Are You Part Of
The Joshua Generation?

How This All Fits Together

We have spent several lessons looking at the Joshua Generation, how God did things in Joshua's life and how that may apply to some of our lives today. We also looked at the role of the youth in this.

We started by identifying what the Joshua Generation is and we addressed the common misconception that it is "the youth." We saw that it was not a matter of age, but a matter of the heart. The Joshua Generation is those who have a passion for God, a commitment to obey and serve Him, and a desire to be given real kingdom work to do with God, though His anointing and empowerment.

We looked at how God worked in Joshua's life with the understanding that He works in similar ways in our lives today. We saw that God took Joshua through three important stages: 1. character development and personal growth, 2. preparation for ministry, 3. fulfilling his destiny.

The "character development stage" is how God prepares our heart for ministry and helps us to grow and develop into spiritual maturity, where we develop godly character in our life. Some important aspects of godly character include: 1. personal growth and maturity, 2. developing a heart to obey God, 3. developing vision that does not limit God based on our own personal limitations, 4. moving in God's anointing/power instead of from our own strength and ability. In addition to those important characteristics, God also wants to develop a close and intimate relationship with each of us, where we develop a passion for God. It is in this place that we begin to catch glimpses of who He really is; of how great and powerful and good and loving and faithful He is. The more we get to know Him, the more we get to love Him and the hungrier we become to know Him even more.

The "preparation for ministry" stage is a process God takes us through where He thoroughly trains and equips us for whatever He calls us to do. Part of it is specific training and development of the ministry skills we need to do what God has called us to do. Part of it is where God clarifies to us precisely what He has tasked us to do and what He expects of us. And part of it is an impartation (or release) of spiritual gifts and anointings to empower us to do those things. God wants us to see what He is doing and then enable us to do it with Him in His power and anointing. Each of us will have opportunities to move in the impossible with God as we do real kingdom work with Him.

The "fulfilling our destiny" stage is where we do the work that God has given us to do. There comes a time when we move out of preparation and equipping, and we start doing the things that God destined us to do. We begin to understand that God works through His people to accomplish His purposes in the earth. We become a willing vessel through which He can operate. We, the body of Christ, become His hands and feet and arms as He works through us to advance His kingdom. He has called each of us to be His witnesses, but that walks out a bit differently in each of our lives because we have all been given different pieces of kingdom work to do with Him. He finishes preparing us for the specific work He has for us, and then He sets each of us in place to fulfill our specific destiny in Him. He moves through each of us to accomplish His goals on the earth. The Apostle Paul described this as "running the race" that God has set before us. God expects each of us to run that race and to run it well.

There are some important things that should occur in our lives as we walk out our destiny. We must not allow ourselves to become discouraged and give up. There will be times when God moves with great power and anointing in our lives. But there will also be discouraging times. We should keep some sort of memorial or record of the victories and powerful experiences with God. We can review them when we feel battle-weary or discouraged. As we remind ourselves of what God has done in our lives, that encourages us and rebuilds our faith.

Also, we should regularly review our commitment to God and make a fresh commitment to Him in that area. We don't want to let our commitment grow stale, we want to keep it fresh and alive, so that we will have a better chance of keeping it. Along with that, we should press to abide in His presence, for it is the presence of God that gives us the victory. But remember that the more we enter into intimacy with God, the more God will hold us accountable in the area of personal holiness. Therefore, we must each obey God in our day-to-day lives and in holiness before Him.

Today's Destiny Of The Body Of Christ

We each move in our individual callings and destinies, but we do so from within the context of God's calling and destiny on the Church. The thing that God is doing in His people changes over time, as God prepares a bride for His Son. The Church had fallen into deep depravity in the Dark Ages, where our living relationship with God was replaced by dead religion and works. Only the priests were allowed to read God's word and church services were in Latin, so the average believer had no idea of what was said. So much was lost during that dark time, and ever since then, God has been in the process of restoring the church to where she should be.

He has taken His church through different stages of development, just as a human child goes through different stages of development. First they learn to crawl, then they learn to walk and finally then learn to run and jump and leap and dance. Likewise, God has taken us through different stages of development as He restored us.

There was the Great Awakening, where we began to realize that salvation is by grace through faith (Martin Luther). We learned that all of us should hear/read/understand God's word and that we should each pursue a personal relationship with Him. The Church went through many stages of development since then, including a resurgence of evangelism and missions, learning about His power and the infilling of His Holy Spirit, a rebirth of the prophetic, a restoration of apostolic leadership in the Church, etc. More recently, the church was in a season that many people call the "Charismatic Reformation."

God has worked some very important things into us during this phase. He restored worship. He took our focus off of the things of this world and onto kingdom things. We began to realize that we are citizens of Heaven and began to look forward to the Lord's second coming where the Kingdom of God will replace the kingdom of this world. We learned about waiting on God in faith. We learned about the power of intercession and prayer.

The "Charismatic Reformation" stage is similar to when the children of Israel were in the wilderness. They had been set free from bondage and oppression and they began to learn who God was and how He wanted to be worshipped. God used that time to teach them of Himself. He also took care of them and provided for them. If they needed water, God supernaturally gave them water. They did not have to plant or work the fields to gather in the harvest because God provided Manna for them each day. They did not have to fight very often, because God protected them from their enemies.

But at some point, it came time for the children of Israel to switch gears. God expected them to cross over the River Jordan and to begin to war and to take their promised land. Most of the first generation were not willing to do that...and they ended up dying of old age in the wilderness. But the next generation was willing to obey God. They were willing to give up the comfortable and the familiar to move forward with God. They stopped expecting God to do it all and started participating with God in His plans and purposes. They became willing, they rose up and fought to possess the promises God had given them. The did not just sit back and wait for God, they worked with God to make it happen.

As a Church, we are in a similar transition. We used to pray and wait in faith for God to answer that prayer. But now we are discovering that many times God wants us to be a part of the answer. He is not handing us things on a silver platter anymore the way He used to. Now He expects us to go possess our promised land. He is giving us an active role to play in the process of taking what He has promised to us.

We used to look for God to protect us from our enemy, the devil. But now God wants us to clothe ourselves in the spiritual armor He has given us so we can go fight. He expects us to rise up in the authority He has given us. He expects us to obey Him when He sends us into battle, knowing that God will fight with us and give us the victory. We are no longer in the days where God fights for us -- we are in the days where we are to rise up as God's army, fight with God, and take the promised land.

When Israel was in the desert, they understood they were just passing through, so they had no desire to set up any sort of permanent residence there. It has been similar for the church during the Charismatic Renewal. We concentrated on being citizens of Heaven and many of us forgot about our duel citizenship here on the earth. We gathered together in our churches and lost interest in what was going on in the world around us. In short, we abdicated many things to the enemy, and he was quick to move in and take them over. The devil has taken over our entertainment industry, our political and business systems, our education system, etc.

When Israel crossed the Jordan, they began to take and possess the land. They moved in and took things away from the enemy and they were there to stay. In fact, Israel is still possessing their land, thousands of years later.

As a church, we have to do the same thing. God is calling us to take and possess our land. We are no longer to abdicate things to the devil; we are to take them back, to redeem and transform them. It is time to take back the politics and demand morality and righteousness from our leaders. It is time to take back the education system and put God back in the schools. It is time for Christian businessmen and businesswomen to infiltrate and transform the business world. It is time to take back the people who the devil has oppressed with drugs and alcoholism and addictions and to bring them the Lord's deliverance. God is calling us as a church to possess our land and to take it back for God.

Today God is raising up soldiers in His army to do precisely this. In the past, only the top leaders moved in God's strong power and anointing. But now God expects each of the soldiers in His army to move in His power. He expects each of us to heal the sick and set the demonized free. He expects us to use the authority of Christ to break demonic strongholds off of people's finances and to see the power of God released in all aspects of our day-to-day lives as we walk with God.

And this is what the Joshua Generation is all about. It is those who understand that they are in the army and who obey their marching orders. It is those who are ready to fight in God's power to take back and possess their land. It is about men and women, boys and girls, who love God passionately and who are deeply committed to obey Him. It is about those who watch and see what the Father is doing, and then do it with Him in His power and authority.

God is calling you to be a member of this Joshua Generation and to rise up and take your promised land.

Possess Your Promised Land

I would like to end this teaching by sharing a prophecy that God gave me some time ago...

Child of Mine, I am calling you to possess your promised land. Did you think it would be easy and effortless? Did you expect you destiny to be handed to you on a silver platter? I say to you, this is seldom the case.

Take notice of the children of Israel. I gave them the land that I promised to them, but they had to fight to possess it. I was with them in the battle and I caused them to be victorious. But I would not go before them and fight in their stead -- I required them to enter into the battle with Me, that they might possess their inheritance.

Take notice of My servant David. I anointed him as king and I gave him the nation of Israel to rule. But the crown was not immediately handed to him by a willing Saul. Rather, David faced many difficulties and perils for a long time. Even though I had anointed him as king, the kingdom did not come into his hands immediately. There were battles to be fought. There were many hardships to endure. My chosen king of Israel had to run for his life, he had to hide in the mountains. He had to persevere for many years before he fully possessed the kingdom that I had promised to him.

My destiny is certain, but My timing to accomplish it is not always what you anticipate. My way is sure, but it is not as you expect it to be. For I will cause you to be tested, and I will require that you persevere and overcome. I cannot give you a victory if you do not enter the battle, for you must fight before you can win. Know that I am with you and that I have called you and that My promises are sure and certain. Yet know that I will often allow many struggles and discouragements into your path as you follow me. Joseph was destined to be a mighty ruler, but he had to first be a slave and a prisoner. Abraham was destined to be the father of a nation, but he remained childless for many years.

Child, I also have a destiny for you. But if you would possess your promised land, you must be willing to fight for it. You must not give up in the face of overwhelming odds. You must not quit when discouragement comes your way. You must press into the vision I have given you even when others cannot see it. For if you will step forward in faith, I will walk with you. And if you will enter the battle, I will fight with you. And if you persevere, I will cause you to overcome. For I am with you and in Me you can do all things.

So do not give up when discouragement sets it. Press on. Keep going. Keep fighting. Look to Me and follow Me. I promise you that there will be difficulties and trials and hardships and seeming defeats as you follow Me. Ignore them and press on. Look at Paul, who I sent to the nations -- he was not always welcomed with open arms. There were riots and there were stonings and there were times when he had to flee in secrecy and there were times where many conspired to kill him. Yet I was with him and My kingdom advanced through Him. My way is not always easy. My way is not always convenient. But My way is sure and your victory is assured if you will persist and obey and not lose heart.

Child of Mine, I have a destiny for you. Press on to it. Do not give up, do not lose heart. Know that no difficulty can prevent you from entering into all that I have for you. Know that no barrier can keep you from what I have called you to be if you will press on and if you will fight with Me to possess your promised land. Do not look at the circumstances. Look to Me, and I will see you through to victory. For I am able to accomplish all that I have ordained in your life and I will bring you into My victory as you follow and obey Me. Know that I am with you. Cross over your River Jordan and enter into your promised land. Prepare to fight for the inheritance I have given you, and in due time you shall surely possess it.