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As 2024 draws to a close, Chris Johnson, Senior Director of Church Partnerships and External Advocacy at Lifeline Children’s Services, leads a reflective study from Joshua 1. In this episode, we explore the lessons God teaches through Joshua’s transition into leadership, guiding the Israelites into the Promised Land. Together, we’ll discover how to close past chapters, focus on God’s purpose for our lives, and trust Him completely as we step into the opportunities of a new year.
LIFELINE CHILDREN'S SERVICES
LIFELINE CHILDREN'S SERVICES
The mission of Lifeline Children’s Services is to equip the Body of Christ to manifest the gospel to vulnerable children. Our vision is for vulnerable children and their communities to be transformed by the gospel and to make disciples.
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Guest
Pastor Chris Johnson
Chris joined Lifeline in March, 2020, and serves as the Sr. Director of Church Partnerships & External Advocacy. He previously served as a pastor for 24 years and as the Executive Director of the Kentucky Governor’s Office of Faith and Community Based Initiatives. Chris has also served as a consultant and has been a frequent speaker at local, state, and national conferences, churches, and community gatherings, sharing his family’s story and challenging others to answer the gospel call to care for vulnerable children and families. He was born and raised in metro Atlanta, GA, and currently lives in Birmingham. Chris studied Church Ministries (B.A.) at Trinity Baptist College and Educational Leadership (M.Ed.) at Regent University. He and his amazing wife, Alicia, have 10 children (7 adopted from foster care) and 3 grandchildren (2 adopted from foster care). They have also served as foster parents to more than 40 children.
What is The Defender Bible Study?
The Defender Bible Study is a weekly study of God’s Word as we seek to equip the Body of Christ to manifest the gospel to orphans and vulnerable children. This podcast is a ministry of Lifeline Children's Services.
Welcome to the defender bible study, a weekly encouragement to equip the body of Christ through the study of scripture and prayer to manifest the gospel to orphans and vulnerable children around the world. This podcast is a ministry Today is Monday, December
Chris Johnson:Welcome to the Defender Bible Study podcast. Today is Monday, December 30, 2024. My Today is Monday, December 30, 2024. My name is Chris Johnson. I serve as the senior director of church partnerships and external advocacy at Lifeline Children Services. Well, as we prepare to close out 2024 and move into 2020 5.
Chris Johnson:We're gonna take one more week away from our study in the book of John. We will, certainly get back to that next week. But today, we wanna just really focus on just kind of how to close out the year well and how to prepare for a new year. Kind of towing this talk today, moving into a new chapter in your life. If you have your Bible, turn to Joshua chapter number 1.
Chris Johnson:We're gonna look today at Joshua chapter number 1. This certainly was a time of transition for the children of Israel. Moses had been their leader for many, many years. They had journeyed through the wilderness in their in their move from Egypt, up to the promised land, and they're now getting ready and finally coming to a place of preparing to enter into the promised land. And so Joshua, who has followed Moses well and has served the people of Israel well, God has now called him to a brand new role.
Chris Johnson:And so there's a new opportunity in front of him and, a new new day for him to to step into God's calling on his life. And so as we kinda close out this year 2024 and look into the new year 2025, I think this is a good time for us to to kinda do the same, reflect on what God has done, but then also see where God is leading us and what God is calling us to. So I wanna share just a a few thoughts with you today that that hopefully will help you in this transition of moving into this new chapter into this new year. So let's look together. Joshua chapter number 1, we're gonna look at the first nine verses, very familiar passage, but hopefully we can glean a few truths that can help us, in this time of of transition into the new year.
Chris Johnson:Joshua the book of Joshua here says, after the death of Moses, the servant of the lord, the Lord said to Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, Moses, my servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all these people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given to you just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites 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.
Chris Johnson:Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses, my servant, commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.
Chris Johnson:This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Chris Johnson:So how do we from this passage, how do we what are some things that we learned to help us move into a new chapter in our life? The first thing I think that we have to do, number 1, we see that we must close the previous chapter. We must close the previous chapter. You know, if you look at the the life of the children of Israel, they, of course, had seen God do some miraculous things, but they also had been on a journey. They, of course, came out of Egypt and Moses led them out for 40 years.
Chris Johnson:They went into the wilderness. They were prepared and ready to move into the promised land, but because they didn't trust God and they didn't have enough faith, they made the decision not to go forward. And then God told you're in the winter for another 40 years. They saw some miraculous things, but also they did some things that that were wrong and sinful. And because of that, whole generation had to to die away.
Chris Johnson:Even Moses, the leader, because of his lack of faith in God and his sin, he even had to pass away and could not enter into the promised land. And so all the the good that had been happened, but also all the bad that had happened. There had to come a time now where they had to to close all the things that had happened in the past. Says there at the beginning of verse number 2, Moses, my servant, is dead. The leader who have led who has led you, the one who has been the one that has spoken on my behalf, he now has passed away, he is off the scene, he is no longer with you.
Chris Johnson:And so it would be easy for the children of Israel instead of following Joshua to to hold on to to the the leading of Moses and to say, you know what? You're you're not like Moses or you're different, and we don't wanna follow you. Or they it would have been easy also for them to just kinda wallow in self pity and all the hardships and the struggles that they had had. But if they were gonna move forward into the promised land, into what God had prepared for them, there had to be a time where they said, you know what? We're not gonna let what has happened to us in the past affect us from going forward.
Chris Johnson:Well, the same was true for Joshua. Joshua had been a part of all this. He had grown up in this whole environment. He had seen all these things happen. It says there in verse number 1 that he had been Moses' assistant.
Chris Johnson:And so there was a time where Joshua was kinda leading from the the second sea, but now God is calling him out front. God is calling him to to lead his people, into the promised land. And so there has to be this time. Joshua could've said, you know what? I need to do everything like Moses did, or I need to or he said, I could've let what happened in the past affect me going forward.
Chris Johnson:But there had to come a time where he had to close the previous chapter. You know, we we see this this same idea throughout scripture. Peter, in first Peter chapter 1 tells us as he's talking about this this idea of being holy and being set apart for God, He says hope to the end. He's basically saying, don't look behind you, but keep your eyes on the finish line, and run the race that God has called you to run, and keep your eyes on the finish line, hope to the end. Paul says the same thing to the church at Philippi where he said, forgetting those things which are behind, we press forward.
Chris Johnson:He's and when he says forgetting those things which are behind, he's not saying remove those things from your memory, but he is saying is don't let your past hinder you from moving forward in what God has called you to. Don't be bogged down by past victories. Don't be bogged down by past mistakes. Don't be bogged down by past sin, but instead, move forward. And so in order to to move forward, there has to be a closing of the chapter.
Chris Johnson:Maybe 2024 for you was a terrible year. Maybe it was full of heartache and hardship and struggles. And if that's the case, man, take some time to reflect on them. Take some time to to try to see what God was doing in your life and what God has accomplished in your life through those things, but don't let the pain and the struggle of 2024 keep you bogged down. It's time to think back on those things, reflect on those things, but close out this chapter.
Chris Johnson:But also maybe it was a great year for you. And it's easy sometimes for us to just kinda rest in what good things we've seen happen in the past, and we can't let that happen either. We've gotta, again, just recognize, you know what? This year is coming to a close. It's a great time to reflect as we have these last few days of 2,024.
Chris Johnson:It's a great time to reflect on all that God has done, all that God has told us, but we can't let the past keep us from moving forward. So we need to close that previous chapter. The next thing that we need to do, not only close the previous chapter, number 2, concentrate on your purpose. Concentrate on your purpose. Joshua say the word the word tells us here that Moses, my servant, is dead, but then God says to Joshua, now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all these people, into the land I'm giving to them, to the people of Israel.
Chris Johnson:God is basically saying to Joshua, it's time to close the past, Moses is dead, but now I want you to focus on your purpose. I want you to concentrate on what I am calling you to do. I have a purpose and a plan for your life, and I want you to focus on that. God had purpose and plan for the life of Joshua, for Joshua to be the leader who would lead his people into the promised land. And so he is now telling Joshua, don't worry about the past, let's move our eyes to the future.
Chris Johnson:Let's concentrate on the purpose that I have for you. Let's focus on what is God's purpose for your life now. What is my purpose for your life now? And, man, the same should be true of us. As we forget those things which are behind, we press forward toward the mark of the prize of the high calling, oh, God in Christ Jesus.
Chris Johnson:We press forward now. And so this is a great time to reflect on what God has done, but also to take these next few days to just really pray through and seek out, God, what is your will for my life now? God, what is your plan for me this year? What is the purpose that you have for my life? What do you wanna accomplish in me and through me in the coming year?
Chris Johnson:So close the previous chapter, concentrate on your purpose going forward. And then number 3, completely trust God. Completely trust God. If Joshua was gonna be successful in this purpose that God had called him to, he had to place his trust completely and wholly in God. And God is telling him, you know what?
Chris Johnson:I can be trusted. You can trust me. I'm not calling you to do this and telling you to do this on your own, but I'm gonna be with you and I'm gonna go before you, and I can be trusted. He says in verse 5, no man should be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
Chris Johnson:I will not leave you or forsake you. Do going down to verse number 9 and he tells him be strong and courageous, don't be frightened, and do not be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. God ultimately hears he is speaking to Joshua, he is telling him, hey, I I know you're probably afraid, I know you're things are uncertain, things are kind of at a at a crossroads here, but you can go forward in your purpose. You can go forward in who I've called you to be and what I've called you to do because I am with you and I can be trusted. And if we're gonna move forward and do what God's called us to do in this next year, then we've gotta completely trust God.
Chris Johnson:Not trust in our own devices, not trust in our own strength, but trust completely in the same God who is with Moses. He's the same God who is with Joshua. He is the same God who will be with us. He is the God who will lead us, direct us, and provide for us every step of the way, and he can be trusted. So let's be determined, let's keep our eyes focused, and let's completely trust God.
Chris Johnson:So close the previous chapter, concentrate on your purpose, completely trust in God. Number 4, courageously press forward. Courageously press forward. He says to Joshua here in verse 7, only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses, my servant commanded you. Do not turn from her to the right hand or the left that you may have good success wherever you go.
Chris Johnson:He continues to tell him, be strong and courageous. Be strong and courageous. He says that again in verse number 9. Be strong and courageous and move forward. Move forward in the right direction.
Chris Johnson:Don't turn to the right. Don't turn to the left, but you stay focused on my purpose for your life. You stay focused on my word. You stay focused on my truth, and you press forward. There are gonna be people who come against you that they're they're gonna try to bring up back what Moses said, they're gonna try to bring back up what your fathers have said, they're gonna get you to try to get you to turn to what the happening in the world around us, they're gonna try to get you to look to the left and to the right, You keep your eyes on the finish line and you courageously press forward.
Chris Johnson:Sometimes to press forward, we have to to turn a blind eye to the naysayers. We have to to to ignore the attacks of the enemy and the the evil one who would get us to veer off course. And God is saying to Joshua, there's gonna come storms, there are gonna come difficulties, but you be strong and you be courageous and you keep your eyes on me and you keep moving toward the purpose that I have for you. Man, what a great admonition for us. As we move into this new year, there are gonna be times where people are not gonna understand God's direction in our life and God's plan in our life.
Chris Johnson:There are gonna be times where the enemy is gonna come against us and try to distract us and try to get us to turn our eyes one direction or the other. We gotta keep our eyes placed forward, we gotta continue to press forward courageously, standing against the attacks of the world, standing against the attack of the enemy. Let's continue to move forward in the courage that we have through following God. Close the previous chapter. Concentrate on your purpose.
Chris Johnson:Completely trust in God. Courageously press forward. And then finally, continuously stay in God's word. Continuously stay in God's word. God says to Joshua here, it's time for you to move into the calling that I have for your life.
Chris Johnson:It's time for you to live out this purpose and this plan. It's gonna be hard. It's gonna be difficult. People are not gonna understand. You're gonna keep your eyes forward.
Chris Johnson:You're gonna be courageous. But the only way you can do this is by continuously staying in my word. He says in verse number 8, this book of the law, the word of God, shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written therein. For then, you will make your way prosperous, then you will have good success. God is telling Joshua, I know that you can't do this.
Chris Johnson:And if you start relying on your own strength, you're gonna fail miserably. If you start doing things according to what everybody around you says, you're not gonna be successful, you're not gonna make it. But if you will stay true to my word, and you will follow the word of God and the things that that I have said, and the things that I will continue to say to you. If you will follow my word, then you will be successful. Then you will accomplish the purpose that I have for you.
Chris Johnson:Now, he's not saying you're gonna be prosperous and rich in the world's eyes, that's not what he's saying here, But he's saying, hey, if you follow my word and my will, then you will have my blessing, and that's really all ultimately all you need. And man, what a great admonition for us as well. And, yeah, he's not saying that if you do a b c, then x y z is gonna happen. If you, you know, if you follow these things and you walk in disobedience, then you're gonna have riches and blessings and the world's gonna look at you as something popular and strong and then rich and all these things. It's not what he's saying here.
Chris Johnson:But he's saying that if you keep your eyes on me, and you keep your focus on the word of God, and you completely stay in God's word, then you'll be prosperous and successful in the things that matter. You'll be successful in the purpose that God has for your life. And so as children of God, we've got to keep our eyes on the Word, keep our eyes on Christ, and we've got to stay in the Word of God. He says here in verse number 8, this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth that you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may be careful to do according to all that's written therein. That's that's kinda our our our side of it.
Chris Johnson:Right? We receive the word of God. We're we're to we're to be in the word of God, so that it's not departing from our mouth. So in order for it not to depart from our mouth, we've gotta study God's word. We gotta look into God's word.
Chris Johnson:We gotta read God's word. We have to receive the word that God has given us. But then he says, not only receive it, but also meditate on it. You shall meditate on it day and night. The word meditate here, it means to continually to think and to ponder on it, to hold it within our minds, within our hearts, and to continue to think on it throughout our day, throughout our our week, throughout our month, throughout our life, throughout this year.
Chris Johnson:May we meditate on the word of God, may we chew on it, may we may we may we just wrestle with it, may we allow it to to penetrate not only just our just our minds, but deeply into our heart. Meditate on the word of God. So we receive it, we meditate on it, and then he says you gotta apply it. He he says apply it to your life. Meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written therein.
Chris Johnson:He says, you you need to walk in the ways that God's word tells you to do. So so we receive it. We we hear it. We read it. We hear it taught.
Chris Johnson:We receive the word of God. We meditate on those things that we read and those things that we hear, those things that we see in God's word. But if it stops there, then what good is it? He says now you need to apply it to your life. The reason you receive it, the reason that you meditate on it is so that you might walk in it, so that you might apply it to your life.
Chris Johnson:So so we receive God's word, we meditate on God's word, and then we need to apply God's word to our life, we walk in it, and what happens is when we do these things, then God's word transforms us. We receive, we meditate, we we apply, and then it transforms. For then you will make your way prosperous, then you will have good success. God says you stay true to my word, you stay in my word, you meditate on my word, and you apply and you live out my word, and I promise you I'll take care of making you successful. I'll take care of you being prosperous in the things that matter, in the purposes that God has for your life.
Chris Johnson:So what a great challenge to to that God issues to Joshua here. What a great challenge for us as we again close out 2024, prepare to move into 2025. I hope and pray that we'll that we'll forget those things which are behind, that we'll reflect on them, that we'll, celebrate the good, that we'll that we'll recognize God's working in the bad, that he's working those things for our good, but that we won't let our past hinder us from moving forward. I pray that we'll concentrate on our purpose, that we'll keep our eyes fixed on the purpose and the plan that God has for our life going forward. I pray that we will completely trust in him, that we will not rest in our own strength and our own power, but completely trust in the power of God.
Chris Johnson:I pray that we'll courageously press forward, that we'll move forward with courage, not worrying about what others say, not not giving into the attacks of the enemy, not looking to the world or looking to the left or the right, but stay focused and courageously press forward, and then may we stay continuously in God's word. May we be people of the book. May we love his word. May we cherish his word. May we read it and study it.
Chris Johnson:Allow it to transform us from the inside out as Romans chapter 12 tells us. May we allow God's word to completely change us and transform us and give us the strength and the power to walk in the plans that God has for us. I pray that as you close out this year, you'll take some time to reflect, but then also allow the Lord to give you a fresh new vision for what he wants to do both in you and through you in the coming year. I'd love to pray for you today. Dear heavenly father, God, we love you, and we thank you so much for your word.
Chris Johnson:We thank you for the strength and the power that we receive from it. We thank you for the clear instruction and direction you give us. Thank you for using Joshua in this way and speaking to him and helping him to know that you would be with him and that you're gonna use him in incredible ways. I thank you for his faithfulness as a witness and a testimony to us. God, as we now close out this year and begin a new year, it's a great time for fresh perspective and, fresh renewal.
Chris Johnson:And so God I pray for all those listening that this would be a time of that very thing. Lord I pray that for our ministry that we would celebrate and be thankful for all the things you've done this last year, but God that we will look forward to continue to to be heroic in our charge to serve you, to follow you, and may you use Lifeline Children Services in 2025 in greater ways, god, than you've ever used us before. As we say focus on your word, on your truth, on your mission, what you have called us to. God, I pray that for every person listening today, may you work in us in as the as only you can do, and we will be careful to give you all the praise and the glory. For it's in the wonderful name of Jesus, our savior, we pray.
Chris Johnson:Amen.
Herbie Newell:Thanks again for joining us for the Defender Bible Study. If you enjoy making this podcast a part of your weekly routine, we'd love for you to take a moment to subscribe, rate, and review the Defender Bible Study to make it easier for more people to find. For more resources and information on how you and your church can partner with Lifeline, please visit us at lifelinechild.org. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter by searching for Lifeline Child. You can email us directly at info atlifelinechild.org.
Herbie Newell:We look forward to seeing you again next week for the Defender Bible Study.