Life Lessons from Joshua. Chapter 4

2. Life Lessons from Joshua. Chapter 4

3. We are going to look at 10 Life Lessons from Joshua Chapter 4.

4. Our format will be relatively simple…

5. Identify Describe Apply

6. #1 Real progress is made when everyone is on the same page.

7. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all of Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground. Joshua 3:17 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua…Joshua 4:1

8. It is evident many different times in the Bible that real progressis made within a group a people when most if not all of the people are on the same page.

9. That is; major strides within a people group tend to occur when the entiregroup is exposedto the same information and are rowing in the same direction.

10. Our Lesson: Whether you are leading a ministry, an event, a program, or a special project… you need the entire group together as much as possible, especially when giving instruction or direction.

11. Our Lesson: There is real momentum and power to be found when the whole group is exposed to the sameinformation at the sametime and is collectively challenged in a uniform way.

12. Our Lesson: When the 80-90% majority is strongly headed in one direction, is it very difficult for the minority to cause enough damage to stall the task and often will simply join in.

13. Our Lesson: Similarly, when direction is given out in snippetsto smaller segments…it is easy to have division and an overall lack of clarity that halts all progress.

14. Application: We have to be well aware of our cultural tendency towards individualism…it is wreaking havoc on progress in the church.

15. Application: If leading a group, a committee etc. do your best to encourageeveryone to attend everymeeting and to be at all functions.

16. Application: You have to do your best not to go too far ahead of any one group or individual and attempt to keep as many as possibleon the same page.

17. #2 Divide large tasks among groups and delegated responsibility to leaders.

18. “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe,and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.” Joshua 4:2-3

19. So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe… Joshua 4:4

20. So the Israelites didas Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down.Joshua 4:8

21. Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Exodus 18:24-25

22. It is evident many times in the book of Joshua and many other places in scripture that it is wise to divide largetasks among smaller groups and to place quality leadersover those groups.

23. Our Lesson: Whether you are leading a ministry, an event, a program, or a special project… you need to break the entire project/task at hand down into categories or processes.

24. Our Lesson: Those categories or processes then need to each be delegated out to groups of peoplewho are skilled and qualified in that particular area.

25. Our Lesson: Each group needs a team leader who is especially qualified in the specificarea as well as skilledin leading people.

26. Application: Whenever you are assigned with a large responsibility, you need to be able to break the whole down into smaller parts.

27. Application: You need to be able to see how each partfits into the whole. And you need to be able to prioritizewhich items should be accomplished in which order.

28. Application: With very large tasks you need to organize people according to their skills, abilities and passions and assign them to the correlating areas.

29. Application: Each task should have a point person who is skilled in that area and also has the ability to motivate people and has the humility to submit to your leadership.

30. #3 When God does something monumental, set up a memorial.

31. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Joshua 4:5-7

32. …tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.” Joshua 4:5-7

33. Many times in the Bible, God wanted the people of Israel to do something that would serve as a reminder or function as a monument unto God’s greatness.

34. Our Lesson: Every day God is answering prayers in your life. Many times they are ‘smallthings’, such as safety, clothing and food that can easily be overlooked.

35. Our Lesson: Sometimes God answers ‘big prayers’ such as a large financial provision or a house or a job or by healing a major illness etc…

36. Our Lesson: Other times God was clearly at workwithoutour knowing by sparing us from a serious accident or calamity etc.

37. Our Lesson: No matter how big or small, but especially after the big provisions, we need to set up a memorial as a way to honor the Lord and remind ourselvesand othersof God’s power.

38. Application: We have to make sure to thank the Lord after every occasion of blessing, protection, care, provision etc.

39. Application: Have you ever written the Lord a thank-you note?

40. Application: Buy a stack of thank you cards or start a thank-you journal. After the next answered prayer in your life, prayerfully write a thank you letter to God.

41. Application: Try to ‘encapsulate’ that moment by marking your calendar or framing something and putting it on your wall as a reminder.

42. Application: Tell someone else about what God has done.

43. #4 Memorials work best when they include a memento from the event.

44. …take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight. Joshua 4:3

45. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down.Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan…Joshua 4:8-9

46. Our Lesson: Memorials that work best are the ones that take us back to the very moment…

47. Our Lesson: A date on a calendar or an alarm on your phone can be stale. However, a picture of that day can take you right back to how you felt.

48. Our Lesson: A video taken reminds us of how great that concert was, a foot imprint reminds us of how small our baby was…

49. Application: When settingup a memorial unto the Lord for his faithfulness in your life, we need to selectsomething that will do the job well.

50. Application: We need to select something from the occasion itself, which will harken us back to our fear, our great need and then God’s great love and provision.