1. Feeling Overwhelmed -- Abraham Lincoln: "I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of those about me seemed insufficient for the day."
2. Creation -- Noah -- Abraham -- Moses -- Wilderness -- Joshua and Conquest [Picture: Map of Canaan
3. Problem -- Giants in the Land -- [Picture: Sumo Wrestler vs. Average Man/David Robinson and Danny DeVito
4. Joshua 1.1-9
5. Success Secrets:
I. Remember to Be Strong and Courageous
Joshua is repeatedly told, "Be strong and courageous." To do that he (we) had to:
A. Lead God's People -- 1.6
1. Explanation of Leadership -- Influence
2. Importance of Leadership -- Proverbs 29.2
When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people groan.
3. Result of Joshua's Leadership -- cause to inherit the land
4. Application for Leadership
a. ALL of us have influence/leadership -- 2 Timothy 2.1-2
You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
b. We need leaders and need to be led -- Mentor/Teacher/Rabbi and Disciple
B. Follow God's Person -- 1.7
1. His Torah in Order to DO
2. Prosperity comes by God's Direction
Erik Weihenmayer is blind, yet on May 25, 2001, he reached the peak of Mt. Everest. He lost his sight when he was 13, but that didn't stop him. 90 percent of climbers never make it to the top of Everest--and 165 have died trying since 1953--Erik succeeded, in large measure because he listened well. He listened to the little bell tied to the back of the climber in front of him, so he would know what direction to go. He listened to the voice of teammates who would shout warnings to him, so he would know what direction not to go. He listened to the sound of his pick jabbing the ice, so he would know whether the ice was safe to cross. When we take a perilous journey, listening well can make all the difference. Application to our journey with God -- we must listen well. (Shema Israel)
3. Danger of an "above the law" mentality
C. Know God's Presence -- 1.7
1. God's desire -- to be in our midst
a. Tabernacle -- Temple
b. Yeshua (Jesus)
c. Holy Spirit
2. His presence is powerful -- Jericho -- Joshua 6
II. Remember to Fail Forward
Someone once asked Paul Harvey, the journalist and radio commentator, to reveal the secret of his success. "I get up when I fall down," said Harvey.
A. Routed by Sin -- Joshua 7; Ai and Achan
1. Achan's Sin Impacted the Whole Nation
2. We are Interconnected as a Community, not merely an Assembly
a. Edah -- Torah Witnessing Community of Israel
b. We are a community of witnesses for Yeshua (Jesus) -- Matthew 16.18
B. Returned to God -- Joshua -- Joshua 7.9
1. No consulting of God between Jericho and AI -- Own plans
2. Returned to God (change of direction) with a prayer for his direction
3. Need for reminders of God's direction -- daily blessings and prayers -- or we think we are doing it on our own
C. Renewed their Covenant -- Joshua 8.30-35 (circumcision at Gilgal)
1. We have a constant need for the word of God
2. We have a constant addiction for entertainment -- even in our faith circles
3. Constant reminders of the Supremacy of God -- Sunrise; Births; LS; etc.
4. Need to be faithful to the covenant
When Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius there were many persons buried in the ruins who were afterwards found in very different positions. There were some found in deep vaults, as if they had gone there for security. There were some found in lofty chambers. But where did they find the Roman sentinel? They found him standing at the city gate where he had been placed by the captain, with his hands still grasping the weapon. Let us stand ready in the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, walking in holiness and standing eternally in Honor, that when He comes for us, we may be at our posts, dutiful, with a legacy that may grow a thousand years.
1. Joshua Leads Israel to great victories in the Land promised to Abraham and the descendants of Isaac
a. Defeat of 5 kings and cities in the South
b. Defeat of 14 kings and cities in the North
2. Reminders of the source of Israel's victories
a. Not the greatness of Israel -- least of nations
b. Covenant with Abraham
Wickedness of the Canaanites (Genesis 15.16; Deuteronomy 20.18; Exodus 34.15-16)
You shall not do so to the LORD your God; for every abominable thing which the LORD hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. Deuteronomy 12.31
c. So God Could be known among the nations
3. Applications:
a. Are we (as a church and individuals) a people who are making God known in our world?
b. Are we (as a church and individuals) a people who are renewing our commitment and covenant with God?
c. Are we (as a church and individuals) a people who are led by God? (Word, etc.)
d. Are we (as a church and individuals) a people who are leading others to know God?
e. Are we (as a church and individuals) a people who are practicing the presence of God?
4. Real Success
The very first person to reach the status of billionaire was a man who knew how to set goals and follow through. At the age of 23, he had become a millionaire, by the age of 50 a billionaire. But three years later at the age of 53 he became ill.
His entire body became racked with pain and he lost all the hair on his head. In complete agony, the world's only billionaire could buy anything he wanted, but he could only digest milk and crackers. An associate wrote, "He could not sleep, would not smile and nothing in life meant anything to him." His personal, highly skilled physicians predicted he would die within a year.
That year passed agonizingly slowly. As he approached death he awoke one morning with the vague remembrances of a dream. He could barely recall the dream but knew it had something to do with not being able to take any of his successes with him into the next world. The man who could control the business world suddenly realized he was not in in control of his own life. He was left with a choice.
He called his attorneys, accountants, and managers and announced that he wanted to channel his assets to hospitals, research, and mission work. On that day John D. Rockefeller established his foundation. This new direction eventually led to the discovery of penicillin, cures for current strains of malaria, tuberculosis and diphtheria. The list of discoveries resulting from his choice is enormous.
But perhaps the most amazing part of Rockefeller's story is that the moment he began to give back a portion of all that he had earned, his body's chemistry was altered so significantly that he got better. It looked as if he would die at 53 but he lived to be 98.
Rockefeller learned gratitude and gave back from his wealth. Doing so made him whole. It is one thing to be healed it is another to be made whole.
