JOSHUA GENERATION - THE CALL

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, 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. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 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 good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua Assumes Command

¹⁰ And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, ¹¹ “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’”
¹² And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, ¹³ “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’ ¹⁴ Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, ¹⁵ until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.”
¹⁶ And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. ¹⁷ Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses! ¹⁸ Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”
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TAKING TERRITORY 2014

So this has been in my drafts forever (like since 2011), the original title was "Taking Territory" and all I had was this picture... it was from a UC-wide strike from way back when, I liked the idea of "Occupy UCSB"... taking space and ownership/responsibility also in unity (UC-wide)... And especially applying that to spiritual warfare. The Book of Joshua came up the other day so I decided to read it. Chapter 1 really gripped me and reminded me of this post. This Generation is super special and I feel like the charge given to Joshua by Moses is for US and for NOW(related post: A Generation Arising! ~> super-brief). K let's move on to stuff I got from it:

1.THE CALL OF GOD UPON A GENERATION: RISE UP NOW! (Joshua 1:1-9)
So yeah in chapter 1 Joshua is chosen (not randomly as we are told he was Moses' assistant) and charged with great leadership responsibility. Our generation is also chosen and charged, many great leaders and world-changers in our lifetime have passed and now  the responsibility falls upon us and we have to step up to the plate.

"Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom." ~ Nelson Mandela." you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light." (1 Peter 2:9)

And that is quite exciting to be called to TAKE OVER and to LEAD  the NEW GENERATION of world-changers into possessing the PROMISES of God.... but upon closer inspection of the text this is actually a Call to Intimacy with God. Yes Joshua is told to arise and to be strong and courageous and to possess the land and all but God also tells him that He will be with Joshua like He was with Moses... And how was He with Moses? I just read Exodus 33 (right now after my mini-nap lol) which is perfect to compare with Joshua 1.

"Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me Your ways so I may know You and continue to find favor with You. Remember that this nation is Your people.” The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33: 12-14)

So yeah God just wants us to seek His face - His presence- letting Him fill us and guide us. And by His Spirit and His power -- through Him and with Him-- we shall accomplish what we are called to. Waking up to the revelation that God doesn't need us or just wants to use us... He actually just wants us, to be with us and everything else flows from resting in the power of His presence.

So LORD please help me rest in You, I don't want to go anywhere without Your presence. I need You. I want You so please fill me, remove anything in me that's not of You and make me wholly Yours! All I want is You! And yes Lord equip us by the Power of the Holy Spirit to rise up and thrive in the days we're living in. ♫ Take me back to You, to the place that I once knew, as a little child, resting in the bed of faith prepared for me... I will rest in You! ♫ post: The Bubble (How I find God "in the bubble"... Story of my life part 1 =) )

 

So that's the first point I want to highlight before we move on with the "Taking territory" series... we are called for relationship with God, our Creator and Father... we are called to Love... Intimacy with Him will release strategy. So stay tuned for the exposition of the rest of chapter 1 and other chapters in the book of Joshua. In the meantime, here's another related post: FULL Armor of God