Welcome to Delight in Grace. The Teaching Ministry of Rich Powell. pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. This is part two of a message first preached on January 19th, 2025. And he says, choose.
Life. What is choosing life? Following me, God says. following me in my commands, as he says to his people. In this commissioning, he begins with a man to lead them, and it's not going to be Moses.
As we read this morning, he's already now, he's 120 years old. That's old. I'm halfway there. I won't reach that on this side of the eternity. He's 120 years old.
He says, I said, I can no longer go out and come in. That's a euphemism for saying, I can't lead you out to war, can't come in. He says, I'm done with that. I can't do it anymore.
So, the man to lead is Joshua. Look at verse 14 with me. And the Lord said to Moses: Behold, the days approach. When you must die, call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that I may commission him. And Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tent of meeting.
And the Lord appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood over the entrance of the tent. And then scoot over to verse 23. Look at verse 23. The Lord commissioned Joshua, the son of Nun, and said, Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring The people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them, I will be with you. you.
So it's commissioning Joshua. Joshua has the reputation, the character of being faithful. Why is he faithful? I'll tell you why he's faithful, because he trusts God. That's why.
It's not because he mustered up faith. He simply took God at his word. That's why he's faithful. But he's also courageous because he trusts God, and God has made specific promises. Therefore, he's courageous.
That's what we see in young David when he faces Goliath. It's not because David mustered up all that courage within him, David took God at his word. And therefore, he had the courage. Joshua took God at his word, and therefore he had the courage. And he was commissioned and encouraged, keep trusting God so that you will be courageous.
He's going to be the point man. And Joshua will say, You follow me as I follow God. And that is a constant in scripture that we see that God will raise up appointment to lead a people in the congregation of wise counsel. But there is a point man who will say, follow me as I follow God. And Joshua is going to succeed Moses.
Moses is old, he's also accountable. Moses is not without accountability, and God's holding him accountable, which is why he's not going into the promised land. We know that story. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
And then in this commissioning, not only is it he is commissioning a song to witness.
Songs are beautiful, aren't they? They're powerful. Like the songs we've sung this morning, it's just absolutely beautiful. It's hard to sing without getting choked up for me.
Songs are God made music to be a powerful reminder. Music is inherently memorable because it pulls. on our emotions. God designed it that way. But this song is going to be a song to witness.
What we have here is beginning at verse sixteen. Is a transcendent, the transcendent outlook of God. God doesn't look down through time and see things. I've said this before, let me say it again. This is God's point of view.
everything that there is to know. everything from all time before and after time. All of it. God knows it, sees it absolutely, completely, perfectly. Right here.
Right here. And from that perspective, look what he says beginning at verse 16. And the Lord said to Moses, Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers, and then this people will rise up. and whore after foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering.
