In January of 2014, we began
a study through the book of Joshua. And in our study through the
book of Genesis, we discovered how Israel, the nation Israel,
wound up in Egyptian bondage. In the book of Exodus, we also
saw how God delivered Israel from their Egyptian bondage. And then in the book of Numbers,
we saw how God, because of Israel's unbelief, caused them to wander
in the wilderness for 40 years before entering into the land
of promise. So I thought that eight years
later, it might be profitable for us again to go through the
book of Joshua, which gives us the account of Israel entering
into the land of promise that God had given them. And as I
reviewed some of my notes this morning, I told Teresa when we
pulled up, she said, that was just a couple of years ago we
went through Joshua. I said, it's been seven years,
eight years. But in reviewing the old notes,
it became obvious to me that we can glean afresh from the
handfuls of purpose that God has left for us in the story
of Joshua and his people. And may God be pleased. I sincerely mean that, to give
us fresh eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts to believe. Before you turn with me to the
book of Joshua, I want to invite your attention to Galatians chapter
three. And I want us to begin reading
here in verse 22, Galatians chapter three, verse 22. And while you're turning, let
me say that it's as if Paul here, in this passage of scripture,
was referring directly to what we're gonna read in the first
two verses of Joshua 1. Galatians chapter three, verse
22. Here Paul writes, but the scripture
The Bible, God's word, hath concluded all under sin, that the promise
by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. Now the scriptures, as I said,
God's word, that's what this is. It has concluded, and it's
correctly concluded, I might add, that all, every man and
woman ever born or that will be born were and are under sin. Why? Well, verse 22 says that
the promise by faith of Jesus Christ, in other words, Christ
faithfulness, not I, might be given to them that believe. If faith is not given, we'll
never believe. It has to be given. It's God's
gift to us. Well, what do we believe? Believe
what? That only Christ can put away our sin by the sacrifice
of himself and the shedding of his own blood. Our sin, we say
this often, is so true, but our sin is so horrific that it took
the blood of God himself to wash it and put it away. And that's
the only way a sinner can be saved. Believe, have faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt. Be saved. No ifs, ands,
and buts about it. It's a certain thing, a sure
thing. Acts 16, 31. It doesn't say believe on Christ
and keep the law. And it doesn't say believe on
Christ and do something. It says believe on Christ and
thou shalt be saved. Now notice what Paul writes here
in verse 23. He said, but before faith, that
still being the faith of Christ, came, We were kept under the
law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Why were we kept under the law?
It shuts us up to Christ as the only means of salvation. It shuts
us up to Christ, the faith of Christ, His faithfulness. And
verse 24 says, wherefore, the scriptures conclude, and the
believer agrees with the scripture, the law was our schoolmaster,
our instructor, our teacher, our tutor, to bring us unto Christ. You see, the law taught us that
keeping it couldn't save us. The law taught us that it had
to be kept perfectly. You gotta keep the law perfectly.
That's all that God will accept. It's nothing less than perfection.
The law taught us that only Christ could do that for us. That's
what shuts us up to the Lord Jesus. So then the law was our
schoolmaster and it taught us that we have to be what? We have
to be brought to Christ. we have to come to Him. After
all, He is our wisdom, He's our righteousness, He's our sanctification,
and He's our redemption. He's everything that God requires
and that makes Him Himself salvation. Verse 25, but after that faith
has come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. Why are we no
longer under a schoolmaster? That it might be revealed to
us that we are the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. Now, it's the gift, it's the
faith of Christ that saves us. That's what we read first. And
when he does, and when he gives us life, and he opens our blind
eyes, and he unstops our deaf ears, and he opens up our cold,
void hearts, we then have faith in Christ. But life has to come
first. No dead man has ever believed,
no dead woman ever has. And we see that we're redeemed
by His faithfulness, and then God gives us the faith, the full
confidence in Christ. to believe. We have faith in
the faithfulness of Christ. I guess that would be a good
way to say it. We have faith in Christ's faithfulness. We
have assurance that he did for us what we couldn't do for ourselves.
And we have confidence and we rest in his finished work. Well,
you use that word, David, a lot in explaining Christ's work. You call it finished. It is.
It's finished. And that's what gives us hope.
And that's what gives us assurance. And that's what gives us confidence
and rest. The work's finished. There's
nothing for us to do. Christ has done it for us. We
have faith in what Christ has done. We have confidence and
rest in his finished work. We have no confidence in our
flesh. In our flesh dwelleth no good thing. And because Christ
has finished the work, nothing for us to do but rest. Why is it so hard for us to rest?
Because by nature we want to do something, don't we? Salvation
is done. Righteousness for us is imputed. God's law is fulfilled. God's
justice is satisfied. Our redemption is finished. Our
warfare is accomplished. Our iniquity is pardoned. We've
received double for all our sins. And all these things that I just
mentioned are in the past tense. They're already done, done, done. Verse 27, for as many of you
as have been baptized into Christ, had put on Christ. Now that's
not talking about water baptism there. Water baptism is a picture
and a sign of what this is talking about. We've been baptized into
Christ. He says, as many of you as have
been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither
Jew nor Greek, there's neither bond nor free, there's neither
male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you be Christ, then you're
Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. And friends,
it was God, the Holy Spirit that inspired Paul to write these
words. And it was the same God, the
same Holy Spirit that inspired Joshua to write the words that
we'll look at tonight in Joshua chapter one. So now turn with
me to Joshua chapter one, if you would please. Joshua chapter
one, verse one. We read here, 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. Now therefore arise, go
over this Jordan, thou and all this people, unto the land which
I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Now, you
very well know this, but I have to mention it again in light
of our study here. The name Joshua is translated
in the Hebrew language as Jesus. In other words, Joshua is the
Hebrew interpretation for the Greek name, Jesus. And no doubt,
As we'll see, and as you already know, Joshua is a type of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And the book of Joshua is really
a story about how Christ leads his people and delivers his people
and procures for his people the land of promise. Remember that
only Joshua and Caleb, two of the original near two million
people, over the age of 20 that left Egypt. And who are these
two that are entering into the promised land? Joshua, Yahweh
who saves, and Caleb, the faithful dog, who enters into this land
of promise, the Savior and the sinner who trust in him. Now the time had come, Israel,
representing God's people, would possess the land that God gave
them. How did this come to pass? Well,
look back at Deuteronomy again, but this time chapter six. Hold your place in Joshua and
look back to Deuteronomy chapter six. I wanna read a couple of
verses here. Deuteronomy chapter six, beginning
in verse 10. Deuteronomy 6, verse 10 says,
and it shall be when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee
into the land, which he swear unto thy fathers, to Abraham,
to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities,
which thou buildest not. You didn't build these cities,
God given them to you. Verse 11, and houses full of
all good things, which thou fillest not. and wells dig, which thou
diggest not, and vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantest
not, when thou shall have eaten and be full. Now there are several
things to consider here. God tells Israel that the Lord
thy God has brought thee into this land. It's God that brought
them into this land. And friends, it's God that brings
us into the land of promise. God gives us a home that we did
not build. He built it. God fills our abode
with provisions that we did not fill. God gives us a well of
living water, that being a well that we did not dig. And Christ
is that well that never shall run dry. God gives continual
food with vineyards and olive trees that we did not plant. That's what God's saying here.
He's reminding us very clearly that we didn't have anything
to do with it. This is His land of promise. He gave it to us. It's no less ours, but we didn't
do anything to attain it. God feeds us with Christ, our
manna. And when we partake of Him, when
we eat of Him, We're full. We're so full. And this is the
story of God's elect. The story of all to whom God
has been gracious. The story of the salvation of
the believer's soul. The story of our deliverance
from this present evil world. That's what this is about. This
is the story of salvation by grace alone. And it all begins
as it must. It begins with the death of Moses. Moses, who represents the law. Well, he served the Lord. Moses, the law, has finished
his course. Moses, the law, has fulfilled
his purpose. And Moses, the law, is buried
outside of the land of promise. And as I read to you there in
Deuteronomy 34, He could not go into the land of promise.
Now is the time of Joshua. Now is the day of salvation. And now comes that faith that
should afterwards be revealed. Now comes entrance into God's
land of promise. You cannot come by obedience
to Moses. Moses is dead and you cannot
enter by keeping the law. You cannot enter by a work that
you do. The law requires perfect obedience. Being alive in Christ, we are
dead to the law. The law of Christ now hangs on
two things, loving God with all your being, and loving your neighbor
as yourself. The Lord Jesus said, these are
the two greatest commandments. Love the Lord thy God. That's
the first and the greatest. And the second one is likened
to it. Love your neighbor as yourself. On these two things
hang the whole law. These two commandments are not
given to bring about the possession of the land. No, they are given
for those who reside and abide in the land. It's not our love
for God and not our love for one another that saves us, it's
God's love for us that does. And the only condition for possessing
the land, the entrance into the land of promise is very, very
simple. Follow Joshua and the land is
yours. Follow Christ and the land is
yours. Moses had been Israel's schoolmaster. That's what Paul said. That's
what Paul was talking about. Moses was a servant chosen to
keep the people secure and to govern them until Joshua took
the governing position. Do we see the picture there?
Do we understand the type? The law, Moses was only a teacher. Joshua, our Lord Jesus, must
finish the work. And the government is now on
his shoulders. That's what Isaiah said in chapter nine, verse six.
He says, for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given,
and the government shall be upon his shoulder. Not the United
States government, even though he's in control of all of it,
but this is talking about the government of God's kingdom.
And verse seven says of that, of the increase of his government
and peace, there shall be no end. upon the throne of David
and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment
and with justice from henceforth even forever. Now God speaks
to Joshua. And Joshua speaks to the people. Joshua is now the mediator between
God and his people. Joshua is now the go-between.
And Christ is our one mediator between God and man. You know,
I found this very interesting. Joshua, as you know, is the son
of Nun. We used to make a little joke
years ago about who's the only man in the Bible that didn't
have a father or a daddy, and Joshua, the son of Nun. Ha ha. But Joshua, the son of Nun, I
found that name Nun actually means perpetuity. Perpetuity
means security without expiration. Perpetuity means the state of
lasting forever. Christ is God's eternal son. Joshua is the son of none. He's
the son of security without expiration. Christ is the believer's eternal
surety, the child of God's eternal security. And we can rest in
Him, knowing that our salvation is secure. Joshua is often referred
to in the book of Exodus and the book of Numbers as the servant
of Moses, or Moses' minister, as he is in Joshua 1. And did not Christ our Lord serve
the law and fulfilled every jot and tittle of the law for the
people that God gave him to save. Yes, he did. He fulfilled the
law. And that's what Paul told the
church at Galatia. He said, but when the fullness
of time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made
under the law to redeem them that were under the law, that
we might receive the adoption of sons. Oh, if I'm ever to be
a son of God, if you're ever to be a child of God, we're gonna
have to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ who was made unto us wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. And that's what
the Lord told Isaiah. He said, the Lord is well pleased
for his, Christ's, righteousness sake. And he will magnify the
law and make it honorable. And that's what he did. That's
what he did. Now, look at verse two here in
Joshua chapter one. He says very plainly, God speaking,
he says, Moses, my servant is dead. And then notice that next
little word, now. Moses is dead. Now, what are
you gonna do? Now, therefore arise, go over
this Jordan, thou and all this people into the land which I
do give to them even to the children of Israel. And what a great picture
here, type of the great commission that God gave His Son. It's here that we can listen
in on that heavenly conversation between the Father and the Son
in eternity past. And a very important word to
notice there in verse two is that little word now. That little
three letter adverb, why it entails so very, very much. There is
therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.
Now the hour has come, the Lord Jesus said in John 17, one. Now is the day of salvation,
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 6, verse two. In Hebrews 9, 24,
it tells us, for Christ has not entered into the holy places
made with hands, which are the figures of the true, but into
heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us. Boy,
that little word takes on greater meaning when we consider it in
that light. And God says, Moses, my servant,
is dead. Moses' time is over. Moses' day
is done. His appointment has been met.
He served his purpose. Now, oh Joshua, now is your time. In verse two, now, therefore,
arise. Arise, David, the psalmist wrote. Arise, O son of righteousness,
with healing in thy wings. Arise, O day star, in the heart
of thy people. Arise, O God, judge the earth,
for thou shalt inherit all nations. Psalm 82a. What about this one? Thou shalt arise and have mercy
upon Zion for the time to favor her. Yeah, the time is come. Psalm 132, eight. Arise, O Lord,
into thy rest, thou and the ark of thy strength. Psalm 132, eight. And again, verse two, arise. What do you want me to do, Lord?
Joshua asked, arise, go over this Jordan, thou and all this
people into the land, which I do give to them, even the children
of Israel. Now, that word Jordan, speaking
of the Jordan River, means in the Hebrew language, descender. Jordan is a picture of death. God has seen a rise to descend. Well, what do you mean by that? Well, that's exactly what our
Lord did. Christ made himself of no reputation. He who was God, he who sat upon
the throne of God, made himself of no reputation. He took on
the form of a servant. He left heaven's throne to become
a man. and become subject to all the
things that man is subject to. Oh, what a condescension that
the Lord our God may arise to die in the room instead of your
people. And the Lord said, if I be lifted
up, I'll draw all men to myself. And this, he said, signifying
his death, that he should die. But these words are directed
to Joshua. And these words were directed
to our Lord Jesus Christ. We sung that song a little earlier.
Lifted up was he to die. It is finished was his cry. Now in heaven he descended and
now he's ascended again. And now in heaven exalted high.
What does the believer say? Hallelujah. What a Savior, and
what a Savior He is. God directs Joshua, and Joshua
directs the people. Joshua would tell his people
to follow, and like a sheep follows the shepherd, God's sheep follow
their good shepherd. God says that Joshua arrives,
and it's Joshua who must cross over Jordan. Did you hear me? It's Joshua who must cross over
Jordan. Isn't that what the Lord Jesus
Christ did? He gave His life, a ransom for many. Arise, Joshua. Joshua, by his journey through
Jordan, will secure and attain the promise for the people. Oh,
what a picture. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Who
is He that condemns? It's Christ that died and has
risen. Who shall separate us from the
love of God? Nothing or no one shall be able
to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. God says, thou and all this people. Everyone, now listen, everyone
for whom Joshua goes over this Jordan must be found in the promised
land with him. He won't lose a one, not a single
one. Just as our Lord declared, all
that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and they ever one
will, every single one. How do I know if I'm one of God's
elect? Well, that's not really the question.
The question is, what think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? Are you trusting in him for salvation? If you are, then you're one of
God's elect. As Joshua descends into the Jordan,
his people descend with him. Again, hold your place here in
Joshua, and turn over to Romans chapter six with me. I know I'm
turning you to a few passages here, but these are worthy for
us to take the time to do so. Romans chapter six, like I said,
keep your finger there in Joshua one, and look at verse three,
Romans three. Romans, excuse me, Romans 6 verse
3. Romans 6 verse 3. Know ye not that so many of us
as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his dead.
That's what that was referring to earlier when we mentioned
that. And therefore, we are buried with him by baptism unto death,
that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory
of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together
in the likeness of his dead, we shall also in the likeness
of his resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man
is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed,
that henceforth we should not serve sin. Look down at verse
eight. Now, if we be dead with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him. And then verse
11 says, likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed
unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Joshua, our Joshua, the Lord
Jesus Christ, walked through death for us. He died, the just
for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. My, what a glorious
thought. Back to Joshua chapter one, again,
verse two. He says, go unto the land that
I do give them. Did you notice the emphatic language
here used by our God? He said, I gave this land to
them. I'm giving this land to them,
and I'll continue to give it to them. I immediately, when
I read that, one of the old writers said that, I immediately thought
to myself, we are saved and we're being saved. When Joshua goes
over this river of Jordan, the promise of this Testament, this
promise is in full force. And he says, even unto the children
of Israel. Now, remember what Paul said
in Romans chapter two, that's not talking about the nation
of Israel. For he is not a Jew, which is
one outwardly, neither is that circumcision, which is outward
in the flesh, but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly. And circumcision
is that of the heart. in the Spirit, and not in the
letter of the law, whose praise is not of men, but of God. Romans
9, verse 7 and 8, Paul wrote, neither because they are the
seed of Abraham are they all children, but in Isaac shall
thy seed be called. That is, they which are the children
of the flesh, these are not the children of God, It's because
you were a descendant of Abraham didn't make you one of God's
children, but the children of the promise are counted for the
seed. Philippians 3, 3 says, for we
are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit and we rejoice
in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. Oh, I'm so thankful
that God did not leave us to ourselves. That would have been
certain death. I cannot come to Christ for life.
I will not come to Christ for life. It's not of Him that willeth. Well, how then are we born again?
Not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man.
Then how? But of God. It's God that saves
us. Salvation's of the Lord. I'm
so glad that salvation's of the Lord. What is man that thou art
mindful of him? What is man that God would be
mindful of him? Man is nothing. Man has nothing. Man can do nothing. All spiritual
blessings in heavenly places are in the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's where they're found. And I've got to be in him. I've
got to have Him. That's all a believer wants to
hear. And that's the only hope that a believer has. And Christ
is the only peace. He's that peace which passes
all understanding, that keeps our hearts and our minds through
Him. He's our only peace. Come unto
me and I'll give you rest, He said. Jesus Christ is our only
rest. So my encouragement to you and
me tonight is the same. God now speaks to us through
our Joshua, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is my beloved son, God said,
hear ye him. Have you heard him? Have you
heard his voice? Have you heard him say, all ye
that labor and are heavy laden, come unto me and I'll give you
rest? If you have, come. And God will give you rest. He's
not a man that he should lie. He's not a son of man that he
should repent or change his mind. He's God. He's faithful that
promised. You can trust him. Whatever he
promises, he's able to fulfill. And he does. God says, Moses,
the law, my servant. That's what the law was. It was
God's servant. But he says he's dead. Now, therefore
arise, go over this Jordan, thou and all this people into the
land, which I do give them even unto the children of Israel."
You know, soon the time will come for us all to cross over
Jordan. It's coming quickly. For some
of us, may not be too long from now. And it'll be our Joshua. the Lord Jesus, who leads us
to the home that he's prepared for us. That's what he said.
He said, I'm gonna leave you now, but I'm going to prepare
a place for you so that where I am, you might be with me. That's
what makes heaven heaven, isn't it, brothers and sisters? That
Christ himself is there. And we'll see him face to face.
And it's then that we'll follow him across Jordan's River into
a land that flows with milk and honey.