[0:00] Good evening. Welcome to the service this evening. The intimations are on the white sheet.
[0:12] They're substantial, so you can look through them at your own convenience. I'm going to just highlight one or two that I didn't highlight in the morning.
[0:23] One is just to say again about Christianity Explorer, to give the encouragement to come to Christianity Explorer. It was good to see a few people at Christianity Explorer, but other than the leaders, there was only, I think, probably two people who were at the course.
[0:43] And so I want to just give the encouragement for those who may be thinking things through, or those who are Christians and who have been a long time on the road.
[0:54] So you can be an encouragement to those who are thinking about setting off on the road. So this Thursday, it'll be the second session, but you can pick up quite easily in Christianity Explorer.
[1:08] So half past seven in the Hotel Hebrides. And as it says there, if you were unable to attend last week, you can still join in. The discipleship Explorer starts this Thursday at half past seven here in the church building, so please give that some thought and prayer also.
[1:26] The other thing is just to highlight that the YF, which has been off over the Christmas period, begins again this evening at half past seven after the service. So young folks, please take note of that.
[1:39] And not so young folks, please remember the YF in prayer. The rest of the intimations, which I say are considerable, you can read at your own convenience.
[1:50] If you could turn with me please now in your Bibles to Joshua chapter 18. Joshua chapter 18. And we will read from verse 1.
[2:03] This is God's Word. The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The country was brought under their control, but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had not yet received their inheritance.
[2:22] So Joshua said to the Israelites, How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?
[2:35] Appoint three men from each tribe. I will send them out to make a survey of the land and write a description of it according to the inheritance of each. Then they will return to me.
[2:47] You are to divide the land into seven parts. Judah is to remain in its territory on the south and the house of Joseph in its territory on the north. After you have written descriptions of the seven parts of the land, bring them here to me and I will cast lots for you in the presence of the Lord your God.
[3:07] The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you because the priestly service of the Lord is their inheritance. And Gad, Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan.
[3:23] Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave it to them. As the men started on their way to map out the land, Joshua instructed them, Go and make a survey of the land and write the description of it.
[3:36] Then return to me and I will cast lots for you here at Shiloh in the presence of the Lord. So the men left and went through the land. They wrote its description on a scroll time by time in seven parts and returned to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh.
[3:53] Joshua then cast lots for them in Shiloh in the presence of the Lord. And there he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their tribal divisions. Then we have the various lots.
[4:06] Again, I mentioned this last week and again this week. I don't intend to go through all the names, but you can do that at your own convenience. The allotment for Benjamin.
[4:17] The lot came up for the tribe of Benjamin clan by clan. There are a lot of territory laid between the tribes of Judah and Joseph. And then we have all the names detailed there. And it is summarized there at the end of the chapter.
[4:31] This was the inheritance of Benjamin for his clans. And then into chapter 19, verses 1 through 9, the allotment for Simeon. The second lot came out for the tribe of Simeon clan by clan.
[4:44] Their inheritance lay within the territory of Judah. It included Beersheba and so on, down through to the end of verse 8. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the Simeonites clan by clan.
[4:58] The inheritance of the Simeonites was taken from the share of Judah because Judah's portion was more than they needed. So the Simeonites received an inheritance within the territory of Judah.
[5:10] Then the allotment for verses 10 to 16 for Zebulun. The third lot came up for Zebulun. Verse 10 clan by clan. And then they're listed there to the end of verse 15.
[5:21] And verse 16 says these towns and their villages were the inheritance of Zebulun clan by clan. Verses 17 through to 23, the allotment for Issachar.
[5:33] The fourth lot came out for Issachar clan by clan. Their territory included Jezreel, Kesulath, Shunem and so on, down through verse 22.
[5:44] Verse 23, these towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar clan by clan. Verse 24, the allotment for Asher. That takes us down to the end of verse 31.
[5:57] The fifth lot came out for the tribe of Asher clan by clan. And we have the details of it there. And in the summary version in verse 31, we have the same pattern for each.
[6:08] These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Asher clan by clan. Verse 32 through to verse 39, the allotment for Naphtali.
[6:19] The sixth lot came out for Naphtali clan by clan. The boundaries there from verses 33 to verse 38. Verse 39, these towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Naphtali clan by clan.
[6:32] Verse 40 to verse 49 is the area for Dan. The seventh lot came out for the tribe of Dan clan by clan. The territory of the inheritance included these names.
[6:46] Down to verse 48, these towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Dan clan by clan. And then finally for Joshua, the allotment.
[6:57] When they had finished dividing the land into its allotted portions. This is verse 49. The Israelites gave Joshua, son of Nun, an inheritance among them as the Lord had commanded.
[7:10] They gave him the town he asked for, Timnath-Sherah, in the hill country of Ephraim. And he built up the town and settled there. These are the territories that Eliezer the priest, Joshua, son of Nun, and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel assigned by Lot at Shiloh.
[7:29] In the presence of the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. And so they finished dividing the land. Amen. And may God give us understanding as he will return to his word in just a few moments.
[7:45] On the information sheet that you have, you've got a section on the back of it. And we're given an encouragement there to pray for two more congregations.
[8:02] One of the things that's come out in the course of this year is that we as one congregation in a much bigger denomination would be encouraged to get to know something of the congregations we're connected with.
[8:15] So that we'll be able to pray for them. And we have these two congregations there. Baclou and Greyfriars and Loch Broom and Koygach. And you have the descriptions of the congregations there.
[8:33] Loch Broom and Koygach is actually where Mary's brother, Neil Lachey, is the minister. And so we've got a description there of the congregation. Some of you are looking puzzled.
[8:45] But you have these sheets there. I'm not going to go through the sheets and read it all out. And the other congregation is Baclou and Greyfriars. And the minister there is a man called Colin Ross.
[8:56] And I can't help but sort of grin when I think about the minister from Baclou and Greyfriars. When I was in Kensalire, my dad was the minister there over many years.
[9:09] Probably Colin was about the size of Michael just behind that chair. And Colin, through the years, he was so shy. He wouldn't even look you in the eye.
[9:21] He wouldn't say a word to you. But the Lord had a plan for his life. And he came to know the Lord. And he called him into the mission.
[9:33] And has used him. And continues to use him. So these two congregations were encouraged to pray for. So let's just do that just now.
[9:44] Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift that you've given us of prayer.
[9:57] We thank you, Lord, that you call us to pray for those around us and those we are connected to. We thank you that when you call us to trust you, we are brought into a church.
[10:13] The Church of Christ that spans many denominations and crosses the boundaries of nations. And we thank you that we have the privilege of thinking of and praying for each other.
[10:27] And so, Lord, as we pray for ourselves and ask for your help, as we have done already in the course of this service, as we pray for those around us as well.
[10:38] For the congregations in this island that we are connected with. Those that we know individuals in. The congregations that we represent even here this evening.
[10:51] And we ask, Lord, that you would be at work in this island and across this nation. And we pray especially, Father, for these congregations that have been highlighted to us for this week.
[11:01] For the work of your church in Beclew. And Greyfriars in Edinburgh. And also for the work of Christ in Loch Brum and Coigach.
[11:12] We ask, Lord, that you would be near to these congregations. That you would be working. And as the word of God is shared. And as people are drawn in to these congregations.
[11:24] We pray that the Holy Spirit himself would be active in the hearts and minds of all. That you will be connected. So enable them, we pray. As we ask that you would enable us to worship you in spirit and in truth.
[11:37] Enable us, we pray as we pray. Also for them to be able to reach out with the good news of the gospel. And we ask, Lord, that you would add your blessing. And that you would build your church across the nation.
[11:50] And across all nations. To hear our prayers. Take away our sin. And continue to guide us as we continue to look to you. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
[12:00] I was trying to look-lead what Mary's been saying for the last five minutes. And it wasn't actually Colin Ross. It was James Ross.
[12:14] So, it was James Ross who's the minister there. So we pray on for these congregations. If you could turn back with me, please, to Joshua chapter 18.
[12:30] It's good to see the boys and girls. Got a number of you out tonight again. And I have my watch here. So we'll make sure we're finishing for seven o'clock.
[12:43] But boys and girls, not so many on this side. But on this side, just one little thing that I saw this morning. When I was reading in Mark chapter 1.
[12:54] And I thought this was a great thing. Just to underline in your Bible. In knowing how to pray. Sometimes we think. I don't know how to pray.
[13:07] I'm not sure how to pray. Sometimes. When I'm at the prayer meeting. And I'm going to ask one of the people to pray. I see all the heads go down. Because.
[13:20] We can find it difficult sometimes to pray. And we find it difficult sometimes to know how to pray. But there's just a little few words in Mark chapter 1 there.
[13:33] That I think is a helpful guide. You know Peter the disciple. You heard of Peter the disciple. You can speak to me boys and girls. Yeah. Right at the beginning.
[13:45] When Jesus called Peter to follow him. Peter's mother-in-law. His wife's mum. She was sick. And do you know what it says.
[13:56] In the Bible here. It says that. As soon as they left the synagogue. They went. With James and John. To the house. Of Simon. Peter. And Andrew.
[14:07] And Simon's. Mother-in-law. Was in bed with a fever. And they told Jesus. About her. And that's prayer.
[14:20] That's prayer. Boys and girls. We tell people. About Jesus. It's as simple. And yet.
[14:30] It's as amazing as that. If you know somebody who's sick. If you know somebody who's sad. If you know somebody who's lonely. If you know somebody.
[14:43] Who in their hearts. They don't know Jesus. Then what do we do? We tell. Jesus. About them. And that's what prayer is.
[14:56] So. Boys and girls. That's just something. I underlined in my Bible this morning. I thought. That's a really helpful thing. So tonight. When you go to bed. That's what we do. We tell. Jesus.
[15:07] About people. That we think about. Who need his special help. Now let's turn to. To Joshua. Chapter 19. 18 into 19. We only got halfway through the service.
[15:20] Sermon last week. And what I want to do really. Is just. Continue on. From where we finished up. Last week. We join.
[15:30] In chapter 18. This. This. This portion. Of the book of Joshua. Where we see God's people. And. They had been led. Through the wilderness.
[15:43] They crossed over the Jordan. And. We find them in Joshua 18. And they're. They're now in the promised land. They're in the land. That God had promised. He wanted his people to be.
[15:54] And they're starting to enjoy. Some of the blessings. Some of the good things. About being in that land. They used to forever be fighting. They used to forever be under attack.
[16:04] But now it says in verse 1. That the country was brought. Under their control. So they're able to rest. They're able to. To meet together. Like we're meeting tonight.
[16:15] To worship God. And nobody's trying to hit them. And nobody's trying to fight them. And nobody's trying to stop them. There's a degree of peace. The country.
[16:28] Verse 1 of chapter 18. Was brought. Under their control. And it's as if. They could almost just. Sit down for a second. And take a breath. And enjoy that.
[16:43] But the thing was. The job wasn't completed. They had moved into the promised land. But it says in verse 2. There were still seven Israelite tribes.
[16:54] Who had not yet received. Their inheritance. So Joshua. God used Joshua. To come to these tribes. That had kind of gone to sleep.
[17:07] And give them a poke. You know sometimes. When you're. You're drifting off. When you're daydreaming. Maybe in the classroom. Or at home.
[17:18] And the teacher. May just give you a poke. Your mum or dad. Might give you a poke. And say. Wake up. Come on. Job's not done yet. And that's.
[17:31] Kind of what was happening here. They've been sitting back. But God was calling them. To move forward. So Joshua. Verse 3. Said. The Israelites. How long will you wait.
[17:43] The Hebrew word. They are literally. I said last week. Is. Is how long will you be slack. Before you begin to take possession. Of the land. That the Lord.
[17:54] The God of your ancestors. Has given you. That was the question. That God put. To his people. How long are you going to sit. On your hands. How long are you going to wait.
[18:04] You've been sitting down. For a while now. You've got your breath. But there's more to do. And the answer. To that question. That came. To God's people.
[18:15] Through Joshua. Was. Was not one more minute. They were ready to go again. Sometimes. In the morning.
[18:27] When the alarm sounds. And we're in our beds. And we're sleeping. We hear this kind of. Wah. Wah. Wah. Wah. Wah.
[18:37] And it's in the distance. And then it seems to be. Getting closer. And we realise. This is morning. Crashing in. And we get a shock. As we wake up.
[18:50] The bed is warm. We're tired. And so we think. Well. I'll get up in five minutes. And we just. Press snooze.
[19:03] Ten more minutes. We say. Ten more minutes. Ten more minutes. Well. Israel here. As a people. Had heard. The alarm call. From the Lord.
[19:14] As Joshua. Gave it. And they don't say. Ten more minutes. They respond. Immediately. And.
[19:26] It's always such an encouragement. To see. God's people. People. People. Respond. You know. Like Israel.
[19:37] If we're honest. You and I get sleepy at times. Like. Israel. God's people of old. At times. We take our eye off the ball.
[19:47] We get spiritually slack. God. But the Lord. Comes to us. As he came to Israel. And it's such a blessing.
[20:00] When God. Comes to. Individuals. To see. Them respond. And to want to walk. In truth. To want to get going again.
[20:13] We sometimes sing that hymn. Prone to wander. Lord. I feel it. There's times that we wander off. But God. In his goodness. He takes us back.
[20:25] He takes hold of us. And it's such an encouragement. To all of God's people. To see someone. Who was once far away. Coming close again. It's such an encouragement.
[20:35] At times. To see someone. Who. Who. The light had gone out of their eyes. And all of a sudden. They're on fire. For the Lord again. In 3rd John.
[20:46] 3 and 4. The. The John. The apostle. Says. It gave me great joy. To have some brothers. Come and tell me. About your faithfulness.
[20:56] To the truth. And how you continue. To walk in the truth. I have no greater joy. Than to hear. That my children. Are walking. In the truth. And that's what God's people.
[21:10] Here wanted to do. They had drifted a bit. But they wanted to walk. In the truth. We are going to sing at the end.
[21:21] God willing. When we walk with the Lord. In the light of his word. What a glory he sheds. On our way. While we do his good will.
[21:33] He abides with us still. With all. Who will trust. And obey. And God's people here. In chapter 18.
[21:44] Going into chapter 19. As they hear God speak. They trust him. As they again hear God call them. They want to obey him.
[21:56] They wanted to walk. In obedience. They wanted to walk. In truth. And if we are. God's people. And we're healthy.
[22:08] In our hearts. This is how we want to walk. We want to be obedient to him. We want to be close with him. We want to be.
[22:19] Walking. In truth. So how can we be sure. That we're doing that. And practically speaking. As we think about. The children of Israel here.
[22:30] How did God's people. In this day. Now that they're. Waking back up. How could they. Know that they're responding. Correctly to God's call. Well two points. Is all we have tonight.
[22:42] There's an old plan. And there's an old. Old story. So first of all. There's an old plan. That we see here. In this chapter.
[22:54] Sometimes you've heard. The phrase. To fail to plan. Is to plan to fail. Well once God's people. Were awake.
[23:06] And realizing of the fact. That they had been coasting. They needed to get going. But they needed a plan. To be able to. To get going. So Joshua. In verses 4.
[23:16] To verse 8. Of chapter 18. He outlines the plan. So let's look at this. In verse 4. Joshua. Says appoint three men. From each tribe. I will send them out.
[23:28] To make a survey of the land. And to write a description of it. According to the inheritance. Of each. Then they will return to me. You're to divide the land. Into seven parts.
[23:38] Judah. Is to remain in its territory. On the south. And the tribes of Joseph. In their territory. On the north. After you have written. Descriptions. Of the seven parts. Of the land. Bring them here to me.
[23:49] And I will cast lots. For you. In the presence of the Lord. Our God. The Levites. However. Do not get a portion. Among you. Because the priestly service. Of the Lord. Is their inheritance.
[24:00] St. Gad. Reuben. And the half tribe. Of Manasseh. Have already received. Their inheritance. On the east side. Of the Jordan. Moses. The servant. Of the Lord. Gave it to them. So there's the plan.
[24:14] Now is this a new plan? No. This was the old plan. And they were to stick. To the old plan. That the land.
[24:25] That God promised them. They were to take. And the point. In application. For us. Tonight. Is to note.
[24:36] That. That God's word. It doesn't change. It was an old plan. Back then. It hadn't changed.
[24:47] God's word. Hadn't been. Modified. Or amended. Back then. And God's word. Does not. Need modification. Or amendment. Today. Or any day.
[24:57] Or any age. His commands. His instructions. His directions. His plans. They don't have a sell by date. Sometimes.
[25:09] We go into the fridge. Maybe this only happens. In our house. But sometimes. You go into the fridge. And you. You see the food. On the different shelves. And you. If you're anything like me. Before you. Decide to open it.
[25:20] You check the sell by date. And if you're anything like me. If it's past its sell by date. It's going. Right out the window. Not everybody in the house. Is quite as quick.
[25:31] To throw things out the window. But. If food has a sell by date. You fling it. God's word.
[25:44] His plan. His way. It is for all ages. It has no sell by date. It has no use by date.
[25:55] It has no date. Upon which it becomes obsolete. The laws of the land change. God's word doesn't change. The way we do things change.
[26:07] Crofting. Building. Medicine. Transport. Communication. All these things are subject to change. But God's ways do not change. We change.
[26:18] But Jesus Christ. Is the same yesterday. And today. And forever. And the point to see here. In application here. Is that God's plan.
[26:29] The plan that he had outlined to his people. From day one. Had not changed. And verses four to seven. Gives us.
[26:39] Something. Of the detail. Of how God's plan. Could be followed. We see there. In verse four. Three men. Three surveyors. Are to be sent out.
[26:51] With their high-wiz jackets. And their hard hats. And their scrolls. Or maybe just their scrolls. And they have to write a description. Of each of the.
[27:02] Of the areas of land. That they see. They're to divide. These areas. Verse five. Into seven plots. And once that's all done. They're to return to Joshua. And Joshua. Verse six.
[27:12] Is to cast lots. So the land. Could be apportioned. To the tribes. That were still. To be given. Their inheritance. So that's the details.
[27:24] Of the plan. Surveyors go out. With their notebooks. They give us all the details. They divide up.
[27:36] Into these. Seven areas. And then Joshua. Is to cast lots. Before the Lord. In order for them to see. What God's will.
[27:48] Would be. You might wonder. Why. Did they cast lots. Back then. You might be wondering. Especially the young ones. What on earth does it mean.
[27:58] To cast lots. Well it's kind of. Like the old fashioned. Equivalent of. Of tossing a coin. You toss a coin. And there's heads and tails. Heads you win.
[28:09] Tails you lose. Kind of thing. And there's no. There's no science to it. It's just. You toss a coin. And you see how it falls. And.
[28:21] That's. Kind of. What it was like. Casting lots. It says. In this. Commentary here. Seventy times. In the old testament. And seven times.
[28:32] In the new testament. Casting lot. Is mentioned. The practice of casting lots. Occurs most often. In connection. With the division. Of the land. Under Joshua.
[28:43] As in the chapter. That we're looking at here. God allowed the Israelites. To cast lots. In order to determine. His will. For a. A given situation. So you might be thinking.
[28:55] Well. Why are we seeing. Casting lots. Back then. And why don't we see. Casting lots. In the new testament. Why aren't we casting. Lots tonight. Why at the beginning. Of a day.
[29:05] If we're trying to. Understand. What. What God would have us do. Which way God. Would have us go. Why don't we toss a coin. And cast lots. And the answer.
[29:17] Again. Takes us back. To God's word. We don't read. Of the apostles. Casting lots. In the new testament. Well.
[29:30] Not much. Once the holy spirit. Is given. And neither. The. The canon. Of God's word. Is complete.
[29:40] Indeed. There's no need. To cast lots. You don't have to guess. Which way God. Would have us go. On different issues.
[29:50] Because. We have his word. The holy spirit. Of God. Inspired this. And so.
[30:00] If we want to know. God's will. And God's way. We have it here. So what next.
[30:11] Verse 8. As the men started. On their way. To map out the land. Joshua. Instructed them. Go and make a. A survey of the land. And write the description of it.
[30:22] Then. Return to me. And I will cast lots. For you here. At Shiloh. In the presence of the Lord. And. They do exactly. What they're told to do. They stick to the plan.
[30:34] So the men left. Verse 9. And went through the land. They wrote. It's a description. On a scroll. Town by town. In seven parts. And returned. To Joshua.
[30:44] In the camp at Shiloh. So Joshua. Then cast lots. For them in Shiloh. In the presence. Of the Lord. And there. He distributed. The land. The Israelites.
[30:55] According. To their tribal. Divisions. So what we have here. Is a great. Example. Of. Obedience. God had a plan.
[31:10] And it was the same plan. From the beginning. To the end. We have more in the way of detail. In Joshua. 18 and 19. But this is what God said.
[31:21] From the beginning. I have a land for you. And I'm going to direct you. Into this land. And in verses 18. Well in chapters 18 and 19. We see God directing them. Into the land.
[31:33] That he promised. From the beginning. The plan. Had not changed. And God's people. Here. They simply obey.
[31:46] They don't add to the plan. They don't take away. From the plan. They don't shift to the left. They don't shift to the right. They simply.
[31:59] And they steadfastly obey. And that's the. Point and application. For us in terms of. Of God's word. We're.
[32:09] We're to obey it. Revelation 22. The last verse is almost in the Bible. Says. This. I warn everyone.
[32:20] Who hears. The words. Of the prophecy. Of this book. If anyone adds anything. To them. God will add to him. The plagues. Described in this book. If anyone.
[32:31] Takes words away. From this book. Of prophecy. God will take. Away from him. His share. In the tree of life. And in the holy city. Which are described. In this book.
[32:43] This is God's plan. For us. This is his plan. Of salvation. This is his plan. For this world. This is his plan. For you. And for I.
[32:54] We don't take away from it. We don't add to it. We don't drift from it. We don't move a little left. We don't move a little right. We trust it. And we obey.
[33:07] And that's what God's people do here. The old plan. That God reinforces. For them. They stick to it. Steadfastly. They obey.
[33:20] We have a great illustration of that. In this section. We also have a good illustration here. Of faith. One of the commentators.
[33:30] Says here. It's important to note. That although the land was subdued before them. It was not yet taken. So the act of the surveyors. Journeying through the land.
[33:42] Was indeed an act of faith. In that. It was still. Occupied land. They still had to trust God. For his protection. As they journeyed.
[33:54] And made. Their report. So Joshua. I needed to give him a poke. They needed some encouragement. To act.
[34:06] But when they got in. They acted. They didn't procrastinate. They acted. Ralph Davis.
[34:19] The commentator. Says. God promised. The land. And yet. It must be possessed. It is God's gift. And yet. That does not cancel.
[34:30] Human responsibility. God's promises. He says. Are intended. Not as sedatives. Things that put us to sleep. But as stimulants.
[34:42] Things that. Get us moving. And I wonder tonight. Certainly in preparation. I got a poke.
[34:56] But I wonder tonight. If any of us. Are getting a poke. Of encouragement here. To get going. A bit more. Maybe we're. In a bit of a low.
[35:07] Spiritual gear. Maybe we're. Trundling along. Instead of advancing. At speed. Maybe we're lacking. A bit of. Courage. And vision.
[35:18] And the Lord. Is saying to us. Through. Joshua. How long. Will you wait. Until you start. Start acting.
[35:29] On my promises. How long. Is it going to be. Until people. Start hearing. That you are Christ's.
[35:41] Christ's. How long. Until you start. Sharing your faith. How long. Is it going to be. Until you put that.
[35:52] Sin. That's been stifling. Your spiritual growth. For years. To death. Maybe the Lord. Is saying that. Some of us here.
[36:03] Tonight. How long. Yes. You're saved. But how long. Until you start. To advance. How long.
[36:14] Until we really. Start to grow. Or maybe. Tonight. God is putting. Someone. On our radar. Joshua.
[36:24] Had these. Sluggish. Tribes. Put on his radar. And maybe. God is putting. Somebody. On our radar. And calling us.
[36:36] As he called. Joshua. To get. Alongside them. And to give them. That nudge. Of encouragement. Hebrews.
[36:47] Chapter 10. Verse 24. Says. Let us consider. How we may. Spur one another on. Towards love. And good deeds. Let us not.
[36:58] Give up meeting. Together. As some are. In the habit. Of doing. But let us. Encourage one another. And all the more. As you see.
[37:09] The day approaching. Jesus is coming back. How will he find us. When he comes back. Will we be growing.
[37:22] And advancing. Will we be full of zeal. Will we be. Will we be. Will we be. Or will we be. A lukewarmness. An apathy. That's stifling us.
[37:39] There's an old. Plan. That God. Calls his people. To stick to. And they stick to. And then secondly.
[37:51] And finally. And very very briefly. There's the old. Old story. And just as you let your. Eyes scan. From. Verses 17.
[38:02] Verses 11. Of chapter 18. Through to. The end. Of chapter 19. What we see there. Is we see. These tribes. And Joshua.
[38:14] Himself. Being allotted. These areas. Of land. For the inheritance. So. We see lists. And we see names. And what's the underlying message. In all of these. Names.
[38:24] And all these lists. Well in summary. The underlying message. The overarching truth. In this. That we're not to miss. Is that what God. Had promised. He was delivering.
[38:39] And not in part. But fully. The Lord was not content. To leave his people.
[38:50] To do half a job. To enter. The land. In part. And then. Take their foot off the gas. God pushes his people forward.
[39:04] To do the whole job. To receive the whole blessing. The whole inheritance. Now you and I.
[39:14] Don't have to. You and I. Don't have to look. Far. To see. Jobs. That are. Half done. My desk is full of them. My garden. It's got even more.
[39:27] You know. We have DIY projects. That. We start. But if you're anything like me. We never. Make much progress with. We're prone to leave things.
[39:42] That are incomplete. But not God. And we see that. As God works with Israel. And we see that.
[39:52] In our own lives. As God works with us. Philippians 1.6. Says. He. Who began a good work in you. Will carry it on to completion.
[40:06] Until the day. Of Christ Jesus. Jesus. So what's the old. Old story. Well it's simply this.
[40:21] That God is faithful. And that God keeps. His promises. It's the old. Old story. That we see. In Joshua.
[40:32] And it's the old. Old story. That we see. Even more clearly. In Jesus. Joshua. The name itself. The title of this book. Literally means. The Lord saves.
[40:46] So all the way. Through this book. From verse 1. Of chapter 1. All the way through. We're pointed.
[40:58] Forward to Christ. We're given. Echoes. Of the good news. We are. We're pointed forward. And our appetites.
[41:08] We're pointed. For the gospel story. Of Jesus. And his love. All. That was promised. To Israel. Was delivered. As Joshua.
[41:22] Led his people. And all. That was promised. To us. By means. By means of. Forgiveness. Of our sin. By means of.
[41:35] Eternal life. Eternal. Security. An inheritance. That is undefiled. Incorruptible. Was delivered.
[41:47] In Jesus. He lived for us. He died for us. He rose for us. He was faithful.
[42:01] Faithful. To the plan. Of salvation. That was formed. Within the Trinity. Before the foundation. Of time. Faithful. To the will. Of his father. Faithful.
[42:14] Unto death. Even death. On a cross. Remember. As he died. He cried out. It is.
[42:26] Finished. Completed. Lifted up. Was he to die. Now in.
[42:38] It is finished. Was his cry. And now in heaven. Exalted. High. Hallelujah. What. A savior.
[42:48] The old plan. That God's people. Were. And still are. Called.
[42:58] To stick to the plan. That he reveals. In and through his word. And the old. Old story. The Lord saves.
[43:10] Evident. In the book of Joshua. That so. Clearly. Seen to us. In the gospel. Of Jesus Christ. So what are we called to do.
[43:23] Trust. And obey. Trust. And obey. For there's no other way. To be happy. In Jesus. But to trust.
[43:37] And obey. And I may the grace. Of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the love. Of God the Father. And the fellowship. Of God the Holy Spirit. Be with us all. Both now. And forevermore. Amen.