The scripture today was at a pivotal time in Israel’s history.  They were rebuilding the city of Jerusalem which had been demolished by Babylon.  And they realized the reason for their captivity and exile.  They failed to keep and respond to God’s commands and the warning of God’s word through the prophets.  I think of the people in parts of NC and Los Angeles who have lost everything and are having to start all over with rebuilding homes and putting their lives back together again. And in many ways 5 Rivers Church is starting all over and building for the future.

As we do this, like the people of Israel, there is necessary part of establishing or reestablishing the top priorities…put first things first…which they failed to do before. Or better they failed to keep the right priorities and disaster came. The New Year is a great time to establish or reestablish our priorities.  So, I want to begin a series on Priorities of the Christian life.  This is not something new for most of us.  But it is something we need to “renew” in our lives at least annually, like how we renew our marriage anniversary or baptism vows.

In this series we emphasize what John Wesley called the “means of grace”.  Others have called them spiritual disciplines.  But by this we are identifying what the people of God have practiced through the ages to help them stay in communication with God and  become the person God has designed them to be and to fulfill the mission or calling God has placed  upon them. In simple terms it means being “who” God wants us to be and doing “what” God wants us to do and finally to arrive at the destination God has planned for us.

I should caution here that “MEANS” of grace are simply that…means only.  What we are identifying as priorities are just vehicles to know the direction and reach the destination that God has for us.   Again, they are only a means to a greater end.  In everyday life we have transportation vehicles to take us where we want to go.  But vehicles are only “means” to take us to the desired destination.  You drove your car as a means of transportation to get to the church today.  The car was the means to the greater end of coming to worship.   But we must be careful as we practice these means of grace that we do not replace the end with the means. For example, as we emphasize the priority of the Word today, we can engage in daily reading and studying of the scriptures and have our heads filled with great knowledge of God’s word.  But it can be only an academic exercise because we are not using the Word for its intended purpose. The purpose is to stay in communication with God and through the means to be directed by God so we may become who God wants us to be and engaging in what God wants us to do and finally arrive at our eternal home.

But I think the greatest and most typical danger is that we do not consistently practice the means or they lose a place of priority in our lives.  Other things take the place of these priorities, and we shift our attention and focus on lesser things.  Rise up O Men of God records the lines…Have done with lesser things.  So without practicing these disciplines we are like an athlete that will not go through the workouts and routines that allow them to perform and also protect them from injury.  Without discipline a person becomes disqualified to compete.  They are simply not able to accomplish what is required or to accomplish what is expected.  In a similar way, without these spiritual disciplines, we will not be able to accomplish what God desires or become the people he has designed us to become.

Our goal is to identify these tried and proven means of grace.  Then we hope you will start to make them true priorities in your life.  As we think about the priority of God’s Word today let’s look at some notable quotes about the Bible:

“Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.”― Ronald Reagan

“But for this book we could not know right from wrong.”― Abraham Lincoln

“The reason you don’t like the Bible, you old sinner, is because it knows all about you.”― Billy Sunday

“It ain’t the parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it’s the parts that I do understand.”― Mark Twain

“Out of 100 men, one will read the Bible, the other 99 will read the Christian.”― Dwight Lyman Moody

“The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation.”― Dwight Lyman Moody

“A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.”― Charles H. Spurgeon

“If you really want to be a rebel, get a job, cut your grass, read your bible, and shut up. Because no one is doing that.”― Mark Driscoll

We make anything a priority when we see it as more valuable or important than other things.  There are many reasons why the Word is more valuable and important than other things.  I want to mention just 2 or 3 of them today. First,

1. The Word Gives Us the Right Design and Direction

Do you think Ryan Day, the coach for Ohio State, had a plan when he played Notre Dame for the title game?  Do you think he just came out there “flying by the seat of his pants?”  I guarantee you he had a plan, and his Offensive and Defensive Coordinators had plays and schemes drawn up for how they were going to carry out the entire game plan.  And the other part of this is that the players had to execute the plays or the design of play, right?  The best play designs and schemes in the world will not work if the players cannot execute them.  A coach can design a perfect play and have a receiver wide open, but the QB throws a lame duck pass that lands 2 feet short…the play was great… but the execution was terrible. Or the player drops the pass! Welcome to WV football!  So, both things must happen for things to turn out according to design.

Now in the context of this scripture…The people were starting over.  So, how do you lead your people who are starting over? What is the plan? I think this situation is much like what was done way earlier in Israel’s history when Moses died?  What do you do now?  How can you possibly fill the sandals of Moses?  Well, you cannot.  All you can do is follow the design and direction of the One who is greater than Moses.

Our reality is that we may not be filling Moses sandals or coaching a Championship game but every day we are making decisions which do affect the direction of our lives.  Now I think the most important decisions are not so much about our possessions and living situations or contexts or social status. We spend a lot of our time on those items. And to be sure, those are important things! But they are not the most important priority of our lives.  The bible speaks more about seeking the kingdom first and being the kind of person God has designed us to become.   Here are the priorities and instructions God tells Joshua:

8 This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night   Joshua 1:8

Now I am not sure about you but that sure sounds like a priority to me. right?  One quality of a priority is that it will take TIME.  Note here it reads, meditate day and night  which means this will take an investment of time. 

I went to hear Anthony Crawford in concert a little while back.  Anthony is a songwriter and musician who lives in Loxley. He leads the music duo with his wife, called, “Sugar Cane Jane”.  He has a more folk style of music.  But Anthony is a great guitarist. I learned that as he was beginning guitar and developing his skill, he spent 4 hours a day practicing and learning and developing his craft.   But I have also observed that anyone who excels in their field or career, especially where performance is on display, will spend a lot of TIME practicing to improve.  They also have great passion to keep spending time developing their skill or ability.   Whether a person is a concert pianist, an author/writer, a airplane pilot, a medical surgeon, or an auto mechanic.  Whatever the trade, skill or ability it takes an investment of TIME for them to excel and enhance their skill and ability.

Now I know that we are very busy people and time is a precious commodity. In my first appointment in a rural spot south of Enterprise I was serving a small church on a 2 point charge.  I was visiting a couple, husband and wife, who were one of the few faithful people attending that church.  The lady had paralysis on her right side but she was able to walk without support.  Her right leg was stiff but moveable and her right arm was also stiffened from paralysis from the stroke.  I was inspired by her spirit and tenacity in overcoming her struggles.  But she was very passionate about God and about the church.  She was also very frustrated at the lack of commitment and apathy of those who were in the church but not attending. She deeply loved and cared for the people, some of them were in her family.  I shared with her that I know people are very busy these days and going in a lot of directions.  Then she looked at me like an Old Testament prophet and she placed her paralyzed arm on the countertop and then she said, “Preacher, I have observed that people find time to do what they really want to do”.   Now If I had to make a personal definition of a priority it would be that which we make time to do or experience.

What was inherent in that statement was she was frustrated that people she loved were making time to do other things and consequently making priorities over things of lesser value or importance in her eyes.  If we would use a biblical word for this, it would be…The love of the world has replaced or overridden the love of God.  Earthly and physical things have overridden and replaced spiritual things. Those things are not always exclusive but often they are in competition with each other.  And one will become a priority and the other will take a secondary position.    I would simply ask you…Is the Word of God a priority in your life right now?  Are you taking time to read and study it?  And best of all, be involved  in group that is reading and studying the bible.  SS classes or small group settings are great places to do this also.

And let me say another word here.  The bible is still one of the bestselling books of all time. And there are many varieties and translations that are very easy to read.  There are also bibles related to every arena of life.   Bibles for those in the military, Bibles for teachers, bibles for coaches, bibles for golfers, bibles for housewives, bibles for businessmen… there is nearly a bible for every category of life.  I even saw a waterproof bible, you can even read the bible when you are snorkeling or scuba diving!  And yes… you can get bible devotionals and apps for all kinds of bible reading programs on your smart phones.  I am currently using a program called Daily Discovery which we have available along with the Upper Room on my phone.  Great use of our smart phone!   Both of which are designed to be a daily devotional to help you stay consistently in God’s word.    I know time is limited but I would simply invite you and challenge you to start where you are and make this is priority in your life….or reestablish it is a priority in your life.

But there is another part to this verse that is equally important.  I mentioned this before.  This is not just an academic exercise and something you can cross off your list to say I have done my religious stuff for today…Check!  No… REMEMBER…it is a MEANS to a greater END.  We are meditating over it…Reading and Studying day and night… And the other part of this and just as important, if not more….  This Word demands a RESPONSE. And we must make:

1. The Word Call Us To Make A Right Response

Note what the instruction reads again back in Joshua 1:8

V8 So that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it.

Remember what I mentioned before regarding football and the design of a play.  It may be a perfectly designed play but if it is not executed properly there will be an epic failure.  By the way, everyone has to do their part for that design play to work.  Everyone on the team must follow the instructions given.

 Now here is real question…How many of you like to read instructions?  I was putting together a piece of equipment recently. They have instruction manuals printed out in Spanish, French, German and English.  I mean the folks who designed whatever object we are trying to put together have detailed instructions about how to put it together.  Or there are a lot of DIY videos on YouTube that you can use to help you, right?  I am convinced that most of us really do not like to follow instructions, especially if we think we know how to do it correctly, right?  Let’s be honest now.

Long before the days of smart phones and gps devices when you map out your routes…we had paper road maps.  Oh yeah! Remember road maps…they gave you general road directions. (Show the picture of the Alabama Map here)

 But there was nothing specific like a navigation system that said…Get in the left two lanes to make the junction to left onto I 285… or, In a quarter mile turn left on Maple St. Or if you missed a turn SIRI is recalculating…   But not so very long ago…driving and getting directions led to some rather lively family discussions.  I remember those discussions from the back of our station wagon. Mom would say, Red, I think you need to turn right down here.  You missed the turn.  Then the response from my father was something like…I know what I am doing…Who is driving this car anyway!!!

I mentioned this last week.  And I want to come back to it this week.   Remember 12 spies were sent into Canaan to spy out the land.  The spies came back and reported.  Joshua and Caleb were encouraging the people to go into the land.  They believed God would deliver it to them.  The other 10 were negative and afraid and counseled Moses and the people not to go because the cities were fortified and there were “giants” in the land.  And what did they do?  They were delayed and spent a lot more time in the wilderness.

 But the sad reality is… they had directions and the right counsel; they simply did not follow the word that was given or the instructions.  They followed the crowd and consensus of popular opinion.  Peer pressure.  Feelings of inadequacy.  They had the right way, but they simply turned aside from it.  God had a design and a plan, but they rejected it or refused to follow it.  This was a powerful lesson for Joshua’s context and the direction of his life and leadership. He was not going to take a poll to see how the people felt and where he should lead them.  He was simply going to follow the instruction from the Word of God.

I saw a church sign a few years ago that read, The instructions you follow will determine the life you live.  Whose instructions are you following? Friends, I have discovered that everyone is following someone’s instructions or directions, if not their own made-up instructions. And the consequences are not good!

John Wesley considered himself a man of one book.  I will say more on this in a moment.  But he made a famous statement about the bible as it relates to the church.  He said, “In all cases, the Church is to be judged by the Scripture, not the Scripture by the Church”.   So, the scriptures remain our final authority in all matters of faith and practice!

Now there is another great lesson and an important part of this teaching.  And this is the reason why God is giving the design and direction to us…for this end.  So that we can make it to the right destination.

III. The Word Gives Us the Right Destination  

This why we are to meditate on God’s word.  This is why we are in complete obedience to this Word because only then…can we arrive at the right destination. Note the instruction again to Joshua about the result of following God’s word.

v8 For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful. 

This makes very clear that God always has the best desire for us.  God designs and directs us through His word to bring help us be successful.  But I want to clarify this by saying this passage does mean you will be successful in your business or have great financial success or have fame or fortune. This is not prosperity theology that is popular today.   What it means more directly is that you will be successful in becoming the person God wants you to be and in accomplishing the mission that God has called you to do on this earth.  And ultimately, it means that you will be brought to the ultimate destination that God has prepared for you which is your eternal home.

Many writers see the Promised Land as a prefiguration of heaven.  Even the classic hymn…I am Bound for the Promised Land depicts a Christian dying and going to heaven…and crossing Jordan as a symbol of death…But there is a greater glory of heaven that awaits us.   But how can we get there? How can we know and be certain about it?  As I referenced the story of the spies in the Promise Land.  As Paul Harvey would say…Here is the rest of the story…

 Numbers 14

And the Lord added that all those that left Egypt but didn’t believe, they will surely die in the wilderness (every person that is 20 years and older) except for Caleb and Joshua. “Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun” (V. 29-30).

And the Lord’s Word came to pass.  Forty years after Moses’ death, from all the congregation that left Egypt at the Exodus, only Joshua and Caleb reached the Land of Promise and inherited it because of their faith in the Lord.  Out of their entire generation, only Joshua and Caleb made it to the Promised Land.  That is not a good statistic.  But I fear that the story today is too similar.  We must be careful not to follow the crowd or popular opinion.  We must be following the instructions from God’s holy Word.

I want to be like Joshua.  I want all of us here today to be like Joshua and Caleb who did make God’s word a true priority of his life and follow its instruction.

Joshua had seen his generation die without entering the Promise Land.  That must have been a sobering reality.  Joshua knew for certain the words of Isaiah, this great truth.

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.

Isaiah 40:8 | NIV

This is why the people stood for 6 hours while Ezra read from the holy scriptures concerning the commands of God.  The people were living in fresh reminder of how straying from the Word had caused them to lose their nation and city.   They were now placing a right priority on the Word of God in this new beginning of their lives.

Now my aim would be for us to reassess or evaluate what is most important in our lives.  Further that we would make the Word of God a real priority.   The founder of the Methodist movement, John Wesley made this statement…I want to conclude with it.

I have thought, I am a creature of a day, passing through life as an arrow through the air. I am a spirit come from God, and returning to God: just hovering over the great gulf; till, a few moments hence, I am no more seen; I drop into an unchangeable eternity! I want to know one thing,—the way to heaven; how to land safe on that happy shore. God himself has condescended to teach me the way. For this very end He came from heaven. He hath written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price, give me the book of God! I have it: here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be homo unius libri ( a man of one book).

Story of Dee.  She ran with the wrong crowd.  They were a party crowd who would go to motels to drink and carouse. They had a contest to see who could steal more items from the motel.  Dee stole a Gideon bible, and her friends gave her the prize.  But soon she learned she was pregnant, and her boyfriend deserted her and the baby.  Her friends all went in different directions, and she was alone and very troubled.  In her despair she turned to the Gideon bible she stole from the motel.  In her reading, she found that she was not alone. She was convicted and found her way to Christ.  Friends, so many stories of people whose lives were changed by reading the scripture.  It truly gives us the knowledge of salvation and that is why each of us are here today.

May we all renew our priority of the Word of God in our individual lives.  Just start where you are.  I am happy to help anyone who needs assistance in a study or reading plan with the bible.    May we all be a people of “One Book”.