“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: ‘Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.’” (Joshua 1:1-5 NKJV)
Some people have wishes; others, like Joshua, have purposes. A whole generation of Israelites wished, and died still wishing. They had a wishbone, but no backbone. What we need in this world is more people like Joshua that have some backbone. We need men and women of God that will go when God says go, and do what God says do. We need some people who know how to walk and talk with God. Joshua knew, and victory was his.
There were, in fact, seven factors, or secrets, behind his success that I want to share with you. If you will take these, and put them into action, from this moment forward your life will forever be changed. You will move into a realm of victory and success in this Christian life like your mind hasn't even comprehended yet. Like Joshua, you will find success doesn't lie in circumstances. Success lies within your own heart.
1st, realize your greatness is in God. How intimidating it must have been for Joshua to try to take over as leader right after Moses died. Moses was one of the greatest men of all time. How could Joshua compare to this giant? Would Israel accept him? It is easy sometimes to compare ourselves to others. We live in a very competitive world and people constantly use comparisons to judge success. Sad to say, it's even in churches. People often ask, “Where are the new Pauls and Peters?” But God does not want those men for today. He wants us just like He made us. Moses was made for Sinai, Joshua was made for Canaan, and we are made for the day that we live in. We must not allow the enemy to cause us to compare ourselves to any other man, whether past or present. We must realize that a man's greatness lies only in God.
2nd, all of God's promises become ours by faith. Every blessed promise in the Word of God can be ours by having faith. Faith is the key that can unlock all of Heaven's storehouse of blessings. Faith can accomplish things that our minds cannot comprehend. One of the greatest warfares that we encounter is the battle over our faith. If the enemy can cause us to doubt, and to not exercise our faith, we will be like the children of Israel. Just look at what happened to them. One entire generation of Israelites died on the wrong side of the border in unbelief. The faithless all died in the wilderness. But the two faith children, Caleb and Joshua, led the next generation and claimed the promise of God.
3rd, get a vision of what you should do for and with God, then do it. Joshua had a vision and he pursued it. There are many people today who, even if they could get a vision, probably wouldn't do anything about it. But not Joshua. Joshua's attitude was that of a man of maximum faith. He was going to take all that God promised. He was hungry for God's maximum. There are too many people who are satisfied with where they are. Oh, may God wake up the Church of today and put a fresh vision in our hearts. May we get a backbone about us to fight the enemy of our souls as he tries to steal our vision. Oh, God gave us a fresh vision.
4th, go forth knowing God is with you as much as He is with anybody else. God told Joshua, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.” One of the biggest mistakes people make is that they believe God is more with some people than with others. We say things like some are more holy, or more powerful, or more something. We act like God has favorites. But that's not what the Word says. It says “God is no respecter of persons.” We are all equal in His sight. God is not more with a minister than He is with a church member. He is not more with a big church than He is with a little one. The presence of God with us does not vary with our callings. He is the same. People often say, “Why does God use so-and-so? I could do the same thing.” Exactly! You could! So why not stop the excuses and start moving out for God? Realize that God is with you just as much as with anybody else, then go forth into the battle.
5th, be bold in Christ. If you are going to have success in this Christian life, then you've got to become bold. Three times God told Joshua, “Be strong and of good courage.” Why? Because He wanted Joshua to know that He was with him so that he could be bold. For too long the Church has sat back, timid and cowardly. It is time to arise in the boldness of our God and defeat our enemies. We have let the enemy push us around long enough. We need to be bold in our warfare against the forces of darkness.
6th, use the success manual–The Word of God. Listen to what Joshua 1:8-9 has to say about this success manual, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth. But thou shalt meditate therein day and night that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein. For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Joshua used God's success manual and had great success as Israel's leader. If you and I will use God's success manual, the Word of God's victory will be ours today too. No force of darkness will be able to stand against the power of the Word.
7th, go in now to take the land! Victory is yours. Joshua 1:11 says, “Within three days you shall pass over this Jordan to go in to possess the land.” That's what I like about Joshua, he didn't waste any time. He moved out for God immediately. Too many Christians dream, but never do anything about it. Well, now's the time. The revival everybody wants is now. The power of God over demons is now. Signs and wonders can be now. Victory can be now. Success can be now. It is time to go in now and take the land. It is time to possess it. As a spiritual warfighter, stand up and march forward into battle. Victory is yours.