God Is With Us
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· 26 viewsRegardless of our situation and circumstances we can be assured that God is in fact with us and God will never leave us or forsake us. All God asks of us is that we also be with Him.
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Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good morning and welcome back!
I hope that everyone has had a great week!
If you want to follow along this morning in your Bibles, you can turn to Joshua 1.
In just a few moments we are going to be looking at Joshua 1:1-9.
And, this morning we are going to look at a little bit of Jewish history.
And we are going to go all the way back to when the Israelites first entered into the Promised Land.
I know last week we looked at one of the final aspects of Jesus’ earthly ministry, but if you remember the week before we looked at the Children of Israel as they were just leaving their captivity in Egypt.
If you recall, the 10 plagues had happened and the Israelites were fleeing Egypt with Pharoah and the army hot on their tail.
They had come to the Red Sea and they were trapped between the Egyptians and the Sea with no where to go.
And in fear and desperation they cried out to God and, as we know God delivered them.
He empowered Moses to part the Red Sea and the Israelites walked across on dry ground.
But when the Egyptians pursued them, they literally got stuck in the mud and as a result all died.
That was the first of God’s deliverance of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness on their way home.
And throughout the next 40 years, God delivered them over and over and over again.
But finally, after 40 years the children of Israel were able to enter into and take possession of the land that God had promised them all the way back to Abraham.
Which is where we will pick up this morning, right before they enter into the Promised Land.
So, Joshua 1, starting in verse 1, our Bible tells us . . .
Scripture Focus
Scripture Focus
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west. No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua’s Background
Joshua’s Background
Now, we are in a predicament now.
Moses had led these people for over 40 years at this point and he is dead.
His brother Aaron who had been with him for 40 years as well is dead.
All of the the first generation that left Egypt except Joshua and Caleb are dead.
So, who was this guy Joshua?
What made him so important that he was called upon to now lead the people?
Well, Joshua was Moses' "minister" or his "attendant."
He was Moses' second in charge.
Joshua was the faithful spy (along with Caleb) that gave the good report amongst the bad report of the other spies.
Think back to Numbers 13, about 40 years earlier . . .
They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.
The people were afraid to cross over and encouraged Moses not to but . . .
Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
But Joshua and Caleb tried to convince the people . . .
Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”
In other words, what the Lord has promised He will deliver.
We must not rebel against Him and we must trust in Him.
Really, a good message for us as well . . .
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
And because Joshua and Caleb trusted in God, God blessed them for it.
They wandered for a total of 40 years in the wilderness until all of the murmuring generation had died.
But Joshua and Caleb were spared.
They realized the promise and were able to enter into the Promised Land.
AND THE MESSAGE FOR US IS WHEN WE LIVE OUR LIVES WITH A SPIRIT OF UNBELIEF WE WILL DIE WANDERING IN THE WILDERNESS.
"Moses represented a servant in the wilderness and Joshua a son in the Promised Land."
Our problem is that "Most Christian people are satisfied with being servants in the wilderness and few desire to be sons in the Land."
If we never step out of the boat and walk in faith toward a deeper walk with God, then we will wander in the Spiritual dessert our entire lives
Joshua’s Commission
Joshua’s Commission
Not so with Joshua though.
He had faith in God and in God’s deliverance.
And because of that faith, he rose to the place where he was Moses’ second in command.
And now he was being called upon to not follow but to lead . . .
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites.
And this was a very big deal.
Moses was special to the children of Israel and to God as well . .
Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.
Moses was so special to God that God Himself buried Moses’ body . . .
And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is.
And when Moses died, it devastated the people . . .
Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over.
No doubt Joshua was also in great mourning by the death of his leader, mentor, and friend.
Also, Joshua was overwhelmed by the tremendous burden leading the people.
AND AS CHRISTIANS WHEN WE ARE SAVED FOR A TIME WE ALL HAVE A MOSES IN OUR LIVE.
However, there comes a time when God cuts the apron strings and we have to take a stand and move forward and grow on our own.
Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
We must come to that place where we are weaned from the milk and start eating the meat.
That is a scary place and can feel overwhelming as a Christian, "what do I say, what do I do, what if I mess up."
The question is, What if I don't try?
You will never grow beyond where you are today.
You will never develop the strength you need when the world stands against you and you will wither away and die.
And God understands our fears.
God understood that Joshua was afraid, but God also understood that Joshua was in a place where he was ready to step up to the next level and God gave Joshua a command:
“Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.
Arise and stand on your two feet Joshua. Stand up and GO!
Go into the land of the giants and enemies of God.
Go to the den of the devil that is the world.
Not only Joshua but all the children of Israel, as a unified force. ONE MIND AND ONE ACCORD.
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
And when we are unified, guess what, God shows up . . .
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Under the power of God, no enemy can stand against God's people. No, man or devil from Hell.
No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
For too long we have allowed the devil to come in and rob us of God's promises.
For too long we have walked around in defeat and scared to death of making the devil mad.
For too long we have let the devil come into our churches and run amuck stealing, killing, and destroying.
TODAY WE TAKE A STAND.
Today is the day that we stop retreating and allowing the devil to run over us and we STAND TOGETHER unified and let the devil know that he can't have our people.
He can't have our church.
Today we go on the offensive and we begin to take back what the devil has stolen from us.
We are the Children of God and we have been given the power to overcome the devil.
They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
If Jesus is our Lord and Savior, we are covered by the blood and it is time we start living our lives and opening our mouths as a testimony of Jesus Christ!
God promised Joshua that every place his foot touched would be his and that same promise is true for us today.
God owns it all and he gives to whom he will.
The same is true for us.
Each one of us has a great potential in serving the Lord within us and there is a great field of lost souls out the church doors.
HOWEVER, WE HAVE TO BE WILLING TO GO AND GET IT!
Be Strong and Couragous
Be Strong and Couragous
Which is exactly what God is telling Joshua to go and to do.
No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.
God offers Joshua a promise.
When God gives a command, He will give us a promise to go along with it.
He will not fail us, He will not forsake us.
Literally this translates "I will not drop thee, nor will I abandon thee."
This is a promise from God Almighty for everyone here today.
No matter what happens in our life, no matter how hopeless things may seem.
GOD IS WITH US AND HE WILL NOT DROP US AND HE WILL NOT ABANDON US.
GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES.
AND AS WE’VE DISCUSSED BEFORE, IF GOD IS FOR US WHO CAN STAND AGAINST US?
God tells Joshua to "Be Strong and have Courage" two times there in verse seven because:
The fight is going to be tough.
The devil isn't going to give up easily.
There will be times that things seem hopeless.
There will be times when it seems like the whole world is against you.
But instead of turning around and going back into bondage or retreating back into the wilderness, WE ARE TO BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS AND PRESS FORWARD.
Altar/Challenge
Altar/Challenge
The reality this morning though, is this:
There are some here today who are discouraged.
Some who feel like giving up.
Some who are afraid to get out of the boat.
Worse yet, there are some who for whatever reason are afraid to take that step of faith and accept Christ as their Savior.
Whoever, you are it is time to step forward.
It is time for the church, This Church, to step into the promises of God.
Look at the last verse of our passage . . .
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
God is with us, will we trust Him and step out in faith today?
Let’s pray . . .