Scripture Reading: Joshua 1:6-9 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. 7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips;meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
INTRODUCTION:
Last week, I gave a short introduction on the book of Joshua.
Today, we will study the first chapter of Joshua.
The title of our Message is "Recognizing God's Call"
Have you ever heard God calling you to do something such as to go to the mission field and serve Him?
You probably recognized it and accepted it but you felt you are inadequate to fulfill it.
A lot of questions come in your mind.
You say, "No way, will I go to the mission field. I am NOT equipped for that."
Finally, you have decided to ignore or not do anything about it?
Probably, you have even entertained fears and apprehensions in your mind not to accept the call.
And later on, after many years, as you reflect upon that incident that happened in the past, you begin to regret the lost opportunity in the ministry.
You say, "If only I could go back to the time when I responded when the Lord called me.
I would not have been in this situation.
I should have used my time more wisely to bring souls for God."
But it is too late, once you have lost the opportunity, it might not even come back.
That is why it is always important to be ready and respond immediately when God calls.
God is calling us to go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
That is our mission.
Here in this chapter, God called Joshua for a special mission.
He called him to be the next leader to take over the position of Moses.
It was a great opportunity that has been opened to him.
He was to lead the people to go to the Promised Land.
But it was just a moment's notice.
There was not much preparation at hand.
Moses, the leader that he had been following for many years is dead.
The position was open and offered to him by God Himself.
God wants him to take over leadership and complete the task that was left undone.
Will he accept the call?
Is he qualified to do the job?
Joshua was an ordinary person just like us.
He never attended a school on mission or on leadership.
He was just a hands-on person, learning on the job from his mentor, Moses.
He was just an assistant taking notes of his daily experiences.
The next day, he was already assigned to the big challenge of leadership over millions of Israelites.
He had to bring them from point A to point B.
What is he going to do next?
We all know that at the end of the Book of Joshua, he succeeded in bringing Israel to the Promised Land.
He fulfilled his mission.
God never made a mistake in choosing His man.
There are three secrets to his success.
1. Joshua recognized God's call.
2. Joshua received God's challenge.
3. Joshua respected God's command.
I. RECOGNIZE GOD'S CALL
Joshua 1:2 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites."
The first thing we can learn from this verse is that when God called Joshua, he listened very carefully.
He had to understand the significance of the call of service.
There is a personal touch for that call - "Now then, YOU..." It is not for others. It is for him.
When God calls us, it is always personal.
Then, there is an instruction of urgency for that call - "GET READY..."
Don't whine. Don't grumble. Don't be lazy.
Act. Do something now.
Then, there is a purpose for that call - "TO CROSS the Jordan."
In order for them to go to the Promised Land, they must first cross the Jordan River.
Joshua had to take the instructions one step at a time.
There is no short cut to God's call.
We had to take time absorbing the call.
In all these things, Joshua listened very carefully.
As he listened, he knew that he was not prepared for this new assignment but he did not allow negative thoughts to enter his mind.
He did not allow his fears to dominate his emotion.
Joshua pondered and reflected on what he needs to do next.
Do you know that many famous Biblical characters have received God's call and responded properly?
One of the most clearer example of the call of God happened in the life of the apostle Paul while in the road to Damascus.
Before that, his name was Saul and he was persecuting the Christians.
He was an enemy of God.
But God called him while he was on the road to Damascus.
God had to blind him and instruct him what to do.
The call for mission was instant but he took notice and responded.
Afterwards, he was baptized, physically nourished to regain his strength and went off preaching the gospel.
But the process took a long time.
That is the "call" of God to Paul.
The call is a unique divine assignment given by God to fulfill His mission which requires faithful and active obedience, unwavering commitment and devotion from the one called.
That is what God required from Joshua when he took over leadership from Moses.
That is what God will require from us as we receive the call for Mission and obey His leading.
God created us for this particular work.
He had already prepared a work for us to do.
Eph. 2:10 (NIV) "10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
We are called for mission.
He wants our active obedience.
He wants our unwavering commitment and devotion.
If you are a genuine believer in Christ, God can call you to serve Him according to your giftedness.
Many times, it can happen without much preparation and training.
You cannot escape God's call if you regularly listen an hear God's voice.
God's call for your life is always bigger than the things you have ever dream of for yourself.
God's call will lead you one step at a time.
We must never be in a hurry.
We only have to be ready to obey and fulfill that call.
How can you be sure that God is calling you?
How do you confirm God's direction for your life?
* through alignment of CIRCUMSTANCES.
When circumstances happen in your life that will direct you to your calling.
-through INSIGHTS from the Scriptures.
As you study God's Word, you gain insights in what God wants you to do.
* through the GODLY COUNSEL of Christian believers.
When your godly leaders confirm that they have been blessed by your giftedness in that area of ministry.
* through the prayerful IMPRESSION of the Holy Spirit in your life.
As you pray to God, you know that the Holy Spirit is speaking to you about what you need to do to serve Him.
*by reflecting upon our deepest DESIRES.
Do you really want to do these things for God?
-by analyzing the pros and cons of the decisions/options (gaining godly wisdom)
In all these things, you have to be listening to God.
When you have one or more of these things in operation, you will know that God is calling you for a purpose.
Because the privilege of being called by God into the ministry is one of great responsibility of the Christian.
It should be sustained if we abide in Christ totally depending on Him each day.
By constant surrender in prayer.
By faithfully studying His Word.
By drawing near to God each day.
Here are some Scriptures on God's Call upon people:
Jeremiah 1:5 (NIV) "“Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
God has called Jeremiah even before he was born.
God has called you for mission even before you were born.
John 6:44 (NIV) "“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.
We cannot come to God without God's call upon us.
Mark 16:15 (NIV) "He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
Our calling always involves the preaching of God's Word.
Also, we must remember that when God calls us, He uses every strength, every weakness, every heartaches, every success, every relationships and experience we had in the past to shape our hearts for that particular task.
And so, every day, is a preparation day for us until the time when we receive our call to serve Him.
He wants to draw us closer to him, and to equip us in order to fulfill our life's calling.
Have you accepted God's calling for your life?
Whether your primary work is in the professional world, the home, or some combination of both,
We all desire the assurance and the purpose of being able to say, "I was created for this.
I am doing what God wants me to do. This is my mission in life!"
Our goal is to be ready when God calls us anytime and to glorify God through the work of our hands.
"Whether then you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31).
II. RECEIVE GOD'S CHALLENGE
Joshua 1:6 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them."
First we have learned that Joshua received God's call.
He reflected on that call and he responded positively to God's call.
But God knows what is going on in the heart of Joshua.
He knows the anxiety and the fear behind that call.
After all, Joshua was only human just like us.
God knows the difficulties that he had to go through before making the response.
Leading these people to inherit the land is no small matter.
It has never been done before.
There is no manual to read on how to bring a million people to the Promised Land.
That is why in verse 6, God told Joshua to be strong and courageous.
He repeated that in verse 7 "Be strong and courageous."
Finding your calling in life can a be a source of great anxiety and fear.
Fear is the common reaction towards facing something you are not familiar with.
Fear can also be a state of mind caused by a sense of impending danger -whether real or imagined.
Amazing opportunities are missed by people who allow fear to dominate their thinking.
There are those who have phobia of spiders and bugs often avoid the outdoors and miss tremendous experience of nature's beauty.
A fear of rejection or intimacy often hinders a good relationship to develop.
A fear of public speaking may prevent one person from taking leadership roles.
A fear of travel and the unknown can stop one person from experiencing amazing places.
Fear of failure can stop people to try again until he succeed.
Brothers and sisters, there are many things that we cannot do if we allow fears to overtake our hearts and minds.
If God is calling us to do something, we have to learn to face our fears and overcome them.
So, how can we overcome our fears and apprehension in our calling?
By being strong an courageous.
This is what God was challenging Joshua to do in order to overcome his fear.
God was challenging Joshua to receive inner strength from God.
He had to be strong and courageous.
Courage means fearlessness, daring, boldness.
The ability to do something that frightens others.
It means the inner strength in the face of pain or grief.
Courage is bravery, strength, standing up for yourself, saying no, involving fear.
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not the absence of fear - from Mark twain
With courage, you will dare to take risk, have the strength to be compassionate, and the wisdom to be humble.
Courage is the foundation of integrity.
Brothers and sisters, if we need to respond to God's call, we need to overcome our fears by gaining the courage to do what God wants us to do.
Courage comes in many shapes, sizes and forms.
For example, racing into a burning building to save lives and helping out a person who is being robbed are courageous and admirable acts.
But it can also come in the form of confronting a bully or asking out a secret crush out on a date.
When you respond to God's call for the mission field, that is courage.
Every time I stand here and speak to you requires a lot of courage to overcome my fears.
Therefore, acts of full courage can happen on the grand scale, but also can happen on the smaller, day to day life level.
Let me give you some examples of people who have shown their courage and faced their obstacles.
This is taken from yourdictionary.com
* Martin Luther King Jr. standing up for equal rights. That's courage.
* Joan of Arc facing harsh criticism and burning at the stake for her beliefs. That's courage.
* Jesus Christ continuing to follow his faith, beliefs and mission despite being hanged on a cross, brutally beaten and attacked. That's courage.
* The Pilgrims coming to the United States without any idea of what they were about to face. That's courage!
* Anne Frank and her family living in secret and quiet to hide from the Nazis. That's courage.
* The police, firefighters and citizens who rushed into buildings to save lives on September 11, 2001.
* The people aboard Flight 93 who prevented the terrorists from attacking the United States Capitol.
* Charles Lindbergh making the first nonstop flight from New York to Paris.
* Mother Teresa living amongst the poorest of the poor and helping them to thrive, learn and grow.
* Sir Edmund Hillary's climbing up Mount Everest.
* The American revolutionaries fighting for their freedom against Britain.
* All those who fought in the Civil War to end slavery.
* All those who have fought and who fight today for civil rights and equal rights.
* Women and men who put their lives and reputations on the line fighting for voting rights for women.
* People working for peace with global movements such as the Red Cross, UNICEF and the Peace Corps.
* Military personnel and their families defending the freedom of the United States.
I could go on and on, but you see the picture.
When you have conquered your fear and displayed great courage, you have accepted the challenge.
In the same manner, we face a lot of challenges in this life.
Specially if we want to serve God, it will always bring us challenges, often personal distress and frustrations.
We cannot succeed in this task on our own.
We can only succeed through the constant guidance and help of the Holy Spirit.
With His help, we can carry out our God given appointed mission.
This is exactly what Joshua experienced.
III. RESPECT GOD'S COMMAND
Joshua 1:8 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Joshua first of all recognized and understood the call of God for him to become a leader.
Then, he received the challenge from God to overcome his fears by gaining courage in spite of the difficulties at hand.
Then, finally, Joshua respected God's command by keeping God's law and mediating it day and night.
Aaron, the priest was quick in disobeying God's Law by creating idols of worship that angered God.
But Joshua, the warrior, the assistant of Moses regarded God's Law with reverence and honor.
This is the only way for him to overcome his fears and to lead the people to prosperity and success.
Many people are looking for success in life particularly in business.
According to the Time Magazine May, 2014 issue, there are six traits that are key to success in business.
They have studied the lives of high achievers in business and here are the key to their success.
Key #1. Energy and Physical Stamina.
Energy and strength can bring great advantage to build power and outlast your opposition.
Key #2. Focus.
Just concentrate your efforts on one industry and one company so that your energy will not be diverted.
Key #3 Sensitivity to others.
You must understand their interests and their attitudes so that you can communicate and influence them.
Key #4 Flexibility.
This is the capacity to change course and adopt new approaches rather than clinging to actions that are not working.
Key # 5 Submerging One's Ego and Getting Along.
This is the ability to swallow one's pride in order to make alliances with people.
All the above are good qualities that you need to build in your life not just in your business.
However, there is one important factor that is missing which we can learn from our text.
You could not even hear about this in any prominent Business school.
God revealed this personally to Joshua when he called him to leadership position.
Joshua 1:8 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."
That means when you build your life in God's Word, your business enterprise will follow.
It is only through God's Word that we can become prosperous and successful.
Many people want to be successful but they are looking at the wrong places and wrong people.
They don't know the secret of success from God's Word.
If only they could discover that God"s Word is the key to success.
Because what we do with God's Word will determine our success or failure in life?
The text tells us three things we need to do to be successful in life:
1. Keep God's Word on your lips.
That means we must speak God's word more often to people around us.
2. Meditate on God's Word day and night.
That means to ponder often and ruminate on the meaning of God's Word in our lives.
3. Do everything that has been written in it.
That means to apply and put into practice God's Word in our lives.
Look at these verses that talks about personal success in life:
Psalms 37:4 (NIV) "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."
Receiving the desires of your heart is success because you take delight in the Lord.
Proverbs 16:3 (NIV) "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans."
When your plans are fully established, that is success.
The reason: you have committed to the Lord whatever you do.
Deuteronomy 8:18 (NIV) " But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today."
God gives us the ability to produce wealth.
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