FBC Adult Bible Study

The Lord, our God, is the God of all history.

It may be difficult for us to understand that sometimes when we see different things happening in the

world and to realize that everything that occurs in history,

somehow and in some way, God in his sovereign control over all things, over

the universe and everything in it, is using these events of history

for his redemptive purposes.

And when we think about the historical records of the Bible and realize that a

huge chunk of the scriptures has to do with historical

events, but we also realize that the Bible in recording those

historical events is not a mere history book.

So, I mean, when I was a freshman in college, every freshman had to take History of

Civilization and it was a one -year course.

I mean, it was a two -semester course, three hours.

We met four days a week, I think it was, but anyway.

And we had this huge, thick History of Civilization book that took us up to the

middle or the latter half of the 20th century.

And it read just like a history book, you know, just like one historical event after the other and gave

no interpretation, really, of that history.

But that's not the way the Bible records history and it's not the purpose of the Bible recording history.

The Bible gives us historical events, records historical events, but for a purpose.

So there's a statement in the book that we're using for this series that says there's more to history than just

facts.

History pointed to something beyond itself.

The historical record of Scripture is pointing to something beyond itself.

So in 1 Corinthians 10, for example, the Apostle Paul tells

us that the historical record of the Old Testament is given for our purpose.

It says, now these things became our examples to the intent that we should not lust after evil

things as they also lusted, speaking of the history of Israel.

And in verse 11, he says, now all these things happened to them as examples and they were written

for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

So the history of Israel offers for us both examples and examples that are positive

and negative, and also it was given or recorded for us as

admonition to be more faithful followers

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So the book of Joshua is no exception to that rule.

It's the historical record of Israel's conquest of the promised land.

And I remember as a kid, a lot of times on Sunday mornings,

my dad, my bedroom was upstairs and we had in the living room

downstairs one of these big 1960s era stereo

consoles, you know, that had the radio, AM and FM, radio

and a record player.

And so oftentimes on Sunday morning, he would put on some records and, you

know, one of them was the Melody Four Quartet

and he'd turn that thing up full blast and put the needle on the record

to the song, Isn't that great, gettin' up mornin'

Fairly well, fairly well, to wake us up, you know, ♪ for Sunday morning, get to church.

But one of the songs, I don't know if it was on that album or if it was on a 16 singing men album,

there was this song, Deep River, and I can still hear that these

many, many years later, there's some bass singer who would lead off

that song and he'd go, he'd start off, Deep river,

my home is over Jordan

Deep river, Lord, and I'm off key, but I don't, I want

it, I want to cross over into campground.

And the song goes on.

Oh, don't you want to go to that gospel feast, that promised land where all is peace?

Oh, deep river, Lord, I want to cross over into campground.

Now that's a Negro spiritual, it was written during the era of slavery in our country and it

expresses the longing that those in slavery had for

release, for freedom from that slavery, but it also reflects an interpretation of

the book of Joshua.

I mean, cause it's obviously a reference to the Israelites on the East side of the Jordan River,

looking to cross over into campground.

They're in their camp on the East side of the Jordan.

They're looking at the promised land over on the West side of the Jordan and they want to cross over into

campground.

And the interpretation of all of that is that it's the longing of the

Christian for crossing through the river of death, the Jordan River of

death, and entering into the promised land of eternal life, where a heaven, where

all is peace.

The problem is that's not what the book of Joshua is about.

And that song, I mean, sure, we have that longing to cross over and where all is peace and so forth,

but that's not what the book of Joshua is about.

Instead, the book of Joshua, the conquest of Canaan, it illustrates, it's given to us to teach

us about progressive sanctification, that the Christian life,

the Christian life is a lifelong growth in holiness.

It's not something that comes on suddenly.

And so in particular, this history of the conquest pictures for us the

necessary cooperation in progressive sanctification, the necessary cooperation

between God and the believer.

So think about the book of Joshua.

What do you know?

Just big picture umbrella overview of the book.

God told Israel to go in and possess the land, that he,

God, had driven out the enemy.

And that charge to go in and possess the land and that statement, I have driven out

the enemy, was based on God's promises to give the land to the

children of Israel and that they would expel the Canaanites.

But even though God told them to do that and God had promised all of that, the

Israelites still had to cross that Jordan River and they still had to fight all kinds of

battles to drive the enemy out.

And they had to do that for themselves in a very real and deadly warfare.

And you would note in all of that, it was like one victory

led to another battle.

It was just an incessant ongoing thing.

So both parties were involved in this conquest of the land.

God said, I've driven them out.

God tells the Israelites, go fight.

And this is parallel to the Christian life, the growth in sanctification.

Christ has achieved victory for us over sin.

And so when you come to faith in Jesus Christ, God in his grace has given Christ as

his son as the sacrifice for our sin and all the rest and he has achieved victory over sin.

But as you very well know, sin doesn't just say, okay, I'm done with you

and you never have another problem with sin or temptation for the rest of your

life.

It doesn't happen.

That's not the way it is.

There is an ongoing battle that you and I engage in with

sin in our growth in holiness and progressive sanctification.

And what we also have experienced, if we've been a believer for more than 24 hours, that

one victory over sin or temptation just leads to the next conflict.

In the Westminster Catechism, remember, we've looked at this before, it

states that sanctification, this is the definition of sanctification or a description of it, sanctification is

the work of God's free grace whereby we are renewed in the whole man

after the image of God and are enabled, we are enabled,

that's God's part, more and more to die unto sin and to

live unto righteousness.

That's our part.

We are enabled, God's part, more and more to die to sin, to live unto righteousness.

That's our part.

And it's parallel to the book of Joshua.

And we see both aspects of this as you just do a good overview of

the book of Joshua.

The book emphasizes these two essential truths and they seem to be contradictory

but they're actually complementary.

And so what are those two truths?

Number one, every advance in holiness or sanctification

depends upon God.

And the other truth is that every advance in the progress of

sanctification depends upon us.

Every advance depends upon God, every advance depends upon us.

You say, well, which is it?

Yes, it's both.

So let's look at this.

So in the first place, every advance in our growth in holiness depends upon God.

And there are three components of God's part in the process.

So let's look at the book of Joshua, turn there to Joshua chapter one

and see these three components.

The first component is the promise of God, the promise of God.

So in Joshua one, verses three through five, God promises victory.

He says to Joshua, every place that the soul, in verse three, every place that the sole

of your foot will tread upon, I have given you, as I said to Moses, from the wilderness and this

Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites and to the great sea toward the

going down of the sun shall be your territory.

No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life.

As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.

I will not leave you nor forsake you.

So here's the promise.

I have given you this land, all of it, from here to there, from here to there.

I've given all of it to you.

This is a promise that was initially given to Abram before his name was even changed

back in Genesis chapter 15.

And what God told Abram in Genesis 15 is very similar to what he's telling

Joshua here several hundred years later as far as the scope of the

territory that is being given to them.

And he repeats that promise, God does, to Moses and the Israelites in

Exodus chapter three.

When God calls Moses in Exodus three, he tells him, I'm sending you to deliver the

Israelites out of the bondage of Egypt and to give them this land.

And Moses isn't, he isn't in that land.

He's, you know, he's in the wilderness, you know, tending sheep, but he says, I'm going to give you this, the

land of the Canaanites and Hittites and so on and so forth, and the same territory.

So he initially gives that promise to Abram.

He repeats that promise to Moses, and now he gives it again to Joshua.

Now, fast forward to chapter six here in Joshua and look at verse two

as Israel is about to engage in the first step of the conquest,

and that is to battle Jericho.

And that promise about having the entire land is made very specific here in

Joshua six, verse two.

The Lord said to Joshua, see, I have given Jericho into your hand, its

king and the mighty men of valor.

I have given it to you.

And they haven't done a thing yet to conquer Jericho.

It's, what this is doing in God's statement to Joshua

is he's highlighting the certainty of the promise.

I have already given this to you.

And highlighting the certainty of that promise further generates confidence in the

victory.

I mean, if God said, you're looking at this walled city that seems

very difficult to deal with, and God says, I have given it to you.

Do what I'm about to tell you to do.

I have already given it to you.

Well, that gives you a great deal of confidence to step forward and to do what God tells us to do

in the battle.

Now, there's parallels to this in our sanctification.

Let's look at Romans chapter six.

Remember, we're talking about the three components of God's

work in our progressive sanctification.

And the first is God's promise.

So in Romans chapter six, verse seven, Paul writes that he who

has died has been freed from sin.

And what he, you know, in the context there, he talks about the fact that we have died with Christ.

We're died with him in his crucifixion.

We were buried with him through baptism into death.

And we were raised with Christ from the dead in verse four.

And so now he says in verse seven, you're a believer in Christ, you're a follower of Christ.

He saved you.

Then you have died with Christ.

And then so in verse seven, he says, he who has died has been freed from sin.

There's the promise.

He reiterates it in verse 14 by saying, sin shall not have dominion over you,

for you are not under the law, but under grace.

So God's part in the advance of our

sanctification includes his promise.

And Dr. Barrett writes that the first step in sanctification,

the first step in sanctification is to know that God has both purposed

and promised victory for every believer.

He has purposed victory and he has promised victory for every believer.

So God's part, three components, God's promise, secondly, God's acts,

his acts, his actions, his works.

And again, Dr. Barrett writes, he says, God did not always work the same way in defeating the enemy

and not always as expected.

But one thing is certain, God's promises are always sure

because of God's power.

God's promises are sure because of God's power.

Now, when we think about God's actions in the book of Joshua, as he

progressively gives the land to the people, that land that he has given them,

sometimes his work is obvious.

It's obvious.

Again, we go back to Joshua 6.

Let's do that to Joshua 6 with the Battle of Jericho.

And in the Battle of Jericho, you know that story very

well, verses three through 16.

Is there any human involvement in this Battle of Jericho?

Do the Israelites do anything?

What do they do?

They march.

For seven days, they march, right?

First six days, march one time around the city.

That's it.

Don't say a word.

They just march.

And what's front and center in that march, that line or that parade?

The Ark, the Ark of the Covenant.

Okay, hang on to that.

So there is some human involvement.

On the seventh day, how many times they march around the city?

Seven times.

What other aspect of human involvement comes here?

Doot, doot, doot, doot.

Right, the blowing of the trumpet.

And then what happens?

The walls fall down, right?

The walls fall down.

They just collapse.

And then they're able to go in.

Now, all of the human involvement in this Battle of Jericho

simply emphasizes God's work, right?

I mean, how silly is it to think you're gonna win a military battle by

walking around the wall of the enemy's city?

I mean, and there's certainly the warriors,

the army of Jericho is on the walls of this city looking at

these Israelites marching around just waiting for them to attack and prepared with their weaponry to do

so.

But they just watch them.

I mean, this is silly.

This, all of that, all that is doing is emphasizing God's

working in this particular battle.

And as I mentioned, the plan for defeating Jericho focused on the Ark

of the Covenant.

And you see this in verse four.

It says, the seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of ram's horn before the Ark.

Verses six through nine, the Ark is supposed to go, lead the people as they go

around the city, marching around the city.

And in verses 11 to 13, the Ark of the Lord had the, so he had the Ark of the

Lord circle the city going around at once, and then they did this.

They did this seven times, all right?

So the Ark of the Lord is central here.

Why is that?

Because the Ark of the Covenant, it does two things.

It symbolizes the presence of the Lord.

This was the seat of God, if you will.

It's just a symbolic, it's a symbolic piece of furniture that symbolizes the

Lord is with us.

The Lord is among us.

But that Ark of the Covenant also was a visible reminder of the need for

atonement.

What function did that Ark of the Covenant have in the worship of God's people?

It was on that altar, the Ark of the Covenant, where the atoning

sacrifice was offered every year.

So the Ark was important in this particular battle to

emphasize God's here, you need atonement.

You need atonement.

Now, what are the parallels for that for us as New Testament believers?

Look with me at Colossians chapter two.

Colossians two and verses 14 and 15.

Verse 13 says, you being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he has

made alive together with Christ, having forgiven you all trespasses, verse 14, having

wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us, and he has taken it

out of the way, having nailed it to what?

The cross.

Having disarmed principalities and powers, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them

in it.

So the parallel to this work of God,

this action of God that was obvious action with the Battle of Jericho

and the centrality of the Ark is that the power for victory

on our part over sin, the power for victory over sin, it resides in the Lord,

verse 14 and 15.

You were dead, and who made you alive?

Did you make yourself alive?

No.

No, God quickened you.

God made you alive, and when he did that, he wiped out this handwriting of ordinances, and he did that

by taking it out of the way, nailing it to the cross, nailing it to the

cross.

So the power for victory over sin resides in the Lord.

The power over sin resides in the blood of Jesus, the blood of

Jesus.

So the point would be here in thinking about this march around Jericho

with the Ark leading the way is that we must not lose sight in our

battle with sin and our growth in holiness.

We must not lose sight of the Ark, quote -unquote.

We must not lose sight of Christ and his cross.

Must not do so.

Sometimes God's work is obvious, but sometimes his work is

obscure, meaning he works behind the scenes,

and his behind -the -scenes work is done so that victory can be

assured.

And so you read over and over and over again in the book of Joshua how God, working behind the scenes,

controls various circumstances that go on in the

interaction with the Canaanites.

In fact, one of the first things we read in the early chapters when the

spies go in and they check out Jericho, we read that God put the

fear of God in the inhabitants of Canaan.

They were afraid of the Israelites.

They were afraid of the God of the Israelites.

Where did they get that fear?

How did they get that fear?

God put that fear in them.

I think about that, by the way, in contrast to our world and our culture

today.

If there's one thing that is absolutely gone in our culture,

it is any sense of the fear of God.

I mean, it is just absent, totally absent from the culture at large.

So anytime there's any kind of a catastrophe or a calamity, the last thing that

anybody would even consider is that God might have done that, God might have been behind

that.

Now, that's not the way it used to be.

It used to be that even in the general population, Christian or not,

there was such a sense of God and a fear of God that when a calamity struck,

there was a fear that God was angry with us.

That's completely disappeared.

Why?

The fear of God in the hearts even of unconverted people

requires a work of God to put that fear within them.

And so this is what God does behind the scenes.

He puts the fear of God in them.

And we also saw where God working behind the scenes

maneuvered the hearts of some of the Canaanite kings, the Canaanite rulers.

So for example, there's a couple of different places where the different Canaanite kings

of city -states I mean, they were previously sort of

competitors.

They may have formed alliances for economic purposes,

but they oftentimes would get in their own skirmishes with one another.

But when it came to fighting against the Israelites, you see them joining

forces.

And from a human perspective, it might look like, oh, no, this is bad news for the Israelites.

But as it turns out, it was actually very good news for the Israelites because these great armies came together.

These various rulers, they said, we got to go fight against these Israelites.

And they came together.

God brought them together.

He maneuvered within their hearts so that they wanted to fight together in alliance against the

Israelites.

And then they ended up all getting wiped out.

And so that was God's work of dealing with the

Canaanites in a powerful way and in a group way,

if you will.

Now, what about God's obscure ways of working in the New Testament Christian's life?

Well, you know, 1 Corinthians 10, 13.

There's no temptation taken you, but such as common man.

God is faithful to provide for every temptation to provide a way of

escape.

Now, He doesn't do that in obvious ways.

You know, like, you're in this is something and here comes, you sense this temptation, you feel

this, there's a strong urge to do this particular thing, go this particular way.

And God does not, God does not all of a sudden go boom

and create this portal through reality that you can just walk

through.

And then you're all of a sudden in a completely different place.

And that thing is gone.

God doesn't do that.

But He nevertheless makes a way of escape.

Another thing God does in obscure ways to help us in our advance in

sanctification is He providentially protects us

and prevents us from engaging in destructive temptation.

He providentially protects us and prevents us.

And what I mean by that is there

are times, and maybe you can reflect on this and know for yourself, there are times when you are put in a

position where you could have, you

could have fallen and maybe even wanted to, to do something

that was sin, given to a temptation, and God

protected you from engaging in that sin.

And you didn't even know God was doing it, but He protected you from it.

I mean, I can think of experiences.

Most of the time I think of those that happened like in the teen years, you know, when you're really

stupid and you put yourself in positions where you could very easily ruin your

life and be somewhere 50 years later,

completely different from where you are.

And if you think of those things, well, why are you where you are and not where you could

have been?

Do you realize the hidden hand of God, the obscure hand of God

that has protected you and preserved you from destructive temptation?

When that happens, most of the time, we're not even aware of it.

So God's promises, God's actions.

And then thirdly, let's think about God's method for the last few minutes here together, and we're

not gonna get through the rest of it, I'm afraid, we'll have to look at our part next week.

God's method.

God's method of working, His ordinary method of working is

not directly.

Ordinarily, God does not work directly, but instead He works through secondary

agents to accomplish His purpose.

Here's what I mean.

Let's look back at Joshua chapter one.

Joshua chapter one.

Here's the normal pattern that we see over and over and over again in Joshua.

In Joshua one, verses one through nine, God instructs Joshua,

all right?

He encourages him in verses one to five, in verse six, He encourages him

further.

It says, be strong and of good courage.

To this people, you shall divide an inheritance of the land.

Verse seven, be strong and very courageous.

Do not turn from it the right hand to the left.

You may prosper wherever you go.

Verse eight, He gives the instruction of the book of the law.

This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth.

You shall meditate in it that you may observe to do according in it.

Then make your way prosperous.

Have not I commanded you?

Be strong and of good courage.

Verse nine, do not be afraid.

Do not be dismayed.

The Lord is with you wherever you go.

We see the same approach of God in chapter three, verses seven and eight,

when Israel is crossing the Jordan.

In verse seven, the Lord said to Joshua, this day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know

that as I was with Moses, so will I be with you.

You shall command the priests who bear the Ark of the Covenant, saying, when you've come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall

stand in the Jordan, and so on.

All right, so God instructs Joshua.

And then Joshua turns around and instructs the people.

Back in chapter one, verses 10 and 11, after God instructed Joshua in verses one to nine, verse 10

says, then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, pass through the camp and command

the people, saying, prepare provisions for yourself, for within three days you're gonna cross this Jordan to go in and possess the

land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.

And in chapter three, after God instructs Joshua in verses seven and eight, in

verses nine to 13, Joshua turns around and instructs the people.

So Joshua said to the children of Israel, come here and hear the words of the Lord your God.

And he goes on and gives them the words of the Lord.

So here's the normal pattern in Joshua.

God instructs Joshua, Joshua instructs the people, and the people

are responsible to follow those instructions.

And very early on in this book, we find out what happens when they don't, right?

What did God tell, what did God tell Joshua to tell the people regarding the Battle of

Jericho?

Annihilate everything, don't spare anything, burn up everything,

kill all the animals, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, except for Rahab and her family,

wipe it all out, don't take anything for yourself.

And that was the instruction given to all Israel.

Everybody knew it, but then somebody didn't obey, right?

And what happened?

Disaster, because of Achan's sin.

Now, is there a New Testament parallel to this?

I think there is.

In Ephesians chapter four, verses 11 to 13, you have that passage where

Paul says that God has given to the church these gifts, and he goes through the list of the gifts,

and apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastor -teachers

for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, and so forth.

So where you see a parallel to this method, this normal, ordinary method of God's

working is that God has given the gift of the pastors and teachers

to the church who must proclaim God's word, they must proclaim

God's word rightly understood and suitably applied,

that's their responsibility, and then God's people must consistently sit

themselves under the preaching and the teaching of his word.

This is God's design, this is God's gift, this is God's normal, ordinary method

of helping us grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We talk sometimes about the fact that the

preaching of the word is a means of grace.

How so?

Well, because it's the gift of God, grace, that he gives those

tools, those instruments of instruction to the church, and he gives the word

to the church.

I think on your handout, I have at the end of this section in the quote from the Westminster Larger

Catechism, the question is how is the word made effectual to salvation?

And here's the answer.

The spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching of the word, and it

should be and, forget the d there, and effectual means of enlightening, convincing, and

humbling sinners, of driving them out of themselves and drawing them unto Christ,

of conforming them to his image and subduing them to his will, of

strengthening them against temptations and corruptions, of building them up in grace,

and establishing their hearts in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation.

God's ordinary method is to use his word,

suitably applied through right understanding and the teaching and preaching of his word

to help us grow in sanctification, to grow in holiness.

Father, we thank you today for your work and your enablement

for our growth and holiness and spiritually advancing

in sanctification.

We thank you for that.

And pray that you'd continue to do that great work within us and we ask it in Jesus' name, amen.

All right, well, dismissed for about 12 minutes for the morning service.