Joshua 1:1-11, 2:1-24 “BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS!” 9-10-17 A few months ago I read an article in the USA Today that caught my attention because it was about what would happen if you didn’t brush your teeth for one year. I thought, that’s a weird article, who writes things like this? And the long and short of it is you’ll probably lose your teeth and you’ll get gum disease. Food particles would stick around – meaning the taste of salmon from Saturday dinner would mingle with Sunday brush. Morning breath would be a constant (like dog’s breath) and get worse. You’re not going to have a lot of friends. But more than that, by neglecting the simple task of brushing your teeth daily, it would whack your immune system to the point where it could cause respiratory disease, and even accentuate heart disease. The children of Israel neglected the most basic exercise of trusting in God’s promises and the book of Joshua is all about a land and a people. God promised them a land that they would occupy, it would be a gift to them – they had to go in and walk through it and take it – but it was a promise. But because they neglected to do it, they turned what should have been an eleven day march into a 40 day meander. They went from being worshippers to wanderers. During those 40 years of wandering in what some refer to it as the longest funeral march in history because of you think of an entire generation (1.2 million) died! That would average out to about 85 funerals a day. However, we’re going to see God’s faithfulness: 1. ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT GOD IS HIS STUBBORN LOVE. What am I referring to? Previously in Deuteronomy chapter six, Moses told the new generation who was now going to cross over that God was bringing them out (of Egypt) to bring them in. God’s love was committed for them and for us. God always finishes was He starts – He’s not done with you and me yet – He is the author and the finisher of our faith. As we get into this book we’re going to discover: Chapters 1-5: entering the land. Chapters 6-12: conquering the land. And Chapters 13-24 distributing the land. This book is a very practical book – it isn’t outdated – it is one of the most relevant books you’ll ever find on how to live faith boldly, confidently and courageously! But there is one problem: Some commentators incorrectly spiritualize the crossing the Jordan River as being a type of death while entering the land of Canaan is a type of heaven. I bring it up because if you go back to old hymns, songs or spirituals, one familiar one is: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. Swing low, sweet chariot, Coming for to carry me home. Swing low, sweet chariot, Coming for to carry me home. I looked over Jordan, what do I see, Coming for to carry me home. A band of angels coming after me, Coming for to carry me home. But if Canaan represents dying and going to heaven, you’re going to be very disappointed because as you read through the book of Joshua, there’s a lot of fighting, failure, conquering, trouble and judgment going on before they occupy the land. I don’t picture heaven like that. Do you? In the book of Philippians, Paul said: “I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.” I’m looking for something far better than putting up a fight with somebody. So what does it represent? NOT HEAVEN! It represents your Christian life, right now! The Bible says that when Moses brought them through the Red Sea, even though they didn’t get wet, they were baptized by going through it. Joshua will take them to a second baptism where they’ll cross over the Jordan River into this promised land. Moses couldn’t bring them all the way into the Land, only Jesus could, only Joshua could. I didn’t mess up because did you know that Jesus is the name of Joshua in the New Testament? It’s the same name. Don’t you find it interesting that there’s a book in the Bible named after your Savior? The name Joshua is the English version of Yeshua –Hebrew. And that was Jesus’ name growing up! Yeshua, originally was Hoshea which means deliverer or one who delivers. Moses renamed him and called him Yahshua. Joshua is the shortened for of Yahshua which means God is the deliverer or God saves! As we get to verse one of Joshua one we read: After the death of Moses, the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aid: 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.” What we see in this verse is: 2. GOD BURIES HIS WORKMEN, BUT HIS WORK GOES ON. Think about people in your life who had a strong courageous faith – they’ve died but now through the power of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit, you’re carrying on the work! What God is saying is: Moses is dead, you’ve mourned enough (30 days of mourning was customary), now it’s time to get moving to cross the Jordan River. I’ve stood at many graves of strong men and women of God but When He buries one of His workers, He raises up new ones. Depending on which translation of the Bible you look at, Joshua is referred to as Moses’ assistant or aide which prepared him to take over. In verse 3 details are given as to the territory the Lord was giving them and if we looked at a map, we’d see that He was promising them 300,000 square miles. At their peak under King David, the Israelites only took 1/10th – 30,000. Isn’t that interesting? They never occupied Iraq or Syria up to Lebanon. Why didn’t they go further? God told them it was all theirs – it was a gift but they didn’t open the entire gift. If you give a gift at Christmas time to someone and they just admire the outside of it – how the gift is wrapped but do not open it up, what good is the gift? You’ll wonder if they even appreciate it. So if God gives you a lot of land and you only walk on a little portion of it, you’re not grabbing hold of His promise. How much of the promises of God do you take hold of? In verse 6 the Lord goes on to say: “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the Land I swore to their forefathers to give them.” Look at the power of this promise. He gives the same promise to us. Do you remember in the sermon on the Mount where Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air. They don’t toil, they don’t worry yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than these?” don’t get the wrong picture: if you’re picturing a bird just sitting on a branch opening its beak toward heaven waiting for God just to drop a little worm in, that’s not it. Ever watch a bird in a tree? They’re chirping away, they’re busy, they’re looking and gathering things, they’re building a nest, they’re getting food for their young. They’re hard working but they’re not worried. Ever see a worried bird with it’s beak buried in its claws or scratching it’s feathered forehead wondering how it’s going to pay the rent on the nest at the end of the week? No, God takes care of them and He promises to take care of us. Now we get to verse 8 where He refers four times to the power of God’s Word. God commands Joshua to stay immersed because the Word was to be: Permanent - “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth” Pervasive – “meditate on it day and night,” Purposeful – “so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.” Powerful - “Then you will be prosperous and successful.” The Lord wants this from us today, too. I want to emphasize the word “meditate” – it literally means the low moaning of an animal when they’re chewing their food, especially animals that chew their cud. They swallow and they bring it back up again to get a little more nutrients, and they regurgitate it and they chew a little more. They’re getting every bit of nourishment they can from that food. That’s the idea of meditation. If you’ve ever been to Israel, you will notice men praying at the Western Wall: they’ll move back and forth and be praying, muttering, moaning to themselves – that’s how they meditate. How much do you chew on the Word of the God throughout your day? In verse 10 Joshua gives the commands to the officers to get ready to cross over – he leaves no room for doubt. And did you notice that they would cross over in three days? It’s an O.T.