Studies in Joshua 01 - Faith + Obedience = Success — Alden Gannett

When I met Brother Bob Willie, and then arrived on the scene and saw Sister Willie, I said, where is that fountain of youth around here? We bid them farewell in Birmingham in 1966, and believe me, they don't look hardly a day older.

We thank the Lord for what he's done. Great to be back at Park of the Palms, share the word of the Lord with you dear folks here. We've rejoiced every time we've been here to minister, and we thank the Lord we can do it again this year.

I'm only half here tonight. My wife will be here tomorrow. She's driving, I flew. How's that lady? I expect to be parading in front of my motel tonight about that. But I had to teach two Bible classes this morning, and for me to get here for tonight, I had to fly.

We will drive home together. We are in good fellowship, and after all, Valentine's Day is this week, I understand. I've been reminded several times, so we're looking forward to our week of renewed fellowship with you.

The Book of Joshua as a Call to Faith

In our evening hours, we want to study together the book of Joshua, a book that's just grown and grown and grown on me. And of course, we can't cover every verse of these 24 chapters, but I want God to give us the great argument of the book as we share together this grand challenge to my own heart, which I trust by the Spirit of God will be a great challenge to yours.

May we bow together again. Precious Father, thank you for bringing us together this week, and now we wait upon thee for the ministry of the Spirit of God through thy word to our hearts. We've come from many places with many needs, and our hearts are hungry to feed upon the bread of life, and we would do that this week anew from this precious, precious portion of thy word.

Lead us to our Lord. May we experience in a fresh way something of what we've just sung, the glory of our wonderful Lord. So, we wait upon thee. We claim that ministry of the Spirit with thanksgiving in our Savior's name.

Amen. I suppose there's never been a time in human history when we've needed the challenge of the book of Joshua more. The just shall live out a trifling. First Corinthians 13 closes, you remember, now abideth thee, O love.

There'll never be a time when we cease to depend upon the Lord. Throughout the ages of eternity, we will still depend upon him. Faith abides, hope abides, love abides. By writing a verse over this book of Joshua, I would write Habakkuk chapter 2 and verse 4.

The just shall live by what? Faith. Here's the book of conquest. Here is the book of trusting God, and entering in and conquering and possessing that land of promise. The New Testament counterpart, of course, is the book of Ephesians.

We're teaching that in the morning hour. In fact, I taught chapter 2 verses 1 to 10 this morning. Oh, what a challenge to hear Paul cry out, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all what?

Spiritual blessings in heavenly places and grace. Israel had material blessings, this land of promise, and God gives the theme of these verses, these chapters, in Joshua chapter 1 verses 2 and 3. Moses, my servant, is dead.

Entering, Conquering, and Possessing the Promised Land

Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan. Thou of all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel, every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that am I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.

Possess your possessions. Great theme for this wonderful, wonderful book. The book divides itself very simply into entering the land and conquering the land and possessing the land. That sounds like Graham Scroggie, and it is a simple, beautiful outline that I commend to you as we move through this book of Joshua together.

All right, let's look at it, please. Now, after the death of Moses, the mourning period was passed. This sermon of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke unto Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, God's raising up a new leader.

His name is Joshua, but he's not new to our Old Testament, is he? For you go back in your mind to the book of Exodus, and Joshua was down there on the battlefield fighting against Amalek, wasn't he? You remember, Joshua was there at the foot of Mount Sinai as Moses went up into the mount to receive the tables of the law.

Joshua was there when the challenge was made. Who's on the Lord's side? And Joshua was on God's side. You remember Joshua there in the book of Numbers. He was with Caleb after the majority report had come in that we'd be not able to possess the land.

Joshua said, wait a minute, wait a minute, there's a minority report. We'd be well able. Let us go up at once and possess the land. Joshua and Caleb, this young man Joshua was there that day, believing God, trusting God for the land he is now to possess as he leads Israel across Jordan into the promised land.

So, here's a proven man. If you'll turn back just a page to Deuteronomy 24, I want to read verses 8 to 9. Hear the final word in the Pentateuch regarding Joshua. The children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days.

So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended, and Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom. For Moses had laid his hands upon him, identification, and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses.

A man full of the spirit of wisdom. A proven man, I repeat. A man who'd been tested and tried. Now the man God puts his hands upon to lead Israel through Jordan to conquest, to possessing their possessions.

Joshua's Commission and the Abrahamic Covenant

All right, listen to that commission now. Moses my servant is dead, now therefore arise. Go over this Jordan, thou and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.

Years ago, God used that verse for guidance in my life. I was teaching at the Dallas Bible College, and the local assembly there in the city invited me to shepherd the flock, and I was waiting on the Lord for his will.

I slipped down to the college on a Saturday morning to wait upon God to get an answer, and God led me to read how God had led others in the scriptures. I came to Joshua, and I read, Moses my servant is dead, arise thou.

Go over this Jordan, thou and all this people. As I read that verse, the Holy Spirit said, this is guidance for you, son. This is the will of God for you, and I made the decision on the basis of this verse.

It may help someone tonight. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you as I said unto Moses. You remember well that great Abrahamic covenant given first in Genesis chapter 12.

God called Moses to a land. And you're not aware, imagine Abraham, excuse me, imagine Abraham coming home one day to Sarah, his wife, and to Sarah, we're moving. Oh, is that so, honey? Where are we going?

I don't know. Where are we going to live? I'm just not sure. Bless her heart. But she trusted God with Abraham. You remember they left by faith, and God led them to a land. Chapter 13. Walk up and down this land, north, east, south, and west.

All this land I've given to you and to your seed. How long? Forever. Chapter 15. Remember that land from the river Egypt to the river Euphrates, which occupies much our attention these days, and the attention of the world, eh?

God hasn't forgotten that promise, has he? Chapter 17. That land is an everlasting possession, and you, my people, will be my people forever. God gave them the title, the title. Now you're to possess your possessions.

Every place that the sole of your foot trod will be a step of faith, a step of conquest, a step of possession. You trust me. You will enter in to what I've already given you, to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, in that great, great, unconditional covenant.

From the wilderness, verse 4, and this Lebanon, even under the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and under the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border.

The wilderness in the south, Lebanon in the north, river Euphrates there on the east, northeast, all the land of the Hittites, for it was their native land, under the great sea toward the going down of the sun, the Mediterranean, shall be your border.

So, the very land of Genesis chapter 15. There's Joshua's commission, and there's your commission, and mine, afresh tonight. Possess your possessions. Ours, as we've already seen, are spiritual. Theirs were temporal, material.

Nevertheless, the principle is the same, and I think one of the revelations of heaven is going to be all we could have enjoyed had we trusted God for more. What God would have done had we believed him for more, and grow to the place that we began, where we do not walk by faith.

And so, today at Park of the Palm, tomorrow wherever you live, right here, we share together, every day till the Lord comes. The challenge of this text is to be ours. You're to possess your possessions.

Take a new step. Trust God for more, for whatever he wants to do in the lives of your family, in the lives of your community, in the lives of people that you love and are dear to you. Trust God. Possess your possessions.

The challenge? To walk by what? Faith. In verse 5, a glorious, glorious promise. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life. Did you hear that? Here's a young warrior with an impossible task before him, and God says, not one man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life.

God's Presence and the Promise of Victory

It's a promise of victory, isn't it? God here has promised victory. Not one enemy can stand before you. Not one. And then he goes on and says, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. I will not fail thee, thank you, nor forsake thee.

Victory. He has promised. We have never lived in a darker hour of human history. Here on, a heartbreak as another religion moves in and captures a people. We've never lived in a darker hour in America in terms of morality, in terms of submission to authority, in terms of honoring the word of God, in terms of holiness and righteousness.

But God says to us tonight, there shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life. There's no enemy too great for our God. No power too great for God to subdue. God has put all things under his feet, made him the head over all things to the church.

One of the favorite songs in the Southland, there's victory in Jesus. That's what he's saying here. As I was with Moses. Remember the rod turning into a serpent? Remember the hand turning leprous? Remember the water turning to blood?

As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. Remember the miracles there in Egypt, climaxed by the death of the firstborn? As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. You remember the glorious Passover out of Egypt?

Redemption by blood? Remember the crossing of the Red Sea? Remember the manna daily? Remember the quay? Remember the water from the rock? Remember? As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

We can pronounce the benediction right now for the two arms of the Lord. God's presence, God's faithfulness. Is that enough? To those who obey the great commission in our day, what does our Lord say? Lo, I am with you, even to the end of the age.

The Lord hears me cry about every morning of the year. Thy mercies are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. My job up there in Birmingham is too big for me, but your job where you are is too big for you, isn't it?

I've discovered that living the Christian life is too big a job for me. I've discovered being a good husband is a job too big for me, and a good father, and now a grandfather, and grandmother will have pictures, you ladies can hear me.

All right, and just demand equal time, that's all. All right, I've discovered being a grandfather is too big a job for me. Being a preacher and teacher of the word of God is too big a job for me. Counseling and working with young people is too big a job for me.

Administrating a Bible college is too big a job for me. I haven't found anything I can handle, but I have a great text over there in Philippians. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in thee. As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. What promises? Now the conditions. The conditions for entering in to these promises.

Faith, Courage, and Obedience as Conditions for Success

Be strong and of good courage, God says to his young warrior, to his new reader, for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land which I swore unto their fathers to give them. The first condition is faith.

Be strong, be of good courage. Trust me, trust me. Do you know that on Joshua's line was the Jordan? He was there when they went through the Red Sea. Joshua had been in that experience. Joshua was one of those spies, you recall, that went into the land, and he saw the chariots of iron mentioned here in this book.

He saw the high walled villages, probably Jericho and others. He knew their large armies. He knew the impossibility, humanly speaking, of conquest and possession, and so with all that before him, God says be strong, be of good courage, for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land.

Don't be of good courage, for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land. Do what? Do according to all the law which Moses my servant commended thee. Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper wherever thou goest.

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein, for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Found any substitute for obedience yet? Found anything God will accept in place of obedience? He haven't, have you? Nor have I. Trust and obey. There is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.

Notice the sequence of verse seven. Be thou strong and very courageous. Three. Then that thou mayest observe to do obedience. Then what? Prosperity. Do you see the sequence? Faith. Obedience. Prosperity.

Faith. Obedience. Prosperity. Grace. Remember that statement in Romans chapter one? Grace for obedience to the faith among all nations. Remember that? Grace to obey, and then I'll prosper. Every person here tonight wants to be successful.

Not from man's point of view, from God's point of view. If you're an earnest Christian, you want to be a successful Christian in terms of God's word. And no Madison Avenue here, just the word of the Lord.

Here's the formula. Faith, obedience, leads to success as God views it. There it is. There it is. The prerequisite? Faith. I don't obey unless I claim God's grace. We think prone to wonder. Lord, I feel it.

Prone to leave the God I love. And indeed, that old nature of ours wasn't changed after we were saved, was it? I was saved, but not my nature, just as wicked, just as rotten as it was before I was converted.

So, prone to wonder it is, but by the grace of God. And I claim that grace. And as I claim that grace, then the spirit of God controls that old nature, and instead the fruit of the spirit of love and joy and peace.

These are there. Faith to obey. Notice the standard. All the law. Turn not to it from the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper wherever thou goest. Notice verse eight. This book of the law shall not be parted out of thy mouth.

Thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do whatever you feel like. What does it say? According to all that is written therein. Where in the world did we get the notion that I can pick and choose what I will obey in the word of God?

Where did I ever get that? If I like this truth, I'll obey it. And if I don't like it, it rubs me the wrong way, then I choose not to obey it. God doesn't give me that option. There may be somebody here tonight who's floundering in your Christian experience.

You have to look back to better days spiritually. You're not walking with the Lord as you ought, and you know it tonight, but your heart is hungry. It's because somewhere along the way, you came up against light.

Instead of walking in it, you backed off from light. That's your problem. That's exactly your problem. I've counseled hundreds, probably thousands of people in the years God's given me in the ministry.

You know what I found? Without exception, where there's a problem, where there's a floundering, where there's a purposeless, meaningless life, where one has lost his moorings, doesn't know where he's going, what he's doing, go deep enough, back there somewhere, there was light God gave, and there was a refusal in the light of the word.

You know the verse that helps me most in all the Bible on this? First John 1 7. If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship. Isn't that easy? I love things simple. My wife tells me I'm going to have a heart attack getting things simple, but I love simplicity, and there it is.

Just wrap the whole Bible up in one verse. Just walk in the light. You'd walk in the light, and that could turn your life around to me. Somebody defeated, somebody discouraged, somebody perhaps despondent, and I talked to such people who said, I'm depressed.

I'm despondent. Grace of God, you obey the word of the Lord, for were you doing so, your way would prosper. What it says, it's exactly that. God sent us your way tonight to say just that to you. Thou shalt make thy way prosperous, then thou shalt have good success.

Meditation on Scripture: Attention, Application, and Aspiration

The key to obedience, verse 8, this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein. They come when the residue of the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

But his delight is where? In the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water to bring forth its fruit in season. Leaf also shall not wither.

And whatsoever he doeth, the Hebrew says, he shall prosper. Meditation on the word. You know what meditation is? It's almost a lost art these days. You folks on the farm know what meditation is, the cow chewing the cat.

Hot summer day, warm weather will come, relax. Lovely in Birmingham today, 50 degrees. We haven't had any snow. You folks in Chicago, the Lord bless you. We haven't, we just had a few plates in Birmingham.

We are so grateful, and our hearts are brought out to you, let me tell you. What a joy, what a joy to meditate. You folks on the farm know what it is, just chewing the cat on a hot summer day, and that cow lies there under that shady tree, and just enjoys that green grass.

Mmm, just absolutely delicious. Mmm. And if you're not from the country and don't understand that language, then you'll remember the church choir back home, and the dear lady that always chewed gum during the sermon, and just chewed for all she was worth.

Just chewed and chewed and chewed and chewed at meditation. Just going over it, and over it, and over it, and over it again. My children, my family love to chew gum. I'm with Shakespeare there, much ado about nothing, but be that as it may, on we go in our text.

All right, the key is meditation, meditation, meditation on the earth. Taking time to ponder, taking time to reflect upon the word of the Lord. He says day, and thou shalt make thy way cross. Thou shalt have what?

Good success. Dr. Griffith Thomas helped me years ago in his book on Peter, the gay foray that I love to share about meditation on the word. Any approach to the word, whether in a public meeting such as this, in the quietness of your own quiet time, your family worship, whenever you contact the word, these forays will apply.

Attention! I have to set aside other things, as you've done tonight, to give attention to the word of the Lord. Attention. The second day is application. I must know not only what it says, what it means, but what does it mean to me?

Application of the word. Yes, I must understand the word, but I must understand how it applies to my life. Application. I know my husband needs it, and I know my wife needs it, and I know you'll be jabbing your husband every so often during the week, but like the old Negro spiritual, it's me, it's me, it's me, it's me, oh Lord, standing in need of prayer, eh?

That's poor English, but we all know what it means. Application. Attention, application, and Dr. Thomas adds aspiration, and by that he means pray over it, pray over it. You want to enrich your prayer life?

Pray over what you read in the word. You begin your quiet time with reading the word, oh, a word of prayer, yes, for God's blessing, but then you read the word, and then you follow that up by prayer. You pray about what you've read.

That enriches and enlarges your prayer life, is it not? What do you think the fourth day is? Attention, application, aspiration, walking in the light, if you please. Action. Sin to confess. I confess that sin.

God the Holy Spirit is brought to my attention as I've read the word, or as I've waited before him in prayer. Action. Here is new ground to gain, new ways to trust God about, and I claim the grace of God to walk in the light, and to move forward in the progress of my walk with him.

Action, action. Meditation on the word. I trust him for grace to fill him, and then I have good. For me, it didn't cost you any $500 either. They just write out of the book. You don't have to go to any course, and pay fees all week long, stay in a big fancy motel, and all the rest, no, no, and have dinner for $10 a meal.

No, here it is, just right out of the book, the formula for success, and you can't improve on it. Fini. Obedience. There it is. Where do you start? We didn't have very much money, and I've been a poor preacher ever since.

You know anything of that, you're likely to be, but we had a little simple rowboat. Couldn't afford a motorboat, couldn't afford the gasoline, but we had a simple rowboat, one of them Father made himself, and we had those cheap old wheels, you know, and you'd throw it out, and the whole thing would snag, and then in a fit of temper, you'd yank, and then it would just get worse and worse, as you all know.

And there were times I had to give up fishing, go into the cottage on the finger lakes of Lake Seneca, and take a half an hour, take that reel apart, and try to find the first snag. Then you spend a, work at it, work at it, and work at it.

Finally, first knot disentangled, and then you worked on the second one, and the second one, and the second one, and the second one, and you got the second one. And then the third one, you worked on that one a while, a bit easier, and then the fourth one, a bit easier.

Pretty soon it just fell into place, didn't it? I don't know any better way to tackle the problems of my walk with God. To deal with the problem God shows me, and deal with that. Confess the sin that's related to it.

Claim the grace of God to go on, step forward in relation to it. Claim God's grace for that. Tackle the second problem. If there's sin, confess that, and by God's grace forsake it. And then claim the grace of God for victory over that one.

And then problem number three, and problem number four, and you'll find yourself just growing in grace, growing in appropriating God's grace, right in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ.

Joshua's Leadership of Israel

Joshua concludes this paragraph, verse 9, "...have not I commanded thee," says Jehovah, "...be strong unto the good tides," he says for the third time, "...be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee wherever thou goest.".

That's the preparation of the leader. The remaining verses of this chapter, and several following, the preparation of his people. Let's see it, as we know, in verses 10 to 18. Look at the example of Joshua to the people themselves.

"...then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare food supplies, for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it.".

Don't you like that dynamic leadership, hmm? He doesn't say prepare boats, doesn't say prepare pontoons, hmm? He says prepare food supplies. Why? You're going to cross Jordan. Who said you are? God said it.

We don't have all kinds of preparation. God said it, that said of it. You start getting your food ready. We've got an army here to feed. Let's go. Let's go. A man who took God at his word. A man who believed that what God said was going to come to pass, and so he leads his people, and to the Reubenites.

Now, the example of Joshua to the Reubenites, the Gadites, the half-tribe of Manasseh. He says to them, verse 13,. "...remember the word which Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you, saying, The Lord your God hath given you rest, and hath this land.".

Remember, they conquered east of Jordan back there in Numbers. "...your wives, your little ones, your cattle shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But ye shall possess before your brethren arms all the mighty men of valor, and help them, until the Lord hath given you brethren rest.".

Notice, the Lord hath given you brethren rest, as he hath given you. "...and they also have possessed the land which the Lord your God hath given them. Then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it which Moses, the Lord's servant, gave you on this side of the Jordan toward the sun rising.".

He wants you to keep your word, says Joshua. You men promised when we allocated the land east of Jordan to Reuben, to Gad, the half-tribe of Manasseh, you men promised when it came time to conquer west of Jordan, you'd leave your families and come over and join us, and we'd conquer the land together.

Remember? Notice their response, verse 16,. "...and they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commendest us can argue with that, can you?". You military men, remember that. It is not for you to reason why.

It is but for you to do or die. Here it is. We're ready. You get the orders, we go. "...according as we hearkened unto Moses, in all things, so will we hearken unto thee.". We just have one request, Joshua.

Just one. "...by God be with thee.". He was with Moses. Reasonable enough? "...thou rebell against thy commandments, and will not hearken unto thine words, and all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death, fully strong.".

You have a good courage. You're the spiritual leader of this family. He's talking to you in verse 17, "...only the Lord be thy God be with thee.". As he was with Moses. As the leader of Southeastern Bible College, I have to look at this verse tonight, and that board of trustees, and Brother Willie is one member of it, and that faculty and staff and student body and alumni across the world, they expect that upon us.

I speak to leaders and churches in this area tonight, I'm sure. You folks have come from other places, here for a few weeks, days, weeks, months, a year. You go back home to your places of leadership.

Your people ask of you as God was with Moses. You give evidence that his hand is upon you as well. If there's a son or a daughter somewhere tonight that's asking that of you and of me, that's asking that of some husband.

If there's a grandson, a granddaughter somewhere tonight that's asking this of granddad, of grandma. I rode some years ago in the Texas area, a lovely little boy, a little girl, just before their teens.

She'll never, never forget going across and asking if they'd like to go on a vacation by the school. The little girl said she'd love to go. The school was out, nothing to do, just love to go to our vacation Bible school.

What about you, son? No, I don't want to go. Why not? He couldn't understand. He was a lovely lad. We enjoyed him. Our children played with him. They enjoyed fellowship together. Why not, son? My dad doesn't go to church, and I want to be like him.

People are looking for leadership these days. Much leadership has fallen. It's tarred. There's a crack in the dike, and the people of Israel said to Joshua, their new leader, look, we're ready to obey.

We're ready to follow. We'll leave our families east of Jordan and go across Jordan and go into the promised land and fight and conquer and possess with you. Indeed, we shall. Just one request, Joshua.

So when Moses faced a problem, your hand was upon him. Israel came out of Egypt. They crossed the Red Sea. You fed them in the wilderness. You took care of them. You never failed. God's hand was on Moses.

We ask that God's hand be upon you. You and I may not be leading great armies of the Lord's people tonight, but we do have a sphere of influence, a sphere of testimony right here on these grounds, testimony back home from which we've come, perhaps this week or this month or after the first of the year.

People looking to us to lead them in faith, to lead them in trusting God to do greater things. I want you to give evidence about our Father. Thank you for a fresh challenge from thy word tonight to walk by faith.

Are we thrilled as we review the faithfulness of our God to Moses? That we shall be seeing the faithfulness of our God to Joshua. But oh, God gave him the victory. Teach us this in a new way tonight. Teach us this in a new way this week as we study this book night after night, Lord willing.

And so our Father, encourage our faith. Give us grace for obedience tonight. There's one who's come floundering, not addressed, not knowing where to go and what to do, because back yonder there was a refusal to do the will of God.

Give grace tonight to every waiting heart. We pray in our Savior's name.