Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.17UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.11UNLIKELY
Fear
0.13UNLIKELY
Joy
0.5LIKELY
Sadness
0.54LIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.69LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.6LIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.73LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.9LIKELY
Extraversion
0.1UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.74LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.68LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
*Inscription: Writing God’s Words on Our Hearts & Minds*
*/Part 23: Fighting for Heaven/*
*Joshua 1-7*
*/June 20, 2010/*
* *
*Prep: *
· Genocide material
· Grudem 1143
* *
*Scripture reading: *Joshua 1:1-7 (Jewel)
Intro
Cecil preached on *Mother’s* *Day* on the book of Ruth, the Bible’s chick flick he called it.
So on Father’s Day I am preaching on the Bible’s *action* *flick* – Joshua.
· Marilyn asked if I wanted to watch *Toy* *Story 3* for Father’s Day – A-Team would be more like it.
Prayer
Apathetic?
Q Have you been following the discussion about Monday’s *Inscription* *post*?
If not, you missed some interesting stuff.
I was talking about our Psalms reading:
NIV *Psalm 39:4* “Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.
5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Each man’s life is but a breath.
Selah 6 Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.
I think it is vital that we *pray* something like this on a regular basis – remind me how *fleeting* this *life* is, so that I put my hope in eternity, not this life.
But, I asked, won’t that make us *apathetic* and *distracted* form life here on earth, as *atheist* say?
And if you thought I was putting words in their mouth, after reading the post, you will know otherwise.
Q *Does* our believe in heaven and an afterlife keep us from putting our *full* *effort* into his life?
*Should* it?
Yes and no.
Life after high school
Think back to *high* *school*.
That’s a long time for some of us.
Here’s me back then...
Think of this earthly life as being like high school.
Some foolish teenagers live only for high school, ignoring that real life starts afterwards and impervious to the consequences.
On the other hand, some foolish teenagers hate high school and don’t benefit from the intellectual and social training it provides.
But the wise teenagers recognize that high school is temporary, so they enjoy it fully and take every opportunity to be prepared for when real life begins, yet are not too attached to it.
Q Do you know people in *each* *category*?
Q *Which* were you in?
Hopefully, you put your full effort in, learned everything you could, and left ready for life after high school.
So to *answer* the *question*: It is my hope that everyone of us lives this way – *fully* *present* in the now, yet acutely aware of the fact that this is the *training* *ground* for *real* *life*.
Another *analogy*: It’s like *practice* verses the *big* game.
· *BTW*: Heaven is *eventful*, not slothfulness (why would heaven be filled with something God forbids here?).
Cf.
Luke 19:14
So the real question is *how* do we keep this *eternal* *perspective*?
How can we fully live on earth in preparation for our real life in heaven?
It is easy to say that, but much harder to do.
· We struggle between being *worldly* and “too *heavenly* *minded*.”
entering the historical books
For this, we turn to *Joshua*.
After almost six months in the Pentateuch, we enter the *historical* *books* (Joshua-Esther).
The *Pentateuch* laid out the *foundations* of Israel – their beginnings and the laws and covenants that form the very basis of their community.
Through the *historical* *books* we watch Israel’s *failures* and *successes* in living up to that covenant (mostly failures) and God’s faithfulness in keeping his.
Joshua specifically describes *God’s* *faithfulness* in giving them the Promised Land.
The majority of Joshua is a series of *battle*, a war of *conquest*.
God has promised them *Canaan*, and now they had to take it over from the Canaanites.
· This seems *unfair* for the *Canaanites*, but we know they were a were a very *wicked* people and God was bringing *judgment*.
A “type” of struggle
And this conquest of the Promised Land is a very powerful *analogy* of our *struggle* to *fully* *live*, to struggle with all our might, in this world as we *prepare* for the *next*.
But it is more than an analogy; it is a *description* of and *type* of our life today.
By “*type*” I mean an example of something to come (for instance *Isaac* is a type of *Jesus*).
· In some ways book hold *more* *meaning* for us than them.
Last time I spoke, I talked about *temporal* vrs.
*eternal*.
The same thing goes here – the land *Joshua* fought for was *temporal*, their inheritance something they couldn’t hold after death.
· The real *battle* is *spiritual* and the *inheritance* spiritual.
This is what the book of *Hebrews* means.
First he quotes Ps. 95 saying “they shall *never* enter my *rest*.”
*Hebrews 4:8-10 *For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.
9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.
In other words, the *real* *rest* was not conquering the land, but *heaven* – being *with* *God*, in his *glory*, finding the *deepest* *desires* of our heart filled by his presence.
It is almost as if *we* are right *beside* *Joshua*, having just crossed over the Jordan River into Canaan, and just starting to conquer the land.
· But instead of seeking merely a plot of land to live on, we are looking forward to an eternal inheritance.
Good tactics
From Joshua’s conquest of Canaan, the promise land the God was giving them, I see *several* *lessons*, tactics if you will, for fighting this battle on earth as best we can.
*1.
**Don’t forget whose team you are on*
*Joshua 5:13-14 * 13 ¶ Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand.
Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.”
Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”
The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.”
And Joshua did so.
*Sidebar*: Who is this *commander*?
Is he an angel?
Usually people bow before angels, they are told to get up, so many scholars think that this is an Jesus, pre-incarnation.
But I love his answer to the *first* *question*, “Who’s side are you on?” “Neither.”
God is not on our side, we are on his.
Joshua got it – he went from “*What* *team*?” to *worship* and *obedience*.
· We *know* this, or at least say it, but we tend to *slide* back to thinking that *God* is on *our* *side* and exists to make us *happy*.
Q Have you ever prayed for your team to *win*?
(*Poker* games)
Q Have you ever prayed for little things that are just for your *benefit*, like catching a *green* *light*?
It’s *not* *wrong* to pray for these– one of my most *meaningful* *experiences* with God came from an answer to such a prayer.
Q How much of your prayer life is *devoted* to these things?
It is a mark of a *weak*, *nominal* *Christian* that they only pray to *get* *stuff* from God.
Q Do you send more time asking for what *you* *want* or with asking God to help you be *on* *his* *team* and fulfill *his* *goals*?
*Seriously* *reflect* for a moment on your *recent* *prayer* life, what *ratio* would you give it?
If *someone* *else* where to look at your prayers, who’s team would they say you are on?
· An *eternal* *perspective* is more concerned with God and his eternal *plans* than me and my *personal* *goals*.
This may mean that even in our “*apathy*” we may be *more* *present* than others, because our focus is *off* of *ourselves*.
*2.
**Know your greatest enemy*
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9