Moving From Boot Camp to The Battfield

scripture

Joshua 1:2-18 (KJV) 2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. 5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I swore unto their fathers to give them. 7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. 8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. 9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD, thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. 10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11 Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it. 12 And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying, 13 Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land. 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and help them; 15 Until the LORD have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the LORD your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the LORD'S servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the surmising. 16 And they answered Joshua, saying, all that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. 17 According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the LORD thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses. 18 Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment and will not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage.

KEY WORDS

Decisive. Is having the power or quality of deciding; putting an end to controversy; crucial or most important.

Disciplined. Is the adjective form of the word discipline, which means training to act accordance with rules; drill; military discipline.

Determined. Means to be resolute; staunch. Means to be settle or decided by an authoritative or conclusive decision.

Introduction

February 24, 1992 my life completely changed, because this was the day that I stepped away from everything that I loved and cared about and was processed and taking into Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, CA. Some of would call it the worst, best day of our lives, because we no longer belonged to ourselves or to our parents, but we belonged to the United States Marine Corps. There were three phases that I had to go through to gain the title, and with all due respect I can honestly say that the Title was earned and not given. In these three phases, you were taught many different things to help assist you with your navigation during your lifestyle change. Every military branch of service must go through boot camp because this is the institution that teaches all military personal how to defeat the enemy during battle. Not only to they teach you how to be a warrior, but they also teach us how to be decisive in your skills, they teach us to be disciplined with our techniques, and how to be determined to reach our goals. When we thoroughly examine this text, we can find God using these three methods of teaching to move us From Bootcamp to the Battlefield.

HISTORY

These scriptures begin right after the death of Moses in Moab. After God had already proclaimed to Moses that what have the land that he had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. After his death, the children of Israel cried for thirty days. But leading up to all this Moses had already laid his hands upon Joshua, because he needed someone to continue to lead Israel to possess the land. Moses had already taught Israel because they should obey the command of the Lord and how to be obedient to his word. Moses was there General, and he had others that were the Drill Instructors, and God was the Commander and Chief, and as God gave direction, Moses passed the direction down to Israel from them to follow through.

So even after the death of Moses, God has promoted Joshua to the position of General to continue to lead Israel into battle and the first thing he needed was for Israel to continue to be….

be decisive (v2-6)

When someone is decisive, they have the power or quality of making good decisions, they put an end to controversy and make crucial and important choices.

· When it comes down to the ultimate test, we can’t be the type of people that desire to live in the past. We must stop underestimating who God is and what he can do, but just realize that He is God. Turn to your neighbor and say just be decisive.

· We must stop making decisions based on where we have been, but we must make them based on where He wants us to go. So just stick to your assignment and make your decisions on where God is taking you.

You have got to know that God’s promises are sure and not uncertain. If He says do it, BABY you must be like the Nike commercial says and JUST DO IT…. because God’s promises are based on His will, and not our personality, not are education, nor because of our looks. If God said he is going to do it, you better believe him that He can. When we make bad decisions dealing with the assignments that God has for us, he always has the plan well mapped out for us. God is a provider when we are hungry, a provider when we are sick, and a provider when we are up or down. God promises his protection from the storms of life and all we must do is operate in the Faith we have in him. Hebrews 13:5 says, I will never leave us nor forsake you, which lets me know that If he says He is going to do it, BABY you better trust Him at His word.

· Not only does God say that we must make good decisions, but he says that we must be disciplined.

BE DISICIPLINED

Disciplined is the descriptive form of the word discipline, which means training to act accordance with rules; drill; military discipline.

· One of the things that was taught in boot camp was how to maintain your discipline, and never lose your bearing.

· We found out that when we stayed disciplined and listened to instruction that we would be able to do anything.

To obtain victory on the battlefield we must possess complete obedience to the instructions that God has given to us, because any deviation can bring about the forfeiture of a reward that God might have in store for us. MOST OF US MISS OUT ON OUR BLESSINGS BECAUSE WE ARE TO BUSY NOT FOLLOWING INSTRUCTION. TELL YOUR NEIGHBOR, BE DISCIPLINED AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS…….

In verse 6, 7, 9, God commands the people of Israel to be strong, vigorous, and very courageous…. I guess you can say He was trying to get their attention, because, He says it three times… He says it three times… He says it three times… Okay someone missed it… OKAY HERE IT IS….

· Be Strong…. Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and the Power of His Might… YOU BETTER NOT WAIVER IN YOUR STRENGTH, BUT REALIZE WHERE YOUR STRENGTH COMES FROM…

· Be vigorous…. Philippians 2:13-14 That the energy is God’s energy, and energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure. Do everything readily and cheerfully, no bickering, no second guessing allowed. You must know that the energy of God is upon you and that whatever he tells you that needs to be done… even if it doesn’t look good are if its unbearable… do it with cheer in your heart and don’t complain. IT MIGHT JUST BE THAT GOD IS WANTING YOU TO SUFFER FOR A SEASON TO GET YOU READY FOR SOMETHING GREATER…

Look at what God tells them to do in vs 10-13… Prepare your provisions, for within three days you shall pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land, which the lord God is giving you to possess. GOD HAS TOLD SOMEONE TO GO GET THERE SUPPLIES TOGETHER, BECAUSE WHEN IT IS YOUR THREE DAYS HE IS GOING TO GIVE YOU WHAT HE HAS PROMISED….

· Be Courageous…. We must have Courage in the midst of adversity, in the midst of our pain, in the midst of heartache.

BE DETERMINED

When you are focused on the finish and have the determination that is required to reach your goals there is nothing you can’t accomplish. Don’t allow the details of your assignment to derail you from reaching what god says is yours. If you have prayed and asked God to show you how, are show you the way let your determination led you to the domination of your assignment. if God says that house is yours, then let your determination lead you through. God has promised us somethings but fail to allow our determination to be domination in getting what God has promised. Don’t just let it be visible determination, but let it be heard in the way you speak. If you speak in a positive way believing that it is than IT IS… Just having LIP SERVICE WILL NOT WORK ANYMORE….

Because of their decision, discipline, and determination, they could experience victorying their battle. Because they kept their focus and didn’t get caught up in leadership changing and they followed the instructions of God they accomplished their goal and possessed the land.

Not only were they determined to follow God’s plan to the letter, but they also made up in their minds not to let their haters stop them.

CONCLUSION

Someone in here right now has a Battle that they are facing right now, and they have already completed Boot camp but have forgotten the fundamentals that they were given. I stop bye here on this afternoon to let someone know that God is in your corner. He is telling you to make clear concise decisions, and not to lose focus. He is whispering and saying stay disciplined, always remember to trust him at His word, and then he says be determined, make certain that you stay focused on the task that he has set before you.

BECAUSE ON A HILL CALLED CALVARY…

· HE MADE THE DECISION TO DIE FOR YOUR SINS AND MY SINS

· ON A HILL CALLED CALVARY…

· HE KEPT HIS DISCIPLINE AND STAYED ON THE CROSS FOR YOU AND ME

· ON A HILL CALLED CALVARY…

· HE DIED DIDN’T HE DIE…

· THEY PUT HIM IN A BORROWED TOMB

· BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT HE HAD DETERMINATION

· BECAUSE ON THE THIRD DAY MORNING HE GOT UP FROM THE GRAVE WITH ALL VICTORY AND ALL POWER IN HIS HANDS

So, let me encourage someone in the house today, to be decisive, be discipline, and be determined.