It's kind of interesting, the writer of the psalm here, in 176 verse 5, time, like an ever-rolling stream, bears all its sons away. In the Hebrew, when they give someone's age, he is the son of X amount of years. He is the son of 50 years. He is the son of 60 years. And it's kind of a strange thing that he's the son of time. I haven't figured out anything more than that. I just noted it before, and it seemed very interesting to me that this is written in this way, that we are the son of X amount of time. Okay, so our reading this morning comes from, our meditation this morning comes from Joshua 1, verses 1 through 9. And so if you'd join me, I'll read this text, Joshua 1. After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, saying, and the word, by the way, for assistant is first used in reference to Joseph, and it's really the word minister. He's someone who ministers to Moses. Moses, my servant, is dead. Now, therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given to you as I said to Moses. From the wilderness to this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites into the great sea beyond or toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. be strong and of good courage for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them only be strong and very courageous that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you, be strong and of good courage? Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Thus ends our reading. Let's ask God's blessing on his word. Father, again, having read your holy, infallible, and inspired word, a word of such sweet, depth and encouragement. Father, we pray that in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that we would see that encouragement for ourselves, that we would know it for ourselves. Father, we pray that you'd be with my mouth and bring forth my thoughts and words in such a way that it is a meditation that is acceptable in your eyes. And Father, be with each one here present, that they might be strengthened, encouraged, and lift it up in your word and in your spirit, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And again, for those that do not yet know you, as Lord and Savior, Father have mercy. Open their hearts and turn them and bring them to yourself while it is yet time. All these things we ask in Jesus' name alone, amen. So Sunday we looked at Deuteronomy 34 a little bit, the death of Moses, but we really looked at kind of the idea of what he was doing. We went back to Deuteronomy chapter 1 and looked at the idea, these are the words of Moses to the children of Israel. And these are a series of different things that he spoke to the whole assembly as they're on the east bank of the Jordan River getting ready to go into the promised land. They are not, he's not going to go with them. The Lord's going to take him up to Mount Pisgah where he's going to die. He's going to allow him to look into the land, but he himself is not going to enter the land. The book of Deuteronomy is like a Holy Spirit-inspired final parting gift of Moses to the children of Israel, and it's a gift of reflection, right? It's only 11 days' distance from Mount Sinai to Kadesh Barnea, where they first were to enter into the land of Canaan 39 years beforehand. But it took them a full 39 years to get back to the border and prepare to go back into the land or to go into the land of Israel. So the question is, right, that's implicit in those first few verses, the question that sits underneath is why did it take so long? And again, that's the gift that Moses is giving them, is giving them the reflections of the past 40 years, all that God has done for them. And all the amazing things that they've seen that they've been part of, but also... the bad, right? The good, the bad, the ugly. He shows them, too, the times that they rebelled, the times that they did not believe, the times that they rejected and turned their back on the Word of God. And so He's giving them this gift of self-reflection, basically a reflection of us as a people. Why did it take us so long? And He's giving them this gift with the idea, brothers and sisters, that that by looking at the past and learning from the past, in the present we can set a course for blessing and greater blessing in the future. And so this is what we're looking at even as we look at the new year. Even as the children of Israel are looking at going into a new land, into a whole new portion of their lives and of the life of the kingdom, so it is we stand at the beginning of a new year and say, Lord, It's a year that is ripe with possibility. It is a year ripe with potential. We have no idea what your will is specifically and how it's going to be carried out in this coming year. But we do stand at this year knowing that we haven't messed it up yet. So the idea is how can we go forward into the new year and how can we bring greater blessing by your grace to the kingdom of God and to the people of God. And so that's really what we're looking for and this brings us to Joshua chapter 1 and the words of God to Joshua after Moses dies. And these words of encouragement and these words of power The children of God in Christ are like those Israelites getting ready to enter a new promised land How will it go for them in the future? Will they learn from the words of Moses's reflections of? Blessing will they learn from these warning these words of blessing these words of warning in Christ we are given the Holy Spirit and all too often we do not appreciate what that really means and And what it means is that we can come to the Lord in prayer in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he will give us a guide that the Holy Spirit is a guide. He's a comforter. He's an encourager. And he's a guide. And what does that mean? It means that if we actually submit and we say to the Lord, Lord, I know when I look to the past that I haven't always been as effective in your kingdom as I ought to be. Show me areas, show me places in my life where I can be better. And I think this is what we all need to be doing as individuals. I also think as church we do it, because how can we be more effective as a congregation of God's people? And so in this morning, as we think about, we've already been kind of thinking about the past and looking to the past and how, you know, show us our failings, show us our shortcomings, and then help us to improve and to go into this new year learning from those things. And so here we have in Joshua 1, the words of encouragement. that God gives to Joshua as the leader of his people. They're going into this new land, this land of promise, and we find these words, the central words, kind of the foundational words of encouragement are found in verse 5. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Now notice with me that that first statement is actually the central statement. And then what comes after that is actually the reason why. Okay, so first we'll just look at that first statement. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Now God knows exactly what Joshua's heart looks like. He knows exactly the fears and the anxieties that Joshua has. And Joshua knows better than anyone, except the Lord himself, all the pain and the grief that Moses went through with these people. So when God says, no man shall be able to stand before you, what it means is that no man is gonna be able to stand in opposition to you. Right? If I put you down a trail and I say, go down this way, and there's going to be enemies that are going to come against you, but they are not going to be able to stand against you. They are going to fall away. They are going to fall to the side. They will be defeated one way or the other. No man will be able to match you beat you and what he's saying is is that and again and we'll get a little bit more of this a little bit later but this is in the context of the kingdom you're doing my will you're doing my desire this is my kingdom and remember that that physical Israel was the beginning of God taking back the earth from the darkness and from the ungodliness of man. It's this little sliver of land that the light is supposed to shine and begin to shine into the darkness. And so this is literally kingdom of God work. And so I'm putting you in here And this is my work, this is my will, this is my kingdom, this is my desire for you. Nobody is going to be able to stand in your way. And that means not just the enemies in front of you, because there's at least seven different nationalities, you know, there's the Jebusites, and the Hittites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, etc. There's seven different nations at least, and they're all set. They've been up there for hundreds of years, but the Lord has said that the cup of their iniquity is full, the cup of their abominations are full, and here you are their judgment. I'm going to drive them out before you, but it's not going to be easy. They're not going to just say, oh, the Israelites are here, and the living God says you can have our land, and we're just going to move out of the way. It's not going to happen that way. It's going to be fight. It's going to be a war. And so, Joshua, don't sweat it. None of these kingdoms, none of these nationalities, none of these peoples, no matter how strong and mighty they might appear to you on this side of the bank of the Jordan, on this side of the Jordan, no matter how mighty they might look and what you've heard about them, not one of them is going to be able to stand before you. They will go down in front of you. Joshua is also thinking, and God is also addressing, not just the enemies in front, but the other enemies, too. The enemies of rebellion, ungodliness, and wickedness in His own people. Those are the hardest ones to deal with, and they're also the hardest ones to deal with in ourselves, right? I'm gonna give you a little bit of an aside, but I was thinking about that text Isaiah chapter 11, and it talks about the branch and the coming of the Christ. And then it talks about how the lion will lay down with the sheep and the wolf with the goat, et cetera. And I was thinking, you know, what's so powerful about that is that in the world as it is, those are enemies of each other. Well, actually the sheep and the goat aren't much of enemies against the others, okay, against the lions and against the wolves, but the lions and the wolves, et cetera, they are the enemies, the natural enemies of these weak creatures. And I believe that the deeper that you study the word of God, you find out that every human being has spirits of lion. We have a spirit of a lion, we have a spirit of a lamb. But because of sin and iniquity, these spirits are out of whack. And so we can have these spirits of ferocity, of anger, of fury, of power. And it's like the lion is destroying the lamb. It's like it's destroying what's good because of sin. There's no equity between them. Because if you think about what a lion should be or what a human being should be, is they should be someone that by God's grace, when they're balanced properly, we protect the weak. And sometimes you have to be like a lion to do that. But when we're out of whack because of sin, inside of ourselves we're at war. And so when Joshua is being told by God, He's telling them that all enemies, these physical enemies to the front of you, these physical enemies of wicked Israelites behind you that are gonna try to derail you and to try to derail the work of the kingdom, they're not gonna be able to stand before you. But I also believe there's an even deeper idea that even the forces inside of you will be held in balance so that you will be able to do exactly what I'm calling you to do all the days of your life. So enemies without, enemies within. And these are exactly the words that Joshua needed to hear. And they're the words that we need to hear. You know, as church in Christ, we have innumerable enemies out in the world. We have innumerable enemies even in the church. Right? The worst enemies are always the enemies in your own house. That's just a fact. And the reality, and the reason that is, is because you trust them, you love them, and at one time or another, they trusted and loved you, but something happens, and in sin, that's the worst warfare, is the warfare inside the church of Christ. And so, the encouragement that God gives His people in the name of Jesus Christ is, this is my kingdom. If you trust in me, you believe in me, and you walk in the ways I call you to walk, no one is going to be able to stand before you. If you go to do what I ask you to do, if you go to do what I ask you to do, you're going to encounter resistance, but they will not be able to stand before you. Which Christian can truly say, I tried to do good, but God didn't allow me to do it. I tried to share the gospel but so-and-so stood up against me and I was not able to do it. Now there are plenty of Christians that will tell you that they met resistance. There are plenty of Christians that will tell you that there's a warfare out there. And it begins here, right? Because I always think that for Christians, the hardest thing is to actually do what God is calling us to do. That's the biggest warfare. That's the biggest thing that just stepping out our front door and going out to do the work of the kingdom out there is the hardest work, I think, the greatest challenge that we face. And this is exactly why, and this is exactly what Joshua's facing. If we cross this river, all that all that resistance is against us and God says no man will be able to stand before you but then he also says then he also says the next thing that he says as I was with Moses so I will be with you as I was with Moses so I will be with you Now, brother and sister, this could not be a greater encouragement. No one understood how much God was with Moses more than Joshua. Joshua was right there. He was literally, just the same way that Moses was the servant of God, there's like a parallel going on. He's the servant of God, and so it is that Joshua is the servant of Moses. And so he saw it. He saw all the amazing works. He was there in Egypt. Joshua was in his late 30s when they were taken out of Egypt. He was 40 years old when he was chosen to be a spy to go into the land of Canaan. And so he's 39, 40 years old when he saw the work of Moses and how when he spoke to the Pharaoh and how when he stretched out his rod over the Nile River the Nile River turned into blood, et cetera. When he was there, he saw all the 10 plagues. He saw it when the Pharaoh finally gave up and said, fine, go, you're free, just leave. And he was there when the Pharaoh gave the order, right? He wasn't right there in the palace when Pharaoh gave the order, but he was there when he saw that army coming, and they're up against the Red Sea, and here comes the army, and the children of Israel are stuck between the two. And God divided the Red Sea, and they walked through safely. And then as the Egyptian army came in and got into the center of it, and then God brought down the waves upon it. He was there when God gave the manna. He was there when God gave water from the rock, enough to feed, to give food and drink to two million plus people, plus all their cattle in the wilderness for 40 years. He was there for all the battles. He was there at Mount Sinai when God gave the law. In fact, Joshua actually guarded the mountain. He went up part way with Moses into the mountain. And then when Moses went the rest of the way and was with God for 40 days in the heavenlies, he stood guard halfway up the mountain waiting for Moses. There's nobody that knows better what this means. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. He saw it when God was angry at the children of Israel. And Moses went to meet them in the tent of meeting. And he went to the tent of meeting and he saw that Shekinah cloud come down upon it. And Moses, communing with the Lord, he saw it when he came down the second time from the mountain and his face was lit up. with this unearthly light that was so glorious, but yet so alien that Moses had to cover his face. So nobody knows more than Joshua what it means when God says, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. That's an amazing testimony, and guess what? In Jesus Christ, we have that same testimony. that when you confess and humble yourself before the Lord, and you confess your sins and iniquities in the name of Jesus Christ, trusting and believing what he has done, then it says the Father gives you the gift of the Holy Spirit. All right, he gives you, the Father will give you his gift, which is the Holy Spirit, which means that, Jesus says it in John chapter 16, he says that the Father and I will come to dwell in you. We will dwell in you. We will dwell with you. We will be with you in every way. That's a fact. Think of the name that the prophet Isaiah, inspired by the Holy Spirit, gives the Son of the Virgin, Immanuel. God with us and Joshua is getting this gift straight from the mouth of the father who says I will be with you as I was with Moses and then he says I will never leave you nor forsake you I believe this is the most foundational promise that God gives his people. Because from the very beginning it says it is not good that man should be alone. And that statement from that point on is pointing to the fact that we need to have God in us and God with us. Because that is how we become not alone. I will never leave you nor forsake you. That is so powerful, so foundational, and it speaks to everyone, brothers and sisters, if you think about it. Why do all but either madmen or mentally just unable to understand, why do all humans react favorably to stories of heroism? When we read a story or hear of a story of someone running out onto a battlefield to get their buddy, they're laying out there, they're wounded, they're dying, and they go into fire, they go into the artillery, explosions, noise, chaos, everything. Some foolish person seems to go running, zigzagging out there, runs and grabs that person and pulls them back to safety, sometimes dying. Why does that touch every human being? Because there is no better visual in a way of like the cross. There's no better visual of I will not leave you nor forsake you. Here's a broken human being manifesting something glorious, something heavenly, something godlike. And we know it's the image of God. Because it takes the highest level of sacrifice for a human being to do that. but it is an expression of I will never leave you nor forsake you. And brothers and sisters, that promise is good to each of us. But I want us to notice two other things quickly. First of all, the context. of this bedrock promise. This is a foundational bedrock promise that is given to every child of God, and that's a fact. And the context is the work of the kingdom. In verses two through four, we're not gonna go through all that, but he's sending him to do a mission. You're gonna lead my people into this land that I promised their fathers. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And you're gonna do my will. This is my will, this is my desire. The heavenly God is coming down and he's gonna establish his presence on this material time and place of the earth. He is gonna establish his presence in this little sliver of land. And Joshua, you're the one who's gonna lead it. He's a Christ-like figure here, and we don't have time for me to go into that, but Joshua is a legitimate Christ-like figure. In fact, he's told there in verse six, be strong and of good courage to this people you shall divide as an inheritance. It says you shall actually cause them, that's what the real word is, you shall cause them to gain this inheritance. You're gonna be the one that stands between me and them. You're the one. And so in this way, he's a Christ-like figure. But it's the work of the kingdom. And brothers and sisters, this is where we as Americans get so mixed up, as Christians and Americans. Because you can be a weak Christian, and this is what many of us are. I confess myself, I feel, honestly, very as a weak Christian. And I believe that the number one issue we all have is that we get stuck in kingdom work because we don't accomplish near as much in the kingdom as we could because we're still trying to live for ourselves. There's a part of us that loves this world, that loves living our best life now, that likes the entertainment and the different things that we can do in this world, and we kind of get stuck. And so when God gives these amazing promises, no man's gonna be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I'll be with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Those promises are rock solid. But how are we going to experience them? How are we going to feel them in our own lives? Well, I'm going to tell you, when we're divided, when our heart and mind is still divided, because you can be a Christian and have a divided heart and mind. You can be a Christian and truly love the Lord and truly trust and believe in Jesus Christ, But still you're kinda, there's still this part of you that you're trying to follow your ambitions, your desires, and your pleasures in this world. You're still trying to live your best life in this world right now. And so we get stuck. You wanna know why so many Christians feel that, or they don't feel the presence of God? Why so many Christians don't feel that God is with them no matter what situation they're in? Because this knowledge, this experience, this confidence goes together with the work that we do in Christ. If you're challenging yourself every day to do the work of the kingdom, you're going to experience, I can promise you, I say this hands down, you're gonna experience this presence, this comfort, this encouragement of God with you more than you've ever felt it before. but it goes together with the work of the kingdom. We are all called to kingdom work. Matthew 24, verses 45 and 46, who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season. Part of what we do, the giving food, what does that mean? It means to share the gospel, to share the bread and the wine of our Lord Jesus Christ. Give them food, it due season. Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. The number one problem for Christians when it comes to believing God's promise to be with us always is this. I want the assurance of God's promises with me always, but I always don't want to be doing His kingdom work. Okay, and that's a fact, that's a reality. That I always want his presence with me, I always want to know and feel that encouragement that God is with me. But I don't always want to do the kingdom work. And so this is kind of the breach that we deal with here, brothers and sisters. But finally, so the more faithful that I am to doing His will, the more I will experience that God is with me and in me. And finally, notice also what God commands Joshua to do in verses 7 and 8. Only be strong and very courageous that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do it according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Brothers and sisters, the basis or the foundation of Joshua's strength and courage going forward will be this knowledge of God that he's given through his word. The knowledge of his law. And remember, when he's talking, when God is speaking to him, he's not just talking about the Ten Commandments. He's talking about all the law, all the five books of the Pentateuch. from Genesis chapter one at least to Deuteronomy 33. Deuteronomy 34 we believe that somebody else wrote, very possibly Joshua himself. The foundation of this knowledge, this assurance grows in us the more time we spend in the word of God. the more time we spend in prayer in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to 2 Peter 1 verse 2. Grace and peace be multiplied to you. Grace and peace be multiplied, may it be doubled, may it be tripled, may it be quadrupled or more to you in the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ our Lord. The Greek word for knowledge in this text, epagnosis, it doesn't mean just knowing something, knowing a historical fact. It means to experience it. That knowledge of Jesus Christ and God comes to us more and more. Because think about, again, someone who is pulled to safety off a battlefield. He's injured, he's dying. If that person doesn't come and get him, he's going to die out on the battlefield. But someone comes to get him. Someone pulls him and brings him to safety. Now do you think that person forgets that? That's what it's talking about, that kind of knowledge. The kind of knowledge that's being talked about is us meditating on the fact. This is the number one foundational truth out of which all our confidence can arise, is this knowledge, this understanding, this knowing with all my heart, mind, and soul that Jesus Christ died on the cross for me. That is the heart of everything. The more I reflect on the word of God, the more that I understand How sweet, how powerful, and how true that is. The more that I meditate and reflect on the Word of God and in prayer to Him, the more that He fills me up with the knowledge, I love you so much. And that's what drives our hearts. That's what drives the heart of thankfulness, right? Because we become unthankful, we just, all too often we end up thinking about the salvation of Jesus Christ in a dogmatic, a theological way. Yes, this is what happened 2,000 years ago, and Jesus died on that cross, et cetera, et cetera. And there's a historical factuality to it. And most of us all confess that historical factuality. But how much do we know that when he was dying on that cross, he was dying for me? That I'm the dead and dying person. that he came to get because that's what it means when it says grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge in the knowing of God and our Lord Jesus Christ and there's something beautiful and powerful that the Holy Spirit does when we meditate and spend time in the Word of God So he commands Joshua to dive into the living word, and brothers and sisters, we have even better, because it says, like it says in Hebrews chapter one, that in times past, in various times, in sundry times past, that God has spoken to his people by his prophets, but now he has spoken to us by Jesus Christ. We have an even fuller revelation than the Christ type of Joshua. We have a greater revelation. We have more witnesses. I believe, brothers and sisters, that all Christian works are founded in the thankfulness and the love that we have for God and for Christ for His salvation of us. He came and got me when I was dying. I know I was dying. I know that I was useless. To my God, I was useless to my neighbor, and I was useless to the work of the kingdom. But he came and got me. He saved me. He has brought me into his kingdom. He has shed his love, his mercy, his goodness upon me in Jesus Christ. And now he says, No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. The child of God in Christ, number one, can have full confidence that this is always true, but our experience of it will be in connection with how much of the work that we're actually challenging ourselves. Because it's hard, it's hard to do kingdom work. And I've said this before and I say it again and I'm praying a lot about this issue myself. I feel, honestly, like I have a lot of failure. And I know I can't do it in myself. But I know God is with me to do it. But when you make a commitment to go do something in the kingdom that you know this is what God wants you to do, and it feels like anything extra, there are enemies. A lot of times you do not make it through that door. you somehow get talked down. Well, they're not gonna appreciate it. Or, yeah, but if I do that, then I won't be able to do this as good or whatever. And if I go out and do what he's calling me to do out there, then I won't be able to take care of this. And we find so many different, if not enemies, at least resistors in our hearts and minds. And this is where delving into the cross and what it means to me personally is what continues to drive, strengthen, and encourage the work of the church. Jesus is coming, I know that. And blessed are all those servants that when he comes, he finds us feeding the servants and feeding the household of God, that we're sharing the gospel. that we're loving one another and that we're doing good unto one another in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ even as he has done for us. Amen. Father once again we come before you this morning hour and we thank you at the beginning of this new year. Lord, we know that in our flesh and in ourselves, in our own hearts and minds, we are unable to make a good commitment or promise that I will do this or I will do that. But we do pray, Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that through the power of your Spirit and your Word, that you would indeed give us what we need to begin to push on the edges of that box, to begin to push outside, and to do more than we have in the past. For we know this, that those who do trust in you and believe in you, those who do hear your call, that you will give them everything they need. You will strengthen them and encourage them. And they will experience more than they ever have the confidence of the knowledge that you are with them. that you are with all your sons and daughters, and that you will uphold them and keep them, and that you will bless their labors. Father, we pray, not as works of justification, but rather that in thankfulness to a God who gave His one and only Son, to a God who loves us so much from eternity, to an eternal Father, who called us by name before the worlds were even formed, to the eternal Father who comes in Christ to get us at the end of this world and the beginning of the new heavens and the new earth, that we will be with you in eternity. Father, we pray in the knowledge of your love, your mercy, your goodness to us in Christ. We pray in the knowledge of your word and of your spirit that you would continue to grow us in grace and truth and love and mercy for one another. Father, that you would bless this congregation in this coming year and that we truly would shine. And Father, that we would come to you and ask you for help. and that we would challenge our own inabilities and our own limits. For Lord, we've set limits, so many of us, we set limits on what we can do. But Father, we pray that in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you would give us boldness and assurance in Christ to go beyond those limits, knowing and trusting and believing that you will give us everything we need. Bless this congregation. Bless those that are here present. Bless those that are listening. Bless all your people, Father, wherever they may be. And may the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ continue to shine brighter and brighter here in this community, in this state, in this nation, in all the world. All these things, Father, we ask in Jesus' name alone. Amen.