All right, let's take our Bibles
and turn to Joshua 10. Joshua 10. I'd like to consider this morning
the glorious victory that God's people have in the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's what I've entitled this, glorious victory in Now
you know that this story, this history that we're looking at
in the book of Joshua is a picture. This is a type. We're looking
at this whole scenario of Joshua as he leads the nation of Israel
is a picture of our great Joshua. the Lord Jesus Christ who's leading
us. He's Israel through this world
and the victory that's wrought. The Lord has given victory unto
Israel. He's rained down, the scripture
says, great stones, hailstones from heaven upon the adversaries
of the Lord. And when time was running out,
God just stopped the sun and the moon in their places. Just
stopped them. Almighty God, if he's pleased
to do so, he'll just completely move heaven and earth to accomplish
his will. His will is gonna be done. Well,
in chapter 10, Joshua 10, verse 15, it says, and Joshua returned
and all Israel with him unto the camp to Gilgal. Now, Joshua has beheld the marvel
of God's victory over his people, these five kings that raised
themselves up. Really, they were gonna raise
themselves up against Gibeah, one of the cities that was there.
But the Lord was gonna show mercy to that city. You remember the
story, how those men came They really, they came under the guise
of being from a far off country. They were from right there. But
God showed mercy to them. And so these five kings in that
same area, they raised themselves up against Gibeon and Gibeon
appealed to Joshua. As we do, as we appeal unto the
Lord, whenever our enemies raise themselves up, we cry out to
God. So here comes Joshua and all
of Israel and a mighty victory has been wrought over these five
kings in their cities. And it says that Joshua has returned
and all Israel with him. I looked at that word all right
there, it just struck me, all Israel. It means the whole, everything,
the totality What a beautiful picture of how many of God's
people are gonna be victorious in Christ. How many of them? All of them. How many gonna be
lost? The Lord said in John 6, 39,
this is the will of Him that sent me, that all which He's
given me, I should lose nothing. We're gonna cross the spiritual
Jordan, some of us sooner than others. We're all going. We're gonna leave this world.
We're gonna die, we're gonna die, but we're not gonna die
forever. Physically, this physical body
here is gonna go back to the dust, that's right, but I'm telling
you, To be absent from this body, present with the Lord. I've often
wondered, do you ever really lose consciousness? I mean, I know we look at somebody
and they're not there. They're there, but they're not
there. But that soul, that soul, if it was known of the Lord in mercy,
it was with the Lord immediately. Never lost, I'm convinced of
that. But as far as being lost, none
of them. In verse 16, but the five kings
fled and hid themselves in a cave at Makeda. Now here we see that
these five kings, now their cities, their armies have been pretty
well, you know, taken out of commission. And we're gonna see
what happened to the remainder of them, but God has wrought
a victory over the armies. These five kings, the scripture
says, they fled and they hid themselves in a cave at Akita,
and they were the ones that arrogantly led their cities in resistance,
to not bow to the Lord God of heaven, and they warred against
people of God, those to whom God had shown mercy. Now, here
they are, they've taken refuge in this cave. The word Meketa, it means shepherds. It means a place of shepherds. That's what the name of that
cave is. And they think they're gonna
hide themselves in a cave, and in their minds, that cave's gonna
render them absolute safety. We're hid. They hid in a place,
though, of false security. They were hiding in a place,
in their minds now, they think, you know, they can't find us.
We're hidden, secret, secret. But here's the amazing thing. God knew where they were. You
know, is this not a picture of man by nature trying to hide
in a false cave of security, hiding in his works, hiding in
his religion, hiding in his, think that, I'm safe, I'm good,
I'm good, I'm good. I go to church, you know. I know
I'm in a place that I'm not gonna be found. This place will deliver
me, but I want you to look. Look at verse 17. And it was
told Joshua, saying, the five kings are found hid in a cave
at Makeda. Joshua knew. They thought they
were safe. They were in a place of safety,
but as we consider the revelation of these five kings' whereabouts,
If that was just a natural event that they found out, that would
be an amazing thing. But according to the picture,
all of these five kings, those enemies of God, enemy is God's people. God knows where they are. God
knows how to deal with them. Sin, Satan, this world, But if
we consider Joshua here to be as he truly is, a type of our
Lord, we behold, turn with me to Proverbs 15. If we see Joshua
as being a picture of our Lord, as I said, which he is, he knows,
he knows. Men think they're hiding. Men think that they're hiding.
And in their minds, in their hearts, until the Lord calls
them out of darkness, they really think that is a real place of
security. Now, you listen to me. I know,
again, I tell you, I know from experience. I know what it's
like to sit in a false, man-centered, man-honoring, free will, thinking
that there's a free will church. I know what it is. I know what
it's like to feel in your heart that you're right because I walked
down an aisle and I repeated the sinner's prayer and I listened
to what this guy was saying and he said, repeat after me. I'd
repeat after him. I know what it feels like. You
could not have convinced me that I wasn't a regenerate. You couldn't convince me of that,
Fred. Uh-uh, no. I know that I'm right with God. I'm hidden in safety. I gave my heart to Jesus. And until Almighty God removes
that heart of stone and gives a new heart, you believe it.
You believe it. Not one time did I ever believe
before the Lord was pleased to reveal Christ to me. Not one
time did I think I wasn't okay. I'm okay. Proverbs 15, verse three. The
eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and
the good. That cave back in Joshua 10 of
Makeda, that was a place that those five kings felt safe. They felt as though that they
were not going to be taken. Everything outside this cave
right here is in trouble, but not us, not us. They had fled
to a false refuge. Well, the scripture says in verses
18, 19, back in Joshua 10, Joshua said, roll great stones upon
the mouth of cave and set men by it for to keep them. And stay
ye not, but pursue after your enemies and smite the hang most
of them, suffer them not to enter into their cities, for the Lord
your God hath delivered them into your hand. Now I want you
to notice the beauty of Joshua as he waits upon the Lord. Now these five kings are gonna
be dealt with. But what he said was, he told
in verse 18, he said, you just roll a great stone upon the mouth
of that cave. You set some men by it and you
keep it. You hem them up. That's what
he said. Just put them in. And then all the rest of these,
of what's left of their army, you go after them. Now, he does
something that is amazing. He doesn't deal with the kings
immediately. They were the ones that instigated
this fight with Gibeon and there for Joshua also. But here Joshua
is a type of the Lord Jesus, the judge. You know what he did? He hemmed them up. He secured
them. He secured the enemies in the
place that they had fled for refuge until a time appointed. I want you to turn to Job 21. Now, this is an amazing passage
of scripture. When we consider the grace of
God, I was looking over this passage this morning, and I looked
up this word. I'm gonna tell you what the word
is. The word is reserved. I'll tell you what the word is
before I even read it, Mitch. Job 21, verse 29 and 30. Job
21, 29 and 30. Have you not asked them that
go by the way, and do ye not know their tokens, that the wicked
is reserved to the day of destruction? They shall be brought forth to
the day of wrath. The wicked is reserved. Oh, we
looked up that word wicked in the last service, so if you forget
what that one is, go back and listen to it again. It's those,
I'll tell you, it's those not found in Christ, the wicked,
the wicked, left to themselves. The wicked is reserved to the
day of destruction. I looked the word up, reserved.
It means they're restrained, or they're kept in check. Joshua
told the men, he said, y'all just roll some big stones over
that cave, and y'all sit there and guard it. We're gonna go
after the rest of them. We're gonna deal with them later. Beloved, they surely thought,
those five kings had, by their cunning, assured their escape
from the wrath of God with those great stones, from the sword
of Joshua, God's vengeance. But that temporal escape or hiding
place that they thought that they had found, they were discovered. God revealed where they were.
and he told them, he said, put a big rock, put a big stone over
the face of that cave and go back. They were reserved until
the time that Joshua was gonna deal with them. Now, I'm gonna
tell you something that is as sure as I'm reading these scriptures. I just read it out of Job. Job
21, verse 29 and 30. The wicked are reserved. If Almighty God, who is a just
God, He's just. I'm a just God and a Savior.
Now, I'm going to tell you that this is so, and I'll back it
up with these scriptures right here. If Almighty God is pleased
to leave a man or a woman justly to do what they want to do, leave them in their false place
of security. Leave them. Leave them. Is that
what they wanted to do? Absolutely. That's what they
wanted to do. They wanted to find a place of false security
and hear the gospel of God's grace and be like those that
heard Stephen. I'm not going to hear it. I am
not going to hear it. Gnashed on him with their teeth.
I will not hear what you have to say about God's sovereignty,
God's grace. I'm not going to hear it. If
Almighty God is pleased to give a man or a woman what they want
and reserve them until the day of judgment, He's right. He is right. And I'm telling
you, you ain't going to lay the blame at His feet because that's
exactly what you wanted to do. You did what you wanted to do. God help us and deliver us from our own false
thinking, our places of false refuge. Thank the Lord that he
would snatch anybody as a brand. He'd be like those angels that
took hold of Lot while he lingered. You ain't staying. He hemmed
them up. And scripture says back in Joshua
10, it came to pass when Joshua and the children of Israel had
made an end of slaying them with a great slaughter till they were
consumed, that the rest which remained of them entered into
fenced city and all the people returned to the camp to Joshua
at Makeda in peace. None moved his tongue against
any of the children of Israel, nobody. God gave them victory. and nobody opened their mouth. I want you to look at the faithfulness. That's what Gabe preached on
the other day. God is faithful. Did he tell Joshua, I've given
them into your hands? Were they in his hands? God wrought, did he wrought a mighty victory?
That's not even good English, you know what I mean. Was a mighty
victory wrought, that's what I need to say. Was it wrong?
Yes, it was. God gave it. They saw it. Oh,
the faithfulness of God's promise. Scripture says that in that passage
right there we just read in verses 20, 21, they went after the hindermost, and they
were consumed, they were taken out as a fighting force, is what
it is. The rest which remained entered into fenced cities. They went and they destroyed
that army's ability to wage any kind of war. But there was a
few of them that got into those cities. But now, is that not
a picture, a reminder to us right now of our spiritual warfare
today? You think of the mighty victory
that was wrought at Calvary. Death conquers. Grave, no sting. Almighty God bore all the guilt
of his people, put away their debt. There is therefore now
no condemnation to them that be in Christ Jesus. But the scripture
says, verse 21, they were consumed at the rest, which remained of
them entered into fenced cities. There were few left. There were
a few left. They couldn't defeat Israel,
but buddy, there was just enough left out there to hassle them.
There was just enough. In all these trials and tribulations,
the Lord has wrought victory for His people. Actually, we
are more than conquerors through Him. I love this. Gave Himself
for us. Don't we still struggle with
the flesh? Don't we still struggle with the world? Isn't Satan a
defeated enemy, but does he still not accuse us before God and
ourselves? This world, it's going to be
burned up. Let me ask you this, you that
know him. Does this world still continue to allure you with its
glittering lights? It does to me, Don. The debt of our sin has been
put away by the blood of Christ, but still we feel the temptation
of our sin. Oh, wretched man that I am. Who will deliver me from the
body of this death? The enemies of God's people shall,
according to the Lord's promise, they're going to be seeing the
mighty victory. But until he removes us out of
this world, Struggle. The Lord promised in John 16,
33, these things have I spoken unto you that in me you might
have peace, peace. He said in this world, you're
gonna have tribulation. We have good cheer. I've overcome
the world. And then the last of these verses
for this morning, verses 22 to 27, then said Joshua, open the
mouth of the cave and bring out those five kings unto me out
of the cave. They did so, and brought forth
those five kings unto him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem,
the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish,
the king of Eglon. And it came to pass, when they
brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for
all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men
of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the
necks these kings. And they came near and put their
feet upon the necks of them. And Joshua said unto them, Fear
not, or be dismayed, be strong, good courage. For thus shall
the Lord do to all your enemies against whom you fight. And afterward
Joshua smoked them, slew them, hanged them on five trees. They
were hanging upon the trees till the evening And it came to pass
at the time of the going down to the sun that Joshua commanded
that they took them down off the trees, they cast them into
the cave wherein they had been hid, laid great stones in the
cave's mouth, which remain until this day. Here, these last verses
for this morning, we beautifully see the Lord's command concerning
those things that war against us. Scripture says Colossians
3, 5. Mortify therefore your members
which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection,
evil concupiscence, which is idolatry. Mortify them. War against them. Fight them.
Deaden them is what it means. Oh, we're plagued. with these
things. So like these five kings, these
are your enemies. Joshua told them, he said, you
bring them to me. And you captains, all you men
that were over in this fight, I want you to come and put your
foot on their necks. Don't be afraid of them, they
ain't gonna hurt you. They're defeated, they're defeated. Our
victory is in Christ. Christ has defeated them. And
they still war against us now. but you resist them. Resist them
by the grace of God. Lord, help me. Lord, help me. They're brought out, but the
amazing thing to me, not only were they brought out, but they
were named. It brought them out and it just, it named every one
of those kings when it brought them out. You read in verse 23,
named every one of them who they were, identified them. God's
people are aware that they're warring against Here, I'm gonna
name something. My flesh. I'm warring against
Satan. I'm warring against sin. I'm warring, I know, we're not
unaware of the battle. But he told him, he said, I want
you to come near and put your foot on them and don't be afraid. Listen to this. For thus shall
the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight. I want
you to just turn with me. I got a couple more verses here.
Romans 16.20. Romans 16.20. Now this is just something that we're
just gonna have to, by faith, believe it. Listen to this. We're struggling mighty, mightily,
right now. Romans 16.20. And the God of peace shall bruise,
tread, tread down Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you. Amen. This, this one that goes
about right now is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. This one that warned against
God. This one that was cast out of
heaven with a third of the angels? This one that is the prince of
the power of the air? This one that is the ruler of
darkness? Yeah, the scripture says the
God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. He's defeated,
don't be afraid. Joshua took him and hung him,
hung him, left him to hang all day, cut him down, and then cast
him into that cave where they thought, you know, well, this
is where my security is going to be. Well, no, that's going
to be your grave. That's where it's going to be. Oh, the mighty victory. I have
not seen or heard, neither have entered into the heart of man.
that which God has reserved, prepared for those that love
Him. Lord bless us to our heart for
Christ's sake.