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Senior Sunday (Joshua 6)
26 Plays1 year ago
Sunday Message recorded 19 May 2024
by Associate Pastor Josh Shell
First Baptist Church -- Columbus TX
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
Recommended
Transcript
Honoring the Graduates
00:00:06
Speaker
If you guys have your Bibles, go ahead and open up to the Book of Joshua. The Book of Joshua. That's right. Get the dust off the old pages of Joshua.
00:00:17
Speaker
It's funny, so as I said, it's such an honor to be able to celebrate this graduating class, and they're going to be greatly missed. It's going to be hard to see these guys not around. Like, how about this? How many of you guys had Jacob Coleman, Morgan Westfall, or Hailey Hargness, or even Vanessa and Awanas? Anybody? Awanas? OK, back there. Is that Lori? Yes.
00:00:42
Speaker
Nice, there you go. That's awesome. Let's be honest, we've seen these kids grow up from just a little bit when they were younger, right? It's pretty incredible to see where they are now and where they're headed.
Sermon Topic Challenges
00:00:54
Speaker
But as I was praying through what to speak on today with the remaining time that we have, which is not a whole lot, so we'll see if I can do this.
Discovering Listener Kids
00:01:06
Speaker
It was funny, I was actually driving with Shiloh in the car, and that's always an adventure. She was asking for music, so I turned on listener kids. Does anybody know what listener kids is? Anybody? Grandparents? Anybody? If you don't know what listener kids is, you need to look it up. It's fantastic. I listen to it even when Shiloh's not in the car sometimes.
00:01:27
Speaker
They take some of the old Sunday School songs and they bring it to a more contemporary beat. So I'm like sitting there driving listening to Jesus loves me. Yeah, Jesus loves me. Anyway, it's cool. This makes me feel special, you know?
Joshua and Jericho: Lessons in Leadership
00:01:43
Speaker
But as we were listening to these songs, one of the songs that came out was Joshua and the Walls of Jericho.
00:01:49
Speaker
Right? And I was just, as we were listening to the song and as we were driving, I was like, man, this is a, this is a, like, not only was I like dancing to the beat of the song, but I was like, I forget so much this story of Joshua and the walls of Jericho. Right? Who else familiar with this story?
00:02:10
Speaker
Right? And as I was thinking about it, I was like, man, this is a really cool story that we can look at to encourage these seniors as they begin this transition from high school and being at home with their parents under the leadership of their parents, things like that, and now transitioning into their own lifestyle where they're becoming their own leaders, they're making their own decisions, I mean, for the most part. I mean, I know that they're still under the parents' guardianship for a little bit while they're in college, but for the most part, they're adults now, right? They're transitioning.
00:02:40
Speaker
And they're going to have to face things that they've never faced before without their parents around or without their church family or without their peers here, right? This is a great task. I remember when I went off to college, I was a big deal, right? I'm sure many of you guys can speak to that same thing where when you began that transition from high school into college, adulthood hits you really fast and really hard, right?
00:03:04
Speaker
responsibility hits you.
Moses and the Promised Land
00:03:06
Speaker
And as I was listening to that song, as I went back and read the story, this account of Joshua as he was going to face Jericho, the city of Jericho, I just couldn't help but think of the transition that Joshua had to go through in order to face this moment, right? Y'all can recall with me back in Exodus, there was this man who was raised up, right? Who's called to go to deliver the nation of Israel out of slavery, out of exile, right? What was his name?
00:03:35
Speaker
Moses, right, had this absolutely incredible encounter with God through the burning bush where God calls out to me and says, hey, I hear the cry of my people coming up to me and I want you to go and rescue them from the nation of Egypt and bring them into the Promised Land. The Promised Land that God had promised them back when he instituted the covenant with Abraham, right? And so Moses goes.
00:03:56
Speaker
And we know the account where Moses goes. He delivers the different plagues and the different warnings to the nation of Egypt, and eventually Pharaoh lets the Egypt nation of Israel go. They leave, and as they're leaving, they get up to the Red Sea. And then Pharaoh, he's like, what did I just do? I need to go get these guys, right? So they're hemmed up against the Red Sea, the nation of Egypt's coming after them with Pharaoh, and then what happens with Moses?
00:04:24
Speaker
He parted the Red Sea, right? Absolutely incredible moments in the journey and the life of Moses so far, right? So he crosses the Red Sea with the Nation of Israel, though if you all remember, the water collapses. And the Nation of Egypt and all their soldiers are in the middle of the water that's split, so it washes on the way. And then they're on the other side of the Red Sea, going into the promised land, right?
00:04:50
Speaker
And then so Moses takes them in and then due to their disobedience and unfaithfulness, the Lord commands them to walk around the wilderness for 40 years, right? Because of their disobedience, He says, I want to make you wander around the wilderness for 40 years until this generation of elders is gone and a new generation begins where they can then go into the Promised Land.
00:05:16
Speaker
Right? And leading up to the moment where Moses, after that 40 years of fixing to bring them into the Promised Land, Moses does something and then God says, because you disobey me, you are not going to see the Promised Land. So Moses doesn't enter the Promised Land, but rather he dies just before they enter into it.
00:05:35
Speaker
And then that's where we pick up in Joshua chapter one.
Joshua's Leadership and Obedience
00:05:38
Speaker
So I'm just gonna do a brief overview because this is this absolutely crazy thing to think about, right? So Joshua was one of Moses' right-hand men, right? He was there through him when all these things were happening and he witnessed all these great accounts of Moses and how God used them. But now is the time for Joshua
00:05:58
Speaker
to take the helm and to go out and to become the leader that God called him to be. And what you ultimately see throughout this book of Joshua is that Joshua not only becomes just as prolific of a man as Moses, but sometimes even greater than Moses and what God uses him for. And so seniors, I pray that as you guys begin this transition, as you guys begin to step out onto your own, that one, you remember everything that your parents taught you.
00:06:26
Speaker
everything that they encouraged you through, everything that they prepared you for as you began this transition. Because as you step out there, now you're going to be taking the helm, right? You're going to be taking the reins, if you will. Hailey's a rodeo girl, so she'll understand that. But you'll all be taking the reins.
00:06:44
Speaker
Y'all will now have to make the decisions and do all these things that your parents once did for you. And now it's time for your time to shine and to walk faithfully with the Lord. That is my prayer, right? So what we see in Joshua chapter one is as Moses passes away, God now conditions Joshua for the leadership role.
00:07:03
Speaker
And so Joshua obeys, and y'all remember what God said to Joshua there, Joshua 1.9, and I was even tempted to preach on this one, right? But go back to verse seven, it says, God says to him, only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses, my servant, had commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.
00:07:30
Speaker
Right? So God says, all right, Joshua, now is your time to shine. Do not depart from the law in which I gave Moses, and you will prosper.
Spies in Jericho and Rahab's Faith
00:07:37
Speaker
You will shine. And so Joshua does just that. In Joshua chapter 2, Joshua then takes the reins, and he sends these two spies to go and to search out this city of Jericho, which was this a prolific, prominent,
00:07:53
Speaker
city strategically and militarily wise. And so Joshua sends these two spies to go see what's going on in the city because what was happening was all that region of Canaan where the promising was they heard about what God did with the nation of Israel by allowing the across the Red Sea, allowing to escape from the reigns of Egypt. And they were getting nervous. They were getting kind of afraid about what God was going to use this nation for.
00:08:20
Speaker
And so what these things were beginning to do is they were starting to close their doors. They were starting to kind of lock things down. So that way, if there was any type of attack or anything like that from the nation of Israel, they'll be ready for it. And so Joshua sends these two spies into the walls of Jericho. And they spy out the land. They meet this lady called Rahab, who was a prostitute, who heard about all the things that God had done with the nation of Israel.
00:08:45
Speaker
became fearful of God out of reverence. She recognized these two guys were like, you guys are with the nation of Israel. I fear the Lord your God because of what he's done for you. Here come with me. And she hid them. Don't remember this account. And because of her obedience and because of her heart of the fear of the Lord and hiding them, she was blessed when the walls fell down of Jericho. Her and her family and all were in her household. They were saved from the destruction.
Crossing the Jordan and Renewing the Covenant
00:09:15
Speaker
So that happens, and in Joshua chapter three, the nation of Israel, God commands Joshua to take Israel across the Jordan River. And if we remember this account, it happened very similarly to the way Moses crossed the Red Sea.
00:09:29
Speaker
Right? He commanded the priests to have the Ark of the Lord, the Ark of the Covenant, to go out into the stand in the water, and as they stood in the water, guess what the water did? It stood up tall. Right? The water stood in its place to where dry ground was in front of them, where the nation of Israel could walk across.
00:09:47
Speaker
This is a very profound moment in Joshua's leadership, right? And so the whole nation of Israel crosses, the whole nation of Israel crosses, the Ark of the Covenant comes across, the water then recedes back to its original place, and they begin to walk into the Promised Land. After they cross the Jordan River, Chapter 4, this is where the Lord commands them to take the 12 stones from the river and to place them as a memorial. And it says that they are still here to this day.
00:10:17
Speaker
It's a reminder to the future generations of how the Lord has brought them out of Egypt and how he's brought them into the promised land, right? So that's what the 12 stones represented. And then Joshua chapter 5 began this process of the Lord commanding Joshua to circumcise this new generation.
00:10:35
Speaker
Those who are now following in obedience, they circumcise them as a reminder of the covenant that God has placed with them. And then from the time of the circumcision, they had their first Passover in Canaan.
00:10:49
Speaker
And then from the first Passover, then Joshua, y'all remember this incredible account, I'm gonna read it to you in verses 13, all the way down to the end of chapter five. It says this, when Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked and beheld a man was standing before him with his drawn sword out of his hand. And Joshua went to his adversaries and he said, but I am the commander of the army of the Lord.
00:11:14
Speaker
Now I have come and Joshua fell to the face of the earth and worshiped and said to him, what does my Lord say to his servant? And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, take off your sandals from your feet for the place where you're standing is holy. And Joshua did so.
00:11:31
Speaker
So now Joshua is encountering the pre-incarnate Christ just as Moses did in the burning bush. It's an absolutely incredible encounter. And so why do I remind us about what Joshua did here?
Conquering Jericho by Faith
00:11:45
Speaker
It's because Joshua was given the opportunity to step out in faith, to walk by faith in obedience to the Lord, to lead the nation of Israel as after the prominent figure Moses had just died.
00:12:00
Speaker
and Joshua did so. He took it and he stepped forward in faith and obedience to God to go and to do what God had commanded him. There was nothing spectacular, nothing important about Joshua other than the fact that he was just a man ready to walk in obedience.
00:12:19
Speaker
just like many of us today. Some of you are in this room, I'm not even just talking to the seniors, I'm talking to all of us. Some of you have an opportunity laid before you to go and to walk by faith and obedience to the Lord, to carry out His will, not only in your life and the life of others, and you are choosing to hold back. You're choosing to stay in captivity, in the land of Egypt, or in the wilderness, whatever that place may be.
00:12:46
Speaker
But I pray that right now that you feel challenged and you feel pulled to take that first step into the Jordan River, into the Red Sea, walk by faith and see how amazing God will provide for you and how He will protect you and how He will lead you and guide you along the way. Seniors, that's my prayer for you guys.
00:13:07
Speaker
As I said, I've gotten the opportunity and the privilege to see each and every one of you grow up in our youth group and grow up in your relationships with your peers and in your schools. It's been absolutely incredible to see how the leadership has been formed in each of you. And I pray that you will take hold of that, that you will not stifle what God has for you because he has a plan for you.
00:13:32
Speaker
So there's three things I want to really challenge you with is this. One, do not underestimate God's plan.
00:13:40
Speaker
Do not estimate God's plan, because what we see in the following chapter in chapter 6 of Joshua is that God called Joshua to do an absolutely incredible feat here. So when they crossed into the land of Canaan, into the promised land, they didn't just go after the non-strategic cities, the easily captive cities, but rather they went to the stronghold, Jericho. There was two cities, Jericho and the city of Ai.
00:14:05
Speaker
Jericho was the first one they encountered and guys said I want you to go and I want you to captive I want you to take captive this city
00:14:12
Speaker
And the scene here is absolutely incredible. So if you go back to chapter six, verse one, it says this, now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua, see, I have given Jericho into your hand with his king and his mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city. Thus, you shall do for six days
00:14:42
Speaker
Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of ram's horns before the ark. On the seventh day, you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. And when they make a long glass of the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up, and everyone straight before him.
00:15:09
Speaker
absolutely incredible and yet terrifying thing that the Lord is calling Joshua to do. He's not calling him to go into battle. He's not saying, hey, arm yourselves and go and take out these people. He says, no, I want you to just go and I want you to march around the city.
00:15:26
Speaker
Right? You, the Ark of the Covenant, the men of valor, the men of war, and the people of the nation of Israel. I want you guys each day for six days to just go and march around the city, blaring the ram's horn, and that's it. I don't want you to make a sound. I don't want you to say anything else. That's all I want you to do. March around the city and go back and rest. Six days they did this. Right? But yeah, on the seventh day, he said there, he said, but yeah, on the seventh day,
00:15:53
Speaker
March around the city seven times and the priest shall blow the trumpets. And at the sound of the trumpets, what do the people need to do? Shout. And then what would happen? The walls would fall flat. Okay, there's a slide and you guys want to go back. I know I'm jumping all around. This is the city of Jericho. Y'all see how fortified that city is?
00:16:17
Speaker
That is absolutely incredible. Can you imagine being a part of the Nation of Israel marching up with Joshua and saying, Joshua's like, hey, this is the plan. This is the strategy. Can you imagine what they were thinking? You think that by marching around the city six days once and then on the seventh day, seven times that the walls will fall flat? Well, it did.
00:16:40
Speaker
It did. And so again, it goes back to my first point here. Do not underestimate God's plan. There's a note here in my David Jeremiah study Bible about this Jericho strategy, if you will. I'm just going to read this to you. It says, Jericho was a formidable foe situated exactly in the center of the valley that separated the north and the south.
00:17:02
Speaker
The city was so important and strategically located that Israel could not simply circumvent it. So Joshua's brilliant plan that the Lord gave him instilled in his heart by the Lord was to go after the city of Jericho first. Some have wondered why Joshua decided to take Canaan's most fortified city right away instead of waiting till the end of his campaign.
00:17:23
Speaker
is because Joshua, a military strategist, knew that he should not leave so many enemies behind. Once Israel had destroyed Jericho, the heart of Canaan, the enemy's forces would be unable to come together as a coalition against Joshua's army. So this was a very strategic move that the Lord had for Joshua to go and take the city of Jericho. And the seniors, and those of you who are in this room today who underestimate God's plan for your life,
00:17:52
Speaker
There is a strategy behind why God is using you. You have to remain faithful to that. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, if you believe that Jesus is Lord of your life and you submit it to him as Savior and Lord, you are confessing and believing in your heart that he is sovereign over your life and that you walk by faith and not by sight.
Obedience and God's Strategic Plans
00:18:18
Speaker
So we must be obedient to the plan in which God has before us, no matter how great the wall may be in front of us. We have to be obedient. We have to remain faithful because God will use you in ways that you'll never expect to tear down those walls.
00:18:34
Speaker
just like he used Joshua to tear down these walls in Jericho. I know you guys can't see it up there on the screen, but when it comes to the walls on the walls of Jericho, it says this, it says archeologists have excavated to reveal that Jericho was violently destroyed sometime toward the end of the Bronze Age. The walls seem to have been thrown down by sudden force.
00:19:02
Speaker
As if by an earthquake, charred wood shows that what was left of the city was burned. Excavators have also found food supplies buried in the destroyed city, which shows that it was not captured by siege. So again, there's archaeological evidence of what Joshua and the Nation of Israel did to the city of Jericho and how God flattened the walls.
00:19:25
Speaker
all because they do not underestimate God's plan and they remain faithful. The second thing is this, is that, again, do not brush off God's strategy. Don't brush it off. You're gonna face moments in life where it's gonna be really daunting and hard and overwhelming, but do not brush it off as if like God does not know what he is doing and as if like you have a better plan.
00:19:48
Speaker
I've told you guys my testimony many times of how when I was in high school, I was a skater kid who wanted to either go in the military or go into the automotive industry as a car repairman, right? I never expected in a million years to be behind a pulpit. That's just not who I was. That's not who I am. I get nervous every time I get up here. But the Lord had a plan for my life. The Lord had a plan for me, whether I believe it or not,
00:20:16
Speaker
The Lord has a plan for all of us in the same way. So seniors, please walk faithfully to that plan which He has for you. Right now it's to go off to college or to go into a trade, whatever the case may be. But you just don't know what that will lead to next. But the Lord does. He has a strategic plan, so don't brush it off. The last thing is this, the third thing, devote yourself to the things of God.
00:20:41
Speaker
and not to the things of this world, okay? Because if you go ahead and if you jump ahead in the chapter six and look at verse 18, all these things take place, right? So the city of Israel goes, Joshua, they march around the city each day for six days, they go back and they rest. And on the seventh day, they go and they walk around seven times. And then when the trumpet is blared, all the people shout and the walls are flattened.
00:21:05
Speaker
Right? And they go in and they dedicate everything to destruction, except for the gold, the silver, and the bronze. Those things are remained holy for the Lord. And except for the Rahab and her family and her household, right? But in verse 18 it says this, but you keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction.
00:21:27
Speaker
lest when you have devoted them, then you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction and bring trouble upon it." So in other words, if you are a believer in Christ, if you are walking faithfully to the Lord, do not devote yourselves to the things of this world because when you bring them into your life, they consume you.
00:21:52
Speaker
They only hold you back from the sovereign plan in which God has for you.
00:21:58
Speaker
They destroy the spirit that's inside of you. It weighs you down. And the Lord tells us that He doesn't desire us to be burdened by our sin, but rather He wants us to cast it upon Him, all of our anxiety, right? All of our worries, all of these things that lead us to destruction, He wants us to cast it onto Him. So do not devote yourselves to the things of this world, but rather devote yourself to the things of God.
00:22:25
Speaker
It's gonna be hard. It's not gonna be easy. We have people in this church right now who have been believers longer than I've been alive.
Faithfulness and Unexpected Blessings
00:22:33
Speaker
And they would tell you that it's not easy, but it's worth it. When you remain faithful to the Lord, He will bless you and allow you to prosper in ways that you never imagined. I know we're four minutes over. I'm just gonna end with this.
00:22:50
Speaker
Proverbs, I'm gonna read you just a few verses just to encourage you. Proverbs three, five through eight. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. And all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes. Man, that's a powerful verse. Be not wise in your own eyes. If you're the Lord and turn away from evil, it will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
00:23:17
Speaker
Philippians 4, 4-7, rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything, but everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your requests be made known to God, and that peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Let me just plug this in real quick. Seniors, you're gonna be overwhelmed.
00:23:43
Speaker
You're going to be anxious. What Paul is saying here is that you're not to live a life that is free from anxiety because
Paul on Anxiety and Spiritual Battles
00:23:49
Speaker
it's going to come. Even Paul himself, in this same letter Philippians, a few chapters before, is expressing how he is anxious for the people because of the lifestyle, right? So you're going to experience anxiety. You're going to experience a sense of overwhelmingness at times. But what this passage is saying, what Paul is saying, is that the Lord is faithful.
00:24:10
Speaker
If you cast your burdens and your anxieties upon Him with thanksgiving, knowing that the Lord is bringing you through seasons for a reason, and that is to sharpen you and to hone you into the man or woman of God He desires you to be. Now, I'll close with this one, Ephesians 6, 10 through 13. There was a couple more, but I'm out of time.
00:24:35
Speaker
Finally, be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might. This is Paul encouraging the Ephesian people. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness that's not
00:24:57
Speaker
Never mind, that's all another sermon for another day, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. That's what Paul is referring to. Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces in the heavenly places, the evil spiritual forces. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and have done all to stand firm. Seniors, this is an exciting time for you guys.
Trusting God's Plan in Transitions
00:25:27
Speaker
And I know also for many of you guys right now, you're in a season of transition as well. You're not graduating from high school, but you may be changing jobs. You may just find out you're moving maybe to another country, breaking all of our hearts, West Falls. But no matter what is coming, you can walk faithfully knowing that the Lord's plan is sovereign.
00:25:54
Speaker
meaning that He is over it all. He is in control. There is a purpose and a reason behind it. Do not question it, do not underestimate it, but rather remain faithful and devote yourselves to the things of God. And you'll see how He will use you in a mighty, mighty way. So that's my challenge to you seniors. That's my challenge to us as a church and to myself every single day.
Invitation to Faith
00:26:20
Speaker
So will you guys pray with me and we'll go into a time of invitation.
00:26:26
Speaker
Lord God, we come before you. And God, we are just so thankful for the fact that you are sovereignly in control, that you have a plan and a purpose for all of us. Lord, we saw that at the beginning of this service with the baptisms, how you have a plan first off for all of us to come to know you personally and to make you known. And so Lord, I pray that there's anyone here today who's never put their faith and trust in you that they will do that today, that they will come to know you as personal Lord and savior of their life.
00:26:55
Speaker
The Lord, for those who are in seasons of transition like our seniors, I pray, God, that they will just remain faithful. Lord, that you'll have your hand of protection upon them as you had your hand of protection upon Joshua and the nation of Israel. That as they begin this transition that they will not be afraid or overwhelmed by the sense of responsibility or whatever the fill in the blank is, but Lord, that they will remain faithful to you because you're a God who is faithful to us. You will never leave us nor forsake us.
00:27:23
Speaker
So Lord, if there's anyone here though that needs to surrender their heart to you or surrender this anxiety or whatever it is, that they'll do that this morning during this time of invitation. But Lord, may you be glorified in all that we do. That's my prayer. So Lord, we love you. We praise you. We thank you for your word and how it never leaves us void. Everything we need is right here and we just thank you for that. We love you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
00:27:57
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church, located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.