Weapons!
In our last lesson we covered The Mission: take ground. We also covered, The Mandate: prepare your provision. In this segment, I want to begin talking about The Means: weapons!
the means: By what means did Joshua drive out the Canaanites? Spiritual weapons
I want to look at some of the important weapons the Lord gave to Joshua so he could fulfill his mission. I want you to notice that these are spiritual weapons; we are not talking about bows, arrows and spears.
A Strong Spirit Joshua 1:1-4 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass, that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses minister, saying, "Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given to you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even to the great river, Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
The first thing I want us to recognize is that Joshua had a clear vision of what he was called to do. God's Word had made Joshua's vision discernible. My point is simply that in the lives of all God's people, at some point there will be a clear vision and understanding of what God is calling us to do. In walking with God, some will clearly see they are called to be Pastors. Others will clearly see they are called to be missionaries. Others will clearly see they are called to be lights and witnesses on their job site or in their career. Whatever the call, somewhere in our walk with God we will begin to clearly perceive what God's call on our life is.
For Joshua, when the call came to his heart, he understood nothing was more important than the call. Nothing was more crucial than fulfilling his ministry. He clearly understood nothing was to compete with his mission; he needed to give it all of his heart, mind, soul and strength. This is where he was to invest his life.
Today, we need to understand that Joshua's calling was to take physical ground, but in this New Covenant day our calling is to take the ground of the heart. You see, the call of God always revolves around people. Jesus died to save and deliver people. Jesus shed His blood on the cross to heal and restore people. People are the only treasure in this earth that have eternal value. Nothing is more important than people.
Like Joshua, we need to understand seeing lives touched and transformed by the Lord is what matters most. What really matters is people, and what God wants to do in their lives. Whatever calling God has chosen to place upon my life to impact people, this is where I am to invest my life.
To accomplish our purpose in impacting people, Joshua 1 tells us 2 things are needed
Joshua 1:6 Be strong and of good courage
First of all, we need to be strong
In Christian ministry today, we hear much about the word impact. We hear phrases like, "We need to be impactful. We need to make an impact." This is so true, but do you know what the word impact means?
Impact: collision; the act of one object coming forcibly into contact with another; to come into violent contact with another object.
My point: You cannot have impact without violent collision. In other words, it is impossible to live an impactful life without pain, distress, combat, conflict, battles and struggles. To make an impact, there must be collision!
This requires a strong, resilient spirit
Here is the good news: God is the God of preparation. He does not call you to something until he prepares you first. God prepares this strong, resilient spirit in the lives of His people.
And where does God prepare this strong spirit?
Well, where did he prepare Joshua? In the wilderness.
I know when we hear the word wilderness, our first response can be a glum, Oh.
We know what the wilderness represents in our own lives and it is not always an easy place.
The wilderness represents those places in our lives where we realize how utterly bankrupt we are in ourselves. The children of Israel hated the wilderness because it was a place where they had nothing; no food; no water; no shelter; so they had to daily look to God in utter dependence. They hated that because it was frightening to have absolutely nothing and have to put all your trust in the Lord. In our own lives God will lead us into wilderness places where we realize, In myself I am totally bankrupt. I have no resources of my own. Therefore I must look to God for all my resources.
The wilderness represents that place where everything in our natural man dries up and dies. Our natural strength, abilities, thinking and reasoning that acts independently of God withers away. Until this happens, we cannot truly live in the fullness of Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord.
I think about Moses. He took the rod of God in his hand. That rod was nothing more than an old, withered, dried up, dead stick. Yet, the power that flowed from that rod when Moses lifted it up. Beloved, that rod represented Moses life. In that 40 years in the wilderness, everything in Moses natural man dried up and died. When Moses returned to Egypt, the only thing that remained was the strength and power of God.
The wilderness represents those frequent seasons in our life where we are pressed into tremendous weakness. Then in that weakness, we experience God's tremendous grace and strength. Paul writes, Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
Yes, this is what the wilderness represents, and so much more
Yet, here is the hope: if the wilderness is anything, it is the wonderful, powerful place of transformation!
Song of Solomon 8:5 Who is this that comes up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved.
Reading this beautiful verse, if you listen closely you can hear the awe in the beholder's voice. Who is this person coming out of the wilderness?! I don't recognize her anymore! There has been such a change in her life! This woman coming out of the wilderness is not the same woman who went into the wilderness! Her life has been beautifully touched and transformed by God! Who are you?!
And notice this woman comes out of the wilderness leaning upon her beloved.
When you lean upon something, you are resting on its strength. In this is a precious promise: when we come out of the wilderness, we will come out walking in a deeper strength in the Lord. In our wilderness of weakness we learn to be carried by God's precious grace just a little bit more.
Praise be to God!
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