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[0:00] Take your Bibles, would you? Open them to the book of Joshua.

[0:19] And we're going to be looking at Joshua chapter 1 and make our way through part of that. And I started last week with an introduction and we looked at the first six verses of the book of Joshua.

[0:33] Just using those verses to kind of key us to an overall understanding of the message and meaning of the book of Joshua.

[0:45] And we're going to go back through some of those same verses tonight as we work our way through this wonderful book. Chapter by chapter, verse by verse.

[0:56] Now let me go ahead and read, though, the entire chapter. Chapter 1, though we're really going to look at the first nine verses tonight. 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.

[1:19] 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 sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given you, as I said to Moses.

[1:34] From the wilderness of 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.

[1:47] 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.

[1:57] Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to your 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.

[2:15] 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.

[2:32] For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I 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.

[2:48] Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, Prepare provisions for yourselves. For within three days you will cross over this Jordan to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.

[3:06] And to the Reubenites and the Gadites 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 it's giving you this land.

[3:23] Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of Jordan. But you shall pass before your brethren armed, all your mighty men of valor, and help them.

[3:36] 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 Lord's servant, gave you on this side of Jordan toward the sunrise.

[3:56] 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.

[4:09] 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.

[4:20] Only be strong and of good courage. All right, so that's the entire chapter, chapter 1. And again, we're not going to get that far tonight. We're going to focus primarily on verses 1 through 9.

[4:34] All right, now, verse 1 says that the Lord spoke to Joshua. All right, so he's speaking to Joshua now. And the first thing he says to him, Moses, your servant, is dead.

[4:48] All right, so Moses, the lawgiver, Moses, the redeemer, Moses, the great leader of Israel, is dead. In fact, by the way, Jude, verse 9, tells us that Michael, the archangel, disputed with the devil over the body of Moses.

[5:06] That's why I think we have in Deuteronomy 34, 6, that God buried the body of Moses himself. He buried his body. And nobody knows where the grave is.

[5:16] That's what the Bible says. And no one knows his grave to this day. And that was when it was written. And I think even today we do not know where Moses' grave is.

[5:27] God buried him. All right, so Moses is dead. But God, of course, does not leave Israel leaderless. Because God has prepared a man.

[5:38] He's been preparing him all of his life, actually. And prepared him ultimately through Moses and Moses' relationship with Joshua.

[5:50] He has been grooming Joshua, the son of Nun, to lead the nation. And so the time has come. The time has come for Joshua to lead.

[6:02] He must lead God's people. Israel. And after 40 long years of wandering in the wilderness, Israel is now about to cross into the promised land that God had given to them.

[6:15] The land of Canaan. And Israel is about to take possession of it. To claim it. To conquer it. To possess the land which God had promised to them, by the way, through Abraham.

[6:29] Genesis chapter 12, verse 7 tells us about that. Then the Lord appeared to Abram. This was before God changed Abram to Abraham through his covenant with him.

[6:39] He said to him, to your descendants, I will give this land. He's speaking of the promised land, of the land of Canaan. And God, of course, you know, reissued that promise every generation.

[6:52] And so now it's time for them to go in. The land is theirs. It belongs to them, given to them by the grace of God. And God has promised that to them. But the land must be possessed.

[7:04] That's very important to understand about the book of Joshua. Key. Very key to understanding it. And especially key when we attempt, and it's not very hard to do this, but to make a connection between Joshua, the book of Joshua, and the life of the believer.

[7:24] We must understand this. It's very key. Though the land is given by grace. They did not deserve it. They did not earn it. It was freely given to them, promised to them.

[7:35] It was theirs as inheritance, as their possession. It still had to be possessed. Had to be conquered. Had to be possessed. Had to be claimed. And that's what we're going to understand all the way through the book of Joshua.

[7:47] And so the book of Joshua then is about battles, isn't it? In fact, we can't wait to get to that part. Guys, right? All right, yeah. Bring on the war movies.

[7:58] Or the war literature. And so it's about battles that Israel fought in order to claim the possession. Claim what God has promised to them.

[8:08] And so Joshua is a book of warfare. It's also a book of suffering. There's suffering in here, too. That part we don't really like, but that's there. And it's a book of great victories as well as some defeats.

[8:21] And we're going to see those in here as well. And so, therefore, I would say to you that Joshua is a book that teaches Christians today about the Christian life, about spiritual victory.

[8:32] Now, many songs and hymns have been written over the years, written about Canaan land.

[8:45] As a matter of fact, we sang one here just a moment ago about the promised land. And, you know, often the idea is that Canaan land, the promised land, refers specifically to heaven.

[9:05] I won't have a raise of hands here to find out how many of you all these years thought that the promised land was a symbol of heaven. We've had that over the years.

[9:19] But, dear people, how could it be symbolic of heaven? How could it be an Old Testament type of the eternal state called heaven?

[9:32] Because, listen, dear people, when we get to heaven, there will be no more wars. No more wars. When we get to heaven, there will be no more enemies.

[9:43] Enemies to battle against. No need for that. When we get to heaven, all the victories will have been won. Now, in reality, in eternity, all those victories have been won.

[9:56] But we just haven't realized them yet. But in heaven, all those victories will be completely, fully realized. And so, Canaan is not heaven. Promised land is not heaven.

[10:07] Now, it ends, ultimately, with that reward. Canaan is a picture of the victorious Christian life. And begins with salvation. So, the crossing over the Jordan is not crossing over the chilly waters of Jordan, as I've heard it said, you know, in terms of someone dying and crossing over those chilly waters of Jordan into heaven.

[10:31] You know, I've heard it put like that. I understand what that means. I'm not spoofing that or criticizing that. But it's not a picture. The Jordan and the crossing over Jordan into the promised land, that's a picture of salvation.

[10:47] Clearly. But as we go on through the book of Joshua, after they enter into the promised land, there are many battles to be won. Fought and won. Territory to be claimed.

[11:00] Promises to be claimed for your own. And realized for your own. And so, it's a picture of the victorious Christian life. And our leader, our commander, is Joshua.

[11:18] Yeshua. Which is the Old Testament name for the New Testament name, Jesus. Jesus. He's our commander. He's our leader. And so, what I mean is this.

[11:29] The Joshua of the Old Testament is a type of the New Testament Jesus. And under Jesus' leadership and lordship, the land that is possessed is promised to all believers.

[11:39] It's promised to us, but it's a land that must be conquered and possessed. This victorious Christian life. And we will spend every day involved in that conquest.

[11:53] In that possessing of all that God has promised us and given to us in Christ. Now, we need to keep that in mind throughout the study of this book. And I'll help you keep that in mind because we'll keep coming back to that every step of the way.

[12:07] And so, what we want to do is begin to look at chapter 1 here tonight. And the primary theme here in chapter 1 is the commissioning of Joshua.

[12:20] Now, the people are involved in this as well. And we'll get to that. In fact, let me just say it this way. We can divide this chapter into three parts.

[12:32] All under this idea of the commissioning in Joshua. All this is included in this part of it. But we can divide it this way. There's the call from God. And that's what we're going to focus on here tonight.

[12:45] Then second, there is the challenge from Joshua. He's challenging the people. And then finally, we're going to see the commitment from the people. So, there's the call from God.

[12:57] The challenge from Joshua. And then the commitment from the people. The people of God. Israel. All right. So, first of all tonight. The call from God.

[13:09] Verse 1, again, says, After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua.

[13:20] All right. So, he's speaking to Joshua, the son of Nun. Moses' assistant. He identifies him in that way. His aide. His assistant. And he says, Moses, my servant, is dead.

[13:31] Now, therefore. All right. Moses is gone. Now, Joshua, I'm speaking to you. Therefore, arise. Get up. Get prepared. And go.

[13:42] Go where? Go over this Jordan. That's the Jordan River. You and all this people. So, here is God speaking directly to Joshua. This is his call to him.

[13:53] Go, you and all the people, to the land which I have given to them. It's already given. It's theirs. The children of Israel.

[14:05] All right. So, what's God doing? He's speaking directly to Joshua. He's commissioning him. He is challenging him. He's commanding him, really. He's commissioning him.

[14:16] He's commissioning him. He's commanding him. And so, Joshua will lead God's people into the promised land. Now, and I just mentioned this briefly last week.

[14:27] But, why Joshua? Why not Moses? I mean, that seems so unfair.

[14:40] Doesn't it? I mean, have you ever thought how unfair it was that God would not allow Moses to lead the people into the promised land?

[14:54] Seems he'd earned it. Great leader of Israel. Deliverer. Leader. Lawgiver. All of those things.

[15:05] I mean, it seems that Moses deserved that. Why not Moses? I mean, has it ever seemed harsh to you?

[15:15] I'm just, you know, just kind of speaking from my own thoughts. And probably none of this has ever occurred to you. Has it ever, though, seemed harsh to you?

[15:30] That God would punish Moses so severely, seemingly. So severely. So severely. Just because he struck the rock to get water out of it.

[15:41] And struck it out of anger. And it seems like it was justifiable. He was angry at God's people. But he struck the rock to get the water out of it.

[15:53] Rather than speaking to it as God had commanded. I mean, really. What's the big deal? Here.

[16:04] Ever. Hey, maybe you're much more spiritual than I. But have you ever got to thinking about that? How seemingly cruel that is? Especially when you consider that God would bring Moses to the very edge of the promised land.

[16:20] And let him look out over into it. And say, alright Moses, there it is. Look at it. There's the promised land. I promised to Abraham.

[16:33] And I promised to all of his descendants. And I've reissued that promise to you way back when. Remember? There it is. There's the promised land. The land flowing with milk and honey.

[16:44] Look at it, Moses. But you can't go in there. You can't go. Why would God do that? Why not at least let Moses go in there?

[17:00] I mean, we can just think of all kinds of scenarios. I mean, that may have been fair. You know. More reasonable. Or maybe you strip Moses of his leadership.

[17:13] You know. But at least let him go in. To the land. Why not? Well, it's a two-fold reason. And the first reason. And I mentioned this last week.

[17:25] The first reason is practical. It's practical in a divine sort of way. God expects much from those he chooses to lead his people.

[17:36] Expect much. He puts a really high standard upon those who are leaders and teachers. That's why, you know, listen. Sunday school teachers.

[17:49] Deacons. Elders. Maybe you didn't realize this when you signed up for it. But God placed you. Put a pretty high standard upon you. Expects a lot from you.

[18:00] To whom much is given. Much is required. God expects obedience from his leaders. He does from all of his people. But the implications and the punishment, if you will.

[18:12] The chastisement of leaders is different. Because a great responsibility has been placed upon you. And so practically speaking, that's why God's perfectly fair here.

[18:25] If he needed to be fair. And for us to say that God must be fair means that we judge God. And we can't do that. But just speaking from our perspective.

[18:37] From a practical perspective. And it's a very valid one. Jesus, or God expects much from those. He has chosen to be leaders of his people. And Moses disobeyed.

[18:50] And his judgment was severe. There's a second reason. And it's theological. It's theological.

[19:02] And I... Not that I would say that this one is somehow... Carries much more weight than the first one. The practical reason. God's expectation and demand of his leaders.

[19:14] But the implication of the ramification of it is much more important. The theological reason. See, Moses could not lead the people of God into the promised land.

[19:26] Why? Because Moses was the law giver. He represented the law. Moses represents the law. And the law cannot save us.

[19:37] This is what we need to understand here. This is the picture we need to get. The law cannot save us. The law cannot bring us into the promised land. The law can only bring us to the brink of the promised land.

[19:54] And that's its purpose. To bring us to the brink of it. But the law has no power whatsoever to bring us in. To the promised land.

[20:04] The law cannot save us. Be another way of saying it. Now think of it this way. The law is a revealer. Revealer of what? Our unrighteousness.

[20:17] And apart from the law, we would not know our sin. Not know our unrighteousness. The law is a revealer, but it's not a redeemer. It can never be that. It has no power to do that.

[20:28] And the picture is there for that as well. Moses had failed. He had sinned. And the law reveals sin. And with sin comes death. Moses, my servant, is dead. He pictures that.

[20:41] And so what we need is what? A redeemer. A savior. A deliverer. And that's why Joshua was chosen to lead God's chosen people into the promised land.

[20:53] The name Joshua means Yahweh saves. Yahweh is salvation. The name of Jesus is the same. Yahweh saves. Yahweh is salvation.

[21:05] So it means the same in Hebrew as it does, as Jesus means in Greek. It means Yahweh is salvation. And so only Jesus, our Joshua, can lead us into the promised land.

[21:18] To salvation. And this is the lesson of Joshua. And this is the picture God has given to us in the book.

[21:29] You see, we do not earn the promised land. We do not deserve the promised land, salvation, or the victorious Christian life. We do not merit the land through law keeping.

[21:42] It is a promised land. It is according to grace. All right, now what about this call then from God that Joshua now lead the people into the promised land?

[21:55] Well, it's a two-part call. A two-part call. First of all, it is a call to claim the land. Now, we've already been talking about this.

[22:06] It's a call to Joshua specifically, but he's leading the people to go across the Jordan and to claim the land. Go over this Jordan, the Jordan River. You and all this people.

[22:18] To the land which I have given to them, the children of Israel. So there's no need to continue your wandering in the wilderness. That's over.

[22:28] Remember, the generation that disobeyed me, did not believe in me, did not put their faith in me. That generation has died just like I said they would during the 40 years of wandering.

[22:40] The only exception, Joshua and Caleb, remember, because they gave a good report. They're the only ones then that did not sin. And so that generation, they're gone, and it's time now to go in and claim the land.

[22:53] And he says there, every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given you. As I said to Moses, be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to your fathers to give them.

[23:11] The land. That is, Israel's ownership of the land is unconditional. It's unconditional. It's been given to them.

[23:22] But Israel's possession of the land was conditional. Conditional. It had to be claimed. It had to be conquered. It had to be possessed. Look at verse 4.

[23:32] From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, that's the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites and to the great sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your inheritance.

[23:47] That's a huge territory of land. Those who know such things can tell us that that would be equal to approximately 300,000 square miles have been promised to Israel.

[24:06] That's the promised land. And yet, did you know that when it was all said and done, by the end of the book of Joshua, Israel had claimed only about 30,000 square miles of that land.

[24:18] Only about one-tenth. I think there's a lesson here for us as well. The application, I think, is pretty clear. Our spiritual inheritance, salvation, is truly the land flowing rich with milk and honey in a spiritual sense.

[24:33] And we have all been blessed, the Bible says, with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. And yet, what one in a thousand Christians does not choose to live beneath his privileges or her privileges?

[24:46] Most believers have not even possessed one-tenth of what God has given to us in Christ Jesus. Something to think about. And Israel is kind of a model of that, not a model that we have to follow.

[25:00] All right, so there's the call. It's very simple. This is the call to claim the land. It's been given to you. It's yours, Joshua, and all the people of Israel. It was promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob.

[25:12] It was promised to Moses just before he died. That was renewed again to him. And now I extend that promise to you, Joshua, and all the people of Israel.

[25:23] Now go in and claim it. This is his commissioning. His call from God. It's a call to claim the land. There's a second part to this call.

[25:36] And I guess we could say that the second part of it is what empowers the success of the first part of it. And that is a call to confidence.

[25:48] A call to confidence in the Lord. A call to claim the land and a call to confidence in the Lord. Three times. And more than three, really, when we go beyond this passage, a little bit further down.

[26:02] And if we go back into Deuteronomy, many other times we have this call issued to Joshua by the Lord to be strong and of good courage. But within the parameters of his actual commissioning, we have it appearing three times here.

[26:17] In kind of rapid succession. Three times. Be strong and of good courage. Or most translations have it courageous.

[26:28] Be strong and courageous. At one point he says very courageous. Now, each time God says it, there is a slightly different emphasis.

[26:40] When you look at what he says right after this call to be strong and courageous. Now, I would say to you that the first time that God says be strong and courageous, the emphasis is upon Joshua's service.

[26:56] The emphasis is service. Look at verse 6 again. 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.

[27:10] So, it's Joshua's task not only to be a great warrior and a great captain and to lead them in battle. To lead them in the kind of the general possession of the land.

[27:23] But it is within his calling to actually divide that inheritance. Divide the inheritance of the land. And what we're getting at here is this is a big job.

[27:38] It's a God-sized job that Joshua has been called to do. His job was to lead the people of Israel into the land of the promise. Land of promise. And to divide that inheritance.

[27:49] Leading them to actually possess it. And that is a huge job. He had a job to do. And it was a huge job. And it takes courage. It takes courage to do any job for God.

[28:01] Not just this big one. Now, not any of us in this room have been called to do such a thing as Joshua was called to do. Obviously. But that doesn't mean that our job that God calls us to do is somehow of lesser importance.

[28:13] The significance may be quite different. The ultimate outcome of the things that we do might be of a bigger size, bigger nature than what Joshua was called to do.

[28:28] But just still of equal importance. We've all been called to do a job for God. Now, notice something here about the word courageous. Courageous, specifically speaking, literally speaking, the word that is used here, is not a word that just simply means absence of fear.

[28:50] I think that's what we primarily associate with the word courageous. It's the absence of fear. No fear. He's strong, courageous, doesn't have any fear.

[29:00] He's going to, you know, do what God has called him to do. But the word actually means resolute. To be resolved. Strong and resolved or resolute.

[29:15] And every leader must be resolute. Now, let me pause here for a moment and remind you again that Joshua is a type of Christ. And Jesus was very resolute.

[29:28] And Jesus was very resolute in his leadership in what he had come to do. He set his face, the Bible says, like a flint to go to Jerusalem.

[29:40] He was very resolute. And all leaders must be resolute. If Joshua, of all people, was weak or uncertain or irresolute, then obviously the conquering and possessing of the land would have been in jeopardy, would have been in deep trouble.

[29:57] He had to be very resolute. He had to be strong, not only within himself, but also physically strong. And he had to be resolved to lead God's people and to go in to possess the land.

[30:10] And really, by extension and by example, to transfer that strength and resoluteness to the very people of God.

[30:21] That's the nature of a successful leader, a good leader. And what is it, think about it, what is it that God has called you to do? He's called every one of you to do something here.

[30:35] Many of you are absolutely doing it. And maybe there's more of what God wants you to do. But even in those things that you are doing, are you strong and resolute? Courageous?

[30:46] Courageous? It takes courage to serve the Lord. It takes resolve. Now, the second time God uses this, be strong and courageous, the emphasis is success.

[31:06] The emphasis is success. Not service this time, but success. It's kind of interesting how this works out. Look again at verses 7 and 8. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses, my servant, commanded you.

[31:24] Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. You may be successful. 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.

[31:42] For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. So the emphasis here is success.

[31:54] Success. Be strong, be courageous for success. That's what he's saying. Now, obviously it is success as defined by God.

[32:08] Okay. We do have to mention that, okay. A lot of people have misunderstood what success is supposed to be for a believer. We're talking about success as defined by God.

[32:19] We're talking about success, of course, from God's perspective. And it is usually quite different from man's perspective. Because you can be very highly successful from man's perspective, the world's perspective, according to their standard, according to their definition of success, and all the time be a complete failure in God's eyes.

[32:42] And it's diabolical, isn't it? Because we are more apt to listen to the voices around us from man, and we can actually lull ourselves into a false sense of confidence that we're successful in this world, and we can actually live our entire lives thinking that we are successful, and yet all the while a complete failure to God's eyes.

[33:11] By the same token, of course, likewise, on the other side of it, you can be an utter failure from man's perspective. And most of the world, from the perspective of most of this world, believers are miserable failures, you know.

[33:29] But you can be a failure in man's eyes and be a resounding success. Success from God's point of view. All right? So what is success God's way, then?

[33:41] Well, it's interesting. Success in these two verses, and I think we could make the case throughout the Bible this is taught, success is connected, inseparably connected, to God's Word.

[34:00] And obedience to His Word. Observe to do according to all the law which Moses, my servant, commanded you. And then He says you'll prosper.

[34:13] This book of the law, He says, shall not depart from your mouth. You shall be prosperous of good success. You see the clear connection between the two.

[34:27] Now, when we talk about the law, of course, you understand. We're talking about the whole of God's Word. We're not just talking about the Ten Commandments. As if you could just make a little checklist and check those off.

[34:40] Okay, good. I got all ten of those today. I beg to differ. You probably didn't get all ten of them. But you could find some point of confidence, you know, assurance that you check the list there.

[34:54] But we're not talking about just the Ten Commandments. Of course, you know, the law is used in Scripture, Old Testament, and on into the new in connection with the whole of God's counsel, the whole of God's Word.

[35:06] And we have all of it right here. And so success, then, is attached to this. So let me just point out a few things about success from these two verses. First of all, success is to live our lives according to all that God has said in His Word.

[35:26] That's very important, isn't it? Is that what we strive to do? I hope so. Not always the case. Notice what He said.

[35:37] Observe to do according to all the law which Moses, my servant, commanded you. You cannot pick and choose which parts to obey.

[35:51] And, you know, we suddenly become very, very pious and religious. They say, well, of course not. And yet, we're guilty of it all the time for various reasons, certain circumstances.

[36:08] You know, you can't reject parts of God's Word on the basis of convenience or a set of circumstances. You know, we have a tendency because of our flesh to want to justify ourselves, our sins, based upon current circumstances.

[36:25] We just can't help ourselves. And God will understand. My particular situation, it's impossible. We could apply that to many different areas of obedience to God's Word.

[36:37] For example, tithing. Oh, pastor. I mentioned that. By the way, that's the one, I've said this before, the one command of God that you can perfectly obey.

[36:52] You say, I can't. Yes, you can. So, you know, you can't just pick and choose, reject parts based upon circumstances. You also cannot reject parts of God's Word based upon changing culture.

[37:05] We do that all the time, too. What once was wrong, now, well, maybe it's just okay based upon the culture. This is the kind of prevailing winds of the day or the conventional wisdom of the day.

[37:17] And, by the way, we're more enlightened now and things have changed. And so, the Word of God, when it was first spoken, was spoken to a culture like that. And our culture is nothing like that anymore.

[37:28] And so, this doesn't apply to us. And so, we kind of want to filter all of that, the Word of God, through a cultural sieve. And we find some kind of justification, you see, for certain sins that exist.

[37:45] So, set of circumstances, homosexuality is always a sin, isn't it? Even if, God forbid, your son or your daughter professes to be one.

[37:58] See, it doesn't change. Say, oh, now I understand. See, it doesn't change God's Word. Just because, you know, the situation is much closer to us now.

[38:11] And, you know, blood is thicker than water, that kind of thing. Or, let's just make this application. Cheating on your income taxes will not make you successful in God's eyes.

[38:26] Not make you successful no matter how obedient you are on every other part of God's Word. And so, you know, you can just kind of fill in the blank for many, many, an infinite number of scenarios in our lives.

[38:39] Success. All of God's... Success is based upon a commitment to all of the counsel of God's Word. And not just a part of it.

[38:52] Second, success comes through... And this is more of a kind of an approach and a view of God's Word. Success comes through an uncompromising commitment to God's Word.

[39:06] Uncompromising. Do not turn from it, that is God's Word, to the right hand or to the left. And that's a colloquialism.

[39:17] We could use our own colloquialism. And we would say, follow the straight and narrow. You know. Dot all your I's and cross your T's.

[39:28] You know. I tell you, that kind of commitment, uncompromising commitment, that takes courage in our day.

[39:40] Doesn't it? In every context of life, in our family, to take that kind of a stand, that I'm going to uncompromisingly follow and obey God's Word, no matter what anybody thinks.

[39:59] And that becomes very hard and takes a lot of courage in the context of the family, circle of friends, work, business.

[40:10] I mean, it's becoming more and more a challenge to take this kind of a stand in our day. As believers today, we're confronted daily with a seemingly endless number of forces out there.

[40:28] All of them tempting us to compromise upon the Word of God, the clear Word of God. And even to compromise upon our own convictions that we have come to and feel like we've been led to by the Holy Spirit based upon the Word of God.

[40:44] Some things are just very clear, black and white. And then there are things that God leads us to as believers that are convictions based upon the Word of God. And we're challenged on those at every point and from every direction.

[40:58] In our society and in our culture, it takes courage. It takes courage to do this. It comes from the world, these challenges.

[41:10] I tell you, the hardest place this challenge comes from is the church. Even our own brothers and sisters in Christ sometimes can be some of the most difficult challenges to our convictions upon the Word of God.

[41:33] Third, success is based upon a willingness to speak God's Word. Speak it. Not just to believe it and live according to it, but to speak it.

[41:50] He says, this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth. It's part of what we say as well. And it takes courage to speak God's Word, doesn't it?

[42:04] Just ask Peter and John, you know. Peter and John in Acts 14, 17 to 20. You remember that story? They've been arrested and they were commanded.

[42:15] They said, we're going to punish you guys and command you not to speak this Word anymore. And they said, we can only speak what God has commanded us to speak.

[42:28] They're not going to give up on it. It takes courage to do that, even when your life is being threatened. Especially then. And why are many of God's people afraid to speak the Word of God?

[42:43] Well, it could be because, and this is, again, I take this from the text. It could be that many of God's people have not spoken God's Word to themselves yet.

[42:56] What do we mean by that? Well, look there at what he says in verse 8. But you shall do what? Meditate. Meditate in it.

[43:08] Immersed in it. In meditation. In day and night. In what? In the Word of God. Meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.

[43:20] The word meditate, of course, you've heard this said. It's a word that really describes what cows do with cut, with grass.

[43:31] They swallow it and then bring it back up and chew the cud. You know, that's very kind of, well, not a pleasant thought.

[43:45] Certainly not pleasant when it happens to us. Bring it back up. Is it? Revisit your dinner today or something.

[43:56] I hope you're not doing that. Let's just go on from there. But I would suggest to you that the word meditate, then the idea of meditation is this.

[44:08] That we speak the Word of God to our own hearts. That's the idea. We speak it to ourselves. Reading it, of course.

[44:19] Speaking it to ourselves. Our hearts. Going over it. And speaking the truth of it to our own hearts and to our own minds. We are meditating upon it.

[44:32] Memorizing it can be a part of that. Getting it in there. We speak it to ourselves. So then we have the boldness to speak it to others. The reason why we don't always have the boldness, the courage to speak it to others is because we don't speak it to ourselves.

[44:49] It's not part of us. Not only in the sense that we can find ourselves ignorant of God's Word. I mean, that's very clear. If you don't read God's Word and speak it to your own heart, then you have no clear knowledge of God's Word.

[45:04] As much knowledge as you ought to have so that you can confidently and with courage speak it to others. It's just a simple principle. One last thing about success from God's view.

[45:16] Success is based on my firm conviction that God's Word is permanent. Unalterable.

[45:28] It never becomes irrelevant. With times and so forth. It is permanent. He says that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.

[45:42] That word written is important here. It's written. Let it be written. Let it be done. It's permanent.

[45:56] For then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success. The word written speaks of permanence. It speaks of absoluteness. It speaks of unalterability, if that's a word.

[46:13] The unalterability of God's Word. That's what written means. And so it's a firm conviction that what God has said is not just for a time or what God has said is somehow changing.

[46:31] And we ought to allow it to change as people change. It's permanent. It's permanent. It's unalterable. His Word does not change with the times or with the ever-changing circumstances that you might find yourself in.

[46:47] It's permanent. All right. For the third time that God speaks, be strong and courageous. The first one, the emphasis was service.

[47:00] The second time, the emphasis was success. And then this third time, the emphasis is security. A tremendous security. Verse 9, have I not commanded you?

[47:14] Be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid nor be dismayed. And then what? For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

[47:29] That's real security. Regardless of whether you sense His presence, sometimes, sometimes I don't.

[47:41] He's there. And there are going to be times in Joshua's life and in his leadership of the people of Israel when he's really uncertain.

[47:55] Like the time that he was walking out by himself and thinking about the next day. The battle for Jericho.

[48:06] I think there's fear gripping his heart. I think there's some lapse in his resolve.

[48:21] It's a big day. Big thing about to happen. And he's uncertain. Lacks security. And God is so gracious.

[48:31] For suddenly he sees the angel of the Lord standing there with the sword drawn. And Joshua says, are you here for us?

[48:47] Or for our enemies? And the angel of the Lord just, and we'll look at this passage when we get to it. He says, basically neither. I'm here. I'm here as the commander of the Lord's host.

[49:03] Now, would that instill confidence in you? Absolutely. A security? My goodness. See, be strong and courageous means to be secure.

[49:21] Because that strength and courage is not something that we find in ourselves. It doesn't come from within. Now, we're part of the process.

[49:33] I mean, it is a resolve that we have. But we know that the strength and courage comes from God. We trust Him. So, the commissioning of Joshua. The call from God.

[49:45] The call to claim the land. The call to confidence in the Lord. And the next time we shall see the challenge from Joshua. And the commitment from the people.

[49:56] Thank you.