Joshua 1:5-8 ESV
“…I will not leave you or forsake you.” V. 5b (cf. Matt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5-6)
Moses had died. So, the Lord spoke to Joshua. He told him to
take the people across the Jordan into the Promised Land that he was giving
them for their possession. And, he told him that just as he was with Moses, so
he would be with Joshua. He would never leave him or forsake him.
So, what is the Promised Land for believers in Jesus Christ?
What are we to cross over and take possession of? What is our inheritance in
the Lord?
Our inheritance is our salvation from sin, and it is eternal
life with God. It is both present and it is future. If we have trusted Jesus
Christ to be our Lord and Savior, we have obtained our inheritance, and yet we
have yet to take full possession of it.
For, scripture teaches that we are saved (past), we are
being saved (present), and that we will be saved (future) when Christ returns
and he takes us to be with him forever, and then our salvation will be
complete.
So, what does the Jordan River represent? It was what stood
between the people and their Promised Land, i.e. their inheritance. It was an
obstacle to them reaching their inheritance. And, what is the obstacle that
stands between us, as humans, and us receiving salvation from sin? It is sin. And,
who is our Joshua? He is Jesus Christ.
He is the one who parted the waters for us so that we could
pass through to the other side. And, he did this via his death on a cross, at
which time he became sin for us so that he could put sin to death along with
him. And this was so that through faith in him we are able, by God’s grace, to
die with Christ to sin that we might live with him to righteousness. For, we
must die to sin and self if we want to live with Christ for eternity (1 Pet.
2:24).
But, we don’t do this in our own flesh. We can’t! This is
the working of God’s Spirit in our hearts as we cooperate with that work of
salvation that our Lord is working within us. He is the one changing us and
making us into the likeness of Christ as we yield control of our lives over to
him, and as we submit to his Lordship.
For, the children of Israel had to submit to Joshua’s
leadership, and they had to do what he instructed them to do if they wanted to
make it to the Promised Land. They had to step out in faith, and believe God,
and follow the lead of Joshua. They didn’t part the waters, God did. They
didn’t make the way for themselves to cross over the Jordan. God did. But, they
had to step out in faith and follow Joshua across that river if they wanted to
get to the other side.
And, it is the same with our salvation. Jesus provided the
way for us to be saved. We cannot affect our own salvation. But, we have to
take the way he provided, and that way is via death to sin and living to
righteousness, daily by the Spirit taking up our cross and following (obeying)
Jesus Christ. Just as the people had to follow Joshua, we have to obey our Lord
and do what he says if we want to inherit eternal life with God (Lu. 9:23-25).
But, we can also be assured that, when we take that step of
faith, and the Holy Spirit comes to live within us, we have the Lord with us
every step of the way, no matter what obstacles we may face along the way.
“Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.” V. 6
We are not Jesus Christ, but we are his representatives. The
Holy Spirit dwells within us, meaning God lives within our hearts and lives. We
are the body of Christ, and we are to carry on the ministry of Jesus that he
began when he walked the face of this earth.
This means that we are to be ministering to people’s needs,
bringing healing into their lives, feeding the hungry, and giving water to the
thirsty. But, this is not just physical. This is spiritual, too.
We are to be sharing with them the true gospel of our
salvation so that they can find spiritual healing for their sin-sick souls. We,
too, are to be feeding them the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ and his Living
Word. And, we are to be giving them the words of life, which can lead them to
salvation and to eternal life with God, too.
But, in order to do this, we need to be strong in the Lord
and in our faith, and be walking in fellowship with our Lord, according to his
Spirit, and no longer according to our flesh. He must be Lord (owner-master) of
our lives, and we must be living in submission to him. We must, too, operate
underneath the power of the Holy Spirit, and not in our flesh, for it is the
Spirit of God who will convict hearts and turn people to faith in Jesus Christ.
And, we must be courageous, too, in sharing our faith with
other people, not afraid of what they will think about us, say about us, or do
to us. We must care more about them than we do ourselves, realizing that their
salvation is to be put above our own personal comfort and our own natural
inclination to want to be liked by other people. For, when we share the TRUE
gospel, we are going to be opposed, hated, rejected and persecuted.
“Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.” V. 7
“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 good success.” V. 8
It is not the law of Moses we must follow now. But, it is
the Word of God as taught under the New Covenant Relationship God has with us,
his followers. If Old Testament truths fit with the New Covenant, then they
should be followed, as well.
But, a walk (in practice, not in perfection) of obedience to
God and to his Word is critical to our ongoing relationships with him and to
the hope of eternal life with God. So, we must be careful to follow what the
Word teaches us, to not ignore it, to not twist it to our advantage, nor to pick
it apart and only accept what fits with our chosen lifestyles.
For, it is important not merely that we know the Word of
God, but that we DO the Word of God. For its very purpose is that it might be
applied to our lives. For, God’s will and purposes for us is that we might live
holy lives, pleasing to him, and that must forsake our former lifestyles of
living for sin and self in order to now walk in holiness and purity before our
Lord.
And, this takes courage to do this when we are faced with so
many temptations to follow after the ways of this world. This takes courage to
do this when we have so many voices speaking at us trying to convince us that
the way of the cross is old fashioned, or that it is legalistic, or that it
means we are trying to earn our own salvation.
We must go against the fear of what others think about us.
We must go against the fear of the possibility of being rejected, hated or even
persecuted for our faith in Christ. And, we must stand strong in our faith in a
time when so many are following the broad road which leads to destruction. And,
we must be a beacon to show people the way to salvation. Amen!
Fear
Not, Little Flock
An
Original Work / February 10, 2016
Based
off Luke 12
Fear not, little flock,
Your Lord’s always near.
Jesus will come and
Wipe every tear.
Trust in His mercy,
Rest in His love.
He’ll give you comfort
From heaven above.
Our precious Redeemer,
Jesus, our friend,
He will be with us,
True to the end.
He will not leave you,
Faithful He’ll be.
Believe His promises,
Rest on His knee.
Our God, and provider,
He knows our need.
He’ll not forsake you.
Follow His lead.
He’ll love and comfort you
To the end.
Know, on His Word,
You can always depend.
Monday, March 4, 2019
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