Tonight, if you will, in the
book of Joshua, chapter number 23. Joshua, chapter 23, and I want
to begin tonight reading verse 14. And behold, this day I am going
the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts
and in all your souls that not one thing hath failed of all
the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you. All are come to pass unto you,
and not one thing hath failed thereof. These words that I've
just read are some of the last words of Joshua. some of the
last words that we have of his, that he spoke very near the end
of his life. We know this from what we just
read where he said, this day I'm going the way of all the
earth. And if you look back to chapter,
to verse 1 in this chapter we read, and it came to pass a long
time after that the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all
their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken
in age. He didn't die on this very day
that he gave these words of our text, but these were some of
the last words that he wrote, that he spoke. I like to think
of them somewhat like David's words in 2 Samuel chapter 23,
where it says, these be the last words of David. But then we know
there's a couple of more chapters that follow and we have words
of David. But they were very near the end
of his life when he spoke those words. And the same is true here. This was very near the end of
Joshua's life. And I want you to notice that
Joshua speaks of death as a journey. He said, I am going the way.
We all journey through this world to what the Lord Jesus Christ
called on several occasions, the world to come, the world
to come. In Hebrews chapter six and verse
five, we read of those who have tasted the good word of God and
the powers of the world to come. Death is the way of all the earth,
all men. As Joshua said, this day I am
going the way of all the earth. I'm journeying. We talk of life
as a journey, but Joshua here speaks of death also as a journey
to the world that is to come. In the New Testament, the Apostle
Paul tells us that we have all sinned and come short of the
glory of God. and that the wages of sin is
death. It is appointed unto men once
to die. And in Ecclesiastes, Solomon
reminds us there is no discharge in that war. There's no discharge
in that war. It is appointed unto all men
once to die. Death, Joshua says, is a journey. I'm going the way of all the
earth. And Joshua calls the nation of
Israel, the elders, the leaders of this nation, he calls them
all together to record, and he says, this you know in your hearts
and in your souls. I thought about this. He doesn't
give them any wiggle room, as people like to say. He doesn't
give them any wiggle room. He says, not one thing. This you know. Look at the text
again. And behold, this day I am going
the way of all the earth, and you know, you know, in all your
hearts, and in all your souls. No wiggle room. You know this. Not one good thing hath failed
of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning
you. All, all are come to pass unto
you, and not one thing hath failed thereof. Now, I looked at this
verse of scripture a few weeks or a few months ago, actually,
and I thought, what are some of the good things that Joshua
had in mind when he called these elders to record that not one
good thing had failed of all the good things which the Lord
your God spoke concerning you? What were some of the good things
that they knew and they could not deny? that these things had
come to pass. Not one thing had failed. Well,
I thought of these three things. First of all, the number of the
children of Israel had increased to a great number. The number,
the population of the nation of Israel had increased to a
great number. In Exodus chapter 1 and verse
5, we are told All the souls that came out of the loins of
Jacob were 70 souls, for Joseph was already in Egypt." In other
words, when Jacob, remember his son Joseph, became the prime
minister of Egypt, and he supplied food for the family. And when
Jacob and all of his family came down, we're told there were 70.
That's a large family. Seventy that came down into Egypt. But they became like the stars
of heaven for multitude. You can't deny that every good
thing that God has declared concerning you has come to pass. Look back with me into Deuteronomy
chapter 10. in Deuteronomy chapter 10. And
these were some of the last words, of course, of Moses that we have
in the book of Deuteronomy. And this was just before they
crossed over Jordan to go into the land of Canaan. And the leadership
of the nation was changed from Moses to Joshua. But God had
told them God had promised Abram that his descendants would come
as the stars of the heavens. And here in Deuteronomy chapter
10 and verse 22, this is just before they go over into the
land of Canaan. Thy fathers went down into Egypt
with three score and 10 persons, 70 people, and now the Lord thy
God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude. One of the things that surely
would be included in all the good things is that the nation
of Israel had multiplied as God had promised, as God has foretold. From 70 plus Joseph's family
who were already in Egypt, now they have become as the stars
in the heavens for multitude. A second thing that surely would
be included, the nations of Canaan could not stand before Israel. If you still have your Bibles
open there in Deuteronomy chapter 10, look over in chapter 11 and
verse 25. There shall no man be able to
stand before you. You're going into this land.
And there's not any nation, there's not any army that will be able
to stand against you. There shall no man be able to
stand before you, for the Lord your God shall lay the fear of
you and the dread of you upon all the land that you shall dread
upon, as he has said unto you. Remember when those spies went
into the house of Rahab, she told them, we have heard We have
heard of what your God did to the land of Egypt. God put fear in the hearts of
those people there in Canaan, so much so that, as God here
told through Moses, no man would be able to stand against them.
In other words, they were promised complete, absolute victory over
all their enemies. They go over Jordan, miraculously,
as God opened the Jordan River up for them, just like He had
done before, the Red Sea. And they go over on dry land,
and the first city they come to, you know, is Jericho. And
Jericho was a well-built, well-fortified city, and yet they could not
stand before the nation of Israel. They march around it seven days,
don't they? And on that seventh day, seven
times, and with the ram's horns and the shout, the walls come
down. Now it is true that the next
battle they went to, they went up to a smaller city by the name
of Ahi, and they were defeated. But it wasn't because God did
not have power, and it wasn't because God would not deliver
the city of Ahai into their hands, it was because of sin. Remember that man by the name
of Achan. When he saw, I believe it was
a wedge of gold and some Babylonian garments in Jericho, all of that
city was under the curse. And he took some home and he
hid it in his tent. And nobody knew about it. but
God. And so they go up. It's not funny,
but they go up. And they think there's no need
in the whole army going up against this small place. And they're
defeated. But it wasn't because God's promise
had failed. It was because of sin in the
camp. So that's two things. When Joshua
says, not one good thing hath failed of all the good things
which the Lord your God spake concerning you, surely it would
include the fact that this nation had developed under the blessing
of God into a very large nation. And number two, that when they
came into the land, they defeated Nation after nation after nation. And here's a third thing. The
land of Canaan was given to them as their possession. Look in
Joshua chapter 11 with me. The land of Canaan was given
to them as their possession. One good thing. have failed of
all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning
you. God promised them this land. And chapter 11 of Joshua and
verse 23. We read, so Joshua took the whole
land according to all that the Lord said unto Moses, and Joshua
gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their division
by their tribes, and the land rested from war. And look also in Joshua 21, Joshua chapter 21, And verse 43, the scripture says,
and the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he swore to
give unto their fathers, and they possessed it and dwelt therein. Now included in this, I would
also mention the promise of the houses. They were promised houses
to live in, wells from which to drink water, and vineyards
from which to harvest. Look back in Deuteronomy with
me again, chapter six. Deuteronomy chapter six and verse 10. And it shall be, when the Lord
thy God shall have brought thee into the land, which he sware
unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give
thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildest not, and
houses full of all good things, which thou fillest not, and wells
digged, which thou diggest not, venues, and olive trees, which
thou plantest not, when thou shalt have eaten and be full. So the promise of the land would
certainly include that. Now go back to our text where
we began in Joshua chapter 23. Our text was verse 14. And behold
this day I'm going the way of all the earth and you know in
all your hearts and in all your souls that not one good thing
hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake
concerning you, all are come to pass unto you, and not one
thing hath failed thereof. Therefore it shall come to pass
that as all good things are come upon you which the Lord your
God promised you, so shall the Lord bring upon you all evil
things. until he have destroyed you from
off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you.
When you have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God,
which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods and
bowed yourselves to them, then shall the anger of the Lord be
kindled against you and you shall perish quickly from off the good
land which he hath given unto you. Now, the promises of good
things and also the promises of evil things. Not one good
thing, Joshua says, has not come. And take this to heart, not one
evil thing either. you are not going to experience
when you turn away from God and seek and serve other gods. Now, what are some of the truths?
What are some of the truths for us to take from these words of
Joshua? Well, there are three truths
that stand out to me and I believe will stand out to all of us.
First of all, The faithfulness of God stands out to us. The
faithfulness of God. Every good thing, every good,
not one good thing has failed. Every good thing that God has
promised would come to pass, did come to pass. Why? Because
God is faithful. God is faithful. Moses told the
children of Israel in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 7 and
verse 9, Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God the
faithful God. The faithful God. You know, faithfulness
and truthfulness are twin attributes of God. His faithfulness and
His truthfulness. If God ever ceased to be faithful,
If he were ever untrue, he would cease to be God. He would no longer be Jehovah
God. He is faithful and he is truthful. When we think about his faithfulness,
when Noah came out of the ark, you remember he built an altar
and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord And the scripture says
God smelled a sweet-smelling savor. And God made this promise,
while the earth remaineth. Now that's been, I suppose, between
5,000 and 6,000 years since God told Noah this. While the earth
remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer
and winter, And day and night shall not cease. Now that's God's promise. And
you and I tonight, we know that God is faithful. Every year we
have the four seasons of the year, don't we? We have the heat,
we have the cold, we have the night, we have the day. And that's
going to continue no matter what these people say about the climate
change and all of that, my friends, this is God's Word and God is
faithful. God is faithful. Now in the New
Testament, the Apostle Paul gives us four of what he calls faithful
sayings. Let's look at these four faithful
sayings. In 1st Timothy we find the first
one. 1st Timothy chapter 1 and verse
15. It just stands out to me, I trust
it does to you as well, when we see that Joshua calls all
these men together and calls them to record that not one good
thing has failed. Why? Because God is faithful. God promised and God is faithful. Now here in 1st Timothy chapter
1 in verse 15 we have the first of these four statements of the
Apostle Paul where he says this is a faithful saying. This here,
this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. It's worthy that everyone accept
this. It's worthy that every one of
God's creatures hear this and accept this. This is a faithful saying from
God who is faithful, from God who cannot change, who cannot
lie. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. of whom I am the chief." I know
you've noticed this before, but if you follow the Apostle Paul's
sayings concerning himself in a chronological order, he will
begin in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and he confesses, I am the
least of all the apostles. Well, how many apostles were
there? Twelve. I'm the least. But then you come
to the book of Ephesians, the letter of Ephesians, and he says,
unto me who am least of all saints. Of all the saints. How many are
there? There's a bunch, right? Paul said, I'm the least of all.
And now in this last statement we just read, Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners, of whom here's the chief. You say, well, I thought you
progressed in sanctification. I thought you got better over
the years. Paul said, I'm chief. We grow in grace and knowledge
of the Lord. But every believer here tonight,
I speak for us all. We would all confess that we
know and see our need of a Savior more tonight than we did when
we first met the Lord. We know that we need a complete
Savior. I mean someone who saves sinners. Someone who doesn't try to save
sinners. Someone who doesn't give it his
best shot. But we need a Savior who, yes,
absolutely saves sinners. Because that's what I am. That's
what I am. Those, our Lord said, those that
are whole have no need of a physician. When do you go to the doctor?
Not when you are well, you get sick, and you put it off even
then, but eventually you get sick enough, you go. Well, they
don't need a physician, it's the sick. And he did not come
to call the righteous, but sinners. to repentance. This is a faithful
saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into this
world and He came here on purpose, God's purpose, and He came here
to save sinners. Thou shalt call His name Jesus,
Jehovah Savior, for He shall save His people from their sins. That's a faithful, this is a
faithful saying. Aren't you thankful? Can't you
say amen tonight? This is a faithful saying. Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and I'm so glad. All right, look at this next
one in 1 Timothy 4 and verse 8. For bodily exercise profiteth
little, But godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise
of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This
is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation. What is it
here that he has reference to? That godliness is profitable
unto all things. Godliness. This is a faithful
saying and worthy of all acceptation. Bodily exercise profits a little. There's no question about that.
But godliness. Godliness. Knowing God. Living and walking in fellowship
and communion with God. Godliness is profitable both
to the body and to the soul. both in this life and in that
which is to come. This is a faithful saying. And
we should put our priority upon this more so than on bodily exercise. You see people all the time,
don't you, out exercising, running, walking, go to the gym. And there's
nothing wrong with that. I'm not preaching against that.
But some of those people, many of them, I would say, they have
more concern about their body than they do their soul. And what should it profit a man
if he gained the whole world and lose his own soul? This is
a faithful saying. Godliness is profitable unto
all things. And the third faithful saying
is in 2nd Timothy, 2nd Timothy chapter 2 and verse 11. It is a faithful saying, for
if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him. Now, the commentators on this
say it may refer to what he said in verse 10. Therefore, I endure
all things for the elect's sake, that they may also obtain the
salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. This
is a faithful saying. And then some say it refers to
what follows. For if we be dead with him, we
shall also live with him. If we died with Him, as all believers
did, all of God's children, we all died with Him. He is our
head in a legal sense. We all died when He died. We shall also live If we suffer
with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we suffer, we shall
also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will
deny us. This is a faithful saying. If
we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him. And look at this fourth one in
Titus. I remember reading a message
a number of years ago by Charles Spurgeon. on these four texts. Yes, these four texts. And he
made it like four corners of a house. I forget how he applied
that, but I remember it was good. Like four corners of our house,
these four faithful sayings. This one here in Titus chapter
3 and verse 8. This is a faithful saying. And
these things I will that thou affirm constantly. And what is
it here that is a faithful saying? It is that through the kindness
and love of God that has appeared unto men in his effectual calling
and regeneration by the Holy Spirit. Notice above this, if
you will, Paul says, put them in mind, speaking of believers
in the churches Put them in mind to be subject to principalities
and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, gentle, showing
all meekness unto all men." Now notice this, for we ourselves,
here, this is us. This is what we were, Paul said.
For we ourselves were sometimes foolish. How foolish were we? We were running from God like
we were running from our worst enemy. And we
were running toward hell like we were running toward our best
friend. Foolish. Foolish. All men apart
from Christ. Foolish. The fool has said in
his heart, no, God, no. We were foolish, disobedient,
deceived. serving divers lust and pleasures,
living in malice and envy, and this one always gets me, hateful
and hating one another. This world, you can't live here
long and not recognize that is a description of mankind. Hateful and hating one another. Someone said, I don't see why
we just can't all get along. Oh, it'd be nice, but there's
something called sin, hateful and hating one another. But after the kindness, oh, how
kind, how kind, the kindness and love of God our Savior toward
man appeared, not by works of righteousness, which we have
done, But according to His mercy, He saved us by the washing of
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He shed
on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Lord, that being justified
by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of
eternal life. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation. So the first thing that comes
to my mind when I look at this verse here in Joshua, when he
calls those elders to record that not one good thing had failed
them of all the good things which God had promised. God is faithful. Our Lord said, Come unto me,
all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. He's faithful. You come, you
look to Christ, you trust in Christ, and you know this, our
God, He is the faithful God. Now, second thing that stands
out to me is the patience of God. Let's go back to the Old
Testament here, the patience of God stands out to us. Now
the Scriptures declare that one day is with the Lord as a thousand
years, and a thousand years as one day. We see God's patience
with the nation of Israel, both in in fulfilling those good things
and also in fulfilling those evil things that Joshua told
them would come upon them if they turned away from God. Look at the promise with me in
Genesis chapter 15. The promise that God gave concerning
the land Genesis chapter 15 and verses
15 and 16. God said, And thou shalt go to
thy fathers in peace. Thou shalt be buried in a good
old age. Speaking of Abram. But in the
fourth generation they shall come hither again. For the iniquity of the Amorites
is not yet full. Now God promised Abraham the
land of Canaan, but it would be four generations before they
inherited the land, before these good things came to pass. And
why? The patience of God. I see the
patience of God because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full. The nations of Canaan, there
were five nations, they're all called here by that one name,
the Amorites, but their iniquity, their cup was not yet to the
brim. And God, in patience, was patient
and long-suffering before his wrath came upon those wicked
people. Now, 400 years they were down
in Egypt. And the promise of removing them
from the land we see, God's patience. For they quickly, the nation
of Israel, if you will now in 2nd Kings chapter 21. I know
we're turning to a lot of scriptures but that's okay. 2nd Kings chapter
21. And verse number 11, you remember God told Abraham
the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. So they were
not allowed to take possession of that land for four generations. But I want you to notice after
Joshua died and they had one king after the other, here In
chapter 21, verse 11, God said, because Manasseh, king of Judah,
hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly, now notice,
above. God dispossessed the Amorites
because of their wickedness. He brings the nation of Israel,
Judah, into the land of Canaan, and God told them, if you forsake,
God, and this covenant that you made with Him at Mount Sinai,
God will bring judgment upon you. And now we read that because
Manasseh king of Judah had done these abominations and had done
wickedly above all that the Amorites did. They were more wicked than
the Amorites. which were before him, and hath
made Judah also to sin with his idols. Therefore thus saith the
Lord God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem
and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem
the line of Samaria and the plumbing of the house of Ahab, and I will
wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning
it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant
of mine inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies. And they shall become a prey
and a spoil to all their enemies, because they have done that which
was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger since the..."
Now notice, "...since the day their fathers came forth out
of Egypt, even unto this day." Now, I heard a preacher one time
try to explain that a man dries dishes different from a woman.
Now, I don't know if that's correct or not, but God says like a man,
when he dries dishes, he'll dry one side and then he'll turn
the plate over and dry the other side. But the point was, God
was going to bring destruction upon the nation of Judah, upon
Jerusalem and that land because of their wickedness. But my point
is the patience of God. Because this verse tells us that
from the very first, when they first came out of Egypt, and
they first came into the land of Canaan, They did wickedly. And we have the book of Judges
time after time after time. Remember, they turned to idols
and God sold them into the hand of their enemies. And you just
see that for over a thousand years. I see the patience of
God. And I'm thankful tonight that
our God exercises patience with us. I'm thankful he exercises
patience with me. Even as the psalmist said, like
as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that
fear him. For he knoweth our frame, that
we are but dust. That's all we are, dust and ashes. And the third thing, and I'll
just mention this, the goodness of God stands out to us. His
faithfulness, His patience, and His goodness. God promised good
to the nation of Israel, and He made good on His promises.
Not one good thing, Joshua says, has failed. God made good on
His promises. Think tonight of all the good
that He has promised you and I for Christ's sake. all the good that He has promised
us, the forgiveness of all our sins. That's good, isn't it? That's good. Reconciliation,
peace with God. That's good. Justification, being
declared righteous in God's sight. That's good. A good hope, Our
hope transcends this world, doesn't it? We've got a good hope. And we have all of these things
for Christ, the goodness of God. For Christ's sake, these things
are ours. And we have yet to look forward
to eternity with Him, to be forever with the Lord. I pray that the
Lord would bless these words to all of us here tonight. Our
God, He's faithful, and He's patient, and He's good. Amen? Amen. Let's stand.