'be strong and courageous'

[0:00] Good morning. Good morning. And a warm welcome to the service this morning. It's good to see some visitors with us this morning. And you're especially welcome if you're able to stay behind at the end of the service.

[0:13] There's tea and coffee which will be served and it would be good to have the chance to meet with you if you're able to stay. There's no evening service this evening because we are joining together with the Leva Baruch Connegation who are having their communion weekend.

[0:29] So the service in Leva Baruch will be at half past six and as many of you as are able please be encouraged to go to that. If you're struggling for a lift please speak to me at the end or any of the elders and I'm sure we can arrange transport for those who need.

[0:47] Ladies things in the course of the week just to highlight. Ladies Bible study on Monday, First Fruit Bellship on Tuesday, Road to Recovery on Tuesday and the prayer meeting on Wednesday and all as normal in the normal places at the normal times.

[1:00] Half past seven on Wednesday the prayer meeting will be led by Gordon McLeod this week. I'm heading away to a free church conference for the next couple of days and I will be back until later on on Wednesday evening.

[1:13] So Gordon will lead the prayer meeting. Know Ye Fellowship tonight. Tonight the YF will resume next Sunday at half past seven and the services next Sunday will God willing be 11 o'clock led by myself and 6pm the Gaelic service will be led by Donald McSween.

[1:34] Now after the Gaelic service, this is a change to what's on your sheet and a change to what's on the screen. So after the Gaelic service next Sunday evening at half past seven, we said for the YF to meet but actually I'd like as many of the congregation as possible to meet at half past seven next Wednesday.

[1:55] We're going to hear after the Gaelic service about the trip to Nepal and we'll have some contributions from those who were at the Nepal trip at that meeting.

[2:07] So please be encouraged to come for that reason. And the other thing is there's a number of our students or young people who are heading away from home for the first time just in the next few weeks.

[2:19] And this is probably the last informal fellowship we'll have before they go. And so we'd like to hear from them and pray for them as they prepare to go away. So a congregational meeting would be a great thing to have rather than a small fellowship.

[2:35] So half past seven next Sunday evening, a fellowship in Nepal and the young people as they prepare to go. Final thing, PVG forms. If you're one of the people who've been carrying a PVG form around in the boot of your car for the last three months, please pull it out and take it in.

[2:52] It would be good to have these in order. I think these are all the informations. And so we begin and we worship God this morning by singing to his face from Psalm 51.

[3:08] Psalm 51, as we come into the Lord's presence, we know that we in and of ourselves are not worthy to come. We are sinners. We need to be cleansed from our sin.

[3:19] And so this is a psalm of repentance. And as we come to God, we come repenting of our sin and asking that he will cleanse us and fill us with the joy of his salvation.

[3:31] So we sing from verses 7 to verse 13 of this Psalm 51. Do thou with hyssop sprinkle me? I shall be cleansed so ye wash thou me, and then I shall be whiter than the snow.

[3:46] So thank you, verse 13, and we stand to sing to God's praise. Amen. And then I shall be whiter than the snow.

[4:26] All gladness and all joyfulness make me to hear the noise.

[4:42] That so these merry bones which thou hast broken me rejoice.

[4:57] All mine iniquities brought out, life is high from my sin.

[5:12] He is a clean heart, Lord, renew. Arise with me within.

[5:27] Cast me not from thy side, nor take thy holy spirit.

[5:42] Cast me not from thy way. Restore me thy salvation joy. With thy praise put me stay.

[5:58] Then will I teach thy ways unto those that transgressors be.

[6:14] And those that sinners are shouting be turned unto thee.

[6:30] Let's unite our hearts in prayer.

[6:44] Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for this morning, this new day. This is the day that the Lord has made.

[6:56] And we shall rejoice and be glad in it. And we thank you that as we have sung in your word that, Sam, we can rejoice.

[7:08] We can. Each one of us have the joy of your salvation in us if we are trusting in Christ. We ask, Lord, that you would enable us, as we have sung, as sinners, as transgressors, to turn our hearts and to turn our minds to you.

[7:31] Lord, you are our God. And you are gracious. And you are holy. And you are righteous. And you are the God who has promised that you will be with us as we come together, whether we are vast in number or few in number.

[7:50] When we come in the name of Christ, with our hearts, with our minds turned to Christ. Lord, we thank you that we, as sinners, can be made clean.

[8:01] And that we can enjoy fellowship with the one true God, the God of heaven and earth. And so, Lord, we pray that you would meet with us afresh this morning.

[8:14] As we repent of our sin. As we confess our sin silently within our own hearts. Thinking back over the past few days since we last met here.

[8:26] We think about the words. We think about the thoughts. We think about the actions and the inactions which have been displeasing to you. And, Lord, we turn from them and ask that you would wash us, cleanse us, and restore to us the joy of salvation.

[8:48] We thank you for Jesus, our Savior. Lord, what a price was paid so that we could be saved.

[9:01] We think of the blood that was shed. And, Lord, we thank you for the suffering servant. For the one who went all the way to the cross.

[9:15] To make an end of our sin. And to enable us to be offered freely eternal life. So, we thank you for Jesus.

[9:25] We thank you that he died. We thank you that he rose. We thank you that he lives. We thank you that he reigns. And, Lord, we thank you for the comfort and the steadying sense we receive as we meditate upon that fact.

[9:46] Father, as we look at our papers, as we listen to the news, as we are given a perspective on this world. Lord, we see so much suffering from further haunting images of war in Syria.

[10:03] To blasts that we hear of this morning in Turkey. Lord, we don't need to look far to see violence and man's inhumanity to man.

[10:16] We see such destruction. We see so many harrowing images. We see a world that groans under the weight of sin. And needs the redemption of Christ.

[10:29] And so, Lord, we pray for the world that you have made. We feel so helpless to make any change. But we look to you as the God of heaven and earth.

[10:40] And where we see these images. Where we feel in our hearts that sense of sadness. And we pray, Lord, that you would meet with those who are suffering.

[10:53] We bring them to you in prayer. And pray that even in the darkness of the circumstances they are in, they would meet with Jesus. And, Lord, we pray for your people.

[11:06] And we pray, Lord, we pray for those who are suffering. And we pray, we pray in the power of the spirit. To be ministers.

[11:17] To be ambassadors for Christ. And, Lord, we pray for ourselves this morning also. Thank you for each one who is gathered here. We thank you for those visiting with us.

[11:29] And we pray that they would be refreshed in their time here in Harris. We pray for any congregations that they are from. And we bring them to you, Lord.

[11:40] And ask that whatever your people are meeting together to worship. That you would be present. And that to bless. And we pray for those absent from us this morning also.

[11:52] As some who are struggling. We continue to remember those who week by week we think of. Who struggle with illness. Who struggle with chronic infirmity. Who struggle with addictions.

[12:06] Lord, we bring them to you. And ask that you would meet each one at the point of their need. We pray for others who are well. And who are not lacking in terms of any physical needs.

[12:22] But who have no real sense of their need and desire to come close to you. And we bring them to you. You are the one who is able to change a heart with a touch.

[12:34] You are the one who seeks us. And, Lord, we pray that you would seek. And that you would find many more. That you would touch. That you would revive hearts that have gone cool.

[12:46] And draw them to yourself. We pray, Lord, for the children with us. We thank you for them. And we ask that you would bless them. And that they would grow up to know you.

[12:56] We think of some of them who are away at camps this weekend. And we ask, Lord, that you would give them safety. And that they would know your presence with them. Remembering that this is your day.

[13:07] And that you are with them. We ask, Lord, that you would continue to be with us now. Go before us into this week. We pray for our brothers, our sisters in Christ.

[13:19] Especially those in Liverpool. As they prepare to meet around your table. Enable them, we pray, to come with joy and with confidence. Trusting fully in Christ.

[13:31] Knowing the blessing that is ours in Christ. And as we prepare to meet with them this evening also. We ask that we would be encouraged. And, Lord, that you would be at work speaking.

[13:45] And transforming us more and more into the image of Christ. Hear our prayers. Go before us in all things. Be with us into this week.

[13:55] You know what's before us. Be with those who have difficult weeks at work. Lord, we ask, Lord, that you would be with them. And give them everything that they need.

[14:06] For all the situations that they will find themselves in. We pray for those who are looking forward to weeks of celebration. We think of some even within our families who are preparing to be married.

[14:19] And we commit them to you. And ask that you would go before them. And it would be a day of real joy and blessing. And comfort us who are grieving, we pray.

[14:31] Steady those who are anxious. And enable each one of us to know your presence. And the leading of the Holy Spirit in this hour. Cleanse us from sin.

[14:43] Go before us in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Boys and girls, would you like to come forward, please? How's everyone this week? All fine.

[14:55] Everybody happy to be back at school? Who went to school for the first time this week? Was it good fun?

[15:07] Ah, yes it was. What about anyone went to proletary for the first week this time? Was it good fun, Lily? Good stuff. Well, this morning, I thought I would tell you about something that I had to do on Thursday night.

[15:24] Do you know what I had to do on Thursday night? I had to do hoovering. Do you know what hoovering is? Who knows what hoovering is?

[15:37] Tell me what hoovering is. Let's get one of the boys to tell us what hoovering is. To see if they really know. Johnno, you stand up and tell us what's hoovering.

[15:50] I don't know what hoovering is. You don't know what hoovering is? We ask your dad if he knows what hoovering is. No, we won't. Who knows what hoovering is? Me. Come on, eh?

[16:00] Like, em... This first answer, by the way, that you didn't hear was hoovering is boring. Cleaning. Cleaning. Right. Cleaning.

[16:12] The floor. Well, I was hoovering on Thursday night. What do you think I was hoovering? No one in our house is allowed to answer this question.

[16:23] Carpet. The carpet. Good answer. Wrong answer. Upstairs. Upstairs. No, we haven't gotten upstairs. The roof. Roof.

[16:35] The roof outside. No, not the roof outside. Katie. The roof inside. That's what I was hoovering. That's what I think.

[16:47] Well, you were right. I was hoovering the roof inside. Do you know what happened? The bedroom window was left open all night Wednesday night.

[17:02] And do you know what happened when the bedroom window was left open all night on Wednesday night? Something intruded into our house.

[17:17] Something came out of the house. It's connected with the hoover. It's a clue. What do you think it could have been? Joseph.

[17:29] Dust. Dust. Plenty of dust goes in there already. Laugh louder for that one. I'm going to pay for that one later. Do you want to Rody?

[17:42] A thief. A thief. Not a thief. Nope. A thief. A thief. No. Come on. Keep guessing. Rain. Rain.

[17:52] No. Bethany. A rat. A rat. We've been there before, but not this time. No.

[18:04] Anna. Pardon? A cat. A cat. No. Not this time. It was only a wee hole about that much that the window was left open. It was a mouse. It wasn't a mouse.

[18:17] I'll give Katie one last guess and then Anna will tell us if not. Katie what? Pardon? A spider. A spider. That's the closest guess. It wasn't a spider though. It was.

[18:28] Who said that? The Carl Mack man knows all about it. It wasn't one. It wasn't two. It wasn't a hundred. It wasn't a thousand. It was probably about a billion.

[18:43] Midges. It was a million. It was a million. Midges. Midges. Midges. Midges came in by their million into the bedroom. And so I woke up on Thursday morning, not because of the alarm clock, any of the alarm clocks, but because I was doing this.

[19:02] Midges were everywhere. Midges were everywhere. Everywhere. Midges. So I got up on Thursday morning and I saw clouds of midges.

[19:13] Do you have any pictures by them? I forgot. I gave you pictures, didn't I? That's what the room looked like. That's not actually the room.

[19:25] So that's what the room looked like. There was absolutely millions of midges. Midges. So I was itching and scratching and itching and scratching. And then I thought, I'm getting out of bed.

[19:38] And I thought, I must do something about these midges. Maybe if I just ignore them, they'll go away. Maybe if I just ignore them, I thought, they'll go away.

[19:50] So I got up and I went and I did everything that I had to do in the day. And then on Thursday night at half past ten, I went to the bedroom to see about going to bed.

[20:02] And I looked up in the coving around all the room and it wasn't white anymore. It was black. And around the light, there was a big cloud like that.

[20:14] And everywhere I looked, midges. And the second day, I got wind of the fact that I was in the room. Scratching it, scratching.

[20:25] So I had to get the hoover up. And get the thing. Yeah. I had to get the hoover and take the side thing off it. And for the next probably hour at least, I was hoovering and hoovering and hoovering.

[20:40] Millions and billions of midges. For those who love midges, I'm sorry, many midges were hurt in the sense of it. And so I hoovered and I hoovered and I hoovered until I could get rid of all the midges.

[20:59] Now then. Yeah, that's what they were like. Evil, horrible things. Okay, let's get that off the screen now.

[21:10] We'll never listen. Evil. With that blank slide. Evil. What, boys and girls, has that got to do with you?

[21:23] And what's it got to do with me? You know the psalm that we were just singing? David the psalmist. Do you remember David the psalmist? Yeah. David and Goliath.

[21:34] Yeah. Well, David is writing a psalm. He's writing a prayer. And he's writing because, do you know what he could see in front of him all the time?

[21:45] All he can see in front of his eyes as he looks at his heart, as he thinks about his life, is he can see sin. David had done some very, very bad things.

[21:58] And all David can see is sin. And just like all I could see in the room was midges buzzing about everywhere, David says in the psalm, in the earlier part of the psalm, all I can see is my sin before me.

[22:15] And just like I tried to ignore the midges and hope that they would go away, I think it was about a year in David's life where he knew about all the darkness of his heart and his sin.

[22:27] And he didn't do anything about it. He just kind of hoped it would go away. Did it go away? It didn't go away any more than the midges in my room went away.

[22:42] And so in this psalm that we just sang, David says, I'm so sad in my heart, I don't want to be sad anymore.

[22:52] And I've got so much sin in my life. I've made God so sad, I don't want him to be sad anymore. And so in this psalm, which is just a prayer, he came to God and he said, please take my sin, the massive cloud of my sin, take it all away.

[23:16] Hoover it all up. And God heard his prayer and he answered his prayer and he made his black heart as white as snow.

[23:30] God heard him. God forgave him. And God did what David couldn't do for himself. And you know, God still loves that kind of prayer.

[23:41] Boys, when you and I see our sin and when it makes us sad and when we know how sad it makes God, then we're just to come and say to God, please take it away.

[23:56] Hoover it all up. Every last bit of it, Hoover it all up and make me clean. And so let's, especially when we're seeing the midges, the midges are absolutely terrible today.

[24:10] When you see the midges, think about David and the sin. And let's remember not to let sin build up in our hearts, but ask God to Hoover it all away.

[24:23] Take it all away. And let's pray that now. Lord God, thank you for the fact that when we come to you telling the truth about our own lives and our own hearts too, you hear our prayers and you answer our prayers.

[24:43] Lord, we confess, we tell you, we agree with you that what you see about our hearts, the sin that's in us, we ask Lord that you would take it from our hearts, make us as white as snow and help us, we pray, to keep coming back to you and keep trusting you.

[25:02] And we ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you boys and girls for listening. Thank you for that sweet song. Let's go over there too.

[25:13] We're going to sing now. We're going to sing from the hymn book, the red one, and number 615. The words are on the screen.

[25:25] And we're going to sing about how God is our Father and He's the one who leads us. And we're going to be reading about that in just a moment. Heavenly Father, Thou hast brought us safely to the present day, gently leading on our footsteps, watching over us all the way.

[25:40] Let's stand and sing to God's praise. If we could turn in our Bibles, please, to Joshua chapter 1. Joshua chapter 1.

[25:56] It's not so long ago where I can remember Ronnie Morrison preaching on Caleb as he spoke about the survey of the promised land.

[26:12] And now we come to this book where we go from the survey stage to the realization of the promise as the children of Israel, the nation, they stand poised at the entrance almost to the promised land.

[26:31] And so we begin a study in Joshua this morning and we read from chapter 1 and verse 1. This is God's Word. After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua, son of Nun, Moses' assistant, Moses, my servant, is dead.

[26:51] Now then, you and all these people get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them, to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot as I promised Moses.

[27:05] Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon and from the great river the Euphrates to all the Hittite country to the great sea on the west. No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life.

[27:19] as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.

[27:33] Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left that you may be successful wherever you go.

[27:46] Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth. Meditate upon it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

[27:59] Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. So Joshua ordered the officers of the people go through the camp and tell the people get your supplies ready.

[28:18] Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land your God has given you for your own. But to the Reubenites the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh Joshua said remember the command that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you.

[28:35] The Lord has given you rest and has granted you this land. Your wives your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan but all your fighting men through the arm must cross over ahead of your brothers.

[28:51] You are to help your brothers until the Lord gives them rest as he has done for you and until they too have taken possession of the land that the Lord is giving them.

[29:02] After that you may go back and occupy your own land which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you east of the Jordan towards the sunrise. Then the answer of Joshua whatever you have commanded us we will do and whatever you send us we will go just as we fully obeyed Moses so we will obey you.

[29:24] Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words whatever you may command them will be put to death.

[29:37] Only be strong and courageous. Amen and may God bless to us that reading of his word. John McSween will come now and lead us in prayer in Gareth.

[29:51] We will have after we will gather Less to some serious That of them was a new grace together on the scriptures and on the show.

[30:50] Damn it's all that, it's been yesterday, and 545 different times. If you found me look familiar, then you are playing a playoff game with a thing.

[31:09] Gallänger under tall metal and thunder until each other From the name of the resurrection and light But really the Before you wake up, we call back Laughing, and was born there and we feared you when were you.

[32:19] He said, what it is, he exclaimed you At the wall of the south, Gachneach ymwyd iol the south, Arlani eith peswnda Yman ym phe.

[32:49] As dwi dwi dwi dwi dwi dwi'n scengler, Ythwys n'y ffa sy cae siol, Cwrs ydwyd a tein Yn gael nw i mach. As i'n gwynwch eith y log fi arci, To fi wein malin nhw Na'n genolych phe.

[33:07] Nid o fys n'y gwynna'c ynni, Cwn Mus i dwi dwi edi mueng ywandia, Yfc rha ysgr Olá, Geniochwa, Hidwi amlearning yw yw interpretio.

[33:33] Y zehn dri amb arcal, ό faudra lla myshισ ywhosi Giddi dri edlo yw-lwys.ится right the And that the message in hearts pray for your love.

[34:13] Gerry commenques is 24,95. Oooh, come back to your페 strokes.

[34:23] In the passage of metaphoric circles, After a perspective in your office. As you understand your work please. John huge off on with giving receive Let the spirit spill in it, let the spirit hey.

[35:04] It's the start, it's the end of the screen. It's the end of the world, and it's the end of the world. It's the end of the world.

[35:17] It's the end of the world. The world is the end of the world.

[35:31] It's the end of the world. It's the end of the world.

[35:42] that or whoever Blackadder is looking at从 X and X have been Ск faculty in and 보이 Ổx shываем he loves it will be looked at oftentimes I telescopes in the past I have nothing this arm doesn't sweater, it's nameless, and unless it's Austrian We sing again to God's praise from Psalm 51, the next two verses, the next two stanzas in the Psalm, verses 14 and verse 15.

[36:39] O God, in my salvation, God, me from blood guiltiness set free. Then shall my tongue aloud sing of thy righteousness. My closed lips, O Lord, by thee, let them be opened.

[36:52] Then shall thy praises by my mouth abroad be published. These two stanzas in Galat. Can we remain seated to sing? O God, in my salvation, God, me from blood guiltiness set free.

[37:13] O God, in my salvation, God, me from blood guiltiness set free.

[37:26] O God, in my salvation, God, me from blood guiltiness set free.

[37:39] O God, in my salvation, God, me from blood guiltiness set free. O God, in my salvation, God, me from blood guiltiness set free.

[38:02] the best to find, oh, in my salvation, God, me from blood guiltiness set free. The best to find, oh, in high salvation, God, me from blood guiltiness set free. The best to pray, oh, in high salvation, God, me from bloodicular failure. Yes, God, in my salvation, God, me from blood guiltiness set free.

[38:13] As in my salvation, God, me from blood guiltiness set free. O God, in my salvation, I from religion as a strength, God, me from blood guiltiness and recovery.

[38:23] Human fullness Thank you.

[39:23] Thank you.

[39:53] Thank you. Thank you.

[40:25] Thank you. And as we turn to it again, let's ask that God will help us in our studies. Heavenly Father, we thank you once more for your word and we acknowledge, thankfully, that your word is useful.

[40:41] It is alive. It is living. It cuts through all the midst of the things that shroud us in life and gets to the heart of the matter in our lives.

[40:53] And so we pray that as we read your word, as we meditate upon it, as we are called to, that you would speak to us and meet with us. That you would penetrate our hearts and our minds, take away any distractions, take away anything that may be spoiling our meditation upon you and all that you have done for us.

[41:15] And help us, we pray, without the help of the Spirit, we cannot understand, we cannot speak, we cannot listen. And so we pray, as always, for the help of the Holy Spirit, that you would have free course in this place and in our lives.

[41:32] And that all that is said and all that we will respond in terms of will be to your glory. And we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Joshua chapter 1.

[41:50] I'm going to preface this study by kind of going into a 10-minute history lesson. And I think we'll pick up the history as we go through the study and deal with the context juncture by juncture as we come to it.

[42:06] But we begin this book with a journey. This is the children of Israel and they're coming to the end of what has been a long and a difficult journey.

[42:19] Now anyone who has travelled any distance, it's good to see some friends with us this morning. They've travelled a long distance through two countries to be in Harris this morning.

[42:35] And that's a long journey in a car. Anyone who's travelled any distance with children will know that that can be a trying experience.

[42:46] It's from the hazards of the single track roads and the twisting and the turning along Loch Lomond or Loch Ness. As you watch your children go from pink to white to grey to green.

[43:00] And you fear for the upholstery of your car. To the heated conversations between mum and dad as they discuss whether or not we are actually going the right way. Through Glasgow City.

[43:11] To the perpetual question that comes from five minutes into the journey to ten hours through the journey. Are we almost there now?

[43:22] Are we almost there? Are we there now? How many hours now? Five hours. Five minutes later. Are we almost there now? You can read a watch. Journeys can be trying things.

[43:34] And we pick up in the context of this book with the children of Israel who have been journeying for almost 40 years. From captivity in Egypt to the very threshold of the land that God had promised them.

[43:51] And to say that the journey had been less than straightforward is a huge understatement. And we're not going to go and revisit the journey. But you can do that at your own leisure. But here at this point where we pick up the story.

[44:07] The children of Israel, they're almost there. They're almost there. And so one would think that the tour in the mood of the camp would be bright.

[44:19] And it would be hopeful. And it would be full of anticipation and joy. But that's not actually what we find. As we peer into the camp and look at the mood that's going through the children of Israel.

[44:35] Because as we tune in to Joshua chapter 1. The first thing that we encounter that changes the mood and changes everything is the death. First point is we have the death.

[44:48] And it's not just a death. It's the death. The book of Joshua begins. Right from the very beginning.

[44:59] The impact of Joshua 1 verse 1. At the very beginning of the verse. We are hit immediately with the death of Moses.

[45:11] And what's reported in such succinct terms. In Joshua at the beginning. Finds the details of it in the final verses of the previous book.

[45:21] So if you just step back a few pages to Deuteronomy 34. By the way, if your Bibles are open in front of you. With Joshua 1.

[45:31] You'll find that helpful today. Because I'm sticking very closely to the text. I'm looking at chunks of the text. The Joshua chapter 1.

[45:44] Gives the succinct statement. Deuteronomy 34. Gives us slightly more in terms of the detail. As we find in verse 7 there.

[45:56] An introduction again to Moses. Moses, it says, was 120 years old. Deuteronomy 34.7. When he died. Yet his eyes were not weak.

[46:06] Nor his strength gone. The Israelites grieved for Moses. In the plains of Moab. 30 days. Until the time of weeping. And mourning.

[46:17] Was over. So there's a death here. The death. That's Shukr. That's some deaths we can think of. In the history of the nation.

[46:29] And they make a huge impression. They have a huge impact. Amongst the whole country. Shock waves are sent through the whole land. We can think of some of these.

[46:41] Probably in the course of the last few months. But probably the most notable one. From my memory. Would be Lady Diana. And just the shock of that. And the news coverage that went on.

[46:53] For so long afterwards. That was a death. That you could not help. But see it registered. On a national scale. And yet that still. Doesn't come near.

[47:04] To the felt impact. Of the death. Of Moses. As the children of Israel. Tried to come to terms with it. Moses. Was no ordinary prophet.

[47:16] He didn't have some. Small cameo role. To play in the. In the nation of Israel. In their history. There was no known. Comparable to Moses. Stick in Deuteronomy 34.

[47:30] And look at verse 10. Just gives us a bit more. Of an impression. Of what they were feeling. It says. There since then. No prophet. Has risen in Israel. Like Moses.

[47:41] Whom the Lord knew. Face to face. Who did all those. Miraculous signs. And wonders. The Lord sent him. To do in Egypt. To Pharaoh. And to all his officials.

[47:51] And to the whole land. We can think back. To all these stories. That we know so well. For no one. Has ever. Shown the mighty power. Or performed.

[48:02] The awesome deeds. That Moses did. In the sight. Of all Israel. So Moses. Was a giant. In their estimation. And rightly so. And with Moses' death.

[48:16] The whole nation of Israel. They just grinded a halt. The whole nation. Grieved. For this. Monumental death. They were shaken.

[48:27] They were shocked. There was fear. Rippling through this. Whole camp. There was the danger. Of despair. Creeping in. To the mindset. Of the children. Of Israel.

[48:39] Because this was Moses. Their leader. It was gone. But into that context. Into these. Circumstances. The Lord spoke.

[48:51] And he spoke with words. Of promise. So the first point. Is the death. The second point. Is the promise. And we see that. From the end of.

[49:02] Of verse one. Just as we continue through. After the death. Of Moses. The servant of the Lord. The Lord said to Joshua. Son of Nun.

[49:14] Moses' aide. His assistant. Moses my servant. Is dead. Now then. You. And all these people. Get ready to cross. The Jordan River. Into the land.

[49:24] I am about to give them. To the Israelites. I will give you. Every place. Where you set your foot. As I promised Moses. Your territory. Will extract. Then. From the desert.

[49:35] To Lebanon. And from the great river. The Euphrates. All the Hittite country. To the great sea. In the west. No one will be able. To stand up against you. All the days of your life. As I was with Moses.

[49:47] So I will be with you. I will never leave you. Nor forsake you. So we have this. Huge promise.

[49:59] That reverberates. And echoes through. The history of the children. Of Israel. And the first thing. I would like us to note. Just in terms. Of the promise. Is the fact.

[50:10] That God knows. God knows us. He knows us. Intimately. He knows what is in our minds. He knows what is in our hearts.

[50:22] He knows what is rippling. Through our communities. And making an impression. On those who are present. He knows the mood of the people. He knows what is happening.

[50:36] He's familiar. With all our circumstances. And his plans. Are intact. His plans are bigger than one man.

[50:48] No matter how big that man was. He knows. He knows what is happening. He knows what is happening. One of the commentators I read. At Courage. He says this. People come and go.

[50:59] Leaders come and go. But the Lord. And his word. Remain. Forever. And that was a lesson that Israel were learning.

[51:12] People come and go. Leaders come and go. But God's plans. His word. His purposes. They're eternal. They're unshakable.

[51:24] And here at this point. We see. That Moses. Is handing on the baton. To Joshua. As God has organized it. We've seen this in the Olympics.

[51:36] Even in past days. As the baton. Is handed from one. To another. So I was thinking about this. This morning. Joshua. I probably felt.

[51:46] A little bit like the man. Who's taking the baton off. Usain Bolt. Fear. Trembling. Having watched this. Bolt. Flag. And then you're. Hanging on to it.

[51:59] But this is what was happening. So the point to note here. Is that God knows. He knows. That Moses is dead. Verse 1. Verse 2. God.

[52:10] Knows. That the. The Jordan River. Looms large. In front of them. As a. An obstacle. And a barrier. Which seems impassable. To the land.

[52:20] That God has promised them. God knows. That there. Are other nations. Who hate them. And who are poised. To. To commit. And to attack. Israel.

[52:33] And he. Rehearses. All this to Joshua. In the promise. But his promise. Stands firm. He knows.

[52:44] All the obstacles. He knows. The hassles. He knows. The threats. He knows. The risks. But his promise. Is firm. In fact. It's all the more.

[52:55] Emphatic. In these. Darker. Circumstances. So. God says. In verse. Three. I will give you.

[53:06] Every place. Where you set your foot. As I promised. Moses. Joshua. He's saying. What I promised. Moses. I promise you.

[53:18] In spite of the obstacles. In spite of the opposition. Against the. Dark. The. Dark. Backdrop. Of all.

[53:28] That they were surveying. God says. Trust me. The application. Just in passing. In here. It's just to be.

[53:40] Encouraged. By the fact. That God still knows us. He knows. Our circumstances. He knows. Your challenges. He knows.

[53:52] What is coming up. In your week. He understands. What keeps us up. At night. He senses.

[54:04] The fears. That take hold of us. He knows. About the grief. Sometimes. That almost. Suffocates us. He knows.

[54:14] About the seeming. Impossibilities. Sometimes. Of what's. Up ahead of us. That we cannot. See a path. Through. He knows. About everything. That worries us. And still. He speaks.

[54:25] Through his word. By his spirit. And he says. Trust me. I will be with you. Neil Cameron.

[54:38] A little over. A year ago now. Was sharing with me. The fact that. He was. Preparing to go to Glasgow. And he had a. Considerable surgery.

[54:50] To. To face. When he was going to. To Glasgow. Humanly speaking. Fear was rising. At the prospect. Of all. That he had to. To go through.

[55:02] And yet. He found. This passage. God. Through this passage. Speaking. So powerfully. To him. As I was. With Moses. So I will be.

[55:13] With you. I will never leave you. I will never. Persake you. And he never will. God will never.

[55:23] Leave his people. He will never. Leave those. Who are trusting. In Christ. Not in life. Not even in death. When the good shepherd.

[55:35] Is with us. When we are trusting. In him. We have nothing to fear. Not in life. Not even in death.

[55:46] So be strong. Be courageous. The promises. To Israel. Dating back. Thousands of years. Are still fresh.

[55:57] They are still reliable. They are still for us. Today. But how do we grasp them? It's the next thing.

[56:09] To think about. How do they do us any good? I have a. A knee support. I meant to bring it along today. With my. Accumulating years.

[56:20] I've got a gammie knee. And. I was given a support. By the. The hospital. Some time ago. It's one of these supports. That's got braces.

[56:31] Down the side. And I'm told. I'm told. That this is a. A support. That will. Will stop my knee. From popping out of joint. As it sometimes did. And does. That's the promise.

[56:44] To the manufacturer. That's the promise. Of the physiotherapy department. This knee will. This knee brace. Will. Will. Will. Will. Will. Will. Will. Will. Will. Will. Will. Will. Will. Will. Will. Will. Will. Will. Will. Will.

[56:54] Will. Will. Will. Will. If I leave that. I need support in the car. It will do me none of these things. And so. The manufacturers. Have given.

[57:05] Instructions. And conditions. That we have to follow. Before the thing will do us any good. So I have to take it out of the car. I have to put it on. I have to fasten it tight. Then the promises can be realized.

[57:17] Then the protection. Is afforded. And. There was a promise that was given here. To the children of Israel. But there are conditions that the Lord stipulated. To his people.

[57:27] If these promises were to be realized. So we come to them now. The death. The promise. Thirdly. The conditions. And there's three of these conditions.

[57:39] What were the people to do. If they were to realize this promise. First of all. They were to look to God. Second of all. They were to listen to God.

[57:51] Third. They were to obey him. So first of all. They were to look to God. Look at verses 6 and 7 and 9. Be strong.

[58:02] And courageous. Because you will lead these people. To inherit the land. I swore to their forefathers. To give them. Be strong. And very courageous. Verse 9.

[58:13] Have I not commanded you. Be strong. And courageous. Do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged. So three times. In two verses.

[58:24] They are told. Be strong. And be courageous. Now why was that? Was that because. The odds were so good.

[58:35] In human terms. That they would progress. And that they would. Take the land. That was before them. Is that why they were to be strong. And courageous. Because they were. Well prepared.

[58:46] They were well equipped. They were a good bet. Well no. Absolutely not. Because for them to. Get over into this promised land.

[59:00] Humanly speaking. It was impossible. There was no Scalpy Bridge equivalent. There were no motor boats. Waiting to take them over. It was just this huge chasm.

[59:10] Between them. And the realisation of God's promise. They needed a miracle. Were they to be strong. And courageous. Because they as a nation.

[59:21] Were so vast. And so faithful. No. They were small. They were minute. And there is much in the way. Of unfaithfulness. Going back through.

[59:32] Forty years. Of experience. Was it because. The Jordan River. That we have in our minds. That was just a trickle. There would be no rain.

[59:43] A wee while. Far from it. This was a river. That was a mile. In breadth. Huge. Rushing waters. Dangerous currents.

[59:56] Whether they have industrial waders or not. The odds. Are slim to none. So how could they be strong. And courageous.

[60:07] Well the reason they were to be strong. And courageous. The reason. The reason. The reason. The reason. The reason. That as they looked. At what was in front of them. They were not to be terrified.

[60:17] Or discouraged. Was because of the promise. That God. Had given. That you. Joshua. Will lead these people. To inherit the land. I swore to their forefathers.

[60:29] To give them. The reason. They could be strong. The reason. They could be courageous. The reason. They didn't have to flap about. And worry. And be terrified. Is because. The Lord has said. I will be with you.

[60:40] Wherever you go. So they were being called. To look to God. Not to look around.

[60:50] At the problem. Because that would overwhelm. Not to look inside themselves. From some kind of. Spooky inner strength. They didn't have any. They were to look to God.

[61:03] The one who promised. He would be with them. The one who proved. That he was faithful. And you and I. Today. That's the application.

[61:13] For us. We have to look to God. Day by day. Look. To God. How can we be saved? How can we be saved?

[61:26] From hell. From damnation. Into salvation. And eternal life. By looking to God. By looking.

[61:37] By looking. In faith to Jesus. Do you remember Nicodemus. In John 3. The leader. The religious man. Who has so much knowledge. And respect. And yet knows. He doesn't have eternal life.

[61:48] Comes looking to Jesus. Asking for the answers. What does Jesus say to him? He says. Just as Moses lifted up. The snake in the desert. Remember they were healed. When he looked to the snake in the desert.

[62:00] The son of man. Jesus. Must be lifted up. Talking about the cross. So that everyone. Who believes in him. May have eternal life.

[62:12] How can you and I be saved? By looking to Christ. And his finished work. The blood shed. To take away our sin.

[62:23] My faith looks up to thee. Thou Lamb of Calvary. Saviour. Divine. And once we're saved.

[62:34] Do we stop looking? Far from it. How can you and I make progress in the faith? By looking to. By fixing our eyes upon Christ.

[62:48] Hebrews 12. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus. The author and perfecter of our faith. Before the joy set before him. Endure the cross. Scorning its shame. And sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

[63:00] Consider him. Look to him. Who endured such opposition from sinful men. So that you will not grow weary. And lose heart.

[63:13] The condition was. They don't look to themselves. They don't look to another. They look to God. The second condition is. They have to listen to God. Verse 7.

[63:24] Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left. That you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let the spook of the law depart from your mouth.

[63:35] Meditate on it day and night. So that you may be careful to do everything written in it. It's not rocket science this is it?

[63:51] The condition was. Look to God and say. The condition was. Listen to God. How could they listen to God? How could they hear from him?

[64:02] Well through the book of the law. The Torah. That had been given to Moses. And passed down to Joshua. And nothing's changed.

[64:14] An application here. If you and I want to hear from God today. We have the Bible.

[64:26] We hear from him in creation. In that sense of his existence. But if you and I want to know. Who God is. And what he wants of us.

[64:37] And how he desires us to live. We don't feel it in our fingers. And feel it in our toes. We don't go out going by a fortune cookie. We have the Bible.

[64:48] I read a thing on Facebook this morning. Which just is so symptomatic. Of the age that we live in.

[65:01] There's nobody from Harris. But let me just speak to you this statement. This person said. On my return from the shop. I find a black feather outside my house. A black feather is a reminder of the protection of your angels.

[65:14] And a signal that spiritual wisdom and magic. Are accessible by you within. What a load of nonsense. How can we hear from God?

[65:25] Not from the black feather that's come off a seagull. From the word of God. Gail Ralph Davis. Says life in the kingdom of God.

[65:37] Must be lived out of the word of God. Joshua 1. Tells us that a life pleasing to God. Does not arise from mystical experiences. Or warm feelings.

[65:47] Or from a new dim. No. It comes from the word God has already spoken. So look to God. Listen to God.

[65:58] Thirdly. Obey God. James 1. Said. Later. What. Was being said. hood who 형. Is not really born. I probably인. To God. And he folk.

[66:08] Said. It did. It did. Tinar. To God. To God. Serenity. I am. The answer. At now. disobedience. But when we read the word and meditate upon it, then as we come under the authority of scripture, we are led into obedience. So don't just hear the word, says the Lord, but obey it. Get ready. Be strong. Be courageous. And proceed. Then you will be, verse 8, prosperous.

[66:47] And successful in terms of receiving what God has given. Then the promise will become a reality. So we have the then. We have the promise. We have the conditions. And finally, we have the response.

[67:03] We see, first of all, here the response of Joshua. Verse 10. Joshua ordered the officers of the people go through the camp and tell the people, get your supplies ready. Three days from now, you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God has given you for your own. And we have also verses 12 to 15, where he deals with the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh, reminding them of a promise he made in the past.

[67:34] I haven't got time to go there this morning. But let's just note at this point that simply, Joshua does what God asks him. That's his response. He obeys. He says what God tells him.

[67:53] He doesn't spin it. He doesn't twist it. He doesn't dilute it. He doesn't hype it up. He doesn't tell him as he strums his acoustic guitar making an emotional plea. He just takes the word and he passes it on without interference. He says, you will cross the Jordan. God has given you this land.

[68:18] You will be given rest. So get ready. Be strong. Be courageous. And proceed in obedience. It occurs to me actually, going back, we think back to the sermon that Roddy Morrison preached on Caleb and Joshua.

[68:40] They're given a job to go and survey the land and report back what they see. And they're faithful in that. They're obedient in that. Unlike the others.

[68:52] And God trusts them with the wee job. And now God is trusting them. And Joshua in particular with this bigger job. Trusted in the smaller things. Now trusted in the bigger things.

[69:06] And there's the New Testament equivalent of that also. So we simply note here, Joshua's response is obedience. He obeys God and he takes the word God has given him.

[69:20] And he passes it on. And that's your job. And that's my job. If we are Christians. That's the job description of every minister of the gospel.

[69:33] And every Christian has a ministry. You don't have to be standing here to have a ministry. So what is our job? It's to obey what God speaks to us.

[69:45] And to pass on, without interference, the gospel that God has entrusted to us. Even though the culture doesn't like it. That's our job.

[69:57] To pass on plainly, simply, fearlessly. The gospel of Jesus Christ.

[70:09] The fact that he is the one and only way to be saved. That's what Joshua did. That's what I endeavor to do every time I open the word.

[70:22] That's what all of us are called to. So Joshua's response is obedience. It's faithful. What about the response of Israel? We'll look at verse 16. Then they answered Joshua, Whatever you have commanded us, we will do.

[70:36] And whatever you send us, we will go. Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your word, and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death.

[70:51] Only be strong and courageous. So Israel obeyed the Lord. That's the point to note.

[71:03] Same point as of Joshua. They believed the Lord and his promises. They had faith in God. And they got ready to proceed. Had the Jordan River gone down?

[71:16] Had it dissolved? Had the enemies evaporated? Everything was just as it had been before. The Jordan River still rushed ahead of them.

[71:27] The enemies were gathering like vultures. But they committed themselves to the Lord, knowing that he would direct their paths, even if they couldn't see how.

[71:39] Even into hostile territory. Through a fast-flowing river. So Joshua and Israel at large, they looked to God.

[71:50] They listened to God. And they obeyed God. That was their response. What then was the response of God?

[72:02] It's the final thing that we note here. What was the response of the Lord? That was the response of Joshua and the people. What did God do?

[72:14] Well, I'm going to do something here that I never do. I know some people close to me who do this. When we were on holiday, not so long ago, Mary was reading a book.

[72:26] She was enthralled with this book, loving it. And then I noticed that once she got to about three quarters of the way through it, she put it down and never picked it back up again. I said, what happened to the book?

[72:37] She says, I could see it was kind of going in the wrong direction. It wasn't going to be a happy ending. So I checked the last page and sure enough, she put it away. Well, I want to actually do that here.

[72:50] If we want to know what happens at the end of this passage, if we want to know how God responds to the obedience of Joshua and the people, we actually need to flip to Joshua 24.

[73:05] So let's go there for a moment. And we finished with this. Be encouraged.

[73:15] In Joshua chapter 24, just scanning the chapter, we're not going to read it.

[73:28] We don't actually read of one death as we do in chapter one. We read of three bits. We read of the death of Joshua in verse 29.

[73:39] We read of the death of Joseph in verse 32. We read of the death of Eliezer in verse 33. Now, what does that tell us?

[73:51] Is this a happy ending? Well, in actual fact, it is a happy ending. How do we know it's a happy ending? Well, we know it's a happy ending because of where they're buried. Joshua in verse 29 is buried at Timnah-serah in the hill country of Ephahim, north of Mount Gash.

[74:09] Joseph is buried in Shechem. Eliezer is buried in Gibeah, in the hill country of Ephahim. And the point to note is simply this, that all three men were buried in the land that God promised them.

[74:28] all three men were buried. At the end of the book here, in the area that is specified in chapter one and verse four, and that tells us that they did cross the Jordan.

[74:44] It tells us that they did receive the promised land. It tells us that they were given rest there, and that they did enjoy victory and protection and God's presence.

[75:00] And so what we see is that God responded in accordance with his word. What he promised, he delivered. And no one, no nation, no army of nations, no circumstances that looked so difficult could prostrate his plans.

[75:17] Nothing, no one could nullify his promise. And that's good news, not just for Joshua, but that's good news for you and I also.

[75:29] God always keeps his promises. You know, Joshua means, literally, the Lord is salvation. And the whole book of Joshua is pointing us forward to Jesus.

[75:46] The promised Messiah, the one who would go all the way to the cross to keep the promise of God that he would save his people from his sin and take them to a promised land, a promised paradise where there would be no more death and no more crying and no more tears and the old order of things would be passed away.

[76:13] A land of salvation, a land of promise, a land of blessing. That's what was promised to Israel. They didn't have to earn it. It was God's gift to them.

[76:25] Did you see that? They just had to receive it. And that's the picture of salvation. We don't earn it. It's God's gift to us.

[76:41] But we have to receive it. And we do receive it. As we look to, as we listen to, and as we respond in faith and obedience to the call of Christ to trust him.

[76:59] let's pray. Heavenly Father, as we go from here, we pray that we would go from here looking to Jesus and not to ourselves.

[77:22] And listening to your word in which there is wisdom, your word which makes us wise unto salvation. And Lord, we pray that we would not only be hearers, but we would be doers.

[77:37] So if we are not yet trusting Christ, we pray that before we walk out the door, we would simply come, just like the children, to confess our sin and to look in faith to the one who is able to cleanse us from all sin.

[77:54] to save his people from their sin. And Lord, if we are yours, we pray that we would follow you all more closely.

[78:06] And as we think about the obstacles and the things that make us fearful, the things that cause us to regress and to become timid, we pray, Lord, that we would hear your word to us.

[78:20] Be strong, be courageous. and trust me. Help us to do so. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We sing to conclude from Mission Praise number 201.

[78:39] The word is also on the screen. Mission Praise 201. Guide me, O thou great Jehovah, pilgrim through this barren land.

[78:50] And again we stand to sing. And now 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.

[79:02] Amen. Amen. That's cool.