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SURVEY OF BIBLE HISTORY
The Groundwork of Success
Joshua Lesson 1; Works well with Jensen’s Chapter 1 & 2.

Written by Dr. Lester Hutson

Copyright - Lester Hutson - 1998
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of Dr. Lester Hutson.

Joshua 1

THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN:

A. After Moses died, Joshua was the undisputed leader of Israel. Deut. 34:9 says, "And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel harkened unto him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses". In preparation for the conquest of the promised land, God gave him specific instructions on how to succeed. Here is tremendous counsel for anyone in any age, who would succeed in the work of the Lord: (Note: God gave these instructions specifically to Joshua, the leader, Josh. 1:1-2. Leaders must lead; and cannot expect people to accomplish beyond where they lead.)

1. God instructed Joshua to consider the scope of the promise. Josh. 1:3-4:

a. In Joshua's case, every place he was willing to conquer within the boundaries of the promise:

(1.) The boundaries included all the area from the wilderness to the south, to the Euphrates river to the north, a from the east banks of Jordan to the Mediterranean. (See map). A consideration of the promise sheds light on Israel's current future, and on their attitude of conquest today.

(2) As long as Joshua and Israel were willing to follow sound principles of warfare and conduct in their con quest, God would give them every inch of real estate within these boundaries.

(3) Though the land was promised, and victory assured, they still had to take it. It remained an unpossessed possession until they actually took it. And, the taking would not be without opposition. There'd be giants, walled cities, bad weather conditions, and many other obstacles. And, we shall soon see in the sin of Achan, they couldn't violate other scriptural principles, and still claim the promise of victory.

(4) Furthermore, they were promised nothing beyond those specific boundaries. They were assured of victory only as long as they functioned within the prescribed boundaries.

b. There's a tremendous lesson here for all who would serve God:

(1) God has made many promises to us. They are very specific, and an examination of His promises to us will reveal boundaries beyond which the promises do not extend.

(2) As long as we are willing to follow sound principles of conduct in our claiming of these promises, we cannot fail. Victory is assured: in soul winning, Psa. 126:5-6 in strength against the pressures of life, I Cor. 10:13 in having all our needs supplied, Phil. 4:19 in receiving of love, forgiveness, money, etc. from other people, Luke 6:38 and on and on, wherever there's a promise.

(3) Although, victory in these areas will not be easy. God has promised you souls; but you have to go after them, and they may be hard, disinterested, and argumentative. And you have to study to know how to reach them. And, it may be raining, cold, and expensive. They won't be home, and they live far away.

Victory over temptation doesn't come without a fight; nor does success in areas of money, friendships, marriage, child rearing, or church prosperity

Furthermore, we cannot violate other Christian principles, and ever expect success and victory in these areas. For example, one who'd violate God's principles of forgiveness cannot expect great success in marriage. Likewise, a person may give; but if he violates God's principles of proper motives, he cannot expect to succeed in giving. If we fail to prepare, we cannot expect victory in soul winning, preaching, teaching, or anything else.

(4) Also, neither of us can expect victory beyond the boundaries of our promises. It's foolish to think God would give us all our wants; perpetual good health, unending mortal life, and total freedom from temptations, offenses, pressures, and persecutions in life. These are outside our boundaries.

2. God also instructed Joshua to consider the strength of the guarantee. Joshua 1:5:

a. God said, "I will be with thee"; not maybe, but "I will"

b. Believer, check your promises. See where the boundaries are; and as long as you move forward in harmony with Biblical principles within these boundaries, you can be assured of total victory. God says, "I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world", Matt. 28:20. Hear him again, in Heb. 13:5, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." Consider Rom. 8:31, "If God be for us, who can be against us".

3. God also brought Joshua's attention to the guarantor, Josh. 1:6:

a.The reason the courage can be so strong, is the fact that God makes the guarantee. Not some man, or some corporation or company; but God. He's the power which is above all power. In fact, "there is no power but of God", Rom. 13:1. He's the source of all power. Jesus said, "All power is given to me in heaven and in earth Matt. 28:18, Rom. 4:21 says, What God hath promised, that he is also able to perform.

b. Believer, when you start looking at the job to be done, and victory in a given area of God's promises, don't focus on the obstacles in the way, the difficulty of the job, or how big the undertaking is. That really doesn't matter. You don't succeed because the task is easy, or fail because the task is big. Focus your attention on the guarantor, for your success will depend on him; not on the scope of the job. Rom. 8:31-39 is a classic exposition on this very subject. Listen to these words,

c. Brother, Sister, don't ever get to thinking success depends on you. It doesn't. As God told Joshua, in V. 6, success depends on him who "sware" that he'd do it: the one who made the promise. King David said it, "The LORD is my refuge and my strength", Psa. 46:1.

4. In verses 7-8 God told Joshua to stay in the center of the guarantors will:

a. Vs. 7 is a call to stay as close to the spirit and the letter of God's will as possible. This verse is very similar in concept to John 4:23-24, "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: For the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a. spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." So many see just how much they can get away with, which is absolutely the reverse way to serve God. Don't see how far away you can get. Instead, see how close you can get to Him. Don't see how far you can push Him; see how much you can please Him. Don't do as little as you can; do as much as you can. Walk on the center stripe of God's road; not on the shoulder. That means, if a matter is a little on the shady side, you stay away from it. You don't get into the business of arguing "Well. you can't prove this is wrong. I don't see anything wrong with it."

b. Vs 8 says stay with the manual:

(1) Read it. Spend time in it. Listen to how God put it to Joshua. "This book of the law shall not depart out of my mouth." Job said, "I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food", Job 23:12. king David said, "The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver"., Psa. ll9:72. He continued in V. 103, "How sweet are thy words unto my taste: Yea sweeter than honey to my mouth!" Paul wrote, "Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth." II Tim, 2:15. Believer, you cannot expect success if you fail to spend time with God's word.

(2) "Thou shalt meditate therein day and night". Meditation is thinking about it. As Rom. 12:1-2 puts it, "I beseech you therefore, brethren by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living. sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service, And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God." No wonder Phil. 4:8 says, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any. virtue, and if there be any praise think on these things." When you drive, when you eat, when you work, when you play, think only the word. What does the manual say? How can it be applied here? What is God doing? What does this scripture mean? What is God saying to me? Listen to God's promise in Psa. 1:2-3, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth, shall prosper."

(3) Do what the word says.."that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein. God's will is not a way to be considered, then abandoned. It is a way to be lived everyday. Christianity is not a spectator sport. It is a participator matter. It is not something to be watched on Sunday, then forgotten till next Sunday. It's a seven day a week; 24 hour a day matter, with no holidays. James the apostle said, "Be ye doers of the word; and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves", James 1:22. God said in Deut. 7:11 "thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them." Jesus asked, "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" Luke 6:46. James said. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is, sin", James 4:17.

5. Any of God’s children, who will follow this formula, can expect to find great success in the work of the Lord. Although, those who forsake this formula, can expect failure. Before anyone takes off on a conquest, he would do well to stop long enough to get these truths planted firmly in mind.

QUESTIONS ON "THE GROUNDWORK OF SUCCESS"
Joshua I

1. After Moses died, who became Israel's leader?

2. In what chapter of the Bible did God give this new leader specific counsel on how
to succeed in the work of the Lord?

3. What message lies in the fact that God gave this counsel for success to one man in particular, and not to the people as a whole?

4. Comment on the limitations of the promise of victory and success.

5. Locate the geographical boundaries of God's promise to Joshua.

6. Within these boundaries, who could withstand Joshua and his followers?

7. Explain how the promise was made, yet Joshua and company were yet in possession of none of the promised real estate.

8. What is wrong with the idea that taking the promised area would be without difficulty?

9. What factors could defeat Joshua and company from taking the promised area?

10. What success was Joshua promised beyond the boundaries of the promise?

11. Since believers are promised so much, why are so many of them so spiritually poor?

12. Explain why our guarantee for success is so valid.

13. How confident can you be of success, as long as you are acting on specific promises?

14. In God's work, why is emotional focus on the job to be done along with all the other obstacles and difficulties in accomplishing it so dangerous?

15. Why, to the believer claiming the promised land, is the scope and difficulty of the
task unimportant ?

16. Upon whom must the emotional focus of the believer remain?

17. Explain how walking the center stripe of God's way, as opposed to walking on the edge or shoulder of God's way, really represent two totally opposing approaches to serving the Lord?

18. How basic to spiritual success is reading God's word?

19. Explain what Bible meditation is; and the results of it.

20. Explain what is meant by the idea that Christianity is not a "spectator sport ".

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"