Scripture Readings:
Numbers 14: 1-9
Matthew 25: 14-30
Welcome I invite you to open your bible and read our scriptures this week, Numbers 14:1-9 and Matthew 25:14-30.
Please follow along and read with me, Joshua 1:1-9.
The Lord Commands Joshua
(1) After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord , the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: (2) “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. (3) I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. (4) Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates-all the Hittite country-to the Great Sea on the west. (5) No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
(6) “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. (7) Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. (8) Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; 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. (9) Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
This is the word of God, for the people of God. Praise be to God.
Our Message this week I’ve titled ; Look Forward With Hope.
The saddest and least productive emotion is fear. Our nation, our world, yes even our church is struggling with this. It is the least fruitful emotion. Fear’s only fruit is regret and lost opportunities and an increased focus on one’s self and one’s security.
In the U.S. this past year the coronavirus pandemic resulted in a new vocabulary. We created terms like “social distancing” and “flatten the curve” to describe activities to protect against the virus. Also,we have heard,over and over again the terms,” Make America great again” and “Building back better”, during the presidential campaigns. All of these terms have been drilled into our heads to help us to, curb fear to motivate us and “Look forward with Hope”. So what term or slogan should the church be repeating?
Last week, and again this week,I thought we should read the parable of the talents, in Matthew 25:14-30. Because verses 24 and 25 got stuck in my head. And left me with a nagging question of what do I tell the church family, as their pastor to encourage them, to look forward with hope. To not bury their talents, to put aside fear, to take a risk and rely on God!
Let me read it to you again. (Matthew 25:24,25) Then the man who received the one talent came. “ Master,” he said, “I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.”
So, then in my studies in the scriptures, in prayer and meditation, the Spirit led me to Joshua 1:1-9. Certain I would find the answer I was looking for, because Joshua led his people into the unknown, the “Promise Land”. Of course, this scripture left me asking more questions. Like who recorded these events, and how did Joshua come to have such faith and trust in God? How did Joshua inspire the Israelites to, ”Look forward with Hope?”
To answered the first of these questions. With a little research I found that some scholars think that Samuel may have had a hand in shaping or compiling the materials of the book of Joshua, but in fact we are unsure who the final author or editor was. But like many of you, I grew up learning the story of Joshua and the battle of Jericho.
Most of us know a portion of that story or at least a portion of the song, “Joshua fit the battle of Jericho”, but there is a whole lot more to Joshua than just the Walls of Jericho. In the book of Exodus we find out that God has chosen Joshua to be the second in command to Moses, the military leader of the just freed children of Israel. We also know that Joshua was one of the 12 spies, representing the 12 tribes of Israel who were sent into the Promised Land to scope it out and determine how best to take the land which God had promised them.
When those spies returned to Moses, Numbers 13 and 14 tell us how ten of the spies returned shaking in their boots. They reported giants so big they felt like grasshoppers to them. The majority report scared the people and they began to grumble and shout. Fear was in pandemic proportions. Sound familiar?
From early on, we see the vision and the depth of faith which Joshua had because the minority report came from Joshua and Caleb who basically said, “Do not be afraid. This land is an exceedingly good land.”
In Numbers 14:8-9 he says, (8)” If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. (9) Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”
Unfortunately, the people rejected the Minority Report and went with the Majority Report. They were still stuck in Egypt, still stuck in fear. While it was true that they were not slaves any longer, and they didn’t have to worry where their next meal was coming from. They missed the point of the Minority Report. Didn’t they?
Unfortunately for the Children of Israel, when they accepted the Majority Report, it meant they would wander in the wilderness for another 40 years, until no one from the original spy expedition except Joshua and Caleb, would enter into the Promised Land. None of those who opposed the Minority Report and failed to have faith and trust God would enter. That was their punishment. They had forgotten what God had already done for them in freeing them from slavery in Egypt. And they didn’t have faith enough to trust God to keep His promises.
That brings us to our place in today’s Scripture. Moses has died, Joshua has taken over as the leader of the Children of Israel and they stand on the brink of entering and claiming the Promised Land. Joshua and the people of Israel are ready to cross the Jordan. Joshua remembers Gods promises and instructs them, encourages them to have faith and trust in God. Joshua 1:1-9 ends in saying; “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
How do you argue with words like that? Or verse 5 “No one shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not leave you or forsake you. Or, verse 6. “Be strong and courageous; for you shall put this people in possession of the land that I swore to their ancestors to give them”. Because of God promises, Joshua, reminds them and us today to always, ”Look forward with Hope.”
Think of all the things in life we miss out on because we are afraid. We don’t trust God’s goodness and God’s promises. Think of all the opportunities we could harvest with our God-given talents and opportunities if we were just bold enough to base our goals and priorities on God’s promises instead of on our own security.
The Christian life is not for sissies. It is for people willing to live with boldness, seeking to be where God wants them to be, and living as God wants them to live. Do you see yourself in that role? Why settle for less? We need to become Joshua people!
Joshua people always, ”Look Forward With Hope ”.Joshua people always enable others to, ”Look Forward With Hope”. So how do we do that today?
We do it through Faith and Trust in God through Christ. If we are like Joshua, we look at the situation in the world and say: “If God is pleased with us, God will lead us.” But as Christians we often are not like Joshua, we’re more like a pastor’s small son who was told by his mother that he should wash his hands because there were germs living in all that dirt. He refused and complained: “Germs and Jesus! Germs and Jesus! That’s all I ever hear around this house and I’ve never seen either one.”
Through our faith and trust in God we can, “be strong and courageous” because we know that God promised “to be with us.” And God promised “not to leave us or forsake us.”
We, who have excepted Christ as our Savior, are Joshua People. We’ve already made that trek. We believed! We have faith, but do we have trust in God and His word? We’ve looked to the future, we see the hope the message of Christ has for us and for the world, but do we trust it?
Consider this; Since time began, women have never fully trusted men. One day Adam took a walk in the Garden of Eden. He told Eve he would be back soon. But we all know that “soon” means different things to men and women. That evening, Adam got back home. Eve pounced on the situation.
”Where have you been all this time?”
”Out walking,” Adam replied. “Where could I have been? How can you be jealous when we’re the only people on earth?”
Eve didn’t argue anymore, but that night while Adam was sleeping, she made sure to count his ribs.
We laugh at this story, but if we really think about it, isn’t that how we feel about knowing God‘s truth. We know God tells the truth, but we also want confirmation of it. There’s doubt there’s FEAR! The least fruitful emotion. Remember fear’s only fruit is regret and lost opportunities and an increased focus on one’s self and one’s security.
So how do we always ,”Look forward with Hope”? First we must have it, by being, ”Strong and Courageous! By being careful to avoid sin and meditate night and day on his word so that we will prosper and be successful. Then enable others to, ”Look forward with Hope”.
We must become like Joshua and overcome the emotion of fear. Not like the one talent man who buried his talent, because of fear. But like the two and the five talent men, who put it to work, who took a risk. Who trusted their master and the confidence he put in them.
Remember God‘s words to Joshua;
(6) “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. (7) Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. (8) Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; 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.
Remember the last words of Jesus to His disciples.(Matthew 28:18-20)”All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
How’s your faith? How your trust level? Are you one of the Joshua people who always,” Look Forward With Hope”, and who always enable others to,” Look Forward with Hope.” I pray that you will become Joshua people.
“BE STRONG AND VERY COURAGEOUS!”
“LOOK FORWARD WITH HOPE!”
In His Service,
Pastor Joe
Listen to Audio: Sermon 20201115
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Pastor Joe is available at the church on Thursdays from 2 to 4. If you wish to speak with him, his contact numbers are 570-465-7303 or his cell 570-267-4570.
Sunday School begins at 8:30. All are welcome.
The Loose change (coins & bills) offering today goes to Kenya, Rev. Malaho.
BILL’s Kids for Christmas Mission: Rev. Bill Townsend was the Director of Spiritual Life at the Children’s Home in Binghamton. Our congregation has been donating money for many years to help to make Christmas more merry for the residents; it will BE NOW UNTIL Sunday, November 29.
Congregational Meeting is TODAY, following worship.
PLEASE NOTE: We ask that you wear a mask as you ENTER the church and as you EXIT. To EXIT, please use the Front, Side, EXIT DOOR. Thank you. Members of Session.
If you are in the parking lot, PLEASE TUNE YOUR RADIO TO 89.5 FM to hear the morning service.
Please check your mailbox in the vestibule!
Christmas Greeting – If anyone would like to put a Christmas Greeting in the Dec. Messenger, please give a handwritten note or E-Mail her at whisperpines@frontiernet.net to Carolyn White by Tues. Dec 1st
