Very Much Land to Be Possessed

Joshua 13 begins with the statement that Joshua was old and stricken in years. The Lord said unto him, "Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remains yet very much land to be possessed."

Let's pray again. Father, you are so honest with us. Lord, you always speak the truth to us, for you are truth. As your word says, you told your disciples that you are the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through you. We thank you that it is so plain and simple, that there is not some weird formula to it. You are the way; you're the only way, and you are the truth. Apart from you, there is no other.

In a world where so many people are speaking different truths here and there, we can stand strong and say, "No, those are lies." For you, Lord, are the truth, and we thank you for that. As we look into your word tonight, would you open our hearts and speak clearly to us? Give us understanding into the truths of your word and help us to see clearly what it is that you want to speak to every single one of us, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

You can be seated.

So, the Lord came to Joshua when he was old and told him, "You're old." Of course, that was the truth. He then said to him, "Thou art stricken in years, and there remains yet very much land to be possessed." The Lord was readying Joshua for that day when he would die and go to be with the Father. He had been a faithful servant.

We are at the midway point of our passage here in Joshua, and we see that the Lord is preparing Joshua, saying, "It's time for you to begin to delegate to the rest of the people, the children of Israel." Joshua was the God-ordained leader of the children of Israel, but they were to follow God's word, as every single one of us are.

In the early chapters of Joshua, specifically chapter 1, the Lord told Joshua to take heed to all the word that Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded him. He instructed him not to turn from it to the left hand or to the right, that he may make his way prosperous.

The prosperous way is the way that is founded upon the Word of God. Just a few minutes ago, we discussed how the Lord is always with us and how He was teaching His disciples. He was always in their midst, appearing and disappearing during those 40 days between the time He rose from the dead and the time He ascended into heaven.

He also told us in the book of Matthew, in the last chapter, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age." God is always with us. One of the ways that God is always with us is through His Word. The Bible tells us in John chapter 1 that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We beheld His glory as of the only begotten of the Son. Who is the Word? It is Jesus. We have His Word. Not one jot or tittle has passed away from it throughout the last 2,000 years since Jesus came. The Word is true, strong, and a sure sound foundation. We can stand firmly upon His Word. Jesus is with us in His Word every single day as we look through it.

He also told His disciples in John chapters 14 and 16 that unless He goes, the Spirit of Truth cannot come, but He will not leave them orphans. He will send the Spirit who will guide them in all things and teach them all things. Sure enough, the Lord did send His Spirit. In John chapter 20, He breathed upon His disciples and said, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit." Then in Acts chapter 2, on the day of Pentecost, when the day of Pentecost had fully come, the disciples were all with one accord in the upper room. There were 120 believers, and the Spirit of God came upon them with power, as Jesus had promised in Acts chapter 1, that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit had come upon them and they would be witnesses unto Him in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the world.

God's Spirit came upon them with a mighty rushing wind. The word "wind" there is "pneuma" in Greek, which is obviously where we get our word "pneumonia." It was the breath of the Holy Spirit. It is interesting to note in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 that God formed man and breathed into him life. The Father, God, breathes into man life. Every single one of us who has ever lived or ever will live has received the breath of the Father God.

He breathed into each of us life. There are some, hopefully every single one of you in this room tonight, who have been breathed on by the Son, Jesus Christ. In John chapter 20, when Jesus breathed on his disciples, He said, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit." The Father breathes life, the Son breathes that new life, and the Holy Spirit breathes power—the power to be able to do what God has called us to do. This ability, the dunamis in Greek, or dynamic power, has been poured out upon us through His Spirit.

The book of Joshua is a picture of that in type. The children of Israel were saved out of the land of Egypt; they were brought out of the world and redeemed. They wandered in the wilderness, and there are many who have been redeemed yet still struggle to follow the Lord. As Paul described in Romans chapter 7, "The things that I want to do, that I don't do. The things that I don't want to do, that I do. I find in myself, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. Oh, wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?"

How many of you have had that same sort of call before, where you just wonder how you are possibly going to be able to follow the Lord and do what He has called you to do? Paul would go on to say, "I thank God." He then begins to explain the life of the Spirit versus the life of the flesh. The letter, the law, the flesh kills, but the Spirit gives life. It gives that powerful life, that abundant life that Jesus spoke of to His disciples in John chapter 10. The thief, the enemy, Satan, has come to steal, to kill, and to destroy, but Jesus has come that we might have life and that more abundantly.

The children of Israel desired that abundant life, as many of us do as well. They longed for the promised land they had heard of. They saw the fruitfulness of it when the spies went into the land and came out with a huge cluster of grapes, declaring, "Yes, the land is fruitful. It's filled with milk and honey, but there are giants in the land." The children of Israel were worried and did not go into the land.

Then, 38 years later, under Joshua, the children of Israel crossed the Jordan River—a picture of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Taking a step of faith, getting their feet wet, the water parted, and they entered the land. They received that power of the Lord. However, that did not mean they did not struggle.

Because we've spent the last five months looking at the wars of Israel and the battles they have gone through, the battles are done. The Lord comes to Joshua and says, "You're old and you're stricken in years, and yet there remains much land to be possessed."

Some of you tonight have walked with the Lord for a long period of time. You've had Joshua, Jesus, as your leader for a long time. Yet, there remains still much of the land to be possessed. Some of you have only walked with the Lord for a short time, and yet it's true for you as well that there remains much of the land yet to be possessed. Jesus left His disciples here, but He told them, "I will not leave you orphans." He has not left us as His disciples orphans. He sent the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth, to guide us into the possession of that land that God has given to us.

That promised land, that blessed life, is the life in the land of rest. Not a rest of inactivity, as I've talked about before, where we just kind of lay around and say, "Well, we're just waiting for Jesus to come back," and we go buy property on top of Palomar Mountain, just kind of sing praises and climb the tallest tree that we can find and wait. We're waiting for the Lord to come. We're resting. That's not the rest that I'm talking about.

The rest that we stand in is a rest because we know that we have victory in Christ. We know the outcome. We know that Jesus has won our salvation. We know the end of this story. In fact, the answers are always at the end of the book. You guys remember back to school when they would say, "Do the odd problems in my math class," and every single one of us would go, "That's great." Then you would go home and flip to the back of the book, and all those odd answers were there. Well, the answers are in the back of our book too.

Read Revelation chapters 21 and 22, and you'll see the Spirit and the Bride say, "Come. Even so, Lord Jesus, come." And He is coming quickly. We know the answer. We know what's going to happen, and we look forward to that. We stand in that victory, rejoicing. We can rest because we know that God has won our salvation.

Yet, there are still a lot of areas of our lives that need to be brought under the control of our Lord. There's a lot of land in our hearts where the Lord desires to press in so that He can take full control. He can take full control of my heart and yours so that the Lord can take possession of this land, this life. You see, in John chapter 17, when Jesus was praying...

Just before He ascended, or just before He died on the cross, He was praying and said, "Lord, that they may be one as we are one. I in them and they in You." Some people look at that portion of Scripture in John chapter 17 and think, "Well, that doesn't make a lot of sense. The Lord's going to be in us and we're going to be in Him. How does that exactly work?" But you see, that's what the Lord desires for every single one of us. He desires to take full control of my heart so that I can lay hold of that life that He's prepared for me in Him.

That's what God is doing in every single one of us. However, He needs to come in and remove all the carnality, all the wicked things that Pat's been talking about for the last several weeks in Corinthians. I'm sure there have been a lot of people here on Sunday mornings who have shifted in their seats and thought, "Oh, goodness, yeah." Just like David, we say, "Yeah, I am the man." We are sinners, but we've been redeemed. We've been saved by God's grace. He's reached out to us so that He can do a wonderful work in our lives, and yet there still is much land to be possessed.

A great man of God by the name of Henry Ironside, maybe some of you have heard of him, had a library of over 3,000 books. People would come into his library and look at these books, asking, "Man, are all these books yours?" He would reply, "Well, yeah, I'd probably have a lot more if some of my friends would give me my books back, but these are all my books. I own them." They would then ask, "Have you read every single one of these books?" He would say, "Well, I've read all the ones that are good."

You know, sometimes you pick up a book, get a chapter or two into it, and think, "I don't need this. It's not really that good." I hope you don't do that with the Word of God. He owned every single one of those books, but he did not possess the knowledge that was in every single one of them. Similarly, I own the inheritance in Christ, but I don't fully possess all of it. Those promises in Scripture—thousands of promises from God to man—are mine and yours as believers. We've inherited them; God has given them to us freely, and yet we don't completely possess them.

They're written on the pages of this book. You may own that Bible that you hold in your hand, but do you possess what's inside of it? The psalmist tells us that we're to hide the Word of God in our hearts so that we will not sin against Him.

And there, how can a young man cleanse his ways in Psalm 119? By taking heed to the Word of God. God's Word is filled with promises, filled with promises to be prospered in the land that God has given to us. We own every single one of those, but do we possess that great land that God has given to us? The children of Israel were given a great promised land, and they had to go in and take it.

We've seen how every single time they would go in to grasp these little areas in the land, God would give it to them as they sought Him. Their enemies were falling before them; God took out their enemies, and they were able to take control. Under Joshua, after seven years of war, they had pretty much gotten rid of all the strongholds in Israel, in the land of Canaan at that time. All those big strongholds, those big cities, were taken out. Yet, there were little pockets of resistance throughout the land. The children of Israel were now to go in and take that land.

The Lord tells Joshua that he is not the one who will take them into every single aspect. He has given them the land as a whole and the life as a whole. Now they need to actually go in and possess it. The same is true for you and me. God has given us the land as a whole. There is one salvation for every single one of us in totality. The land is ours, and yet we need to take it. We need to take possession of that land and grab hold of it.

You've heard it said before, many of us have, that possession is nine-tenths of the law. Do you possess? Do you hang on to, hold on to the words of Christ? Are they in your life, the promises therein? Paul would tell Timothy to hold on to these things steadfastly. To hold on to these things steadfastly would be as if you were in a storm, on a boat being tossed to and fro, and they were throwing all the stuff off the sides of the boat, as when Jonah was there.

To hold steadfastly would be like the one thing that you wanted to hold on to on that whole boat, that ship, and you would hold it tight to yourself. You'd even take it and tie it to the mast of the boat so that it wouldn't go overboard. That really is the question for us as well. In our lives, is that the centerpiece of our lives? Is God's Word and His promises put into our hearts, hidden in our hearts that we might not sin against Him?

We were at the conference last week, and I think it was Don McClure who was talking about that portion of Scripture, how can a young man cleanse his ways? He was saying that he was glad it doesn't say how can an old woman cleanse her ways, because then the young men would have no hope.

Well, I'm not a young man. But see, if God can cleanse the way of a young man, then He can cleanse everybody's way. God says His word is able to cleanse the ways of those young men. I was a junior high pastor for four years, and I had to go to camp and room with 25 or 26 young men at a time. Let me tell you, they need cleansing. After a few days, they stink. And God is able to cleanse them. He is able to cleanse you and cleanse me. That's what God desires to do.

However, Jesus is not going to come down and lead us by the hand and make us do it. He's given the land before us; He has set it in front of us. He says, "All I want you to do is walk into it." Remember, He told Joshua that every place that the sole of your foot shall touch, there in chapter one, is yours. I've given it to you as an inheritance unto the children of Israel. Every single place, it's all yours. All you need to do is walk into it. The life that God has won for you and me is there before us, and we have to walk into it.

As we do, as we take up the sword of the Spirit, remember they subdued these cities with the edge of the sword. As we take up the sword of the Spirit and begin to walk forward, the Lord subdues those areas of our lives. He's able to do it. I dare you to read the Bible. You're missing out if you're not. Read the Word and see what God wants to speak to you on every page of it. I dare you to do it. You'll be amazed at what the Lord will do.

But you see, like I said, Jesus isn't going to make you do it. All of His promises, all of that land, is written down for you. This is like the title deed of it right here, and He wants you to look into it and open it up. As you do, He'll pour out on you. As we were singing tonight, "Oh Lord, pour out on us." What a beautiful song that is! What an awesome thing it is to hear the whole body of Christ singing it together. It was really neat to sit up here and hear everybody singing, "Oh Lord, pour out on us."

I pray that that would be my very prayer, that it would truly be the prayer of my life: "Lord, pour out upon me." Because I know, just like you guys, I can go through those times where I just sing the words. I know the song really well, and I'm just going along. And then we start singing.

Refiner's fire, my heart's one desire. I start to go, wait a minute, is that my one heart's desire? Lord, please do a work.

Joshua was old, and some of you tonight have been walking with the Lord for a long time. However, there is still a lot of land—very much land—that remains to be possessed. We read in verse 2, "This is the land that yet remains: all of the borders of the Philistines and all of Geshurai, from Syhor, which is before Egypt, even to the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite."

There are five lords of the Philistines: the Gazathites, the Ashdodthites, the Eshkelonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites, along with the Avites. From the south, all the land of the Canaanites and Meara, which is beside the Sidonians, extends unto Aphek, to the borders of the Amorites. The land of the Giblites and all of Lebanon toward the sun rising, from Balgad unto Mount Hermon and unto the entering of Hamath, is included as well.

All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon and from Mizrafath Maim, and all the Sidonians, God says He will give to you. He will drive them out from before the children of Israel. Only divide it by lot unto the Israelites for an inheritance, as He has commanded.

God speaks to Joshua and says, "This is all the land that specifically still remains that needs to be possessed." These are some of those areas that still need to be laid hold of. As I look at my life, I see there are areas in my walk and in my life as a Christian that need to be laid hold of and brought to the captivity of Christ. There are fears that I have, issues of anger and sin that are still in my heart that need to be brought under the control and captivity of Joshua, Jesus.

These areas of my life still need to be possessed by the Lord. It is my responsibility to take up the sword of the Spirit and to go in and offer them up to the Lord so that He can slay them before me. But I need to do that.

As we go through the next several chapters of the book of Joshua, there will be tons and tons of names. We probably won't belabor it or spend a lot of time on each name. However, the very sad part is that God says, "Here is the land that yet remains," and throughout the rest of the Old Testament, we will see these names come up because the children of Israel didn't deal with them. In fact, these five lords of the Philistines...

They're in verse 3, where he mentions the five lords of the Philistines: the Gazathites, the Ashtathites, the Eshkelonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites. If you read ahead to 1 Samuel chapter 4, you'll see that they stole the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. Why did that ever happen? Well, because the children of Israel did not utterly destroy them.

I pray that won't be the testimony of my life at the end, when people remember me and say, "You know what? He was a man of God, and he loved the Lord, and he had the land." But he didn't. There was this little area of his foundation that was kind of shaky. This little thing that didn't get taken care of. This Amalekite that he didn't slay. This Ashtathite that he didn't kill. I pray that wouldn't be said of me, and I pray that it wouldn't be said of you.

For that to happen, I have to go in boldly and take hold of the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, and say, "Lord, I'm going to march on in this Christian life." As those things pop up in front of me—whatever it may be, if it's lust, if it's anger, or whatever it is—God will kill it. He'll take care of it. But I've got to walk with the sword of the Spirit in hand.

Notice what he says at the end of verse 6: "Them will I drive out from before the children of Israel." All you need to do is go in. Joshua, you're old; you're stricken in years. You can't take these people by the hand and get rid of all their enemies for the rest of your life. Your life is nearing its end. So what you're going to do is divide the land for them by lot unto the children of Israel for an inheritance, as I have commanded you. You're going to give it to them, and now they need to go in and possess it. Every single enemy they cross, I'll get rid of them. But they have to go in and take it. I have to go in and take the land.

You know what? It's not an easy thing to do. It's not always fun. When I was teaching the prayer class in the school of ministry a while ago, I told those in the prayer class that prayer is not always easy. It's not always fun, but it's always effective. God's Word is the very same thing. It's not always easy to wake up, rise up, and read the Word of God. It's not always fun because it hurts. This Word is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. Sometimes, when the Lord's using it in my life, it hurts. It's not always encouraging and really happy. I really like the Old Testament, but I'll tell you, there are a lot of really bummer things in the Old Testament. But see, as I allow the Lord...

To use His Word on my heart, He promised that it will not return unto me void. The Lord has said that His Word will not return unto me void. I told you several weeks ago to read Psalm 119. Go through it; it's a very long psalm. But you have an opportunity to see what God wants to do with His Word in my life and yours.

I was talking with the group on Thursday night at His Place. We have a Bible study on Thursday night at His Place, and I was telling them that it's not always an easy thing to do to read the Word. It's not always the Word of God, but it is always effective. God is able to do great things in my heart through His Word. There are times when I think about this and go, "Well, that just seems too simplistic." When I hear a preacher or some other teacher tell me that all you've got to do is read the Word, take it in, and get into the Word, I think it will do its work in your life. My flesh kind of goes, "Well, that just seems way too simple. Isn't there some sort of method? Isn't there something I've got to do?" But there isn't. It's the Word.

God's Word is sharper and more powerful than any two-edged sword. It's amazing what God can do in my heart as I yield it to His sword, to His scalpel, to do a work in my life. It may seem simple; I just have to take up the Word and glean in the Word every single day. Yes, it's the Word. God's Word is powerful.

Every single week, as we've been going through these passages, I've been pointing out that they took up the edge of the sword—God's Word. I asked you a couple of weeks ago, "How sharp is your edge?" That word "edge" is also translated as "mouth" in the Scriptures. Are you able to give a ready defense for the hope that is within you with meekness and fear, as 1 Peter chapter 3 says? Am I?

I'll tell you, there's one of these girls in the high school group, Jessica. She comes up to me just about every week with some tough questions. Every time she does, they are really challenging. I sit there and look at the passage and go, "All right, Lord, what do you want to do?" I don't know. I listen to those guys on "To Every Man an Answer," and I don't have a clue how they do that. But am I ready to give a defense?

For the hope that is within me, how sharp is the sword? Have I used it? The book of Hebrews says that those who are mature have become so by reason of use. If you want to be mature in Christ, you need to use the Word of God.

I have people who ask me every now and again, when I meet someone, "How old are you?" I respond, "I'm 23." They often wonder how I am able to be a leader in a church without having gone to seminary. The truth is, I didn't do that. It's just the Word of God; it's God's power in our lives. The gospel, the good news, the Word of God is the power of God unto salvation. But more than just salvation, it is our sanctifying work as well. The Word of God washes you with the washing of the water of the Word.

Now, Joshua is about to divide the land for the children of Israel. I question you: have you rightly divided the Word of God? As 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us, "Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman or workwoman who is not ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth." Are we doing that? Saturday night is great, Sunday morning is wonderful, and Wednesday night will be awesome as you participate in one of the home fellowships. But are you doing it, and am I doing it, during the week?

I know that this is something that Pat, Richard, and I, along with the other guys at the pastor's conference, felt very convicted about. It's easy sometimes to fall into the routine of thinking, "I've got to study to teach." When I was at Bible college, I got into a routine where my homework took precedence over my devotions. I would spend four and a half hours every afternoon in Bible study and homework, and then I would spend all day in classes, listening to six Chuck tapes a week and taking two pages of notes on each one. I was tired.

Yet, I found myself at Bible college backsliding and feeling very dry in the Word because I was just spending time doing things and not spending time with the Lord in the Word. If you wonder why you're going through a dry or bitter time in your life, I would suggest to you that it's because you're not spending time in the Word. There in Exodus chapter 15...

When the children of Israel came to Marah, that place where the waters were bitter, they had gone for three days and three nights without water. They were on the brink. Some of you have been in that place where you just feel very dry without water. Then they came to this well, this spring. They were probably all excited, but as they got closer, I imagine they started to smell that putrid smell of sulfur. It was just like, "Oh my goodness." The waters were bitter, and they couldn't drink them.

Moses inquired of the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree that was there off to the side. The Lord told him to cast the tree into the waters, and as he did, the waters were made sweet. The tree is always a picture of the cross. That picture of the cross is significant when you're going through a bitter, dry time. Cast in the cross, the good news of Christ, into that city, into that situation.

It wasn't long after that that the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sin. I've been there, in that thorny place where you don't even want to get up in the morning. They hungered, as described in Exodus chapter 16. They needed food and cried out against Moses and Joshua. The Lord gave them food, manna, bread from heaven, every morning. They were to go out and glean this bread from heaven.

We know in Scripture that this bread, the bread of life, is Jesus, the Word. He is the Word. They had to go out and gather that bread every single morning for each person. If they tried to keep some of it overnight, the next morning it would breed worms and stink. Some of you take the Word of God on Saturday night or Sunday morning and think you can get through the week with that. But by Monday, let me tell you, you stink, and others around you know. Your family can tell you that you've got to do something because, boy, you're just getting rank spiritually.

I have a very stinky attitude when I'm not in the Word. If I'm just trying to hold on to some tape I heard three years ago, it doesn't work. I don't know if you guys have gone through this, but I've had people come up to me, and every single time they ask how I'm doing, they share the very same verse with me. "Oh, the Lord's dealing with me on this verse in Ephesians chapter 2, that we're saved by grace through faith." God's been dealing with me on that.

Oh, really? Okay. Six months later, the Lord was really speaking to me through this verse in Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9. Wow, that's interesting. Then, six months later, I thought, do you have any other verses? Has the Lord been speaking to you anywhere else? You see, if you just sit in one place, God's Word is not going to work. It's good, but if you're not digging deeper every single day, it's stinky. It's putrid, and not only to us, but to the Lord as well. The Lord desires that we go deeper, that we leave the elementary principles, as Hebrews says, and grow to maturity. Oh, that we would do that! That God would mature us is how He does it, through His Word.

He has divided the land before us. All the promises of God are yes and amen, as stated in 2 Corinthians 1, verse 20. All of His promises are yes; they will come to pass. They are ours for the taking, and they are found in the Word. The land is right here before me, and if I would but rightly divide this Word of truth that God has given to me, oh, what a blessing!

I look up to Paul the Apostle and think, that was a great man of God, and I'm sure many of you do as well. He wrote two-thirds of the New Testament, 14 books. We read his words, and his message goes on. Yet in the book of Philippians chapter 3, he says, "I've not attained. I haven't reached perfection. I press on that I may lay hold of that for which God in Christ has laid hold of me." Here is this great man of God who loved the Lord immensely and followed Him in amazing ways. He says, "I haven't attained. I haven't grasped it all yet. I press on so that I can lay hold of that life for which Christ has laid hold of me."

Then he goes on at the end of that chapter and says, "Note those who so walk, as you have us for an example." He encourages us to imitate him and follow him in that very same way. We need to imitate that. Even the Son of God, Jesus Christ, when He was here on earth, spent time reading the Word and praying. Mark chapter 1 tells us that early in the morning, before the sun came up, there was Jesus, and His disciples had to come and try to find Him because He was spending time with the Father.

The Son of God spent time with the Father. If it was good for Him, it's good for me. I need to spend time with my Father, and so do you. We need to spend time with the Lord. He has won our salvation and given us the land. But now I need to go in and take possession of it.

Joshua is told by the Lord that he is old and stricken in years, and his time is nearing when he will die. The Lord says, "I am going to drive out all of the inhabitants of the land from before the children of Israel, but I want you to divide it." He instructs Joshua to divide the land by lot to the Israelites. Therefore, in verse 7, He commands Joshua to divide this land for an inheritance unto nine tribes and the half tribe of Manasseh.

Why does He say nine and a half tribes? If you remember back in Joshua, chapters 1 and 2, it was actually in chapter 1 where Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh decided that they didn't want to go in and take possession of the land. This decision actually occurred in Numbers chapter 18, when they came to Moses and said, "We don't want to go in. We'd like to keep this land on the other side, on the east side of the Jordan."

You see, they were more concerned about their cattle than their kids. They prioritized their financial status over their family. They looked at this land and saw that it was well-watered and had grass everywhere. As herdsmen, they wanted to stay there because it would benefit them more. There are those who, yes, are saved, but they focus on their fortune over their family and their job over their kids. They say, "I think I'll just take this lot, this land right here." That is what Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh decided.

The other nine and a half tribes went into the land of Canaan. Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh sent their men of war, but now their men of war are getting ready to go back to their land, all because they wanted more money. As you read on in the scripture, you find out that those two and a half tribes were the very first group of Israel to be taken away as prisoners of war by the Syrians when they came down from the north into that area. The enemy is no fool; he goes after those who are straggling at the back.

If you remember back in the book of Exodus, chapter 17, the children of Israel fought against Amalek. Amalek's crime was that they took out those who were at the back of the camp. They came in quietly; they weren't like a regular army that came right up to the front and said, "Hey, we want to take you guys out." They snuck in and started taking out those stragglers.

The enemy will take out the weakest one, just like we see the lion that goes after the elk that just can't really get away because it's tired and old. Peter tells us that the enemy goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. That lion doesn't want to exert too much energy, so he goes after the weak one. This group of people, the two and a half tribes, decided that they would stay on the outskirts, and they were the first to get devoured by the lion. They were some of the first to fall back into the wicked ways of serving false gods because they were just on the outskirts.

Joshua is told by the Lord that he is going to divide as an inheritance this land for the nine and a half tribes. He goes on to say that Reuben and Gad have received their inheritance, which Moses gave them in verse eight, beyond the Jordan eastward, even as Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave them. Now the Lord recounts to Joshua the land that the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh have been given.

In verse nine, from Aroer, that is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain of Mediba and Dibyon, and all the cities of Sihon, king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon unto the border of the children of Ammon, and Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and the Macathites, and all of Mount Hermon, and all Bashan unto Salca, and all the kingdom of Og and Bashan, which reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei, who remained of the remnant of the giants. Of these, Moses smote and cast them out.

Nevertheless, in verse 13, notice this: the children of Israel expelled not the Geshurites nor the Macathites, but the Geshurites and the Macathites dwell among the Israelites unto this day. The Lord, through Moses, had gotten rid of Og, king of Bashan, and Sihon, king of the other place, but he got rid of them. These two and a half tribes were given their land, and they were supposed to go in and possess it all, but they did not get rid of the inhabitants.

And they became a snare to them. In my life and in yours, if we don't get rid of those things, it will become a snare to you. The children of Israel fought with Amalek in Exodus chapter 17, and God told Joshua, through Moses, that He would fight with Amalek from generation to generation. Then God commanded them in the book of Deuteronomy that when they had rest in the land, when they came into the land, they were to utterly destroy Amalek from the face of the earth.

When the children of Israel had rest and they had their first king, King Saul, one of his big duties was to utterly destroy the Amalekites. Samuel came to Saul and said, "You are to go and utterly destroy the Amalekites. Let none remain." Saul went, and he and the children of Israel, as they approached the land of Amalek, saw all these really big sheep and really big cattle.

For us today, there are all kinds of different things that cause us to lust, like when you see that nice sports car go by. But for the children of Israel, what caused them to lust was big, fat sheep. Why? Because they were herdsmen. When they stood outside of Amalek, they saw this and thought, "Boy, we want that." The flesh will draw you in. They were drawn in, and so they went in and killed most of the Amalekites, but they kept back the good of the land.

Then they returned to the area of Gilgal, where they were supposed to go, and Samuel came to see what had happened. Saul went out to him and said, "I have done what the Lord said. I have wholly followed the word of the Lord, Samuel." Samuel replied, "Be quiet. What is this bleeding of sheep that I hear?"

You see, the flesh will draw you in and then deceive you. Saul was deceived. He insisted that he had wholly followed the word of the Lord and had done what God told him to do. Over and over again, he claimed, "I have done it," as noted in 1 Samuel chapter 14. Samuel pointed out that Saul had been deceived by his own flesh, as he had not taken care of that Amalekite that wasn't subdued.

The flesh will draw you, it will deceive you, and it will also, thirdly, disqualify you. At the end of the chapter, Saul is told by Samuel, "The Lord has ripped the kingdom from your hands this day." Saul responded, "But we wanted to just offer this as a sacrifice to the Lord, these offerings." He was deceived, thinking that they could keep the big, fat sheep to offer them as a sacrifice to the Lord.

Your God says twice there in that chapter to Samuel. Samuel responds that the Lord doesn't have as much delight in burnt offerings as in sacrifices. He desires obedience. To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. Because you have done this today, the kingdom has been ripped out of your hands, and you have been disqualified.

If you go on and read 2 Samuel chapter 2, you see the day of Saul's death. There he was fighting with all of his men, but now they were running away from the Philistines who were pursuing them. Somehow, Saul was wounded. Then a man approached him, and Saul asked, "Who are you?" The man replied, "I'm an Amalekite." Saul then said, "Kill me." And that Amalekite killed him.

You see, if the flesh is not dealt with, it will draw you in, deceive you, eventually disqualify you, and then destroy you. It will kill you if you don't take care of it. We see this in the life of Saul. What a sad story it is. The end of chapter 14 in 1 Samuel states that Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. I always thought, how is that possible? Samuel died before Saul.

However, if you remember, on the day that Saul died, he went to the witch of Endor. He asked her to bring Samuel back so that he could get advice from him. Sure enough, that prophecy was fulfilled. Samuel came back because a witch called him out from the other side. He told Saul, "You're going to die today." Samuel truly went no more to see Saul until the day of his death.

I was at a camp a few years ago studying that passage of Scripture. As I was walking across a bridge at Calvary Chapel Christian Camp, the Lord spoke very clearly to my heart and said, "Some of these kids you won't see anymore until the day of their death." My heart broke. There are some in this church today who may not deal with the flesh, who may not get rid of it. Because of this, one day I may have to do...

During your memorial service, I have to wonder where this person was in their walk with the Lord. I pray it never happens. I pray that every single one of you in this room, and myself included, would go on with Christ and serve Him faithfully until the day we die.

We should be like Enoch, who walked with God for 300 years and was not, for the Lord took him. Oh, I look forward so much to the Lord taking us home. Pastor Chuck and several of the guys at the conference this last week were talking about the rapture of the Church, and I look forward to that day. It may be very near, even at the door. Jesus' first words in His ministry were, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." It's right there at your very grasp.

The promised land was right in front of the children of Israel for them to take. God had given it to them as an inheritance, but they had to go in and possess this land. Yet, it says that they expelled not the Geshurites or the Macathites, Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. In verse 14, something very clear that I want you to note is that only unto the tribe of Levi did He give none an inheritance. The sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance.

More and more, as I walk with the Lord, I'm realizing that I don't need the things of this world. I don't need the inheritances of this world. Jesus would tell His disciples to store up your treasures in heaven, not on earth. For here on earth, the moth and rust will destroy, and the thief will come in and steal. But store them in heaven, where those things will not happen.

As I continue to walk with the Lord, I begin to realize that the things of this world are nothing in comparison to Christ. The Levites were the priests of God, the ones who were going to function as the priests in the tabernacle and in the temple. They didn't have an inheritance in the land because the sacrifices of the Lord God made by fire were their inheritance.

In verse 33, it goes on to say that unto the tribe of Levi, Moses gave not an inheritance. The Lord God of Israel was their inheritance, as He said unto them. What kind of city...

What kind of inheritance are you looking for? In the Book of Hebrews, chapter 11, we read of the hall of faith, specifically about Abraham in the early verses of Hebrews 11. You can turn there if you want to. It says in Hebrews 11, starting at verse 8, "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place where he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went." He went out not knowing where he was going.

By faith, he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. You see, Abraham was looking for a city in heaven, not an inheritance here on the earth. But God had promised him an inheritance. He had promised that He would give the land of Canaan to him and his descendants. This is your inheritance.

But you see, Abraham by faith looked forward to a city that had foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Are you looking for some sort of inheritance and city here on earth that is just crafted by the hands of men? Or are you looking for the city that has true foundations, built and made by God?

Realize the scripture says that every single one of you, and every single one of us, are living stones in that city. We're not just going to live in that city; we are that city. God is crafting and building that city with the lives that He saves because we are those living stones being built up into a holy habitation. But what are you looking for?

Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh were looking for this sort of thing—right here, the temporal things. But Levi was not given an inheritance because God was their inheritance. Serving God was their life. Moses gave unto the tribe of the children of Reuben an inheritance according to their families in verse 15. Their coast was from Aror, that is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain by Medeba.

Heshbon and all her cities that are in the plain, Debon, Bamath Baal, or Beth Baal Mion, Jehazah, Kedmoth, Methathath, Kirjatham, Sibma, Zarathshah, the Mount of the Valley, Beth Peor, Ashtoth Pisca, Beth Jeshmoth, and all the cities of the plain were part of the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon. Moses smote Sihon with the princes of Midian: Eva, Recham, Zur, Hur, and Reba, who were the dukes of Sihon dwelling in the country.

Balaam, also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, was among those whom the children of Israel slayed with the sword. The border of the children of Reuben was the Jordan and the border thereof. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben after their families, their cities, and their villages. Moses gave them the kingdom of Israel and an inheritance under the tribe of Gad, according to their families. Their coast was Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon unto Aroar, which is before Reba.

Heshbon extended unto Ramath Mizpah and Betonim, and from Mahanim unto the border of Debir, the valley of Beth Aram, Beth Nimrah, Sukkoth, and Zaphon. This was the rest of the kingdom of Sihon, king of Heshbon, with the Jordan and his border even unto the edge of the Sea of Shenereth on the other side of the Jordan eastward. These are the inhabitants of the children of Gad after their families, the cities, and their villages.

Moses also gave inheritance unto the half tribe of Manasseh. This was the possession of the half tribe of the children of Manasseh by their families. Their coast was from Mahanim and all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan—three score cities, or sixty cities—and half Gilead, Ashtarath, and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og. These were pertaining to the children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, even the one half of the children of Machir by their families.

These are all the countries which Moses did subdue for inheritance in the plains of Moab on the other side of the Jordan.

By Jericho eastward, this was the land that was given to Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. This was the land that they wanted more than God. Is there anything in your life that you desire more than God? I meet a lot of young people who say, "Yeah, it's really cool. I do want the Lord to come back quickly, but I'd like to get married first and have a family first, or have a job and a career first." They express a desire for the Lord to come, but I believe that when you come to that place where you say, "Maranatha, Lord Jesus, I want nothing more than that. I want nothing more than You," then He'll give you everything. He'll pour out upon you abundantly.

The Lord has been doing that in my life over the last several years, bringing me to that place where I just say, "Lord, I want nothing more than You." I can be like Levi, as mentioned in verse 33. Under the tribe of Levi, he gave no inheritance because the Lord God of Israel was their inheritance.

We have here two contrasting groups: the two and a half tribes who desire the things of this world more than God, and Levi, who said, "We want the Lord." It's interesting because today there are a lot of lost tribes. They are doing all kinds of genealogies, trying to figure out who belongs to what tribe over there in Israel. The tribe of the Levites is one of the tribes that has the most people found, because they have been really searching for the Levites. When they build the temple, they need priests. There is a whole group of people who are Levites, who have been set apart and are ready and being trained to do the services in the temple.

Isn't it interesting that this group, who all they wanted was the Lord, can still be found today? Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh are often referred to as the lost tribes. It's also interesting that these tribes, especially Gad, wanted to stick around in that land because they had cattle. If you go into the New Testament in the Gospel and see when Jesus was in His ministry around Galilee, they came to a place called the Gadareans. They were of the tribe of Gad, and if you remember, they had a lot of pigs. The children of Israel weren't supposed to have pigs, but this group of people in Gadara, the Gadareans, who were of the tribe of Gad, what did they farm?

They moved from cattle to pigs and lost just about everything in one day. When Jesus came through, He saw a man there who was filled with demons. His name was Legion. They asked Him, "Don't cast us into the abyss." They said, "Can we go into these pigs?" Jesus said, "Go." So they went into the pigs, and all the pigs went down the hill and ended up belly up. Is that funny? I don't know; they lost their bacon.

They stuck around because they had cattle, and later on, it changed to the point where they were seeking after these pigs. It reminds me of the story of the Prodigal Son, who took his inheritance and squandered it. In the end, he was feeding pigs; he was with the swine, just like Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh.

But if you're in that place tonight, you can do what Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh did not do, but what the Prodigal Son did: go home. Back to your Father. He's waiting with open arms, ready to slay the fatted calf and throw a party. Oh, to be a Levite! Lord, You're my inheritance.

We will finish with this: these are their countries, chapter 14, which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan. Eliezer the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel distributed the inheritance to them by lot, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses for the nine tribes and the half tribe.

Moses had given the children of Israel the inheritance of the two and a half tribes on the other side of the Jordan, but unto the Levites, he gave no inheritance among them. The children of Joseph were two tribes: Manasseh and Ephraim. Therefore, they gave no part unto the Levites in the land, save the cities to dwell in with their suburbs for their cattle and their substance. As the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did, and they divided the land.

You see, it's interesting because these Levites took their inheritance only in the Lord. The children of Israel had to provide for their goods; they had to provide them cities and they had to provide them food. You see, God will take care of those who put themselves completely upon the Lord. Matthew chapter 6 tells us of that. So many people are seeking after what they shall wear, what they shall eat, and what they shall do. The Lord tells us to seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

That's the story of Levi. Or you can go for the bacon, just like Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and you'll be a lost tribe.

Let's pray. Father, I do thank You for Your word and the application that we are able to glean and receive from it. Lord, it is so simple, as Pat was saying. There are many times when we can try to make it really in-depth and try to grasp new truths, but there is no new truth; You are the truth, and that's it.

Lord, I pray that You would help me every single day to remember that. Help us to go on with You, to press on like Paul, knowing that I haven't attained and I haven't been perfected yet, but I press on, Lord, that I may lay hold of that for which You've laid hold of me. God, do that work in my life, I pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.