Commissioned for Duty, Part 2

This past Sunday, one of the members of my church gave me this. It was about eight months late, maybe a year late, in terms of Moses and crossing the Red Sea. But listen to what this author says concerning getting Israel. Across the Red Sea. Two and a half million Jews. They had to get across the Red Sea. If they went on a narrow path, that is double file, the line would be 800 miles long. They went two by two. And it would require 35 days and nights to get through the Red Sea. So there had to be a space in the Red Sea.

three miles wide so that they could walk 5,000 abreast to get over in one night. That's, folks, we don't understand the magnitude of the leadership of Joshua or Moses. You know, I coach the league baseball and I try to line my boys up in a straight line to warm up. I mean, it takes me a half hour just to get them stand in a straight line. And there's only 12 of them on a team. Can you imagine two and a half million Jews, men, women, and children? Getting in the lineup 5,000 ab so you can get through in one night.

It's a daunting task. It's not easy. And Joshua had to get them to cross the Jordan River. And you will note that the entrance in the prom land Began the same way the exod from Egypt began. The challenge of crossing the river. God had a plan. It was a very strategic plan. Everybody was ready. Israel, Canaan, and even the Jordan River was ready because it was overflowing its banks. It was a sovereign moment. It was a sorrowful moment. It was a strategic moment. Point number two: I want you to notice with me the mandates in this commissioning.

The first one is to arise and cross the river Jordan. The second is to be strong and courageous. The third, carry out the law of God.

Very simple. Number one, God says, ar and cross this Jord. Now, remember, Jordan is overflowing its banks. Water's everywhere. He's got two and a half million Jews to move across the water. How is he going to sneak across so he's not seen? How is he going to sneak across in such a way that he can surprise the enemy? So he can win the battle. How's he going to do this thing? How's he going to gather them all together to make it happen? The very first thing God says to Joshua: Moses is dead.

Now get up, cross the Jordan. You can imagine Joshua looking over thinking, how am I going to do that? With all these people, scratch his head thinking, man, I don't know. But remember, remember, he's already seen it happen once. You know, he remembers what took place in the past. He's not going to forget. He's not going to fail by forgetting. He's going to be able to remember.

And when he remembers, he will always rejoice because he will be rewarded by his God. And so Joshua receives that first command, that first mandate: ar and cross the Jord.

Remember 1 John 5:3, the commandments of God are not burdensome. But it doesn't mean they're easy either, does it? And they can only be accomplished with the power and presence of Almighty God. So the first mandate was to arise and cross the Jordan.

The second one, be strong and courageous. First command, Joshua, get to work. Second command, Joshua, don't be weak.

Be strong. cou. In fact, he says in verse 8, verse 6, be strong and courageous. Verse 7, only be strong and very courageous. In verse 9, be strong and courage It's interesting to note that when God wants you to do something, He tells you to do it. When you feel weak, he says, be strong. When you feel fearful, he says, don't be afraid. And we say, well, that's just so insensitive of God. He doesn't understand my innermost feelings, my emotions. How can he tell me not to be afraid when I'm afraid? How can he tell me to be strong when I'm weak?

Or when I feel weak, when I feel impotent, how can he say, be strong and courageous? That was a command given over and over and over again. By Moses, by Joshua, by King David, by Solomon. It was a theme that would run throughout the Old Testament. Be strong, be courageous. You know why? Folks, let me tell you something.

When you got God on your side, you're not weak. You're just not. When God is on your side, if God be for you, who can be against you? Answer? Doesn make any difference who's against you if God's on your side. There is no excuse to be weak, there is no excuse to be fearful. There's the only excuse to be strong and be courageous. And God gives that command to Joshua. Because he gave that command to Moses. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. You have no excuse, Joshua, to be afraid. You have no excuse to be intimidated.

Who's going to intimidate you, Joshua? I'm on your side. I'm the God who part the Red Sea. I 'm the God who causes water to come out of the rock. I 'm the God who causes man to flow from heaven. That article I read to you earlier helped you gain perspective on the mighty power of God. To feed two to three million people requires a lot of food. According to the quarter gener in the Army, it is reported that Moses would have to have had 1,500 tons of food each day. Do you know that to bring that much food each day It would require two freight trains, each at least a mile long.

Besides, you must remember, they were out in the desert, so they would have to have firewood to use in cooking the food. This would take 4,000 tons of wood and a few more freight trains, each a mile long, just for one day of cooking. One day. And just think, they were 40 years in transit. And oh yes, they would have to have water. If they only had enough to drink and wash a few dishes, it would take 11 billion gallons each day. and a freight train with tank cars eight hundred miles long just to bring water.

Folks, let me tell you something. You think you got problems? You think you're trying to figure out how you're going to feed your family? How you're going to pay the rent? If our God can cause manna to flow from heaven, or fall from heaven, and water to flow from a rock to make sure his people are taken care of, folks, he can take care of whatever little problem you have today. We serve a mighty God. And he says this: mandate number three: you make sure.

to be careful to do according to all the law which Moses my servant comm you. You need to carry out the law of God. Folks, the secret to being strong and courageous is to carry out the law of God. The secret to arising and crossing whatever barrier you may be facing is to carry out the law of God. And there are four principles that are given here. Number one, you've got to carefully concentrate on the law of God.

Verse 7 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. You've got to carefully concentrate on the law of God. Folks, listen.

They all didn't have Bibles to carry with them into Canaan. Okay? They had the law of God, it was in the Ark of the Covenant. They had the first five books of the Old Testament.

Okay? That's what they had. They didn't have the law. They didn't have the prophets. They didn't have the New Testament. They had the five books of the Old Testament. That's all they had. So Joshua had to make sure that that law did more than just sit in the Ark of the Covenant. He had to actually read it. He had to actually make sure he knew what it said and understood it so he didn't turn to the right nor to the left, but carried a straight and narrow path to obey the word of the Lord. He couldn't turn to the right, to the left.

He had to carefully concentrate on that law to make sure he obeyed it in its entirety. And that would cause him to be strong and courageous and to face the tasks that were before him. He had to carefully concentrate on the law of God. Number two, he had to clearly communicate the law of God.

It says this, this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth. You must clearly communicate this law to the people. They must understand the law of God. Once you concentrate on it, you must now communicate it to people because you see, they just can't go to their tent and read their Bible. You have to tell them the law of God. You have to read it. You have to reread it. You can't turn to the right. You can't turn to the left. And you got to make sure that the people that you lead know.

What you're reading. Know what you're learning. You cannot let the word of God depart from your mouth. You must clearly communicate. That word and listen to Joshua chapter eight. This is so good. Joshua chapter eight, verse thirty-four and thirty-five. Then afterward, he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded, which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, with the Women and the little ones, and the strangers who were living among them.

Can you imagine that? He read the law of God to every. To the children and to the women, to the young people and to the men. Now, folks, that doesn't go over so well in our society. If we were to gather everybody together, get all the kids out of kids' time, bring them in here. And I was open up to Genesis chapter 1, verse number 1, and say, Okay, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And read from Genesis 1 all the way to D 34. They'd all be sleeping. You would be too. In fact, I'd probably go to sleep.

And I'm reading it. But you see, that's what he did. He read the law of God, even to the children. You must clearly communicate to the people of God what I have for them, or they're not going to know. They're not going to know. Wherever God's called you to lead, you must remember that if you let God's word depart from your mouth, you will lead ineffectively. You will not be able to lead them into the ways of God. You won't be able to lead them into a closer walk with God. You might lead them, but you won't lead them spiritually.

You might be in front of them, but you won't give them any place to go that's worthwhile. Because you must speak the truth. You must live the truth. He had to carefully concentrate. He had to clearly communicate the Word of God. And number three, he had to continually meditate on the Word of God.

It says, This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night. Day and night. Now, think about that. Here's a leader of two and a half million people. And what he has to do is meditate day and night on the Word of God. If he was going to be effective, he needed to know what God said so that he could lead the people properly. Now, think about that with us. When was the last time you would meditate upon God's word day and night? Maybe for a day, maybe for a week, maybe while you were on summer vacation, maybe.

Maybe you went away on sabbatical for a couple of months, you could do it then. But here was Joshua. He had to do it every day. He had to make sure that he meditated. He would be so focused on the word of God. The word meditate means to murmur. It's used over in Psalm 2 of kings who murmured, and in Isaiah 59 of the chattering of doves. Meditation is a digestive kind of study. It's more than just reading. It's more than just studying. It's a process of memorization and meditation. It's the constant murmuring of the Word of God under your breath over and over and over again.

He had to do this day and night. And Joshua could have said, You know what? I'm too busy. I mean, I got this problem over here with this group of people. I got this group of people over here, and they got their problems. And, you know, we got some broken wheels in the back over here. We got some cattle that don't want to move over there. We got some women having babies over here. We got some rebellious kids. Over there, God, I can't meditate on the Word of God all day. What do you expect from me?

That's the excuses we give, right? I gotta go to school. I gotta go to work. I got bring home the bacon. I gotta make sure I get things done. I got too much going on. Who's got time to meditate on God's word? The man who wants to lead God's way has time to do what God says.

Simple as that, right? Let's be honest. We can always give excuses to God. But God's word needs to be a part of our lives every single day. Every day. Because, see, meditation deals with my thought life. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Right? This is what God said. It deals with my thought life. And I got to have a pure thought life. I got to have a clean thought life. I got to make sure that what I'm thinking about the things that are pure and true and holy and lovely. I can't be thinking about the things of the world.

I got to be thinking about the things of God. That's what meditation is about. So that when I finally open my mouth, I got something worthwhile to say.

Folks, we can all open our mouths and we can all say a whole bunch of things, but the question is: do we have anything that's worthwhile saying? See? And what is worthwhile is that which is of the Lord. And God says to Joshua, listen, this is the way it's got to be.

You've got to be strong. You've got to be courageous. You've got to rise, cross the Jordan. You've got to lead the people of God. To do that, you got to carry out the law of God. You've got to carefully concentrate. You got to. Clearly communicate. You've got to continually meditate on the law of God. And number four, you've got to consciously, consciously integrate the law of God. Says this: Be careful to do according to all that is written in it. All not just some. But all. You've got to consciously integrate all that you're learning into every aspect of your life.

Because it's going to affect your leadership, Joshua. It's going to affect your decision making. It's going to affect your emotions. It's going to affect your finances. It's going to affect everything you do. It must be integrated into all parts of your life. You must do all that God says.

We like to pick and choose. We become very finicky when it comes to eating spiritual food. We only like to eat certain things. God says you got to eat all things and you got to make sure that it's integrated into every aspect of your life that you do it all Not just do some of it, not just do parts of it, do all of it.

And the Bible says, To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin, right? We got to be not just hearers of the word, we to be doers of the word, as James says. What hinders our credibility? What keeps us from having respect with the people we lead? And that is our inability to do all that's according to the Word of God. That will hinder our credibility quicker than anything. To say we're Christians, to say we love the Lord, and then not do what God says.

And the Lord said something about that, right? Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I say? How can you do that? And so, therefore, God says, make sure you consciously integrate everything that I've taught you into every aspect of your life because you're the leader.

And if you don't do it, guess what? Neither will they. Over in 1 Kings chapter 2, listen to what David says of Solomon: I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man. Isn't that good? That's a manly verse, isn't it? Be strong and show yourself a man. Be a man, Solomon. How are you going to be a man? Well, it tells you: keep the charge of the Lord your God to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies. According to what is written in the law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn.

Wow. I tell you, show yourself a man. Just do what God says. And God will direct your path. And God will cause you to be successful. So we have the moment of the commissioning, the mandates in the commissioning, and now we have the motivation behind his commissioning. Four things. Number one is the possession of the land.

The possession of the land. Arise! Cross the Jordan. To the land which I am giving to them, the sons of Israel. This is the land I'm giving to them. Twice he says it in at the end, in the end of verse 2, and verse number 3: I have given it to them, just as I spoke to Moses. It was a gift. The land of Canaan was a gift to the sons of Israel. It's their land. Listen to what he says: From the wilderness in this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. Let me tell you something.

Folks, know who that is? That's Iraq. That's Iran. That is the land of Israel. I don't care what anybody tells you. It goes all the way to the great river Euphrates, all the way to the Mediterranean Sea, everything in between. Don't let Western media sell you down the river with all their paraphernalia. Lebanon, everything east of Jordan to the Great River Euphrates is Israel's land. It's all theirs. And I don't care what anybody else says. All I care is about what God says.

And God said, this is your land. This is your possession. It's yours. Folks, that's motivation. This is my land. I'm going go take it. God says, Here, I going to give it to you.

Cheers. Number two, motivation. It's not only the possession of the land, but the power of the Lord. Verse number five: No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Wow. Can you imagine that? Nobody. Nobody can stand against you. Nobody can overcome you. Why? Because I'm with you, Joshua. I'm with you. You and me. We outnumber everybody. And because I'm with you, you have all the power you need. What's the motivation behind the commissioning? The possession of the land and the power of the Lord.

And number three, the pres of the Lord. He says this: Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. I will not fail you. I will not forsake you. Wow. That's so good. Remember Moses? Sure, you remember Moses, Joshua. Remember how I was with him? So I will be with you. You have nothing to fear. You will not fail. Because I never failed Moses. I will never fail you. Therefore, you will not fail. The possession of the land, the power of the Lord, the presence of the Lord, and number four, the prosperity.

From the Lord. He says this in verse number eight. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success, prosperity. Success is yours, Joshua. If you arise and cross the Jordan. If you are strong and courageous, because you carry out the law of God, you will be successful. You will be prosper. The word successful is a word that means to act with prudence or to act wisely or to walk circumspectly. When you walk in wisdom, you are successful in the eyes of God because you're able to complete the plans and purposes of God for your life.

I don't know anybody who doesn't want to be prosperous, and I don't know anybody who doesn't want to be successful. And God promises Joshua, this is the way to success. This is how you're going to make it. This is the only way you can lead this many people. And this is the only way you can conquer the enemy. And this is the only way you're going to win the battles. You can't do it without me. And you've got to follow everything I say. That's it. That's the prescription. And listen to the end, Joshua 24, verse number 31.

And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua. Wow. And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua. That did not happen unto Moses, did it? It was never said of Israel that they served the Lord all the days of Moses, but it does say that they served the Lord all the days of Joshua. Joshua was a great man of God. He was an excellent leader. He might not be the most prominent one as Moses was, but let me tell you something.

Israel flourished under his leadership. Let me ask you a question. Who is flourishing under your leadership?