If you'll turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Joshua, Lord willing, this summer we'll be considering part of the book of Joshua, we won't be able to get through the whole thing, but if you'd turn with me to Joshua chapter 1, we'll consider that together this morning. Let us hear God's own word. After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua, son of Nun, Moses' aid, Moses, my servant, is dead. Now then, you and all these people get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land 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 extend from the desert to Lebanon and from the great river, the Euphrates, 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. 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. 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. Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth. Meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 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. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving 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. The Lord your God is giving 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 fully armed must cross over ahead of your brothers. 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 your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you, east of the Jordan, toward the sunrise. Then they answered Joshua, Whatever you have commanded us, we will do, and wherever 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. Only be strong and courageous. Thus far the reading of God's word. May he bless it to us. At this time of the year, many of us have recently gone to graduation ceremonies. Ceremonies that we often call commencement ceremonies. I had the opportunity to go to two, both to Calvin's high school graduation and to the seminary graduation. And both times we were reminded that a graduation is called a commencement ceremony because it signals both an ending and a beginning. You're completing a course of study and you're looking forward to what is coming next, to the next stage of your life. And here in this passage, we have a commencement of sorts as well. We have a beginning and an end. We have an end to the leadership of Moses, bringing the people to the point of the Jordan River. And we have the beginning of Joshua about to lead them across. And as they anticipate this new era of Israelite history, a very clear message comes to Joshua from the Lord. Be strong and courageous. It's a good passage for a seminarian to preach, because no matter how hard you work, you can't miss the main thrust of the passage. It's repeated several times. Be strong and courageous. That's the word that comes to Joshua. Well, how is he to be strong and courageous? What does the Lord tell him to do? What is he reminded of? How is he to do this? And I would suggest it's by three things. First, by remembering God's promises. Second, by reflecting on God's law. And third, by relying on God's faithful people. First, he ought to remember God's promises if he's to be strong and courageous. And the first thing we're reminded of is the character of God's promises. His promises do not fail. And it's important that Joshua gets reminded of this because right at the beginning of this chapter, we have two reminders of the death of Moses. Twice the death of Moses is referred to. It's been Moses who's been leading the people. not only that it's been moses who's been the source of encouragement for joshua reminding him of the promise that the lord has made if we look back to deuteronomy 31 verse 7 then moses summoned joshua and said to him in the presence of all israel be strong and courageous for you must go with this people into the land that the lord swore to their forefathers to give them and you must divided among them as their inheritance the lord himself goes before you and will be with you he will never leave you nor forsake you do not be afraid do not be discouraged that was the message that moses brought to joshua from the lord and he brought it before the people but now moses is dead now there's no one to bring those words of encouragement from the lord so what does the lord do he brings him directly to joshua and reminds him of the promises that moses has made that's the character of god's promises they don't fail even though god's faithful ministers may fail even though people die god's promises don't fail that's the character of the promise and joshua was reminded of that from the lord the same word that he had given to moses he now gives to joshua be strong and courageous but he doesn't just remind him of the character of god's promises he reminds him of the content of the promise he says you're going to be the one that's going to take this people into the land this land is their inheritance that god promised and that promise will not fail this people is now going in to take possession of the land that i promised to their fathers but he is also saying joshua there's a promise to you as you lead this people in. And that promise is that no one will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. No one will be able to withstand you in battle as you go in. And it's not just a promise of victory and warfare that Joshua is given. It's a promise of success. You will be the one that causes this people to inherit the land. It's not going to be someone else who sees this battle to its conclusion. It's going to be Joshua. He's going to see the victory. He's going to see the land at rest. He's going to see God's people take possession of his inheritance. We're at war now, and people are always asking, what's the exit strategy? They're asking that of the current administration. They're asking that of the presidential candidates. What's going to be your exit strategy for this war? And God is being clear with Joshua from the beginning. There is an exit strategy to this war. It's not just going to be battle all your life. It's going to be battle, but you're going to see the people inherit the land that I promised them. You will be the one who causes them to take this inheritance. So be strong and courageous, remembering God's promises. But Joshua is also commanded to remember the law that was given him by Moses. He's given this tremendous promise of the power he's going to have as a commander. And he's going to have this promise. He's going to have this power because God is with him. That's why no one will be able to stand before him. That's why he will cause his people to inherit the land. Because God goes with him. God will never leave him or forsake him. But Joshua is also to be reminded that he is a man under law. That although the Lord is going to give him so much power, that he still is a servant of the Lord. And so Joshua is told not just to remember God's promises, but also to reflect on God's law. He's told, remember to keep the law that my servant Moses commanded you. And he tells him three things about what this law is to do. What he's to do with it. He's to meditate on it. He's to speak it. He's to obey it. The law that Moses has given him, he needs to meditate on it. He needs to meditate on it diligently. He's told to meditate on it day and night to make it his serious course of study so that it becomes something he knows so he is well familiar with the covenant promises that God has given his people so that he can know exactly how this people is to be led. And not only is he to meditate on it, but it's to be something he can speak, something he can speak to himself, something he can speak to the people he leads. These words need to be on his mouth. he needs to say them to himself he needs to be able to say them to God's people as he leads them into the land he doesn't just need to know them doesn't just need to be able to speak them but he also needs to keep them God says don't turn from the right or to the left be careful to obey all the law that I've commanded you be strong and courageous to keep my law and that will cause you to thrive in the land if you're able to keep my law and keep it faithfully so he's to be strong and courageous by remembering God's promises by reflecting on God's law and thirdly I'd say by relying on God's faithful people and maybe you're sitting there saying well I'm with you on God's promises I'm with you on God's law but rely on God's people maybe you're not far enough in seminary to have read about God's people that Moses has written all about. I mean, what are they doing on this side of the land? Why have they been here for so long? Because they're a faithless people. What happens? They get relieved of slavery in Egypt and they come out in the desert and what do they do? They start complaining about no water. So the Lord gives them water. And they say, well, water's great, but what about bread? And he gives them bread from heaven. They say, well, water and bread are great, but what are we going to do without meat? And he gives them meat. And he goes before them all the days of their life in cloud and fire. And they come to the land and they say, well, what chance do we have of taking over this land? And even Moses becomes so frustrated that he strikes the rock instead of speaking to it. And all these people are told, you're not going to see the promise. It's been removed from you. And they've been on this side of the Jordan. So you might say, how can you say they need to rely on God's faithful people? Well, we're presented with a test at the end of this chapter, aren't we? Because when Joshua has heard God's word, he then instructs the chiefs of the tribes. In verse 10, so Joshua orders the officers through the camp. But we're told in verse 12, but to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua has a special message. Remember the commands of Moses. And as the passage tells us, he's doing this because their inheritance was east of the Jordan. Their inheritance was going to be in the land they were currently occupying. And the Lord was telling them, and Joshua was telling them to remember that they're to go with their brothers. Now if we go back to Numbers 32, you can turn there with me if you'd like, Numbers 32, we're given a little more background about this exchange. Because these tribes that now Joshua is talking specifically to have a history. They raise livestock, and when they see the land on the east side of the Jordan, they say, this will be perfect for raising our animals. Why do we need to cross over? This will be the perfect land. We're satisfied being right here. Why should we go across and fight for a land when we have a perfectly good land right here? We'll stay right here. And Moses comes to them and says, you've kindled the Lord's anger. You've just spent 40 years here for kindling his anger. And now you do it again by saying, you're going to rest while your brothers have to go fight for their inheritance. And then the tribes come back to Moses. And this is what they say, if you read with me in Numbers 32 at verse 16. Then they came up to him, being Moses, and said, we would like to build pens here for our livestock and cities for our women and children. But we are ready to arm ourselves and go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them to their place. Meanwhile, our women and children will live in fortified cities for protection from the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has received his inheritance. We will not receive any inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan because our inheritance has come to us on the east side. Then Moses said to them, If you will do this, if you will arm yourselves before the Lord for battle, and if all of you will go armed over the Jordan before the Lord until he has driven his enemies out before him, then when the land is subdued before the Lord, you may return and be free from your obligation to the Lord and to Israel. And this land will be your possession before the Lord. But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord, And you may be sure that your sin will find you out. Build cities for your women and children and pens for your flocks, but do what you have promised. The Gadites and Reubenites said to Moses, We, your servants, will do as our Lord commands. So here we have a test of God's people. They've promised that they won't just stay here, that they'll go with their brothers. And Joshua is saying to them, Remember the promises you made. And when they made this promise to Moses, he said, we'll see. We'll see what you do. And if you don't do what you've promised, your sin will find you out. And now we're finding out what's going to happen with this people. And how do they respond? They respond in obedience, don't they? What do they say to him in verse 16? Whatever you have commanded us, we will do, and wherever you send us, we will go. Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. This is a turning point for the people of Israel, isn't it? This doesn't seem to run the way things have run in God's dealing with them in the past. Now we have a people who are willing to be obedient. And not only are they willing to be obedient, they seem to be zealous for God. Whatever you command us, we'll do. Wherever you send us, we'll go. Not only that, anyone who rebels against your word, in anything that you command them, he'll be put to death. They're showing an obedience, they're showing a zeal for the commands of the Lord. And even more, God's people give a prayer and an encouragement for Joshua. So what do they say in the second part of verse 17? Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. only be strong and courageous. Not just are these people obedient, not only are they zealous for obedience, but they're also a people who pray for their leaders and who encourage them. Encourage them with God's own words that they heard Moses pronounce to Joshua before all the people, be strong and courageous. What a wonderful story. What a wonderful commencement as the people look to enter the land. but a lot of people will ask the question, what do we do with this as a people today in Escondido in 2008? What's the application of this word that came to Moses, be strong and courageous? Is it just that you're going to have to put up with a summer of seminarian preaching? So be strong and courageous, it'll come to an end. How else are we going to look at this verse? What is it meant to impact us? There are people that say, well, this is nice, this is good information, it's nice to know about the history of God's people, but really the New Testament has to do with us. This is sort of inapplicable. What do we really do with it? And I would say we see a blueprint for how we're to be strong and encouraged. Because Joshua is looking forward to a battle that has yet to begin, and he's receiving encouragement. But people of God, we have been engaged in a battle. Not against people, but against spiritual powers. We're engaged in a spiritual warfare. And as things are difficult for us in this life, we can be tempted to be discouraged. We can be tempted to feel that we're weak. And this word of God comes to us as it came to Joshua, to those who are involved in a battle. Be strong and courageous. Remembering God's promises. Just as He promises to be with Joshua, Christ has promised to be with us. What did He tell His disciples? I will not leave you. I will send to My Holy Spirit a Comforter to be with you. And when He left them, He said, Surely I am with you always to the very end of the age. That's to be our source of encouragement. That's to be our source of strength. God has promised He does not leave us. Just as he promised Joshua could not be withstood, so he has promised that the church cannot be withstood by the gates of hell. That the church is on the march. The gates of hell can't prevail against it. If God is for us, who can be against us? That's the wonderful promise of God. That there is an inheritance coming for us too. A heavenly inheritance that Christ has gone to prepare. And when we need strength and when we need encouragement, we're called on to think on those promises. we're also called to meditate on his word. We have a lot more than Joshua had as far as that goes. He had the first five books of Moses. We have the whole Bible. We've seen the plan of salvation come to its conclusion in Jesus Christ. And we're to meditate on it as well. It's to be in our minds. It's to be something that we can speak to one another and that we can speak to ourselves. It's to be something that controls our actions. That we might keep it and not turn aside from it. We need to be reminded of that today because there's plenty of people who seem to know something about the Bible but they can't speak it and they certainly don't keep it. We're reminded in the Bible there are people like the Pharisees who have meditated on the law, have it on their lips, are able to speak it, but they don't keep it. The wonderful promises in Jesus Christ that we can be a people by the power of the Holy Spirit who can meditate on God's Word, speak it to ourselves and to others, and be able to keep it, becoming more and more holy until the day of Christ's return. And finally, because of Jesus Christ, we have faithful people of God that we can rely on. Sitting next to you in this room, people you know at school, other Christians at work, we're to be a people that we can rely on. We can rely on each other. A people that will be obedient to the law of God in all things. And not just be obedient, but be zealous for obedience. And be a people who can encourage one another. Lift one another up in prayer. Bear each other's burdens. That's going to be our encouragement, to be strong and courageous. That's why this word is not just applicable to Israel, it's applicable to us today. And the word of God comes to you and says, you're not alone. God is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. In light of that promise, be strong and courageous in the Lord. Amen. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for this word. We thank you for this wonderful promise. We thank you for reminding us once again that Joshua was to be strong and courageous because you were with him. And that we are to be strong and courageous because you are with us. And you will never leave us or forsake us. Lord, help us to remember this word whenever we find ourselves in times of difficulty, whenever we find ourselves in times of trouble. May that word be a reminder to us. May we also remember, Lord, that as Joshua stood looking forward to a conflict, we know, Lord, that we are in the last days of this conflict. We know that Christ is soon to return, that the last days are certainly upon us, that the final victory is won, and the King will be returning soon to reclaim his crown. We pray that you might speed his coming, if it be your will. Come quickly, Lord Jesus, we pray in your name. Amen.