A New Chapter
A New Chapter
Text: Joshua 1:1–5
Theme: The reality of change and new beginnings in the life of the believer
The book of Joshua opens with a major transition. Moses is dead. Joshua is called to rise and take the reigns as Israel stands at the river Jordan, facing a new chapter that will require faith, courage, obedience, and movement. In many ways, Joshua is a picture of the Christian life: Romans 6:4 - Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
The believer is not on a playground but on a battlefield. Paul told Timothy to “endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3). He told the Corinthians that “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal” (2 Corinthians 10:4), and he told the Ephesians to "put on the whole armour of God." because we wrestle against spiritual powers of darkness (Ephesians 6:10–18). The Christian life is spiritual warfare, and the book of Joshua helps us understand what it means to move forward with God in seasons of change.
A New Reality
First, Joshua was confronted with a new reality. Moses was dead. That fact was not only historical, but instructive. Moses, the servant of the LORD, pictures the law, and the law could never bring a man into the promised inheritance. What the law could not do, grace does through Jesus Christ (John 1:17). Joshua, whose name corresponds to Jesus (Acts 7:45), would now lead the people forward. God buries one season and raises another. When one servant passes off the scene, another must be ready to step into the work. Spurgeon once remarked that, “God buries His workmen, but carries on His work.” Death has a way of bringing things into focus. It reminds us that life is short, time is limited, and God's work must continue.
A New Responsibility
Second, Joshua was given a new responsibility. God told him to arise and go over this Jordan. There is no standing still when God has spoken. “Arise” speaks of awakening and resurrection (Eph. 5:14 – Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.) “Go over” speaks of movement and obedience. “This Jordan” speaks of God’s precise direction. God did not tell Joshua to invent his own path. He told him exactly where to go. So it is in the Christian life. After salvation comes responsibility. After awakening comes action. After instruction comes direction. God knows which river he wants you to cross, and he knows when you are ready to cross it. As Andrew Murray said, “God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him.”
A New River
Third, Joshua stood before a new river. Jordan is more than a geographical boundary; it is a picture of death, separation, and transition. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." Every believer must cross certain Jordans in life. John 5:24 says. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
There must be death to self, death to the old man, and separation from the world. There must also be a transition into service, maturity, calling, and usefulness. Jesus said in Matthew 10:39, “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” There is no entering Canaan without crossing Jordan. There is no crown without a cross. There is no true life without death to self. If we are to enter a new chapter with God, we will have to cross some rivers by faith. As Oswald Chambers put it, "“The test of abandonment is always over the neck of some river.”
A New Region
Fourth, Joshua was shown a new region. God had already prepared a place for Israel, just as Christ has prepared a place for his people in heaven (John 14:2). Yet while we wait for the full inheritance to come, God also has places of service, growth, and usefulness for us now. He gave Israel borders, and those borders mattered. The wilderness, Lebanon, the Euphrates, and the great sea each marked the boundaries of divine purpose.
In the Christian life, God gives boundaries for our good. They keep us in the place of safety, service, and blessing. Within those borders, we are to walk, war, and wait. We walk in obedience, war against the enemies of our inheritance, and wait on God to bring us into all he has prepared. 1 Corinthians 2:9 - "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."
A New Reassurance
Finally, Joshua received a new reassurance. God said, “I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” (Joshua 1:5). Joshua had every human reason to fear. He was stepping into Moses’ place, leading a nation, and facing enemies across the river. But the call of God always comes with the presence of God. Hebrews 13:5 repeats this promise for believers today. The Lord does not send his people into a new chapter alone. He goes with them. He does not abandon them in transition, trial, or warfare.
Every believer eventually comes to moments like the one in Joshua 1. One book is closed, and another book is opened. One chapter has ended, and a new chapter begins with new responsibilities. A new reality with a new river stands ahead of a new region. The future is unfamiliar, but the same God who spoke old reassurances to Moses speaks new reassurances to Joshua through his word.
Today, God still calls his people to arise, go forward, cross over, and trust him. Whatever chapter you are entering, the reassurance remains the same: God will be with you. He will not fail you, and he will not forsake you.
Text: Joshua 1:1–5
Theme: The reality of change and new beginnings in the life of the believer
The book of Joshua opens with a major transition. Moses is dead. Joshua is called to rise and take the reigns as Israel stands at the river Jordan, facing a new chapter that will require faith, courage, obedience, and movement. In many ways, Joshua is a picture of the Christian life: Romans 6:4 - Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
The believer is not on a playground but on a battlefield. Paul told Timothy to “endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3). He told the Corinthians that “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal” (2 Corinthians 10:4), and he told the Ephesians to "put on the whole armour of God." because we wrestle against spiritual powers of darkness (Ephesians 6:10–18). The Christian life is spiritual warfare, and the book of Joshua helps us understand what it means to move forward with God in seasons of change.
A New Reality
First, Joshua was confronted with a new reality. Moses was dead. That fact was not only historical, but instructive. Moses, the servant of the LORD, pictures the law, and the law could never bring a man into the promised inheritance. What the law could not do, grace does through Jesus Christ (John 1:17). Joshua, whose name corresponds to Jesus (Acts 7:45), would now lead the people forward. God buries one season and raises another. When one servant passes off the scene, another must be ready to step into the work. Spurgeon once remarked that, “God buries His workmen, but carries on His work.” Death has a way of bringing things into focus. It reminds us that life is short, time is limited, and God's work must continue.
A New Responsibility
Second, Joshua was given a new responsibility. God told him to arise and go over this Jordan. There is no standing still when God has spoken. “Arise” speaks of awakening and resurrection (Eph. 5:14 – Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.) “Go over” speaks of movement and obedience. “This Jordan” speaks of God’s precise direction. God did not tell Joshua to invent his own path. He told him exactly where to go. So it is in the Christian life. After salvation comes responsibility. After awakening comes action. After instruction comes direction. God knows which river he wants you to cross, and he knows when you are ready to cross it. As Andrew Murray said, “God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him.”
A New River
Third, Joshua stood before a new river. Jordan is more than a geographical boundary; it is a picture of death, separation, and transition. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." Every believer must cross certain Jordans in life. John 5:24 says. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
There must be death to self, death to the old man, and separation from the world. There must also be a transition into service, maturity, calling, and usefulness. Jesus said in Matthew 10:39, “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” There is no entering Canaan without crossing Jordan. There is no crown without a cross. There is no true life without death to self. If we are to enter a new chapter with God, we will have to cross some rivers by faith. As Oswald Chambers put it, "“The test of abandonment is always over the neck of some river.”
A New Region
Fourth, Joshua was shown a new region. God had already prepared a place for Israel, just as Christ has prepared a place for his people in heaven (John 14:2). Yet while we wait for the full inheritance to come, God also has places of service, growth, and usefulness for us now. He gave Israel borders, and those borders mattered. The wilderness, Lebanon, the Euphrates, and the great sea each marked the boundaries of divine purpose.
In the Christian life, God gives boundaries for our good. They keep us in the place of safety, service, and blessing. Within those borders, we are to walk, war, and wait. We walk in obedience, war against the enemies of our inheritance, and wait on God to bring us into all he has prepared. 1 Corinthians 2:9 - "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."
A New Reassurance
Finally, Joshua received a new reassurance. God said, “I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” (Joshua 1:5). Joshua had every human reason to fear. He was stepping into Moses’ place, leading a nation, and facing enemies across the river. But the call of God always comes with the presence of God. Hebrews 13:5 repeats this promise for believers today. The Lord does not send his people into a new chapter alone. He goes with them. He does not abandon them in transition, trial, or warfare.
Every believer eventually comes to moments like the one in Joshua 1. One book is closed, and another book is opened. One chapter has ended, and a new chapter begins with new responsibilities. A new reality with a new river stands ahead of a new region. The future is unfamiliar, but the same God who spoke old reassurances to Moses speaks new reassurances to Joshua through his word.
Today, God still calls his people to arise, go forward, cross over, and trust him. Whatever chapter you are entering, the reassurance remains the same: God will be with you. He will not fail you, and he will not forsake you.
Posted in Believing, Courage, Endurance, Faithfulness, Newness, Promises, Trusting God
Posted in Assurance, Newness, courage, Responsibility, trust, faith, Christianity
Posted in Assurance, Newness, courage, Responsibility, trust, faith, Christianity
Recent
Archive
2026
January
March
2025
November
No Comments