This Sunday is our kick off for the summer in the FLC and I am looking forward to it. I hope we can pack it out. My hope is that over time we can be a church that keeps the mission moving and growing throughout the summers increasingly over the years. The Lord works in all seasons of our lives (metaphorically and literally)- so let’s stay at seeking His best!!

Also, as you just saw in a prior email we will be having our new Associate Pastor joining us, Tom Fagan, so let’s welcome him and his fiancee Kori as they begin their journey with us.

As you may have noticed I’ve been doing some ‘one off’ sermons on various passages of interest to me and ones that I feel speak to where our congregation is currently and where we are heading, rather than a sermon series. Over the last few months (after finishing the Sermon on the Mount), I have preached on Proverbs 3, Mark 8, Joshua 24, Psalm 78, Acts 4 and others. This has been a good interlude as we looked at some big picture themes of commitment, faithfulness, familial bonds, trust in God, etc. Through this time I’ve also been simultaneously praying about what to cover as our next sermon series. Two weeks ago as I prepared to preach on Joshua 24, I found myself deeply resonating with the text and really enjoyed preaching from it that Sunday. After church I expressed this to Becky and she suggested I do a sermon series on the Book of Joshua for “such a time as this.” She reminded me of Joshua 1:9, “have I not commanded you be strong and courageous…..” I smiled and said I would think about it :).

After thinking and praying on this over the last week, I feel the Lord’s leading to cover Joshua and the various themes contained in this powerful book. It is a very long book, with some unique parts that will be challenging to cover. I covet your prayers as I prepare to take us through portions of this book in the late summer and most likely into early fall. I have no idea what the length will be, but I estimate that it will be somewhere around my usual of 3-4 months. May the Lord lead!
Here’s a brief recap of the book of Joshua.

Joshua 1:1-18 will be covered this Sunday. The Book begins with death of Moses and God’s word to Joshua (Moses’s aide). Verses 2-4 could be described essentially as God’s marching orders to Joshua. The Lord will lead Joshua and the Lord will lead the people through Joshua. God promises that Joshua will be covered all through the journey by His grace.

Verses 5-6 describes this as the Lord says

“…..As I was with Moses so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.” 

God doesn’t just say….. “hey Joshua be a courageous strong guy and by the way….good luck!” Nope. Joshua’s courage is to not to come from within himself (such a limited reach), but rather from the fact that God is with him. In other words, the presence of God in Joshua’s life and your life and mine is where true strength and courage comes from. I love this quote from one of my favorite preachers, Crawford Loritts, on Biblical courage: “God has called you, He is with you. Courage doesn’t mean that I am not afraid. It means that I fear God more than I fear my environment. It means that I trust in divine resources more than the resources of man.” Amen!

Where in your life do you need to reminded that God is with you? Often during the most seemingly impossible situations in our lives we need this reminder- may the Lord encourage and strengthen your heart today as you think about this!

Verses 7-8 are two of my favorite verses in the Bible. In verse 7 God repeats to Joshua the command to be “strong and very courageous” and adds the vital importance for Joshua to not depart from the Book of the Law. The Lord goes on to state in v. 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.”

The Lord is demonstrating to Joshua that everything needed for life and godliness is contained in His Word and He wanted Joshua to have it before him at all times. Think about the Word as our true nourishment for our souls, just like nourishing food for our bodies. The longer we are away from nourishing food, the more we are negatively affected. The longer we are away from the nourishment of God’s Word the more we are negatively affected. The Word brings life to us, so therefore let’s not just take little nibbles of it, but let’s feast upon it!! “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Psalm 34:8. I am praying that all of us will delight in God’s word more and more each day!! Do you need help in developing a plan for enjoying His presence through the Word? Let me know, as I would be delighted to assist in this!!

Verses 12-15 speak to the Lord’s rest that will be given to the tribes as they enter the land. But before they enter, their fighting men are to help their fellow Israelites in the land first (v. 15). So powerful. Think about this. Isn’t it interesting that when we come to faith in Jesus Christ, he doesn’t just take us up to heaven at that exact moment. We know the Lord then, why doesn’t he just bring us home?! There are many theological reasons for this such as sanctification (becoming more like Christ), experiencing more of the Lord in this life, bringing glory to His name, etc.

But one of the main reasons that we remain on earth is for others to experience the same amazing knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior! I believe Joshua 1 gives us a picture of this with the Promised Land. Essentially, Joshua is saying in this moment to the people  “go back and get them” and bring ’em home! We don’t do the saving or the delivering in people’s lives, but what a joy it is to reach out, watch God do the work and help others experience the ultimate rest that they have been looking for in Christ their whole lives (whether they know it or not!)

Who can you bring to Jesus?

Who can you reach out to?

Who is in your sphere in influence (work, neighborhood, family, etc) who can experience the grace of Christ?

Having trouble thinking of someone? Well….get ready. I am completely confident that God is going to bring to this church’s front doorstep multitudes over the years who are hungry for God whether they know it or not. And we will have the opportunity to say essentially, “taste and see that the Lord is good.” Already this is starting to happen in our midst as 20-30 people have started attending over the last year from hardly any faith background at all, but they are searching.

See you this Sunday!

Blessings,

Pastor Andrew