Young Adult Sunday School Fall Quarter, 2014 JOSHUA CLAIMING WHAT IS ALREADY OURS Written by Robbie Horne EDITOR IN CHIEF: Larry E. Clements Larry.Clements@bogardstore.org BUSINESS MANAGER: Wayne Sewell Wayne.Sewell@bogardstore.org PRODUCTION EDITOR: Kyle Elkins ADULT EDITOR: Jim Jones CHILDREN S EDITOR: Libby Gill ILLUSTRATOR: Connie Spears GRAPHIC ARTISTS: Shawn Blase Jeff Allen Greg Hilterbrand LAYOUT DESIGNERS: Cindy Butler Ashley Elkins Tammie Sutton CONTENT EDITORS: Terry McKellar Deby Turrentine Carolyn Burks Joni Curtis PRINT PRODUCTION: Charles Easley Cover Design: Ashley Elkins Copyright 2014 Vol. 1, No. 3 Bogard Press 4605 N. State Line Ave. Texarkana, TX 75503-2928 www.bogardstore.org 1-800-264-2482 September October November THEME: The blessings of God are ours if we have the faith and the courage to claim them. 7 Claiming What Is Already Ours... 3 Joshua 1:1, 2 14 A Faithful Leader....10 Joshua 1:1, 2 21 Stepping Out by Faith....17 Joshua 1:1-10 28 The East Side of Jordan...24 Joshua 1:10-18 5 An Unlikely Accomplice...31 Joshua 2:1-13 12 Getting Our Feet Wet...38 Joshua 3:1-17 19 Memorials...45 Joshua 4:1-24 26 War Plans...53 Joshua 5 2 Tearing Down Walls................. 61 Joshua 6 9 The Importance of Following God s Plan. 68 Joshua 7 16 A Second Chance....75 Joshua 8 23 Sneaky Allies....82 Joshua 9 30 Reaching for the Mountains....89 Joshua 14
About the Author Dr. Robbie Horne is the pastor of First Missionary Baptist Church, Mablevale, AR. Robbie is married to Pam (Clift) Horne. Robbie has two children, Jacquelyn and Clint, and two grandchildren, Cody Dale Beene and Hadley Grace Horne. Robbie is a 1970 graduate of Benton High School, Benton, AR. After serving three years in the United States Army, Robbie enrolled in the Missionary Baptist Seminary in Little Rock, AR, where he earned a bachelor s and a master s degree in theology. In 2010, Robbie reached a long-term goal when he earned a doctor s degree in theology from Central Arkansas Baptist Bible Institute in Benton, AR. Robbie is an instructor at CABBI and teaches Hermeneutics, Ethics, Church Epistles and Leadership. Robbie enjoys the Arkansas Razorbacks, reading, writing, talking, teaching, picking his guitar and spending quality time with his dog Max. Email: robbiehorne@sbcglobal.net 2
Lesson 1 September 7, 2014 CLAIMING WHAT IS ALREADY OURS Lesson Text: Joshua 1:1, 2 Principle: The blessings of God are available now if we have the faith to claim them. Introducing the Principle Joshua is a very positive book. It narrates Israel s, God s chosen nation, taking of the Promised Land, Canaan, about 1450 BC. Forty years before Joshua led Israel to the Promised Land, God made Israel a promise, And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they photo by Todd Bolen, www.bibleplaces.com were strangers (Ex. 6:4). All Israel had to do was follow God s instructions and take the land He had given them. Canaan belonged to Israel. All of it! Every inch! Canaan was theirs for the taking because God had established a covenant with Israel, and He had decreed that Canaan now belonged to Israel. Canaan is not a picture of Heaven. We do not have to fight to get to Heaven, as Israel had to fight to conquer Canaan. When God saves us, Heaven is ours. Canaan represents the inheritance God gives His people, an inheritance we can claim now! In other words, we can have God s blessings now if we have the faith to claim them. God told Joshua, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel (Joshua 1:2). God, no doubt, had 3
already given Israel the Promised Land. All Israel had to do was step out by faith and claim what was already theirs. The same principle is true today. The blessings of God are available. The question is do we have enough faith to claim them? Think About It! Canaan is not Heaven. Heaven is a future blessing, and it will be special (1 Cor. 2:9; Rev. 21:1-5). Canaan was a reward God intended to give His children because of their faithfulness. God wanted to bless Israel with something special, and He gave His people Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey (Ex. 3:8). We should never think that God doesn t want to bless us. In fact, God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 1:3). All spiritual blessings denote the highest degree of spiritual blessings. Exploring the Principle God s Blessings Are Ours to Claim The Israelites problem was that they refused to claim God s blessings. In Numbers 13, Moses sent twelve men to spy out the land of Canaan (verse 2). After forty days, the spies returned and showed Moses and the children of Israel the fruit of the land (verse 27). The spies basically told them that they explored the land of Canaan. It really does flow with milk and honey. It is a good land and would be a great place to raise our families. It would have been great if the story ended here and Israel had marched into Canaan and conquered it. Unfortunately, the majority of the spies lacked the faith to take what was already theirs. They gave an evil report and convinced the children of Israel not to take the land God had already given them (verses 28-33). At first, the spies were very positive with their presentation, but then they said, Nevertheless (verse 28). In other words, they thought the land was good, but, using human reasoning, they deduced that conquering Canaan would be a difficult task. Why? The inhabitants of Canaan, to the spies, were too strong. The cities were large and fortified. The Hittites, the Jebusites and the Amorites inhabited the mountains. The Canaanites lived by the sea. The majority of the spies felt that large fortified cities and strong, well- 4
armed people were obstacles that could not be overcome. How typical this really is! Many times we are so close to realizing the promises of God. Many times the Promised Land is just across the river. Many times we are so close to achieving something special. Then, we back off, and the nevertheless (verse 28) of doubt clouds our thinking. When the children of Israel refused to claim what was already theirs, they missed God s blessings. God, as we now know, had given Israel the land of Canaan years before (Ex. 3:8). However, at the border of the Promised Land, at Kadesh-barnea, the children of Israel did not have the faith to claim what was already theirs (Num. 14:22, 23). The result was that everyone twenty years of age and older had to wander and die in the wilderness (verses 28, 29). How tragic! Canaan, the land of milk and honey, belonged to the Israelites, and all they had to do was claim it. Are We Trusting or Wandering? When the Israelites refused to claim what was already theirs, they paid for it (verse 29). Everyone had to wander in the wilderness for forty years (verse 33). The wilderness is not hell. Hell is where nonbelievers go when they die. Hell is a burning, eternal place of misery. The wilderness is here and now. Consequently, we are stuck in the wilderness when we refuse to claim what is already ours. We are human, and we go through seasons of discontent. In seasons of discontent, we are looking for something; we know there s something out there. We don t know what When God saves us, we get every spiritual blessing. God does not halfway save us; He saves us to the uttermost (Heb. 7:25). This means God has many Canaans blessings He wants to share with us. Do we have enough faith to claim the blessings of God? Or, do we prefer wandering in the wilderness because we don t trust God enough to claim what is already ours? Think About It! When asked what someone should do when feeling on the verge of a nervous breakdown, Dr. Karl Menninger responded, Lock your house, go across the railroad tracks, find someone in need, and do something for him. 5
Christians who feel they aren t being fed need to heed Dr. Menninger s advice. In ministering to others, we find the satisfaction Jesus spoke of at Jacob s well: My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work (John 4:34). When the Israelites refused to claim what was already theirs, they turned away from Canaan and circled Mount Seir day in, day out. No wonder so much of Israel s wilderness experience was filled with murmuring, griping and discontent. It had squandered the blessings of God. Life, instead of being exciting and filled with promise, had become dull, monotonous and a drudgery. When we pass through seasons of discontent, we must take inventory of our lives and decide if we are wandering or trusting God. we are looking for, and we are frustrated and maybe depressed. Have you ever thought that we might already have what we are looking for and that we simply have not claimed it? The result is that we are in the wilderness, floundering, wandering, discontented and probably doing little to overcome our discontent. Israel s wilderness experience is an example of what happens when we do not claim what is already ours. For example, in Deuteronomy 2, the children of Israel, because they refused to claim what was already theirs, turned and marched into the wilderness. All they did, day after day, was circle Mount Seir. Finally, God said, Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward (Deut. 2:3). For forty years, the children of Israel walked in circles. They floundered; they wandered, and they accomplished nothing. Forty years earlier God had brought them to the edge of the Promised Land. God had shown them what He had given them. Sadly, because they did not claim what was already theirs, they were condemned to years and years and years of uselessness wandering. Like Israel, when we refuse to claim what is already ours, another opportunity to claim God s blessings may not come for a long, long time. Unfortunately, when we refuse to cross Jordan and claim the blessings of God, we may have to wait an entire generation for God s promises to come again (Num. 14:32, 33). The wilderness is a wasteland. When we don t claim what is already ours, we waste God s time and our time. We go in circles. We flounder. We wander! We pass through seasons of discontent. We accomplish very little. 6
When We Claim God s Blessings, Good Things Happen We should never think that God doesn t want to bless us. From the beginning, God has done everything in His awesome power to bless humankind, His highest creation. Salvation, the greatest blessing of all, is available now. All we have to do is claim it. God sent His Son, Jesus, to die on a cross to save us and give us eternal life (Luke 19:10; John 3:16, 17; 6:51). Church growth is possible now. All we have to do is trust God, follow His instructions and never give up (Matt. 16:18; 28:19, 20; 1 Cor. 3:6;). Is it really possible for Missionary Baptist churches to grow? Yes! If we follow Jesus instructions and let Him work, churches will grow. How can our churches grow? They can grow by witnessing and giving God time to work. Sometimes we put too much pressure on ourselves. If we witness, Jesus will build His church. If we plant the Word of God and water the seed, Jesus will build His church, and God will give the increase. Contentment and peace of mind are available now. All we have to do is claim it (Phil. 4:6, 7). At the end of a day, at the end of a week, at the end of a month or at the end of a year, if we have followed God s instructions, regardless of what happens in our lives, we have nothing to hang our heads about. Victory is possible now. All we have to do is claim it (2 Cor. 2:14; 1 John 5:4, 5). Children of God are not losers. When the apostle Paul stated that God always causeth us to triumph in Christ (2 Cor. 2:14), he is describing the victorious entry of a Roman general into the city of Rome. The victorious Roman general marched into the city in a long procession Think About It! Scotty Howard is a bright young pastor in Jacksonville, Arkansas. North Jacksonville Missionary Baptist Church, where Scotty pastors, decided to buy school supplies for needy children in a nearby elementary school. During orientation, the principal was so impressed with such a caring church, she asked Scotty to pray with the teachers for a successful school year. Following the prayer, the principal asked Scotty to speak to and pray with the parents later that afternoon. Scotty told the parents that, if they wanted individual prayer, drop by North Jacksonville s table at the end of the meeting. Every parent dropped by the table, asked for prayer and thanked Scotty and his church family for the school supplies. 7
Scotty has been asked to speak at another important school function in the near future. Scotty Howard serves a powerful God who opens doors when we claim His promises. Good things happen when we claim what is already ours. preceded by the city magistrates. They were followed by trumpeters, then the spoils taken from the enemy, followed by white oxen intended for sacrifice, then the captives, headed by the king of the conquered country, then officials of the victorious army with musicians dancing and playing, and, at last, the general himself in whose honor the whole wonderful parade was taking place. This describes us. We are children of God. We are not losers! God always leads us in triumph. When we claim the blessings of God, we experience life at its best. Therefore, trusting God, we should cross rivers, when necessary, attack fortified cities and never give up. Grasping the Principle God told Joshua, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. (Joshua 1:2). God was encouraging Joshua to take the people of Israel across Jordan and let them claim what was already theirs. The sad thing about this is that the Israelites could have crossed the Jordan River forty years earlier. Instead of taking what God had already given them, the Israelites saw the people, the fortified cities and believed they could not do it. God in turn told them that if they were not willing to take what He had given them, to turn around and head for the wilderness to wander aimlessly for forty years. The same principle is true for us. As children of God, we have every right, and we should, claim what is already ours. We have abundant blessings if we just claim them. There is no reason for us to circle mountains when we can build lives, families and churches now. Perhaps, the reason so many Christians wander aimlessly is that they refused to claim what is already theirs. The children of Israel faced conflict, depression and murmuring because they refused to take what God had already given them. If we are living in conflict, dealing with depression and facing constant murmuring, we may have simply refused to claim the blessings God has already given us. Since God gives us all spiritual blessings (Eph. 1:3), maybe it is time to claim them. 8
Living the Principle MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY I will read Exodus 6:4, consider the fact that God gave Israel the Promised Land, that Israel refused to take the land, and then consider areas of my life where I may not be claiming the promises of God. I will read Numbers 13:28-33, I will contemplate how the majority of the spies, that Moses sent out, brought back a negative report, and I will consider my words and actions as I claim or reject the promises of God. I will read Numbers 14:26-33, and I will consider the ramifications of not claiming the promises of God, and I will consider whether my present circumstances are the result of me not claiming the promises of God. THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY I will read Deuteronomy 2:1-3, and I will consider the effects of going in circles. I will search my heart to see if I m going in circles in my Christian life, and I will make up my mind to be a productive member of my church. I will read Matthew 28:19, 20, 1 Corinthians 3:6 and Matthew 16:18, and I will consider the fact that God promises growth when I witness, and I will determine whether I have claimed this important promise of God. Applying the Principle I will read 2 Corinthians 2:14. I will consider the victory parade of a Roman general. I will examine my life, and I will claim the victories God has already given me. The children of Israel approached the Jordan River, knowing that God had already given them the land of Canaan. The men Moses sent out to reconnoiter Canaan knew the land belonged to them. Yet, the majority ten of the twelve spies gave a negative report. Because Israel did not claim what was already theirs, God made them wander in the wilderness for forty years. I will no longer walk in circles. I will not, by a lack of faith, refuse to claim the blessings of God. I will claim God s promises. I will be successful, and I will be victorious. 9