Promises, Promises

Thanks. Oh, dear me. Turn me down quickly, Joe. Far too echoey. There we go. Well, thanks

very much, Ralph, for leading this morning, and thank you, Ian, for reading. As you can

see there, we've finished our studies in John, looking at the I Ams. We're going right the

way back into the Old Testament, and we're going to be going through Joshua over the next

few weeks. I don't know how you feel about going into the Old Testament. As I looked at

my Bible on Monday morning, I thought to myself, why on earth didn't you just stay in John?

It's a little bit easier than going back to the Old Testament. Sure, it's boring, and

it's just full of history. Well, I'm hoping not to make it boring, but exciting, and it's

not just history. It's a story about Jesus. Even in the Old Testament, it's a story about

Jesus. That's what we're going to discover this morning. Let's pray together as we ask

for God's help. Our Father God, we thank you so much for these wonderful true stories

in the Bible. Although written hundreds and thousands of years ago, although they happened

so long ago, we thank you that they are there for us, written to tell us something about

how great God is, to tell us about his promises, and to tell us ultimately about his Son, the

Lord Jesus. Please help us to understand your Word to us. May it encourage us, build us up,

and above all, may it cause us to be people who trust you, the God who makes promises, and

the God who keeps his promise. So please help us all this morning. In Jesus' name. Amen.

There was pens and notes going around. They've all gone, have they? Okay. So you can use the

back of your news sheet if you want to, and please do come back to me if there's any questions

later on.

Well, it's been hailed as Barack Obama's finest moment since he took office. Last Sunday evening,

as I'm sure you saw in the news, he gave the order for US Special Service Unit to attack

the residents of Osama bin Laden. After months of surveillance and intelligence gathering,

bin Laden was finally shot, killed, and then buried at sea. The man behind the 9-11 attacks

in New York and the 7-7 bombings in London has finally been found and removed. Now, when

Obama took office, he promised the world that he would make it a safer place. Top of his priority

was finding Osama bin Laden. He promised that no stone would be left unturned until those behind

the attacks were defeated. But now that bin Laden has been killed, I wonder, is the world

any safer?

Of course, Barack Obama's not the only one to make such promises. Political leaders in

our own country have made similar statements. They vowed to end all sectarian violence and

acts of terrorism. But I think it's very clear that the promises that our world leaders make,

despite their best efforts, are never truly realised. The world is still very broken. There is an unrest

that hangs over us all like a dark cloud. The safer world that we all want is still being sought for.

Of course, presidents are not alone in making their promises. God has promised to restore and to renew

this broken world and to bring about an everlasting rest. But again, as we look around the world in which

we live, it seems that God's promises are no better. It's still a very broken world.

So the big question we want to ask as we get stuck into Joshua is this. Can we trust the God of the Bible

who makes such big and grand promises? Can we trust him?

Well, the book of Joshua is here to give us confidence and assurance that God will do what he said he will do.

Let's see how all of this is worked out. Let's meet the promise maker.

Look at verse 2.

Now this promise, which is restated here, given to Joshua, was given to Moses,

but it was first given to Abraham way back at the beginning of the Bible story in Genesis 12.

In Genesis 12, God promised Abraham that he would build a great nation, a big community,

that they would have their own land and they would be blessed.

And as the years have passed, God kept repeating that same promise

to each new generation and to each new people.

He kept giving a new promise. He gave it to Isaac and then on to his grandson.

Listen to what Jacob says to his son.

It comes from Genesis 48.

Jacob said to Joseph,

God Almighty has appeared to me

And they said to me,

I am going to make you fruitful and will increase your numbers.

I will make you a community of peoples and I will give you this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.

So God has said he's going to gather together a people that belong to him

and they would have their own place in which they can live with God and be blessed.

Now when God made that first promise in Genesis 12,

now we're in Joshua,

600 years have passed.

They've become a great people.

Someone's worked out there was about 3 million of them at this stage.

But they're still wandering around the desert,

still without any place to live,

no land of their own and without any sign of blessing.

Has God forgotten his promise?

Added to that, we're told in verse 1 that Moses, their great leader, is dead.

He was the one who had rescued them from slavery,

brought them out of Egypt,

he'd performed miraculous signs,

he'd showed great power,

he'd done it for over 40 years,

and if anybody was going to bring about God's promises,

surely it would be Moses.

But we're told right at the beginning,

Moses dead.

It seems like God's promises are all set to fail.

But in this first chapter,

God is reminding us who he is.

He is the promise maker.

He is the one who is in control.

He is telling us,

the years may pass,

leaders may come and go,

but God's promise will remain firmly on track.

No one and nothing can hinder or stop what God has promised to do.

Look at verse 3 again.

He says,

I will give you every place where you set your foot,

as I promised Moses.

But what is that promise?

Yes, it was a promise of land,

but what exactly was it?

Well, look at verse 4.

He says,

Your territory will extend from the desert,

which was way down in the south,

right up to Lebanon in the north,

and from the great river, the Euphrates,

which was right over on the east,

all the Hittite country in between,

right across to the great sea,

the Mediterranean,

which was on the west.

It was a huge land.

I pulled out my Bible atlas

and got my ruler out and tried to measure it.

It's about 500 by 800 miles.

It was huge.

It was a prosperous land.

You could imagine the sunny shores of the Mediterranean.

Think of all those luscious grapes growing.

The fine wines they would enjoy.

The fertile plains of the Euphrates,

where land would grow and cattle would graze.

People call this land the land flowing with milk and honey.

So rich was its produce.

But this land was ultimately going to be a place of rest.

Look at verse 13.

Remember the command that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you.

The Lord, your God,

is giving you rest

and has granted you this land.

It's repeated again for us at the end of verse 14.

You are to help your brothers

until the Lord gives them rest

as He has done for you.

Of course, this promised rest

had been experienced once before.

We've come across it in the Bible story

right at the very beginning

in the Garden of Eden.

God had been busy creating the world

over the first six days

and then on the seventh day, what did He do?

He rested.

This was a place where God's people

would live and enjoy intimacy with God.

All of creation was in perfect harmony,

a place of beauty.

It was paradise.

The Garden of Eden was the perfect rest.

And now in keeping with His promise,

since the world had been cursed,

God was saying,

I am going to bring that rest again.

I am going to provide a place

for my people

where they can enjoy rest,

peace and prosperity.

Just like it was

way back in the Garden of Eden.

So God again

would bring His people together

so that they could enjoy rest

in the new garden,

the promised lands.

Did God do what He said

He would do?

Well, look at chapter 21 of Joshua.

This is a key passage.

It's like the big theme,

the theme tune

of the whole book.

Joshua chapter 21,

Joshua 21:43

verse 43.

Verse 43.

Verse 43.

Joshua 21,

Joshua 21:43

verse 43.

So the Lord gave Israel

all the land

He had promised

to give their forefathers,

and they took possession of it,

and they settled there.

The Lord gave them

rest

on every side,

just as He had promised

to their forefathers.

Verse 45.

Not one

of all the Lord's

good promises

to the house of Israel

failed.

Every one

was fulfilled.

You see,

God

is the promise maker.

Not even time,

not even the death

of His leaders,

not even,

as we'll discover,

the disobedience

of His people

will stop

His promise

of rest

being realized.

So He's made a promise,

a promise of rest.

But what about

the rest for us?

Does that mean

that we today

have to go looking

for the same land?

Do we all have to

pack our bags

and head up to Cork airport

and head off to Palestine

in search of this great land?

Unfortunately,

that's how many people

see it.

If you look at

what's going on

in Israel today

and all the battles

and the fighting

that's going on,

they're still fighting

over land.

But I think

they're not reading

their Bibles properly.

You see,

we must understand

the promise

as God understands it,

not as we understand it.

You see,

the land

that God

had promised

His people,

for God,

yes,

it was the promise

of land,

but that wasn't it.

It was never

just the physical land,

it was always

so much more.

the land

that we read

about in Joshua

was only a picture

of a much

greater land

that God

had promised.

Keep your finger,

please,

in Joshua chapter 1

Joshua 1 · chapter mention

and jump all the way

to Hebrews

Hebrews 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4.

I think we've got

the page number there.

It's

1203.

Hebrews chapter 4.

Hebrews 4 · chapter mention

Hebrews chapter 4,

Hebrews 4:8

verse 8.

Remember,

in Joshua,

it's all about

a land of rest.

Look what it says

in verse 8.

For if Joshua

had given them rest,

God would not

have spoken about

another day.

there remains

then a Sabbath rest

for the people

of God.

So,

the rest

wasn't actually

about the land.

God was saying,

there's another day.

There's going to be

another rest

to come.

Well,

what's that rest?

Well,

keep going on

in Hebrews

and we find the answer.

Look at chapter 11.

Chapter 11,

verse 9.

Remember we said

the promise

was first made

to Abraham?

Well,

here it's talking

about Abraham.

Chapter 11,

verse 9.

By faith,

Abraham made

his home

in the promised land.

Like a stranger

in a foreign country,

he lived in tents,

as did Isaac

and Jacob,

who were heirs

with him

of the same promise.

for he was

looking forward

to the city

with foundations

whose architect

and builder

is God.

Well,

what's that about?

Look at verse 13.

All these people

were still living

by faith

when they died.

They did not receive

the things promised.

They only saw them

and welcomed them

from a distance.

Verse 16.

Instead,

they were longing

for a better country,

a heavenly one.

Therefore,

God is not ashamed

to be called

their God,

for he has prepared

a city for them.

Verse 39.

He goes on

listing all the people,

Joshua included.

It says,

these were all

commended

for their faith,

yet none of them

received

what had been

promised.

God had planned

something better

for us

so that only

together with us

would they be

made perfect.

You see,

people like

Abraham,

Moses,

Joshua,

the promises

were all made

to them,

but they were

looking forward,

the Bible says,

to something

not that was

temporary like

the promised land,

but something

eternal.

They were looking

forward to the

true city,

the ultimate city,

heaven itself,

because that is

the final rest,

a place of true

peace and prosperity,

the new creation,

the new,

ultimate

garden of Eden,

where all evil

is gone.

and the good

news is that

God has promised

it to his

people

and nothing

and no one

is going to

stop him

bringing it

about.

God has made

a promise of

rest,

heaven itself,

the new

creation.

So,

back to

Joshua.

Joshua,

how are

all these

people,

and there's

about three

million of

them,

we can imagine

them all

sitting alongside

the river

Jordan,

how are they

all going to

get into

this promised

land?

Well,

they need a

leader,

don't they?

And we're

told who that

leader is.

Verse 6,

God says

to Joshua,

be strong

and courageous

because you

will lead

these people

to inherit

the land

I swore

to their

forefathers

to give

them.

Joshua

is God's

chosen leader.

Moses,

who had led

them for

40 years,

well,

he was dead

and buried

at this

stage.

They needed

a new

leader,

and Joshua

was going

to be that

man.

Verse 7,

So Joshua,

be strong

and very

courageous.

Be careful

to obey

all the law

of my servant

Moses gave

you.

Do not

turn from

it to the

right or

to the

left,

that you

may be

successful

wherever you

go.

He says

the same

thing in

verse 9,

Have I not

commanded you,

Joshua,

be strong

and courageous.

Now we

have to be

very careful

to read

this properly.

Last night

I was doing

a Bible

reading with

Ethan,

and it

just so

happened

that the

notes that

he's going

through is

on the

story of

Joshua.

And I

had a look

in his

Bible,

it's a

children's

Bible,

and I

had a

little note

to one

side about

this passage

here,

verse 6.

And it

was encouraging

people like

Ethan and

me to be

strong and

courageous.

And the

way they

described it

was,

it was like

a football

manager talking

to his team,

a little

pep talk to

give them

great encouragement.

Go on out

there,

be strong and

courageous.

And I think

in some ways

that's how we

read this

passage,

isn't it?

It's like a

little kind of

bit of energy

boost,

a bit of

LucasAid.

Go on out

there,

be strong and

courageous.

But it's not

really written

to us,

is it?

And it

shouldn't be

read that

way.

It was

written and

it was

spoken to

their leader.

The people

are not to

be strong and

courageous.

The leader

is to be

strong and

courageous.

Joshua is

to be strong

for the

people.

And he

can be

strong because,

look at the

end of verse

9,

God says,

don't be

terrified,

do not be

discouraged,

for the

Lord your

God will

be with

you wherever

you go.

God is

going to

be with

this leader,

that's why

he can be

strong and

courageous.

Now I

don't think

it's a

mistake that

Joshua's

name actually

means the

Lord is

salvation.

So God

is saying

to these

people,

see Joshua

over here?

He's my

chosen leader.

He's going

to be the

one who's

going to

save you.

And he

is the

one who's

going to

bring you

into the

promised

land.

My

chosen

leader.

Now I'm

sure we're

beginning to

make connections

here,

aren't we?

But we

don't want to

rush ahead

too quickly.

The question

is, will

these people

trust God's

chosen leader?

Will they

fall in

behind him?

Will they

follow him?

Well, Joshua

fresh from

his instructions

from God

goes back

to the

people,

verse 10.

So Joshua

ordered the

officers and

the people,

go through

the camp

and tell

the people,

get your

supplies

ready.

Three days

from now

you will

cross the

Jordan

here to

go in

and take

possession

of the

land the

Lord your

God is

going to

give you

for your

own.

Are they

going to

do as

he says?

Are they

going to

trust him?

Will they

obey their

leader?

History

tells us,

if we know

anything of

the Israelites

up to this

point,

that they're

actually quite

a rebellious

and stubborn

lot.

So there's

no telling

what they

might do.

One

possible

obstacle

might be

the tribes

who were

going to

settle where

they were.

There were

twelve tribes

in all.

Well,

thirteen.

There were

two halves.

The sons

of Jacob

and all

their

families.

And two

and a half

of those

tribes had

said they

wanted to

settle on

the east

side of

the Jordan.

So were

they going

to follow

Jacob?

Were they

just going

to say,

well,

we've got

our land

here,

we're going

to stay

put?

What were

they going

to do?

Well,

look at

verse 12.

But to

the Reubenites,

the Gadites,

and the half

tribe of

Manasseh,

Joshua said,

remember the

command that

Moses,

the servant

of the Lord

gave you.

The Lord,

your God,

is giving you

rest and has

granted you this

land.

Your wives,

your children,

and all the

animals may

stay in the

land that

Moses gave

you east

of the

Jordan.

But all

your fighting

men,

fully armed,

must cross over

ahead of your

brothers,

because all the

rest of the

tribes,

they had to

go across.

You are to

go with them.

You are to

help your

brothers until

the Lord gives

them rest as

he has done

for you,

and until

they too have

taken possession

of the land

that the Lord,

your God,

is giving them.

After that,

you may go

back to

occupy your own

land,

which Moses,

the servant of

the Lord,

gave you east

of the Jordan

towards the

sunrise.

So again,

we're asking

the question,

are they going

to obey him?

Are they going

to trust Joshua?

Well, look at

verse 16.

Then they

answered Joshua,

whatever you

have commanded

us, we

will do.

And whatever

you send us,

and wherever

you send us,

we will go.

Just as we

fully obeyed

Moses, so we

will obey

you.

You see, if the

people are going

to experience

rest, if they

are going to

enjoy the

promise that

God has given

them, they

have to follow,

they have to

trust God's

leader.

They have to

fall in behind

them and do

what he says.

Well, in the

coming weeks,

we're going to

find out how

they got on.

how did they

follow their

leader?

But again, at

this point, we're

forced to ask the

question for

ourselves.

What leader are

we going to

follow?

Well, the book

of Joshua starts,

surprisingly, with a

death, verse 1.

It tells us that

Moses has died.

And the very end

of the book

finishes with a

death.

Go to Joshua

Joshua 24 · chapter mention

chapter 24.

It starts with the

death of Moses, and

it finishes with the

death of Joshua.

Joshua 24:28

Chapter 24, verse

28.

Joshua sent the

people away, each

to his own

inheritance.

After these

things, Joshua, son

of Nun, the

servant of the

Lord, died at

an age of 110, and

they buried him in

the land of his

inheritance at

Timna, Sarah, in

the hill country of

Ephraim, north of

Mount Gash.

So, Moses is

dead.

Joshua is

dead.

Who's going to

lead the people

now?

Well, look at

verse 33.

Next in line was

Eleazar.

He was the next

one to take the

position after

Joshua.

But look what

happened to him.

Eleazar, son of

Aaron, died and

was buried at

Gibba, which

had been allotted

to his son

Phinehas in the

hill country of

Ephraim.

Do you see

what's happening?

All the leaders

are dying.

They kind of

get, Moses

didn't even get

into the

promised land.

Joshua kind of

just about gets

there, and as

soon as he's

about to enjoy

it, he dies.

You see, all of

these funeral

notices are not

a mistake.

It's forcing us

to keep on

reading through,

saying, okay,

well, who's the

next leader?

leader.

Because as we

keep on going,

they all seem

to die.

So it's forcing

us to look for

a leader who

won't die.

Somebody who

will lead us

into the

eternal promised

rest.

And of course,

as we know,

as the story

unfolds of the

Bible, God

sends his

final leader,

the greatest

leader, the

king, his

own son,

Jesus Christ,

who would

come as

God's leader

for the

people.

But what

would happen

to his

leader?

He would

die.

But his

death was a

death for

us.

As our

representative,

as our

leader on

behalf of the

people, he

would go to

the cross for

us.

He would die

in our place.

He would go

for our

disobedience.

But there's

something quite

different about

this leader,

isn't there?

This leader

wouldn't stay

dead.

This leader

would rise

again from

the grave.

This king

would rise

triumphant.

Death would

be defeated.

He would

conquer the

grave so

that we

could live

forever.

The one

thing that

stops us

enjoying the

rest that

God has

promised to

us is sin

and death.

And it

has all been

conquered by

his leader,

Jesus Christ.

Jesus,

the risen

leader,

the true

Joshua.

Joshua means

the Lord

saves.

What does

Jesus mean?

It's the

New Testament

name.

He's the

Saviour.

And he

comes into

the world

inviting us

to trust

him.

He commands

us to

follow him.

so that

we may

enjoy

heaven.

The

ultimate

rest with

him.

Rest from

all evil.

Rest from

violence and

terrorism.

Rest from

every kind of

tragedy imaginable.

Rest from

all sin.

A new world

which would be

marked by

peace and

prosperity.

as Jesus

came on to

the world

scene.

Come

unto me

all you

who are

heavy

burdened

and I

will give

you

rest.

The true

leader,

Jesus Christ

has come

for us

his people.

He says,

I will go

before you.

I want you

to follow

me and

that's why

you can be

strong and

courageous because

not even

death can

defeat you if

you are

following me.

And as we

his people

follow our

true leader,

Jesus,

so we are

showing others

the way that

they can find

ultimate rest.

we are

on a

journey.

Israel,

we are

on a

journey.

We are

on a

journey.

We are

just strangers

in this

land.

We are

just

visiting.

We are

only here

for a

short time.

We have

eternity to

look forward

to.

But as we

go on our

journey,

so people

will look

and see,

where are

they going?

We are

going to be

with him

in that

final rest.

You see,

the story

of Joshua

is not

just a

book of

history

about a

people

thousands

of years

ago

unrelated

to us.

It's the

story of

Jesus.

The world

has promised

and produced

some great

leaders.

And the

world's

leaders have

made some

great promises,

haven't they?

Now, I

don't doubt

the sincerity

or the efforts

of Barack

Obama to

bring about

world peace.

I think he's

doing a good

job.

I don't

knock the

plans or

the promises

of Ender

Kenny to

change Ireland's

future.

I think he's

doing a good

job too.

But as

history has

proved,

promises will

always be

broken and

leaders will

always die.

the good

news of

God's

story,

which is

not only a

true story,

it's our

story.

This is about

us.

It's that

God's chosen

leader,

Jesus Christ,

not only

makes promises,

but he will

keep his

promise.

What God

says he will

do,

he will do.

we can

trust him

and he will

bring us

to his

eternal rest.

Let's pray

together.

Our

Father God,

we thank you

so much

for these

stories.

Thank you

for Joshua.

Thank you

for his

leadership,

his leading

of your

people.

But most

of all,

we thank you

for him

because he

pictures,

he shows

us who

our true

leader is.

We thank

you for

Jesus.

We thank

you that he

has conquered

the grave,

he has

defeated

sin.

He has

called us

to follow

him so

that we

may have

rest,

rest today

and rest

for all

eternity.

Father,

thank you

that you

have invited

us on

that journey.

We pray

that we

would be

people who

go into

this week

living that

journey,

telling others

about the

journey,

encouraging

others to

get on

board.

Father,

go before

us.

Help us

to trust

you,

the God

who has

made his

promise,

the God

who will

keep his

promise.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you,

Johnny.

We're going

to take an

opportunity to

respond by

singing together,

respond to

what we've

heard.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.