Joshua 1:1-4 | Episode #1209

June 4, 2026

Hope Alive: Applying God’s Word to Your Daily Life

Joshua 1:1-4

I am Chad Harrison, and I am the teaching pastor of Lake Community Church and had been serving as a pastor for over 25 years. This podcast is designed to help you study God's word verse-by-verse and find God's will for your life. The purpose of studying scripture is that you might know the character of Jesus Christ, and that you might see the world from the Father's perspective. That you gain wisdom that changes your life. I pray in the name of Jesus right now that God would open His word to you and allow you to see Him and to know Him. To know His will, that you might glorify Him and that you might walk in faith and power each day, especially today. In Jesus name.

If you would like to revisit today’s Bible study, please visit our website at https://hopealive.buzzsprout.com/ to download the transcript. 

If this podcast ministered to you, please subscribe, and leave us a review. Reviews help us reach more people and spread the wisdom of God. 

Please follow us:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopealivewithgod/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/hopealiveministry/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LakeComChurch/ -Lake Community Church

Transcript

This is Hope Alive, where we apply God's Word to our daily life. My name is Chad Harrison. I'm first a husband, a father and a grandfather. I'm also the teaching pastor at Lake Community Church in Dadeville, Alabama on beautiful Lake Martin. I've been serving as a pastor for over 30 years. I also serve as the Tallapoosa County District Judge. This podcast is designed to help you study God's word, verse by verse through the Bible and to find his purpose and will for your daily life. If you would like sponsor this podcast, go to the Show Notes where there's a link where you can make a donation. I pray in the name of Jesus that God would open his word to you, allow you to see him and to know him, so that you would know his will and his way for your life that you might walk in faith and power each and every day, especially today. Word of God, please speak to the hearers of your voice today in the name of Jesus. Amen. We are in the Book of Joshua. It is, it is a great book. It has a lot. Well, it's one of my favorite books of the Bible. I've always enjoyed studying through the Book of Joshua. It is about one of the great leaders of Scripture, Joshua himself, one of the two main characters in the Old Testament. When I say main characters, there's a lot of main characters in the Old Testament. Oftentimes we use the phrase major minor prophets and major prophets are the prophets that have the long books and minor prophets. So they're prophets that have the short books. That doesn't really point to value, but it does point to the amount of scripture that actually relates to that person. And so when I think about characters, I think about the Book of Judges. There's some judges in the Book of Judges that have just a few verses and some judges that have a few chapters and I call them major judges and minor judges. And so when, when you get to Joshua, he is one of the major characters of the Bible. He's in the Pentateuch. I mean, he's, he's mentioned and discussed a little bit in Moses, his life. He is the right hand man of Moses. He's the, he's the leader of the people after Moses is. And so he, he, he's got a great position already. He, he also has an interesting tie to Jesus in that his name and the way we say it and Jesus's name and the way we say it are actually the same name and we don't say either one of them correctly. Okay. Joshua and Jesus, the actual pronunciation of their names as they would have heard it would have been Yeshua. And so Yeshua is both of them's real name. And so in all actuality Joshua and Jesus are the same name. They're just spelled from different. Well they spell from different languages. And so Joshua has that great distinction. He is a type of Christ. He is a conquering king, he's a conquering leader, although he's not a king, he's just the leader. But remember him being the leader is really, really important. And one of the things that as we study through the book of Joshua, I want you to notice about Joshua is his knowledge of leadership, which he gained from Moses. And Moses didn't want to be. He was a reluctant leader, he was a reluctant man called by God. He did not wanna take on that role, didn't wanna take on that position, but he did. He took on that role and position and God used him modely. Joshua grew into his role as leader by following Moses. And so most of his learning about leadership would have been in the tutelage of Moses himself. So that makes him obviously another one of those figures that you wanna study real close because you not only learn from Joshua about leadership, but you in, in, in a way relating to Moses. You learn about Moses and his leadership. So you learned about leadership from both. And you don't see Joshua being reluctant, you see Joshua being, well, he's a patient leader who, who, who is not quick to make decisions. In fact, if you want to know the truth, the reason, one of the, one of the reasons I love Joshua. My favorite two Old Testament characters are interesting. My dad's always was David. But for me I've always loved Joshua and Daniel and their books are, are not short, not short books at all. But their books describe a person of great character, a person of great skill in what they are called to do, what they do with their lives. And, and one of them being a prophet and a leader, the other one being, well, the leader that led the children of Israel into the promised land, Joshua. Neither one of them does the Bible ever say really anything negative about. There's not a negative attribute given to them, negative actions attributed to them. They both get to be big characters in the Old Testament and yet not much negative is said about either one of them. And so, well, nothing really. And so when you're, when you're studying Joshua, you see a man of great influence, of great importance and well, a man who does big stuff with his life. And so as, as we, as we go through this book you're going to see that. And I hope you will recognize. Well, you recognize the big stuff that God does using Joshua. It says, after the death of Moses, and we've been through that and we've talked about that, and Moses has made his proclamation to the people. He's really, in a very elegant and very astute way, has left the scene and placed Joshua in charge. And by the way, a transfer of leadership is not easy. I know we live in the United States and transfers of leadership are oftentimes done every four years or every eight years and done fairly well. And you go, well, what about January 6th and all that? Well, I mean, there were some protests and there was one protester killed during that time period. But that is a very minor transition of power in world history terms. In fact, most transitions of power end up in either a mini or mighty big war. And so transitions of power, generally speaking, have not been all that, all that peaceful. Historically, this is a very peaceful transition of power. In fact, if it's possible, it's a seamless transition of power. Nobody's questioned whether or not Joshua is the leader. Nobody even even stands up and says, you know, I'm not sure he's the right one for the job. Which really speaks heavily to the character of Joshua. I want you to also remember that Joshua was the other one that went up on the mountain. He didn't go all the way up to the top of the mountain because none of the other people went, but he went up on the mountain and was the bodyguard of Moses as he spent time with God up there on the mountain. I don't know how close he got, don't know where he was, but maybe he even heard from God himself, or at least he heard God speaking to Moses. And so he was the perfect one to take on that role of being the leader. The one who everybody looked to to take the position after Moses. And so it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua. This is middle of verse one. The Lord spoke to Joshua, the son of nun Moses assistants. Now, notice the transition of leadership is primarily by God. God is the one who decides who is the leader. And by the way, that's an important principle that has to be learned by a lot of people. We don't realize that. The truth is, is that leadership is, is something that is God given. It is not. It's not a human thing. It's going to be done well in the church. Now there, there are human leaders and they're secular leaders, leaders out in the world who are who are leaders because they've attained to that position, they've worked hard in their industry, whatever. But, but the Bible says kings and kingdoms rise and fall at God's authority and at God's will. And so when we're talking about the leader of Israel here, we're talking about God. Well, he's the one who gave Joshua that leadership position. He's the one who made sure that Joshua was ready and prepared to be, well, to be God's man in this situation. God's leader. And so God is the one who calls him. And by the way, God's the one who speaks to him. And oftentimes we find ourselves in a position where God's calling our name about something. For Joshua, it was leadership, but for you it may be something else. And by the way, being the leader or being a spiritual leader, it's not for everybody. In fact, when I say that I'm not being diminishing at all, I would probably likely not want to be the leader if I had my choice. I would just kind of like to lay back and enjoy life, but God has not allowed me to do such. Other people have all kinds of other gifts. Beautiful gifts, wonderful gifts, powerful gifts, gifts that are mentioned in the New Testament. Gifts that go together in such unique ways in other people's lives, and God uses them powerfully to change lives and to make a difference in the lives of other people. Just because you're not the leader doesn't mean you're any less. In fact, oftentimes I begin to think that perhaps the people who, who are going to be closest to God in heaven are the ones who are the encouragers and the servants and the people that nobody even knows their name. And so what a great opportunity if you're not a leader. Because we're judged more harshly. It's not like we get a leadership role and it's all roses and butterflies. It's not. It's difficult to lead and you're judged more strictly, more harshly. And I take that into account every day when I think about leading. And really, it's one of the reasons I'd like to not lead. But God doesn't allow that. God has always pushed me out into the forefront and forced me into that position because that's what he made me for. And so who am I to tell him no? And, and I would say that to you also as we study Joshua, when you're thinking about leadership and Joshua's leadership and how he's doing well in his giftings, I want you to Think about the principles that are behind him and what he's doing. And don't get focused on the leadership. Focus on your ministry, on your calling, on your gifting and how Joshua does his. You ought to do likewise because he does it very well. He does it excellently. And the way that starts is, well, talking to God. You go, well, what is my gifting? Oftentimes we come up with these human tools. I call them flesh tools. They're tools to try to identify what people's spiritual gifts are. I'll tell you. The best way to identify your spiritual gift is to talk to God. He's the one that gave it to you. He'd probably like to tell you about it. Okay. And so you go, well, that's kind of harsh. Yeah, it is. Yeah. You know, who am I to give you and tell you and talk to you about a gift that God gave you? You need to first find out from him who your gift, what your gifting is. Now, does that mean the church and other people can't help you with that? No, no, no, it doesn't. In fact, we should help in those. In those things. We should. We should provide. Provide insights, provide wisdom, understanding, maybe teaching, maybe encouragement. If you'll notice. We may. We probably do need to use our gifts to help you with your gifts, because what are they made for? Well, they're made for the body. They're made for the people. Joshua was made leader, not for Joshua. Joshua was made later for Israel. Your gifts are not made just for you. Although they're going to be a great source of joy and power and, and, and they're going to be a way that you draw closer to God. Absolutely, they are, but who are they for? Not for you. They're for other people. Okay. Your gifts are for other people. My gifts are for not me. They're for you. And your gifts are not for you. They are for, well, us. And so we ought to consider that every day when we're thinking about our gifts, God tells us what they are. Moses was a gifted man. And God mentions him in verse two. He says, moses, my servant is dead. Which means there's a vacuum of leadership, which means there's an opportunity here. There's a place. There's a place that needs to be filled. And so he says, now, therefore, now notice God doesn't. God, when he wants to get you doing what he's called you to do, he doesn't leave a lot of ambiguity out there, okay? He doesn't. He doesn't give you an opportunity to Say no. That's great sales technique. By the way, for those of you who are in the sales profession, don't give them an opportunity to say no. Give them every opportunity to say yes. By the way, God's not giving you an opportunity to say no to him. He wants you to walk in the fullness of what he made you for. And so he's not going to give you an opportunity to back out of it, run from it, get away from it. He's not going to do that. And if you're trying to remember he's in charge of everything, he can work all kinds of things against you when you're running away from him. The well known story is the whale story with old Jonah. But, but you know, there's all kinds of ways God can reroute you back to where he wants you to be. And by the way, God's spending your whole life rerouting you into a place he wants you to be. I think of ourselves, I don't often times think of ourselves as mature adults in the kingdom of God. Most of the time we're, we're toddlers and we're running from this thing to the other thing, getting into this mess and the other mess. And how do you handle a toddler who has just learned how to walk and just learned how to explore the world they live in? Well, you don't yell at them all the time. That will cause them to walk in fear. What do you do? Well, when they head in the wrong direction, you're going to redirect them. You can tell them no. Sure you can. You can say no, we don't touch that. No, we don't touch that. If the temptation is too great, well, you take them by the hand and lead them to something else. And by the way, what a wonderful way to parent. And what a wonderful way God parents us. He does the same thing. When we get into things we shouldn't get into, he tells us no. And then eventually he reroutes us to the place where we ought to be. And if we pitch a fit, well, he might chastise us a little bit and get us back to where we need to be. That's a good God, it's a good father. And he is both those things to us. And so when you're being called to call to serve in your giftings, when you're being called to be who you ought to be in the kingdom of God, well, what you ought to do is you ought to look and see how God deals with Joshua here and understand that he says, rise and go over this, Jordan. What he's saying is you are in charge now. Therefore you get up and get moving in what I made you for. And he did. Joshua had always been made for this job. This was the job that Joshua was always going to have. By the way, where you're at and what God has plans for you is what God has always meant for you. You. And you need to know that you need to take that to heart. You need to allow it to be powerful in your heart and your mind. You need to let God sink that deep inside of you. You were made for the days and the seasons you live in today. And you were made for this hour. And you were made to serve your God and to honor him and glorify him with your faith, with your love, with which will always result in your obedience. And don't play around with it. Don't hide from God. Let God. Let God lead you to all the goodness that he has planned for you. Now, I didn't say it was going to be easy, and it didn't say wasn't going to be a struggle, because it is going to be a struggle. And it's going to be hard, and it's not going to be easy, and it's going to be for sure. Absolutely, it's going to be worth it. And so he says. He says, now therefore arise, go over the Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, the children of Israel. By the way, these are the children of Israel, the Jews that we know about today. They're the same people. I know there's some question as to that has been. By the way, this is not an old lie. That's. I mean, a new lie. That's an old lie. It's been an old lie from way, way back, okay? The devil's always wanted to deny who the children of Israel are. And by the way, you need to take offense at that. And you go, why should I take offense to that? I'm not one of them. Well, you're the bride of Christ. And if the devil will call the children of Israel, who are quite clearly God's chosen people, and if he'll say that they're not that, okay, well, he'll say that to you. He'll say you're not the bride of Christ. You're not part of his kingdom. You don't know Jesus. He don't love you. And if, if, if you have ever heard that from the devil, where you haven't been dealing with him, Very long. Okay? God's probably been protecting him, protecting you from him. If you start serving and start using your gift, he will. He will start lying to you about things. Okay? And in that lie, in that lie, he will. He will. He will tell you that you're not. You're not what God made you to be. And just like those who would say that the. That the Jews of today are not the children of Israel, of the Bible times, well, they're lying to you. And they're lying from the father of lies, who is, hate to say it, their father. And they are the children of Israel. They are the ones God called. They are the seed of Abraham, the chosen seed of Abraham, the blessed seed of Abraham. And they are who they are. And you are who you are. You're the bride of Christ. You're the blessed ones. The greatest Old Testament Jew was John the Baptist. The Bible says none greater than him has been born of woman, but the least in the kingdom of God is greater than him. And what is he talking about? Well, he's talking about us, the bride of Christ. We're greater than the children of Israel in scripture, and it is true. But that doesn't diminish them. That doesn't diminish them. That just elevates us. And obviously I love my daughters. I loved raising them. I am. I am so immensely proud of them. Have been. And my grandchildren also. They. They are. They are a joy and pride of my life. But I love them as much as my wife. Just being honest with you. She's been with me for a long, long time. You know, she deserves that position of great honor. And you go, why does she deserve that position of great honor? Well, I mean, she had to put up with me. So if she's got to put up with me, I mean, you know, she ought to be elevated to the highest place. And so God loves us. He loves us in a very special and a unique way. And so we're going to honor the children of Israel going into the promised land because we won't receive the honor God set aside for us. And so these are the children of Israel that God has promised the promised land to. And it is a plan that has been put in place since time began, and it is being fulfilled in this day as we study Joshua 1 in Joshua, leading the people over into the promised land. Don't ever get away from that. All the words I just said to you were very purposeful. Every place where the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given you, as I said, to Moses, what he's saying is, I've given you the whole promised land. He's going to describe it next verse, and I'm going to go through it real quick. But what he said is, I'm giving it to you. But what do you got to do? You can't stand on the other side of the Jordan and say, this is my land because it's not yours yet. Because what is required in order to have the promised land? Well, what's required is they gotta be. He's gotta be obedient and go and take it, place his feet where God had promised. Likewise, all the promises that God has for you, you can't just have. You got to open the gift. You got to go in, you got to do what God's told you to do. You got to be obedient to that. So many Christians don't want to be obedient to that. They don't want to open the present. God has given them all the presents God has given them. They don't want to experience it. They're afraid. They live in fear. They're doubtful of who they are. They let the enemy tell them all the things that are not, rather than letting God tell you all the things that you are. It's hard leading folks. I'm going to tell you, as a pastor, sometimes real difficult. I love to see people wake up and figure out who God is. That's the whole reason why I do what I do. It's beautiful to see God work in people's lives. But let me tell you something. If I were God, I don't even know. I'm glad I'm not him, praise God. I'm not. I don't know if I've told y' all that, but I'm not God. And I know I'm not. I'm one of his and probably least. Least of the ones who are listening to this podcast or talking in this podcast. We need to realize. You need to get this, okay? When you are given gifts by God, they're not yours until you take them. And by the way, that's whole. That's. That's a legal foundation for property rights in America today, okay? We get it from scripture. It's called ida. A gift is. In order for a gift to become a gift, it has to be intentionally a gift. It has to be delivered as a gift, and it has to be accepted, okay? It's called ida. Intent Delivery and Acceptance. God is intended to do great things for you, to give you blessings beyond measure. Beyond. Did you know that, well, if you didn't know that, I'm telling you, it's true. God has been intended for you blessings beyond measure. He has, okay? He's delivered them to you in the fullness of his son, King Jesus. Jesus has made it possible for you to have all the blessings of God. He's intended it, he's delivered it. But you know what you've got to do? You got to accept it. You have to accept it. You can't get away from it. You got to accept it, okay? And so he says, you've got to take every place I've given you. I give you all the promises of God. But there is one caveat. You've got to take them. You got to place your feet on them. And that's what he said to Joshua. I give you everywhere you place your foot. Now, he's going to describe the area that you can place your fit the. The area of the promises. He's going to say to him, these are. This is. This is the area I want you to take, okay? These are the things I want you to be a part of, I want you to do. He says, from the wilderness of Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. So that means all the way north, all the way north through Lebanon and what is modern day Syria, all the way up to the Euphrates river, which is a lot more than Israel possesses even to this day, a lot more than they ever did possess, by the way. He says, I've given you that all the way up to the great river Euphrates on the north side of Lebanon. And if you go to a map, you'll see that Euphrates runs all the way up into what is modern day Turkey or the area around modern day Turkey. It's in northern, what we call northern Syria, northern Lebanon. He says that's their land. By the way, if God says it's their land, even today is their land, okay? So if they decide to take it today, it's theirs. Just letting you know, I just saying it's in here, Scott's word. I trust what he says over what anybody else says, okay? He says, all the land of the Hittites and to the great sea, toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. And what does that mean? Well, that means. It means all the area all the way down, all the way down to. Well, to Egypt today, to modern day Egypt. And it goes all the way over past the Jordan river, past, past the lake of Gennesaret and the Dead Sea. It's a huge area of land. It's an area land that is, is probably three, four times what Israel is today. And it's an area of land that is three, maybe four, maybe five, maybe six times the area of land that Israel actually took during the time of them being a kingdom and possessing the land themselves. They didn't take a lot of it and so they didn't get a lot of the blessing. They missed out on it. Don't do that. Don't do that with your life. Let God be have his full blessing for you. Don't miss out on it. Okay? I would say to you, do not miss out on God giving you all the things that He, he, he desires to give you. And so how do we do that? Well, we take it. He intended it, he delivered it. We accept it by taking the promises of God and living them out in our lives. I pray that that'll be the case for you. You're not listening to this Bible study for no reason. You're seeking after God. Find it interesting that you and am so encouraged and blessed that you would actually listen to a Bible study I would teach. But I would say to you, if you're listening to this Bible study, you're definitely trying to dig deeper into your walk with God. God has great things for you. You ought to take those things and you ought to work through them and you ought to live them out even if they're super, super difficult. Because even the most difficult things in the kingdom of God are usually where we find the greatest of him and his blessing. As you go today, I pray that the Lord will bless you and keep you, that he'll make his face to shine upon you and that he will give you hope and peace today in Jesus name.