Joshua- You're up!
Joshua • Sermon • Submitted
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Joshua
Joshua
The account of God’s faithfulness, strength and the account of the events that He used to make Himself known to the Israelites and the people living in the Promised land.
God is still at work today.
Last week we looked back to the first place Joshua is mentioned in the Bible. We saw in Exodus 17, the miraculous work that God did to give Moses and the Israelites the victory over the Amalekites. HE became THE LORD OUR BANNER!
We were able to observe three major attributes of God, that are a aspects of His amazing character.
His Limitless Power
His Eternal Presence
His Unfailing Promises
Now we are going to dig into the first few verses of the book of Joshua to see more specifically how God was working at that time in history.
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, 2 “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. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 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. 5 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. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 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. 8 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. 9 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.”
We see in verse 2, God is speaking directly to Joshua- and he essentially says . . .
Joshua- You're up!
Joshua- You're up!
This was probably not a huge surprise to Joshua, since he has been watching Moses and the relationship between he and God.
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the throne of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
I would assume that most of you have been to a dentist’s office for a visit, at least for a check up or cleaning. Can you remember the first time you went to see a dentist, or doctor, or maybe had a court appearance (for a minor traffic infraction of course). What was it like when they called your name?
What was going through your mind as you sat in the waiting area or in the court room, waiting for your name to be called?
Or maybe you’ve had a mentor or authority that you’ve been trained by or had apprenticed under, and then they sent you off on your own.
We saw last week from the passage in Exodus, that Moses was told to instruct Joshua, the Lord wanted to reveal Himself to Joshua. This happened on more than one occasion, as Joshua assisted Moses, even as Moses went up on Mt Sinai to receive the Law from God, Joshua was with him, at least nearby. Now we have just read about the fact that Moses is dead, and it’s Joshua’s time to lead. But this wasn’t a mistake, and Joshua had been prepared.
“Joshua, let me tell you something.”
Have you ever been lost, maybe you had someone with you but you both forgot the directions to where you were heading. It is a hopeless feeling.
God commanded Moses to write down what God had done and to tell it to Joshua so he wouldn’t forget. Joshua demonstrated his trust in God a number of times leading up to this point.
Defeating the Amalekites, Spying out the promised land, making charges against those worshipping other Gods, etc. . .
Joshua, remember, member when. . . That was cool wasn’t it?
Joshua proved himself to be a faithful servant and God rewards him with additional responsibility
18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. 19 Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. 20 You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. 21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.” 22 And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, 23 and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the Lord directed through Moses.
God instructs Moses to commission Joshua and gives Moses clear directions of what to do, what to say and how to accomplish this commissioning.
Notice the process that is spoken of in verse 20 . . .
20 You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey.
Where did Moses get his authority from? It was from God. The only authority that Moses had was God-given authority. If not for God he would have been convicted of murder or would still be hiding out tending his father in law’s livestock. It didn’t have anything to do with Moses’ ability or stature, but God gave Moses authority to lead the Israelites and once the authority was given, maintaining that authority was dependent upon Moses’ obedience and his submission to God.
38 Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.
21 And I commanded Joshua at that time, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. So will the Lord do to all the kingdoms into which you are crossing. 22 You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.’
23 “And I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, 24 ‘O Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours? 25 Please let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.’ 26 But the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and look at it with your eyes, for you shall not go over this Jordan. 28 But charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go over at the head of this people, and he shall put them in possession of the land that you shall see.’
Joshua, are you seeing this? Joshua, you are on deck!
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, 2 “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. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 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. 5 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.
Joshua, it is your turn! You’re Up!
5 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.
Not. Joshua, you’re on your own
6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 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. 8 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. 9 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.”
Not. Joshua, you’ve got this, but. . .
Be Strong and Courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you.
What about us?
What about us?
God won’t send us to do something that He isn’t going to equip us to do.
What are we told /commissioned specifically to do, in the New Testament?
Joshua was told to arise, go, be strong and courageous, be careful to keep all the law.
5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
He tells us to be content, don’t love money, don’t worry about your future, be faithful obedient
15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
Friends vs. Slaves
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
22 For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ.
6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
Telling others and building “altars” to the LORD OUR BANNER
As we live our lives, constantly aware of God’s presence, power and promises. . .
We should always be asking God,
What’s next?
God, what do you want me to be busy doing?
What are you trying to teach me?
What should I be learning?
Willingly and freely enslaving ourselves to God, walking in love, humility, compassion, gentleness, thinking about other people’s needs, rather than our own.
We can only do this effectively when we reach out to the lost the poor and the needy. Not reaching down to them, reaching out to them.
As children of God, it is time for us to get up and start accomplishing the things He has asked us to do.
COMMUNION: This morning we will are having a time of communion. This is a time for those who have acknowledged their need for Christ’s forgiveness and have place their trust in Him and Him alone for eternal life, to remember the amazing grace of God which Jesus showed to us, by His death on the cross.