Big Idea - The book of Joshua begins with the word that "Moses my servant is dead." Moses was the great leader of Israel who had led the people out of slavery in Egypt. So, it was by the hand of Moses that God had saved and redeemed His people. But that was not the end of what God wanted to do for them. He also wanted to give them a very special gift that would be a blessing to them for generations to come. The gift was the land that He had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as an inheritance and a home of their very own. Now that Moses was dead, who would lead them into the land of promise? Then we read the words spoken to Joshua, "Now therefore, arise and go over this Jordan into the land I am giving you!" God is now calling Joshua as the one who leads them forward to take possession of the Land of Promise! The book of Joshua is a continuation of the story that began in the Book of Genesis through the Exodus from Egypt and all the wanderings in the desert for 40 years. Now at last, Israel is going to enter into the land they can call home. An important truth that is repeated often throughout the book is that this is a work God will do! God is giving them the land, and He will conquer all the nations that stand in the way of them possessing it. But why do we study the book? We are, for the most part, not of Jewish descent. We have no claim to the land of Promise, and probably no interest in living there! So, what does the book of Joshua have to do with us? Like all of the Old Testament, it has great value to us, not only because it reveals who God is and how He works according to His grace and power. But more significantly, it points to Jesus as the ultimate fulfillment of all God's promises. Everything that happened in the Old Testament is only a shadow, or a faint image, of the ultimate promise of God. So, Israel was redeemed from slavery in Egypt by the blood of the firstborn of Egypt, but we are redeemed from slavery to sin and death by the blood of the Son of God! And like Israel, being saved from death in Egypt is not the end! The rest of the story is that God wants us to take full possession of all the gifts and blessings He has promised us! And here is the first great truth or principle that we can learn from this book. Many Christians understand very well what it means to be saved, to be rescued from their own slavery in Egypt. But they know very little about all the other promises and all the gifts that God wasn’t to lead them into take possession of. As a result, they, like Israel, spend much of their Christian life wandering in the desert, saved, yes, but never really living in the Land of Promise, which is their inheritance in Christ! The goal of studying this book is to come to know all that God has promised to give us and to learn how to take possession of all His promises, so that we can daily walk in them. God's instructions to Joshua and Israel in chapter one set us well on our way to understand how to take full possession of all the gifts and blessings God has for us! To put it in New Testament terms, it shows us how to work out our own salvation, because it is God who is at work in us to will and to work according to His good pleasure!

First, we need to understand that God has truly given us a gift, an inheritance in Christ. It is a gift that is fully ours, but we still need to take possession of it. It is ours by right, but we will never enjoy its benefits until we take full possession of it. For us, the gift is not Land but a spiritual Kingdom. It is all the benefits and blessings that Jesus opened up to us by His death and resurrection.

Second, many obstacles and enemies stand in the way of taking hold of this gift for ourselves, but the power of God to overcome every obstacle and defeat every enemy guarantees our absolute success! Two great truths guarantee this success in taking full possession of all that God has given. The first is that God is with us, all the time, and He will never leave us or forsake us. There is nothing God cannot do, and no enemy He cannot utterly vanquish. We can do all things through Him who strengthens us! This is something God promises, and there is nothing we can do about it. But it is very helpful if we grow in our awareness of what is already true! The result is that it will make us strong and courageous. This is the strength of an unwavering faith and confidence in what God is going to do for us, and the courage to step out and take on the enemies that are preventing us from taking possession of the gift! Fear is the enemy of faith, and the only cure is to know that God is with us, and if He is with us, He will help us! The second guarantee to success is that He has shown us in the Word of God all that we need to know about the gift, the giver, and how to obtain it. Therefore, we need to be constantly in the Word so that we may know Him and His plan for us, and thus walk in it. If we live our lives under the rule and authority of Scripture, our success is guaranteed!

Finally, we take possession of the land by making a deep commitment daily to follow our strong and courageous leader where He leads and whatever He commands. But who is our Joshua? Is it our Pastor? Is it some current popular Christian author or blogger? Is it some political leader? Or, are we supposed just to lead ourselves, be our own Joshua? No, none of the above! Interestingly enough, the Hebrew name for Joshua is actually Yeshua, which is also the Hebrew name for Jesus! We need a strong and courageous leader who will overcome every obstacle and defeat every enemy, and that person is our resurrected Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He came not only to redeem us from death, but also to deliver us from the enemies that still attack and dominate us: Satan and the powers of darkness, the World with all its evil influence, and our own flesh that is still subject to sin. To overcome, we need the strength of an unshakable faith, the courage to face the devil, all the temptations of this World, and the weakness of our own flesh! Where does this faith come from? How can I muster up enough faith to believe and overcome all my sins and addictions? It is through Christ alone who is our strong and courageous leader! He is the author, the founder, the champion of our faith, and also the perfector of our faith. He led the way by trusting God in every temptation and even in the greatest of suffering and death! And He is the only one who can lead us to take full possession of all the promises and blessings of God. However, we must have a fierce determination and commitment to follow Him in total obedience of faith and trust. May we never be content with only being saved, rescued from Egypt, and wandering in the wilderness all our Christian life! May we follow Christ with our whole heart, trusting fully in His presence with us, to overcome every obstacle and to defeat every enemy so that we may take full possession of every gift of grace and all that God has promised for us!