The Joseph family
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 6 viewsNotes
Transcript
Joshua 24:1 – 15
Joshua 24:1 – 15
Introduction: Missionary statesman
Hudson Taylor
had complete trust
in God's faithfulness.
In fact
in his journal
he wrote:
Our heavenly Father
is a very experienced One.
He knows very well
that His children wake up
with a good appetite
every morning...
he wrote..
God
sustained 3 million Israelites
in the wilderness
for 40 years.
and..
We do not expect
He will send 3 million missionaries
to China;
Taylor said
but if He did,
He would have ample means
to sustain them all!
Depend on it,
Hudson Taylor said
God's work done
in God's way
will never lack
God's supply.
And the point
Taylor was making
Was that
God is faithful.
And God wants us
To be faithful as well
And with that in mind
lets read our text
For this evening
(Joshua 24: 1– 15
And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods. And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt. I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out. And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea. And when they cried unto the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season. And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you. Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you: But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand. And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand. And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow. And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat. Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Let’s go to the Lord
In prayer
(Pray)
I. Joshua was faithful
Declaration
now
the events
of the Book of Joshua
span
about twenty-five years,
starting soon
after the death of Moses.
In fact,
The Bible says
in Joshua 1:1 “Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying,” )
But
The events of this book
Start
Soon after the death of Moses
around 1406 BC,
before the conquest
Of Canaan
commenced.
and
The conquest of Canaan
took about
seven years...
and Joshua’s final address
Which takes place in our text...
and his subsequent death
came almost
twenty years later.
and
The book begins
with the nation of Israel poised
at the banks
of the Jordan River,
across from Jericho.
Likewise,
The book of Joshua
records
the details
of numerous military campaigns
that defeated
the inhabitants of the land.
And it ends
with Joshua’s regathering
of the nation
for his Atfinal exhortation.
to Israel
And
We just read
A great portion
Of that final exhortation.
But nonetheless
Joshua
Was an incredible man.
Not a perfect man
But yet
An incredible man
Who truly
Loved the Lord
And loved
God’s people
With all of his heart.
He wanted God’s way
In his life
And his family
Because
Listen to what he said
In verse 15
Joshua said
Beginning in verse 14
(Joshua 24:14–15 “Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on theStupid idiot other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Now
When I read that
I see three truths...
Three things are evident
To me
With regards to his life.
And
Number 1
There is realization.
As Joshua
Addressed God’s people
He realized
That in large part
He was dealing
With fickle people
In fact
If you recall
Many years prior to this
He had served
As Moses’ minister
And witnessed Moses’ struggle
With the fickleness
Of these people
In fact
Hold your finger here
In the book of Joshua
And turn back
To the book of Exodus
Exodus 19
And
Read with me
Verse 8
The Bible says
(Exodus 19:8 “And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.”
My
Don’t they sound spiritual?
Whatever God says
That’s what we’re going to do
But
In roughly
40-50 Days
Those same people
Worshiped idols
Look in Exodus 32
And read with me
The first 6 versus
We are told
Exodus 32:1–6 “And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.”
And
My point is...
As Moses’ minister
Joshua
Had witnessed the fickleness
Of the people of God
In Moses’ day
And now
More than 40 years later
In fact
60 years later
Joshua
Is addressing
Their children
And their grandchildren
And
He says to them
(Joshua 24:15 “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
So apparently
He realized
That some of them
Were likely fickle
Some of them
Joshua feared
Would not serve the Lord
And I’m sure
That grieved his heart
But
The truth is
Some people
That is
Some Christians
Are fickle today too
They say
amen...
To the preaching
They affirm
Whatever God’s Word says
We will do it
But yet
When push comes to shove
They don’t..
Or
They comply with parts
Of the Scripture
But yet not others
And by way of example
I’m
Thinking of a person
Right now
That I know
Who
If you talked
to this person
They would seem
And sound
Like the most spiritual person
In the room
They
Read their Bible faithfully
They attend church
Faithfully
And oh yes
They give of their tithes
To the church
They even give to missions
They
Come the Sunday school
Sunday morning
Sunday evening
And even Wednesday Prayer service
They sound like
And seem like
the most spiritual person
In the entire church
Oh but
They have a grudge
Against this brother
Or that brother
They stare them down
They refuse to talk
To them
They
Obey the Scripture
In Hebrews 10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
They obey the Scripture
In 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
They obey the Scripture
In Malachi 3:10 “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be meat in mine house, And prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, If I will not open you the windows of heaven, And pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
But no matter what you say or do
They will not obey the Scripture
In Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
They just will not!
and that
is fickle.
But
That was the kind of people
Joshua
Had ministered to.
And as he stood there
In our text
Giving his final address
To these people
he
Realized
That some of them
Would not serve the Lord.
And I’m sure
It grieved his heart.
Discussion
Oh but
While Joshua realized
That some of his people
Would not serve the Lord
Well Joshua
Was resolved
To serve the Lord.
Listen to him
Again
He said
(Joshua 24:15 “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
What
Resolve
Joshua had.
He told his people
You do..
What you want to do
But as for me
And my family
We will serve the Lord
What resolve
He had.
By the way
The word serve
Used here
Carries the idea
Of tilling the ground.
But it also speaks of bondage.
And the idea
That Is being conveyed is
That
As bond slaves
We will till God’s ground
We will serve
In God’s fields
Because
We realize
What we are.
We are servants
Slaves
To the God of heaven
My
What resolve
Joshua had
For he and his family
We will
Serve the Lord
He said.
But
As I thought about
Joshua’s resolve
Here in this text
At the end of his life
And as he was making this address
To God’s people
but
as I thought of his resolve
I
Began to remember
What had been
The routine
Of his life.
see
Joshua’s lifelong routine
Had led...
To his resolve..
At the end of his life.
And
for the next few minutes
I
Want to share with you
Some of the details
Of that routine
Deliberation
And
First of all
I want you to consider
That Joshua
Had been faithful
All his lifelong
as
A matter of fact
Way back in the time
Of Moses
Joshua was designated
as Moses' "minister"
or attendant
As is mentioned
In Exodus 33:11 “And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.”
Look there
For just a moment
The Bible tells us here
That Joshua
Was a young man
And yet
He was Moses’ servant
One
Who attended Moses’ needs
And
Let me say
Either Moses
Handpicked Joshua
Because God had prodded him too
Or Moses
Saw faithfulness in him
Which prodded Moses
To select Joshua
But in either case
This man was handpicked
To
Serve
As a minister for Moses
Because he was faithful.
And in faithfulness
He served Moses.
Somebody said
Well Pastor
What exactly
Did Joshua do
As Moses’ minister?
Well
Lots of things.
For example
Joshua
Was Moses’ right-hand man
He accompanied him
Up on Mount Sinai
He helped lead military campaigns
Like against Amalek.
He was among those
Who helped to scout Canaan
And eventually
He became Moses’ successor.
And
Let me tell you
You don’t choose a man like that
Unless he is faithful
And from a very early age
Up until the time
Of his death
Joshua
In faithfulness
Was
Resolved
To serve the Lord.
He served the Lord
As Moses’ minister
He served the Lord
As Moses’ successor
He served the Lord
All his lifelong
And
The only way
He was able to accomplish that
Was
That he was faithful
See
God
Tends to use those
Who are faithful.
And
Speaking of faithfulness
Allow me
To tell you a true story
If I may.
One of the most tragic events
during the Reagan Presidency
was the Sunday morning terrorist bombing
of the Marine barracks
in Beirut,
in which
hundreds of Americans
were killed
or wounded
as they slept.
Many of us can still recall
the terrible scenes
as the dazed survivors
worked
to dig out
their trapped brothers
from beneath the rubble.
but
A few days
after the tragedy,
An amazing truth
Came to light.
Marine Corps Commandant
Paul X Kelly,
visited
some of the wounded survivors
Who had been taken
to a Frankfurt, Germany, hospital.
and
Among them
was Corporal
Jeffrey Lee Nashton,
Who had been
severely wounded
in the incident.
And while in that hospital
Nashton had
so many tubes
running in and out of his body
that
a witness said
he looked more
like a machine
than a man;
yet he survived.
And
As Commandant Kelly
neared him,
Nashton,
struggled to move.
and racked with pain,
he motioned for a piece
of paper
and a pen.
He then
wrote a brief note
and passed it back
to the Commandant.
and on the slip of paper
were but two words --
"Semper Fi"
Which
is the Latin motto
of the Marines
meaning
"forever faithful."
With
those two simple words
Nashton spoke
for the millions of Americans
who have sacrificed body
and limb
and their lives
for their country --
those
who have remained
faithful.
And Joshua was!
He had been faithful
As a young man
He was still faithful
As an old man
And he had been faithful
Everywhere between.
But
Let me ask you
Are you?
When it comes
To serving the Lord
Are you faithful?
Are you
Faithful to His house
Faithful
to His ministry
Faithful
As His witness
Faithful
In giving
Are you
Faithful
This evening?
You can be.
And even if you haven’t been
You
Can determine tonight
That from now on
And by the good grace of God
I
Am going to be faithful
But Joshua was./
II. Joshua was faith filled
Declaration
But
As I think about
Joshua’s routine
I likewise remember
That Joshua
Had been faith filled
That is
He had walked by faith
And not by sight.
In fact
About a year
After the Exodus
From Egypt
Moses
Sent 12 spies
Into Canaan
To spy out the land.
In fact
Turn to Numbers 13
And read with me
The first 13 verses
The Bible says
(Numbers 13:1 – 15
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them. And Moses by the commandment of the Lord sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel. And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur. Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori. Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph. Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun. Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu. Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi. Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi. Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli. Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael. Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi. Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.
But
I call your attention
Specifically
To verse 8
(Numbers 13:8 “Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun.”
Oshea
Is Joshua
A name which means
Yahweh saves
What
A special name
That was
And what a special man
He was.
and the Bible goes on to say
In verses 15 – 19
Numbers 13:15–19 “Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua. And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain: And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds;”
So
The 12 spies went in
To Canaan
And spied out the land
But the Bible goes on to say
In verses 25 – 29
(Numbers 13:25–29 “And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.”
But
As the congregation
Was perplexed
And discouraged
By what God called
This evil report...
And as the conversation
Continued
Listen
To what it says
Two Numbers 14:6–9 “And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.”
Now think about that
As the 10 spies
Brought back an evil report
Joshua
And Caleb
Were filled with faith
They walked by faith
And not by sight
see
The 10 other spies
Were influenced
By what they saw
But Joshua was influenced
By God his Savior.
And
As a result
Of all these things
the 10 spies
And all those
Who believed their report
Were not able
To enter into Canaan
But
Joshua and Caleb
Were !
And the point is
You be faithful to God
And God will be faithful to you
You
Take care
Of God’s business
And God will then
Take care of your business
and
I remember
When I learned that lesson
Nearly 40 years ago.
I had already been
Through four years
of Bible college
I
Had just started interning
At my home church.
But when I first arrived there
For that internship
I had not been tithing.
All through Bible college
I had not given my tithe
At least not faithfully!
And why?
I was walking by site
I thought to myself
I can’t afford to tithe
I have bills to pay
I’m a college student
And I am poor.
But
While interning..
God used a man
Named Jim Histon
To help me to learn
that I can trust God
With everything.
he
Helped me to learn
likewise
That if I take care of God’s business
God will then
Take care
of my business
See
God had to teach me
To walk by faith
And not by sight.
And learning that lesson
Has served me well.
Discussion
But again
Not only
Was Joshua
Faithful
But at the same time too
He was faith filled
He was literally
Filled with faith
Listen to him
Again
In Numbers 14
It says
(Numbers 14:6–9 “And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.”
Man
They were filled with faith.
Now
They saw
The strength of the Canaanites
They saw their stature
They were witness
To their supremacy.
And they could see
their strength
Oh
But far more than that
They saw their God
They
And specifically Joshua
Was faith Filled~
But
Me ask you
Are you?
Are you filled with faith?
That is
Do you trust in God
Or do you trust in circumstances?
Do you trust in God
Or are you more concerned
With obstacles?
Well
Let me tell you
When we become more concerned
About obstacles
Rather than trusting God
To do what
He wants us to do...
There are consequences
To that kind of behavior
You
Might have to wander
In a spiritual wilderness
For what may seem like
40 years of your life.
But nonetheless
There are consequences
To walking by sight
Rather than faith
By the way
Obstacles may be great
But your God
Our God
Is far greater
Isn’t He?
He is
A powerful God
And that powerful God
Can empower you.
And
Speaking about
The power of God
Let me tell you
A story
Years ago
One New Year's Day,
in the Tournament of Roses
parade,
a beautiful float
suddenly sputtered
and quit.
Because
It was out of gas.
and
The whole parade
was held up
until someone
could get a can of gas.
and
The amusing thing was
this float
represented
the Standard Oil Company.
but
With its vast oil resources,
its truck
was out of gas.
And
do you know why
that funny little incident
Took place?
Someone
Forgot about maintenance.
They forgot about the maintenance
of the gas tank.
And
In like manner...
Christians
Have access
To the immense resources
The inexhaustible resources
Of the power of God
But
They sometimes
Spuder
And run Out of spiritual gas
Because of neglecting
The maintenance
Of their faith
They
Fail to be filled
With faith in God
And all of His resources.
And instead
They are filled with faith
in what they can see.
Oh
But listen dear friend.
That leads
To wilderness wandering.
But
What about us
this evening?
Do we walk by faith
Or do we walk
By sight?
Well
As for Joshua
In addition
To being faithful
I mean
That was his routine
All his lifelong
But
In addition
To being faithful
Joshua
Was faith filled
III. Joshua was fervent
Declaration
Number 3
Joshua
Was fervent.
And to see his fervency
In fulfilling
The will of God
For his life
And for his country
Turn
if you would
To Joshua 6.
Now previously
After Moses
The man of God
Had passed off the scene
Joshua
Had become his successor
In fact
Before we look
In Joshua 6
Let me read let me read
From Joshua 1
And listen please
As I read
Versus 1 – 7
(Joshua 1:1 – 7
Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
And
As we get
The chapter 6
Joshua
Had already led his people
Across the Jordan River
In chapter 3 – 4
And in chapter 5
The
New generation
Of Israelites
were circumcised
And in verses 10 – 12
There in chapter 5
They observed
The Passover
And
In the last few verses
of Chapter 5
Joshua encountered
The Captain
Of the Lord’s hosts
But
In chapter 6
Joshua
And the army he was leading
The Army of Jews
Arrived at Jericho
And
Jericho
Was a very fortified city
It was in fact
Fortified
with a sophisticated,
multi-layered
defense system,
featuring
a massive
stone
retaining wall
at the base
supporting
a tall,
mudbrick city wall,
making it
appear impenetrable,
Oh but
Joshua
knew the will of God.
And in chapter 6
He had listened
to the Word of God
So
he then fervently
obeyed!
And he commanded his people
To obey as well
And
The Bible says
In verse 20
(Joshua 6:20 “So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.”
And
As you continue reading
Throughout the book
You find
That Joshua
Was fervent.
As a matter of fact
According to the Book of Joshua
he
and the Israelites
conquered
31 kings
and their cities
in Canaan
during the initial phase
of the conquest.
My
How fervent
Joshua was
Had been
And continued to be!
By the way
It’s easy
To be fervent
Every once in a while
But Joshua
Was fervent
Throughout his ministry
He
Fervently served
As Moses’ minister
He fervently served
As Moses’ successor
He fervently served
As Canaan’s conqueror
And
Let me say that
His fervency
Came about
As a result
Of his faith
In the living God
And his faith
Empowered him
To be faithful.
And
His faith in God
And his faithfulness
To God
Drove him
To be fervent
For his God.
Discussion
By the way
The word fervent
Has been defined
as
Having Passionate intensity.
Joshua
Was passionately intense
About serving his God
But
What about us?
Because see
We have a work
To do as well
For example
We have cities
That need to be conquered
For the cause of Christ.
and
Let me just name a few
Charlottesville
Needs to be conquered
For the cause of Christ
And
By that
I mean
That Charlottesville
Needs to be won to Christ.
And at the same time too
Ruckersville
Needs to be conquered
For the cause of Christ
Waynesboro
Kezwick
Gordonsville
Afton
Madison
And every other place around here
Needs to be conquered
For Christ
But
There are obstacles
That we face
To be able to see this happen.
These cities
Are greatly fortified
Much like Jericho was
They
Have walls of resistance
Around them
And the only way
They can be toppled
Is
By our fervency
For the Lord
As a result
Of our faithfulness to
And our faith in
The Lord our God
So again
Let me ask you
Are you being faithful
Are you fervent
For the Lord your God?
Well
God uses those
Who are fervent!
God used
The fervency
Of Joshua
To conquer Jericho
And then later on
Ai
Bethel
Gibeon
Kadesh Barnea
Etc.
But see
Joshua
Was used by God
Because of his routine
And his routine was
That
He had been faithful
He was faith filled
And he was fervent
IV. Joshua was a fixer
Declaration
Number 4
Joshua
Was a fixer
Somebody said pastor
What you mean by that?
What you mean
When you say Joshua
Was a fixer?
Well
Here’s what I mean..
Joshua
Endeavored to fix
His mistakes.
By the way
Everyone of us
Makes mistakes
From time to time
No matter who we are
And sometimes
They are just simply
Human error
And sometimes
our mistakes
are sin
And
In order to see that...
Look in chapter 7.
After the very successful battle
At Jericho
Where the walls fell down flat
In chapter 6:20
Well
When they came
To the next city
The city of Ai
Joshua
Made a series of mistakes
Read
With me please
The first 5 verses
In Joshua 7
The Bible says
(Joshua 7:1–5 “But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel. And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few. So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.”
Now
I want you
To think about the mistakes
Joshua made.
First of all
He didn’t pray
Because
As you search those five verses
Well
Try as you might
But you can’t find one reference
To prayer
Before engaging
In battle.
What a mistake that was
He didn’t consult with God
And
Not only that
But he was likewise influenced
By people
Who were dependent
Upon their own abilities
And
Those two things
Resulted
In a dramatic defeat.
And
Let me say
That even today
Those two things
Not checking with God
And depending on ourselves
Will likewise lead
To dramatic defeat.
In our Christian life
Discussion
But
Joshua
Was a faithful man.
now...yes...
He made mistakes
But he was a faithful man
He was a man
Who was filled with faith
Faith in God
And
He was fervent
For the Lord
So he decided
To fix those mistakes
And in chapter 8
We see that
The Bible says
(Joshua 8:1 – 9
And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land: And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves: lay thee an ambush for the city behind it. So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valour, and sent them away by night. And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready: And I, and all the people that are with me, will approach unto the city: and it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them, (For they will come out after us) till we have drawn them from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: therefore we will flee before them. Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand. And it shall be, when ye have taken the city, that ye shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the Lord shall ye do. See, I have commanded you. Joshua therefore sent them forth: and they went to lie in ambush, and abode between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among the people.
And
There is a lesson
For all of us tonight
And that is
We need to be willing
To acknowledge our mistakes
Because we all make them
And then
We need to be willing
Following the leadership
Of the Lord
We need to be willing
To fix those mistakes
correct them.
And
When we are
God can once again
Give us victory.
But
What about us
Tonight?
Are we willing
To acknowledge our mistakes
Or
Are we like some
Who don’t want to?
And are we willing
To fix those mistakes
At the instruction of God?
Oh listen
We can’t have victory
Until we too
Become fixers,
But Joshua was
He was a man
Who was faithful
He was a man
Who was faith filled
He was a man
Who was fervent
And he was a man
Who was a fixer
V. Joshua follow through
Declaration
And
that brings us
Back to our text
In Joshua 24
Joshua said
To the congregation of Israel
in Joshua 24:15 “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
And
When I read that
And think about
The entirety
Of Joshua’s life
I see a man
Who had followed through
With the will of God
For his life
He
Had served the Lord
He was continuing
To serve the Lord
And he intended
To go on
Serving the Lord
He followed through.
Decision
But
What about us
As Christians today
Are we following through
With the will of God
For our life
It’s important.
A lot
Is riding on it.
But are we following through
With the will of God
For our life?
Well
I guess it all depends on...
How filled with faith are we?
How filled are we
With faith in God?
And
I remind us
Of what the Bible says
In Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
This evening
You might need
To come to the altar
To ask the Lord
To strengthen your faith
So that you too
Might be as fervent
As Joshua was
I hope you will
Conclusion: Let’s close in prayer
