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.
Now we are back at the Jordan River and this time the people have to deal with the loss of Moses who has been their leader for 40 years. The picture we have been given here is one that a lot of Christians lives look like. They just seem to be stuck in their spiritual journey. Maybe today you identify with these people because of something that has happen or something that didn’t happen in your life. Maybe there has been some failure and that failure just keeps beating you up. Maybe there is some secret sin in your life and the guilt of it keeps you from moving forward. Maybe you lack discipline in your life and instead of confessing it and seeking help you have been blaming everyone else for your lack of spiritual growth. Maybe you have been asked by the Lord to step out into a new ministry and all you see are the barriers and the giants. You are wondering why the Lord would be asking you to that. Every week many Christians find themselves in a spiritual desert, wandering around in the wilderness with the promise land of the Lord within sight. We have all heard about the promises of the Lord that inform us about a life of peace and joy, but many Christians just can’t seem to cross that river of belief and take possession of the promises.
Many Christians wander around in the wilderness of defeat because of temptation, fear, or maybe even boredom.
I believe that what the Lord has for us today will help us to move forward with the lord Jesus instead of returning to the wilderness.
1. Moses is dead. What the Lord is actually saying is that sometimes we have to actually name out loud what it is that we can’t get past.
The Lord wants the people to know that they weren’t going to change the fact, so they needed to move forward toward the promise land. Here is the thing. What Moses had accomplished was great but those accomplishments were not to be looked at as the end. What Moses had accomplished was actually the preparation that they needed for the next step. The Lord wanted the people to see this stop as just a comma, and not a period in the nation’s history. As long as the people obeyed the Lord and moved forward, it was only then that their enemies were powerless.
38 Years before Israel had become the victim of their decision and it took her 38 years to get to where she now is.
2. The Lord renews His promises to his everyday.
These people had lives with the promises of the Lord always before them for the past 40 years. In renewing the promises, God is letting the people know that as far as He is concern things haven’t changed. In the midst of their mourning, being dishearten, God is saying that they have stayed in one place long enough. God wants you and me to be moving forward toward his purpose and goals for our lives. The Lord wants the people to know that his promises didn’t end with the death of Moses. Look at what the Lord is saying in 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.
Let me rephrase that. The Lord is saying that if they are willing to get up and get going that the Lord will give to then every place that they put their foot down. Here is the thing this is written in the past tense which means that as far as God is concern this is a done deal.
Notice verse 5b. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.
God is saying to Joshua that he wants him to remember how he was with Moses, and then the lord is saying to Joshua that he will be with Joshua in the exact same way. This is important for Joshua who is now the new leader to know that the Lord is going to be with him in the same way. This is also important because it show the people that the lord is with Joshua leading and directing his life just the way the lord was with Moses. This is where a lot of Christians make their mistake. They are not willing to follow the leader that the Lord has provided and they end up staying in the wilderness always looking across at the promise land but never entering and claiming it as their own. As Moses showed by his life that he spent time with the lord so to would Joshua be required to show that he is willing to sit at the feet of the lord. The Lord was counting upon Joshua to lead the people so that hey can fulfil the lord purpose for their lives. I want you to know that the Lord doesn’t have someone in the wing to take over if Joshua refuses to lead the people. The Lord has made no provision for failure. A new day has dawn with new opportunities for the people to overcome. The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please the Lord. Here is the thing the people will not possess the promise land unless they have faith to believe in the Lord’s promises.
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. 8"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. 9"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."
You may be saying that you want to move on, that you don’t want to be stuck in the wilderness of failure; or the wilderness of the past attempts. You may be thinking that you want to cross over the Jordan River and claim all of God’s promises for you life. Look at what the lord said to Joshua.
A. Be Strong and courageous.
The word strong here means having the necessary emotional qualities to deal with stress, grief, loss, risk, and other difficulties.
The word Courageous means the ability to face danger, difficulty, uncertainty, or pain without being overcome by fear or being deflected from a chosen course of action.
In this chapter God instructs Joshua 3 times to “be strong, and be courageous”. Sounds like such an easy instructions but how is he to be strong, and courageous?
There was a man who bragged that he had cut off the tail of a man-eating lion with his pocket knife. Asked why he hadn’t cut off the lion’s head, the man replied: “Someone had already done that.” It’s easy sometimes to be cocky, and pretend to be brave. God not only directs Joshua to be strong and courageous” but he dictates to him how he it become strong and courageous. One of the biggest dangers there is for a Christian is to be a person of compromise. Joshua could easily say that he didn’t have the time to meditate on the word of God. The lord wants you and me as he did with Joshua to become strong and courageous so that we can live the right kind of Life in the community that we live in so that the people would see the hand of the lord. One summer evening, during a violent thunderstorm, a mother was tucking her small boy into bed. She was about to turn off the light when he asked with a tremor in his voice, “Mommy, will you sleep with me tonight?” The mother smiled and gave him a reassuring hug. “I can’t dear,” she said, “I have to sleep with Daddy.” A long silence was broken at last by a shaken little voice saying, “The big sissy.”
B. The God of Moses is the God of Joshua AND THE God of you and me. When the lord makes his promises, he keeps them. If Joshua is to be “strong, and courageous” he must stand upon the promises of the word of God. If we are to accomplish what God calls us, and instructs us to do, we as well must stand on the promises. The problem is many Christians are sitting on the premises instead of standing on the promises.
C. Sense the Presence of the Holy Spirit leading your life.
How can Joshua lead with confidence, how can he confront the battles that lie ahead? He can because the same God that was with Moses is with him. No where can we find one place in the word of God where we can see that the Lord had forsaken Moses. Joshua can look back through the last 40 years and see first hand how the lord was with Moses, ans he can stand on those same promises from the very same God knowing that the Lord will keep his part.
Today, if we are children of God, he has promised never to leave us nor to forsake us. He not only is with us...but is in us.
D. Stay the Path. If Joshua is to be “strong, and courageous” he must stay the path, he must not turn, he must not compromise, he must not become distracted, he must not become detoured from what the will of God is. Faithfulness is the key.
Many years ago baseball schedules were even more exacting than they are now, with double-headers almost every week. Occasionally a player would get sick of the grind and approach the manager, asking for permission to sit out a game. The manager would say. “Sure, take the day off, but do me a favor. You’re in the starting line up. Just play one inning. Then skip the rest of the game.” The player would start the game and almost invariably get caught up in the spirit of the game and play it out to the end. Sometimes we’re going to get tired of the grind, feel like giving up, feel like giving in, but we must stay the path until the end. God blesses faithfulness! Compromise leads to chaos, distractions often lead to destruction but faithfulness leads to fulfilment. Are we being faithful or is it possible that we’ve gotten off the path that God has called us to follow?
E. Start the Process. What God had told Joshua would have been no good if Joshua doesn’t begin to assimilate this plan. Joshua believes what God has said and he begins to demonstrate it. It is not enough simply to know the word of God, sense his presence; we must put into action what he tells us to do. Joshua now begins that process. He takes action; he begins the task of moving forward.
Note verse 11. in verse 11 we find directions
1. Prepare.
2. Time limit for starting. Three Days.
