The Other Side

January 12, 2013

Joshua:  Turning Obedience Into Blessing

Jos. 1:1-18:  The Other Side                           NOTES NOT EDITED

SIS—In order to get from where we are to where God wants us to be we must do something new.

There’s an old adage that states:  “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting to get different results.” There is a whole barrel full of wisdom in that statement.  Whether you are talking about an individual, an organization, a family, or a church the key to getting to the “other side” is doing something new.

By “other side” I am referring to the Promised Land.  Now we’ve all heard songs about the Promised Land:

On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand and cast a wishful eye
To Canaan’s fair and happy land Where my possessions lie.

I am bound for the Promised Land,
I am bound for the Promised Land,
Oh who will come and go with me
I am bound for the Promised Land.

Now, this song, and many like it, would hit dead center doctrinally except that in this song, like so many, refers to heaven.  The problem is:  the Promised Land here in Joshua does not refer primarily to heaven.  The Promised Land refers to the “possessions” we can obtain right here and right now.  The Promised Land refers to the power and provisions that come when a believer becomes a mature, conscientious ambassador for Christ.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, I believe in the promise of heaven when I die.  I believe it enough to stake my whole life on it.  But, that is an altogether different matter.  Too many believers get saved just to get into heaven without any thought for what God might expect of you or have for you right here, right now.

Joshua is a handbook for how to turn obedience into blessing.  From Exodus to Deuteronomy including Numbers and Leviticus we have the story of how the Israelits were delivered out of bondage in Egypt but never quite made it into the blessings of the Promised Land.  The Nation had been at this very spot forty years earlier.  They could have obeyed God and went in to possess the Promised Land.  Instead, they rebelled and disobeyed God.  The result:  all those that rebelled 40 years earlier were now dead—never experiencing the full blessing of the Promised Land.

Time and time and time again the church of God has been in this place on the Wilderness side of the Jordan River.  On this side is life with all its mundane experiences.  An occasional blip of joy occurs on the radar from time to time but quickly passes.  Nothing of lasting, eternal consequences comes from any group of God’s people if they become satisfied with Wilderness Living.  Sure, God took care of their every need.  He provided food, clothing, shelter.  But, He wanted to give the Israelites that and so much more, but they were content with status quo—the way things are.

I mentioned last week that a great Southern Baptist preacher, Adrian Rogers (who has since gone to be with the Lord), once remarked:  “If your church is not supernatural, it’s superficial.” Wow, that’s a powerful statement.  Our church is either supernatural or superficial.  Of course, Dr. Rogers was not talking about our church here at First Baptist Thousand Oaks—or was he?

I am going to preach through the Book of Joshua, Lord willing, driven by the realization that our church is NOT living in the Promised Land as God would have us live.  This may trouble some of you.  Many Christians get used to a preacher “tickling their ears” and patting them on the back.  As a result, over 1 out of every 3 evangelical churches in the United States are stalled or declining.  We simply are not the supernatural force that I believe God wants us to be, and I believe with God’s blessing we can be.

So, we are going to start where the Book of Joshua starts—on the Wilderness side of the Jordan river.  We are going to apply the principles of Joshua to our lives, and to the life of our church, and we are going to “cross over to the other side.”  Pay special attention to verse 2 as we read chapter 1 of Joshua.

JOSHUA 1:1-18

Now, the word, “new,” is not used in our text but the idea of “newness” permeates everything in our text from a “new” leader to a “new” level of sacrifice.  Let’s talk a moment about the idea of “new” and how it applies in this text.

The idea of “new” in Hebrew carries with it the idea of “change,” as in “New Moon,” or the change from one phase of the moon to the other.  It also carries the idea of something “fresh or recent.”  So, “new” just doesn’t refer to something different, but something “better.” Something that is fresh, recent, as well as different.

When I hear someone wish someone else a Happy New Year, I think they are using “new” in the sense of a “fresh or better” year, not just a different list of events and experiences.  The reality of the matter is this:  most people do not have a “fresh or better” New Year, but more than likely a year much like the one they just experienced.

What is missing?  Where is the freshness or the change for the better?  Well, to truly experience “Life On the Other Side,” we must seek change that will result in a fresh, “new” approach to life—whether we are talking about our individual lives, family lives, or church life.  If we continue to do what we have always done we should expect to get no better results than we have ever achieved. 

Look at our text.  Right from the start we see something new—

1.  A New Leader (1,2)

After the death of Moses  the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua  son of Nun,  who had served Moses:

Moses has died.  He never entered the Promised Land that he so longed to experience.  Moses died and God tucked his body away in a place known only to Yahweh, and Moses’ soul went to be with the Lord.

Israel has a new leader now—Joshua.

Anybody that has ever watched the classic film by Cecil B. DeMill called, “Exodus,” knows that Joshua has big shoes to fill.  Moses was a leader of mythical proportions, though not at all a myth.  Joshua was fit for the job.  Not only did he have God’s blessing, enough resume in and of itself, but he had been the understudy of Moses for over 40 years.  The “success” of any organization rises or falls on leadership.  A church must constantly be enlisting and training new leadership or it will not continue to be successful.  One scholar put it this way:  “There is no success without a successor.”  Most Southern Baptist church, and churches in general, suffer from a lack of leadership development.  Getting to the Other Side will require New Leadership.

2.  New Opportunties (3-5)

Now you and all the people prepare to cross over the Jordan  to the land I am giving the Israelites. ³ I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads,  just as I promised Moses. ⁴ Your territory will be from the wilderness and Lebanon  to the great Euphrates River—all the land of the Hittites —and west to the Mediterranean Sea.  ^{j 5} No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live.  I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or forsake you.

Every New Year offers new opportunities.  Notice again God’s promise to the Israelites in verse 3:  “I have given you every place the sole of your foot treads.”  If you were a Hebrew scholar, or a preacher who has books written by Hebrew scholars, you would notice that the word translated, “I have given,” is in the perfect tense. This means it is a “done deal.”  The perfect tense is a peculiar past tense that refers to something certain or unchangeable.  In fact, you will notice that the opportunities listed are further guaranteed by the words of God, “just as I promised Moses.” 

Getting to, and living on, the Other Side is not something we as believers need to wish for or wonder about.  It is something we must claim as a promise from God.  It is a “done deal,” if we simply obey God and move forward.  It is that simple.  Obedience always results in blessing—sometimes material, but always spiritual.  If you do not experience new opportunities in this coming year, don’t blame God.  He has placed them clearly in our sights.

3.  New Challenges (6-9)

Isn’t that exciting!  New opportunities and new blessings are simply there for the taking.  Why, you can’t beat that with a stick!  However, as the beloved radio personality, Paul Harvey used to say, “And now, let me tell you the rest of the story!”

In verses 6-9, God encourages Joshua three times to be “strong and courageous.” 

⁶ “Be strong and courageous,  for you will distribute the land I swore to their fathers to give them as an inheritance.  ⁷ Above all, be strong and very courageous to carefully observe the whole instruction My servant Moses commanded you.  Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go. ⁸ This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth;  you are to recite  it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.  ⁹ Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous?  Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Now, why do you suppose that in this inaugural chapter of the Book of Joshua God would repeat that phrase,“be strong and courageous,” three times?  Opportunities and Challenges go together like peanut butter and jelly.  You can’t have one without the other.  If something is truly a godly opportunity, then one can take it to the bank that the Devil will be there to try to weaken God’s people with discouragement.

4.  New Enthusiasm for God’s Word (vs 8)

Only one foolproof remedy exists for discouragement.  It is not an
Anthony Robbins motivational seminar, or Joel Olteen’s, Your Best Life Now, or some other prosperity preacher hawking his wares on T.V.  The only foolproof remedy for and protection against discouragement is the Word of God.

This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth;  you are to recite  it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.

If you want to get to and live in the Other Side, you need a new enthusiasm for the Word of God.  Most Christians lack a deep enough understanding of the Word of God to sustain them when crisis hits.  In fact, I see people every day living in a crisis of their own making because they are violating the principles of God’s Word.  For most Christians, the Bible is a “book of ideas.” But notice what God calls His word in verse 8.  The HCSB, and many others, get the interpretation correct.  God calls His Word, “a book of instruction.”  The Hebrew word is, “torah,”or instruction.  The Bible is not a Book of Ideas to ponder, but a Book of Instructions to put into actions. 

That’s really the foundational theme of Joshua:  “turning obedience into blessing.”  Joshua recounts from chapter to chapter and story to story what happens when God’s people obey God’s commands.  Keep that in mind as we go through the Book of Joshua. 

Living on the Other Side requires a new enthusiasm for the Word of God.

5.  A New Plan (10-11) 

Over my life time I have on several occasions proven the scientific principle that “one cannot get to the right place going in the wrong direction.”

A new preacher, arriving in a small town to be guest speaker at a local church, wanted to mail a letter to his family back home. He stopped a young boy on a bike and asked him where the post office was. The boy gave him directions, and the preacher thanked him.

"If you come to church this evening," the preacher said, "I’ll tell you how to get to heaven." "I don’t think I’ll be there," the boy said. "You don’t even know your way to the post office."

Well, the boy has a point.  I realize that I can preach about “new life” or “new direction” until I turn old and gray, but preaching about what we should do is no substitute for having a good, Bible-based, Spirit-directed, prayed for plan for getting where we need to be doing.  Every great campaign requires a great plan.  God’s plan involves “people and provisions.”

Notice that an essential part of that plan is given in verse 11:  “prepare the provisions.”  The Baptist translation of the original Hebrew states:  “take up offerings!” 

Do you know that we have new church members and regular visitors who did not know how the church pays her bills?  I can assure you we do not have a “church fairy” that puts money under the pastor’s pillow.  It takes money—and quite a bit of it—to keep the church healthy and growing.  That money, “the provisions,” come from you—your sacrificial, regular offerings to the church.  Without that, everything comes to a screeching halt. 

Part of the plan is to gather financial resources.  But, that is not all that is required for a “new plan” to get to the Other Side.  The greatest resource, or provision, is not money but people.  Look at verses 12-15

¹² Joshua said to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh:  ¹³ “Remember what Moses the Lord’s servant commanded you when he said, ‘The Lord your God will give you rest, and He will give you this land.’  ¹⁴ Your wives, young children, and livestock may remain in the land Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan.  But your fighting men must cross over in battle formation  ahead of your brothers  and help them ¹⁵ until the Lord gives your brothers rest, as He has given you, and they too possess the land the Lord your God is giving them. You may then return to the land of your inheritance  and take possession of what Moses the Lord’s servant  gave you on the east side of the Jordan.”

The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh previously had worked out an agreement with Moses to stay on the East Side of Jordan, but they would have to first help their brothers secure the Other Side.

As I said, it takes money and lots of it to keep the church healthy and growing; but, more than that, it takes an army of volunteers. You cannot “pay your way” to the Other Side.  You can not absolve your obligation to God simply by giving your money.  God wants your time and talent also.  Whatever you can do, you should do.  Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something. 

This is why “attendance” at the worship services of the church are so important.  It is the one thing that “all of us” except for a few shut-ins can and should do, faithfully.  Part of the plan is being in church hearing the preacher preach on the plan.  If you aren’t there—you miss hearing the vision; and we miss the warm fellowship of your presence.  The whole program of God suffers.

So, let’s recap what we have learned about getting to the Other Side and seeing God do something “fresh and new.”  We need new leaders; we need to see new opportunities; we need to face new challenges; we need a new level of commitment to God’s Word; and, we need a new plan.  That’s the easy part. As the Israelites contemplate moving to the Other Side.  This chapter initiating the story of the conquest of the Promised Land ends with a ominous warning.  Moving to the Other Side will require a

6.  New Commitment (16-18)

Here’s the point at which Israel had failed forty years earlier.  They lacked the commitment to obey God’s command to go into the Promised Land and possess it as an inheritance.  Let me remind you of that great national failure.  Numbers 13:27-29 gives us this sad reminder:

We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey,  and here is some of its fruit. ²⁸ However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. 

The Israelites knew the land was good.  The Israelites knew that God had promised them the land.  The key word in this verse is, “however.”  This shows us that the Israelites lacked the commitment it takes to be fully devoted to God and His work.  And . . . they paid the price for this lack of commitment.  There is always a price.

Getting to and living in the Other Side requires a whole new commitment.  Look at verses 16-18 again:

¹⁶ They answered Joshua, “Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go. ¹⁷ We will obey you, just as we obeyed Moses in everything. And may the Lord your God be with you, as He was with Moses.  ¹⁸ Anyone who rebels against your order and does not obey your words in all that you command him, will be put to death. Above all, be strong and courageous!”

Did you happen to catch the punishment for those that refused to make this new commitment to enter and possess the Promised Land?  “Death!”  How motivating is that!  God is serious about our obedience?  Much more serious than the average church-goer I suspect.  Most church-goers—including the most regular of the bunch—live as if obedience is optional.

I want to remind you that when Moses spoke with God on the Mountain of Sinai, God gave Moses “Ten Commandments,” not “Ten Suggestions!”  Every time a believer disobeys God, he or she loses ground.  Their soul dies a little bit with each act of disobedience.  Now, a believer can never die completely for salvation is a permanent state once a person genuinely receives Christ; but I’m afraid that there are going to be a lot of “zombie Christians” at the judgment.  They are like the members of the Church of Sardis:  “[You] have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead!” (Rev. 3:1)  This describes far too many Christians, and by extension, far too many churches.

The lack of commitment to the Other Side results in churches that are nothing more than “empty shrines filled with empty souls.”  Like candles without a flame.

From the close of this chapter I can say with confidence that a lack of full and enthusiastic commitment to the plan and purpose of God in your life will kill you—DEAD!  As I said, it will not kill your soul or remove you salvation but disobedience will definitely result in the death of your Christian witness.  A lack of commitment will certainly "kill" your effectiveness as a believer.

Joshua suggests that moving to the Other Side requires a serious, new commitment.  As we continue to read through Joshua we will discover that “obedience always leads to blessing—always!”

My prayer for this simple sermon series on Joshua is that it “troubles our soul,” and drives us with a myopic passion to possess all that God has for us in the Promised Land.  I don’t want anyone to feel comfortable listening to these series of messages.  How can we feel comfortable if there is even but one more soul that needs to be reached for Christ?

Do you want a “Happy New Year?”  Let me suggest that if you take care of the “new” part God will more than take care of the “happy” part.  Assume a new place of leadership as God calls you.  Pray for God to show you the new opportunities before you. Greet the new challenges with “strength and courage.”  Renew your passion for God’s Word.  Embrace the new plan God has for our church; and above all, resolve to reach a whole new level of commitment to God and His Work.

You take care of the “new,” and God will more than take care of the “happy.”  You will soon find yourself “crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land.”

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