GIST: In a world of self-motivational messages, we need to remember courage and true purpose/success come not from within, but from God... period.
Joshua 1:1-9 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, 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. 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. 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, 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 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. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
I don't want to read into the text applications that are not there. However, there are similar passages from the mouth of Jesus:
John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."
Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
John 14:13-16 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. 15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
What is not being said?
Unfortunately, this is how we've been trained to see the world. (Note: I'm not trash talking these books. They're fun stories, but we've embraced their message.)
But, this is not reality.
1. Go do whatever you want and be blessed.
2. Be brave because you're awesome.
3. Everything you want, you get....as long as you work hard enough. Dream big little pig!
What is being said?
1. I am giving you a specific command to be followed. 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.
2. Blessing will come if you follow this command. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. -Interesting, the command is given, but the blessing comes from following it. God didn't say, I'll give you this land, so sit there. No more than Jesus spoke to us in the great commission: "I will be with with you as you choose deliberately not to share the gospel." People might feel that this squelches freedom or comes across as too legalistic. Actually obeying God? That's repressive.--People need to get over this. :D
3. Be brave because of Me. 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. -No man will stand before them because He is standing before them. He will not leave or forsake because He is using Joshua, and promised to be with His people.
4. Bravery and success is connected to knowing and following My Word. It's not you. 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 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.
5. Don't forget me. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." -It's not Joshua's work. It's God's.
How can we apply this?:
At this point the inevitable question that is going to come up is: How can this be applied?
I don't want to end this on a purely abstract point. Go and serve the Lord can sound nice, but effect little. Christianity does not give us a free pass to live boldly in the pursuit of our self-serving desires. Clearly, we are not to be living for ourselves, but are to be living for God. How does that work? Look at His Word. He tells us here that our first priority is Him. That we are to love and serve Him. That we are to be used by Him to serve others, and in doing that should be spreading His word first to our families, and then to those around us...just to give us a big picture perspective. So consider the following:
1. Are your doing things that God has equipped you to do because you know He's equipped you to do them? Or are you doing what is most convenient, or most profitable because that is more important to you?
2. Are you seeking selfish gain, or Godly service? Promotion isn't bad, but it cannot be the purpose of your life.
3. Are you serving your family first, and those around you second? Are you telling them about Jesus?
4. Do you love God? Do you desire to read and know His word? Or is this just something you do on Sunday?
5. And if you are, do you live bravely trusting God's promise to be with you always?
Proverbs 19:21 ESV - "21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand."
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