(#204, Baccalaureate 1939 or 1940 & Imperial HS, 1954)
Read Joshua 1:2-9.
It was a wise man who named the graduation season
"Commencement". It is not that
you have finished everything, but that you are beginning something. The
foundation stone has been laid; now you are ready to add to that building.
The Bible places great emphasis upon the right foundation
to our lives (Matt. 7:24-27). I would
like to speak to you about that which is to be built on this foundation. This future may be likened to "a land to
be conquered" -- a "promised land". Here are a few comparisons.
ƒ The land was an unknown land.
The people had never seen it and knew very little of its
inhabitants and the difficulties that awaited them. "Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou
knowest not what a day may bring forth."
But there is One who knows the future: God knows! He will not always reveal the future but if
we look to Him He will lead us in the present.
ƒ It was a land of obstacles.
This land had giants, walled cities, strong people. Our lives may be compared to an obstacle
race, full of trials, temptations, difficulties. If surmounted, these things strengthen and
refine us.
ƒ There were certain instructions for
possessing the land.
w A knowledge of God's Word (v7-8). "Heaven and earth shall pass away but My
Word shall not pass away."
Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to
be righteous; it contains light to direct you, food to support you, comfort to
cheer you; it is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass,
the soldier's sword.
w Obedience to the truth, v7. There is a way that seems right to man, and
there is God's way in which one prospers.
w Faith in God, v3. 40 years earlier these same people had failed
to enter this land because of unbelief.
The measure to which the children of Israel succeeded in possessing the
land was in proportion to the measure of their faith.
The promised land is also a land of decision. "Choose you this day whom you will
serve." (Joshua 24:15)
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