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[0:00] If you would, go ahead and open up your Bibles, like I said, to Joshua chapter 1, and we're going to read nine chapters together.! I think Marshall's laughing because no one laughed. It was a classic pity laugh.

[0:18] All right. Let me pray for us. Oh, God, thank you for who you are. As we open your word and study it now, God, I pray that you would transform hearts, that you would open the eyes of the blind, that you would make the deaf hear. God, that through your word, you would speak and you would move.

[0:36] God, we love you and we praise you. We pray your blessing over our service. We pray your blessing over our nation. God, with just uncertainty ahead and with things that are going on in the world that seem to be uneasy and at a point of unrest, God, we know that only true rest is found in you, that only true peace is found in you.

[1:01] And God, as the world around us turns to war and to violence as a means of peace, God, we trust you and your Son for true and lasting eternal peace and comfort.

[1:15] And in his name we pray. Amen. Amen. Joshua 1, 10 through 18. I'm going to read the passage one more time.

[1:26] It says, Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, Go through the camp and tell the people, Get provisions ready for yourselves, For within three days you will be crossing the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land The Lord your God is giving you to inherit.

[1:42] Joshua said to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, Remember what Moses, the Lord's servant, commanded you when he said, The Lord your God will give you rest and he will give you this land.

[1:55] Your wives' dependents and livestock may remain in the land that Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan, But your best soldiers must cross over in battle formation ahead of your brothers and help them Until the Lord gives your brothers rest as he has given you, And they too possess the land the Lord your God is giving them.

[2:14] You may then return to the land of your inheritance And take possession of what Moses, the Lord's servant, gave you on the east side of the Jordan. They answered Joshua, Everything you have commanded us we will do, And everywhere you send us we will go.

[2:26] We will obey you just as we obeyed Moses in everything. Certainly the Lord your God will be with you as he was with Moses. Anyone who rebels against your order and does not obey your words, And all that you command him will be put to death.

[2:40] Above all, be strong and courageous. There's a couple of models that we can take from this small passage. A couple of models that apply directly to our lives.

[2:51] The first is it offers us a model of leadership in the person of Joshua. A model of leadership. You know, Joshua didn't waste any time assuming control or assuming leadership When God had commissioned him.

[3:04] He knew that God had called him and prepared him. And so when it was time to tell the people, Get ready. We're about to do what God has called us to do. We're about to go where God has called us to go.

[3:15] He did what was necessary. He stood up in front of the people. He spoke to the officers, the leaders underneath him. And he sent people out through the camp to send this message. He didn't take time to prove himself.

[3:28] I think in leadership situations, leadership scenarios, Especially in the church. You know, I was, I'm a young, look, I just turned 30, But I'm still young, okay? Everybody in the room is like, yeah, we know.

[3:39] No, I'm just kidding. So, as a young pastor, you know, you get told, Hey, don't change anything. Don't change anything. You know, wait a year. Wait two years if you can. Don't change anything at all.

[3:51] You know, don't make it, don't rock the boat. You know, and I'll be honest with you, Patience is something I have to work on anyways. But also, there is some truth to that.

[4:01] And at the same time, If God has called someone to do something, To take on a task, And sometimes things will look different Because of who God has called, right? Like, there's certain things that look different In the worship service now than they did Six and a half months ago, or eight and a half months ago, Whenever it was that we came.

[4:17] And that's fine. It didn't take a year to make some small changes, right? And the reason for that isn't because I'm great, And I have great ideas, and all those. It's because I'm different. I'm a different person.

[4:27] I'm a person that God has called, yes. But I also have different ways of doing things, And announcing things, and preaching, And all those different things, right? And so sometimes, I think people take too long To prove themselves, And really make sure that they're allowed to lead Before they take that step of leadership.

[4:45] Joshua didn't do that. Joshua had proven himself By his faithfulness to the Lord Throughout his life, And throughout his service to Moses. Joshua didn't say, Okay, Lord, now that Moses is dead, Give me one year to really secure favor with the people, And then let us go into the promised land.

[5:04] That's not what he said. He heard the Lord speak to him. The Lord told him, Be strong and courageous. He sent him to do what he was called to do already. And then Joshua stood up and commanded.

[5:17] He took the lead. And that's not a bad thing at all. He took the lead. The other thing that we can see here in this passage, Is not just a model of leadership, But it's a model of obedience.

[5:29] In the people. And their response to Joshua, And to his leadership. They didn't ignore him. They didn't say to him, Well, you haven't been here a year. You know, you haven't, You haven't, Don't rock the boat, Joshua.

[5:40] We're really comfortable on this side of the Jordan. Right? He didn't, They didn't tell him, You know, Stay in your lane. Okay, young guy, Wait till you're 110. And then lead us.

[5:50] You know, They didn't do that at all. They listened. They heard Joshua. And they followed him. But underscoring both of these examples, Underscoring, You know, Joshua's taking leadership, And the people's obedience, And following his leadership, Is something that really applies to us.

[6:06] And that is, The lesson of faith. The people had faith, That God had prepared Joshua. The people had faith, That God had given them land. And so they were willing to listen and follow, Where God was leading them, Through Joshua's leadership.

[6:21] Joshua, Likewise, Had faith that God had called him. He knew that God had prepared him, For what he was sending him out to do, The task before him. And so Joshua, By faith, Was willing to stand up, And give marching orders.

[6:34] Right? Give commands, To tell the people to get ready. And so as we look at this passage, There's a few things, That we'll think about today, But I want to really quickly remind us, Of who Joshua is.

[6:46] So, I have a slide somewhere in here. And I think it's this one. Is it? No. It is this one. Alright. Joshua was called by God. So we went through this last week.

[6:57] Joshua, The man, He was called by God. He was commissioned publicly. God told Moses to lay hands on him, In front of the people. And so Joshua had those things. And then he was also charged to lead.

[7:09] That's what we looked at last week. The charge to Joshua, To be strong and courageous. To go, And that knowing and confidence, That everywhere that his foot stepped, God had given him victory.

[7:21] Right? That God had given them that land. So Joshua was called, Commissioned, And charged. And then you have the people. And that's what we're really going to focus on today, Because that's what this passage is really about, Is the people of Israel, Who listened and followed faithfully.

[7:37] They were willing to follow Joshua, Because he was following the Lord. Okay? There's this principle, right? The people of God will follow the man of God, Or the leader that God has ordained.

[7:47] In this case, it's a man, right? When that person, When that man is clearly seeking God, The people could see Joshua's heart of fidelity for the Lord. And they knew that God had commissioned him, That God had called him, That God had now charged him to go out and to lead.

[8:03] And so, because of those things, They were willing to follow in obedience. And sometimes we think of obedience, And we think about action. We think about doing the thing.

[8:14] We think about taking the steps, And all those things as obedience, right? For example, If you think about the people of Israel, If we were to say that they were obedient to Joshua, I think naturally, At least for me, Maybe it's not for you, I think, Yeah, they were obedient when they went and took the land, right?

[8:31] But then there's this really important part here. The first few chapters of the book of Joshua Focus more on the preparation, Before they actually take the land. That focuses on getting ready to go.

[8:44] And so today, As we think about this idea of preparation, I want you to think about the fact that preparation, Preparing to act, Preparing to go where God leads you, Is in and of itself an act of obedience.

[8:58] And so there's a few things that we have to think about. This model of obedience. And I want you to think about also, How we as a church, Can be faithful to obey, I'm not saying to obey me and everything I say, But I think to obey the word of the Lord as a church.

[9:16] To obey what God has called us to as a church. The mission that God has given us as a church. How can we be faithful to prepare in obedience? And then how can we be faithful to participate in obedience?

[9:28] And what will we see as we do those things? And so with that, I want us to think about this idea of faithful preparation. Faithful preparation. So if you look at verses 10 and 11, It says, Joshua commanded the officers of the people, Go through the camp, And tell the people, Get provisions ready for yourselves.

[9:46] For within three days, You will be crossing the Jordan to go in, And take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you to inherit. So Joshua's first order of business was to get the people ready to go.

[9:59] Alright? He didn't waste any time. He knew what was about to take place. And he told them what was about to take place. Within three days, We're going to cross the Jordan. We're going to go into the land. This preparation, This gathering provisions, It wasn't a preparing for war.

[10:14] It wasn't preparation for battle. It was literally, Pack your things because we're moving. Right? This right here on this side of the Jordan Is not the promised land. This is not where we're going to stay.

[10:25] This is not the land that God is giving us. The land that God is giving us, We have to take by faith. So pack your things, Because it's time to go. I don't know how many of you in this room have moved helms before, But I'll tell you this, That is a long process.

[10:42] Right? Last year when we moved here from Texas, We moved on, I think we drove up, I think I drove up. Audrey didn't drive. She was pregnant, So I let her fly. I didn't make her drive with me.

[10:54] But I think we drove up on July 31st. Okay? I think we started packing and preparing to leave on June 1st. Okay? It is a long, Not really June 1st, But it was a long process to pack all of the things up.

[11:08] And I've moved a handful of times. And I went to college, And I moved to college. That was one car load. You know? I moved home from college. That was one car load. I moved to seminary.

[11:18] That was one car load. You get the idea? I didn't have many things. All right? By the time Audrey and I got married, We were living in seminary housing, About a 500 square foot, You know, Little condo thing that we were living in, There at Southwestern.

[11:31] And when we moved from there, It was a truck load. Okay? That happens, You have two people. I think, I think I could have still gotten by with just a car. But, Audrey had some stuff, So we had to bring it.

[11:42] Now, So it was a truck load. It took us some time to get ready and to move. And then when we moved here, It was, Well, A lot of you guys were there to help us unload.

[11:52] But it was a truck load. It was a couple of cars full. It was also this moving pod. And we loaded up beforehand. I mean, It was like, We brought everything. I mean, It was, How do we even get this much stuff?

[12:04] You know? But, But it took us time. It took us time. If I had woken up on July 31st, And just tried to leave, Without gathering my things, I wouldn't have been ready to go.

[12:16] I wouldn't have been ready to go. I would have been leaving things behind. And that's what, That's what I see here with these people here in Israel. Almost in Israel. The people of Israel. They were called to go into this land.

[12:29] And in faith, They had to pack up and get ready for that move. That land had not yet been taken. It wasn't like they were moving into their homes, That they were, That they were, You know, They just bought, And they were moving into their house.

[12:43] This was, They had to pack up, And cross the Jordan, Knowing that God was going to provide for them in miraculous ways. And so they did. In an act of faith. We like action.

[12:55] We like doing things. We like doing stuff. But we don't like prep work. If we don't take our time seriously, And prepare for the future, Then when that time comes, Is that God has called us to action, We're not ready to go.

[13:10] If Joshua had gone to the people on the day that they were supposed to take to Jordan, And said, Today is the day, Guys, Let's go. They wouldn't have had time to get ready. They wouldn't have had time to gather their things. They wouldn't have had time to prepare to cross the Jordan River.

[13:23] We have to get ready for what God is calling us to, Knowing that God is calling us to certain things. So there's some takeaways for this faithful preparation. Number one is, Be ready.

[13:35] Be ready. God might call you to foreign missions. He might call you to local missions, Short-term missions. God might call you into the ministry. God might call you to share your faith with your co-worker, Your classmate, Or your teammate.

[13:49] God might call you, Get this, This is pretty cool, To serve in the church. God might call you to join in the choir, And bless us with your ability to sing. God might lead you to do a number of things, But if we're not ready to go when God calls us, Then we're ineffective.

[14:06] We're not helping Him accomplish His work, Accomplish His mission. As a church, We have these different teams, These leadership teams, These opportunities that we have to serve around the church.

[14:17] If you're someone who's gifted administratively, We have a team that takes care of the budget, And takes care of personnel decisions, Things like that. So we have opportunities for people to serve. We have a missions and evangelism team.

[14:29] If you're gifted in serving, And telling people about Jesus, Then we have opportunities for you to plug in, And serve. We have a fellowship team, That we want people to focus on, How we can fellowship together as a body of Christ.

[14:42] And if you have a heart for helping people serve together, For helping people worship together, For helping people even come together, And get to know each other, And all those things, Then we want you to serve, In those places.

[14:53] That's the whole thing, Is we have to be ready to serve, Whenever we're called to serve. So, you know, We're coming on the summer, Which means, You probably got to get phone calls. Hey, you're a member here, Do you want to serve on this team?

[15:05] What I would say is, Prepare now, So that when the call comes, You're able to answer it, And in the affirmative, You're able to do what God might be calling you to do, To faithfully serve.

[15:16] So be ready for what God might be calling you to, Or what God will call you to. The other thing is, Be expectant. The people prepared, They gathered their provisions, They gathered, They packed up their stuff, Ready to go, Because they expected that God was going to accomplish what he said he would accomplish.

[15:36] They expected that God was going to give them the land. What I want for our church, And I've talked to other leaders in this church, I know what I, And I think your heart, What you want for this church, Is that we would expect God to do great things.

[15:50] Right? I expect God to do great things in this church, Through this church. Not only in the walls of this church, But I expect that God will do great things through this church, Through this local body of believers, That we would actually get outside of these walls, And talk to people about Jesus.

[16:04] And not for our own vain glory, That this church would grow, And wow, we have the biggest church in Lewisburg. No, but so that we can accomplish the will of God, That we can help grow the kingdom of God.

[16:15] I expect that God's going to do great things through this church, And I want all of us, I want our whole church to have that same expectant heart, That God is going to accomplish great things through this church.

[16:29] And be confident. Be confident. They were able to pack and prepare to go, Not because they were confident that they could go in with military might, And take the towns that they were going to go take.

[16:40] They were confident that the Lord God was faithful. And I think we can share that same confidence today. Preparation is an act of obedience.

[16:51] Preparing to go where God calls us to go, Is obedience, So that we can obey, Whenever he does call. I think about Isaiah, In Isaiah chapter 6, When Isaiah stands in the, He's in the vision, He's in the throne room of the Lord.

[17:07] Right? He saw the Lord high and lifted up. And remember, The Lord said, Who will go for us? Who will I send? And Isaiah says, Here I am, Lord, send me. He was ready to go.

[17:17] He was ready to accomplish whatever God was going to use him to accomplish. And Isaiah had a pretty interesting calling. It was actually not a positive calling at all. He had to go and tell people that they couldn't hear and they couldn't see.

[17:31] And that they were unfaithful. And that the Lord was going to bring judgment on the nation. He had a really hard message to share. But he was ready when the Lord called.

[17:43] And I think in the same way, We can be prepared to go where God calls us. To do what God calls us to do. So that we can faithfully participate in the work that he has for us.

[17:54] And that leads us to the second idea, Or the second aspect here. It's unified participation. But I'll read verses 12 through 15 again first. It says, Joshua said to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Remember what Moses, the Lord's servant, commanded you when he said, The Lord your God will give you rest, and he will give you this land.

[18:15] Your wives' dependents and livestock may remain in the land Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But your best soldiers must cross over in battle formation ahead of your brothers and help them.

[18:26] Until the Lord gives your brothers rest as he has given you, And they too possess the land the Lord your God is giving them. You may then return to the land of your inheritance and take possession of what Moses, The Lord's servant, gave you on the east side of the Jordan.

[18:41] So we have this idea of unified participation. And what I want you to see here, just so you have the context, Is back in Numbers chapter 32, The people of Israel were moving together towards the promised land, And they come upon this place where the kingdom of Sion and Og were, And they fought and they took this land.

[19:01] And the Reubenites and the Gadites looked around, They had a lot of cattle, And they saw that this land was good for raising cattle. And so they asked, Hey Moses, can we stay here? And this is what it says, The territory of Adaroth, Dibon, Jazar, Nimrah, Hezbon, Alela, Sabam, Nebo, and Beon.

[19:21] I try to avoid names. I try to avoid a word like that. Anyway, I should have just started at verse 4. Which the Lord struck down before the community of Israel, Is good land for livestock, And your servants own livestock.

[19:36] They said, If we have found favor with you, Let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Don't make us cross the Jordan. So remember, The whole thing about the nation of Israel, Is that they are moving towards the promised land.

[19:48] Right? They're moving to this land where God has promised them rest. And these people, From Reuben, Gad, And half the tribe of Manasseh show up, And they're like, Please don't make us go there. How do you think Moses responded to that?

[20:01] Well, verse 6 is already up. He wasn't happy. Okay? Moses asked the Gadites and the Reubenites, Should your brothers go to war while you stay here? Why are you discouraging the Israelites from crossing into the land the Lord has given them?

[20:14] That's what your ancestors did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. So Moses, What he heard here was, You guys are scared to go into the promised land. You don't want to go into the promised land.

[20:26] And by your fear, The rest of the nation is going to be discouraged. Why are you doing this? In Kadesh Barnea, That's where Moses sent out the 12 spies. Remember that? The 12 spies, Joshua and Caleb, Were the only two that came back with a good report.

[20:39] The other 10 came back and said, No, no, no. It's too scary. We can't go. We'll never make it. Moses is like, I see the same thing happening again. And he goes on to explain, That situation, That lack of faith, Is what led God to punish us, By putting us in the wilderness for the past 40 years.

[20:54] So Moses wasn't going to stand for it. He did not want the fear, To spread throughout the camp, And discourage the people, Before they took what God had given them. So after Moses explained that, The people from Reuben and Gad, They showed up and they approached him and they said, We want to build sheet pens here for our livestock, And cities for our dependents, But we will arm ourselves, And be ready to go ahead of the Israelites, Until we, Excuse me, Until we have brought them into their place.

[21:23] Meanwhile, Our dependents will remain in the fortified cities, Because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our homes, Until each of the Israelites has taken possession of his inheritance.

[21:33] Yet we will not have an inheritance with them across the Jordan and beyond, Because our inheritance will be across the Jordan to the east. So they negotiated. They're like, Look, It's not about us not wanting to fight, It's not about us not wanting to see the inheritance, It just happened to like this land.

[21:50] Which is a sad thing when you think about it too, Because the land, The promised land, Is what they were looking forward to, What they were hoping for. But they desired to stay outside of that land, Because they saw it to be good.

[22:02] So Moses listened to them, He said, If you do this, If you arm yourselves for battle before the Lord, And every one of your armed men crosses the Jordan before the Lord, Until he has driven his enemies from his presence, And the land is subdued before the Lord, Afterward you may return, And be free from your obligation to the Lord and to Israel.

[22:19] And this land will belong to you as a possession before the Lord. So Joshua, In leading the people, He called them to remember three things. The first was, Remember your orders.

[22:31] You guys made this deal with Moses, That you would have this land, But first, You had to go fight. So Moses, He went on to explain that you have to do this, Right? He gave them a command. You have to go and fight with your brothers.

[22:43] But he's calling them here, By calling them to go and fight, By giving them these orders, What he's really saying is, The unity of the nation depends on everyone participating together.

[22:55] On everyone in obedience going into the land together. Unified participation. If we want to participate in the work that God has for us, We have to participate together.

[23:07] Remember when we went through the book of Philippians, And the idea of unity is rampant through that book. The church must be unified. Our local body must be unified in purpose. We have to consider others' needs as more important than ourselves.

[23:20] Remember Paul said that in Philippians chapter 2. And so what the Reubenites and the Gadites and half-tribe of Manasseh had to do, Was they had to consider the blessing and the reward for everyone else, As greater or more important than their own safety and well-being.

[23:37] They had to remember their orders, And they had to go in and they had to fight. He also says to them, Remember your brothers and sisters. Verse 15, Until the Lord gives your brothers rest, As he has given you, And they too possess the land the Lord your God is giving them.

[23:55] You guys have what is yours, But everyone else still doesn't. So he's telling them, Don't forget about how much help they need. It's not just the physical help of having more bodies for battles that they would face, But it's also the emotional, The encouragement, The need for everyone to come in together, To be focused on the same unified mission and purpose, Which is, Take the land that God has given them.

[24:20] I think in the same way, As we consider our church, We think about how this applies here, We have to remember that others' needs are more important than our own. Okay, so I think about it like this. This is a really simple way of, Not everybody likes, Kids, hold your ears, Not everybody likes working with kids ministry.

[24:35] Okay? I know it's a bad thing to say, I'm sorry, But here's the thing, Sometimes we have to consider, The needs of the youngest in our church, The needs of the parents in our church, Above our own needs.

[24:47] And we have to go and faithfully serve, In the kids ministry, Or the youth ministry, Or, Here's the thing, You might be called and gifted to teach. Well, Stephen right now is the only one on Wednesday night, Leading an adult Bible study.

[24:58] We need more Bible study teachers. We need people to plug in, Participate. Right? The unity of the church depends on us participating together, And considering others' needs, As more important than our own, Or more important than our own well-being in some cases, Like the Reubenites and the Gadites did.

[25:15] And the third thing that he told them to remember was your reward. He said, Remember your reward. After you do what you have already committed to do, After you participate together, You'll go home to the land that you have, And God will give you rest also.

[25:31] So here's the thing, We have to serve as Christ followers. Okay? We have to serve. Like that's the, That is one, Like if there's two things that we think about, When you think about what it means to be a Christian, You think about loving people, And serving others.

[25:48] Right? Like that's the model of Jesus. Serving others. And we have to serve together, Unified, As a body, For the encouragement of the church, And for the good and the health of the church.

[26:01] In the same way that the Reubenites and the Gadites, And half-tribe of Manasseh, Had to serve for the good of the nation, And for the security of the nation, And for the encouragement of the nation, We also have to serve together, As a unified body of Christ.

[26:15] So we're called to participate, In the work of God, Together, So that he brings, So that the people of God, To get to experience his blessing. That's what the Reubenites and the Gadites had to do.

[26:26] They had to serve together, So that everyone else could experience, The same blessing that they were already going to see, In their land. And the last thing that we'll look at, Is just this picture of complete submission.

[26:37] Verses 16 through 18 says, They answered Joshua, And by the way, That they there, It goes back to verse 10, This is the entire group of leaders, This is not just the Reubenites, The Reubenites and the Gadites, This is everyone, Right?

[26:49] Everyone who heard Joshua's commands, They answered him together, Everything you commanded us, We will do. And everywhere you send us, We will go. We will obey you, Just as we obeyed Moses in everything.

[27:00] Certainly the Lord your God will be with you, As he was with Moses. Anyone who rebels against your order, And does not obey your words, And all that you command him, Will be put to death. Above all, Be strong and courageous.

[27:12] So all of the people of the nation, Got together and responded to Joshua, As he took leadership, As he assumed the role that God had called him to, And their response, Was complete submission.

[27:27] Yeah, It was to Joshua, And to his leadership, And whatever he called them to do, They would do. But at the end of the day, This was a submission to God. This was a submission to the authority, That God had placed over them.

[27:37] This was a submission to the authority, That God had to give them the land. This was a submission to the providence of God, That he told them that they would go, And they would take that land. They didn't just submit to Joshua.

[27:49] In fact, It's kind of funny. They say, We will obey you in everything, Just as we obeyed Moses in everything. Well, If you know the history, They didn't follow Moses too well, Right?

[28:02] They didn't obey Moses all the time. Their obedience wasn't going to be perfect. Joshua's leadership wasn't going to be perfect. But large scale, As a group, As a people, They were completely submitted to God's word, And to the work that God had called them to accomplish.

[28:18] That's why it says there in verse 17, After they say, We'll obey you just like we obeyed Moses. Certainly the Lord your God will be with you, Just as he was with Moses. You see, The encouragement for Joshua, Isn't that these people said they would obey him.

[28:32] He knew how fickle they were, Right? It was that the Lord was with him. The Lord was giving them this land. The Lord was leading them. The encouragement isn't found only in other people.

[28:45] I think we come along and encourage one another in the faith. But our encouragement at the end of the day, Should be found in the fact that God is good, And sovereign, And providential. Our submission shouldn't be submission to a person, Submission to an idea.

[29:01] Our submission is to God and his word, The authority of his word, And what he's called us to. And in the same way, Like Joshua, We have to be strong and courageous, As we do what God has called us to do.

[29:15] And I want to show you something really quickly, Because I think this is a pretty cool way, The whole book of Joshua kind of comes to a close. If you jump ahead in your Bible to Joshua 22, You can, But I'm putting it on the screen.

[29:28] Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites. Remember, This is after all of the land has been divvied out. This has been after all of the fighting has taken place, All of the conquering has happened, That they were going to do in the book of Joshua.

[29:41] And he summoned them together, And he told them, You have done everything Moses, The Lord's servant, Commanded you, And you have obeyed me in everything I commanded you. You have not deserted your brothers, Even once this whole time, But have carried out the requirement, Of the command of the Lord your God.

[29:57] Remember, They weren't submitting only to Joshua, They were submitting to the command, To the authority of the Lord. Now that he has given your brothers rest, Just as he promised them, Return to your homes in your own land, That Moses, The Lord's servant, Gave you across the Jordan.

[30:14] And then look at this, As you go home to the land, Don't forget the Lord, But instead, Only carefully obey the command and instruction, That Moses, The Lord's servant, Gave you, To love the Lord your God, Walk in all his ways, Keep his commands, Be loyal to him, And serve him, With all your heart, And all your soul.

[30:34] You know, The call to participation, The call to preparing, It's not for the moment, That we're called. It's easy in the moment, To say, Yes Lord, I'll go. Right?

[30:45] Yes Lord, I'll do this ministry opportunity. Yes Lord, I'll go on this mission trip. I'll become a missionary. It's a lot more difficult, To endure all the way through, The challenges that come up along the way.

[30:58] But the Reubenites and the Gadites, A really neat picture, When you completely submit, To the word of the Lord, You're completely obedient, To the word of the Lord, He will sustain you, So that you can endure, All the way, You can persevere, All the way through.

[31:13] You can accomplish, What God has called you to, Not by your own strength, But through him, Who leads you, Who actually, Now, Because of the work of Christ, The Holy Spirit, Is within you.

[31:26] You have this wellspring, Of strength and courage, By the hand of God, So that you can accomplish, What he calls you to accomplish. You can endure, The way that he's called you, To endure.

[31:38] So I know this is a, A little bit of a, A random passage, In some sense, To focus on for a sermon, But I think that it, It really connects well, When you think about the fact, That we, As Christ followers, As church members, As a body of believers, Who are together, Are called to faithfully, Serve him, We're called to faithfully, Serve him, I don't want anyone, In this church, Or who may ever come, To this church, To serve in the church, Because they feel pressured, Into service, Right, I don't want you to serve, Because you know, The guy on stage, Wouldn't shut up about it, Maybe I shouldn't have said, Shut up, But anyways, I don't want you to, To serve for any of those reasons, I want you to serve, I want us as a church, As a church family, To serve, Because we're committed, And submitted, To God, And his word, And God has called us, To serve, To share our gifts, To love one another, Through service, To care for one another, The same way that, The Reubenites, And the Gadites, And all of the other tribes, Were called to serve together, To participate, In this conquering, This conquest, I think you and I, Are called to the same thing,

[32:39] Our conquest, Isn't the same as theirs, But our conquest, If you want to call it that, Is to see the kingdom, Of heaven grow, Is to see God himself, Work and move, Through us, In us, And for the sake of his glory, And for our good, And so, That's the call, Is for us to be faithful, Just like they were, That's why I said before, That Joshua's leadership, And their service, Is really underscored, By the same message, That is relayed, Throughout all of scripture, And that is, Faith that God is able, To accomplish, Whatever it is, He has called us to, Whatever it is, He has said he'll do, He will accomplish, He will do, So be a faithful servant, Be committed to submitting yourself, To God's word, To his authority, Every single day, And at the end of the day, If you don't have a relationship, With Christ, You have to start there, Now this, All this talk about submission, And commitment, Will mean absolutely nothing to you, If you don't have a personal relationship, With the Lord Jesus Christ,

[33:40] Jesus is the perfect Joshua, He led us into rest, Eternal rest, Is available in Christ, The work, The laboring for rest, We don't even have to do it, Because Christ did it for us, He died on the cross, For our sins, He took the punishment, That we deserve, And if by faith, You believe in him, That he's the son of God, You confess him as Lord, And live your life, Under his authority, Under his lordship, The Bible says, You'll be saved, So if you don't have a relationship, With Jesus, You have to start there, I'm going to encourage you, That you do that today, We're going to sing, One final song, And then we will close today, But let me pray for us, God thank you for who you are, God I praise you, For this example, Of what it looks like, To obey your word, To accomplish, What you've laid before a people, God I pray that as a church, We would be encouraged, And that we would be faithful, To follow you, Where you lead us, We would be obedient, To go where you call us, And that we would be faithful, To do whatever it is,

[34:41]  That you have for us to do, We love you Jesus, And I pray you, Would bless these people, Who have heard your word, Preached today, And it's in your name, That we pray, Amen.