Joshua
Notes
Transcript
Handout
OPENING
Summarize where we are in the storyline of Scripture.
The Book of Joshua
If you grew up in Church/Sunday School…
What do you remember learning about Joshua in Church/Sunday School?
Based on what you learned in Church/Sunday School about Joshua, what would you say the book of Joshua about?
We have to be constantly guarding ourselves against misunderstanding the purpose of the stories of the Bible.
If we’re not careful, we can focus on the characters in the story: their courage, strength, faith, their victories...
We must understand that the Bible is a story about God! It’s about His plan, power, love, faithfulness…
This is true of the book of Joshua as well.
It is a story about Joshua, the Israelites, battle, etc…
but ultimately it is a story about God’s faithfulness to His promises, and His power to bring them about.
The problem is, that we lack the faith to trust God.
When we look at the circumstances around us, when we look at the obstacles in front of us, when we look at our own failure, we don’t believe that we are going to make it to the other side… to the “promised land”.
But when we know God’s plan, and focus on His power, we can press ahead knowing that He will make it succeed.
But…
The First Step is the Hardest
The First Step is the Hardest
This is true of most things in life.
The hardest part of starting almost anything is the first step.
Why do you think that is?
Fear of the unknown.
Concerned what others will think of us.
Scared of failure.
We’re not going to be good at it.
John Maxwell has said,
Everything worthwhile is uphill. Everything. — John Maxwell
Nothing worth doing is easy. It takes hard work, dedication, commitment, discipline…
which means you will not initially be good at it, you will fail, you will look stupid, you may not know where you’re going…
But you will learn along the way, get better at it, begin to succeed, till one day you will realize you have changed.
Zig Ziglar said,
Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly until you can learn to do it well. — Zig Ziglar
The difficult part for us is determining what is worth doing.
Today we are going to see how God’s vision for His people empowers them to take the first step toward blessing.
Motivation: God’s Vision for His People
Motivation: God’s Vision for His People
If we want the confidence to know we are heading in the right direction, and investing in the right things, it is wise for us to follow God’s vision/plan.
As the Israelites are about to cross over the Jordan to enter the Promised Land, God once again reminds them of His plan and purpose for them.
He casts the vision to where He wants them to be if they will obey Him.
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.
God’s vision for His people, was that they would have their own land.
Where they could build their own houses, their own land for farming, their own established communities.
They had been sojourners ever since God called Abraham, with no land to call their own.
God’s promise to Abraham was to give them a land of their own… a good land.
These Israelites had been wandering around the wilderness for 40 years.
THEY WANTED A PLACE THEY COULD CALL HOME!
The previous generations were enslaved for 400 years in Egypt.
THEY WANTED A PLACE THEY COULD CALL HOME!
The 3 generations before that, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were waiting for the Promised Land.
THEY WANTED A PLACE THEY COULD CALL HOME!
This promise was a big deal to them!
Now they are once again standing on the edge of the Jordan… they can see the Promised Land… it’s within their grasp… they can finally have the land their people have been waiting for.
God’s vision for a better future for His people has inspired them to press ahead.
The desire for a better future is the motivation they need to take the first step.
They are going to make mistakes along the way, but their willingness to follow God and take the first step will ultimately result in them coming into possession of the Promised Land.
APPLICATION
What is God’s vision for us as NT Christians?
This unfolds for us in 2 ways:
God’s Vision for NT Christians
His Vision for Us in the World to Come
We will dwell with God in His perfect, holy presence, free from sin.
This is what was lost in the garden, but one day we will experience a perfect relationship with God in heaven for all eternity.
His Vision for Us in the Present World
We will enjoy the benefits of His presence and blessings through His Holy Spirit in this life.
We can enjoy this now… not just in heaven.
“God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in him.” — John Piper
We will help others experience and enjoy the benefits of being in relationship with God.
Other believers, and…
Those who don’t know Him as their Lord and Saviour.
We need to live with these two visions in our mind.
Ultimately, our goal is to be in God’s presence, but He has a plan for us to enjoy His presence now, and lead others to that joyful relationship as well.
Maybe you don’t feel connected to God. Maybe you don’t feel like you enjoy Him, or don’t know what it means to be satisfied in Him.
That’s your starting point!
You need to sit down and prayerfully make a plan for how to intentionally spend time with God.
Reading, praying, singing, memorizing Scripture, going for walks…
As you pursue Him, He will satisfy you.
We can have a relationship with the God of the universe!! This is amazing!
As we experience God’s goodness for us, we are inspired to live our lives fully for His glory!
We catch onto His vision for our lives, which gives us the confidence to take the first step.
The Israelites had God’s vision to have their own land with God in their midst…
But they needed a plan to get there…
Method: God’s Plan for Success
Method: God’s Plan for Success
God had given them a vision for the future.
You will have your own land, and I will be your God, you will be My people, and I will bless you.
But in order for me to bless you, you need to follow My Word…
Joshua 1:7–8 (ESV)
Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it.
God had given them His law.
God had saved them and made them His own people, and gave them His law and instructions.
This was to show God’s wisdom among His people for their own good, and so that other nations would see the wisdom of God.
This was God’s plan for the success of His people.
If they would obey His Word, He would bless them.
This doesn’t mean that His plans always made sense.
The very first test for the Israelites was Jericho.
Talk about a plan that doesn’t make any sense!!
But it was a test to see if they would trust God and His Word… and they did!
APPLICATION
When we follow God’s Word in our own lives, we are going to look weird to others.
We are not going to conform to cultural standards, and we will stick out.
But we need to decide whether or not we trust God’s ways rather than our own.
Maybe reading/memorizing an ancient book, I mean the Bible, seems weird...
Maybe talking to yourself, I mean praying, looks weird...
Maybe throwing your money away, I mean tithing, seems ridiculous...
Maybe wasting this life, I mean living for heaven, doesn’t make sense…
If you follow God’s Word, the world is going to think that you’re missing out on a lot of fun stuff.
But if you are committed to God and His ways, He will bless you with far greater things.
Happiness does not come from stuff.
Happiness does not come from sex.
Happiness does not come from fame and money.
Happiness comes from our relationship with God, and one another, as we look forward to a world beyond our wildest dreams!
If we are willing to follow God’s vision for our lives, and follow His plan for our lives, then we will experience His blessings, and contentment, as we have success that He brings about.
Israel had good success when they were willing to follow God’s Word and His plan.
But they also needed to have a long-term plan. Long-term goals.
Map: God’s Future for His People
Map: God’s Future for His People
God had given the vision… the hope for their own land.
God had given the plan… follow My Word.
Now God gives the the promise of a good future if they will obey.
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and 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, and then you will have good success.
Israel’s success depends on their faith and obedience in God’s commands.
At the end of the book, we see that God has been faithful to bless them because they obeyed His Word to them… at least for the most part.
A long time afterward, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, Joshua summoned all Israel, its elders and heads, its judges and officers, and said to them, “I am now old and well advanced in years. And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you. Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, but you shall cling to the Lord your God just as you have done to this day. For the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you, no man has been able to stand before you to this day. One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, just as he promised you. Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the Lord your God has given you.
God has been faithful to His promise to them, since they have been faithful to His Word.
His promise is for their continued success, so long as they remain faithful to Him.
APPLICATION
We must remain committed to God’s Word throughout our lives as well.
There are times when people reject God because of what He allows into their lives.
They can’t understand why God has allowed them to go through what they’re going through.
I’m not saying it’s wrong to question God. Part of life is going through difficult circumstances, and trying to understand how God is using things for good.
It is good and healthy to ask questions of God.
Something that we must try to understand though, is if we are facing some struggle because of sin.
After Israel crossed the Jordan, Achan disobeyed God’s Word by taking some things that were devoted to God.
As a result, they were defeated in battle against Ai.
Joshua tears his clothes, falls down, and cries out to God, “Why have you brought us here to destroy us?”
And God responds in Joshua 7:10-12 “The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.”
We must realize that so long as we are in a covenant relationship with God, He may discipline us for our disobedience, so that we learn to trust and walk in His ways.
As we do, He will continue to lead us, guide us, and bless us.
Israel had God’s vision, God’s plan, and God’s future for them, and all of this was ensured by…
God’s Promise
God’s Promise
So long as Israel listened to and obeyed God, they would have the most important piece to the puzzle… God’s presence!
This is what they needed to be satisfied, and confident moving ahead.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
God is saying, you can trust this is true because I am the One commanding you.
Remember my power, my faithfulness in the past, and that will give you the confidence to trust in My Words now.
You can press ahead with courage… you don’t need to fear… because as long as I am with you, you will succeed!
APPLICATION
So it is in our lives!
When we are following God’s Word for our lives, He will be with us, and we will succeed.
We don’t need to fear or worry, because He is working all things for good for those who love Him.
What is one area that the Holy Spirit has been convicting you lately?
There may be more than one thing.
Where is God calling you to step out in faith…
to trust His Word…
to trust that His way is better…
to believe that He will cause you to succeed…
Maybe God has been convicting you about what you’re looking at on your phone, and He wants you to confess it to someone.
Pornography and lust are very real, deep, addicting issues in our day.
If you struggle with that, you’re not alone.
Maybe God has been convicting you about your Bible reading, or lack of prayer.
Maybe God has been convicting you to give your life fully to Him… to accept Him as your Lord and Saviour and get baptized.
Maybe God has been convicting you to forgive someone you’ve been holding a grudge against.
You’ve allowed bitterness and resentment to creep in.
I don’t know what each of you is struggling with personally, but just know that God is always there for you. You can pray and confess your sin to Him… and you should be doing that!
I also want you to know that I am always here for you. I will always make time to meet with you.
Taking the first step is always the hardest part!
We’re afraid… but we should step ahead with the confidence that God is with us, and if we follow His will for our lives, then God will satisfy us and bless us.
Let’s pray!
We are going to break up into groups again today.
Remember that these are safe places…
I want to challenge you to share something with the group that you feel God has been convicting you of lately.
There’s no shame! We all struggle with the same sins.