translated courageous in each of these instances refers to being strong, bold, or superior. It’s translated many things including hardened, encouraged, instilled with exceeding power, made hast, being too strong, strengthened, and even “made his heart obstinate.” Now, that might confuse us because the Hebrew word right before this word also is translated strong. In fact, nearly all of the translations of this word include the words strong or strength. I’m no scholar, but the uniqueness of the words seems to be that the first one translated “strong” most basically refers to what we think about when we’re told that someone is strong. They’re firm, have big muscles, or have hard muscles. The word translated “courageous” is a different kind of interior strength that—among other things—can produce courage. Merriam-Webster defines courage as “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.” But where does courage come from? What produces it? From where do we derive the strength? Just for fun, I submitted this for an AI overview: “From where do people get the strength to be courageous.” The AI Overview replied, “People find the strength to be courageous by connecting deeply with what they value most. Whether standing up for others, surviving personal adversity, or pursuing a challenging goal, courage is fueled by a sense of purpose, supportive relationships, and small, repeated acts of bravery that build emotional stamina over time.” Do you see how “individual-focused” that answer is. Of course it is. In a world where everything boils down to biological causes, obviously we find the answer inside of ourselves. However, biblically speaking, we’re going to find that the strength to be courageous is not something that’s found in us. Yahweh Himself is speaking directly to Joshua. The Lord very simply commands him to be strong and courageous. That’s an exciting thing about God. He is so powerful and infinite and majestic and perfect and loving and all-knowing that when He looks at you and matter-of-factly tells you to do something . . . there is no arguing with Him. I Corinthians 16:13 says, "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong." Ephesians 6:10-13 tells us, "Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might." Hebrews talks often of the confidence we’re to have. In John 16:33, Jesus tells His disciples, "In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." Just like Joshua, we can see that our courage needs to be rooted in the very God Who demands it of us. Courage is a choice to take God at face value. He says I shouldn’t fear, then I won’t. God commands me to be courageous, then I will do so in the power He provides. What’s interesting is that we’re to be courageous in the following expectations the Lord has for us, but it’s also in the doing of the other expectations that we grow in courage. AI’s answer concerning courage wasn’t all bad. It talked of value; we speak of trusting God. It spoke of repeated acts of bravery that build emotional stamina over time; we talk of perseverance in Christ. The second command is tied to the first . . . only be strong and very courageous to . . . 2. Obey God’s commands. Don’t turn to the right or the left. Be careful to do according to all the law of Moses. In John 14:15, Jesus says, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” Philippians 2:12, "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” I John 2:3-4 reads, "By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments." Ephesians 5:1-2 tells us to imitate God. We’re told to be holy as the Lord is holy. Philippians 4:9 says, “The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” And on and on and on. It’s very interesting to me how little Christians think about obedience. That is—of course—unless we’re thinking about how others need to obey us . . . you know . . . like our kids. Otherwise, I swear we give little to thought to our intentional obedience to Christ unless we’re simply assuming that we do it. But the Lord commands that we keep His law, that we be holy, that we keep the commandments, that we submit, obey, and follow. We can’t be courageous if we’re disobeying God. Why? Well, if He’s not worth obeying, then we really don’t trust in Him do we? One of the key indicators that you’re not trusting in the Lord is your sin . . . whether it’s what you’re doing or how you’re doing it or why you’re doing it. It’s impossible to be trusting Him wile disobeying Him because faith, belief, and trust demand obedience. If this is a foreign concept to you, if you thought that faith was simply some churchy word that describes how we feel about God, then please listen to The Merest Christianity series. I’ll link it in the description. And if God isn’t trustworthy, how on earth can we have courage in and from Him? My fellow parent, if you’re not feeling courageous, it’s because you’re not trusting God. If you’re not trusting God, my friend, you’re not glorifying Him. You’re either sinning in what your doing, how you’re doing it, or—more often than not—why you’re doing it. Okay, so how do we obey God’s commands? Well, the answer was partially given in the verse we read. 3. Meditate on God’s Word. How do we know Who God is? How do we know His expectations for us? Well, unlike when Yahweh spoke directly to Joshua, in this day and age, God has seen fit to give us His Word. Now, I know that those of you who have listened to these episodes since the beginning, it can be easy for you to think something like, “I know this already, Aaron. You say this all the time.” But here’s the thing. The people who are daily in the Bible, hear this truth, rejoice in it, and continue courageously obeying God. The ones who go, “Yeah, I know, ‘read the Bible,’ but what else?” Those are the people who aren’t courageous in their parenting. They don’t trust God, they’re not in His Word, and they’re not really obeying even if they seem pretty good when they compare themselves with the World. Now, if you’ve never heard that obedience requires the right what, how, and why to be true, Christ-honoring obedience, then please listen to our Teach Your Children to Obey series. God told Joshua, “Do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you.” He then said, “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.” What do we need to do in order to be careful to obey all that’s written in the Bible? We need to to meditate on it. Our communication needs to be filled with it. If it’s in our heart, it will be on our tongues, and it will be in our lives. That kind of living produces increasing courage. Do you have a steady diet of attending to the Scriptures in personal Bible study? Are you committing it to memory? Are you meditating on it? Does it consume your speech? If you want to be a courageous parent, you need to be a biblical parent. And it’s this king of parenting that allows us to keep this final command. 4. Don’t be afraid. Again, this isn’t the promise. We’re not to do something in order to escape fear. We’re to reject fear in order to obey God so that we can be spiritually profitable and with the Lord. Verse 9 ends with, “Do not be in dread or be dismayed.” And, again, the ability to obey this command is tied to what we believe about God. The very next words in the verse were, “for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go.” God is with us. He’s trustworthy. He knows what’s best. He’s promised to give us everything we need to please Him in our parenting. It’s for these reasons and more that He can command us to be courageous and strong and obedient and studious with His Word and reject fear. Conclusion
Do you want to be a courageous parent? Obey God. Fill yourself with His Word, swim in it’s depths, submit to all of His expectations, flee from Satan, draw near to Him, reject sin, embrace holiness, and you will be a perpetually courageous parent . . . God has promised it.
And—in conclusion—please note that it has nothing to do with you, the world around you, or your kids. You can be courageous even when you know all your own weaknesses, the World wants to destroy your family, and your kids couldn’t care less. You can be courageous because your courage is founded in God, His promises, and His ability to bring them to pass. Please share this episode with anyone who you think might want to be a courageous parent. And if you’re still struggling, please email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (828) 423-0894 so we can open the Scriptures to help you better know and trust the Lord and practically live it out in your life. And be sure to join us next time as we discuss “The Only Way to Fight the World’s Culture in Your Home.” I’ll see you then.
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