The Joshua Series: Message 1
Joshua 1:1-18
By Pastor Brian
Fort Bend Community Church
ENCOUNTER-FOCUS
2015.09.13
Introduction
1. On August 16, 1975, 9 pm, I arrived at Houston with a suitcase and a guitar as a 19 years old young college student. I remember the air was hot, and the cars moved so fast. It was the dawning of a new day for me. I began my life in America 40 years ago.
- An unencumbered mind
- A teachable heart--finding expertise
- Moving cautiously but quickly
- Full steam ahead
2. Last week Jeremy showed you some pictures of the beginning of this church. On June 1, 1997, Sunday, about 280 of us were commissioned at HCC to start a new church plant in Fort Bend. They say that I had a lot more hairs back then. It was the dawning of a new day--FBCC was born.
This was our first pastoral team. Everyone else in this picture has moved on. I remember the excitement of a new church. We wanted to learn. We were open. We worked hard toward our mission. Full steam ahead with reckless abandonment to pay the price.
Every Sunday afternoon we met and passed out the new comer information. We went and visited every one of them, welcoming them to the church. There are people here today whom we had visited. They came to us and said, "I still remember you have visited our home."
We formed small groups. One particular small group became 2, then 3, then 5, then 7... and then 10. We did not know much. We were rookies. We moved cautiously but quickly like a rocket launching toward the sky.
3. That is what Book of Joshua all about. The dawning of the new day in Joshua as the people of Israel entered into the Promised Land and claimed the promises of God.
Chapter 1:1-3
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord,
Under the leadership of Moses, Israel had launched the greatest exodus in the ancient history. 60-100,000 marched out of Egypt and crossed the Red Sea. They got stuck at Kadesh Barnea, because of unbelief. Now 40 years had passed. The older generation had died. Moses died also.
In the first two verses Moses died is mentioned twice. They finally arrived on the eastern bank of Jordan, getting ready to enter into the Promised Land.
the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel."
They got out of Egypt with the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud. It was a successful launch. So much had been accomplished. But now they were wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. They were getting comfortable, getting used to the life in the wilderness. It wasn't bad. You got up in the morning and there were Manna fresh from heaven. In the evening there were quails to pick for meat. And the tabernacle representing the presence of God was with them. When the pillar of fire moved, they moved. When it stopped, you stopped. There was no need to think. Life was comfortable and they were used to it.
Now Moses was died. God said to Joshua, Moses' assistant, "Arise and go over this Jordan into the Land I am giving to the people of Israel."
Out of Egypt, part I was over.
Into Canaan, part II.
It is time for Launch 2.0.
3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory.
The land promised to Abraham and to Moses was restated here.
From the wilderness and all the way up to Lebanon, from the east to the great river Euphrates, including all the land of the Hittites, to the west at the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. It was a huge land, a land of milk and honey, a land of rest and promise. It is God's inheritance given to the people of God.
Now it was time to claim God's promise to occupy the land.
The dawning of a new day! A new page in the history book! The launch 2.0 for the nation.
4. When the launch was fresh, it had so much upward energy and forward energy. A little physic lesson. When the church was first launched 18 years ago, we were excited. We did not know what to expect. We moved cautiously but quickly. We visited people. We shared the Gospel. We had so many new people rising up to the leadership positions to lead.
Then the gravitational force reduces the upward energy; there are many resistance which reduces the forward energy. We lost the momentum, we slowed down, we became comfortable, we were side-tracked with so many things. We became lazy. We lost sight of the possibilities and the promises in God.
It is time for a re-launch. The launch 2.0.
5. Open your eyes to see the new land before you. Israel living the wilderness had never seen the promised land. They thought the manna was good. But the land of milk and honey is even better. They thought quail meat was delicious. But the land of rest according to the Book of Hebrew is other worldly.
It is easy to be satisfied with crossing the Red Sea into the wilderness. It is easy to be satisfied with prosperity and wealth. But forget about that the spiritual blessings in Christ are even better and far more lasting.
6. A few months ago, I preached about the errors in the prosperity Gospel. I said that it is one of the deadliest false Gospel in our time and in our city.
I said that out of love not hatred.
My intention is not that you share it with your friend who goes to a prosperity gospel church to prove him wrong or make her feel dumb. Instead we should be heartbroken.
We don’t need to share another ridiculous thing that happened in a prosperity-preaching church; we need to start sharing the real gospel with people, one on one, patiently explaining why Jesus is better than any promise of earthly prosperity.
It is easy to be satisfied with the wilderness for that is all we can see right now. God's promise of eternal rest in Christ and the abundant life is unseen.
It is time for a re-launch. Launch 2.0. To unlearn and then to learn again. Be the pioneers not the settlers. Don't create and stay in the comfort zone. Don't become consumers. Be the builders. Push the boundaries, take responsibility, and create new value.
There is so much to learn. There is so much to experience. In Christ, there is infinite possibility, unlimited opportunity, and so much new territory to conquer.
7. FBCC needs a re-launch. Launch 2.0.
We were sent here to plant a church. We were launched 18 years ago. We were pioneers. We were builders. But in 18 years, we have created a comfortable zone and have our basic needs met. We use the resources and become consumers.
We need to become hungry again, even desperate. Push the boundaries. And become rookies again with open eyes, receptive hearts with boundless curiosity of what God can do and will do through His promise in Christ.
FBCC needs a re-launch. Launch 2.0. There are 200,000 Chinese in Greater Houston areas. At best, there are only 10,000 who are going to a Christian church on Sunday. 5%. 95% are yet to claim for Jesus Christ. They are not far away. They are our neighbors, they are our friends, and they are living among us. We need to be able to see again. That was why we were sent here to plant this church.
8. You may need a re-launch. Launch 2.0.
Remember when you first became a Christian 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30 years ago? Remember the first time when you came to church as a new Christian? You were excited about God. You were curious. You were humble. You were deliberate, being mindful of what you were doing and why you were doing it.
E.g. Worship singing... The first time when you sang "Amazing Grace", it was so wonderful.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.
Wonderful song. You paid attention to the lyrics. And the tune touched you. God was so close.
When you opened the Bible, you had no notes to rely on. Every Bible story was new to you. You were hooked. Can't wait to know the end of the story. Every passage is fresh to you. Remember the rookie Christian you were.
Now 20 years later, you heard the same story hundreds of times. It lost its touch and meaning. You need a re-launch. Be a perpetual rookie. Even though you know it all already. But it is what you learn after you know it all that counts.
9. In the summer, I read the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. It might be the hundreds of time I read this story. I threw away all my notes and read the story again and again as if I have read it for the first time. The result was amazing. The story came alive to me again. It is what I learned after I know it all that counts.
Last month in August, I had a chance to teach a course in Pastoral Leadership in a West Coast Seminary. I had taught this course for so many times. This time, I decided to throw away all my notes and prepared the class anew as if I was teaching it for the first time. I shifted from a teacher to a learner. I announced my ignorance and dumped my assumptions. I asked questions and researched the answers. Launch 2.0. The result is amazing.
10. You need to consider a re-launch in your spiritual life. God's promise of the abundant life in Christ is so rich and so limitless. You need to become a learner again.
I. We are God's People with a Unique Mission.
1. In verse 2, God said, "Arise and go over this Jordan into the land I am giving you and the people." The verb, "I am giving" you the land is the participle of the verb ntn.
This verb, "give", is used 24 times in Joshua that God gives the land to Israel. God is the one who gives the land. All 24 times is in perfect tense, which show that God's giving of the land was an already-accomplished fact. The whole land described in verse 4 is already given to Israel in its entirety. But in the actual historical reality, Israel has never occupied the entire promised land.
2. This comes to a crucial point. The verb, "give," when it is used in Joshua, it is always in perfect form. The land is given to Israel already. But the participle form of the verb appears 3 times in chapter one (v. 2, 11, 15). It is used to speak of the in-process or yet-to-come nature of the gift of the land. ESV translates them in present continuous tense. "I am giving this land to you." In other words, we have a mission as God's people which is to claim the land. We have our responsibility. God has given the promise to us and we are to get it, to experience it. The promise of rest, the promise of the abundant life, the promise of the presence of God, we have to experience them.
This is our mission--the mission of God's people. Set foot on the promised land. Walk on it. Experience it. Conquer the land. Drive out the enemy. And own the promised land which is already given to us.
3. So be the rookie again. Re-launch your march. Go over Jordan into the land God is giving to you. It is the dawning of a new day.
II. The Mission Requires Us to be obedient, Unified, and Courageous
There are three things that are required if we are to fulfill this mission of God.
1. The courageous spirit--the perpetual rookie
2. The need of obedience
3. The unified team
1. Be courageous.
5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous.
The verb "to be strong" hzq is common in Hebrew. It occurs almost 300 times. But the verb "to be courageous" occurs only 41 times. Both words are actually similar in meaning. It is used as a command from God. Moses exhorted Joshua to be strong and courageous (Deut 31:6, 7, 23). And Joshua exhorted the people of Israel in the same way, "Be strong and courageous" (Josh 10:25). Each time it is accompanied by an assurance that God would be with them.
Courage to do what? It is not talking about the courage to do battle, to fight. Be strong and courageous in obeying the word of God.
2. Be obedience.
7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success[a] wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
The key to the success is not the many battles ahead. The keys were spiritual, directly related to the degree of our obedience to God. The importance of obedience cannot be underestimated. (1) Joshua was to be careful to do it (7a); (2) It was all the law that was to be obeyed (7a). Not selective obedience. (3) Joshua was not to deviate from it even slightly, neither to the right nor to the left. (4) Joshua was to meditate it day and night (v. 8a). (5) Joshua was to object "everything written in the law. This represents something permanent, since it is written down.
That is the key to success and prosperity.
Application:
3. Be united.
1:10-18 Joshua took the command and then he talked to his leaders, "Let's go and move."
11 ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’
Verse 12-15, Joshua talked to the 2.5 tribes who are staying behind at the east side of the Jordan River and told them to be united with the rest of the people. Send their soldiers to fight together with us.
Joshua unified the army. The mission to enter into the promised land requires unity among God's people.
Conclusion
Be what God wants you to be. There is much more in God we can ever dream to experience.
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