Thank you, Emily and Emily, and what a blessing that was. And Pam, I guess there is a little nickname for that duet. It's M and N, M and M. Anyway, something like that. All right, we're so thankful for that song. What a blessing and what a truth that was shared in that song. Joshua chapter number four, Joshua chapter number four. Again, it's a joy to be back with our church family. We missed being with you and thankful for some time away and time with family, but it is good to be back together and thankful for the opportunity to preach from the word of God. This is a lengthy section of scripture, Joshua 3, 4, and 5. I find it fascinating that really about five chapters are spent just in the crossing of the Jordan River. into the promised land, showing how important this was. This is really a spiritual engagement. much more than a physical engagement, much more than a military conquest. This is a spiritual battle. It is a spiritual undertaking. And there is so much in these five chapters that speak to our relationship with God as Christians, how we should depend upon the Lord in our Christian life, how we need to sanctify ourselves how we need to be listening to the Word of God and following His direction. We already know from Joshua chapter 1 that Joshua had given the officers instructions to go throughout the people to have them prepare victuals, is the word in the King James, the food and supplies, because in three days they were going to be moving and they were going to be going across the Jordan River. We looked a couple weeks ago in Joshua 3 at specifically the next set of announcements we covered in Joshua 2, the spies going into Jericho, Rahab getting saved. We know that eventually her family would join her and we'll see them spared as we go into the accounts of the conquest of Jericho. But before they crossed the river, there were specific instructions that they were to follow regarding the Ark of the Covenant. Now again, if we in our mind's eye without a map on the screen behind me, if we have the east side of the Jordan River, we have the Sea of Galilee to the north, this is the Middle East. This is Israel today. This is what's in the news. This is the land that right now is in the news basically every day, that makes headlines every day. And here is The Children of Israel on the east side of the Jordan River, Sea of Galilee to the north, the Jordan River extending down southward to the Dead Sea. and they are now getting ready to cross over, but there's been no instructions about a boat or about a bridge or about some sort of rope service. It's follow the instructions of the Lord, prepare the victuals, get things ready, get your food, get your supplies, get your things ready, because we're moving in three days. And in three days, they move toward the Jordan River. The officers have gone back through and have organized the people. God is a God of order. He is not a god of disorder and in an orderly fashion they are to go to the Jordan River and in front of them is the Ark of the Covenant. Specific instructions regarding the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant being the symbol of the presence of the Lord. It was placed in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle and eventually in the temple. On the top of the Ark of the Covenant were the cherubim and There it was that the blood on the Day of Atonement was sprinkled seven times. It was a symbol of the presence of God. The Ark contained the tablets of the Law, Aaron's rod that budded, and a pot of manna. We spoke to this a couple weeks ago, that these are all symbolic of the fact that The tablets of the law represent the word of God. Aaron's rod representing God's witness to God's authority, to God's call upon God's leadership and God's people. That there's to be no rebellion, there to follow God's men according to God's word. And there was a witness of God's miraculous provisions with the pot of manna. So we see God's word and we see a witness to God's authority, God's call, and we see a witness to God's miraculous provisions. all while they are looking ahead at the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of God's presence, as they are to follow the Lord, as they are to follow His guidance and His direction. They have been guided, yes, by the pillar of cloud during the day, the pillar of fire at night, but now they are specifically to keep their eyes on the Ark of the Covenant as it would lead with The priests carrying the ark, as was mentioned a couple weeks ago, on unique occasions the priests would carry the ark. Only three times record in scripture that they did so. Usually it was the Kohathites, a group, a family of the tribe of Levi, but this time it was the priests. And there's a reverence for the Ark of the Covenant. We spoke to this again a couple of weeks ago, and there was to be at least a half a mile around on all sides of the Ark that they were not to enter into. There was a reverence for the Ark, a respect for the holiness of God, that they were to stay a half a mile away on all sides while following the Ark, and even as they would go into the Jordan River, and of course as we looked last week, or two weeks ago, we looked at the fact that the Jordan River, God miraculously separated the waters. So as the priest with the Ark of the Covenant stepped into the river that had overflowed its banks, the water began to recede. Joshua gives them instruction from the Lord And eventually, the ground before them all the way across is dry. It says that the water receded all the way up to the town of Adam, about 15 miles up the river, and they saw the water recede southward, flowing away from them toward the Dead Sea. And they walked across on dry land. So even in that crossing the Jordan River on dry land, they had to maintain that half a mile separation, all speaking to the holiness of God, to following God's direction. Joshua had also commanded in chapter 3 for the Israelites to sanctify themselves. The sanctification, if it was to follow the pattern of Exodus 19, it was that they were to bathe, wash their clothes, and to fast. Now again, in a desert area, with some estimates are that there were 2 million people. We're not talking about indoor plumbing. We're not talking about nice warm showers. We're not talking about a wardrobe full of clothes. This is a major undertaking in basically a 24 hour period that they were to wash their clothes with no washing machines or dryers. So this is hand washing in a arid desert type environment. So this is gonna take great sacrifice. They were to fast as well. So again, we see this pattern, we see this application of sanctifying ourselves and how it speaks to the necessity that we have to sacrifice, to serve, to give of ourselves. We are so often captivated in Christianity today by prosperity and personality. So that it seems like God is just a great big genie in the sky who's just there to give us everything we want and to have nothing but health, happiness and prosperity, fame and fortune. And there's no sacrifice, no dedication, no sanctifying, no serving, no giving of ourselves. But we see the pattern in Scripture, throughout all of Scripture, even into Romans 12, in verses 1 and 2, "...I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." It's your expected service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. That same principle is in effect right here as they get ready to cross the Jordan River. They are to sanctify themselves. So the priests go ahead of them. They carry the ark to the Jordan River, as I mentioned already, and we looked at specifically a couple weeks ago. They step into the river, which was probably flowing fairly rapidly. It was a dirty river, but it was flowing fairly rapidly. It overflowed its banks. It was flood season. They step into the river by faith. Again, no bridges, no boats, no rope service. They step into the water by faith. The water begins to recede. They receive instructions from the Lord through Joshua, where God reaffirmed His call of Joshua. He reiterated the promise of the land to the Israelites, and He performed this miracle of the parting of the Jordan River. So we see this miracle verifies God's Word, God's man, and God's presence. As the Israelites cross through the Jordan River on dry ground, though, Joshua was commanded to separate out twelve men. Joshua 3 and verse 12, Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man. And then we come down to chapter 4, And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man. So one man for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. separated for a specific task. What was that task? We read through a portion already in Joshua 4, verses 1 through 7. They were to go into the river, what was now dry ground, and they were to take stones. And what were they to do with these stones? They were to carry them, it says, that they would have to take them by shoulder, verse 5, and then they would carry them, as we know, all the way to the town, the city of Gilgal, eight miles away. Now some of us hunking dudes, we say, no problem. Eight miles, rock on my shoulder. I guess I'm not a hunking dude, because I couldn't do it. I couldn't take a big rock on my shoulder and go eight miles. I don't even like, I mean, I take the dog on a walk just about every day, and we usually go about half a mile, three quarters of a mile. Sometimes it's a full mile. But my little dog, our little dog can't even hardly go a mile if I were to walk him a mile. But I struggle even sometimes walking a mile, and that's just pulling a little dog, or a little dog pulling me. And this is eight miles out of the Jordan over to the town of Gilgal, a rock that would have been necessary to carry on the shoulder. If you've ever been to the Ark Encounter down in Kentucky, as you enter in the Ark, they have a memorial there that resembles. They have 12 stones right outside the Ark with a little plaque on the Ark, and it describes this particular event right here. And I appreciated their... their little memorial there at the Ark Encounter that speaks to this very occasion where these 12 stones, I believe at one time, I'm not sure if it's still the case, but I think they even had their academy down there called 12 Stones Academy based on this particular account. So there were 12 stones taken out of the Jordan River, carried eight miles to Gilgal, and then we also read that Joshua, apparently if not himself, then he had those same men leave 12 stones in the Jordan River as also a memorial. That one, of course, would be covered back up by the water when the water returned. But we see that there were these memorials, one in Gilgal, one in the river. And then, if we were to take the time to go to Deuteronomy chapter 27, we read that when they enter This is Moses preaching in Deuteronomy 27. Near the end of his sermon, he is looking ahead, and he says, when God takes you into the promised land, when God delivers you across the Jordan River into the promised land, you are to build an altar. And you are to build it in a specific way, and it's to have the law written on it, and you are to offer sacrifices, and you are to worship and give thanks to the Lord. So there's the memorial in Gilgal, there's a memorial in the Jordan River, and Deuteronomy 27 references an altar that they would also be building, that they would offer sacrifices of thanksgiving to the Lord. Memorials are significant in scripture. It's a fascinating study if you ever have the time to go through some of these memorials, some of these occasions where stones are placed. I think that we're familiar with memorials. I'm a little bit of a history buff, and so I enjoy going to different places. I'm one of those guys that I'll spend hours reading everything on the wall or on the, I mean, just over here at Battleground. I find it fascinating even just reading some of the things there on the memorial. We're used to memorials. We go different national parks, state parks, different memorials. I've been to Gettysburg. There's a memorial, it seems like, every 100 yards. There's so much to read. We did almost an hour tour with a tour guide in Gettysburg one time, and he pointed out things as we were driving along, as he took us out of the van and went to certain memorials, and things that most of us would never read, he would point them out and say this meant this and this. Memorials are something that we're familiar with. They're very common in the Old Testament. In Genesis 28, Jacob makes a memorial at Bethel after seeing the ladder going to and from heaven. Jacob again in Genesis 31, he makes a memorial of stones after leaving Laban when there's a renewal of the covenants. In Genesis 35, Jacob again for the third time, it's recorded that he builds another memorial when God changed his name from Jacob to Israel. And then we see this memorial in Joshua 4, in verse 9, and then in Joshua 24. Lord willing, in time, we'll get to Joshua 24, and we'll see another memorial that they built as a commitment to serve the Lord when Joshua, before the people, they renewed their covenant as Joshua was soon to be passing from this earth. Memorials. If we have time, just for a moment, let's turn to Psalm 44, Psalm 44. And we'll see the significance of this memorial even into the future of Israel, as in Psalm 44 we see a reference as to why this memorial was built. Because in chapter 4 of Joshua, the end of verse 6, Well, the entire verse, Joshua 4 and verse 6, that this may be a sign among you that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, what mean ye by these stones? There's going to be questions. There's going to be children. There's going to be a future generation or generations that are going to ask, why is this memorial here? Why these stones? Psalm 44. We know that this was written to the chief musician for the sons of Korah. So this is even a song, a hymn. Psalm 44, verse 1, we have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days in the times of old. How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand and plantest them. How thou didst afflict the people and cast them out, for they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arms save them, but thy right hand and thine arm and the light of thy countenance because thou has to favor unto them. And the psalm goes on to speak to the Lord and his deliverance and his providing for the people. Specific reference in Psalm 44 to this account of God bringing Israel into the promised land, into the land of Canaan. This memorial would point to the work of God This memorial would point, it would be a testimony to God's work in the lives of the older generation that each subsequent generation would see and be once again pointed to the Lord. This is what God had done. What mean these stones? So what about in our life? Are there stones of memorial in our lives? What kind of memorials to the Lord's glory do we have? The first one should be that we have come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. The first memorial stone, in a sense, in our lives should be that there is a place that we repented of our sin, put our full faith and trust in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, His finished work on the cross, His resurrection, that I cannot save myself. It is not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us. That's the first memorial we must have, that we know Christ as our Savior. But as we obey, as we follow God's commands and apply the principles of his word to our lives, we see God provide, we see God work. And I'm not saying that we pile stones around our yard or in our house. Maybe you just keep a journal. Maybe you just have some little notes in the margin of your Bible. Maybe it's a specific place in your Bible that you have a paper that you have put where you have jotted something down. Maybe it's a, I know this dates me, maybe it's a sermon cassette, a CD. I know nowadays it's downloads, digital. But I have kept certain sermon, I have sermon tapes. I don't have a tape player, well no I do, I do, Kim Holt gave me a tape player, that's right. I have a tape player, I have sermon tapes of times where God worked in my life through specific sermons and specific meetings. And I have those and I've kept them to this day. I have a hard time, I don't know about you, I have a hard time throwing a Bible away, I have to give it away. I have even sections of, the start of my Bible where I've cut out the pages and I've kept them in my library because they have meaning to me because I've jotted things down. Memorials. Do we have memorials in our lives of where God has worked? We give God the glory and then we point our children and others to God and to his word to where God has worked in our lives. Do we have those kinds of memorials? We see God bring us through trials, through tribulations, through challenges, and through difficulties. And we do so without becoming angry and bitter and dropping out on God. And it becomes a memorial to our children, to the future generations who see that mom and dad remained faithful. They didn't become bitter. They didn't take the stones and throw them. at anybody and everybody, they took the stones in a sense in their lives and they built a memorial and said, see where God worked. See where God delivered, see where God provided. Where God strengthened, where God gave grace, where God gave peace. When it didn't make any sense at the time, God was able. We face injustice, we face disappointment by keeping our eyes on the Lord without bitterness, maliciousness, without seeking revenge. And it builds a memorial. Our kids are watching. Other people are watching. The unsaved people at our workplace are watching how we handle trials, how we handle injustices, how we handle turmoil and difficulties and sorrows and sadness. They're watching. They see, is this man, this woman's faith real? Is this boy, this girl's faith real? They talk about Jesus, talk about God, talk about church. But is it real? Did they respond differently? Is there a memorial in our life that points to God, to his glory, to God's work, to what God has done? We hear a lot, we hear a lot today about purging our lives of toxic people, toxic this, toxic that. But I've noticed that it usually becomes very self-focused. And I become the standard of what is good and right instead of God's word. People become very utilitarian. They exist to serve me, to make me feel good, instead of having the mind of Christ and being a servant to others. People are going to let us down. We're all sinners. I've let people down, to my shame. People are gonna let us down, but God never will. We remain faithful to God's word. We build a memorial in our life for God's faithfulness that points to God and to his glory and to what God has done in our lives. But how can we have memorials to God in our lives if we don't love him, if we don't serve him, if we don't obey him, if we don't remain faithful to him and his word? How can we point the next generation to God? If we don't attend church regularly, if we ignore our Bibles, if we never develop the fruit of the Spirit, we rarely evangelize, and we generally live apathetic spiritually. How are there any memorials in our lives that our children can see, that those around us can see, that would point to God if we're living an apathetic, carnal, worldly, unfaithful life, yet we call ourselves a Christian? The Israelites crossed over the Jordan River. A memorial in the Jordan River, a memorial on the other side that pointed to the Lord that when the children of the next generations came and asked what mean these stones, there would be people there who would say, this is what God has done. And may we have those kinds of memorials built in our lives as we remain faithful and obedient to him. So the Israelites now, as we come down to verses eight and into the next chapter, we don't have time to read each and every verse, but we see that in verses 12 through 13, that there were 40,000 soldiers that crossed over, leading the way after the Ark of the Covenant, passing around the Ark, 40,000 mentioned from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh. We remember them from chapter one. Remember, they were the tribes that were gonna stay on the east side of the Jordan. They had asked for their allotment of land to be on the east side of the Jordan instead of in Canaan proper, and Moses had granted them that, and it had been reiterated in Joshua 1. Joshua had taken care of it. They had made their promise, and even though there were more than 100, excuse me, even though there were more than 100,000 capable soldiers from those tribes, only 40,000 went across into Canaan. The rest were to stay back because the women and children and the elderly were going to have to stay back on the east side of the Jordan, and the rest of the soldiers would protect them, while 40,000 crossed over and went into the land of Canaan with the other tribes' armies and the Israelite army to fight. So they kept their promise. They obeyed. They fulfilled their promise. And as soon as the people had crossed the river, and the stones were removed, and the stones were piled in the middle of the river, as they crossed on dry ground with the water on either side, as they brought then the Ark of the Covenant, as the priests carried the Ark of the Covenant out of that dry riverbed where they had just crossed, miraculously by God's work, as they stepped out, we read down in chapter 4 in verses 15 through 18, that as soon as they stepped out, verse 18, it came to pass when the priests that bear the ark that come to the Lord were come up out of the midst of Jordan, the soles of the priest's feet were lifted up onto the dry land that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place and flowed over all his banks as they did before. They step out of the river and then all of a sudden the waters come rushing behind them. Can you imagine the sight that that must have been to behold? And all the Children of Israel, I know that there were some who were on the other side from Reuben Gab, Half Manasseh, that's Saul. But then there's all the rest who are on the other side now. And those waters come back, crashing together. And they see the work of God. They see the miraculous provision and protection of God. Joshua was confirmed in verse 14 as the God-called leader of Israel. We know that this, based on what is said in verse 19, that this took place in the first month. This would be the month Abib or Nisan, I'm not sure how to pronounce those. It'd be around March or April of our calendar. So around March, April of our calendar would have been when this took place in that year, according to verse 19. And then they walked eight miles to the little town of Gilgal. Remember, those men had taken those rocks on their shoulders and they had walked those eight miles and they had built that memorial stone, or that memorial, excuse me, with those stones. We know that Deuteronomy 27 says, they also built an altar and wrote the law of God and offered sacrifices and praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. And it's interesting what God does at Gilgal. He brings Israel across, that's their first encampment in the promised land. And we know that later in this passage that God says that he removed, he rolled away the reproach of Egypt from Israel upon their encampment at Gilgal. So Gilgal begins to have another meaning of its name. It begins to not just talk about circle and encampment, but it takes on another nuance of meaning of rolling away. because God rolled away the reproach, the false accusations of the Egyptians, who said, your God can't deliver you, your God can't take you through the wilderness, you can't make it. But at that moment, we read that God took away the reproach. He rolled away the reproach of Egypt. Gilgal, to this day, represents that place of their first encampment, that encampment, that encircle, that speaks to the protection of God, but also it speaks to the rolling away of that reproach as God is glorified, as Israel is delivered into the land. So it's the place of their first encampment. We know that Gilgal, as we'll read in just a few moments, was the place where Joshua circumcised all of the men. in the second generation. It was there that Joshua would fortify the camp and from there they would go into Jericho and it would kind of be their headquarters for their conquest of Canaan. It seems to be, from what we understand, at Gilgal the place where the women, the children, the provisions, the cattle, and those who were not in the army, where they would stay until the allotment of the land. In Gilgal, it was the place they would celebrate the first Passover in the New Land, in the Promised Land. It was the place later where Saul was proclaimed King of Israel. And it was here in Gilgal that the manna would cease, and they would begin to live off the land. And finally, it was here in Gilgal that the ark remained until the tabernacle and eventually the temple were established in Shiloh and then eventually, of course, into Jerusalem. But it was here in Gilgal that the ark was kept until God commanded that it be taken to Shiloh and then eventually it was taken into Jerusalem. So we see memorials. But then secondly, In the message today, in our time that we have remaining, I want us to see measurements. Memorials and measurements. What do I mean by measurements? By measurements, I mean accountability. I mean consecration, preparation. We take measurements. Students take tests. I know I've just entered into dangerous territory because I've brought up school that already began for some of you. I've already talked to at least one student. who is moaning already, not saying he's complaining. I'm just saying, I talked to a student who was saying, I've already got so much to do. We start school tomorrow, and we've already been in the throes of preparation. But part of school is tests. Teach and test, teach and test, and then you have to put it into practice, right? And I hear it all the time. What am I ever gonna do with this? How am I ever gonna use this, right? You never know, and you are laying brick upon brick, foundation upon foundation, line upon line, precept upon precept. Your education is so important. That was a free commercial for education. Measurements, we're used to measurements. Measurements are necessary for accountability. for consecration, for preparation, and there would be four, three for the whole nation, and then one for Joshua. We look in chapter five in verses one through nine. I wish I had time to read these entire passages, but chapter five in verses one through nine is the renewal, first of all, in these measurements, there's the renewal of circumcision. Circumcision, it had been practiced, it was the sign of the covenant, but for some reason it had fallen out of practice because the second generation now going to fight to conquer Canaan, their young men, those men going out to fight had not been circumcised. The law had not been followed for whatever reason, quite possibly spiritual apathy. There was a lack of this practice, though it had been commanded in the law, though it was a sign of the Abrahamic covenant. So there was this renewal of circumcision. But this act, this physical act of circumcision, it's more than just a sign of the covenant, more than just a physical act that we know is still practiced today and is done so for protection for cleansing, for prevention of disease, but it speaks to a spiritual circumcision. It speaks to a putting away of the flesh. It speaks to putting away of that which is dirty, of that which is diseased, of that which is defiling, of that which destroys. In Deuteronomy 10 and verse 16, circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart and be no more stiff necked. Colossians 2 and verse 11, in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands and putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. In Philippians 3, in verse number three, for we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. And in Romans 6, in verse number six, knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. How could Israel go into the promised land and not have fulfilled the first sign of the covenant? They would have gone into the land and disobedience, having not fulfilled this sign of the covenant that was so instrumental in the Abrahamic covenant, which included the very land that they were in, for them to not follow the law, for them to not obey, would have meant entering into the promised land defiled and disobedient, would have cost them in their conquest. So we see the renewal of circumcision. Then also in verse number 10, the celebration of the Passover, the celebration of the Passover. Chapter five in verse number 10, and the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal and kept the Passover on the 14th day of the month that even in the plains of Jericho. This is the third time we see the Passover recorded as being observed. The first one was of course in Egypt at the 10th plague at the slaying of the firstborn Those who did not have the blood on the doorposts. The blood, of course, representing, prophesying the blood of Jesus Christ. In the Passover, of course, speaking to the passing over of those who had the blood on the doorposts. At Mount Sinai in Numbers 9, they had observed the Passover. This is the third recorded. We don't know if they also observed it during their wilderness wanderings for 40 years, but here it was significant because it was the first Passover in the Promised Land, and we see once again the dedication to sacrifice and the importance that Scripture places, that God places on our personal sanctification and dedication to the Lord's work. And I think again, how often I don't dedicate myself like I should. Where Paul had, in the New Testament, had to say, I die daily. We have to put to death the flesh on a regular basis, or else we will be tempted, or else we will sin and we will fail. The Passover, once again, It was significant at this occasion because it was the first one in the Promised Land and it spoke again to God and to His deliverance from Egypt, His deliverance into the Promised Land and Him keeping His promises, and it was a dedication, it was a sacrifice, it was a service on the part of God's people. Thirdly, we see in the measurements, not just the renewal of the circumcision, the celebration of the Passover, but thirdly, the appropriation, the appropriation of the produce of the land. Manna ceased. They would no longer receive manna. They had received it for 40 years from Exodus 16 all the way to this moment. Now the manna would stop and they would have to grow the food, get the food from the land of Canaan. And we see that the manna continued even though Israel rebelled in the wilderness. Israel complained about the manna. They even were given quail meats and they complained. Yet God was gracious enough to daily provide the manna. Now it was time for them to work the land, to live off the land. And again, without getting too carried away on this principle, God will not do for you what he has already given you the grace and the strength to do for yourself. We have to get out of bed. We have to practice the spiritual disciplines. We have to read our Bible and pray. We have to get in the car and come to church. We have to discipline our kids. God is not going to just sprinkle some magic pixie dust and make everything hunky-dory and well. If we're not willing to make the sacrifices and take the time and to do the disciplines, we trust God ultimately by His grace and by His strength to do the work. But He has given us strength and grace to do for ourselves certain things that we just have to do, that we have been given the responsibility and the calling from God to do. We have to live out the Christian life. It's that constant tension of God working out In our lives, His salvation, we work out our own salvation in fear and trembling, knowing it is God that worketh in us, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. We live in that tension of sanctification all the time. The land was theirs, it was promised, but they still had to obtain it. The promise was a provocation. for them not to be a pillow, not for them to be statues, but for them to go and to claim and to take and do and obey. Their faith had to have working boots, running shoes, hiking boots, combat boots. So our life is a life of faith that has works. We show our life, excuse me, we show our faith by our works, as James 2 talks about. They had to live off the produce of the land. The fourth measurement, this was a personal one, and this one was for Joshua, in verses 13 through 15. And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho. Chapter 5 of the book of Joshua. And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went unto him and said unto him, Art thou for us or for our adversaries? Joshua sees this man and he says, Are you on the enemy's side or are you with us? See, he didn't recognize. What was Joshua doing there? Probably meditating, probably praying. probably thinking ahead to what they were going to do next, listening for what the Lord would have, and now there's this individual in the darkness, in the twilight, whatever the case may be, and he's saying, are you for us, or are you for our adversaries? Verse 14, and he said, Nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant? And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. What's the measurement here? It's the measurement of Joshua's faith. It's the witness to God's call upon Joshua's life. And it is also the witness to God's promise, to God's confirmation of God's call upon Joshua into fulfilling his promise to give them the land. But they had to obey. They had to go forward. They had to listen for the Lord's next instructions. And who is this captain of the Lord's host? who is this commander of the Lord's army. It is a Christophany. This is the angel of the Lord. This is a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. And he appears to Joshua right before they go to take on Jericho, right before God gives the instructions as to how to conquer Jericho, their first battle in the land. And God gives confirmation of his call upon Joshua, and he reassures Joshua of his call, and he says, I'm gonna be with you. And notice that it's about Joshua being on the Lord's side, not trying to talk God into being on our side. It's about Joshua being on God's side. And what did Joshua do upon recognition of this angel of the Lord, the captain of the Lord's host? He bows in worship. And what does the angel say? What does the captain of the Lord's host say? He says, take your shoes off because the ground that you stand upon is holy ground. This is a place of reverence, a place of worship, a place of dedication, a place of confirmation. And once again, we see the holiness of God. We see the reverence that we are to have for God. We see the dependence that Joshua and Israel must have upon God. for this great task, this great mission of conquering the promised land. And it is so applicable, and it illustrates so much, once again, the Christian life, how we must be on the Lord's side, not trying to talk God into being on our side, but we depend upon Him. We trust Him, not my will, but Thine be done. We come to Him as a living sacrifice, and we trust Him, we depend upon Him. And what assurance this must have been for Joshua. Now in this dispensation, we have the Holy Spirit who is God with us, who guides us into all truth, who bears witness with our spirits. Christ has come. They looked ahead to the coming of Christ. We look back at the cross. We look ahead to the rapture and the resurrection from the dead. And we look ahead to the new Jerusalem, the new heavens, the new earth. We look forward to heaven. But we have Christ still with us. in the person of the Holy Spirits, in our personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of God, who boldly, who asks us to boldly come before the throne of grace, and functions as our advocates. So are we depending upon him? Are we trusting him? Are we leaning upon him? The only way we can be on the Lord's side is to first of all know his forgiveness. to have trusted Him as our Lord and Savior. The only way we can be on the Lord's side after we have trusted Christ is to depend upon Him, to trust Him, to seek His will, to obey His commands, to follow His principles, to trust His promises. And in doing so, God will guide us as we looked at two weeks ago in Psalm 32 and verse number 8. I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go. I will guide thee with mine eye upon thee. May we depend upon the Lord like Joshua, like Israel did, to have the victorious Christian life that God wants us to have, to receive his blessings and his honor, to find his satisfaction, to find the real joy and the peace that comes only through a close personal relationship with Jesus Christ. May we see the Lord do that in our lives, even this week. Let's pray. Lord, we have been convicted and challenged by this account from the book of Joshua that reminds us in so many ways of the challenges of life, the necessity of depending upon you, of trusting you, of seeking your will, of following you and your guidance and your direction according to your word as we obey your commands and follow your principles and claim your promises. Lord, I pray that we may have victory. May we have good success according to the will of God, as Joshua 1 and verse 8 promises, as we depend upon you according to your will, sanctified and sacrificial and serving. Lord, I pray that if there's someone here today who does not know you as their Savior, Lord, today, may they turn from their sins and turn to you in saving faith, trusting in you and you alone for their salvation. Lord, as believers, may we be renewed in our service and our commitment to you. Lord, wherever you have us this week, whether it's school, or at work, or in a place of recreation, or at home, or wherever you have us, Lord, may we be faithful, obedient, sacrificial servants, fulfilling your will, doing your work for your glory. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Jake's gonna come and lead us in our closing hymn. Our closing hymn is hymn number 412. We'll stand to our feet and we'll sing stanza number one of the hymn 412, A Passion for Thee.