"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 Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand 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 ancestors 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 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; 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 afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”" Joshua 1:1-9

Joshua was Moses' understudy and servant. Joshua was always with Moses. 

For the second time the Israelites are standing on the banks of the Jordan waiting to enter the Promises Land. These are the commands to a new man, a new leader -- Joshua. Be strong and very courageous. 

"Between tne Now and the Not yet"

Their promised land is in front of them. We are in the Now and the Not Yet -- we are saved now. We have redemption now. Get Ready! In 3 days  you'll cross into your promised land. He didn't send scouts this time. God said, Go. So Joshua said, Go. When they stepped out there was great risk. But there would be great reward. 

God says we are foreigners/strangers in this place.

"Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul." 1 Peter 2:11

While you're here, do what God says.

Promises of God to Joshua -- A PLACE

"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 Mediterranean Sea in the west." Joshua 1:1-4

I'm going to give you a place you can call your own.

Promises of Jesus to us -- A Place in Heaven

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it." Matthew 16:24-25

Promises of God to Joshua -- BELONGING

"No one will be able to stand 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." Joshua 1:5

Promises of Jesus to us -- Belonging

"All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away." John 6:37

Promises of God to Joshua -- AN INHERITANCE

"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them." Joshua 1:6

Promises of Jesus to us -- A family

"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife[a] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first." Matthew 19:29-31

Jesus is not talk about material stuff here. He's talking about our spiritual family, our spiritual inheritance. 

We are called to be different from the world.

Promises of God to Joshua -- COMMANDMENTS

"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." Joshua 1:7

We will have success being who we were called to be; success in God's eyes; success carrying out God's will. 

Promises of Jesus to us -- The Word

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." John 15:9-11

My joy is made complete when I follow God's commands (or can be made complete).

Remain 100% in God's realm as we live out our lives here on earth. This isn't going to be easy. Being free didn't mean to be safe. Jesus doesn't promise us safety or earthly wealth. He doesn't give us these things for sure because they don't matter. It's not about here. It's about there. God's in charge. He has power over all. Remain in His love. Right here and right now. He finds great joy in those who love Him. 

Promises of God to Joshua --  GUIDANCE

"Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; 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." Joshua 1:8

Joshua was faithful.

Promises of Jesus to us -- A Role in the Kingdom

"You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." John 15:14-15

He is My Friend! I am His friend.

We have a job to do -- make more family members. 

Promises of God to Joshua -- PRESENCE OF GOD

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Grab hold of God's promises -- Apply them.

Promise of Jesus to us -- Presence of Jesus

"and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”" Matthew 28:20

"So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

We live in a fallen world. This hasn't changed.
We serve a Risen Savior. This too hasn't changed.

#1 God is in Control!
"God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging." Psalm 46:1-3

Nothing happens on this earth without God aware of it. He's not worried.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
"“Never will I leave you;
    never will I forsake you.”
 So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
    What can mere mortals do to me?”" Hebrews 13:5-6

Early Church -- began and flourished in Roman Empire which was not known for its tolerance. it too had tons of sexual immorality, abortion and infanticide. The church still flourished. We can rest in Him.

2. We have a God Who is Listening to us!
"I will extol the Lord at all times;
    his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the Lord;
    let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the Lord with me;
    let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
    he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
    their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
    he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
    and he delivers them." Psalm 34:1-7

He wants to hear from us!! So, Pray! -- we have the power of prayer!

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." James 5:16

Pray for each other. 

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him." 1 John 5:14-15

God will always have our back.

#3. We can stand on His promises!

He says, "I will." "Let there be" "I Am"

"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6

Know this. Claim it. God is working on you. He pays attention to you. He sees every sparrow (and bird and bug and animal) fall.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

We will have trouble, but Jesus has overcome it all.

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." 2 Peter 1:3-4

Amen! We can get above the world. Fully God. Fully Man. The world didn't drag Jesus down. Jesus pulls us up. It doesn't have to drag us down either. We can escape the corruption of the world.

"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God." 2 Corinthians 1:20

Amen=Let it be!=yes!

#4 We will outlive the world

"The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever." 1 John 2:17

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Fix your eyes on Jesus. Praise Him first.

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

(This sermon and sermon notes are from Sunday, October 6th. I wasn't able to post it until today, Saturday, October 12th. I'll post tomorrow's sermon tomorrow. The following sermon was a really good sermon. I hope you get a chance to listen to it.)

"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake." Psalm 23:1-3

God is constantly trying to restore us. Always. He's the God of restoration.

The whole world awaits restoration.

"For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that[a] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time." Romans 8:19-22

Why do we need restoring?

1. Willful neglect. It will fall apart. Our souls get the same way. If we don't do the regular maintenance our souls need they will fall apart. Do we expose it to the world?
        Temptation -- the devil and his demons constantly looking to tear us down. Can steal our fruit and testimony.

"We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:6

Sheep are the most frustrating animals. They will stray. They fight their own best interests.We humans do the same thing. We will do things we know will damage us. God knows this. He knows sin would pull us from Him. David kept coming back to God (that is what we need to do). He accepted his sin and repented and came back to God. Surrender to temptation is a choice. 

2. Restoration from Complacency.  Complacent until loss occurs (physical, emotional or spiritual).  Shock of loss will do great damage to us if we aren't close to God.

"Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy." John 16:20

The world will go on partying even when you have great loss. The difference is coping or hoping.

No one can restore something better than the original creator. Going back to the Creator for our restoration makes sense. There is no restoration without God.

The world tells us to cope. God tells us to hope. 

Everyday we are one day closer to death.  

Don't hold onto decay.

"What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?" Mark 8:36

You can't buy salvation. God didn't heal Jesus on the cross. He resurrected Him. 

You can't fake the work.

3. Restoration from ourselves.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing." Psalm 23:1

We take God's beauty and destroy it. We are taking blessings from God and distort them. A constant walking away from God when we insist, "Me, me, me!"

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!"
2 Corinthians 5:17

Restoration is a process. We will always need His grace.

Be a mirror for God's joy. The world neeeds to see God's joy. Pleasure fades. It never lasts. Without God we have no security in the future. We were created for unification with God.

Joy comes from God. If we don't share our joy why would the world want what we have?

Every single promise from the world has a bill in the end.

"Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." Psalm 51:12

Slavery was acceptable and public in Bible times. Now it is hidden (most of the time). Today, we are talking about a different kind of slavery.​

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1

Paul is telling them to not go back to slavery. They'd (and we) have been freed already. Don't go back. Jesus set us free so we would be and stay free. There were people coming from Jerusalem who told the Galatian church members they needed to obey the Mosiac law. They were trying to add to the gospel.

Faith in Christ is our freedom.

"because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:2

Two Slaveries: Legalism and Sin

"You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." Galatians 5:4-6

If you're trying to live by rules instead of by Grace and faith, you aren't living a life of faith. It's all about faith. It's easy to fall into rules/legalism. Humans like to control things, to control other peole. 

Legalism= the excessive adherence to law/formula/rules.

"You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.'" Galatians 5:7-9

Who cut in on you? Who got you off course? Why are you listening to them?

It doesn't take much to change something. Watch out for "bad yeast." Legalism, if it comes in, can take over quickly. Faith is so simple it confounds the wise. Don't go back to the law.

"For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace." Romans 6:14

Jesus completed the law.

Don't choose slavery.
 
"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:32-36

Second slavery -- Slavery of Self-Indulgence (license)

"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love." Galatians 5:13

Stay on the path. Don't use your freedom to fall away. If you love Jesus you will keep His commandments (that is what He says). Sin harms me and those around me.

Here is a short list of the self-indulgent sins:

"The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." Galatians 5:19-21

We are for or against Christ. We walk by the Spirit or by the flesh. Either or. We must surrender/yield to the Spirit.

"So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[a]you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."
Galatians 5:16-18

The Judge is the Judge. He judges right from wrong. We condemn ourselves. God never condemns. We choose Him or condemnation. We condemn ourselves when we don't choose Jesus. 

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Galatians 5:22-24

That is a life walking by the Spirit.

Self-control and love go hand in hand. Our joy will come through loving and serving others. Be joyful!

"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Galatians 5:25

It's easy to see someone is out of step because he or she eventually walks away. Correct them in love. If you aren't in step you're walking away. Keep in step with the Spirit. It is all behind us in less we stand still -- then the junk wil catch up with us. 

Hold on! He is coming!!

'Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you,25 except to hold on to what you have until I come.’" Revelation 2:24-25