THE FUTURE: A Race Won By Some, Lost By Others
Joshua 23
How many of you, young people of today will one day in the future, find yourselves sitting in a dark corner of your rented and very small room, looking at your 3 hungry but sleeping children and wondering about the source of their food for the following day?
How many of us today parents will one day, at 80 years old, sit down in an old, squeaky and retirable wooden rocking chair, wondering about whether we have in fact, become victors or casualties in the ever deepening struggle of parenthood?
Read Joshua 23
With Regards to the future, each one of our generation now, and each of those who come after us, will each have a label which would not only describe our status at that time but also describe the life that we have had.
IN THE FUTURE, EACH ONE WILL HAVE ONE OF THESE LABELS:
THE PERSON WHO DID NOT MAKE IT- The people who were supposed to have been given the assurance of a very good future, given the ability to earn their future and given the resources to get to their future but failed along the way and did not recover.
THE PERSON WHO ALMOST MADE IT- are people who have actually started to enjoy life. Life looked very promising and then something happened. They were not able to finish the race.
THE PERSON WHO ALMOST DID NOT MAKE IT. These are people who also, like us, have their own share of failures but got to the their future, recovered from their sins and mistakes and enjoyed their life and also guaranteed a good life for their children.
Men who almost made it to their future
• Moses- allowed to see the promised land but not allowed to enter. The Promised Land was the biggest of all the dreams of the Israelites. Moses sw the land but, by God’s will, died without touching the soil of the Promised Land.
• Achan- was in the promised land but was punished with death. His sin cost him his entire future.
• Saul- was given a kingdom but was not allowed to continue as king.
Men who almost did not make it to their future
• Joshua- failed in Ai. Deceived by the Gibeonites, but recovered and became a great leader. He got to his future.
• David- failed in personal purity but recovered and died an old man.
• Solomon- failed for being “too loving” (relating with 1,000 women) but was allowed to finish his term. He also got to his future.
• Peter- denied ever knowing Jesus 3 times in just one night but recovered and became the leader of the apostles
“future-determinants”
• Whether you will make it or not depends on whether you are willing to take to heart or not the three (3) unchanging “future determining principles”
What exactly are these 3 unchanging FUTURE-DETERMINING PRINCIPLES?
I-THE LORD FIGHTS FOR HIS PEOPLE
• HE FOUGHT FOR YOU- Josh 23:3. “…it was the LORD your God who fought for you.
Josh 23:3. 3 You yourselves have seen everything the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the LORD your God who fought for you. Josh 23:9.
9 "The LORD has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you.
• HE FIGHTS FOR YOU- Josh 23:10. “…the LORD your God fights for you,”
Josh 23:10. 10 One of you routs a thousand, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as he promised.
• HE WILL FIGHT FOR YOU- Josh 23:5. “…He will push them out before you,”
Josh 23:5. The LORD your God himself will drive them out of your way. He will push them out before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the LORD your God promised you.
II-THE LORD FULFILLS HIS PROMISES
Josh 23:14. "Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.
• THESE WERE COVENANTAL PROMISES INTENDED TO BENEFIT ALL BELIEVERS OF ALL GENERATIONS. See chapter 24. Gen. 12. Gen 12:1-3
12:1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 2 "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
These promises cover 3 specific issues: About God, about us and about our task. The promises specify the following truths:
• Concerning God as the blessing giver (i will bless you)
• Concerning us as the blessing receiver (i will bless you)
• Concerning us as the blessing sharer (i will bless you so you will be a blessing)
Illustration:
The blessing cycle works this way: God gives, WE receive. We give to others. Then we receive again. The cycle continues as long the parts remain.
The Dead Sea in Israel is just that- dead. It is hard to imagine a body of water was being dead. The Dead sea receives water but it is not giving out any. It has broken the cycle so the it is dead.
III- THE LORD FOREWARNS HIS PEOPLE
Josh 23:6-8. 6 "Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. 7 Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. 8 But you are to hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have until now. Josh 23:14-16. 14 "Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. 15 But just as every good promise of the LORD your God has come true, so the LORD will bring on you all the evil he has threatened, until he has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. 16 If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you." (from New International Version)
Through the passage the Lord reminds His people of 3 dagerous choices and their correspinding devastating consequences. it is a reality of life that a choice always generates a consequence in the same that way that a decision always sets a direction for life. What were the 3 dangersous choices indicated in the passage?
• 3 DANGEROUS CHOICES
SPIRITUAL IMPURITY They were warned about the danger of idolatry. They were not to worship other gods. but, idolatry is not only making idols. It includes allowing objects, people, or events get in the way of our relationship with God.
SOCIAL IMPURITY- They were also told not establish alliances with the people of the land nor intermarry with them. Today, many of our troubles in life come from our association with the wrong people. Many of the heartaches of people today come from having married the wrong person.
SUBMISSION IMPURITY- They were told to obey the law. Submission Impurity is to be carry out a partial submission to the law of God.
Note on human choices:
There are basically 2 types of human moral will: The first is FREEWILL or Freedom to choose. Freewill is choosing one good option from several good options. It is not choosing good over evil but choosing good from a list of morally acceptable options. Adam was give the freedom to eat from any tree in the garden, except one. ABILITY TO WILL is man’s capacity to decide whether to obey or disobey. Man is never free to disobey but he is able to disobey. Adam was told not to eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil but he did not because he was free to do so but because he was able.
What were the 3 devastating results of having taken 3 wrong choices?
• 3 DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES
POWER WITHDRAWN- formerly, one Israelite equals a thousand. With impurities- he can no longer overcome his enemy.
PROTECTION WITHDRAWN- the nations cannot penetrate the defenses of the Israelites because of the protection of God’s presence.
PROVISIONS WITHDRAWN- Blessings are covenantal and are premised on a faithful exercise of our relationship with God. When we stop being a blessing to others, when we stop making right decisions, then we incur consequences.
What we have learned thus far:
Principles of acquiring victory:
• The lord fights for his people
• The lord fulfills his promises
Principles of guaranteeing and maintaining your victory.
• The lord forewarns his people so take heed.
Today…
The same principles determine our future:
• The lord fights for us
• The lord fulfills his promises to us
• The lord forewarns us of the 3 dangerous choices and the 3 devastating consequences. Our choices must always be clearly in conformity with the revealed will of God. There is not other way to get to our future.
What should we do now to acquire a secure and stable future?
• Be grateful that the lord fights for us
• Be grateful that the lord has given us the covenantal promises
• Be firm about avoiding the wrong choices and repenting if these have been made already
• Ask god now to cut the flow of the consequences
