Joshua 18-19: Don't be content with partial victory

Theological Proposition/Focus: God desires his people to be Christ-like and continues to push us forward in growth.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: We have a tendency to declare victory once we have finished the easy part. In our spiritual growth, we must not declare victory simply because we are ready to be done.

Introduction:

Setting the Stage:

Joshua wisely noted the war weariness

With this in mind, let me read the passage to you and then we will talk through a few key ideas.

Body

The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The country was brought under their control, 2 but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had not yet received their inheritance. 3 So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you? 4 Appoint three men from each tribe. I will send them out to make a survey of the land and to write a description of it, according to the inheritance of each. Then they will return to me. 5 You are to divide the land into seven parts. Judah is to remain in its territory on the south and the tribes of Joseph in their territory on the north. 6 After you have written descriptions of the seven parts of the land, bring them here to me and I will cast lots for you in the presence of the LORD our God. 7 The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service of the LORD is their inheritance. And Gad, Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan. Moses the servant of the LORD gave it to them.” 8 As the men started on their way to map out the land, Joshua instructed them, “Go and make a survey of the land and write a description of it. Then return to me, and I will cast lots for you here at Shiloh in the presence of the LORD.” 9 So the men left and went through the land. They wrote its description on a scroll, town by town, in seven parts, and returned to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh. 10 Joshua then cast lots for them in Shiloh in the presence of the LORD, and there he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their tribal divisions.

The first point that I see in this passage is that Christ followers we must be careful.

Don't settle for a spiritually purposeless nomadic existence (18:1-3).

I think that the people, tired from war weariness, having experienced some victory, decided that they were done. I fear that at time, in our Christian walk we can become weary, we can feel like the victories of the past are in the past and it is no longer worth the effort to have victories or that we just will never have those same victories that we enjoyed in the past. Then what's worse is we begin to take verses out of context to excuse our behavior. Let's look at two verses. First, Psalm 46:10. What I want is for you to

Understand the true freedom of Psalm 46:10

The point of this psalm is that

Look at the context of the entire Psalm.

God is our refuge.

The idea behind the refuge is that of a shelter.

God's strength is unmatched and he is the fortress.

In light of this we are called to be still and know that he is God. This does not mean don't serve God. It means, stop living life on a hamster wheel trying to provide for yourself. Turn to God for your provision and know His provision. The passage is not about doing nothing, rather the passage is about understanding that God is your provider and using God's provision as an opportunity to know Him. In other words, be still that you might know God better.

Here is another one we sometimes use out of context. Luke 10:38-41. We need to

Understand the object of value in Luke 10:38-41.

Luke 10:38-42 teaches us not that activity is bad, but that relationship is more important than activity. We should pursue a deep and abiding relationship with Jesus.

Take note of the blessing that God is offering (18:4-7)

Joshua called on the people to take note of what God was offering.

After calling Israel together and reprimanding them or not taking action, Joshua proceeds to call on them to take some time to assess the land.

Now, we are not Israel and the church does not replace Israel. God is not offering us a tract of land in Canaan.

However, God does still offer us something significant.

The fruit of the Spirit provides us a list of some of what God offers us (Gal. 5:22-23).

The fruit here described is not produced by a believer, but by the Holy Spirit working through a Christian who is in vital union with Christ (cf. John 15:1–8). The word “fruit” is singular, indicating that these qualities constitute a unity, all of which should be found in a believer who lives under the control of the Spirit. In an ultimate sense this “fruit” is simply the life of Christ lived out in a Christian.

The First Triad - habits of mind

The first three of the fruit center on the mind of the Christian.

The Second Triad - an outward reaching invitation

The second three of the fruit reach out by inviting others into a relationship with someone who is truly different from the world.

The Third Triad - conduct befitting a little Christ

The third triad brings together the other two in what might be called conduct or consistency.

Take action to realize the blessing that God is offering (18:8-10).

We must realize that it was not enough for Israel to just sit and expect the blessing to fall into their lap. God wanted Israel to take action. Joshua called for action. So what does action look like for the Christian? In 2 PEter 1:5-8 I see

A recipe for growth (2 Peter 1:5-8)

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

faith + goodness

Goodness (ἀρετή) - is the idea of what society sees as good.

One step in spiritual growth is for society to recognize an individual as being a good person. Note, this is only step 2. This is the beginning of Spiritual growth.