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Sermons
Take It
With You
Joshua 1:1-9 |
Pastor Howard Chang
January 6, 2002 |
Happy New Year! In our church, with a New
Year comes a new church theme. These next few weeks we will be introducing
this theme in various parts of the ministry. I would like to highlight the
theme and the three sub-themes for just a moment.
If you have your bulletin inserts, one of
them has a diagram. The theme this year is “Rooted and Built Up” from
Colossians 2:6-7:
6 So then, just as you received Christ
Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him,
7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were
taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
The idea is to revisit the basic areas of
our faith. We once received Christ as Lord, and now we must continue to
strengthen the roots and be built up in Him.
The three sub-themes, or basic areas of faith for us to strengthen, are
Diligence in Learning, Life in Worship, and Depth in Fellowship.
Joshua Introduction
I am also beginning a new preaching series in the book of Joshua. Joshua
is a book about new beginnings and the basics of faith. I am personally
drawn to this book because it gives us a glimpse into a new leader and a
new generation people trying to live a godly life in a new land. We, both
young and old, are today’s generation taking on similar responsibilities
in this age God has placed us.
With the knowledge and wisdom gained from their forefathers’ mistakes,
Joshua and the Israelites were charged with taking hold of the promises of
God. Specifically this meant crossing the Jordan River, possessing the
land of Canaan, and distributing its wealth. We too have challenges before
us. We are charged with expanding God’s Kingdom by making disciples. We
are charged with living a holy life in a secular society.
Along the way though, we find ourselves all too human. We will find that
their struggles are our struggles. How do we stay devoted to our God,
enjoying all He has promised and planned for us, while battling both
outward and inward forces that draw us away from Him? Joshua is a good
book for us to strengthen our spiritual roots and build up our lives upon
solid biblical principles.
Today we will start in Joshua 1:1-9. This passage gives us the
introduction to Joshua, but it also teaches us a lesson about Diligence in
Learning.
Worship in Reading
Joshua 1:1-9
1:1 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-to the
Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I
promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon,
and from the great river, the Euphrates-all the Hittite country-to the
Great Sea on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up against you all
the days of your life. 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. Be careful to obey all the law
my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the
left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 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. 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."
Teaching Baseball
This past summer I had the privilege of teaching my daughter my favorite
sport: baseball. I was one of the coaches in Lydia’s T-Ball league and
helped teach a few of the kids how to hit, field, throw and learn the
rules of the game. Playing ball with Lydia brought me back to memories of
my own childhood. Baseball was the first sport I learned to play when I
was eight.
As I reflected on my experience learning
and teaching baseball, I thought of some of the lessons I learned that can
be applied to the Christian walk. First,
1. Spiritual Challenges Come in All Life
Situations. Baseball is a complex sport. I enjoy it because it
presents so many different situations to consider. Some say it is a
thinking person’s sport. As a batter, I will approach hitting differently
based on where base runners are, how many balls and strikes I have, and
what the coach tells me. Fielding is the same way. Every one of the nine
fielders will play the ball hit to them differently based on the
situation.
Joshua and the Israelites had never crossed the Jordan River. In verse 2
the LORD tells Joshua that he and all the people would have to get ready.
What would he face there? Who would he meet? How strong would the enemy
be? On the other side lay an enemy they had never met, temptations they
had never experienced, and challenges in settling in a new land. They
would have to deal with great nations from the north and from the south.
Joshua and each of the Israelites would be faced with personal decisions
each day that would affect their life in their new land.
God had so much promised for the Israelites in the Promised Land. A theme
word in the passage is “give.” God’s heart is to give to His children from
all the goodness of His heart. But they must trust him to receive those
promises. We, too, daily face all kinds of situations. We cannot have a
rule for every situation—rather we learn from our experiences and the
experiences of others. In this way we will begin to see God’s blessing in
all the circumstances of our life.
In baseball, learning from the experiences of others, like a coach, is
essential.
2. Spiritual Success Needs Coaching.
My coaches were all volunteers, but they taught me how to play baseball
for life. I remember learning how to pitch. They taught me how to stand.
They taught me the five steps to a full-wind up pitch. They taught me what
pitch to throw and when. We all have had teachers, parents, and mentors
who have taught us all kinds of skills. Without their help we could not
have reached the levels we have reached.
Moses was this kind of mentor to Joshua. Verse 1 ties the book of Joshua
to the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch or the Torah. We
learn there that Joshua was Moses’ aide. In fact he was the chosen person
to lead the Israelites after Moses’ death. At the end of Deuteronomy, the
writer says this about Moses:
Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew
face to face, 11 who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the LORD
sent him to do in Egypt--to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his
whole land. Deut 34:10-11.
Joshua simply learned from the best how to lead. But more importantly,
Joshua learned from Moses how to follow God. As great as Moses was, he was
still human. Joshua could learn from Moses’ mistakes as well.
After the death of his mentor Joshua had the opportunity to lead the
people. The people now looked to him alone. They would now need to learn
from Joshua the way they learned from Moses. What would Joshua share with
them and teach them? He did not have to come up with anything new—Moses
had written it all down for him already.
Verse 7 says that Moses gave Joshua the Book of the Law to guide him.
3. Spiritual Success takes Practice and Training.
Perhaps one of the greatest helps were the diagrams they drew and
directions they wrote out for me. Even if they weren’t around, I could
practice at home. There are other books on how to play baseball and how to
think through different situations. I learned in the book how to read the
spin on a curveball and how to time hitting it. Unfortunately, when I went
out to the field I struck out repeatedly until I had practiced enough
times. I also had to work at fielding, throwing and pitching. It all took
time and effort.
To become successful at any skill, we must practice them until they are
automatic. This is true with reacting to everyday situations.
Joshua was not given a book on how to pitch, but he was given words that
would guide his life with God. Another theme in this passage is how the
Israelites would be prosperous and successful in their new conquered land.
Verses 7 and 8 tell us the secret to their success
Josh 1:7-8
7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant
Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you
may be successful wherever you go. 8 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.
The lesson in these verses is that The
people of God can receive what God has promised by keeping His Word before
them. Joshua had what Moses wrote. We now have the account of Joshua and
the rest of the Bible before us to guide and inform us.
The difficulty is how to keep God’s Word in the forefront of our minds.
That’s where diligence in learning comes in. Let’s look at three steps we
can take to diligently learn God’s Word:
1. Sharing (Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your
mouth…)
Verse 8 begins with the clause, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart
from your mouth…” We can picture the command as always keeping God’s Word
in your mouth. When I would memorize material for finals I would mutter to
myself. The material was in my mouth.
Another way to keep the Word in our mouth is to share it with others. We
know if we have learned something if we can verbalize what we have
learned. This can take the form of teaching, or it can take the form of
personal sharing and testimonies. This week a couple asked me how to get
more out of their Bible reading. I told them to write down what they read
in a sentence or two, and then share what they wrote down to each other.
Before we teach or share, we need to do what? We need to reflect on the
material ourselves.
2. Reflecting (…Meditate on it day and night…)
The next phrase in verse 8 says …Meditate on it day and night…
I know how many of us read the Bible. We are lazy readers. We have the
chapter or passage before us, read it, and leave it. Any of us could read
the book of Acts in a sitting—I am sure some of you are fast readers and
could get through it in less than 30 minutes. But the point is not to just
read the words—it is to reflect and meditate on the meaning the words are
trying to convey. It is to have a conversation with the Biblical writers
and with God Himself. If we have a question, to ask it. If we have a
comment, to mention it.
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Psalm 1:1-2 also gives us an exhortation on how to read the Word of God:
Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3. Applying (…so that you may be careful to do everything written
in it.)
When we meditate and reflect on the Scriptures, this is not for just
intellectual gymnastics or for theoretical speculation. The next part of
verse 8 brings our learning from the abstract to the practical, from words
to actions. Verse 8 finishes with…so that you may be careful to do
everything written in it.
This is where Depth in Fellowship will help us. When it comes to applying
what we have learned we need brothers and sisters in Christ to keep us
accountable. We need them to affirm what we have learned, and then remind
us over and again. We need them to pray for us as well.
Result/Conclusion:
We stand at a unique time in history. The Bible is written and here for us
to Read, Share, Reflect, and Obey. With the Word of God guiding us, God
only truly knows where we might go. Wherever God takes us—to our schools,
to our workplaces, on our vacations, even to the ends of the earth, we
need to Take The Word Of God With Us. Not just carry a book around with
us, but take it with us in our heart. Then we can, as God tells Joshua
before entering the Promised Land, be successful in all God has planned
for us.
There is a Bible memory verse in the bulletin this week. I will put a
verse in every week for us to learn from. Let’s all read these two verses
together. The plan is not just to memorize the verses, but also to read
the passages around the verses. Write down in one or two sentences what
you have learned from the passages. And share with your spouses, children,
and fellowships.
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