Reverend John Fowler

September 21, 2003

Joshua 1:1-9

I want to share with you from Joshua, Chapter 1, and we are going to talk about the value of scripture. This is a scary time for Joshua. He is getting ready to take the lead from Moses who has died, and now it is up to him to lead the Children of Israel. It is a scary situation for him. It reads:

It was a time that I felt very honored to be a Methodist preacher. I had just moved into a community. I was trying to get around to visit some of the people. Her name was Miss Helen and her son was Billy. I guess back then we would have called him mentally retarded. Today we would call him developmentally delayed or disabled. Billy was an adult son who had lived with her for years and they were sweet people who had lived in that community for a long time. We visited and got better acquainted, and as they realized that it was about time to go — I was going to have prayer — when she said, “Billy, go get the Bible.” And so Billy went over to the shelf and picked up a Bible. It was about as big as this pew Bible. And he brought it back and they wanted me to read the Bible — their family Bible. And I just felt so humbled and honored to be reading from their Holy Book, and you could tell that there was a great reverence for God’s Book and their preacher reading it to them.

I have no doubt today that if you would ask people if they have a reverence for the scriptures people would say, “Yes, Amen,” and that would be no problem. But it is another thing to really believe though, that the Bible is a book that really is relevant for today. It really is important to us. I mean it is God’s Book and it is a book that we not only want to hear preached, and taught in Sunday School, but it is a book that we want to delve into for ourselves. That’s what the Protestant Reformation was all about. We want to read it and meet God through the scriptures. We want to be spiritually fortified; we believe it is the truth and we believe the truth will set us free. It is a book that really is relevant today and we need it.

It reminds me of a story I heard of a South Dakota farmer whose grandson got married and he bought a real expensive Bible and gave it to his grandson. He and his wife sent off a nice thank you note. But he kept asking them about it, “How do you like the Bible?” And of course when got it, they put it up on the shelf, as many people do. And he kept asking about the Bible. And they thought, “We sent him a thank-you note. Why does he keep asking about that?” So finally they got the Bible out and they noticed that there are sixty-six books in the Bible and there were sixty-six twenty dollar bills in that Bible. That’s why he was asking about it. I don’t know what sixty-six times twenty is; that’s beyond me, but there is a treasure that is even greater than that amount of money, and it is God’s Truth — His Love Letter to us, the story of redemption through Genesis to Revelation.

You know, there are a lot of methodologies; there are great model studies; there are a lot of techniques I could share with you about things that have worked for me to help me have a passion for the scriptures, especially if you get in a rut and you are dry — different things you can do. But, I want to stay away, so much, from techniques. I just want to share about a man who really knew what it was like to go the other direction; he knew what it was like to live your own way and do what you want to do, and he knew what it was like to — “All right, I’m not going to turn from the right or from the left of God’s word. And his name was Joshua. And I want to share with you three ways that God blessed his life. I believe it will bless your life when this book becomes one that you more than revere, but it is a book you come to when you want to meet Almighty God.

The first is, in Joshua’s life, the Word of God gave him power over his fears. If reading the scriptures and hearing the scriptures did nothing more than that, it would be well worth your time. People have all kinds of fears today that they deal with. With Joshua, especially, it was a fear of failure. He had grown up as a slave. He was a great brick mason; he knew about that. He had been a military commander for Moses. He had seen God do great work for Moses. He had been with him when he went to Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. I mean, he had been mentored well. But he is not Moses and he knows he is not Moses. And he knows what this nation is like and he is already stressed before he begins Day One on the job. What does God tell him?

Joshua was part of twelve spies who went out to spy on the land, and they came back. Only he and Caleb felt that they would be able to go into this Promised Land and be successful and take it. They were the minority report. The other ten thought, “We are just like grasshoppers in a land of giants. I know God sent all these plagues on the Egyptians and I know He parted the Red Sea, but I don’t know where God is now because there is no way we can go in there; we are going to get clobbered; we are going to get killed.” Joshua and Caleb were the only two of that great multitude — literally, almost one in a million — who actually went into the Promised Land. Even Moses didn’t. So we know early on that Joshua know that there is a difference when you put your faith in to practice. Other people around sometimes will say, “How can you believe God will do that?”

Joshua had a fear of failure, though, at this time. In Charlie Brown, the cartoon, Lucy sets up the psychiatry shop and she was asking Charlie Brown about his fears. And Charlie was listing a whole bunch of fears, and finally she said, “Well, Charlie, I think you have panophobia.”

And Charlie said, “Well, what is that?”

She said, “Well, that’s the fear of everything.”

He said, “That’s right. I’m just afraid of everything.”

And it may not be that bad for you, but think of what you are afraid of today. What fears do you have? When we come to the scriptures, we receive courage that we need to go forward. Especially we receive courage and power over our fears through the stories of the Bible. I think of Noah and the flood, and I think of how difficult it was for Noah to be a godly and righteous man and to do what God called him to do — to build this tremendous boat in the middle of the desert — and the ridicule and scorn that he endured, but he saved his family when the flood came; he was rescued.

I think of David and Goliath. And I think, here is Saul, King Mighty, King Saul and his armies cowering in their tents because this nine-foot-nine giant is out there challenging them to a battle, to a death match, and no one wants to take him up on it because all they can see is this man who is almost to the top of a basketball goal (and these basketball goals {in the temporary sanctuary} are still distracting to me, but that is alright. I like them; I want to play.) And no one will take him up on it; but who takes him up on this challenge? A fifteen-year old, at the most, teenager shepherd boy who comes out there and says that you are defying the armies of God, but he speaks to him with the courage of the Lord, not with Saul’s armor, but a slingshot. He takes him just like he used to take lions and bears in the wilderness. And Goliath is defeated.

Are you facing a Goliath today? It may be an illness. It may be something that, as far as you are concerned, it could just as well be a ten-foot intimating giant. If you face it by yourself, you had better go run into the tent too. But with God, all things are possible.

I think of Daniel in the Lion’s Den, and I think sometimes of Daniel’s example of being faithful in a very pagan society. He kept praying even when people were going to arrest him and he was literally thrown into a lions’ den, but God was with him in the lions’ den. He shut the mouths of the lions and he was rescued.

Think of the times that God has rescued you from something that you have so feared. And I think of how many people today have a fear of death. And I think of the story of Jesus and the resurrection. Go to the end of Matthew, and Mark, and Luke, and John and they all remind us that the tomb was empty, that Jesus rose from the dead. When we look in the book of Acts and we see that the early Christians said that if Christ be not raised, then your faith is in vain. But that is the heart of the Christian gospel. But we especially receive courage when we come and we read the stories of the Bible and they are more than vacation Bible school and Sunday School. They are stories that will help us have power over our fears.

And secondly, the word of God can give us the courage to enter into the Promised Land. Joshua, now is overcoming his fear of leadership and inadequacy, and he realizes that, “I am not doing this because I am so talented, but God has put me here and He is going to empower me to do this.” And when they get ready to cross the Jordan River, you have to remember that these are people who have lived in the desert all these years; they don’t know how to swim. It is a frightening thing to think that they are supposed to step into the river that is still going, and that it is going to part.

“Well, how do you know that it is going to part?”

“Well, God said so.”

“Well, how do you know that?”

“Well, we just have to trust him.” “Oh.”

So, that is what they do. It has been a long time since they had seen the Nile River part, so that’s what they are called to do, and so, they get their feet wet, and the Jordan River parts, miraculously. They go over; they pick up the stones. Why does Joshua do that? “It is not only inspiring to us, but we want to inspire our children, and their children, and their children in the generations to come when they ask, ‘Well, what do these stones mean?’ Remember that the Children of Israel crossed over the Jordan River”.

Today, I love that image of when we become acquainted with the Lord through the scriptures , that we are set free to live in the Promised Land of His abundant life. I think of one of those popular Bible teachers today, a young lady named Beth Moore. She teaches throughout the world but she especially teaches at First Baptist Church in Houston. The preacher there lets her have the sanctuary one night a week She packs it out. Thirty-four hundred seats and she packs it out. And I have heard that they open the doors at 5:45 for the 7:00 class that she does for nine weeks in the Fall and nine weeks in the Spring. And I have heard it said, “You don’t want to be in front of the door at 5:45.” Isn’t that wonderful that people want to come in? Is it because she is so gifted and talented? Well, maybe so, but I think what you will find, thought, is that this is a woman who has basically taken the Bible (yes, she is a very gifted teacher) but she is connecting. She is sharing how these scriptures can help set you free from sin. In her own case, she is someone who suffered abuse early on. She knows how God can set you free from a painful past.

The scriptures can do that. What part of the Bible especially gives us the courage to enter into the Promised Land? I think oftentimes, people have been grieving and they are missing the Promised Land. You know, we go through that. You don’t bypass grieving. But the Psalms are especially those that can help us when we go through times of hurt and sorrow. The Twenty-Third Psalm is:

Any time you are discouraged or you are hurting, just read it, and read it slowly, and read it prayerfully.

Or you read the 27th Psalm:

Or we pray the 46th Psalm:

^{1 The Lord is my refuge and strength,
A very present help in times of trouble.}

Or we read the 121st Psalm:

The Psalms just have great power to give us the strength that we need to go on when we enter into the Promised Land, when we have had a great disappointment or grieving. I think, especially, we enter the Promised Land as we read the Gospels. If you ask me where is a good place to start, well, you can’t go wrong by starting with the Gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John — and read about Jesus. You can hear about Jesus being preached, but, especially, you need to go straight to the source and read about Him yourself. And especially go and just, “Lord, I want to get to know You better.” And the Son reveals the Father when we read about, in Matthew, we read the Sermon on the Mount. We read His teachings about what it really means to be a Christian and have happy attitudes and what it means to seek first His Kingdom. We read about His teachings. He is the master teacher and we get such wisdom. And Mark …{tape change}….

…...And John, we especially read that He is like the Good Shepherd who loves his sheep and wants them to have life and have it abundantly. When we enter the Promised Land, as we read the Psalms, and especially when we read the Gospels, they bless our lives as we get to know who Jesus really is. The Word of God will bless us as we read it, not only as it gives us power over our fears and gives us the courage to enter into the Promised Land of abundant living, but it will give us clear guidance of what God wants us to do in our lives. Oftentimes we are double-minded. In James it says,

But we need to be clear about what the Lord wants us to do. In Joshua, Chapter 5, we find that this man appears before Joshua, is frightening to him, and it says,

No doubt, though, what the commander of the Lord’s army did was to give him a battle strategy that was, well, it was different, I’ll say that. They were going to Jericho. The people of Jericho were afraid of them. They knew that from a spy mission. They had gone out and they had gone to stay with Rahab, a prostitute. In fact, she and her family were the only ones who were saved in Jericho. But he gave him this battle strategy: You need to take your people, and you get the priest, and you go around the city once a day. You are quiet, but you just go around the city once a day. You do this for six days, and on the seventh day you are going to go around seven times. Follow marching, but you go around seven times, again real quiet. And then, we are going to blow the trumpet; and then we are going to shout. That’s it.

And what do you hear Joshua do? He does it. I mean, not the right or left. When God says this is what we are going to do, I don’t have to understand it, but this is what we are going to do. And they fulfilled it perfectly. And they were greatly victorious. And the walls of Jericho came tumbling down. All because he had clear, clear as a bell guidance about what God wanted him to do. What a great gift it is when God gives us the gift of guidance. And that is one of the things that happens, in fact, this is one of the very best ways to know — what does God really want me to do? In the Proverbs, we read about the wisdom of God, especially Proverbs, Chapter 3:

That is, that yes, you lean on your insight; you use your own common sense, but you rely on God’s insight, and you ask Him. We especially read the wisdom literature, the Proverbs. But we also look to the Apostle Paul who knew what it was that when we begin to trust God for guidance and we look through the scriptures, we especially receive the ally of the Holy Spirit who begins to empower us and guide us. The Apostle Paul, whose life was dramatically changed when he was converted, wrote to the Romans and said,

As we begin to have a diet of the Holy Scriptures, our minds are new. We think Christianly. Be think Biblically, which is different from the way many people think. Our values change, and we begin, more and more, to know what God really wants us to do. And we don’t waffle about that. In Galatians, he talks about the fruit of the spirit. He wrote to the church in Galatia

That the fruit of the spirit is love and joy and peace and patience. I’m all for that. I’m all for that is wonderful. I like having that in my life.

When he wrote to the Ephesians, he talked about putting on the full armor of God. This is part of the armor, the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.

In Colossians, he talks about, really, what is happening is — Christ comes to live in us through the power of the Holy Spirit The secret is simply this, Christ in you, the hope of glory.

And then, as he wrote to the Philippians from prison,

^{5Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped 7 But emptied himself, and on the form of a servant…..}

When we begin to read the scriptures we get clear guidance in God’s mission for our lives and our families and what he wants us to do, and we begin to have a joy about serving him. It is no more, “Well, so do I have to?” but it’s like, “What a privilege it is that God would give me the task of this great ministry that he has called me to, whatever that be.”

Would you like to have clear guidance? You know, I have shared before, I am directionally challenged. It doesn’t matter; I can have maps, but just knowing how to get from here to there is not easy for me. You know, I really used to rely on gas stations and convenience stores and people. You could just go in there and they would know where everything is. It’s just not that way anymore, I can tell you. So I am having to get better directions when I go places. But in life, we need to have good directions. And that is what happens when we read His book. We have clear directions for our families and how we should be spending our time. Joshua’s was — ??????????? by God. Years later, he is an old man. They are beginning to settle in the Promised Land. It’s been, really, the greatest generation of faith that has ever been. Joshua says, “You can make your choice now….. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” What a great legacy to leave.

I remember a man in a congregation I served, upon retirement who (he didn’t know the Bible that well) began to make a habit of reading the scriptures. He did it the old fashioned way. He started at Genesis and would read about ten chapters a day and just go straight through, even through Leviticus, which sometimes slips people up. But that is the way he did it. And I said, “Well, what got you in to reading the Bible?”

He said, “Well, you know I just had this vision of going to heaven and the Lord asks me, ‘Well, what do you think of My book?’ and I really just didn’t want to have to tell him, ‘Well, I just don’t really know Your book, and, frankly, just didn’t really care about reading Your book.’ So, I started reading His book.” And as he found, once you start reading it, you start getting an appetite and it is like a good book that you read; you don’t want to put it down.

Well, let me say it in closing another way. The only time I actually heard Billy Graham preach in person was at a church in Charlotte at a dedication service and I remember being interested that, you know, you could tell he was biting his nails; he was nervous. So you could tell, you know, he’s normal; he still gets nervous. But as he got up there and he does, preach, you know, with the Bible, he just held this up and said, “You know, this is God’s love letter to you.”

You know, a letter, generally you can’t wait to open it. You read it, and you read it again. It’s not junk mail. It’s not something you would throw away. This is God’s Holy Book. And we live in a nation where we are incredibly blessed with the freedom that we don’t want to take for granted. But, it’s more that reading and head knowledge. It’s, “Lord, speak to me,” as we read the passage and ask God to bless our hearts as we get to know him better. Let us pray.

Our Lord, we confess at times, that, for various reasons, we have strayed away from Your Word. And O Lord, we pray that you would draw us back. We know, Lord, that in time of awakening throughout the centuries, there have always been Your people who have had a reawakened love for You and Your scriptures and Your Holy Word. Lord, we thank you today for those who have made a great sacrifice for us to have the Holy Scriptures, and Lord we pray to read them and to put them in to practice — these wonderful words of life. For we pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.