[MUSIC PLAYING] Welcome to Expound, our verse
by verse study of God's word. Our goal is to expand your
knowledge of the truth of God by explaining the word of God
in a way that is interactive, enjoyable, and congregational. So, this morning I
read an article that was sent to me from USA Today. And it caught my attention
because the title of the article was what
would happen if you didn't brush your teeth for one year. I thought, that's
a weird article. First of all, who
writes things like this? But I read the article, and
what would happen if you didn't brush your teeth for a year. And the long and short of it
is nothing good would happen. You'll lose all your
friends, you'll probably lose your teeth,
you'll get gum disease. But more than
that, by neglecting the simple task of
brushing your teeth daily it would whack your
immune system to the point where it could cause
respiratory disease, and even accentuate
heart disease. So if some of you
are wondering why you've been feeling bad lately. No, I'm just kidding. I'm sure you all
brush your teeth. But just neglecting a
simple thing like that could create havoc. The children of Israel neglected
the most basic exercise of trusting in God's promises. God promised them a land. And the book of Joshua is all
about a land and a people. God promised them a land
that they would occupy, it would be a gift to them. They had to go in and walk
through it and take it, but it was a promise. And he expected to those
people, his people, to hold on to that promise,
and to apply it, to live in it. But because they did not, when
Joshua and Caleb came back from spying out the land-- when they came back
and gave the report, the people were shuddering, they
were shaking in their boots, they were afraid. They were living not in
confidence, but in fear. And they managed, by
that simple neglect, to turn what should have
been an 11 day march-- that's what the Bible tells us. It takes 11 days
to go from Egypt to the border of
that promised land. They turned an 11 day March
into a 40 year meander. They went from worshippers
to wanderers all because they didn't just keep
the basic tenant of believe it when God says it. Apply it to my life,
lay hold of it. But that generation is dead,
and a new generation, a younger generation, has arisen. And now Moses, who led them
to the brink, to the border, to the Jordan River-- and if you remember, even
though John was a lengthy study, you may remember that in the
Book of Deuteronomy, which precedes this book,
Moses has led the people to the Plains of Moab. And on the Plains of Moab,
looking across the Jordan River, you could see Jericho in
the distance and the mountains beyond it. You can see, to this day,
Jerusalem in the distance. He led them there, but then
he went up on Mount Nebo and he died, and
Joshua will take over for Moses in this book. And we're going to read about
his leadership at this point. But during those
years of wandering-- I call it the longest
funeral march in history because if you think of an
entire generation dying, and you think of the millions
they came out of Egypt, by the best
reckoning of scholars it was about 1.2 million people
who died during those years. 1.2 million dying would
average about 85 people a day kicking the bucket. So every waking hour of the
day, as people were dying off over that period of time, there
was that constant reminder of the truth that
the wages of sin is death because death
was all around them. However, even
though people died, even though that whole
generation except for two of them died-- and you'll see
both of those two highlighted in this book-- one of the great things about
God is his stubborn love. Moses told them, in
Deuteronomy chapter six, told that new
generation-- now they're going over across into the
promised land under Joshua, but Moses told them God
brought you out from there that he might bring you in. I love that verse. When God brings you out, he
brings you out to bring you in. He didn't bring you
out to leave you out, he brings you out to
take you somewhere. It's a transition. So the Lord brought
you out from there that he might bring you in. And I love God's love, I
love his stubborn love, he's committed. When he makes a covenant--
and he made a covenant-- that they would occupy the
land, He brings them in. Just know this, if
you are struggling, if you are wandering,
if you are wondering, if you feel like you're
just holding on by a breath, God always finishes
what He starts. He brought you out, He's
taking you somewhere. He's not done with you yet. He is the author and the
finisher of our fate. As we get into the book of
Joshua, a few preliminaries. Number one, this book
is a historical book. It's a book of the
history of the people, the 12 tribes of
Jacob, AKA Israel, and how they have grown,
how they have wandered, and how they will
occupy the land. So the two big
themes of this book are the people and the land,
and most specifically that those people what occupied
this land of Israel. God made a covenant with them. If you go to Israel today, you
will see God's promise right before your eyes. The ancestors of
these very same people occupying the very same
land that God gave them. God always finishes
what He starts. It's a historical
book, and you will see the history of the occupation. Chapters one through
five, entering the land. Chapters six through
12, conquering the land. Chapters 13 through 24,
distributing the land. That sums up the
whole book of Joshua. They enter it, they conquer
the enemies that are within it, they distribute it to
the 12 tribes of Israel. It continues the narrative
from Deuteronomy. So, it's a historical book. The second thing to note,
it's a practical book. Even though we are
reading the Old Testament, even though these things
happened thousands of years ago, it was the Bible
from which the Lord Jesus, the apostle Paul, and
all the disciples read from. When they quoted the Bible,
they quoted the Old Testament. This was their Bible, and
it's practical even for us. I'm always leery of churches, of
church leadership, that thinks, well, you know, we're
in the new covenant. We never read the old
covenant, the Old Testament. Listen, I'm
interested to find out what book Jesus, the
apostles, and early church leadership quoted from,
read from, lived by. Not only that, but we are told
plainly in the New Testament about the Old Testament and the
stories in the Old Testament. In the book of Romans
chapter 15, Paul writes this. For whatever things
were written before-- speaking of the Old Testament,
including the book of Joshua. Whatever things
were written before were written for our
learning that we, through the patience and
comfort of the scriptures, might have hope. What's scriptures
was he referring to? He wasn't referring to the
Gospel of Matthew, or Mark, or Luke, or John. They weren't codified yet. They weren't being
circulated at that point. He was referring to the
Old Testament scriptures, the very ones we are reading. So don't think it's
antiquated, it's outdated. It's relevant, and
let me just say this. One of the most relevant
books you will ever find four victorious Christian
living is the book of Joshua. In fact, there's a
great book out called Victorious Christian
Living by Alan Redpath, and it is a commentary
on the book of Joshua. Powerful book. It's also not only a historical
book, not only a practical book, it's also a typical book. Typical. What do I mean by typical? That it's a type of something. The land of Canaan that they
occupy is a type of something. It typifies something
for us, and that's where the practical value comes. The question is,
what is it a type of? What is the land of Canaan-- where they cross over
the Jordan and occupy-- what is it a type of? Well, some people will
say it's a type of heaven. That when you cross
over the Jordan River, that's a type of death and you
enter into the promised land. It's a type of heaven. And I bring it up because
if you study hymnology, if you study the songs
of our predecessors, you will find much of the
theology of the land of Canaan in their hymns and how
they were relegated to crossing the Jordan and
entering into this new land as dying and going to heaven. One of the most famous
ones is (SINGING) swing low sweet chariot. (SPEAKING) I won't annoy
you with singing anymore than that, but the lyrics-- listen to the lyrics. When I look over Jordan
coming for to carry me home, I see a band of angels
coming after me, coming for to carry me home. So there is a hymn,
an old spiritual, that talks about this and sees
Canaan as going to heaven. Well, if Canaan represents
dying and going to heaven, you're going to be very
disappointed in heaven because as you read
through the book of Joshua, there's a lot of
fighting going on. There's a lot of
failure going on, there's a lot of conquering
and trouble going on, judgment going on before
they occupy the land. I don't picture
heaven like that. Do you? Unless you like to fight a lot. Maybe that's your idea of
heaven, but it's not my idea. In the Book of
Phillipians, Paul said I have a desire to depart
and be with Christ, which is far better. I'm looking for
something far better than putting up a
fight with somebody. I get enough of that here. So what does it represent? Not heaven. It represents your life
now, the Christian life now. It represents life in the
spirit under the control of the spirit as opposed to the
control of the flesh right now. That's why I say it's a
great and relevant book to study for victorious
Christian living. And you may even
go as far as to say it's the life of the spirit
followed by a second baptism. You know, the Bible says
that when Moses brought them through the Red Sea
they were baptized by going through the Red Sea. That's the language
the New Testament uses. They were baptized by
going through the Red Sea. Even though they didn't get wet,
they went through the opening where the Red Sea was,
and the New Testament calls that a baptism. Joshua will take them
to a second baptism where they'll cross
over the Jordan River into this promised land. And John the Baptist said
I baptize you with water, but there is somebody
who is coming who will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit and with fire. Now Moses couldn't bring them
all the way into the land, only Jesus could,
only Joshua could. Moses took them to the edge of
it, and you said wait a minute. You just messed up, Skip. You said Jesus. No I didn't mess
up because did you know Jesus is the name of
Joshua in the New Testament? It's the same name. So, don't you find
it interesting that there's a book in the
Bible named after your savior? And so it's of special interest. The name Joshua is the
anglicized version of Yeshua. That's the Hebrew word, Yeshua. And that was Jesus'
name growing up. He was Yeshua of Nazareth. Now Joshua's name, Yeshua,
originally was Hoshea. That's what his mom and
dad called him, Hoshea, which means deliverer, or one
who delivers, or deliverance. That was his name, deliverance. Moses renamed him,
the Bible tells us, and called him Yahshua. Joshua is the shortened
form of Yahshua, which means not deliver
but God is the deliverer. God saves. Not just savior,
but our God saves. And that's because
he saw the evidence of God's powerful
working in Joshua's life. So we have a name,
the book of Joshua, named after our savior, Jesus. Jesus, Yesus is the
Greek form of Yeshua, and Jesus is the anglicized
version of the Greek Yesus. So, it's the same name. And what an incredible
type that is. For the law came by
Moses, John tells us, but grace and truth came
through Jesus Christ. And just as Moses brought
them to the edge of the land, it was Joshua who
brought them in. It is Jesus, our
Joshua, our Yeshua, who brings us into the
fullness of the spirit. And there's a case
to be made here for the baptism of the
Holy Spirit to empower you in a way you could
never be powered before. You know, Jesus
told his disciples go in to all the world,
and preach the gospel to every creature. You know that, that's
the great commission. But you know what Jesus
told them besides that? He said don't go yet. He said wait in
Jerusalem until you are filled with power from on high. So even though they
had a commission to go into all the
world, they were told to stay put until they
were filled with power. And they were filled with
power on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit
came in empowered them to live a life that they
couldn't live any other way. How else do you explain Peter,
who denied Jesus three times? We just read that in
the last few weeks. How do you explain
Peter, who denied Jesus in front of a
woman who wasn't even a powerful woman-- she
just was like a gatekeeper. Oh, I don't know him. I don't know him--
to standing in front of thousands of people in
Jerusalem preaching the gospel? The only explanation is he
was filled with the Spirit, he wasn't filled with
Peter as much as he was filled with God's power. So there's a lot to
be said about that in the book of Joshua. With that, we go to
verse one of Joshua 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
them, the children of Israel. Moses, my servant, is dead. Now, therefore, move. God's workmen die, but
God's work never dies. God buries his
workmen, but his work goes on because the work of
God is done by the word of God in the lives of
the people of God. So Moses is dead,
you've mourned enough, and the traditional
time of mourning was 30 days in Judaism. He's dead, you've mourned him,
now it's time to get moving. Get everybody
ready, you're going to cross over the Jordan River. So, I've stood at the
graves of leaders and men and women of God
that I've loved, and it's always sad
to see their passing. But God has something
up his sleeve. When he buries one of his
workers, he raises up new ones. And I'm always encouraged
in every generation to just keep my eye out and
watch the ones at the Lord is selecting that he's
going to empower and use. Now Joshua was called
Moses' assistant. What does that mean? Simply that. He was sort of like a
valet serving Moses, and he did it by doing
a couple of things. Number one, he led the army. According to Exodus
chapter 17, he was the general
of Israel's army. Also he stood guard in
front of a special tent that Moses would talk to God in. You know, there
was the Tabernacle. But then outside the Tabernacle,
there was this special tent on the east side
where Moses would go in and meet with
the Lord, the Bible tells us, face to face. Joshua stood guard at that tent
probably because people said, I want to talk to Moses. I'm sorry, he's talking
to God right now. Now's not a good time. So he was the assistant. Now being the assistant to
Moses prepared him for the role he is undertaking
at this moment. In serving him, he will
now have a greater role of serving the nation. By the way, if you have
an old King James version, it says Moses my-- what does it say? It says minister is dead. Moses, the minister of the
Lord, and the minister-- he was Moses, minister. And I love the
translation servant because that's exactly
what a minister. People say, well
you're a minister. You must have people
serving you hand and foot. No, it's my job to serve
people hand and foot. The job of a minister
is to serve people. So Moses had a servant
who served him, but that prepared him to serve
the whole nation, more people. Faithful in something small,
God will give you more to do. And so, Moses becomes the
servant to the people. He is Moses' assistant-- Joshua does. And therefore, verse two, arise. Go over this Jordan, you and
all the people, to the land that I am giving to them,
to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of
your foot will tread upon I have given you, as
I said to Moses. Notice the borders from the
wilderness, or the wilderness and this Lebanon-- that's up in modern
day Lebanon-- as far as the great river,
the river Euphrates-- that's over in Iraq-- and all the land
of the Hittites. And to the great sea,
that is the Mediterranean, toward the going down of the
sun shall be your territory. If you were to look at
this on a world map, you would see how fast the
territory God promised them is. 300,000 square miles. At their peak under King David
followed by King Solomon, they only took 30,000. Here's what I want you to see. God promised them, as
their land allotment, their territory, this huge
amount of which they only took 1/10 of what God had for them. Isn't that interesting? They never occupied
Iraq, they never occupied all the way up
into Syrian and all the way up into Lebanon. Those became
territories of others. So even at Israel's
zenith, they only took 1/10 of everything
God promised to them. Why is that? Because the sole of their
foot didn't trend there. That was the condition. It's all yours, it's a gift,
but you have to open the gift. If you give a gift at Christmas
time to your children, or you receive a gift-- let's say you get a
gift, and you look at it, and it's in a box, and
it's nicely wrapped, and you just look at the
person and go, OK, thanks. And then they see you
a few months later, it's summertime now,
and you've still got that gift in your
kitchen unopened. They're going to wonder, did you
not appreciate the gift I gave you. I wouldn't know, I never
opened to see what it is. So if God gives you
all of this land but you only walk on a
little portion of it, you're not possessing
your possessions. The stipulation is that you
have to possess your possession. So God, it says
in Ephesians one, has given us every
blessing in Christ Jesus in heavenly places. How much do we occupy? How much do we possess? How much victory do we walk in? So you've got to walk
through the land. This is exactly what Joshua and
Caleb told the first generation as they were just about
to go on the land. And the people said we can't do
it, there's giants in the land. Joshua and Caleb said, hey,
the Lord gave it to us. Let's walk through it. Let's put our souls
down, our feet down, man. But they didn't occupy
all that God had for them. So that was the
stipulation, every place the sole of your foot will
tread upon I have given you. And then the borders are given. Now a note about
occupying the land. God gave it to
them as a process. It was a process. Way back in the Book
of Exodus chapter 23, let me just read this to you. The Lord says this, I
will not drive them out, your enemies out, from
before you in one year lest the land become desolate
and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. Little by little, I will
drive them out from before you until you have increased
and you inherit the land. They're going to take this land. It's not going to
happen overnight, it's not going to happen
one week, it's going to happen little by little. They will march
through, take Jericho, take Ai-- or Ai is the best
pronunciation-- they'll occupy the middle portion of
the land, then they'll go south, then they'll go north. They'll eventually take
it, but it is a process. God didn't say it'll
happen all at once. So it is in your life. Some of you long for
victory, some of you long to live the
victorious Christian life, and you go, man, I've been saved
a month, I can't believe it. Give yourself time, man. Relax a little bit. The Christian life is
not a Popeye episode. Remember Popeye? Remember he'd take that can
of spinach and down it-- [SINGING] --and he could be
Brutus up instantly? Christian life is not like
that, it's not a Popeye episode. In fact, it's not an episode. It's a whole season. It's going to take some time. Little by little, God says,
I will drive them out. So in the Christian life,
there are no shortcuts. You have to walk in
the spirit, and a walk is putting one foot
in front of the other and some days you
don't feel like it. Well just keep walking,
just keep walking. Just keep going,
just keep moving. Don't leave the fellowship
of the believers, don't lay down the
promises of God. Hold on to them,
just keep going. Little by little, God
says, I'll drive them out. In verse five of
Joshua 1, 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. I can only imagine that,
for this new leader, the weight of leadership,
especially filling Moses shoes-- the great lawgiver. Moses, to this day, is regarded
as the ultimate Jewish persona. To fill his shoes and
to feel the weight of that mantle of
leadership on Joshua must have been overwhelming. He must have felt
so intimidated. And so, I love this promise. You know, I was
with Moses, Joshua, in the same way I'm
going to be with you. What made Moses a great leader? God. What will make Joshua
a great leader? God. What will make you a great
leader, a great servant? God. Moses was a great
leader, and it's because Moses believed
God to be a great God. So I was with Moses, I'm
going to be with you. How else are you
going to explain what happens in the book
of Joshua without God? How else? How else do walls fall down? How else does a river part
unless God's doing it? So I was with Moses, I'm
going to be with you also. Nobody will be able
to stand against you. So as we are getting
into the book of Joshua, understand this. The main character in the
book of Joshua isn't Joshua, it's Joshua's God. It's Joshua's God. Take heart in that. I hope the main character
in your life is your God. I hope you are relying on him. I even hope you feel like,
man, I'm just burnt out, I'm at the end of my rope. Good. Live at the end of your rope. Quit trying to hold
onto your rope. Let God bear you up. Let your life be great because
of the greatness of the God that you believe in
and you walk with. That is-- that's the
life story of this man. Be strong, verse six. Be strong, the Lord
says to Joshua. Be strong, the Lord says
to you tonight, right now. 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. So once again, the
land is a gift. You have to open the gift. Herein is the balance
of living by faith. Herein is the balance
of the Christian walk. It's the marriage,
and thus the balance, between divine operation
and human cooperation. Get both of those in balance. Work out your own salvation,
Paul said to the Philippians, for it is God who works in
you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Divine operation,
human cooperation. God says, I'll
give you the land, I'll supply what you need, but
I need your foot on the dirt. I need you to be courageous,
I need you to go through and to march. So it's the balance. Divide operation,
human cooperation. It's like two oars
of the same boat. And you find that
not just in Joshua, you find out as a principal
in the New Testament. Do you know that? Second Peter, chapter one. Peter says as his divine
power has given us all things that pertain
to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who
called us by glory and virtue, whereby have been given to us
great and precious promises that, by these, you might be a
partaker of the divine nature having escaped the corruption
that is in the world through lust. Therefore, listen to this, he
says God has given you power, God has given you
promises, it's all God. Therefore, here's the
directions to you. Therefore, giving
all diligence, add to your faith virtue
and a virtue knowledge, and a knowledge
self-control, and a self-control perseverance, and
a perseverance brotherly love. For of these things
be in you and abound, you will never be unfruitful. So on one hand, God has
given you power, his power, and his promises. Therefore, you, giving all
diligence, exerting all effort, putting everything
you can into it from your side, human
cooperation, add to your faith. I love that balance,
and it's critical. Jesus said God would
provide every need you have. Remember in the
sermon on the Mount, he said look at the
birds of the air. They don't toil, they
don't worry about it, yet your Heavenly
Father feeds them. Right? Are you not of more
value than they? Now don't get the wrong picture
when you read that text. If you're picturing a bird just
sitting on a branch opening its beak toward heaven
waiting for God just to drop a little worm in, not at all. Ever watch a bird in a tree? They're chirping
away, they're busy, they're looking they're
gathering things, they're building a nest, they're
getting food for their young. They're diligent,
they're hard working, but they're not worried. Ever see a worried bird? Ever see a little bird with
its be buried in his claw, scratching it's feathered
forehead going I don't know how we're going to do it? The rent on the nest is coming
up at the end of the week. Sweetheart, we can't do it. It doesn't preclude
the hard work, it doesn't include the giving
all diligence and the adding to the nest all the
variety of things you need to make it strong. But, God takes care of them. He has so set up the
environment, nature, whereby that bird will be cared for. So it's a beautiful
balance of divine operation and human cooperation. Verse eight, this
book of the law shall not depart
from your mouth, but you shall meditate
in it day and night. Take that to heart,
take note of that. Meditate, in the
Bible, 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. I've never met a
person that says, I just don't want to be
successful in life at all. I really don't want to be
prosperous life at all. I don't want any plans to
ever be fulfilled ever. Everybody wants good success,
here's how you get it. Meditate in God's
word day and night, and be courageous to
do all that is written. Now he continues, have I not
commanded you to be strong and of good courage, to not
be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord, your God, is
with you wherever you go? Question. Why does the Lord tell
Joshua in verse eight, the book of the law shall
not depart from your mouth? Didn't say shall not depart
from your thought life or from your heart, but it shall
not depart from your mouth. It's an interesting phraseology. And I believe the
answer, in part, is found in the
word in that verse, you will meditate
on it day and night. The word meditate literally
means the low moaning of an animal when they're
chewing their foods, especially animals that have
cuds in they chew their food-- [GROWLING] --and they swallow it and
they bring it up again. And they chew a little more to
get a little more nutrients, and they bring it down,
and they regurgitate it, and they chew a little more. They're getting every bit
of nourishment they can from that food and the
cycles of regurgitate that give them the maximum
amount of nourishment. So, they will moan
when they do that. And the idea of meditation is
sometimes translated to mutter. And if you ever
go to Israel, you will notice the men praying
at the Western Wall. And they'll move back and
forth, and they'll be praying, and they'll be muttering,
moaning, to themselves. They'll be saying the prayer
kind of to themselves, but in a low kind of a moan. That's how they meditate. That's how they pray. So the word shall not
depart from your mouth, meaning the word is
something to be spoken, to be communicated to people. Communicate it to yourself. I like to read the Bible aloud. I've told you, I
like to pray aloud. I like to read the scriptures
aloud and hear what I'm saying, hear what they're saying to me. I like to bring it out and
tell other people the word. I love having a conversation
about the Bible. I'm not great on small talk. But you want to talk scripture? Let's go. So keep the word in your mouth. I remember-- and I've
seen around it for years, and I always get
irritated when I see the quote that people
ascribe to Saint Francis is preach the gospel and,
if necessary, use words. It sounds cute,
it sounds clever, it's just theologically wrong. Paul said preach the word,
and you always need words in preaching the gospel. You always do. You say, well, no,
it's your lifestyle. Yes, if you have a
transformed life, and you're a wonderful
person and you live that in front of people. But then people are
going to wonder, why is that person so awesome? And if you don't tell them why,
they're not going to know why. So give them your testimony. Tell them how God
changed you, tell them the scripture, the word of
God, the promises of God. You always need to use words. So the words shall be not
only in your thought life, but in your mouth as well. Then Joshua commanded the
officers of the people saying-- and I love this because
they didn't have texting, they didn't have networking,
social networking. But, Moses and Joshua
were able to communicate to a couple million people. They were so well organized that
Moses, and then Joshua, could meet with just the leaders, who
would meet with their leaders, with their leaders. And you know from previous
Old Testament books that God instructed
Moses to divide them up into captains of tens and
fifties, and hundreds, and thousands, et cetera. So it was a well oiled
communication machine. Pass through the camp,
verse 11, and command the people saying prepare
provisions for yourselves, for within three days you
will cross over this Jordan to go and to possess the land
which the Lord, your God, is giving you to possess. Notice the words of faith. You're to tell them you're
going to cross over, not I hope we get to cross over. Maybe we can do it. We're going. Words of faith,
speak those words. It's a promise. And notice, how many days? It could be coincidental,
but I don't think so. In three days, you're
going to have a new life. Three days, you're going
to cross over this river and you're in a
land God promised. You're going to live
a whole new life. It's a beautiful picture
of the resurrection. Jesus buried, risen three days. Similar to Abraham
sacrificing his son Isaac. Almost sacrificing his son. God told him take your son,
your only son whom you love, and go to the mountain
that I tell you to go to and sacrifice him there. So every waking moment
of every single day, because God told him to kill his
son, in Abraham's mind, his son is dead. But it says this in Genesis 22. Then, on the third
day, Moses looked and saw the place of far off. And it was on that day
God told him to stop. For three days, his son was
dead in his own mind and heart. On the third day, his
son came back to life. And it was his only
son, whom he loved, who was taken to that same
mountain Jesus was taken to. So here, within
three days you're going to have that new life. You're going to cross over. Verse 12, and to the
Reubenites, and the Gaddites, and the half tribe of
Manasseh, Joshua spoke saying, remember the word which Moses,
the servant of the Lord, commanded you saying
the Lord, your God, is giving you rest and
giving you this land. Your wives and your little
ones, your livestock, shall remain in the land
which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan, that
is the east side in modern day Jordan. But you shall pass before
your brethren armed all your mighty man
of valor and help them until the Lord has given your
brethren rest as he gave you. 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 servant of the Lord, gave you on this side of the
Jordan toward the sunrise. Now we won't go deep into this,
but you will recall, I trust, that these two and a half
tribes, in seeing just how beautiful and
verdant, especially up north up in Bashan, the
thick grass of the Golan Heights even on the
east side of the Jordan. So beautiful, so lush. They said, you know,
we like it here. We don't want to cross over. Can we just occupy this land? Now technically, there's
nothing wrong with that because God promised them
all the way to the border of the Euphrates River. But Moses said,
well, God promised us right now that we need
to cross over the Jordan. If you want to
stay here, the deal is you have to send your
fighting army, your standing army, your men, your
young men, to go over and fight the battles until
they, the rest of the tribe, settle the land
on the west side. Then you can go back. It's always a
problem when somebody wants to go just to the
edge of God's promises, but never enter into them fully. You know, this just
looks good enough. I really don't
want all the rest. This is fine right here. The problem will come later. The most vulnerable
tribes of the 12 tribes will be the two and a half
tribes east of the Jordan. You want to know why? That's where all their
trouble came from. That's where the
Assyrians come from. That's where the
Babylonians come from. The first tribes to
go into captivity were the two and a half tribes
east of the Jordan River. But they worked out a deal. So Joshua says here's
the deal, go and fight, help your brethren, then
come back and settle down. So the Lord-- or verse 16. So they answer Joshua saying all
that you command us we will do. Wherever you send
us, we will go. What boss doesn't
like to hear that? What leader doesn't
love to hear that? That's encouragement. And so God speaks to Joshua,
Joshua speaks to the leaders. Now the leaders speak to
Joshua and say we're in, man. We're on your team,
we're on your side. Whatever you tell us, we'll do. Just as we heeded
Moses in all things. Oh, really? Well, technically,
maybe they did. Their forefathers
certainly didn't. 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. Now Joshua, the son
of Nun, sent out two men from the Acacia
Grove to spy secretly saying go view the land,
especially Jericho. And so they went and
came to the house of a harlot named
Rahab and lodged there. And it was told, the King
of Jericho saying, behold, men have come here tonight
from the children of Israel to search out the country. When I was a kid, I
wanted to be a spy. I loved watching
that television show. When I was a kid, The Avengers. Remember that? Now these have been
made into movies. Mission Impossible
made into a movie, but I remember the
original series. That's a long time ago, and
I loved the thought of I want to be a spy when I grow up. And so I practiced
on my parents, I practice spying
on my brothers, even tried it on my neighbors. You know, you got to practice. You got to get good at it. One day, I'll be a spy. Joshua had been a spy. He went to scope out the land
with Caleb 38 years before. Now he sends two spies. Why two spies? Well, you know,
that's all you need. You only need two good ones. He was part of a group of 12,
you remember, and 10 of them gave a bad report. Only Joshua and Caleb,
two, gave the good report. And in God's economy,
less is more. So he's thinking,
I don't need 12. I just need two. I just need two good ones. Two men of faith are all you
need because those 10 who gave the bad report and
discouraged the people, that's what kept everybody
in the wilderness. They could have saved the 38
years of problems had they just listened to Joshua and
Caleb, the two witnesses. So he's thinking, I
don't need the jokers I just need two spies. Two good ones. He sent them and
he came to Rahab. Now what should be interesting
to you about Rahab? Well, first of all, not
only is she a harlot, she will show up in
the genealogical record of the Lord Jesus Christ
in Matthew chapter two. She will show up in
Hebrews 11 in the Hall of Faith, the Hall of Faith of
fame of faith in Hebrews 11. By faith, Rahab hid
the spies it says. And she does have faith in
God, she exhibits faith in God. And I love reading the genie
obstacle record in Matthew 1 of Jesus because there
are three women named, and one is Rahab the harlot. Another one is
Ruth the Moabitess. Not even a Jewish girl. And the third is Bathsheba,
the consort of David. And yet, they're included
in the genealogy of Christ. I always make a note of that
because in my high school annual, we had the
little grouping at the end of the annual that
said most likely to succeed. When God puts out
his annual, there's a little section, most
unlikely to succeed, and those are the ones he picks. They're on this page,
most unlikely to succeed. That's in the high school,
that's in the world's eyes. But Rahab would be in that
section, most unlikely. She gets lifted out
of that by faith, and brought into two places
in the New Testament. Hebrews 11, great chapter. Matthew, chapter one. Let's see. We have enough time
to see her faith. King of Jericho sent
to Rahab, verse three, saying bring out the
men whom you have-- who have come to you. Who have entered your
house, for they have come to search out all the country. Then the woman took the
two men and hid them. So she said, yes,
the men came to me, but I do not know
where they were from. And it happened as the gate
was being shut when it was dark that the men went out. Where the men went,
I do not know. This is her talking still. Pursue them quickly for
you may overtake them. But she had brought
them up to the roof and hidden them with
stalks of flax which she laid in order on the roof. Then the men pursued them
by the road to the Jordan to the fjords. And as soon as those who
pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate. Now before they laid down, they
came up to them on the roof-- she came up to them on the
roof and said to the men, now listen to what she
says, I know that the Lord-- are you looking at
that word Lord there? Do you notice
something about it? It's all capitalized. When you see it all capitalized,
it's the term Yahweh. That's the Jewish God. Not just whatever generic god,
it's specifically your God. The Lord, Yahweh, the
covenant God of the Jews. I know that the
Lord has given you the land that the terror
of who has fallen on us and all the inhabitants of the
land are faint hearted because of you, for we have
heard of the Lord dried up the waters
of the Red Sea for you when you
came out of Egypt, and what you did to the
two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of
the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. As soon as we heard these
things, our hearts melted. Neither did there remain any
more courage in anyone because of you for the Lord, your God. He is God in heaven above
and on Earth beneath. Now notice what she
says about Yahweh. She believed in our heart,
and she confessed it with her mouth. So according to
Romans 10, she is? Saved because if you
believe it in your heart and you confess with
your mouth, you're saved. It's that simple act of faith. She believed. But what's interesting
is what she said about the people of the land. She goes, we're in
terror because of you. Ever since the Red Sea
happened, we have just been-- we've been awestruck. We've heard the reports
of that Red Sea drying up, we heard the reports of you
killing those two kings, and terror has
filled our hearts. I bring this up because,
go back 38 years without turning to numbers 13. Just go back in
your mind 38 years. When Joshua, Caleb,
and the other 10 spies went into the land,
they came back, Joshua and Caleb
said let's take it. And the 10 spies say, no,
there's giants in the land, and we are grasshoppers
in our site, and the terror of the
Canaanites filled their hearts. And the 10 looked at the people
of Canaan and they thought, they're huge, they're strong. They're not terrified of us. The truth is, they were
terrified of the Israelites. God said they would
be, and they were. And we find out the rest of
the story 38 years later. Remember they said we're
grasshoppers in our site, that was their problem. They didn't take
God into account. To the 10 spies they had a
little God and big obstacles. Joshua and Caleb at a big God,
therefore little obstacles. Truth is still the same today. If you serve a big God,
any obstacle or person that comes into your life? So what? But if you have a little God,
if you have a God of vacillating sentiments, a God
who can't create the heavens and the Earth,
a God who can't dry up the Red Sea, a God who can't
do all the things the Bible says he did and does-- if you have a little God, then
the obstacles in your life are enormous. You see, difficulty
must always be measured by the capacity of
the agent doing the work. If you're doing the
work, big giants. If God is doing the
work, big targets. Bigger they are, the bigger--
easier they are to hit. Come on, let's go. So now we find the truth. We are in terror because of you
ever since we heard about that. Now, therefore, she says
swear to me by the Lord since I have shown you
kindness but you also will show kindness
to my Father's house and give me a true
token and spare my mother, my brothers, my
sisters, and all that they have and deliver our
lives from death. So the men answered
our lives for yours. If none of you tell
this business of ours, then it shall be when
the Lord has given us the land that we will deal
kindly and truly with you. And she let them down by
a rope through the window, for her house was
on the city wall. The walled city of Jericho
had homes built into the wall, like even modern Jerusalem
has homes built right into the wall, for
she dwelt on the wall. She said to them
get to the mountain. Now if you go to Jericho and
if you come with us to Israel, we'll show you. As you drive in the
tour bus by the road and you look at Jericho,
right above Jericho on the opposite side behind you
is the Jordan River where Moses was on the Plains of Moab. But right in front of you is
Jericho, and then these dirt rock mountains behind it. That's where they were told
to hide, just in the mountains outside of Jericho. Get to the mountains
and the pursuers-- lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there for three days until
the pursuers have returned. Afterwards, you may go your way. So the men said to her
we will be blameless of this oath of ours, which
you have made us swear, unless, when we
come into the land, you buying this
line of scarlet cord in the window through
which you let us down. And unless you bring
your father, your mother, your brothers, and all
that is in your household into your home, so it
shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of
your house into the street, his blood shall be
on its own head. We will be guiltless. And whoever's with
you in the house, his blood shall be on our
head if a hand is laid on him. And you shall tell
this business of ours-- and if you tell this
business of ours, then we will be free from your
oath, which you made us swear. And she said according
to your words, so be it. And she sent them away
and they departed, and she bound the scarlet
cord in the window. They departed and
went to the mountain and stayed there three days
until the pursuers returned. The pursuer sought them all
the way, all along the way, but did not find them. And so the two men returned,
descended from the mountain, and crossed over. For they came to
Joshua, the son of Nun, and told them all that
had befallen them. Just to note on
the scarlet cord. No, I'm looking at the time-- I can't give you the
note on the scarlet cord. That'll have to
be for next week. And they said to
Joshua, verse 24, 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. I will explain the scarlet cord,
and some interesting things about that and corollary to
that in the Bible next time because I want to be faithful to
your children and the covenant that we make with
trying to end on time. I'm already three minutes over. But here's what I love, mankind
is into salvaging people. He's into salvaging people. A harlot. All it took was
faith, and she is counted in the genealogical
record of Jesus and the Hall of Faith. God's into salvaged people. Paul the Apostle, when he
wrote the first Timothy-- to Timothy in first Timothy. Not like he had two
Timothys he was writing to, it was one Timothy. But in first Timothy, he
said I was a persecutor, I was an insolent man,
but I obtained mercy. God salvaged me. God's into going to
the back of the annual, finding the most
unlikely to succeed, directs the people destroyed
by whatever your testimony you have destroyed
you, and salvaging you. And you know what? There's something super
cool about a '57 Chevy over and above a 2017 Chevy. I don't care what the
2017 Chevy has in it. You get up '57 Chevy restored
it's, like, I want that car, and it's more valuable. And so whatever year you were
born in, I'm a '55 Chevy, but God takes and
salvages us and we become valuable and useful
to his kingdom, like Rahab. So Father, we thank you, and
we give you the glory for that. In Jesus' name, Amen. [MUSIC PLAYING] For more resources from Calvary
Albuquerque and Skip Heitzig, visit calvaryabq.org.
