Joshua 12-13 Bible Study (Kings Defeated by Moses & Joshua / Inheritance) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Before we jump into Joshua 12, a scripture came to mind in light of our situation in America and what we're experiencing tonight. It's a it's a famous Psalm in Psalm 42 where the psalmist is experiencing a a a spiritual drought, and he doesn't know why. And as he's reminiscing about his experience with God and his thirst for God, he says in verse two of Psalm 42, my soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? And what is he speaking about?

He's speaking about coming to the house of God, being in the presence of God's people. And clearly, this means that he's he's away. He's at some distance from the temple at the time where God's presence would manifest, and he's craving that experience. He's longing for that experience to be in the presence of God. And look at verse four.

He says, these things I remember as I pour out my soul. So as he's communing with God, the very thing that's coming from his heart is this memory. How I would go with the throng and lead them in procession in the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival. You know, this psalmist experienced something so powerful when he would come and lead the people in worship that when he was at a distance from this experience, when he was, outside of his control, pulled away from the house of God, this is the very thing that he craved for. Now this is the this is the point for us to understand.

For the past few months, we've been separated from that experience corporately. And our prayer should be that whenever we sing, we know that the word of God is of utmost importance in the in the house of God. But when we sing truths about God, it should be such an experience that when we are robbed from that experience, we should crave it. We should crave it. You say, well, that's the Old Testament, all the more convicting.

Because this is a man with the people under the old covenant, and the Bible tells us that our covenant is much more glorious. How much more passionate should we be rejoicing and singing and aching and longing for this experience? This is not a bible study about singing, but our prayer again should be that whenever we do sing, it should be a balm to our soul. And God has granted us this open window, and I pray that it would only continue for us to experience what this psalmist is telling us we can experience. Nonetheless, meet me in Joshua chapter 12 as we continue in our bible study.

Joshua chapter 12. If you haven't realized it, we have reached the halfway mark of this book, and this is an important chapter. It's a short one, but very, very instrumental in the structure of this book. Why? Because you and I, as we are about to study these verses, also have to realize that we have entered into a transition in this section of this book.

This book is beautifully divided for us, and we've talked about this in our first session in the book of Joshua. And we know that from chapter one to chapter five, we were studying the Israelites entering into the land. From chapter six to chapter 12, we had studied how Israel was conquering the land. And from chapter 13 to chapter 22, we are now going to explore the details of Israel dividing the land. And 12 is the hinge into that new section.

This is the transition chapter. Now what's amazing is that when you and I studied chapter 11, we realized that at the concluding verses, we are told that Joshua was successful in conquering the land. We got a synopsis. We got a quick overview of how that happened. And then the last phrase of last week's chapter was this, and the land had rest from war.

The land had rest from war. Now you and I would think after that kind of a, a phrase, a statement that the book would end. What else is there to say? But it doesn't end there because the mission is not yet complete. They have removed by God's power all the threats, at least the immediate ones, the greater ones, But now the rest of this book is going to speak about how the different portions of the land are gonna be distributed to different tribes.

Joshua now is embarking in a new task. He is going to manage and he is going to seek the Lord to know which boundaries belong to which tribes, and he's gonna essentially give their addresses. And that's even more significant than we think because we're gonna discover that though the majority of the Israelites conquered a majority of the Canaanites, there's still some residue. And now each of these tribes are gonna have to deal with whoever's occupying their portion of the land, and that's gonna be an individual choice. And we're gonna discover which tribes lean towards that direction and which tribes were relaxed.

But when you and I come to this chapter, we have to understand something crucial. That though we might want to be tempted to read through this, because if you've read it, you realize that it's it's just really about names. It's just really about the names of kings that were defeated. And we might be tempted to say, okay, let's just get to the action. What's going to make the rest of this bible study very interesting is that we're just going to see a lot of names, a lot of land names, and some narrative tucked in there.

Now you and I might not think that that is important. To the original readers, it was really important. Now God had in mind not just the original readers, but you and I. And as a discipline of our church, we wanna not skip over portions of scripture. We wanna lean in and say, Lord, what do you have to say even in these seemingly insignificant texts, these these lists of names?

What is it that you have in store? So when you come to chapter 12, you see a division of two parts. Look in your Bibles with me. What do you and I see? We see from verses one to six a description of the kings that were defeated by the leadership of Moses.

The kings that were defeated by the leadership of Moses beyond the Jordan, not within the land of Canaan. Remember the the River Jordan was the the border to get in and get out. These kings, these two kings were defeated under the leadership of Moses. And then it goes on to describe how the land there is given to two and a half tribes. Why?

Because remember the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, when they were at the border, before they went into the promised land, they looked around and said, this is actually really nice. Moses, is it okay if we stay right here and not go into the promised land? Because there's a lot of space and we just want to settle right now. Moses didn't like the answer. He sought the Lord and he said, okay.

Listen. One condition. You come in with us, you help your brothers, and then you can move back and settle. God granted them their desire even though it was not God's original purpose to give them that portion of real estate. It's a lesson to remember that God is willing to give us what we want if we press him enough.

And it's another picture of how believers can live right at the border of God's fullness and be content to stay there. The second portion, seven verse seven down to verse 24, deals with the kings that were defeated under the leadership of not of Moses but of Joshua. And all these kings are not found beyond the Jordan but within the land of Canaan. And what we see really is a summary of Joshua's ministry in verse 24 where it says, In all, he defeated 31 kings. And we've spent the previous weeks looking at certain battles in great detail to draw out principles of faith, and God and his wisdom, out of the 31, pulled out just a few to say this is what you need.

This is what you need to be a man or a woman of God in wholeness and completeness and righteousness. So, again, we look at these verses and go, okay, that's great, but what's the application? Again, this is the transitional chapter because from this moment on, Israel is graduating in their program that God has established for them. They are stepping into a new realm of victory, a new realm of success. They're getting that much closer to enjoying what God had called them to enjoy.

So then what is this all about? I argue that this chapter is all about the Israelites, the readers, pausing and reflecting on the faithfulness of God in a transitional period of their lives. It's a wonderful call. A call for you and I to know also how in milestones, especially to serve as pit stops, to just stop, pause, reminisce, and realize that God is the one who's brought me to this point. God is the one who's brought me to this point.

Because the temptation for any of us, especially for the spiritual who are growing in godliness and growing in, and advancing in his will and his purposes and experiencing his blessings, is that in the process of enjoying and being overwhelmed by his goodness that you fail to give him the credit and you fail to realize that he is the blesser. You don't think that's a temptation? God had warned them earlier back in Deuteronomy in our study in chapter eight. What did he say? Listen to this in verse 18 of Deuteronomy eight.

You can turn there if you'd like. It's in the context of you prospering. It's in the context of you being successful and experiencing God's goodness. And he says this in verse 18, you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers as it is this day. You shall remember.

You know what that means? That's a command. You know what that means? That is something that you and I have to initiate. We have to do that.

And the danger is that they would fail to see how what they were experiencing was related to God and then unfortunately bring it to themselves. You shall remember. That's a call to discipline. That's a call to action, to say, I'm going to willfully choose to pause, remember, reminisce of how God in detail has brought certain events in my life, certain people in my life, certain successes in my life, and this is why I am here today. That is why you and I have every right to include God.

Whenever you celebrate your birth, whenever you celebrate any hint of success your graduation, your purchasing of a new home, you advancing in ministry and seeing greater fruit it's a call to discipline to say, in this moment, especially in great height of victory, Lord, I'm gonna choose to remember that you have held my hand and brought me step by step to this. And if it wasn't for you, what what would be the danger if you failed to think and and discipline yourself in this? Look at verse 17. Beware lest you say in your heart my power, my power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth. Have you ever had those thoughts whispered in your mind?

Look at how smart I am. If it if it wasn't for my type of personality, if it wasn't for my looks, if it wasn't for my resource, if it wasn't for this, it wasn't for that. When you begin to think like that, trust that you have failed to do what verse 18 tells you to do, and that's to pause and to reflect that whatever I'm experiencing and seeing before me comes from heaven. Every good and perfect gift comes from the father of lights. Every.

You realize that? The mobility of your muscles comes from him. Your ability to bend down and tie your shoe comes from him, never mind wealth. And so chapter 12 of Joshua is simply a recall that God is faithful. But not just generally, let's look at this specifically from chapter 12.

How is God faithful? Number one, God is faithful in this context to his servants of every generation. Verse one, now these are the kings of the land whom the people of Israel defeated and took possession of the land beyond the Jordan towards the sunrise from the Valley Of Arnon to Mount Hermon with all their rebah eastward. Verse six, Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the people of Israel defeated them. Now look at verse seven.

And these are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the people of Israel defeated on the West Side Of The Jordan. What's my point? Two different generations. Both leaders unique in their respective ministries. They have a different emphasis, so to speak, but the same overarching call advancing the people into God's promises.

But what's beautiful about this is that the same God that was faithful to Moses is the same God that was faithful to Joshua. That's a principle and a thread throughout the Bible. The same God that was faithful to Elijah was the same God that was faithful to Elisha. The same God that was faithful to David was the same God that was faithful to Solomon. The same God that was faithful to Paul was the same God who was faithful to Timothy.

The same God who was faithful to all of them is the same God who was faithful to you and me. Generationally, God does not show favorites. And what God does, what I love about chapter 12 is when you read Moses' ministry in light of defeating kings, he defeated two. Two. Now Moses' ministry is much more complex than that.

But in light of kings being defeated, we are told two. Joshua 31. But God is still faithful. Faithful in what sense? That he's the one who provides the longevity of strength, the resources, the people, the wisdom, the revelation in proportion to the will that you must complete for his glory.

He knows exactly what you need to fulfill the exact purpose he has for your life and mine. He knows what to distribute. He knows what to grant. He knows what to withhold. But all in all, he is faithful.

Whether your ministry is considered small or big, he is faithful to help you succeed for his glory. And what's beautiful is that generationally, what you see in Moses' case in terms of kings was less challenging than Joshua. But God is not intimidated nor is he limited by the challenges of each generation, including ours. If you're a person who says that we are experiencing certain things in our lifetime that no other generation has experienced, that is certainly true in some aspects because if you look it up and you search the bloodiest century of history, it is the twentieth century. The most murderous and vicious century is the twentieth.

And it is no debate that the exposure and the ability to access filth, sexual morality, or any other morally depraved resource is at the tip of our fingers unlike any other time. There are more enemies on the land. There are more threats to our holiness now more than ever. As technology advances, it's amazing that whatever you invent, man has a way of corrupting it. Because it is man's heart that is corrupt.

You put anything before them, they know how to pervert it. Jesus said it clearly that weakness comes from the heart, not from outside in, from inside out. But here's the thing that you and I have to be encouraged by. If God was faithful to those fifty years ago when this was more of a God fearing country, he's not less faithful to his servants succeeding in advancing the gospel today. He's not.

God is not intimidating neither should you or I. I I have read books and I've had conversations with people where something along the lines of this type of statement is made. Do you think God worked differently back then because people had more of a God fearing conscience? Do you think God did things differently back then with America than now because of this or because of that? And we can argue different things, but here is the reality.

God is just as powerful. He's just as ferocious for his word to go forth, and he is just as willing to find a man or woman or a group of people that are crazy enough to believe him and take him at his word. He is faithful to every servant in every generation. Point number two in chapter 12: God is faithful over every type of resistance that might come before us. In what sense?

We cannot make the mistake that as we read these lists of kings that were defeated, that they were all on the same level of challenge to the people of God. We learned that, didn't we? Jericho was much greater in population and fortification than Ai was. Joshua chapter 11 presents us a coalition of enemies that came against Israel much more threatening than the coalition of Joshua chapter 10. And we can say the same about Moses's time in ministry with the two kings.

We cannot make the mistake to think that Og and Sihon, the two kings that were defeated, were equally as threatening. Here's proof of that. Go to Deuteronomy chapter three and see what God tells Moses In verse two, as Moses is retelling the story of how they defeated, the first generation defeated these two kings beyond the Jordan, but the Lord said to me, do not fear him, for I have given him and all his people and his land into your hand, and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon. Why would God find the need to encourage his servant and the first generation to not be afraid? Why?

You would think that their previous victory would be enough fuel to have no hesitation to advancing and to defeating this king. But it's only until we read the description of this king with the little details that we have do we realize God's wisdom in saying don't be afraid. Go down to verse 11 of Deuteronomy three. For only Og, the king of Bashan, was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bed was a bed of iron.

Is it not in Rabbah of the Ammonites? Nine cubits was its length and four cubits its breadth according to the common cubit. The man was a giant. The man was of a race, the last of a race that clearly described their physical stature, that if you were in his presence alone would paralyze you. Surely he was intimidating.

Surely he was overwhelming, even to the sight. And so in comparison to the previous king, maybe he was a giant of himself, but this one was a rare one. He goes, don't be scared. Don't be afraid. What you did to the previous one's sign, you're gonna do the same thing to him.

It's gonna be the same thing even though he looks different and he seems more powerful and he seems overwhelming and he seems more threatening. It's gonna be the same result if you just trust in me. Now why is that important for us to understand in light of the new covenant? We're not dealing with physical giants, are we? We're not dealing with flesh and blood as our enemy.

But the uniqueness of this man and how he stood unparalleled to other kings in his time teaches us something even in light of our own battles. Because in the minds of many Christians, they have defined certain sins by the level of their apparent authority and strength in comparison to other sins. Something along the lines of this type of language, this is a small sin and this is a big sin. These things I have overcome, this one is really tough to overcome. We've categorized sins based on their apparent strength and ability, intimidation, threat, just like they would with their own enemies in the physical, in the flesh.

But what was true for them is true for us. Is it not? That in light of God's strength, it doesn't matter if it's a giant thing, it doesn't matter if it's a great thing, if it doesn't matter the the record of how many valiant men it has destroyed or he has destroyed. In light of God's strength, all sin can be conquered. All mind sense can be conquered.

All attitudes that are antichrist can be conquered. So here's the thing, because when you and I read of Joshua's story, we see an interesting highlight at the end of chapter 11 that we can't skip over. Go to Joshua 11 in your Bibles and read this little detail that should strengthen our understanding of this in practical terms. Have you ever wondered why one person can overcome sin and another person dealing with the same sin cannot overcome it? Because I'll tell you a giant sin in our land today and it's pornography.

It's pornography. It's an epidemic. It's it's killing Christian men and women now. It's not limited to gender. It's destroying minds and destroying marriages.

And I believe that the church should be more vocal about declaring not just the fact that it's a sin everybody bound in knows it's a sin, but declaring that it's possible to have victory over this sin. There's different types of sin. I'm just saying that if we're gonna identify a giant in our day, if we're gonna identify an aug, so to speak, it's this one. Keep that in mind as we hear this. Go to Joshua eleven twenty one.

And Joshua came this is describing, again, the the near end of their mission to conquer the land of Canaan. And Joshua came at the time and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Deborah, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel, Joshua devoted them to destruction with their cities. Why is that significant? Because the descendants of Anak, the Anakim, were giants in their own respect. They were tall.

They were intimidated. They were threatening. And we go, praise God. That's amazing. But it's even more important to understand the history of the Anakim.

Why? Because the very giants that Joshua and the second generation defeated were the very giants that intimidated the first generation enough to disbelieve God and not enter into the land of Canaan. The second generation defeated what the first one couldn't even face. You realize that? Here's proof.

You can turn there if you want or you can write it down. Numbers thirteen thirty three. The 12 spies go out, 10 of them come with a report. Verse 32 tells us they came with a bad report. And this is what they said in verse 33 of Numbers 13.

And there we saw the Nephilim, parenthesis, the sons of Anak, The sons of Anak who come from the Nephilim. And we seem to ourselves like grasshoppers and so we seem to them. And that was the point where God drew the line, and he says, you're not going into the promised land. But but how did Joshua and the second generation overcome them, though? How is it that one believer can overcome a certain sin and another another believer can't even stand before it, gives up before they even try?

How? Was it that Joshua had more strategy? Was it that the second generation had greater resources? Was it that the Anakim became weaker by Joshua's time so they were more easy to overcome? None of it.

The one substance that Joshua possessed that the first generation did not possess was one thing that we call faith. Faith. Trust. A believing spirit. Because in numbers fourteen eleven, this is what the Lord said in light of the report that these 10 spies gave.

And the Lord said to Moses, how long will these people despise me and how long will they not believe in me? They won't believe him. They don't believe that I can actually help them overcome these giants. You might think that there is a list of reasons why a certain person cannot have victory over a certain sin, but know this, in your calculation, include this truth that at the basis of it, at the foundation of why there is not victory in a believer's life is because there's a lack of faith in God. You say, no.

I believe God. Do you really? Because faith is the very key that opens the door into the journey of gradual victory over sin. And faith is the fuel that keeps you on that journey of sanctification. It keeps you in the lane of being conformed into the image of Christ, and it guards you, and it motivates you to believe that you have more to experience in light of holiness.

It's faith. It's trust. Because if you can't believe God for this, then it doesn't matter what you do. It doesn't matter what you do. It doesn't matter the strategies that you try to implement.

It doesn't matter how much strength you put into it. It does it has to come down to faith. Now many of us, as evangelicals, we fight for, and the whole Protestant Reformation is was a fight for justification by faith. You are saved. You have eternal life on the basis of a trust in the savior's work, but we have limited our understanding of faith to that when the Bible tells us to take faith into the realm of sanctification.

Not just being positionally secure in Christ and trusting in that, but believing and trusting that practically his power can work in my life and conform me to the image of Christ. So So when it comes to our understanding of faith in God, we've only kept it at the cross, at Christ's cross. When we have to take it with our own cross or else we'll be crushed by the weight of that cross. It's faith. It was faith for them in the Old Testament.

It's faith for you and I and the basis of sanctification in the New Testament. Paul in Galatians was arguing the case for faith, especially in justification throughout that entire book. It's a wonderful text. But then at one part, he says something interesting. Listen to this.

In Galatians three three, he says, are you so foolish? Can you imagine somebody saying that in a sermon? Are you so foolish? He says, having begun by the spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? So when you got saved, you received the Holy Spirit, and you believed on God for your justification, but at some point you were deceived in thinking that you can complete your holiness apart from the very same deposit that was given for your justification.

You are now working in the flesh to try to complete a holiness and not trying to even work for your salvation. And what Paul is saying is you are setting yourself up for failure. Because just as much of the spirit that you needed to be sealed for redemption, you need the Spirit just as much for your sanctification. And if you and I fail to realize that our faith is of spiritual nature and that our walk with the Lord is a supernatural walk and that we must draw from a power outside of ourselves, we're doomed. We're doomed.

See, we're told you're safe now. Work really, really hard to be holy. Good luck. Oh, see, you're saved by faith. Now try your hardest not to say bad things, not to touch bad things, not to look at bad things, and just we'll see you in heaven.

When the glorious gospel, the full gospel, is not that I'm coming to God one day, it's that God now lives in me. And it's gonna require faith to see any change. What does faith for my sanctification look like? What does faith is faith saying, I know that sin is bad and wrong. I know it's it's wrong.

It's evil. That's not faith. The world knows that to some degree. Nor is it faith to say, well, I know brother, I have to overcome it. And I know that I if I'm a professing believer that I shouldn't be doing what I know.

That's not faith either. You're acknowledging something. Faith in light of victory over sin is not recognizing it as sin, is not feeling guilty about that sin. Faith in terms of you overcoming sin looks like, I realize that this is not from Christ, and I believe that Christ will infuse me with the grace and the power to overcome it. That's faith.

And if from that basis, you look at the word of God knowing that Christ has purchased the power for you to overcome and whatever guidelines and practicalities that have been given, you walk in them trusting that God is going to infuse you with what he needs to infuse you with. So this is this is how it looks like. Here's a sin that's brought before you, and as you see that sin, where does your mind go to? Is the solution found within yourself, whether it's an attitude problem, a language problem, a money problem, a lust problem, does a solution is a solution found within yourself like the Galatians that needed to actually cut flesh and circumcision to say this is how we're gonna be holier? Or does your mind in the because you've been wired in the realm of faith, in the truth of faith, does your mind look at sin and say, oh, I have something new to bring before the feet of the master.

And I have something else to bring at the foot of the cross so that this can die. See, Joshua going in and facing the Anakim did not mean that God would do everything for him. He just trusted that as he would face it, God would give him what he needed and would secure that victory. See, when you and I begin to think this, does this looks like I'm gonna have to live with this. Doesn't seem like I can overcome it.

It's hereditary. It's generational. My dad was like this. My grandpa You have abolished faith. You've destroyed faith, and you've cut off your source of receiving the Spirit of God to work in you.

When you and I begin to come to the Bible and begin to look at verses to try to justify a certain lifestyle or habit, instead of looking at the truths that promise us victory, we have aborted on faith. But when you and I look at anything and say, Christ purchased the power necessary for me to know holiness and joy in that holiness and the dominion over iniquity. Now you're walking in faith. What motivation is there to overcome sin if you don't believe that Christ will help you fight it? None.

So how can you fight it? Do you see what I'm saying? Listen, if you're gonna look at sin and think to yourself, I'm gonna overcome this because I'm gonna do this, this, and this, and this, you're setting yourself up for great disappointment and a cycling of holiness and inconsistency in your life. Instead of looking at the promises of God and looking at what Christ the great payment that he paid, and then now coming before him in union and communion saying, Lord, I need you now. I need you now.

Assist me. You said that you would keep me from falling, and you begin to walk in that place of trust. No sin is too great for that. So you know what that means. Christ made the purchase, and it's you and I who have the key of faith in our hands.

You and I determine if we open that door and walk in that journey. He already made it plain and clear for us, and we can't complicate it. Now, with that being said, these are the things that we can draw from, from Joshua chapter 12. Would you think that you would draw that from names? Yes.

When we see the overarching principle and the overarching story, we can draw some things. But now we come into Joshua 13. What do we read of in Joshua 13? Speaking of transition, this is the first chapter into the new section. And we are told in verse one, now Joshua was old and advanced in years.

What a description of this man. He was old and advanced in years. So many years have passed since the initiation. Many years have passed since he has entered into this land. And what we are told about him, he's old, and he's advancing years.

And you would think that the things that would follow would be something on the long along the lines of, and Joshua settled in his property, and he pulled out a rocking chair, and he enjoyed the fruit of his vacation home in Canaan. Right? The American dream, the Canaanite dream. Oh, yes. All the hard work is done.

Now here we are. Let's enjoy the rest of life. No. Because that description is followed by, and the Lord said. God still has some things for Joshua to accomplish.

God still has some work for old man Joshua. As long as Joshua had breath, God had a job for him to do. As long as he was able to move and had mobility, God had a task for him. So it is with you and I. The scriptures are airtight in the kingdom of God with this idea of retirement.

You can retire from your business, you can retire from school, you can retire in different places, but there is no such thing as retirement in the kingdom of God. What do I mean by that? You're always gonna serve him. Always. Now if you hear that and go, you've missed out on the joy of serving Jesus Christ.

I read Joshua was old and advanced in years, and Lord said to him, and I get excited because God still has me on this earth and you on this earth for a purpose. And though the task would be different for Joshua, because from this moment on, he's not gonna be leading people into battle, he's gonna be dividing and managing and dealing with conversations and but it's still serving the king of kings, Still serving the Lord. Joshua wasn't holding on to a previous ministry, so to speak, like many ministers do who don't wanna let go of a ministry and pass it on to the next generation. No. Joshua was serving God in a new way.

And you and I must be open to that. And you and I must be hungry for that. And you and I must be joyful with the knowledge that as long as I even if I have a cane in my hand and I'm hunched over, God can still say, there's still things for you to do. I still have something for you. It's not quits till you're in glory.

And the only retirement you have and whatever plan that is, is eternal, in light of the bible at least. I hope that excites you more than disappoints you. And the Lord said to him, you are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet much land to possess. Joshua, you're old. You're advanced in years.

There's still some stuff to do. This is not a rebuke concerning Joshua's lack of leadership or success in conquering the land. Joshua did, according to what we've been told in Joshua 11, exactly what God had told him to do. In the realm of his ministry, it was a success. Nonetheless, there were still areas, there were still residue remnants of Canaanites dwelling in different parts of the land.

So this is not a rebuke. This is just a reminder that Joshua had to manage the people well. And the people are now gonna take the baton of overcoming the enemy under Joshua's leadership to now as their respective traps to say, now we have to choose how we're gonna overcome and if we're gonna overcome these enemies that are in our neighborhoods. But you know what I love about this statement? You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess.

You know what is so awesome about this statement? Here it is. God is not satisfied with you and I experiencing partial inheritance. God is not satisfied with us knowing 90% of the Christian experience and staying that way. Now if God has that kind of a heart posture, how much more the believer?

Here's the reality of many Christians. They are satisfied exactly where they are, exactly where they are. They they don't they don't care about knowing more. They don't care about advancing more. They don't care about moving forward more.

They examine their life. They realize, I'm attending church. I'm not committing big sins, just little sins. I struggle here and there. I have this wonderful plan ahead of me, and it looks really like the American dream.

I'm good. I'm gonna just park right here. And let me tell you something. God is not satisfied with that because God knows that there is more joy, more pleasure, more profit, but you have to align with his heart as Joshua has to align with God's heart to see it being experienced. What does it mean that there is more?

In their case, it was physical land. In our case, it is the spiritual inheritance in Christ. There is more in the realm of prayer and communion with God than you've experienced up to this point. There is more in the conformity of Christ likeness that God wants to bring you into. There is more as being a vessel of light and truth to influence a dying and unbelieving world.

There is more in terms of revelation of the word of God that has to be excavated by faith and hunger. There is more. And if you have ever felt a plateau in your faith, if you have ever come to a place where you've thought to yourself, and listen, you can think about it directly or indirectly. Here's how you think about it directly. I'm good.

I'm not like so and so who's always struggling. I'm not like so and so that doesn't serve in ministry. I'm okay right here. Ever thought that? Or here's indirectly.

Your aches and your passions and your cravings are found in every other thing except the kingdom and your relationship with God. And you know what God's saying to Joshua? You've done great things at this point. You've seen wonderful things. Joshua, there's still more.

There's still more. I pity the Christian who doesn't believe that about their own experience with God. I pity them. I do. I feel bad for them.

I really feel bad. So you might have come to a place in your human to human relationship where you think you figured somebody out. You can't do that with God. Because you and I are gonna spend an eternity of an eternities seeking and being blown away by his glory. And I know this is hard for the mind because we reach a ceiling, but they'll never come to a place that you will not be astonished and spellbound by his presence.

You might think that. You might have been bored in church. It's not gonna happen in heaven. You might have been not been impressed by a sermon preached by your favorite preacher, but that doesn't matter because the word who became flesh, he's gonna be there. His glory is gonna be unrestrained and unlimited.

You and I are gonna see something that's going to cause us to require a new body just to comprehend it and register it. But listen, don't think it's just for heaven. There's something here, now, in this moment, day by day. If you and I don't believe that, what motivation do we have? What motivation do we have?

If you feel like you come to church just to go through the motions, you should pity for yourself. I'm sorry. I'm not trying to sound condemning. You should though. You should.

You and I will never come to this word no matter how many times we go through and think we've got it figured out. Praise God. I think I got the Bible down. Never. It's an endless well that never runs dry, and it only gets cooler and more refreshing as you dig deeper and deeper into it.

There's enough dying people and twisted people and blind people in the world to keep us busy for 10 lifetimes. The glories of God are so rich that the church will never run out of songs to sing to him and write about him. You and I have to believe that there is more. And this is what they had to believe. Give me a New Testament verse.

Because if there is anybody who had any right, though it's no right of any man, to think to themselves, you know, you know, this is good. This is good. I I I look back at my life. God has done wonderful things, amazing things. I'm not gonna pray anymore.

I'm not maybe just like, God protect my house and bless my food. I'm not gonna I'm not gonna trust anymore. I'm not gonna dream in the appropriate way in light of God's will anymore. I'm not. I'm just good.

If there was any person in the Bible, in the history of the church, who can feel that way, it was the Apostle Paul. It was the Apostle Paul. Yet, collectively, none of us have come even close to a fraction of his experience with the Lord, and yet the words that are penned eternally through the Word of God from the lips of a human vessel were this. In Philippians three verse 12, not that I've already obtained or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Read the verses prior.

What is Paul saying? I wanna know the power of his resurrection. I wanna know the fellowship of his sufferings. I wanna know all these wonderful things. I long to know him, and I count the world as rubbish, dirt, dung.

And then he comes to verse 12, and he goes, you know, I haven't really obtained it yet. What do you mean you haven't obtained it yet? You haven't obtained it yet? I'm looking at your resume, and I'm if I'm gonna think a Christian has made it, it's Paul. And he goes, no.

You know what that means for you and I? How true that if we look at this verse, we should never fail to believe for more. That's what that means. God took Paul, and he launched him into the third heaven. He allowed the man to walk with such authority that he was drenched in such a manner in the spirit that his handkerchief healed people.

Somebody reached into his back pocket and they went up to a sick person and laid it on him, the person got healed. But this man had such depth of the Old Testament, and this man had a heart for the lost. And he puts them on display, and then he inspires him to write, not that I've already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make, I know that there's more. I know that there's more in Christ. Amazing.

So the quest in our faith, the longing, the yearning, the believing, the seeking never dies. If it has, it's because we have failed to believe that there's more. And if you know that you are in that place, you realize that your prayer language looks like that, Lord, I need to know you more. Lord, use me more. Lord, conform me more.

Lord, show me more. Is that in your prayer life at all? Or is your prayer life limited to, Lord, protect my house from robbers and bless my food today? No such thing for a man or a woman of God that has touched God or has been touched by God, who has seen God do things in their life, in their heart, in their minds, in their circle of influence. No such thing.

There remains yet very much land to possess. And from verse two down to verse six, god details the exact addresses, the exact places that still need to be conquered, but there is one little phrase tucked in the middle of verse six that is so inspiring, especially for Joshua. He says in verse six in the middle, I myself will drive them out before the people of Israel. Joshua, what you have to do in verse seven, divide this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half tribe of Minnesota. You do that.

But what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna help the people overcome these enemies. I thought to myself, why would God need to tell that to Joshua? Perhaps, though Joshua is not exposed in any way concerning this kind of, a response, Perhaps the temptation of a man who has led his people in and through battles would think to himself with some kind of concern of how it was gonna happen without his leadership anymore. He's old. He's advanced in years.

He doesn't have the freedom and the ability physically to even do what he did years ago as we read in the earlier chapters. And what God is assuring Joshua, he must assure and we must believe in our own lives, especially those who are leading people, especially those who are overseeing people. What's God saying? What he needs to tell all of us, if you have any ministry that deals with others, in the end, I do the work. Joshua, even when you were leading, it was me through you.

You knew that because when it came to AI, when your strategies, it failed. But I wanna let you know as you're old and advanced in years wondering what's gonna be the future of your people, trust in this. I'm gonna lead them. I'm going to take care of it. That's very needed for those.

You know one of the greatest frustrations for ministers? One of the reasons for burnout. You wanna know what it is? Frustration. Frustration.

For many different reasons. Sometimes ministers have a goal in mind and it's not being met in the timeline that they would want it to be met. But in other times, if a minister is truly serving God and he wants to serve for the sake of preparing the bride and winning the world to Christ, the frustration that might be experienced is that the people that are in ministry just don't seem to be getting it. They just don't seem to be clicking. It doesn't seem like their hearts are catching on fire.

They don't seem to be catching on to the vision of the church. They seem to be just lost and confused and up and down. That can be frustrating for a person who is overseeing. But if this was a room filled with pastors, I would say what God is telling Joshua, I would say it's God's work. It's God's work.

You be concerned about your faithfulness, and you be concerned about what God's called you to do, and let God do the rest. In the end, any man can only take another man so far. You realize that. Right? No matter how gifted, no matter how endued with power from on high, any man or woman who's a discipler, evangelist, whatever you wanna call it, can only take another person so far in their walk with the Lord.

But here's the wonderful thing, God does all of it. So how do I look at this in the New Testament? Here's an example of that truth on the leadership perspective that we see in the New Testament. In that famous scripture in second Timothy four verse two, where Timothy was commanded by Paul to preach the word. Preach the word, Timothy.

You rebuke. You exhort. You correct. In season, out of season, but I love the last part. He says with complete patience.

Patience. Pastor Timothy, you better learn patience. In what context? Preaching. Why?

Because you can do years of reproving, rebuking, and exhorting and then not click with the people that you're ministering to, at least for a season of time. So you better know how to be steadfast in your ministry, especially in proclaiming the word. And you want people to catch something from the word and it And you could preach on the subject five times, 10 times, and still nothing. How? Well, it's not that that there's no power in the word.

It's that there is a connection that needs to be required, faith, understanding, humility on the receiving part, but more than that, there's a call for the preacher to be patient in his preaching. You keep sowing, preacher. You keep teaching. That's why a doctrine like the judgment seat of Christ is so important, especially for servants of God. Why?

Because if my joy is found in results, I'm setting myself up for a burnout. But if my joy is found in the fact that I'm going to step into a realm where I will see Christ seated on his throne, and he will look at me with those eyes of fire, and will tell me exactly what I need to hear in proportion to my faithfulness. Oh, I'm setting myself up for longevity and to glory. And so will you if you keep your eyes on him. You preach with patience.

I'm gonna do the rest. You keep sowing, I'll do the saving. How do we look at it from the other perspective? Because what's gonna happen with this transition is that the tribes of Israel are gonna learn how to do battle without their leader doing battle with them as he did before. How are we gonna advance without Joshua's tenacious faith and his power and his steadfastness and his influence?

The same way that a Christian in this day, because of natural circumstances and seasons in life, must learn how to depend on God. Does God give leaders in life? Yes. Does God give people of influence in our life? Absolutely.

But if your eyes only see the flesh and the vessel, and you don't see the God behind the man or behind the woman, you're in trouble. Because when God removes the man, there goes your faith, there goes your influence, there goes your reason to keep on going. And I love what Paul says from jail, separated from the Philippian church, separated from direct contact. Though he was able to write, we all know as we've experienced the past few months, it's not the same to do meetings over Zoom, nonetheless through parchment and writing and long delivery. And what does he say in Philippians one six to this church?

Being separated, perhaps even about to face death. He says in verse six in that memorized scripture all over the world, and I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Hey. I led you to the Lord. I led somebody to the Lord and that that person opened their house for a church.

Yeah. I get it. It comes back, but here's the thing. God did it. It was the Lord.

And if the Lord did it through me or through somebody else, it doesn't matter. In my presence, in my absence, God's gonna complete it in you. God's gonna complete it in you. You depend on the Lord. You depend on him.

Your experience of the Christian life is not solely dependent upon the person that's even led you to Christ being in your life full time. It'd be a wonderful experience. But we all know over the past few years that some people have come and gone. Guess what? If they're truly connected to God, they'll be more than okay.

They'll be more than okay because it's God. God told Joshua, I will do it, Joshua. I'm going to lead them. You just be faithful. You don't worry.

You don't be concerned. I'm the one that brought them through the Jordan. I'm the one that helped overcome every single one of those who stood against you, and I'll be the one that will complete the job. You did your part. Do this job.

I'll do the rest. Thank God for the sovereignty and the superiority of Christ. He does it. So what's in it for us? Well, you and I just get to experience the joy of seeing God work in and through us, And we get to step outside of ourselves and give God all the glory.

And we play a part in this chain of influence in people's lives. Sometimes God brings somebody to plant, then he brings another person to water, and he brings another person to disciple more, and then he removes a person, he brings another person to teach him. We're just a chain. We're just one link of this chain in other people's lives. And only in glory will we see this beautiful, beautiful, beautiful work.

And we will spend an eternity of eternities describing how God has used different people, different seasons, and all the glory. Every story that's gonna be told, every testimony that's gonna be shared is just gonna be all the more reason to give glory to God in that place. Can't wait. Until then, there's more to be done. There's more to be done.

Even with all these restrictions and all these threats and believe that more threats are coming to the church, believe it. But the same God that was faithful to those believers that were being crucified in coliseums, lighting up the garden of a wicked ruler who had no problem sitting in his chair hearing this hearing the people scream, is the same God that today, with whatever is coming on the horizon, is gonna make the church stand and advance and be holy and be the salt and be the light. It's the same God that in your life will use you to influence people no matter what. Praise be to his name. Let's pray.

Lord, we reflect on your faithfulness tonight That even as a church, Lord, we look to you, we pause and reflect and reminisce that you have brought us to this point. You have brought us to this point. You have kept us. You have protected us. You have provided for us.

Lord, you get all the glory. You're the living God. You've done miracles in this place. You've done miracles in people's lives, and, Lord, we believe that there is only more to experience for United Evangelical Church and every other church represented in this house. And so, Lord, we lean upon you and we tell you, as Deuteronomy says, we remember the Lord, and we do not say in our hearts that it is by our power or might that we are experiencing what we are experiencing.

It is all because of you. And Lord, no matter what challenges we face, you will bring us through. You will bring us through this pandemic. You will bring us through personal challenges. You will see us through, and Lord, our hearts are opened up in a new way tonight where we believe you for more.

We believe you for more. That even when we are old, as Psalms tells us, the old age will bear fruit. Those who are in their latter years will still have a fragrance. We believe that for our lives, God, and we are excited to know that this is the program that you have for us. Unending testimonies, unending ministries.

Though they might change and shift, it is a joy to serve you, Lord. You are everything to us. Tonight, in light of this chapter, we just wanna praise you. The same god who is with Moses and Joshua is the same god who is with us. Thank you, lord.

We bless you tonight. In Jesus' name, amen.