Fulfilling Our Calling
Joshua, 2025 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Joshua, 2025
Message #1
01/05/2025
Joshua 1:1-9.
Central Idea: We fulfill our calling when we fully depend on God.
Objectives: I want the hearers to know (cognitive) they have been called to lead so that they might feel (affective) the responsibility that comes with such a calling responding by depending on the Lord and obeying His Word/Will for their lives.
Introduction: “If your dream doesn’t scare you, It’s too small.” (Mark Batterson, Chase the Lion). This is, perhaps, a great motivational line. However, said in other words, a statement like this bears great weight for Christians: “if the calling of God on your life doesn’t scare you, your view of God is too small.” The key to this statement is simply this: God is a big God, and He wants to do big things in your life— beyond what you can accomplish on your own. If you consider the calling of God for your life, and it is not something scary to you, then maybe your idea of God is not congruent with the God of the Bible. Not that you should be scared in the sense of fright. Instead, in the sense of reverance and intimidation. Respect. Recognition of the holiness and mightiness of God. Think of the calling from Jesus on the lives of the disciples— for those who were fishermen and the first disciples, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” (Mt. 4:19); Think of the calling from God on the lives of people like Abraham; Moses… oh, and Joshua. While we think of the costliness of the call for the disciples, Abraham, Moses, even… maybe you resonate more with the calling of Joshua— sure, its costly, but more than that, its daunting— following a man recognized as a great leader, the Servant of God, who is greatly revered by the people. Now… Joshua is entrusted with the daunting task of following the man. Maybe this isn’t your calling, but maybe God’s calling on your life is scary for you as you wrestle with it. Let us consider how we are to fulfill our calling— recognizing the God we serve, the God of the Bible, the One who calls us, is so much bigger than we could ever imagine, and He is able to strengthen and sustain us to do the work He calls us to do.
Guiding Question:
How do we fulfill our callings from God?
Note: Verses 1-5 are centered around God’s promise whereas verses 6-9 are centered around Joshua’s responsibility. Key to both: God’s presence.
We learn from those who have gone before us. [vv. 1-2a]
The book is closely connected to the one just before it. This is hinted by the content of the verse, the grammar of the verse (the first word begins with a vav conjunction)
Moses was God’s servant; Joshua was his assistant or minister or servant. A different word is used with reference to Joshua, here, than referring to Moses:
Moses, God’s servant— ebed (eved) עֶבֶד
Joshua, Moses’ assistant (servant)— sarat שָׁרַת
We rely on God’s faithfulness. [vv. 2b-4]
God’s faithfulness extends beyond just one generation. In fact, His faithfulness is from age to age. Part of the book of Joshua is to show the faithfulness of God in carrying out His promise to give to the Israelites the land He promised them— beginning with Abraham and extending to the others after him. Notice the following:
Verses 3-5 of Joshua 1 are almost exactly parallel to Deuteronomoy 11:24-25:
Joshua 1:3–5 “I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads, just as I promised Moses. Your territory will be from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great river, the Euphrates River—all the land of the Hittites—and west to the Mediterranean Sea. No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or abandon you.”
Deuteronomy 11:24–25 “Every place the sole of your foot treads will be yours. Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon and from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea. No one will be able to stand against you; the Lord your God will put fear and dread of you in all the land where you set foot, as he has promised you.”
We cling to God’s presence. [v. 5]
Notice the great assurance given to Joshua— amidst the questions, the doubts, the wondering, “Will I ever measure up?”
“This verse is the spiritual climax and highlight of the first part of God’s charge to Joshua. It is a heart-warming promise to Joshua himself that (1) his and the Israelites’ efforts would succeed and (2) God would never leave him. It is doubly encouraging when we see that God promised to be with Joshua in the same way that he was with Moses. The words in the first part of the verse are identical to those in God’s promise to Moses in Deut 7:24b: “No one will be able to stand up against you; you will destroy them.” The promise is repeated almost verbatim in Deut 11:25a: “No man will be able to stand against you.” (Howard, David M., Jr. 1998. Joshua. Vol. 5. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For the Lord your God is the one who will go with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.””
Mention the similarity of the language used in Dt. and in Joshua. Specifically, regarding God’s promise. He will not fail you (רָפָה, rapa) or forsake you (עָזַב, azab) is a recurring promise of God, a theme for the people to cling to.
Mention also Joshau 24:16, 20 where azab (עָזַב) occurs also.
We follow God’s instructions. [vv. 6-9]
David Howard points out the commands in verses 6 and 9— be strong and courageous highlighting the frequency of which the verbs occur in the Hebrew OT:
Be strong חָזַק hazaq occurs over 300 times
Be courageous אָמֵץ ames occurs only forty-one times alternating between courage and resoluteness (Howard, 84)
Howard contends the meaning fo the command here to mean for Joshua to embrace with steadfast firmness, resoluteness, the precepts of God found in the Torah. This is supported by the context of the passage urging Joshua to not turn either to the right or left, but instead to carefully observe the commands, meditate on them, and fulfill them.
The type of success guaranteed in verse 7 is the type of success that “happens when people’s lives are focused entirely on God and obedience to him. The focus of people’s endeavors is not to be prosperity and success but rather holiness and obedience.” (Howard, 88)
Verse nine concludes with the reminder: Be strong (in the Lord) and resolute in the following of His commands with the confidence that God is with Him.
Response Questions:
[1] Today, the first calling you should be concerned with is the calling to salvation. Maybe the thought of this calling is scary— you may have to let go of certain habits or practices in life; you may have to form a new community to live in; you may have to… Today, would you embrace God’s grace and answer the calling to salvation in faith?
[2] The second calling you should be concerned with is the calling to leadership in life. Namely, every Christian is called to leadership — to lead in proclaiming the name of Jesus in everything they do. Maybe this is scary for you because you feel inadequate or ill-equipped. Today, would you embrace God’s grace and strength responding to the calling to evangelize the lost through verbal proclamation of the Gospel?
[3] Some here have heard a different, more specific calling, and you have ignored it or pushed it aside hoping either it would go away or that you could tend to it later. That calling is specifically a calling to minsitry leadership. Today, would you embrace God’s grace and presence answering the call to serve Christ faithfully with a resolute commitment to His calling on your life?
