PREPARING THE JOSHUA GENERATION

Based on the message of Rev. Norman Holmes

Before Jesus ascended to the Father, we read in Matthew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

One of the conditions to Christ’s return is the fulfillment of this verse. Thus, the Lord Jesus commanded us in Matthew 28:18-19, we read, “…Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

This is the Great Commission.

We must not minimize our part in fulfilling this marching order from Jesus. Something that looked like utter foolishness when Jesus said to His disciples, “I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” has become a success today when Jesus took a handful of ordinary fishermen to start a worldwide movement.

He began something not by might, not by human wisdom, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. And now, what the early disciples started is about to be completed in our generation. Missiologists, people who investigate Church growth, have declared that the Church can complete the Great Commission within 15 years if all Christians will be fully dedicated to this purpose.

In the Old Testament, there were two distinct generations that were led by God to inherit the Promise Land. First is the Moses generation, a group of people who started fulfilling God's plans for Israel. They were led by Moses out of slavery in Egypt and were witnesses of God’s mighty miracles and deliverance.

While they started the work of God, it was the next generation, the Joshua generation, that completed God’s plans by entering the land of promise. Like the Joshua generation of old, we are called to be the generation that will see the completion of the task started by the early church of preaching the gospel in all the world.

We, the Joshua generation, will see the wrap up of wrap-ups and everything that was prophesied in the Bible.

The question is, how do we prepare to be the triumphant Joshua generation and fulfill the Great Commission?

1. We need to have renewed minds and hearts filled with faith

We look around us and we see the difficulties of this modern world. There are times when we belittle ourselves and raise questions whether we can accomplish big things in this world. However, we must realize that we have the Spirit of the Living God in us. The Holy Spirit is guiding us and preparing us to be men and women that can have a significant impact in the place where God has planted us.

Some Christians are like the Moses Generation who are content with God’s provisions and cannot take the pressures of advancing the kingdom of God. The generation of Moses refused to enter and possess the Promise Land because they were afraid of the giants in the land. They continued to carry the slave mentality they had in Egypt that would rather bow down to their oppressors than fight for their inheritance.

We do not want to be half-made Christians who are living comfortably while avoiding the giants and the troubles. We want to be obedient soldiers pressing into God’s best for us like the generation led by Joshua that went into the Promise Land and defeated their enemies.

We want to be full overcomers who will conquer every promise and opportunity that God gives.

When we dedicate our lives to God, sometimes we will go through tribulations because the enemy does not want us to advance God’s kingdom. But God will preserve His people despite the opposition from the enemy.

David ran after Goliath. Elijah challenged 400 Baal priests to show the Israelites that God is the only True God. Moses went down to Egypt to face Pharaoh. God wants us to be like these men of faith and go forward to God’s perfect plan for us despite the mountains and obstacles.

2. We need to get direction from God

Proverbs 29:18 tells us, “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law.” Also, in Daniel 11, we are told that “people who know their God will do great exploits.”

We need to know what we should be aiming for. Otherwise, we will be counterproductive. If we learn to follow God's plan, our works will not only bear fruit in this life but its impact will be for eternity.

God can do a mighty work through any true faith-filled Christian with a vision. Take the example of the two Christian businessmen who founded Gideons International in 1899. Their organization has distributed more than 80 million Bibles in hotel rooms, hospitals, and prisons. They were used by God because they followed God’s direction for their lives.

According to Hudson Taylor “God's will, done God's way, will have God's provisions.”

3. We need to use faith to step forward

When we have received direction from God, we will need to have faith to move forward. God will do quick works in our lives in these last days.

The Early Church was blessed by God in Jerusalem for many years. They were happy and enjoyed God’s blessings but had limited vision. God’s Plan A (School of the Spirit) for the Early Church was to go and make disciples in all Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

But they ignored the Great Commission until God pushed them out of Jerusalem through persecution (School of Suffering). As a consequence, they were scattered but they were able to preach the Gospel wherever they went. When we get direct instructions from God but we do not obey, God will bring us to the school of suffering to learn instead.

God wants His people to have the right priorities. 

We should be quick in preaching the Gospel. We need to be the salt and light reaching out with compassion to the lost. God yearns that we would rise up in faith with wisdom. He wants us to go forward with every opportunity and to every place He sends us to.

The promises of God will be fulfilled in our generation. God can use us as we obey His voice and go forward to the fullness of His plans for us.

May we be found faithful in being part of the Joshua Generation who will arise and complete the Great Commission.