WHAT A WAY TO GO!
Joshua 23.1-16
S: Faithfulness
C: Joshua’s farewell to leaders
Pr: WE ARE INSTRUCTED TO BE FAITHFUL.
?: How?
KW: Challenges
TS: We will find in our study of Joshua 23 five challenges that show us how to be faithful to God.
Type: Propositional
The ____ challenge is…
I. REMEMBER HOW GOD HAS WORKED (1-5)
II. OBEY THE WORD OF GOD (6-7)
III. HOLD FAST TO GOD (8-10)
IV. LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD (11-13)
V. BE PREPARED FOR THE CONSEQUENCES (14-16)
PA: How is the change to be observed?
• Respond to God’s fulfilled promises with faithfulness.
• Choose God’s goodness over worldly enticements.
Version: ESV
RMBC 15 July 07 AM
INTRODUCTION:
ILL Aging (H)
Two elderly gentlemen were talking together.
"I guess you’re never too old," the first one boasted. "Why, just yesterday a pretty college girl said she’d be interested in dating me. But to be perfectly honest, I don’t quite understand it."
"Well," his friend said, "you have to remember that nowadays women are more aggressive. They don’t mind being the one to ask."
"No, it’s not that ..."
"Oh. Well, maybe you reminded her of her father."
"No, that’s not it either. It’s just that she also mentioned something about carbon 14."
So…
How do you feel about aging?
ILL Aging (H)
Do you know what happens when people of different occupations get old?
• Old chauffeurs never die, they just lose their drive.
• Old chemists never die, they just fail to react.
• Old cleaning people never die, they just kick the bucket.
• Old cooks never die, they just get deranged.
And my father’s favorite…
• Old principals never die, they just lose their faculties
TRANSITION:
As we come to our text today, we find that Joshua is aging.
And now…
1. Joshua is ready for his final words.
He knows he is coming to the end when he says…
“I am now old and well advanced in years.”
He knew he did not have long to live.
So now, the old, godly warrior has one task left.
It is a challenge to the people of Israel.
In this chapter, the challenge is more specific.
It is a challenge to the leaders and elders of the nation.
It would have certainly been a solemn occasion that would include Caleb in his old age, and Phineas the high priest, the grandson of Aaron.
What I want us to specifically note at this junction is that Joshua is concerned about what is coming after him.
In other words…
2. He is being a disciple maker.
It is on his heart that the nation continues in its success.
It has relied on God to get where it has up to this point.
And so, Joshua would have them continue in this direction.
He would have them understand where they are in God’s big picture.
He would have them know God’s purpose for them.
He would have them know God’s heart.
He would have then know what God wants to accomplish in and through them.
He would have them be faithful.
And this is certainly our lesson as well, that is…
3. WE ARE INSTRUCTED TO BE FAITHFUL.
But how is faithfulness accomplished?
Well…
4. We will find in our study of Joshua 23 five challenges that show us how to be faithful to God.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first challenge is REMEMBER HOW GOD HAS WORKED (1-5).
(1) A long time afterward, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, (2) Joshua summoned all Israel, its elders and heads, its judges and officers, and said to them, “I am now old and well advanced in years. (3) And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. (4) Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. (5) The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you.”
We are to remember that God keeps His promises.
The Israelites were witnesses to this fact.
They know that God alone is the reason they had possession of Canaan.
And if they had any doubts, all they had to do was recall His great acts of redemption.
Supernaturally, the Egyptian army was drowned.
Supernaturally, the attacking Amalekites were defeated.
Supernaturally, the Israelites were guided across the wilderness by a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire during the night.
Supernaturally, they crossed the Jordan during its flood stage.
Supernaturally, the walls of Jericho came down.
Supernaturally, they outwitted the men of Ai and routed them.
They had all the evidence they needed.
Many of you have similar testimony, do you not?
As you look back at how things have happened in your lives, you know that the reason you are the place where you are today is because of God.
God does not always work in the same way, does he?
His methods change.
But His character never does.
He can be trusted.
II. The second challenge is OBEY THE WORD OF GOD (6-7).
(6) “Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, (7) that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them…”
Do all…
Do all that is written…
If we are to follow this instruction…
1. We are to be devoted to His Word.
For the Israelite, they owed obedience to God without exception.
His work in their lives had proved that.
And God’s grace continued to define them, for they were given a written Word as well.
They were not in possession of some undefined moral code.
No, they had the actual words so that they could know the very mind of God.
They had the opportunity to know God better by attending to His Word every day.
ILL Bible (S)
Arthur Rubinstein, the world-famous pianist, wrote years ago about the importance of practicing every day. He said: "If I don’t practice one day, nobody knows. If I don’t practice two days, then I know. But if I don’t practice three days, the whole world can tell."
The same is true when we are not in the Word every day as well. Eventually, people can tell.
So let me once again recommend to you to start every day in the Word of God.
As you read, you get perspective.
You obtain the ability to live more gracefully and creatively because you receive insight into God’s mind.
Its importance cannot be overemphasized, for if we do not remain devoted to the Lord by staying in His Word, we set ourselves up for difficulty.
Joshua’s corresponding warning and admonition was that…
2. We are not to be infected by wickedness.
Imagine, for the Israelites, the folly of worshipping the gods of the defeated enemy.
They had been defeated, and yet, Joshua knew their ways were going to remain a temptation to them.
They would be pressured into changing.
They would be asked to conform.
But Joshua’s warning is to not mix.
No, remain separated from them.
The temptations to mix with the world still exist today, even in the midst of ministry…
ILL Temptation (S)
Doug Goins, pastor at Peninsula Bible Church in California has written...
There are also many temptations that can capture our attention, trying to seduce us with false promises. There are many books (in Christian book stores), video tapes, and seminars that will tell us what we can add to God to have success in ministry: how we can have more presence and power in our leadership, how we can attract and hold more people in our ministry, how we can make our ministry more enjoyable and fulfilling for us personally. There are many temptations, even when we’re trying to do the Lord’s work, not to rely on the Lord.
ILL Idols (S)
There’s an old fable about a miserable rich man who went to visit a rabbi. The rabbi took the rich man by the hand and led him to a window.
"Look out there," he said. The rich man looked into the street. "What do you see?" asked the rabbi.
"I see men, women, and children," answered the rich man.
Again the rabbi took him by the hand and this time led him to a mirror. "Now what do you see?"
"Now I see myself," the rich man replied.
Then the rabbi said, "Behold, in the window there is glass, and in the mirror there is glass. But the glass of the mirror is covered with a little silver, and no sooner is the silver added than you cease to see others, but you see only yourself.”
When we start to look at our silver, our possessions, we stop seeing others, and we also stop seeing God. We can only see ourselves.
It takes courage to defy the crowd and stay true.
It takes courage to stand alone and persevere.
It takes courage to stay away from the idols of life.
But that is what it means to be devoted and faithful.
III. The third challenge is HOLD FAST TO GOD (8-10).
(8) “…but you shall cling to the Lord your God just as you have done to this day. (9) For the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you, no man has been able to stand before you to this day. (10) One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, just as he promised you.”
The term that is used here is the same one we find in Genesis 2 in reference to marriage…
We are to cleave to God.
The word cleave (cling) means to be diligent.
It means persistence.
It means commitment.
The instruction that Joshua is giving is one of commitment.
They have gotten this far because God has been committed to them.
They were to show the same kind of commitment to God.
As they hold on, they were going to find that God was still with them.
They were still surrounded by enemies, yet God was still going to be at work.
He was going to continue to drive their enemies away.
They did not need to fear them.
They did not need to compromise with them.
Instead, they needed to cleave.
They needed to hold on to God for their very lives.
This applies to us as well.
If we are going to see God continue to work in our lives, we need to hold fast on to Him.
I see that alive in well in some of our ambassadors that serve around the world.
God is giving his best fruit in the latter years of _____ and ___ & ___.
As they have been faithful to God and His Word, they have found Him faithful to bless the work of their hearts, hands and minds.
IV. The fourth challenge is LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD (11-13).
(11) “Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. (12) For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, (13) know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the Lord your God has given you.”
Joshua says to be careful.
We are to exercise care when it comes to this important truth…
We are to be in relationship with God.
You see, love wraps this all up.
When we truly love God, we will walk in His ways.
When we truly love God, we will obey His commands.
When we truly love God, we will cleave to Him.
Then Joshua identifies for us how this love will play out for them as a nation.
They were to be careful to not have mixed marriages.
Now, don’t misunderstand, this was not about racial or ethnic intermarriage.
The problem was about the marriage of a believer and unbeliever.
The concern was about purity, not racial, but rather, spiritual.
Impurity does not happen all at once of course.
Comfortable friendships would be developed.
Then their neighbors ways would seem more sophisticated and attractive – more sensual and aesthetic – and soon they would be drawn away to worship false gods.
ILL World (S)
Kevin Garvey has a thriving business in Broward County, Florida. For years, he was the only trapper licensed by the county to remove nuisance alligators. In 2000, he received 616 alligator complaints and removed 97 animals. As of the end of July 2001, he had already received over 1,500 complaints and caught 130 alligators. The top spot in his county? Weston, a meticulously groomed planned city. Seems the homeowners there, who spent up to $700,000 for their homes, did not expect nor appreciate giant reptiles in their idyllic new community.
"That’s probably gator heaven out there," says Jim Huffstodt, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, noting that Weston and other planned communities are often built right on top of the marshlands that were previously inhabited by the offensive reptiles. Just sighting an alligator in an area like Weston — filled with families with small children — is grounds for removal and destruction.
Such a story begs the question: How could anyone who moves into prime alligator habitat be surprised to see alligators there? In the same way, why do so many Christians settle for lifestyles that invite trouble, then act surprised when they fall into sinful conduct?
Ed Rowell, Franklin, Tennessee; source: USA Today (7-24-01)
It is because they are not faithful in their relationship with God.
V. The fifth challenge is BE PREPARED FOR THE CONSEQUENCES (14-16).
(14) “And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. (15) But just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the Lord your God has given you, (16) if you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.”
Finally, Joshua warns that there is no neutrality.
The contrast is meant to be simple…
1. If we obey God, we will be blessed.
If we obey God, it means salvation.
But…
2. If we disobey, we will be disciplined.
If we disobey, it will mean certain ruin.
Joshua is issuing the warning.
We can get it right.
And we can get it wrong.
The question will be…will we listen to the warning?
ILL Warning (S)
During the Revolutionary War, a loyalist spy appeared at the headquarters of a British colonel, carrying an urgent message. General George Washington and his Continental army had secretly crossed the Delaware River that morning and were advancing on Trenton, New Jersey where that troop of British soldiers were encamped.
The spy was denied an audience with the commander and instead wrote his message on a piece of paper. A porter took the note to the colonel, but because the colonel was involved in a card game he stuffed the unread note into his pocket.
When the guards at the camp began firing their muskets in a futile attempt to stop Washington’s army, the colonel was still playing cards.
Without time to organize, the army was captured. The battle occured the day after Christmas, 1776, giving the colonists a late present – their first major victory of the war. The British colonel ignored the warning, and was captured.
The commander had the word, but he failed to listen to it.
APPLICATION:
There is one truth that we hold in common with the Israelites.
It is irrefutable that God is faithful.
We may not understand all that is going on in our lives, but if we will step back and look at the larger picture, we will see that God has been working in our lives all along.
He has been faithful.
So, let us…
1. Respond to God’s fulfilled promises with faithfulness.
Since God has been faithful, we should respond in the same way.
We should be faithful.
But we are interesting creatures, to say the least.
We believe that God has done great acts of redemption.
Yet, too often, this belief becomes less important to us than how we feel in the now.
We begin to act on our feelings rather than upon what we know of God and His ways.
But truly being faithful is not dependent on how we feel at the moment.
It is holding on to what we know is right, no matter how bad the circumstances are.
ILL World (S)
In the November 1987 Reader’s Digest, Betty Wein retells an old tale she heard from Elie Wiesel (vee-zehl’):
“A just man comes to Sodom hoping to save the city. He pickets. What else can he do? He goes from street to street, from marketplace to marketplace, shouting, ‘Men and women, repent. What you are doing is wrong. It will kill you; it will destroy you.’
They laugh, but he goes on shouting, until one day a child stops him. ‘Poor stranger, don’t you see it’s useless?’
‘Yes,’ the just man replies.
‘Then why do you go on?’ the child asks.
‘In the beginning,’ he says, ‘I was convinced that I would change them. Now I go on shouting because I don’t want them to change me.’”
That is an example of faithfulness, in spite of how one feels or is influenced by the world.
Therefore…
2. Choose God’s goodness over worldly enticements.
God really is good.
His way really is the good way.
This was Joshua’s testimony.
And as he came to the end of his life, he would say in effect, “What a way to go…”
It was the good way.
It is the way for us to go as well.
For Further Study: Deuteronomy 6.5, 28.1-29.29; Joshua 1.6-8; Proverbs 8.36; Matthew 6.24; II Corinthians 6.14-15; Hebrews 4.12; I John 2.15-17
BENEDICTION:
Be faithful…for God is faithful to us; our circumstances may cause us to be puzzled and confused at times, but since we recognize that God has worked in our past, we can depend on the fact that He will continue to do so.
Be faithful…for God is faithful to us; He is good and though life can be difficult at times, we can be assured that His way is the best way – we can say with confidence that this is the way to go.
Now may the God of peace equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
RESOURCES:
SermonCentral:
Craver, Timothy A General’s Last Message
Goins, Doug Farewell at Shiloh
Morris, William An Old Soldier Prepares to Break Camp
Smith, Joseph Has My Life Been a Failure?
Books:
Boice, James Montgomery. Joshua: An Expositional Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1989.
Campbell, Donald K. No Time for Neutrality. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1981.
Creach, Jerome F. D. Joshua. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, ed. James L. Mays. Louisville: John Knox Press, 2003.
Goslinga, C. J. Joshua, Judges, Ruth. Translated by Ray Togtman. Bible Student’s Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Regency Reference Library, 1986.
Keener, Craig S. The Ivp Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993.
Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary: New Testament. Colorado Springs: ChariotVictor Publishing, 1989.
