Graduation Night

Intro

tennis team taking someone’s place

responsibility, pressure, expectation

Freshman year regional- barely making it to state, but feeling relieved to have earned my place

Joshua

courage

chapter 1

given an enormous and difficult task

to lead a group of belligerent former slaves who have never known anything but wandering the wilderness

to take one of the most contested and valuable portions of the known world by force

He gives no answer to God like the one before him did

despite all of the ridiculousness of his challenge, Joshua simply believes God and follows

chapter 24

not only does he listen to God in the beginning, but Joshua follows God to the very end

understanding immediately that no task is impossible for God

David

qualification

chapter 16

God first provides Israel a king in Saul

in David, God says he provides himself a king

YHWH looks at the inside, the core, the conscience, the immaterial

man chose the one who appeared like the king they wanted, but had nothing on the inside

God chose the one who was short and rough and young but fully devoted to God

chapter 17

even in facing Goliath, he is not concerned about the land or the defeat of the Philistines in and of themselves

David is qualified to be king, to lead the people even though he is young and inexperienced, because his purpose is to make God known

He is after God’s own heart because of what he is striving toward and if that is your only qualification it is all you will ever need

Elisha

carrying on

chapter 2

Elijah had served God faithfully in a time where he felt as though he was completely alone in following God

even he only is left as all of Israel had rejected him

in the cave, God promises him a successor

Elisha follows his master and refuses to leave him even to the very end

he is given an opportunity to gain any one thing form the prophet of God

a double portion- not let me be twice what you were

let me inherit your role- let me carry on in your place as you have done

Elisha has big shoes to fill, and it is clear that he is at least in part afraid to do it alone

everyone knows what Elijah has done for God and his people

give me the spirit to keep going as you have, to be faithful to the end

Application

all of them had a role to fill and a unique situation

all of them were able to succeed and pass on what they had gained because of their faith and reliance on God

despite humble origin or meager circumstance or facing the unknown ahead of them, all had everything they needed in the God who went with them