Will You Drop The Baton?

Will You Drop The Baton?

Text: Joshua 13:1

Introduction

Many times in a person’s life, they will set out with certain plans to accomplish goals throughout their life. Now, there is no doubt many goals get met (especially the short term). However, some goals are very long term. Never the less, your perspective is that you will have accomplished them before the sand runs out of your life.

I believe that was the case with Joshua when it came to successfully conquering all of the promised land. However, we have just learned that in spite of all the work that was yet to be done, Joshua had gotten much older and had to now come to terms with the fact that he would never see all of the land conquered in his lifetime.

Has this ever crossed your mind? Have you ever thought, “Will I ever see the day when…?” To be honest, it probably has not for most of us due to the orientation of our minds; goal-oriented, management-by-objective people.

I would like to lead your minds to consider the reality that we all will face one day. This is not an easy thing to consider and I think it would be wise to strengthen our minds to clearly see how the WORK is more than ONE lifespan long.

1) The Work Continues Beyond Joshua

A. Moses to Joshua

Think about all the times God spoke to Moses prior to that grand mistake that excluded him from the Promised Land.

Think about God and Moses’ first conversation at the burning bush.

Excluding the one moment, God spoke to Moses in a way that Moses believed that he would see the mission all the way through.

Deuteronomy 31:1–8 KJV 1900

1 And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel. 2 And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the Lord hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan. 3 The Lord thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the Lord hath said. 4 And the Lord shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed. 5 And the Lord shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 7 And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. 8 And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

Deuteronomy 34:1–9 KJV 1900

1 And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, 2 And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, 3 And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar. 4 And the Lord said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. 5 So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. 6 And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. 7 And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. 8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. 9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses.

Thankfully, God rose up a Joshua!!!

B. Joshua to the leaders

I honestly don’t think that this was a time of great discouragement for Joshua.

Joshua no doubt observed Moses’ behavior and had learned from it.

He had observed Moses—that great law-giver, that great leader of the people—as he went up to the top of Mount Nebo and looked westward into the Promised Land, knowing that his duties were done, although there were still many things to be accomplished. Another would have to carry on. Jr. Huffman John A. and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Joshua, vol. 6, The Preacher’s Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1986), 187.

Joshua 23:1-3 “1 And it came to pass a long time after that the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age. 2 And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said unto them, I am old and stricken in age: 3 And ye have seen all that the Lord your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the Lord your God is he that hath fought for you.”

2) The Work Continues Past You!

Life will continue past the goals you would like to have accomplished.

ILLUSTRATION — If you want proof, take a walk through the cemetery. Doesn’t life continue today? This proves that no single man is the center of the universe.

Let us not overlook the practical application of the family.

Why does God say, “train up a child?”

A Father or mother living out Biblical marriage and parenthood should never see their living out those roles as something that ends when you die.

A Fatherhood will continue in his son.

A motherhood will continue in her daughter.

How a husband and wife should treat each other pass on.

Thank God for many of the Christian influences outside of the home from where certain traits have a high chance of continuing past their parents.

This is exactly the kind of life cycle that is embedded in the Gospel ministry of the church.

The Apostle Paul understood the fact that God’s work is bigger and far surpasses the life of one person.

He would do his best to be faithful, fighting the good fight and running the race. He would finish the course, only to hand the baton to someone else. Jr. Huffman John A. and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Joshua, vol. 6, The Preacher’s Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1986), 187.

You read this from Paul’s writing to young Timothy.

You read this in Acts 20.

I admire the fact that Paul was not only motivated by his short time to serve his Savior, but he knew that starting point of the next person depended on where he left off.

This is exactly why pastors and congregations often times have difficulty continuing with any longevity.

This is why many young people don’t thrive in their faith or engage is serving.

When we know that the baton has to be handed off, there must be effort put in to the handing off process.

Your life is not all about YOU FINISHING THE GOAL.

Think about those in Hebrews 11

Some of the greatest saints never lived to see their work completed — Hebrews 11:13 “13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”

3) Excited About Passing The Baton

By God’s amazing grace, there have been and continue to be the handing off of Gospel ministry to the next generation.

The question is, will we be excited about working out how to pass the baton (or) be critical about those we must pass it on too?

Gospel ministry is WORTH being UNIFIED in the present concerning continuing the work forward.

Here is my final question: What are you doing to pass the Gospel baton forward?