An End

Introduction

A New Beginning…

January 3, 2020 - we began our journey with Joshua.

Something New - “Hope In The New”

Three points:

New is an opportunity.

Trust God’s faithfulness.

Trust God’s Word.

Now we reach the end and we reflect on those three points.

We have had opportunities to serve and demonstrate our faith over the past nearly two years.

We’ve had opportunities to trust God’s faithfulness, even as our own faith has been tested.

And we’ve had the faithful witness of God’s Word which played such an important role in Joshua’s life and success.

Joshua 1:7 ESV

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.

We see the failure that followed the death of Joshua throughout the book of Joshua, the decline of the faith among the people who are supposed to be the Covenant People of God.

And we talked last week about how we can secure a legacy for our own faith. This week we take practical steps moving forward to accomplish that - practical lessons as we reach an end - an end that leads to a new beginning.

And just as we talked at the beginning of Joshua, beginnings give us opportunities.

The Bones of a Promise

v. 32

Joseph, the savior of Egypt during the famine, the one abandoned and betrayed by his brothers, as he died in Egypt he called his sons to take his bones out of Egypt. Hope in the promise of God. This promise that Joseph knew about as it had been passed down through the descendants of Abraham. “We will have a nation of people and we will have a land.”

The significance of finally burying the bones of Joseph - This is a picture of completion of God’s Word.

Find hope in God’s Word.

In order to have that hope, we must know God’s Word! As things are difficult, we turn to God’s Word. When things are uncertain, we turn to God’s Word.

Two ways to approach that - the situation happens and then we are trying to flip through the pages and find something, anything! Or, we already know God’s Word and when the situation happens we already have God’s Word to draw upon.

Dr. Roark after our class did poorly on a test and he chided us. Looking at where the medical students were studying. They are seeking to save lives, you are seeking to save souls. And it’s true that God can cause you to say whatever you need to say, but don’t make God draw up out of a dry well.

Psalm 119:11 ESV

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Are you storing God’s Word in your heart?

The Moment of Decision

v. 33

This religious leader, the son of Aaron, nephew of Moses.

Uncertainty about how the story would continue or end.

Stephen King - Dark Tower (1982). Roland of Gilead.

The journey between worlds as he seeks to save his home world against this ominous threat at the Dark Tower.

People would write to him claiming to be on their death beds and they would ask him to know how the series would end, which he would politely turn down.

The reality was that he did not know how it would end. Organic writing style. He wasn’t there yet, keeping his audience awaiting each next book in the series.

Then, on June 19, 1999 - Stephen King was out on a walk around his Massachusetts home when he was struck by a car, his body was thrown into the ditch. He sustained broken bones in his right leg and hip, broken ribs, a punctured lung and a head injury. As he was in the hospital for three weeks, enduring five surgeries, there was no certainty if he would survive or if he would ever be able to write again. Not only were his fans saddened at the tragedy of his life, but there was an additional fear that he would never write again, and would never conclude the Dark Series novels. Finally, four years later, King released book five and over the next two years, he would release the final three books of the series. He even made the actual events of his accident as a part of the books. The accident serving as a pivotal moment in his own life and in the lives of his characters. It was a moment of decision for King.

For us, we face a moment of decision each day.

Will today be a day of growth in my spiritual life?

Which is where we turn now, equipping for growth.

Conclusion

The most effective tool you have is the Bible.

[Distribute Booklets]

The values of a reading plan.

Gives us a plan. Some of you like a check-list.

Gives us accountability. As a church.

Gives us consistency. Incremental.

Practical tips:

Mark up your Bible.

Answer some questions.

What does this passage say about people?

What does this passage say about God?

What does this passage say about the church?

In light of this passage, what should I do or think?

Short passages that will only take a few minutes to read and a few minutes to write about.

Short enough to help you get used to the discipline of reading and thinking about Scripture.

Also, for some of you who already are following a reading plan, short enough to add to it. This is what I will be doing so that we as a church will be going through it together.

Let’s try it - John 1:1-18.