God Does Not Change
TEXTS: Joshua 1:1-18
When changes come in life we often find it disturbing!
Change can be a force for power and progress … or, if not handled well can also be a force for stagnation and regression. The Bible is a book about changes, those handled well resulted in great gains, and those handled poorly resulted in great losses.
The right way to handle change is found in Scripture.
(1. God NEVER changes … this is the bedrock of our peace, security, and confidence when facing the past, present, and future! This is the anchor for dealing with all changes because He is the one thing that can be counted on to NOT change!
(2. God always has someone at the ready to move His plans forward, His plans are never conditioned on just a single person.
(3. God’s mission must continue on! We are invited to participate in the fulfillment of His calling; our commitment is first to the mission.
God will always be there ready to continue the progress of what He has raised up.
CHANGE in the hand of the CHANGELESS God is safe and positive, and will yield good fruit.
The Bible teaches us that change is a useful part of God’s plan to accomplish His purposes on earth, and when change comes our way we need to embrace it with confidence and assurance that He has good in store for those who lean on Him.
I. PERSONNEL CHANGES, PROMISES CONSTANT! 1:1-5
1 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying,
2 Moses my servant is dead;
The book of Joshua begins with a matter of fact statement of a big change for Israel: Moses is acknowledged as God’s servant … but without an excessive attachment to the past.
It wasn’t that God or Israel simply “moved on” without any sense of the past, they had mourned Moses’ death for 30 days. (Deut. 34:8)
It can be appropriate to have emotions over changes, but it is not appropriate to quit moving forward or simply stay in mourning.
It is good to recognize the past, appreciate it, celebrate it, but then to continue to move forward!
But change is a part of life, and God’s plan!
now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.
3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
While some things changed, the mission had not, God had not, and the goal had not changed!
They can’t live in the past; they must embrace the future with new leadership and unchanging God!
God will never change, His Word will never change, His commands and laws will never change … God and His Word are the constants that can be counted on, even in a changing world!
God restates the same promises to Israel under Joshua as was promised under Moses, as was promised under Abraham.
The leadership changed, the promises of God did not!
The leadership changed, the goals stayed the same.
The leadership changed, but God’s power and strength to accomplish the mission stayed the same!
God says simply, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (God had promised the same to Abraham and others)
It is the CHANGELESS God that enables us to confront a changing world and move forward!
It may be the end of one leader’s responsibilities, but it is not the end of the mission.
II. PROMOTE CHARACTER, PROSPERITY CONTINUES!
6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth;
Change must be approached correctly and there are guidelines that should be followed in making change.
God addresses the new leader, Joshua, with these words, "Be strong and courageous…” In fact, this phrase is repeated at least 4 times in this chapter!
Character DOES count! Joshua was gifted differently than Moses, but their character and commitment were the SAME!
God addresses Joshua to make the Word of God the defining guideline of his leadership … and if so he will be both prosperous and successful. (1:8)
This is still true with godly leadership, it is not just about talents or gifts; it is mainly about character! Talents can be learned, and gifts developed, but without character they are nothing.
They will not find God’s will and find God’s plan if they don’t follow the law of God to get there! God’s Word is like signposts that direct us to where we are going; we will get lost without them.
but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. God promises Joshua success in leading … if he stays committed to the Word of God.
Popularity is not the goal of a godly leader, faithfulness is!
Joshua should not be afraid, or discouraged, for “the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
It won’t be easy, but it will be successful!
He doesn’t have to be exactly gifted like Moses, but he must be as committed to God’s Word as was Moses.
III. PARTICIPATION CALLED, PEOPLE COMMITTED!
10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,
11 Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it.
Joshua picks up the mantle of leadership and embraces the mission given by God that has not changed.
It is time to move forward though leadership has now changed.
He instructs the people to PREPARE for to move forward again.
It was time again to move God’s plan into action!
Moses was gone, but the Promise Land was yet theirs to take!
The only difference now was who was in charge, the goal was the same, the mission the same, the promises of God the same, the challenge the same!
It was time to finish the mission even though the leadership had changed hands.
Like Moses, Joshua doesn’t do all the work, he not only appoint the other leaders but gives them authority to act as well, note: “So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: ‘Go through the camp and tell the people…’” It is not Joshua that goes through the camp to tell the people, he gives this authority to other leaders; he trusts them to act.
Shared servant hood promotes servant hood.
Joshua had a plan ready, he had already worked out details, and his instructions to the leaders were specific: ’Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.’"
Preparations were the order of the day … they always are for good leaders!
12 And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying,
13 Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land.
14 Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and help them;
15 Until the LORD have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the LORD your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the LORD’S servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising.
16 And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go.
17 According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the LORD thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses.
18 Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage.
Once in the promise land there would be some tribes who would get their territory up front, territory promised to their particular tribe, so they could settle sooner than the others could.
Joshua understood the need for everyone to partner together until they all received what was promised.
So Joshua instructs the tribes who got their land area early to join with their other brothers who would fight for their land later … they were to work together for the good of all of them!
Even in change some people may benefit sooner than others may …
The goal of the Promise Land was more than just to get their piece of the pie and then relax … it was to help each other achieve the promises of God together!
Doing God’s work is not just about personal satisfaction, or even personal prosperity, it is about working together to achieve God’s purposes!
They had to unite in purpose.
They had to support the new leader God raised up for them.
They had to trust the promises of God.
They had to have faith in the mission God had given them.
THEN … change would not hurt them, and in fact, God would use the changes to still accomplish the mission.
While personnel changed – character must not, confidence must not, and shared commitment must not.
Concl:
The results after change when they did it right? THE PROMISE LAND!
God will move things forward even in the midst of change because He Himself never changes … and it is on Him we have our ultimate hope, not an individual.
The one thing that never changes is that everything except God changes! Because God doesn’t change we can be at peace when everything else around us does. God works in our changes to move us forward, never backward. In every change we can be sure God is planning for our good, moving us closer to Him. In this way we can not only embrace change but also welcome it.
