In our society today, there are many misunderstanding, mistakes, mix-ups, misinterpretations, misconstruction, and misapprehension surrounding the Christian life. A trip to the local Bible bookstore confirms this accusation. Because after all the shelves are lined, and filled with books that talk about how to make the Christian life easier and more acceptable to the world. However, the truth of the matter is not a walk in the park! This thing that we got into when we were saved is a battle and the devil is on full blast!
We are engaged in warfare with a spiritual enemy who is far more powerful than we are, Eph. 6:12. Because the truth of the matter is that in our own strength, we are no match for the devil. But the good news is that he doesn’t have the power that our God has. That’s why 1st John 4:4 tells us greater is he that is in me then he that is in the world! Therefore, in the midst of the battles, there is always hope for victory, In fact, the Bible tells us that we are the recipients of victory through the Lord Jesus Christ. While we are engaged in the battle with evil, there is the expectation that we can and will walk in victory in our lives. And for me, this is what the book of Joshua represents.
In this book, we find that Moses, the great leader of Israel has died and a new leader named Joshua has been appointed to lead the nation of Israel into Canaan. After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, Israel is about to take possession of the land in which God has promised Abraham centuries ago. This book is about the battles Israel faced in order to claim that promise from God. If you notice, Joshua is a book of warfare, suffering and great victories.
It is a book that teaches the modern Christian a lot about obtaining spiritual victory in your life. I know that we sing songs about Canaan Land and often we have the idea that Canaan refers to Heaven. But that’s not true. Because when we get to Heaven, there will be no more wars, there will be no more enemies, there will be no more suffering, lies, let downs, no more giving up the right for the wrong, and there will be no more death, and sin.
But these are the issues that are present in the book of Joshua and what its pages hold. No, Canaan isn't Heaven, but it is a picture of the life of victory that is available to every child of God who has been born again!
This morning, I want to begin this series that will take us through the book of Joshua. And as we journey through Joshua, I just want to hit a few high spots in the book. I am entitling this series "Claiming Your Canaan." My goal in preaching this is help us to stop wandering around in the wilderness so you will know how enter into your Canaan Land of spiritual victories.
This first chapter serves as somewhat of an introduction to the book, and it informs us that, Canaan Land is our land. As we open this dialog I want you to listen carefully to what the Lord has to say to Joshua concerning the land of Canaan, and about how he is to claim it.
These verses will help us to understand what it takes to go from wandering around in a wilderness of defeat to living in a land of victory. It will teach us what we need to know about how to be victorious and not victims. It will teach us how to be the head and not the tail.
Because there are some truths given here that we need to understand this morning and first we need to know "Canaan Land is your land!"
So what we see in verses 1-9 that there is a call to claim the land. In these verses, Joshua is reminded that the Lord has already given the land of Canaan to the children of Israel. Joshua is commanded to lead the people into Canaan to claim the land that they had been promised to them by the Lord.
The land was given to them back in Gen.12:7 and the promises were reaffirmed to every succeeding generation of the nation of Israel. The land was indeed their land. There was no need for them to continue their wandering around in the wilderness. They had a land, and all they had to do was come and claim it.
I look around on a daily basic and I see Christians who are defeated, who struggle with sins, who, for all intents and purposes are wandering around in a spiritual wilderness. And I need to tell somebody this morning that it does not have to be that way.
God has a place of victorious living which He has promised you and I too live in. I believe with all my heart that God did not save us to see us defeated! But most of the time, we are defeated because we refuse to walk in victory. I believe there is a place of conquest for every child of God this morning that we can claim for our own and these next few verses tell us what we need to remember as we set out to claim our Canaan.)
In verses 5-6, there is a call to have confidence in the Lord, and Joshua is reminded of some very precious promises in these verses. Notice what God promised him:
In verse 5 there is the promise of victory over every enemy.
In verse 5 there is the promise of the presence and power of God.
In verse 5 there is promise of the faithfulness of God.
But in verse 6 there is the promise of absolute victory.
And then in verse 6 there is the promise of God to keep His promises.
Now what did Joshua have to do to make these things happen? Just one thing: and that was to Trust God. God was going to give Israel the victory, and Joshua was merely the instrument that God had chosen to use, and to do the job. And for Joshua to be a part of it, all he had to do was have faith in God.
May I remind you that the same promises God made to Joshua are enforce for you and I this morning? You can still count on the Lord to do everything He promised Joshua He would do. And can I give you a secret this morning?
He still gives us victory over all our enemies.
He is still ever-present.
He still all powerful.
He is still faithful.
He still gives absolute victory.
He still keeps His promises - Rom. 4:21.
Well pastor what do we have to do to see these things come to pass in our lives? We just need to do one thing: Trust God! When we can learn to place all of our faith in God at all times, in every situation, then we will walk in victory in our lives. Even
When everything else fails,
When everybody else has fail,
When the check is not in the mail
When the system has let us down
When there is no hope in our forecast
When it seems like the devil has won
When it seems like all of our hope has been depleted, I’m here to tell you that faith will stand the test! We might let the Lord down, but He will never let us down, we might turn our back on him but he will never turn his back on us. We might have time for everything else but God, but God always has time for us.
The next things was that Joshua had a call to carry out the law. The Lord tells Joshua that if he is to lead the people of God to rest in Canaan, then he need to take heed to the law of God. Remembering the Law is an essential step to entering our Canaan. Look at what the Lord says to Joshua about the Law, and how this applies to our lives today.
In verse 7 He was to keep the Law - He was to do everything the Law said to do, not turning from it the least little bit.
In verse 8 He was to meditate on the Law, Day and night, his mind was to be occupied with the Law. He was to love it, and let it fill his heart and mind.
In verse, 7 and 8 He was to prosper by honoring the Law. God promise to Joshua was that if he lived his life around the Law of God, God would prosper him in everything he did and that God would make him very successful.
There is a lesson in this for us this morning. Well, first I would like to say that I thank the Lord that we are not under the Law this morning; but I am glad that we are under grace. Having said that, I would like to say that many in our day have concluded that since we are no longer under the Law, that they are free to do anything they please. But I want to remind you that you can’t do as you feel.
And if we want to live victorious we must develop a love for the Word of God. Just as Joshua was commanded to honor the Law, we are commanded to honor the Book of God.
We are to feed on the Word
We are to live by the Word
We are to be strengthen by the Word
We are to be encouraged by the Word
Joshua had a Call to have Courage in Leadership - In the midst of all these things the Lord calls Joshua 3 times, God Himself, encourages Joshua to be strong and courageous. In other words what God was saying was learn to stand firm, and be strong in the face of opposition. In other words, Joshua would need courage to face the enemies of Israel and to lead the people to victory in the Promised Land. God's challenge to Joshua is for him to stand!
And my brothers and sisters if you are going to make through the trials and tribulations of this world then you are going to need some Godly courage to face the enemy. God is looking for people that will stand in the face of opposition.
Even thou all around us, Christians are falling by the wayside. What we need is for God's children to be moved in the depths of their souls to stand up, renew their commitments to the Lord and say, by the help of God, I'll stand and not fall all the days of my life. We need people today who will take the lead in the churches and make their stance for the Lord. We need to remember the words of the Apostle Paul, in 1st Cor. 15:58. We need to stand. It is high time that the church stopped letting itself be a doormat for the world and the devil.
I’ve got a question this morning. Who’s standing for the Lord this morning? Are you standing for the Lord? Or, have you fallen out along the way?
So, then there was a call from the Lord. verses 10-15 the challenge for Joshua.
After Joshua receives his challenge from the Lord, without hesitation, he goes to the people and tells them that the time has come to take their land. First, he challenges the nation as a whole and then he addresses a specific group within the nation of Israel.
Joshua tells the people to get ready to go into Canaan and claim the land. These were the words they had been living, and waiting for, for 40 years. However, before they could go in, they had to get ready. God told them to prepare them some food.
You see, the manna that they were eating was about to stop. Because God had told them that He would give them manna for a little while, while they were in the desert, but it would cease, and it would could to an end when they entered the Promised Land.
You’ve got to understand that when you get to the kings table that it’s no longer manna time, but it’s steak and potato time.
Because for forty years all they had was manna:
Boiled manna?Broiled manna
Deep-fried manna?Steamed manna?Grilled manna?Barbecued manna?Manna soup?Manna stew?Manna Gumbo?Manna pot pie, manna in the morning, manna in the noonday, manna in the evening.
The manna was a desert diet, but now they were about to move up to something a whole lot better. They were going to a land flowing with milk and honey. Because what had worked in the wilderness would not have suffice in the land of blessing.
And I’ve got to tell somebody today that the same thing applies to us today. Before we can enter our Canaan, we have to prepare for that land.
The way we live must change.
The things we feed on must change.
The entire scope of our lives must be altered to adjust to live in Canaan.
You can’t hold on to Jackson stuff and go to Canaan
You can’t keep Tupelo stuff and go to Canaan
We can’t live off of Chicago stuff and live in Canaan
We can’t keep living on yesterday movement for Canaan. This is why so many can never enjoy their victorious life. Because they are still hanging on to yester, years stuff.
Some people refuses to make the necessary changes to adjust to living in spiritual victory. The fact is if you expect to walk in victory, you will have to learn to walk by an entirely new set of rule.
And there will even be time you will have to walk away from some stuff. And some people, and some places.
So now, Joshua addresses the tribes of Reuben, Gad and that half tribe of Manasseh. These tribes had got permission from Moses to remain east of the Jordan, just outside the promised land. Their reason in making this request is because they were dodging their responsibilities.
The land east of Jordan was a land that was good for raising cattle, but still, Joshua reminds them that they had promised to fight alongside their brethren until the land was conquered.
These people are challenged to remember their promise and to aid the nation until victory was secured.
Brothers and Sisters, there is a very powerful lesson for us in these verse. We have literal legions of Christians who are just like these 2 ½ tribes. They have forgot about the promises that they made to Lord when he gave them positions, and when he told them that they would have to fight and help conquer the mission that the ministry needed.
They turned their backs on God and went the other way. Saying let somebody else fight it not my fight to fight.
These are people who have trusted Jesus for salvation, but that is about as far as they are will to go.
They will come when they wanted to,
Tithe when they feel like they can afford to,
They were only willing fight a battle now and again, but most often, they are seen just playing around the edges, refusing to put God first in their lives.
People who live like this can say anything they want to:
They have others gods in their lives to whom they have sold their souls. Instead of selling out to God.
But if you really love God this morning, then how about deciding to cross on over today. Make the decision to leave behind anything that is holding you back from serving God like you should.
The Call From The Lord
There was the The Challenge From Joshua
But the in verses 16-18 there was commitment from the people.
In verse 16 they commit themselves to a life of surrender. These people make their stance with the Lord. And they promise to be absolutely obedience and to surrender to the will of God. and somebody needs to know this morning that the only way spiritual victory will come to any life is that we must be total and absolute ready to surrender of every area of life to the will of God and to His divine leadership. These men also promised to follow the leadership of God's man. Just as they had followed Moses, they committed themselves to following Joshua!
So I heard that finally they commit themselves to a life of separation. The people commit themselves to separating themselves from those who were in their midst who refused to comply with the commandments of the Lord.
And, their separation was so strong that they vowed to put to death anyone who rebelled against the leadership of Joshua. These people knew that allowing rebellion in their midst was a sure way to guarantee that they would be defeated.
So if we want to walk in victory, we must practice separation in our lives as well. We should separate ourselves from anything that would prevent us from having victory in our lives. Otherwise, you will always be defeated, and be in danger.
Some of you know what it is holding you back this morning. And you need to let it go
I don’t know about you but I’m claiming Canaan
As a matter of fact I’m going to the enemies camp and I’m taking back everything that he stole from me.
Because Canaan-Land is our land.
It has been given to us by the Heavenly Father and all we have to do this morning is to march in and claim it for ourselves.
