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e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e welcome to everyone it's good to be back in the house of our God you can turn to the the 60th Psalm Psalm 60 for our call to worship this evening Psalm 60 I'll begin reading in verse one to the chief musician set to the set to Lily of the testimony a mctim of David for teaching when he fought against Mesopotamia and Syria of Zab and joab returned and killed 12,000 in the valley of salt oh God you have cast us off off you have broken us down you have been displeased oh restore us again you have made the Earth tremble you have broken it heal its breaches for it is shaking you have shown your people hard things you have made us drink the wine of confusion you have given a banner to those who fear you that it may be displayed because of the truth sayong that your beloved may be delivered save with your right hand and hear me God has spoken in his Holiness I Will Rejoice I will divide sheam and measure out the valley of valley of suo Gilead is mine and manessa is mine ephra also is the helmet for my head Judah is my lawgiver Moab is my wash pot over Edom I will cast my shoe philistia shout and Triumph because of me who will bring me to the Strong City who lead me to Edom is it not you oh God who cast us off and you oh God who did not go out with our armies give us help from trouble for the help of men is useless through God we will do valiantly for it is he who shall tread down our enemies amen well you can turn in your hym books to Psalm 148 Psalm 148b as in bravo and we'll stand as we sing [Music] together PR PR his in my high angels together you the isor is for all the Earth and PR forever heish hise from the earth of PR all all the pr re the and is and is Glory is all the Earth and and the heav all Prin [Applause] glory is and glory is is for the Earth has well let us pray our blessed God and Holy Father we gather together on your day in your house and it is a great privilege for us we come in the spirit through the son to the father and we Rejoice that you are our All In All We bless you and we praise you for the works of creation and Providence where you show your power and your wisdom and your Your Glory as well we praise you for the work of Redemption where we see that Grace and that mercy and that great love wherewith you loved us we know that the coming of the son of your love was for the purpose to redeem us from the law from the curse of the law and from our sin and Satan and all bad things associated with the fall we rejoice in the gospel of our Salvation in the life and the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ we rejoice in his current session presently now at the right hand of the most high and we look forward to his glor glorious return when he will judge the living and the dead we pray father that you would cause us to live in light of that blessed reality may it stir up in us that hope and that confidence and that that joyful expectation as well God for any that are outside of Jesus Christ May It Strike fear in their hearts they will stand before the judge of all the Earth they will give an account of Deeds Done in the body whether good or evil we pray that your gospel would find the mark in their heart tonight we pray that you would be merciful and cause Sinners to pass from Darkness into life from uh uh to light we pray that you would be glorified in the Redemption of of of Souls and that you would be magnified and and declared uh glorious as a result of that handywork we confess our sins to you now mindful as the people of God that we are prone to wander and prone to leave the god that we love we confess our transgression knowing that there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared and even now Lord God wash Us in that precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ certainly this is one of the chief bounds of gospel blessing that Paul says in him we have Redemption through his blood the Forgiveness of sins according to the riches of God's grace we thank you that those riches cannot be spent by the creature we thank you that you are infinite you are glorious that you are Majestic that you are indeed The God Who has purpose to save his people from their sins we pray for the proclamation of your gospel not only here but in other churches in our community throughout this nation and to the uttermost parts of the earth we have that great expectation from The Book of Revelation that there will be a great multitude that no man can number from every tribe and tongue and people and and nation and we pray that you would bless missionaries we pray that you would bless those uh currently about the work of soul-winning we ask God that you would indeed Empower them by the spirit cause them to speak that word of Truth by which you bring Sinners forth and may it be the case that you would bless those efforts with the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit to fill the church with more Blood Bought Children of the Living God we thank you as well that you are over civil government we thank you that you are over the the rulers of the the kings of the earth we thank you that Christ most high is author has Authority all authority in heaven and on Earth and we rejoice in this and we confess at times in the midst of the chaos and conf confusion and the depravity that we witness in this present evil age it is difficult to keep our eyes fixed upon the Risen and reigning Christ God help us to do so be pleased to encourage us and help us to be bold to be strong in the faith to trust in you to trust in what the psalmist says that through God we shall do valiantly for he it is that shall tread down our enemies we rejoice in your loving kindness and in your mercy we pray specifically for the ongoing court case here in chilak we pray for the attorneys we pray for pastor cman as he is cross-examined tomorrow just commend this brother to you and to the word of your grace we pray father that you would indeed move the hearts of those in high places to render a favorable verdict with reference to the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in this country we pray God for the nation of Myanmar our hearts go out to the present situation we pray for Peter that you would strengthen this brother she would give him spiritual and physical and mental health she would cause him to continue to go forward in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit and God as they continue to try to get the children out of the place of danger into the place of safety she would facilitate this she would protect the vehicle that she would protect the driver she would protect those children and and cause them to arrive safely in the destination as well God we pray for the various countries where the people of God suffer we know father that they have it very rough and very difficult and yet we are amazed that they continue to stand fast we pray that you would Empower and embolden your Saints wherever they find themselves and as they suffer for the cause of God and truth may they rejoice in this reality and may they count themselves blessed and Lord we just thank you that you are indeed doing a great work in our age and we pray you would be glorified here tonight you would rally us around the word of the living and true God You' bless our singing as we call out to you in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and may it be the case that our hearts would be drawn out in love and worship and Adoration of our blessed God and we pray this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen we may turn again in your hym books to number 470 hymn 470 we'll stand as we sing together GL shall I I see where shall I go glor glor the show turn in your Bibles to the Book of Joshua as we continue reading through the Old Testament actually going to preach from Joshua 1 so I'll read Joshua 1 without comment Joshua 1 beginning in verse one after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of nun Moses assistant saying Moses my servant is dead now therefore arise go over this Jordan you and all this people to the land which I am giving to them the children of Israel every place that the soul of your foot will tread upon I have given you as I said to Moses from the Wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the Great River the river Euphrates all the land of the Hittites and to the great sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory no man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life as I was with Moses so I will be with you I will not leave you nor forsake you be strong and of good courage for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them only be strong and very courageous that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left that you may Prosper wherever you go this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success have I not commanded you be strong and of good courage do not be afraid nor be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go then Joshua commanded the officers of the people saying pass through the camp and command the people saying prepare Provisions for yourselves for within 3 days you will cross over this Jordan to go wi to possess the land which the Lord your God has giving you to possess and to the reubenites the gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh Joshua spoke saying remember the word which Moses the servant of the L Lord commanded you saying the Lord your God is giving you rest and is giving you this land your wives your little ones and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan but you shall pass before your brethren armed all your Mighty Men of Valor and help them until the Lord has given your brethren rest as he gave you and that they also and they also have taken possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving them then you shall return to the land of your possession and enjoy it which Moses the Lord's servant gave you on this side of the Jordan toward the sunrise so they answered Joshua saying all that you command us we will do and wherever you send us we will go just as we heeded Moses in all things so we will heed you only the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses whoever Rebels against your command and does not heed your words in all that you command him shall be put to death only be strong and of good courage amen well let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you for the god breathed word we thank you for both the Old and the New Testaments we thank you for the encouragement they provide to us for the doctrine for the reproof for the correction and for the instruction in righteousness and we pray you would thoroughly furnish us unto every good work having been Justified freely by your grace through faith alone in our blessed savior we know that we are now guided and and governed by the Holy Spirit and we long to do that which is pleasing in your sight and we see in a passage like Joshua 1 the emphasis on trust and faith in our blessed God the reality that you are with us even to the end of the age and may this be a great encouragement to your people here and we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen will you can turn with me again in your hym books to number 543 543 we'll stand as we sing [Music] together Christ Christ shall be joy and and see his face I ISR his Mery the soul shall Christ is Christ [Music] th sh see Christ is back to the Book of Joshua chapter 1 I'll reread verses 1 to9 and then our focus is on the commission given to Joshua remember the pentat has been concluded they have their instructions they're supposed to go into the land of promise God had promised that's repeated here several times the land that he is giving to them and so now it has come time for the conquest where God told them specifically in Deuteronomy 7 to go into the land and dispossess the land of the Canaanites so I'll read beginning in chapter 1 at verse one after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of nun moses' assistant saying Moses my servant is dead now therefore arise go over this Jordan you and all this people to the land which I am giving to them the children of Israel every place at the soul of your foot will tread upon I have given you as I said to Moses from the Wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the Great River the river Euphrates all the land of the Hittites and to the great sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your ter territory no man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life as I was with Moses so I will be with you I will not leave you nor forsake you be strong and of good courage for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them only be strong and very courageous that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left that you may Prosper wherever you go this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success have I not commanded you be strong and of good courage do not be afraid nor be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go amen well let us again Ask God's blessing upon the preaching of his word Our Father we know that we stand in dependence Upon Our Lord Jesus John 15 he says apart from him we can do nothing we have that blessed promise in John 14 that he doesn't leave us as orphans but he comes to us we know that the the power and the presence of our of our blessed holy spirit is with us as we gather together in worship bringing Christ in the midst of the uh congregation we pray that even now we would know the the presence of the the the Lord Of Glory that you would guide us now in our thoughts forgive us of all of our sins cleanse Us in that precious blood and we ask through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well in this particular chapter we have have two sections first the commission given to Joshua in verses 1 to9 which we'll look at this evening and then the instructions given to Israel by Joshua for the conquest so when we look at this commission given to Joshua there are four things that I think the text affords or holds out to us first the reminder of God's promise in verses 1 to 4 secondly the blessing of God's presence in verses 59 and 17 third the charge to God's servant in verses 6 7even and then finally the importance of God's word in verse 8 so let's first look at the reminder of God's promise and you see that there in verses 1 to4 before we look specifically at Joshua and the commi commission given to him let's remind ourselves of the role of Moses the Lord's use of Moses he was obviously the Earthly leader of the nation of Israel old Covenant Israel as well he was the author under the inspiration of the Holy SP Spirit of the penud so Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers and Deuteronomy were all given by the pen of Moses now throughout the pentat we see uh foreshadowing not foreshadowing even but specific announcement that Joshua would be his successor that Joshua would be the one that after the death of Moses would be tasked to take the children of Israel on The Conquest into the land of Canaan there is this promise of succession we see this in Exodus 17 not a promise of succession there but we see the prominence of Joshua being a close assistance to the man Moses you see that as well in chapter 24 of the book of Exodus numbers 13 and 14 I alluded to this this morning when I was giving an illustration about the spies going into the promised land remember they go on a reconnaissance reconnaissance mission they're told to vet the land to exam in the land to see what threats are in the land but as well to see the Bounty and then to bring back word so Moses dispatches 12 of them two of which are Joshua and Caleb then 10 others so they go into the land Joshua and Caleb survey the land they see that it's a good land it's filled with many blessings it has been given by God to them and so they're ready to go at once to conquer and to engage in the fruition of God's promise of course the 10 spies the other 10 spies they go and into the land and their first initial report is that it is a good land but there are giants in the land and then they revise that they basically say well it's not that good of a land after all and those Giants are are formidable so of course the congregation sides with the 10 spies there is a simple pattern that we observe in Fallen man the path of lease resistance if there's Giants we don't want to face that if there's difficulties we don't want to face that if there's ways to get around those stains and it means whining and grumbling we'll go ahead and sign up for that so that's precisely what takes place but nevertheless Joshua was one of those men one of those spies on that recon mission and then I want you to turn specifically to numbers 27 where there is an announcement proper concerning the succession of Joshua once Moses dies notice specifically in numbers 27 beginning in verse 12 now the Lord said to Moses go up into this mount aberin and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel and when you have seen it you also shall be gathered to your people as Aaron your brother was uh was gathered for in the wilderness of Zin during The Strife of the congregation you rebelled against my command to hallow me at the waters before their eyes these are the Waters of marabo at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zen then Moses spoke to the Lord saying let the Lord the god of the spirits of All Flesh set a man over the congregation who may go out before them and go in before them who may lead them out of out and bring them in that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep which have no Shepherd we'll continue on in just a moment but that's a significant statement there specifically at the end of verse 17 that the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep which have no Shepherd it's the I exact language employed by uh Matthew in Matthew chapter 9 specifically at verse 36 when our lord Jesus looked at the multitudes and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep having no Shepherd so under that Godless reprobate leadership provided by the Jews they were in a state of destitution and so Jesus looks upon them with that compassion because they were like sheep having no Shepherd Joshua would function in a similar manner notice in verse 18 and the Lord said to Moses take Joshua the son of n with you a man in whom is the spirit and lay your hand on him set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation and inaugurate him in their sight and you shall give him some of your author uh give some of your authority to him that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient he shall stand before elazar the priest who shall inquire before the Lord for him by the Judgment of the uim at his word they shall go out and at his word they shall come in he and all the children of Israel with him all the congregation so Moses did as the Lord commanded him he took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation and he laid his hands on him and inaugurated him just as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses as well throughout the Book of Deuteronomy de Deuteronomy 138 321 328 and then an extended uh Narrative of succession in chapter 31: 1 to8 so Joshua was not self-appointed Joshua was not a usurper Joshua wasn't vying for position but rather Joshua was the man of God's own choosing to succeed Moses upon his death so that the children of Israel would not be like sheep having no Shepherd but they'd have a Shepherd that would take them into the promised land and that would engage in the execution of the Covenant upon the people in Canaan so back to our particular text before we move on to consider Joshua properly consider the pattern of God the pattern of God is that often times he uses means well I would say most of the time he uses means Miracles are simply a theological explanation for those times where he suspends means but the regular ordinary Providence of God is by the use of means and we have to acknowledge that God often uses men to affect his purposes in this present evil age I've often cited Ephesians 4 Jesus was led on high uh uh LED on high uh sented on high he led captivity captive and he gave gifts to men and the gifts that he gives to men in that context are men to preach to teach and to evangelize such that they can extend the kingdom of God and its visible representation namely the church in this present evil age so God uses human means to accomplishes his perp uh to accomplish his purposes there's a great analogy of this in the book of First Kings on the heels of six terrible Kings you had basa Ela zimy tipney omry and Ahab and on the heels of that we read that Elijah comes on the scene in 171 it says in Elijah the tishbite of the inhabitants of Gilead said to Ahab as the Lord God of Israel lives before whom I stand there shall not be due nor rain these years except at my word it's almost like he parachutes right into the text right into the narrative there's no buildup there's no Elijah and Mrs Elijah had a little parcel of land and they farmed it and they were in love with one another and Elijah had a side gig as a prophet none of that the important thing is is that when these evil Kings W Rose up God had his man Wallace says whenever evil flourishes it is always a superficial flourish for at the height of the Triumph of evil God will be there ready with his man and his movement and his plans to ensure that his own cause will never fail and as well when we consider the fact that God often uses human means in this case Moses we need to understand that the death of Moses does not mean the death of God the death of Moses does not mean the death of the plan of God the death of any preacher doesn't mean the stopping up of the advancement of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ God uses men instrumentally men come men go but God is forever and Calvin makes the observation this suggests a very the very useful reflection the idea that Moses died and some might look at that and say wait a minute what's going to happen to the Kingdom of Israel this suggests the very useful reflection that while men are cut off by death and fail in the middle of their career the faithfulness of God never fails on the death of Moses a sad change seemed impending the people were left like a body with its head locked off while thus in danger of dispersion not only did the truth of God prove itself to be immortal but it was shown in the person of Joshua as in a bright mirror that when God takes away Those whom he has ad or adorned with special gifts he has others in Readiness to supply their place and that though he is pleased for a time to give excellent gifts to some his mighty power is not tied down to them but he is able as often as Seth to him good to find fit successors nay to raise up from the very Stones persons qualified to perform illustrious Deeds so on the one hand God uses human means the other hand those human means are not the end all be all they are instruments in the hand of our faithful God and our hope and our confidence is ultimately in that God now specifically this is God's reminder of of his promise in verses 1 to 4 look specifically at The Address given to Joshua in verses 3 and 4 it says every place that the soul of your foot will tread upon I have given you as I said to Moses from the Wilderness and this Le on as far as the Great River the river Euphrates all the land of the Hittites and of the great sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory Brethren the Book of Joshua is very easy to outline I think outlining is helpful to get an understanding comprehensively of a book you take a big body of text and you outline it and then you're able to see it and and and hopefully appropriate it or appreciate it in a way that you hadn't previously the Book of Joshua is quite simple there is a command to enter the land in chapters 1: 4 there is then a command to conquer the land in chapters 5 to2 there is then a command to possess the land in verse uh chapters 13 to 21 and then the book ends with a command to retain the land in verses 22 to 24 so I think that's the essence of the charge given by God to Joshua in this particular place enter conquer possess retain enter conquer possess retain and again the underlying refrain is as I am giving you they're not going in their own strength they're not going because they're genocidal freaks they're going because God most high had promised to Abraham Isaac and Jacob that he was going to give them this land as I mentioned this morning when they go into the land and Joshua presents a very favorable impression of that judges not so much judges shows us the dark underbelly of the conquest so that when the children of Israel become like the Canaanites themselves God doesn't say well that's okay because you're my special chosen people no God raises up the Assyrian power to decimate the northern tribes of Israel he raises up the Babylonians to decimate the southern tribes of Israel why because God's justice God's law God's righteousness is unbending it is not capricious it is not arbitrary God exacts Justice on those who violate his law and so there is no arbitrariness with our God and then as I mentioned the emphasis on the grace of God the repeated emphasis on the giving of the land recalls the promise made to Abraham Genesis 12 Genesis 13 Genesis 15 Genesis 17 that ball is moved down the field to Isaac and to Jacob such that they all know the particular purpose of God is that after having coming out come out of the land of Egypt they are now to go into the land that the Lord had given to them this was Grace this was Mercy as Dale Ralph Davis says hence the theological roots of Joshua are sunk deeply into the soil of Genesis 12 and following and that ancient promise is about to receive its contemporary fulfillment so that's the reminder of God's pres uh promise let's look secondly at the blessing of God's presence and as I said 59 and then ex uh extending out from this context vers 17 but remember the Lord's presence was with Moses look at chapter 1 verse 5 specifically at verse uh verse 5 no man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life as I was with Moses so I will be with you God had a proven track record God wasn't the new kid on the Block God wasn't the new deity vying for preeminence in the nation state of Israel no God was the living and the true God God had shown his pedigree God had shown his consistency God had shown his faithfulness by being present with Moses remember when God commiss Moses specifically in Exodus 3 at verse 12 and I will certainly be with you in fact turn to Exodus CH 4 in that commissioning section where Moses is called to function as the deliverer of God's people God's firstborn notice in Exodus chapter 4 specifically at verse 10 then Moses said to the Lord oh my Lord I am not eloquent neither before nor since you have spoken to your servant but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue remember the scene God calls Moses and Moses says here am I send Aaron here am I send somebody else here am I I don't want to do this here am I I'm not qualified for this here am I I don't have the native gifts here am I I don't have the requisite mind or intellect here am I I don't have the military Savvy Moses was trying to evade the call of God I'm not blaming him I'm not suggesting he's a horrible man I think that it indicates that he was a true man a real man a man mindful of the fact that he had his shortcomings that he wasn't The Brightest Bulb in the chandelier that he didn't have the military Savvy and the strength necessary to go out and engage in the conquest notice in verse 11 so the Lord said to him who has made man's mouth or who makes the mute the deaf and the seeing or the blind have not I the Lord Lord now therefore go and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say but he said oh my Lord please send by the hand of whomever else you may send so the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said is not Aaron the levite your brother I know that he can speak well and and look he is the he is coming out to meet you whom uh when he sees you he will be glad in his heart now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and I will teach you what you shall do so he shall be your spokesman to the people and he himself shall be as a mouth for you and you shall be to him as God and you shall take this rod in your hand with which you shall do the signs so God has a proven track record of being present in the trenches with his people when they go to battle and this holds true with reference to Joshua notice specifically in verse five no man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life as I was with Moses so I will be with you notice in verse 9 have I not commanded you be strong and of good courage do not be afraid nor be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go and then notice again in verse 17 just as we heeded Moses in all things so we will heed you only the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses turn to chapter 2 specifically at verse 24 we're going to look at all these passages I think that's a problem with us bre Brethren or at least me I'm not going to blame you third grade lecturing teacher again I'm not going to do that but it's tough at times in the midst of Chaos in the midst of hardship in the midst of Affliction remember that blessed promise that lo I Am With You Always even to the end of the age you look around at the church it doesn't always seem to be as vibrant or as vital or as important or as uh wonderful as it ought to be and it gets a bit discouraging but we have the promise from Christ that when we're about the Great Commission he is with us even to the end of the age well getting a good dose of this in the Book of Joshua I think or hope will be helpful for us notice in 2:24 and they said to Joshua truly the Lord has delivered all the land into our hands for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are faint-hearted because of us and then notice specifically in 3 uh uh 3 uh 37 rather 37 and the Lord said to Joshua this day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel that they may know that as I was with Moses so I will be with you drop down to verse 10 and Joshua said by this you shall know that the Living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the the Canaanites and the Hittites and the hivites and the perizzites and the gites and the amorites and the girgashites notice in 4:14 414 on that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel and they feared him as they had feared Moses all the days of his life notice in 627 so the Lord was with Joshua and his Fame spread throughout all the country notice in Joshua 10 specifically at verse 14 and there has been no day like that before it or after it that the Lord heeded the voice of a man for the Lord fought for Israel notice in chapter 10 specifically at verse 42 all these Kings and their land Joshua took at one time because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel notice it's not because of his military Savvy it's not because of his Keen intellect it's not because he went to war College it is rather because God was with him God was with the children of Israel notice in 136 136 all the inhabitants uh all all the inhabitants of the mountains from Lebanon as far as the book Mis uh Brook miso and all the sidonians them I will drive out from before the children of Israel only divide it by lot to Israel as an inheritance as I have commanded you notice in 14:12 1412 now there therefore give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day for you heard in that day how the anakim were there and that the cities were great and fortified it may be that the Lord will be with me and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said do you understand that that's Caleb the son of jeffan do do you hear what he's saying remember when that recon mission obtained what was the problem the the Giants that were in the land the sons of anak we don't want to go against them what piece of property does Joshua want he wants the sons of anak's property there's a man who understood there's a man who walked in faith there's a man who knew that the God who promised is the god who is faithful notice in 2144 again the underlying emphasis or overarching emphasis rather is that God is with his people verse 44 chter 21 the lord gave gave them rest all around according to all that he had sworn to their fathers and not a man uh not a man of all their enemies stood against them the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand and then notice in 233 and 10 233 you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you for the Lord your God Is He Who has fought for you and then in verse 10 one man of you shall chase a thousand for the Lord your God is he who fights for you as he promised you so what do we learn in this particular section that the god of Glory who promises his presence and pledges his presence to Mo Moses and to Joshua the god of Glory who promises his presence to the church in this new covenant era we're not engaged in a conquest wherein we're going into you know neighboring nation states and gunning them down for Jesus there is some degree of parallel and the Great Commission go therefore Make Disciples of all the nations baptize them in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit and teach them to observe all things that I have commanded you and lo I Am With You Always even at the End of the Age Brethren Christ is always with his church his church is doing what she's supposed to be doing see I think that's the disconnect where's Jesus well when you're having you know rawr sessions or when you're having entertainment that that is the focal point of your worship or when you've turned evangelism into God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life or here's a hot dog in jesus' name when you've done that yeah then arguably Jesus isn't present with us because that's not the Contours of the commission Go Make Disciples baptize those disciples and teach those disciples the marching orders for the Church of Christ are very simple just like they were for General Joshua go into the land kill people break things take things and then uh reside there I know that sounds crass Brethren I'd love to put a finer polish on it or spin it a bit but that's what the conquest was so again we're not engaged in a physical Conquest with military might and and and wartime Savvy but there is a wartime Savvy in the spiritual realm and the ace and the whole of the church is Jesus Christ that he's on his throne that he's promised presence that he has said I will be with you even to the end of the age I don't know why we fumble I don't know why we stumble moreover Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:2 it is required of stewards that they be found what Sensational famous gregarious on the front page of every local paper on the front page of Facebook on the front page of Twitter no it's required of Steward that they be found what faithful we do what God calls us to do we have the special promise of God that he will be with us General Joshua never had to doubt General Joshua sought in his own history just as God was with Moses now when God was with Moses that didn't mean there was no trials there was no afflictions there was no hardships there were no difficulties remember Christ gets into the boat with the disciples and the Storm still comes Christ in the boat doesn't mean the ab of storms Christ in the boat means the presence of Christ in the midst of the storms it's a blessed reality it's a wonderful thing so that when Moses or Joshua were down as no doubt they were Moses at times said I I can't do this anymore the the the the bottom line is is that the way to G oneself up is not in your own strength or resources but in the Divine resources that we have in Father Son and Holy Spirit the result of God's presence with Joshua specifically there in verse 5 the inability of man to stand against Joshua probably a good bit of information to have when you're going to go against the Canaanites in war to know that God has promised that that there would be an inability on the part of those men to stand against him that's got to put a bit of a skip in your step when it comes to battle the inability of the Lord to ever leave or forsake Joshua according to 5B I will not leave you nor forsake you again Brethren a great Boon when you're going into combat and you need Divine Aid God's promised that your enemies are not going to win God's promised that he's going to make sure that he never leaves you nor forsakes you the presence of the Lord would be wherever uh Joshua went specifically verse n have I not commanded you be strong and of good courage do not be afraid nor be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go and lo I Am With You Always even to the end of the age if you're in Asia if you're in Africa if you're in America wherever you might be God the Lord is with his people Christ the Divine word enthroned at the right hand of the Majesty on high has promised his special presence to the people of God when they engage in the commission now notice thirdly the charge to God's servant in verses 6 and seven be strong and of good courage for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them only be strong and very courageous that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left that you may Prosper wherever you go what's God's emphasis with him be courageous be a man have some backbone the Nancy boys can go drink tea with the girgashites you're about to go in the land of Canaan and engage in dispossessing that's going to require courage and strength now I had mentioned that the Book of Judges gives us a bit of an alternate picture concerning the conquest turn to judges 15 judges 15 the Samson narrative drop down to about verse 9 now the Philistines went up encamped in Judah and deployed themselves against Lehi and the men of Judah said why have you come up against us so they answered we've come up to arrest Samson to do to him as he has done to us now before we proceed I should remind you that the first tribe mentioned in the Book of Judges in terms of Conquest was Judah and Judah did quite well oh how things have changed by the time Samson is on the scene so you've got the Philistines who want Samson Samson was a be in the Bonnet he was a bur in the saddle he was a pain in the neck they did not want Samson around and from their Vantage Point could you blame him that lovable wonderful Spirit-filled God servant was awesome so look how Judah responds instead of re rebuking the Philistines instead of taking arms up against the Philistines this is an act of War this is an act of transgression when the Philistines Want Your Leader if ever there's a time to take up arms that's the time then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the CFT of the rock of eom they send an Army against Samson not against the Philistines they arm up against their leader not against their enemy then just by way of a brief observation they knew the threat that Samson osed if it were us we'd send five of our biggest guys probably not 3,000 seems a bit Overkill is doesn't it not with Samson then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the Clift of the rock of Edom and said to Samson do you not know what the Phil that the Philistines rule over us what is this you have done to us remember this morning I made that offhand remark that I don't know that everybody wants Freedom the Judah sites didn't the Judah sites didn't at all they were perfect perfectly content with their captors they were perfectly content with their slavery in fact the S uh the The Narrative Cycles in the Book of Judges follow a pattern the people of God sin against God God raises up a foreign oppressor oppressor to bring judgment or chastisement upon them they cry out in distress and then God raises up a savior God raises up a judge in this narrative cycle beginning in Chapter 13 Judah does not cry out for Relief Judah does not cry out in their distress Judah has made peace with the status quo in fact notice the personal pronoun that they use do you not know that the Philistines rule over us what is this you have done to us if ever you want to see an occasion of the professed people of God showing absolute content for God for his man and any regard whatsoever to courage your bravery it's here in judges 15 this is abject cowardice at the highest level as he said to them as they did to me so I have done to them you know the picture that we have of a bumbling ogre an o That's governed by his lusts is not what Samson was Samson invokes The Lex talion eye for eye tooth for tooth what they've done for me I'll do to them but they said to him we have come down to arrest you that we may deliver you into the hand of the Philistines then Samson said to them swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves he's such a trusting fellow too he's such a great guy everything about Samson's wonderful Brethren I love the guy I got a grandson named Samson it makes me happy and Samson said to them swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves so they spoke to him saying no but we will tie you securely and deliver you into into their hand but we will surely not kill you and they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock oh we're not going to kill you Samson come on we're just going to tie you up and hand you over to the Philistines and they're going to kill you Brethren this is cowardice this is reprehensible this is foul and offensive this is Godless and reprobate there ought to be none of this in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ through God we shall do valiantly for he it is that will tread down our enemies either we believe that statement Psalm 612 or we don't either we understand God's presence with his people God's power for his people or we don't the church today today better start living in light of and lo I Am With You Always even to the End of the Age we have to finish keep going verse 14 when he came to Lehi the Philistines came shouting against him then the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire and his bonds broke loose from his hands he found a fresh Jawbone of a donkey the narrator gives us that detail it's fresh if it wasn't fresh it would be brittle and it would break on the first face of the first Philistine he picks up this fresh Jawbone of a donkey reached out his hand and took it and killed a thousand men with it then Samson said Brethren if I had done this the last thing I would be doing is composing poetry or lims or you know witty sayings with the Jawbone of a donkey heaps upon heaps with the Jawbone of a donkey I have slain a thousand men Moffet renders it this way with the Jawbone of an ass I have piled them in a mass and so it was when he had finished speaking that he threw the Jawbone from his hand and called that place Rath Lehi so back to Joshua 1 the charge is simple verse six be strong and of good courage for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them only be strong and very courageous this is is the requirement on our part and notice as the text proceeds from verses 10 and following and throughout the entirety of the book it's not that God's just wiping out you know random Canaanites here and there they have to fight they have to Sally into battle they have to arm up they have to be ready to to engage the enemy they have to be ready to exchange they have to use the means God's presence and his power in our lives does not reduce the necessity of the use of means but rather it's the foundation for the use of means as well the connection ought to be apparent the presence of God with Joshua is the basis upon which Joshua can in fact be strong and of good Courage the presence of God enables Joshua to comply with the charge no God no strength or courage but with God strength and courage and then Mighty exploits in his name and then note the necessity of all this there at the end of verse 7 so verse 7 only be strong and very courageous that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left that you may Prosper wherever you go so what is God saying I want you to succeed I've covenanted my presence for you to succeed I'm in this for you to succeed again think in Matthew 28 terminology do you think the Lord Jesus Christ lived for Sinners died for Sinners was raised for Sinners received all authority in heaven and on Earth and then tells his church to go and make disciples of all the nations so that only a handful of Sinners could be saved or the hyper Calvinists right there only five of us that are going to be in heaven they're absolutely wrong he shed his blood for the remission of sins for many Christ is invested in the Great Commission we've seen it in the upper room John 14 specifically in verse 12 I I want you to do Greater Works not in competition to Jesus but as an extension of Jesus power when he's enthroned at the right hand of the Majesty on high through the disciples through the apostolic Ministry through the foundational Church through the church through subsequent ages what do we see when we see a sinner conquered we see the glory the majesty and the efficacy of the Precious Blood of the Lamb Christ is in the commission Christ is about the commission Christ wants the commission I use the language of men there Christ has determined rather the commission to be successful again not without difficulty not without challenges not without es and flows not not without Godless States not without Godless churches not without you know internal strife it's not the suspension of all those trials and hardships and difficulties rather it's Christ in the midst of the lampstand as they navigate those things for his glory and then that brings us finally to the importance of God's word how is Mo uh Joshua going to be the most successful sort of military campaign leader ever because he went to war College because he's got the Savvy because he's got the intellect no because he has the word of the Living God notice the centrality of the word specifically in verse eight this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it turn back for just a moment to the book of Deuteronomy Deuteronomy chapter 17 Deuteronomy chapter 177 we have principles governing the monarchy principles governing the monarchy I'm not suggesting that Joshua was a monarch or a king in Israel but there's certainly some connection the judges weren't monarchs they weren't Kings but they weren't Circuit Court judges either and it wasn't judge wner in the People's Court hearing you know civil disputes judges at the time of the judges were saviors judges at the time of Judge judges functioned in a kingly capacity judges in the time of the judges protected Israel from foreign Invasion protected Israel from being decimated by all the IES that surrounded them so the judges functioned in a kingly capacity well you had uh go uh principles governing Kings specifically in Deuteronomy 17 notice in verse 14 when you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you possess it and dwell in it and say remember Joshua is not a king some connection some overlap some certainly you know some things that I think will sink in as we read the passage I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you that makes sense you're not going to have an hivite occupy the the throne in Israel that that wouldn't happen that's not that's not legit I mean even civil governments today recognize this though increasingly less but nevertheless notice verse 16 he shall not multiply horses for himself that doesn't mean God's against you having an equestrian habit or a love it's multiplying horses for combat multiplying horses for war now Israel was to have a standing army but I think the prohibition here specifically against war and wealth and women speaks specifically to the reality that those things can draw your heart away from the Living God if You' got more horses than your neighbor you don't really need God after all if You' got more money than those competitors you really don't need God after all if you've got women and in this instance the ancient near Eastern world the the multiplication of wise very often was for political Alliance wasn't simply to increase a Herm it was for political Alliance so the multiplication of wives certainly greased the wheels of political power so if you had wealth you had Warfare ability or you had a lot of women might just be tempted to forget your God so I think that's the way we should understand this not that they weren't supposed to have a standing army not that they weren't supposed to be ready to withhold the the the nation state not that they weren't supposed to be ready to decimate any foreign Invasion uh Invasion or be able to win when they went up against a competitor I don't think that's what's in view he shall not multiply horses for himself nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses for the Lord has said to you you shall not return that way again neither shall he multiply wives for himself lest his heart turn away nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself also it shall be when he sits on the throne of his kingdom that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book from the one before the priest the Levites and it shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life that he may learn to fear the lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes that his heart may not be lifted above his Brethren that he may not turn aside from the command commment to the right hand or to the left and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom he and his children in the midst of Israel so it's not out of the ordinary that even though Joshua is not a king in some sense he's functioning in a kingly capacity he's over the people he's tasked with the defending of the people he's tasked with invading the the the the IES and dispossessing the land of Canaan with them so we see the centrality of the word notice as well though in chapter one specific specifically verse 8 this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall what meditate in it day and night give yourself to it be constant in it I've often said that with us well I don't have time to read my Bible I don't have time to pray excuse me are are you invading the nation of Canaan are you decimating the various it that occupy the land I have to think there were probably more hands on Joshua's time than ours just taking a stab at it Mrs Joshua didn't have a dishwasher didn't have a washing machine they didn't have cars didn't have planes didn't have air conditioning didn't have heat Brethren think about this passage the next time you're going to say well I'm just too busy to read my Bible that's the third grade teacher lecture face voice action give yourself constantly constant careful absorbing of the word of God leads to obedience to it lack of study results in lack of obedience that's Dale Ralph Davis let me just read that again constant careful absorbing of the word of God leads to obedience to it lack of study results in lack of obedience just something to think about how busy are you are you out hacking down Canaanite Nations no I know some of you I know all of you I I do you work hard really hard some harder than others but ain't nobody in here got the job of Joshua and as far as God is concerned you are to give yourself constantly to my book what's Paul's admonition to Timothy you have known the Sacred Scriptures from your youth those scriptures which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith that is in Christ Jesus you're to take that word Timothy and you're to contemplate it you to be constant with it you're to be in Earnest Timothy because the gospel and the salvation of Sinners and the sanctification of the Saints depends not wholly God is Sovereign over these things but instrumentally on the faithful minister or Ministry of the word in the church and Timothy if you're not doing that go get another job it's not a bad thing you can be a plumber good J job right had a plumber from the whole family and fix something recently it's a good job oh there he is uh it's a good thing being an electrician it's a good thing too be truck drive whatever you don't have to be a minister but if you're going to be a minister moreover it is required of them that they be found faithful that's what Paul's overarching concern is for the Next Generation in terms of pastoral Ministry so the internalization of the word leads to The Obedience of that word this book of the law verse 8 shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it and then note the blessing associated with that for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success have I not commanded you be strong and of good courage do not be afraid nor be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you may go Joshua and again D Dale Ralph Davis says Joshua 1 and Psalm 1 Alik tell us that a life of pleasing God does not arise from mystical experiences or warm feelings or from a new gimmick advocated in a current release from one of our Evangelical Publishers know it comes from the word of God or the word God has already spoken and from obedience to that word I want to be spiritual I want to be holy do you read your Bible no then I don't know what to tell you man I want to be healthy well do you get out and walk around once in a while you pick up heavy things you eat a lot of protein no I don't know what to tell you see Brethren it's not rocket science we have a gift to over complicate everything under the sun it's really not that hard if you're a minister be faithful if you're the people of God be faithful always in the context of being strong being of good courage knowing that it's the Lord who is with you the Lord who has pledged and covenanted is and promised to be there with you in the midst of whatever the hardship and the trial and the difficulty may be in conclusion the gravity of the task facing Joshua was mitigated by the glory and the presence of God in the life of Joshua so whenever God calls us to something extremely difficult we can trust that God is there with us if God calls us to things that aren't extremely difficult we can trust that God is with us that's the recurring refrain throughout scripture secondly again the Great Commission is not a physical conquest of nation states in the name of Jesus to slay our enemies with military might but there's obviously at least a spiritual parallel between the Great Commission and the conquest instruction given here by God to Joshua in Joshua chapter 1 we can read in the books of Deuteronomy and Joshua we can read in the Book of Judges the negative side of the conquest it nevertheless is balanced out by God's presence with them in giving them saviors giving them annel giving them eh Hood giving them Samson giving them jeffa giving them baric giving them the various judges that functioned as saviors to deliver God's people from foreign oppression so in a book that's Bleak and dark God is there in a book that seems otherwise wi untenable to the mind of man that reads the rest of the Bible especially in light of the fact that God's promises are sure they yay and amen nevertheless God is there when he raises up a jeffa he does it for the good of his people and then the final thing by way of concluding application is turn to judges I'm sorry Joshua 21 Joshua 21: 43 to 45 summarize the entirety of the book the summary of chapters 13 to 21 is in verse 43 so the lord gave to Israel all the land of which he had sworn to give to their fathers and they took possession of it and dwelt in it the summary of chapters 1 to2 is in verse 44 the lord gave them rest all around according to all that he had sworn to their enemies and not a man of all their enemies stood against them the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand and the summary of the entire book is in verse 45 not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel all came to pass The God Who commands is the god who is present The God Who is present shall tread down our enemies The God Who is present has called the church to faithfulness to go to make disciples to baptize those disciples to teach those disciples under the overarching context of the promise of Christ and lo I Am With You Always even to the end of the age well let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for this book of Joshua and we thank you for what it tells us concerning our gracious and our glorious God and we know you are unchanging you are immutable and impassible and certainly we see this in the Old Testament the unchangeable character of God the nature of God with his people we know that's the same way in the New Covenant we know that Christ isn't going to abandon us he's not going to leave us or forsake us when he calls us to evangelize when he calls us to gospel missions when he calls us to faithfulness and faithless Society give us Grace give us courage give us boldness and give us a firm commitment to the truth of Holy Scripture may we give ourselves constantly to the study of it so that we may obey it we ask that you would go with us now provide the spirit so that we and engage in these things and we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of [Music] meditation e e for