This past Sunday, I began my new pastorate at Chandler Southern Baptist Church. We do not currently have video recording set up, so I was not able to record the first message in our series Joshua: Courage Over Fear. So for this week’s blog post, I am posting my transcript of that sermon.

I am excited to get started today as your pastor. As most of you know, I will still be working for the next couple of weeks at the seminary in Fort Worth during this time of transition. We appreciate your prayers for us as we keep the highways warm. I always want to take a moment to say thank you to all who are working on the parsonage. We appreciate your hard work.

It is always a mix of excitement and discomfort when major life changes happen. Transitions are difficult. One of the challenging parts of coming into a new pastorate is the question of what to preach on your first Sunday. I began praying about this the Monday after you called me as your pastor. At Gambrell Street on Sunday nights, we were preaching a series through the whole of Scripture with a rotation of preachers. I ended up having one sermon in Joshua 2.

I wasn’t originally scheduled to preach that passage, but I believe the Lord used it to guide me to preaching the book of Joshua. Joshua begins in a time of transition of leadership and a renewed mission. So over the next several weeks, we will study the book in a series called Joshua: Courage Over Fear.

Before we jump into it this morning, let’s take a moment to go to the Lord in prayer.

Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant, saying, “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory.

Joshua 1:1-4 NASB 95

‌Divine Marching Orders

Joshua 1 must be read in its emotional context. It is a time of transition. Moses, the man who had led the Israelites out of bondage in Israel; Moses, the man who had met with God and brought them the Lord’s commandments; Moses, the man who had prayed to the Lord and intervened on Israel’s behalf; Moses, who had led the Israelites through the wilderness for generations, has died. Now, this was not unexpected. Moses knew he would not be allowed to enter the Promised Land. He had allowed the pressure of leading the people to get to him and he disobeyed God.

Dt. 32:51-52

“51 because you broke faith with Me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of the sons of Israel. 52 You shall see the land at a distance, but you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving the sons of Israel.”

‌The book of Joshua immediately follows Deuteronomy. In the final chapter of Deuteronomy, God kept his promise to Moses. He went up Mount Pisgah’s lofty heights and looked upon the Promised Land. And then in

Dt 34:5

Moses died in the land of Moab, not able to enter the Promised Land. But Moses had been the faithful servant of the Lord and God Himself buried him in that land. Moses, this great leader of Israel, was dead and the people mourned his loss (Dt. 34:8).

‌Now, the time has come for a new leader, someone to follow Moses. Joshua is God’s chosen man. What do we know about Joshua?

‌Joshua is introduced as the son of Nun of the tribe of Ephraim. His name was Hoshea, but Moses called him “Yehoshua,” which translated into English as Joshua. He was born in Egypt before the Exodus, likely during Moses’s time in Midian. Joshua is first mentioned in Exodus 17 as the leader of the Israelites in their victory over the Amalekites. Ex 33 tells us that he had been an aide to Moses since his youth. When Moses went up to Mount Sinai to receive the stone tablets of the law, Joshua went with him. When they came to the Promised Land for the first time, Moses sent 12 spies, one from each tribe. Joshua was the spy from Ephraim and he was one of the two who came back and said they could take the land. Ex 33 indicates that when Moses would go to the camp, Joshua would stay in the Tent of Meeting. He had been designated as Moses’s successor by the Lord and commissioned by Moses in Numbers 27. So by all accounts, Joshua is prepared to lead the people of Israel. This is further affirmed in the following verses in Joshua as God speaks directly to Joshua, just as He did with Moses. And God gives Joshua his marching orders.

The mission is to pick up where Moses left off. Go into the land that God has promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the following generations. The possession of this land is the central goal of the Pentateuch. It is God’s gift to His special people, but it is Joshua’s job to lead the people to take active possession of God’s promises. The task before Joshua seems daunting.

We are in a similar position as Israel in this chapter. We are in transition. Brother Keith served as your pastor for many years. I did not have the privilege to know him personally, but I am sure I will get to know more about him as I serve as your pastor. I am sure many of you are still mourning his passing, especially as the anniversary of it nears. I want you to feel free to mourn him even as we transition to new leadership together.

But we must also look forward to the renewed mission. God has given Chandler Southern a mission. He has placed us in this community to be an active community of Christ. Our marching orders are not the same as Israel’s, but they are the same as every local expression of Christ’s church. Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” and in Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you…” We have our marching orders, but the task seems daunting. But the Lord has promised to be with us, just as he promised Joshua in these next verses.

No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.

Joshua 1:5–6 NASB 95

‌The Powerful Presence of the Lord

These verses are a heart-warming promise to Joshua that he would not only succeed but that God would be with him like He had been with Moses. When someone follows a great leader, the question is “Can he or she fill the shoes of the previous leader?” When it comes to spiritual entities, like the nation of Israel or the church of Christ, this is not the real question. Ultimately, we don’t rely upon human personalities and skills to lead us, or at least we shouldn’t. Moses and Joshua had quite different personalities. David and Solomon also were different. I can guarantee you that Keith and Joel are not completely alike. God has made each of us different from the other, but He does not change.

When God told Joshua that He would be with him like He was with Moses, He applied the same promises he made to Moses. Deuteronomy 7:24 says“He will deliver their kings into your hand so that you will make their name perish from under heaven; no man will be able to stand before you until you have destroyed them.” And in Deuteronomy 11:25 “No man will be able to stand before you; the Lord your God will lay the dread of you and the fear of you on all the land on which you set foot, as He has spoken to you.” The book of Joshua shows that God is faithful to His promises, not just to one generation, but to countless generations.

There is an interesting word pair here that you may already be familiar with. God promises that He will never leave nor forsake Joshua. The word “leave” means that God will not relax His efforts. He will not become slack because of a new leader. The other word translated forsake means He will always be present. In Hebrews 13, the New Testament applies this same promise to us. God will never leave nor forsake us. The Great Commission ends with a similar promise Matthew 28:20 “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

It is because of the promise of God’s powerful presence that He commands Joshua to “be strong and courageous.” We see this command repeated three times in verses 6, 7, and 9. This pairing of words best reflects the idea of being resolved to bravery.

William Tecumseh Sherman was the Union commander following Ulysses Grant. During the Battle of Bull Run, Sherman was grazed by bullets in the knee and shoulder. He knew something about courage. He is quoted as saying, “I would define true courage to be a perfect sensibility of the measure of danger, and a mental willingness to endure it.”

This is what God is asking of Joshua here. A mental willingness to endure the danger of conquering the promised land. Joshua needed to decide now, in the beginning, that he would be courageous, not out of foolhardy pride, but out of the understanding that God is with him and with Israel. If Joshua, as the leader, was weak, then the people would be weak as well. But courage begets courage. Joshua’s courage would lead the rest to courage as well.

Friends, God has promised to be with us. He is the power for the mission He has given us. Let us also be resolute in courage as we press onward. Let’s encourage one another to be “strong and courageous,” knowing that the Lord is with us and He is the power to accomplish His mission. But the Lord will only be with us if we stay with Him. Therefore, God commands Joshua in the next couple of verses:

Be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. 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 success.

Joshua 1:7–8 (NASB 95)

‌The Importance Of God’s Word

‌As Joshua is preparing to lead Israel into a military conquest of the land, it would make sense for God to give Joshua instructions regarding military matters, but in the second instance of the command to be strong and courageous, God emphasizes that the key to success in their endeavors would not be found in military expertise. Although they would face many battles ahead, the key to success was spiritual. The addition of the word very this one instance emphasizes that Joshua needed to be resolute about keeping the law. He needed to ensure scrupulous obedience to the law of Moses. With the many ties to Deuteronomy, scholars agree that at minimum Joshua and Israel must obey the law found in Deuteronomy, but the law of Moses probably means the whole of the Pentateuch. If Joshua did not make God’s law his first priority, his leadership would fail. There are three sub-commands regarding the law.

‌Proclaim the Word

He says, “Do not let it depart from your mouth.” Joshua was to not just be familiar with the law but to keep it in his mouth. God’s Word was to shape all of his own words. He was supposed to talk about it all of the time, reminding the people.No ministry can succeed without being built on the Word of God.‌

Everything that we do must be based on the Bible, not on traditions. As a historian, traditions are important to me. There are many traditions that we should keep because they are pragmatic or because they are significant. But “we’ve always done it this way” does not override the biblical mission God has given to us. Sometimes traditions need to be set aside so we can fulfill the mission God has given to us.

Everything we do must be based on the Bible, not on emotions. Just because we like the way something makes us feel doesn’t mean we need to do it or to keep doing it. The church is not a social club; it is a worshiping, missionary organization. Our goal is not to make ourselves feel good. Our goal is to make disciples for Christ.

‌Everything we do must be based on the Bible, not on pragmatism. Pragmatism takes the supernatural out of our ministry. We must not rely on what is simply common sense. As we will see as we study Joshua, many times the supernatural acts of God supersede human logic.

‌So we should speak the Word of God to one another. Paul told the Ephesians in chapter 5 verse 1 to speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. The Word must remain in our mouths as we speak with one another.

‌But that is not enough. The Word of God must be in our mouths as we interact with people in our community. In 2014, Thom Rainer, the former president of LifeWay, published a book titled Autopsy of a Deceased Church. He and his team have continued gathering research on why churches fail. Just this week, he released some updated information. One of the top reasons that churches died was that they stopped talking to people about God. They didn’t evangelize. They didn’t invite people to church. Let’s learn from them and keep the Word of God in our mouths as we talk to people in our community.

‌Remember the Word

‌Next God told Joshua, “meditate on it day and night.” To be able to keep the Word of God in your mouth, you must first keep it in your mind. The phrase implies an eager, focused study free of distractions. Robert Hubbard pictures it as the reader hunched over the Word, eyes riveted on every syllable in order not to miss any detail. The Hebrew word has the connotation of audibly murmuring. It is not enough just to skim it and move on with your day. Keep it in your mind and on your tongue. But this is not just for your knowledge, like memorizing a selection of Shakespeare. It has a greater purpose.

‌Obey the Word

‌God told him, “Be careful to do what is written”. It was not enough for Joshua to know and speak the Law. He was to put the Law into practice. We must as well. Live it out. Give it feet in the real world. In James chapter 1, verse 22 it is written, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” It is hypocritical to know the meditate upon the word and to speak it but not live it out.

‌The result of Joshua keeping the law was that his way would prosper and succeed in the mission God had given to him. Now, the Bible is full of promises about prosperity and success and some read them as guarantees that all Christians will or should succeed in every venture they undertake. But that is not what the Bible depicts, and certainly not what this passage is teaching. The focus of believers’ lives is not prosperity and success, but the obedience and holiness that God is talking to Joshua about here. Our obsession should be for holiness, for God himself is holy. How are we holy?

Ecclesiastes 12:13 says, “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments because this applies to every person.” The point for Joshua is to be faithful. If he was faithful in obedience, God will take care of the rest. The same is true for us. Stay faithful, follow obediently, and let God take care of the rest.

‌How will you respond to your marching orders?

‌Joshua received his marching orders, along with the command to be resolute in God’s Word and trust in God’s powerful presence. So

‌How did Joshua respond?

‌He gathered the leaders of Israel and told them to prepare the people to cross the Jordan River to go and take the land. If you read through verses 12-15, you will see that Joshua quickly obeys Moses as God had commanded him. He implemented Moses’s instructions concerning the eastern Transjordan tribes and calls them to remember the decrees in Numbers 32. Joshua seems to basically quote Moses in his instructions to the people. So he indeed keeps the Word in his mouth!

‌It is one thing for God to commission Joshua as the leader and another for the people to follow him.

‌How did the people respond?

‌They recognize Joshua as the leader, effectively transferring tribal allegiance to him from Moses. In verse 17 they agree to obey Joshua as they obeyed Moses. This promise is not as good as it appears on the surface since they did not fully obey Moses, but we will see if they do better with Joshua than they did with Moses.

‌So how will you respond?

‌God has brought us together. He has given us a mission to accomplish. Even though you have a new pastor, the same faithful, powerful God is present with you. Will you join me in following Him wherever He leads us?