The Presence of Jesus – Joshua 5

Posted on March 8, 2023 by dkoop

Are you facing an overwhelming problem?  Throughout life there are times when we need a special experience with God. A deep sense of loneliness, discouragement, depression, emptiness, or purposelessness; some accident, disease, or death; some severe problem, difficulty, obstacle, or loss—many things—can create a desperate need for a special time with God. When a need strikes, our task is to get alone with God just as we will see Joshua do. God will meet us if we will just get alone and seek His face. God will help us and meet our need. He will give us His presence and power and guidance. God will be our helper in time of need.

Joshua was off alone surveying Jericho (Joshua 5:13-14). Obviously, he had walked some distance away from the camp, close enough to Jericho so that he could survey the land surrounding the great city. As with any military commander, he was sensing the strain of the upcoming battle, the pressure and tension, the stress and heaviness of the burden of war. He knew that war involved wounds and spilt blood, maiming and crippling, the loss of limbs and disfigurement, injuries and severe pain. He knew that war involved death and the loss of loved ones, terrible grief and suffering for wives, children, parents, and relatives. Obviously, he was sensing a desperate need to get alone with God, to seek His sustaining grace and strength. He needed a very, very special time alone with the Lord to pray and plan. While praying, note that his head was apparently bowed. When he looked up, he was face-to-face with a man who had a drawn sword.

Look at Joshua 5:13-15 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” 14 So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” 15 Then the Commander of the LORD’S army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.

As Joshua was lifting his eyes and looking towards Jericho, the next great challenge they would face, he saw a MAN. No ordinary man. This was the “Commander of the Lord’s army,”  Joshua heard the same words that Moses heard back in Exodus 3:5 at the burning bush when God told Moses to remove his shoes for he was standing on holy ground.

In this situation, Joshua was looking upon the very face of Jesus Christ. This was, as theologians describe, a Christophany. This was an encounter with Christ to give His people the encouragement they need to carry on.

Jesus was the Burning Bush that was not consumed in Exodus 3:14, describing himself as the “I am” and Moses went from being a hired hand in hiding to the liberator of God’s people. Jesus confirms that He is the same “I am” in John 8:58

Jesus appeared to Abraham in Genesis 14:18-20 as a high priest named Melchizedek bringing bread and wine, a future symbol his body and blood.  He blessed him in his victory and pointed him to a new level of worship as Abraham gave him a tenth of everything.  Hebrews 7 confirms that this is Jesus.

Here in Joshua 5, he is described as “the commander of the Lord’s armies.”  The same description of Jesus found in Revelation 19, who is riding a white horse leading the armies of heaven.

Before this encounter Joshua must have been asking the question, What am I going to do now? I’m looking at this place called Jericho. This obstacle seems so big.  How are we going to overcome it? And so, God in all His wisdom, decides that Joshua needs another pep talk. Joshua needed to know and experience the presence of Christ.

He wants to give us that encouragement that we need to carry on. He knows we’re asking questions of ourselves. Questions like How? Why? What Do I Do Now? He knows exactly what we’re going through, and He doesn’t want us to go through it alone.

God appeared to Joshua here to give him encouragement, to give him direction, to help him see how and why to carry on. God gave Joshua the comfort of knowing that God would deliver Jericho into their hands. That He would deliver them through the days ahead. And, God wants to do the same for us.

Joshua was standing in the presence of Christ. This was an opportunity to see what God had in store.

Jesus promises to “be with us always.”  There are times when we need to sense His presence more.  He may not show up in a burning bush or in the middle of the road talking to us as he did for Moses and Joshua.   We probably won’t see an angelic, glorified Man standing before us. But we can have sense of His presence all the same.

The kind of encounter that Jesus has for us is just as personal, just as powerful, just as meaningful as Moses and Joshua had.  In college when Christ was calling me to ministry there we several times when I sensed the  presence of Jesus in a strong way making it clear that I was supposed to go in that direction. Life changing decisions like whether to marry Niki, to become a pastor, to plant the church to add additional staff, additional locations, and taking new directions as a church all required that I surrender, seek Christ, fast, pray and seek and desire the presence of Jesus.

Christ desires for us to have a seek and know the presence of Jesus that can continue throughout the rest of our lives. God had a great plan in store for Joshua. He knew that Jericho would be conquered. He knew what the end result would be, and He needed Joshua to follow through. To encounter God, to experience His power, His encouragement, His presence. And then, Joshua would be ready for the task ahead.

In our lives, in our challenges, in our problems, we can be sure that God has a great plan in store for us. God knows what lies ahead for us. He knows the victories that we will experience. He knows what we will be able to accomplish in His power and in His presence.

We all stand in the face of these adversities and ask ourselves, “Why is this happening?” How will I get through this obstacle?”  God wants to begin to provide for us in a new way, a way that we’re not used to, a way that we couldn’t have imagined. A way that will meet every challenge, that will meet our every need.

He wants us to see Him in all of his glory and know that He will lead us, He will guide us. He will direct our steps. He wants us to see that God is not finished with us. He has great things in store for us, great victories in store, great days ahead.

We can have a fresh encounter with Jesus. He wants us to be moved by His presence and power. To take hold of His hand and allow Him to deliver us through any challenge we face.

If you are in a situation where you’re asking why? If you’re facing one of those life-changing trials, one of those valley experiences that knock every bit of the air out of you then you are ready.   Overwhelming problems help us be ready to pray and seek the face of Christ. Large obstacles help us be ready to obey what Jesus says.

In our next post we will see how to have courage to follow God’s instructions even when they do not make sense.

Darrell

www.Upwards.Church

Message Audio/Video and Outline: https://upwards.church/watch-now/leander-campus-videos

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Courage to Change (Rahab) – Joshua 2

Posted on March 7, 2023 by dkoop

All of us desire to change something about our lives. All of us have a past. Rahab certainly did.  Rahab desired to change and God worked in her life, regardless of her past.  He wants to do the same with us.  The Promised Land is for everyone!

Only two women are personally named in Hebrews 11, “The Hall of Fame of Faith”: Sarah, the wife of Abraham (v. 11), and Rahab, the harlot of Jericho (v. 31).

Sarah was a godly woman, the wife of the founder of the Hebrew race; and God used her dedicated body to bring Isaac into the world. But Rahab was an ungodly Gentile who worshiped pagan gods and sold her body for money. Humanly speaking, Sarah and Rahab had nothing in common. But from the divine viewpoint, Sarah and Rahab shared the most important thing in life: They both had exercised saving faith in the true and living God.

Not only does the Bible associate Rahab with Sarah; but in James 2:21-26, it also associates her with Abraham. James used both Abraham and Rahab to illustrate the fact that true saving faith always proves itself by good works.

But there’s more: The Bible associates Rahab with the Messiah! When you read the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 1, you find Rahab’s name listed there (v. 5), along with Jacob, David, and the other famous people in the messianic line. She has certainly come a long way from being a pagan prostitute to being an ancestress of the Messiah! “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” Rom. 5:20.

Let’s dive into this incredible life of courage and change.  The account picks up here we left off last, Moses has died and Joshua is now in charge. He’s about to lead the people of Israel to cross the Jordan river and enter Canaan. 500 years earlier God had promised Abraham that He would establish his descendants in this land, which is why it is referred to as “the Promised Land” and the people of Israel are finally about to cross the Jordan and lay claim to this land that God had said would be theirs.

D-day is almost here. And, like any good commander, before the invasion begins Joshua wanted to gather information about the enemy. So, as it says in verse 1, “Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. [He told them] ‘Go, look over the land-especially Jericho.’”

The Hebrew nation was camped about seven miles east of the Jordan. Jericho was located about seven miles west of the Jordan almost directly opposite them. And Joshua specifically mentioned this city as the focus of this particular reconnaissance mission because it was a formidable fortress city guarding the pass leading westward into the mountainous regions of Canaan. Conquering it would give Israel an important foothold into the Promised land, which is no doubt the reason Jericho was so fortified in the first place.

And in Joshua’s mind it was important to find out as much as possible about it’s defensive capabilities before they mounted an attack. No doubt this brand-spanking new leader wanted these two to bring him information of Jericho’s walls and gates, its state of preparation, the number of its inhabitants, the size of its army, etc.

One thing I would point out is that the people of land had been marked for destruction way back in Genesis 15:16 when, after foretelling the exodus from Egypt, God said to Abraham, “In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here [to Canaan], for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”

The time had now come. The Amorites had used their God-given freedom of choice to sin, to turn away from God, such that their culture had degenerated past the point of no return, degenerated to the point that it had reached God’s maximum tolerance level. Understand: our Heavenly Father didn’t cause this to happen but He knew it would, so He had promised this land to Israel.

The activities of these two spies was absolutely top secret. Unlike the 12 spies who had entered Canaan 40 years ago, the work of these two were known only to Joshua. In my mind they were similar to television’s Mission Impossible teams-only the highest level of government knew of their assignment. Perhaps they received their orders on a special scroll designed to self-destruct after telling them that if they were captured Joshua would disavow any knowledge of their actions. That’s stretching things a bit but Joshua did have them go secretly. Not even the Israelites knew of their assignment. Verses 23-24 tell us they were to report back to Joshua and Joshua only.

And understand: He wasn’t asking them for feedback, just to gather the information and get it back to him. He wasn’t going to give them a press conference when they returned so the people could discuss what they found out among themselves and then decide whether to cross over the Jordan or not. No, only Joshua knew they were going, and only he would hear their report when they returned.

John MacArthur writes,

“Israel had traveled down the dead-end road of popular opinion already and it cost them almost forty years’ time. Joshua was taking the role of a decisive commander. He would assess the spies’ report personally and decide (with the Lord’s help, not a vote of the populace) how his armies would proceed.”

Apparently, the spies were able to at least enter Jericho undetected. It was a large city and people came and went all the time. Perhaps they posed as traveling merchants or traders.

Verse 1 says that once they were within the city’s thick walls, they entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and they stayed there. Now this sounds like something James Bond would do, but not two Jewish spies. So why would two members of God’s chosen nation enter a house of ill repute?

There are several potential reasons. First, the presence of strangers in this kind of establishment would not arouse undue suspicion. Kingdom foreigners, travelers, were common there so they wouldn’t stand out. Plus, someone in Rahab’s line of work would be knowledgeable of public affairs, no pun intended. A house of ill repute was a good place back then to gather information.

And the fact that the house was located on the top of the wall would make it a great place to complete their assignment. They could look out over the city and monitor troop movements and defenses.

Another reason to choose her house was that it offered a method of escape since it was located on the exterior city wall which meant it’s windows faced outward.

I think the main reason they went to Rahab’s house was that God led them there. We’ll talk more about this later but for now suffice it to say that God sent them there because He knew the desires of her heart. He knew she yearned to know Him and serve Him.

Now, for about 250 years some biblical critics claimed that this story was mythological or at best historical fiction, because at the time there was no evidence that there were houses built into city walls in the ancient near east. But the excavations at the Tel in Jericho after the turn of the century showed that the city was indeed surrounded by double walls with 12 feet between them. These excavations also uncovered evidence that simple houses were in fact built on top of timbers that were spread between the two walls-which sounds exactly like Rahab’s home.

Unfortunately the spies failed in their efforts to remain undetected. Perhaps their disguises weren’t good enough or maybe a client overheard as they identified themselves to Rahab. But someone found them out and told the king, perhaps hoping to claim a reward for finding spies of the huge Jewish nation that everyone knew was camped directly across the river.

And the king immediately dispatched soldiers to Rahab’s house, no doubt expecting Rahab to do her patriotic duty and turn the spies in. But instead she committed the capital offense of treason! She hid the men under stalks of flax which she had laid on her roof, stalks that were probably always kept there in case a client needed to be hidden from his jealous wife.

  1. Rahab Chose to Take a Side

When the guards came looking for these to agents Rahab said they weren’t there and sent the soldiers on a wild goose chase. Now, in my study I found that commentary writers argue over whether or not Rahab sinned by lying to these soldiers. And I’m no scholar but I for one would say no, she did not sin. Kingdom, many people have been honored for deceiving the enemy in war time, and this was a time of war. In my mind, she was simply resisting an evil, corrupt government to protect people who were serving God.

Plus, the Bible does teach that it’s okay to lie in order to deceive a godless government. Exodus 1 tells of the time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt and their nation grew so that the Pharaoh told the midwives to kill any baby boys that were born. But verse 17 says that the midwives feared God and did not do what the Pharaoh had asked. When he summoned them to ask why, they lied and said, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women. They are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.” And verse 20 tells how God felt about their deception. It says, “So God was kind to the midwives…”

A more modern day example of this can be found in the life experiences of Corrie Ten Boom. In her book The Hiding Place Corrie tells of her father, a devout Christian man who hid Jews in his home and helped smuggle them out of the country under the noses of the Nazis. His pastor came by and urged him not to do these things, saying, “Christians must obey the law.” But, Father Ten Boom responded by saying that Christians are to obey God first, above any human law that conflicts with His laws.

So, Rahab lied. But in my opinion, she didn’t sin. She sensed there was something unusual about these two men, something different from the other men who frequented her home. Perhaps these spies were the first to come through her door without sinful intent. But in her heart she knew they were the good guys and so, at risk of her own life, she lied to the king’s soldiers.

After the soldiers left, Rahab asked the spies to spare her life and the lives of her family when the city was destroyed. And the spies agreed. As a secret code, they instructed her to leave a scarlet rope hanging in the window of her home so that the Jewish army would know not to destroy it and then she helped them escape via a rope from a window on the wall giving them instructions so that they could avoid capture and return to Joshua and the rest of the army.

After the soldiers left on their wild goose chase, Rahab spoke to those two spies. She told them that she had heard of the miracles God had been doing with and for the people of Israel. Perhaps her customers, travelers from afar, had brought her news of how God had dried up the Red Sea so that the entire nation could cross on dry ground and that He had led them to conquer the Amorite Kings Og and Sihon, including the total destruction of their walled cities.

But somehow this lost, pagan woman had heard of the mighty works of the God of Israel and it made her believe in His power. In fact she spoke of the takeover of all Canaan by the Hebrew people as if it were already an accomplished fact. Look at verse 9 of chapter 2 where she says to them, “I know that the Lord has given this land to you.” Rahab also said that all of Jericho was afraid of the people of Israel. Listen to her words: “…a great fear has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.”

In short, Rahab and her countrymen saw God at work in and through His people! And unlike her fellow Amorites, Rahab’s response was to leave her sinful lifestyle and embrace a personal faith in God. In essence Rahab said, I believe “the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.”

Now, in this statement she referred to God as “YAHWEH.” She didn’t use a Canaanite name for God, but the covenant name that the Hebrew people used for their personal God.

  1. Rahab Chose to Profess Her Faith

And this reminds us that, even today, when people like Rahab see things happening in the lives of other people that can only be explained by their relationship with God, well it makes them yearn to have that kind of covenant relationship with God as well. They believe that God really is God because they see His people doing things that could only be explained by His presence and power.

Rahab heard with her own ears and then saw with her own eyes the power of God working in and through His people. This made her long to know Him.

God’s love wasn’t limited to the Hebrew people! The spies learned-even before Peter penned these words-that “God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

They saw that God loved even the Amorites, that it was they who rejected Him, not the other way around. They discovered this because when this Amorite woman sought God, He answered. When she reached out to God, she found Him reaching back to her! These spies learned that as God says in Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” They found that as Isaiah 30:18 says, “The Lord longs to be gracious…He rises to show compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him.”

God knew that Joshua didn’t really need to know the city’s defenses. God knew how He was going to enable them to conquer that fortified city. But He didn’t stop Joshua from sending the spies, did He? why did he let Joshua send those men on an unnecessary and potentially dangerous mission?

God did it because their mission, unbeknownst to them, was not to scout the city’s defenses but rather to get to Rahab, this woman He knew longed to know Him.

The situation here is similar to that in John 4:4 where we are told that Jesus, “had to go through Samaria.” Jesus didn’t have to take the Samaritan road because it was the only road to Galilee; it was not. Usually another way was taken. No, He had to take that road because there was a seeker, a lonely woman thirsty for God, residing there. And so Jesus entered Samaria to save that woman and the rest of her village who would respond to His message.

In a similar way these two spies were sent to Jericho to save Rahab. This is why they had to go to Jericho.

  1. Rahab Chose to Change Her Future

Think of it. Rahab had nothing going for her, humanly speaking. She didn’t deserve to know God.  She was a gentile-a foreigner to the covenant between God and the Hebrew people.

She was an Amorite, part of a corrupt and vile nation that had been marked for destruction, people who sacrificed children in their depraved religious practices.

She was a prostitute, someone who made their living by breaking God’s law.

Yet when she decided to change and reached out to God, in His amazing grace our Holy God reached back and not only saved her but used her life in a powerful way! After the literal fall of Jericho, Rahab was taken back to live with the people of Israel. She married a Jewish man named Salmon whom tradition says was one of those two spies, this is the romance aspect of this story, and together they had a son named Boaz. Boaz was the husband of Ruth and the father of Obed which would make him Rahab’s grandson. And Obed was the father of Jesse, who was her great grandson. And Jesse was the father of David-yes, the King David-who was her great, great grandson. And not only that, but as Matthew Chapter 1 reminds us, out of the line and lineage of David and his great great grandma, came Jesus, the Christ, the only Son of God.

So in His amazing grace God used Rahab, in spite of her sin. She’s a perfect example of the principle of grace that we find in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 where Paul says,

“God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; .and the base things of the world and the things which are despised. “

So, Rahab’s life shows that we don’t receive God’s gift because we deserve it. We aren’t given eternal, abundant life because of what we do, but because of our faith in what He has done we are saved because of our faith in His grace, His power.

Do you remember the secret code that the spies gave Rahab to prevent her home from destruction when the city fell? She was to hang a scarlet chord out her window, and if she did her life would be spared. In my mind this is a symbol of the fact that we too are saved from destruction by our faith in the crimson blood of Jesus. As 1 John 1:7 says, “The blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin.”

The same message is issued to all of us here today. Perhaps your past is not as difficult as hers, maybe you think your sin is somehow different. In God’s eyes it is the same. Sin is sin and forgiveness is forgiveness and he offers it to all who will receive it. Do you have the courage to change?

Darrell

www.Upwards.Church

Message Audio/Video and Outline: https://upwards.church/watch-now/leander-campus-videos

Watch Messages: YouTube-Upwards Church

Facebook: Upwards Church

Sources:

Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary – History, (Colorado Springs, CO: Victor, 2003), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 23-28.

The Faith of Rahab – John MacArthur

Redland Resources – Mark Adams

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Courage to Accept My Leadership Role – Joshua 1

Posted on February 22, 2023 by dkoop

You are a leader in some area and leadership is overwhelming.  Have you ever felt overwhelmed by what you have to do? As a parent I remember experiencing this feeling the first time I brought our son home from the hospital. I instantly loved the little guy with every molecule in my body, but as I considered the challenge of feeding, clothing, and parenting that child for the next 21 years, that staggering responsibility made me felt completely inadequate. I could not conceive of how I was going to find the parental wisdom and patience and energy and money get this all-important job done. And trying to take care of his newborn’s needs on 4 hours sleep a night only magnified this feeling.

Maybe there have been times when your job has made you feel overwhelmed. The constant work, the late hours, the business trips, the ever-increasing demands, all this combined to make you feel like you’re drowning.

Maybe you’ve felt overwhelmed by your finances. No matter how carefully you budget, the bills always threaten to overwhelm your income. And it seems like only a matter of time before you will begin to lose ground.

As a student you feel overwhelmed as you face final exams. That week-long pile of huge, make-it-or-break-it tests can feel like a tidal wave that towers over you. You don’t know how you are possibly going to cram enough information into your head and keep it there long enough to get the grade you need.

I could go on and on because life is indeed full of things that can make us feel overwhelmed-parenting, career, finances, difficult relationships, health issues, the list is almost endless. And if you can relate, then you can relate to a book of the Bible that deals with a man who I believe experienced this feeling in the incident that is recorded in today’s text.

His name is Joshua and we can learn from his example.

1  After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2  “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them…

As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6  “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them…

7  Be strong and very courageous….. 9  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.“ Joshua 1: 1-9 (NIV)

We all need a pep talk from time to time and God give Joshua one here.   Did you sense Joshua’s fear? In case you missed it let me point out that three-times God had to encourage him to, “Be strong and courageous.”  I think that at this moment Joshua is so overwhelmed that he feels like a frightened little boy. In fact, it seems to me that in verse 9 God speaks to him in Father-to-son terms and says, “Don’t be terrified Joshua; don’t be afraid; don’t be discouraged. All this may seem overwhelming but don’t worry, I’m going to be with you every step of the way.”

So, it’s clear that Joshua was feeling overwhelmed at this point in his life. He was afraid. Reminds me of a story I heard of about a sergeant in a parachute regiment. He was a seasoned jumper and one day he found himself sitting next to a lieutenant in the plane who was fresh from jump school. The Lieutenant looked a bit pale so as they approached their jump zone the sergeant leaned over and said, “Are you scared, sir?”

The lieutenant replied, “No just a bit apprehensive.” The sergeant asked, “, what’s the difference?”

And the lieutenant replied, “Apprehensive means I’m scared with a university education.”

Whichever word you want to use, Joshua was it.

When we face leadership challenges I believe deep down each of us asks three questions:

Why me?  What if I fail? Do I have what it takes?

I believe God gives the answers to each of these questions.

Why me?   I can have courage because God has called me.  The spouse you have, the kids you have, the job you have the place where you live, the relative you have all these have been given to you by God.  I believe that God brought me my wife Niki.  If I ask “why me?” the better question would be “why not me?”  Will I step up to love, serve and commit myself to Niki or do I want someone else to?  Do I want to parent my three children or do I want the state to?  Do I want to do my job or do I want someone else to?   You are on this planet at this moment to do what God placed you here to do, but God knew that you were to best person for the job he gave you.

“Moses is dead.  You are the leader Joshua.  I have called you.”

What if I fail?  Honestly, we will.  We are human, but to be as successful as we possibly can God will equip us.     I can have courage because God equips me.

We see that God equips Joshua with the word of God. How? The answer to these questions is in verse 8 where God says to Joshua,

“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

In other words, Joshua’s strength for the task he faced would come from the written Word of God. He would get the power and the courage and the guidance necessary for dealing with the overwhelming responsibilities that faced him every morning by reading, studying, and believing its promises. The precepts and principles found in “The Book of Law” would give him the wisdom he needed to get this job done.

Now, of course Joshua didn’t have our Bible-most of it had not been written yet-but he did have the first five books of the Old Testament. Most Biblical scholars believe the entire five Books of Moses-Genesis through Deuteronomy-comprised this the “book of Law” that is referenced in verse 8. You see, during the years of his leadership, Moses had kept a written record of God’s words and acts. Deuteronomy 31:9 tells us he had committed this record to the care of the priests.

And please note it wasn’t enough for the priests to carry and guard this precious book. No, Joshua was to take time to read it daily and make it a part of his inner person by meditating on it. And to deal with our own times of fear we need to do the same thing.

What if you ignore God’s laws and decide to lie, steal and cheat? That’s a sure way to lose everything!  God’s law shows us the ways to be successful. If we follow God’s words we will be “prosperous and successful.”

But remember prosperity and success are not to be measured by the standards of the world.  Prosperity and success may not be riches, a fully funded 401k and keeping us with the Jones.  Here’s the questions to ask yourself, and if you can answer “yes” to these three questions then your will be successful in the eyes of God regardless of what the world says,

  1. Did I follow the word of God?
  2. Did I depend on the spirit of God? (Did I do it all in my own strength or did I pray for God’s help, strength and guidance?)
  3. Did I do it for the Glory of God? (Am I building my own kingdom for my selfish purposes or do I see myself as God’s servant building His Kingdom?)

The last question we often ask as leaders is, “Do I have what it takes?”   The answer is, “probably not”, but that’s ok.

However, I do have what it takes because God is with me!  I can have courage because God is with me.

Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.“ Joshua 1: 1-9 (NIV)

God promises to be with us!

The Bible is so full of God’s promises, that it is not really possible to count them. Some people have tried and come up with about 3000. Others have counted 7000. Herbert Lockyer wrote a book called All the promises of the Bible and claims to list 8000.

Do you know what the most frequent promise in the Bible?

“I will be with you.”  See Psalm 23:4, Psalm 139:8, Matthew 28:20, Genesis 28:15, Hebrews 13:5, Deuteronomy 31:6  to name a few!

In good times, in bad times, in pleasure, in pain, at the side of the hospital bed or casket God is with us.  In parenting, in marriage in our job in hobbies, at the highest mountain or the depths of the sea God is with us!

I can have courage because God called me, God equips me with His Word and God is with me!

You can have courage too.

Darrell

www.Upwards.Church

Message Audio/Video and Outline: https://upwards.church/watch-now/leander-campus-videos

Watch Messages: YouTube-Upwards Church

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Courage Over Fear – Joshua Invitation & Introduction

Posted on February 17, 2023 by dkoop

Joshua (Courage Over Fear)

Description:  Does fear ever grip you?  You’re not alone. Courage is not the absence of fear but moving forward in spite of fear.   How can we grow in courage? “Be strong and of good courage, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” Joshua 1:6.  We gain courage knowing God is with us. Join us as we learn to live in courage, navigate changes, and inspire those around us.

Dates           Titles                                                               Events

Feb. 19 – Courage to Accept My Leadership Role (Josh. 1)           Groups Start

Feb. 26 – Courage to Change (Josh. 2)

Mar. 5 – Courage to Follow God’s Instructions (Josh. 5-6)          Communion
Mar. 12 – Courage to Leave a Legacy  (Josh. 24)                 Daylight Savings/Spring Break

Introduction to the book of Joshua

Remember “follow the leader”? The idea was to mimic the antics of the person in front of you in the line of boys and girls winding through the neighborhood. Being a follower was all right, but being leader was the most fun, creating imaginative routes and tasks for everyone else to copy.

In real life, great leaders are rare. Often, men and women are elected or appointed to leadership positions but then falter or fail to act. Others abuse their power to satisfy their egos, crushing their subjects and squandering resources. But without faithful, ethical, and effective leaders, people wander.

For40 years, Israel had journeyed a circuitous route through the wilderness, but not because they were following their leader. Quite the opposite was true—with failing faith, they had refused to obey God and to conquer Canaan. So they wandered. Finally, the new generation was ready to cross the Jordan and possess the land. Having distinguished himself as a man of faith and courage (he and Caleb had given the minority scout report recorded in Numbers 13:30-14:9), Joshua was chosen to be Moses’ successor. This book records Joshua’s leadership of the people of God as they finished their march and conquered the Promised Land.

Joshua was a brilliant military leader and a strong spiritual influence. But the key to his success was his submission to God. When God spoke, Joshua listened and obeyed. Joshua’s obedience served as a model. As a result, Israel remained faithful to God throughout Joshua’s lifetime.

The book of Joshua is divided into two main parts. The first narrates the events surrounding the conquest of Canaan. After crossing the Jordan River on dry ground, the Israelites camped near the mighty city of Jericho. God commanded the people to conquer Jericho by marching around the city 13 times, blowing trumpets, and shouting. Because they followed God’s unique battle strategy, they won (chapter 6). After the destruction of Jericho, they set out against the small town of Ai. Their first attack was driven back because one of the Israelites (Achan) had sinned (chapter 7). After the men of Israel stoned Achan and his family—purging the community of its sin—the Israelites succeeded in capturing Ai (chapter 8). In their next battle against the Amorites, God even provided extended daylight to aid them in their victory (chapter 10). Finally, after defeating other assorted Canaanites led by Jabin and his allies (chapter 11), they possessed most of the land.

Part two of the book of Joshua records the assignment and settlement of the captured territory (chapters 13-22). The book concludes with Joshua’s farewell address and his death (chapters 23-24).

Joshua was committed to obeying God, and this book is about obedience. Whether conquering enemies or settling the land, God’s people were required to do it God’s way. In his final message to the people, Joshua underscored the importance of obeying God. “So be very careful to love the Lord your God” (23:11), and “choose today whom you will serve…. But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord” (24:15). Read Joshua and make a fresh commitment to obey God today. Decide to follow your Lord wherever he leads and whatever it costs.

Vital Statistics

Purpose: To give the history of Israel’s conquest of the Promised Land

Author: Joshua, except for the ending, which may have been written by the high priest, Phinehas, an eyewitness to the events recounted there

Original Audience: The people of Israel

Setting: Canaan, also called the Promised Land, which occupied the same general geographical territory of modern-day Israel

Key Verse: “‘Go through the camp and tell the people to get their provisions ready. In three days you will cross the Jordan River and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you'” (1:11).

Key People:  Joshua, Rahab, Achan, Phinehas, Eleazar

Key Places:

  1. Acacia Grove The story of Joshua begins with the Israelites camping at Acacia Grove. The Israelites under Joshua were ready to enter and conquer Canaan. But before the nation moved out, Joshua received instructions from God (1:1-18).
  2. Jordan River The entire nation prepared to cross this river, which was swollen from spring rains. After the spies returned from Jericho with a positive report, Joshua prepared the priests and people for a miracle. As the priests carried the Ark into the Jordan River, the water stopped flowing, and the entire nation crossed on dry ground into the Promised Land (2:1-4:24).
  3. Gilgal After crossing the Jordan River, the Israelites camped at Gilgal, where they renewed their commitment to God and celebrated the Passover, the festival commemorating their deliverance from Egypt (see Exodus). As Joshua made plans for the attack on Jericho, an angel appeared to him (5:1-15).
  4. Jericho The walled city of Jericho seemed a formidable enemy. But when Joshua followed God’s plans, the great walls were no obstacle. The city was conquered with only the obedient marching of the people (6:1-27).
  5. Ai Victory could not continue without obedience to God. That is why the disobedience of one man, Achan, brought defeat to the entire nation in the first battle against Ai. But once the sin was recognized and punished, God told Joshua to take heart and try Ai once again. This time the city was taken (7:1-8:29).
  6. The Mountains of Ebal and Gerizim After the defeat of Ai, Joshua built an altar at Mount Ebal. Then the people divided themselves, half at the foot of Mount Ebal, half at the foot of Mount Gerizim. The priests stood between the mountains holding the Ark of the Covenant as Joshua read God’s law to all the people (8:30-35).
  7. Gibeon It was just after the Israelites reaffirmed their covenant with God that their leaders made a major mistake in judgment: They were tricked into making a peace treaty with the city of Gibeon. The Gibeonites pretended that they had traveled a long distance and asked the Israelites for a treaty. The leaders made the agreement without consulting God. The trick was soon discovered, but because the treaty had been made, Israel could not go back on its word. As a result, the Gibeonites saved their own lives, but they were forced to become Israel’s slaves (9:1-27).
  8. Valley of Aijalon The king of Jerusalem was very angry at Gibeon for making a peace treaty with the Israelites. He gathered armies from four other cities to attack the city. Gibeon summoned Joshua for help. Joshua took immediate action. Leaving Gilgal, he attacked the coalition by surprise. As the battle waged on and moved into the valley of Aijalon, Joshua prayed for the sun to stand still until the enemy could be destroyed (10:1-43).
  9. Hazor Up north in Hazor, King Jabin mobilized the kings of the surrounding cities to unite and crush Israel. But God gave Joshua and Israel victory (11:1-23).
  10. Shiloh After the armies of Canaan were conquered, Israel gathered at Shiloh to set up the Tabernacle. This movable building had been the nation’s center of worship during their years of wandering. The seven tribes who had not received their land were given their allotments (18:1-19:51).
  11. Shechem Before Joshua died he called the entire nation together at Shechem to remind them that it was God who had given them their land and that only with God’s help could they keep it. The people vowed to follow God. As long as Joshua was alive, the land was at rest from war and trouble (24:1-33).

The Blueprint

  1. ENTERING THE PROMISED LAND (1:1-5:12)
    1. Joshua leads the nation
    2. Crossing the Jordan

    Joshua demonstrated his faith in God as he took up the challenge to lead the nation. The Israelites reaffirmed their commitment to God by obediently setting out across the Jordan River to possess the land. As we live the Christian life, we need to cross over from the old life to the new, put off our selfish desires, and press on to possess all God has planned for us. Like Joshua and Israel, we need courageous faith to live the new life.

  2. CONQUERING THE PROMISED LAND (5:13-12:24)
    1. Joshua attacks the center of the land
    2. Joshua attacks the southern kings
    3. Joshua attacks the northern kings
    4. Summary of conquests

    Joshua and his army moved from city to city, cleansing the land of its wickedness by destroying every trace of idol worship. Conflict with evil is inevitable, and we should be as merciless as Israel in destroying sin in our lives.

  3. DIVIDING THE PROMISED LAND (13:1-24:33)
    1. The tribes receive their land
    2. Special cities are set aside
    3. Eastern tribes return home
    4. Joshua’s farewell to Israel

    Joshua urged the Israelites to continue to follow the Lord and worship him alone. The people had seen God deliver them from many enemies and miraculously provide for all their needs, but they were prone to wander from the Lord. Even though we may have experienced God at work in our lives, we, too, must continually renew our commitment to obey him above all other authority and to worship him alone.

MEGATHEMES
THEME EXPLANATION IMPORTANCE
Success God gave success to the Israelites when they obeyed his master plan, not when they followed their own desires. Victory came when they trusted in him rather than in their military power, money, muscle, or mental capacity. God’s work done in God’s way will bring his success. The standard for success, however, is not to be set by the society around us but by God’s Word. We must adjust our minds to God’s way of thinking in order to see his standard for success.
Faith The Israelites demonstrated their faith by trusting God daily to save and guide them. By noticing how God fulfilled his promises in the past, they developed strong confidence that he would be faithful in the future. Our strength to do God’s work comes from trusting him. His promises reassure us of his love and that he will be there to guide us in the decisions and struggles we face. Faith begins with believing he can be trusted.
Guidance God gave instructions to Israel for every aspect of their lives. His law guided their daily living, and his specific marching orders gave them victory in battle. Guidance from God for daily living can be found in his Word. By staying in touch with God, we will have the needed wisdom to meet the great challenges of life.
Leadership Joshua was an example of an excellent leader. He was confident in God’s strength, courageous in the face of opposition, and willing to seek God’s advice. To be a strong leader like Joshua, we must be ready to listen and to move quickly when God instructs us. Once we have his instructions, we must be diligent in carrying them out. Strong leaders are led by God.
Conquest God commanded his people to conquer the Canaanites and take all their land. Completing this mission would have fulfilled God’s promise to Abraham and brought judgment on the evil people living there. Unfortunately, Israel never finished the job. The Israelites were faithful in accomplishing their mission at first, but their commitment faltered. To love God means more than being enthusiastic about him. We must complete all the work he gives us and apply his instructions to every corner of our lives.

 

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Source: Life Application Study Bible, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1988), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 311-313.

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