God's people have been crossing the wilderness of sin for 4o years and now the leader they counted on has died, they are faced with the uncertainty of life. God reassures them that He hasn't brought them this far to leave them.
Today we live in uncertain times. People today face a bleak outlook for today and the future. Everywhere we turn we read concerning doom and gloom. We may be asking ourselves it there no good news, what will the day bring or what about the future will hold. These are certainly valid questions and I am here to tell you I don’t have the answers to the question and many more but I can also tell you that I know the One who has all the answers to these questions and much more.
God’s people have been crossing the wilderness for 40 years under the leadership of Moses with God’s guidance. Moses didn't have all the answers but God had promised to be with them every step of the way. From the time that God delivered them from the hand of Egyptian Pharaoh, He has protected, guided and provided them with all that was necessary for them to cross over into the promised land.
Their journey was not an easy one but God had brought them through to the end of their journey. All they had to do was cross over the Jordan River and the promised land was before them just for the taking or was it?
Our text today finds God’s people facing a new challenge, a challenge of new leadership, Moses has died and they have new leader Joshua. God had given them the land before them but other people were occupying the land, what about them?
God assures Joshua that He has not brought them this far to leave them and for us today He will not leave us!
In chapter one of Joshua God gives Joshua these promises
• The promise of the land (v.2-4)
• The promise of His presence (v.5)
• The Promise of Of Assurance (v. 6-9)
1st- God’s Promise (v. 2-4) Jos 1:3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. NKJV
At the death of Moses God had prepared Joshua to assume leadership of God's people under His direction. What a tremendous task before him (Joshua). The people had been under the leadership of Moses for 40 years and it was Joshua's time to take the reigns of leadership and be God’s representative to the people. This time had to be freighting to the people of God to now have a new leader, crossing over into a new land and starting a life new. Much was happing. Even Joshua must have had uncertainty in his life as he assumes this leadership. As Joshua considers the task before him God promises to be with Joshua as He was with Moses.
Like Moses, Joshua must follow the leadership of God. I think about the leaders in our country today and if they too would follow the guidance of God through these troubled times. Like the Captain of a ship on the sea of life, we need not man's guidance but we need God’s guidance for our lives and our country. Our country was founded under the guidance of God and our founding fathers sought God’s guidance.
• George Washington said “…the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed Religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy Nation.”
• John Adams said - “My hopes of a future life are all founded upon the Gospel of Christ and I cannot cavil or quibble away [evade or object to]. . . . the whole tenor of His conduct by which He sometimes positively asserted and at others countenances [permits] His disciples in asserting that He was God.” [5]
• Ronald Reagan said- “My hopes of a future life are all founded upon the Gospel of Christ and I cannot cavil or quibble away [evade or object to]. . . . the whole tenor of His conduct by which He sometimes positively asserted and at others countenances [permits] His disciples in asserting that He was God.” [5]
• George H. Bush said - “I do not mistrust the future; I do not fear what is ahead. For our problems are large, but our heart is larger. Our challenges are great, but our will is greater. And if our flaws are endless, God’s love is truly boundless.”
Moses trusted and follow God so will Joshua will seek the face of God. God’s promised to be which him as he was with his processor. There are-
30+ verses in Gods’ word concerning worry and anxiety, (example)
1Jn 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. NKJV
30 verses concerning protection, (example)
Deu 31:6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you." NKJV
50+ verses concerning healing (example)
Jer 17:14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, For You are my praise. NKJV
40 verses concerning Healing. (example)
Jos 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." NKJV
ILLUSTRATION: On God’s promises, C.H. Spurgeon said; ... By Matthew Kratz
“God never gives his children a promise which he does not intend them to use. There are some promises in the Bible which I have never yet used, but I am well assured that there will come times of trial and trouble when I shall find that that poor despised promise, which I thought was never meant for me, will be the only one on which I can float”.—Charles Spurgeon (Spurgeon, Spurgeon’s Sermons, vol. 2, 404.) (Copied from Sermon Central)
2nd God’s Presence (v. 5)- Jos 1:5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. NKJV
God had given the land on the other side of the Jordan River to His people. However, it was inhabited by several different tribes of people. The people who currently occupy the won’t give up their land without a fight. But they knew of all that God had done for Israel. Yet the people of God were afraid. Today as we face all that is in the world we must look back and see how God has delivered us as people through very tough times. This is not the first epidemic we have faced or financial crisis or battle we have fought but God has not brought us this far to leave us.
2 Chron 7:12-15 the Lord appeared to him at night and said:
"I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.
13 "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. NIV
God’s people need to put the first things first, we must return to the God of our Fathers and remember it was not ourselves but God who has brought such prosperity to our nation. The prosperity of people, resources and a level of living that exceeds all of world history. It is only when we put God back to the first position will we find true healing and restoration for ourselves and our country.
God promised Joshua that he would “never” leave or forsake us. His promise is just as good today as it was in the days of Moses and Joshua. Consider how God’s protection worked in the life of Joseph
ILLUSTRATION: Joseph's Deliverance Showed God's Protection. (v. ... By Sermon Central( Gen 37)
God spared Joseph’s life, and through these adverse circumstances, God is overseeing his safety. This is the sovereign purpose of God at work. The Midianites and the Ishmaelites only saw Joseph as a business opportunity when he was sold for twenty pieces of silver. Once the transition was made, Joseph was taken to Egypt and sold by the Ishmaelites and bought by Potiphar. God meant it all for good. This was all within the scope of God’s protective providence.
Gen 50:19-21 But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. NIV
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: As believers, we must understand that God’s plan is for our best. While it may mean that we will face difficult challenges in our lives we must cling to the hope we have in Jesus and we have his promise of eternal life in Jesus. Jesus said HE would never leave or forsake us. Whether we face sickness or health, poverty or wealth or life’s end we can know that we won’t face it alone. For God has promise as He did with Joshua and the Nation of Israel that He would “never leave or forsake” us!
3rd God’s Promise of Assurance (v.6-9)- Jos 1:6-9 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." NKJV
God’s promise is sure and no matter what we do God will keep and fulfill his covenant (Word) toward us but He also outlines our responsibility as His people. Verse 7 we must serve God with all our hearts and minds. When we follow God's plan we will reap the benefit of Godly living. We prosper where ever we may go or do. As a believer our attention must be on the Word of God and meditate on it day and night in applying God’s precepts they will change our lives. The third point God makes to Joshua and us is that we should be men and women of courage not to be afraid or disheartened in the face of life's circumstances. We and know that wherever we go or whatever we do God is with us. He was with Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua and he will be with us until we join Him in eternity.
ILLUSTRATION: Discover The Power Of Encouragement. By Rick Crandall
God wants you to be encouraged, and He wants you to be an encourager to others.
*It was on March 23, 1945, during one of the last major offensives of WWII. General Dwight Eisenhower was walking near the Rhine River and fell into step beside a young infantryman. The young GI seemed depressed, and Ike asked, "How are you feeling, son?" "General, I'm awful nervous. -- I don't feel so good."
*And Eisenhower replied, "Well, you and I are a good pair then because I'm nervous too. Maybe if we just walk along together to the river we'll be good for each other."
SOURCES: ww.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,853471,00.html
KERUX ILLUSTRATION COLLECTION - ID Number: 1891 - SOURCE: Reader's Digest - TITLE: The Fine Art Of Encouragement - AUTHOR: Mark Littleton - DATE: 11/1/89) Copied from Sermon Central
Today we do not need to fear or be discouraged, God is with us, He will never leave or forsake us, He has not brought us this far to leave us and He will provide our needs according to His riches in glory. God’s love will not exclude or exempt us from trials but He is there to carry us through to the end.
Rom 8:37-39 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. NIV
CLOSING ILLUSTRATION: “Life was no cakewalk for Jesus, and he didn’t promise it would be any easier for his followers. We shouldn’t be surprised by resistance and persecution. Yet most of us play it safe. We pursue comfort. We spend ourselves to get more stuff. And we prefer to be entertained. We are all tempted by the idea of security, the possibility of a cozy Christianity with no hell at the end. But what kind of life is that? It’s a far cry from adventurous and abundant, from truly rich and full, and it’s certainly not the heights and the depths Jesus calls us to.” – John Piper (Sermon Central)
