Josh 18:2+3, And there remained among the sons of Israel seven tribes who had not divided their inheritance. So Joshua said to the sons of Israel, "How long will you put off entering to take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? 
    	This morning’s reading gives a little pause of consideration in the conquering of the Promised Land by the Children of Israel. We would have thought that this second generation of Israelites would have been chomping at the bit to get into the land and claim their inheritance as so promised by God. 
They had spent the previous 40 years wandering in the wilderness. Now the Promised Land, overflowing with all the resources that they could ever desire was theirs to inhabit. This was, after all, the generation who was willing to set forth into the land with determination to get all that was to be theirs. They were prepared to march forth with God going before them, trusting in Him to break down all the walls of the inhabitant’s defenses, just like at Jericho. But that was not the case. It seemed that they were merely creeping into the land, little by little, tribe by tribe. These last seven tribes were now mired at Shiloh.
	The elderly leader, Joshua, had to prod them to continue into the land to gain that which was to be theirs. We have these 7 tribes who were seemingly just encamped and doing nothing in any attempt to follow through with the command of the Lord to enter boldly into the land. They were to utterly dispossess those vile inhabitants who had been place holders until the Children of Israel were ready to march and to inherit what was given to them.    
	The Lord had made it extremely evident to them that He would not be clearing out the Canaanites quickly, because they would be a hedge against the wild animals of the land. But still, they were to make that forward march into the land. The Lord God would be the One Who would go before them as they proceeded into each territory as He had delineated and the Lord would then destroy those vile nations who were there. We have this declaration detailed in Deut 7:21-24.
	Deut 7:21-24, You shall not dread them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God. And the Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to put an end to them quickly, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you. But the Lord your God shall deliver them before you, and will throw them into great confusion until they are destroyed. And He will deliver their kings into your hand so that you shall make their name perish from under heaven; no man will be able to stand before you until you have destroyed them. 
	However, even though it was not going to be a quick process, it was still to be a process. It was required that the tribes moved forward in obedience to the Lord. They were not to go ahead of Him, but neither were they to disregard Him and just sit around the encampment with no forward motion in their midst. They were to seek the time and the means and the methodology of their obedient entrance into the land with the glory of the Lord as their motivation and their goal.
	That was the situation that Joshua was encountering. The remaining 7 tribes, who had not yet received their inheritance were simply milling around expecting the Lord to clear out those in the land at some point, without their participation. They were like many of us who do nothing more than state that the Lord will provide without proceeding forth in our following His direction and His guidance in obedience unto Him. As we do move forward, we do so with the faith that knows that He will be the One Who receives all glory for His so great work!
As well, there may be those times when we just refuse to do what the Lord requires of us because we do not want to do them. We are afraid or uncertain or simply not willing to do that which the Lord has set before us. We would rather that the Lord plop something into our hands than do the work that He requires for the reward of His satisfaction in our obeying and honoring Him. We cannot just sit around and expect Him to give us our food and clothing and place of rest and peace from all the elements of this age without our active participation in the work that He sets before us. 
Yes, we are never to try to take any matter into our own hands, because the Lord will never honor that. At the same time, there is that focal aspect of rising up from our beds and taking our cross and following Him as we are so encouraged by the Lord Himself. When He healed the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda in John 5:8, it required that the man actually get up and walk. 
John 5:8, Jesus said to him, "Arise, take up your pallet, and walk." He was not to just continue to lie there even though the Lord had healed him. There is an action of faith and obedience which is absolutely and fully in line with the instructions as we receive them from Our Lord. 
Then, for emphasis at this point, consider the truth as laid before us in Luke 9:23. Luke 9:23, And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 
We are to pick up our cross of self-denial and follow Him daily. Not every other day! Not only when we feel like it! Not just when the moon is correctly aligned with Jupiter or any other excuses that we might put forth! 
We are to walk with Him daily! We go where He guides us! We converse with those whom He brings into our presence! We honor Him, and completely deny ourselves! This is action, obedient and holy action, in the course of our entering into our land of His Promise for each one of us. That was what the remaining tribes needed to do.
	In Judg 18:9+10, we read of the reports brought back by the men who were given the task of entering into the distributed land portions of each of the remaining tribes. They declared their findings to the rest of the people concerning the wonderful condition of their inheritance. It was much like when the first spies were sent forth into the land for that first generation. This was the report and the emphasis of the second group of spies. 
Judg 18:9+10, And they said, "Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you sit still? Do not delay to go, to enter, to possess the land. When you enter, you shall come to a secure people with a spacious land; for God has given it into your hand, a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth." 
    	The echoed proclamation is …Arise, and let us go up against them… And will you sit still? Do not delay to go, to enter, to possess the land. Don’t just sit here in idle expectation. Follow through with that which the Lord has said we are to do and enter in! Count on the Lord, absolutely! But still we have to enter in! We have to go in because that is what the Lord has instructed us to do! He has told us with complete clarity that we need to arise and enter because God has given it to us! We will conquer because He goes before us! He is leading us! 
Absolutely take note of a tremendous difference at this call to action! We are not trying to drag Him into our desires. We are not tacking His name on our cravings and our lusts! 
We are following and flowing with the course of His will to His Honor and His Glory as He has detailed in His marching orders to us! That necessitates that we stand up, that we gird ourselves with all the armor that He has given us and that we proceed as He details and as He establishes! It is never our way and our ideas and our goals! It is always fully in line with His Glory as our goal. 
When He commands march, we march! When He commands stop and stand and be on guard, we do so! Only as He leads, when He leads, and where He leads! He, Alone, is our Lord and our King and we flow forth under His banner to His glory, whatever will be the course of our walk with Him. 
And it is a walk, a fluid and progressive and controlled forward movement into a greater knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of the Victory that is ours in Christ Jesus! He directs the every step we take and causes us to progress in line with His instruction by the Holy Spirit. He directs us always onward into the greater measure of our life in Him. That is why we cannot just sit around and think that our lives are pleasing to Him. We must seek Him and His will for us and then actively obey, even when that active obedience is to wait for His guidance and His direction. 
That waiting is not just sitting and watching TV or playing video games with a slothful attitude that soon the Lord will knock on our door and give us a fast food sandwich. No, it is an active waiting in intense prayer, asking the Lord to direct our every footstep. It is pouring through His Word, studying and feasting upon His spiritual food through the provision of the Holy Spirit.
As we do so, we will gain further understanding and insight into the plan that the Lord has set forth. It is calling out to God in the midst of the night watches, seeking for Him to let us know what we need to do and when we need to do it. It is being prepared to march at a moment’s notice into the deepest and darkest and harshest fray carrying that Cross of Christ into the fiercest pits of desperation and despair and despondency for the sake of those in such dire need! 
As we are told in by the Lord in Prov 2:1-8, we need to learn of His ways. We need to seek Him to be our wisdom for the course of each day. 
Prov 2:1-8, My son, if you will receive my sayings, And treasure my commandments within you, Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding; For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will discern the fear of the Lord, And discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, Guarding the paths of justice, And He preserves the way of His godly ones. 
    	This requires us to give ourselves to His hand of instruction. We need to set our hearts on the hard work that is required to so come into the knowledge of His heart of love to us. This necessitates that we apply ourselves in study and in practice with every fiber of our being. 
Again consider what we are encouraged to do in Prov 10:4+5. Prov 10:4+5, Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely, But he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully. 
	As well, the encouragement for us to work with all our heart to know the Lord is set before us in Eccl 9:7-10. Our physical bodies are suffering decay, as we well understand, but there is a glory in the Lord in absolutely giving every fiber of our being unto the task that He sets before us. Whether that is a job, or maintaining a home, or teaching our young, or prayer, or reading the Word, or worship, we are to do it all as unto the Lord with all our might and all our strength and all our ability. 
	Eccl 9:7-10, Go then, eat your bread in happiness, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works. Let your clothes be white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life, and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, verily, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going. 
    	The Prophet, in Zeph 3:15-20, gives illumination to the manner in which the Lord has dealt with us in Christ. This was generations before the gift of God’s Only Begotten Son. However the work that He would accomplish for you and for me was already declared and proclaimed by those who were such witnesses and diligent seekers after all that the Lord would have. 
	Zeph 3:15-20, The Lord has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more. In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: "Do not be afraid, O Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp. "The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. "I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts — They came from you, O Zion; The reproach of exile is a burden on them. "Behold, I am going to deal at that time With all your oppressors, I will save the lame And gather the outcast, And I will turn their shame into praise and renown In all the earth. "At that time I will bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you renown and praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I restore your fortunes before your eyes," Says the Lord.   
    	We are no longer to be afraid and living in fear. But at the same time, we are not to be complacent and idle. We are to not let our hands fall limp, but are to be diligent in the work that the Lord sets before us. We are to follow through with all our energy for the sake of His testimony in His people. We need to keep our eyes on the fact that we are to so honor God in whatever task His gives us to do, no matter what the timing that He deems best for that work to be accomplished. So be it!
And there remained among the sons of Israel seven tribes who had not divided their inheritance. So Joshua said to the sons of Israel, "How long will you put off entering to take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? Amen.

This morning’s benediction is Heb 13:20+21. Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.