Study 3: Joshua 1: 10-18

In "Study 3: Joshua 1:10-18," Trent addresses Joshua's first major act as Israel's leader, emphasizing immediate obedience to God's command. Joshua's delegation to officers demonstrates his leadership in action, readying the Israelites to cross the Jordan and claim the Promised Land. The sermon delves into the importance of collective faith and preparedness, contrasting Joshua's decisive leadership with the hesitant tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. Their initial reluctance to fully commit to God's plan highlights challenges within communal faith journeys. Trent explores the transformative power of obedience, the significance of personal and collective commitment to God's directions, and the eventual unity and support among the tribes for Joshua's leadership. This unity, underpinned by a mutual commitment to "be strong and courageous," encapsulates the sermon's call to trust and act upon God's promises, emphasizing the role of faith in overcoming obstacles and inheriting God's promises.

Scripture References

Joshua's Leadership and Obedience:

• Joshua 1:10-11: Joshua commands the officers to prepare the people for crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land.

• Numbers 32: Discusses the request of the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh to settle east of the Jordan and their commitment to help their brethren conquer the land west of the Jordan.

• Deuteronomy 3:18-20: Moses reminds the two and a half tribes of their obligation to help the rest of Israel.

The Call to Be Strong and Courageous:

• Joshua 1:6-9: God's charge to Joshua to be strong and courageous, laying the foundation for the sermon's theme of courage and leadership.

• 1 Corinthians 16:13: Echoes the call to be on guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, and be strong.

Collective Faith and Preparedness:

• Hebrews 11: The "faith chapter" provides context for the sermon's emphasis on collective faith and obedience.

• Ephesians 6:10-18: Describes the armor of God, highlighting preparedness and collective spiritual readiness.

Contrast Between Joshua's Leadership and the Hesitant Tribes:

• Numbers 32: Offers detailed background on the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh's request to stay east of the Jordan.

• Joshua 22: Details the return of these tribes to their land after helping conquer the Promised Land, tying back to their initial commitment.

The Significance of Personal and Collective Commitment:

• Proverbs 3:5-6: Encourages trust in the Lord and not leaning on one’s own understanding, relevant to the sermon’s theme of commitment and obedience.

• Matthew 15:7-8; Isaiah 29:13: Jesus quotes Isaiah, addressing the theme of honoring God with lips while hearts are far from Him, related to the sermon's discussion on genuine commitment.

Legacy of Obedience and the Impact of Choices:

• Exodus 20:5-6: Discusses the consequences of the fathers' sins on their children, contrasting with showing love to thousands of those who love Him and keep His commandments.

• Hebrews 12:1-2: Encourages running the race set before us with perseverance, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

Reflection Questions

Leadership and Obedience: Reflect on Joshua's immediate response to God's command in Joshua 1:10-11. How does this prompt you to consider your own obedience to God's directions in your life? Are there areas where God is calling you to act promptly, yet you hesitate?

Strength and Courage in Faith: Considering the repeated command to Joshua to be strong and courageous, how does this resonate with your current life challenges? Where do you need to claim God’s promise of strength and courage in your own journey?

The Importance of Collective Commitment: Reflect on the significance of the collective action of the tribes, including the hesitant ones like Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. How does this speak to the importance of unity and support within your faith community or family in pursuing God's plans?

Personal Commitment vs. Hesitation: The hesitant tribes initially sought to settle on the east side of the Jordan. How does their story challenge you to examine your own spiritual commitments? Are there areas where you're settling for less than what God has for you because of fear or comfort?

The Legacy of Choices: The sermon touches on the generational impact of the choices made by the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. Reflect on the long-term effects your spiritual decisions might have on your family or community. How does this perspective influence your actions and decisions today?

Hebrew Word Study

Command (צווה - Tsavah)

• Study Focus: Explore the Hebrew word צווה (Tsavah), which is translated as "command" or "order" in Joshua 1:10-11, where Joshua commands the officers regarding preparations to cross the Jordan. Investigate how this term is used throughout the Hebrew Bible to convey authority, responsibility, and divine instruction. Consider how understanding the depth of "Tsavah" can impact our perception of God's commands in our lives and our response to His authority.

• Reflection Question: How does recognizing the weight and authority behind God's commands (צווה - Tsavah) influence your willingness to obey and act upon His directions?
  

Courage (חזק - Chazak)

• Study Focus: The word חזק (Chazak), often translated as "be strong" or "courageous," is a key theme in Joshua 1, repeated to Joshua by God. This study would involve examining the occurrences of חזק in Scripture, its implications for Joshua, and its broader message about the nature of biblical courage and strength. Analyze how "Chazak" encompasses more than physical might, including spiritual fortitude, moral integrity, and steadfastness in faith.

• Reflection Question: In what areas of your life do you need to apply חזק (Chazak), and how can understanding this concept of courage and strength help you face challenges with faith?
  

Rest (נוח - Nuach)

• Study Focus: While not directly mentioned in Joshua 1:10-18, the concept of "rest" (נוח - Nuach) is an underlying theme, as the Israelites prepare to enter the Promised Land, a place where God promises them rest from their enemies. Study "Nuach" to understand its significance in the context of the Israelites' journey and its relevance for believers today as a promise of spiritual rest and peace in God amidst life's battles.

• Reflection Question: Reflecting on the promise of "rest" (נוח - Nuach) in God, how does this promise affect your perspective on spiritual warfare, challenges, and the pursuit of God’s promises?

Biblical Exegesis Opportunities

The Dynamics of Leadership Transition from Moses to Joshua

• Focus Scripture: Joshua 1:10-11, alongside Numbers 27:15-23 and Deuteronomy 34:9.

  • Opportunity: Examine the leadership transition from Moses to Joshua, focusing on how authority and responsibility are transferred within the context of divine mission. Analyze the preparation of Joshua under Moses, the impartation of the spirit of wisdom, and the significance of God's command for Joshua to be strong and courageous. Consider how this transition models the equipping and sending of leaders within our church body.

  • Reflection Question: How does the biblical model of leadership transition inform the way leadership is passed on and received within our church body?

The Role of Collective Obedience and Preparation

• Focus Scripture: Joshua 1:10-18.

  • Opportunity: Investigate the command for collective action and preparation as the Israelites stand on the brink of entering the Promised Land. Explore the significance of communal obedience to divine instructions in achieving God’s purposes. Study how Joshua's immediate obedience and the people's preparedness reflect on the broader theme of faith in action within the biblical narrative.

  • Reflection Question: In what ways does the concept of collective obedience and preparation challenge and encourage your community of faith today, especially in pursuing common goals or missions?

The Importance of Encouragement and Assurance in Leadership

• Focus Scripture: Joshua 1:16-18, with a comparison to Numbers 32 and Deuteronomy 3:18-20.

  • Opportunity: Delve into the assurance and encouragement provided by the people to Joshua, particularly their commitment to follow his leadership as they followed Moses, conditional upon Joshua's faithfulness to God. Analyze the dynamics of encouragement within leadership, the expectations placed on leaders, and the mutual responsibility between leaders and followers in the context of the church body?

  • Reflection Question: How do the principles of encouragement and assurance in leadership observed in Joshua 1 impact your understanding of leadership and followership within your own spiritual journey and community interactions?

Podcast Transcript

Study 3: Joshua 1: 10-18: Trent Evans

⏰Fri, 03/22 11:13AM · 53mins

Welcome to the Driven Church. As you guys know, we're in the Book of Joshua. We're studying through the Book of Joshua. And we've yet to make it very far in the first two weeks, have we? We've gotten through nine verses, so we still have twenty -three and a half chapters to go.

So, we've got a long road ahead of us. But there's some really, really powerful stuff in the Book of Joshua. I think it's going to be to the benefit of myself in studying and preparing, and to the benefit of you as well, to hear God's Word and to study God's Word with me and with one another as we go through the scripture, okay?

Today, we're going to be looking at verses ten through eighteen; I believe it is. And so, turn with me to Joshua chapter one. We'll start on verse ten. Now, I will say, and you guys already know this, that in Joshua, in the first chapter, what we're actually looking at is this transition moment between Moses being the leader of the nation of Israel and Joshua becoming the shepherd of the nation of Israel.

And so, through those first nine verses, what we witnessed, we were allowed, if you'll allow me to use the term, we were allowed to eavesdrop on a conversation between God and Joshua. So, that conversation was taking place.

It was documented, so we got to read it, the transcript of that conversation. And where we find ourselves today is Joshua's first response to that conversation that he had had with God. Now, the incredible thing about it, you remember what God continued to say to Joshua.

He kept saying to him, reiterating to him, to be strong and courageous and not to be afraid and not to be discouraged, right? Because he's about to undertake a monumental task in leading the nation forward after the death of Moses.

Now, you guys know, because we talked about it last week, we kind of elaborated on it last week, we talked about the Old Testament's written in Hebrew, New Testament in Greek, and then the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint.

We kind of touched on that, and that's one of the things we'll need to kind of remember as we make reference to certain things as we move forward. But, in reference to last week, when he said for Joshua to be strong, we understand that to mean to man up or to mature up, to play the part of the leader.

And when he said for him not to be afraid, the word afraid literally carries with it the connotation of one who is shrinking down. So God was telling him to man up, to grow up, to rise up, to stand up, and not to shrink down, which is just the opposite of manning up.

And we spoke about the fact that we cannot have this deviation in our minds, in our spirits, where we can be a split person, multiple spiritual personalities to the degree that in one phase of our life we're finding courage, in another phase of our life we're shrinking down.

You know what I'm talking about? We have to be sound and sure about what we're doing and what God is saying to us. All right? And so God is saying this now to Joshua to be enormously courageous. This is about to happen.

And now we're going to look at this first, and we're going to start reading Joshua's response, and we're just going to kind of unpack this. Everybody good? Everybody knows where we're at? We're moving forward now.

All right? Back on track, right? The wheels are back on track. Now, we're making progress forward. Joshua, chapter 1, verse 10, let's pray first. Let's do that, okay? Father, in Jesus' name, the very words I read are Your words.

They're not my words. And the very words we're going to share, Lord, are Your words. And so Lord, what we want to do as Your servant this morning is we want to handle Your word correctly, rightfully, dividing it, understanding it, sharing it, consuming it.

We want to be found faithful in handling Your word this morning. Protect Your people, protect Your people, Lord, from the flaws of a mere man who may misunderstand something. I pray, Lord, that You would protect their hearts and their minds if that be the case.

But what I ask above and beyond even that, Lord, is that You would protect me from harming Your word, that You would guard Your word even from me, that I might handle it rightfully. We're all gonna be subject to the things that we say, the way we interpret, the way that we share, the way that we live.

And so Father, this isn't one of those moments that is exempt of your scrutiny of how your word is handled. And so Lord, we pray that you would do that even now for your sons and daughters and your sons and daughters in the name of Jesus says, amen, amen.

All right, you guys can follow on the screens if you don't have your Bible with you. If you do, come with me. Joshua chapter one. So this is what the scripture says. So Joshua ordered the officers of the people go through the camp and tell the people, get your provisions ready.

Three days from now, you will cross the Jordan here. 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. Now, when he says right off the bat, I want you to understand this.

When he says, so Joshua ordered the officers of the people, these were men commanded under Joshua to the respected tribes as representatives per se. You're remembering the scripture where God tells Moses, man, to divvy up the responsibility amongst the people, tens and fifties and hundreds and thousands.

These are some of those officers that were serving under Moses, and I'll serve under Joshua to disseminate to the masses the direction of God because one man could not do that, and we'll touch on that.

So, I want you to understand what is taking place right here. And he says this, go through the camp and tell the people. So he's delegating this responsibility to these officers to go throughout this camp and to tell the people.

Understand, we're talking two million at least, and that's on a very conservative number. It could be as many as three or four million. So you understand at this moment that he has to delegate this. It isn't as though Joshua could gather two million people on the short side of the number and speak to two million people.

That was an impossibility. So you understand the need to be able to relinquish some of that responsibility to these officers for them then to go out and to disseminate this amongst the people. Now the incredible thing about it is that these officers probably had officers under them.

So this information was being passed along so that no one would be left out. Everyone is getting the message that God has given Joshua now that Joshua is giving them, right? No one's left out of what God is saying.

And so in this moment, in this moment, Joshua immediately, immediately acts upon what God has said. And so he literally, he doesn't hold this. He didn't, well, let me think about how I am to handle this, what I need to do to try to get this out there.

Immediately, he gathers these officers and he gives them this information. And in this moment, what you begin to see right out of the gate is Joshua being strong and being courageous, being a leader, right?

Right, I mean, right here, right out of the gate. And this is what the scripture says. Go through the cab and tell the people what? Get your provisions ready. Now, listen, if you're Joshua and you're transitioning, and man, you've got to step into these large shoes of Moses and you know, no matter how hard you try, man, these shoes just aren't gonna fit, right?

I mean, that's a difficult place. At some point, you've got to realize I've got to get my own shoes of leadership on, right? Listen, every once in a while, like every day, I take out the garbage at the house, right?

Well, right there at the door, there's a couple pair of Crocs. Anybody here wear Crocs? I know they're outdated, they're like lazy man shoes. Anybody got Crocs? Or I'll take it back, they're smart man shoes.

Anybody got Crocs? All right, all right, well, just so happens that Clark and I have the exact same color, Crocs, black. Right, they make my feet look skinny, so I wear them. All right, so every once in a while, Gus, I'll go through there and I'll be taking out the trash and I'll look down and I'll sleep on a pair of Crocs.

And I'll sleep on the wrong pair of crocs. Well, I'm busting out a strong nine in my shoes, right? Clark's busting out a strong 12 and a half or whatever it might be. And you think, not only are your shoes skinny, but your eyes are blind.

How can you not see that? But it doesn't take long before I realize I'm not even off the porch, man. I'm just barely exiting the doorway. And I realize, man, I've got the wrong shoes on. And if I want to any level traverse those steps, traverse the drive and get my garbage to the correct location, the first thing I need to do is get the right shoes on, man.

And so here is Joshua having to fill these shoes of Moses, but at some point he's got to become himself in God and not try to be Moses. You and I need to, in our lives at some point, realize that God has called you.

Why, oh, you, you. He hasn't called you to be me. Praise God for that. And he hasn't called me to be you, right? And somewhere we have to become comfortable in the identity that God has given us, the call that he's placed on our life, and to walk in that well fitted, right?

Because you know what happens if I were to happen to wear crocs like clarks for too long? If I were to try to wear those things and walk for my, you know what ends up happening? How about some blisters?

How about some discomfort? You know why that is? It's because I'm wearing shoes that don't belong to me. And so when we, spiritually speaking, try to wear the shoes that belong to another person, what ends up happening, man, is we end up calloused, blistered, uncomfortable, typically not accomplishing what we should be doing.

He says, the scripture says, get your provisions ready. Now, if you're Joshua, he says this, because in three days, man, you're about to make this move. Now, getting your provisions ready is almost a demonstration, an illustration in your lives of your confidence in what God has said.

For example, when the word goes out to the people, get your provisions ready, the individuals that respond immediately by getting their provisions ready are individuals who are in stride with a purpose and intent of God of crossing the Jordan in three days.

Do you understand what I'm saying? They are literally, by getting their provisions ready, they are literally saying, it's time to move, I'm all in. Now, do you think everyone in the nation got their provisions ready on day one?

If you know the church, you know it's not true. There were some probably gathering provisions late into day one, some early, some early into day two, some late into day two, some early into day three, some late into day three.

But the window of time was three days, and it doesn't really make any difference to me whether you get it in one day, two days, or three days. If God's allotted those three days for time of preparation, you need to have your preparations, your provisions ready by that third day, because it's moving time.

And whenever we respond to God like that, we are saying, I'm with God's purpose. It's kind of like the old allegory that I had heard told, where the preacher and his church was in a vast famine and a drought and whatnot.

And so he had called the whole community together, the entire church together, and they were gonna have a prayer service. You guys have heard this. They were gonna have a prayer service for God to break through the drought and for rain to fall.

They said as hundreds of people begin to gather in the church to pray for rain, the pastor begin to recognize that there were a handful of people who had brought umbrellas into the church. And so upon embracing the course of prayer, he stops the entire gathering and asked everyone without umbrellas to go home.

And he said, I want only those who anticipated rain, only those who thought enough to bring umbrellas, I only want those people praying because these people are expecting rain. And so you can imagine as the confidence in Joshua begins to rise, I can only imagine as people begin to get provisions ready, you begin to see it.

You can experience, you know how this works. He says three days from now, you will cross the Jordan here. to go in. He designates this area in which they're going to cross the Jordan. And during the harvest time, that area right there is at flood stage, and that's the time that it was.

The Jordan is at flood stage. It is the widest, the deepest, and the strongest the currents will ever be in the Jordan is during flood stage. And what Joshua says to them is I know circumstances aren't going to be favorable.

I understand the Jordan is at flood stage, but this is the place that God has called us to cross the Jordan. We're crossing here, is what he said, in the deepest, widest, and strongest of opposition in the water.

Why is that? Because none of that matters to God. It's only strong, deep, and wide to us. It isn't too strong, too deep, or too wide for God. And so he tells them, I know it's not advantageous. I know it's not, but this is where we're crossing.

And this is what he says. He says three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land, and is a coordinated conjunction, right? It's used to connect words of the same part of speech, clauses, or sentences, basically that are to be taken together.

I know he said, oh, okay, let's get out of English 101. Let's get back to the scripture. So when he says, and the reading of that scripture should and could sound exactly like this, the sentence could read, you will cross the Jordan, and you will take possession of the land.

That's pretty resolved, is it not? That is a resolved statement that Joshua is making. All possibility of failure has escaped the heart and mind of Joshua. This is an absolute resolve. This will be accomplished.

Well, why is that? Why is that? It's in the next verse. And this is what the scripture says: you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land. Listen, this is the reason for the resolve of Joshua.

The Lord your God is giving you, is giving you for your own. He's literally saying this isn't something that we're going to have to manipulate, scheme, or work out on our own. This is something that God is going to do.

He's basically saying the reason my resolve is what it is, I recognize that it's God doing the heavy lifting. Who's doing the heavy lifting in your life? When you reach those places, the widest places, the deepest places, the strongest places of adversity, opposition, who's doing the heavy lifting?

Why is it so deep? Why is it so wide? Why is it so strong? Could it very well be that you're trying to do the heavy lifting yourself? How many of you have tried to do heavy lifting like this? Spiritual heavy lifting only to realize it's beyond your strength to do.

And God, as his sons and daughters in his kingdom, God desires to do the heavy lifting in your life, and he desires to do the heavy lifting in my life. And Joshua recognizes this, then all of a sudden things shift drastically.

Now if you're just reading through Joshua chapter one, you don't get this. You've probably read this, I heard a gentleman in my small group tell me tonight, he said, Trent, I'm already in chapter five.

He's going to hold my feet to the fire. He says, I'm reading ahead of you, I'm going to catch you. Boy, you better get it right up or I'll call you out right in front of everybody. That's probably what he was thinking.

But I'm telling you man, when we read through the scripture, there's times that we don't understand something. So we just kind of depart from it. But that's not what's happening here. There is something, something so significant happening in this portion of the scripture that you and I need to know.

So we're going to dig into it. And this is what the scripture says. Now remember, this is still Joshua speaking to the officers because now he says this is what you're the commander when he goes through the camp.

But, so this isn't Joshua all of a sudden getting a audience with the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh, which would account for probably three, 400 ,000 people. That's not what happens here.

When he says, but he's still in communication with the officers who are disseminating this information. And this is what he says, but to the Reubenites. the Gadites and a half tribe of Manasseh. Now the half tribe of Manasseh, we know who that is, right?

Remember the Levites aren't given a tribe, they're the servants of God. Joseph's tribe is then split between Ephraim and Manasseh, his two sons who were basically adopted by Jacob, right? So we lose one tribe of Levi, we gain it back with Ephraim and then we get the other tribe, Joseph and Manasseh.

So you still have 12 at this moment. Joshua said, now check this out, remember the command that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave after he said the Lord your God will give you rest by giving you this land?

Man, this thing's about to get crazy and we don't even know it's crazy. We have no idea it's crazy because we're just reading through it. This thing is set up crazy. Listen, so Joshua, I'm gonna preface all this, listen, so Joshua ordered the officers of the people, go through the camp, tell the people, get your provisions ready.

Three days from now you will cross to Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land and the Lord your God has given you for your own. But to the Reubenites, to the Gadites, the half tribe of Manasseh, and Joshua said, what?

Remember the command that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you. Why would he say something different to them? I'm gonna tell you why. The nation wasn't solid, man. We had a group of people within the nation that were about to tap out.

As a matter of fact, they had already made provisions to tap out, had already come into an agreement, had been given some level of leniency based upon their own desires to tap out even though it would cost them in the long run.

Did you know this? Did you know this took place? It's described in Numbers chapter 32. Listen to what it says. The Reubenites and Gadites who had very large herds and flocks saw that the land of Jazir and Gilead were suitable for livestock.

So they came to Moses and Eliezer the priest, that's to be an errant son, and to the leaders of the community and said to Adirav, Dibban, Jazer, Nimrath, these are all places, Hishban, Elahaleh, Simbam, Nebo, and beyond, the land the Lord subdued before the people of Israel, they said this, they said all of this land are suitable for livestock.

And your servants have livestock. That's what they said. They said, hey, I know the Jordan's over there, the promise is over there, but hey, we're livestock people. And man, this ground over here, man, it is fertile and it's green, it's advantageous for our livestock.

Reasoning amongst themselves, you know what it's Proverbs 3, 5 said, trust in the Lord with all your heart, right? And lean not unto your own understanding, acknowledge him, what? In all your ways, and he shall direct your path.

All of a sudden, man, they take this shift, man, by just seeing with their eyes this ground that is just beautiful, advantageous for their livestock. And they're like, hey, hey, we want that. I know God wants us to have this, but I want this.

That's what happens. If we have found favor in your eyes, they said, let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Listen to this, do not make us cross the Jordan. Do not make us cross, you know what they were saying?

We know you guys are crossing the Jordan, the other nine and a half. We don't wanna cross the Jordan. But we will live on the border town. We will live on the edge of the Jordan. We will live close, we'll be in proximity.

We'll still be able to email and text. We'll be able to call you and shout across the river, even though it's deep wide and difficult. We'll be close, we may not be there, but we'll be close. Don't make us cross the Jordan.

Now listen to what he says, listen to what he says. And Moses said to the Gadites and the Reubenites, should your fellow Israelites go to war while you sit here? Why do you discourage the Israelites from crossing over into the land the Lord has given them?

Now let me say something right here on this script before we read any further. You know what Moses knew and what Joshua knows? Is that those two and a half tribes going over the Jordan isn't gonna be the determining factor in the victory.

The victory is gonna be determined by God. He doesn't need the numbers, that's Gideon, right? But you know what they did have the power to do by withholding their presence on the other side of the Jordan?

You know what they had the power to do Gus? Discourage the rest of the nation from crossing over. What they had the power to do was to influence them and to discourage them from crossing over into the place where God desired to be active in their life.

That is pretty stout. To the degree that Moses' response to them was like this. You know what Moses said to them? He called them a brood of vipers, brood of sinners. Very similar to what Jesus said about the religious leaders of his day.

He says, this is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh, Barnea, talking about the spies, to look over the land. After they went up to the valley of Eschkor and viewed the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the Lord had given them.

That's what he's saying. He's saying, your actions may deter their confidence. And I'm thinking, I'm like, oh my goodness. What if your actions are deterring the confidence of your children? What if your lack of faith to go into that promise possessive that land that God has given you to possess?

What if your lack of confidence has a reach far greater than you can even begin to anticipate? Thank you. I pray as a dad, there's a heavy burden on me as a dad, that I would never be the agent who creates barriers between my son and my daughter, my granddaughter, my family in believing and trusting God for all what God has for them.

If I cannot be a man who lives by faith, and trusts God for the bigger and the greater, and the more fulfilling thing in his purposes, if I cannot be that, at least, oh God, allow me the humility to lay myself before my children if for no other thing than a bridge by which they can cross over into the deeper things that you have for them.

And Moses is saying to them, this is what your fathers did to us 40 years ago. 10 spies came back and rained on the confidence of a nation and cheated them out of what God had for them for 40 years. Moses said the Lord's anger burned against you, Israel, and he made them wonder in the wilderness for 40 years until the whole generation of those who have done evil in his sight was gone.

And here you are, a brood of sinners standing in the, why were they sinners? Why did he call them sinners? Because they were not willing to trust God. And not only were they not willing to trust God, they were hijacking the confidence of those who would trust God.

You brood of sinners, Moses says, standing in the place of your fathers, making the Lord even more angry with Israel. If you turn away from following him, he will again leave all this people in the wilderness and you will be the cause of their destruction.

Wow. And you know what they said to Moses? Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on, Moses, you're not getting us. You're not getting us. Let me explain our strategy, Moses. Then they came up to him and said, hey, we would like to build pens here for our livestock and cities for our women and children.

You see that? You see that? Notice their mindset. What are they protecting and fortifying first? Building pens for their livestock. And while we're doing that, man, we'll make cities for our women and our children too.

But we will arm ourselves. This is what they say. We will arm ourselves for battle and go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them to their place. Meanwhile, our women and children, listen to this disgusting statement.

Meanwhile, our women and children will live in fortified cities for protection from the inhabitants of the land, as though those fortified cities could protect them better than God could protect them.

You know, that's what they're saying. I don't know what's on the other side of that river. I don't know that we can trust God. We just watch 85 people every day die for 40 years in this wilderness. I don't know that I can trust God.

Let us fortify the cities. Let us protect our own. But we'll go on over and fight, and you know what the conclusion was? This was the agreement. The agreement was this, that they would go over, fight in the land of Jordan.

The armed men would, and would then be allowed to return to the border town after the rest of Israel had achieved the rest and their possession. That was the agreement. That was the agreement. Then Moses said to them, if you would do this, you may return and be free from your obligation to the Lord and to Israel, and this land will be your possession before the Lord.

That's what Moses said to them, and that's in verse 22. Did you notice anything about that verse right there? You will be free from your what? Obligation? Obligation? Is that what this is in our lives as we follow God?

An obligation? You'll be free from your obligation, your debt. Is that how we view our relationship we got? This was really a trust issue, and it starts to play out right there in Joshua 1. The crazy thing about that is that they were faithful to fight.

They actually do cross the river and fight, but you know what they're fighting for? To return, because they can't return until the rest of the nation achieves their rest. Their motivation isn't to honor God.

Their motivation is to get back where they want to be, and that would be accomplished only if they fight and when they fight and when they achieve victory. And instead of staying in the Promised Land, they're able to go back, and they do go back.

All right, back to Joshua, chapter 1. But this is what he says to them. But to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half -Trapham, and NASA. Now, remember, in the very beginning of that conversation, the half -Trapham and NASA wasn't even involved in it.

Did you see that? What do you think is taking place over that period of time? You think they're in some whisperings to have some come along with them? You think there wasn't some influence upon the half -Trapham and NASA to where they wanted to be included as well by the time this thing materializes?

They're in it, too! Joshua said, remember the commandment that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you after he said, the Lord your God will give you rest by giving you this land. Listen, and this is what happens.

Now, watch this. This is happening. Your wives, your children, and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men ready for battle must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites.

You are to help them until the Lord gives them rest, as he has done for you. This is in Joshua, chapter 1. And until they, too, have taken possession of the land your God is giving them after that, you may go back and occupy your land, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you east of the Jordan towards the sunrise.

At the very beginning of the scripture, you know what they say? You know what Joshua says? We'll stay in the border town. You know what he says? We'll stay and never come into the promised land. Do you know what he says?

Your wives, your children, and even your possessions will never enter into this. You have to leave that in the border town. He says, after that, you may go back and occupy your land. The reality is this, and this is probably applicable in the church, even though those guys go into the promised land and they fight.

I mean, they're engaged, man. They're geographically in the promised land, but spiritually, they're still in the border town, right? Churches are full today of people who are geographically in the church.

But their hearts, man, oh, man. Their hearts, man, are far away, living in border towns. I see your stuff, man, on Facebook. You know what I'm talking about? I checked in at the driven church. You know what I thought?

You'll see that kind of stuff. You know what I thought? Where your little tracking systems on your phone or whatever. You know what I'm talking about? No one knows what I'm talking about? Do you know what I'm talking about?

I checked in. I checked in. I'm there. But not really. Not really. I'm just there physically, spiritually, emotionally. I'm not engaged. I'm not present, right? And that's what these people were. They were fighting, man.

But they were not really present. And then he says, and we'll close that thought with this. Jesus says something in Matthew 15, 7, and 8, and you guys know this. He says, these people honor me with their lips.

Geographically, they're here, but their hearts remain far from me. Jesus says that. But you know what Jesus is actually quoting? Ezekiel. And what Ezekiel says is this. So they come to you as people do.

They sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them. For with their mouths, they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. You know what Ezekiel was saying?

They over here fighting the fight, but their hearts are still on the border. That's what he's saying. That's what he's saying. Now, here's something incredible. That little border town that they occupy, generations later, it resurfaces.

And these are some of the descendants of Gad, the Gadites. Well, there's another region where the, and it's the same region, where the Gadites ultimately, generations later, partially occupied. You know what that area was called?

Gadara. Gadara. You know what was taking place in Gadara? You remember when Jesus slid into Gadara? The Gadarenes, some translations, Gadarenes is the same place. You know what was happening there? Some demons possessed people.

Remember that? Remember Jesus rolling into Gadara? Remember getting off the boat and counters? You remember Jesus rolling into Gadara? One gospel, we'll reference it as one man. Another gospel references it as two.

I believe it was two. The one gospel writer only acknowledged or identified the one. It doesn't mean there wasn't two. So it's not a contradiction. But he encounters these men who were possessed by demons.

And you know what Jesus does in Gadara, in this same area, this same border town? You know what Jesus does? He casts out demons from the descendants of Gad, to some degree, who are now pig farmers. How are people who have some connection as descendants of Gad becoming pig farmers?

But they're pig farmers. And Jesus cast out demons out of these men, throw them into these pigs, and these pigs run off the mountainside. Remember that? And then the people of Gadara show up. And you know what they tell Jesus?

You've got to leave. You're costing us our livestock. The Christ, your shoe, I'm a shea. Jesus, the Savior, the Messiah, had entered into the border town. And the people of the border town still valued the livestock, greater than God's presence.

And looks at Jesus and says, man, you need to bolt back up and hit the road, man. Over a herd of pigs. This refusal to cross over and be committed to the purpose of God has a generational reach. Thank you.

And now I'm really close. Listen to this. And then they answer Joshua. Now, this isn't those tribes. Get it? You're not gonna have two million people or 400 000 answering them simultaneously. Could you imagine, though?

If you could synchronize 200 ,000, half a million people, it'd be a beautiful sound wouldn't it not? Especially what they're about to say. But these are the leaders. Now we know that these are the leaders.

I'm gonna tell you how we know. By what they say. Because what they say isn't applicable to the mass of people. Whatever you have commanded us, we will do. And wherever you send us, we will go. We'll go through the camp.

We'll tell them whatever you say. Just as we fully obey Moses, so we will obey you. Now that would be hyperbole in revisional history if that were a response from the general masses of people. Because guess what the general masses of people didn't do?

They didn't obey Moses. Why do you think they've been out there for 40 years? But the leaders that were chosen, handpicked by Moses, the tens, the fifties, the hundreds, the thousands, these were probably, as the scripture would say, commendable men, notable men of character, good men.

And so then all of a sudden that scripture makes complete sense. When they say, you know, we obey Moses. And you can have the same confidence that will obey you. But Joshua, you need to do one thing for us.

And here's the caveat. Just as we fully obey Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. Let me read that again. Only may the Lord, listen, your God. You know what he's saying?

Moses owned it, or Joshua owned it like Moses owned it. That's all we're asking. You know what they're saying as followers and understudies of Joshua? Be a man of God, your God. Possess him like Moses possessed him.

Be committed to him like Moses was committed to him. And they say, whoever rebels against your word and does not obey it, whatever you may command them will be put to death. And then they quote the very words of God to Joshua.

They say, to you, only be strong and courageous. You know what they're saying right there? You honor God and we'll honor you and we'll trust that whatever God has determined for us on the other side of the Jordan, we'll trust it as you trust it.

And we'll cross it when you cross it and you command it as God commands it. But we need you, Joshua, to man up. To man up and be courageous. And that's what our families, that's what our church, our fellow brothers and sisters are asking of all of us who call upon the name of Jesus.

They're not asking us to be perfect. They're not asking us to be perfect. You know what? We should be asking one another just to be strong and be courageous. Because what you do not realize is that the fixed man is in.

And God is desiring to give and show and demonstrate his goodness, his beauty. It will only cross over and be obedient. Man, there's so much we miss by not crossing over whatever threshold or barrier presents itself in our life.

God has it for us. Okay, I'm gonna discredit myself real quick. But it'll only be momentary. Some of you know I had a cousin who was a professional wrestler. I've told this story to some of you guys before.

He was a professional wrestler, okay? Now his wrestling name was Chief Danny Little Bear. All right, he was an Indian from a reservation in Oklahoma City. His real name was Danny Underwood. He was from Mount Sherman, Kentucky and he didn't have a drop of Indian in him, okay?

All right, now we know this, okay? But in that industry, and I just want you to stay with me and just don't shut me off because I'm talking about something so foolish as professional wrestling. Even though me and my brother, I've got one man who's listening to me this morning.

He's locked in now. He's locked in. But in the world of professional wrestling, as ignorant as it is, there's three major players that play a part in the success of the given industry. There is the heel, which is the bad guy, right?

And then there's the baby face, which is the, boy, I was waiting, boy, you're like, I can't see it, you don't know, I watch it. The heel, bad guy, baby face, good guy. Now, what we do know, I hope, is that the outcome of every match is predetermined.

And for those of you who don't know, here's a box of tissues. Comfort yourself, it is predetermined, right? So it doesn't matter whether the heel wants to win or the baby face wants to win. It doesn't, that doesn't matter, that doesn't matter.

There is no element of competition involved in this display of athleticism. There is no real competition. The only one that really matters in this is the story writer, the script writer, who is the one who carries the pin to determine the predetermined outcome.

So the success of the baby face and the success of the heel is contingent upon one thing. They're carrying out the desires of the script writer. So they succeed not by beating or pinning the other but by honoring the mind and creativity of the script writer who has written out the end.

And if they want to succeed in the industry, they do not worry about competition. They worry about honoring the script writer. That is the fix. There has never been a greater fix in the annals of human history for you and I who are both baby faces and heels to honor than the great script writer, that being God, who has predetermined, he has written the outcome.

If you and I would only be willing to honor him when he says, this is what I'll do, this is what I've got, if you will do this, we can have success by God's standard and live in God's goodness, God's mercy, God's provision, God's protection.

When we look at him as the majestic script writer and say, I'm walking across this and it doesn't matter whether I win or lose because you've determined that in winning and losing, I win, in winning and losing, I win.

Isn't that what Jesus said? A man who seeks to gain his life, listen, must lose it. I love the words of the song, ever loser. I said, who was it? It was an audio adrenaline, audio adrenaline. Said every loser gets a crown, and what God has called us to be are just simple baby faces and heels who make a concession of our own desires to concede to the script that our God has said.

There was promise and provision all that was waiting for him and two and a half tribes, listen to this, two and a half tribes never discovered that. You know what ends up happening? They abandoned the script writer.

They abandoned the magnificent penmanship of the author. They abandoned all that and did you know when the Babylonians come and the Assyrians come, you know which group goes into captivity first? Do you wanna guess?

Those east of the Jordan. They were the first, 10 years, 10 years earlier, they were taken into captivity, into bondage. You remember what they had said earlier? We'll build fortified cities. How fortified were they?

When you're being drug off into bondage. What do you think God wanted you to cross over the Jordan River? Or a natural protective line he had established even to the degree that he splits it to allow you to walk across it only to close it back up for your protection.

And so you and I, I know it's been a long sermon, right? I know, I get it. I get it. But we're here at the end of Joshua, Chapter 1. And so the question that you and I have got to answer today is are we going to trust him to move forward?

Are we going to concede to him whatever role he wants us to play in it, Mark? Heel or baby face, right? I'm okay with it. To win or lose in the eyes of the world, I don't care. I just want to win in the eyes of God.

That's the questions you and I have got to answer this morning, right? And you know where those questions are going to be answered? Can be answered where you sit, where you stand. But you know where they're really going to be answered?

They're going to be answered out there, man. They're going to be answered out there. They're going to be answered in your home. They're going to be answered in your workplaces. They're going to be answered in the doctor's office.

They're going to be answered in Walmart. They're going to be answered in Home Depot. That's where the questions are really going to be answered. So I'll pose that question to you. What's your choice this morning?

Are you a temporary warrior? I'll cross over until I get the things I want that I'm going back or am I in this thing to the end, man? To the end? I would say to you, subscribe to being in it to the end.

Stand with me this morning. I'm going to ask Kerry just to come for a moment. Just a moment. Thank you. You know how how good God was? God allowed them to occupy that land. He gave on victory over certain groups of people in that land and there was provisions in that land and that's what they wanted and God let them have it but in the long run man it cost them severely and you know what God's not going to do?

He's not going to make you. He sets before you a choice and the choice is quite simple. It's a choice of life or death, man. He sets before you a choice, life or death. What's your choice? What's your choice?

Carrie's gonna lead us in a little worship, a little worship and you answer those questions in your own heart. If you want to pray you can pray. You can pray around these altars. You can pray where you stand.

You can pray where you sit. I just want to give you an opportunity. I want to give you an opportunity. Thank you. Thank you.