Jewels From Joshua

INTRO: A few months from now the Summer Olympic Games will begin. Thousands of athletes from around the world will come to compete. Before the games begin a ceremony “lighting the Olympic Flame” will be held. This process starts in Greece (first Olympics held in 776 BC) where the torch is lit and then passed on to many runners until it finally reaches its destination. No one is commissioned to carry it the whole way.

-Like Christianity no one runner is to carry it the whole way. The torch of Christianity is passed from one generation to the next.

TS: Today, look at OT character, Joshua, who was passed the torch by Moses. By looking at his life we can learn some spiritual truths to help us.

TITLE: Jewels From Joshua

TEXT: Joshua 1:1-2 (READ)

I. Preparation:

A. Get ready – KJV (arise), he (in front, in the presence).

1. Take on leadership responsibility: to lead, to rally, to be in front guiding and directing, like Moses.

a. (New job excitement, fear) New Leader: Joshua is directed to take charge over millions of Jews and to guide and direct them into new challenges and opportunities.

-One generation passing the torch to the next generation.

2. Same today: This will happen to some sooner and to some later.

a. Learn from Joshua: Get ready, to prepare now! Time is short. It’s shorter for some than others.

-Umbrella of protection from mom and dad.

-Responsibility will come soon enough (Amen!)

3. Joshua’s preparation: He just didn’t step into leading millions of Jews.

a. Training under Moses:

-Learning from Moses how he handled the exodus dealing with millions of people.

-Crossing the Red Sea, fighting their one great enemy (Amalakites) (Moses holding arms up, Joshua leading battle.)

-Mt. Sinai – 10 Commandments (Golden Calf).

-12 spies to spy out promised land.

-40 years wandering in desert (feeling punishment that he did not deserve).

-Joshua learned, watched how Moses handled these situations and what the outcome was.

b. Young people: need to be like Joshua and learn to have a learning attitude.

-How am I preparing? What am I doing?

c. Adults: How are you preparing?

-Pr. 22:6 “Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it.”

-Train with purpose in mind: follow Christ.

-Proverbs tells us two ways to go.

1. Way of the wise.

2. Way of the fools (wicked).

1. Young learn from old, children learn from parents.

a. Great responsibility – children will learn our traits GOOD & BAD.

Ex. Joshua learning from Moses.

-Children/grandchildren will view Christianity by our own walk!

b. Disappointment – things didn’t turn out the way you had hoped. Son didn’t turn out to be

a doctor. Daughter married wrong person. Kid’s don’t have a close walk with the Lord.

1. Don’t give up: hang in there, never quit praying!

Ex. Coach never thought I would be a minister. We need to pray for the next

generation because times are getting tougher.

TS – Turn to 2nd point

II. D-Day (rubber meets the road) What you have learned goes into practice.

-Some will be going to college.

-Some will be going to high school.

-Some will be going to Jr. high.

*Each step comes more responsibility and more pressure, and we need to learn from men like Joshua.

A. Joshua’s role: Deut. 31:7 (READ) To take the Isrealites into the promised land.

1. First major task: Crossing the Jordan River at flood stage. It was bad enough to cross when the river

was normal but at flood stage. (Scholars tell us that it is an amazing sight) speed of the river, power

of the current.

-Imagine trying to organize a crossing of millions of Isrealites. (Learn administrative duties from

Moses, similar tasks, Red Sea).

a. Instruction 3:8 (READ) Go and stand in the river (weight of Ark).

-God wants us to act in obedience, not to just stand on the bank and wait.

-They made it and after several days camp in the plains of Jericho.

2. Joshua’s reflection

a. Campfire, wondering about the instruction he had received from the Lord about marching around

the city once for six days and on the seventh day march around seven times and then shout.

1. Past memories of victories and defeats with Moses.

a. Lord’s words bring comfort – Joshua 1:5-9 (READ)

-9 commands 5 be, 4 do not.

Basically relate to two things:

1. Leadership.

2. Importance of the law.

-be strong -do not be terrified

-be strong & very courageous -do not be discouraged

-be careful

b. Gold nugget of truth we can learn is: look how important obedience to God is in these nine

commands:

-Interesting to look at some of the words (careful, courageous, do not be terrified, do not be