Joshua Chapter 13:1-33

There's lots of promises in this work. Do you realize God will bring them to pass? Well, I don't know, Pastor David. I've been waiting a long time for some of the promises to come to pass. Praise God.

You may wait a little while longer, but if God promised you, it's a done deal. Welcome to Cross the Bridge with David McGee. David is the senior pastor of the bridge in Kernersville, North Carolina. In the Bible, we see God has a track record of doing what God said He would do. Pastor David talks about trusting the promises of God today as he continues in the book of Joshua chapter 13. But first, when you're in trouble, where do you turn most often?

Do you look to yourself or the advice of your friends, or do you go straight to God? We want to help you experience the hope that comes from looking to the Lord when your life turns upside down by sending you Pastor David McGee's CD series titled Lessons from the Wilderness. In this encouraging resource, Pastor David looks at one of the most difficult periods of King David's life to show you how you can wait confidently on God no matter what you're facing. Lessons from the Wilderness is our thank you for your gift this month to share the hope of Christ with others. So please visit crossthebridge.com for your copy of Lessons from the Wilderness. Now here's David McGee with part three of his teaching, Go God. Let's open the treasure of God's word to Joshua chapter 13 verse 1. Now Joshua was old, advanced in years, and the Lord said to him, you were old, advanced in years.

It's a little repetitive, but anyway. And there remains very much land yet to be possessed. This is the land that yet remains. All the territory of the Philistines and all that of the Gesherites, from Sehor which is east of Egypt as far as the border of Ekron northward, which is counted as Canaanite. The five lords of the Philistines, the Gazites, the Ashtodites, the Ashkelonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites, also the Avites. From the south, all the land of the Canaanites and the Merah that belongs to the Sidonians as long as Aphek to the border of the Amorites. The land of the Gebelites and all of Lebanon towards the sunrise from Baal, Gad, below Mount Hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath. All the inhabitants of the mountains from Lebanon as far as the brook Mishrifoth and all the Sidonians. Then I will drive out from before the children of Israel, only divide it by lot to Israel as an inheritance as I have commanded you.

Your attention please. Notice what God says. He wants to use them but He will be the one that drives them out. He will be the one to conquer the land.

God is going to do it. Who's He going to use in this instance? He's going to use the children of God. He's going to use the people of God. Guess what? God wants us to possess this land, spiritual lands, spiritual territory.

Guess who He wants to use? He wants to use us to reach others. There's so many people that don't know. There's so many people that aren't going to church. There's so many people that are going to church that don't know. Now understand, when I keep saying land, I'm talking about, I'm not talking about a land grab.

I'm talking about spiritual lands, souls that are weighing in the balance that don't know Jesus yet. And He wants to use us to reach them. Pastor David, isn't that like your job? No, that's our job.

That's our job. Like I pointed out the other day, you know, at that baptism the other day, I didn't invite any of those folks to church that I remember. I don't think I did. I didn't invite any of those people. You know who invited them? You guys. I guess what happened? They came. They actually listened to you guys when you said, you got to go check this out.

Why? Because the people that you interact with, God has given you the opportunity to impact them eternally. So God is going, okay, well, you're just going over there and I'll think about you every now and again. No, God is saying, you know what? You go and I'm going to be with you. You go and I'll give you the words to speak. You go and I'll give you the power to maintain your witness in front of them.

You go and I'll be with you. Verse 7, now therefore divide this land as an inheritance to the non-tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh. And remember, two and a half tribes stayed on the other side of the Jordan.

They were afraid. They never really committed. They never really went into the land. And you know what happened to them?

Not a lot. As a matter of fact, it gets to a point where you really don't hear about them anymore. You know why? Because they kind of assimilated into the culture. And those people that were around them ended up overcoming them. And because they didn't commit their lives, they lost out. They lost out. Verse 8, with the other half tribe, the Rubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance, which Moses had given them beyond the Jordan eastward, as Moses the servant of the Lord had given them. For Morar, which is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the town that is in the midst of the ravine, and all the plain of Mediba, as far as Debon, all the cities of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the children of Ammon, Gilead, and the borders of the Gesherites and Machathites, and all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan, as far as Selka, all the kingdom of Og and Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edriah, who remained of the remnant of the giants.

For Moses had defeated and cast out these. How would you like to have that name, Og? That's just not, that's just, what was his mother thinking? You know, I'm sorry. Okay, anyway. Totally, I'll rein it in.

We're back on track here. Verse 13, nevertheless, the children of Israel did not drive out the Gesherites or the Machathites, but the Gesherites and the Machathites dwell among the Israelites until this day. Check this out, guys.

Please check this out. It wasn't in this chapter, and in the Hebrew scripture, in the whole Bible, it wasn't what people did for God that they regret. It's what they didn't do for God.

You know, I've never heard of somebody on their, and it may have happened, but I've never heard of somebody on their deathbed recanting their faith. I've never heard somebody on their deathbed saying, I'm so sorry that I gave so much to missions. I am so sorry that I supported the church.

I really should have gone to Walmart or Target more. Amen or old me? Or somebody on their deathbed going, you know, I shouldn't have served God so much. I just, I worked too much for God and gave too much of my time for the Lord.

None, never, never heard of it. What's my point? We know that day is coming. We know that day is coming when we will be on our deathbed, and what will we be thinking?

Will we be thinking like two and a half tribes of the children of Israel? Should have gone over that river. Should have gone, should have gone.

Or will we be thinking, I went over the river. I trusted God. I stepped out in faith, and you know what? God was there, and God gave me the victory, and my life made a difference.

What do you want to say on that day? Then friend, beloved, you need to be able to say it today. You need to be serving God today. You need to be walking with the Lord today. You know why? Because none of us knows when that day is coming.

We're not told. All the promises that are in this book, and there's some awesome promises in there, you realize tomorrow is not one of them? Serve God today.

Because if we want that day when we're on our deathbed, hopefully many years from now, to look back and go, yeah, then we've got to live like that now. The life lesson here, live for God, serve God, and give to God today. No retreat, no reserves, no regrets.

No retreat, no reserves, no regrets. Some of you were here, I guess, a couple months ago when we were in Joshua, and we talked about William Borden, who was the heir to the Borden financial fortune, and he was very, very well-to-do. He went to Yale, and at Yale, he actually started a soup kitchen to see people who didn't have enough to eat and the homeless be one to the Lord. He started Bible studies there at Yale, and when he decided to pursue a life of ministry, much, much to the disappointment of his parents and the people in his family, because he had gotten radically saved, and he decided he was going to be a missionary in Asia. And as he went to Asia, he got sick, and he died. You say, well, that's a sad story, pastor. No, it's not a sad story, because when they went into his tent after his death, they found a little piece of paper underneath his pillow, and on that piece of paper were those six words, no retreat, no reserves, no regrets.

He died at 23. He could have pursued a life of leisure. He would be a billionaire by today's standards, but he said, you know what? I'm going to serve God, because that day is coming when I will lay my head down in my earthly body, and I won't pick it up again, and I want to live for God today, not tomorrow, not next week, not when I get my problem solved or these things worked out. I want to live for God today.

That's what he did, and his life made a radical difference. Verse 14, only to the tribe of Levi, he had given no inheritance. The sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, as he said to them. So we're not going to dwell on this, but the Levi's who worked in the tabernacle, they weren't actually given a parcel of land per se. They oversaw the cities of refuge, and they oversaw the work in the tabernacle. So some might sit off to the side and say, wow, they really didn't, you know, they came out on the shorter than stick.

No, no, no, no, no, no. To my way of thinking, they got more than everybody else. They got to serve in the tabernacle. How cool was that?

Very cool. Now, you could only serve in the tabernacle if you were a Levi. Not just anybody could serve in the tabernacle.

You were standing off to the side and you went, wow, I'd really like to get a job in the tabernacle. How do you, you know, you got like an application? No. What do you mean no? How do you hire people don't hire people?

What do you mean? Why don't you hire people? You got to be a Levi. Oh, well, I wish I was a Levi.

Well, what would you do? Well, I'd like to be the priest. I'd like to be the priest that goes into that little thing. What do you call that?

Holy of Holies. Yeah, that's what I'd like to do. I'd like to be a priest that goes into the Holy of Holies. Well, easy now there, fella.

Can't just anybody do that? Oh, I know you. I'd have to be a Levi. Not just a Levi.

What do you mean not just Levi? Well, you got to be a Levi and you got to be of the family of Aaron. Okay, well, I wish I was a Levi to the family of Aaron so I could go in that little Holy of Holies. Oh, wait a minute now there, guy. Not just anybody who's a Levite's family of Aaron can go in the Holy of Holies. What do you mean? Well, you'd have to be high priest in order to do that.

Okay. Well, I wish I was a Levite of the family of Aaron. I wish I was high priest so I could go in there in that Holy of Holies and worship God.

Oh, wait a minute now. Can't just march in there any day you want to. See, the high priest is only allowed in there one day a year, you know, on Caport Day of Atonement. That's the only time you can go in the Holy of Holies.

Okay, okay. I wish I was a Levite of the family of Aaron who was high priest and I wish it was that day that that day I get to go into the Holy of Holies. And do you realize we can go in at any moment of any day and have full access to God? I mean, how many Levites do we have here? I mean, that you know you're the family of Levi.

Probably none. I don't see any hands, but praise God. We've been given the opportunity.

Some of you are wearing Levi's, but that doesn't count. We've been given the opportunity to go into the Holy of Holies anytime we want. Anytime we want.

Anytime we want. You're listening to Pastor David McGee on Cross the Bridge. He'll be back with more powerful insight from God's Word in just a moment. But first, no matter how wise you are, listening to your own advice when you should be trusting God is dangerous. That's why we want to send you Pastor David McGee's CD series called Lessons from the Wilderness. Journey through one of the darkest times in King David's life and discover how you can wait confidently on God, no matter what struggles you're facing, because his plans are perfect and he always comes through for you. Lessons from the Wilderness is our thank you for your gift this month to share the hope of Christ with others. So please visit crossthebridge.com for your copy of Lessons from the Wilderness.

Now, back to today's message. Verse 15. And Moses had given to the tribe of the children of Reuben an inheritance according to their families. Their territory was from Aurora, which is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the ravine, and all the plain of Medeba. Heshbon and all its cities that are in the plain, Dabon, Bemoth, Baal, Beth-Baal, Meon, Jehaza, Kidomoth, Maphath, Kirjethaem, Sibmah, Zeroth, Shehar, on the mountains of the valley, Beth-Peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-Jeshimoth.

All the cities of the plain and all the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, who Moses had struck with the princes of Midian, Evai, Rekham, Zur, Her, and Reba, who were princes of Sihon dwelling in the country. The children of Israel also killed with a sword, Balaam, the son of Beor, the soothsayer among those who were killed by them. What a sad epitaph. What a sad closing footnote to the life of Balaam. And most of you may have remembered, may have heard, Balaam was the talking donkey. Does that ring a bell? That doesn't happen a lot in the Bible, but the donkey was talking to him and don't go and that whole thing.

You need to look it up and read it if that's not ringing a bell. But anyway, Balaam, he gets caught up and has to prophesy against the children of Israel. And at first he says, no, not even if you gave me all the gold and silver in the kingdom would I do something like that? Now you know what he's doing. I mean, he's kind of milking the deal. He's kind of like, well, you know, it's like, you know, somebody says, well, I wouldn't even take 20 dollars for it.

You know, which means they want 21. So that's kind of what he was doing. He was setting himself up. And there's a couple of footnotes in the New Testament. 2 Peter 2, verse 15 says, they have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness. That's why he did what he did to make a buck. And it's not a good thing because he forgot God in the equation. That's not that God doesn't want people to be blessed or to work or whatever, but there's a right way and there's a wrong way. And Balaam's way was the wrong way.

Why? He put it above serving God. Got quiet in here, hadn't it? See, we do that sometimes, don't we? Sometimes we place earning above serving God. And that's exactly what Balaam did in Jude, verse 11, there's only one chapter, goes on to say, woe to them, for they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

Greedily in the error of Balaam for profit. We can make the same mistake. We're capable of making the same mistake.

What I'm getting ready to say may even sound un-American to you, I don't know. But the almighty dollar is not almighty. There's only one almighty and that's God.

And the moment you don't think you can be in this error is the moment that you're that much closer to being in this error. Jesus warned us a lot about finances and being careful in this area. Jesus spoke to us about finances a lot.

Why? Well, he obviously wasn't on some fundraising campaign. He didn't need the money. I mean, and there was no weird reason for him to engage in this.

He wasn't trying to raise money. What he was trying to do was to raise disciples. And part of it was making sure that they had control over their finances. The life lesson here, control your finances or they will control you. That was the lesson that Jesus was trying to teach us.

Control your finances or they will control you. This is an area that I think it's fair to say we all need discipleship in. We all need to do a heart check and do a head check. Now, I know what some of you are thinking because I thought the same thing. Well, I've tried to get control over it. I couldn't do it.

I tried to set a budget and blew it all apart and it just didn't work. It didn't work for me. So I'm just giving up.

I'm not going to do it. And I understand. I understand it's hard. Let's be honest. Let's be real.

This is some, this is rubber hit the road kind of stuff. Maybe you really got struggles in this area. But you remember what we were talking about when we started out? God is on your side. So if this is a problem, guess what? You got good help. You got God on your side. Now, some of you might have thought, you know, a little tax software program you got is really cool or maybe clicking can help you out of this mess you're in or something.

All those things are good. But God is on your side. Is it clicking? Is it clicking? It's God.

It's creator God. It's not the old man going, let me see your check back and I'll see if I can work some something here and cipher these and figure out, oh my goodness, you're in trouble. I don't know what you're going to do.

I can't help you at all. No, God is on your side in discipling you and empowering you. And if this is an issue, you know what? God can give you victory. God can give you the victory in this area. And it can be an area that now you're overcoming in.

And guess what? You'll put it on the list of things that you're an overcomer in. Well, I used to be bound by drugs, but I overcame them with the blood of the lamb. I used to be bound by alcohol, overcame that with the blood of the lamb. I used to be bound up by finances, but now I've overcome that.

And it becomes a list of 31 kings in your life. And that's a powerful testimony because there's people around you that are struggling in this area. And when you say, I used to struggle in that area, but God gave me the victory, they went, what? What happened? What'd you do?

How'd it happen? Creator God is on your side. Verse 23, and the border of the children of Reuben was the bank of the Jordan. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben, according to their families, the cities, and their villages. And Moses also had given inheritance to the tribe of Gad, to the children of Gad, according to their families. Their territory was Jezir and all the cities of Gilead and half the land of the Ammonites as far as Aurora, which is before Rabbah.

And from Heshbon to Ramoth, Mizpah, and Bethonim, and from Mahennim to the border of Deir and in the valley of Bet Haram, Bet Nimra, Sukkot, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon, king of Heshbon, with the Jordan as its border, as far as the edge of the Sea of Chenoroth, on the other side of the Jordan eastward. And this is the inheritance of the children of Gad, according to their families, the cities, and their villages. Verse 29, Moses also had given an inheritance to half the tribe of Manasseh, and it was for half the tribe of the children of Manasseh, according to their families. Their territory was for Mahennim, all Bashan, and all the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jer, which are in Bashan, 60 cities. Half of Gilead and Asheroth and Edray, and cities of the kingdom of Og and Bashan were for the children of Makir, the son of Manasseh, for half of the children of Makir, according to their families. These are the areas which Moses had distributed as an inheritance in the plains of Moab, on the other side of the Jordan, by Jericho eastward.

But to the tribe of Levi, Moses had given no inheritance. The Lord God of Israel was their inheritance, as he had said to them. We've got more to the book of Joshua, but this has kind of gotten to the place where we can see what all has happened in the life of Joshua. Let me ask you a question. Is Joshua remembered for the battle he lost?

No. He's remembered for the battles he won. As a matter of fact, probably many of us in here didn't even realize he had lost one until we studied through the book of Joshua. We went, oh my goodness, Joshua lost.

Yeah, he did. He lost a battle. But is that what we remember?

No. He is remembered for the battles he won, and now you know where I'm going with this. Guys, we're going to lose some battles.

That's a sad fact. But don't forget who is on your side or whose side you are on. Creator God, willing to empower you to do a work in you to the point that we know again that day is coming. So live like today is that day.

They asked one of the church fathers, and I can't remember which one it is. They said, if you knew you were going to be with Jesus tomorrow night, what would your day be like tomorrow? And he went through the day of waking up and studying the Bible and teaching the Bible and doing this and doing that. And the remark was, well, that sounds like your normal day. And he said, yes, I live every day like that day might be today. That's the way we need to live. Because then on that day, no retreats, no reserves, no regrets. You hear that in the life of Paul in 2 Timothy chapter 4.

And so much has gone on with Paul, and there's so much that he could be whining about and complaining about. But he says, I have fought a good fight. I have finished the race. I've kept the faith.

I think most of us would like to be able to say that. So today, understand God is on your side. Creator God is at work in your life conforming you to his image, empowering you to be an overcomer in all these things so that at the end of your life, you have a list much like the list of Joshua and Moses of the enemies that have fallen under the power of God. Because after all, if God is for us, who can be against us? Who can be against us? Friend, do you know for sure that your sins have been forgiven?

You can know right now. I want to lead you in a short, simple prayer, simply telling God you're sorry and asking him to help you to live for him. God wants you to pray this prayer so much that he died to give you the opportunity and the ability to ask him to forgive you.

Please pray this prayer with me out loud right now. Dear Jesus, I believe you died for me, that I could be forgiven. And I believe you were raised from the dead, that I could have a new life. And I've done wrong things. I have sinned.

And I'm sorry. Please forgive me of all those things. Please give me the power to live for you all of my days. In Jesus' name.

Amen. Friend, have you prayed that prayer? According to the Bible, you've been forgiven. You've been born again. Jesus said he would not turn anybody away who comes to him.

And he came for those people who knew they needed forgiveness, those who were sick, not the righteous. So congratulations, friend. You just made the greatest decision that you will ever make. God bless you. If you prayed that prayer with David for the first time, we'd love to hear from you. You can call us toll free at 877-458-5508 to receive our First Steps package with helpful resources to help you begin your walk with Christ.

So many people look to their friends or within their own thoughts when faced with a problem. Even King David struggled with listening to his heart and not trusting in God's promises. Pastor David McGee wants to encourage you to wait confidently on God through whatever trial you're facing by sending you his CD series, Lessons from the Wilderness. Lessons from the Wilderness is our thank you for your gift this month to share the hope of Christ with others. So please visit crossthebridge.com now for your copy of Lessons from the Wilderness.

You know each day comes with its share of stresses. So what better way to wake up than with an encouraging word from the Lord? Visit crossthebridge.com and sign up now for David McGee's email devotionals. Each devotion includes scripture and a message from the heart of David McGee. It's easy and it's free. Sign up today at crossthebridge.com and be sure to join us next time on Cross the Bridge as we continue in the book of Joshua. We'll see you then.