I absolutely love the certainty,
the sureness, and the success of the believer's redemption
that's found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Certain, for sure. I don't need a God that wants
to do something, and I certainly don't need a God that's trying
to do something. I need the God of heaven who
does. What does he do whatsoever he's
pleased? In heaven, and earth, and seas,
all deep places, whatsoever he pleased. This is the God that
I must proclaim. You see, only a sovereign, omnipotent
God can save. A God who's trying can't save.
A God who wants to save can't save unless you lend him your
will and enable him to have his way in your life. That just sounds
ridiculous when you think about it. Solomon, the wise man Solomon
said in Proverbs chapter 22, verse 21, he said, all that I
might make thee to know the certainty of the words of truth. That's
the desire of every true preacher, that they might make you to know,
but they can't, only God can. They can proclaim it to you.
God's gotta give the increase. We plant, we water. God's gotta
give the increase. Luke penned in his account of
the gospel and said, that thou mightest know the certainty of
those things wherein thou has been instructed. Certainty. The beloved apostle John wrote
with certainty, he that hath the Son hath life. I love that
verse. It's so simple, it's so plain.
He that has Christ has life. And he that hath not Christ hath
not life. Paul wrote in Romans chapter
five, but God commended his love toward us in that while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us, much more than being now
justified by His blood, we shall, we shall be saved from wrath
through Him. For if when we were enemies we
were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more being
reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Oh, the word of
God is certain, it's sure. And I just love the certainty
of our salvation in Christ, don't you? That certainty that's in
Christ alone, not in what we do, not in the works that we
perform, but in what Christ has done for us. And is there really
anything else to preach? That's why Paul said, but we
preach Christ crucified. He said unto the Jews, it's a
stumbling block. and unto the Greeks its foolishness,
but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ,
the power of God and the wisdom of God." Jesus Christ is the
power of God and He's the wisdom of God. Now what did Paul mean
when he wrote, for I determined not to know anything among you
save or except Jesus Christ and Him crucified? Well, he meant
that Christ and Him crucified is all that really matters in
the end. I had a man one time tell me, well, I love what you
preach, but you need to go on into the deeper things of God.
How can there be anything deeper than God becoming a man, taking
on the form of a servant, being made under the law to redeem
them that are under the law? Is there anything any deeper
than that? Well, I know this, there's nothing
more certain than that. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. Only God can save a sinner. And
that's by himself dying in their place, by the sacrifice of himself,
putting away their sin forever. And it's certain, it's for sure. And thou shalt call his name
Jesus. Thou shalt call his name Joshua,
Savior, for he shall. There's that word again. He shall
save his people from their sins, Matthew 1, 21. For whom God did
foreknow, he also did predestinate, he predetermined. He did it,
it's already done. Not something he's going to do.
He's already done it. Predetermined means determined
beforehand. God predestinated. God determined
beforehand that His people be what? Conformed to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Isn't that an amazing thought?
God makes His people just like Christ. And then Paul said this, moreover,
needing in addition to that, or on top of that, moreover,
whom He did predestinate, them He also called. Not might call,
not maybe call, but called. And whom God called, them He
also justified. And whom God justified, them
He also glorified. There's no uncertainty with God. None. The Lord of hosts hath
sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to
pass, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand. For the Lord of hosts hath purposed,
and who shall disannul it? And his hand is stretched out,
and who shall turn it back? Isn't that wonderful? No uncertainty
with God, none. No guessing, no wondering, no
doubting. If you trust Christ, your salvation
is certain. God hath not cast away his people,
which he foreknew. No, he called them, he justified
them, and he glorifies them. Moses asked God in Exodus 33
to see his glory. You remember what God said? God
said, I will do this thing that thou has spoken for, this is
why, for thou has found grace in my sight and I know thee by
name. David said the testimony of the
Lord is sure. God's everlasting covenant is
the sure mercies of David. The promises of God are sure
to all his seed, Romans 4, 16. The foundation of God stand is
sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his. We
have a more sure word of prophecy, Peter said. This certainty, this
sureness comes only one way. Christ was made a surety of a
better testament, Hebrews 7, 12. I love the certainty of the gospel.
I love the certainty of God's salvation in Christ. I don't,
if I look to myself, there's plenty to be concerned about,
but if I look to Christ, there's no need to worry or fret or be
concerned. Salvation is of the Lord. Now last study, we saw in verse
two here in Joshua chapter one, a picture of the great commission
given to Christ. It was a commission given to
Joshua also. And the Lord Jesus, who is the
Lord, whom the Old Testament speaks of, when you see that
word Lord in the Old Testament, L-O-R-D, capital L-O-R-D, that's
speaking of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.
But the Lord Jesus gave to Joshua the commission to finish the
work that Moses, who represents the law, started. God commissioned
Christ to finish the perfect work of righteousness that he
required for the salvation of his elect people. And as we will
see in the verses before us tonight, it's just more of the same here. If salvation is of the Lord,
and it is, then the success of our redemption is guaranteed,
certain, and sure. Salvation is. God's people will,
shall be saved. God is faithful, that promised,
and that's why. And once again, I confirm to
you tonight that according to the Scriptures, according to
the Word of God, this book that we have opened tonight, it's
the faithfulness of God in Christ that saves us, not our faithfulness
to Him. God promised, God is faithful,
Christ, our Joshua, is successful. And that's why, as believers,
we can be so confident. Not in us, being confident of
this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you
will perform it. He will perform it. Until the
day of Jesus Christ. And God said to Joshua in verse
two, now therefore rise and go over this Jordan. Thou, now look
at these words. We talked about this last time.
And all this people, every single one of them, I don't know how
many people there were at this time, probably close to what
there was when they left Egypt. Probably close to a couple million
people. Every single one of them, take them into the land which
I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. And those
words and all these people remind us that there will not be one
single person lost that follows and obeys Joshua. Did you hear
me? You follow Joshua, everything's
gonna be all right. All those who trust in their
Joshua shall enter into the promised land. Every single one of them. And this blessed truth, it can't
be ignored, and why would we want to ignore it? Christ and
the work He performed cannot be separated. They're one and
the same. A shepherd's not a shepherd without his sheep, and a Savior's
not a Savior without the saved. Now let me ask you, are the children
of Israel entering and possessing this land of promise by the good
works that they had done? We've spent plenty of time going
through the book of Exodus and Numbers, and we've seen how the
children of Israel acted. All they had done was rebel,
complain, Disobey and desire to go back to Egypt. That's all
they... On several occasions they had
said, we'd rather have died in Egypt than to be out here in
this wilderness. You brought us out of Egypt so
we could die in the wilderness. Moses, you're our real enemy. They complained about there being
no water. They complained about there being lack of food. And
it was all about them. God gave them water from a rock,
God gave them bread from heaven, and they complained. They said,
we loathe this light bread. We're just sick of it. Both the water from the rock
and the bread from heaven picture and typify the Lord Jesus Christ.
Oh, if you're sick of Him, then you're in trouble. And what did their complaining
do? It didn't do anything but bring about devastating results. In Numbers chapter 11, they complained
about their hardships. What result did that bring? God
sent the fire of the Lord. And it consumed many and killed
them. When they complained about the
lack of meat, remember what God did? He sent them quail and they
ate, and then God sent them a plague. And again, many died. In Numbers chapter 14, when the
spies returned from the land of promise, they complained about
facing the giants. The ten did, not Joshua and Caleb. But those ten complained about
the great and high walled cities. And the people were so afraid,
oh, we can't go there. They complained about everything.
So do we. What was the consequence and
the result of their murmuring? Every single one of them over
the age of 20 years old, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb,
the Savior and the sinner, died and their carcasses fell in the
wilderness. Why? Unbelief. Unbelief. That's what'll keep you out of
heaven's glory, unbelief. That's what'll send you to hell,
unbelief. In Numbers chapter 16, Israel
openly defied and rebelled against God's servants and leaders, failing
to trust in the promise of God. And what did God do then? He
opened the earth and he swallowed up those who rebelled. There's
always a consequence to unbelief. Israel didn't do a single solitary
thing that would earn merit or deserve the least of God's favor. Not one thing. And even if they
had, it would have been by the mercy and grace of God that they
did it. Well, we're saved by grace through
faith, and that's not of ourselves. It's a gift of God. If we had
faith to believe, it's God that gave us that faith. Nothing for
us to brag about, nothing for us to take pride in, nothing
for us to glory in. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto
us, but unto thy name give glory. He's the one that saves sinners.
Now this entering, this possessing of the land had solely to do
with God's covenant and promise to Abraham some 400 plus years
before. God told them this day was coming,
and here it is. and it came to pass. We've talked
about that phrase. I love that phrase, because if
it came to pass, it's because God brought it to pass. Now look what God told Joshua
in verse three. He said, every place, every place
that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given
unto you. It's God that gives it. As I
said unto Moses, from the wilderness and this Lebanon, even to the
great river, the river Euphrates, all the land, the Hittites and
the, unto the great sea toward the going down in the sun shall
be your coast. Sure. And again, what proof that
everything that we have materially in this life, God has given it
to us. He really has. You might say,
well, you know, I worked hard to have what I have. God gave
you the health. God gave you the ability to work
and to have it. God has given it to us and every
heavenly spiritual gift that we have, God graciously gave
it to us and he gave it to us in Christ. We have no reason
to glory in what we have, for it's God who made us to differ.
Matter of fact, Paul wrote there in 1 Corinthians 4 verse 7, he
said, if we received it from God, what reason do we have to
glory as if we did not receive it? God makes us to differ. If we have it, we received it. It was given to us. No reason
for us to glory. Now, What then is involved in
God's covenant of promise? Well, I wanna give you five quick
things tonight from these verses before us. The first is to know
that as all things were given to Christ, in Him, all things
become ours. By our union with Christ, everything
God has given Him, we have. The Father loveth the Son, and
hath given all things unto His hand. He that spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us all, all God's people, all believers,
how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Now, are we gonna believe the
Word of God or not? Every place that the sole of
your foot shall tread upon. I've given unto you, Joshua,
And it's for those people with you, too. From the wilderness, this Lebanon,
to the great river Euphrates, from the far as you can see this
way and as far as you can see that way, I've given it to you,
it's yours. We read last time in Deuteronomy,
he said, I've given you houses you didn't build. I've given
you vineyards you didn't plant. He's given us everything. Everything
we have, he gave us. What belongs to Joshua? Every
place he tread, every place in Canaan he went. God gave it all
to Joshua. And if you're with Joshua, it
all belongs to you too. What does it cost you? It's freely
given to those who desire it. Hold your place here in Joshua.
Turn over to 1 Corinthians with me. I want you to see this. 1
Corinthians 3. 1 Corinthians 3. Look at verse 21. 1 Corinthians 3. Verse 21, Paul wrote here, therefore,
let no man glory in men. And then he says, for all things
are yours. All things are yours. Man didn't
give them to you. Don't glory in men, don't give
men the credit for it. All things are yours because
God gave them to you. Look at verse 22. He said, whether
Paul or Apollos or Cephas. Now, Paul here mentions himself,
he mentions Apollos, he mentions Peter, particularly because many
of the disputes in this church at Corinth were about or over
them. You remember when Paul rebuked
them and he said, Some of you say I'm of Paul, and some of
you say I'm of Apollos, and some of you say I'm of Peter, and
some of you even go, well, I'm of Jesus. He said, who's Paul? Who's Apollos? Who's Peter? We're
all just ministers by whom you heard the gospel. We're nobody,
we're nothing. He said, was Paul crucified for
you? No. Paul, Apollos, and Peter were
all ministers of God's people, and they, as God's servants,
belonged to the church. You know, in the book of Acts, God said, and he gave some apostles,
some apostles, some pastors, preachers, as it lives there.
Well, I'm getting a little ahead of myself, but. They were given
to be able ministers of the gospel. Here it is, God gave some apostles
and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers.
Why did God give them? For the perfecting of the saints,
for the maturing of the saints. We need to grow up, need to mature. For the work of the ministry.
for the edifying of the body of Christ, that being the church.
And then Paul went on to say there in verse 22, that the world
is yours also. Now, what does that mean? Does
that mean I can go to somebody's big mansion on a hill and say,
oh, by the way, God gave me this? No, it doesn't mean that at all.
What this means is, though we're called out of the world, the
world was made for the sake of God's saints. I heard Brother Montgomery say
years ago, even before Daniel began to work out there, he said,
the reason that we have GE aircraft engines, this good place for
people to work, is because God has one of his elect sitting
right back there, working there. The world is yours. The world
is yours. Life, death, things present,
things to come, all yours, he says. The life of Christ is yours.
His obedience throughout His life to His Father's will is
counted to us for righteousness. Life is ours. His death for our
sins was to make satisfaction to divine justice for our sin. Death is for for you. All things present work together
for our good. All things that are to come will
do the same. All is ours in Christ, and Christ
is all in all. Second thing, our redemption
is certain because God the Son, because God the Son is with us.
Back in Joshua 1, that's what we see in verse 5. There shall not any man be able
to stand before thee all the days of thy life. He said, as
I was with Moses, so I will be with thee, and I will not fail
thee nor forsake thee. Now, God promised Joshua this
success. Therefore shall the church be
successful. Why? Because in Christ, I'm an
heir of God and a joint heir with Christ. All that's his is
mine. All of it. God is with us. Emmanuel, the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord said, I'm with you always,
even to the end of the world. Our Lord promised, I'll never
leave you nor forsake you. That's why I'm certain and confident
in my salvation. The Lord Jesus, Emmanuel. interpreted
God with us. The certainty of our salvation
is found in being with our Joshua. Thirdly, God promises Joshua
that he would accomplish all that was set before him. Verse
six, be strong and of good courage for unto this people shall thou
divide for an inheritance the land. which I swear unto their
fathers to give them." Who divides this inheritance of the land?
Joshua does. The Lord Jesus Christ does. All
Israel would receive the benefits of Joshua's victory. And it's
the same promise God the Father gave to God the Son. All the
work Christ finished is for the benefit of his people. These
words concerning the result of Christ's substitutionary sacrifice
are spoken through the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 53, 12. Isaiah wrote, therefore will
I divide him, being Christ, a portion with the great, and he shall
divide the spoiled with the strong. because He hath poured out His
soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He
bare the sin of many, and He made intercession for the transgressors."
Now, when it refers there to the strong, listen, I'm weak.
While we were yet without strength, Christ died for the ungodly.
But in the Lord Jesus Christ, we're made strong. How do we sum up these words?
Well, Christ did for us what we couldn't do. He poured out
His soul unto death. Our death wouldn't pay for the
first sin. Sure wouldn't. Christ was numbered with the
transgressors. Friends, we are the transgressors
that He was numbered with. He bared the sin of many, and
we, the many, have many sins. They've all got to be dealt with.
They've all got to be put away. Every single one of them. God
doesn't just forgive sin. No, sin is paid and justice is
satisfied when they're put on Christ and God punished Him for
our sin. He made intercession for our
many sins. And it's finished, and God is
satisfied, and the child of God is justified. And it's certain,
and it's for sure. And that should bring, that should
be the most encouraging words that you've ever heard. Is it? Is that encouraging to you? We've
preached the gospel and it often seems like that no one really
cares to hear the things that we're saying. And we live in
a world and in a day where folks seem uninterested in the eternal
things of God. People find out you're a preacher
and the first thing they ask How big a church do you have?
How many people go to your church? That's not the issue. The issue
is do you proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ and His putting away of
sin? How a holy God can be satisfied
with wretched sinners? Only one way. But folks don't
much care. And we get discouraged. Our friends
won't listen to us. Most of the time, our family
won't listen to us. But God says, be strong and of
good courage. Through the preaching of the
gospel, the elect, every single one of them will be brought into
the shepherd's fold. All the sheep will be brought
into the shepherd's fold. Every single one of them. God
doesn't take goats and zap them and make them sheep. No, they're
sheep. They're lost sheep. They're wandering sheep. But
God finds them, He puts them on His shoulder, and He brings
them all the way home. Be strong and of good courage. God's going to see to it. You
know, that's not on me. That's not on me. But to preach
the truth is. And that's what I must do. Wherein
God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise,
that's you believer, the immutability, the unchanging of His counsel,
confirmed it by an oath. That's what this book is. It's
a testament. It's a covenant. And it proclaims
to us the promises of God. His counsel confirmed it by an
oath that by two immutable, unchangeable things in which it was impossible
for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation who have
fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. That
hope is Jesus Christ. Lay hold of Him. Don't let go. And I've got some good news for
you. None can pluck you from His hand. which hope we have as an anchor
of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that
within the veil. Whether the forerunner is for
us entered, even Jesus made a high priest forever after the order
of Melchizedek. You know, you and I can't enter
into the Holy of Holies. If we did, we'd die in and of
ourselves. Sin cannot stand before a thrice
holy God. We can offer the sacrifice that
only the high priest can offer. Not in legal. Only Christ can
enter in and offer that sacrifice for us. And that's the sacrifice
of himself. Only our great high priest can
do that. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand,
Come, ye blessed of my Father, and herewith the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world." This kingdom was
prepared for you by God before the world was ever made. The believer is an heir of God
and joint heirs with Christ, as I said a moment ago. Children
of the King. And all that's His is now mine. And all that's His is now yours. And fourthly, the salvation of
God's chosen people can be successful and certain only one way. And
that's by God being just. I had a man tell me not all that
long ago that I didn't preach the law enough. That I didn't
know how to take it. You that desire to be under the
law, do you not hear what the law is saying? I mentioned the law of God in
nearly every message. You see, the law of God must
be fulfilled. God's holy justice must be satisfied. You hear me say that most every
service, more than once in a message. The Lord Jesus Christ did both. And He did so by the sacrifice
of Himself, by the shedding of His own blood. The Lord Jesus met the requirements
of the law. The Lord Jesus satisfied the
justice of God. God cannot save chosen sinners
without remaining righteous and just. He can by no means clear
the guilty. And I always like to add, He
can by no means condemn the just. He cannot redeem a single sinner
at the expense of His justice. God is both just and justified. And He is so in the Lord Jesus
Christ. He's a just God and a Savior. Therefore, in Christ, God's people
can be strong and of good courage. Why? Because our righteousness
and our justification is dependent on our Joshua and not us. Aren't you glad, Chris? Well,
I am. If it was dependent upon me,
I'd be in a heap of trouble. Only God can reveal to a sinner
this great mystery. God sent forth His Son, made
of a woman, made under the law. Why? To redeem them. To redeem who? Them that are
under the law. That's you and me. Why did He do that? That they
might receive the adoption of sons and daughters. And so lastly, what gives us
great assurance and confidence of our redemption in Christ.
Well, just that. Our confidence and our assurance
is in the success of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who cannot
fail. That's my confidence. It's in
Him. He cannot fail. I fail. I can't do anything right. I'm
not successful in anything spiritual. But He is. And this will most surely come
to pass because the Lord commanded it. Look at verse nine. Have
not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage,
be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God
is with thee, whithersoever thou goest. Now, how far do we take that?
Well, just far as you can. He's with us everywhere we go. Every situation. Every trial. Every trouble. Every sickness.
He's with us. What God purposes always comes
to pass. There's no reason for us to be
afraid. That's what He said here. There's no reason for us to be
dismayed. And I'm here to tell you that I'm of good courage
tonight. Not in my ability, not in my
works, no. I don't find any comfort there. Definitely not in my faithfulness
and definitely not in my righteousness. I'm confident in the success
of my Joshua. He who was and is and always
be faithful to me. I'm confident in my Joshua who
provides for me a perfect righteousness. I have great confidence for one
reason, for the Lord God is with me wherever I go. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil. Because
thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. That's
our comfort. Turn with me to Psalm 139 and
I'll finish. 139, look at this. Psalm 139, look at verse one. Oh Lord, Thou hast searched me and known
me. Thou knowest my down-sitting
and mine uprising. Thou understandest my thought
afar off. Thou compassest my path and my
lying down and art acquainted with all my ways. Look at verse
four. There's not a word in my tongue,
but lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it all together. Thou hast beset me behind than
before and laid thy hand upon me. And such knowledge is too
wonderful for me, it's high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit,
or whither shall I flee from thy presence? Why, if I ascend
unto heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold,
thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the outermost parts of the sea, even there, now look
at this, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand
shall hold me. In the hand of God. Nothing more sure, certain, and
comforting than that.