A Sermon Outline By BILL PRATER

VICTORY IN JESUS
(Message #2)

Joshua 1:1-18

Coming to a realization that Victory In Jesus can be a reality for all believers is a very wonderful thing, but it is only the first step in the process. The second step is applying what we know. God not only promised to give Joshua the victory, but He also told him how to gain it.

Beginning in verse 5, God sets forth 3 principles of victory that must be applied to our lives if we hope to live victoriously.

II. THE PRINCIPLES OF VICTORY APPLIED vs. 5-9

A. The Principle of Preparation vs. 5-6, 9
1. Regardless of the realm in which the battle is taking place, preparation is of utmost importance. This was true for Joshua in facing the flesh and blood enemies of Canaan and it is true of us as we face the non-flesh and blood enemies mentioned in Ephesians 6
("principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places"). These are the things that are keeping us out of the "Promised Land."
2. The Lord prepared Joshua by:
a. Assuring him of Victory - "There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life..." - This gave Joshua COURAGE
(1) Surely it must have been a great blessing to Joshua to know that wherever he went and whoever he faced, they could not stand against the power of God
that was working on his behalf.
(2) Paul asked in Romans 8:31, "If God be for us, who can be against us?" The answer is simple, "NOBODY!" With the power of God working on our behalf,
not even the devil himself can successfully stand between us and God's full blessing for our life.
b. Reminding him of His Ability - "...as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I WILL NOT FAIL THEE..." - This gave Joshua CONFIDENCE
(1) This confidence was not in his own ability, but in God's ability. Joshua had seen God do some miraculous things in and through Moses' life, and to be
assured that God was going to do the same for him, gave Joshua the confidence he needed to tackle the great task of taking the Promised Land.
(2) GOD WILL NOT FAIL US! We may fail Him, but He will not fail us.
(3) By reminding ourselves of God's ability and by relying upon God's ability, we
can face every day with confidence.
c. Promising His Company - "...nor forsake thee...for the Lord thy God is with thee
whithersoever thou goest." - This gave Joshua COMFORT
(1) Even in the midst of our toughest battles, when Satan seems to be bringing all of the forces of hell to bear upon our soul, it is comforting to know that God is with us.
(2) He's there to strengthen us. He's there to do what we cannot do for ourselves.
d. Warning him of Difficulty - "Be strong and of good courage:" (v. 6) "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed..." (v. 9) - This
caused Joshua to be CAUTIOUS
(1) Having been assured of victory, having been reminded of God's ability, and having been promised God's company, why in the world would
Joshua need to be cautious? Why would he need to be told to "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed..."
(2) It's because victory was not going to come easy for Joshua. The occupants of Canaan were not going to just roll over and play dead. They
were not going to give up the land without a fight.
(3) We should not expect our victory to come easy. Satan is not going to justturn tail and run because we've decided to put forth the effort to obtain
what is rightfully ours as a child of God.
(4) Satan is going to resist our every effort. He's going to dog us every step of the way. Because we've purposed to move from the wilderness of mediocrity to the land of victory, he's going to launch a full-scale attack upon every area of our life. When one victory has been obtained over one enemy, another one will immediately raise its ugly head. When one temptation has been overcome, ten more will take its place.
(5) We must enter the battle cautiously. There will be some setbacks. There will be some times of discouragement, and fear, and dismay. We may
lose a battle here and there, but by God's grace we will ultimately win the
war.

B. The Principle of Consecration v. 7
1. The exhortation to "be strong" in this verse is different than the one in verse 6. The one in verse 6 was more general. This exhortation is in regards to a particular duty that was to be performed by Joshua and the rest of the children of Israel.
2. The principle of consecration involves Strict Compliance.
a. "...that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law...turn not from it to the right hand or to the left..." The Lord is speaking here of complete consecration.
b. In this verse we find an inseparable connection between "courage" and "obedience." It takes a great deal of courage to be obedient. If our character and conduct are going to be regulated by God's Word, what will our family and friends think? What will the reaction of others be when we choose to swim against the current of popular opinion, which is what we will have to do if we are going to live a victorious Christian life.
c. Speaking of this verse, Arthur Pink said, "There is a moral courage as well as a physical, and not all possessing the latter are endowed with the former. How many who flinched not in the face of the enemy's fire, were afraid to be seen reading God's Word!"
d. Pink went on to say, "He who contemplates enlisting under the banner of Christ need well to sit down and count the cost, for it is no child's play...A merely nominal profession is easy enough to make and maintain after the manner of the times, but to be a real Christian means to deny self, take up the cross and go forth unto Christ without the camp. Through his obedience Joshua made many enemies...Such will be the case of the obedient Christian. It will be his desire and effort to make no enemies, but if he is faithful to Christ many of his old friends will turn against him, and will probably prove that his foes are found even in his own household."
e. In regards to being strictly obedient, someone has said, "It is the exactness of obedience which constitutes the essence of obedience." Notice that Joshua was "to do according to ALL the law." Joshua could not hope to gain all of the land while only being partially obedient. By the same token, we will never obtain God's best for our life while practicing partial obedience.

(1) The Psalmist said in Psalm 119:6, "Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments."

(2) Again in Psalm 119:128 he said, "Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way."

3. The principle of consecration also involves Sure Compensation.
a. Psalm 19:11, speaking of the commandments of the Lord, says, "Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward."
b. Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 4:8 that "...godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come."
c. John Butler, in his biography of Joshua said, "When God gives us precepts, look for the promises to encourage the obeying of the precepts, for they are there. God's commandments come with God's commitment to bless the obedient soul."
d. Practicing the principle of consecration will lead to a life of spiritual prosperity and victory.

C. The principle of Meditation v. 8
1. If we are not willing to make the Word of God a major part of our life, and in particular, meditation in the Word, we will be forever stranded in the wilderness of mediocrity, and living in the land of victory will be impossible.
2. One writer wrote, "Meditation upon the Word of God is one of the most important of all the means of grace and growth in spirituality, yea there can be no true progress in vital and practical godliness without it. Meditation on Divine things is not optional but
obligatory, for it is something which God has commanded us to attend unto."
3. This command to Joshua does not stand alone as the only exhortation to meditation.
a. Deuteronomy 32:46 says, "Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day..."
b. Proverbs 4:26, "Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established." The word "ponder" means to "weigh mentally."
c. Haggai 1:7, "Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider (set your heart upon) your ways."
d. In Luke 9:44, Jesus said to His disciples, "Let these sayings sink down into your ears..."
e. Paul said, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, THINK ON THESE THINGS."
4. David said that one of the outstanding marks of the "Blessed" man was his attention to meditation in Psalm 1:1-2.
5. Isaac meditated - Genesis 24:63David meditated - Psalms Mary, the mother of Jesus meditated - Luke 2:19, 51
6. The first excuse that is given for not spending time in the Word of God and for not practicing the principle of meditation is "I am just too busy. I don't have anytime during the day that is just mine, and by the time I do have some time to myself, I'm just too tired." May I suggest that the problem is the fact that you are acting in the energy of the flesh and that you are nothing more than a slave?
a. Jesus said in Matthew 11:30, "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." If the burden you and I carry is "heavy", its not God's fault. His burden is "light." God will not call us to a manner of life that crowds out the things that we need in order to be spiritually strong.

b. If we are burdened down with so many responsibilities that we cannot do what we need to do in order to maintain a healthy Christian life, those burdens are "self-imposed" burdens. The Lord said we are to set our affections "on things above, not on things on the earth."
c. Jeremiah said that "The heart is deceitful above all things...", and one of the most deceitful acts of the heart is to lead us to believe that we are too busy. Jesus said in Matthew 6:21, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." That
which most occupies our heart will most engage our mind, because our thoughts always follow our affections.
d. David said, "O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day." (Psalm 119:97) David evidenced his love for the Word of God by meditating on it all the day.
e. As for responsibilities and obligations, how do ours measure up to Joshua's? How many of us are responsible for leading a nation? How many of us are responsible for the spiritual well-being of millions of people? Matthew Henry said it well when he said, "If ever any man's business might have excused him from meditation, and other acts of devotion, one would think Joshua's might at this time. It was a great trust that was lodged in his hands; the conduct of it was sufficient to fill him if he had ten souls, and yet he must find time and thoughts for meditation. Whatever affairs of this world we have on hand, we must not neglect the one thing needful."
7. We cannot expect the God of Truth to be with us if we neglect the Truth of God. And let me say, reading it and hearing it preached is not sufficient. In most cases, reading and hearing the Word of God only produce a transient effect upon our minds. But meditating
upon the Word, going over it again and again, will make a long-lasting, life-changing impression upon our life.
8. Notice that Joshua was to meditate upon the Word of God for a specific purpose, "that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein..." Meditation is not something we do simply to take up time, but we meditate in the Word of God so that it might move us to a prompter and fuller obedience toward God.
9. Only as we "observe to DO according to ALL that is written" in the Word of God can we expect to prosper and to experience victory in our Christian life. And in order "to do according to all that is written therein," we must practice the principle of meditation.

ILLUSTRATION: It is said that when Crawfoot, who was the chief of the Blackfoot nation in
southern Alberta, gave permission to the Canadian Pacific Railway to lay track from Medicine Hat
to Calgary, he was given a lifetime railroad pass. It has been reported that he put the pass in a leather
pouch and wore it around his neck for the rest of his life, and never availed himself of the privileges
that came with owning a pass.
In much the same way, Christians do the same thing with the Word of God. It is nothing more than
a decorative badge of Christianity. If you hold in your hands a King James Bible, you hold a lifetime
pass to the land of spiritual Canaan.

III. THE PLEASURES OF VICTORY DENIED vs. 12-18
While the majority of those coming out of the wilderness went into the land of Canaan, there were two and a half tribes that did not get to enjoy the promised land.

Numbers 32:1-5

A. A Dreadful Choice
1. Their choice was Personal
a. By their own personal choice, the people of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh chose to live on the east side of Jordan in the wilderness, instead of living with the rest of the people of God in the land of promise.
b. The application to us today is obvious. Every child of God has the right to choose where he or she is going to spend their life. They can choose to live in the wilderness, or they can choose to live in the land of full blessing.
2. Their choice was Typical
a. The choice of these 2½ tribes is typical of the choice that has been made by the majority of believers today. They have a desire to be associated with the people of God and they have no intention of deserting God or the church. Yet on the other hand, they are not willing to make a whole-hearted commitment to God and are determined to spend their life in the wilderness of mediocrity.
b. Speaking of those who choose to live their Christian life on the level of mediocrity, one writer had this to say, "There is... something very attractive about the comparative freedom of a life which claims the promises of Christ, and yet is not altogether constrained by His demands. To cross the gloomy-looking gulf of an entire conversion, and to be cooped within the apparently uninviting limits of a consecrated life, is repugnant to much that exists in all of us, and that reigns supreme in many of us."

B. The Awful Consequences
Let me say again, every individual believer has the right to choose what level of life they are going to live on. But, to choose a life that is less than God's best, does have its consequences.
1. No Peace
a. The very places mentioned as the first settlements of Reuben all fell into the hands of the Moabites, along with some of those of Gad. From what we read, we know that these areas were continual battlefields.
b. The only true peace comes when we surrender fully and completely to Christ, every area of our life and sell out to Him 100%.
2. No Presence
a. These 2½ tribes knew that all of the promises of God were attached to the land on the other side of Jordan. They also knew that the ark of God, which was the symbol of God's presence, was going across with the others and to live on the opposite side of
the river would be to live without the presence of God.
b. Those who settle down into a life of half-hearted Christianity, separate themselves from the promises and presence of God.
3. No Protection
a. The land of Canaan, due to its geographical location, was well protected. The land on the other side of Jordan however was completely exposed to a multitude of enemies from the north, south, and east.

b. By the same token, that person who strives to live their life totally and completely for God and strives to stay within the confines of His will, lives a protected life. But to step outside of God's will and to live in half-heartedness is to live a relatively defenseless life.
4. No Power
a. Had the people of Rueben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh foreseen the swarms of enemies that they were going to have face, they would have no doubt chosen to go into the land of Canaan. But because they under-estimated their danger and over-estimated their strength, they chose to remain outside of the land of blessing.
b. Living in half-heartedness not only leaves us defenseless, but it also leaves us powerless.

ILLUSTRATION: A 747 was halfway across the Atlantic when the captain said, "Attention, passengers. We have lost one of our engines, but we can certainly reach London with the three we have left. Unfortunately, we will arrive an hour late as a result." About an hour later the captain made another announcement, "Sorry, but we lost another engine. We can still travel on two, but I'm afraid we will now arrive two hours late." A few minutes later, the passengers heard the captain's voice again, "Guess what, folks. We just lost our third engine, but please be assured we can fly with only one. We will now arrive in London three
hours late." After hearing that they were now going to be three hours late, one passenger became furious. He
said, "For Pete's sake, if we lose another engine, we'll be up here all night!"

c. Living life half-heartedly for the Lord is like flying a 747 on one engine. We just don't have as much power as we ought to have.
d. In John 15, Jesus said, "I am the vine, ye are the branches..." As the branch receives strength from the vine, so we receive our strength through our relationship with the Lord. To the degree that we are living and abiding in Him, we will have power to overcome the spiritual enemies that come against us.
5. No Prosperity
a. There was no promise of prosperity to those who chose to settle for less than God's
best. Success and prosperity came with possessing the promised land.
b. Spiritual success and prosperity comes with a whole-hearted commitment to Jesus
Christ. To the degree that we are committed to Christ and His cause, we will
experience victory in our lives.

CLOSING: To what degree do you want to experience victory in your life as a child of God? Are you
satisfied with mediocrity? Are you simply satisfied with being eternally secure in Christ,
or do you want to go beyond entry level Christianity?

The choice is clearly yours to make.