WEBVTT
00:00:07.599 --> 00:00:16.559
Hello, and welcome to another podcast from Refuge, the legacy of freedom, where God is a refuge.
00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:20.719
He is always ready to help in times of trouble.
00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:33.520
So we will not be afraid when earthquakes come, when mountains crumble into the sea, let the oceans roar and foam, let the mountains tremble, and the waters surge.
00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:41.840
A river brings joy to the city of our God, the sacred home of the Most High.
00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:45.039
I'm your host, Eric McBride.
00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:48.159
Glad you joined us today.
00:00:48.799 --> 00:01:02.079
Let's share a short devotional and get our day started in the right direction and make sure that today is a blessed day where our focus is on the word of God.
00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:06.239
Hope you've had a blessed week.
00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:13.680
I hope you're ready to get your focus upon God's Word.
00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:17.519
Today we're going to be in the book of Joshua.
00:01:18.239 --> 00:01:22.239
We're going to see what God is encouraging us to do this morning.
00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:28.079
And the question today is how do we stay focused on God's plan?
00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:34.079
How do we stay focused on the plan that God has for us?
00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:40.640
So we're looking Joshua chapter one, verse six, the NLT.
00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:52.000
It says, Be strong and courageous, for you're the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I will give them.
00:01:52.319 --> 00:01:54.400
Be strong and very courageous.
00:01:54.640 --> 00:01:58.239
Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you.
00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:02.879
Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left.
00:02:03.200 --> 00:02:06.239
Then you will be successful in everything you do.
00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:09.599
Study this book of instruction continually.
00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:15.680
Meditate on it day and night, so you will be sure to obey everything written in it.
00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:21.039
Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.
00:02:21.759 --> 00:02:25.840
This is my command be strong and courageous.
00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:34.560
Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:38.080
In that good news.
00:02:50.400 --> 00:03:01.919
See, when God is speaking to Joshua in this this section of scripture, Joshua is just about to be the leader.
00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:16.319
God is ordaining him to be the one who takes Moses' place as the one who will lead the children into the promised land that God swore to their ancestors.
00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:20.800
And God is giving Joshua a command.
00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:23.599
He is speaking into his life.
00:03:23.759 --> 00:03:28.400
He is declaring over him that he must be strong.
00:03:28.639 --> 00:03:36.400
He must be courageous because he is the one who will lead these people to possess the land.
00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:38.639
Think about that for just a moment.
00:03:38.960 --> 00:03:48.159
God says, You are the one who will lead the people to possess all the land that I swore to their ancestors for them.
00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:49.120
Wow.
00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:56.080
I mean, just that statement that God is saying, You're the you're the man that's going to lead them.
00:03:56.159 --> 00:04:02.879
You're the man that's going to divide the land up and give them their inheritance that they've been promised.
00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:07.439
And Joshua's like, Well, I've never done anything like this before.
00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:14.400
Moses has been the one who who's been speaking with you and and telling us how to follow you.
00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:19.759
And now it's it's left up to me to do this.
00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:27.839
I can see where fear could could immediately come in, and you feel like, well, I can't measure it up.
00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:31.120
I'll never be able to do what Moses did.
00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:35.439
But you've got to remember that God says, I will be with you.
00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:37.680
I will strengthen you.
00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:39.759
I will help you.
00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:54.720
See, the success is not coming from your own power or influential personal contacts or a relentless desire to get ahead.
00:04:54.800 --> 00:05:10.240
It's not coming from sheer abilities that you possess, but it is actually God that is enabling us to operate in the sphere that He's called us to walk in.
00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:16.800
God is not calling us to walk as a defeated child of God.
00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:19.040
He's called us to walk in victory.
00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:27.360
Matter of fact, in the New Testament, he's in Paul's writings to the Romans, he says, You're more than conquerors.
00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:32.240
So how do you stay focused on God's plan?
00:05:32.879 --> 00:05:38.240
How do you stay focused and being strong and courageous?
00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:42.240
Well, God is giving Joshua the strategy here.
00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:47.360
He's saying, You've got to obey the law.
00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:52.000
You gotta listen to what God says.
00:05:52.800 --> 00:06:01.439
You know, when they're gonna face Jericho, the very first city that they face, it's a walled city, and God gives them instructions.
00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:08.720
He says, I want you to walk around the city wall and don't say anything.
00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:09.920
Be quiet.
00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:16.160
And just walk around it once every day.
00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:26.879
And then you're gonna walk around it seven times, and then you're gonna shout, and the priest are gonna blow the trumpets, and I'm gonna cause the walls to fall down.
00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:29.199
They had to obey God's word.
00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:32.879
And it's no different for us.
00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:43.920
If we're going to accomplish what God has put in our lives to accomplish, if we're going to walk in victory, we must obey God's word.
00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:49.519
We must walk in the ways that God has called us to walk.
00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:55.439
You know, in order to do this, you've got to you've got to read the word.
00:06:55.680 --> 00:06:57.839
You've got to hear the word, right?
00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:00.879
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:02.879
You've got to feed on the word.
00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:07.759
You know, someone asks, a man had two dogs, and he says, uh, what do you do with the dogs?
00:07:07.839 --> 00:07:12.800
And he says, Well, you know, I I they're they're used to fight.
00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:14.480
He says, Well, which one wins?
00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:16.560
He says, The one I feed.
00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:19.199
Are you feeding your faith?
00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:20.959
Are you feeding your fear?
00:07:21.759 --> 00:07:25.519
When we feed our faith, faith comes by hearing God's word.
00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:33.680
We constantly read and study or meditate on the book of the law, on God's word.
00:07:34.160 --> 00:07:35.279
It's God's word.
00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:42.240
So to be successful, we must follow God's words to Joshua.
00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:47.680
We must meditate on his word continually.
00:07:48.879 --> 00:07:52.639
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, a light to my path.
00:07:52.879 --> 00:07:57.199
I have hid thy word in my heart that I might not sin against God.
00:07:58.319 --> 00:08:01.839
Your word is a shield all around me, God.
00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:04.480
You are the lifter of my head, Lord.
00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:09.040
You're the you're you're my shield and exceeding great reward.
00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:13.680
If God be for us, who can be against us?
00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:20.399
How do I stay focused on God's plan if I don't stay focused on God's word?
00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:42.159
And if I focus on God's word and I obey what God leads me into, and what I do what he says to do through his word guiding me, then he says I'll be like Joshua, he will make my way prosperous, and I will have great success.
00:08:42.799 --> 00:08:51.440
You know, there are a lot of people that are prosperous in the world's standards, but they're not successful in God's standards.
00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:58.159
They have everything their heart could desire, but yet they lack one thing.
00:08:58.559 --> 00:09:05.759
They lack having God as their savior, their Lord, and their king.
00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:12.639
I want you to think about it today as you focus upon God's word, as you keep it right in front of you.
00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:28.080
You may seem to the world standards unsuccessful, but in God's eyes, as you follow his word, as you honor his commandments, as you stay in step with him, you will be a success.
00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:33.759
And God's opinion is the most important opinion.
00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:37.440
I want to encourage you today, stay focused on God's word.
00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:39.600
Stay focused on God's plan.
00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:54.320
For in doing so, you will prosper and you will be successful, and you will leave a legacy of freedom for others to follow, where your children and your children's children will be blessed.
00:09:54.559 --> 00:09:58.320
Until next time, may the Lord bless you.
00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:04.639
May you find his favor abundantly on your life.
00:10:04.799 --> 00:10:06.240
Have a blessed week.
00:00:07.599 --> 00:00:16.559
Hello, and welcome to another podcast from Refuge, the legacy of freedom, where God is a refuge.
00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:20.719
He is always ready to help in times of trouble.
00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:33.520
So we will not be afraid when earthquakes come, when mountains crumble into the sea, let the oceans roar and foam, let the mountains tremble, and the waters surge.
00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:41.840
A river brings joy to the city of our God, the sacred home of the Most High.
00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:45.039
I'm your host, Eric McBride.
00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:48.159
Glad you joined us today.
00:00:48.799 --> 00:01:02.079
Let's share a short devotional and get our day started in the right direction and make sure that today is a blessed day where our focus is on the word of God.
00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:06.239
Hope you've had a blessed week.
00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:13.680
I hope you're ready to get your focus upon God's Word.
00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:17.519
Today we're going to be in the book of Joshua.
00:01:18.239 --> 00:01:22.239
We're going to see what God is encouraging us to do this morning.
00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:28.079
And the question today is how do we stay focused on God's plan?
00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:34.079
How do we stay focused on the plan that God has for us?
00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:40.640
So we're looking Joshua chapter one, verse six, the NLT.
00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:52.000
It says, Be strong and courageous, for you're the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I will give them.
00:01:52.319 --> 00:01:54.400
Be strong and very courageous.
00:01:54.640 --> 00:01:58.239
Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you.
00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:02.879
Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left.
00:02:03.200 --> 00:02:06.239
Then you will be successful in everything you do.
00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:09.599
Study this book of instruction continually.
00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:15.680
Meditate on it day and night, so you will be sure to obey everything written in it.
00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:21.039
Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.
00:02:21.759 --> 00:02:25.840
This is my command be strong and courageous.
00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:34.560
Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:38.080
In that good news.
00:02:50.400 --> 00:03:01.919
See, when God is speaking to Joshua in this this section of scripture, Joshua is just about to be the leader.
00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:16.319
God is ordaining him to be the one who takes Moses' place as the one who will lead the children into the promised land that God swore to their ancestors.
00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:20.800
And God is giving Joshua a command.
00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:23.599
He is speaking into his life.
00:03:23.759 --> 00:03:28.400
He is declaring over him that he must be strong.
00:03:28.639 --> 00:03:36.400
He must be courageous because he is the one who will lead these people to possess the land.
00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:38.639
Think about that for just a moment.
00:03:38.960 --> 00:03:48.159
God says, You are the one who will lead the people to possess all the land that I swore to their ancestors for them.
00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:49.120
Wow.
00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:56.080
I mean, just that statement that God is saying, You're the you're the man that's going to lead them.
00:03:56.159 --> 00:04:02.879
You're the man that's going to divide the land up and give them their inheritance that they've been promised.
00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:07.439
And Joshua's like, Well, I've never done anything like this before.
00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:14.400
Moses has been the one who who's been speaking with you and and telling us how to follow you.
00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:19.759
And now it's it's left up to me to do this.
00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:27.839
I can see where fear could could immediately come in, and you feel like, well, I can't measure it up.
00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:31.120
I'll never be able to do what Moses did.
00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:35.439
But you've got to remember that God says, I will be with you.
00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:37.680
I will strengthen you.
00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:39.759
I will help you.
00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:54.720
See, the success is not coming from your own power or influential personal contacts or a relentless desire to get ahead.
00:04:54.800 --> 00:05:10.240
It's not coming from sheer abilities that you possess, but it is actually God that is enabling us to operate in the sphere that He's called us to walk in.
00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:16.800
God is not calling us to walk as a defeated child of God.
00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:19.040
He's called us to walk in victory.
00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:27.360
Matter of fact, in the New Testament, he's in Paul's writings to the Romans, he says, You're more than conquerors.
00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:32.240
So how do you stay focused on God's plan?
00:05:32.879 --> 00:05:38.240
How do you stay focused and being strong and courageous?
00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:42.240
Well, God is giving Joshua the strategy here.
00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:47.360
He's saying, You've got to obey the law.
00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:52.000
You gotta listen to what God says.
00:05:52.800 --> 00:06:01.439
You know, when they're gonna face Jericho, the very first city that they face, it's a walled city, and God gives them instructions.
00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:08.720
He says, I want you to walk around the city wall and don't say anything.
00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:09.920
Be quiet.
00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:16.160
And just walk around it once every day.
00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:26.879
And then you're gonna walk around it seven times, and then you're gonna shout, and the priest are gonna blow the trumpets, and I'm gonna cause the walls to fall down.
00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:29.199
They had to obey God's word.
00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:32.879
And it's no different for us.
00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:43.920
If we're going to accomplish what God has put in our lives to accomplish, if we're going to walk in victory, we must obey God's word.
00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:49.519
We must walk in the ways that God has called us to walk.
00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:55.439
You know, in order to do this, you've got to you've got to read the word.
00:06:55.680 --> 00:06:57.839
You've got to hear the word, right?
00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:00.879
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:02.879
You've got to feed on the word.
00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:07.759
You know, someone asks, a man had two dogs, and he says, uh, what do you do with the dogs?
00:07:07.839 --> 00:07:12.800
And he says, Well, you know, I I they're they're used to fight.
00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:14.480
He says, Well, which one wins?
00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:16.560
He says, The one I feed.
00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:19.199
Are you feeding your faith?
00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:20.959
Are you feeding your fear?
00:07:21.759 --> 00:07:25.519
When we feed our faith, faith comes by hearing God's word.
00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:33.680
We constantly read and study or meditate on the book of the law, on God's word.
00:07:34.160 --> 00:07:35.279
It's God's word.
00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:42.240
So to be successful, we must follow God's words to Joshua.
00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:47.680
We must meditate on his word continually.
00:07:48.879 --> 00:07:52.639
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, a light to my path.
00:07:52.879 --> 00:07:57.199
I have hid thy word in my heart that I might not sin against God.
00:07:58.319 --> 00:08:01.839
Your word is a shield all around me, God.
00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:04.480
You are the lifter of my head, Lord.
00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:09.040
You're the you're you're my shield and exceeding great reward.
00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:13.680
If God be for us, who can be against us?
00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:20.399
How do I stay focused on God's plan if I don't stay focused on God's word?
00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:42.159
And if I focus on God's word and I obey what God leads me into, and what I do what he says to do through his word guiding me, then he says I'll be like Joshua, he will make my way prosperous, and I will have great success.
00:08:42.799 --> 00:08:51.440
You know, there are a lot of people that are prosperous in the world's standards, but they're not successful in God's standards.
00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:58.159
They have everything their heart could desire, but yet they lack one thing.
00:08:58.559 --> 00:09:05.759
They lack having God as their savior, their Lord, and their king.
00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:12.639
I want you to think about it today as you focus upon God's word, as you keep it right in front of you.
00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:28.080
You may seem to the world standards unsuccessful, but in God's eyes, as you follow his word, as you honor his commandments, as you stay in step with him, you will be a success.
00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:33.759
And God's opinion is the most important opinion.
00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:37.440
I want to encourage you today, stay focused on God's word.
00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:39.600
Stay focused on God's plan.
00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:54.320
For in doing so, you will prosper and you will be successful, and you will leave a legacy of freedom for others to follow, where your children and your children's children will be blessed.
00:09:54.559 --> 00:09:58.320
Until next time, may the Lord bless you.
00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:04.639
May you find his favor abundantly on your life.
00:10:04.799 --> 00:10:06.240
Have a blessed week.
