Joshua

Time for a Change!

Joshua 1:1-10, 16-18

 

Opening Words: It has become my custom to take the summer months and preach on a single Old Testament character. If you have been with me in the past then you may remember on summer series on Nehemiah, Elijah, Ruth, Moses, Joseph or Esther. This summer want to look at the story of Joshua.

 

I preach these sermons series for several reasons. First, we believe in the witness of both the Old and New Testaments. Within the life of Joshua there are lessons to help us live life today. Second, I want to remind you of these great stories. We live in Biblically illiterate times. We simply don’t know the stories as well as earlier generations. Third, I preach these sermon series to remind you that I am going to be here all summer and I hope you are too.

 

So let us begin our study on the story of Joshua in the very first chapter. I would encourage you to look at the first ten verses of the first chapter and then look down to verses sixteen through eighteen. Let me call this message Time for a Change. May God give you ears to hear?

 

Joshua 1:1-10, 16-18 1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: 2 "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." 10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people:

 

16 Then they answered Joshua, "Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!"

　

Several months ago the world was saddened at the news. A plane carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife, Marie, and 95 other high ranking government officials crashed in foggy weather in western Russia. They were traveling to a memorial service to remember 20,000 Polish soldier who had died on that spot during World War II. At the news of the plane crash Poland instantly became a grieving nation. As a sign of their grieve they lit countless candles in memory of those they had lost. Every society expresses grief in unique way.

 

I do not know how the people of Israel expressed their grief. Perhaps they lit a candle or perhaps they just cried. However, I do know the people were grieving. Verse two tells us bluntly that Moses, their great law giver and leader was dead. Our story begins at a funeral. Everyone was filled with questions. How did Moses die? Where will he be buried? When did you see him last? How are those closest to Moses doing? Is there anything we can do to comfort them in their time of need? In time someone asked the most painful question of all. Who is going to take Moses place? God, Himself, answers that question. Moses will be replaced by Joshua.

 

The one word that summarizes this text is the word “change.” Everything in their lives is about to change. Moses had been leading God’s Chosen People” from their days in Egypt. Their leader now will be Joshua. He will do things in his own way. His presence will bring more change. They are about to change their entire lifestyle. They have been wandering in the wilderness for forty years. They are nomadic rural people but that was about to change. They are about to claim their new land and some will become city dwellers. The word is “change.“ One of the things I love about God is that God seems to like change. Just when you think you have God figured out, He does something in a new way. The Bible is filled with countless examples of how God is always changing things.

 

So what I want to talk about today is change. It is important that we are ready for change as a church and you are open to change as an individual because God is always open to something fresh and new. I am not going to talk about why we should change. I am going to talk about three reasons we don’t like change. I know it is a little negative but this will speak to you. So if you are ready to look at three reasons why we don’t like change say, “Amen! “

 

Past Successes

Some people don’t like change because it is easier to rest on past successes. It is easier to rest on past accomplishments then risk something new. Do you know of anyone who loves to review past accomplishments but hasn’t tried anything new for years?

 

It would have been easy for the people of Israel to rest on their past accomplishments. Just think about it for a moment. Moses had just died. If you review Moses’ life you remember one success after another. He stood in front of the people through some of their most memorable experiences. He stood before the Pharaoh and demanded liberation. He called upon God and God sent the plagues came. How could you forget the Passover? He led them into the wilderness and divided the Red Sea. He handed them the Ten Commandments and wrote the Torah. He led them through forty years in the wilderness. They had known success under Moses leadership but now Moses is dead. Joshua is in command. What did they really know about Joshua? It would have been easy not to cross the Jordan and make a change. Do you know of anyone who loves to review past accomplishments but hasn’t tried anything new for years?

Some say that is the story of the church. During the late 1950s the church reached her zenith. Every seemed to go to church and the church seemed to be in the main stream of society. We fell in love with a certain style of worship that spoke to that time. The problem is society changed but the church didn’t change. Every church tells the same story. The want to rekindle those glory days of the 1950s but it is no longer the 1950s. Many congregations refuse to change from a 1950s style of worship that no longer speaks to our world. Do you know of anyone who rather close then see a projection system brought into their sanctuary? If so then you know someone who refuses to change because of past success. The world is changing like or not. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

 

Past Hurts

Some people don’t like change because of past hurts. You can not really blame them. Who wants to lick the electric outlet for a second time? Do you know of someone who does not like change because of some past hurt?

In the text for this morning, Joshua is addressing the officers of the people. He is not addressing the people. The officers reply in verse 16 that they will follow his commands. In am not sure 100% of the ordinary people were excited about the coming changes. I believe some wanted to stay on that side of the Jordan River. I am sure more then one said, “Who does he think he is?” They still had some unfinished business on that side of the Jordan. Do you know of anyone who can’t move forward in their life because they have some unfinished business in their past?

 

Dr. Paul Tournier in his book A Doctor’s Casebook in the Light of the Bible tells about a patient of his who battled anemia. He had been working with her for some months without much success. He had tried vitamins, diet and exercise to no avail. He finally decided to put her in the hospital. When they admitted her into the hospital they ran to usual battery of tests. They discovered her anemia was gone. He visited her later and asked what had happened. Had anything changed in her life over the past few days? She told Dr. Tournier that she had forgiven a woman and they had reconciled. They had gone out to lunch and had exchanged gifts. That reconciliation was the reason for her cure. Do you hear what I am saying? When you refuse to forgive some one of past hurts then you only hurt yourself. When you forgive someone from some past hurt then you reap the benefits.

 

I think there is a sermon in there. Don’t let your past hurts immobilize you. Don’t left your past hurts fester within you. Don’t let your past hurts make you sick. If God Chosen People would have stayed on that side of the Jordan River then they would have missed the whole thing. What are you missing by missing not forgiving someone in your past? The world is changing like it or not. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

 

Past Disappointments

Some people don’t like change because of past disappointments. You can not really blame them. Life is filled with disappointments. Do you know of some who refuses to change because they are tired of being disappointed?

Where is the disappointment in this story? The disappointment comes from the fact that Moses is dead. After all of his work, Moses didn’t get to experience the Promised Land. It just didn’t seem fair. Thirty-five hundred years later I don’t think it is fair. I believe that generation didn’t think in was fair either. I would bet Joshua didn’t think it was fair. As they are about to enter into that long awaited Promised land there must have been a little disappointment because Moses wasn’t with them. Do you know of anyone who isn’t able to move forward because of some past disappointment?

 

When I met my wife, Kathryn, she was the pastor of the Clinton United Methodist Church. Clinton lays between Barberton and Canal Fulton. She had a parishioner by the name of Bernard. He was a widower which wasn’t surprising because he was 95 years old. We was remarkable for his age. His mind was good and he still lived in his own home. He used to say, “He are all in the same boat. However some of us have been in that boat longer.” When Bernard died Kathryn officiated at his funeral. Bernard’s son, Bill had everyone to Bernard’s house for a sandwich. The house was to be sold so Bill invited people to wonder around the house hoping for a potential buyer. I walked through that house because I was noisy. When I got to the second floor I saw something I didn’t expect. The master bedroom was sealed off by a baby gate. I looked in that room and saw women’s clothing in the closet. I saw dated furniture and old pictures. I saw a 1960 calendar on the wall with November 10 circled. I found out Bernard’s wife, Margaret, died on November 10, 1960. She died suddenly in a car crash. He closed that room and left it just they way it was on that horrible day. No one had slept in that room in decades. Bill said his dad would sit tin the hallway and read his paper. He would look in that room and remembered Margaret. Bill said, “In certain way mom and dad died on the same day.” He refused to change a thing because of past disappointments.

 

Do you know of someone who hasn’t been able to get over some past disappointments? Maybe that person is you? The world is changing like it or not. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

 

An interesting map is on display in the British Museum in London. It's an old mariner's chart, drawn in 1525, outlining the North American coastline and adjacent waters. The cartographer made some intriguing notations on areas of the map that represented regions not yet explored. He wrote: "Here be giants," "Here be fiery scorpions," and "Here be dragons." Eventually, the map came into the possession of Sir John Franklin, a British explorer in the early 1800s. Scratching out the fearful inscriptions, he wrote these words across the map: "Here is God."

 

When you look to the future what do you see? Does anyone here see giants, scorpions or dragons? Does anyone here see God? Like it or not our world is changing. Like it or not you are changing. How do you feel about change? God loves it! And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”