Joshuas Farwell speech

Steven Dunne

joshua • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

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Introduction

good moring rivertree. It is a joy to be with you. Whether your here at the downtown campus or you are watching online I just want to say welecome again.

If you have your Bibles go ahead and turn to Joshua chapter 23 as we continue you our series on the book of Joshua this morning.

We are entering into the last 2 moments in Joshuas life as we end this study. This week we will look at Joshuas last words to the leaders of Isreal. Next week we will see his final words to eveyrone.

Last words are always interesting. They are a moment to lean in and listen. And if you have ever expierenced someones final words it’s truly a remarkable expierence.

For me I am always intruied about what authors and movie writers will put in place for someones last words

I looked at a list of last of best last words from movies and here are a few that have stood the test of time

a fair warning if you haven’t seen tese movies this will spoil them

I Think This Is The Beginning Of A Beautiful Friendship."

Casa Blanca

"Roads? Where We're Going, We Don't Need Roads!"

Back to the future

"Auntie Em, There's No Place Like Home.

Wizard of Oz

"The Truth Is, I Am Iron Man."

Iron man

and then one that moved us all

"So Long, Partner."

Toy story 3

but then they made toy story 4 and kind of ruined his last words

Then there are last words that are more impactful.

Maybe it’s something we all have in common. It’s the last words of a loved one as we sit by there bed we still hold dear

it’s the last words of a friend/family memeber or just someone we work with when they pass away suddenly and the last words aren’t what we had hoped or even known.

This past summer I eneded up at the hosptial visitng 1 family friend and another mentor who where dying. The family friend had a stroke and I wasn’t ever able to see him or say goodbye

but I was able to see the mentor. This was a man who had really poured into me in the early days of my ministry. He was the one who taught me how to share my faith, vistit people in the hosptial, and when he reitred from ministry he brough me into to his office and gave me all his books. It was a real gift to get to learn so much of ministry under him.

I had gotten word he was in his final days. As I approched his hospital room it was a strange feeling. Visiting a man who had taught me how to make hospital visitis during his last days.

I went and saw him expexting him not to be able to say much. But sure enough he knew who I was and could talk. With a tear in his eyes he said a few things

First he said he would give anything for a sip of water. He couldn’t swallow at this point. He was so thirsty

second he told me he had heard great things about rivertree and the ministry I was doing and he was proud of me

third he told me to keep telling peoiple about Jesus.

I got the privledge to pray for him. Right before I prayed he said you pray and I’ll cry

and as I left the room his last words where I love you

I will never forget that moment.

It’s something we all at someopoint have in common with the nation of Isreal as we read Joshua 23. In a common pattern throughout scripture Joshau 23 begins Johuas farewell speech. He knows the end is near and there are a few more things to say

so let’s lean in with the elders of Isreal this monring and hear his farewell speech togetehr.

English Standard Version Chapter 23

23 A long time afterward, when the LORD had given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, 2 Joshua summoned all Israel, its elders and heads, its judges and officers, and said to them, “I am now old and well advanced in years. 3 And you have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the LORD your God who has fought for you. 4 Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. 5 The LORD your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the LORD your God promised you. 6 Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, 7 that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, 8 but you shall cling to the LORD your God just as you have done to this day. 9 For the LORD has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you, no man has been able to stand before you to this day. 10 One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the LORD your God who fights for you, just as he promised you. 11 Be very careful, therefore, to love the LORD your God. 12 For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, 13 know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the LORD your God has given you.

14 “And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. 15 But just as all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the LORD your God has given you, 16 if you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.”

We are told a long time has passed and we are reminded the Lord has giving the nation rest from all there enemies. The battle has been won for the time and the Leader of this nation is old and advanced in years

Most would say Joshua is over 100 years old at this point. And he summons the leaders of Isreal, the heads, the judges, and the officers

He is passing his faith down to the enxt generation and reminding them to do so also. THese are the people he knew would lead the nation in his absence and he wants to remind them of what God has done in the past and what God will do in the future.

and he does this by way of contrast.

He says I am old

but you have seen all God has done

He reminds them everything God had done was for there sake.

that God had fought for THEM.

That God loved them and had given them and inheritance that God had promised to give.

God truly was pleased with them. He had given them the Land. Joshua understands as they have pursued the promise of God they know posses the very thing God had promised them.

This is a moment of celebration, a moment of joy but aslo a moment to understand to enjoy the rest God had promised them, to enjoy the land, to enjoy the rest they were expereincing and to finsih all God had for them in the future.

and we see Joshua emphazie what had been said in the beginning of our study in verse 6

Joshua 23:6 ESV

Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left,

It’s what God told Joshua to do in

Joshua 1:7–8 ESV

Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

God had told Joshua Cling to my word. Cling to do everything in it. Don’t sway from it. Think about it all the time, keep it close to your leeps and if you do this you will have success

What was enough for Joshua would be enough for isreal. It was the sufficeny of the Word of God for every situaiton they would face.

This would allow them to stand firm in their faith in God.

and the same is true for us. The promise hasn’t change. If we cling to Gods word and trust and obey the sufficeny of his word we will have sucess

This doesn’t mean everything will go perfect

We can cling to Gods word and our alternator in our car can still break down

We can cling to Gods word and we can get in a wreck

we can cling to Gods word and get a ticket for expiered tags

we can cling to Gods word and our kid can still end up in the ER

and that was just my last month

but I highlight to you to say if my theology is bad I think if I cling to God everything is good for me if I don’t bad stuff won’t happen

but when I am clining to God and his word I learn his word is sufficent for all those situations and every situation I face to give me hope, and grace to move through those seasons.

Joshua knew something from a lifetime of expierence and walking with God he longed for the next generations to know.

Gods way is better.

That is why in verse 7 he tells them not to mix with other nations. Because he knew they might end up worshiping their false gods or their idols.

It’s the same thing Paul would say in Romans 12:2 and I love how Phillips puts it

“Don’t Let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mold your minds from within”

There is an inner work God does in our life as we cling to him.

As Isreal clinged to him they saw his grace over and over and over as he defeated there enimies.

Joshua highlights this in verse 10

Joshua 23:10 ESV

One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, just as he promised you.

Amazing and aweosme Grace. Joshua is reminding them this doesn’t make sense outside of God.

Even as much as Caleb was still ready for the fight Joshua is humbling reminding him and all the leaders around him the only reason they saw any victories in battle was becasue of the grace of God.

and they will continue to see the grace of God in their lives as they cling to him and he molds them into the people he longs for them to become

Joshuas hope is their obedience to God overflows from looking back at the overwhelming grace of God in their lives

and the same is true for us

I know in my life grace is always a greater motivation for walking with God. For following God and really for any type of real obeiedence in my life

When I have got this backwards it has been a pretty misereable expierence.

I’ll illustrate it for you this way

when I was 14 I heard the gospel for the first time. It was gripping. I thought if Jesus really did live a sinless life. If Jesus really went to the cross to pay the price for my sin. If Jesus really was alive I needed to live my life for him.

But instead of reciviing the grace that was held out in front of me I tried to clean my life up on my own

I read the entire new testement of the Bible

I kind of stopped using swear words(at least around my church friends)

I stopped tried to be nicer

I tried to stop lying on my own

and while the outside started to mabye appear better the inside was pretty misereable.

And then finally one night God in his grace saved me. I gave my life complelty to him. I repented of my sinned and just beleived the gospel.

and that was the moment everything changed. I truly was a new creation. I was a new person. All the stuff I had tried to erdicate in my life on my own I know how a God who had already won and defeated my sin and forgive me.

This was transformational. I need you to hear this. The person you see today has been complety transfomred by the grace of Jesus christ.

and really it’s his transformationl grace which gives anyone any hope to obey and walk with God

It’s what Joshua is holding out to the people of Isreal. It’s why he tells them to look back at all God had done.

yet there is a responsiblity as recipents of grace. It’s Cling to God

becasue they would be faced with a choice. Would they cling to God or cling to the nations which where still around them.

If they walked away from God and tried to intermarry with other nations and associate with them and try to worship with them. then Joshua say God won’t drive them out anymore.

Instead these nations would become a snare and a trap for them.

An turning away from God would cause so many issues and problems for them. The enemy would actually be a whip in their sides and thorns in their eyes and they would perish off the “good ground” God had given them.

There is a reverence and a love for God which will protect the people and allow them to epxierence all the Lord has for them. But there are traps on every side

It’s why Joshuas last words here to the leaders are so special

He says I am about to die

but he reminds them. NOT A SINGLE word has fallen of all the good words God spoke to you.

I love this. This is how amazing our God is. Every single detail is fulfilled.

and that sems like a great place to stop rigth?

Like that seems like good final words

The credits should role and we wonder if there is a post credit scene to our story.

You can feel a celebration coiming. So verse 15 adn 16 can feel a little suprising. Joshua waste no time explaing to the nation what will happen if they don’t cling to God

It feels like a two edged sword. But Joshua reveals really God news. God is faithful in both Grace and Jdugment

He isn’t tame, he’s not safe but he is faithful to heal and destroy

maybe not the best ending but defently the most faithful one

If you are like me you don’t like unhappy endings. I like when the hero wins. I like when everything is resolved in the end. I like when the story ends with a nice bow on top.

but when it doesn’t I will tell you I pay attention. It’s the beauty of scripture it is always honest.

There are sections which build tension and leave our hearts longing for more.

This the tensions of Joshua and really the rest of the old testement.

If you flipped a few pages in your bible you see the people quickly depart from God. and what Joshua says in his farwell speech comes true.

from this point until 2 kings chapter 17 the tentision of this statement runs until in 2 kings the curse is realized and the people are driven out of the land

The reality is Isreal needed a saviour just as we do

our inability to keep Gods word is one of the reasons Jesus came

The Bible says

Galatians 4:4–7 ESV

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

He came becasue even in our best efforts. Even realizing there is a God who loved us. Even trying to keep his word perfectly no one could do it.

But becasue Jesus came in the fullness of time(the perfect time) He is able to redeem us who are under the law.

Its becasue he didn’t depart from Gods law but kept it perfectly. It’s becasue of his sinless life he could purschase our redemption

and this redemption brings us into adoption and allows us to call God father.

We don’t have to go back to the bondage of our sin.

No we actually can live as in the freedom of tthe son and as the son an heir to God

(MICHEAL REEVES SONSHIP?)

and as we enjoy this relationshikp with the Father we long for others to expierence it.

What joshua tells the leaders of that day is still ftrue for us today. We must pass down what we know about Jesus to the next generation.

This is primary for parents to do with their childern but also the church gets to come alongside parents and do this in kids ministry

we get to tell others what Christ has done for us

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

no suprise the last words of my friend i told you about when he said keep telling people about jesus where Jesus last words to his disciples

and friends it’s clinging to Gods word which inspires me to still do this.

I pray each day these words

Father help me live this day to the full, being true to you, in everyway

Jesus help me to give myself away to others being kind to everyone I meet

spirit help me to love the lost, proclaming christ in all I do and say

It’s a pray I found on a devetion app and it’s been so helpful

and the amazing thing as I pray these words....which are really words formed from scripture God is faithful in giving me oppurutuinty.

after my friend died his last words so inspired me and really gave me a new passion to introduce christ in as many conversations as I could

I want to let people know what Joshua let people know. their is grace but their is jdugement also..

Texas cohort trip

Picture

Went over

Same invitaiton to you today

If you have never recived Grace today is the day of salvaiton

If you have recived Grace look back at it and rest in it today. Rest in the finished work of Christ on your behalf and cling to him

Father, I can come to You And boast of deeds I've done In my pride I strive to earn The favor Christ has won He alone pleads my acceptance All my works aside So I come with empty hands And I cling to Christ

Father, I can go astray And battle needless fears Voices tell me I'm condemned And that I can't draw near But Your Spirit calls me homeward With Your words of life Jesus bore my every sin So, I cling to Christ

It's more than I can do To keep my hold on You But all my hope and peace Is that You cling to me

Father, all my earthly aims In time will turn to dust Let me learn that loss is gain For those who know Your love All the treasures of this world Will never satisfy You alone are endless joy So, I cling to Christ