at the promises of God. In many
ways, this is a very simple passage with lots of repetition. As we
read through it earlier, and I will read through these phrases
once again, you should see words repeated here. The Lord gave,
handed, and fulfilled. It's a simple
message of faith, and it is a simple message that this entire book
is built around. Everything that Joe was teaching
up to this point was pointing to this passage, and everything
after this point in Joshua points back to it. There's some who
say that it overreaches. I say to them, God never overreaches. Maybe we haven't seen in our
lives the fulfillment of the antitype, what is fulfilled by
the type here in its fullness, but we will. And these promises
are true. Everything here pulls together,
all the victories in the first dozen or so chapters that God
gave Israel plays into this. And in fact, if you were to go
back, and I didn't mark down the passage, but you'll notice
several times in the earlier chapters, and God gave them rest. And these were positioned at
particular points. And if you recall, as Joe was
looking through this passage, we went through the cities of
refuge, and then the cities that were given or allotted to the
Levites. And it's precisely because the
battles had been fought and the cities and the distributions
had been done that Joshua feels compelled here to talk to us
about the God who promises and the promises of God. So let's look first of all at
this God who promises. If you read through the text
again, or you give me the ability to scan through it here quickly,
verse 43, the Lord gave. Verse 44, the Lord gave. Second part of verse 44, the
Lord handed all their enemies over to them. And verse 45, not
one of all the Lord's good promises to the house of Israel failed.
I believe the phrase that was used in the teaching here was,
this isn't a team effort. What God promises, he does. In fact, if you are following
or anyone is following a pattern of belief where God does his
part and you do your part, you're barking up the wrong tree. God
is the one who gives. The covenant name Yahweh is used
here over 200 times. and the majority of the ones
that I looked at talk about what God was doing for the nations. And in fact, if you think about
the promises that led up to this point, the promises that go all
the way back to Abraham, it was what God was gonna do. God didn't
have Abraham walk through the divided sacrifice with him. He put Abraham to sleep because
he wanted to illustrate that this was a promise that he gave. And in fact, we read later on
that this promise is a promise, in fact, if you want to look
at Joshua 1.9, or if you want to turn back there, you can.
I don't have the passage written out here, so give me a minute. Using old school technology. So, in verse number nine, I just have
to find my verse here. I'll back up a little bit here. He says to be strong and courageous
because you will lead these people, and he's giving this promise
to Joshua, to inherit the land I swore their forefathers to
give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law
my servant Moses gave you. Do not turn from it. to the right
or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this book of the law
depart from your mouth. Meditate on it day and night,
that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then
you'll be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be
strong and courageous. Do not be terrified. Do not be
discouraged. For the Lord your God will be
with you wherever you go. So looking back at this, God
had promised all the way up and including in this transitional
section of Joshua that he would be with them and he would lead
them in the land. And yes, the land promises to
Israel were conditional, but what they signify to us, what
they teach us about God and what they teach us about the promises
of God are not conditional. And we'll see a little bit of
that here as we go along. So as I said, the Lord gave here. We'll talk a little bit about
what's involved in these promises, and I'll put a spoiler in. I think if I had to alliterate
it, and if you preach, you need to alliterate at least once. God is giving them a place. and
God is giving them a peace. But who is this God? If you think
about the book of Exodus and Pharaoh, and when they're asking,
you know, God told me to tell you to let us go, what does the
Pharaoh say? Who is this Lord that I should
obey? Who is this Lord that I should
believe? Who is he? Many gods in those days. It seems
like we're returning to that and that may even be a question
for you and for me because we are Flesh we're human. We struggle we believe and yet
we can struggle with unbelief Who is God that he does this?
Well, first of all, as I said, he does it he is the one doing
it and As the hymn writer wrote, to
God be the glory, great things he hath done. As the Apostle
Paul says in 1 Thessalonians, the one who calls you is faithful
and he will do it. I think one of many marks of
true religion from false is where you place the emphasis on who's
doing the doing. Or as somebody said, is your
religion due or done, right? Do you need to do it or is it
that the Lord has done it for you? Well, secondly, under the God
who promises is a fact here given as a type that what he promises
he does comprehensively. Note once again in our passage,
take a look at it. The Lord gave Israel all the
land. The Lord gave them rest on every
side. And then from the negative standpoint,
not one of their enemies withstood them. The Lord handed all their
enemies over to them. And then again from the negative
standpoint, you have not one promise failed. And then again
from the positive, everyone was fulfilled. The writer here is
very careful to be repetitive. He's very careful to point out
not only is God the one who's doing the doing here, what he
does, he does comprehensively. He provides everything that we
need. He provided everything to his
old covenant people to fulfill the promise of land that he had
made to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob, and the same is
true for his covenant people today. Those of us who are under
the new covenant should know not only will God do it, he will
do it completely, comprehensively. Jesus paid it all. We're gonna
sing, I think, later, if I remember right. That's the phrase that we need
to understand, and interestingly enough, back again in 1 Thessalonians
5, may God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and
through. May your whole spirit, soul,
and body be kept blameless. That was Paul praying for the
Thessalonians, but he knew that what's needed is a complete salvation,
and we have a God who promises and comprehensively will provide
that complete salvation. Well to whom are these promises
given? Well in the book of Joshua it's
given to his old covenant nation Israel. It's given to his people.
It says the Lord gave Israel all the land that he had sworn
to give their forefathers. And it says later on that just
as he had sworn to their forefathers. And then in verse 45, not one
of all the Lord's good promises to the house of Israel failed. I realize for some people, this
is a stumbling block, but for me, it's a comfort because God
doesn't give us a hypothetical. He gives us his people in actual
salvation. He provides for it. He gives
us the faith. He provided the sacrifice himself,
just like illustrated in the life of Abraham. Jesus is his
name because he came to save his people from their sins. And
as Paul said, Christ loved the church. and gave himself up for
her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water
through the word. It was a certainty, it was comprehensive,
and obviously it was God-centered. But Joe might say, all that may
be academic. Talk to me about the God of love,
well our passage does talk to us about the God of love. It's hinted at here, and actually
the psalmist will show us a little bit later, I believe, referencing
this very section of scripture. But if you notice, it doesn't
say not one of all the Lord's promises, but it says not one
of all the Lord's good promises. to the House of Israel failed. God does what is good. God is merciful and compassionate
to his people because, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1, 3, and
4, he's a God of all comfort and a God of all compassion. Think about this, the people
who came into the land just obeyed God by faith and they inherited
these promises. They didn't merit them. They
didn't earn them. There wasn't a special strategy
that they used. I was listening to some of the
The studies that Joe went through is like seven measly trumpets. Do you really think seven measly
trumpets are the reason why they got into the land? No, it was
because their merciful, loving father ensured victory for them. If you like, you can turn over
to Psalm, I was gonna say back, but it's forward to Psalm And I'm gonna read from Psalm 44
here in just a moment. So Psalm 44, and I'm gonna start
at verse one, but the primary verse we'll look at is verse
three. We have heard with our ears,
oh God, our fathers have told us what you did in their days
in days long ago. With your hand, you drove out
the nations and planted our fathers. You crushed the people and made
our fathers flourished. It was not by their sword that
they won the land. Nor did their arm bring them
victory. It was your right hand, your
arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them. The special, specific, Love of
God for his people is the means by which he provides the victory. How would we continue, why would
we continue if we didn't believe in a God who promises, who cared
for us? I know for myself, There are times where it's difficult
to see the goodness of God, especially in light of recent events. But I know everything he does
for his people, he does for their good. He does it because he's
merciful, full of compassion and comfort. And he does it because
he's loving. He doesn't need our military
skill as it were. He doesn't need our strength,
that's what I understand by the word arm, but we need the strength
of God and he is the one loving us who wins the victory for us. So looking at this passage, like
I said, first I wanted to talk about the God who promises and
what God has promised, he is not only able to perform, he
will perform. But what is the promise given
here? And if you wanna turn back over
to Joshua, if you were, if you turned there, I'm gonna go back
and look at our text again. First of all, he talks to us
about a place. And again, we have to understand
that the covenant promises to Old Covenant Israel are a type
or a foreshadow of the promises that God gives to us under the
New Covenant. But if you note, the Lord gave
Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers. And
they took possession of it and settled there. Many passages
like I had alluded to already, Genesis 12, the Lord appeared
to Abraham and said to your offspring, I'll give this land. Deuteronomy
talks about this is a land that I promise on oath, but this is
not what we're looking forward to. We're not looking for a piece
of land, especially not now in Palestine, but not even a piece
of land in the Midwest. But the place, the fulfillment
of this is the city whose maker is God. And I believe Brother Moose talked
about this passage. I know he was in the Hall of
Faith, not the Hall of Fame, in Hebrews 11. If you want to,
you can turn over there. Hebrews chapter 11, and I will
start up at Verse eight. By faith, Abraham,
when called to go to a place he would later receive as his
inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where
he was going. By faith, he made his home in
the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country. He lived
in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him. and
of the same promise. Why did he do it? Verse 10, he
was looking forward to the city with foundations whose architect
and builder is God. And then if you want to skip
down to verse 14, people who say such things show that they
are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking
of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity
to return. Instead, they were longing for
a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed
to be called their God, for he has prepared a place for them. Our place isn't here. I mean,
it is right now. It is as long as God gives each
one of us breath and keeps us in this place. And I know we're
going to be saying goodbye to Gerald and Elaine today, moving
away from this place. But the place that I long for and that I pray all
of you long for is a place that Abraham is looking for here.
A place prepared for you by God, a better
country, a heavenly country. It's not easy, it's easy and
it's easier in our 70s flashback political landscape that we live
in today with inflation. I think all we need is Harvest
Gold shag rug and avocado refrigerators to go, we've got paneling so
we got that part covered, but to go back to the 70s. I don't want to be nostalgic
about things that don't matter. And I would be lying to you if
I said I didn't have concerns about finances, about health,
about relationships. But this isn't my home. As the
song goes, I'm just passing through. Sometimes that's more real than
others. Sometimes we see it dimly, but I pray that you, not from
a defeatist standpoint, but from a true longing standpoint, you
say, I want the place, I want to be where God wants me to be.
And ultimately, the place I want to be is in heaven with him. Joshua was seeing the greatness
of God's promises, but the greater Joshua has prepared
a place for us. He's gone ahead to prepare a
place for us, and there's many rooms there for each one of us. But it's not only a place, that's
promised here, and if you want to turn back to Joshua, there's
a piece that is part of God's promise here. The Lord, verse 44 of Joshua
21, gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their
forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood
them, the Lord handed all their enemies over to them. And this is part of the promise,
Genesis 22. 17, your descendants shall possess
the gates of their enemies. Exodus 33, my presence will go
with you and I'll give you rest. Deuteronomy 12, when you cross
over the Jordan and dwell on the land which the Lord is giving
you to inherit, he gives you rest. And of course, at the beginning
of Joshua, the promise was the Lord is the one who's giving
you this rest. Now, not every enemy was removed. In fact, if you continue to read
on, or if you were to look back, God had told them that they would
struggle with people in the land. And if you remember from earlier
in the book, there were people who weren't rooted out. And there
were the two and a half tribes that decided to stay outside
of the land of promise and didn't, get to fully experience the rest
that the people who crossed over did. And isn't that true of us today?
We can talk about being saved and talk about it in the past
tense, and that's a correct way to look at it. We can look at
our lives and say, I don't feel it today. I don't feel this rest
that you're talking about. I don't feel this peace that
you're talking about. I don't feel this victory over
all my enemies. And of course we know that the
last enemy is death. But God has told us that it is
so. And the God that we serve is
a God who fulfills His promises. So when He says that we're gonna
have peace, that we're gonna have a rest, that we're gonna
have victory over our enemies, we can know that it's true. And
while we may not experience it fully in this life, to the extent
that the Spirit that is renewed in us by the Spirit of God, is able to take hold of it. As a writer of the book of Hebrews,
I always like to say Paul, but Joe isn't here to argue with
me, so I can't say it too much. But Hebrews 4, 3, well, I'll
just start off at verse 1. Therefore, since the promise
of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of
you be found to have fallen short of it, for we also have had the
gospel preached to us just as they did, but the message they
heard was of no value, because those who heard it did not combine
it with faith. Now we who have believed enter
that rest. And I think from a typical standpoint,
you can read Joshua 21, and the chapters leading up to it, where
you have the victories that are there, and you have the distribution
of the land, but yet you have work ahead of you, and you can
say in this life, just like Joshua says to the people there, God's
fulfilled his promise, even though you don't have, ultimately, the
rest that's to come. Because salvation was accomplished
before the foundation of the world. Salvation was accomplished
at the cross. Salvation was accomplished in
each of us who believe when we were born again by the Spirit
of God and profess faith in Christ. but yet there is still something
future. So we are like the old covenant
people of God. We've crossed into a place of rest. We can
have communion with God now, but never as fully as we will
then. We who have believed enter that
rest. And as the writer of Hebrews
puts it, if Joshua, speaking of old covenant Joshua, had given
them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. And there remains then a Sabbath
rest for the people of God. And while it's good to take at
least one day off a week, he's not talking about Sunday. or
Saturday, he's talking about a rest in Christ. For anyone
who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God
did from his. Think about it. If in salvation
you are resting in Christ just like God did on the seventh day,
that's more than not loading your dishwasher on Sunday because
it's a Sabbath. It's ceasing from your works. That's the picture the writer
of Hebrews wants to give us based on the events of Joshua. Yes, he says, Joshua did not
give them the sort of rest to the extent that I'm talking to,
but there is another day, a greater rest, and the picture that he
brings in is that of creation. God didn't continue to create
day seven and onward. He said it was good, and it was
complete, and it was finished, and the same is true for us.
That is a rest we can enter into and a forsaking of our own works
and trusting fully and wholly on the works of God. Spurgeon said that Jesus, the
true Joshua, led them into acceptance of a perfect Acceptance and peace,
and since the discomforts of conviction and unpardoned sin
are over, he sits down under the vine and fig tree of gracious
promise and rejoices in Christ. Even when we don't feel that,
that's what we're called to do in the gospel. God's promises,
another writer says, remain the same for all time and every generation. Why? Because God is true to his
word. Such will be the triumphant testimony
of the whole church collectively and every Christian individually. In due season, in due season, all that God has promised spiritual
Israel will come to pass with regard
both to their present comfort and future felicity, and I'm
quoting. I don't use words like felicity,
I use other geeky words. All will be accomplished exactly
and perfectly as God has declared for all his promises are in Christ,
yes and amen. Do you believe it? I know a certain segment of Christianity
says, God promised it, I believe it, that settles it. And I know,
nope, don't say it that way. God promised it. That settles
it. And now I believe it. I pray that this week you'll,
if you have struggles, that you'll be reminded of the
God who promises and the promises of God. But James, can you come
lead us in closing him?