WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.679 So this evening at St. Columbus, we're beginning a new series 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:07.440 We're gonna be looking through the book of Joshua 00:00:07.960 --> 00:00:11.839 So if you have a Bible with you and you want to follow along and please have it open at page 00:00:13.720 --> 00:00:18.019 178 where we read from Joshua and chapter 1 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:21.800 Excuse me 00:00:21.800 --> 00:00:24.839 But before we dig into the text of Joshua together 00:00:24.839 --> 00:00:30.280 I wonder if anyone here this evening has heard of something called the Edelman trust barometer 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:35.700 I doubt it the Edelman trust barometer is it's a grand name 00:00:36.039 --> 00:00:41.840 It's a survey that takes place every year and it's something that tracks levels of trust within the UK 00:00:42.200 --> 00:00:45.519 And I'm a bit of a geek for stats and figures and surveys and stuff 00:00:45.519 --> 00:00:50.359 So I think it's really cool, but very briefly. I want to just highlight something that the Edelman trust barometer 00:00:50.359 --> 00:00:56.200 Found it's found that year on year trust in the UK is declining 00:00:57.240 --> 00:01:02.640 As a people we are apparently becoming more and more cynical and more and more mistrustful of others 00:01:03.560 --> 00:01:06.960 According to the survey trust in politicians came in at 36% 00:01:08.760 --> 00:01:13.039 Trust in social media and news outlets and all sorts of things like that came in even lower 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:20.960 And the point of the survey basically was that trust across the UK is falling and we know that I think I think it's hard 00:01:20.960 --> 00:01:24.480 In the political climate we live in to trust what people say 00:01:25.400 --> 00:01:30.120 Maybe we know in our own personal lives. We find it hard to trust people. Maybe we've experienced 00:01:30.760 --> 00:01:32.760 the the 00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:38.000 the damaging effects of a broken promise or a lack of trust in a 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:42.959 relationship or within our family or amongst friends the 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:48.799 Book of Joshua presents us with someone who is absolutely worthy of our trust 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:53.319 One of the key points in the whole book of Joshua is that God is 00:01:54.359 --> 00:01:58.920 Absolutely trustworthy God is someone who always keeps his promises 00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:02.439 God is someone you can take at his word 00:02:03.159 --> 00:02:07.359 In chapter 21 towards the end of the book spoiler alert jumping head to the end 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:14.280 For verse 45 says this not one of all the Lord's good promises to Israel failed 00:02:14.960 --> 00:02:16.960 Everyone was fulfilled 00:02:16.960 --> 00:02:23.240 And this is a theme we're going to come back to time and time again in this series is that God is a God who makes promises and 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:25.439 keeps promises 00:02:25.439 --> 00:02:31.039 God does not lie. There is no fake news with God. God has no hidden agenda 00:02:31.520 --> 00:02:34.039 God has no ulterior motives 00:02:34.039 --> 00:02:39.439 God does not deceive us and God cannot disappoint us like the people around us can 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:44.039 Maybe you're here this evening and you find it. It's hard to trust God 00:02:44.959 --> 00:02:48.159 Maybe you're here this evening and you've trusted God's your entire life 00:02:48.159 --> 00:02:54.479 Or maybe you're here and at one point in your life you trusted God, but you found yourself grown distant and far away 00:02:55.439 --> 00:03:00.599 Well, wherever we're at this evening. I think we all need to be reminded of God's faithfulness of 00:03:01.199 --> 00:03:03.199 God's trustworthiness of 00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:06.939 God as who he is a person we can trust with our lives 00:03:07.639 --> 00:03:12.759 Now this evening really what we want to do is just just give an introduction to the series and we set the scene for 00:03:13.239 --> 00:03:15.439 Joshua and what's going on in the book of Joshua 00:03:15.759 --> 00:03:17.839 It might be a book of the Bible that you know well 00:03:17.839 --> 00:03:20.919 You might know all the stories within it. It might be a book you don't know at all 00:03:21.199 --> 00:03:24.239 But hopefully together as we dig deep into Joshua 00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:30.479 We'll see more about who God is as the great promise keeper who we are as his people in response 00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:37.199 And how Joshua as God's chosen leader points us to what God has done for us through Jesus Christ 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:42.560 So what is Joshua all about? Why is it included in our Bibles? 00:03:42.719 --> 00:03:45.759 How is it relevant to our lives today as Christians? 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:53.839 How do we read parts of the Old Testament like Joshua that at some level seem quite distant and detached from our experience in the 21st century? 00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:59.599 I think a good starting point is to know that God is the main character 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:03.080 God is the main character in Joshua 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:06.400 Now we might be tempted when we come to a book like this to think that Joshua 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:09.560 Surely would be the main character in a book called Joshua 00:04:09.560 --> 00:04:13.439 If I told you that Harry Potter was not the main character in Harry Potter 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:19.120 Or that John Wick was not the main character in John Wick or that Matilda was not the main character in Matilda 00:04:19.319 --> 00:04:20.959 You probably think I was crazy 00:04:20.959 --> 00:04:24.799 So we come to a book called Joshua and we have to think surely it's all about Joshua 00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:29.919 But I think our starting point has to be that Joshua is a book all about God 00:04:29.919 --> 00:04:37.319 And what we're going to do in this series over the next few weeks is look at different aspects of what the story of Joshua teaches us about God 00:04:38.159 --> 00:04:42.279 Different aspects of God's character who he is and what God has done 00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:48.879 And I think that way of looking at the Old Testament is really helpful for us because sometimes we open our Bibles 00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:53.040 And we go to a book in the Old Testament and our first thought is where am I in this? 00:04:53.439 --> 00:04:56.159 What does this say to me in my experience today? 00:04:57.199 --> 00:05:02.680 But I think if we read our Bibles first and foremost with the understanding that God is the main character 00:05:03.439 --> 00:05:07.800 The first question we have to ask is what does this tell me about God? 00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:16.199 What does Joshua tell us about who God is what God has done and how does that point forward to the climax of his plans in Jesus? 00:05:16.199 --> 00:05:20.279 Christ and from there. How does that speak to us as Christians? 00:05:21.319 --> 00:05:27.519 So let's look this evening just briefly at the opening verses of Joshua the first scene chapter 1 verse 1 00:05:27.920 --> 00:05:31.759 And there's two points I want to raise this evening as we look at Joshua together 00:05:32.079 --> 00:05:36.039 First of all that God promises his people a new home 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:42.839 God promises his people a new home and then secondly God equips his people to get there 00:05:43.240 --> 00:05:45.240 So God brings us home 00:05:45.240 --> 00:05:49.879 So first point God promises his people a new home read again from verse 1 00:05:50.280 --> 00:05:54.360 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord the Lord said to Joshua son of none 00:05:54.879 --> 00:06:00.120 Moses my servant is dead now therefore go over this Jordan you and all this people into the land 00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:04.400 I'm giving you to the people of Israel every place the soul of your feet will tread upon 00:06:04.400 --> 00:06:07.360 I have given to you just as I promised to Moses 00:06:07.720 --> 00:06:14.840 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river Euphrates all the land of the Hittites to the great sea 00:06:14.839 --> 00:06:18.759 Toward the going down to the sun going down to the sun shall be your territory 00:06:19.239 --> 00:06:22.599 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life 00:06:23.159 --> 00:06:27.959 Just as I was with Moses so I will be with you. I will not leave you 00:06:27.959 --> 00:06:33.679 I will not forsake you be strong and courageous for you shall cause this people to inherit the land 00:06:33.679 --> 00:06:36.159 I swore to their fathers to give them 00:06:37.079 --> 00:06:43.959 So right at the start of Joshua the very first scene we find God's people right on the verge of entering the promised land 00:06:43.959 --> 00:06:47.239 And I think for us to understand what's going to happen in this book 00:06:47.239 --> 00:06:51.199 It's helpful for us to to reflect very briefly on the story so far 00:06:51.719 --> 00:06:54.919 If you go right the way back to the start of the Bible in Genesis 00:06:55.159 --> 00:07:02.399 We're told how God's created a good world a world free from evil and sin and suffering and pain and death 00:07:02.599 --> 00:07:08.439 He's created a world for human beings to enjoy a relationship with him and with each other and 00:07:09.240 --> 00:07:12.120 Then in Genesis C we read about the fall where human beings 00:07:12.120 --> 00:07:17.879 Mess things up and that perfect world is tainted and distorted by sin 00:07:18.439 --> 00:07:26.120 And the rest of the book then and the rest of the Bible really is God's amazing plan to rescue and to redeem and to restore 00:07:26.519 --> 00:07:28.280 what was lost 00:07:28.280 --> 00:07:33.319 And a really important part in Genesis is in chapter 12 where God goes to a man called Abraham 00:07:33.639 --> 00:07:37.959 And chooses him and says to him. I'm going to make some amazing promises to you 00:07:38.280 --> 00:07:40.759 He promises to give him a place to live 00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:49.079 He promises Abraham there'll be a people to live there and he promises a blessing and relationship with God to enjoy 00:07:49.560 --> 00:07:55.240 And the important part for us as we study Joshua is to have that first promise in mind a place to live 00:07:55.639 --> 00:07:58.839 God has promised a people a place to live 00:08:00.599 --> 00:08:05.800 So this is the key thing as we as we go into Joshua together the promise of a home for God's people 00:08:05.800 --> 00:08:11.639 And I wonder this evening for you what the word home and what kind of memories or thoughts that conjures up 00:08:12.040 --> 00:08:15.400 I think the word home can be quite a comforting word at times 00:08:16.199 --> 00:08:20.680 I've just spent a few days at home up north near Inverness and every time I go up 39 00:08:21.400 --> 00:08:24.439 I begin to get this sense of home where I can see the Kessok bridge 00:08:25.240 --> 00:08:27.240 I can see the Kessok bridge and I know I'm almost home 00:08:28.199 --> 00:08:34.840 And home can bring up wonderful memories memories of family and friends and loved ones. Maybe it's a place a geographical place that you're attached to 00:08:34.840 --> 00:08:36.840 And home can be a comforting thought 00:08:37.960 --> 00:08:41.240 But God's people here have spent so long homeless 00:08:42.040 --> 00:08:44.040 They've been in slavery in Egypt 00:08:44.759 --> 00:08:48.759 Then God brings them up out of Egypt and takes them towards this new home. He's promised them 00:08:49.960 --> 00:08:53.240 And then everything went wrong just as they were about to enter the land 00:08:54.120 --> 00:08:58.120 Towards the end of the last book they they doubt that God can do what he said 00:08:58.680 --> 00:09:01.160 They doubt that God can actually take them into this land 00:09:01.159 --> 00:09:05.159 And so that generation spent 40 years wandering around in the wilderness 00:09:07.079 --> 00:09:10.039 But now as we go into Joshua together, we're almost there 00:09:10.759 --> 00:09:17.319 That goes 40 years up. Moses has passed away. Joshua is the new leader. He's been commissioned. It's a new generation and God says 00:09:17.639 --> 00:09:19.639 We're going into the land 00:09:20.759 --> 00:09:26.600 And if we take a step back from Joshua itself, we see that the promise of a home for God's people is throughout scripture 00:09:27.879 --> 00:09:29.879 Excuse me 00:09:29.879 --> 00:09:35.320 For God's people in Joshua, it's primarily about the land of Canaan. It's a geographical land 00:09:36.279 --> 00:09:39.799 But as that promise is developed as God's redemptive purposes 00:09:40.360 --> 00:09:42.120 Unfold in the Bible 00:09:42.120 --> 00:09:47.720 That hope develops and for us today the hope of a home of a land for God's people 00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:50.600 Comes to a climax in the New Testament 00:09:51.240 --> 00:09:53.240 Jesus says in John chapter 14 00:09:53.320 --> 00:09:58.919 My father's house has many rooms if that were not so would I have told you that I'm going there to prepare a place for you 00:09:58.919 --> 00:10:05.399 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am 00:10:06.679 --> 00:10:14.279 Revelation speaks of that hope as a new heavens and a new earth a place where God will dwell with his people forever 00:10:15.240 --> 00:10:19.799 And verse 4 of chapter 21 says he will wipe away every tear from our eyes 00:10:20.120 --> 00:10:24.199 There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain 00:10:24.200 --> 00:10:30.600 First Peter picks up on that the language of promise when he speaks about this as an an inheritance that's been kept for us 00:10:31.240 --> 00:10:33.960 An inheritance that's kept in heaven for us 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:39.480 I imagine that none of us here this evening will have to wander around in a desert for 40 years 00:10:40.200 --> 00:10:42.920 But we all have to face up to the reality of of death 00:10:44.280 --> 00:10:48.840 Death is a sobering reality for every single human being 00:10:48.840 --> 00:10:54.600 There's a there's a finality to death that we all have to face up to 00:10:55.560 --> 00:11:01.000 And if if if we're here this evening and we're not a believer in Jesus we have to think about well, where where are we going? 00:11:01.800 --> 00:11:06.040 After all the busyness and the chaos of life. What is at the end for us? 00:11:07.639 --> 00:11:12.759 As Christians we know that we can focus in on this absolute certainty of God's promise 00:11:13.240 --> 00:11:15.720 The promise of a home for his people 00:11:15.720 --> 00:11:21.639 The sad case for many people in our country today is that that grief is something to be faced without hope 00:11:22.200 --> 00:11:26.680 We retry and face it with sentimentality or pragmatism or a stiff upper lip 00:11:27.879 --> 00:11:30.600 But death is an enemy to which there is no answer 00:11:32.120 --> 00:11:34.840 The Bible tells us that Christians can grieve differently 00:11:35.399 --> 00:11:37.399 We grieve as those who have hope 00:11:37.480 --> 00:11:42.600 First Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 13 Paul says brothers and sisters 00:11:42.600 --> 00:11:49.080 We do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death so that you do not grieve like the rest of humanity who have no hope 00:11:49.399 --> 00:11:56.440 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him 00:11:57.560 --> 00:12:00.279 God promises us a new home 00:12:00.759 --> 00:12:03.320 A home with him in eternity 00:12:04.360 --> 00:12:08.600 Secondly the second thing we see in Joshua is that God equips his people to get there 00:12:08.600 --> 00:12:14.040 We see that in Joshua chapter 1 in two ways. First of all God equips his people with his presence 00:12:14.519 --> 00:12:15.800 Read verse 5 00:12:15.800 --> 00:12:19.480 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life 00:12:19.720 --> 00:12:23.320 Just as I was with Moses so I will be with you 00:12:23.960 --> 00:12:26.840 I will not leave you nor will I forsake you 00:12:28.200 --> 00:12:33.000 Now in the first instance these are words that are spoken to Joshua as an individual 00:12:33.560 --> 00:12:36.120 Here in chapter 1 Joshua is being commissioned 00:12:36.120 --> 00:12:38.919 for the huge task of leading God's people 00:12:39.480 --> 00:12:45.399 He's been given this responsibility of taking them over the Jordan into the land to battle with their enemies 00:12:45.560 --> 00:12:47.560 and to claim the land as their own 00:12:48.279 --> 00:12:53.320 So this promise God has given is primarily to Joshua to strengthen him and to encourage him for what lies ahead 00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:58.200 But at the same time in the gospel God speaks these words to us 00:12:59.159 --> 00:13:01.159 It's a promise to us 00:13:01.159 --> 00:13:08.519 Hebrews chapter 13 picks up on these verses. It says God has said this never will I leave you never will I forsake you 00:13:08.759 --> 00:13:13.719 So we say with confidence the Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid 00:13:14.199 --> 00:13:16.199 What can mere mortals do to me? 00:13:17.079 --> 00:13:23.319 You see the presence of God in the Christian life is the greatest source of strength and courage 00:13:24.519 --> 00:13:28.199 In our Christian lives we have to face all manner of difficulty and opposition 00:13:28.200 --> 00:13:33.080 It might not be an army like in Joshua, but we all have to face grief and pain 00:13:33.879 --> 00:13:39.640 and anxiety and stress and the burdens and responsibilities and pressures of our lives 00:13:41.320 --> 00:13:45.560 So the presence of God is an enormous source of strength and courage 00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:49.480 You see the reality is that the journey is hard 00:13:50.200 --> 00:13:53.000 That's true for God's people in Joshua and it's true for us today 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:59.320 Chapter one alone God says to his people four times be strong and courageous be strong and courageous 00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:03.879 The implication clearly is that their journey is going to be difficult 00:14:04.679 --> 00:14:08.279 There will be hurdles and challenges and opposition and enemies 00:14:08.919 --> 00:14:12.519 So God says be strong and courageous because I am with you 00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:16.120 And this is a consistent promise throughout scripture 00:14:16.919 --> 00:14:18.919 That God promises to be with you 00:14:18.919 --> 00:14:22.120 To be with his people 00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:26.919 I think for many people the review of Christianity is one of a God who is cold and distant 00:14:27.240 --> 00:14:32.039 and detached and far away and removed from all of our pressures and burdens of life 00:14:33.159 --> 00:14:36.120 But God promises to be with his people 00:14:38.519 --> 00:14:40.919 It's helpful as well I think to look at the language in 00:14:42.039 --> 00:14:46.519 Chapter one of Joshua verse two God speaks about the land. He says he wants to be with his people 00:14:46.519 --> 00:14:51.000 And verse two God speaks about the land. He says here that I am giving to them 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:57.720 And in the very next verse in verse three God says every place that the soul of your foot will tread upon I have given to you 00:14:58.840 --> 00:15:01.879 Do you notice the grammar there? The tenses change 00:15:03.319 --> 00:15:05.319 There's an element of now and not yet 00:15:06.039 --> 00:15:10.759 It's almost as if they've been given the title deeds to the land but they've yet to take up residency 00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:14.360 And I think in much the same way for us as Christians 00:15:14.360 --> 00:15:20.919 You know, we know that our citizenship is elsewhere Paul says in Philippians chapter three our citizenship is in heaven 00:15:21.879 --> 00:15:25.639 But at the same time we are exiles. We are strangers. We are 00:15:26.360 --> 00:15:28.360 sojourners here in this life 00:15:28.919 --> 00:15:34.360 The Bible often puts the Christian life into the language of a journey. It says we are travelers. We're pilgrims 00:15:36.039 --> 00:15:40.600 When me and my brothers were growing up and we would go away on family holidays mum and dad would often drive 00:15:40.600 --> 00:15:44.519 I admire them for that because we were not well behaved 00:15:45.399 --> 00:15:51.080 And we would so often be impatient. We would so often be asking are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? 00:15:51.480 --> 00:15:53.480 How much longer? 00:15:53.720 --> 00:15:55.720 We've probably just left the house at that point 00:15:56.600 --> 00:16:02.519 Um, but we can all resonate with with with that and we can feel sometimes that this journey of life is hard 00:16:02.920 --> 00:16:04.920 It's long. It's arduous 00:16:05.080 --> 00:16:09.080 So often we're battling with discouragement and doubt and despair and grief 00:16:09.080 --> 00:16:11.080 and fear and tiredness 00:16:13.080 --> 00:16:17.080 Sometimes we want to say to God are we there yet? How much longer? 00:16:18.840 --> 00:16:25.480 See as believers in Jesus Christ the journey can be hard, but God promises to be with us 00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:32.520 Why can we be strong and courageous in the face of all of that kind of challenge because God is with us? 00:16:32.840 --> 00:16:36.040 Verse nine goes on to repeat this be strong and courageous 00:16:36.039 --> 00:16:41.319 Do not be frightened. Do not be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go 00:16:42.519 --> 00:16:45.480 So God equips his people for the journey with his presence 00:16:45.879 --> 00:16:49.719 Secondly God equips his people with his word look at verse seven 00:16:50.759 --> 00:16:55.079 He says being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded to you 00:16:55.480 --> 00:17:00.279 Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left that you may have good success wherever you go 00:17:00.919 --> 00:17:03.159 The book of the law shall not depart from your mouth 00:17:03.159 --> 00:17:05.720 But you shall meditate on it day and night 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:11.480 Excuse me so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it 00:17:11.879 --> 00:17:15.799 For then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success 00:17:17.240 --> 00:17:21.720 In other words God has given his word his book of the law his word the Bible to his people 00:17:22.119 --> 00:17:25.000 So they may know how to live in response to what he has done 00:17:26.200 --> 00:17:29.079 You see another great hurdle for God's people on this journey 00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:34.679 Both in joshua's timing in our own lives is not just the suffering and the difficulties we face 00:17:35.079 --> 00:17:36.199 But it's temptation 00:17:36.919 --> 00:17:39.159 It's the constant danger of being drawn away 00:17:40.439 --> 00:17:42.439 Of being distracted of being 00:17:42.599 --> 00:17:44.199 Going off the path 00:17:44.199 --> 00:17:47.799 And so God equips his people not only with his presence, but with his word 00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:54.199 Sometimes we have to find ourselves in our lives at a point where all we can do is go to God's word 00:17:54.439 --> 00:17:56.599 All we can do is latch on to his promises 00:17:56.599 --> 00:18:01.000 We can come to a God who is faithful even when our faith is at its weakest 00:18:01.639 --> 00:18:02.919 A God who is constant 00:18:03.159 --> 00:18:05.159 A God who does not change 00:18:05.879 --> 00:18:08.279 The Bible is full of God's promises 00:18:08.519 --> 00:18:12.519 He promises to give us wisdom if we ask in James chapter 1 00:18:12.839 --> 00:18:15.879 He promises to provide us a way out of temptation 00:18:15.879 --> 00:18:17.079 1 Corinthians 10 00:18:17.879 --> 00:18:21.240 He promises us that our salvation is secure no matter what 00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:24.199 He promises never to leave us nor forsake us 00:18:24.200 --> 00:18:27.720 He promises to finish the good work that he has begun in you 00:18:28.440 --> 00:18:30.840 And lastly he promises to return 00:18:32.759 --> 00:18:35.640 So as God equips his people for the journey 00:18:36.360 --> 00:18:38.519 He gives us these promises in his word 00:18:39.480 --> 00:18:43.160 So over a Christian here this evening whatever is happening in our lives 00:18:43.160 --> 00:18:46.600 Whatever difficulties we're facing we know that God is with us 00:18:46.600 --> 00:18:47.799 That is the reality 00:18:48.519 --> 00:18:51.240 However dark and bleak your life might seem 00:18:51.240 --> 00:18:54.039 However hopeless your situation might feel 00:18:54.599 --> 00:18:58.279 You have the most amazing promises in God's word 00:18:58.279 --> 00:19:02.680 Promises you can hold to and cling to in the storms of life 00:19:03.799 --> 00:19:05.799 In a little while we're going to sing a final song 00:19:05.799 --> 00:19:08.839 And I thought it would be good just to think about some of the words that we're going to sing 00:19:08.839 --> 00:19:10.680 And just to reflect on them before we sing them 00:19:10.680 --> 00:19:14.599 The last verse of the song Christ is Mine Forevermore 00:19:14.599 --> 00:19:15.640 Goes like this 00:19:15.640 --> 00:19:18.279 It says minor days here as a stranger 00:19:18.279 --> 00:19:20.200 Pilgrim on a night 00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:22.279 Pilgrim on a narrow way 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:24.600 One with Christ I will encounter 00:19:24.600 --> 00:19:26.440 Harmon hatred for his name 00:19:27.319 --> 00:19:30.039 But mine is armor for this battle 00:19:30.039 --> 00:19:31.960 Strong enough to last the war 00:19:31.960 --> 00:19:36.360 And he has said he will deliver safely to the golden shore 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:39.799 And I think that really captures so much of the Christian life 00:19:40.680 --> 00:19:42.840 It reminds us that you don't have to be a hero 00:19:43.400 --> 00:19:44.680 You don't have to be a heroine 00:19:46.360 --> 00:19:48.519 It's interesting that in the Bible 00:19:48.519 --> 00:19:50.359 Even the name Joshua 00:19:50.359 --> 00:19:52.759 The Greek for Joshua is Jesus 00:19:53.480 --> 00:19:54.519 The Lord saves 00:19:55.960 --> 00:19:57.720 Means that we don't have to be the hero 00:19:58.279 --> 00:20:00.359 All we have to do is trust in the hero 00:20:00.359 --> 00:20:02.519 The hero that God has provided for us 00:20:02.519 --> 00:20:04.440 And that he will do as he has promised 00:20:05.559 --> 00:20:08.680 And you see that has huge implications for our life today as Christians 00:20:09.319 --> 00:20:11.079 Because what we look forward to in the future 00:20:11.079 --> 00:20:12.599 What we believe about the future 00:20:12.599 --> 00:20:15.559 Has a huge impact on life in the present 00:20:15.559 --> 00:20:16.599 And that's true for everyone 00:20:16.599 --> 00:20:19.240 Whether you're a Christian here this evening or not 00:20:20.199 --> 00:20:21.319 What you believe about the future 00:20:21.319 --> 00:20:22.519 Or what you'd read about the future 00:20:22.519 --> 00:20:23.799 Has an impact on the present 00:20:24.519 --> 00:20:26.519 And there's an example you've probably heard before 00:20:26.519 --> 00:20:27.480 Here in St. Columbus 00:20:27.480 --> 00:20:32.199 Imagine that you give two people the exact same job to do for a week 00:20:32.199 --> 00:20:34.679 Maybe it's something boring on Monday and like stacking chairs 00:20:36.279 --> 00:20:38.039 You tell the first person who's doing this job 00:20:38.039 --> 00:20:40.439 That at the end of it they're going to receive 10 million pounds 00:20:41.480 --> 00:20:42.119 It's incredible 00:20:42.679 --> 00:20:45.240 You tell the second person they might receive something 00:20:45.240 --> 00:20:46.440 And the answer is obvious 00:20:46.440 --> 00:20:47.240 Of course they won't 00:20:47.240 --> 00:20:49.240 The first person knows there's something amazing 00:20:49.240 --> 00:20:50.680 Promised to them waiting at the end 00:20:51.960 --> 00:20:53.480 The second person doesn't know 00:20:53.480 --> 00:20:55.079 Maybe, maybe not 00:20:56.680 --> 00:21:00.279 A promise about the future can radically impact life in the present 00:21:00.279 --> 00:21:02.839 And as we put our faith and our hope and our trust 00:21:02.839 --> 00:21:04.519 In what God promises us 00:21:04.519 --> 00:21:06.519 Regarding our faith and our faith 00:21:06.519 --> 00:21:07.880 And the answer is obvious 00:21:07.880 --> 00:21:10.279 The first person knows there's something amazing 00:21:10.279 --> 00:21:12.120 Promised to them waiting at the end 00:21:12.120 --> 00:21:14.120 The second person doesn't know 00:21:14.119 --> 00:21:16.119 Regarding our future 00:21:16.119 --> 00:21:18.039 In doing that we are strengthened 00:21:18.039 --> 00:21:20.279 And encouraged in our battles today 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:22.439 Our battles against sin and temptation 00:21:23.239 --> 00:21:27.879 We are encouraged to live lives that reflect our trust in those promises 00:21:29.719 --> 00:21:32.119 It's one of the unique things I think about Christianity 00:21:32.119 --> 00:21:35.479 A lot of other religions and worldviews and philosophies 00:21:35.479 --> 00:21:37.479 Are always really concentred on what if 00:21:38.359 --> 00:21:39.479 Maybe I've done enough 00:21:39.479 --> 00:21:41.159 Maybe I've been a good enough person 00:21:41.160 --> 00:21:43.160 They're very much dependent on our performance 00:21:43.160 --> 00:21:47.160 Have I done enough to secure a place in whatever afterlife is waiting for me 00:21:51.160 --> 00:21:53.960 We trust that God has done it for us 00:21:53.960 --> 00:21:55.960 And we trust in his promises 00:21:55.960 --> 00:21:57.960 This is what Paul says in the New Testament 00:21:57.960 --> 00:22:01.160 In 2 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 20 00:22:01.160 --> 00:22:04.360 He says, for no matter how many promises God has made 00:22:04.360 --> 00:22:06.360 They are yes in Christ 00:22:06.360 --> 00:22:10.360 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand for us 00:22:10.359 --> 00:22:12.359 And you stand firm in Christ 00:22:12.359 --> 00:22:13.559 He anointed us 00:22:13.559 --> 00:22:15.559 He set his seal of ownership on us 00:22:15.559 --> 00:22:17.559 And he put his spirit in our hearts 00:22:17.559 --> 00:22:20.759 As a deposit guaranteeing what is to come 00:22:22.119 --> 00:22:24.519 So the key point really that we're saying here 00:22:24.519 --> 00:22:27.399 And the one we'll come back to again and again in this series 00:22:27.399 --> 00:22:30.119 Is that God is faithful to his promises 00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:33.240 You can take God at his word 00:22:34.919 --> 00:22:38.279 The God who promises to give us a new home 00:22:38.279 --> 00:22:40.920 And the God who equips us to get there 00:22:41.639 --> 00:22:43.480 Be strong and courageous 00:22:43.480 --> 00:22:46.359 Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed 00:22:46.359 --> 00:22:49.319 For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go 00:22:49.879 --> 00:22:50.759 Let's pray together 00:22:55.079 --> 00:22:57.240 Lord our God, our loving Father 00:22:57.240 --> 00:23:00.680 We come to you this evening as we worship you and as we praise you 00:23:01.319 --> 00:23:05.720 And we want to thank you for the amazing promises you have given us in your word 00:23:05.720 --> 00:23:11.400 We thank you that in Joshua we see a God who promises to take his people into the promised land 00:23:12.120 --> 00:23:13.640 We thank you Lord God 00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:16.600 That you are a God who is faithful and consistent 00:23:17.240 --> 00:23:20.440 We thank you Lord that we can depend on you and trust in you 00:23:21.400 --> 00:23:26.039 We thank you too Father that you've promised us that you will get us home 00:23:26.839 --> 00:23:28.839 Father help us to trust in you more 00:23:29.720 --> 00:23:31.079 Help us to lean on you 00:23:31.079 --> 00:23:34.839 Help us to cling to you in the storms of our lives 00:23:34.839 --> 00:23:37.159 Help us to know how loved we are 00:23:37.159 --> 00:23:40.199 And help us Lord in the week to come to live for you 00:23:40.199 --> 00:23:43.559 And to reflect our trust in you in all that we do 00:23:43.559 --> 00:23:47.159 And help us to bring glory to you in Jesus' name 00:23:47.160 --> 00:24:07.160 Amen