PREPARING FOR VICTORY

Pastor Jerry Rockwell

PREPARING FOR VICTORY

 

Joshua 1:10-18

Introduction: Joshua is a book about winners and losers. The ideal situation, according to what God expected, was that Israel would be the winner and that the Philistines would be the losers. Yet there are, within the camp of Israel, winners and losers.
It is helpful to compare the Old Testament books with the New Testament. An evaluation of Genesis will demonstrate the initiation of life and God’s plan for His creation. Then comes Exodus and the instruction for “redemption” through the blood applied to the doorposts of the house. Next, we encounter Leviticus, which I believe has two applications. One is sanctification, and the other is atonement. Numbers provides a glimpse of judgment because of disobedience. Deuteronomy provides the pattern for the government of God’s people, Israel. As seen last time, Israel completed the 40 years that could have been 11 days (Deut. 1:2). 

Joshua is the story of the nation of Israel occupying their inheritance. As was suggested earlier, the book has a parallel in the New Testament (NT) book of Ephesians. Both present the inheritance provided for God’s people, land for Israel, and “heavenly places” (Eph. 1:3; 2:6) for the NT believer. Another point to understand is that when the people of Israel entered the land, there was conflict with the people God wanted driven out of the land He had given them, since He is the title holder. To the believer in the NT, there will be spiritual conflict with an enemy who does not want us to access our inheritance in “heaven” (Eph. 6:11-18). Harry Ironsides made a statement pertinent to this matter of inheritance. He said, “It is one thing to have title to an inheritance, but it is quite another thing to make it one’s own practically.” A man named Joshua led the people of Israel to claim their inheritance. In the NT, Jesus leads us to our inheritance in “heavenly places” (Eph. 1:3, 11, 14, 18). They both have names that speak of a “saviour.”

Joshua was an unusual individual, clearly a good choice for the task at hand. He might have lived by what is stated in Psalm 119:32 (KJV) I will run the way of thy commandments, When thou shalt enlarge my heart. He was not reluctant to obey God and move to accomplish the task assigned to him. A quote by Spurgeon fits here. He said, “desired. “We are too often in haste to sin; O that we may be in a greater hurry to obey God” (C.H. Spurgeon).

Look at the text, Joshua 1:10-18. Joshua is addressing two groups of people. First, in Joshua 1:10-11, he addresses the leaders. Then in Joshua 1:12-15 he addresses the two tribes of Ruben and Gad and a half tribe of Manasseh. These 2½ tribes of Israel had chosen to live on the “East” side of the River Jordan and had made an agreement with Moses in Numbers 32. We want to examine these two groups because they are typical of believers today. Some gain victory, while others win the battle but lose the war. There are Christians like this who help in the battle but find themselves not achieving the victory that God intended for them.  Let’s look at these two.

  1. THE PEOPLE’S LEADERS ARE ADDRESSED, Joshua 1:10-11. Joshua calls the “officers of the people” and gave them instructions. These are the ones that go into the possession God had prepared for them. They are the nine and a half tribes that go into the place God wanted them to be. Notice the instructions Joshua gave them.
  1. The need for food. They are told to prepare victuals. The word is pronounced vittals, not vic–tuals. It means food. They knew they were going to need food for this battle. According to Joshua 5:10-12, the manna was going to cease. They were going to eat the food of the land, and they needed to be prepared. That involved securing food to eat. The battle was going to be difficult, and there was a need for strength to fight the battle. You and I are the same way. We need food to stay in the battle. We need the food of the word of God. In Matthew 4:4 (KJV) But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Folks, we need the word of God. We need to have food that will enable us to keep going during the battle. We are in a battle, as described in Ephesians 6:10-18. Without the word of God for spiritual strength, we will not gain the victory. Can I ask you if you have your daily intake of the word of God? Do you do the things you need to have strength for the battle? Here are some things we can do to assure ourselves we will have the strength for the battle.
  1. Read the Bible daily.
  2. Have exposure to the study of the Bible regularly and attend church regularly. Get involved in the Bible studies available.
  3. Have a personal quiet time to spend with God. 
  1. The need for faith. Look at what it says, “…for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan…” (Joshua 1:11). Have you ever considered the occurrence of the “three days” in your Bible? The first instance of this is found in Genesis 1:13 (KJV): “And the evening and the morning were the third day.” Have you ever considered what happened on the third day? Look at Genesis 1:9-13 (KJV) 9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And the evening and the morning were the third day. God brings forth life on the third day. That is by design. God wants us to think about the third day. We can go to Genesis 22:4 (KJV) Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off, where Abraham received his only begotten son from the dead on the third day. In Joshua 2:16, the two spies were told to go a “three days” journey into the mountains. Esther told Mordecai that she would wait three days in Esther 4:16. She would find life after the three days. There are many examples like this in the scripture. What God wants us to understand is that after three days, Jesus rose from the dead. Three days is the sign of life. We are to live by faith and trust God for the three-day victory in Christ. This is a type of the resurrection. We are to have victory in Jesus Christ by entering the power of the resurrection. Philippians 3:10 (KJV) That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death. Do you know the power of His resurrection? You enter this by faith. You need to believe God. Need it be said that Jesus rose from the dead on the “third day” (1 Cor. 15:4). 
  1. THE PEOPLE’S HELPERS ARE ADDRESSED, Joshua 1:12-18. Here we find a group of people who go in to help but do not achieve victory. They chose to live on the wrong side of the river. They are willing to help fight, but their families do not enjoy the fruits of the victory. They miss so many things. The story is found in Numbers 32. Joshua is addressing this group that chose to stay on the wrong side of the river. They were the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. They are the first to be defeated and the first to lose their inheritance. They rejected the land God chose for them and wanted the land they chose. It is worth noting that Joshua tells these two and a half tribes twice that they were given the land Moses had given them (Josh. 1:14, 15). Look at Numbers 32:1-5. They had cattle, and this was an ideal place because they had “much cattle.” Their choice was made on what they saw and not what God gave them. Are you like that? Most of the attractions that will take us away from the plan of God are what we “see” and not what God plans for us. Look at 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (KJV) 9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:21 (KJV) Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Do you know what the “kingdom of God” is in the Bible? Look at Romans 14:17 (KJV) For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Carnality brought about by our sense of sight instead of the work of the Holy Spirit will cause harm to your receiving an inheritance. You can lose your inheritance in the kingdom of God? Look at 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 (KJV) 12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. We can lose our reward but not our salvation. Note that these are the ones Paul addresses as “carnal” in 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 (KJV) 1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? 

Conclusion: Are you walking in the power of the resurrection? Do you know that the victory is in Jesus Christ? 1 Corinthians 15:57 (KJV) But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.