1. Succession plan. Moses was the liberator. Joshua was the military leader for conquering the land. There was never any intention to have a leader after that. Everything was to be organized by tribes and local government. No President. No King. No standing national armies. It would be like our having States but no national government. There would be no United States – just States. Some tribes do better than others at driving out the Canaanites. Some have to cooperate with each other and some do it on their own. Some few are unsuccessful and live with the consequences. There is no attempt to form a national effort to drive…

1. Context Joshua is old and well advanced in years. “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth.” I’ve been reading farewell speeches this week. Presidents Washington, Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan and Obama. I’ve re-read General MacArthur’s address to the cadets at West Point and, of course, it is the standard for any other speeches. For a few they are very personal and a last time to defend their legacy. For others, it is not about about them but an opportunity to reflect on both the past and the future of the country. Joshua’s farewell is not about his legacy…but about the relationship between God and Israel.…

1.  We are going to look at three legacies and inheritances this morning. The legacy of Joshua, of Caleb and the Levites. They are all different but they tie together in an interesting way. For Joshua, it is the completion of a lifelong assignment. For Caleb, it is the realization of a dream deferred. For the Levites, it is a surprising twist of being excluded. 2.  It begins with Joshua. Remember what God said in the very first verse of the book? “Moses is dead” We talked about the importance of understanding reality – even if it is painful. As Max DePree said: “The first responsibility of a leader is…

1.  The beginning of any venture requires an almost absolute purity. It could be a nation, an organization, a business, a ministry like a church plant or a new movement. There is nothing more important than everyone being on the same page and agreed about the basics. There is room for mistakes and room for errors. There is even room for some kinds of sins. We see that when we read that the prostitute Rahab was not only saved but welcomed into the community of Israel. You can imagine what it would have been like if Joshua had been told that every single sin in the camp had to be…

1. The people have crossed and it could not be better for them given the morale of the Canaanites. “Now when all the Amorite Kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the seacoast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until we had crossed over, their hearts sank and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.” Where have we read that before? Just earlier, when the two spies had gone into the land and stayed with Rahab she told them that “a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country…

1. Forty years ago, Moses sent spies into Canaan and you remember their report? “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large…The land we explored devours those living in it…We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” Only two of those spies disagreed and are here alive today – Caleb and Joshua. The other ten died with the generation wandering in the desert. In fact, forty years after that first inspection Joshua sent two spies into the…

1.  Begin with reality. Max DePree, the former CEO of Herman Miller and author of “Leadership Is An Art” has said many times that a leader’s first responsibility is to define reality. He is right. Have you seen the picture of the bicycle that was left leaning against a tree in Washington State and, decades later, it had become part of the tree and was in the trunk seven feet off the ground. When problems are unaddressed or change is resisted organizations can become like that. We simply work around things over time. Most unreality starts with the leadership not accepting change. The auto industry is a good example. RIM/Blackberry…

In the 1970’s, Dr. Francis Schaeffer, the founder of L’Abris, produced a ten part film series titled “How Should We Then Live?” If Paul picked a title for the lesson this morning it would be this question. For it is a recurring theme not only in these chapters but in the entire book of Titus. All through the letter to Titus is the counsel to focus his teaching and preaching on encouraging people not only to believe correctly but to live good lives. In fact, in one form or another he mentions this six times. “Live godly lives; be eager to do what is good; devote yourselves to doing good,…

Last week we looked at what Paul wrote to Titus about the ever present threat of false teachers. We finished with concluding that while there are many defenses against false teaching the best antidote is true teaching. If all you do is react against their sometimes subtle and often blatant distortions of the truth you will find yourselves caught up in their nets. So, Paul begins this chapter with the best antidote possible to lies and that is “teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.” 1.  Sound means healthy and the word here is one we see often in Paul’s letter to Titus. Some have said that Timothy may…

1. Last week we looked at the personal qualities who disqualifies themselves from Christian leadership. Remember the list? Obstinate Angry Lack of self-control An abuser Greedy But, we also looked at the list of the personal qualities of one who is qualified for Christian leadership: Hospitable Loves the good in everything Prudent Respectful and Reverent Decent Self-mastery Able to correct another This morning we are looking at people who plagued Paul wherever he went and for his entire ministry as well as the ministries of those who followed after him. Paul and his disciples were not only persecuted by authorities and Jewish leaders in cities where he established churches. He…