Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

(262) 763-3021

Messages from the Map Room. Part 1 Joshua  13:1-7 Promised Land Living in Problematic World Sermon #16 When you see eccentric elderly individuals, how do you respond? If they are wearing mismatched clothes, have unkempt hair, perhaps talking to themselves – do you give them a wide berth? Do you feel a sense of pity that they have ended up like that? Mildred Schwiesow and Mabel Schwiesow-Lent wore mismatched old clothes, refused to update the wiring in their historic Ripon home, and never threw anything away. The reclusive twin sisters didn't care much for the outside world, and when exposed to society, didn't always react in a "ladylike" manner. They were, as their very few close acquaintances described them: frugal, eccentric, anti‑social and shrewd. The two sisters passed away within 11 days of each other in May of 2001 at the age of 84. The Schwiesow sisters, as they were known, lived in the same Blackburn St. house where they were born. Mildred spent her entire life there; Mabel married and lived elsewhere until her husband died in 1987. Both sisters briefly attended Ripon College but otherwise had not been involved with the school. Not too many people knew them and the sisters preferred it that way. Their house was directly across from the post office and the two sisters loved to people watch. But when it came to company, these two women preferred each other's. Mabel called Mildred "Milly" and Mildred called Mabel "Sissy." They loved watching "Days of Our Lives." Both sisters were very straightforward, sometimes abrupt, and often pessimistic. If you asked Mildred how she was doing, she'd often say, "I'm terrible!" then recite her aches and pains. The sisters' Victorian‑style home was full of piles of stuff they wouldn't discard. They wore the same polyester pants for 20 years. Nothing matched. No clothing was ever of any quality. They didn't go to church because the church would want their money. They were not gracious ladies. That's just how they were. One time an electrician stopped by the sisters' house to fix a fan from the 1940s. He suggested it would be cheaper to buy a new one, but Mabel said no. So he fixed the fan for free; Mabel insisted he take $5. That same electrician suggested they replace the very old‑dated wiring in their house, but they refused, citing cost. But these two sisters were apparently shrewd investors. Mildred in particular kept a close eye on the stock market and both kept abreast of the news. Those two elderly women left a hefty financial legacy, $2.5 million to be split evenly between Ripon College for a scholarship fund and the University of Wisconsin Foundation for cancer and cardiology research. It was quite a shock in the small town of Ripon. To most they were strange, eccentric and often rude old women. Appearances can often be deceiving. That’s true, too, with these next several chapters in Joshua. Joshua 13-21 are about the dividing of the land among the twelve tribes. Most studies of Joshua whip right past these chapters, not stopping to land again until chapter 22. While we are thoroughly engaged and enjoy the first twelve chapters with their fierce battles and impressive victories, this portion seems...b-o-r-i-n-g. Most of us prefer a war movie to a documentary. We’d rather watch basketball than golf. If an ambulance comes racing down our street, we’ll go outside to see what’s going on. But if a survey crew is walking through, checking property lines and setting out orange stakes, we hardly muster a yawn. If you’ve read through the book of Joshua, you might even asked “Why is this here? Who cares about all of these hard to pronounce names? What difference does it make?” Our difficulty with relating to these chapters is that we are far too detached. It’s not personal enough for us to appreciate.             Sometimes when we’ve been over at Jane’s parents’ we’d go out to dinner and afterwards Dad Quick would go “cruising.” He’d take us by to see where so and so lived and the changes that they have made to their house or the neighborhood and I’d have a hard time staying awake. I didn’t know the people and didn’t really care. I was too detached. That’s how we often approach this section of Joshua. We don’t have a lot of interest in lots and parcels of property. But what if this was our property? What if this was our inheritance, would we be more interested? Yah sure, you betcha! The most important commercial transaction for the average American is the purchase of a house. There are several ways of identifying that house’s location. Some may know it simply as the Jones’ place. For others it’s the white frame house on the corner with the big porch. Others will know it was the place where all those nice children live. However, in the eyes of the law, those identifications have no merit. At city hall there are huge plats, which are very complicated and precise. It will contain terminology such as “Lot 78 in Block 212 in Uptown unit no. 23, being a subdivision of the southeast quarter of Section 18, City 34 north, Range 8, east of the seventh principal meridian, according to the plat thereof, recorded on (Date) as document no. 987654, in Book 43 of plats, page 29 in Racine County.”    Now this language is virtually unintelligible for most normal adults but when the time comes to buy a home, it is of crucial importance. And the buyer will be glad that their lawyer and the survey company understands this legalese and has looked it over. Accurate, precise language is critical for the successful completion of the sale and for the ownership of property. It was the same for ancient Israel. Accurate, precise language was critical so they could possess the exact land that God had prepared for them and parceled out. These precise details are also a wonderful reminder that God keeps His promises. Centuries before Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had been promised this land. This was the nation’s inheritance. This detailed account of city after city, hill after hill, border after border demonstrates the faithfulness and integrity of God. He kept His promise. These chapters record a climatic moment in the life of the young nation. After centuries in Egyptian bondage, decades in the barren wilderness, years of brutal combat in Canaan, the hour finally arrived when the Israelites were claiming their property and could at last settle down to build homes, cultivate the soil and live in peace in their land! This land allotment was a thrilling day for them!! Joshua 13-21 then is the Land Office of the nation of Israel. It is the most thorough account of their property in the entire Bible. It sets down the property lines and boundary markings. It was very meaningful to them because it was their property. This Map Room though has some exciting messages for us too! As the people in Ripon had no idea how much wealth the Schwiesow sisters had, it is easy for us to overlook the powerful messages in these chapters. As with any large terrain, there are a lot of mountaintops and peaks. Obviously, we cannot cover all of the turf. There are some vital messages though for us in these chapters. Because there is so much territory, we’re going to divide this and focus primarily on one this morning. Next week we’ll come back and finish doing our survey of the territory. And two weeks from today, we’ll study the two super heroes of this section. What are some Messages from Israel’s Map Room for us? 1. Message #1: While finishing can be difficult, not finishing can be disastrous. Two Sundays ago (9-15-02) Cleveland Brown linebacker Dwayne Rudd pulled a “What were you thinking?” boner. With just two seconds left in their season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City had the ball at its 47-yard line. Dwayne Rudd was sent in on a delayed rush and thought that he had sacked Kansas City quarterback, Trent Green, and that the game was over. In celebration he takes off his helmet and throws it ten yards down the field. What he didn’t see was that before Green hit the ground, he was able to lateral back to John Tait, continuing the game. But Dwayne Rudd had his back to the play and rips off his helmet, thinking that the game was over...it wasn’t. Two penalty flags flew and the Browns received an automatic fifteen-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. The lateral was also legal which gave Kansas City the ball on the Brown’s twelve-yard line from which they were able to score a field goal, beating the Browns 40-39. As if causing his team to lose the game was not enough, the NFL fined Rudd $5000 for unsportsmanlike conduct and his own five-year-old son, Colin Rudd, who was watching his Daddy play chewed him out for the boner when he got home. The various tribes pull a “What were you thinking?” boner in their failure to fully conquer their portions of the land. They quit before they are finished. Look at Joshua 13:6. God makes a promise to Israel, “I myself will drive them out before the Israelites.” As they divide the land, though they are now in control of the land, all of the Canaanites have not been driven out. God knows that there is territory that still needs to be conquered but He doesn’t leave the tribes on their own. As He had given them victory after victory, God now emphatically promises to drive the Canaanites out before them. But they don’t claim His promise and they don’t finish the job, vs. 13. Failure to take God at His Word is as silly as having a check from Bill Gates for a million dollars and never cashing it. When Irish golfer, Darren Clarke, won a million dollars, some commentators said, “It was nice to see Darren play to his full potential.” Israel did not live up to their God-given potential. The question is, “Do we?” Are we living up to our potential for Jesus Christ, or are we quitting before we finish? Are we possessing the spiritual territory that God has set aside for us? For the believer, Israel’s failure to fully possess the land anticipates our own failure to fully experience and claim God’s promises and blessings in this life. To be sure this was going to take work and sweat on their part but not finishing the job would be disastrous. But that’s exactly what they did. Rather than trusting God and obeying, they settled for Four other alternatives to the Canaanite problem. As we walk through these chapters, let me encourage you to look at your own life and see if you have settled for another alternative besides God’s full blessing plan. a) Peaceful Coexistence. Joshua 13:13 tells us that the Canaanites were allowed to live among the Israelites in violation of God’s plan and in failure to claim God’s promise. It’s written in a matter of fact tone, incomplete disobedience usually is. It brings no immediate crisis. It seldom does. The same type of statement is found in 15:63. Starting a job is easy, finishing it is tougher. It’s easy to fight the big battles, to remain steadfast during the severe storms, perhaps even enjoy the excitement of the heaviest assaults. The text does not tell us how many. It may have been just a few but it came back to haunt them. The book of Judges relates that these coexisting Canaanites were a constant thorn in their side. These same people would come back to plague King David during his reign. Coexistence sowed the seeds for future defeat and loss. The writer seems to be pointing out that they do not have to settle for coexistence with repeated references in chapter 13 to their victories over King Sihon and King Og. It’s as if he is saying, “the same God who conquered them and helped you vanquish them, will help you now.” b) Selfish Manipulation. This is a “no brainer.” If you can enslave people, can’t you conquer them? Doesn’t that make sense? But look at 16:10 and 17:12-13. There is an intensification of their disobedience. Rather than obey God and drive these people out, they used them for forced labor. What makes that particularly abhorrent is that they made slaves of the Canaanites, just as they had been slaves in Egypt for four hundred years. By making them slaves, they also became economically dependent upon them. Rather than obey God and completely drive them out, they used these Canaanites for material advantage so that they could gain more wealth. Part of the South’s resistance to the abolition of slavery prior to our Civil War was that they were economically dependent upon slavery. Once you become dependent upon something and it feeds your selfish desires, it’s harder to give it up. c) Whiny Arrogant Rationalization. This next incident would be laughable if it did not have such sad ramifications, 17:14-18. In any organization, in every company, in every church – you will usually find that those who do the least, whine the most. What’s worse, they are often very egotistical and can rationalize away their failure. They are great at making excuses for their failures. I think Max Lucado may have something. He calls complainers “missionaries of misery.” These two tribes, the children of Joseph, (Ephraim and Manasseh) come to Joshua and complain that the Lord didn’t give them enough room. Basically, they are suggesting that God made a mistake because they are so “numerous,” they need more room. They even spiritualize their whining, “the LORD has blessed us abundantly.” Apparently, they attempt to manipulate Joshua – Joshua too was an Ephaimite – it appears that they attempt to take advantage of him based on their relationship. The fact was that other tribes were more numerous than they were. Also, they already had two portions. Half of the tribe of Manasseh had a portion on the other side of Jordan. The amount of people that they had then were more spread out than other tribes. Also, the tribe of Issachar had more people with less territory but they didn’t come to Joshua and whine. This is so important. They were not complaining against Joshua, they were complaining against God – God had put them in this place. Most complaining is ultimately against God because everything we have comes from God. Like most complainers, they really didn’t want a solution. When Joshua offered them the hill country, they still said that it was not enough and they complained that the Canaanites had chariots. But they had already seen what God had done to chariots in Joshua 11. In a future study we’re going to consider Caleb. Though Caleb was eighty years old, he didn’t let that keep him from claiming his inheritance. These tribes didn’t want to put forth any effort. They didn’t want to problem solve. They just wanted to brag about what a great people they were and complain. If they had truly been a great people, they would have risen to Joshua’s challenge. Rather than complaining and rationalizing about our lot in life, we need to maximize on what God has blessed us with. They don’t want to work, they don’t want to fight...they just want to complain and blame God for not giving them enough. Unfortunately, whiners beget whiners. These same tribes would later give grief to Gideon, Jephthah and King David. Friend, are you a complainer? Are you known as a critic? The Church of Jesus Christ has too many moaners and groaners. We need more movers and shakers, those willing to claim the territory God has already promised! Recently, I picked up the anniversary copy of Joni, the wonderful story of Joni Erickson Tada. When she was a vivacious, outgoing, athletic teenager over thirty years ago, she dove into Chesapeake Bay and came up with her neck broken, a quadriplegic. Whenever we’re tempted to complain about circumstances, we ought to think about her. I know Joni has low days and periodic struggles, but she has allowed God to do tremendous things in her life. She has refused to allow her bed to confine her. Taking the initiative, Joni has taken up a paintbrush with her teeth and created beautiful works of art. Trusting God for provision, she has become a great theologian and Bible teacher. Refusing to allow her paralysis to define her, she's grown into a Christian leader of international stature in the field of disability ministry. Far from uttering drab complaints as the sons of Joseph did, Joni sings beautiful music of hope and faith in God's faithfulness in all circumstances. Most egotistical moaners are handicapped by their own attitudes. Frequently, in the Church we let them handicap the work of God. Joshua was wise. He challenged them and moved on with what God had called him to do. d) Living in Denial. Joshua 19:40-47. This one is a little tougher to see. But what happened here is that the tribe of Dan, rather than claiming their God-given territory, abandons it because it’s too tough. They migrate to another area and they find this other town that is smaller and more vulnerable. They conquer it and rename it Dan, so they don’t have face that they had failed to claim the territory God had given them. Judges 18 adds that they also abandoned the worship of God for idolatry. When you don’t obey God and accept His plan, you open yourself up for more serious sins, as the tribe of Dan did. Try as we might to cover it, to rename it something else, God knows, and we suffer for not living in victory as God intends for us to. Let me put all of this in a package that most of us can relate to. Sinful anger is probably one of the most common sins for believers. Some Christians attempt to coexist with it and periodically it pops out on them. Others will selfishly manipulate anger for power and personal gain. They might use it to get their way with their spouse or their children. Some use it to make sure others leave them alone and give them a wide berth. Some even use it to climb the corporate ladder. Then, some rationalize it. They may arrogantly blame God for putting them in certain situations where they feel like they have to get angry. Or, they may say, “It’s not my fault I have a temper, I got it from my father.” And then some will just totally deny it. “Me, I don’t have an anger problem...I just tend to get loud when I’m making a point.” But when we give in to sinful anger for whatever the reason, we have given away territory in our own souls that Jesus Christ wants us to conquer and He wants to rule over. As contemporary believers, we need to be careful about throwing stones at these compromising tribes. We too often find being faithful and claiming the territory God has for us more annoying than satisfying. But like ancient Israel, what we don’t conquer by God’s grace will often come back and conquer us. Conclusion: William Penn, from whom the state of Pennsylvania takes its name, so befriended and won favor with the Indians of the state that they gave him a gift. They told William Penn that he could have all of the land that he could walk around in one day. Taking them at their word, William Penn got up early the next morning and walked briskly all day until dusk. When he returned to the camp at twilight, one of the Indian chiefs quizzically said, “The paleface has had a very long walk today!” But his Indian friends were not displeased. He had honored his word and they honored his trust. The land that he walked that day, the land that he encircled is now the city of Philadelphia. God wants us to take Him at His Word. We need to trust Him and take the whole turf that He has given us. When we take Him at His Word, He keeps His promises. But no amount of power or willingness on the part of God, just like for those ancient tribes, can make up for a lack of trust and obedience on our part. Friend, what territories in your life need to be claimed? Has God promised them to you? Have you given up before the “game” was over? Can I bring this home to us, to Grace Church? I believe that God has more territory for us but we have to claim it? We’re all in this together. Are you actively reaching out to the lost folk that God has brought into your life? Are you seeking to bring them into His family and this church? Are you involved in a regular ministry? Are you committed to it? Are you passionate about it? Or, are you just filling a hole? Are you looking for new ways that God can expand your ministry? That’s our purpose. That’s being obedient to the Great Commission. This is not a game. The mistake that Dwayne Rudd made two Sundays ago isn’t going to make a lot of difference in eternity but our choices do. The territory of our own lives most difficult for us to claim for God are time and money. These two areas are where the flesh will most often rear its ugly head and let us know that we have not completely driven out the enemy. We are saved to serve. That means that we are Biblically responsible to invest our time in ministry. Too often though time for ministry is either a low priority or a no-priority. It’s saddening that sometimes folk don’t even show up. Let me give an example, we have a nursery ministry and a cleaning ministry. Frequently, though the list is printed in the bulletin, reminder cards are mailed out and it’s in the bulletin each week, people just don’t show up.    We ask nursery workers to show up at least ten minutes before their scheduled service, two minutes is often what happens. It’s a lack of commitment. We also have a dessert ministry and though folk get a reminder call, I cannot tell you how many times it just doesn’t show up. And sometimes what shows up, I wouldn’t give a visitor. It doesn’t speak well for our church that we’re glad that they came and want them to return. What’s even sadder is that some have NO PLACE OF MINISTRY. They believe that they are doing the Lord a favor just to come and fill a seat. If you are a believer and you not serving the Lord using your gifts in some place of ministry, you are not up living up to the potential that God has called you to. And you are not being a faithful steward. Please do not rationalize and say, “Well, I’m serving the Lord by taking care of my family.” As a believer, you have a spiritual family that you are Biblically obligated to minister to with the gifts God has given you. It’s obvious too that we need to purchase land and build a building. We are doing everything we can to wisely use the resources that God has given us. Hours have gone in to making this facility useable. But this is not a permanent situation. Many of you talk about this need but without being crass, talk is cheap. We need to put our money where our mouth is. Our giving is usually one of the greatest indicators of our spiritual commitment. At Grace we have a problem in this area. Currently, we are $12,000 behind in our budget. Basically, that’s our debt retirement and future expansion that we’re unable to invest in. For us to claim the territory that God has for us in this community is going to take commitment, giving and sacrifice. This next year we will have to make some serious considerations to financially providing for our assistant pastor so that he can be full time. Let’s get personal. That may mean we wait to get that newer car or add that addition or buy that new house or that new furniture. It may mean that we don’t go on as many vacations. It’s going to take some sacrifice on each of our parts. Gaining new ground doesn’t just happen. Like it did for ancient Israel, it takes commitment, it takes work, it takes sacrifice. I believe that we are up to it. We just need to do it! God has given us all that we need but we need to make it personal and claim it!