The Final Lap

10/25/2003 and 10/26/2003

Joshua 1

After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said, 2 “Now that my servant Moses is dead, you must lead my people across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. 3 I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Everywhere you go, you will be on land I have given you—4 from the Negev Desert in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River on the east to the Mediterranean Sea* on the west, and all the land of the Hittites.’ 5 No one will be able to stand their ground 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 will lead my people to possess all the land I swore to give their ancestors. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Obey all the laws Moses gave you. Do not turn away from them, and you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Study this Book of the Law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed. 9 I command you—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua’s Charge to the Israelites

10 Joshua then commanded the leaders of Israel, 11 “Go through the camp and tell the people to get their provisions ready. In three days you will cross the Jordan River and take possession of the land the Lord your God has given you.”

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Joshua 4

Memorials to the Jordan Crossing

When all the people were safely across the river, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe. 3 Tell the men to take twelve stones from where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan and pile them up at the place where you camp tonight.”

4 So Joshua called together the twelve men 5 and told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes. 6 We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future, your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a permanent memorial among the people of Israel.”

8 So the men did as Joshua told them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River, one for each tribe, just as the Lord had commanded Joshua. They carried them to the place where they camped for the night and constructed the memorial there.

9 Joshua also built another memorial of twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, at the place where the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant were standing. The memorial remains there to this day.

10 The priests who were carrying the Ark stood in the middle of the river until all of the Lord’s instructions, which Moses had given to Joshua, were carried out. Meanwhile, the people hurried across the riverbed. 11 And when everyone was on the other side, the priests crossed over with the Ark of the Lord. 12 The armed warriors from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh led the Israelites across the Jordan, just as Moses had directed. 13 These warriors—about forty thousand strong—were ready for battle, and they crossed over to the plains of Jericho in the Lord’s presence.

14 That day the Lord made Joshua great in the eyes of all the Israelites, and for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses.

15 The Lord had said to Joshua, 16 “Command the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant* to come up out of the riverbed.” 17 So Joshua gave the command. 18 And as soon as the priests carrying the Ark of the Lord’s covenant came up out of the riverbed, the Jordan River flooded its banks as before.

19 The people crossed the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month—the month that marked their exodus from Egypt.* They camped at Gilgal, east of Jericho. 20 It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River. 21 Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future, your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea* when he dried it up until we had all crossed over. 24 He did this so that all the nations of the earth might know the power of the Lord, and that you might fear the Lord your God forever.”

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Read example from Maxwell-Elderly couple with will

Joshua 6

12 Joshua got up early the next morning, and the priests again carried the Ark of the Lord. 13 The seven priests with the rams’ horns marched in front of the Ark of the Lord, blowing their horns. Armed guards marched both in front of the priests with the horns and behind the Ark of the Lord. All this time the priests were sounding their horns. 14 On the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They followed this pattern for six days.

15 On the seventh day the Israelites got up at dawn and marched around the city as they had done before. But this time they went around the city seven times. 16 The seventh time around, as the priests sounded the long blast on their horns, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! 17 The city and everything in it must be completely destroyed* as an offering to the Lord.

-What is the difference between this project and any other project you see happening on I-70?

-A project is only measured by the impact it has on changing people’s lives.

-The first building is just about over the edge. We have run thousands through it. It is a tool that needs to be updated and in some instances replaced.

-Just think back to all of the people who have been saved and helped here.

-That is what it is all about: PROJECTS DON’T MATTER PEOPLE DO.

-There are over 100 youth, 100 plus bus kids, your children and grandchildren plus numerous adults. We are shooting for 50% of our church to be 18 and under. We aren’t there yet we still have more adults than anything else….but everyone is important.

-For instance, we have a hospitality room for the Merry Hearts on Sunday mornings and maybe Saturday night as well.

-The plans and ideas are in place, we just need the space and the resources.

-They weren’t real crazy about letting us all come out here during construction. I see this as a OWNERS VISIT. You are the ones paying for it.

-You might say, isn’t God paying for it?

-The the truth is, He gives you the money but if you don’t write the check He has to inspire someone else to do it. He doesn’t have an account anywhere in Warren County!

SO WHAT AM I SAYING?

Haggai 1

2 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: The people are saying, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house—the Temple.’ ”

3 So the Lord sent this message through the prophet Haggai: 4 “Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins? 5 This is what the Lord Almighty says: Consider how things are going for you! 6 You have planted much but harvested little. You have food to eat, but not enough to fill you up. You have wine to drink, but not enough to satisfy your thirst. You have clothing to wear, but not enough to keep you warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!

7 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: Consider how things are going for you! 8 Now go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house. Then I will take pleasure in it and be honored, says the Lord. 9 You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, says the Lord Almighty, while you are all busy building your own fine houses. 10 That is why the heavens have withheld the dew and the earth has withheld its crops. 11 I have called for a drought on your fields and hills—a drought to wither the grain and grapes and olives and all your other crops, a drought to starve both you and your cattle and to ruin everything you have worked so hard to get.”

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Haggai 2

15 So think about this from now on—consider how things were going for you before you began to lay the foundation of the Lord’s Temple. 16 When you hoped for a twenty-bushel crop, you harvested only ten. When you expected to draw fifty gallons from the winepress, you found only twenty. 17 I sent blight and mildew and hail to destroy all the produce of your labor. Yet, even so, you refused to return to me, says the Lord.

18 “On this eighteenth day of December—the day when the foundation of the Lord’s Temple was laid—carefully consider this: 19 I am giving you a promise now while the seed is still in the barn, before you have harvested your grain and before the grapevine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have produced their crops. From this day onward I will bless you.”

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I AM ASKING YOU TO MAKE THIS PROJECT A PRIORITY FOR ONE MORE YEAR

-There is a two-fold reason, we need your help and God connects blessing to you here in this book.

2 Corinthians 8 The Message

What explains it was that they had first given themselves unreservedly to God and to us. The other giving simply flowed out of the purposes of God working in their lives. That’s what prompted us to ask Titus to bring the relief offering to your attention, so that what was so well begun could be finished up. You do so well in so many things—you trust God, you’re articulate, you’re insightful, you’re passionate, you love us—now, do your best in this, too.

I’m not trying to order you around against your will. But by bringing in the Macedonians’ enthusiasm as a stimulus to your love, I am hoping to bring the best out of you. You are familiar with the generosity of our Master, Jesus Christ. Rich as he was, he gave it all away for us—in one stroke he became poor and we became rich.

So here’s what I think: The best thing you can do right now is to finish what you started last year and not let those good intentions grow stale. Your heart’s been in the right place all along. You’ve got what it takes to finish it up, so go to it. Once the commitment is clear, you do what you can, not what you can’t. The heart regulates the hands.

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I AM ASKING YOU TO FULFILL YOUR COMMITMENT-ASK THE LORD FOR A SEED

-We have been praying for God to bless you and help you financially.

LASTLY I AM ASKING YOU TO GIVE ACCORDING TO TWO MEASURES:

WHAT GOD ASKS YOU TO GIVE

WHAT YOU WANT TO GIVE

-Each man should give as he purposed in his heart. It is your decision. An offering is determined by you-it is as you want to give.

Isaiah 60:22

21 Then will all your people be righteous

and they will possess the land forever.

They are the shoot I have planted,

the work of my hands,

for the display of my splendor.

22 The least of you will become a thousand,

the smallest a mighty nation.

I am the Lord;

in its time I will do this swiftly.”

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Everything is New Living except Is 60-NIV and 2 Cor 8-Message

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*

Joshua 1:4

Hebrew the Great Sea.

[1]Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 1997 . Tyndale House: Wheaton, Ill.

*

Joshua 4:16

Hebrew Ark of the Testimony.

*

Joshua 4:19

Hebrew the tenth day of the first month. This day of the Hebrew lunar calendar occurs in late March or early April.

*

Joshua 4:23

Hebrew sea of reeds.

[2]Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 1997 . Tyndale House: Wheaton, Ill.

*

Joshua 6:17

The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering; also in 6:18, 21.

[3]Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 1997 . Tyndale House: Wheaton, Ill.

[4]Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 1997 . Tyndale House: Wheaton, Ill.

[5]Peterson, E. H. 1995. The message : New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs . NavPress: Colorado Springs, Colo.

[6]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 . Zondervan: Grand Rapids