Joshua 1:1-2-After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel
We are in a war zone, there are frontal attacks, (We may be attacked by someone verbally or physically), there are rear attacks (we may be talked about, behind our backs), there are land mines (They may blow up at us, someone may just go ranting and raving at us because of something we said or did), and traps all around us (Temptations all around us, to lie, to cheat, to take the easy route).
Some battles or outward, they maybe at work, or at home!
Some conflicts may be because of relationships, maybe relationships of your past, or relationships of the present!
Some battles are inward, they are the struggles of the person that you are and the person you want to be!
Or they maybe the struggles of the person you use to be and the person you are now!!
And then as Christians we also face…We are facing enemies against the gospel, enemies against God and His Word, and sometimes we feel like the Israelites when they came to the promise land the first time….Numbers 13:31-33-But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”
We feel like we are fighting against giants, that we are fighting against insurmountable obstacles, we can’t look at our enemies, we can’t look at our obstacles, we can’t focus on our problems before us!
We must fix our eyes on God and on…How wonderful God is!
How marvelous God is!
How good God is!
How powerful God is!
How merciful God is!
How great God is!
Verse 2-“Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise,
We have to carry on, just like Joshua had to carry on what Moses had started, we are carry on and carry out the Great Commission!
We got to go forth and spread the gospel! We got to go forth and tell the good news!
We got to go forth and set the captives free!
We got to go forth and help the blind to see and the lame to walk!
What was given to the disciples and past on down thru the ages, we must pass on to the next generation, we must take a active part in leading them to the promise land!!
We must arise and march forth!!
We must march on! We must march on in our daily life, (Everything we do, everything we say, We should be Kingdom minded, that is to promote the Kingdom!!) we must make sure we are taking the gospel of Christ to a world that is lost!!
Onward Christian Soldiers
1-Onward, Christian solders, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before!
Christ, the royal Master, leads again the foe;
Forward into battle, see his banner go!
2-At the sign of triumph, Satan's host doth flee;
On, then, Christian soldiers, on to victory!
Hell's foundations quiver at the shout of praise;
Brothers, lift your voices, loud your anthems raise! [Refrain]
3-Like a mighty army moves the church of God;
Brothers, we are treading where the saints have trod;
We are not divided; all one body we,
One in hope and doctrine, one in charity. [Refrain]
4-Crowns and thrones may perish,
Kingdoms rise and wane; But the Church of Jesus
Constant will remain.
Gates of hell can never
Against the Church prevail;
We have Christ‘s own promise,
Which can never fail. [Refrain] (My Favorite Lines)
Refrain:
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before!
