Joshua

So the past year or 2... or 3... I've been waking up with the name Joshua on my mind.

So at first... I was like... ok... well maybe I'm supposed to read Joshua. So I read it... didn't really get much out of it... so... Life went on... But the name wouldn't go away...

So I started thinking... ok God... maybe it's the name of a guy... like... husband? but... I don't know any Joshuas...

So I just keep waking up with it... and dwelling on it... but nothing has really come of it...

I've been teaching the little kid's Sunday School... and it was time to take a break... the pastor's wife took over for me and the morning that I walked into adult Sunday School for the first time in almost a year... we started a study on Joshua.

well huh...

One of the first things that we talked about was the fact that the promised land, is not symbolic of heaven. Heaven is a place of peace... when the Israelites crossed over into the land... it was to take the land by force. They were purging the land of all the pagan peoples.

My pastor died very suddenly 2 years ago. And when he did... There was a very real sense of God saying "ok Charity... it's time to depend on me... not on somebody else..." Because I did depend on Doug. I very much depended on him... for a little bit of everything...

We were a church plant. We are a new church. We'd only been in existence for a couple of years. He was the only pastor we'd had...

So when we started on Joshua... one of the guys in Sunday School said something like this:

"Moses is dead. The one who has led them out of bondage is dead. And it's time for Joshua, a new leader, with a new generation, to step up and enter into the promised land... to face the enemy."

And right now man... I'd been thinking about Doug for a week or so... and it just hit so hard.

Our church is in the middle of a transition. We are moving into a new building. With a new pastor. With a new identity.

It is not the time to sit and do nothing. We are crossing over the river Jordan. We are crossing over to the battlefield. Now is the time to step up, take leadership, and move forward in our walk with Christ.

This morning... it was pointed out that the Israelites never did take possession of their entire inheritance. In their entire history... they only possessed 10% of what they were supposed to. 10%!

So as we move into this new place. As we move into the battlefield... it's not a time to take 10%. It's time to step up and take the whole 100%. We can't grow lax. We can't grow apathetic.

And this isn't just for my church.

I heard a statistic the other day that said something like 1 in every 10 pastors quit within... I think the first 3 or 5 years of ministry? Or maybe it was within the first year? I can't remember... and then another one that blew me away... I forget how many hundreds of pastors quit EVERY DAY in the USA.

We are becoming a people of ease. When the going gets tough... we move out.

The battlefield is in front of us. We are supposed to be purging the land. We're supposed to be picking up the leadership and moving the Church forward into the mission... and instead... we're sitting on the other side of the river saying "but there's giants in the land!"

I feel like we've had our 40 years of wandering already. We've already been wandering around in circles just passing time...

It's time for a generation... or 4... or 5... or 12... to stand up and say "We WILL go in to take the land. We WILL go in to claim the inheritance. We WILL go in to clear out the pagan nations and idols."

So... in thinking about Joshua... Are you ready to cross over? Cause the time is coming near. Sooner than you think...

One of the things we talked about today was the cleansing of the people. Before they could cross over, God gave the command that the people should purify themselves before Him. Or consecrate themselves to Him.

Get rid of all the stuff in their lives or hearts that was holding them back from going in to be victorious. Clean out the old house and get ready to listen to God... and obey Him to the letter.

It is time to stand up and say "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." And stick by it. It's time to face the giants... the enemy... and it's time to win! God has prepared the way! He has opened up the path. He has given us all the tools we need. And He goes before us into the land...

Will you come with us? Will you follow the voice of God? Will you drop all that weighs you down and pick up your battle gear?