Joshua 1:1-9 God’s in Control

 

On July 15, 1859, Blondin walked backward across a tightrope over Niagara Falls to Canada, while blindfolded, and returned pushing a wheelbarrow. After pushing a wheelbarrow across while blindfolded, Blondin asked if someone would get into the wheelbarrow. He had shown that he could do it; there was no doubt that he could do it. He asks for a volunteer to get in the wheelbarrow and take a ride across the Falls. He asked everyone, "Do you believe I can carry a person across in this wheelbarrow?" Of course, the crowd shouted, “Yes!” Then Blondin asked, "Who will get in the wheelbarrow?" Of course, nobody did. Would any of you have gotten into the wheelbarrow and let Blondin take you across Niagara Falls on the tightrope?

Have you ever had times where you were scared or anxious about something? How did you handle it, did you turn to someone to help you through it? In our Bible story this morning, Moses has died, but God has prepared Joshua to lead Israel. Joshua knows he has big sandals to fill. The Lord comes to Joshua and says, “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. I will give you every place where you set your foot… No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life."

God gives Joshua his orders to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land and then gives this powerful promise to Joshua, "As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." This is powerful because Joshua now knows that God will be with him through thick and thin. Have you ever been afraid about doing something, maybe thinking that it’s too hard or too scary to do? A friend of mine Pat was afraid of rock climbing. We would sometimes go camping at Sleeping Giant Park in Thunder Bay and they had some great cliffs for climbing. We would head out there, but Pat was too afraid to climb the cliffs. Finally, one weekend, another friend came along with us and he actually taught people how to climb cliffs. He had all the right equipment to do it safely, so he helped Pat put all the equipment on correctly and then climbed right beside Pat all the way to the top of the cliff. Because he knew what he was doing and he stayed close to Pat, Pat was able to do something that he was too afraid to do before that.

This is a word for you cadets and all of us, God’s with us and he’s always with us. Jesus promised us when he returned to heaven, "I will be with you always to the end of the age," and this helps us "be strong and courageous." Jesus sent his Holy Spirit to live in us, to guide us to Jesus and give us courage. It hasn’t always been easy the past two years. Sometimes you’ve had to do school from home, there were times you couldn’t see or be with your friends, there were times it felt afraid all the time. You’ve had to wear masks and some of you became afraid because you or someone in your family might get really sick if they caught the virus. But we remember that God’s with us and he’s in control. When you’re afraid, you can talk to him and he’ll always listen to you. This is why you are working on your prayer badge right now.

There were lots of people in the Bible who were in hard times, but kept on going because they knew God was there with them. David fought a giant with only a slingshot, he trusted that God was with him and in control. Daniel was thrown into a lions’ den, but he trusted that God was in control and with him, and God sent an angel to keep the lions from eating Daniel. Jesus came from heaven to be with us; Jesus fought against Satan in the wilderness by using Scripture to defeat him, and then Jesus died on the cross and defeated Satan by washing all our sin away with his death.

God knows it's going to be hard at times for Joshua and reminder him, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; 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." Strength and courage come from knowing what God expects of us, from knowing God's Word. The more you fill yourself with the words of Scripture, the more strength and courage you will have because you are filling your mind and heart and soul with God instead of yourself. God wants everyone to know him and follow him.

The better you know God, the less afraid you will be and the more courage you will have. God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous 3 times. God knows we need to hear these words of hope, challenge and reassurance many times before they stick in our heads and hearts. God encourages Joshua; he builds Joshua up and encourages him. Paul tells us to do the same thing in 1 Thessalonians 5, "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." When we encourage each other, the Holy Spirit gives us courage, reminding us that Jesus is in control and has power and authority over everything. One of my cadet counsellors, Gerry Van Ginkel would encourage us ono canoe trips in Northern Ontario. When the wind would get strong and we would get afraid of tipping our canoes, he would come up and paddle alongside us, giving us encouragement and helping us too not be afraid anymore. I remember him telling us that God is with us and watching over us. That always helped us to be brave.

Jesus calls us to trust in him. Jesus knows it can be hard at times for us. He even tells us that people will pick on us for following him, that we have to carry our own crosses. Jesus tells us that we need to follow and obey him, even if it’s hard, even if we want something to do something different than what Jesus tells us to do. We do things like loving our enemies, forgiving people who hurt us, or not being angry with each other and calling them fools. We’re called to love God first and then other people. It also means we need to be ready to serve them when they need help because we trust that God is in control, he’s with us, and he put us here to serve them and tell them about Jesus.

God has given your counsellors the Holy Spirit. God is with them so that they can be there for you when you need their help and guidance. Counsellors, lead through example and your own walk and relationship with Jesus. Lead with grace and love, with compassion and understanding, but also with courage as you teach the cadets to be faithful to Jesus in a world that doesn’t always love Jesus. Lead out of trust in Jesus' presence and the Spirit's guidance, lead from your knees through much prayer and reading of Scripture.

Lead the cadets into a deep obedience and dependency on God through your obedience and dependency on God. The cadets will follow how you live before they follow what you actually say. Lead out of humility, remembering that we’re all sinners and it is only because of God's grace and forgiveness in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross that allows us to be children of God. Lead the cadets to live lives of gracious service in order to create places of peace and hope, health and grace pointing to God. May Jesus give you courage and bravery, know that God is in control and with all of us always!