A New Beginning: A New Mind

Intro the idea of NEW (Series Topic)

Last week we recognized that everyone loves things that are new, right? A new car, new house, new baby, new movie, new season, new job, new day!

My wife and I just got a new car and we went to get a car wash and the guy asked us what deodorizer smell did we want. And new car was one of the scents available. There’s nothing like the smell of a new car, or the smell of a brand new house, or getting a new power tool! There’s nothing like it!

There’s also something about a new year. It’s a chance to reset. It’s an opportunity to rethink how the year before went and make changes. It’s an opportunity to say, “I’m going to eat differently or work differently or live differently.” Maybe you didn’t like the results you got last year, so you’re changing how you do life going forward.

That’s what this series is all about. It’s about A NEW BEGINNING. It’s about starting fresh. It’s hitting the reset button on your life or areas in your life that aren’t going the way you want. It’s all about taking time to refocus our attention on the most important things in life.

Intro the idea of NEW MIND

As we start this new year, this is an opportunity to reset and refocus the most influential part of your life--your mind. Your mind is like the CPU, the central processing unit for your life. All of our decisions are made in our minds. How we perceive the world is through the lens of our mind. What we create and the work we do all starts in our mind.

And our mind is like a muscle. It can be strengthened and made more effective. In fact, the Bible speaks to this in Romans 12:2 NIV, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

It’s when we renew our mind that we receive clarity about who God is and what he wants.

Today, we are going to focus on a story from the Old Testament. You might have heard this story, but it’s from Joshua 1.

Joshua 1:1–9 NLT

1 After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. 3 I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you— 4 from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’ 5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. 6 “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. 9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Context

Joshua served Moses and was next in line as the leader of Israel. Moses died and now it’s Joshua’s time to lead. This is no small task on Joshua’s shoulders. He must not only lead the people into the Promised Land, but he must also lead the Israelite army into battle.

You may have noticed that God tells Joshua not to be afraid. And so this lets me know that Joshua probably was indeed afraid. In fact, Joshua has plenty of reasons to be afraid. He’s never led the people of God without Moses. He’s never conquered the promised land. He’s never tried to establish a nation. God knew exactly what Joshua needed to discover the leader within him and overcome FEAR, so God spoke three WORDS of encouragement over him.

Throughout this message I want you to notice the power of God’s spoken word over Joshua’s life and how this same power can impact your life this year.

In bible study this past Wednesday, we were talking about how God spoke creation into the atmosphere. He simply made the declaration and it was so.

Look what verse 6 says, “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them.” Joshua 1:6 NLT

Here are all three points from today’s message:

The WORD of PURPOSE The WORD of PROMISE The WORD of PRESENCE

1. The WORD of PURPOSE

Church I want you to understand that Joshua was selected by God. God specifically says, “You are the one.” Throughout the Word of God, you see people finding their God-given purpose. Noah and Moses were called to be rescuers, David a King, Nehemiah a restorer, Jonah a preacher, and Paul an apostle and many more!

It was the WORDS of God that gave purpose to these individuals and it’s these stories that still speak and call us today. Maybe you can relate to being a rescuer. You might be a first responder or nurse or doctor. Maybe you can relate to the leaders of the Bible and your calling is in leading God’s people. Or you might be more of a preacher like many of the prophets. You love sharing with others God’s truth that helps change their lives forever.

Here’s the point I want to pull from this: When we are in the Word of God it has the power to speak to our purpose for life.

2. The WORD of PROMISE

Now look at what else God says to Joshua. Look what Joshua 1:7-8 NLT says, “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.” Joshua 1:7-8 NLT

A piece of writing can be informational, instructional, inspirational, personal. It could be a drama, love story, war story, thriller, scary or action. While there might be some different opinions on this, I think if you had to sum up the Bible in one word, it would be PROMISE.

The Bible is filled with promises. In fact, the Old and New Testaments are often referred to as the Old and New Covenants. These are the promises between God and man. What each will do in those agreements or covenants. There’s close to 9,000 promises in the bible that took place between God and man. It goes even up to 30,000 promises when you consider all of the promises within the bible.

Here’s the reality of it all...God has been making promises since the very beginning with Adam and Eve. After they sinned, God made a promise that a “Seed” would come and crush the serpent’s head. Translation, Jesus would come and destroy what Satan started when sin entered the world! God made a promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations despite the fact he was old with no children at the time! God would fulfill his promise.

God made a promise to the Israelites about the promised land, the very story we are reading about today. God made promises to individuals and whole groups of people. He’s even made a promise to the whole world about his Son Jesus in John 3:16 that he would give eternal life to whoever would believe in him! The Word of God is filled with promises!

And those promises aren’t just for those from long ago -- they are for us today. Look at just some of the promises God gives us:

● Isaiah 40:29 “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”

● Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

● James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

● 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

● Deuteronomy 31:8 “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

● Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

● Philippians 4:19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

● Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

● Romans 10:9 “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

That's just a few of the promises…

BUT...if we aren’t reading about God's promises for us, then we’ll never believe them! This is why the promise for Joshua to, “prosper and succeed in all you do” is contingent on, “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it.”

When we hear what God promises to us by being in the Word of God, we can then start believing those promises, which make them a reality in our lives!

If you want to experience the blessing of God’s promises, you have to do what Joshua did -- Meditate on God’s Word. Let it be the first thing you go to in the morning. Let it guide and direct your day. Let it feed your soul and point you to worship God. Let it encourage you in the challenging times. That’s the power of being in the Word of God!

Okay this last WORD for us!

3. The WORD of PRESENCE

This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 NLT

Joshua was tasked with the impossible. He was to take a complaining rag-tag group of people who wandered in the desert for 40 years and take down warrior nations. He did not want to do this alone.

Life can be like a continual war. Some seasons are harder than others, but everyone experiences hardships. Here’s what is great about God. His Word says he will be WITH you! You don’t have to go through this battle, trial, or difficulty alone. Maybe you are here today and you feel like God has left you...He hasn’t.

Look what Hebrews 13:5b NIV says, ““Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

There are times when You MAY not know where God is, but trust me...He KNOWS WHERE YOU ARE!

God’s presence gave Joshua courage and I believe it can give us courage today.

Closing

This is the power of the Word of God being in your life. It provides PURPOSE, PROMISE, and the PRESENCE of God in our lives. Let me give you something really practical that you can do. Start a reading plan in the Bible App. You can find it in your App store for free. Think of reading the Bible like food. You probably wouldn’t go a day without eating. You’d feel terrible, right? When we go without hearing from God, it’s like depriving our soul of the food it needs.

Jesus even teaches us in Matthew 4:4 NLT that, “‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” As we begin this new year, start with looking to the Word of God and watch how it changes your life.