If you would turn with me to
Joshua chapter 6. I had intended originally this
week to start chapter 7, but in reading over chapter 6, I
got stuck on the last verse of the chapter, verse 27. But before
we read it, I want to start tonight by asking you a question. And
this is a question that I've asked myself all week long. Do
you believe that God is with us. Those of you who profess
to trust in Christ, who I might add is God. He is God. Do you believe that God is with
you? Has God given you the faith to truly believe that? Now we've seen over and over
again, not only from the whole of Scripture, but especially
in this study on Joshua, that God's people, Israel, believed
that God was with them. The snow was melting in the mountains
and it's flooding the Jordan River. The water's overflown
the banks. what would cause the priest carrying
the Ark of the Covenant to get into the water and stand still
in a strong current in a raging river. They believed God was
with them. And that answer is faith. They believed God and
they knew that God was with them. Now Joshua told the people, when
you see the priests go before you, carrying the Ark of the
Covenant, you follow after them. And we've seen that Christ's
picture, the Ark of the Covenant picturing Christ, that we're
to follow after Him and Him alone. What would cause men, women,
children, About a millions, there were
millions of these folks to get into that water. Same answer,
faith. They believed that God was with
them and they believed what God had told Joshua for they knew
that God was with them. Just as simple as that, faith. It was by faith that Joshua believed
God and it was by faith that the people believed Joshua. And in Joshua chapter 3, you
don't have to turn there, we'll look at some other verses there
in a moment. He told the people, he said,
you come here and you hear the word of the Lord, your God. He's your God. He's my God, the
God, the only God, the only true God. And that's what they did. And I believe that's the reason
that you're here tonight. You've come to hear again, not
the words of a sinful man, but to hear a word from the Lord,
your God. That's our reason for coming.
to hear again from the Lord. That's the reason that I pray
my heart's desire is God don't let me stand alone. If you hear
only me, you won't hear anything. And that's what we all need.
We need to hear a word from the Lord our God. We need to hear the message of
redemption. Tell me the story of Jesus. Write on my heart every word.
Tell me that story most precious. What a precious story it is. God's people need to hear a word
from the Lord. And I'll tell you this, a believer
in Christ won't have to be coerced or forced in any way to hear
the precious message of the gospel. It's food necessary for spiritual
life. None of us who desire to live
physically go without physical food, do we? Don't go without
drink. No, a true child of God desires
to taste again from that bread from heaven. water of eternal
refreshing. The Word of God is not to be
a book to be understood by human wisdom or logic. If a man or
woman approaches it in that way, they'll never gain anything from
it. It's foolishness to the natural
man. The natural man doesn't receive
the things of God. They're spiritually discerned.
God's Word is to be believed by faith, and that is a gift
of God. Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing how? By the Word of God. Romans 10,
17. God's people crossed Jordan by
faith. They believed what God had told
them, and they believed that God was with them. And this is
the only way that you and I will pass from death to life. So let
me ask again. Let me ask me. I'm asking myself,
do I believe that God is with me? It's the only way that we'll
enter into God's land of promise. Do we believe what God says in
this book? All Scripture is given by inspiration
of God. And if we do believe it, a child
of God knows that it was God giving faith that they believe
it. God gave us the faith to believe it. Joshua 3. Look at
verse 5. Joshua says to the people of
Israel, he said unto the people, sanctify yourselves, and notice
these words, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you. He's going to do wonders among
you. And you know what? They believed him. They believed
him. Look down at verse 10. Hereby, Joshua said, hereby you
shall know that the living God is what? Among you. And that
He will without fail. Notice those words, without fail.
God cannot fail. And He will without fail drive
out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the
Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
All your enemies, God will do away with. And the child of God
is made here to see the object of our faith. What was the object
of the people of Israel's faith? Look at verse 11. Behold. That word means give earnest
attention and consideration. Behold the ark of the covenant
of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into
Jordan. And God's preachers stand and
say, Behold. the Son of God. Christ has passed
over before you from the certain death of the Jordan River into
life, into the land of promise. The child of God knows that God
will do all things without fail, for they know that all His promises,
as Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 1, verse 20, all the promises
of God in Him in Christ are yea, certain, for sure, and amen. So be it. But it's in Him. Don't miss that. God's love is
in Christ. God's grace and mercy is in Christ. And it was by faith and believing
God's word that was given to Joshua that they all crossed
safely. It was their, in one sense of
the word, obedience and faith that God dried the waters up. And it's by believing the word
of God from our Joshua, the Lord Jesus Christ, that all his chosen
will cross Jordan safely. That's our only hope, looking
to Him that goes before us. It was by faith and obedience
to the commandment of God that the children of God marched around
Jericho. To the natural man, that would
have seemed ridiculous. How are we going to take the
city, Joshua? Are we going to send the men
of war? Are we going to climb ladders and go over the wall?
Are we going to dig under it? He said, no, we're going to march
around it. We're going to blow the trumpet, the ram's horn,
and we're going to be quiet. We're going to do that for six
days. And on the seventh day, we're going to walk around it
seven times, blow the ram's horn, and we're going to shout. And
the walls are going to fall flat. The world would say that's the
most ridiculous thing I ever heard. The child of God said,
I believe that. I believe that because God's
with us. God is with us. Why did the walls fall? Can you
tell me that? One word answer. It was by faith. That's what Hebrews 11.30 says.
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down. That's pretty plain,
isn't it? Pretty direct answer. After they
were compassed about seven days. We saw last week that it was
by faith that Rahab the harlot was saved alive. By faith. Believe in God. By faith the harlot ray had perished
not with them that believed not when she had received the spies
with peace." Now I know that all these things happened by
the grace of God. But it's through faith which
is the gift of God. We're saved by grace, how? Through
faith. It's the gift of God, not by
works, lest any man should boast. In Hebrews 11.6, that wondrous
chapter that is a chapter about faith. By faith, Moses. By faith, the walls fell. By faith, Rahab. By faith. Hebrews 11.6 says, but without
faith it's impossible to please Him. We can't please God without
faith in His Son. For he that cometh to God must
believe that He is. Believe that He's what? Believe
that He's God. He's the God of all grace. He's the God who gives
saving faith. It's not of yourselves. Oh, that
people would stop looking to themselves, looking to their
will, their way to be saved, and look to the only One who
can save. Has God given you this faith?
Has God given me this faith? Now listen closely. If He has,
then you'll come and you'll hear the Word of the Lord your God.
And that's why I said you're here tonight. Outside of Christ,
we can't keep God's holy law. His commandment is just this. He says, come unto me, all you
that labor and are heavy laden, I'll give you rest. Heavy laden
with sin. Laboring over our sin. If it's
heavy on you, come unto me. That's God's commandment. Yet
we cannot come we will not come and we cannot come unless God
make us willing in the day of his power Would our Lord tell
those in John chapter 15? He simply said I'm the vine and
you're the branches and without me you can do Some things few
things one or two things no nothing So I mean you can do nothing
We're helpless and hopeless if we don't believe that God's with
us. That's just the truth. Paul said in Philippians 4.13
though, and there's no controversy here, there's no contradiction.
He said, I can do all things through Christ who strengthened
me. Now as I said, tonight I want
us to look at that last verse of chapter 6, verse 27. And it begins like this, So the
Lord was with Joshua. He was with him. And his fame
was noise throughout all the country. The Lord was with Joshua. And I want us to consider this
amazing statement and how it applies to you and me. God Almighty
was with Joshua. Joshua was with God's people.
So God was with His people. And God is with His precious
and beloved Son. What did God thunder from heaven?
This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-placed, hear ye Him.
Jesus Christ, our Joshua. And God, who is in Christ, is
with His people. When our Lord ascended into glory,
He gave this precious promise to all those that seen Him ascend. He said, I'm with you always. I'm with you, always, even unto
the end of the world. Amen. So be it, he said. Matthew 28, 20. God is with those
whom Christ is with. For another reason also, He is
God. Now, if you will, turn with me
to Matthew chapter 1. Matthew chapter 1, verse 23.
Just one verse. Behold, a virgin shall be with
child, and shall bring forth a son, and notice these next
words, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted
is, what? God with us. God with us. Oh, what a comfort to know that
elect sinners have God with them. I know that God is with me, but
Lord help my unbelief. You see, by any other name than
Jesus Christ, it wouldn't be as sweet. No other name can fairly
describe His work of saving His people from their sins. The word
Jesus itself, the same as Joshua, means Savior. In order for a
sinner to be saved, God's going to have to be with them. The
Word was made flesh and did what, Ray? Dwelt among us. That's being
with us, isn't it? He dwells among us, John 1.14.
And because He dwells among us by God's grace, we behold His
glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full
of grace and truth. That's your hope. That's your
hope. That's my hope. That's all believers hope. And
this small phrase, for lack of a better term, God with us, it
entails more than our puny little minds can take in. When it's
broken down in two parts, I think we can more clearly see its matchless
beauty. First, we can consider just the
word God. You dwell on that for a minute.
We see who that is that is with us. That makes all the difference
in the world. And say the preacher's with us,
the Pope's with us, the priest is with us, there's God with
us. That makes all the difference. Now some may say, you mean to
tell me that you believe that God and man can be in one person? I don't understand it. But you
and I rest our souls on the fact that that's the truth. God became
a man. The Word was with God and the
Word was God and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. We rest our soul on that divine
truth. Job said, who can by searching
find out God? It has to be revealed. It has
to be made effectual to our hearts. It was God who laid in Bethlehem's
manger. Emmanuel, God with us. It was
God who was carried around as an infant in a woman's arms.
It was God that lived a life of suffering and died on the
cross wrongfully accused, falsely convicted and condemned in the
place of His chosen people who deserved that awful penalty. And at the same time, He was
upholding all things by the power of His Word. God's hanging on
the cross, dying for His chosen people, and all the while, as
God, He's upholding all things by the Word of His power. That's
unfathomable. My natural puny little thigh-like
mind can't understand that, but God gives us a heart to believe.
If this were not so, there'd be no hope for any of us. You
see, it's who died that makes the difference. Who maketh thee
to differ from another? God did. God did. It's who died that saves and
justifies the elect of God. And when we, by grace, are given
true revelation of these things, we'll truly stand amazed, as
the song says, in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene. You know why? Jesus the Nazarene
is God with us. The word God alone. Just the
word God. If God gave a man any inkling
of understanding, the word God alone should strike our hearts
with terror. God. Holy. Holy. Righteous. Just. Angry with the
wicked every day. But God with us? That inspires
us, doesn't it? That inspires us with hope and
confidence. And may we admire and be comforted
by this wondrous truth. God is with us. That same God
who told Moses at the burning bush, He said, Moses, back up. You take your shoes off. You're
standing on holy ground. Is now found in the body of a
frail child. It was God who made Himself of
no reputation. And He took upon Him the form
of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. God did
that. And He did it for you. And He did it for me if we be
His chosen people. And may we never forget or take
for granted that we're redeemed by the blood of God who is with
us. It was God's blood that was shed.
The blood of bulls and goats doesn't get the job done. It
was the precious blood of Christ that was shed that covers our
sins forever. He was made to be sin for us
that we might be made the righteousness of God where? In hell. and healed. He who spoke all things into
existence. He that created all things for
His own glory. He who redeems those whom He
chose before time was. And He who took on the nature
of one of His creatures, sin excluded. He's Immanuel. He's God with us. He is the only
one who's ever been self-existent. self-sustaining, and he condescended
to be a baby who grew into a small child, a young man, subjecting
himself to parents. He was obedient to his parents.
God was. You know why? Because he kept
God's law perfectly. Honor your father and your mother.
I can assure you he did. I can assure you he did. He's our example in all things.
And as a man, He was tempted in all points as we are, yet
without sin. Christ was and is God with us. And I'm going to tell you something.
This is what blows my mind. Just as He was with Moses, Abraham,
Joseph, Isaac, Jacob, Joshua, David, Solomon, I typed in the
concordance, God was with him, and all these different ones
came up. The ones that I mentioned, Moses,
Abraham, Joseph, God was with him, it said. And God was with
him. God was with him. But he is also
with his elect people. It's amazing. God loves you just
as much as He loved Moses, and Abraham, and Isaac, and Solomon,
and David. Just as much. Because He loved
them in Christ, and that's where He loves us, in Christ, in Christ
alone. Even now, Christ loves His people
as He did David, whom He said was the apple of His eye, and
the love of His heart. Now I wonder, and there again
I'm speaking of myself only, do I really believe that? If
I did, I'd wonder if I would act as I do. Just this week,
don't have to think back far to find unbelief in my life,
just this week. I've had phone trouble, car trouble,
appliance trouble, and shamefully I acted as a man that has no
faith in God and Christ at all, even the light afflictions. I'm
not even sure these things qualify as light afflictions. But even
light afflictions of this life expose our unbelief. I found
a verse in Psalm 119, verse 71. David said, it is good for me
that I've been afflicted. And then he went on to say that
I might learn by statute. That I might learn that way.
That's why God sends trouble. That's why God sends affliction.
To teach us something. To teach us that we might learn
His ways. Even so, in salvation, it was
when God sent trouble to my soul and my heart, and I saw that
I was lost. I saw that there was no hope
for me. That I deserved what God's Word
said I was about to get. He that believeth not is condemned
already. This is what I deserve. The wages
of sin is death. That's what I deserved. And yet,
in that trouble of soul, it was good for me that I was afflicted.
Because I learned. I learned that God is not willing
that any of his people should perish, but that all should come
to repentance. And God taught me. David said,
it's good. It was good for me that I was
afflicted. Oh, may I remember that the next
time some small trial comes my way. And I pray that God give
me the grace to believe it if a big one ever really comes. It's good for me that I've been
afflicted that I might learn. Our Lord said, by inspiration
in Hebrews 13, verse 5, He said, Let your conversation be without
covetousness and be content with such things as you have. For
He has said, here's my comfort now, I will never leave thee
nor forsake thee. I wonder if I've ever really
truly been content. I wonder if I've ever truly been
content without coveting. Look back at Joshua chapter,
look at chapter 1 for a minute. God told Joshua here in chapter
1 verse 5, There shall not be any man able to stand before
thee all the days of thy life. And notice those next words.
As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. I will not fail
thee nor forsake thee. God's with us. Look down at verses
16 and 17 of chapter 1. And here we see the faith of
God's people. Joshua had told the folks what
God had told him, and they answered Joshua saying, All that thou
commandest us, we will do. And whithersoever thou sendest
us, we will go. According as we hearkened unto
Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee only. And
that really would be better written probably because, we'll hearken
unto thee because the Lord thy God be with thee. As he was with
Moses. They knew he'd been with Moses.
Here comes Pharaoh's army and they're caught between them and
the Red Sea. And Moses said, you be still.
You be still. And you're going to see the salvation
of the Lord. Look at chapter 3, verse 7. And the Lord said unto Joshua,
This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel,
that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with
thee. You see, God magnifies His beloved
Son in the sight of all His people. That's true Israel. God's people
are true Israel, that they may know that He's Emmanuel. He's
God with us. We may know, that's what He says
here, that they may know. Do you know that? I know it. We've seen Him in the still waters
of death. And we see that in Christ we
pass on dry ground into the land of promise. We've seen our enemies. Those 12 spies that went out
earlier when Moses was still alive came back and said, oh,
there are giants in the land. And Joshua and Caleb said, let's
go, let's go right now. Let's go take the land that God
gave." Why did they say that? They knew that God was with them.
And we've seen our enemies sin, death, the grave, the world,
defeated in our lives by the sound of the gospel trumpet. That one note blown time and
time again. Tell me the story of Jesus. Right
on my heart everywhere. The walls of our desperately
wicked and deceitful hearts fall flat with the shout of the glorious
message of Christ and Him crucified. Do they not? Man, there was a
wall of stone built around my heart. God knocked it down flat. with the sound of the trumpet
and the shout of the Gospel. So in considering these sayings,
we can see why, again, in chapter 6, verse 27, notice how it starts. It starts with that little word,
so. You see, in knowing these sayings,
so. So it is. So by God-given faith,
we must conclude, so the Lord was with Joshua. And his fame
was noise throughout all the country. The Lord Jesus Christ,
our Joshua, now listen, Emmanuel, it said in Matthew 1, which is
interpreted, and it's interpreted in your heart and mine, those
whom God has been pleased to reveal by divine revelation. It's interpreted in the hearts
of God's chosen elect people that God is with us. God is with
us. Now, I'm going to tell you something. I don't know any famous people
in this world. I don't. I've seen a few famous
people. I've seen actors in airports. I've seen musicians in concert. I've seen them, but I don't know
them. I don't know any famous people in this world. But I know
the most famous of all who sits on the throne, and all else fall
in comparison to him. I know the most famous of all,
and his fame is spread." What did verse 27 say? His fame was
noise throughout all the country. And this famous one that you
and I know, his fame is spread and shed abroad in the hearts
of his people. Romans 5 verse 5 says, "...and
hope maketh not a shame because the love of God is shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Ghost." which is given, given to us. I speak of none other, my dear
friends, than Emmanuel, who's God with us. Now, the next time
that a light affliction comes my way, I'm going to do my best
to remember that. If God be for us, who can be
against us? I think it's about time I start
acting like it.