Sermon Central
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The Joshua Generation - Walking Out Of The Day Of Miracles
Contributed by Eric Aschendorf on Jan 23, 2002 (message contributor)
Summary: I’m walking away from the day of miracles, I’ve had enough of it and I’m leaving it behind!
The Joshua Generation
Walking Out Of The Day Of Miracles
I’m leaving the day of miracles. I’m walking away from the day of miracles. I’ve had enough of it and I’m leaving it behind me! Do you want to come?
1) Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister (slave) saying,
2) Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.
3) Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
4) From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
5) There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
6) Be strong and of a good courage:...
This is the most exciting time in Church history. God is calling HIS church to "arise"...to do battle... and to march forward victoriously! The Joshua Generation was a type and foreshadow of the modern church. They were the remnant of the Jews that had come out of "bondage" in Egypt. They were the generation that was able to look forward to the "Promise" of GOD without bringing up the bondages and memories of the past!
In Genesis we see GOD choosing men.
In Exodus we see GOD redeeming men.
In Leviticus we see GOD calling men.
In Numbers we see GOD speaking to men.
In Deuteronomy we see GOD commanding men.
And In Joshua we see GOD conquering through men!
In verse 2 GOD tells Joshua that "Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over..."
GOD first lets Joshua know that their "deliver" from the land of bondage is dead and that now it is time to leave their sin behind them and "arise"!
It is time to leave behind the "promise" and to receive! It is time to "go over" and get what HE has "given" them! It’s time to get from where they are; it’s time to leave their past behind, get out of their childish existence and into the new life GOD has for them. It’s time to leave their old way of doing things behind and move on.
It’s time to leave the day of miracles behind! The day where GOD placed a miracle in front of them to lead them where HE wanted them to go.
In verse three we see that GOD is telling Joshua it is time! Time to move from living on a promise and time to move into possess that which "I (have) given unto you"!
In Numbers 14:6-9, Joshua and Caleb were the only two of twelve to come back from spying in the promised land with a belief that in GOD they could take the land! Now, they were the only two old enough to know of the hard times in bondage in Egypt and still believe that their GOD was delivering them through it! They were also the only two to look past their circumstances and see their future!
Because of this belief, for the next 40 years they would become the first, Youth Pastors of the future of Israel! They would be held responsible to lead, shape and impress upon the next generation that GOD was for them and that with HIM they could do anything and conquer any adversary!
If you asked, most of these youth would not really remember the bondage of Egypt. They wouldn’t really recall the hard times of their oppression, only the excitement and exhilaration of their freedom and deliverance. I’m sure they would remember the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea and possibly even the fear of passing through the waters. The fear that would be present when all you could see would be your future and your past and yet wondering exactly where you were?
They came across on "dry land" bringing with them nothing of their past, none of their "bondage"! Now they were about to go across on "dry ground" to insure that they would not take any of the "Wilderness of Sin" with them! This is just like we experience with the two separate baptisms of water and fire in Christianity. Like when Mary prepared JESUS to go to HIS FATHER when she washed HIS feet and HE prepared the disciples to receive the HOLY SPIRIT when HE washed their feet! Now the children of Israel were prepared to receive their new home, their new land of opportunity, their promise!
