By Rev Charles Seet

Preached at Life BPC 8am & 1045am Service, 2012-11-18

Text: Joshua 2:9-11

Have you ever tried to find out who your ancestors are? Many people search for their roots in the hope of finding some illustrious hero or important historical figure among their ancestors. But what if you do this and discover that your family tree included some notorious people who were guilty of rebellion, murder, deceit, cheating and adultery? How would you feel to belong to such a line?

It may surprise you to know that this was true of the family tree of our Lord Jesus as given in Matthew 1 and Luke 2. It included a rebel (Adam), a drunkard who exposed himself (Noah), several idol worshippers (Terah and Nahor, cf Jos 24:2), a deceitful thief (Jacob, who stole his brother’s birthright), and at least two murderers (David, who had Bathsheba’s husband killed; and Manasseh, who slaughtered the prophet Isaiah). This shows that Christ was born into a race of sinners. Why? In order that He may be qualified to redeem sinners like us through His death on the cross.

The family tree of Jesus also included a woman of grossly immoral character – a prostitute named Rahab. The Bible does not tell us how or why she became a harlot (whether she was forced into it or by her own choice). But we do know that she plied her sexual trade openly without any shame. Everyone knew her as Rahab the harlot. Just mention her name and people would instantly say, “O yes, she’s that harlot who lives in that part of the city wall.” The city wall was the most remote part of the city, and that was where the prostitutes used to live in ancient times.

The city where Rahab lived was Jericho. Jericho was so full of wickedness and sin that everyone in it was condemned under God’s sentence of destruction (cf. Sodom and Gomorrah – totally destroyed without a trace). God had withheld Jericho’s destruction for many years to give opportunity for repentance (cf. Genesis 15:13-16). But like the other cities in Canaan, it only became much worse. By the time the Israelites arrived, Jericho’s sins had reached such a horrendous level that it was ripe for judgment. It had become a cesspool of idolatry where the people’s hearts and minds were deeply saturated with sin (cf. Leviticus 18:1-30). Of all the forms of idolatry in antiquity, the most depraved of all was Canaanite idolatry.

Its practices included the human sacrifice of innocent children, and gross fertility rituals which required the use of harlots. This was the kind of depraved lifestyle that Rahab was familiar with, since she herself was a harlot. There may have been hundreds of harlots in this sin city, but Rahab was so well-known that she was known as ‘the harlot’. Who would have thought then that of all the Canaanites in Jericho, she would be the one to be spared from God’s righteous judgment of that city? How could Rahab be spared?

The answer is found in Hebrews 11:31 – “By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not…” It was not any good works she did that brought her deliverance from Jericho’s destruction. It was nothing else but faith in God alone.

I. Rahab’s Faith brought Her Deliverance

This is the first point of our sermon. How did Rahab get this faith? It came about in her response to the knowledge she had received. Where did Rahab get this knowledge from? Let find out from what Rahab said in vv.10-11 – “For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you…”

Notice that in v.10 Rahab said, ‘We have heard’. This ‘we’ does not refer to Rahab alone but to everyone in Jericho. All of them had heard these things. In those days there were no newspapers or Channel News Asia to provide accurate reports of events near and far. But there were many merchant caravans that plied the lucrative trade routes between Egypt, Canaan and Mesopotamia. Since Jericho was the western gateway to Canaan, merchants from various places would pass through it every day for rest and refreshment.

And I am sure the Canaanites of Jericho loved to get the latest news from them, especially if the news headline was something really interesting like, “Two million people cross the Red Sea by walking on dry ground.” That would certainly have aroused their curiosity, wouldn’t it? And it would also have invited queries like, “Who were these people who were favoured with this amazing miracle? What made them so special?”

As more details came in from various merchants passing through Jericho, they learned that this special people had an awesome god named Jehovah, a name which appears in our Bibles as ‘the LORD’. The Canaanites of Jericho learned that the LORD had brought His people out of Egypt. Now He was leading the Israelites to Canaan to destroy them and to take over their land. They were going to face His wrath for all their sins. That was not good news for the Canaanites of Jericho, but since they were still quite far away, it probably did not bother them too much.

However as the years went by, the Canaanites of Jericho received very unsettling news from the merchants – the LORD’s army was coming nearer and nearer to Jericho, and nothing could stop them, not even the armies of Sihon and Og, the two invincible kings who were fearsome giants. And now there was only one obstacle that remained between the LORD’s army and Jericho – the River Jordan. How terrified the Canaanites of Jericho must have been, to realize that they were the next target earmarked for destruction. As Rahab said in v.11, their hearts melted, and there was no courage left in any of them.

But somehow they did not respond to what they knew like Rahab did. This was obviously true of the king of Jericho. Despite all that he knew about the Israelites, he made no attempt to make peace with them or to plead with them for mercy. And when he heard that the Israelites had sent spies into his city, he immediately sent out his officers to exterminate them. How about the rest of the Canaanites of Jericho? They were no better than the king. Although they were so fearful of the Israelites that their hearts melted, they did not petition their king to surrender to them or to escape from Jericho as fast as possible. Instead, they chose to stay in their doomed city and to trust in their own idols and their city walls and defences for protection. These Canaanites knew everything about the LORD and the Israelites that Rahab knew. Why then did they not respond like her?

It is because unlike Rahab, they did not believe that the LORD would give the Israelites victory over them. But Rahab believed this, as she herself said in v.9 – “I know that the LORD hath given you the land.” (Notice that here she said ‘I’ and not ‘we’ as in v.10) To Rahab, the land was already conquered, although the war had not even started yet. Why did she believe this? Look at v.11 to find out: “…for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.” This statement from Rahab’s mouth shows that she believed that the God of Israel is the true God who owns all things. Unlike all the other Canaanites of Jericho, she now rejected all the gods she used to worship. All that she had heard about the LORD had thoroughly convinced her that He is the only true God in heaven and in earth. She now firmly believed that He is able and righteous to destroy her and all the Canaanites because of their sins, and that He will confiscate their land and give it to His own people to live in.

Here is an important lesson for us to learn. Like the people of Jericho you may have all the right knowledge about God that you need, and yet you may not be saved. You may even know that all the signs of God’s judgment of this world are appearing, and still not be saved. Why is this so? It is because you do not respond to what you know, with faith. Perhaps you may respond with fear just like the Canaanites of Jericho did, but fear alone will not help you. All that you know about God and His judgment of sin will not save you until you personally turn from your sins to put your faith in Him alone to save you. This is what it means to respond to what you know with faith!

It is sad that there are many today who read the Bible, attend Bible lectures and worship services, and yet they are not saved. Are you one of them? Are you one of those who do not respond to what you know with faith? If you are, then you must realize what a great danger you are in. Please learn a lesson from what happened to the Canaanites of Jericho: They had all the knowledge they needed to have to be saved, but they were totally destroyed because they did not respond to it with faith.

Let us see how this destruction happened in Joshua 6:20-21 – “So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.” Every one in Jericho perished on that fateful day because the entire city was under God’s judgment. Every one of them knew that it was coming, but they did not respond to what they knew with faith.

The Word of God has warned us that a worse judgment than this is fast approaching and this time, it will come upon the entire world. How will you respond to this warning? Will you respond with faith? Will you turn to the Lord Jesus and put your trust in Him alone for salvation? Please don’t delay any more. Respond to the Word of God right now while there is still time to do so. Then when God’s judgment comes, you will be delivered from it. Look at how Rahab was delivered from destruction. A while ago we read in v.20 that the walls of Jericho fell down flat when the Israelites shouted. But Rahab’s house was built on the city wall. Wouldn’t it have been destroyed when the walls fell down? Wouldn’t she and her family have been crushed to death as her house came crashing down with the city wall?

Let us read verses 22-23 of Joshua chapter 6 – “Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, “Go into the harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her. And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel.” If Rahab’s house had collapsed when the walls of Jericho fell, the spies wouldn’t have been able to do this at all. They would have been extricating the crushed bodies of Rahab and her loved ones from the rubble that used to be her house.

But v.25 says that “Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day.” This means that God miraculously protected her house so that no one in it got hurt when the walls of Jericho fell. The part of the wall where her house was located remained standing. Archaeological excavations carried out at the site of Jericho have confirmed this.

Well, isn’t this a wonderful picture of what God will do for those who respond to His Word with faith? He certainly knows how to protect them and preserve them in their hour of crisis. Psalm 91:9-11 gives us this glorious assurance, “Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.”

Now, the good news is that these blessings will most assuredly be ours when we respond to God’s Word with faith. But such faith will produce changes in our life. There are many today who claim to have faith in the Lord Jesus but their life remains unchanged – They are just as sinful as they were before, and their lives are no different from those who are not saved. Such non-productive faith is a dead faith, as mentioned in James 2:17-18 – “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” Then in v.25 James cites Rahab as an example of faith that is shown by works. This brings us to the next point of our sermon:

II. Rahab’s Faith Was Shown by Her Works

There were at least four works that her faith produced. Firstly, she saved the Israelite spies from being discovered (Joshua 2:6). This happened when the king of Jericho ordered a search and destroy mission upon learning that the spies were in the city. Somehow he managed to track them down to Rahab’s house, and she was ordered to bring them out to him. Now, if Rahab had not believed in the LORD God of Israel, she would do what every other Canaanite in Jericho would have done: Surrender the spies immediately!

And there are at least two compelling reasons for her to do this. The first is to obey the king’s command as a loyal citizen of Jericho. The second is to avoid being convicted of treason, a crime that carries a mandatory death sentence. These reasons are compelling enough to make anyone bring the spies out without any hesitation.

But Rahab had reasons that were even more compelling not to do this. These spies were not just any spies. They were emissaries of the LORD God of Israel whom she now trusted in. And so she must help and protect them at all costs, even if it means disobeying the king’s command, and even if she had to be sentenced to death for it. So she hid the spies on the rooftop of her house, and she deceived the king’s officers into going on a wild goose chase.

What is important for us now, is to learn lessons about a living faith from what Rahab did for the spies. Firstly, a living faith will make you choose to obey God rather and men. In every choice you make in life, what matters most is to do what God wants you to do. And so if anyone requires you to do something that clearly goes against God’s will, you will choose to obey God rather than men. Secondly, a living faith will make you willing to risk everything for Him, even your own life if necessary. If your faith does not produce these results in you, then it is not a living faith but a dead faith.

This was not all that Rahab’s living faith produced. Another work it produced is mentioned at the end of v.21 –“…she bound the scarlet line in the window.” This happened after the spies promised to save her in the coming battle if she tied the scarlet rope to her window. This means that when the armies of Israel come to carry out God’s judgment on this sinful city, they will destroy everyone except those who were inside one particular house: the house which had this scarlet rope tied to its window. Therefore that scarlet rope became extremely important to Rahab. If she forgets to tie it to her window, she would be killed like all the rest. It was her only hope of salvation from the coming judgment. (Interestingly, the word ‘line’ used in this verse – tiqvah– has a dual meaning in Hebrew – rope and hope!)

This rope’s colour is very significant – it is scarlet, which is the colour of fresh blood. This reminds us of a similar hope of salvation that the Israelites were commanded to use 40 years earlier – the fresh blood of the Passover Lamb. On the night of the tenth plague when the angel of death went out to kill all the firstborn in Egypt, no family was spared from losing its firstborn except those whose houses had been marked with the lamb’s blood. The blood of the lamb became the only hope of the salvation for all the firstborn in Israel.

Just as the lamb’s blood saved the firstborn of Israel during God’s judgment of Egypt, the scarlet rope saved Rahab during God’s judgment of Jericho. And now, that blood and that rope point us to something even greater: The blood of Christ that will save us when God brings His awful judgement on the sins of this world.The precious blood which Christ shed on the Cross is the only means of salvation that God has provided for sinners. The question is – Have you made use of this means of salvation? In v.21 we notice that Rahab bound the scarlet rope in her window. She made sure that it was securely tied in place. In the same way we ought to make sure we have Christ in us, and that He is securely bound to us. We are told in 2 Peter 1:10 to“give diligence to make your calling and election sure.” How can we do this? Well, the preceding verses tell us to do it by adding to our faith virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and love: In other words – by growing into the full likeness of Christ. And Peter says in v.10 that if we do this we shall never fall. When the city of Jericho fell under the thundering blast of God’s judgment, one house on its wall did not fall – the one that was marked with the scarlet rope in its window. In the same way, we ought to give all diligence to make sure that our life is marked with the likeness of Christ, so that we will never fall.

Thus far we have seen two works that Rahab’s living faith produced: Saving the Israelite spies from being discovered, and tying the scarlet cord to her window. Besides these, there was another work that her living faith produced: She went all out to ensure that her family members would be in her house at the critical moment. Perhaps this may indicate that a major change took place in her relationship with them. Rahab may have faced much grief and pain from her family when she became a harlot. They may have abandoned her to live all by herself on the city wall. But whatever grief she may have endured from them were all forgiven when she began to trust in the LORD. After all, since the LORD had shown mercy to her by bringing the two spies to her house and providing her with a hope of salvation, how could she not show the same mercy to her own father, mother, brothers and sisters and their children? How could she bear to see them perish in the coming judgment?

After the spies left Jericho, Rahab would not know how long it would take for the Israelite forces to arrive at the city. All that she knew is that anyone who stayed with her in her house would be spared from destruction. We can imagine how quickly she would have gone to each of her loved ones and how earnestly she would have persuaded them to come to her house. In order to do this she had to convince them to believe what she believed: That the LORD had given the land of Canaan to His people Israel, and that He had brought the people out of Egypt, dried up the Red Sea for them to cross and enabled them to defeat the most powerful Amorite kings. She must have persuaded her family members to abandon all their Canaanite gods and to worship the LORD alone, because He is the true God in heaven above and in the earth beneath.

Rahab must have told them that Jericho’s days were numbered because of their sins but God had mercifully given her a wonderful hope of salvation through the two spies of Israel that He brought to her house. And then she must have shown her family members the scarlet rope which was tied firmly to her window, assuring them that this rope is the hope of their salvation in the coming day of judgment. By doing all this Rahab the harlot became Rahab the herald of good news to them!

From all this we learn of one way to tell if your faith is a dead faith or a living faith – How much do you want to see your loved ones and friends saved? If you truly value the salvation that Christ has given you, how can you keep it all to yourself? How can you bear to see your unsaved parents, brothers, sisters and children perish for all eternity? They may not have much time left to be delivered by Christ. And so, will you be urgent to persuade them to come to Him now before it is too late – when death overtakes them or when the day of the Lord finally arrives?

On the fateful day of Jericho’s fall, Rahab’s house became just like Noah’s Ark. All who had entered it and had faithfully remained inside it were gloriously saved from the awful destruction that took place all around them. And as the dust settled and the two spies rushed in to bring them out of the city, what great gratitude and joy Rahab and her family must have felt just to be alive and well!

What a wonderful testimony this must have been of Rahab’s living faith! And there are indications that the life that Rahab lived after that gave further testimony of her living faith. She no longer lived as a harlot. According to Matthew 1:5, she became the wife of a prince of Judah named Salmon. Their great-great grandson was none other than King David – the greatest of all the kings of Israel.

In fact Rahab may have repented of her immoral lifestyle shortly before she met the spies. According to v.6 of our text she hid the spies “with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.” This strongly suggests that she was no longer selling her body for a living, but was now working hard with her own hands to make thread and linen cloth out of the stalks of flax she had gathered from the fields. Coincidentally, the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31 is described as one who “seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.” (v.13)

From this we derive our final lesson about what a living faith produces. All sinners who truly believe in Christ will not continue in their former sinful ways. Their living faith will produce a resolve to put away their sinful ways and live a life that is pleasing to the Lord (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11). Do you remember what Jesus told the woman who was caught in adultery? He said,“Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11). Jesus does not save you from sin so that you can go and sin some more.

In today’s sermon we have seen from our study of Rahab’s life, how important faith is in delivering sinners from destruction. All the knowledge you have about God and His judgment of your sins will not save you until you respond to it with faith.

We have also seen that such faith will be shown by works. If your faith does not make you choose to obey God even if it means risking your life, if it gives you no desire to grow into the likeness of Christ, if it gives you no desire for the salvation of your loved ones, and if it does not stop you from going back to your old sinful ways, then it is not a living faith but a dead faith. Please take time to examine yourself today to see if what you have is a living faith or a dead faith. If the Holy Spirit convicts you that what you have now is nothing but a dead faith, then make sure that you come to Christ and trust Him from now on with a living faith. If the Lord can save a harlot like Rahab from sin and destruction, what is there to stop Him from saving a sinner like you?

By Rev Charles Seet

Preached at / Published Life BPC 57th Thanksgiving Anniversary, 2007-10-21

Text: Joshua 1:8

The theme of our anniversary message is 'A Victorious Church.' How sweet is the sound of victory to our ears! And how greatly it is sought after in this world. But the question we need to answer first is: How do we define victory for a church? We should not define it in terms of its achievements. This is what the world does. It generally measures victory in terms of how well one has done according to human opinions and standards.

Organisations and businesses for example, are ranked according to ISO 9000 for quality management and ISO 14000 for environmental management. Hotels are ranked by the number of stars. A hotel can have up to a maximum of 5 stars, although there is one hotel in Dubai which now claims to be a 7-star hotel. Schools are ranked according to the MOE's masterplan of awards - the highest and most prestigious award being the School Excellence Award. This year only 4 schools in Singapore have received this award. Eating places and hawker stalls are ranked with A, B or C grade - This has nothing to do with the taste of the food as the Environment ministry is only concerned about the hygiene of the place. So don't be surprised when you buy food from a Grade A foodstall or restaurant only to find that it does not taste anything like Grade A food!

While businesses, hotels, schools and eating places have all been ranked according to the standards they have achieved, can churches also be ranked in the same way? There are some who attempt to do it with their own human standards. Some would even use the very same criteria that is commonly used to measure success for businesses - namely productivity and profit. To them a church is not a victorious church unless it becomes a megachurch that has achieved the greatest possible growth within the shortest possible time. 

Let me say that there is nothing wrong with growing in numbers, since this was true of the apostolic church. Within 30 years it grew from being a small congregation of 120 timid disciples meeting secretly in Jerusalem to being a huge movement which had congregations in every city of significance in the Roman Empire. 

But this growth was caused by the Holy Spirit working in the lives of men, energizing and transforming them from sinners into saints, and from persecutors of Christ like Saul to promoters of Christ like Paul.

What we are seeing today in the worldwide church growth movement is really quite different from this. The emphasis in many megachurches is on outward numerical expansion rather than on inward, spiritual enrichment. There is too much reliance on the flesh to produce the desired results. The approach used is usually a pragmatic one: Whatever works to produce great results in a secular organisation can also be harnessed and adapted to produce similar results in the local church. Hence user-friendly and market-driven techniques are freely used to �market� the Gospel to the world and to swell the numbers of people who attend church.

The results of doing this may be extremely impressive by human standards. Such a church may be able to pack its halls right to the doors with people, but is it really a victorious church? Such a church may see huge increases in its weekly offerings and be able to build a monumental multi-million dollar sanctuary, but is it really a victorious church? Such a church may be highly organised and run most efficiently like a well-oiled machine, but is it really a victorious church? 

Dearly beloved, this question is a very relevant one for us to consider at this point in time. By God's grace Life Church has become what it is today, and we must be thankful to Him for that. And He has brought each one of us into this church to have a part of its growth and development. But if we are not careful to maintain the right biblical understanding of what constitutes victory for the church, we may end up employing the most worldly, pragmatic ways to do the Lord's work; we may end up using human standards of achievement as a measure of success; we may end up thinking that we have already 'arrived' when our own numerical goals and targets are met, and like the Laodican church we may end up becoming spiritually complacent and say, 'I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing' (Revelation 3:17) and not realise that we are spiritually wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. Will Life Church become like this? I hope not. 

Today as we celebrate our church's 57th anniversary, I believe that we are standing at an important crossroads in the life of our church. 

If we choose to pursue outward achievements that are measured by human standards we may be able to grow and increase rapidly as many churches have done, but we would not be a victorious church. But if we choose the path of faithfulness to God and His Word, we may not become a church that has any ranking in the eyes of the world, but by God's grace we would be a victorious church in His eyes. And God Himself will give us the increase in His own good time when we trust Him alone. The point to be emphasised is this: A church will be victorious when it remains faithful to God and His Word. 

We are like the Israelites when they came to the border of the Promised Land. God had assigned them the task of crossing the river Jordan and occupying the land of Canaan. Let us turn our Bibles again to Joshua chapter 1 and read the first two verses: 'Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.'

What made this immense task all the more difficult was that Canaan was already settled by numerous tribes and kingdoms that were very hostile and strong and many times more capable in battle than the Israelites. The question that was perhaps uppermost in Joshua's mind was this: How will I do this? How can Israel have the victory in fulfilling this task? It was at this point that God gave three great assurances to Joshua. Let us study each of these three assurances to see how we can apply them to our church and to ourselves. The first great assurance is:

I. The Prospect of Victory (vv.3-6)

Let us look at vv.3-4: 'Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.'

What makes these verses so assuring are the words 'I have given unto you' The prospects of victory were most excellent, because God had already determined the outcome: Israel would be firmly settled in the Promised Land. Look now at the description of the places they were to occupy as given in v.4 This would have sounded very familiar to Joshua since he had probably read it before in the Book of Genesis. When God made the promise to Abraham 400 years before, He had said, 'Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.' (Genesis 15:18-21)

So as Joshua now heard these words from the Lord in v.4, he must have been filled with a sense of wonder that he could actually have a part in fulfilling this great promise that God had made to Abraham. What a privilege it is to be involved in God's great redemptive plan! And to make the prospects of victory even better, God gave Joshua the additional assurance that he will overcome every obstacle and opposition with God's help (v.5):'There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.' Of all the companions that Joshua could ever wish to have beside him as he went to face the armies of Canaan, none could be better than God Himself! And here we see God actually pledging to be faithful to stand by Joshua through thick and thin! 'I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.'

Dearly beloved, do you know that God has also made this same pledge to us? You and I also have the divine privilege of having God with us, as we face the challenge of doing the Lord's work today - Let us turn our Bibles to Hebrews 13:5 'Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.' We are therefore now standing in the place of Joshua in receiving these wonderful assurances. These assurances give us excellent prospects of victory. And even as Joshua had a historic role in fulfilling the Promise God made to Abraham, we too have the privilege to have an important role in fulfilling this promise.

How is this so? Do you remember what God had promised to Abraham? It was not merely the possession of the land of Canaan alone, but also the blessing of all the families of the earth! Now we know that this blessing has come about through the Gospel of Christ that reconciles men to God. God has now commissioned us with the task of bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all the nations of the earth. And just as God had described to Joshua all the places that Israel would conquer in v.4, God has also described the places where His disciples will go with the gospel of Christ in Acts 1:8 'ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.' 

I thank God for the many opportunities for outreach that He has given to Life Church not only in Singapore through our kindergarten and student care ministry and through direct evangelism in Bishan and Orchard Road, but even to overseas places like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Kenya. God-willing, in the years to come He may open more doors for us to reach out to more people. But like Joshua, we must be prepared to face all kinds of uncertainties and questions, difficulties and discouragements along the way. The way to victory will not a smooth and easy one! But we have the wonderful assurance that as we follow the Lord's leading and direction carefully, He will be with us, and will grant us victory. 

Now that we have seen how God assured Joshua with the prospects of victory let us go on to see how He assured Joshua with:

II. The Encouragement for Victory (vv.6-9)

This is found in vv.6-9 and I would like you to notice here the number of times that the words 'Be strong' is found here. The first is in verse 6 - 'Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.' The second is in v.7 'Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law.' And the same words appear again in v.9 'Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.' 

God really wanted to bring this point across in the strongest possible terms: 'Be strong and of good courage!' Why was it so necessary for Joshua to be firmly encouraged like this? Perhaps it was because of the danger that the Israelites now faced of repeating the mistake that they had made 38 years before at Kadesh Barnea. At that time they were already at the southern border of Canaan and had sent out 12 spies into the land. But 10 of the spies brought back a discouraging report that caused all the Israelites to withdraw from fulfilling their task. They rebelled against God, and for that they were sentenced to wander in the wilderness for 38 more years. What was the cause of this great failure? It was their fear, their weak resolve, their lack of courage that had made them fail. And now Joshua and the Israelites were again in the same situation. Would they fail once again? Well, this time the Lord made sure they would not fail, by giving Joshua the strongest words of encouragement.

Let us study these words a little more: 'Be strong.' This means 'Be firm and resolute.' Joshua must not be weak or half-hearted in his resolve to move ahead, but be firm and resolute. We in Life Church must also be just as firm and resolute in completing the Beulah project. 

I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to our whole congregation not be slack in this matter. The work has just begun and there will be challenges along the way, as there has already been. But we must proceed apace now with one mind and one heart to do it for God's glory. At the extraordinary congregational meeting that was held here last month, 80% of us had voted in favour of the increased budget for Beulah - but 20% of us did not. We fully appreciate and respect the views and concerns of this 20%, but now that the decision has been made, let us all now be firm and resolute in carrying it out. On the front page of today's weekly you will read the latest update - the piling equipment has been moved into the site and piling will commence very soon. If everyone will do his part to pray, to give and to encourage those who are involved, the work will be done and completed in a year's time, God willing. Let us be strong!

Coming back to what God said to Joshua, we notice that in all three instances where He told Joshua to be strong He also said: 'be of a good courage' or 'be very courageous.' This means that Joshua must be very bold and brave to take the right action even if it means risking his own life. There will be times when we too will need to have courage. Whenever a problem arises in the church that needs to be dealt with, we must not shy away from it, but have the moral courage to face it squarely. 

In addition to telling Joshua to be strong and of a good courage, we notice in v.9 that God says to him: 'be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed:' God was telling him not to be afraid or dismayed (i.e. discouraged), which would be the very opposite of being strong and of good courage. 

Now up till this point, all of these words of encouragement have not really achieved much by themselves. It does not mean much to tell someone 'be strong' or 'do not be afraid' unless you also tell them why and how they might be strong and not be afraid. Any encouragement must have firm grounds to be effective. Let us find out about the basis of the Lord's encouragement to Joshua. You will see it in v.9: 'For the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.'

Dear friends, our greatest source of encouragement and strength is the assurance that God is with us. This is greatly needed if we are to become a victorious church. And God desires His people to have victory. The question is: Will we forfeit that victory by refusing to trust in, and depend on, the Almighty God who is present with us? Will we focus so much attention on the immensity of our own fears and of the task that is before us that we fail to see them dwindling in size when compared with the immensity of the God who is with us? 

Very often the greatest fear we have is the fear of failure. We can't succeed unless we try, but we say: 'I don't even want to try because I am afraid that I will fail!' Having God with us does not mean that we will never fail. If you study the next few chapters of this book you will discover that Joshua did have his share of failures later on, even though God never failed him nor forsook him. Joshua's armies were defeated at Ai - He failed because there was sin in the camp that he had to deal with. Later on Joshua was deceived into making a compact with the Gibeonites. This time he failed because he did not consult the Lord. 

But each failure became a stepping stone to victory. He learnt precious lessons from them. This applies to us as well. You might fail many times as a Christian, but if each failure you experience teaches you precious lessons that draws you ever closer and closer to the Lord, then they have brought victory to you! So please do not be afraid to fail when you attempt some new task that God has given to you. Don't live defeated lives. Arise and move on. Don't be afraid to move out of your circle of comfort. If you are facing discouragement and failure, the Lord says to you today: 'Be strong and of good courage. Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed.'

And if you want even more assurance of victory, then consider now the third assurance that God gave to Joshua. Besides giving him the prospect of victory and the encouragement for victory, we are going to see that in vv.7 and 8 God also gave Joshua:

III. The Secret of Victory (v.7,8)

Let us read these two verses: 'Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.'

Can you see what the secret of victory is? It is by faithfulness to the Word of God. The Word of God is represented in these verses by the word 'Law' which refers to the first five books of the Bible. That was the only portion of the Bible in existence then. And how well was Joshua expected to do this? God actually spelled it out in detail for him in four steps. The first step is seen in both v.7 and 8 where he was told to observe to do according to all that is in it. The word �observe� used here literally means 'to guard.' This gives us the picture of a sentry or watchman carefully guarding against disobeying the Word of God or neglecting it. 

Secondly we see in v.7 that Joshua is told not to turn to the right hand or to the left. This gives us another picture, that of a driver or rider traveling on a track, and being careful to keep himself from deviating away from it. Joshua was to function not only as a guard to ensure that God's Word was always kept, but also as a driver, staying always well within the bounds of God's Word.

Thirdly he was told to keep it always in his mouth. This probably means that he was to have the habit of reciting the Word of God to himself, in order to memorise it well, so that it would be stored up in his heart. Fourthly he was to meditate on the Word of God day and night, and this means that he would have to focus his thoughts on a selected portion of the Scriptures and ponder over it, reflect on it, and think deeply until he understood its meaning and its relationship to the rest of God's revelation and to his own life.

The application of these four steps would ensure that Joshua would always know God's Word very well, and that he would apply it, obey it, and uphold it. No matter how occupied and busy he became with his official duties as Israel's leader, he was to keep up doing these things, and never ever stop. He was not to allow anything at all to deprive him of the time he spent in the Word of God. His success as a leader depended on it. As long as he continued in the Scriptures each day he would prosper. But if he stopped, that prosperity would cease, and the whole nation of Israel would also cease to prosper.

Dearly beloved, if we want to be a victorious church, we cannot do it without taking pains to keep learning all that is written in the Bible and faithfully obeying it. Faithfulness to the Word of God is the secret of victory. There can be no substitute for it. What is really worrying to me is that a survey that was conducted in our church just 2 months ago revealed that many of us are not even reading the Word of God as we should. In answer to the question, 'How often do you read the Bible?' 68% responded that they read it daily. 26% read the Bible only once a week, and 7% read it even less than that. The survey also revealed that a whopping 55% of us have not read through the Bible completely even once. Dearly beloved, if we do not take time to read God's Word daily, to meditate on it and memorise it, how can we grow spiritually? How can we be faithful to the Word of God if we do not even give it the place it deserves in our lives and in our thoughts? 

One way to make a start in being faithful to the Word of God is to memorise Joshua 1:8. If you look at the back page of the church weekly you will notice that this is the memory verse for last Sunday and today 'This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.' I would like all of us to make a new start in being faithful to God's Word by memorizing this verse. Let us read it through right now. 

And with that we complete our study of all three assurances God gave to Joshua: the prospect of victory, the encouragement for victory, and the secret of victory. Now as we look very briefly at the remaining verses of our text we see the tremendous impact all of this had on Joshua: He was fully strengthened in his resolve to carry out his task. In v.10 he issued orders to his officers to make preparations. In vv.12-15 we see him addressing the three tribes that had been allowed to settle on the east bank of the Jordan. Here we see him reminding them to obey the Word of God which they had agreed to keep. He was already beginning to apply the principle of vv.7 and 8. And in the following 5 chapters we see Israel going into Canaan and defeating the city of Jericho under Joshua's leadership.

Dearly beloved, let us as a church now seek God's grace to do the same under the leadership of our greater Joshua, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Head of the Church, that we may be a victorious church.