Turn with me to the book of Joshua, Joshua chapter 1. Verse 1, Scripture says, Now
after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came
to pass that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses'
minister, saying, Moses, my servant, is dead. Therefore, rise and
go over this Jordan. and all this people unto the
land which I do give to thee, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of
your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said
unto Moses." Only be thou strong and very
courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all
the law which Moses my servant commanded thee. Turn not from
it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper,
whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not
depart out of thy mouth. that thou shalt meditate therein
day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all
that is written therein. For then thou shalt make thy
way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." Now you know, and I know, that
Almighty God is going to deal with every man, every woman,
and one of two men. And you know that. The Scripture
says, by one man's disobedience, the disobedience of Adam, by
one man's disobedience, Death reigns on all mankind, all men. In Adam, all die by one man's
disobedience and by one man's obedience, life. To all that be in the Lord Jesus
Christ, Almighty God, looks upon those in him in favor, satisfied. In Adam, in Christ, all men,
every man, every woman this morning is going to be dealt with in
one of two men. In Adam, Aldai, in Christ, there
is no condemnation to them that be in him. Joshua, right here, has got an
order from the Lord God Himself. This is what He said. He said
in verse 7, Be strong, be courageous, that thou mayest observe to do
according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded thee. Turn not from it to the right
hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever
thou goest. The book of the law shall not
depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate day and night
to do everything." Now, you know what? That's a high order. That's a tall order. But right
here, Joshua is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, a picture
of Him. Turn with me now to Joshua chapter
24, verse 15. Joshua 24, verse 15. Well, let's start in verse 14.
Now, therefore, Joshua 24, 14. Now, therefore, fear the Lord,
and serve him. Now, look at this, insincerity. and in truth, and put away the
gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood,
and in Egypt, and serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil unto
you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve,
whether the gods which your fathers served, that were on the other
side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whom land
you dwell." But as for me and my house, we
will serve the Lord." Now, that's a bold statement. That's a bold
statement. Neil, that's, as for me and my
house. You choose this day whom you're
going to serve. But for me and my house, we're going to serve
the Lord. Now, let me ask you something.
Is there a man born in Adam? that has ever walked this earth
that is able to do that. Not a man born in Adam. Not a
man that comes from Adam. Who alone can say that? You choose
this day whom you are going to serve. Only the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, as for me and my house,
all those found in Him, His people, his bride, his church. You choose
whom you're going to serve. But as for me and my house, we're
going to serve the Lord. For the Lord our God is it that
brought us up, our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the
house of bondage, which did great signs in our sight and preserved
us in all the way wherein we went and among all the people
through whom we passed. And the Lord, verse 18, Joshua
24, ìThe Lord drave out from before us all the people, even
the Amorites, which dwelt in the land. Therefore will we also
serve the Lord. He is our God.î And then look
at this, ìAnd Joshua said unto the people, You, you cannot serve
the Lord, for he is a holy God.î He is jealous, and he will not
forgive your transgressions nor your sins if you forsake the
Lord and serve strange gods. Then he will turn and do you
hurt and consume you. After that, he hath done your
good. And the people said unto Joshua, Nay, but we will serve
the Lord. Joshua says, No, you won't. No,
you won't. Here, Joshua, a picture. of the Lord Jesus Christ says,
ìHereís the order. This law that Iíve given from
God Himself, I want you to meditate in it day and night. You speak,
you think, you do that which I say. Donít turn to the left,
donít turn to the right. Joshua says, ìFor me and my house,
weíre going to serve the Lord. I want to know something about
this one that Joshua is a picture of. This Joshua, the great high
Joshua, the Lord Jesus Christ, only Christ can say that for
me and my house. We're going to serve the Lord.
Now, turn with me to the book of Psalms, Psalms chapter 1. I'd like to look at the first
Now, I want to know something about this one who can say, as
for me and my house, we're going to serve the Lord. If we are to truthfully see the
message of every scripture, you know the Lord Jesus Christ said,
these scriptures, these are they that testify of me. If we are
to see the truth In the Word of God, we must see Him. We must
view Him in the text. I realize that there are numerous
scriptures that exhort men to holiness and obedience. That's
what Joshua said. Choose you this day. Who's going
to serve the Lord? And I'm not talking about trying
to serve Him. I'm not talking about just making
a good effort at it or doing the best you can. I'm talking
about absolute obedience. Serve Him. Walk before Him. Holy. Be ye holy, for I am holy. And listen to this. Leviticus
11, 45. For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land
of Egypt to be your God. Ye shall therefore be holy, for
I am holy." Hebrews 12, 14, "...follow peace
with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord."
Now listen, this word concerning holiness is not just a mere good
idea. It's not just a kind of a suggestion. Ye shall be holy." Without peace
and holiness, no man shall see the Lord. This is a demand that
is too high for me. Here I am, in myself, born, conceived
in sin, a liar from birth, a liar, a cheat, a scoundrel, a rebel
by nature, by practice, by choice. Be ye holy. Without holiness,
no man is going to see the Lord. How good does a man have to be?
How good does a man have to be to enter heaven, to stand before
God? How good does he have to be,
as good as God? That's a tall order. For this
demand, do you know what I need? I need one to stand for me. I need one to be a substitute
for me. I need one to be able to meet
every demand laid by God's holy law. And then I need that perfect
obedience, righteousness. I need that righteousness to
be charged to me. I need to be accepted in another
that is obedient. I need that perfect holiness
to stand and to answer for me. I need one who can, by union
and association with Him, Truly, to present me faultless before
the presence of His glory, knowing that if any guilt, any
sin, any spot, any blemish be found on me, Almighty God must
in absolute justice cast me out into everlasting darkness. be before him without blame. made to be in union with the
only one that meets the requirements laid down in Psalm chapter 1,
verse 1. The Scripture says, Blessed is
the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth
in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
The literal translation of that first line right there is, ìOh,
the happiness of that one who hath not walked in the counsel
of the wicked.î That man of whom this scripture vitally speaks
is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the blessed man, blessed of the
Father He who has blessed us in union with Him with all spiritual
blessings. He alone is by the merit of His
obedience and worthiness the only potentate, the King of kings
and the Lord of lords. This blessed man is He who absolutely
has not walked in contradiction to Almighty God. Blessed is that
man if this man that is described right here be my representative.
If I stand in this man right here, I stand before Almighty
God without blame. Viewed in this man, this man
that is described right here. Now, I know that we as believers
Almighty God looks upon us in union with Him, no condemnation,
blessed, and He will then say in that day, enter in, well done,
thy good and faithful servants. That song we just sang, His faithful
follower, I would be, oh I would, in myself, but of myself, I can
do nothing. I must stand in him. I must stand. One of two men. Let's talk about
this man for just a few minutes. Blessed is the man that walketh
not, that has never walked. Blessed is that man that walketh
not in the counsel of the ungodly. Blessed is the man that abstains
from ungodly policy, one that is not loosed from Almighty God
Himself. Blessed is that man that doesn't
walk in the advice. That's what that word means,
the counsel. Blessed is that man that walketh
not, does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. The word ungodly
means wicked. What Satan, Satan, the wicked
one, when he came to What did he say? Let me give you a little
advice. Let me give you a little counsel.
Hath God said that if you eat of that fruit that you'll die? You don't believe that, do you?
You're not going to die? No, no, no. You see what it is. Let me explain it to you. You'll
be as God is. You'll have all wisdom. You know,
the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Oh, no. He doesn't. Take my advice."
And she did. She came to Adam, and he did
eat. Blessed is the man that walks
not in the counsel, in the advice of the wicked. What did Satan
say when the Lord Jesus Christ was led of the Spirit into the
desert to be tempted? What does Satan say to him? Let
me give you some advice. Let me give you a little counsel.
These stones right here, why don't you turn them to bread?
It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. How about this?
Why don't you jump off this tentacle right here? Oh, for it's written,
angels are not going to allow you to dash your foot against
any stone. Why don't you do that? Won't
you tempt God? Thou shalt not tempt the Lord
thy God. Hey, check out all these wonderful
cities and all of this. Look at all this stuff. If you'll
worship me, I'll give you all this. It is written, Thou shalt
worship the Lord thy God, and him alone shalt thou worship. Blessed is the man that walketh
not in the counsel of the ungodly. There has only been one who has
never walked in ungodly counsel. Blessed is the man that standeth
not in the way of sinners. This man whom God hath sent,
he speaks the words of God. This blessed man does not stand
in the way, in the broad way, of sinners. There is a way, the
scripture says, that seemeth right unto man. But the end thereof
are the ways of death. There's a way. There's a way.
Seems right. A broad way. Blessed in the man
that doesn't abide in the road of the guilty. Those who pass
their lives in sin. Let me ask you this. What man born in Adam? It stands
not in the way of sinners. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. There are none righteous. Oh,
not one, not one, not one. Not one born in Adam. They are
all gone out of the way. From the crown of their head
and the sole of their foot, it is putrefying sores. There is
none good. Oh, blessed is the man. Blessed is that man that standeth
not in the way of sinners. The way of the wicked, Scripture
says, is as darkness. The fruit of the wicked tendeth
to sin. The way of the ungodly, verse
6 of this chapter right here, last verse, the Lord knoweth
the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall
perish. Oh, blessed is the man. that
standeth not in the way of sinners. And blessed is the man that doesn't
sit in the seat of the scornful, that doesn't sit in that place
of false rest, and sits down. That has an insinuation. It's where I'm going to settle
down, right here. I'm going to sit down. I'm going
to rest right here. Blessed is the man. It doesn't
sit in the seat of the scoffers, those that are angry or have
disdain or to regard as one beneath. That's what it means to scoff
at, to refuse or to reject. You remember
when those two Hebrews were arguing there in Egypt. And the day before,
Moses had noticed one of the Egyptian guards that defended
a Hebrew, this guard whipping this Hebrew. And Moses came and
killed that guard, hit him. And the next day, there was two
of the Hebrew children, my men, they were having a little dispute. Moses came to them and said,
you know, Only when you settle down right here, and one of them
says, well, let me ask you something. Who made you a prince and a judge
over us? What does man say by nature to
the Lord Jesus Christ? Who made you a prince and a judge
over us? I'll not have this man to rule
over me. Scoff! Who does God think he
is? That's what man by nature says.
Blessed is the man that doesn't sit. in the seat of the scornful. Is there any here in and of himself
who is not described as scornful? Man by nature rejects, hates
the carnal mind's enmity against God. Leave a man to himself? What's the description of every
man born in Adam? What's his description? I'll
tell you what he is. He walks in the counsel of the ungodly,
he stands in the way of sinners, and he sits in the seat of the
scornful. That's man by nature right there. Blessed is that
man that doesn't. None of the children of natural
men could ever lay claim to the blessedness of holy conduct by
the efforts of his own will. Only can these words describe
the person of our blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Only of
Him can it be said, verse 2, His delight is in the law of
the Lord. Blessed is the man who in and
of himself, by his own will, by his own work, by his own choice,
delights in the law of God. Highly pleased. Psalm 40 and
verse 7 and 8, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, says, Then
said I, Lo, I come in the volume of the book. It is written of
me. That's what we're looking at
this morning. Him. I delight to do thy will, O my
God. Yea, thy law is within my heart. What's within the heart of natural
man? What's within man's heart? Evil, resentment, delight. That's in his heart. Not only
did our Lord delight to do His Father's will, that was His will. I and my Father are one. The Lord Jesus Christ, our obedient
Lord, the servant of Almighty God, this is Him, the purpose
of the law. His delight is in the law of
the Lord." What was the purpose of the law of God? To reveal sin. Now, the law,
the Scripture says, is the knowledge of sin. It entered that the offense
of man might be known. The law was our schoolmaster
to bring us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. The law is perfect, but biased. Shall no man be justified by
the deeds of the law? By it, men see what is the good
and perfect and acceptable will of Almighty God, the law of God. It takes in the whole duty of
man. But what the law could not do,
that is, justify a man, in that it was weak through the flesh.
If the flesh is weak, the law is good. in that it was weak
through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of
sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness
of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit. Christ, this man, described right
here, the Scripture says, His delight was to work the of His
Father, that work which His Father had given Him to do, to honor
Almighty God in the redemption of His people. God's honor! God's honor! He obeyed. His delight is in the law of
the Lord. His delight was the honoring,
accomplishing of God's law, and in His law Does he meditate day
and night? Let me ask you something. See,
that's what God had told Joshua. He said, this word, this law,
I want you to meditate on it day and night. Meditate. Now, you know that word meditate,
I looked it up. I know what we think of meditate,
to think on, to ponder over, to muse over, meditate. That
word meditate right there, is the same word that is in Psalm
3730, the mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom. That word speaketh
is the same word meditate, same word. And in his law does he
speak day and night. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
Word. In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God.
The Word was God. The Word was made flesh. and
dwelt tabernacled among us. Who but the Lord Jesus Christ
could this be said about? Blessed is the man whose delight
is in the law of the Lord. Is that my attitude or your attitude
outside of Christ? Absolutely not. In his law, does
he meditate day and night? I can't keep my mind focused
for a moment, Carl. And in his law, Does He speak
day and night? He ever liveth? Eternal God. Oh, He shall meditate day and
night. And He, verse 3, shall be like
a tree planted by the rivers of water. Isaiah 53, 2 says He
shall grow up before Him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry
ground." Or in other words, he shall come into this world. That
word right there, he shall be like a tree planted. That word
means transplanted. The word was made flesh. God
himself took upon himself the form of sinful flesh. He was made like unto his brethren,
yet without sin, He truly came into this world as the servant
lowly in heart. He is a tree of absolute life. He shall be like a tree planted
by the rivers of water. He's the vine. He shall bring
forth, the Scripture says, his fruit. You know, the Scripture
says, a good tree bringeth forth good fruit. He shall be like
a tree. Now, I know we'd like to think
that we've been faithful, all about like those two boys. Remember
that dad had those two boys, the prodigal son? Do you remember
the attitude of the other one, you know, after that one boy
came, got all of that that was coming to him, went off, spent
it and came to himself, came back. Father saw him, put the
robe on his back, shot his feet, put a ring on his finger. You
remember what his brother said? He said, Oh, all these years
I've been faithful. You never did any of that for
me? Yeah, faithful. I know we'd like to believe that
we're faithful. We're not. No, we're not. This man, this man, like a tree
planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit,
his fruit. Turn over to John 15. Let's look
at something right quick. I'm about done. John 15. This is the Lord Jesus Christ
speaking. Psalm 1 talks about being a tree,
a vine. The Lord said in John 15, 1,
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch
in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away, and every branch
that beareth fruit, he purgeth it that it may bring forth more
fruit. Now ye are clean through the
word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you,
as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in
the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine,
ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I
in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without me You
can do nothing. Back in Psalm 1, he, this man,
a tree that bringeth forth his fruit. His fruit. That's not your fruit, my fruit.
His fruit. Good tree bringeth forth good
fruit. His fruit. His people. He has done. His fruit is brought forth in
His season. His season. When it pleased God. That's what Paul said. When it
pleased God. To reveal Christ in me. This
tree. This vine. The true vine. The good tree. chosen from the foundation of
the world in the Lord Jesus Christ unto salvation. But in time,
Almighty God is going to cross their path with the gospel of
His Son. He is going to bring forth His
fruit in His season. And of this man, it says that
his leaf, that word leaf right there, translated is branch. His branch. He said, I'm the
vine and you're the branch. Of yourself you do nothing unless
that branch be in me. Without me, no fruit. His leaf also shall not wither. That word wither means to fall
away. That's what it means. We're kept
by the power of God through faith. He said, I prayed for you that
your faith may fail not. He is able to keep us from falling
only as we are grafted in by God Almighty, by His grace, marvelous
grace. Life is in Him. Blessed is this
man. And whatsoever, the end of verse
3 says, whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. That was God's charge
to Joshua. The picture of Christ himself. He said, This word shall not
depart out of your mouth. You meditate on it day and night. Whatever you do, it is going
to prosper. Joshua, our great high Joshua. He is this man. Blessed is this
man, only in being joined to him can these things be said
of the saints. Without him we do nothing. Of no man, save the Lord Jesus
Christ, can these words be fitted. Only in Christ do we walk as
he walks. Do we avoid the way of sinners,
their broad way, the way of everlasting destruction? And do we avoid
being seated in profanity against Almighty God, only as God views
us in Him? He is as blessed as that man.
Almighty God is going to view, that's what I said in the very
beginning, is going to view every man, every one, in one of two
men. In Adam, disobedient. In Adam, all die. But in this
man, the scribe right here, we have hope, blessed hope, sure
hope. Not, I hope we're going to be
okay. Our hope, our assurance. is built on nothing less than
Jesus Christ and his blood, his righteousness. Him. Blessed is that man. Our Father, this morning, we
say thank you. But, Lord, how little we realize
how little in ourselves we are thankful. Lord, we know that
it is only as we are in Christ Jesus, viewed in Him, accepted
in the Beloved, that we stand before You without blame. His obedience, His righteousness,
His work, Him. Lord, would You teach us these
things, teach us afresh this morning? Lord, forgive us where
we failed You, for Christ's sake. Amen.