Moving Forward

Moving Forward

Joshua 1:1-9

One of the Characteristics of a Spiritually Fit Christian is progression in spiritual growth. Too often, Christians are firm in their justification, and firm on their glorification, but sagging in their sanctification. We make progress in our sanctification when we continue to move forward with God.

This morning, we are starting a new sermon series called “Forward.” It’s a study that will come from the Old Testament book of Joshua.

I’m calling the sermon series forward because Joshua is a book about moving forward with God. It is about the Israelites pressing on into the promise land.

Contrary to popular hymns, the Bible never speaks of the promise land as heaven. It speaks of the promise land a a place for the Israelites to enjoy the fulness of their salvation and the abundant life God called them to live.

For the Israelites, the promise land was a place of covenant blessing. As they enjoyed the covenant blessings of God they were to witness of the glory and goodness of God to the Gentile nations around them. Of course, their staying in the land and enjoying the blessings of the land was and is dependent upon them being obedient to the covenant. If they disobeyed and broke covenant God would remove them from the land. If they obeyed they experienced the fulness of God’s covenant blessings.

Joshua and the Israelites journey into the promise land is a picture of the Christian life under the New Covenant. Our Joshua, Jesus, leads us into the promise land. Our Joshua, Jesus actually becomes the promise land and we only enjoy the fulness of the promise land and the abundance of the promise land as we abide in Christ.

The main theme for this study is this: God calls you to move forward and possess the fulness and abundance that is yours in Christ Jesus.

The events in the book of Joshua took place 1400 years before the first appearing of Jesus. The people of Israel had been in the wilderness for 40 years moving, but not forward.

It was now time for them to move forward and enjoy the fulness of their salvation.

And as God speaks to us individually and as a church, it safe to say that now is the time for us to move forward in our Christian experience and possess the fulness and abundance that is ours in Christ Jesus.

The time is now because God calls you to move forward in our Christian experience.

1. God calls you to move forward in your Christian experience.

There are about eight or so commands given to Joshua in the first nine verses of chapter one. The first two are found in verse two, ““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.” The two commands are “arise, go over.” God is commanding Joshua to lead the people forward from the wilderness to the promise land.

There is a principle that is very significant to grasp in these first two verses. God’s people are called by God to move forward in spite of changing circumstances.

1) In spite of changing circumstances.

Twice in the first two verses we are told that Moses had died. Verse one, “After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, “Moses my servant is dead.” This is no trivial truth that we are learning here. A prominent leader in the history of Israel and redemptive history is dead.

People, by nature, do not like change. And because of the fall, life is constantly changing sometimes for the good, and other times for the bad. Here is the point we need to grasp as Christians and as a church. The changing culture and circumstances that we face are no excuse not to move forward and enjoy the abundant life.

The Israelites were in the wilderness when God called them to move forward. Three words describe the wilderness experience of Israel: Covenant, miraculous provision, and judgment.

The reason the Israelites were in the wilderness in the first place was covenant. God heard their cry while in Egypt and he delivered them leading them to the wilderness before he would led them into the promised land.

While in the wilderness the Israelites experienced miraculous provision from The Lord. The parting of the Red Sea brought them into the wilderness, the cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night guided them in the wilderness. God provided water and manna, and their clothing never wore out.

Unfortunately, the Israelites did not keep covenant are allow the miraculous provision to strengthen their faith so God brought judgment upon them. When the people headed to report of the ten spies not to go into the promise land, The Lord punished the unbelieving generation by not allowing them to go into the promise land. So for 40 years the Israelites moved around the wilderness, but never forward into the promised land, until now.

It was the Israelites failure to trust God that kept them from moving forward into the abundance of the salvation in the promised land, and it is the same for us today. Some Christians are sagging in the wilderness right now. Maybe you are in the wilderness of failure, or defeat, or purification. God wants you to move forward in spite of your circumstances.

He wants you move forward on the basis of his unchanging character and purposes.

2) On the basis of God’s unchanging character and purposes.

Look at verse two again, ““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.” God is sending them into a land that he is going to give them. Now, look at verse three, “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.” It’s interesting to me that in verse two the Lord says, “I am giving,” and in verse three he says, “I have given.” He is going to give them the land because he already gave them the land.

In fact, he promised the land to Moses. However, it goes beyond Moses. Notice verse six, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.” God made a promise to Moses, and before Moses he made a promise to Abraham.

This promise and pledge of the land started in Genesis chapter twelve when The Lord called Abraham out of Haran and into the promised land. He restated the promise again in chapters thirteen, fifteen, and seventeen. God made a promise to give them the land.

Now, I want to suggest that the giving of the land to Abraham and his descendants had a greater purpose than making them into a great nation. God wanted to make Abraham a blessing to all nations.

At the heart of this desire is God’s desire to redeem people to himself. This desire was first stated in history in Genesis chapter three, verse fifteen, when God said that the seed of the woman will crush the seed of the serpent. The seed of the woman is the seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ.

God’s call to move forward into the promise land is based upon his unchanging character and purposes. They never change. God is always faithful to his covenant promises. God’s call for Joshua and the Israelites to move forward is not about Joshua or the Israelites. It’s about God. God is the hero, not Joshua.

Joshua and the Israelites faced a daunting adventure, but they could move forward on that adventure on the basis of God’s unchanging character and purposes.

What daunting situation are you in?

Are you in the wilderness of regret thinking that overcoming that regret is to difficult? Are you in the wilderness of failure thinking it’s over for you? Can I just say that your life is not about you. It’s about God, and what he wants to do with you. You can move forward with God because he never changes.

What about for us a a church?

The culture we live in is changing rapidly around us, and many of us don’t care. What I mean is that there are people headed to hell and we are content with just going to church. We have a daunting task of reaching our community and we can move forward with confidence in spite of the changing circumstances on the basis of God’s unchanging character and purposes. God calls his people to move forward in their Christian experiences and posses the abundant life and the fullness of salvation.

When he calls us he also prepares us. God prepares you to move forward in your Christian experience.

2. God prepares you to move forward in your Christian experience.

Look at verse one again, “After the death of Moses the servant of The Lord, The Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant.” Joshua was Moses’ assistant. That means that Joshua was prepared to move God’s people forward before he as called.

The life experiences of Joshua prepared him to move forward into the promise land. The preparation took place in the wilderness. It was Joshua who led the Israelites to battle against Amalek while Moses was on the top of the hill with his hands raised, while Aaron and Hur held his hands.

Joshua went up on the mountain of God with Moses. He spent time with Moses in the tent of meeting. Joshua was one the twelve spies that spied on the land, and one of the two spies that wanted to move forward into the land. Joshua was set apart by The Lord, anointed by Moses to lead the people of Israel forward into the promise land.

Joshua did not allow the sag of the wilderness become the normal experience for the Israelites. Instead, he allowed the wilderness to become preparation for moving into the fulness of the promise land.

Yes, God allows us to experience the sag of the wilderness, but only to move us forward into the fulness of the promise land. The wilderness represents brokenness. It represents a place where we have to trust God to take care of us. Israel failed to see the purpose of the wilderness. Instead of allowing the wilderness to prepare them for the fulness of the promise land, they wanted to return to Egypt. The grumbled and complained, and as a result many never entered into the abundant life.

The wilderness is a place of brokenness, a place that every child of God needs to be daily. A place where all we can do is trust in God and call upon God to move us forward to the place of abundance and fulness.

Jenny Williams was abandoned by her husband. The love of her life left her for another woman. She was hurt. She was bitter. She was broken. But she didn’t let the wilderness become her normal experience. Instead, she allowed the wilderness experience to prepare her for the promised land. In the promise land of abundance she found healing and she found hope. As she moved to the promise land of abundance she decided to start a ministry to wives that have been abandoned by their husbands. Her wilderness was turned into abundance and now she ministers to those who find themselves in the same wilderness situation.

What wilderness are you in? Is the the wilderness of bitterness? The wilderness of regret? The wilderness of abuse? The wilderness of discontent? The wilderness is meant to prepare you for the promise land. It’s meant to bring to a point of brokenness so that you can possess the fulness of your salvation, the abundant life.

Some of you here today do not need to move forward out the wilderness, but instead need to be delivered from the bondage of Egypt. You need to trust Jesus as your Lord and Savior, believing that he died for your sins, and was raised to life on the third day.