1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,520 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast, 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,480 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,720 My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:10,480 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,680 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,080 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:17,560 Now, come along. 8 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:21,440 Let's look into the Bible and see what God has for us here today. 9 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:26,680 All right, well, we're going to go ahead and continue our Bible 10 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:27,840 study in the Book of Joshua. 11 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:32,010 So we're In Joshua chapter 11, if you can turn there with me. 12 00:00:32,170 --> 00:00:33,690 And we're going to pick up our. 13 00:00:35,210 --> 00:00:36,330 Our study here. 14 00:00:36,330 --> 00:00:37,930 Joshua, chapter 11. 15 00:00:38,170 --> 00:00:40,970 I think it's important to note the. 16 00:00:41,130 --> 00:00:43,610 The meaning of the name Joshua. 17 00:00:44,250 --> 00:00:44,609 The. 18 00:00:44,609 --> 00:00:49,770 The name Joshua literally means Yahweh is salvation God rescues 19 00:00:50,010 --> 00:00:51,770 is a way that you could see it. 20 00:00:52,090 --> 00:00:56,020 And I think that that's a beautiful picture of Joshua and the 21 00:00:56,020 --> 00:00:59,380 people of Israel's reliance on God for their victory and for their 22 00:00:59,380 --> 00:00:59,940 salvation. 23 00:01:00,180 --> 00:01:02,580 And I think it's a picture for all of us as believers. 24 00:01:02,900 --> 00:01:06,460 Our testimony must be that it is God who saves and God alone who 25 00:01:06,460 --> 00:01:10,460 saves us from not just our struggles in our life, but ultimately 26 00:01:10,460 --> 00:01:12,660 from sin, pain, and death. 27 00:01:12,660 --> 00:01:16,340 And so I think that when we study the Book of Joshua, it's sometimes 28 00:01:16,340 --> 00:01:20,380 difficult to see it more than just the historical lesson, even 29 00:01:20,380 --> 00:01:21,780 though it is an historical lesson. 30 00:01:22,060 --> 00:01:25,300 I think it's awesome to see real people at real places at a real 31 00:01:25,300 --> 00:01:27,820 time, trusting in the Lord and seeing victories. 32 00:01:27,820 --> 00:01:30,460 But also I think it's important for us to note the spiritual 33 00:01:30,460 --> 00:01:33,260 victories that we see even in these battles. 34 00:01:33,260 --> 00:01:37,100 And so if you were with us last week, Joshua chapter 10, we 35 00:01:37,100 --> 00:01:41,860 saw that there was this king, Adonai Zedek, the king of Jerusalem. 36 00:01:41,860 --> 00:01:43,900 He was a pagan, Canaanite king of the time. 37 00:01:44,380 --> 00:01:49,110 He and four other kings came up against Israel, against the people 38 00:01:49,110 --> 00:01:51,070 of Israel, and Joshua as their leader. 39 00:01:51,070 --> 00:01:54,110 And obviously it looked like they had the victory. 40 00:01:54,110 --> 00:01:58,470 But ultimately God promised Joshua, as he had been for so long, 41 00:01:58,630 --> 00:02:00,150 that he would give them the victory. 42 00:02:00,150 --> 00:02:02,270 And God does give them the victory. 43 00:02:02,270 --> 00:02:05,110 And really, we see some amazing things happen in chapter 44 00:02:05,110 --> 00:02:05,350 10. 45 00:02:05,350 --> 00:02:09,750 We see that the Lord extends the day that the Lord ascends those 46 00:02:09,750 --> 00:02:10,510 hailstones. 47 00:02:10,510 --> 00:02:14,120 And ultimately the people of Israel see the victory. 48 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:18,000 And so certainly it was Yahweh for salvation for them. 49 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:18,880 And. 50 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:21,760 And I want us to continue that study here in chapter 11, because 51 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:26,760 sometimes in our life we go through a spiritual battle and. 52 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:29,680 And we might feel as if, hey, this is the last one. 53 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:31,920 As long as I can just get through this one, I'll be okay. 54 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:35,280 And the Truth is, is that, yes, we need to take one battle at 55 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:35,840 a time. 56 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:39,360 But what we see in Scripture is that sometimes a battle will follow 57 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:40,880 the battle, and we're not done yet. 58 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:44,250 And we, God says if we're taking in breath, he's going to allow 59 00:02:44,250 --> 00:02:46,010 for different things to come up in our life. 60 00:02:46,010 --> 00:02:48,890 And that's exactly what we see here in Joshua, chapter 11. 61 00:02:49,130 --> 00:02:50,770 They come off this wonderful victory. 62 00:02:50,770 --> 00:02:53,050 And then we see in verse 43, where do they return? 63 00:02:53,370 --> 00:02:55,130 They return back to Gilgal. 64 00:02:55,130 --> 00:02:59,450 Gilgal is that place in which they go to for that strength, for 65 00:02:59,450 --> 00:03:00,810 that security in the Lord. 66 00:03:01,210 --> 00:03:03,810 And I think that all of us need that Gilgal in our life, that 67 00:03:03,810 --> 00:03:08,610 we can go back to and find that rest and that recuperation and 68 00:03:08,610 --> 00:03:11,140 that revitalization in the Lord. 69 00:03:11,140 --> 00:03:12,020 And they do that. 70 00:03:12,020 --> 00:03:15,460 But the battle's not over with yet more kings start coming in. 71 00:03:15,460 --> 00:03:17,580 So there's all these victories in the south. 72 00:03:18,060 --> 00:03:22,460 And now the northern kings are going to recognize God's power and 73 00:03:22,460 --> 00:03:24,180 God's victory over the southern kings. 74 00:03:24,180 --> 00:03:26,460 And the northern kings are like, well, we need to take action. 75 00:03:26,700 --> 00:03:29,180 We need to come against the people of Israel before they come 76 00:03:29,180 --> 00:03:29,820 against us. 77 00:03:29,980 --> 00:03:32,780 And so that's where we pick it up here in Joshua, chapter 11. 78 00:03:32,780 --> 00:03:37,070 It says, and it came to pass when Jabin, king of Hazor, had heard 79 00:03:37,070 --> 00:03:40,470 those things, and those things would be that the southern kings 80 00:03:40,470 --> 00:03:42,470 had been taken over by Israel. 81 00:03:42,470 --> 00:03:43,710 Israel had these victories. 82 00:03:43,710 --> 00:03:45,990 God gave them these miraculous victories. 83 00:03:46,070 --> 00:03:49,990 So when he heard those things that he sent to Jobab king of Maidan, 84 00:03:49,990 --> 00:03:54,550 and to the king of Shimron and to the king of Akshat and to the 85 00:03:54,550 --> 00:03:57,750 kings that were on the north of the mountains and of the plain 86 00:03:57,750 --> 00:04:01,510 south of Chinneroth and in the valley and in the borders of Door 87 00:04:01,590 --> 00:04:02,310 on the west. 88 00:04:02,740 --> 00:04:04,820 And so a lot of these locations might not make a lot of 89 00:04:04,820 --> 00:04:07,580 sense to you unless you have one of those Bibles that give you 90 00:04:07,580 --> 00:04:08,100 the map. 91 00:04:08,100 --> 00:04:11,020 But essentially what you need to know is that those southern Canaanite 92 00:04:11,020 --> 00:04:12,980 places were where we just saw these victories. 93 00:04:13,140 --> 00:04:17,460 Now, the northern part of the Canaanite land would be coming Against 94 00:04:17,460 --> 00:04:18,500 Israel, verse 3. 95 00:04:18,659 --> 00:04:21,740 And to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and to the 96 00:04:21,740 --> 00:04:24,580 Amorites on the Hittites and the Hittite and the Perizzite and 97 00:04:24,580 --> 00:04:27,620 the Jebusites in the mountains, and to the Hivites under 98 00:04:27,620 --> 00:04:29,700 Hermon in the land of Mizpah. 99 00:04:29,870 --> 00:04:33,870 And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people. 100 00:04:34,750 --> 00:04:38,230 So this is a large group of people that are coming against Israel, 101 00:04:38,230 --> 00:04:39,630 far more than Israel had. 102 00:04:39,790 --> 00:04:44,510 And it's as much people even as the sand that is upon the seashore. 103 00:04:44,670 --> 00:04:50,270 In multitude with horses and chariots, very many. 104 00:04:50,750 --> 00:04:53,310 So it's painting a pretty bleak picture here. 105 00:04:53,310 --> 00:04:57,690 It's painting a picture of the fact that the Israelites are having 106 00:04:57,690 --> 00:05:01,050 people surround them and then there's a numerous amount of people 107 00:05:01,050 --> 00:05:02,010 that are surrounding them. 108 00:05:02,010 --> 00:05:06,650 And not only people, but we also see here that it mentions the 109 00:05:06,650 --> 00:05:09,650 horses and the chariots, very many, verse 5. 110 00:05:09,810 --> 00:05:13,130 And when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched 111 00:05:13,130 --> 00:05:17,730 together at the waters of Meram to fight against Israel. 112 00:05:18,130 --> 00:05:21,850 And so they're gathering up and after hearing about the conquest 113 00:05:21,850 --> 00:05:24,520 in the south, they're like, hey, we're going to assemble this 114 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:25,520 mega army. 115 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:29,160 We're going to come against Israel where they cannot fight against 116 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:29,520 us. 117 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:30,560 We're going to stop them. 118 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:32,080 It's either now or never. 119 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:35,840 And so they all come together, they make this evil alliance against 120 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:36,640 Israel. 121 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:39,600 And what we can see here is that this is not Israel's first big 122 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:43,960 battle, but this is certainly a battle in which they've got more 123 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:44,320 people. 124 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:47,720 We see that, as it says there in verse number four, it says that 125 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:51,200 they have much people even as the sand that is upon the seashore. 126 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:52,630 So they've got numbers. 127 00:05:53,750 --> 00:05:56,710 And then what we also see is at the end of verse four says, with 128 00:05:56,710 --> 00:05:58,790 horses and chariots, very many. 129 00:05:58,790 --> 00:05:59,350 What does that mean? 130 00:05:59,350 --> 00:06:00,710 Well, that means that they have more technology. 131 00:06:01,350 --> 00:06:03,270 And sometimes in our life that's how we feel. 132 00:06:03,270 --> 00:06:06,870 We feel like, you know what, the enemy has a lot of numbers. 133 00:06:07,510 --> 00:06:09,870 Sometimes we feel like the enemy has a lot of resources. 134 00:06:09,870 --> 00:06:13,230 And, and the enemy does have resources and numbers. 135 00:06:13,230 --> 00:06:16,750 But we know that the same principle that we read about here 136 00:06:16,750 --> 00:06:20,710 In Joshua chapter 11 is stated in 2 Corinthians, chapter 4. 137 00:06:21,430 --> 00:06:24,270 And, and I think that this would be a good cross reference passage 138 00:06:24,270 --> 00:06:25,590 for us to look at here. 139 00:06:25,910 --> 00:06:29,350 Second Corinthians, chapter four, it speaks of what do we do 140 00:06:29,350 --> 00:06:32,070 when we have trouble all around us. 141 00:06:33,030 --> 00:06:36,150 And, and there are going to be times in our life, for whatever reason, 142 00:06:36,710 --> 00:06:40,030 that we're going to feel surrounded, we're going to feel that 143 00:06:40,030 --> 00:06:42,190 we have trouble on every single side. 144 00:06:42,190 --> 00:06:43,990 And that's what Israel is looking like right now. 145 00:06:43,990 --> 00:06:45,910 So 2 Corinthians chapter 4 8. 146 00:06:45,910 --> 00:06:48,460 Some of you are very familiar with this passage. 147 00:06:48,460 --> 00:06:50,980 Not too long ago we went through second Corinthians on our 148 00:06:50,980 --> 00:06:51,900 Sunday morning series. 149 00:06:51,900 --> 00:06:56,020 But Paul is talking here, and Paul is speaking of physical problems 150 00:06:56,020 --> 00:06:56,700 that are around him. 151 00:06:56,700 --> 00:06:57,900 You guys know Paul's story. 152 00:06:57,980 --> 00:07:00,540 He's being physically persecuted by his own people. 153 00:07:00,540 --> 00:07:04,420 Really and then we also see that there's physical struggles that 154 00:07:04,420 --> 00:07:04,860 Paul has. 155 00:07:04,860 --> 00:07:07,260 There's spiritual struggles, there's emotional struggles. 156 00:07:07,340 --> 00:07:08,420 And so Paul says this. 157 00:07:08,420 --> 00:07:12,700 He says, we are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. 158 00:07:13,390 --> 00:07:16,870 So the Bible says that even though we can have circumstantial 159 00:07:16,870 --> 00:07:20,030 trouble around us, okay, so for the people of Israel, they've 160 00:07:20,030 --> 00:07:23,390 got all the northern kings coming with a multitude of people 161 00:07:23,390 --> 00:07:24,990 with chariots and horses. 162 00:07:25,230 --> 00:07:29,950 But it says here we can be troubled on every side, yet not distressed 163 00:07:30,030 --> 00:07:30,710 most of the time. 164 00:07:30,710 --> 00:07:33,230 What happens is that when we have all the struggles coming around 165 00:07:33,310 --> 00:07:36,430 us, we immediately in our flesh turn to that distress. 166 00:07:37,310 --> 00:07:40,190 But he says, no, we don't have to turn to that distress, because 167 00:07:40,270 --> 00:07:41,510 why he's going to get to it here. 168 00:07:41,510 --> 00:07:42,750 He says, we're perplexed. 169 00:07:43,220 --> 00:07:44,940 That idea of perplexed means we're confused. 170 00:07:44,940 --> 00:07:46,020 We don't know where to turn. 171 00:07:46,900 --> 00:07:48,340 But not in despair. 172 00:07:49,140 --> 00:07:51,940 Oftentimes being confused leads us to hopelessness. 173 00:07:52,100 --> 00:07:53,220 That's what despair is. 174 00:07:53,220 --> 00:07:54,740 But he says, no, we're not despair. 175 00:07:55,060 --> 00:07:59,540 Persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but not destroyed. 176 00:07:59,700 --> 00:08:03,220 And then he gives his reason why he can have that type of outlook 177 00:08:03,460 --> 00:08:04,860 in that difficult situation. 178 00:08:04,860 --> 00:08:08,220 He says, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord 179 00:08:08,220 --> 00:08:11,770 Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our 180 00:08:11,770 --> 00:08:12,050 body. 181 00:08:12,050 --> 00:08:15,490 So for Paul here in the New Testament, he says, hey, I understand 182 00:08:15,490 --> 00:08:16,850 that this is part of life. 183 00:08:16,850 --> 00:08:20,370 This is part of the journey to, to go through these difficulties 184 00:08:20,370 --> 00:08:21,890 so that people can see Jesus. 185 00:08:22,130 --> 00:08:25,450 For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus's 186 00:08:25,450 --> 00:08:29,410 sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our 187 00:08:29,410 --> 00:08:30,050 mortal flesh. 188 00:08:30,050 --> 00:08:34,410 So the life of Jesus may be manifest in our mortal flesh. 189 00:08:34,410 --> 00:08:37,840 Essentially, it's this, that we have hope in the Lord, that we 190 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:41,000 can present the truth of Jesus no matter what might be the case. 191 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:44,280 And he goes on to say in verse 14, knowing that he which raised 192 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:49,160 up the Lord Jesus shall raise up also by Jesus and shall present 193 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:51,160 us with you, meaning this. 194 00:08:51,559 --> 00:08:52,760 We have the hope of salvation. 195 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:54,120 We have God on our side. 196 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:58,120 And so it can look difficult around us, but we have the hope in 197 00:08:58,120 --> 00:08:58,600 the Lord. 198 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:02,620 And so we go back to Israel and we see that they, you know, obviously 199 00:09:02,620 --> 00:09:04,100 came way before Paul, but they. 200 00:09:04,180 --> 00:09:05,540 They knew about what Paul was saying. 201 00:09:05,540 --> 00:09:06,100 They would agree. 202 00:09:06,100 --> 00:09:06,620 They're. 203 00:09:06,620 --> 00:09:07,060 They're. 204 00:09:07,060 --> 00:09:08,980 They're surrounded, they're perplexed. 205 00:09:08,980 --> 00:09:12,060 There's a lot of things that might be going against them when 206 00:09:12,060 --> 00:09:14,940 it comes to numbers and technology and, and the strength 207 00:09:14,940 --> 00:09:15,980 of the northern kingdoms. 208 00:09:15,980 --> 00:09:18,179 But we're going to see something so amazing in verse number 209 00:09:18,179 --> 00:09:21,220 six, it's the same thing that we see throughout all of Scripture 210 00:09:21,300 --> 00:09:24,020 is that, yes, we can be in difficult situations. 211 00:09:24,260 --> 00:09:27,260 We can be in situations that on paper don't look like they're 212 00:09:27,260 --> 00:09:29,680 in our favor or in the Lord's favor. 213 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:33,760 And we can be in situations in which don't add up to what the world 214 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:35,200 would say is a good situation. 215 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:38,840 But verse six, he says, and the Lord said unto Joshua, and this 216 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:39,920 is where God steps in. 217 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:45,240 This is where God reminds his people about who he is and what he 218 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:46,880 has done and what he'll continue to do. 219 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:51,040 And it says in verse six that he comes to Joshua again, another 220 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:54,640 reminder of that same theme that he's been giving to Joshua over 221 00:09:55,100 --> 00:09:56,180 and over again in this book. 222 00:09:56,180 --> 00:09:58,660 And I hope that you've seen it as a theme in this book. 223 00:09:58,660 --> 00:10:00,300 It says, be not afraid. 224 00:10:00,300 --> 00:10:04,140 He says, joshua, be not afraid because of them. 225 00:10:04,300 --> 00:10:08,700 Meaning don't allow what they have on their side to cause you fear. 226 00:10:09,020 --> 00:10:11,060 Don't allow their numbers to cause you fear. 227 00:10:11,060 --> 00:10:13,220 Don't allow their chariots to cause you fear. 228 00:10:13,220 --> 00:10:15,220 Don't allow their horses to cause you fear. 229 00:10:15,220 --> 00:10:19,980 He says, don't be afraid of what they have for tomorrow. 230 00:10:20,140 --> 00:10:21,460 So he gives a promise to. 231 00:10:21,530 --> 00:10:23,930 So he gives us a challenge, and then he gives us a promise. 232 00:10:24,490 --> 00:10:26,370 That's exactly how he works in our life. 233 00:10:26,370 --> 00:10:29,730 He challenges us to be a certain way or to believe a certain 234 00:10:29,730 --> 00:10:31,730 thing or to trust in a certain area. 235 00:10:31,730 --> 00:10:33,770 Then he gives us the promise behind that. 236 00:10:33,850 --> 00:10:39,210 He says, for tomorrow, about this time, will I deliver them up, 237 00:10:39,450 --> 00:10:41,290 all slain before Israel. 238 00:10:41,930 --> 00:10:42,290 So. 239 00:10:42,290 --> 00:10:45,210 So the Lord tells Joshua, look, I've got it under control. 240 00:10:45,370 --> 00:10:46,810 I'm going to take care of this for you. 241 00:10:46,810 --> 00:10:47,530 Don't be afraid. 242 00:10:48,180 --> 00:10:49,540 I'm going to handle this. 243 00:10:49,780 --> 00:10:53,700 Thou shalt hoe their horses and burn their chariots with fire. 244 00:10:54,980 --> 00:10:58,900 So essentially, what we see here is that God encourages Joshua 245 00:10:58,900 --> 00:11:03,060 in the midst of the situation, and by extension, he encourages Israel. 246 00:11:03,140 --> 00:11:04,420 That's what God does for us. 247 00:11:04,420 --> 00:11:05,620 He's the great encourager. 248 00:11:05,780 --> 00:11:08,580 We know the Holy Spirit is the great comforter. 249 00:11:08,980 --> 00:11:12,620 And we as Christians certainly cannot find comfort always in our 250 00:11:12,620 --> 00:11:13,300 circumstances. 251 00:11:13,750 --> 00:11:15,190 Sometimes our circumstances are great. 252 00:11:15,350 --> 00:11:18,430 I mean, if everything lines up and everything's good, you know, 253 00:11:18,430 --> 00:11:20,230 if I ask you, hey, are you having a good day? 254 00:11:20,710 --> 00:11:22,070 We all know what we mean by that. 255 00:11:22,070 --> 00:11:24,750 Circumstantially, I might be not having a good day when it comes 256 00:11:24,750 --> 00:11:25,590 to my circumstances. 257 00:11:26,390 --> 00:11:29,990 Well, the Bible says it's not that circumstances bring us comfort. 258 00:11:30,470 --> 00:11:32,790 It's not that circumstances bring us confidence. 259 00:11:33,190 --> 00:11:34,310 What brings us confidence? 260 00:11:34,310 --> 00:11:37,470 Well, the Bible says It's the comfort of God, the presence of God, 261 00:11:37,470 --> 00:11:39,110 it's the encouragement of our Lord. 262 00:11:39,770 --> 00:11:42,530 Now there is a challenge upon us as Christians to be a Barnabas, 263 00:11:42,530 --> 00:11:46,450 to be an encourager, to be a person who does encourage others. 264 00:11:46,450 --> 00:11:49,130 And so we do find comfort through other people. 265 00:11:49,290 --> 00:11:50,970 We find the Lord's comfort through other people. 266 00:11:50,970 --> 00:11:54,370 But ultimately, even if someone doesn't comfort us, we can 267 00:11:54,370 --> 00:11:56,490 still find the comfort of the presence of God. 268 00:11:56,490 --> 00:11:58,410 And what does Joshua find comfort in? 269 00:11:58,410 --> 00:11:59,530 In the Word of God. 270 00:11:59,530 --> 00:12:02,490 Now, the Word of God came differently to Joshua at this point. 271 00:12:02,730 --> 00:12:03,130 So. 272 00:12:03,130 --> 00:12:05,290 So God speaks directly to Joshua. 273 00:12:05,540 --> 00:12:07,500 And, you know, I don't know if it was something that just came in 274 00:12:07,500 --> 00:12:10,700 Joshua's head or he hears this out loud, but nonetheless, this is 275 00:12:10,700 --> 00:12:12,380 the word of God to Joshua. 276 00:12:12,380 --> 00:12:13,860 So what does that look like for us today? 277 00:12:14,020 --> 00:12:17,180 Well, we know that the Word of God is the Bible, the source of our 278 00:12:17,180 --> 00:12:19,020 comfort, the source of our encouragement. 279 00:12:19,020 --> 00:12:21,220 And we go back to the promises of God. 280 00:12:21,539 --> 00:12:23,140 I mentioned a phrase this morning. 281 00:12:23,140 --> 00:12:24,300 It's not original to me. 282 00:12:24,300 --> 00:12:27,900 I heard one preacher talking about this, but really it's faith 283 00:12:27,900 --> 00:12:32,620 in God that allows us to activate and assimilate the promises 284 00:12:32,620 --> 00:12:33,140 of God. 285 00:12:33,340 --> 00:12:35,180 Not everyone can claim the promises of God. 286 00:12:35,340 --> 00:12:38,900 I think of one of my favorite promises is Hebrews chapter 13, that 287 00:12:38,900 --> 00:12:41,100 God will never leave us nor forsake us. 288 00:12:42,380 --> 00:12:46,780 Now, I can't tell a person who has no faith in God that that promise 289 00:12:46,780 --> 00:12:47,260 is for them. 290 00:12:47,260 --> 00:12:50,860 That promise is for those who have faith in Jesus Christ, who are 291 00:12:50,860 --> 00:12:51,980 in his family. 292 00:12:52,220 --> 00:12:54,060 And so we see the same thing here. 293 00:12:54,060 --> 00:12:56,660 God's promise is not that every nation is going to have this 294 00:12:56,660 --> 00:12:57,100 victory. 295 00:12:57,100 --> 00:12:59,340 God's promise is for his people here, Israel. 296 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:01,560 So he says, hey, you're going to take care of them. 297 00:13:01,560 --> 00:13:02,280 Don't worry. 298 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:04,800 And he says, actually, you're going to take care of them through 299 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:05,320 my power. 300 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:07,560 And so he says, I'm going to handle this. 301 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:10,280 But Joshua needs that confirmation. 302 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:11,800 He needs that reminder. 303 00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:15,400 God had already made this promise back in Joshua Chapter one. 304 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:18,400 But God reminds him over and over again. 305 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:23,160 So this means that the fear, obviously, if we see God coming to 306 00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:25,000 Joshua all the time, saying, don't fear. 307 00:13:25,730 --> 00:13:27,330 I don't know a lot about Joshua. 308 00:13:27,810 --> 00:13:29,010 My name is Joshua, but. 309 00:13:29,010 --> 00:13:29,930 And not this Joshua. 310 00:13:29,930 --> 00:13:30,410 Okay, I'm not. 311 00:13:30,410 --> 00:13:30,970 That's not me. 312 00:13:30,970 --> 00:13:31,970 I was named after him. 313 00:13:31,970 --> 00:13:33,250 But the idea would be this. 314 00:13:34,370 --> 00:13:37,690 I think I believe that if you see God reminding him over and over 315 00:13:37,690 --> 00:13:39,970 again not to fear, he probably had a struggle with fear. 316 00:13:41,010 --> 00:13:44,130 And I don't know about you, but there's been times in my life 317 00:13:44,130 --> 00:13:46,370 where Fear has had a grip on me. 318 00:13:46,690 --> 00:13:48,010 Maybe it's the fear of man. 319 00:13:48,010 --> 00:13:49,170 It's the fear of failure. 320 00:13:49,170 --> 00:13:50,610 It's the fear of. 321 00:13:51,450 --> 00:13:52,530 Maybe it's the fear of success. 322 00:13:52,530 --> 00:13:54,810 You know, if I become successful in this now, I'm going 323 00:13:54,810 --> 00:13:55,850 to have more responsibilities. 324 00:13:56,090 --> 00:13:59,850 Fear can take many different forms, but the Bible says here, in 325 00:13:59,850 --> 00:14:04,330 this case, that God counteracts the fear that Joshua 326 00:14:04,330 --> 00:14:05,850 has by giving him the promise. 327 00:14:06,170 --> 00:14:09,450 And so God always has a reason for everything that he does. 328 00:14:09,690 --> 00:14:11,290 And so he says, hey, don't be afraid. 329 00:14:11,290 --> 00:14:12,250 And here's why. 330 00:14:12,650 --> 00:14:13,970 Because I'm here to encourage you. 331 00:14:13,970 --> 00:14:15,290 I'm here to give you the victory. 332 00:14:15,690 --> 00:14:19,010 And so I think that's an amazing thing to see as a believer, 333 00:14:19,010 --> 00:14:20,330 is that we don't have to fear. 334 00:14:20,420 --> 00:14:22,540 And by the way, second Timothy, chapter one, verse seven 335 00:14:22,540 --> 00:14:25,980 says that God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power 336 00:14:25,980 --> 00:14:27,380 and love, of a sound mind. 337 00:14:27,860 --> 00:14:31,380 And so I think that maybe for some of us here this evening, maybe 338 00:14:31,380 --> 00:14:34,580 not all of us, but some of us maybe have struggled in the area 339 00:14:34,580 --> 00:14:35,100 of fear. 340 00:14:35,100 --> 00:14:38,580 Now, as a man, never want to admit that I'm afraid of anything. 341 00:14:38,580 --> 00:14:39,700 My kids have asked me that before. 342 00:14:39,700 --> 00:14:40,980 Dad, are you afraid of anything? 343 00:14:41,220 --> 00:14:42,980 You know, and as a dad, as a. 344 00:14:43,140 --> 00:14:45,540 As a manly man, I want to say I'm not afraid of anything. 345 00:14:45,540 --> 00:14:46,580 I could take on anything. 346 00:14:47,010 --> 00:14:50,290 But there are some things that I am greatly afraid of in my flesh, 347 00:14:50,770 --> 00:14:51,650 to be honest. 348 00:14:52,850 --> 00:14:57,210 And that fear can come from a good place when it comes to the idea 349 00:14:57,210 --> 00:14:57,490 of this. 350 00:14:57,490 --> 00:15:00,210 Okay, some of you might agree with me, especially those that are 351 00:15:00,210 --> 00:15:01,250 raising children right now. 352 00:15:01,570 --> 00:15:05,090 If I look at the system of the world today and the trajectory of 353 00:15:05,090 --> 00:15:08,330 the world today in my flesh, there's a lot of fear about what 354 00:15:08,330 --> 00:15:11,010 kind of world that my children will be raised in and what they'll 355 00:15:11,010 --> 00:15:11,570 grow up into. 356 00:15:12,700 --> 00:15:14,740 But at the end of the day, I have to trust in the Lord and say, 357 00:15:14,740 --> 00:15:17,060 lord, no matter what the circumstance might be, they still 358 00:15:17,060 --> 00:15:17,540 have you. 359 00:15:17,540 --> 00:15:18,620 They still have that hope. 360 00:15:18,940 --> 00:15:20,660 And there's some other aspects of fear. 361 00:15:20,660 --> 00:15:23,700 Maybe some of you, maybe some of you are looking at your week this 362 00:15:23,700 --> 00:15:23,860 week. 363 00:15:23,860 --> 00:15:26,500 You know, some of you have Monday morning, you're going to come 364 00:15:26,500 --> 00:15:29,500 into your job tomorrow and you're going to say, whoa, I don't 365 00:15:29,500 --> 00:15:30,380 know if I can handle this. 366 00:15:30,380 --> 00:15:34,540 I've got fear of maybe my boss or fear of my situation or fear of 367 00:15:34,540 --> 00:15:36,060 failure or fear of being let go. 368 00:15:36,300 --> 00:15:37,660 I don't know where your fear is. 369 00:15:37,660 --> 00:15:39,820 But all of us to some degree have levels of fear. 370 00:15:39,980 --> 00:15:42,300 It can be in the realm of physical fear. 371 00:15:42,700 --> 00:15:44,620 Fear about something in our physical bodies. 372 00:15:44,860 --> 00:15:48,460 It could be maybe fear of someone else in our family being 373 00:15:48,460 --> 00:15:49,820 hurt or going through a struggle. 374 00:15:49,820 --> 00:15:53,700 It could be fear of something spiritually or emotionally. 375 00:15:53,700 --> 00:15:55,500 It could be all different types of fear. 376 00:15:56,060 --> 00:15:59,460 But the Bible says for all of us, the answer to the fear is to 377 00:15:59,460 --> 00:16:00,260 drive out fear. 378 00:16:00,260 --> 00:16:04,260 In the New Testament, it says in First John, perfect love casteth 379 00:16:04,260 --> 00:16:04,940 out fear. 380 00:16:05,590 --> 00:16:07,350 You could do that study on your own in First John. 381 00:16:07,350 --> 00:16:09,150 We went through that on Wednesday night too, not too long 382 00:16:09,150 --> 00:16:09,430 ago. 383 00:16:09,590 --> 00:16:11,710 But the Bible says perfect love cast out fear. 384 00:16:11,710 --> 00:16:12,390 So what does that mean? 385 00:16:12,390 --> 00:16:14,870 Well, I just need to love God more. 386 00:16:14,870 --> 00:16:16,390 Well, certainly that is the case. 387 00:16:16,710 --> 00:16:18,310 We always should love God more. 388 00:16:18,390 --> 00:16:18,950 That's. 389 00:16:19,030 --> 00:16:21,709 Someone might come up to you and say, should I love God more? 390 00:16:21,709 --> 00:16:24,150 The answer is always yes, you can't love him enough. 391 00:16:24,710 --> 00:16:27,550 But at the end of the day, it's really not our love that casts 392 00:16:27,550 --> 00:16:27,950 out fear. 393 00:16:27,950 --> 00:16:31,590 It's God's perfect love for us that should cast out fear. 394 00:16:31,910 --> 00:16:35,270 And so Joshua was reminded of God's love for his people and his 395 00:16:35,270 --> 00:16:35,710 promises. 396 00:16:35,710 --> 00:16:38,910 And so with that being said, Joshua could have responded in many 397 00:16:38,910 --> 00:16:39,390 different ways. 398 00:16:39,390 --> 00:16:41,990 He could have said, yeah, Lord, but now I'm looking out there, 399 00:16:41,990 --> 00:16:43,670 and they are very numerous. 400 00:16:44,390 --> 00:16:46,550 They're like the sand, as it says there. 401 00:16:47,590 --> 00:16:51,110 They're numbered as the sand upon the seashore. 402 00:16:51,190 --> 00:16:53,190 Lord, don't you see those horses? 403 00:16:53,430 --> 00:16:54,870 Don't you see those chariots? 404 00:16:54,950 --> 00:16:58,510 They could have responded in a lack of faith, but no. 405 00:16:58,510 --> 00:17:01,710 Verse number seven, it says, so Joshua came, and all the people 406 00:17:01,710 --> 00:17:02,630 of the war with him. 407 00:17:02,630 --> 00:17:08,430 And so Joshua's obedience and confidence and courage in the Lord 408 00:17:09,630 --> 00:17:10,910 influences the other people. 409 00:17:11,230 --> 00:17:14,070 If Joshua would have been fearful, no doubt Israel would have 410 00:17:14,070 --> 00:17:17,150 followed in that fear and not obeyed the Lord. 411 00:17:17,230 --> 00:17:20,390 But because of Joshua's obedience and because of his public 412 00:17:20,390 --> 00:17:22,070 testimony, the people go with him. 413 00:17:22,070 --> 00:17:25,270 And it says in verse seven, all the people of war with him against 414 00:17:25,270 --> 00:17:29,510 them by the waters and of Meron suddenly, and they fell upon 415 00:17:29,510 --> 00:17:29,870 them. 416 00:17:30,910 --> 00:17:34,870 And so here in verse number seven, it tells us that Joshua fights 417 00:17:34,870 --> 00:17:36,350 with boldness, with courage. 418 00:17:37,070 --> 00:17:37,430 He. 419 00:17:37,430 --> 00:17:39,070 He surprises them, essentially. 420 00:17:39,070 --> 00:17:40,550 You know, God gives us wisdom. 421 00:17:40,550 --> 00:17:41,230 He gives us. 422 00:17:41,230 --> 00:17:44,510 You know, I don't think that we go into battles in our life and 423 00:17:44,830 --> 00:17:46,390 just deal with it with. 424 00:17:46,390 --> 00:17:48,990 With what I would say is our own wisdom. 425 00:17:48,990 --> 00:17:50,390 We deal with it with God's wisdom. 426 00:17:50,390 --> 00:17:53,150 And so verse 8, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel 427 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:54,240 who smote them. 428 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:55,200 And. 429 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:58,080 And I love how that it says it in verse eight. 430 00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:01,360 It's not that the people fought really hard or were really 431 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:02,400 strategized. 432 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:04,160 And you had all the best talent. 433 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:07,200 No, it says that the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel. 434 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:10,520 And I think that's a lesson for all of us. 435 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:15,480 When we have a spiritual victory, to make it a habit and not 436 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:17,320 just say it, but believe it to. 437 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:22,520 To make it our goal, our target, to always, always give God 438 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:24,040 the glory for our victories. 439 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:28,520 Anything good in our life, any success in our life, any healing, 440 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:34,400 any growth, anything is, is, is always, it always should be attributed 441 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:34,960 to our Lord. 442 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:37,800 We should never take credit for the things that we accomplish 443 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:38,280 in our life. 444 00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:40,440 Because again, Israel could have looked at this and said, yeah, 445 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:40,960 we're pretty good. 446 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:41,760 We're the underdog. 447 00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:43,320 And I always root for the underdog. 448 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:46,490 If I turn a game on, on TV and I. 449 00:18:46,490 --> 00:18:49,130 And one of my teams isn't playing or one of the teams that 450 00:18:49,130 --> 00:18:52,170 I don't like is playing, and I don't really have, you know, a dog 451 00:18:52,170 --> 00:18:54,450 in the fight, I always want to find who the underdog is because 452 00:18:54,450 --> 00:18:55,370 I want the underdog to win. 453 00:18:55,370 --> 00:18:56,250 That's just how we are. 454 00:18:56,970 --> 00:18:58,290 And so in this case, it's. 455 00:18:58,290 --> 00:19:00,850 It's not just about these people, shocking these people, but 456 00:19:00,850 --> 00:19:03,010 it's always the power of God in the hand of God. 457 00:19:03,010 --> 00:19:07,570 So it says here it was God who delivered them, verse 8, who smote 458 00:19:07,570 --> 00:19:12,130 them and chased them unto great Zidon, and unto Misrafath, 459 00:19:12,130 --> 00:19:16,010 Maim, and unto valley of Mizpah eastward, and they smote them 460 00:19:16,010 --> 00:19:18,650 until they left them, none remaining. 461 00:19:18,730 --> 00:19:21,690 So this speaks of a complete victory. 462 00:19:22,170 --> 00:19:25,370 Joshua fights with strength, with boldness. 463 00:19:25,370 --> 00:19:28,050 But I think most importantly, Joshua and the people of Israel fight 464 00:19:28,050 --> 00:19:34,090 with obedience, doing exactly what the Lord told them to do, instead 465 00:19:34,090 --> 00:19:35,450 of doing their own thing. 466 00:19:35,450 --> 00:19:36,450 They follow the Lord. 467 00:19:36,450 --> 00:19:38,770 And so how does God tell us to fight the battle? 468 00:19:38,770 --> 00:19:41,290 Well, we mentioned it tonight in the testimony time. 469 00:19:42,090 --> 00:19:44,810 I think it's a study that all of us at some point should go through. 470 00:19:44,810 --> 00:19:45,930 It's the armor of God. 471 00:19:46,530 --> 00:19:49,370 And God gives us all the tools that we need in the midst of the 472 00:19:49,370 --> 00:19:49,610 battle. 473 00:19:49,610 --> 00:19:51,850 He gives us weapons that will protect us. 474 00:19:51,850 --> 00:19:54,810 He gives us the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, 475 00:19:54,810 --> 00:19:55,730 the belt of truth. 476 00:19:55,730 --> 00:19:58,290 He gives us the offensive weapon of the sword of the Spirit, 477 00:19:58,290 --> 00:19:59,410 which is the word of God. 478 00:19:59,490 --> 00:20:01,330 He gives us all these things in our life. 479 00:20:01,330 --> 00:20:04,490 And the Bible speaks in Ephesians chapter 6 about obeying 480 00:20:04,490 --> 00:20:06,210 and putting on the armor of God. 481 00:20:06,290 --> 00:20:08,730 You know, we could have all the armor of God sitting right here 482 00:20:08,730 --> 00:20:10,770 on the pew like we talked about this morning. 483 00:20:10,770 --> 00:20:11,970 We could have a gift and. 484 00:20:12,260 --> 00:20:14,820 But if we don't open up that gift and tap into the blessing of 485 00:20:14,820 --> 00:20:15,300 the Lord. 486 00:20:15,300 --> 00:20:18,660 We can miss out on the protection that God gives us when 487 00:20:18,660 --> 00:20:20,140 he gives us the armor of God. 488 00:20:20,140 --> 00:20:24,580 And so as a believer, really simply it's belief in the Lord and 489 00:20:24,580 --> 00:20:26,060 it's obedience in his word. 490 00:20:26,060 --> 00:20:29,540 Therefore we see trust in him and we see the victory happening. 491 00:20:29,620 --> 00:20:32,260 So Joshua fights with, with obedience. 492 00:20:32,260 --> 00:20:35,700 He fights with passion, he fights with commitment, he fights 493 00:20:35,700 --> 00:20:36,580 with courage. 494 00:20:36,820 --> 00:20:40,590 And he didn't let up until as we see here, it's finish, until there 495 00:20:40,590 --> 00:20:41,670 was none remaining. 496 00:20:42,230 --> 00:20:46,070 And I think often in our life we, we want to give up too early 497 00:20:46,630 --> 00:20:48,310 when it comes to trusting in the Lord. 498 00:20:48,310 --> 00:20:50,070 Sometimes we, we give up on the Lord. 499 00:20:50,070 --> 00:20:53,310 He's working, but yet we're not willing to see that process come 500 00:20:53,310 --> 00:20:53,830 to pass. 501 00:20:53,910 --> 00:20:58,630 And we get impatient with the Lord, but we must follow his path. 502 00:20:58,630 --> 00:20:59,670 And so verse 9. 503 00:20:59,750 --> 00:21:03,070 And Joshua did unto them as the Lord bade him, so this speaks 504 00:21:03,070 --> 00:21:03,950 to his obedience. 505 00:21:03,950 --> 00:21:07,040 And he hoed the horses and burned their chariots with fire. 506 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:10,280 So he follows exactly what God had for him. 507 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:15,360 And so verse 10, Joshua at the time turned back and took Hazer and 508 00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:16,880 smote the king thereof with the sword. 509 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:19,800 For Hazer before time was head of all those kingdoms. 510 00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:21,279 And so what does Joshua do? 511 00:21:21,279 --> 00:21:25,600 He goes to the leader, he goes to the guy who is in charge of all 512 00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:26,040 of them. 513 00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:28,840 And we see that he goes, hey, we're going to wipe them all out. 514 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:30,600 We're not going to leave anything back. 515 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:35,090 And we see that this is the complete focus of God's judgment 516 00:21:35,090 --> 00:21:36,650 upon these Canaanites. 517 00:21:36,650 --> 00:21:38,130 And so Israel obeys. 518 00:21:38,130 --> 00:21:41,490 And we see Canaanite, the Canaanite king judge there, verse 519 00:21:41,490 --> 00:21:41,730 11. 520 00:21:41,730 --> 00:21:45,530 And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of 521 00:21:45,530 --> 00:21:47,130 the sword, utterly destroying them. 522 00:21:47,530 --> 00:21:49,450 There was not any left to breathe. 523 00:21:49,450 --> 00:21:50,970 And he burnt Hazor with fire. 524 00:21:50,970 --> 00:21:54,650 Now I know that we can read verses like that and that seems extreme. 525 00:21:54,890 --> 00:21:58,490 We're like, whoa, God doesn't want Joshua to have grace. 526 00:21:59,670 --> 00:22:03,870 Well, in this case, God is using Joshua and the people of Israel 527 00:22:03,870 --> 00:22:05,310 to fight the battle. 528 00:22:05,310 --> 00:22:08,870 And therefore God is showing the judgment against evil. 529 00:22:08,950 --> 00:22:12,030 He's showing the judgment against those people who are coming 530 00:22:12,030 --> 00:22:13,150 to wipe out his people. 531 00:22:13,150 --> 00:22:15,670 And I think that this is a picture for us in our own life. 532 00:22:15,670 --> 00:22:19,150 I think we need to understand that the, the picture in the book 533 00:22:19,150 --> 00:22:22,430 of Joshua is that the Canaanites and the pagans are essentially 534 00:22:22,430 --> 00:22:23,190 sin in the camp. 535 00:22:23,510 --> 00:22:25,750 We've already seen that demonstrated over and over again 536 00:22:25,750 --> 00:22:26,390 in this book. 537 00:22:27,220 --> 00:22:29,740 And we see later on some of you that are coming on Wednesday 538 00:22:29,740 --> 00:22:33,260 nights in the study in first Samuel, you guys will know a story 539 00:22:33,260 --> 00:22:37,420 that Saul was called to go and take out all of the people, all the 540 00:22:37,420 --> 00:22:38,540 pagans, but yet he doesn't. 541 00:22:38,540 --> 00:22:41,100 He goes, well, maybe we can make some money off these people. 542 00:22:41,100 --> 00:22:42,659 Maybe we can use this. 543 00:22:42,659 --> 00:22:47,500 And so what happens is that's a picture of allowing sin to not 544 00:22:47,500 --> 00:22:50,180 necessarily be completely wiped out from our camp. 545 00:22:50,580 --> 00:22:53,060 And that utterly leaves a huge issue. 546 00:22:53,060 --> 00:22:57,890 And so we see really verses 12 all the way through verse 15 explaining 547 00:22:58,050 --> 00:23:01,890 that there is just this complete wiping away of all the evil 548 00:23:01,970 --> 00:23:02,610 that is there. 549 00:23:02,610 --> 00:23:03,090 Verse 12. 550 00:23:03,090 --> 00:23:05,650 And all the cities and those kings, and all the kings of them, 551 00:23:05,650 --> 00:23:08,290 did Joshua take and smoke them with the edge of the sword? 552 00:23:08,450 --> 00:23:12,490 And he follows, as it says there, destroys them as Moses, the 553 00:23:12,490 --> 00:23:13,890 servant of the Lord commanded. 554 00:23:13,970 --> 00:23:17,010 So this is obviously a promise of God to Moses, which is extended 555 00:23:17,010 --> 00:23:18,770 to Joshua and verse 13. 556 00:23:18,770 --> 00:23:21,730 But as far as the cities that stood still in their strength, Israel 557 00:23:21,730 --> 00:23:23,530 burned none of them, save Hazer. 558 00:23:23,530 --> 00:23:25,420 Only that did Joshua burn. 559 00:23:25,420 --> 00:23:27,700 And all the spoil of these cities and the cattle and the children 560 00:23:27,700 --> 00:23:29,700 of Israel took for a prey unto themselves. 561 00:23:29,700 --> 00:23:32,340 But every man they smoke with the edge of the sword until they 562 00:23:32,340 --> 00:23:35,060 had destroyed them, neither left them any to breathe. 563 00:23:35,700 --> 00:23:39,660 And so again, that is continuously talking about this complete 564 00:23:39,660 --> 00:23:40,020 battle. 565 00:23:40,020 --> 00:23:40,740 Verse 15. 566 00:23:40,740 --> 00:23:44,460 And as the Lord commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command 567 00:23:44,460 --> 00:23:44,980 Joshua. 568 00:23:44,980 --> 00:23:45,940 And so did Joshua. 569 00:23:45,940 --> 00:23:49,740 He left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses. 570 00:23:49,740 --> 00:23:52,440 And so we see that this is actually a generational thing. 571 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:55,600 We see that Moses had passed this down to Joshua. 572 00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:59,040 And as Joshua received the promises of God, he continued on 573 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:01,840 in the work that the Lord was doing with, with Moses. 574 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:03,400 And we know that Moses wasn't perfect. 575 00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:07,000 Actually, Moses made a lot of mistakes and the Lord definitely 576 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:08,880 gave him some earthly punishment to that. 577 00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:13,720 But at the same time, Moses's legacy was passed down through the 578 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:15,480 years and passed on to Joshua. 579 00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:16,520 And Joshua obeys God. 580 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:21,410 So it's not that Joshua obeys Moses, it's almost that Joshua obeys 581 00:24:21,410 --> 00:24:23,370 God through the example of Moses. 582 00:24:23,610 --> 00:24:26,890 And that's what we do when we see folks like talking about Ms. 583 00:24:26,890 --> 00:24:27,570 Judy tonight. 584 00:24:27,570 --> 00:24:31,410 I mean, think about that Godly legacy over 50 years, 54 years working 585 00:24:31,410 --> 00:24:32,090 at the church. 586 00:24:32,730 --> 00:24:33,610 That's amazing. 587 00:24:33,690 --> 00:24:34,810 It's an amazing testimony. 588 00:24:34,810 --> 00:24:39,450 I often think about how many children came through and heard lessons 589 00:24:39,450 --> 00:24:40,330 from, from her. 590 00:24:40,490 --> 00:24:43,450 How many children can attribute their earliest memories 591 00:24:43,530 --> 00:24:48,170 and at the church or in the ministry from, from Ms. Judy and, 592 00:24:48,170 --> 00:24:50,010 and we, we give her all that honor. 593 00:24:50,010 --> 00:24:52,170 But at the end of the day, I think that Ms. Judy would also say 594 00:24:52,170 --> 00:24:53,290 it was all the Lord, right? 595 00:24:53,450 --> 00:24:55,450 And it was her being faithful to the Lord. 596 00:24:55,450 --> 00:24:58,410 So when Pastor Lasko came up to her and asked her to start teaching 597 00:24:58,410 --> 00:25:01,810 in the church, probably there was maybe some hesitancy and like, 598 00:25:01,810 --> 00:25:02,970 I don't know what I'm doing yet. 599 00:25:03,050 --> 00:25:05,050 I'm just getting started in, in church. 600 00:25:05,130 --> 00:25:08,290 But the idea would be that she was obedient to the Lord as he called 601 00:25:08,290 --> 00:25:08,650 her. 602 00:25:08,730 --> 00:25:11,490 And therefore think about how many people were impacted over the 603 00:25:11,490 --> 00:25:14,840 years and, and how many people then follow the Lord through that 604 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:15,280 example. 605 00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:17,440 And so we see that passed down, and that's exactly what we 606 00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:20,720 see with Joshua, is that he saw God working through Moses. 607 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:23,200 And though Moses wasn't perfect, none of us are perfect, 608 00:25:23,360 --> 00:25:26,440 but he saw God's promise to Moses and Moses believing in that 609 00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:28,440 promise and God blessing in that promise. 610 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:33,640 And as it says here, Joshua then follows that path and ultimately 611 00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:35,640 follows the blessing of the lord. 612 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:36,320 So verse 16. 613 00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:40,420 So Joshua took all that land, the hills and all that south country, 614 00:25:40,900 --> 00:25:43,740 and all the land of Goshen and the valley and the plain and the 615 00:25:43,740 --> 00:25:46,780 mountain of Israel and the valley of the same, even from Mount 616 00:25:46,780 --> 00:25:50,940 Halak that goeth up the sear, even unto BAAL Gad in the valley 617 00:25:50,940 --> 00:25:55,340 of Lebanon under Mount Hermon, and all their kings he took and smote 618 00:25:55,340 --> 00:25:56,020 them and slew them. 619 00:25:56,020 --> 00:25:58,860 So this is just essentially recounting the complete victory over 620 00:25:58,860 --> 00:26:02,020 Canaan, both in the north and in the south. 621 00:26:03,140 --> 00:26:08,010 Going further here it says in verse 18, Joshua made war a long 622 00:26:08,010 --> 00:26:09,450 time with all those kings. 623 00:26:09,450 --> 00:26:13,690 There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, 624 00:26:13,690 --> 00:26:17,690 save the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon and all other 625 00:26:18,010 --> 00:26:21,890 they took in battle, for it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. 626 00:26:21,890 --> 00:26:25,530 And so this is another interesting point, verse number 20, 627 00:26:26,490 --> 00:26:29,770 we, we talked about in the book of Romans that God hardened 628 00:26:29,770 --> 00:26:30,730 Pharaoh's hearts. 629 00:26:31,290 --> 00:26:35,530 And so that was a, for many a proof text to say that, you know, 630 00:26:35,530 --> 00:26:38,530 sometimes God just comes in and against people's will, he hardens 631 00:26:38,530 --> 00:26:40,410 their heart and they had no choice to obey God. 632 00:26:41,050 --> 00:26:44,410 But again we, we talked about that, that thought in Romans, and 633 00:26:44,410 --> 00:26:48,130 we talk about this thought now in Joshua that, that, that phrase 634 00:26:48,130 --> 00:26:50,930 harden their hearts essentially means he hardens them 635 00:26:50,930 --> 00:26:52,170 in the state that they are in. 636 00:26:52,170 --> 00:26:55,130 And so these people in Canaan had had opportunity. 637 00:26:55,130 --> 00:26:58,050 But yet because of their rebellion, God hardens their heart. 638 00:26:58,050 --> 00:26:59,530 He sets them in their way. 639 00:26:59,610 --> 00:27:04,190 And essentially at that point God what that decision brings, and 640 00:27:04,190 --> 00:27:06,990 that would be judgment that they should come against Israel in 641 00:27:06,990 --> 00:27:09,110 battle, that he might destroy them utterly. 642 00:27:09,110 --> 00:27:13,990 So God uses their rebellion for his glory. 643 00:27:14,470 --> 00:27:16,030 We saw that theme in the new Testament. 644 00:27:16,030 --> 00:27:17,510 We see that in the Old Testament. 645 00:27:17,670 --> 00:27:20,950 I don't believe that God forced the Canaanites to be evil. 646 00:27:20,950 --> 00:27:24,950 And God forced the Canaanites to practice, you know, child sacrifice 647 00:27:24,950 --> 00:27:25,550 and all those things. 648 00:27:25,550 --> 00:27:25,790 That's. 649 00:27:25,790 --> 00:27:27,430 That would be against the character of God. 650 00:27:27,430 --> 00:27:30,830 But what God does is that he says, okay, these people are disobeying 651 00:27:30,830 --> 00:27:31,030 me. 652 00:27:31,030 --> 00:27:32,800 They're in rebellion and going to sin. 653 00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:34,560 Well, I'm still going to use that for my glory. 654 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:36,280 And that he does that through Israel. 655 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:39,280 And Israel judges them and God's mighty hand is seen. 656 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:44,240 And so it says that they might have no favor, but that he might 657 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:46,360 destroy them, as the Lord commanded Moses. 658 00:27:46,360 --> 00:27:50,160 And so I believe that this is a description of how God deals with 659 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:50,560 sin. 660 00:27:51,120 --> 00:27:54,000 Whether we know it or not, whether we actually believe it or 661 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:54,160 not. 662 00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:55,800 God always is dealing with sin. 663 00:27:55,800 --> 00:27:59,040 And he will be final in his judgment against all those that are 664 00:27:59,040 --> 00:27:59,920 rebellion to Him. 665 00:28:00,700 --> 00:28:05,340 Now, to some degree, God is patient, God is gracious, he is merciful. 666 00:28:05,340 --> 00:28:08,140 And yet we know that there's some times in our life where we look 667 00:28:08,140 --> 00:28:10,500 at people in the world and we go, when is God going to deal with 668 00:28:10,500 --> 00:28:11,100 that evil? 669 00:28:11,740 --> 00:28:15,180 Well, it's not in our timing, it's not in our way. 670 00:28:15,340 --> 00:28:17,300 The Bible says that vengeance is mine. 671 00:28:17,300 --> 00:28:18,780 I will repay, saith the Lord. 672 00:28:18,780 --> 00:28:19,260 That's a. 673 00:28:19,260 --> 00:28:22,460 That's a quote from the Old Testament placed in the New Testament. 674 00:28:22,700 --> 00:28:24,300 So what we can understand is this. 675 00:28:24,300 --> 00:28:29,250 We can take comfort and confidence in the fact that God will 676 00:28:29,250 --> 00:28:34,050 not let any rebellion, any sin, any evil go undone. 677 00:28:34,050 --> 00:28:35,130 He will judge that. 678 00:28:35,130 --> 00:28:39,170 And so we see that God at that time strikes them down and there 679 00:28:39,170 --> 00:28:42,690 is this destruction that is promised to those who are in Rebellion. 680 00:28:42,690 --> 00:28:43,490 Verse 21. 681 00:28:43,570 --> 00:28:47,730 And at the time, and at that time came Joshua and cut off the 682 00:28:47,730 --> 00:28:53,090 Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from day bear from Anab, 683 00:28:53,090 --> 00:28:56,350 and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains 684 00:28:56,350 --> 00:28:59,150 of Israel, Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities. 685 00:28:59,390 --> 00:29:02,670 There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children 686 00:29:02,670 --> 00:29:03,310 of Israel. 687 00:29:03,310 --> 00:29:07,310 Only in Gaza, in Gath and in Ashdod there remained. 688 00:29:07,310 --> 00:29:10,430 And those are places that you might find familiar with the Philistine 689 00:29:10,430 --> 00:29:11,390 cities that come later. 690 00:29:11,390 --> 00:29:15,150 And even Gath we know some of you know that that's where Goliath 691 00:29:15,150 --> 00:29:16,430 from the Philistine area. 692 00:29:17,150 --> 00:29:18,510 And so he says all. 693 00:29:18,590 --> 00:29:19,990 Basically all the land of. 694 00:29:19,990 --> 00:29:20,350 Of. 695 00:29:20,430 --> 00:29:23,440 Of God's promise of the children of Israel was cleared. 696 00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:25,680 And these other people went the opposite direction. 697 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:26,240 Verse 23. 698 00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:30,120 So Joshua took the whole land according to all that the Lord said 699 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:34,920 unto Moses and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according 700 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:37,000 to their divisions by their tribes. 701 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:39,320 And the land rested from war. 702 00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:43,520 And so we do see here a couple of different things, and I want us 703 00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:48,280 to note this as we continue on in this study, that those. 704 00:29:48,910 --> 00:29:50,950 Those people were driven to those coastal cities. 705 00:29:50,950 --> 00:29:55,950 And we see there's this verse 23, a complete victory, and then 706 00:29:55,950 --> 00:29:56,510 there's rest. 707 00:29:57,230 --> 00:30:01,430 And God does, at certain periods of time, give us rest from 708 00:30:01,430 --> 00:30:01,990 the battle. 709 00:30:01,990 --> 00:30:03,270 And that's what we see here for Israel. 710 00:30:03,270 --> 00:30:05,069 It doesn't mean that they're never going to fight a battle again, 711 00:30:05,390 --> 00:30:09,070 but we do see at the end of verse 23, and the land rested from 712 00:30:09,070 --> 00:30:09,390 war. 713 00:30:10,030 --> 00:30:15,510 And so the end of this phase of the war was an opportunity for 714 00:30:15,510 --> 00:30:19,170 the tribes to see the inheritance and the blessings of 715 00:30:19,170 --> 00:30:22,410 God and to live in the joy of what God had given them in their 716 00:30:22,410 --> 00:30:22,890 victory. 717 00:30:23,130 --> 00:30:25,170 And that's actually what you're going to see through the next 718 00:30:25,170 --> 00:30:29,450 few chapters, is that the land given to certain people and certain 719 00:30:29,450 --> 00:30:32,330 tribes and how that's all divided, but essentially this is 720 00:30:32,330 --> 00:30:34,330 the time in which they get to enjoy the fruit. 721 00:30:34,730 --> 00:30:36,490 And that's sometimes how the Christian life is. 722 00:30:36,490 --> 00:30:37,530 And ministry. 723 00:30:37,530 --> 00:30:41,370 I'm going to tell you, there are seasons of ministry that it just 724 00:30:41,370 --> 00:30:42,650 seems like it's a battle. 725 00:30:43,180 --> 00:30:45,300 I don't know if any of you guys have been in service, and I 726 00:30:45,300 --> 00:30:45,780 say ministry. 727 00:30:45,780 --> 00:30:47,740 I'm not talking about vocational ministry, talking about 728 00:30:47,740 --> 00:30:49,180 church ministry, just in general. 729 00:30:49,180 --> 00:30:51,100 All of us are in the ministry there. 730 00:30:51,420 --> 00:30:53,940 If I'm the only one that believes this, just, you know, bear 731 00:30:53,940 --> 00:30:54,260 with me. 732 00:30:54,260 --> 00:30:58,180 But I feel like there are some seasons in our life as Christians 733 00:30:58,180 --> 00:30:59,580 that just feel like a battle. 734 00:30:59,740 --> 00:31:02,940 Battling others, battling our flesh, battling the enemy. 735 00:31:02,940 --> 00:31:04,020 It just seems like a battle. 736 00:31:04,020 --> 00:31:07,740 But then there are going to be times where we do get to have those 737 00:31:07,740 --> 00:31:10,990 experiences where there's rest and where there's fruit. 738 00:31:11,310 --> 00:31:13,710 We even know the principle in the New Testament that there's some 739 00:31:13,710 --> 00:31:15,110 watering, there's. 740 00:31:15,110 --> 00:31:18,230 There's some that had planted, but it's ultimately God gives the 741 00:31:18,230 --> 00:31:18,470 increase. 742 00:31:18,470 --> 00:31:20,670 But the beauty is, is that sometimes we get the taste of that 743 00:31:20,670 --> 00:31:21,070 fruit. 744 00:31:21,550 --> 00:31:24,470 I can tell you there have been many things that I prayed over when 745 00:31:24,470 --> 00:31:27,910 it comes to my life here at Middletown Baptist Church that I 746 00:31:27,910 --> 00:31:29,390 have not seen the fruit of yet. 747 00:31:30,190 --> 00:31:32,790 But there are some things that God has blessed over the years. 748 00:31:32,790 --> 00:31:36,310 And it's like, wow, that that was four, five, six years ago that 749 00:31:36,310 --> 00:31:37,590 we began to pray for those things. 750 00:31:37,590 --> 00:31:39,070 And we start to see things happening. 751 00:31:39,410 --> 00:31:42,970 And it's a beautiful thing to find that season of rest and peace 752 00:31:42,970 --> 00:31:43,490 and joy. 753 00:31:43,490 --> 00:31:44,810 It doesn't mean that we are done. 754 00:31:44,810 --> 00:31:46,050 It doesn't mean that we quit. 755 00:31:46,210 --> 00:31:49,210 But what it does mean is that God gives us the type of grace for 756 00:31:49,210 --> 00:31:50,210 the time that we need. 757 00:31:50,450 --> 00:31:51,490 And that's what we see here. 758 00:31:51,490 --> 00:31:54,530 God gives the grace to the people of Israel and they're able 759 00:31:54,530 --> 00:31:57,250 to rest, and they're able to have that, that Sabbath. 760 00:31:57,250 --> 00:31:59,010 And we know that the Lord is the Lord of Sabbath. 761 00:31:59,010 --> 00:32:02,130 And there is a beautiful thing to the idea of resting. 762 00:32:02,610 --> 00:32:06,170 And I believe that the Bible teaches very clearly that there is 763 00:32:06,170 --> 00:32:07,490 a time and a place for rest. 764 00:32:08,820 --> 00:32:11,380 But I think the way that we think about it biblically is rest 765 00:32:11,460 --> 00:32:14,180 when we're called to rest and work when we're called to work. 766 00:32:14,340 --> 00:32:19,300 Oftentimes my flesh wants to work when he's calling me to rest, 767 00:32:19,780 --> 00:32:21,620 and rest when he's calling me to work. 768 00:32:21,860 --> 00:32:23,819 Some of you guys know what I mean by that, okay? 769 00:32:23,819 --> 00:32:26,020 When we need to get busy, that's when I want to back off. 770 00:32:26,740 --> 00:32:29,460 And really when I should be backing off, that's when I want to 771 00:32:29,460 --> 00:32:29,940 press on. 772 00:32:30,420 --> 00:32:31,660 That's just a matter of the flesh. 773 00:32:31,660 --> 00:32:32,740 That's the matter of the fall. 774 00:32:33,950 --> 00:32:34,670 And we know where. 775 00:32:34,670 --> 00:32:35,470 Where do we find. 776 00:32:35,550 --> 00:32:37,150 Well, we think of Sabbath. 777 00:32:37,150 --> 00:32:41,030 Well, yes, there is a physical Sabbath that's mentioned in scripture, 778 00:32:41,030 --> 00:32:43,430 but we know that Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. 779 00:32:43,430 --> 00:32:45,310 Meaning we find our rest in Jesus. 780 00:32:46,430 --> 00:32:48,150 We don't find it in, hey, well, you know what? 781 00:32:48,150 --> 00:32:49,790 I just need to get away from everything. 782 00:32:49,790 --> 00:32:51,590 I need to run away from all my problems. 783 00:32:51,590 --> 00:32:53,150 That's not how we find our rest. 784 00:32:53,950 --> 00:32:55,430 There's a time and a place to get away. 785 00:32:55,430 --> 00:32:56,430 Even Jesus got away. 786 00:32:56,430 --> 00:32:58,390 And I'm not saying that getting away is a bad thing, but 787 00:32:58,390 --> 00:33:00,200 what I'm saying is it's trying to get away from. 788 00:33:00,270 --> 00:33:02,750 From something that God wants us to deal with is a bad thing. 789 00:33:02,750 --> 00:33:05,910 But sometimes we can find Jesus in the midst of our chaos. 790 00:33:05,910 --> 00:33:09,630 And that's exactly what we see, is that Jesus is that Sabbath. 791 00:33:09,630 --> 00:33:10,710 He is that peace. 792 00:33:10,710 --> 00:33:13,230 He is the Prince of peace, as we say. 793 00:33:13,390 --> 00:33:16,710 And even in the New Testament, the Bible says that the peace that 794 00:33:16,710 --> 00:33:19,550 we find in him is a peace that passeth all understanding. 795 00:33:20,190 --> 00:33:22,670 And so we see this victory and we see this rest. 796 00:33:22,750 --> 00:33:25,310 Now we will continue on in this study. 797 00:33:25,470 --> 00:33:29,960 And Joshua chapter 12, and Joshua chapter 13, and some of this 798 00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:30,520 we will. 799 00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:32,920 I'm going to just confess it to you now. 800 00:33:32,920 --> 00:33:36,440 We are going to kind of skim through some of this because probably 801 00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:39,240 for the next few chapters, it's going to be a lot of. 802 00:33:39,640 --> 00:33:41,639 And the king of Jericho was, was. 803 00:33:41,639 --> 00:33:44,600 Was destroyed and the king of Bethel was destroyed. 804 00:33:44,680 --> 00:33:47,960 And so we will somewhat summarize the next few chapters. 805 00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:51,600 I understand I I am a big stickler making sure we go verse 806 00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:54,400 by verse, but I also understand that I don't want to lose 807 00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:55,160 you completely. 808 00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:58,920 So we will go through some of these lands that were conquered. 809 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:00,680 It's a summary of the lands that were conquered. 810 00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:04,240 Then we will look into the inheritances of different tribes, 811 00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:05,800 which is very, very important. 812 00:34:06,040 --> 00:34:09,560 Lands that is split up amongst different tribes and different people. 813 00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:15,600 And then we will get into somewhat the end of the Joshua book 814 00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:18,920 of Joshua and hopefully it'll be a good study. 815 00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:22,520 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 816 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:23,160 podcast. 817 00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:26,740 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 818 00:34:26,740 --> 00:34:28,980 Would like to find out more information about our church or this 819 00:34:28,980 --> 00:34:29,340 sermon? 820 00:34:29,340 --> 00:34:33,260 You can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org or find 821 00:34:33,260 --> 00:34:34,980 us on Facebook or YouTube. 822 00:34:35,700 --> 00:34:40,180 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaroiddletownbaptistchurch 823 00:34:40,180 --> 00:34:42,820 dot com if you've enjoyed this podcast. 824 00:34:42,980 --> 00:34:47,460 Please subscribe and follow along for future podcast and updates. 825 00:34:48,100 --> 00:34:49,060 Thank you so much. 826 00:34:49,380 --> 00:34:50,020 God Bless. 827 00:34:50,260 --> 00:34:51,540 Have a wonderful day.