Going Forward For God

Going Forward for God

Joshua 1:1-9

Sermon by Rick Crandall

McClendon Baptist Church - May 3, 2009

*May is the month for graduations. Lord willing, in two weeks we will be headed down to Baton Rouge for Katie’s LSU graduation. I don’t think I have ever been happier about a graduation. I am almost giddy -- like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

*Well, this morning I am speaking to our graduates. But don’t you tune out, because God’s Word has something to say to all of us.

-God wants you to go forward!

-God wants you to go forward into the best life you can possibly have.

-How can we do that?

1. First: Get a vision of the victory God wants for you.

*In vs. 1-4 the Lord gave Joshua a vision of great victory:

1. After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant,

2. “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them the children of Israel.

3. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.

4. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory.”

*Moses had faithfully served the Lord for over 40 years -- But Moses was dead.

-Except for Joshua and Caleb, the oldest among them had only been 19 when they left Egypt. Now it was time for a new generation to rise up and win the victories God had prepared for them.

*Rise up young Christians! This is your time for victory. Day by day, from faith to faith, God passes the torch to a new generation of believers.

-Now is the time for you to dedicate yourself to the cause of Jesus Christ.

-Get a vision of the victory God wants for you, and commit yourself to win those victories.

*This challenge is not just for the young people. Joshua was at least 60 years old when God called him to rise up and go over into the new land.

-If you wake up in the morning, I promise you that God has new victories in store for you. Dedicate yourself to winning those spiritual victories.

*God has new opportunities for His people. For us as a church, this is easy to see, as we stand on the threshold of opening a new building for our children and preschoolers. Those two age groups have totaled over a hundred these past few weeks, with over 60 in Preschool. They had to move furniture out of one room to make room for the children. But in just a few months, we will get to move the children into a first class facility.

*Thank you to everyone who is helping to make this dream come true! But let me also tell you that if we are going to have the victory God wants us to have as a church, we must have more workers, more teachers and helpers, especially in our children’s program. When Jesus saw the multitudes in Matthew 9:36, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

37. Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

38. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’’

*I would like to take the opportunity right now to pray for all of the laborers we will need for His harvest. (Prayer for vision and equipping of workers)

*God has new opportunities for His people, new opportunities to go, help, serve and give. God has new opportunities for you to make a difference in other people’s lives, -- New victories for us all. But you have to get a vision for the victory.

*Andy Stanley says: A clear vision, along with the courage to follow through, dramatically increases your chances of coming to the end of your life, looking back with a deep satisfaction and thinking “I did it. I succeeded. I finished well. My life counted.”

*Without a clear vision, odds are you will come to the end of your life and wonder what you could have done – what you should have done.

-And like so many, you may wonder if your life really mattered at all.

*Vision gives significance to the otherwise meaningless details of our lives.

-It’s not always about what we’re doing, but rather why we are doing it.