Be strong and courageous, do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go

Our first reading this evening was from the Old Testament book of Joshua. Joshua tells us of the Israelites taking possession of the land that God had promised to them. In doing so it sets the scene for the story of the Israelites over the next 600 years.

Forty years before Joshua begins Moses had led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. We join the story after Moses has died and although God had showed Moses the land he had not been allowed to lead the people into it. This was going to be Joshuas task. The added complication was that there were already people living in the towns and cities within the land Joshuas task was not going to be an easy one.

The passage we heard this evening is the first of four speeches contained in the book of Joshua and it is described as the Lords speech. In it God is very clear in his instructions to Joshua both about the boundaries of the land they are to occupy and in reassuring him that no one will be able to stand against him. God tells Joshua that He will not fail him or forsake him.

God is also clear about the success criteria for what is effectively a military campaign. He explains in his speech that in order to ensure that his way is prosperous and successful, Joshua must act in accordance with the law given to the people by Moses and he must do this at all times. Not only must his actions be obedient to the law, but he must also meditate on the law day and night to ensure that he never strays from this obedience.

When you first hear this passage you couldnt be blamed for thinking that God has made it easy for Joshua, he is effectively guaranteeing him success. However, when you look more closely at the words, this task and the obedience necessary to ensure success is anything but easy.

Not only would there be military battles, cities and towns to be captured and people killed, effectively war to be waged, there would also be hardship and challenges to Joshuas authority and actions. In addition to all of this Joshua has been charged with praying day and night and being constantly obedient to the law.

The reading ends with God commanding Joshua to be strong and courageous and not frightened or dismayed. Even with constant prayer, even with obedience to the Law, even with the promise of success and prosperity, Joshua still needs strength and courage. His path is not going to be easy or straightforward, he will face enormous challenges. God had promised him success and prosperity but He did not promise him an easy route to it.

The theme of strength and courage underpinned with prayer that we read of in Joshua are also reflected in our second reading. In the letter to the Ephesians the writer is appealing to them to have strength in a battle of a very different kind. This was not a military campaign, a physical battle but a spiritual battle. A spiritual battle against the present darkness.

The Ephesians are urged to be strong and courageous in their faith and face enemies they cannot necessarily see. These enemies are not always flesh and blood, they are much less tangible and much harder to identify and to challenge. Instead of military armour the Ephesians are given the armour of God, the sword of the spirit and the helmet of salvation to fight these enemies with.

Reflecting on these two readings I think it is much easier to relate to the physical battles and challenges of Joshua. Military battles are part of our everyday life whether we like it or not. On a daily basis we see or hear reports of battles being fought right now via the television, radio and newspapers. We see graphic images of physical conflict and we hear harrowing reports from the front line. Some of the stories we hear and see describe individuals who have shown enormous courage and strength just as Joshua did.

We take for granted that all the bloodshed and death that is shown to us is an inevitable consequence of fighting evil and is necessary for the greater good of humanity. We are always on the side of the good. Unless we know someone who is fighting we dont have to deal with the real affects of war. We are not required to handle the realities of death and the impact on families and communities except from a comfortable distance.

On a daily basis we see the death and destruction of war, we hear the names of dead soldiers, we see some of the coffins being repatriated but unless we know people who are closely involved it doesnt challenge us too much.

We dont engage fully in the horror of what is happening because we dont have to, it is happening on the other side of the world, we are detached by distance, we dont have to do anything, our daily lives are unaffected, if it gets too much we can switch off the pictures; we are content to leave the decisions to our leaders and accept the outcome.

We play the role of the passive observer, just letting things happen because after all even if I dont agree with the direction in which our society is being led, what difference can I make as one person?

The spiritual enemies that Paul talks about in his letter to the Ephesians are much harder to define, they are not tangible, and they cant be seen or touched. The language Paul uses to describe them is unfamiliar maybe even uncomfortable for us. These invisible enemies, the authorities, the cosmic powers of this present darkness; spiritual forces of evil are surely not our concern.

They do not appear on our TV screens, in our newspapers or on our radios or do they?

Lets consider this for a moment. Lets look at the corporate mindset of our banks. In my opinion, the banks have made rather a mess of things by taking too many risks on too many commodities that didnt exist. They lent too much money to people who could not afford to pay it back. They overstretched themselves and encouraged all of us to do the same, whilst still patting themselves on the back and paying each other massive bonuses.

Then it all went horribly wrong, most of the big banks in this country had to take a handout from the taxpayer to stop them from going under. Those that didnt still operated knowing that they would not be allowed to fail, that at the end of the day the government would step in to save them.

So, here we are 3 years on, the banks are once again making billions of pounds of profit, and paying the minimum of corporation tax they can get away with. There is no sense of mistakes made and lessons learnt. Huge bonuses are still being paid based on short term goals not long term stability which is an attitude that encourages risk taking and in turn instability. Nothing has changed, if anything the corporate mindset of the banks has got harder, less concerned with the bigger picture.

If we think that there are no invisible enemies or evil forces in our society then we are mistaken and we need to look again, more carefully.

I would argue that in our society we face not only the physical, military battles of the kind recorded in Joshua but also the battle against spiritual enemies that are spoken of in the letter to Ephesians.

We may pray for the leaders of our country and our military but should we also be praying to discern what is Gods will in this? Are we being obedient to Gods commandments?

We should be questioning the ethos and ethics of the corporations we trust with our money.

We should carefully consider the way that companies who we buy goods and services from treat their employees.

Do we care enough about who supplies our food and how the multi million pound supermarket chains reward them?

Does the company you work for treat customers and staff fairly? How does it deal with employees who are sick or face times of hardship?

More importantly though we should be acting on what we find. Having an opinion is simply not enough, God calls us to act against the present darkness and these issues are, for us, our present darkness.

If our government pursues a path that we believe after our prayerful consideration is morally wrong then we should be voicing our objections to our local MP and writing to our leaders and campaigning to raise issues at the highest level.

If our Bank is one of those who stubbornly refuse to change policy, stubbornly refuses to encourage growth, a bank with a belligerent attitude to the taxpayers bail out then it is time to move banks or to begin a campaign for change.

If our employer is a business that treats staff unfairly or without compassion it is time to look for a way to tackle this, not just ignore it and hope that it will go away.

It requires a level of strength, courage and discipline to do the right thing, to follow the right path that Im sure would be a challenge to most of us; just as it was a challenge to Joshua and the Ephesians; after all it is much easier to ignore these visible and invisible enemies and to do nothing.

This path of action is not without risk. There is the risk of ridicule from your employer, fellow employees, peers, even friends. There is a risk of exposing your true beliefs that could easily be against popular opinion and leave you feeling isolated. Perhaps the greatest risk and probably one of the hardest to take is that your action will be completely ignored.

But day and night we should be asking ourselves are we putting on the whole armour of God? Are we fastening the belt of truth around our waists? Are we wearing the breastplate of righteousness and carrying the shield of faith?

Do we stand firm in the face of evil, prayerfully considering everything we do and proclaiming the gospel of peace boldly?

God calls each one of us to pray day and night, God calls us to action today and everyday, He calls us to fight the invisible enemies in our society and in our daily lives. He calls us despite the challenges that call gives us, He calls us even when doing the right thing is hard and seemingly achieves little, just as he called Joshua and the Ephesians.

He doesnt promise to make it easy for us, he doesnt promise to make us popular but be strong and courageous, do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Amen.