By: Dale Weckbacher
Joshua 1:2
“Moses my servant is
dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the
land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.
(ESV)
Matthew
28:19-20 represents Jesus’ final instructions to the Church as He is about
to leave to be with the Father. This
parallels what Joshua experienced with the death of Moses as the
responsibilities of ministry now fall upon him.
In each instance, the successor(s) are asked to continue the work of their
predecessor. For the disciples this
involves making disciples through evangelization evidenced by water baptism, equipping
them through teaching the commands of God contained in the Bible, encouragement
that God is always with them, and empowerment through the Holy Spirit.
The same four E’s of discipleship
are present in God’s commission of Joshua as we see a belief in God by Joshua
through serving as a dedicated assistant of Moses (Joshua
1:1). God then equips Joshua through
giving him a calling to lead the people into the Promised Land, encouraging
Joshua to lead through study, meditation, and obedience to the Word of God, and
empowerment knowing the Lord will be with him wherever he goes. While the commission of Jesus in both Mark
16:15 and Matthew
28:19-20 was given to the eleven Disciples, the spreading of the Gospel and
the disciples made by it continue in the Church to this day. Every believer in Jesus as their Savior has a
calling to participate in the spreading of the Gospel and just like Joshua,
must have the courage to,
1) Serve
within our calling from God based upon our gifts (Joshua
1:6; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11) – Both Joshua and Caleb demonstrated an ability
to see beyond the challenges of a situation to a belief God could overcome the
challenges (Numbers
13:25-33; Numbers 14:5-9). Both Joshua
and Caleb possess the gift of faith (1
Corinthians 12:9) believing God has the power to overcome enemies that
appear overpowering. David also
demonstrated this gift as he faced Goliath (1
Samuel 17:31-37). Those in ministry will
face challenges that could even be life-threatening as they were for the early church,
but God has equipped each believer with a unique set of spiritual gifts. The key is for each believer to find their
gifts through wise counsel from elders in the church (1
Timothy 4:14-15).
2) Live
spiritually disciplined lives in obedience to God and His Word (Joshua
1:7-8) – God encourages Joshua to be strong and very courageous by being
careful to do according to all the Law of God given to Moses and passed on to
Joshua as his assistant. Not only does
God’s Word bring encouragement (Psalm
1:1-2) to a believer as they minister but also equips them to know the path
of their ministry and service to God (Psalm
119:105). The courage Joshua would
receive as he meditated on and obeyed the Word of God would bring him success
as he faced the many enemies currently occupying the Promised Land.
3) Know
God is with us for his Spirit lives within us (Joshua
1:9) – Joshua would find courage through knowing God would be with him
wherever he went (Joshua
1:9). While this seems simple to do,
when in a crisis or facing a challenge, it is not our natural reaction with us
instead, believing we are alone and must solve the problem using our abilities
or gifts. We can also begin believing we
can solve a problem based upon past experience, something Joshua will encounter
with Ai (Joshua
7:1-9) with Joshua not inquiring of the Lord first and having the Lord
reveal the sin of Achan. No matter how
much we may believe we can handle a situation without first inquiring of God,
it is always wise to inquire of God, making Him part of what we do. This is even more important in ministry.
Followers or disciples of Christ go
through a four E process. The process
begins with evangelism as one is convicted of their sins that separate them
from God, carrying a death penalty (Romans
3:23; 6:23). At this point a person
has a choice to accept the gift of grace from God that leads to eternal life (Ephesians
2:8-9; John 3:16) or rejection of God’s gift and suffer condemnation (John
3:18). To accept this gift, one must
make a public profession of their belief in the death burial and resurrection
of Jesus Christ (Romans
10:9-10). If you have never done so,
I encourage you to do so now by praying with me,
Dear Lord Jesus, I
know I have sinned (Romans
3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my
sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe you died, spent
three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord
of my life.
The process of discipleship does
not stop with evangelism but continues as believers in Jesus as their savior
are equipped, encouraged, and empowered to participate in the ministry of
spreading the Gospel message and making disciples. Equipping occurs through the discovery of one’s
gifting (1
Corinthians 12:1-11) and study and meditation on the Word of God as it enlightens
our path (Psalm
119:105). God’s Word also provides
encouragement which for Joshua would have come through studying and meditating
on the accounts of how God delivered the Israelites from Egypt. Empowerment occurs by knowing that God is
with us (Acts
1:8). However, we must not be
spectator disciples but active disciples participating in the spreading of the
Gospel and making disciples using the unique combination of gifts God has given
us. May God help us get off the bench
and into active participation by allowing God to evangelize, equip, encourage,
and empower us.
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