MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(Revised: 2022)
TEXT: Ecclesiastes 8:7, 11:4; Proverbs 27:1; Joshua 1:2-11, 3:15-16
ILL. Several years ago there was a TV series called "Early Edition." I only saw a few programs, but its storyline was about a young man who somehow was able to read tomorrow's newspaper today.
In other words, he was able to know what was going to happen a day before it actually happened.
Now if you were able to know what was going to happen before it happened, how would you use that knowledge?
If you knew that the stockmarket was going to go up, would you buy low & sell high, & make a lot of money? Would you?
Would you use it to help those in need? If you knew someone was going to be in trouble & needed help, would you rush to help them?
Would you become a hero? If you knew someone was in danger & could die, would you be there to prevent that from happening? What would you do if you knew what was going to happen tomorrow?
SUM. Some people are obsessed with trying to learn the future. They peer into crystal balls, read tea leaves, & cast horoscopes. But in reality, none of us really knows the future here upon this earth.
Solomon talks about that several times in the Book of Ecclesiastes. For example, Ecclesiastes 8:7 says, "Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come?"
Well, there is an answer to his question, & the answer is "God." In fact, God is the only one who really knows the future.
PROP. As far as we're concerned, our future, our life upon this earth is uncertain. So if life is uncertain, & we can't really know what will happen to us here, how DO we face the future? What should we do? Well, God has some answers to that question.
I. THREE THINGS THAT GOD SAYS, "DON'T DO."
First of all, here are 3 things God says, "Don't do."
A. The first one is: "Don't presume about tomorrow." Proverbs 27:1 says, "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth."
Notice the word "boast." The Bible tells us, "Don't go around being cocky about your plans for tomorrow or next week or next year because life is uncertain. You may not even be around that long. So don't be presumptuous."
Now I'm afraid most of us are presumptuous. For example, we're presumptuous whenever we promise something without praying about it. We're presuming that we'll be there to do it. We're also presuming that we'll have the strength & ability & brain power to do it. That’s being presumptuous.
But when we pray about it, we're asking for God’s will & guidance in the matter, & also for His blessing of it. But too often we just presume about tomorrow by not praying about what we're planning to do.
B. Secondly, he says, "Don't panic about tomorrow." Jesus says: "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself" (Matt. 6:34).
Fortunately, we serve a loving & merciful God. God doesn't unload everything on us all at once. So God gives us life in bite size pieces, 24 hour segments. And He says, "You live your life as it comes, one day at a time."
ILL. Someone wrote, "Life by the yard is hard. Life by the inch is a cinch."
C. #3, God says, "Don't procrastinate until tomorrow."
I appreciate the Living Bible rendition of Ecclesiastes 11:4. It says, "If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done."
ILL. Someone wrote, "Procrastination is my sin. It only brings me sorrow. I know I ought to change my life. And I will - tomorrow."
SUM. Again, these are the 3 things God says "Don't do." #1 - Don't presume, #2 - Don't panic, & #3 - Don't procrastinate.
II. THREE THINGS GOD TELLS US TO DO
Now in addition to those, there are 3 things that God says for us to do. Are you ready to consider them? Okay, turn to Joshua 1:2-3.
Here's the scene. God freed the children of Israel from Egyptian slavery. But because of their disobedience, they have been living in the wilderness for 40 years.
Moses has just died, & now it is Joshua's turn to lead the people. The older, disobedient generation is gone, & the young¬er generation is ready to do what God tells them in order to enter the Promised Land.
They are on the eastern side of the Jordan River. On the other side is the Promised Land.
Joshua knows that once they enter the Promised Land they will be facing at least 7 enemy nations. They're strong nations with trained armies & fortified cities. And they're far better equipped with weapons than Joshua's young army. Is it any wonder that Joshua is uneasy about it all?
So God appears to him & says, "Joshua, let me tell you 3 things to do. And if you'll do these 3 things, I guarantee you success."
Let's look at those 3 things, & consider if God might still be telling us, as we face the future & its uncertainties, to do them today, too.
A. In Joshua 1:2-3 God says, "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you & all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses."
God says, "Get ready. I want you to possess the land." So the first thing God told Joshua is, "Set my plan into motion." But before Joshua could do that, there was something else he had to do. He had to let go of the past.
God began vs. 2 by saying, "Moses my servant is dead." Moses was God's chosen man to free the people & lead them out of Egypt. He was the one God called to the top of Mt. Sinai to receive the 10 commandments. Moses was God's man of the ages!
And now, Joshua has to take his place. You can imagine the fear & trepidation Joshua must have felt. So God comes to Joshua & says, "Joshua, listen to me. Moses is dead, but I'm not, & you're not. I have a plan for your life, & for your people. So let's get on with the plan."
Vs's 10 11 tell us, "So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: ‘Go through the camp & tell the people, ‘Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in & take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.'"
Now listen to this important verse in Prov. 16:9, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." Or as another translation puts it, "You should make plans, counting on God to direct you."
When we make plans asking God to give us direction, that's wisdom. When we make plans without taking God into consideration, that's foolishness.
So don't presume, don't panic, don't procrastinate. Instead, seek God's direction & set His plan for your life into motion.
B. The 2nd thing God tells Joshua to do is "Be careful to obey me - Stay in the Word."
Listen to vs. 7, "Be strong & very courageous. Be very careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or the left, that you may be successful wherever you go."
God says, "Joshua, I'm guaranteeing you success if you'll be careful to obey all the law. And the way to do that is not to turn from it either to the left or to the right." In other words, "Don't become sidetracked."
Now Christians can become sidetracked. It might be a promotion in your job, & suddenly you're so busy you don't have time for the Word of God, to pray, or to be in God's house with God's people.
It may be a hobby. You get so caught up in it that you no longer have time for God. Or it may be a new relationship, & you're spending so much time with that person that you have no time left over for God.
In vs. 8 God says, "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day & night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous & successful."
Did you notice? In that verse, God told Joshua 3 ways to stay in the Word. Here they are:
1. #1, “Talk about it.” Don't let the Word of God “depart from your mouth.” That is why we have Sunday School classes & Bible Study groups. Christians need to talk with each other about what God is teaching us, & how God is working in our lives.
We need to share with each other. You can't benefit from what God is doing in my life if I don't tell you. And I can't benefit from what God's doing in your life if you don't tell me. So it is important for us to talk about what God is doing in our lives.
2. Secondly, God says, "Think about it," "meditate on it day & night." The word "meditation" has fallen on hard times because when we hear it we often think of someone sitting cross-legged, hands folded, in some kind of a trance, doing whatever it is they do.
But “meditation” is a good Biblical word. If you want to understand what it is, consider this: "Worry is negative meditation." That's all worry is constantly thinking about all the bad stuff that could happen. That's negative meditation.
Positive meditation is thinking about what God can do, & how God can work in your life. God tells Joshua, "Talk about it, & think about it."
3. Then God says, "Do it! Put it into practice." "...be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous & successful." Take the teachings & principles out into the world, & live them every day.
ILL. Someone said, "Sin will keep you from reading the Bible. But reading the Bible will keep you from sin." So don't neglect it!
C. Here is the third thing God told Joshua to do: "Step out in faith." I like that because we need to understand that faith is an action word. It's not enough just to sit around & say, "Well, faith is what I believe."
I can say that I believe an airplane will fly. But I don't exhibit my faith in the airplane until I get on & ride in it. Or I can say that I believe the chair will support my weight. But I don't exhibit faith in the chair until I sit on it.
So I can say, "I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Well, Satan believes that, too. Faith is not real until it is active as you commit your life to Jesus, & say, "I not only believe in you, Lord, but I trust my life to you, & I'll follow where you lead."
That's the kind of commitment God was asking of Joshua. Between him & the Promised Land was the Jordan River in full flood stage, & Joshua was afraid.
D. Now how is Joshua going to get from the wilderness to the Promised Land without crossing the Jordan River? Well, obviously, he's not. So how is God going to get him & all the people across this raging river?
Notice what God says 3 times in the first chapter of Joshua. God says to Joshua in vs. 6, "Be strong & courageous." In vs. 7, "Be strong & very courageous." & in vs. 9, "Be strong & courageous."
Then in vs. 9, God says, "Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Notice those words "terrified" & "discouraged." These are 2 of Satan's valuable tools.
Do you realize that the Israelites could have traveled from Mt. Sinai to the Promised Land in about 3 weeks? But it actually took them 40 years getting there because they were caught in the grip of fear.
But God says, "Do not be terrified." In other words, "Don't be afraid." When you move against your fear courageously, the next thing that often happens is that Satan unleashes discouragement.
Now there is an example of this in Joshua 3:15. When Moses led the Israelites to the Red Sea, God opened the waters for them to cross on dry land.
You remember that tremendous scene in the movie, “The 10 Commandments”, don't you? The moment Moses lifted his staff the waters parted & heaped up on both sides, & the people crossed on dry land.
But that's not what happened here. Joshua 3:15 16 says, "Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan & their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away."
Picture this scene: here come the priests carrying the Ark, walking toward the Jordan River. Then they step into it. At first they're standing ankle deep in the water, but the waters don't part like they did when Moses lifted his staff at the Red Sea.
Then they take another step, & they're knee deep in the water, & the water is still rushing past them. What happened? Isn't God going to do something?
They take another step, & they're waist deep in the water, & it appears that God hasn't done anything yet. And I can just imagine that the priests are think¬ing, "How far does God expect us to go before He does something?"
You see, God was testing their faith. You say, “Now wait a minute, preacher. It says that ‘as soon as…their feet touched the water’s edge…’ God stopped the water.”
Yes, that's right. He did. But think about what it says. It says He stopped it “upstream” & “It piled up in a heap a great distance away.”
Now you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure this out. When the water is dammed up here, all the water on the down side of the dam continues to flow.
So the moment the feet of the priests touched the water, God did His thing up there, but the water kept flowing & they kept getting deeper & deeper even though God had already done what God was going to do.
What's the point? The point is that the first steps of faith are always the hardest. Even though God has already done His thing, He expects us to keep stepping out in faith even though the water is getting deeper & deeper.
God has already dammed up the water, & soon we will be on dry ground. But in the meantime, how much faith do you have? Faith is an action word.
CONCL. God has already defeated sin. God has already won the victory on Calvary. But we're still standing knee deep in the water, waiting for the effect of His miracle to take place in our lives & in our world. And one day we will see it in all of its glory.
The apostle Paul said, "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." (Phlp. 4:13) Paul is saying, "I can master every circumstance that comes my way if my faith & trust is solid in Jesus."
Folks, that's how to face the future. Life is filled with "ifs." But you can face the future if you put your faith & trust in Jesus, if you seek His plan for your life, if you stay in the Word, & if you step out in faith to do what is pleasing to Him.
INVITATION:
