THE JOSHUA GENERATION - A "DIVINE IMPACT" ON SOCIETY

It is interesting to discover that Joshua is the only man in the Bible who was honored with same name as Christ. Numbers 13:16 states that God placed His name within the name of Joshua. Joshua's name was originally OSHEA, but Moses changed it to Joshua, a name that reflected his character. He was a warrior (Exodus 17:9 and 14) and a worshiper (Exodus 33). The name Oshea combined with the name of God-Yah-is Joshua. Joshua's generation was the shadow of the future substance of our wonderful Lord Jesus, whom we follow. Just as Joshua was a man with God's name upon him, we are a people with God's name upon us. Joshua's generation was the generation that fought and conquered the enemies of God. They carried out a "divine attack" on society. WE TOO, ARE CALLED TO FULFILL GOD'S purposes - penetrating the spiritual darkness that pervades this world. HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE BATTLE Everything in the Old Testament is simply a shadow to what is substance in the New Testament. They had the shadow, and we have the substance. Joshua gave the people four important instructions that we, too, must follow in order to be prepared for spiritual battle: 1. FEED ON THE WORD. Joshua told the people, "... Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which is the Lord your God giveth you to possess it". (Joshua 1:11) Joshua said this because the people needed to take food with them to keep up their physical strength in the natural realm. But Jesus, our Great Commander, tells us, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God”. (Matthew 4:4). The first thing you and I must do as we prepare to move into spiritual battle is to feed on the Word of God and get it in our spirit. 2. REMEMBER THE WORD. Joshua told the people: “Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, the LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you the land.” (Joshua 1:13) The second thing we must do is remember the promises of God to us. God gave the Israelites the Promised Land, but we have an even greater promise from God: “ According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be parttakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2 Peter 1:3-4) 3. CATCH A VISION. In Joshua 2:1 we find the third key to successful invasion. Joshua instructed two men to spy out the land. He knew there could be no possession with out vision. The spies caught the vision and declared, “Truly the Lord hath delivered into our hands all the land, for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.” (Joshua 2:24) Jesus commands his people to “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” (Matthew 28:19) This is the vision of our generation- winning souls for His Kingdom. 4. SANCTIFY YOURSELF. In Joshua 3:5, Joshua instructed the people to sanctify themselves so they would be ready for what God was going to do. The fourth key to impacting society is to sanctify yourself – reject sin and begin to live a holy life. Scripture declares: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into marvellous light.” (1 Peter 2:9) GOD’S COMMANDS TO THE JOSHUA GENERATION After the death of Moses, God spoke to Joshua and commanded: “…now therefore ARISE, GO OVER THIS JORDAN, thou and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your feet shall TREAD UPON, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. (Joshua 1:2-3) God told Joshua three things: 1) ARISE 2) GO OVER 3) TREAD. This is the message of the hour as God raises up a new generation to impact society. As the book of Joshua opens, we find Israel encamped at Shittim – a place that is symbolic of the flesh. They had been there before (Numbers 25), and because of sin, had returned to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. But in Joshua 2, Joshua led Israel OUT OF Shittim and across Jordan. Shittim speaks of the flesh. Jordan speaks of the spirit. It was at Jordan that Elijah was caught up into Heaven. At Jordan, Elisha received a double portion. At Jordan, Jesus was baptized and the Spirit of God descended upon Him. And it was at Jordan that the people passed over from the flesh into Spirit realm. Once God’s people had arisen and gone over, they were commanded to “tread” . Once you arise and move out in the Spirit, the Bible declares you can tread on scorpions and serpents because you have the power “over all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19). They entered the Promised Land with the presence of God represented by the ark. WE go forth with the presence of God in our earthen vessel, a body of clay filled with the divine power of the Holy Ghost (2 Corinthians 4:7). Inside the Ark of Covenant were the tables of stone and the rod that budded, symbolic of the Word and resurrection power of God. The enemies of God were destroyed because of God’s presence symbolized by the ark and its contents (Numbers 10:35). As you go forth with the Word of God and with His resurrection power abiding in you, you too, will have a divine impact upon society. God told Joshua, “If you will RISE, If you will GO OVER, If you will TREAD – no one will able to stand before you!” Are you ready to invade the enemy’s territory? Are you ready to have a divine impact upon your community..and in your home….and on your Job? PASSING OVER JORDAN When the Joshua generation passed over Jordan to possess the land, It was HARVEST TIME and the Jordan River was at flood levels. As soon as the priest’s feet touched the water, the way opened for Israel to cross on dry ground. When the leaders stepped into the current, the waters rolled back 30 miles north to the city of Adam. There is a tremendous spiritual truth in what happened to Israel at the Jordan. When you leave the flesh behind and cross over into the realm of the Spirit, God vipes away your past right back to Adam! The Joshua generation’s crossing is a shadow of the substance to come. The real time harvest began when Jesus was baptised in the Jordan and began His public ministry. Jesus said, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest”. (Luke 10:2) When Israel crossed over to Jordan, they erected two memorials. Twelve stones were taken from the WILDERNESS SIDE and erected in the middle of Jordan where the priests stood with the Ark while Israel crossed. Twelve NEW STONES were taken from the River and erected in a memorial on the other side of Jordan (Joshua 4). These two memorials symbolize what we leave and what we press on to in our walk of faith. Our new life in Christ and new covenant is taken out of the waters and established in the promised Land. We are part of new covenant – THE JOSHUA GENERATION. The Joshua generation was a generation that fought and conquered the enemies in the Promised Land. We are commanded by our wonderful Lord Jesus to fight and conquer spiritual darkness. Just as Joshua led the nation of Israel across the Jordan by the light of the day, we should show our faith in the light of the day. Jesus aid, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.” (Matthew 5:14) We can learn to do what Joshua did in order to see the glory of God revealed in our life and in the lives of those who we touch. We can learn how to have a Joshua spirit and go on to conquer in the power of the Holy Spirit.