Main Idea: Moving forward in faith requires acting in obedience.

This morning I begin a new series of messages called "The Journey of a Faith Walker". The series is from the book of Joshua and will show us principles for living by faith. The idea for these messages came from a series of sermons and Bible study material by Rick Ezell. I have adapted both to fit us at this critical time in our church. We have called today "Commitment Sunday". It is the day where the majority of our church family is to return their pledge card for "Building Tomorrow…Today!". This is an exciting day but it is as well a day of making a choice personally and as a church to act in faith for the future of God’s purpose through our church.

I have sensed that through the "Building Tomorrow…Today!" campaign that God has refined for me the vision and direction of our church. I believe like never before that we understand what it means to be First Baptist Church and what that will mean for the future mission of our church. I believe that we have come to a time where the members of our church are being asked to make the most sacrificial gift they have ever made. Yet those beliefs are meaningless if there is not a willingness to act in faith to back them up. Today we are going to learn that moving forward in faith requires acting in obedience.

In the first few months of 1940, with the fate of France uncertain and the threat of Nazi Germany growing, Britain withdrew its troops from mainland Europe. It was one of the most massive retreats in military history. Beginning on May 26, over 330,000 Allied troops had made the dangerous withdrawal across the English Channel on thousands of privately owned, small boats. Because of this seemingly miraculous deliverance, England was in a mood of euphoria. The British people celebrated as if they had won the war. But the retreat was misleading because a victory had not been secured. Defeat had only been avoided—temporarily.

In an attempt to put the retreat in perspective, Prime Minister Winston Churchill stood behind the podium of the House of Commons on June 4, and sounded a sober note of reality. No victory could be claimed. "Wars are not won by evacuations!" he admonished. Many historians considered it one of the greatest speeches ever delivered. Typically stoic British House members cried. So did the manly Churchill. He concluded his message by calling upon all Englishmen to courageously defend their island to the death. He said, "We shall not flag nor fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."

Churchill affirmed that, "Wars are never won by evacuations!" Victory does not belong to the faint-hearted, the weak willed, or to the uncommitted. Only by facing the adversary head-on with unfailing courage can the battle be won. Victory is only accomplished by fighting on with undying, inflexible resolve.

Go back to another time; another place and another campaign…The Hebrew nation had come to the edge of the land of promise, a land that was given and promised to them by God. But they retreated. They withdrew their forces. They evacuated. And for 40 years they wandered in the desert. Defeated in their minds by an enemy that never fired a single shot or mounted a campaign. Now 40 years later, perched on the brink of the Promised Land, the Hebrew nation and their leader, Joshua, were back. Joshua was the successor to the great leader and deliverer, Moses. Now in command, Joshua was nervous. Forty years earlier he was a young man with great energy and reckless abandon. He could conqueror the world, all by himself. Now, 40 years later, ready for retirement, he was not so confident, not so positive. He was anxious and afraid.

The task before him was in a word impossible. He had been a covert operator, spying out the land 40 years earlier. Strong and warlike people defended Canaan. Their very appearance had caused the 10 other spies sent by Moses to cower with fear and feel as small as grasshoppers. The Hebrews were out manned and outnumbered by a strong opposition. Living off the desert for 40 years, they were in no condition to assemble a major military campaign. The battle of taking the land looked as improbable as the island nation of Britain not falling to the mighty onslaught of Nazi Germany. If the truth were known, the people of Israel would rather evacuate than mount a charge. But, wars are not won by evacuations.

Did Joshua feel that way, too? He was, by the way, well into his 80’s by this time. Perhaps his commanding skills were not as sharp. He had not led a military assault in over 40 years. But, like all great leaders, he knew that timing was of the essence. It wasn’t his timing that was essential but it was God's timing. At last after 40 years that day had come. God's perfect timing had arrived. Joshua, fearful and timid but older and wiser now, would do what God desired to have done 40 years earlier—take the land.

God, the commander in chief, gave the order, "Go through the camp and tell the people to get their provisions ready. In three days you will cross the Jordan River and take possession of the land the Lord your God has given you." (Joshua 1:11) With the order came not a detailed battle plan but rather a rallying cry, a pep talk, from the Lord. God, somewhat like Churchill, gave Joshua a stirring speech to quiet his nerves, to calm his fears, to remind him who was in charge, and to motivate him to action

The first nine verses of the Book of Joshua show us that we move forward in faith by choosing to act in obedience. These verses contain principles that apply to us as a church as we have made a courageous decision about the future of our church in our community. There are also principles that apply to our lives personally as we face the challenge to act in faith in what seem to us impossible situations.

How do we move forward in faith? We move forward by choosing to live in the present, not the past. (Joshua 1:1-2) Why could Joshua not live in the past? He could not live in the past because God was calling him to move forward out of the past and into the present. God’s call makes the difference because God’s call defines the purpose. It was never God’s purpose for them to wander in circles for 40 years. It wasn’t God’s purpose for Joshua to lead a parade but to seize the land that God had promised! For that reason God said, "Joshua, Moses my servant is dead! For years, I've been preparing you for this moment. I saw great promise in you a long time ago. Quit comparing yourself. Live in the present, not in the past. It doesn’t matter how great Moses was you are to live in no one’s shadow! I’ve called you to lead my people!"

Our church has a past, a great past but we can’t live in it! Why? We can’t live in the past because the call of God is ever to move forward into the future that is ours as a church. We will always live with the mandate from God to, "Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 28:19) We don’t have a choice! To deny this call is to deny the very heart of who God had called this church to be!

We all have a past. A mixture of dreams, plans, successes, and failures that make us who we are because of what we have done. We all have skeletons in the closet that make us ashamed, embarrassed or at other times cry because of the pain. We all have a past but we can’t live in it. Moving forward involves living with our backs to the past, putting it behind us. This means confronting our past defeats, our past mistakes, our past feelings, and, yes, sometimes our past victories. Christians should be people who live in the present not in the past. To win our battles, to overcome our impossible situations, to face an uncertain future, we have to let go of anything that will prevent us from marching bravely into the future.

Why do we have to let go of the past? We have to let go of the past because it is in the future that the best of God’s blessings are waiting! January 31, 2005, was the last chance for someone to cash in their Illinois lottery ticket entitling the lucky number holder to $14 million. No one came forward. A gas station mini-mart in Frankfort, Illinois, verified the ticket had been sold at their location 12 months earlier, but the winner failed to claim the windfall. Despite an aggressive local and national television campaign to find the person with the winning numbers, it was all for nothing. "It's really unfortunate because when our players play the game, we really want them to take advantage of the winnings," Illinois Lottery Supt. Carolyn Adams said. As state law dictates, the money will be given to the State Common School Fund, which supports public education programs. Can you imagine how that person felt when they realized what they missed? That’s the way we can feel if we choose the past over the present! You can’t move forward in faith with your feet stuck in the past! This is easier for us to undertake when we understand the next thing that God says to encourage Joshua.

To move forward in faith we need to affirm the presence of God in our circumstances. (Joshua 1:3-5) As God spoke Joshua trembled at the thought of leading a military campaign against a powerful foe. God reminded Joshua that as he let go of the past to venture to battle he would not go alone, neither would he fight alone. God said, "For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you." (Josh.1: 5) The promise of God’s presence changes everything for Joshua. He tells him-you can’t go anywhere that I am not already waiting on you (v.3), you won’t face an enemy that I have not already conquered (v.5a) and you will not face a moment when I will let you down (v.5b).

Just as God had been with Moses, he would be with Joshua, and so he will be with us. Just as he did not forsake Moses, he would not forsake Joshua, and neither will he forsake us. In the darkest night, he is there. In the severest battle, he is present. In the most difficult task, he will not abandon us. He tells us as he told Joshua-you can’t go anywhere that I am not already waiting on you, you won’t face an enemy that I have not already conquered and you will not face a moment when I will let you down. All you need to do is listen to my voice and follow in faith.

Erik Weihenmayer is blind, yet on May 25, 2001 (Nepal time), he reached the peak of Mt. Everest. Suffering from a degenerative eye disease, he lost his sight when he was 13, but that didn't stop him. On a mountain where 90 percent of climbers never make it to the top—and 165 have died trying since 1953—Erik succeeded, in large measure because he listened well.

He listened to the little bell tied to the back of the climber in front of him, so he would know what direction to go. He listened to the voice of teammates who would shout back to him, "Death fall two feet to your right!" so he would know what direction not to go. He listened to the sound of his pick jabbing the ice, so he would know whether the ice was safe to cross. When we take a perilous journey, listening well can make all the difference. (Time ,6-18-01)

It's not the nature of God to desert his people when he gives them an order, a task, a leading. Even if the situation seems impossible by human standards. It is then, even more so, that the presence of God is felt most strongly. Impossible situations are like mountains. They seem large making us feel small and inadequate. But God is the great equalizer. His presence makes the difference in accomplishing impossible tasks. All he asks is that we remember is you can’t go anywhere that he is not already waiting on you, you won’t face an enemy that he has not already conquered and you will not face a moment when he will let you down. All you need to do is listen to his voice and follow in faith.

Moving forward in faith will also mean our relying on God’s power to accomplish what he commands. (Josh. 1: 6-9, 18) in theses verses God tells Joshua five times to "be strong and courageous" or "very courageous" and to not be "afraid or discouraged". The reason was because Joshua was in alliance with God himself. God said, "No one will be able to stand their ground against you as long as you live." (Josh.1: 5) No one! Why do we doubt God's power? Why do we question his strength?

God gives to Joshua three sources of power upon which he can rely:

• He gives him the power of his purpose when he said, "you will lead my people to possess all the land I swore to give their ancestors." (v.6)
• He gives him the power of his word by telling him, "Obey all the laws Moses gave you. Do not turn away from them, and you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of the Law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed. (v.7-8)
• He again assures him of the power of his presence when he says, "For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." (v.9)

Those same sources of power are ours as well. We have through Christ the promise that our life has purpose and meaning. We have the scriptures that continually guide us and strengthen us. We have his presence that surrounds us. The historical record of Scripture demonstrates again and again that God is not bound by our expectations. We can't always predict what he will do. He is an awesome God who works in powerful ways. Fear is what keeps us from obeying God's order. The promise of God's power gets us started and keeps us going. John Wayne said, "Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway." That's what God's power does for us. It enables us to get started and keep going.

"Be strong and courageous" is an impossible command to obey unless God gives his strength to us. But that's God's specialty. He has tipped the scales in favor of those who are weak and timid people. We can try all we want, but we have not utilized all the strength that is available to us until we draw upon the Lord—the source of all strength.

We will finally move forward in faith by understanding that we can never underestimate the impact of acting in obedience. (Josh.1: 2-3,11) With the past dealt with, and the future promises of God's power, the present is the time to act. In a manner of speaking there is no past, there is no future, all we have is the present. There comes a time when you act. God tells Joshua in verse 11, "Go through the camp and tell the people to get their provisions ready. In three days you will cross the Jordan River and take possession of the land the LORD your God has given you." Suddenly 40 years had become three days and now it was time to act.

Procrastination is the deathblow to moving forward. Procrastinators never accomplish their task because they never get started. Joshua, I'm sure, had a few comments of his own. Yet God said, "Enough excuses. Now is the time to act." Notice, the promise that God was making did not apply to sitters and waiters—only to those people on the move. Unless Joshua and the Hebrews moved forward, they would never accomplish the task that awaited them. Insecure as he must have felt, he had to get going for the impossibility to become a reality. The point is standing still never accomplished anything.

As a church, we are at a critical point in our history. We have thrown our resources and ourselves on the conviction that God has a will for us in the future of this city. We are at a point of either moving boldly into the future or evacuating to the past. We are on the brink of a future that God is assuring us is ours if we will only take it. In order for our church to continue to make a difference in this community we must enlarge our territory and claim the future that is ours! The task for us, like Joshua and the Hebrews, will not be easy. But "Wars are not won by evacuations!"

As you face your own personal battles you too, must move forward. To move forward you must step out even though your mind and emotions may be saying hold back. Here's where faith comes in. Faith is more than belief. It is more than mental assent. Faith is action. It's getting in the game rather than watching from the sidelines. God knew that many battles would have to be fought in order for the Israelites to possess the land. But the first battle was in moving forward. Remember, wars are not won by evacuations. Whatever you have facing you will not be overcome by walking away!

Inadequate as Joshua felt, he took action. In spite of the dangers ahead, he was a faith walker. He moved forward and received the blessings that awaited him. I believe that as a church, we too must take action. I believe that we too must be faith walkers. There is a future that awaits us, but only as we take the steps of faith.

The Patrick Overton poem says it best: "When you walk to the edge of all the light you have, And take that step into the darkness of the unknown, You must believe that one of two things will happen: Either there will be something solid for you to stand on Or God will teach you how to fly."

As the story of Joshua unfolds we discover that Joshua and the Hebrews took that step. They were faith walkers because "Wars are not won by evacuation!"

Sunday, April 17, 2005

Dr. Bruce Tippit, Pastor

First Baptist Church

Jonesboro, Arkansas

btippit@fbcjonesboro.org