Sermon Tone Analysis

STEPPING INTO GOD’S PROMISES

RECENTLY I CAME ACROSS AN ARTICLE THAT DESCRIBED THE CHEROKEE INDIAN YOUTH'S RITE OF PASSAGE FROM BOYHOOD TO MANHOOD?

IN THIS RITUAL THE FATHER LEAVES HIS SON ALONE IN A FOREST BLINDFOLDED.

HE IS TOLD TO SIT ON A TREE STUMP THE WHOLE NIGHT AND TO NOT REMOVE THE BLINDFOLD UNTIL THE RAYS OF THE MORNING SUN SHINE THROUGH.

HE IS FORBIDDEN TO COWER, CRY OUT OR SEEK HELP FROM ANYONE.

IN THE RITUAL IT IS SAID THAT ONCE HE SURVIVES THE NIGHT, HE IS A MAN.

BECAUSE EACH BOY MUST COME INTO MANHOOD ON HIS OWN, HE CANNOT TELL THE OTHER BOYS OF THIS EXPERIENCE.

THE BOY IS NATURALLY TERRIFIED.

CAN YOU IMAGINE THE ANXIETY, TENSION AND FEAR THAT HE MAY HAVE HAD….HE CAN HEAR ALL KINDS OF NOISES.

WILD BEASTS ALL AROUND HIM.

MAYBE EVEN SOME HUMAN MIGHT DO HIM HARM.

FINALLY, AFTER A HORRIFIC NIGHT, THE SUN APPEARS AND THE BOY REMOVES HIS BLINDFOLD.

BUT MUCH TO HIS SURPRISE AND DELIGHT HE DISCOVERS HIS FATHER SITTING ON THE STUMP NEXT TO HIM.

…… THE PROUD FATHER HAS BEEN THERE THE ENTIRE NIGHT, WATCHING OVER AND PROTECTING HIS SON FROM HARM.

WHEN I FIRST READ THAT STORY I THOUGHT ABOUT THE FACT THAT THERE IS A THIN DIVINE LINE BETWEEN SPIRITUAL INFANCY AND SPIRITUAL MATURITY.

SOME TIMES IN LIFE …..WE WILL BECOME FEARFUL AND FRIGHTENED BY DIFFICULTIES….. FEELING HELPLESS AND HOPELESS, DESPAIR AND DISCOURAGEMENT.

BUT GOD, WHO IS OUR SOVEREIGN, RESOURCEFUL, OMNISCIENT, ALL-WISE HEAVENLY FATHER SEES US AND KNOWS WHERE WE ARE.

EVEN WHEN HE CANNOT BE VIEWED BY US, WE ARE STILL IN HIS VIEW AND FORESIGHT.

THE PROBLEMS WE FACE IN TIME ARE ETERNALLY IN HIS VIEW.

HE WILL NEVER LEAVE US NOR FORSAKE US.

THIS IS THE MESSAGE THAT GOD GIVES TO YOUNG JOSHUA IN OUR TEXT THIS MORNING.

THE OPENING WORDS OF THE BOOK OF JOSHUA DESCRIBE A PERIOD OF TRANSITION.

IT MARKS NOT ONLY A CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP BUT A CHANGE IN PURPOSE.

THE PEOPLE WOULD CHANGE FROM MOSES TO JOSHUA AND ALSO FROM WANDERERS TO WARRIORS.

THIS CHANGE WOULD NOT ONLY BE DIFFICULT FOR THE FLEDGING NATION, BUT ALSO FOR JOSHUA.

VERSE 1 INFORMS US THAT MOSES IS DEAD.

THE DEATH OF MOSES WAS A HEAVY BLOW TO THE ISRAELITES.

HE WAS THE ONE WHO HAD LED THEM OUT OF THE OPPRESSIVE EGYPTIAN BONDAGE.

- WHEN THE PEOPLE WERE DISCOURAGED AND WANTED TO GO BACK TO EGYPT, GOD USES MOSES TO CALM AND RALLY THE PEOPLE TO ‘FEAR NOT, STAND STILL AND SEE THE SALVATION OF THE LORD’.

- WHEN THE ISRAELITES WERE THIRSTY, GOD USED MOSES TO CAUSE WATER TO FLOW FROM A STONE.

- WHEN THE ISRAELITES WERE HUNGRY, GOD ANSWERED MOSES' PRAYERS AND SENT QUAIL AND BREAD FROM HEAVEN.

- FOR ALMOST 40 YEARS, MOSES HAD SERVED AS THE ISRAELITE'S LEADER.

HE ALONE SPOKE FACE-TO-FACE WITH GOD ON THEIR BEHALF.

BUT NOW HE WAS DEAD!

HERE ISRAEL IS STILL ENCAMPED ON THE PLAINS OF MOAB, DIRECTLY EAST OF THE JORDAN RIVER, AT THE VERY EDGE OF THE LAND OF PROMISE.

FOR 30 DAYS THEY MOURNED MOSES, THEIR BELOVED LEADER, BUT NOW IT WAS TIME TO INHERIT THE LAND GOD HAD PROMISED TO ABRAHAM AND THEIR FOREFATHERS HUNDREDS OF YEARS EARLIER.

JOSHUA, GOD’S NEWLY ANOINTED AND APPOINTED LEADER OF THE ISRAELITES, ACCORDING TO NUMBERS 27:22 AND 23, HAD BEEN COMMISSIONED BY MOSES BEFORE HIS DEATH, AND HE WAS NOW BEING ORDAINED BY GOD.

SO LET’S WALK THROUGH THESE OPENING VERSES OF THE CALL OF JOSHUA AND CONSIDER THE PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF POSSESSING GOD’S PROMISES.

I. WE ARE CALLED TO FOLLOW GOD’S PLAN

VERSE 1 IS AN HISTORICAL SUMMARY OF THE DEATH OF MOSES.

BUT VERSE 2 IS THE ACTUAL RECORDING OF GOD’S VISIT WITH JOSHUA…..THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK…… ‘MOSES MY SERVANT IS DEAD.’

LET ME STOP LONG ENOUGH TO REMIND YOU THAT LIFE HAS A WAY, THAT IN GOD’S SOVEREIGN WAY, OF SHIFTING, MOVING AND REARRANGING CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE PLAN IN HIS OWN TIME AND IN HIS OWN WAY.

HE WILL ALLOW SOME THINGS, PEOPLE AND SPIRITUAL MOMENTS TO FADE OFF THE SCENE SO THAT HE MAY SET UP HIS NEW PLAN AND PURPOSE; IN ORDER THAT HE MAY REINFORCE THE FACT OF HIS SOVEREIGNTY AND GLORY.

GOD WAS SAYING TO JOSHUA IS THE VERY THING HE IS SAYING TO US RIGHT NOW; AND THAT IS THAT HE HAS A PLAN FOR US.

I KNOW MANY OF YOU HAVE HEARD THIS BEFORE….I KNOW YOU’VE HEARD ME SAY IT….AND I’M SURE YOU’VE HEARD OTHER MINISTERS SAY IT….. AND…… IT’S ONE THING TO HEAR IT; BUT IT’S ANOTHER THING TO BELIEVE IT, MUCH LESS TO CARRY IT OUT IN A WAY THAT HONORS AND PLEASES GOD.

IN A REAL SENSE, JOSHUA WAS CALLED TO STAND UP AND FOLLOW GOD’S PLAN EVEN WHEN HIS FAITH WASN’T SURE, THE FACTS SAID HE WASN’T THE RIGHT CANDIDATE, AND HIS FEELINGS DIDN’T WANT TO COOPERATE.

QUESTION: CAN YOU FOLLOW GOD’S GOAL AND PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE EVEN WHEN YOUR FAITH IS SHAKEN…..AND YOUR FEELINGS AREN’T ON BOARD?

THIS ACCOUNT OF JOSHUA ON THE EDGE OF POSSESSING GOD’S PROMISE IN FOLLOWING GOD’S PLAN IS THREEFOLD:

A. IT IS A PLAN FOR FREEDOM (VERSE 2A)

HE SAYS PROCEED FROM THIS PLACE AND GO ‘OVER THE JORDAN’ TO THE PLACE ‘I AM GIVING TO THEM’.

THERE ARE TWO PIVOTAL MOMENTS FOR THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL, BETWEEN THE BOOK OF EXODUS AND JOSHUA.

ONE OF THEM HAD ALREADY TAKEN PLACE THROUGH THE LEADERSHIP OF MOSES; THAT IS TO GET THEM OUT OF EGYPT.

THE OTHER WAS TO TAKE PLACE UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF JOSHUA; AND THAT IS TO GET EGYPT OUT OF THEM!

THE PICTURE OF THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL TO THE LAND OF PHARAOH IN EGYPT IS SYMBOLIC OF YOU AND I, THE BELIEVER’S, ENCOUNTER WITH THE WORLD IN WHICH WE LIVE.

THOSE OF US, YOU AND I, WHO HAVE BEEN SAVED HAVE BEEN SET FREE FROM THE ENEMY (PHARAOH, SATAN) AND FROM THE LAND OF EGYPT, THE WORLD, BUT THE OTHER END OF THE FIGHT IS TO GET THE WORLD OUT OF YOU.

• 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 SAYS, ‘IF ANYONE IS IN CHRIST, HE IS A NEW CREATURE; THE OLD THINGS PASSED AWAY; BEHOLD, ALL THINGS ARE MADE NEW.’

• ROMANS 8:9 SAYS, ‘…YOU ARE NOT IN THE FLESH BUT IN THE SPIRIT, IF INDEED THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLS IN YOU.

AND IF ANYONE DOES NOT HAVE THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST, HE IS NOT HIS.’

GOD WANTED THE ISRAELITE PEOPLE FREE.

HE WANTED THEM TO BE FREE OF PHARAOH AND OF EGYPT, BUT HE WANTED THEM TO ALSO BE FREE OF AN EGYPTIAN MINDSET AND WILDERNESS MENTALITY.

IN THE SAME WAY, THE CHRISTIAN LIFE FOR THE BELIEVER CAN BE A DIFFICULT LIFE UNLESS YOU ARE LIBERATED FROM LEGALISM, LAZINESS AND LETHARGY.

YOU MUST BE FILLED WITH GOD'S SPIRIT AND KNOW THAT THERE IS MORE TO BEING A CHRISTIAN THAN JUST BEING SAVED.

B. IT IS A PLAN FOR FULLNESS (VERSE 2B) ‘I AM GIVING; INHERITANCE’.

WHEN WE READ THE WORD "AM," WHICH IN HEBREW IS `ASAH AND MEANS "ACCOMPLISH, BESTOW, PERFORM, OR FULFILL," WE SEE WHAT GOD IS DOING.

THIS VERB DESCRIBES SOMETHING THAT IS HAPPENING IN THE PRESENT TENSE AND THE ACTIVE VOICE.

THE PROMISE FOR THIS LAND WAS GIVEN TO ABRAHAM HUNDREDS OF YEARS BEFORE, AND NOW ISRAEL ARE AT THE ACTUAL MOMENT OF POSSESSING THE LAND WHICH GOD PROMISED TO THEM.

THEY ARE STANDING ON THE BANKS OF THE JORDAN RIVER AND CAN LOOK ACROSS AT THE PROMISED LAND.

VERSE 6 USES THE WORD “INHERITANCE”, NACHAL IS THE HEBREW WORD FOR "INHERITANCE."

THIS IS THE CENTRAL CONCEPT IN THE BOOK OF JOSHUA, WHICH REVOLVES AROUND THE ISRAELITES TAKING POSSESSION OF THE LAND WHICH GOD HAD PROMISED THEM.

THE HEBREW PEOPLE HAD BEEN LIVING OUT IN THE DESERT FOR FORTY YEARS.

IT WAS A ROUGH AND DIFFICULT LIFE.

THEY COULD NOT RELAX.

THEY WERE ON THE MOVE, PICKING UP THEIR TENTS AND GOING FROM PLACE TO PLACE.

THEY WERE SURROUNDED BY DANGERS ON EVERY SIDE.

THEY HAD THE PROMISE OF GOD THAT THEY COULD SIT UNDER THEIR OWN OLIVE TREE IN THE NEW LAND, BUT NO SUCH PLACE EXISTED IN THE DESERT.

JESUS HAS CALLED US TO A PLACE OF REST.

"COME UNTO ME ALL OF YOU WHO LABOR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST."

THIS DID NOT MEAN THAT NO BATTLES WOULD BE FOUGHT IN THE NEW LAND OF VICTORY; IT JUST MEANT THAT SUCH BATTLES WOULD BE FOUGHT FROM THE GROUND OF BLESSING RATHER THAN FROM THE GROUND OF A CURSE.

SOME OF YOU TODAY NEED TO MOVE INTO YOUR CANAAN REST.

GOD WANTS YOU TO LAY DOWN SOME BURDENS TODAY.

C. IT IS A PLAN THAT REQUIRES FAITH (VERSE 6A, 7A, 9B)

CONSIDER JOSHUA WAS LIKE SOME OF US, FOR A MOMENT.

JOSHUA MUST HAVE BEEN ANXIOUS AND FEARFUL BECAUSE OF ISRAEL’S PAST FAILURE TO ENTER THE PROMISED LAND AND BECAUSE OF THE DEATH OF MOSES.

IN VERSE 6A, GOD’S MESSAGE TO JOSHUA IS “BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS.”

THE MESSAGE WAS SO IMPORTANT THAT GOD REPEATS IT THREE TIMES.

HE SAYS, IN A REAL SENSE, GO BACK TO THE TIME WHEN YOU WENT OUT TO SPY THE LAND, HAVE A TENACITY TO TAKE IT.

WHILE IT WONT BE EASY, THE INFERENCE IS THAT IT HAS TO BE FOUGHT.

BUT NOW REMEMBER, JOSHUA, THIS IS NOT YOUR FIGHT.

YOU MAY BE IN THE FIGHT RIGHT NOW, BUT REMEMBER THAT IT’S NOT YOUR BATTLE.

• 1 SAMUEL 17:47 SAYS, ‘…THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S’.

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS......AS YOU FACE YOUR FUTURE AND THE ADVERSITY OF LIFE, YOU CAN RESPOND IN FEAR OR FAITH.

YOU CAN LET CIRCUMSTANCES DICTATE YOUR ACTIONS, OR YOU CAN HAVE FAITH IN GOD TO GIVE YOU DIRECTION.

SOLOMON WRITES, “TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND LEAN NOT UNTO YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM AND HE WILL DIRECT YOUR PATHS.”

AS YOU FACE ADVERSITY IN LIFE YOU CAN RESPOND IN FEAR OR IN FAITH.

I CHALLENGE YOU TO RESPOND IN FAITH.

II.

WE ARE COMMANDED TO TREASURE GOD’S PRECEPTS (VERSES 7 AND 8)

`IN VERSE 7 AND 8 THAT IT MUST BE PERSONAL.

THIS IS THE HEART OF HIS INSTRUCTION BY GOD.

THERE ARE FOUR PARTS TO JOSHUA’S INSTRUCTION TO TREASURING GOD’S PRECEPTS.