The Joshua Generation Josh 1:1-9
There had to come a day when a generation of Israelites wandering in the desert was the last generation to do so, and became the generation that crossed over and entered the promised land.
It is interesting to note that the emphasis from God in verse 8 - that they were to meditate in the Word day and night if they were to be successful.

When will we see the final generation of believers?
Romans 8 says all of creation is waiting, groaning as if in childbirth awaiting the manifestation of the Sons of God. Aren't we sons already? On paper yes, in practice there's a way to go yet. The Israelites were Israelites in the desert place, but they needed to enter in and occupy.
As far as I can see creation is still subject to bondage, death and decay. We are not yet, NOT YET, reversing the natural order.
But I believe God is raising up a final generation, a Joshua generation that will enter the land, that will begin to occupy, that will begin to reverse the natural order of things.
Daniel says God's people will be willing in the day of His power. God is looking for and determined to raise a generation of children who will not be ruled over by the circumstances of life but will reign in life by one Christ Jesus (Rom 5:17) God is looking for a generation of children whose attitude to life will not be determined by circumstances, but rather their attitude to circumstances is determined by their relationship to God and their belief in His word.
Look at Peter - about to face the biggest test of his life and Jesus prays for him. But note that Jesus doesn't pray about the circumstance, but that Peter's faith might not fail. If all you ever do is pray about the circumstances, then you're forever focusing on problems rather than the person. God is raising children, disciples, followers.
Paul was warned by the prophet Agabus that he would face imprisonment if he went to Jerusalem. But his reaction and response were not determined by the circumstance, but by his relationship with God.
God is raising up a Joshua generation, a generation whose attitudes and actions are determined by their relationship with Him, who hear His voice and are not phased by what they see or hear.

Transformation
The key is transformation. Rom 12:1-2 says we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. Prov 23:7 says as a man thinks in his heart so is he. What stopped the Israelites the first time was their lack of faith - an inability to believe what God had promised. They saw the giants and were afraid. If they had believed the promise of God they would have reversed the natural order.
But how can my mind be renewed, how can I grow in faith? God told the Joshua generation meditate in my law day and night, do not let it depart from you. Rom 10:17 says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Ps 119:15, 27, 48, 78, 148.
Renewing the Mindset
We saw from Psalm 119 recently that meditating in the word is the key to hearing God's voice, vital to renewing our minds. If we're to be transformed then we have to have our minds renewed, our mindsets changed, we have to ditch the dithering, to get rid of stinking thinking! To meditate on God's word is to converse with Him. Through the word of God you meet the God of the Word. Vacant reflection is not enough, meditation on the Word is vital.
Our mindsets have been formed over years of subtle and systematic exposure to values that are not the values of God. (Eph 2:2-3, 1 Jn 2:16).

Eph 2:1-3
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
1 John 2:16
For everything in the world-- the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-- comes not from the Father but from the world.

From the earliest age, the spirit of disobedience is working in the world to influence us. Without realising it, our core values, our preferences and prejudices are moulded by exposure to TV, radio, magazines, friends, newspapers, parents and of course our own sinful nature.
Look at how political correctness has worked. Years of exposure sensitises us to the issue. Years ago you wouldn't have thought twice about telling a joke about a fat person or an old person - but the subtle pressure brought to bear by making us aware of the issue gradually changes our attitude and sensitivity. This doesn't happen overnight - it takes time.
This is why being set free from it takes time also. Jesus said we would know the truth and the truth would set us free. As Graeme said recently, many of us have risen to life at the voice of Jesus (like Lazarus) but we're still wrapped in grave clothes. Just as you have spent years being exposed to wrong values, so you need to spend time washing in the word of God. 2 Pet 1:4, Eph 5:26

2 Peter 1:4
Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
Eph 5:25-26
Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word.

NB note that Jesus sanctifies and cleanses us - sanctifies is makes us holy (declaration) and cleanses us means purging, purifying, a process. This Jesus does by the Word of God. By His Word, us meditating in it daily, meeting Him through it daily, He purges us, cleanses us, purifies us, renews our mind, changes our core values. By this will we be empowered to believe Him and believe His Word.

Transformation is not just a prayer. It is a two-fold process of sanctifying and cleansing. Revival can never come to the church without deliverance and the sooner we realise that the better. Christians are not immune from demonic strategy and influence and we all need differing levels of deliverance. But without the washing of the Word, without the conversation with God through the word, we will keep falling back to old ways. It is the long-term systematic exposure to God's word that changes the way we think, which renews our mind. Habits don't change with just a prayer; they change by being replaced with a new habit.
I was once asked by a couple to pray for them and their house because of weird and frightening goings-on. I sensed real evil in their home when I went there to pray. In one particular room the closed door flew open as I began to pray. When I left, I felt the house was clean, and there was now a sense of peace there. But two weeks later, it was back to square one. I noticed that the couple had a large TV in their bedroom sitting in cabinet at the foot of their bed, surrounded by unmarked videos. It turned out that they had hundreds of horror and occult movies on tape that they watched each night. Deliverance is no good if the door that allowed the problem in remains open. They needed to have their minds renewed but instead they continued to expose themselves to the spirit of the age.
I have come across Christians who suffer from low self-esteem. They come for prayer for deliverance and Jesus sets them free. But weeks or months later, the old problem seems to have returned. Why? Because prayer for deliverance is one thing, but to be transformed they needed to renew their minds, and to renew your mind you need to meditate on the Word of God daily. If you meditate without the Word you're just having a conversation with yourself, but to take a verse or passage of Scripture and spend serious time talking to God about what that verse means and what God is saying to you through that verse - that's real meditation, conversation with God. Then you are being washed in the Word, giving Jesus (the Word) and the Holy Spirit opportunity to replace and change your core values and perceptions.
Likewise I have met Christians who want to be free of such things as pornography, addictions, bad habits, negative thinking, self-pity, hatred, resentment, unforgiveness, bad temper, anger etc etc. They want to be set free through a one-off prayer for deliverance. And it's true that demonic oppression and influence can be exposed and broken through prayer, but long-term transformation requires a renewing of the mind, which requires systematic, constant, consistent washing in the word, being exposed to God's values, perspective, thoughts and opinions by meditating on His word.

The Divine Exchange

Transformation relies on the process whereby my weakness is exchanged for his strength, His strength is made perfect in my weakness, I am renewed through waiting on Him.

Isaiah 40:31 They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. Wait means intertwine, twist together. Wrapped up in each other. You gain a supernatural strength (manifestation of sons) when you wrap yourself together with God.
Romans 8:11. If the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwell in you, He shall quicken your mortal body.
That's the same thing. How does it happen, by waiting on the Lord. Not a vacant reflection but a pregnant meditation! Note that these two Scriptures parallel each other. In both cases the same result is achieved, i.e. supernatural ability (running and not being weary, and having your mortal body quickened). What leads to this "entering in" is waiting on God (Isaiah) or being filled with the Spirit (Romans). When you wait on God in His Word, meditating on His Word, conversing with Him, talking with Him, letting the Word be a doorway to meeting Him (Ps 119:130) then you will transformed supernaturally. Changed from glory to glory into the image of Jesus.
We need supernatural strength, we need to exchange our weakness for His strength, we need His Spirit living in us if we are to rise above natural ability, break free from the mindset of the world and begin to be manifest as the sons of God. How - by waiting. We must converse with God through the word. Prov 4:20 - 23 guard your heart for out of it are the issues of life. Hide the word in your heart. Look at these wonderful passages of Scripture - in fact, why not meditate on them in the coming days!
Ps 19:7-14. Psalm 1:1-3; 119:28, 149. Ps 143:5,8.