Joshua - Two in a million!

Introduction - 2 in a million!

This message was preached at Word of Grace church  by Colin D Cruz on the 8th of July 2012. You can listen or download  to the Audio recording  of the message by clicking here

Introduction.

Many Christian are very familiar with the New Testament and not so much with the Old. Today, I am going to start a new series from a book in the Old Testament, the book of Joshua.  God is speaking to us prophetically from this book.

Why is the Old Testament important? I Cor.10:11- These things happened to them as examples for us to follow, and warnings for us to avoid. Examples of lives we need to study and follow. Warnings: We see a “warning “on every cigarette packet today. The Bible also records the failings of God’s people and the bad situations they came into as a result of not obeying God’s laws, as warnings fro us to heed.

Some say I can’t understand all these killings, conquering etc. I only like the Psalms! The other books are too tedious. Let’s see what Jesus has to say. Luke 24:27- Jesus meets the disciples on the Road to Emmaus and opened up the scriptures and explained everything from the time of Moses,  and what it had to say about him. The Old Testament was a shadow of Jesus – e.g. the Passover. It was made clear in the New Testament. Hebrews tells us this.

 Who is Joshua? Have you heard the phrase 1 in a million? Well he was 2 in a million! Joshua began his life in Egypt.  God delivered them from Egypt, performed great signs and wonders, miraculously provided food for them, but then they disobeyed God and God said that they would perish in the dessert. All  those 20 years and above would die in the dessert. 

Now Moses has commissioned Joshua to be is aide and Moses dies and its up to Joshua to take the people onto the Promise Land. So it’s not a new book, but a new beginning.

So that takes us to Joshua Chapter 1.

Josh1:1 -After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: ² “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them —to the Israelites. ³ I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. ⁴ Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates —all the Hittitecountry—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. ⁵ No one will be able to stand against youall the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. ⁶ Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

⁷ “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 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. ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

 In these few verses God does 4 things.

1.   Reminds Joshua of the Promises. Right in Gen 12 God had Called Abraham and promised him the land of Canaan. Hundreds of years later Joshua was to be the unique leader that would take this generation of Israelites in to the Promise Land. That promise was repeated several times since Abraham. In Numbers 13:1 the promise is repeated before the disaster of the 12 spies.

God has promises – for you as an individual, for us as a Church, for us as a movement of Churches. This is a prophetic book of promises. The promises made to Abraham are your promises. Gen 12:2-3 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

² “I will make you into a great nation, 
    and I will bless you; 
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.
³ I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse; 
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you. ”

It’s our job to claim the promises. Some may say “Am I worthy?” Friends it’s not about whether you are worthy or not. These promises given to Abraham are your inheritance. You can do and have nothing to deserve it. It is  because of what Jesus has done for you.

The reason God wants to bless you is because he wants you to be a blessing. We are like Pipes, not a vessel. A Vessel can only contain a certain amount of water. Whereas, a Pipe can have millions of gallons of water flow through it. How much blessing do you want? If you are willing to be a Pipe and allow blessing to flow through you , you will be blessed. But if you choose to be a vessel, you will be able to contain only a limited amount of blessing.

So here is a great promise and anointing. God is saying “If anyone messes with you they are messing with me”

What is your vision for your life? God’s purpose is that all nations will be blessed through you. Joshua must have been thinking “ I am a slave in Egypt, how can the nations  be blessed through me?”. God took him from being a slave in Egypt to becoming the leader of a few million people and he took them into the Promise Land.

Joshua was 2 in a million, and he believed in the promises of God. Get hold of all the promises of God, not just material,  but blessings for Pune and the nations of the world.

Colin D Cruz

July 2012