A Life Well-Lived

A Life Well-Lived

#19 in Series: "Learning from the Past, Preparing for the Future" (A Study in the Book of Joshua)

We will conclude our study of the book of Joshua, by thinking about the man Joshua…

The study of the OT, the history and the people, prove to be of great benefit for the Christian… Those who want to dismiss the OT need to be reminded of what is said in the NT about it –

1 Corinthians 10:11
Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

Romans 15:4
For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

God has preserved much of the history of His people in His Word. He equips and encourages His people today, with the instruction we are given from His Word!…

Years ago I heard –

Vance Havner say – "Organizations start out as a man, become a movement, turn into a machine, and end up a monument."

It is a statement that often describes the natural lifecycle of human organizations. It is what happens when that organization loses its original focus and energy… They become rigid and institution-focused, rather than mission-motivated…

Let's think about Havner's statement for a moment… The man – is a charismatic pioneer who gets a vision and gets others to join him… The movement begins when the vision catches on, and draws passionate followers and they begin to experience rapid, organic momentum… The machine phase comes when the attempt to "manage growth" begins, and the movement institutes formal rules, processes, and bureaucracy… After a period of time, usually when complacency settles in, you begin to see … the monument. The original vision dies, leaving behind a rigid, lifeless structure that exists only to maintain itself or celebrate the past…

Most of us are old enough to remember such companies as Eastern Kodak, Blockbuster Video, and MySpace… They aren't the only ones… Sears, Montgomery Ward, and Safeway Groceries… They were once powerhouse companies that, for one reason or another, became relics of their former selfs… The challenge is for organizations … or even local churches, is to constantly pull themselves back to the vision and purpose for its existance… And it takes men and women with vision, to constantly renew the momentum needed for the organization to thrive…

D.L. Moody was the famed 19th century evangelist, that God used to touch two contents for Christ. He said that he heard a famous quote from Henry Varley that changed his life… Varley said –

Henry Varley – "The world has yet to see what God can do with and for and through and in a man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him."

Moody's response to that statement was; "By God's grace, I'll be that man!"

Every generation … Every church needs men and women who want to be that person!…

Joshua was that kind of man in his day!

We have spent the past several months studying the book of Joshua. Our theme has been – Learning from the past, preparing for the future… We have learned much in our verse-by-verse study, and today, in our final message in this series, we are going to focus on Joshua himself!

Our text concludes that –

Joshua 24:29-30
29 It came about after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old. 30 And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of Mount Gaash.

110 years is a long life… When you think of such a life-span in terms of days, it is just more than 40,000 days…

I've always thought that "numbering our days" –

Psalm 90:12
So teach us to number our days,
That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.

– was rather … sobering. When we think of a life-span in terms of years, 110 is a long life. But, somehow thinking of a life-span in terms of days, in Joshua's case, not much more than 40,000 days, strikes us with the sobering blow that life is … short!

James says it well –

James 4:14
Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.

The point is, whatever the amount of days the Lord gives us, we have but one life-time. That life is to be lived well – with joy, and purpose!…

We should all examine our own lives, our own motives for life, and consider the question; Am I living life … well?

Joshua serves as one of those positive examples in Scripture, from whom we ought to learn from, and follow after…

Our approach today is a rather "broad-brush" approach in painting a portrait of what a well-lived life looks like…

Joshua demonstrated several character traits that all work together to form a well-lived life! They are truths, that should be true of all of God's people!

We begin with –

1. A Life of Faith and Courage

We are coupling these traits together… because they go together… Stay with me here…

We begin with faith, because it is the most important! Without faith, life becomes a dead end road… Think with me about this concept for a moment… People have the mistaken notion that faith is simply a "commitment to believe", and that what you believe is not as important as your sincerity in believing it!…

If that were so, then it really wouldn't matter what one believed… The Musilm facing Mecca, the Catholic praying the Rosary, or even the ballplayer who wears his unwashed superstitious socks – would all be considered exercising "faith"…

No, it's not "faith in faith", that counts… It is the object of faith that makes the difference!

Joshua's faith was not in himself, his abilities, or even his emotions… His faith was in God!

Listen to just one example of the mature faith he demonstrated… In Numbers 13, we read of how Joshua and Caleb were selected, along with 10 other representatives from the tribes of Israel, to cross over into Canaan land, spy it out, and bring back report… You remember the rest of the story… Only Joshua and Caleb gave the report that the land was good for claiming… The "majority" report was that the people in Canaan were too vast, strong, and big, and that Israel was ill-equipped to conquer it… The majority report as adopted – but listen to Joshua and Caleb's response –

Numbers 14:6-9
6 Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; 7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, "The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—a land which flows with milk and honey. 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them."

THAT was a true expression of faith! It was not faith in faith, or faith in self, or faith in anything / anyone… It was faith in the One True God, Who had promised this land to His people!…

Joshua, and Caleb both demonstrated what true faith looks like, in the face of so much unbelief!… They stayed focused on God's promises, and not peoples' pessimism…

Faith sees beyond circumstances to God's promises, and power… Believers must choose whether to focus on problems or promises.

This faith is a persuasion – a convincing – a conviction… It is the knowledge that God is God, His ways are right, His promises are true!… It is a faith that endures, even when … surrounded by those who lack such faith!…

Joshua … and Caleb were men of faith! Are you?…

The internal faith that possessed Joshua … produces the ability to display external courage!…

We can't even think about this concept without being reminded of God's Word given directly to Joshua early in his assignment to lead –

Joshua 1:6-7
6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.

And then again in verse :9 –

Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Joshua needed courage to be able to stand against what seemed to be overwhelming odds, when it came to facing the enemy… It also took courage to address the sin within the camp (Joshua 7)!

It took Joshua being courageous, in order for the nation to become courageous in going forward in the battles that awaited them!

Mark Twain once said – "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear"

In his commentary on the book of Philippians, MacArthur makes the profound observation that –

John MacArthur – "Courage is contagious"

If you need courage… get around people of faith!… A life well-lived is a life … founded in faith – as Jude said –

Jude :3
Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.

Joshua was a man of faith – that faith!…

Next, let's think about how Joshua demonstrated –

2. A Life of Humility and Submission

We see a lot of evidence that Joshua had the right understanding of his role, his place… under authority!

Listen to –

Exodus 24:13
So Moses arose with Joshua his servant, and Moses went up to the mountain of God.

Moses was a servant of God, and Joshua was a servant of Moses… Learning submission to authority in his life, prepared him to become a man of authority later!

Later, after Moses had passed, and the Lord made it known that Joshua was the new leader, we see a profound demonstration of his submission to the Lord –

Joshua 5:13-15
13 Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us or for our adversaries?" 14 He said, "No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, "What has my lord to say to his servant?" 15 The captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua, "Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

I remember hearing –

Adrian Rogers said – "You will never be over those things that God has put under you, until you get under those things that God has put over you."

Warren Wiersbe writes – "Joshua knew how to submit to authority… God's pattern for leadership is summarized in Matthew 25:21, and that pattern still stands today: when we prove ourselves faithful as servants over a few things, then God can make us rulers over many things. Joshua was able to give orders because he'd learned how to take orders… During the first half of his life, he obeyed Moses, and during the last half, he received his orders from the Lord. The key verse in Joshua's life was, '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' (Josh. 1:7 niv). This should be balanced with 11:15, 'As the Lord commanded Moses, his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses.'"

So far, we see in Joshua's example, that a life well-lived is a life of faith, courage, humility, and submission… We also see in him, that such a life is –

3. A Life of Obedience and Perseverance

You might immediately think that we've already talked about this… After all, isn't submission and obedience pretty much the same thing? Not always the same thing. Submission is the proper attitude. Obedience is the proper action!… Submission leads to obedience… Sometimes, people may obey a command, and know nothing of submission in the heart.

Joshua has already demonstrated a submission in his heart that enables him to openly, courageously obey the Lord's commands! Joshua didn't have to understand the reasoning behind the Lord's commands – he was simply charged to obey them!

When we look at the events in Joshua 6 –

(Joshua 6:1-20)

– we learned about how the Lord brought about the victory in the first campaign after the crossing of the Jordan… The Lord chose unconventional methods, and called for unconditional obedience!… The victory would not have been won, without the simple and direct obedience of the people!

God's methods may not always make sense to human reasoning, but obedience opens the door for God's power.

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

After the victory at Jericho, you recall there came the defeat at Ai… It was due to willful disobedience on the part of Achan, which resulted in the embarrassing defeat in Ai – and ultimately his own judgement… What did Joshua do? He "admitted failure, sought the face of the Lord, went back, and won the battle. When he foolishly made a league with the Gibeonites, he admitted his mistake and put it to work for him. The successful leader isn't the one who is always right, because no such person exists. Successful leaders are people who make the best decisions they can and keep on going when they make mistakes. They learn from their mistakes and know how to snatch victory out of defeat." (Wiersbe)

A stumble does not necessarily become a pattern – and Ai was such a stumble… The pattern was established over years of courageous obedience. THAT is perseverance!

Joshua 11:23
So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses, and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. Thus the land had rest from war.

There is at least one more couplet – one more set of character traits about Joshua that illustrate for us what a life well-lived looks like… And that is, Joshua exhibited –

4. A Life of Worship and Faithfulness

We have seen how Joshua is a man of God. He was steeped in faith. He lives a life of courage, humility, and ongoing obedience… How does a man maintain that?… How is it that a man, or woman of God, can have a robust, spiritual stamina needed to forever sustain them throughout the various mountains and valleys of life?…

We do know two things that Joshua maintained that sustained him throughout – and that is … God's Word, and prayer.

We saw how Joshua was given the instruction in –

Joshua 1:8
This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.

As you follow Joshua's life, you see the evidence that he was growing in his knowledge of God's Word, and a continual submission to it!

I believe Joshua learned the truth that was later pinned by King David –

Psalm 1:1-3
1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.

3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.

It is Joshua's healthy appetite for God's Word that sustains him!… And get this… you can't saturate your mind with the Word of God without encountering the God of the Word!

I came across a quote from Sinclair Ferguson that I believe explains this in a profound way –

Sinclair Ferguson – "The foundation of worship in the heart is not emotional ('I feel full of worship' or 'The atmosphere is so worshipful'). Actually, it is theological. Worship is not something we 'work up,' it is something that 'comes down' to us, from the character of God."

Joshua … and you … encounter God when you are saturated with the Word of God!…

Joshua also had a prayer life! The challenges he faced certainly drove him to it! The best example of that is found in –

Joshua 7:6-9
6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. 7 Joshua said, "Alas, O Lord God, why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned their back before their enemies? 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name?"

Listen, Joshua demonstrated the integrity of worship and faithfulness –

Joshua 11:15
Just as the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses

Now, there is something important that we need to acknowledge… We are talking about a pattern of life – not unwavering perfection … Joshua stumbled at times … everyone does. But the difference is Joshua stood up again – learned from his stumbles – and left a legacy of faithfulness!

Joshua's life reveals what God can do through a person who trusts and obeys Him. He began as a servant, became a leader, conquered obstacles through faith, learned from failure, and finished well.

His legacy reminds believers that God's promises are reliable, God's presence is sufficient, and God's purposes are accomplished through faithful obedience.

• Are you serving faithfully where God has placed you?
• Are you trusting God's promises even in the face of your fears?
• Are you willing to obey even when God's instructions are difficult?
• Will you, like Joshua, declare: "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD"?

Questions to Consider in Community Group:

• What part of Joshua's life or character stood out to you most from this study?
• The sermon quoted Vance Havner: "Organizations start out as a man, become a movement, turn into a machine, and end up a monument." Where have you seen this pattern in organizations, churches, or even personal spiritual lives?
• How does faith in God produce courage in difficult circumstances?
• Can you think of a time when trusting God gave you courage to do something difficult?
• How would you explain the difference between biblical faith and mere optimism or positive thinking?
• How did Joshua's years of serving Moses prepare him for leadership?
• Why can submission be difficult in our culture today?
• What is the difference between humility and weakness?
• What is the difference between submission and obedience?
• Why did God's instructions for conquering Jericho require faith-filled obedience?
• Why is it important to remember that a faithful life is not a perfect life?
• How does Proverbs 3:5 challenge our tendency to rely on our own understanding?
• Sinclair Ferguson said worship begins with God's character rather than our emotions. How does that change your understanding of worship?
• How does regular exposure to God's Word strengthen faithfulness over time?
• What habits help believers remain faithful throughout the ups and downs of life?
• What is one specific lesson from the book of Joshua that you want to carry forward into your own walk with God?