Title: Success God's Way
Text: Josh 23:1-16
I. Joshua's farewell address
Josh 23:1-2
1 Now it came about after many days, when the LORD had given rest to Israel
from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years,
2 that Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and their heads and their judges
and their officers, and said to them, "I am old, advanced in years. (NAS)
Joshua recognized his time as leader of Israel was coming to a close. He wanted to instill in the people, especially those who would lead the nation a sincere devotion to the Lord. He wanted to remind them of how they accomplished the seemingly impossible and encourage them to strive for success God's way.
A. A Review of the Past (3-4)
Josh 23:3-4
3 "And you have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations
because of you, for the LORD your God is He who has been fighting for you.
4 "See, I have apportioned to you these nations which remain as an inheritance for
your tribes, with all the nations which I have cut off, from the Jordan even to the Great
Sea toward the setting of the sun. (NAS)
God fought all the battles. He delivered them from Egypt, Parted the Red Sea, Parted the Jordan River.
B. A Promise of the Future (5)
Josh 23:5
5 "And the LORD your God, He shall thrust them out from before you and drive
them from before you; and you shall possess their land, just as the LORD your God
promised you. (NAS)
The workers change, but God's word remains and God continues to fight for His people and give them victory.
C. The Responsibility for the Present (6-16)
Josh 23:6-16
6 "Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of
Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left,
7 in order that you may not associate with these nations, these which remain
among you, or mention the name of their gods, or make {anyone} swear {by them,} or
serve them, or bow down to them. 8 "But you are to cling to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day.
9 "For the LORD has driven out great and strong nations from before you; and as
for you, no man has stood before you to this day. 10 "One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the LORD your God is He who
fights for you, just as He promised you. 11 "So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the LORD your God.
12 "For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which
remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they
with you, 13 know with certainty that the LORD your God will not continue to drive these
nations out from before you; but they shall be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on
your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the
LORD your God has given you. 14 "Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your
hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the LORD
your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of
them has failed. 15 "And it shall come about that just as all the good words which the LORD your
God spoke to you have come upon you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the
threats, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God
has given you. 16 "When you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which He
commanded you, and go and serve other gods, and bow down to them, then the anger
of the LORD will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land
which He has given you." (NAS)
It is in his admonitions about present responsibility which include the first 5 verses as well, Joshua gives the keys to success God's way.
1. Remember to give God credit for all you have and all you are. (v.
3)
1 Cor 15:10 "But by the grace of God I am what I am. . ." (NAS)
Paul stresses the prominence of God's grace as the sole cause of his conversion and subsequent ministry.
1 Tim 1:15-16
15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost {of all.} 16 And yet for this reason I found mercy, in order
that in me as the foremost, Jesus
Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience, as an example for those who would
believe in Him for eternal life. (NAS)
We must constantly remind ourselves that we are all sinners saved by the grace of God, but sinners none the less.
2. We must be obedient (6 - 7)
We are again reminded of the Lord's words to Joshua in the opening chapter of this book.
Josh 1:7-8
7 "Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law
which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left,
so that you may have success wherever you go. 8 "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on
it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for
then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. (NAS)
God's people must always obey God's word. It seems like that truth comes out in every portion of the Bible.
Christianity is a dynamic relationship. That means it is an active relationship. We can't stress that enough. When we talk about the gospel the "good news" Salvation by faith alone through grace alone is certainly paramount. But it is not alone.
1 Sam 15:22
22 And Samuel said, "Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and
sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
{And} to heed than the fat of rams. (NAS)
"If we want to experience truce success, we need to open our Bible, read it daily, learn its teachings and obey the Lord." (Huffman, Mastering the Old Testament: Joshua, p. 257)
3. We must live a life of Separation from the World v. 7
We are citizens of two worlds - citizens have responsibilities
Matt 22:21 They said to Him, "Caesar's." Then He said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's." (NAS)
James 4:4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (NAS)
We are in the world but not of the world Jesus said. The danger for Israel as we saw two weeks ago was that in compromising with other nations, Moses warned, "For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and He will quickly destroy you." Deut 7:4 (NAS)
A life of separation doesn't mean running away, burying our heads in the sand or becoming nomads and never encountering anything "worldly." Because at the same time we are commanded to be separate we are commanded to be salt and light.
We are called to walk a tightrope in which we have genuine friendships with persons who are not believers in Jesus Christ, but at the same time we are to cultivate our relationship with Christ so that influence rather than be absorbed by the culture around us. As Christians our preeminent allegiance is to Jesus Christ and His word.
4. Avoid Pagan worship
This would seem to be pointless to us today. I mean we don't live where there is idol worship of sacrifices and such, and we wouldn't become involved with that. However, the truth is that Christianity is becoming involved with also sorts of pagan ideas. Eastern mysticism being blended into Christian teachings. Buddhist and Hindu teachings being blended with Christian doctrine and being taught in churches. We saw some of that in the article from the paper a few weeks ago on the course in miracles. Being taught at two local Christian churches and yet some of the ideas clearly in opposition to the teachings of the Bible.
Instead of changing the wicked nations around them, these nations influenced Israel and caused the nation to lose it's inheritance. The danger of failing to follow God's plan, neglecting present responsibility is the removal of God's blessing.
Joshua's words to the nation and to us can be summed up in the words of our hymn of commitment Stand up, Stand up for Jesus. If we want to experience success God's way that's what we must do - till every foe is vanquished and Christ is Lord in deed. Will you take that stand?
