To those who are in the transition period
Contents
Joshua 1:1-9
2005. 6. 19
Title: To those who are in transition
Heaven's Gate Sunday morning sermon
In Joshua chapter 1, Joshua enters a turning point in his life. We are constantly going through transitions in our lives. There are times in my life when the stable period I have been living is over and I enter a completely new situation. There are times when familiar things are over and you have to step into something unfamiliar and unfamiliar.
There is no greater turning point in a man's life than going to the military. It's a really new challenge. Marriage is exciting and good, but it is actually a very unstable situation. Some people have children as soon as they get married. It's a huge turning point. Also, there is nothing as fun and scary as graduation. I used to be a student and am no longer a student. Entering a new job is also a transition period.
If we look at Joshua chapter 1 today, the greatest turning point has come for Joshua. It is the death of Moses. In verse 1, the situation appears majestic. After the death of Moses, the servant of Jehovah, what did Moses mean to Joshua? He is a spiritual leader who experienced the Exodus together, lived together in the wilderness for 40 years, and respected and followed him throughout his life. To Joshua, Moses was like a great mountain. Moses' death is the shock of the fall of that great mountain. This is the transition period.
Up until now, we had to rely on the mountain called Moses. But the mountain is not falling. In Deuteronomy 34:7, Moses' appearance is described when he died, but it is said that his strength did not diminish or his eyes became cloudy. Not only Joshua, but all of Israel could have thought, ‘Moses is still alive’, but Moses dies. What does this mean? Moses' time is up to here, and from here on it is Joshua, and it shows that God sets the time and the time. Now, God Himself is making the transition period for Israel. God guides our lives to maturity through the transition period.
However, in transition, most people have two reactions. One is embarrassment and the other is fear. I am confused as to what to do with this situation. Can we do well in the future? atrophy. And what scares me the most is that people will recognize me! Is Joshua different? It's not like that. What the Bible comforts us is that it reveals the human weakness of the great men of God in the Bible. We see Joshua wandering in fear after Moses' death. I am confused and afraid.
Gentlemen, Joshua Chapter 1 is the most significant alternative to Joshua's entire life. Here's an alternative that you and I, in transition, desperately need to hear as passing advice. There are two alternatives. Jehovah God points out two things to Joshua in the transition period.
First, Joshua, do you know exactly what I have entrusted to you?
Second, Joshua, do you enter the storehouse of wisdom that I have given you as a gift every day?
You are telling Joshua to focus on two things.
One is to focus on the mission and the other is to focus on the Word. When our thoughts are scattered and we are far from the Word, we have a greater embarrassment and a heavier fear.
First, focus on your mission during the transition period (verse 2).
In the great redemptive history of the people of Israel, Moses' mission and Joshua's mission are different. Moses' job was to bring Israel out of Egypt and to be used as a guide through the 40 years of the wilderness. Joshua's job is to lead the people into the Promised Land. Was it then that Joshua didn't know that this was what he was supposed to do? It's not like that.
In Deuteronomy 34:9, before Moses died, he laid his hands on Joshua's head in front of all the people before he died just before he entered the land of Canaan, east of the Jordan River. This refers to the succession of official ministry.
Gentlemen, what have I been called to do while living on this earth? You need to focus on this. Don't be a petty citizen. I'm just living, I can't die, I can't live, it's not this. Is there anything that makes your heart race because you can't die? Did Jesus come down from heaven and die on the cross just to eat and live for 7-80 years? I don't live to eat and make money. We are the called and we are the sent and commissioned.