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JOSHUA: the LORD IS SALVATION Joshua’S Call Joshua 1:1-18 Layne Lebo June 12, 2016

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JOSHUA: THE LORD IS SALVATION Joshua’s Call Joshua 1:1-18 Layne Lebo June 12, 2016 Today, we’re beginning our summer sermon series that will carry us through the end of August. Summer tends to be a very disjointed time at McBIC. People’s travel and vacation schedules, along with our church scaling back on some of our normal activities make it a challenge to stay connected during summer. Personally, I’m in the midst of a 5-week stretch where between vacation and some business trips I I’ll be spending time in North Carolina, Nashville, Kansas and Orlando. Realizing how disjointed things can get in June, July and August, we typically preach a summer-long series on a book of the Bible. That way, in the midst of people coming and going and a variety of people preaching, we have the constant of staying in one book of the Bible. To help you stay connected we’ve put together a simple bookmark that lists scriptures you can read whether you’re at home or on vacation that keep you in step with the passages we’re preaching on this summer. This summer we’ll be walking through the Old Testament Book of Joshua. Joshua is the 6th book in the Bible—coming immediately after the books known as the Pentateuch or the Law. Bible scholars aren’t sure who the author of Joshua is. It appears that parts of the book were written by Joshua himself, but other portions were likely passed along through generations of Jewish people as oral history. Joshua was written so that generations of Israelites and later all of God’s people—including us—might be reminded of the work of God in history. The Book of Joshua records the story of God’s people entering the Promised Land, beginning the process of conquering and settling the land and establishing themselves as God’s covenant nation. The events recorded in Joshua are believed to have occurred 3,000-3,500 years ago during a time known as, “The Late Bronze Age.” A question some of you may be asking is, “Why are we studying Joshua?” It’s a great question. Why are we taking 3 months to study events that took place over 3 millennia ago? The general answer is, “Because Joshua is in the Bible and we believe that God’s Word is inspired by Him.” In 2 Timothy 3:16 we read, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for 1 teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man or woman of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” That statement applies to all of Scripture, but let me share with you why I’m excited about preaching through Joshua this summer. The seeds for preaching Joshua were planted in my mind last summer when we walked through the Book of Exodus. We titled that series, “God Provides,” because through everything that’s recorded in Exodus we see God providing for his people. Our staff and I loved preaching on Exodus and you all responded so well to its message. You seemed to resonate with the connections between what God did in the lives of his people as they travelled through the desert en route to the Promised Land and our lives today. As I studied and preached last summer, I felt compelled to continue exploring the story of God leading his people into the Promised Land. Another reason that we’re preaching on Joshua this summer is that the major themes in Joshua are essential to us as the people of God today. Faith, courage, holiness and the nature of God are just a few of the themes that quickly come to mind. Are any of those pertinent to us and to our lives? Joshua teaches us what God expects from his people and it gives us a clear picture of who God is. The connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament and our lives is seen in Joshua’s name. Joshua is derived from the Hebrew name Yehoshua, which means, “The Lord is salvation.” And it’s the same root as the name Jesus. Joshua and Jesus in their name and through their lives proclaimed the message, “The Lord is salvation.” Finally, I’m excited to preach on Joshua, because Joshua ( and much of the Old Testament) reinforces the truth that God is active in history. We tend to divide history and life into secular and sacred categories. We act as if God cares about certain aspects of our lives and that He’s not so concerned with others. For God’s people—the Jews—there was no such thing as “sacred” and “secular” aspects of life. God was in and through all of it. Everything that happened, occurred in a world where God was active. In his introduction to Joshua, Eugene Peterson writes, “History is the medium in which God works salvation, just as paint and canvas is the medium in which Rembrandt created works of art.” There is no secular and sacred, God works salvation in and through all of history and in every aspect of our lives. 2 I want us to look briefly at who this guy Joshua was, because we’ll be tracking with him over the next 3 months. Who was Joshua? Joshua was Moses’ right hand man during the Israelites 40-year trek across the desert. He was the general of the Israelite army. We’re first introduced to him in Exodus chapter 17 when Moses sends him into battle against the Amalekites. In chapter 24 Joshua accompanies Moses up Mount Sinai to meet with God. After meeting with God, Joshua goes down from the mountain at Moses’ instruction to check on the people and finds them making the Golden Calf. In Exodus 33 Joshua is with Moses at the Tent of Meeting and we read that Joshua stayed in God’s presence at the tent even after Moses left to talk with the people. Joshua was also chosen as one of the 12 spies who went into the land of Canaan to scout it out prior to the Israelites’ entry. He and Caleb were the only two to come back with a faith-filled perspective, while the other 10 brought a report of doom and gloom. As a result, Joshua and Caleb alone among all of the adult Israelites made it through the 40-year wandering and were permitted by God to enter the Promised Land. And then when Moses was preparing to die, God called Joshua to be Moses’ successor. Part of the strength of Joshua’s leadership was that he served as a bridge between Moses and the generation of Israelites in Egypt and the new generation of people entering the Promised Land. Joshua had experienced Israel’s slavery in Egypt and their wandering in the desert and now he would lead God’s people into the Promised Land. My prayer is that as we walk through this series this summer we’ll grow in holiness (as people set apart for God), in faith and in courage, as we see how God worked in Joshua’s life and in the lives of the people of Israel. I pray that we’ll be reminded of the truth: “THE LORD IS SALVATION!” I’d like you to pray with me as I ask God to open our hearts that we might receive his truth as we begin our study of Joshua. I invite you to follow along as I read Joshua chapter 1 verses 1-11 and 16-18. In verses 12-15 Joshua addresses some tribes who wanted to claim land outside of the Promised Land. After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “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. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 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. No one will be able to 3 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. “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 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. 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. 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.” So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.’” Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.
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