Faithful in Every Direction | Joshua 12:1-24 | Pastor Haron Kaisa

Well, first of all, good evening. Everyone is everyone doing

good tonight. It's good to be back in the House

of God in church as we continue our journey through

the Book of Joshua. But first of all, I just

want to give honor where honors due. I want to

honor our lead Pastor, Pastor Adam, and Pastor ask you

just one time, can we just give them love and

show them honor respect, taking us to beyond the next

thirty to sixty years. And so, if you have your

Joshua journals you can pull that out, or if you

simply just have a Bible or you Version app or

a smartphone. We're in the Book of Joshua and we're

in chapter twelve, and so we've arrived in this chapter.

I don't know if you listened to last week Pastor

Sonas preached on faith in chapter eleven. Chapter twelve, we're

in this section that is very very important. It's a

section that it's pivotal to the Book of Joshua, but

it's also very monumental when you look at it the

first time. At first glance, when you look at the

Book of Joshua, chapter twelve, specifically, it kind of looks

like a footnote, a bunch of names, well I can't

even pronounce the names, a bunch of places, and a

bunch of kings. But I want you guys to not

turn the page too quickly, to not scroll too fast

on this one, because this chapter that we're going to

dive into is more than just a record. It is

the divine word of God. But it's revelation. In fact,

this chapter stands like a hinge between two great doors,

what God has done and what God is about to do.

In other words, what God has brought us from and

what is He going to do next. So tonight is

just about names on a list. It's a moment to pause.

It's a moment to reflect, it's a moment to remember,

it's a moment to breathe, because here's what we often missed.

And I want you to catch this, and I want

you to get this. Victory without reflection leads to spiritual amnesia.

Victory without reflection leads to spiritual amnesia. What do you

mean by that? When God brought us through something the

defeats of a king, Maybe he answer the prayer, maybe

he opened the door. We shout, we celebrate, we go

on Facebook, and we post, but then we move on.

We often enjoy the wind but skip the wisdom. And

the danger is we start coming to God just for

what he does, not actually of getting to know him.

Remember in the Bible, the crowds follow Jesus because he

had breads and fishes. They love the miracles, but they

did not love him. We're the same way. Sometimes we

love it when God blesses us. We love it when

he opens the door for a new job, for a promotion.

We love it when he heals someone. We love it

when he provides a breakthrough. But we don't always stop

to ask, what is God teaching me right now? What

is God forming in me? What's the lesson behind this

miracle that God is going to perform. We want the

Red Sea to split, but we don't want to walk

through the wilderness. We want the miracle, but not the method.

But listen, if we only chase what God does and

not why he does it, we will miss God's heart.

It's not the what, it's the why. We become consumers

of God's miracles, but not students of his methods. And

so Joshua Chapter twelve is a chapter of remembrance. After

to pause and reflect on his goodness and reflect on

his faithfulness, and reflect on what he has done. It

lists king after king, not just for history. It's a

bunch of names. When you read it, you're like man

like I wanst skip this chapter. I want to go

to the next chapter. But it's for spiritual memory. It's

God saying, don't forget what I did for you, what

I've done, because amnesia is someone who forgets who they

are or what they've been through. And spiritual amnesia is

when we forget what God has brought us out of,

when we forget what God is already doing, when we

forget that He's been so faithful time and time and

time again. This chapter is talking about God's faithfulness in

every direction, that he is so faithful to who he is.

If you don't take time to remember what God did

for you, start you'll start doubting him in the next battle,

in the next fight, in the next situation, in the

next circumstance, you'll forget that He already brought you through

the last battle. Because reflection often builds faith. That's how

you have perseverance, that's how you have strong faith. Is

when you reflect and you don't forget and you remember.

That's why God told Israel to build these wells, so

you won't forget to build these memorials, to write it down,

to retell it to the next children in the next generation.

Because what you remember today will anchor you tomorrow. And

that's what God's Word is all about. Because officially in

this chapter we hit the halfway mark. We just give

ourselves a round of applause with being being in this

book for the whole year. This is the halfway mark.

And so here's a quick recap of where we're at

in chapters one through five. This is talking about entering

the land. Right in chapter six through twelve is conquering

the land. Twelve is the last chapter in then we

go into a whole nother section, and this is chapters

thirteen to twenty two dividing the land, and this is

chapters twenty three to twenty four his final words. So

chapter twelve stands in the middle. It's a transitional chapter,

but very foundational. So then we all stand for the

reading of God's word. We're in Joshua. Chapter twelve ver

is one through twenty four. But for the sake of

time and for the sake of all the names we

got to read and I can't pronounce it, you know,

So we're only going to read four verses, verse one

and verses six through eight. And I love the section

heading that you have in your Bible because the section

heading kind of breaks down what you're going to read.

You'll notice in verse one through six it says kings

defeated by who Moses. Then you go into verses seven

through twenty four, it says kings defeated by who Joshua.

So the section heading kind of gives you awareness of

what is it's all about. So verse one says this, Now,

these are the kings of the land whom the people

of Israel defeated and took possession of their land beyond

the Jordan, towards the sunrise, from the Valley of Arnan

to Mount Hermon, with all the Araba eastward. I want

you to underline just a couple of things. Verse two

underline that first word Sihon, and verse four underlined ogg.

Then we'll jump into verse six. It says here Moses.

Everyone'll say, Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the

people of Israel defeated them, and Moses, the servant of

the Lord gave their land for a possession for the

Reubenites and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasa.

And these are the kings of the land whom Joshua

and the people of Israel defeated on the west side

of the Jordan, from Balgad in the valley of Lebanon

to Mount Hallock that rises towards Sheer, and Joshua gave

their land to the tribes of Israel as a possession

according to their allotments. That verse is so important because

Chapter thirteen is going to talk all about allotments and

possession and dividing the land. And it goes in verse

eight in the hill country, in the lowland, in the Araba,

and the slopes and the wilderness, and the Nagib and

the land of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Prazites,

the Hibites, and the Jebusites. We can breathe, Amen, you

may be seated. Let's pray, Father God, we thank you

for your word. Your word reveals truth, your word sanctifies us.

Your word cleans us, your word convicts us. And I

pray at this moment, Father God, that you would help

us to lean in to what the spirit of God

wants to teach us. In your name, we pray amen Amen.

You might be sitting there thinking like why did we

just read a bunch of names? Like what's the point

of names that you can't even pronounce? You look at

that list, it's a list of thirty three names, two names,

two kings that was defeated by Moses. Then you go

into the other section thirty one names of kings defeated

by Joshua. So right off the belt, you're like, why

is this important? And if we're honest, you're probably just

checking this off your list and you're skimming through this

chapter if we're quite honest, because there's just a bunch

of names, Like there ain't no significance in just reading names, right,

and so you're probably skimming through it. It probably looks

like the fine print. But I want to show you

that Joshua isn't just a list. Chapter twelve. It's all

about legacy. It's a call to remember, it's a call

to trust, it's a call to act. And that's the

framework for tonight, the word act. And so if you're

taking notes, take this, write this down, or take a

screech out of this we're gonna look at the word act,

and we're gonna look at chapter verses one through six

and see God's faithfulness across every generation. Then we'll jump

into verse seven to twenty four and see God's faithfulness

conquers over every opposition. And then we'll see in the

whole chapter of how God's faithfulness through every transition. So

no matter where you find yourself tonight, whether you're building

on someone else's legacy, or you're facing your own challenge,

your own situation, your own circumstance, or you're waiting for

your next step, God is still working. God is still winning,

God is still faithful and will break it point by point.

Notice verse one, God's faithfulness across every generation. Before we

get to Moses's conquest, I think we need to remember,

Joshua doesn't just stand alone. Joshua is part of a

bigger narrative in the Old Testament. When you look at

the Old Testament, it's not just a book of isolation.

It's a book of collaboration. So you have Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy,

and so all these books show a bigger picture. So

Joshua is the bridge between the Book of Deuteronomy and

the Book of Judges. So this is the book that

bridges not only the book before that, but the book

after that. Because you'll notice in the Book of Deuteronomy,

God lays it all out. If you remember, he enters

into a covenant with this people, keep my word, obey

my word. You shall worship the one true God. Shamai

israeel out or nay it or he knew al kah.

You are the one and only true God. We see

that in Deuteronomy. It's not just rules, it's relationship. We

see that. Right. He says, if you walk with me,

I'll bless you, but if you turn for me, I'll

curse you. It's like a loving father setting boundaries. He's

not just setting rules and regulation and curfew just for

the sake of it. He's setting boundaries not to control you,

but to protect you. That's what Deuteronomy is all about.

It's not just rules. It's to help you. It's to

show you that God is protecting you and he wants

to prosper you. Then we get to the Book of Judges.

It's the word judge. Right, it's heartbreaking. Right. It's a

cycle that that they say in Judges. When you study

theology of sin, suffering, crying out, rescue, then what happens again,

sin suffering, crying out, then rescue. Then what happens again,

sin suffering, crying out and rescue. And that's where they

have all these different judges. In the Book of Judges,

you see the people forget who brought them out of Egypt.

That's the Book of Judges. They start worshiping all these

idols they start they start worshiping and chasing other gods

besides the One True God and doing what's right in

their own eyes. And what was the result of the

Book of Judges chaos, defeat, bondage. That's what happens when

we know God's truth but don't live it. But in

Joshua and on say Joshua, something beautiful happens, something good happens.

The people try God. Why they're in the Promised Land,

they're conquering kingdoms, they're dividing the kingdoms, they're in the

season of blessing. They listen, they follow his lead. And

what happens in chapter four, the stones are lifted. In

chapter five, walls fall down. In chapter eight, victory happens.

In chapter ten, the enemies flee, and now in chapter

six through twelve, they're conquering every kingdom. God is blessing

them because God keeps his promises. But it's because it's

people walk in obedience. God will keep his promise in

your life as long as you walk in obedience. And

how do you walk in obedience his word? His word

will bring clarity, His word will bring direction. His word

or give you purpose. His word will show you his word.

And that's the difference between Deuteronomy Joshua and Joshua is it.

It's not God's love, you know the difference. It's the

people's response to God's love. That's the difference between Deuteronomy

Joshua and judges. See, the people respond in a way

that they know God is directing them. When we obey,

we partner with God in the promise. But when we rebel,

we go against God's laws and statures. We forfeit the blessing.

And so here's the truth. God's favor flows through faith

and obedience. God's favor. You want God's blessing in your life,

You want God's favor in your life, you want God

to help you more in your life. It only flows

through faith and obedience, just like the people in chapter

six through twelve. They're walking in obedience because it's not

about perfection but pursuit. And we see that at the

start of Joshua. If you don't believe me, look at

Joshua one sixteen, right the people tell their new leader,

all that you have commanded us, we will do. They

made a decision to say, you know what, We're gonna

follow God. We're gonna obey him right off the bat

Chapter one, verse sixteen. It says, all that you have

commanded us, we will do, and wherever you send us,

we will go. And by God's grace, they follow through.

And what follows in this book is not disobedience, is faithfulness,

not wandering. It's conquering. And that obedience begin doesn't begin

with Joshua. It actually begins with Moses. And that's why

after twelve, verse one starts with Moses. Moses is dead.

But why would why would God bring Moses's story into

chapter twelve halfway in the book of Joshua, notice verse

one and six as this, now, these are the kings

of the land of whom the people of Israel defeated

and took possession of their land beyond the Jordan, towards

the sunrise, from the Valley of Arnan to Mount Herman,

with all the Arabic eastward. Moses verse six, the servant

of the Lord, and the people of Israel defeated them,

and Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave their land

for a possession to the Rubenites and the Gadites and

the half tribe of Manassa. These victories were recorded in

Numbers chapter twenty one. So this is this is a

reference to what took place in Numbers in twenty one.

And these weren't just like little minor conflicts. If you

study the two kings, King Sihon and See and King Og,

they had control over one hundred fortified cities, and even

Old Testament scholars often say that the King Og was

thirteen feet tall. So this wasn't just little minor battles.

This was big fights. This was big giants. And so

we see that there was massive territorial wins on the

east side of the Jordan because God told Israel to

pass through peacefully. But but what happened in Numbers twenty one.

The kings refused, and because they refused, God hardened their

hearts and gave them into Moses's hand. Why does this matter?

Who cares? It's another story of Moses. Here's why it matters,

because these two victories weren't they're Joshua's leadership. It was

under Moses' leadership. But in Joshua twelve they're listed side

by side with Joshua's thirty one victories. Now think about that.

Would you take two victories or thirty one victories? Probably

thirty one thirty one trophies, thirty one medals, thirty one championships.

Now look at the how the chapter begins verse one.

Now these are the kings of the land whom the

issue of the people of Israel defeated under Moses. Then

in verse seven, and these are the kings whom Joshua

and the people of Israel defeated. Do you see it?

Two kings, two leaders, two heras, same God. Moses defeated

two kings, Joshua defeated thirty one kings. But God was

faithful to both different scope, different assignment, two different leaders,

same mission, same God. Both carry the favor and faithfulness

of the same God. Why is that so important to note?

Because it shows us that God is not tied to

a person. God is tied to his purpose. And guess

what God has a purpose for you, Tonite. From Moses

to Joshua to you. That's what this story is all about.

It shows us God's faithfulness continues. You don't believe me, Well,

let's walk through through the book of Genesis. The same

God who made the impossible possible in the book of Genesis,

you don't believe me, Let's look at the Book of Exodus.

The same God who delivers with power. You don't believe me,

Let's look at the book of Leviticus. The same God

who makes a way to dwell over with his people.

Look at the Book of Numbers. The same God who

leads and provides in the wilderness. Look at the book

of Deuteronomy. The same God who speaks and renews his promise.

The same God who gives Moses victory. The same God

who gives Joshua victory. Is the same God who gives

you victory. That's what we see here. And guess what,

everybody say? What he's your God today, he's faithful. If

he's faithful, then he's faithful now. And if he's faithful now,

he'll be faithful in the future, because what we see

is that God doesn't just play favorites across generations. Because

if you ask me what's the greatest generation, I will

say Moses generation. That's a general, that's a man who

was in the presence of God. That's a man who

wrote the Ten Commandments. But we see that God doesn't

play favorites because all he does is he empowers according

to his mission. That means some of us right may

gain more territory, some of us may have more enemies

to fight, some of us may have different strategies. But

God is faithful to every generation, to the millennials, to

the exers, to the Alphas, to to the Gen zs,

to the baby boomers. So you may be sitting here,

you may be tempted to say, well, you don't you

don't understand my situation. Things were easier back then, like

things are hard now we got the Internet. God works

differently in the past. But remember this promise. God is

the same today, yesterday, today, and forever. And that's a promise, y'all.

And that's the beauty about God's faithfulness. Even now in

the twenty first century, with all the distractions, with all

of the digital pollution. You can't even go on Instagram

without getting toxic toxicity. You can't even go you didn't

watch TV anymore, and all the more confusion. He is

just as faithful. He is not intimidated by the challenges

of the world. Is he still works to those who

dare to believe in him, like Joshua and Moses before him.

Whether God calls you to conquer two kings or thirty

one kings, he is faithful. Amen. But let me say

something to that. Let me say something tonight that may

free some of us tonight, and that is this, stop

comparing your assignment like God may call you to a

group that that's different. God may have a different blessing

in favor towards that assignment, because we live in a

world that we compare ourselves often. All right, how many

are you used Instagram? You have that fumbo feeling like

there on vacation and you're sitting at a desk, you know,

even at a restaurant, you're like, man, I want to

try that spot. You scroll through social media, you hear

about someone else's success and their story, and all of

a sudden, you feel like you're not doing enough and

your enough is not enough, So then you fall in

that comparison trap. But let me remind you tonight. God

is not impressed by your fame. You know what, He's

impressed by your faithfulness. He's moved by your faithfulness. If

you stay faithful to your assignment, stay faithful to your wife,

you stay faithful to your family, you stay faithful to

your giving, God is gonna bless you and Joshua. Twelve,

we read that Moses defeated two kings, Joshua defeated thirty

one kings. Like I said before, if you're keeping score,

who did more Joshua based off of numbers. But you

want to know what's amazing in this tax If you

study the Hebrew. God called them both my servant, and

the Hebrew word is event, and that word implies deep

covenant loyalty. That's not based on performance. It's based on

his goodness. And so that's the goal. Not the applause,

not the social media post, not not the approval, but

just to hear God say, well done, my good and

faithful servant. That's what God called Joshua and Moses. So

so so don't compare yourself. Just be faithful, I promise

you God God is good. God is gonna elevate you,

God is gonna bless you. You may be a Moses

preparing the way. You may be a Joshua charging forward.

You may you may be a pastor in here. You

may be you may be called to a business owner.

You may be a small group leader. What matters is

not the title or the platform. Because the same God

who was with Moses is the same God who was

with Joshua, is the same God who was with you today.

And that's the promise you get. Amen. Psalms one hundred,

verse five says this, for the Lord is good, His

steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness everyone say faithfulness

to all generations. So we see God's faithfulness across generation.

Then we go to point number two, verse seven through

twenty four. God's faithfulness conquers over every opposition. Likelan On,

Let's go to verse seven, where the focused kind of shift.

We know that verse one through six talks about who

Moses right, But when you jump into verse seven, it

says this, and these are the kings of the land

whom Joshua and the people of Israel defeated. Be honest,

when you look at that section you're skipping that. I'm

gonna skip that. I'm like, man, that's so many names.

I'm gonna chat gp this real quick. Give me all

you can give me the reasons for all these names.

You know, thirty one kings, thirty one cities, thirty one territories,

one line per king, no dramatic story, right, it's just names. Like,

think about it. It doesn't have a story behind it, right,

there's no battle scenes, right, it's just names. And for

a lot of us, we want to skip that part.

We're like, okay, King one got his name, King two

got his name, King three got his name. Skip. It

feels repetitive. It may even feel boring if you're honest

with self, Right, it's just a bunch of names. But

let me tell you this, This list is not boring.

This list is powerful. It's a pivotal moment. It's a

turning point because this is the moment where the mental

moves from Moses to Joshua. Because Moses is no longer leading.

The wilderness is behind them, the promise is in front

of them, and Joshua steps forward. So Israel isn't just

following anymore. They're fighting, they're conquering. They're defeating kings, they're trusting,

they're walking into their promise. And hear me, there comes

a moment in every believer's life where you have to

stop living off of someone else's obedience. You can't live

off of your grandma's prayers. You can't live off of

your grandma's fire, or your mentor's fire, or your mentor's wisdom.

There comes a moment where where God says, now it's

your turn take the land, conquer the land, walk in freedom,

walk in faith, walk in trust. I've called you to this.

Your turn to fight, your turn to trust, your turn

to walk by faith, your turn to carry the mantle.

That's how you honor God. So when we see this

transition from verse six to verse seven, it's not just

a transition. It's God's showing us his faithfulness that conquers

every opposition that comes your way. And believe me, there's

gonna be opposition. Believe me, there's gonna be trials and tribulation.

Believe me, there's gonna be circumstances that you have no

understanding for. And I tell myself this all the time.

If I don't understand my circumstance, I'm gonna understand this thing,

the God of my circumstance. There's gonna be moments in

your life where you get that phone call and you

hear that you just lost your grandma from from stage

four cancer. You may be driving down the freeway and

something happens. You just don't know, right, You don't know.

You can honor God what God did through Moses, but

you've got to obey what God wants to do through you.

And what a list, right, We don't just see names

next time you read Joshua, So don't see names, see faithfulness.

God was faithful in that battle. God was faithful with

these thirty one kings defeated these thirty one territories, captured

from Jerusalem to Jericho, from Hebron to Hazor. It's a

victory parade for the people. And so this section isn't

just a filler to have in your Bible, right, It's

a receipt. It's proof of God's purchase. So we see

that list, it's a spiritual receipt, and that spiritual receipt

says stamped God's approval, purchased his faithfulness. Each name is

proof that God showed up. Each king is a reminder

that God was faithful in those battles. It's a verse

that says the promise has been fulfilled. Why am I

saying that? Because if you look at Genesis twelve, verse

one through three, what does it say. I'm going to

the first book now right. It says, to your offspring,

I will give you this land. In other words, this

land God promised to Abraham is now the fulfillment of

that land people blessing. Then you go three chapters down,

chapters fifteen in Genesis, it says God draws the boundary

lines of this In other words, God prophesied, came in fulfillment.

In chapter twelve, this was a promise fulfilled hundreds of years.

You know how many years, six hundred years that the

people waited and waited and waited and waited, and now

they're here. We're watching that promise unfold, king by king,

city by city. And here's what Deuteronomy says in verse

chapter seven, verse seven. You're not receiving this land because

you're righteous, but because I made a promise. I didn't

say it, he said it. You're receiving this land because

I made a promise to Abraham. And that promise is

the receipt. We have a receipt. Now we can go

back and be like man, God was so faithful to

keep his promise. He is faithful to me. And let

that hit you. You're not blessed because you're perfect. You're

blessed because He's faithful. That's the only reason why you

got what you got because of Him, not you to

God who kept showing up. This isn't about Israel being strong,

It's about God's faithfulness. This wasn't about revenge, it was redemption.

This wasn't about payback. It was fulfilling the promise six

hundred years ago. And let me make this real free tonight.

When you look at Joshua's army, it wasn't just taking

the easy wins. Right, You're like, man, that king fail,

that king fel that's easy dubs. That sounds like the

two thousand and two Lakers. Right. But they faced fortified

cities and giants and alliances. But guess what, they didn't

walk scared. Why because their strength wasn't in their numbers

or their weapons. They didn't have the best army, the strongest,

strongest tools to fight the enemy. Their strength came from

a promise. They relied on power. Whose power, God's power.

That's the only reason why they won. And so to

today you might you might not be fighting literal kings.

It'd be weird to see you on the street with

with the helmet and the and the sword. But you

still got giants, right, And if I'm being honest, you

may maybe you're dealing with the giant of pornography. I

don't know, maybe the giant of pride, maybe the giant

of addiction, maybe the giant of mental illness or mental health, anxiety, comparison, doubt.

And these giants don't come swing swords. They don't just

show up at your door say you're ready to battle.

They show up quietly in your thought, right in your

daily habits, in the silence when no one's watching. But

guess what, the strategy has not changed. You know what

the Israelites did in Joshua twelve. They walked by faith,

and because they walked by faith, God gave them the

power to win. Look at two, Christen ten Ford. The

weapons we fight aren't human. They have divine power to

tear down strongholds. You don't beat giants by trying harder.

Let me just pray more. Let me just read more,

let me just go to church more. You win by

trusting deeper in the power of the Spirit of God,

because it's the Holy Spirit's work that is moving your life.

It's not about striving, it's about surrendering. That's why I

love Pastor Daniel when he says, get down on your knees.

If you got to and pray, praise God for what

He's done through you and for you. It wasn't by

your own doing. Victory doesn't come from being strong this

saint body building. It comes from knowing God and who

he is. Faith isn't just how you get safe. Faith

is how you stay strong in the battle to keep going.

And just like Joshua, God's calling you to step into

his promise and believe me. God has a promise for you.

God has a purpose for you, and he wants to

move in your life. Victory may not happen overnight, but

it does happen one king at a time, one battle

at a time, one breakthrough at a time. So when

you read Joshua twelve, don't just see names, see faithfulness,

see testimonies, see God's track record, see your future in

his faithfulness. And that's why you see Philippins one, verse six,

He who began a good work in you will carry

it into completion. Amen. We go to our last point

before we close out God's faithfulness through every transition. So

I want us to kind of zoom out for a second.

Now we have the overview, we have the layout, we

know what's happening in this verse. Because this chapter is

ultimately about God's faithfulness. I love chapter eleven what Pastor

Sonas talked about of taking a leap right, you listen

to God's voice, you expect, you act, you persist. But

chapter twelve it's all about God's faithfulness. Let's be real.

This isn't just a list of kings, right. It's a

worship song if you think about it, it's a song reflection,

the song of thinking about God's faithfulness. That He's been faithful.

It reminds me of that him. Great is Thy faithfulness.

And that's what Joshua twelve is. It's a Hebrew remix

of great is Thy Faithfulness? Every king defeated that's the verse,

every conquered city that's the chorus. The whole chapter is

the song that says God keeps his promise, and because

he and because he keeps his promise. He is faithful

in every direction left, right, God damn. But it gets

deeper because this story isn't isolated. It's part of a

bigger narrative if you think about it, If you think

about it, that the Bible isn't just a collection of

random stories of just Joshua did this, Moses did this,

David did this, Joseph did this, Adam did this. It's

a story. It's stories that lead us to Jesus. Now

I want you to track with me. Noah was not

just a builder of the ark, but he was a

foreshadow of a savior who would provide a way. Joseph

was not just a dreamer, but a sufferer who was betrayed,

just like Jesus, he showed the way. Moses was not

just a lawgiver, but a deliverer who brought them out

of Egypt, not a slavery. So Jesus is the great

mediator in what in delivering us out of sin? See

David and Goliath was not just about courage. It's a

shadow of a greater champion Jesus and Joshua. Here his

conquest points to a greater inheritance, a promise not just

of land, but of eternal life in Christ Jesus. That's

the narrative. This is the story Joshua. So don't read

Joshua twelve as ancient history. Don't just look at it

as lists of names, cities and kings. Read it as

your story. Because if you're in Christ and you are

a part of Patriot family and part of Abraham's family,

not by blood but by faith, because romans Force says

you and I have been justed by by faith through

Christ Jesus. We're part of his family. So that's the

end of the story, is that you and I get

the opportunity to be part to that. And here's what

you need to see. Joshua twelve isn't just an ending.

And I'll close with this, it's a transition because if

you pick up Joshua chapter thirteen, verse one, what does

it say? What does it say? It says here now

Joshua was old and advancing years, and the Lord said

to him, you are old and advancing years, and there

remains yet very much land to possess. Underline that, and

there remains yet very much land to possess. Let that

hit you. You may feel old, you may feel warned.

You may feel tired, but you're not done yet. You

don't retire from the Kingdom of God. There's much land

to possess. And so here's the question. Have you settled,

Have you stopped pursuing growth? Have you stop have you

stopped thinking that the battle's over? Because if you look

at Joshua twelve, there remains very much land to possess.

God doesn't want you to settle for partial victory, right.

He wants fullness and your character and your calling and

your joy. Because Joshua twelve reminds us of this one act,

this one truth act. Here's the last verse. As we close,

dud On the eighteen says, you shall remember the Lord

your God, for it is he who gives you the power.

It is God and God alone that gives you the

power to fulfill His promise in your life. Don't forget

who brought you here. Don't forget in the heat of

the battle. Pause, remember worship. And so as we close

the night, I want to make sure that we all

know the greatest message that that and that is the

gospel message, right, And I want to I want to

ask you a question. If you were to die today,

where would you spend eternity in heaven or hell. What

makes you think that you are okay with God? What

makes you think that you're going to heaven? Well, some

of us in this room I say, well, I know

I'm going to heaven because I'm a good person. Or No,

we're in the Bible doesn't say because you're a good person,

you go to heaven. Some of us in this room

I say I think I'm going to heaven. Were nowhere

in this No, we're in the Bible to say you

can think your way into heaven. We have to do

it God's way. John fourteen, verse six says this. Jesus says,

I am the Way, the truth and life and own

one comes to the Father. But through him. You may

be in this room and say I think I'm going

to heaven because my parents tell me I'm a Christian. Well, no,

where the Bible does to say because your parents told

you something, or just because your parents come to church

that you are a Christian. Well, you may be sitting

in this room tonight and you may say, well, I

know I'm going to heaven because I serve on the

Dream Team. I'm part of Patriot Kids. You know what

I served VBS for a whole week. Nowhere in the

Bible doesn't say because you served, because you attend church,

that you will go to heaven. You know, the Bible says.

Bible says. In John three to three, Jesus is talking

to Nicodemus, and Jesus makes a statement, and he says,

you must be born again. Think about that. Here is Nicodemus,

someone who kept the law, so who knew the Bible,

someone who argued the Bible, someone who debated the Bible,

so he knew more Bible than anybody. And Jesus says

you must be born again. Born again means this. It's

an all or nothing kind of relationship. But the choice

is yours. So if you want to get right with God,

it requires you taking this step and that step says

I want to make you Lord and save. Romans ten,

verse nine and ten says if you confess with your

mouth that Jesus is Lord, then you will be saved.

It's not more knowledge. You can even know the Bible.

You can even read the Bible, and that doesn't get

you into heaven. You don't believe me. The demons knew

more Bible. In the disciples Satan knows more. Bible takes

the confession of faith, and it takes a posture being

born again, you will go to heaven. So if you

want to make that step tonight, if you want to

say I want to follow Jesus, I want to raise

my hand and I want to make that commitment to say,

you know what, I want to be sure tonight that

if I die, that I go to heaven. If that's

you tonight, on account of three, I want you to

raise your end? Who should raise your hand? If you

haven't made a decision to follow Jesus, who should raise

your hand? If you haven't said I want to be

born again, who should raise your hand? If you've been

running from God and not to God, you should raise

your hand? Who should raise your hand? If you want

to rededicate your life back to God? Counter Fore, you

want you to raise your hand to accept Jesus as

your Lord and savior, to rededicate yourself back to God.

One two, three raise your end. See some hands here

one two, three, four, five, six, seven, eighty nine, ten

eleven Praise God, Amen, which Heaven is rejoicing. God knows

you're serious, because you made that decision to raise your hand.

And here's what I want us to do. I want

us to bow our heads, close our eyes, and I

want us to repeat this. If you're saved, send that encouragement.

But if you're making that decision, repeat after me. Together

we'll say it's not the words, it's the heart posture

that matters. Say, Dear God, I confess my sin and

turn away from this world. Help many to live for you?

How many to love you with all my heart, all

my mind, and all my soul In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. Amen,

Let's give them a round of applause. If you made

that decision, here's what I want you to do. I

want you to pull your phone out, go to your

web browser type and grow it out faith. Fill out

that information free. You receive a free resource that tells

you your next steps and your journey faith with God. Amen.

Before you leave, we have if you, we have our

prayer team that will be up here to pray with

you if you need additional prayer. But just want to

encourage you. Guys. If you haven't joined the church, join

Growth Tracks starting this Sunday. The next class is happening,

so hopefully you can sign up from there. Amen. Let's pray,

Father God, to have your way be with your people,

bless them. In Jesus name. We pray, Amen and Amen,

God bless you guys. See you on Sunday.