The Identity Of The Joshua Generation!

SUMMARY:

Last week, the title of our message was: “BE PREPARED TO CROSS OVER!”

We saw that a commitment to cross over requires:

• GOD’S DIRECTION
• PREPARATION
• RELIANCE UPON GOD

 

TITLE: “THE IDENTITY OF THE JOSHUA GENERATION!”

 

SCRIPTURE READING:

Jos 1:5-9 MSG

(5)  All your life, no one will be able to hold out against you. In the same way I was with Moses, I’ll be with you. I won’t give up on you; I won’t leave you. (6)  Strength! Courage! You are going to lead this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors. (7)  Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don’t get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you’re going. (8)  And don’t for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you’ll get where you’re going; then you’ll succeed. (9)  Haven’t I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. GOD, your God, is with you every step you take.”

 

TEXT:

Joshua 1:6 NIV
Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

Joshua 1:6 ANV
Wees sterk, wees vasberade, want jy moet hierdie volk die land in besit laat neem wat Ek met ‘n eed aan hulle voorvaders beloof het.

 

INTRODUCTION:

Joshua is reminded by God that the Lord has already given the land of Canaan to the children of Israel. Joshua is commanded to lead the people into Canaan to claim the land that they had been promised by the Lord. The land was given to them back in Gen 12:7. The land was indeed their land! There was no need for them to continue their wandering around in the wilderness. They had a land; all they had to do was to claim it!

Every day we see Christians who are defeated, who struggle with sins, who, for all intents and purposes are wandering around in a spiritual wilderness. It does not have to be that way! God has a place of victorious living which He has promised to us. I believe with all my heart that God did not save us to see us defeated! Most of the time, we are defeated because we refuse to walk in victory! I believe there is a place of conquest for every child of God.

 

IDENTITY:

The name Joshua literally means, “the Lord saves,” or “the Lord is salvation.”

Jesus has the same name, being the Greek version of the Hebrew name Joshua. According to Numbers 13:16, Joshua was originally named “Hoshea” but was given the name Joshua by Moses.

God ordained Joshua to claim God’s promises for the Israelites. God ordained Jesus to claim our promises! Jesus Christ is our Lord and saviour. Joshua knew his Identity. We should know our identity in Christ!

I want to ask you today: “Who are you?” Do you know your real identity in Christ? Until you know who you are, you will never be satisfied with what you have! You will always try to be happy with what you have. But it is the peace of God in knowing you identity in Christ that makes you happy! We must know our identity in Christ!

2Corinthians 2:14 NKJV
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

 Romans 8:37 NKJV
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

 

THE PROMISES OF GOD:

1. Joshua is reminded of some very precious promises. Notice what God promised him:

Joshua 1:5-6 AB
(5)  No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. (6)  Be strong (confident) and of good courage, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.

1. The promise of victory over every enemy.
2. The promise of the presence and power of God.
3. The promise of the faithfulness of God.
4. The promise of absolute victory.
5. The promise of God to keep His promises.

What did Joshua have to do to make these things happen? Just one thing: Trust God! God was going to give Israel the victory. Joshua was merely the instrument that God had chosen to use to do it. These things were going to happen!

For Joshua to be a part of it, all he had to do was have faith in God!

2. The same promises God made to Joshua are in force for you and me in Christ Jesus:

You and I can still count on the Lord to do everything He promised Joshua!

• He still gives victory over all our enemies:

1John 5:4-5 NKJV
(4)  For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. (5)  Who is he that overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

• He is still ever-present:

Hebrews 13:5 MSG
Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,”

• And He is still all powerful:

Mat 28:18 NKJV
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

• He is still faithful:

Mat 28:20 MSG
Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”

• He still gives absolute victory:

 1Corinthians 15:57 AB
But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory [making us conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ.

• He still keeps His promises:

Romans 4:21 AB
Fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised.

 

IN CHRIST JESUS:

What do we have to do to see these things come to pass in our lives?

Just one thing: Trust God! When we can learn to place our trust in God at all times in every situation, then we will walk in victory in our lives.

We must have the faith of God!

When everything else fails, faith will ever stand the test!

We might let the Lord down, but He will never fail the believer who has their faith in Him!

We can only trust God when we stand in faith – the God kind of faith, the faith of God!

We can only stand in faith when we are born again and know our identity in Christ!

This is only possible when we have the love of God in us and we stand in a loving covenant relationship with God!

We read of how God brought the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt into a land flowing with milk and honey, the Promised Land. The devil put giants in the Promised Land to stop the Israelites from inheriting it. God had a better plan! He allowed the giants to build their homes and cities, dig wells and cultivate crops until the right time came.

Then, He brought the Israelites into the land and evicted the giants! So the Israelites ended up inheriting large beautiful cities which they did not build, houses full of all good things which they did not fill, hewn-out wells which they did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees which they did not plant! (Deuteronomy 6:10–11) Although the devil tried to prevent God’s plan for His people from coming to pass, they ended up receiving so much more!

The devil may throw obstacles and evil circumstances at you, but God will turn it around for your greater blessing because He promised He will! Our God is a covenant God. He is standing in a covenant relationship with us! Let us honor our covenant with God. Let us celebrate our victory and the promises of God for us!