January 24, 2016 Let us Worship God Together!

Joshua 1: 1-18 “Be Strong and Courageous!”

Joshua 1: 1-18 “Be Strong and Courageous!”

Joshua: Was a member of the largest tribes in Israel, the tribe of Ephriam, and quickly rises to prominence. His name originally is, “Hoshea” (“salvation”) but Moses renamed him “Joshua,” which means “Yahweh saves” (Numbers 13:16). He was probably thirty years old but was a military leader and fought the Amalakites when they attacked the Israelites at Rephidim and repelled them. This was before they had reached Mt. Sinai. Joshua’s past: He accompanied Moses up to receive the 10 Comm. Exo. 24:13, 33:11 Great Zeal in being mentored by Moses. Num.11:26-29 He was one of the first spies. Num.14:8-9

4) Joshua was commissioned and given the Spirit, Num 4) Joshua was commissioned and given the Spirit, Num. 27:18-23, and invested with Moses’ authority. When we open the book of Joshua we are immediately confronted with the message from God that Moses is dead. There was now to be a change in leadership, and the one chosen by God was Joshua. Change had come! Mark Twain said this, “The only person who likes change is a wet baby.” I believe God knew the heart of Joshua and spoke to him with promises and instructions. 1) Be strong and courageous! God addresses the new leader with these words, in fact He says it four times. Why? Because character counts! Joshua was gifted differently than Moses, but their character and commitment were the same.

BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS. What is faith BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS! What is faith? When we understand that, we understand the key principle that underlies the book of Joshua and the whole of the Christian Life. Very simply, it is believing that God will do what He says He will do. (Rom.4:20-22) God gave Joshua a promise: “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Is faith just believing the promises of God? Yes! But it is believing enough that we are strong and courageous when problems come and obstacles appear.

2) God addresses Joshua to make the Word of God the defining guideline of his leadership….and if so he will be both prosperous and successful. (1:8) The law of God will be his authority, his safety net, his guiding force, his success hinged on it. This is still true with godly leadership, it is not just about talents or gifts; it is mainly about character. God’s word is like signposts that direct us to where we are going; we will get lost without them. God in chapter 1:7-9 tells Joshua to do this: Be careful to obey (vs 7). Do not let this Book of the Law depart out of your mouth (8a). Meditate on it day and night (8b). Meditate? Isaac Newton, “thinking God’s thoughts after Him.”

I find in this text an affirmation about Scripture I find in this text an affirmation about Scripture. In a classic statement of the role of scripture, Paul writes, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). So God’s encouragement and exhortation to Joshua that day met his needs. 1) Faith Assurance: “I will never leave you or forsake you” (1:5) 2) Faith Exhortation: “Be strong and very courageous” (1:6,9) 3) Faith Food: Meditate on it day and night” (1:8)

God’s Success Formula (1:8b) With these instructions comes the keys to prosperity and success: “then you will be prosperous and successful” (1:8b) I see bookstores full of books on “success.” You can buy tapes to reprogram your mind to think successful thoughts. And so on. And much of what they say is true, but it is not complete. The world says…. God says…… *Trust in yourself *Trust in me, I will never leave you…(1:5) *Boldly strive for your dream *Be strong, courageous, step out, I will be with you.

Think good thoughts,. Meditate on God’s Word (1:8a) positive thoughts *Think good thoughts, *Meditate on God’s Word (1:8a) positive thoughts *Then you will be prosperous *Then you will be prosperous and successful and successful (1:8b) Be aware of the differences. Faith in self will ultimately disappoint us. We are told not to do that in the Bible. (Prov.3:5f) The world says: be bold, strive for your dream, take risk, and these things are important. But our motivation for boldness is faith in God’s promises. The order to advance (1:10-11) Being encouraged, Joshua takes the first step. Faith is taking today’s step. Get supplies ready!

The right way to handle change: Recognize; A CHANGELESS GOD IN A CHANGING TIME: Change can be an energizing force for power and progress.. or, if not handled well can also be a force for stagnation and regression. The bible is a book about change, those handled well resulted in great gains, and those handled poorly resulted in great losses. The right way to handle change: Recognize; 1) God Himself never changes… this is the bedrock of our peace, security, and confidence when facing the past, present, and future! 2) God always has someone at the ready to move His plans forward, His plans are never conditioned on just a single person.

3) God’s mission must continue on 3) God’s mission must continue on! We are invited to participate in the fulfillment of His calling; our commitment is First to the Mission. Today the Goal is the same, the Mission the same, the Promises of God the same, the Challenge the same. They and us today need to Unite in Purpose, Trust the Promises of God, Have faith in the Mission God has given us. One of the great promises and precious promises in the Bible applies to us. “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (1:5) We find it elsewhere in the bible, too, in Deut. 31:6 and Hebrews 13:5. The promise is for us also, meditate on that today.