Joshua 1:1-9
Starting A New Life
After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, Israel was about to enter the
Promised Land. There are some similarities in what Israel was about to
experience and what our graduating seniors are about to experience—and I don’t
mean to imply that these years in school have been a wilderness experience.
Rather, Israel, like our seniors were about to enter a new life.
Israel was about to begin the new life that God had given to them in a new land,
and the seniors are about to begin the new life that God has given to them. Some
are moving on to the next level of education. Others are finishing their school
careers and will probably try their hand in the job market. But wherever they go
and whatever they do, it will be a new life for them.
As Israel prepared for their new life, God gave them some instructions. Once the
instructions were given, Israel had to decide if they would follow them or not.
If they followed them, you can rest assured, they were blessed. If they did not,
you know they suffered. These instructions, although hundreds of years old, are
still sound today.
Young people and older alike, I will tell you something that will help you
tremendously if you will heed it. You can not live a successful life by flying by
the seat of your pants. Life doesn’t work well that way.
You must take God’s instructions, then you must make some decisions. Following
God’s instructions may seem difficult to you, but if you do not, you will end up
ruining your life before you have had the chance to enjoy it. (I will take a few
good amen’s right there.)
Concerning these instructions and decisions, let me say:
(1) You need to make the decision to obey early. Choosing to follow God’s
instructions will improve your life whenever you make them, but the longer you
delay, the more likely you will damage yourself in an irreparable way.
(2) If you make the right decision, you need to stay with it. Some have
started well but have not finished well because they did not stick by the
decisions they had made.
God was giving to Israel the opportunity to make these decisions. Please notice
what God’s instructions were and what decisions you need to make.
I. \\#Joshua 1:6, 9\\ Be strong and very courageous.
Joshua 1:6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide
for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid,
neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever
thou goest.
A. God was telling Israel that they needed to strengthen and encourage
themselves.
B. That God would tell the Jews this, implies two things.
1. God was telling Israel that things were going to get hard.
a. Even though Israel was being punished for their sin, they had
been living a sheltered life.
1. During the time they had wandered, their cloths did not get
old, their shoes did not wear out, and they did not have
to plant or build. \\#Deut 8:4, 29:5, Neh 9:1\\
2. God had feed them bread, given them water, even supplied
them with their meat.
3. Israel probably did not realize it, but they were about to
move into the "real" world.
4. They were about to start getting up to find there was no
breakfast laying around They weren’t even going to have
groceries on the shelves. For that matter, they weren’t
going to have any shelves if they did not build them.
5. They were about to find out what it was to have keep them-
selves in shoes and clothes.
6. They were about to find out what it was to make decisions
and live with the consequences.
7. In short, they were about to move into a world where they
had to earn their own way and live with their mistakes.
8. If you think I am talking about the graduating seniors,
you’re wrong! I am talking about the Jews. However, the
similarities are remarkable.
b. Graduating seniors, you likewise are about to move into the
"real" world.
1. As parents, we are not going to throw you to the wolves,
but you need to realize that your parents can’t shelter
and take care of you forever.
2. Get ready!
a. Strengthen yourself. Build up your courage.
b. Things are about to get hard.
3. Some of you are about to find out that snacks don’t appear
behind a cabinet door, milk isn’t produced in a
refrigerator, and you can’t get out of a microwave what
you don’t first purchase at a store.
4. And those are the easy lessons!
5. I don’t want to scare you but I want to warn you. Things
are about to get tough.
2. God was telling the Jews that they needed to have their strength
and courage fixed in the right source.
a. If you will read the entire passage, I believe you will
rightly conclude that God wanted them to determine to take
their strength and courage from Him.
b. No matter who you are, you are not strong or brave enough to
withstand all that life is going to hurl at you.
c. As one of the parents of these graduating seniors, I know it
has always been our goal to teach you to lean on Jesus.
1. He is the only Source that can help you, and He is the
only Source that you can trust.
2. Your parents will fail you, your finances will fail you,
your health will fail you, your rearing will fail you,
but Jesus will never fail you.
C. So here is God’s first instruction. Stir up your courage and strength
in the Lord.
1. With that challenge, you must make your first graduated decision.
2. You must decide to trust and lean on Christ.
3. If you do, you will prosper spiritually, physically, emotionally,
even financially, materialistically, socially, in your education,
in your career, and in your health.
4. If you do not, you will hurt yourself.
II. \\#Joshua 1:8\\ Take the Word of God with you.
A. All of the instructions that God gave were important, but one is very
important.
1. God says to keep His Word in your mouth,
2. keep it in your mind,
3. and to keep it in your manners.
4. This is a very important formula.
B. Keep God’s Word in your mouth; that is, talk about the Bible.
Joshua 1:8 "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth…"
1. Today’s young people must be one of the most talkative generations.
a. It seems they all carry cell phones, use texting, and spend
hours on Facebook.
b. Without doubt, they are the communication generation.
2. However, what are they talking about?
a. Most conversation today is just crude and vulgar.
b. A great majority of the remainder is useless chatter.
c. Sadly, a good bit of that comes from the mouths of those who
claim Christ—and I don’t just mean the kids either.
3. Do people ever talk about the Bible?
a. Do fellow church members ever talk about the sermon the pastor
preached?
b. Do brother and sister in Christ every discuss a Bible passage
that has blessed them?
c. Maybe the question is, "Does a Bible passage ever bless them?"
d. We talk sports, vacations, jobs, children, costs, and the
weather.
e. God wants us to talk about His Word at least as much as those
things.
C. Keep God’s Word in your mind; that is, think about the Bible.
Joshua 1:8 "…but thou shalt meditate therein day and night…"
1. I think the reason God wants us to talk about His Word is because
God wants us to think about His word.
Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he….
2. The Bible can change your life, but only if you put it into your
mind.
a. If the Bible is only something you listen to on Sunday morning
for a few minutes, it will do about as much good for you as
the commercial you half-way listen to while rushing into the
kitchen to get a snack.
b. Let’s face it. The only reason you listen to that commercial
at all is so you will know when the ballgame comes back on.
c. Some people consider the Bible to be the commercial you have to
endure in-between your work week and your fun weekend.
3. Young people, put the Word of God into your mind and let God
speak to you from it.
D. Keep God’s Word in your manners; that is, put it into practice.
Joshua 1:8 "… that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written
therein…"
1. This is not rocket science.
a. As you talk about the Bible, you will think on it.
b. As you think about the Bible, you will practice it.
2. This is what God desires for every person.
E. However, there is an added promise with this instruction.
1. I told you that this was a formula. What does following give you?
Joshua 1:8 "…then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have
good success."
2. If you will keep God’s Word in your mouth, mind, and manners, God
promises you prosperity.
3. There are a lot of prosperity preachers on radio and television,
but did you know this is the only place in the Bible where God
actually promises prosperity?
a. According to the Bible, being prosperous has nothing to do with
faith or planting a seed.
b. It has to do with taking God’s Word with you.
F. Now, you have God’s instruction. You must decide whether you will
obey it.
III. \\#Joshua 3:5\\ Clean yourselves up.
Joshua 3:5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow
the LORD will do wonders among you.
A. God was telling the children of Israel that He would not walk in a
dirty camp and He that would not live with a dirty people.
B. To sanctify means TO SEPARATE, TO HALLOW, TO CONSECRATE.
1. These are religious terms which meant the people were to make
themselves holy.
2. A simpler application is that they needed to clean themselves up.
C. We live in a filthy world.
1. There is sin all around us and it rubs off.
2. Christians, God loves us but He still hates sin.
3. We must purpose to keep ourselves from it.
D. This is a teaching that has largely fallen by the wayside in our modern
religious world, but it is Bible.
2 Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate,
saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
Psalms 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Psalms 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he
meditate day and night.
Proverbs 9:6 Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.
1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If
any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1. I am not for certain that churches are really expecting their
children to stay clean and pure.
2. I am not for certain that parents are really expecting their
children to stay clean and pure.
3. Young people, God is expecting you to stay clean, and if no one
else has told you then hear me this morning.
a. KEEP YOURSELF CLEAN.
b. If you have not soiled yourself, DON’T.
c. If you are already engaged in impure behavior, quit it and
clean yourself up.
E. Young people, God wants you to take this instruction and to work it
into your everyday life.
1. Many of you are old enough to do any sinful thing you want.
a. You can watch nasty movies, listen to vulgar music, in most
countries of the world you can drink and go to bars.
b. You are even legally entitled to have sex if you want to.
c. Most young people feel that they must.
2. Don’t!
a. These behaviors will destroy your morals,
ruin your health,
take your wealth,
cripple your mind,
and may even kill your body.
b. But even worse, these things will separate you from God.
c. God cannot walk in a dirty camp!
F. God has given you this instruction and now you must decide whether
you will be obedient to it or not.
IV. \\#Joshua 3:6,11\\ Follow the Ark of the Covenant.
Joshua 3:6 And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the
covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the
covenant, and went before the people.
11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over
before you into Jordan.
A. The Ark is a picture of Christ.
1. The Ark was the place where the presence of God meet with the
people.
a. During the days of the wilderness travels, the Ark was placed
in a tent.
b. Later, a temple would be built for it.
c. But in both places, when God wanted to speak to His people, He
would appear upon the Ark of the Covenant.
d. When God wanted to deliver the message of salvation, He came
in the Person of Jesus Christ.
2. The Ark held the Word of God for Israel.
a. Of course Jesus was and is the Living Word of God.
b. In that sense, Jesus contained the Word of God for the people.
3. The Ark was the place where atonement for Israel was made.
a. Once a year, the High Priest entered into the Holy of Holies
to make atonement for the nation of Israel.
b. The blood for that atonement was placed on the top of the Ark
of the Covenant so the Ark of the Covenant became the point
where the atonement was made.
c. Jesus Christ, God’s sinless Son, took our sins upon Himself.
(1) He then poured out His own blood and life to make
atonement for us.
(2) Jesus is the point where atonement was made for us!
B. The Ark of the Covenant was to lead the children of Israel.
Joshua 3:4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand
cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye
must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.
1. Israel was in a new land and they had not been that way before.
a. They needed a Guide.
b. It was to be God through the Ark of the Covenant.
c. Life is a journey of new frontiers and you need a Guide.
(1) May I recommend Jesus?
(2) In the discovery of new worlds, many have died because
they lacked necessary knowledge.
(a) How many crews perished because they did not know
where land was?
(b) How many settlers perished due to lack of water or
stumbling upon hostiles?
(3) Jesus Christ is the only One who knows your tomorrows.
2. God’s presence was much more than just a Guide to Israel.
a. He was their Protector and Provider.
b. Young people, as surely as you need a Guide, you need a
Protector and Provider.
C. Young people, as you begin your new life, Jesus desires to be your
Guide, your Protector, and your Provider.
1. God is instructing you to follow Jesus.
2. He knows the way for you to go and He alone can protect and
provide for you.
3. The question is will you make the right decision and follow Him?
God gave Israel four instructions as they began their new life.
1. Be strong and courageous in the Lord.
2. Take the Word of God with you.
3. Clean yourselves up.
4. Follow the Ark.
God is on your side. He wants the best for you and will not withhold anything
from you without a reason. Like Israel, you are moving into new territory. Will
you chose to follow God’s instructions?
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