Introduction:
1. Have you ever wished during an especially wonderful time in your life that you could freeze things right where they were? I remember having that thought a number of years ago my family was spending time with my parents, they were healthy, the children were doing well, the family was in good shape & everyone was happy. I had the thought, wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could hit the pause button on life & just stop everything right where it is at this very moment.
2. Of course it doesn’t work that way. I’ve since come to realize more than ever that when things are going wonderful in your life you can’t expect them to remain that way, but the reverse is also true. When the most difficult moments of life confront you, those moments don’t remain the same either. Sometimes things get better and at other times things get worse, but things never remain the same. Life just doesn’t work like that.
3. The only typical exception is that when we’re young we usually can’t wait for things to change. We want to grow up, and be given more freedom. Then it happens and we discover that while we wouldn’t want to go back, those changes bring a whole new series of challenges into our lives. We want things to be good for us and stay that way, but they don’t. You can relate to what I’m saying can’t you? I thought so.
4. But like it or not change comes into our lives. We can fight change, but we cannot stop it. Change is one of the few things in life that is a constant. It’s not going to go away.
5. I had to laugh recently when I came across a nurses list of duties in a hospital in 1887. Let me tell you I’m glad there have been changes. Consider a nurses duties 118 years ago. In addition to caring for your 50 patients, each nurse will follow these regulations: 1. Daily sweep & mop the floors of your ward, dust the patient’s furniture & window sills. 2. Maintain an even temperature in your ward by bringing in a scuttle of coal for the day’s business. 3. Lighting is important to observe the patient’s condition. Therefore, each day fill kerosene lamps, clean chimneys & trim wicks. Wash the windows once a week. 4. The nurse’s notes are important in aiding the physician’s work. Make your pens carefully, you may whittle nibs to your individual taste. 5. Each nurse on day duty will report at 7:00 AM & leave at 8:00 PM., except on the Sabbath, on which day you will be off from noon to 2:00 PM. 6. Graduate nurses in good standing with the director of nurses will be given an evening off each week for courting purposes or two evenings a week if you go regularly to church. 7. Each nurse should lay aside from each payday a goodly sum of her earnings for her benefits during her declining years so that she will not become a burden. For example, if you make $30 a month, you should set aside $15. 8. Any nurse who smokes, uses liquor in any form, gets her hair done at a beauty shop or frequents dance halls will give the director of nurses good reason to suspect her worth, intentions & integrity. 9. The nurse who performs her labors & serves her patients & doctors faithfully & without fault for a period of 5 years will be given an increase by the hospital administration of 5¢ a day, providing there are no hospital debts that are outstanding.
6. Hospitals have changed in incredible ways since 1887, but so have churches. In fact as much as we are tempted to resist it, change must take place in the church as well.
7. The same was true during ancient times. Moses had faithfully served God as Israel’s leader for the last 40 years. He was there in the good times & the bad, during that period he was always there. Then, he died. We’re never quite ready for death even when we see it coming. We don’t want to lose those we love. The truth is that we don’t want our lives to change even when we see those changes on the horizon. Most of us love it when things remain the same, but let’s be honest, they don’t ever truly remain the same.
8. Churches that refuse to change die. We may not like it, but it’s the way it is. I begin a series of sermons this morning called, "Possibilities: The Dream of What Lies Ahead." The landscape of the young Jewish nation has just changed. Moses had just died & change was on the horizon. Let’s read our text—
Cell #1--
Joshua 1:1-9, 16-18 (NAS)—
1 Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant, saying,
2 "Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you & all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel.
3 "Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.
4 "From the wilderness & this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, & as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory.
5 "No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.
6 "Be strong & courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
7 "Only be strong & very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.
8 "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day & night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, & then you will have success.
9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong & courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
16 They answered Joshua, saying, "All that you have commanded us we will do, & wherever you send us we will go.
17 "Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you; only may the LORD your God be with you as He was with Moses.
18 "Anyone who rebels against your command & does not obey your words in all that you command & him, shall be put to death; only be strong & courageous."
Prayer — Let’s begin with this. . .
Cell #2—
I. God’s Promise: I Will Be With You 1:1-5
1. There are some promises of the Bible that are extremely important all the time, & this is one of those. When God says, "I will be with you," it has great value, because it means in the truest sense of the word, we are never really alone. However, there are those moments in life, when it’s that promise isn’t just good, it’s essential. This moment is one of those. Do you want to guess why this was such an important time for God to make this promise to Joshua. Well, he’s about to take over the leadership of God’s people. Anyone stepping up to that kind of responsibility is bound to feel an incredibly heavy load on his or her shoulders, but there was another reason as well.
Cell #3—
God’s promise to be with Joshua was so important because he would be filling Moses Shoes.
2. Anyone who is in leadership knows something of this feeling. When I went to the church in Rolla, I followed a pastor who had served the church for 38 years. Then, there was a pastor who had come to the church who had been there only two years, but he was very dearly loved. To be honest, when I first came here, I wondered, "Am I going to have what it takes to be a good pastor of this church?" I thought I could & prayed that I could, but to be honest, I wasn’t completely sure that I could. I specifically remember being over at Robert & Lois Durban’s house & admitting to Robert one afternoon that I wasn’t sure I was capable of doing what this church needed. I will always remember that his response was something like, "You’re going to do fine." It wasn’t a profound statement Robert made that day, but it was the exact thing that I needed to hear.
3. Let me go back to Joshua’s situation. Leaders don’t lead forever, even godly leaders like Moses. There comes a time in every ministry when God calls for a new beginning with a new generation of leaders.
4. You need to understand what I’m talking about. I’m not saying that I’m about to resign, or that we’re going to replace our deacons & everyone who is doing anything is going to step down. Not that at all, but the lesson contained here is this, we must always be developing another generation of leaders, because none of us is going to live forever. In this story, God was changing things dramatically, Joshua was stepping into a role he had never been in before. There are those times when God brings new people into the ministry and we have additional help to accomplish the task God has given us.
5. So as we’re talking about the future & the changes which come whether we want them or not, does that mean we are to ignore the past? Nothing could be farther from the truth. It doesn’t mean that at all. A wise leader doesn’t abandon the past but builds on that past even as he or she leads toward the future. The truth is. . . (Cell 4, #1)
Cell #4—
We must never forget the past, God has worked there.
Moses is mentioned fifty-seven times in the book of Joshua.
God was in essence saying to Joshua, "you the man now!"
6. There is strong evidence that Joshua himself respected Moses and what he had done for Israel. Joshua probably wrote the book that bears his name. Consider this, (Cell 4, #2) Moses is mentioned fifty-seven times in the book of Joshua. So Joshua really had a great deal of respect for his predecessor. Joshua worshiped the same God that Moses had worshiped, and he obeyed the same commands that Moses had given the nation. There was continuity from one leader to the next, but things were changing nevertheless. Those of you who have been around church for a long time know that when there are leadership changes, things don’t remain the same. Each leader is different and should maintain his or her individuality. Twice in these verses Moses is called God’s servant, but Joshua will also be called the servant of God in 24:29. The important thing is not the servant but the Master. Joshua was the leader whose time had come (Cell 4, #3) God was in essence saying to Joshua, "you the man now!"
7. Look at those first five verses & tell me, how did God encourage Joshua as he was about to take the reins of leadership? Do you see it there in verse 5? I want you to circle that phrase in your notes which says, "just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you." God in essence reminded Joshua that the secret of Moses’ success had been God, & that God was going to be there for him just as He had been there for Moses. Did this mean Joshua never had any struggles or challenges that he didn’t know how to handle? Not at all. The promise God made to Joshua here is repeated in basic form in the book of Hebrews when God has promised us, "I will never leave you, nor will I forsake you." What does that mean? Well let me start by telling you what it doesn’t mean. . .
Cell #5—
1) God’s promise to be with us doesn’t mean we will always feel His Presence.
2) It does mean He will always be with you.
8. Even when the changes of life shake us up & leave us with more questions than answers, we can ultimately know that it’s going to be all right, because we don’t have to face life alone. God is with us & He’s working in our lives even when we can’t see what He’s doing. In fact, we learn in the New Testament that God’s not only always with us, but that since the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, He’s living inside us.
Cell #6—
II. God’s Challenge: Be Strong & Courageous 1:6-10
1. God’s challenge for Joshua came through loud & clear. He wasn’t to timidly step into the role of leadership, He was to step forward with strength & courage. I have a quick question for you. Why did God’s challenge consist of strength & courage? God’s challenge could have been for faith hope & love, or God could have challenged him to be fair & balanced. There were many possible challenges why this one?
Cell #7— (hold second point)
God’s challenge was based upon the fact that strength & courage were needed.
1) Moses wasn’t there to help.
2) The Promised Land had yet to be conquered.
2. It was more than Joshua needing to live up to what Moses had been. The legendary leader had been his mentor. He had shown him the ropes. Perhaps in his final years Moses had taken Joshua into his confidence & helped prepare him for what lay ahead. We don’t know, but whatever the case he was no longer there to take care of him. There was another reason strength & courage were needed, (Cell 7, #2) The Promised Land had yet to be conquered. They weren’t even in the Promised Land yet. There was still the Jordan River to cross, there were still all those cities to be taken. At this point they were outside of the Promised Land just looking in. Courage and Strength would be required to accomplish the task that lay ahead.
3. Where would Joshua get this great courage and strength from? That’s a legitimate question & one that I believe is answered in several different ways. One answer was found in verse 6 when He reminded Joshua that God had promised the land to their fathers. The rest of the answer is found in the commands of God. Where does this strength and courage come from? Let me suggest this. . . (opening statement plus 1)
Cell #8—
Strength & courage come from knowing:
1) We have been put here by God.
2) We are doing what God wants.
4. When you know you are where God wants you to be, it provides a certain amount of strength & confidence in the way you approach the task you’ve been given to do.
5. However, there’s another part to that. Strength and confidence flow out of knowing (Cell 8, #2) We are doing what God wants. Notice in verse 7 they were to, "be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you. . ."
6. Let me tell you this was more than a casual glance every once in a while at the commands God had given to Moses, it was intended to be so much more than that. Remember what God had given Moses makes up the first five books of the Bible commonly called the Pentateuch. I want you to take your notes & circle this phrase in verse 8, "The book of the law shall not depart from your mouth." The meaning of the Hebrew phrase here is quite interesting. It has something pretty significant to say let me show you. (part 1 only)
Cell #9—
1) "From your mouth" refers to the custom of muttering while studying God’s word.
2) To "meditate" literally means to mutter.
7. The idea is that the reader wouldn’t just read what was there, but would repeat, or mutter it back to himself after he read it the first time. In other words, he would contemplate what God was saying to the nation. It’s quite an interesting concept. As if that’s not enough I want you to see something else which is also quite interesting. Notice the next statement in your notes. (Cell 9, #2) To "meditate" literally means to mutter. One of the rules of good Bible study is that when you see a theme repeated more than once in the same passage, it means there is emphasis there to make sure the point isn’t ignored. God wanted Joshua to make sure he didn’t ignore the truth here.
8. Let me tell you I think there is a lesson here for us as well. We now have the completed Bible that we can study & learn from. We are so accustomed to Bibles being readily available that we sort of take them for granted. But we must make sure that we learn from scripture & take it to heart. It’s not there just so we can learn some facts that we can put into practice if we feel like it. The goal is for us to let God change us as we read His word & put it into practice, but isn’t automatic.
Cell #10—
We forget about 95% of sermons within three days.
9. I suspect that most of us don’t remember any more of what we read in scripture, perhaps even less. So, I have a question for you. How can we increase our comprehension of what we hear & what we read from God’s word? Surely there is some way to increase what we remember. I believe there is & it is the concept Joshua was to practice in this very passage. Here it is. . .
Cell #11—
Muttering, God’s word, changes how much you remember.
10. Let me explain what I’m talking about. When you read God’s word & then you talk about it & think through it with others, you are going to be better able to remember & learn from what you read. When you hear a sermon & then you repeat the key points of it to yourself, or you talk about it with others who heard it you are in essence, doing what’s being spoken of here, you are turning the meaning around in your mind, you are in fact "muttering," it in the Biblical sense.
Cell #12—
III. The Godly Response: Follow the Leader 1:16-18
1. It’s a game children play, but it is also an important part of the Christian life. We are each to follow our leader. In one way shape or form, that’s really what the Christian life comes down to, not whether we will follow a leader, but whether we will follow "the leader."
Cell #13—
Forty years before at Kadesh Barnea the nation had been judged because they didn’t follow God.
2. They had refused to listen to Joshua & Caleb. Now, the nation was faced with the same question. Would they cling to only what they could see with their physical eyes, or would they follow God’s man? Thankfully, this time they made a much wiser choice.
3. It’s not difficult to see how very differently they responded this time. Notice their commitment in verse 16, "All that you have commanded us we will do, & wherever you send us we will go." Their response this time was the very opposite of what the nation had done 40 years earlier.
4. In fact, I want you to see why God was going to bless them. Look at the next verse with me. You will have to look closely or you will miss what happens here, because it’s not apparent on first glance, but it’s definitely there. I want you to circle the final phrase in verse 17, "may the LORD your God be with you as He was with Moses." It was a statement of encouragement to Joshua, but it was something even more than that.
Cell #14—
The people encouraged God’s leader by praying for him. Verse 17
5. You see it was more than just a statement of encouragement to Joshua, it was a prayer directed to the Lord. Their hearts are different this time. The results are going to be different this time. Things are now primed to be quite different than they had been the time before. Something special is about to happen. God has a task for them to do & they are ready to be a part of it. When that happens, watch out because God is probably about to do some pretty extraordinary things. Now I want to show you something that on the one hand is just logical, but I must admit I hadn’t thought about it before I was studying for this sermon.
Cell #15—
1) Before God does great things He raises up great leaders.
2) Twelve ordinary men became the apostles.
3) Saul the persecutor became Paul the Apostle.
4) God wants to use many of us to become great leaders too.
5. Something great was about to happen & God had raised up a great leader to do it. In reality this is nearly always the way God does things. Great leaders help others follow them as they follow the Lord.
6. Think about it. (Cell 15, #2) Twelve ordinary men became the apostles. They were ordinary until Jesus invested 3½ years in them & those years changed them from mediocre men to dynamic followers of God. That’s not the only example either, consider another example, (Cell 15, #3) Saul the persecutor became Paul the Apostle. When God’s going to do something special He raises up special people who can serve as leaders who will help others follow them as they follow Him.
7. This sermon isn’t just about what used to be, it’s also about what is happening right now. (Cell 15, #4) 4) God wants to use many of us to become great leaders too. I believe I see that happening in our own church right now. I see God beginning to raise up new leaders, not to replace our present, leaders, but to work alongside our present leaders as they faithfully serve God. You see this isn’t about different groups in the church competing with one another for money & influence, it’s about each of us intently following the One who is the true Leader.
Conclusion:
1. Commenting on this passage, Warren Wiersbe told a story that I want to conclude with this morning. He said that it’s unfortunate but sometimes the only way a ministry can move forward is by conducting a few funerals. A pastor friend of his had pleaded with his church board to build new space for their rapidly growing Sunday School. One longtime member of the board, a prominent businessman, said to him, "You’ll do this over my dead body!" And they did! A few days later, he had a heart attack and died; and the church built the much-needed Sunday School space & the church continued to grow.
2. Those of us who have been around the church awhile have a tendency to get a little set in our ways. I’m encouraged because it doesn’t have to be that way. Remember, Caleb and Joshua were the oldest men in the camp, and they some of the most enthusiastic ones when it came to trusting God and moving forward.
3. We prayed together & studied together during 40 Days of Purpose and the results of that experience is impacting our church today, but we dare not stop, there is still much to be done. We’ve only see the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what God wants us to do. Change is never easy, but God is intent on changing us. Would you join me in praying this simple prayer this morning. "Lord make us more like you. Lord help us as a church and as individual Christians to do what you want us to do in these next months.
4. Perhaps some of you who are here this morning need to make other commitments as well. Are you here this morning & need to invite Jesus into your heart? We have people who are eager to explain salvation to you. Are you here this morning & God has spoken to you during this message & said, "You need to be a part of what’s going on at First Baptist Church of Oakville." If He has done that, I’m going to ask you to come forward during this morning’s invitation & make it official that this is the church family where God wants you to be serving Him.
5. I don’t know the details of how God may be speaking to you this morning, but if He is, will you say yes to Him? Let’s pray.
1) Warren Wiersbe, Be Strong: a commentary on Joshua, (QuickVerse, a division of FindEx.com) 2004.
2) Frank Gaebelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Old Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1976-1992.
3) Mike Turner, Be Strong & Courageous, (Sermoncentral.com)
4) Bob Hunter, Get Ready, (Sermoncentral.com)
5) Ronald Keller, How to Find Success in 2003, (Sermoncentral.com)
6) Steven Simala Grant, Which Way To The Milk And Honey? (Sermoncentral.com)
7) Charles Swindol, The Quest for Character, P 159.
