“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “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, as I promised Moses.” (Jos 1:1-3)
We’ve been talking about the kingdom of God through the story of the Exodus. Last Sunday, we discussed the kind of mindset we should have in order to live as the people of the kingdom through what God said to Joshua. Moses was faithful in bringing the Israelites out of Egypt and leading them in the wilderness. But he couldn’t enter the promised land because he failed to reflect God’s holiness when he struck the rock twice with his staff. Moses died after giving his last sermon in Moab, east of the Jordan river. And now, Joshua became the second leader of the Israelites. He must have been afraid. But God repeatedly told him to “be strong and courageous.” The reason Joshua was able to be strong and courageous under such difficult circumstances and great pressure is because God was with him, and he knew that God is far greater and stronger than his circumstances and the enemies he faced. If Joshua had only looked at his circumstances, he would have been terrified. But when he looked at the Almighty God working through him beyond his circumstances, he was able to be strong and courageous in spite of the challenges he faced. God promised to be with him and that His presence would always go with him. Joshua had God’s words and promise. And that was enough. Josuah needed nothing more than that to defeat his enemies and lead the nation. He didn’t need a strong army or great weapons or brilliant strategies—he needed God. We’ll see why when we talk about the battles in the land of Canaan. I also talked about an interpretation of what it means to be “strong and courageous.” Being courageous means not being easily influenced by the world. And being strong means actively influencing the world beyond simply not being influenced by it. As long as we live in the world, we’ll continue to be influenced by it. There’s no way to escape it. But we Christians are called to influence the world rather than be influenced by it. We are called to keep ourselves from the evil of the world and to show God's holiness through our distinct and distinguished lives. We are called to walk in the light of Jesus Christ and let our light shine, not to be influenced by the darkness of the world. We are also called to live righteously, not to dwell in sin. In other words, we are called, chosen, and sanctified to be God's holy people who are in the world but not of the world. In order to live out this calling, we must guard our hearts and minds from the influences of the world and renew our minds daily with God's word. We must fix our eyes not on the temporary things of the world we see now, but on the eternal values of the kingdom of God, which are invisible but real. We must let our faith in God, our trust in Him, and His word and promise be the basis of every decision we make—big or small. Then we'll be able to live in the world as strong and courageous people of God, reflecting His light, His righteousness, and His holiness through our lives and leading many others to Him. Of course, we can't live such a life alone. We're so weak that we often stumble and lose our way. We’re easily influenced by the world. But, we can still find hope in God because we know that even though we can’t do much, God can do all things. The only reason we can be strong and courageous in all circumstances is because God, who is much greater than all our circumstances, who leads us and guides us, who protects us and provides for us, and who can change us and transform us, is with us at all times. Because God is strong, we can be strong. Because God is courageous, we can be courageous. That’s the truth we must keep holding on to as Christians. Crossing the Jordan River Now, let us move on to the next part. After calling Joshua, God commanded him to cross the Jordan River. He said, “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” (Jos 1:2) You've probably heard of the Jordan River many times. It’s the most famous river in the Bible, and it's often used as a symbol of the dividing line between life on earth and the afterlife. But in the Bible, the Jordan River doesn't represent death. Crossing the Jordan River doesn’t mean that you finish the race of faith on earth and enter heaven. When the Israelites crossed the Jordan, it was not heaven that awaited them. Rather, they would be facing enemies armed with strong weapons and kings who opposed them. So, they did not cross the Jordan to enter the already established heaven. They crossed it with a mission and a calling to establish the kingdom of God in Canaan, a land full of evil. One of the biggest misconceptions about the kingdom of God is that it belongs to the future, that it's only spiritual. Even many Christians perceive the kingdom of God as a place where our souls go after we die. But as we've already discussed, the kingdom of God is not something we enter when we die, but something that has already come to earth with the incarnation of Jesus, and is still being expanded and established in the world through our obedience to God's will. And, the kingdom of God will completely come true on earth when Jesus comes back again as the mighty Judge, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords of the whole world. Then, for us, the spiritual meaning of crossing the Jordan River is not a death, but a beginning. It is not an end, but a new commitment—the commitment to build the kingdom of God in the midst of an evil and sinful world. The Jordan River has a significant meaning in that it symbolizes a turning point for the Israelites as they ended their lives in the wilderness and began a new journey in the promised land. But despite its significance, we might wonder, why did the Israelites need to cross the Jordan River? The Jordan River is not the only entrance to the land of Canaan. As we discussed before, when God commanded the first generation of the Exodus to enter the land of Canaan, He did not require them to cross the Jordan River. God did not lead them to the Jordan River after He trained them at Mount Sinai, but to Kadesh Barnea. They sent twelve men to spy out the land from there, which shows that crossing the Jordan wasn’t really necessary for the Israelites to enter the land. But when they refused to go into Canaan at Kadesh, God made them wander in the wilderness for 38 years. And, at the end of their journey in the wilderness, God led them to the east side of the Jordan River and commanded them to cross it, which wasn’t easy. Actually, it was impossible for more than 2 million people to cross the Jordan, especially when it was at its most flooded. But, God led them there and commanded them to cross the river when it was most flooded. Why do you think that is? When we look at the elements of the Israelites' crossing of the Jordan River, we may compare it to a similar event in Israel's history—the crossing of the Red Sea. When the Israelites were leaving Egypt, their last obstacle was the Red Sea. The sea was in front of them, and behind them Pharaoh was pursuing them with his chariots and army. In this desperate situation, they cried out to the Lord, and God saved them by dividing the sea with a strong wind. Now, just as the first generation of the Israelites had miraculously crossed the Red Sea, God commanded the second generation of the Israelites to cross the Jordan River. So, we could say that crossing the Jordan was a repeat of crossing the Red Sea. But, why did God repeat it? The answer lies in who crossed the Jordan River. It was the second generation of the Exodus. During the 38 years in the wilderness, all of the first generation of the Israelites who were above 20 years old when they had crossed the Red Sea died in the wilderness except for Joshua, Caleb, and Moses. In other words, all the adults who crossed the Red Sea died in the wilderness. Now, God wanted the second generation, made up of people who were either younger than 20 when they crossed the Red Sea or were born in the wilderness, to go into the land of Canaan and conquer it. But they didn’t really understand the significance of crossing the Red Sea because they were either too young when it happened or they were born afterward. They’d only heard about it, but never fully experienced it. So, God intentionally guided them to the east side of the Jordan River and had them cross when it was most flooded because it was so important for them to have the experience of crossing water. But, why was it so important? The Meaning of Crossing the Red Sea It is important because crossing water signifies death to the past life and the beginning of a new life. The apostle Paul said in 1 Co 10:1-4, “For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ” (1Co 10:1-4) Here, the apostle Paul interpreted the Exodus of the Israelites in a spiritual way. In particular, he compared the Israelites crossing the Red Sea to baptism. Paul said that the Israelites were baptized when they crossed the sea. So, the Israelites' crossing the Red Sea in the Old Testament is the equivalent of our baptism into Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Then, what does baptism mean? There are several important meanings behind baptism, but the most important one is to die and live with Christ and to be united with the death and resurrection of Jesus. This meaning is clearly stated in Romans 6:3-5. This is the most important passage that explains the true meaning of baptism. Let’s read it together. “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Rm 6:3-5) In the Bible, baptism means being fully immersed in water. This full immersion represents a believer’s union with Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. A believer’s immersion in water symbolizes the death and burial of Christ. And the believer coming out of the water symbolizes Christ being raised from the dead. So, full immersion baptism is a beautiful picture of what Jesus did on the cross and in the empty grave for our salvation. As I said before, early churches thought of the meaning of water in two ways. The first meaning is a tomb. Being completely immersed means that our old selves die and are buried with Jesus. And the second meaning is a womb, which gives birth to life. The water of baptism also serves as the water of life, which gives us a completely new life in Jesus Christ. So when we’re fully immersed in water, we experience death to sin with Jesus. But when we come out of the water, we also experience resurrection with Jesus. In other words, full immersion baptism represents believers dying to sin with Christ and being reborn in Christ. That’s what we publicly proclaim through baptism. Paul said, “[You] [have] been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.” (Col 2:12) So, through baptism, we show not only our faith in what Jesus did on the cross and in the empty grave, but also our determination to be crucified with Him in our sins and live and walk with Him as His people. Therefore, baptism gives us a strong identity as Christians. And I think that’s the very reason God had the second generation of Israelites cross the river when it was the most impossible to do so. He wanted them to experience His great power and deliverance so that they could arm themselves with a strong identity as the people of God. This also teaches us an important lesson. Without being baptized, we can’t go into the promised land and conquer it. I’m not talking about rituals here. What I’m emphasizing is the meaning behind it. If we don't make the decision to be united with the death and resurrection of Jesus, in other words, if we are not willing to die with Christ and live with Him, we cannot participate in God's mission to build His kingdom in this fallen world. To be true Christians who build the kingdom of God, we must die with Christ first and live with Him and for Him. If we really want to live as the people of the kingdom of God, we must first crucify all the sinful things we loved before, along with our fleshly desires, and do His will and not our own, putting God first in our lives. That is the most important decision we must make if we really want to live as people of God's kingdom. Most of us here have probably been baptized, but just as physical circumcision is not true circumcision, the fact that we have gone in and out of the water does not guarantee our true faith. Baptism is not simply an act of going in and out of water. It must be evident by the way we live our lives to be recognized as genuine. So what I want us to ask ourselves today is this: Are we really dying and living with Jesus? Is our faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection evident in our lives? Do we experience renewal in Him every day? Of all of Paul’s confessions in the Bible, the one I admire most is this one. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gl 2:20) May this be our confession of faith today. I want us to confess once again what we confessed when we were baptized, and say to the Lord, “Lord, in union with Your death, help me to die to all that is sinful, and in union with Your resurrected life, help me to live as You have lived, seeking Your will first so that Your kingdom may be established and expanded through my life.” Then, He will hear our prayers, sanctify us, and use us as His vessels for His kingdom and His glory. Let’s pray. [Prayer] Heavenly Father, thank You for teaching us about how we should live as the people of Your kingdom through the story of the Israelites crossing the Jordan River. We remember all the things You’ve done to save us from our sins and make us Your children of light. We thank You for Your mercy, grace, and love. Now Lord, we want to live lives worthy of the calling we’ve received from You. We want to live as kingdom makers here on earth, setting our hearts and minds on You and seeking You and Your will first. Oh Lord, let us die to our past selves, our sins, and our sinful desires and live for You with Jesus Christ. Help us continue to remain in Him. May Your name be hallowed, Your will be done, and Your kingdom come through our lives. We love You, Lord. In Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen. [Reflection Questions] 1) Why is experience important in Christian life? What experiences have you had as a Christian, and how have they shaped your faith? 2) Why do you think being united with Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection is essential for us to live as people of the kingdom of God? Is there an area of your life to which you want to die with Jesus? Is there an aspect of your life that you want to live out with your faith in the risen Savior? “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. 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. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Jos 1:7-9)
For the last few months, we’ve talked about what the kingdom of God is and how we should live as the people of the kingdom of God through the story of the Exodus of the Israelites. The reason God led the Israelites out of Egypt wasn't just to save them from their slavery. What He really wanted to do through the people of Israel was to build His kingdom in the land of Canaan, which was full of wickedness. So before taking them to the promised land, God prepared them first in the wilderness. God gave them His laws, His promise and covenant, and His presence through the tabernacle. That preparation took place at Mount Sinai. Last time, we focused on the fact that God hadn’t always intended for the Israelites’ preparation to take that long. After He brought the Israelites out of Egypt, it took less than two years for them to reach Kadesh Barnea, the entrance to the land of Canaan. That was the amount of time God originally planned to spend in the wilderness preparing the Israelites to be the people of His kingdom. The 38 years were added simply because of their disobedience to God’s command to enter the land and conquer it. This allows us to see where the real battles we need to fight as God's people are. Becoming God's covenant people through Jesus Christ, arming ourselves with God's word, and practicing God's presence are essential preparations for us to be people of the kingdom of God. But they are still preparations. They are not the battles we’re ultimately called to fight. The battle that God wants us to fight is not in the wilderness but in the land of Canaan. So we shouldn’t spend a long time at an elementary level of faith. The battle we’re called to fight is not to decide whether or not to read the Bible today but how we apply God’s will we found in His word in our daily lives, how we use it to counteract the evil in the world, and how we establish His kingdom of righteousness and justice in this world. So, we should move out of the wilderness and go into the land of Canaan. God didn’t save us to keep us in the wilderness. He has called us to go into the land of Canaan, resist evil, and establish His kingdom there. Rather than continuing to repeat basic teachings over and over again, we should move beyond them and forward to maturity. Rather than wavering between the world and God, we are to live as those who are in the world but not of the world, with a clear identity and confidence as God's people. In other words, we must leave our wilderness and go into the world where the real battle is waiting for us. That’s the battle we’re called to fight as the people of God’s kingdom. Moses’ Death All right. That’s what we’ve talked about thus far. Starting today, I want us to move on to the Canaan part of the story and learn some lessons from the Israelites’ conquest of the land. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 38 years after refusing to go into the land of Canaan. During this time, all of the first generation of the Exodus died. Now, the second generation—those who were under 20 when God made the covenant with the Israelites or who were born in the wilderness—were ready to enter the land. At the end of the 40 years, God guided them to the Jordan river. On the way, the Israelites conquered the right side of the river. After that, in the wilderness east of the Jordan, Moses gave a final sermon to the Israelites, which is recorded in the book of Deuteronomy. But, unfortunately, Moses was part of the first generation who died in the wilderness because he disobeyed God and failed to show God’s holiness as a result. At Kadesh, when the Israelites complained about the lack of water, God said to Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink” (Nm 20:8). God commanded Moses to speak to the rock, but Moses did something different. Numbers 20:10-11 says, “He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.” (Nm 20:10-11) Moses didn’t speak to the rock. Instead, he struck it twice with his staff. He should have done exactly what God had said, since he was God's appointed leader, and his words and actions needed to reflect God's character. So God said to Moses, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” (Nm 20:12) This was why God didn’t allow Moses to enter the promised land. And as God said, Moses died at Mount Nebo after giving his last sermon in the territory of Moab, east of the Jordan River. He saw the promised land from the top of the mountain, but wasn’t able to enter it because of his disobedience at Kadesh. God Calls Joshua Now, the Israelites had lost their great leader. But that didn't mean they lost their direction and purpose, because God was still leading them. God chose a second leader to replace Moses and lead the second generation to the land of Canaan. His name was Joshua. After Moses died, God said to Joshua, “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” (Jos 1:2) God chose Joshua as the leader of the second generation of the Israelites. He was one of the two people who said they should enter Canaan after spying out the land for forty days. Now, he had a tremendous responsibility to guide the Israelites into the promised land and conquer it. He must have been afraid. And this is what God said to him. Joshua 1:6-9 says, “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. 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. 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. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Jos 1:6-9) God repeatedly said to Joshua, “Be strong and courageous.” How could he be strong and courageous in this situation? He was responsible for more than 2 million people. They had to defeat a much stronger enemy. The soldiers of the Israelites weren’t well trained. They didn’t even have good weapons to fight against the Canaanites. It must have been hard for Joshua to be strong and courageous in such circumstances. But, God repeatedly commanded him to be strong and courageous because He would be with him wherever he went. In this passage, we can also find the three basic elements that God’s people must have—His promise, His word, and His presence. God promised Joshua that He would give the land of Canaan to the Israelites, that His presence would not leave him, and He commanded him to be careful to obey the law—His word. God didn’t command him to train the army or to prepare any weapons. He commanded only one thing, and that was to meditate on His word day and night, keep it, and obey it, not turning away from it to the right or to the left. Then, God would always be with him and give him victory wherever he went. This promise is given to us as well. As God called Joshua to go into the land of Canaan and build the kingdom of God there, we are also called to build the kingdom of God in this fallen world. The kingdom of God already started with the coming of Jesus, but it has not yet been fully accomplished here on earth. Until Jesus comes back, we’re called to go into the world as the light of the world and build and expand the kingdom of God by fighting against evil and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. How can we live a life worthy of this calling? How can we fight against the world? How should we prepare for this? The world says, “You should improve your appearance; you should go to a good school; you should make a lot of money and live a successful life.” That’s what people who belong to this world seek. I’m not saying that those things are bad. In fact, knowledge, power, and money can help us follow God’s will and can be useful tools for the kingdom of God. I do want you to study hard and make a lot of money if you can so that you can use it in a good way for the kingdom of God. But, what I want to emphasize is that the key to building God’s kingdom is to hold fast to His word and live it out. Even if we have great power and influence in the world, it means nothing if we are far from His word. By contrast, even if we look weak from a worldly standpoint, God can do great things through us that we can’t even imagine. So again, only three things were needed for the Israelites to go into the world—God’s promise, His word, and His presence. Those are what we must keep seeking as Christians. We should keep them in mind and hold fast to God’s promise revealed in the Bible. We should read God’s word and live it out on a daily basis. And, we should practice walking with God in our everyday lives, continuously experiencing His presence. Then, we can be strong and courageous enough to fight against the evil things happening in the world and bravely proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God. Be Strong and Courageous Then, what does it mean to be strong and courageous? I once heard a sermon about this and liked the pastor’s interpretation, so I want to share it with you. First, being courageous means not being easily influenced by the world. Because we live in the world and we can't ignore its influences, the world will constantly test and attack our faith with its ways and values. Sadly, many Christians who say they believe in Jesus and claim that He is the Lord of their lives actually live by worldly values. The path to happiness that the world offers lies in financial prosperity, material comfort, and a stable life. For those who do not believe in God, and therefore do not believe in the existence of eternal life after death, it is natural to live by those values because what they see and experience in this world is all they know. But as Christians, we know that this world is not the end. After this world passes, the eternal kingdom of God awaits for us. Death is not the end, but the beginning of eternal life. These are the values we hold as Christians. So we don't pursue the things of this world, no matter how good they may seem to us, because we know that none of it lasts forever. So, just as the man who found treasure buried in the ground sold everything he owned to get it, so those who have discovered the eternal value of the kingdom of God use and invest all that they have in this world—their time, finances, talents, and more—not for a comfortable and abundant life in this world, but for eternal life in the kingdom of God. That’s what Paul meant when he said, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2Co 4:18) But, because we live in the world, it’s hard for us to keep this eternal perspective. We are more easily influenced by what we see than what we don't see. We may feel that what we see now with our eyes is more realistic. But just because it's invisible doesn't mean it's any less real. In fact, many of the essential things in our lives are invisible, but they are real. That's why we should pay more attention to the things we can't see than to the things we do see. As the world becomes more secular, Christians can easily be caught up in the wave of secularization. For secularized Christians, the major decisions in their lives are influenced more by worldly values than by God's will. When faced with important decisions in their lives such as what to study, what job to have, whom to marry, and where to live, they use worldly values rather than God's will as the basis for their decisions. For them, faith is just one option, not a comprehensive framework that guides all their life decisions. For them, faith is nothing more than a hobby that they can give up at any time. That’s the reality we’re facing now. We're so influenced by the world that we often don't even realize that we're being influenced. That’s not the way God wants us to live. He wants us to be courageous. He wants us not to be influenced by the world. He doesn’t want us to live by its values. That’s the reason He gave us His word. The more we read and meditate on His word, the more we are influenced by the values of God's kingdom that we find in it. We will pay more attention to things unseen, and the important decisions in our lives will be based on the values of the kingdom of God. As a result, we will be courageous people of God who are not influenced by the world. That’s who God wants us to be. Then, what does it mean to be strong? Being strong is to actively influence the world beyond simply not being influenced by it. We Christians are to be the ones who influence the world with our faith in God. When we put the values of the kingdom of God first rather than living according to the values of the world, when we seek God's will first rather than seeking our own will and personal happiness, the nonbelievers around us will be influenced by our choices and the way we live our lives according to the values of the kingdom of God. When we make choices that they would not make, when we make choices that are more meaningful than worldly choices, they will see our choices and be amazed. They will see the values of God's kingdom in our decisions, how beautiful it is to pursue and live them out, and they will be drawn to them. That’s the kind of life we’re to live as people of the kingdom of God. After the last supper, when Jesus prayed for the disciples, He said, “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.” (Jn 17:14) I think this verse does a great job explaining Christian identity. Christians are those who live in the world but not of the world. They are in the world, but they don’t follow the values of the world. Rather, they seek and follow the values of the kingdom of God that they find in God’s word. We are called to build God's kingdom in the world. We are called to live differently. We are set apart for God’s purpose and called to live distinguished lives that reflect God’s holiness. To do this, God has forgiven our sins through Jesus Christ and sent the Holy Spirit to enlighten us with His word of truth and empower us to obey it. That’s what makes us strong and courageous in the world. Only God’s word can do that. Just as God sent Jesus, Jesus sends us to the world and gives us the mission to fight against evil and build God’s kingdom. But, there are many things that hinder us from participating in God’s mission. There are many things that make us afraid. So we should keep in mind what God said to Joshua because that’s what God wants to say to us right now. God’s telling us, “Be strong and courageous because I’m with you.” We should know that even though our strength is very weak, we can be much stronger than who we are if God is with us. So, please don’t be afraid of things in the world. Don’t be affected by them, but affect them with God’s word of truth. Don’t step back as the Israelites did at Kadesh Barnea, but go forward toward the promised land, relying on the power of the Holy Spirit, who helps us. God promised to be with us. Jesus also promised to be with us always to the end of the age. I want everyone gathered here to be true people of the kingdom of God, courageous and strong. Rather than being influenced by the world, I want us to shine God’s light into the world through His word, so that His kingdom can be built through our lives. May God be with us always and make us strong and courageous. Let’s pray. [Prayer] Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us this amazing opportunity to worship You and listen to Your word. Thank You for faithfully guiding us and preparing our way ahead of us. Please let us know that You are with us so that we can do great things beyond our own strength, and give us courage to actually jump into Your mission for the world. Lord, we confess our sinful nature and weaknesses. We don’t have the power to overcome things that make us afraid by ourselves. We don’t have the strength within us to fight against the ways of the world. So, please let us know that You’re always with us and help us to be strong and courageous so that we can boldly go into the world with Your almighty power. Guard our minds and hearts against worldly values. Let us be firmly grounded in Your word of truth and give us strength to live by it so that we may shine Your light on this dark world. We thank You again for letting us take part in Your mission to build Your kingdom in the world. We love You, Lord. In Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen. [Reflection Questions] 1) What are some of the big decisions you have to make in your life right now? What are the most important factors that go into making them? 2) Are you influenced by the world or do you influence the world? What do you need right now to be a strong, courageous Christian who can influence the world rather than be influenced by it? “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. 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. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Jos 1:7-9)
For the last few weeks, we talked about what it means for us to become new creations in Christ and how we should live as children of light. Today, we’ll return to what we were originally talking about—the kingdom of God. Let’s briefly review what we’ve discussed. The kingdom of God is essential in understanding the gospel of Jesus Christ because the gospel exists for the greater purpose of God establishing His kingdom on earth. The first thing Jesus proclaimed as He started His ministry in earnest was the good news of the kingdom of God. He came to the world to announce that the kingdom of God had come with Him. And in order to fulfill the good news of the kingdom of God, He was crucified and resurrected from the dead. Then, what is the kingdom of God? The kingdom of God is not a spiritual place where only our souls enter after death. The kingdom of God has already come with the first coming of Jesus, is coming now through the work of the Holy Spirit, and will perfectly come true when Jesus returns. In the Scriptures, the word “kingdom” refers to three things. First, it refers to the people ruled by God. Second, it’s where He places His people. Third, and most importantly, the kingdom of God refers to His sovereignty and His reign. So, the kingdom of God can be defined as wherever God’s people are as they willingly submit to His sovereignty. The kingdom of God is where His will is done as it is in heaven. All the themes and stories in the Bible are related to the kingdom of God. The story of the entire Bible can be summarized as God building His kingdom through His people who believe in Him and follow Him. After creating the world, God made human beings in His image so that they could rule over all of His other creatures with love and care. The mission given to the first humans was to take good care of the world as God’s representatives so that it may continue to be good in His sight, just as it was created. Even when they failed because of sin, God didn’t give up on ruling over the world through His people. So, from the moment sin entered the world, God’s mission goes in two directions. The first direction is to solve the problem of sin and make His people holy, and the second is to continue to rule over the world and build His kingdom through His people that He chose, cleansed, and set apart. But these two ministries are not separate. In fact, the first mission, the salvation of people from their sins, exists to serve the second one, the establishment of the kingdom of God. That's why we can say that the gospel of Jesus Christ exists for the kingdom of God. It’s true that Jesus came to the world to save us from our sins. He bore our sins and died on the cross so that all those who believe in Him can be freely justified by God’s grace. That’s the gospel of Jesus Christ that we should all know about. But, at the same time, we should also know that Jesus had a bigger purpose in saving us. What Jesus really wanted to achieve through His death and resurrection was much greater than the salvation of individuals. He wanted to make us truly righteous people of God, reconciled with Him through His blood, who would willingly surrender our lives to God’s sovereignty and His will and strive to build His kingdom on earth through our obedience and good works. So, since Jesus accomplished the work of salvation, now God reigns over the world, building His kingdom on earth through His people who are justified and sanctified through His precious blood and the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s why Jesus proclaimed as He began His ministry in earnest, “The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mk 1:15) And, when Jesus comes back, the kingdom of God will perfectly come true on earth, and we’ll reign with Him forever. That's the story of the whole Bible, and it's also the story of mankind. The relationship between God’s salvation and His kingdom is also evident in the Israelites’ exodus and their conquest of the land of Canaan. The reason God led the Israelites out of Egypt wasn't just that they were suffering because of slavery. What He really wanted to do through the people of Israel was to build His kingdom in a land full of wickedness. At the time, the land of Canaan was full of evil. Evil practices such as sacrificing children in fire, incest, adultery, idolatry, homosexuality, and bestiality were pervasive in the land. God used the Israelites to drive these practices out of the land and establish His kingdom based on His will. That's the essence of the Israelites' exodus and conquest of Canaan. So, the conquest of Canaan can be understood as God's counterattack against a sinful world, the expansion of His kingdom, and the spreading of the blessing of salvation through His people. For the Israelites to fulfill this role, they would need to abandon the cultures, practices, and values of the surrounding nations and prepare themselves with the new identity God gave them, His character, and His word. That's why God didn't take the Israelites to the promised land immediately after the exodus. He wanted them to be prepared as the people of His kingdom before they entered Canaan. Most of the preparation took place at Mount Sinai. There, God did three important things that were essential to preparing the Israelites as His people. First, God gave them His laws. God wanted to drive out evil practices and show His holiness through the lives of the Israelites, and that was only possible when they followed His holy commands. The kingdom of God wouldn’t come when the Israelites physically defeated the Canaanites and took their land, but when the Israelites lived in holiness by following God's laws, which reflect God's holiness, rather than the cultures, customs, or ways of the world. Second, God made a covenant with them through the Book of the Covenant and the blood of the covenant. God didn't just give the Israelites His law; He also established a special relationship with them through the covenant. Here, we see two important things God works through to build His kingdom on earth—His commands and His promise. The weakness of laws is that their fulfillment depends on the person who receives it, not on the person who gives it. No matter how good the commandments God gave to the Israelites were, if they didn’t keep them, the law would become useless. That's why God also uses covenants and promises along with commands to accomplish His purposes. Unlike a command, the fulfillment of a promise depends on the one who makes the promise, not on the one who receives it. So God uses both commands and promises. The kingdom of God is established where God's people, brought into a relationship with Him through His covenant, obey His word and trust His promises. Third, God gave the Israelites His presence through the tabernacle. God was always with the Israelites, even when they didn't have the tabernacle, but He commanded the Israelites to make the tabernacle so that they would know that His presence was with them. The tabernacle was a tangible way God manifested His presence among His people. We also need God’s presence in order to truly live as His people. Even though we have His word and His promises, if we live without His presence, we’ll ultimately fail. We cannot live out God’s word unless He gives us strength. We cannot defeat our enemies unless God fights with us. We cannot escape danger unless God protects us. We cannot find our way unless God directs our path. That’s the reason we should continue to acknowledge and practice the presence of God in our lives. We can practice the presence of God by consciously making ourselves aware of His presence and living as if God is right in front of us. That’s what the term “Coram Deo” conveys; it means “before the face of God” or “in the presence of God.” To live in the presence of God is to understand that wherever we are and whatever we do, we are living under the gaze of God. So, these are the three things that God gave the Israelites to prepare them to be His holy people before guiding them to the land of Canaan: His word, His covenant and promise, and His presence. These, then, are the things that we should also seek in order to establish His kingdom according to His will. If we remain in God's presence, trusting in His promises, seeking His will, and obeying His word, God will establish His kingdom through our lives wherever we are. That’s the purpose for which He saved us from our sins. That’s the calling we’ve received as Christians. Beyond the Wilderness to the Land of Canaan All right. That’s what we’ve talked about for the last few months. So far, we've been looking at the meaning of the wilderness and the preparation we need to make as God's people. Now, before we shift our attention to the land of Canaan, there's one thing I want to point out. In total, the Israelites lived in the wilderness for 40 years, but they originally weren't supposed to be there for that long. It took the Israelites one year to reach Mount Sinai after leaving Egypt, and after God prepared them to be His people at Mount Sinai, He didn't keep them in the desert for long. Rather, He led them straight to Kadesh Barnea. Kadesh Barnea was like an entrance to the land of Canaan. There, God commanded the Israelites to enter and conquer the land. But the Israelites refused because they were afraid of the people who lived there. That’s why they wandered in the wilderness for 38 years. What we can see from this is that God had originally planned to prepare the Israelites in the wilderness for about two years.. The 38 years were added simply because of their disobedience. This means that preparing ourselves to become God's people and build His kingdom after we are saved shouldn’t take that long. I said that the story of the exodus illustrates our spiritual journey of faith. In a spiritual sense, Egypt represents the ways of the world that we once followed as slaves of sin and Satan, the wilderness is the place of training to become people of the kingdom of God, and the land of Canaan refers to the world into which we are to go and build God’s kingdom by following His will, obeying His word, and fighting against evil. Of course, the Israelites had to spend time in the wilderness before entering the land of Canaan. But as mentioned earlier, that time was only for preparation. We don't have to spend a long time in the wilderness. Training in the wilderness is important, but it is not the essential battle we are called to as God's people. The real battle we are called to fight is not in the wilderness, but in Canaan. God didn't take the Israelites out of Egypt to keep them in the wilderness. He delivered them out of slavery in Egypt to bring them to the promised land in Canaan. In this way, God didn’t save us to keep us in the wilderness; He has called us to go into the land of Canaan, resist evil, and establish His kingdom there. If we've been walking in faith for a while, it's time to move out of the wilderness and into the land of Canaan. Hebrews 6:1-2 says, “Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.” (Heb 6:1-2) Repentance, faith in God, cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgement are important subjects we need to know about as Christians. But the author of Hebrews calls them “elementary teachings.” They are important to know, but our faith should not be limited to studying them over and over again. We should move beyond our elementary faith and pursue a more mature faith. In other words, our faith should not remain in the wilderness. If we have been trained in the wilderness, then we should quickly move on to the land of Canaan, because that's where God wants to send us. The battle Israel fought in the wilderness was about whether they would follow God's will or follow the ways of the world and their own desires. The question they faced in the wilderness was whether to eat the manna that God was giving them or to return to Egypt and eat the delicious food they once had eaten there. These are the kinds of thoughts that only people in the beginning stages of their faith have. It would be really sad if our faith stayed at that level and didn't grow throughout our lives. How silly would it be if college students were still studying addition and subtraction? Addition and subtraction are important, but they're not what college students should be studying. They're only the basics. But many Christians still live out their faith like college students learning addition and subtraction over and over again. As we grow older in our faith, the issues that we’re interested in should change. We need to move from caring about the things of the world to caring about the things that God cares about. How long will you waver between the values of the world and the values of God's kingdom? Will you choose to invest the precious time God has given you today in reading, meditating, praying, and building your relationship with Him, or will you choose to invest it in worldly things like social media that only please you temporarily? Will you choose to use the time and resources God has given you for God or for yourself? If we are still asking these questions, it means that our faith is still in its infancy. Hebrews 5:12-14 says, “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” (Heb 5:12-14) Now, it’s time for us to leave our wilderness and go into the world, where the real fight is waiting for us. It’s time for us to wean and start eating solid foods. Our concern should not be whether or not to read the Bible today; that’s fundamental. Rather, our battle should be in how we apply and live out what we learn from His word each day. I want us to look back on our lives now. What do you care about most right now as a Christian? What are the battles you are fighting right now as a Christian? How much do you desire to see God's kingdom come in your life, and what are you doing to make it happen? We should leave the wilderness and go into the world to build God’s kingdom there. God is telling us, “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. 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. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Jos 1:7-9) I want us to renew our minds now. Rather than rebuilding the foundations of our faith, I want us to trust and rely on God who is always with us, and move boldly into the world wherever He sends us. I believe that is God's will for us today. Let’s pray. [Prayer] Heavenly Father, we thank You for speaking to us today through Your word and enabling us to hear Your voice and know Your will. Lord, do not let our faith remain in the elementary stages. Let us not remain in the wilderness, but help us move beyond immature faith to the full-grown faith that You really want us to have. Let us no longer be torn between the world and You, but let our eyes be fixed on the very thing that You are looking at right now, so that we may go into the world with Your heart and establish Your kingdom everywhere we go. We are so frail and so lacking. Please give us hearts that long for eternity so that we may always seek Your will. May Your will be done and Your kingdom be established through our lives. Train us, send us out into the world, and enable us to fight boldly with You through the strength You give us. Thank You for always being with us. We pray in the precious name of Jesus Christ, Amen. [Reflection Questions] 1) What battle are you fighting right now as a Christian? Is that battle in the wilderness or in Canaan? 2) Is your faith a rudimentary faith or a mature faith? What do you think you need in order to move beyond the battle in the wilderness and into the land of Canaan? |