Living In The Past Or Moving Forward With Teh Lord

LIVING IN THE PAST OR

MOVING FORWARD WITH THE LORD.

JOSHUA 1:1-11.

1. Moses is dead. What the Lord is saying is that sometimes we have to actually name out loud what it is that we can’t get past.

2. The Lord renews His promises to his everyday.

Verse 2b-3 “therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.

Verse 5b. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.

3. The key to success is doing things god’s way.

Verses 7-9. Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have 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 success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

Be Strong and courageous.

The God of Moses is the God of Joshua AND THE God of you and me.

Sense the Presence of the Holy Spirit leading your life.

Stay the Path.

Start the Process.

LIVING IN THE PAST OR

MOVING FORWARD WITH THE LORD.

JOSHUA 1:1-11.

If I gave you a piece of paper and asked you to write down the greatest disappointments of your life; I wonder what we would put down. I think that through our experience are different most of us have experience some disappointments. Maybe it was your career, or some family situation. Maybe it is your life as a Christian. Did you know that many people find or think that there is a huge gap between what they expect from their Christian life and what they actually experience? We learn to have high expectations from God, a expectation that comes from a steady diet of books, sermons and testimonies that all promise triumph and success. We have been taught to expect dramatic evidence of God’s work in our lives. The problem is that when we don’t see that evidence in our lives the way we though we should; we are left disappointed. Disappointment happens when the actually experience of something falls short of what we actually expected to anticipated. I wonder if the prevailing attitude of the people here in Joshua chapter one may be one of disappointment. They had a high expectation of the new life that God had promised them; but things didn’t happen like they thought it should of happen. I think it is likely that the people could have become frustrated, maybe even cranky. God had promised them a land flowing with milk and honey; a land where they could live, raise their families, a land that they would actually own. But that promise of God was over 40 years old now.

What is important here is that God promise could have been fulfilled over 38 years ago. You all know the story of how they came to the Jordan River; of how they sent out the twelve spies to search out the land. The Bible record how they came back and they actually said that the land is a very rich land. It was all that God had promised. Yet though everyone saw that the land was rich, 10 of the spies said that the task was too great. In other words they were saying that what was before then was so big that even God couldn’t do anything about it. God’s promise to the people took another 38 year simply because the people were disobedient and they didn’t think that God was up to the task. I want you to think about this because it is happening today. By refusing to believe in the promises of God they ended up wandering in the desert.

Can you imagine the frustration of Joshua; he had seen the evidence over the last two years that the Lord was quite able to not only meet the need but to completely deal with it whatever might be in their future. The ten saw that the risk was too great, the barrier were too big and by their own word their view of the Lord was really very SMALL. I hope you can see the two view of the Lord that is given here. Our view of the Lord is what enables us to either claim the promises of the Lord to live not claiming them.