"Step Into the Future"
Joshua 1:1-9 and Ecclesiastes 8:7
In the film Back to the Future, Michael Fox plays the role of a guy named Marty MacFly who suddenly is thrown back into time 30 years earlier. Because he knows what the future hold for his family he feels compelled to make sure things happen the way they are supposed to. His future Mom and Dad actually now go to high school with him so he makes sure that they go to the prom together and fall in love with each other. It was the most successful movie of the year in 1985. How many of you have seen it?
The movie has prompted other shows such as a TV series called "Early Edition." Did you ever watch it? I only saw a few programs, but its storyline was about a young man who somehow was able to read tomorrow’s newspaper today. In other words, he was able to know what was going to happen a day before it actually happened. So let me ask you a question. If you were suddenly thrown back in time and you were able to know what was going to happen before it happened, what would you do? How would you use that knowledge? f you knew where the winning lottery ticket was going to be sold, would you go there to hopefully buy it? If you knew that the stock market was going to go up, would you buy low & sell high, & make a lot of money? if you knew that someone was going to be in trouble & needed help, would you run to help them?
Maybe you would be a hero. You knew someone was in danger & would die, would you be there to prevent that from happening? What would you do if you knew what was going to happen tomorrow?
Many people today are obsessed with the idea of trying to learn the future. They look into crystal balls, read tea leaves, & check their horoscope. I saw a fortune cookie this week and the note inside said, don’t believe what fortune cookies tell you. They got it right. The truth is, none of us really knows the future here upon this earth. Solomon talks about that several times in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes 8:7 says, "Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come?" There is an answer to his question, & the answer is "God." In fact, He is the only one who really knows the future. For us we often say, there are only 2 things that are certain. Death and taxes. We do not have the privilege of knowing what will be in the future. Life is very uncertain. So how do we face the future? Look at what the Bible tells us.
First of all, there are 3 things God says, "Don’t do." The first one is: "Don’t presume about tomorrow." Proverbs 27:1 says, "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth." Notice the word "boast." Don’t go around bragging about your plans for tomorrow or next week or next year because life is uncertain. We may not even be here so don’t be presumptuous."
Second, he says, "Don’t panic about tomorrow." Jesus says: "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself" (Matthew 6:34). It is actually a good thing for most of us that we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. For most of us we would just have more to worry about. Be honest, most of us think we have far more to worry about than everyone else.
Third, God says, "Don’t procrastinate until tomorrow." Ecclesiastes says, "If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done."
I wonder how many of us promised ourselves last January that we were going to do something this year that we have not yet done? Probably most of us. We make resolutions. We say we’re going to do this & we’re going to do that. But too often we never actually get around to doing it. As someone wrote, "Procrastination is my sin. It only brings me sorrow. I know I ought to change my life. And I will ------- tomorrow." Now there are also 3 things God tells us we should do.
Look with me at the first chapter of the book of Joshua. Here’s the setting. God freed the children of Israel from Egyptian slavery. But because of their disobedience, they have been living in the wilderness for 40 years. Moses has just died, & now it is Joshua’s turn to lead the people. The older generation who had been so disobedient is now gone & the younger generation is ready to do what God tells them to do….they are ready to go the Promised Land.
So here they are on the eastern side of the Jordan River. On the other side is the Promised Land.
Joshua knows that once they enter the Promised Land they will be facing at least 7 nations who will be their enemies. And they’re far better equipped with weapons than Joshua’s young army. So Joshua is very concerned. We all would be. So God appears to him & says, "Joshua, let me tell you 3 things to do. And if you will do these 3 things, I guarantee you success."
In Joshua 1:2-3, God says, "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you & all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses."
God says, "Get ready. I want you to possess the land." So the first thing God told Joshua is, "Set my plan into motion." But in order to do that, there was something else Joshua had to do. He had to let go of the past. The Bible says in vs. 2, "Moses my servant is dead." Moses was God’s man who was chosen to free the people & lead them out of Egypt. He was the one God called to the top of Mt. Sinai to receive the 10 commandments.
And now, Joshua has to fill his shoes/sandals. Joshua has to take his place.
So God comes to Joshua & says, "Joshua, listen to me. Moses is dead, but I’m not, & you’re not. I have a plan for your life, & I have a plan for your people. So let’s get on with the plan." Vs. 10-11 tell us, "So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: ‘Go through the camp & tell the people, ‘Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in & take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.’’ Proverbs 16:9 says, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." Or as another translation puts it, "You should make plans, counting on God to direct you." You see when we make plans without asking God first that’s foolish. But when we make plans asking God to give us direction, that’s wisdom.
The 2nd thing God tells Joshua to do is to "Stay in the Word." Listen to vs. 7, "Be strong & very courageous. Be very careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or the left, that you may be successful wherever you go." God says, "Joshua, I’m guaranteeing you success if you’ll be careful to obey all the law. And the way to do that is not to turn from it either to the left or to the right." In other words, Don’t get sidetracked."
All of us do this from time to time. Maybe you get a promotion at work and you have more responsibility or maybe you work two jobs & suddenly you’re so busy you don’t have time for the Word of God, to pray, or to come to worship.
Or maybe you take on a new a hobby. And all of us need some sort of outlet …. but we get so caught up in it that you no longer have time for God. Verse 8 says, "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day & night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous & successful."
Right here, God tells Joshua 3 ways to stay in the Word. Here they are: 1. #1, “Talk about it.” "Don’t let the Word of God depart from your mouth." It is not enough just to read the Word. We need to talk about it, discuss it, learn it. That is why we have Small Groups. Sunday School classes, Wednesday night Bible study group. We need to talk with each other about what God is teaching us, & how God is working in our lives.
You see you can’t benefit from what God is doing in my life if I don’t tell you and I can’t benefit from what God is doing in your life if you don’t tell me. It’s important for us to talk about it.
2. Second, God says, "Think about it," meditate on it day & night." The word "meditation" has gotten misinterpreted today because when we hear it we think of someone sitting cross legged, hands folded, in some kind of a trance, chanting words we don’t understand. But “meditation” is actually a good Biblical word. If you want to understand think about it this way: how many of you have worried about something in the last 5 years? I just wanted to make sure I included everyone. "Worry is negative meditation." That’s all worry is. It is constantly thinking about all the bad stuff that could happen. That’s negative meditation.
Positive meditation is thinking about what God can do, & how God can work in your life. So God tells Joshua, "Talk about it, & think about it."
3. Then God says, "Just do it! Put it into practice." "...be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous & successful." Take the teachings & principles out into the world, & live them every day. Look at the screen with me. "Sin will keep you from reading the Bible. But reading the Bible will keep you from sin." This is what God is telling us here.
Then the next thing God told Joshua to do: "Step out in faith."
Faith always involves action. It’s not enough just to sit around & say, "yep I have faith. I’m not doing anything but I have faith. I can say that I believe that an airplane will fly. But I don’t exhibit my faith in the airplane until I get in & ride in it. Or I can say that I believe the chair will support my weight. But I’m afraid to sit in it.
So I can say, "I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Well, guess what, Satan believes that, too. Faith is not real until it is active, we need to say Lord I not only believe in you, Lord, but I trust my life to you, & I’ll follow where you lead."
That’s what God was asking of Joshua. You see the Jordan River was in full flood stage, & Joshua was afraid. He has to get the people across the river and the river is in flood stage. Notice what God says 3 times in the first chapter of Joshua. God says to Joshua in vs. 6, "Be strong & courageous." In vs. 7, "Be strong & very courageous." & in vs. 9, "Be strong & courageous."
Then in vs. 9, God says, "Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." These words, terrified and discouraged are 2 of Satan’s biggest tools. Fear will keep you in the desert. I have told you before that the Israelites could have traveled from Mt. Sinai to the Promised Land in about 3 weeks? But it actually took them 40 years…why? Because they were caught in the grip of fear. God says "Don’t be afraid."
Now notice that once you get your fear behind you that Satan has a 2nd tool he pulls out…..the next tool he pulls out is discouragement. Now there is an example of this in Joshua 3:15. When Moses led the Israelites to the Red Sea, God opened the waters for them to cross on dry land. The moment Moses lifted the staff the waters parted & heaped up on both sides, & the people crossed on dry land.
But that’s not what happened here. Joshua 3:15-16 says, "Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan & their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away." Picture this scene: here come the priests carrying the Ark, walking toward the Jordan River. Then they step into it. At first they’re standing ankle deep in the water, but the waters don’t move like they did when Moses at the Red Sea.
Then they take another step, & they’re knee deep in the water, & the water is still rushing past them. They’re looking around, thinking isn’t God going to do something? They take another step, & they’re waist deep in the water, & it appears that God hasn’t done anything yet. Then they take another step, & they’re chest deep in the water. The priests are thinking, "How far does God expect us to go before He does something?" You see, God was testing their faith. You say, “Now wait a minute, preacher. It says that ‘as soon as…their feet touched the water’s edge…’ God stopped the water.” Yes, that’s right. He did. But think about what it actually says. It says He stopped it “upstream” & “It piled up in a heap a great distance away.” Now you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure this out. When the water is dammed up here, all the water on this side of the dam continues to flow.
he point is that the first steps of faith are always the hardest ones. Even though God has already done His thing, He expects us to keep stepping out in faith even though the water is getting deeper & deeper.
God has already shut off the water, & soon we will
be on dry ground.
God has already defeated sin. God has already won the victory on Calvary. But we’re still standing knee deep in the water, waiting for the effect of His miracle to take place in our lives & in our world. And one day we will see it in all of its glory. That is how we must face the future. Take a step of faith today and God will begin to work.
Satan is having a meeting with four of his demons. The question of the day is, how can we get more people to reject God.
The first demon says, “I know, let’s get people to deny the existence of God.”
“No, that’s not going work,” Satan replies. “All they have to do is look around at creation and they can clearly see God’s handiwork.”
Another demon spoke up and said, “How about we convince people that there is no heaven?”
Satan shook his head and said, “No. A lot of people already believe there is a heaven and that they are going there when they die.”
The third demon stood up and said, “Well, what if I convinced people there is no hell?” Satan said, “If people already believe in heaven, then logically they can also believe there is a hell. That’s not going to work either. Is this all you have?”
The fourth demon grinned. Proudly he stood up and said, “The answer is easier than we all think. All we have to do is tell them they can do it tomorrow…Satan said go and you will ruin them by the thousands. I want to invite you to take that step today.
