“ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, GO!”
Joshua 1:1-18
Thank you… Excited…Rarin’ to go…
work to be done, tremendous responsibility and opportunity
Change of leadership now, new leadership…
Questions, unsure about future,
Perhaps fearful of what might happen next at church,
State of uncertainty…
Any guidelines from God?
I wonder if God were to talk to us this morning in this new relationship, what would He say?
Well, anyone in the past been in a similar situation?
If so, what did God say to them?
Yes, there is recorded in Scripture a very similar situation to the situation we find ourselves in this morning.
Turn with me to Joshua 1…
(Context and historical setting)
40 yrs of wandering in the wilderness, Moses takes the people to the east side of the Jordan River, but cannot enter the Promised Land. He delivers 3 sermons, and then dies (Deuteronomy). Reins are handed over to Joshua.
Now, we are separated from this historical event by over 3,000 yrs. Yet, are there any similarities to us here this morning?
Without stretching it too much, I think that there is. From what I have observed in my time here so far, I believe that this congregation is on the brink of some great things. I believe that great things are in store for us!
Now the Lord has brought new leadership to this His church. And I do believe that God Himself is the One who has brought us together, don’t you? It has definitely been a “God thing”
Don’t misunderstand me here. I don’t want to come across as THE one who will lead us into the Promised Land. But, as the Lord has brought me to this place of leadership and responsibility, I will be preaching and teaching God’s Word to you week in and week out.
And as we, together, get to know God better as He reveals Himself and His will for us, we will respond to God’s Word.
The question for us this morning is: “What will our response be to God? How are we going to God and His Word to us?”
As we will see this morning from God’s Word,
“TO BE SUCCESSFUL, OBEY GOD!”
So, I do think there are some similarities without stretching it too much. In the passage before us, I obviously identify mostly with Joshua. God’s commands to Joshua I take as commands to me as an undershepherd and a leader in this congregation. Let’s together try to identify with Joshua and see the priorities God has for those He chooses as leaders… (Read vv. 1-9)
I. GOD’S COMMANDS TO JOSHUA (vv. 1-9)
Joshua 80 yrs old at this point. Although called simply Hoshea “salvation” (Numbers 13: 8, 16) Moses later changed his name to “Joshua” which means
“The LORD saves” or “The LORD gives victory”
Guess what the Greek form of Joshua is? JESUS! (Matthew 1:21)
So here Joshua is with the huge task of leading God’s people into the Promised Land. He was facing one of the biggest challenges of his life after the death of Moses. Now Joshua was the leader. First of all Joshua had to lead the people across the Jordan River, no small order. As we’ll find out later in this book in chapter 3, the Jordan River was now in flood stage, approximately 100 feet wide. The river had swollen and made it virtually impossible to cross.
Next, Joshua had the monumental military assignment of conquering the seven nations which occupied the Promised Land. Then he had to divide it fairly among the people. On top of all that, he had the even more challenging job of setting them on the right course spiritually. One commentator has this to say…
“To conquer the country required but the talent of a military commander; to divide the country was pretty much an affair of trigonometry; but to settle them in a higher sense, to create a moral affinity between them and their God, to turn their hearts to the covenant of their fathers, to wean them from their old idolatries and establish them in such habits of obedience and trust that the doing of God’s will would become to them a second nature---
Here was the difficulty of Joshua.”
It was a huge task. Think of the pressure Joshua was under. I’m sure it probably affected not only all his waking moments, but more than likely his sleep. Maybe he felt under the kind of pressure this one pastor was under… As this pastor’s wife tells it, she awoke one night to find her husband asleep on his elbows and knees at the foot of the bed. His arms were cupped as if he were holding something and he was muttering. She said, “What on earth are you doing?’ Still asleep, he replied, “Shhh, I’m holding a pyramid of marbles together, and if I move, they are all going to fall down!” That, my friends, is a classic pastor’s dream!
Imagine the pressure Joshua was under. Now was the time for Joshua to justify his name. He was to show himself worthy to be called “Jehovah’s salvation” --- Jesus!
I mean, put yourself in Joshua’s sandals here. How would you have felt? I’m sure that Joshua must have felt twinges of fear and apprehension at this tremendous responsibility. How would you have felt? Don’t you think that questions flooded his mind?
“What if the people won’t accept me? What if they rebel? What if I fail?”
Those kinds of questions would have been normal, especially after what God tells Joshua to do... (read v 2). God tells Joshua to get going, to take the first step. You know what, the first step is always the hardest. The most difficult words in a term paper are the opening sentences. It seems almost impossible to get the first words down. The most difficult hit in a football game is the first hit. And this truth is true even more so spiritually speaking.
In confronting a sinning fellow believer, the hardest words are the first you speak. The most difficult step in a new work of faith is the first word you speak. Maybe the hardest words you will ever say are the first words as you share your faith with your neighbor, co-worker, friend, or loved one. But God’s command to Joshua brings wisdom to us today:
IF GOD TELLS YOU TO TAKE THE FIRST STEP, DO IT!!!
Learning to take that first step is the key to experiencing what God has in store for you. So, are there some steps you need to take? What is the Jordan in your life that you need to cross?
God offers reassuring promises to Joshua. Look first of all at vv. 3-4… God’s ultimate plan included much more land than the people claimed under Joshua’s leadership. Even though they had great victories which we will be looking at in the weeks ahead, the people had some lapses of faith and accepted compromises. They didn’t expand to the greater territory promised to them.
Look at the generous and inviting reward offered to them (v. 3)
You know what, that’s exactly what happened…and no more. If only the people of Israel through greater faith had walked further, more land would have been theirs.
What a lesson for us here today. When God asks us to take that first step, to cross that Jordan in our lives, He expects us to follow through on further steps of faith. Time and time again His children have taken that difficult first step, but have failed to take further steps which would carry them to full possession of the promises of God. This happens so often with churches & Christian organizations.
Maybe the church or organization started out with huge steps of faith, only to have it followed up with cautious, timid, pre-measured, pre-insured baby steps. And, as a result, they never expand to the great ministry that God has laid out for them. This is true of individual Christians as well. Some of us have taken great steps of faith in the past. But, you know what, we must continue to take great steps of faith and to claim more land. Land that God has promised us.
For those willing to accept the challenge, for those willing to take the big steps of faith and follow up with more steps of faith, God offers even more promises. Look at v. 5… The final line of v. 5 can be translated, “…I will never drop you or forsake you.” The writer of Hebrews quotes this verse in Hebrews 13:5-6 “I will never desert you, nor will I forsake you” then follows up with “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me?”
We need that kind of reassurance, don’t we? So did Joshua. Look at what God tells Joshua repeatedly in the next several verses…God tells Joshua 3X just in vv. 1-9 “Be strong and courageous…” (vv. 6,7,9) (Also compare Deuteronomy 31:23)
God understood what Joshua was feeling.
But, you know something?
GOD NEVER GIVES A PERSON A JOB TO DO WITHOUT GIVING HIM ALL THE RESOURCES TO CARRY OUT THE JOB. (Repeat)
God had called Joshua to do a job, and He reassures Joshua that He would be with him.
That’s so reassuring to me. As I look at the tremendous responsibility ahead of me, I confess that sometimes questions flood my mind, similar to the ones I think Joshua had. Yet, I realize that GOD has brought me here, HE called me here, and HE will accomplish HIS will. What has God called you to do? Are you afraid? Do you have lots of questions for God?
Rest assured, that when God calls you to do something, He obligates Himself to see you through to the end. He will fulfill His purposes in us!
There are some conditions, however. God not only reassured Joshua of His presence and power, He also gave Joshua some specific conditions for successfully taking the land.
So God gives 5 direct commands (all similar) which are God’s conditions for success:
(1) v. 7b “Be careful to obey all the law…”
(2) v. 7c “do not turn from it to the right or to the left”
(3) v. 8a “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth”
(4) v. 8b “meditate on it day and night” (suggesting an almost inaudible murmur. God’s Word is to be chewed, swallowed, and digested so that become part of his thoughts and actions.
(5) v. 8c “so that you may be careful to do everything written in it”
If you do these things, God said, then… (v. 8d)
“Then you will be prosperous and successful”
What, then, was Joshua’s real challenge and responsibility?
(And what do I see as my primary responsibility?)
(1) Joshua had to make sure he knew and understood the Law. How was he to do that? Study, meditation, memorization, “day and night” As your pastor, I see one of my responsibilities to be to study God’s Word.
(2) Like Joshua, I must put into practice what I learn (see v. 7 “do not turn from it to the right or to the left”
Just as Joshua couldn’t lead Israel into obedience to God unless he himself was obedient, so it is for me. I must practice what I preach.
(3) Maybe most important, Joshua was to boldly and with confidence communicate God’s Word to the people. Just as Paul gave the command to Timothy, the command to all pastors is to, “Preach the Word”
Warning: you might not always like what God’s Word has to say. But I have the responsibility and obligation to still preach the Word. I can’t always speak with confidence and authority when voicing my own opinions, but when preaching God’s Word, I can be confident when I know that God has spoken.
God communicated His will to His people through Joshua. His will is not always easy to follow. Sometimes what God asks us to do is a difficult pill to swallow. Look at what some of the people of Israel were asked to do (vv. 10-15)
II. JOSHUA’S COMMAND TO THE PEOPLE (vv. 10-15)
2 ½ tribes made up of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh were promised land already captured on the east side of the Jordan River. Now they were asked to help the rest of the tribes of Israel capture and settle into the Promised Land.
I’m sure that wasn’t an easy thing to do. Wouldn’t it have been easy to say, “Why should we help? We’ve already got our land. Let them get their own.”
Maybe some of you are feeling that way right now when called upon to something for the Lord or for His church. Maybe you are thinking, “I’ve served my time. Let someone else do it. Give me a break!”
Although some of you (most of you) have a right to feel that way, let me offer these words for you to think about…
Just as the people of Israel were one group, one people, so we, as a church body, are one body. We are one. And we need each other. You have become aware of that to an even greater degree these past few years.
But we need each other even more in the days and years ahead. We need each other. It’s so exciting to me to see and experience the unity that we enjoy this morning. Let’s keep that unity. We will never be able to accomplish much if we become divided.
How could we become divided? I think it begins when we decide to do our own thing, regardless of what God says. You see, God gives us a choice. To follow Him, or to disobey.
Will we follow Him and walk in obedience to Him?
Or will we disregard His Word, His purpose, and His will for our lives? The choice is ours.
If we want to be successful (we do want to be successful, right?)
There is only one right choice to make…
to obey God and His Word.
Because if we want to be successful, we must obey God.
“TO BE SUCCESSFUL, OBEY GOD”
Fortunately, for the people of Israel, they made the right choice this time, and they obeyed God (vv. 16-18)
III. THE PROPLE’S RESPONSE TO JOSHUA (vv. 16-18)
Wow, what a great response! That’s a preacher’s dream, you know, to have that kind of response.
But, for us, where do we go from here? I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to get going, anxious to get to work, excited to see what God will do in and through us.
As I close, I would like to leave you with some words of challenge, and then some words of reassurance.
My challenge to you comes in the form of some questions I would like for you to ask yourself.
In all seriousness, in your relationship with God, ask yourself:
“Do I take seriously God’s Word and its promises?”
“Am I reading the Bible regularly?”
“Am I meditating on God’s Word?”
“Am I memorizing God’s Word?” (If not, let me suggest getting started with any or all of verses 5-9 of Joshua 1)
“Am I living in obedience to God right now?”
“Am I drawing strength from God and His Word to carry out my responsibilities?”
“Do I believe that obedience to God’s Word will bring blessing?”
“Do I really believe that God is with me? That He has not forsaken me and He never will?”
The words of reassurance I would like to leave with you are words which I find reassuring as I look toward the future together.
(Look at vv. 5 & 9b)
So we obey God to be successful, right? Wrong! No, no, no! We don’t obey God because we want to be successful. We obey God because He is God, because He is a faithful God, and He will prove His faithfulness time and time again.
We obey because God is faithful! God is faithful! Amen?
God is faithful…
Hebrews 10:23 “He who promised is faithful”
Lamentations 3:22-23 “The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness”
We will be singing that great hymn as we close, but before we do, let’s share with one another how God has been faithful to us. Share with us a time when He was faithful to you…
Then we will share other praises and concerns with each other…
Who would like to share first, how has God been faithful to you...
