The Story - Joshua- Do We Dare?

Focus – book of Joshua

For forty years, the people have followed Moses. Now Moses is gone just as they are ready to enter the Promised Land and claim the promises given to Abraham long ago. The giants are still in the land like they were forty years before. How will they go and claim the opportunity that the Lord has given them? Who will lead them into the Promised Land? Joshua is the story of God building a people so that they can go and do the impossible. He will build up leader and people so that both are ready to claim His promises. He will show them that they will succeed if they follow Him and fail when they try to move forward without Him.

• Faith building for Joshua - Joshua 1:9 Who was this Joshua? He was Moses’ second in command. Yet the job he is called to do was terrifying. How do you step into the shoes of Moses? How do you lead a million people so that they can claim the promises God made to Abraham 600 years before. God begins the task by building up the leader. God tells him that the answer lies in scripture and that he will find the answers and courage he needs in Moses’ five books.

• Faith demonstration for the people - Joshua 3:13 Once Joshua is built up, God must now build up the faith of His people. The Jordan River is at flood stage and there are a million people to get safely across. God’s command is one of faith. Carry the ark, the holy seat of God from the tabernacle into the water. I will go before you. As the priests step into the water, the river dries up so the people can walk across dry land just as they did at the Red Sea with Moses over 40 years earlier. It was a demonstration that nothing would be impossible for God.

• Trusting God to do the impossible - Joshua 6:3 How do you take a fortified city when you follow God? You depend on Him. The plan was simple, but made no sense. Walk around the city on seven days with the Ark of God leading the way. Battles are won when you follow God’s plan. We must learn to walk by faith no matter how strange it sounds. We call on God to make the impossible work. We call on God to overcome the things that are beyond us. Faith listens to God and follows God’s will for us.

• Failing to obey - Joshua 7:20 How do you cause certain failure? Failure comes when people fail to listen to the Lord or try to do their own thing and think God will follow them. In the book of Joshua, a man named Achan took some of the spoils of Jericho even though God forbid it. He was put to death because his sin caused the deaths of 36 other people who unknowingly attacked the next town and died. Failure comes when people forget what God has said. Disaster comes when you think you are above God’s law.

As they stand at the edge of the Promised Land, this is a defining moment for the people of Israel. They failed to follow God once, would they do it again? Would they try and do things their own way as they had before or would they walk behind their God trusting Him to keep His promises. Every Christian has such moments. They can expect God to do their will or they can trust Him and go forward in obedience. It is the defining moment that determines the success or failure of every Christian.