The Joshua Generation

Joshua 1

The LORD Commands Joshua

 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 Hittite country—to the Great Sea ^[a] on the west. ⁵ No one will be able to stand up against you all 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 forefathers 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 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; 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 terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

 ¹⁰ So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: ¹¹ "Go through the camp and tell the people, 'Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.' "

Being the Joshua generation for God at this very given time is absolutely necessary. Living in the end times, people are no longer afraid of heaven and hell, they do not care about eternal life, but what is in store for them at the current life! People are no longer receptive to the gospel as before. To them, these things are just lies. Something psychological to make all of us feel better. As Science and Technology take over our generation, people reason more  than ever now, everything else is related to facts and proof, people who believe very much in God are called delusional. "Why are they so fanatical about their God?" Well friends, the fact is this. We are all living in a time whereby challenges are vast and a lot, persecutions are everywhere and hostile (verbally or physically). What do we do then?

I always find encouragement as I read Joshua 1. Today, I wished God would actually speak to all Christians like how He spoke to Joshua so clearly. That  He would be with Joshua, never leaving him nor forsaking him until the land is given over to the Israelites. God COMMANDED Joshua to be strong and courageous. Not once, but many times. Be strong and courageous....Why do we need that? Because God knows perfectly well, that it is not going to be easy, and it is going to be really scary to lead a group of people to battle. A lot of times I tell my members, I would want to build a generation of army. Not only Christians who will come to cell group and service every week. But who are on fire, and are willing to fight the good fight, claim the nation for Jesus. Well, I desire that. But thinking of actually doing it, is it scary? Yes! I won't deny it! The amount of persecution, discouragements, fear of failing, fear of causing another to fall, rejection, circumstances (hey, we are merely humans...) does mount over you at times. There will be voices that says: Oh come on, who do you think you are but just a little small potato?

But each time I read this passage, I take courage. Personally, I feel strong again. Why? Because God clearly said to Joshua when he was facing all the possible negative voices....: Have I not COMMANDED you to be strong and courageous?...It takes courage. It takes strength, to keep going when everything is unsure, and the only Hope you ever have is God. In a Non- Christian setting, in a family full of non-believers, in a college full of intellectualism mindset, in a world that people are no longer afraid to mock you in the open....this is exactly what we all need. To fight the good fight, and to be a strong army, just trusting and knowing that God will not leave us. I want to be the Joshua generation, not only in church, but at home in my family, in my marketplace.

How would we keep our faith, be strong and know that God would be with us? It is simple really. In this verse it says, " do not let the Book of Law depart from your mouth!"....In other words, read and meditate on the word of God (the bible) day and night, night and day. Then and only then, you will discover strength, faith and the character of God. It gives you confidence. It gives you courage. I love this verse very very much and reading it gives me courage too. See right after God spoke to Joshua, immediately he commanded his officers to get his people ready to claim the land and God is going to give it into the hands of the Israelites. See that Joshua did not doubt. He did not say...God may give it to you, or by God's grace we will get the possesion. No! He said: Three days from now, you WILL cross the Jordan here to GO IN and TAKE possession of the land the Lord your God IS GIVING you for your own! One word from God, strengthen him and give him a whole new and confident outlook about his mission. 

And finally....in Verse 16

¹⁶ Then they answered Joshua, "Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. ¹⁷ Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you as he was with Moses. ¹⁸ Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!"

When Joshua had the confidence, and God was with them, with a leadership that is closely connected to God, the people has no fear. See, one's leadership is very much closely knitted to his confidence and him knowing the resources he has to win. You think the people are blindly saying "CHARGE!" to everything Joshua commanded? They must  have been won over by his influence and know for sure God was with him! The people captured Joshua's spirit and become the Joshua generation. They did not doubt, they did not fear. In fact, they said: Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go! ....whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death! Only be strong and courageous!!!

They also have the strong and courageous spirit. And one thing I admire about these people is that, they do not know Joshua as well as Moses. They have not seen Joshua do miracles like Moses, but they still obey his authority, knowing that Moses had now pass the baton to Joshua. How many of us as followers have actually supported our leader like how these Israelites had? Very rare. Often we would comment, oh this is leader is not as good as that leader, this leader is  not fluent, so we do not want to respect him/her. Then my friend, with an attitude like that, we would find fault with any leadership placed over us. Why? Becuase human are not perfect. If you cannot accept the immediate leader place over your lives, then don't dream about serving greater man of God. People always start from humble beginning. God will only give you a greater responsibility if you are faithful in small things first.

And, remember...the people who are able to go into the Promised Land to claim their possessions are those who were 20 and below from the time the two spies (Caleb and Joshua) decided that with God it is possible to win over the land....they are people with a different mindset. Mindset that is not defeated but faith-filled. That is the reason why God will use young people mightily. They are brave, they have faith like a child, they are courageous, and they are flexible. 

But some of us as young as we are act like an old man / woman. When our leaders ask us to do certain things, we criticize! We cannot see things coming to pass. Today my challenge for all of us is this, let's be a Joshua generation that win over our nation for Christ. To be faith-filled and courageous. We have to cling on to God, be strong and courageous, adhere to the Word of God, and most importantly, have the spirit that says....Oh God...Oh my leader, wherever you send me I will go. Whatever you ask me to do I will do. I will not talk about the impossibilities but the possibilities. I will help YOU fulfill your vision. And a Joshua generation spirit does not choose a leader for themselves, they respect the authority given to the leaders above them and still run after the vision of whichever leader place above them.

So here's my question for you, friend. Will you be the Joshua generation today? It is not easy, definitely challenging....but POSSIBLE for EVERYONE. The choice is yours. =)

 LOL...this picture is funny. but at least they look fierce :P

Have a great day ahead!