Word of the Day (11-2-11)

Good Morning Everyone

Today is Wednesday November 2^nd 2011

The word of the day comes from

Joshua 1:16-18

English Standard Version (ESV)

 ¹⁶And they answered Joshua, "All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. ¹⁷Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you, as he was with Moses! ¹⁸Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous."

My Interpretation

While we will go back and revisit the segment we briefly just went over, “Be Strong & Courageous” which dealt with Joshua 1:1-9, I want us to look at today the next point in the life of Joshua which is “Do You Know Your Influence?” This segment will be taught in verses 16-18 of Joshua Chapter 1.

For 40 years, Israel journeyed in circles, lost in the wilderness. They followed Moses but it wasn’t Moses fault they wondered. The people lacked faith and were disobedient to God. This was their punishment. Its amazing how only 2 (Joshua & Caleb) were allowed to enter into the Promise Land. Why? Because they were the only two were faithful to God and obedient to His Word. Since God is no respect of person (Romans 2:11- For God does not show favoritism) it doesn’t matter how long you been in church, who you’re related to, how well you sing, dance, mime, sign, rap, etc. The end result to being prosperous and successful is through faith in God and obedience to His Word (Psalm 85:11).

A few quick notes regarding Joshua: My clip notes states that Joshua distinguished himself as a man of faith and courage. He was a brilliant militant leader (2 Timothy 2:3-4) and strong spiritual influence (He was confident in God’s strength, courageous in the face of opposition and willing to seek God’s advice). Similar, Jeremiah remained faithful to the calling on his life regardless the reaction or praise he received or lack of due to the message and life God wanted him to live. Joshua was committed to obeying God and this book is about obedience. When God spoke, Joshua listened and obeyed.  The key to his success was his submission to God.

Definition of Influence

Influence- a power affecting a person, thing, or course of events, especially one that operates without any direct or apparent effort; power to sway or affect based on prestige, wealth, ability or position; to produce an effect on by imperceptible (Impossible or difficult to perceive by the mind or senses) or intangible (incapable of being perceived by the senses; incapable of being realized or defined) means; sway. We will get into influence a little more later but I want us to have a definition in mind to build upon…

The first thing we want to see in this lesson is:

Submission is Always Better than Rebellion

Joshua was submissive to his chain of command. Meaning even when Moses got old and wasn’t physically able to do all the things that the younger Joshua could do, he was still submissive to him because he understood divine order. As the church operates within God’s Divine Order, set leadership is appointed…” (1 Corinthians 12:18). But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be. So in practical terms, even if you don’t fully like how someone in leadership is over you, that does not give you the right to be insubordinate, disrespectful, a problem/menace for them. While President Bush was President there were people who respected him and those who didn’t. Regardless how you feel about the person, the title is a matter of respect and as long as that individual has that title, he/she commands your respect. You can’t call him Bush or George, it is and will forever be Mr. President. You can’t simply talk to him any kind of way because he was the President. It is a respect thing. What we have to keep in mind is that we should be honoring the title because divine order is set, established, predetermined and fixed in place by God. This goes for church, work, home, life, period. This is why Colossians 3:23-24 (²³ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, ²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving) must be more than cliché but what we live.

As young adults, we will undoubtedly deal with all types of personalities, all types of issues, and all types of ways of leading: some we will like and some we won’t. It is extremely important to realize that how we act towards situations will be how others react to us in situations. There will come a time when we are in leadership if we aren’t already and we will want others to follow us. How well we receive and adhere to our leadership will undoubtedly have an effect on how others will follow us.

More to come…just laying the ground work. Pray that this segment on Joshua is a blessing to you!

Have a wonderful, blessed, productive, stress free day!