The Command
Joshua 1:1-4 Now after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spoke unto 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 this 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 Mission
The first thing I want us to notice is that Joshua's ministry was a taking ground ministry. His entire ministry was to keep moving forward, taking more and more ground from the Canaanites. He was not to become comfortable and complacent with what he had; he was not to become satisfied with what he had gained. He was to realize there was more land God wanted to give him and to keep moving forward.
As the Army of Christ this is always our calling, to go forward and take ground for the Kingdom of God. Our mission is to continually advance upon Satan's territory, taking more terrain from the enemy with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I am going to say something that may shock you, but here it goes! The devil never attacks us. (You looked shocked by my statement). Hear me out. The devil never attacks us; he counter-attacks us because we are the ones on the offensive. We are the ones advancing against his kingdom. We are the ones always taking ground.
So, where does taking ground begin?
Vs. 3 "Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you.
In essence, God is telling Joshua, As long as march, you subdue. As long as you keep moving forward, you will win victory after victory. You will continue to take more and more ground and no one will be able to stop you.
I believe this is a powerful promise to the New Covenant church regarding prayer because when it comes to warfare, prayer is our first work. In God's word to Joshua, the Lord is speaking to His church, As long as you continue to pray, you will win victory after victory. As long as you are tenacious in intercession, you will take more and more ground.
As the church, I think we really need to get ahold of this truth. We need to realize there are so many victories waiting to be won in prayer. There are so many victories God is waiting to give us if we will just pray.
However, going back to Joshua, notice the condition God gave him: Vs. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you. In other words, Joshua, to take it, your foot has to step on it; to take it, your heel has to set upon it. As long as you are marching, you are occupying. As long as you are moving forward, you are taking ground. BUT THE DAY YOU STOP MARCHING IS THE DAY YOU STOP OCCUPYING! THE DAY YOU STOP ADVANCING, YOU STOP SUBDUING!
I can say most assuredly this applies to the church regarding prayer. As long as we are praying, we are taking ground, but when the spirit of prayer dies and we are no longer a praying church, we are no long taking territory away from Satan's kingdom. A dead church is a prayer-less church.
Some years ago I was asked to speak at a church that was having a very difficult time paying its bills. They were very fearful they would be forced to close their doors permanently. The attendance was very low and the money just was not there. The Pastor asked me to come and encourage them in the Word before that tragic day came. The Saturday before I was to speak I took a drive through the community that surrounded that church. Do you know what I saw? Alcoholism; addiction; divorce; reports of suicide. I fell on my face before the Lord, O God, why does this church have to close its doors?! This community needs this church! They need to hope and the power that is in this church! Why is this tragedy happening?! The Lord suddenly broke into my prayer and said bluntly, Well, it's not because their attendance is low. It's not because they have no money. The problem is, they don't pray. They do everything but pray. So tell them if they will begin to pray; if they will get back into the altars and start calling upon God, I will raise this church from the dead.
With much humility I spoke the Word the Lord put into my heart. You ask, Did they receive it? They must have because the last time I went back, there were ex-alcoholics and convicts sitting in the first few rows, gloriously saved, changed and living the transformed life. Praise be to God!
The mandate
Joshua 1:10, 11 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, Pass through the host and command the people saying, 'Prepare your provisions; for within three days you will pass over Jordan to possess the land, which the Lord your God gives you.
In other words, As we get ready to move in and take possession of the land, prepare your bread and water. Patch up your tents. Make sure your provisions are ready. We have been wandering around the wilderness for a long time, and as we get ready to move into the place of battle, fix whatever needs fixing and ready whatever needs to be readied. Prepare your provision.
Looking at the mandate God gave His people, as New Covenant believers I want us to realize our enemy is a spiritual enemy. God gives His spiritual army, the church, the same command: Prepare your provision.
Since our walk is a spiritual walk, we do not prepare ourselves by making sure we have physical bread and water. God is saying, Prepare the provision of your heart. In other words, prepare your faith; prepare your strength; prepare your vision.
So then we ask, How? How do I prepare the provision of my heart?
How? By cultivating a life in God's Word. God is saying, My Word will strengthen your heart. My Word will fortify your faith. I am God and I do not perform a man-sized task, I perform a God-sized task. Therefore, you are going to need a God-sized vision. In my Word I will prepare your vision.
As a church and a people who are called to 'take ground,' we can never underestimate the importance of entrenching ourselves in God's Word. Thinking about Joshua, what did God tell Joshua his success depended on? Joshua 1:8 This book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate upon it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success. Think about it. Did God tell Joshua his success depended upon how big or how little the enemy was? Did God tell Joshua that succeeding in his God-given mission depended on how strong or weak the enemy was? No. In fact, God did not even mention the enemy at all because the enemy had nothing to do with Joshua succeeding or failing. His success had everything to do with his relationship with God in the Word.
As long as Joshua walked with God according to His Word, he was unstoppable! The same thing applies in this New Covenant day. The enemy has nothing to do with whether the church succeeds or fails in its calling. As long as we walk in loving obedience to God's Word, we are unstoppable!
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