Not One Thing

Open your Bibles please to Joshua chapter 21.

I like for us to look at a small phrase found at the end of this chapter.

There is a tremendous statement that is found here,

Notice with me, beginning in verse 43:

Joshua 21:43-45 “43 And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. 44 And the Lord gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. 45 There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.”

This is a record of all the God had done in keeping the promises He made to Israel.

As I reflect on all that God has done in my life and in my wife’s life, I am constrained to speak as is recorded here for us by Joshua the son of Nun, “There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken...”

God has been good to Shannon and me.

I pray as you leave here this afternoon, perhaps this will become one of your most cherished verses in all the Bible and that you too will give glory to God for His goodness.

Let’s pray.

The other day while I was praying, it came to my mind to spend some additional time praising the Lord.

Of course into His courts with thanksgiving and we leave doing the same. But sometimes it is that you just begin praising Him and that turns into the main conversation of prayer.

I began by praising the Lord for who He is,

I thought about His goodness. And I thanked Him that He is good.

I thought about His mercy and grace. And I thanked Him for His mercy and grace.

I thought about His perfection. And I thanked him for His perfection.

I thought about His holiness. And I thanked Him that He is holy.

It came to mind His great power… and His love… and His thoughts toward me…

I thought about His presence and His knowledge of me personally and as David I was claiming in my heart.

Psalm 139:1-3“1 O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. 2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off. 3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, And art acquainted with all my ways.”

Psalm 139:7-10 “7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, And thy right hand shall hold me.”

All that came to my mind concerning who He is, I spent time praising Him.

And I continued, and moved from Who God is, to all that He has done.

I was reminded about how it was that God saved me, He led me to Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Lilburn, GA.

And He led me there at just the right time to hear the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. That pastor was preaching through Revelation, and I needed to hear about those things that John had “seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;”

For,. “it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”

I trusted in Jesus Christ as my Savior because of the preaching of Hid Word.

And then I contemplated and rejoice how it was the He was still saving others in this world. And I praised Him for Salvation.

I thought about how He had saved my wife and then how it was the He had brought us together and I praised Him.

I thought about how the Lord had given to Shannon and I His Word.

And I thought about how He has kept His Word and will preserve it, and I praised Him.

I praised Him for allowing me to take part in what He is doing in this world because of my frailty and my inability. I know of my many failures.

I looked around in the room and was reminded that God had provided all that was around me.

He gave us a house.

He gave us clothes.

He gave us jobs.

Then I thought about our very lives. God gave me life… God sustains my life, and He gave me New Life.

I have health, I can move, I can breath, I can see, I can speak, I can feel. God gave me the ability to make choices, to have likes and dislikes. I can smell the roses and I can smell the cows sometimes.

All of this overwhelmed me because it is a gift from the Father of lights in whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning.

I praised God realizing that He has given us friends, God has given us fleshly family, and then God blessed us with even more family and everlasting family.

I carried on for quite some time.... and could have continued, and never exhaust all that the Lord has done.

And I understood how good it was to praise His holy name!

I was encouraged and yet at the same time I was brought low.

I was full of joy! This passage filled my mind… It was something I had read some time before… and it had caught my attention then… and Lord brought it back to my remembrance.

As we look at this passage, we come to the end of a long chapter of history of the nation of Israel.

Joshua the son of Nun, was God’s man that succeeded Moses.

Joshua is such a dynamic figure recorded for us in the Scriptures.

He like you and I had great success, great failures, and oftentimes seemingly insurmountable difficulties.

In Exodus 17 He is shown to be a commander for the hosts of Israel as they did battle against the Amalekites.

He is called Moses’ minister in Exodus 24:13.

As you walk through the record of Exodus, everywhere Moses went Joshua was found.

Joshua was the man, that departed not out of the tabernacle in Exodus 33:11… and consequently was proved later to be concerned with the things of God.

This man Joshua in Numbers chapter 14 exhibited great faith in the Lord and rose above the spiritual apathy of the day.

He really was one of only two, who were great men of faith!

From the terrible event described in that chapter, Joshua and Caleb were the only ones spared from judgment, save Moses and Aaron for all the others of His generation lacked faith to enter the promised land.

He is described by God as a man “in whom is the spirit...” in Numbers 27.

Joshua would be the one, hand picked by God to succeed Moses, He would be the one that God used uniquely in the conquest of Canaan.

God specially called on Moses to “encourage him, and strengthen him:”

Then God Himself spoke directly to Joshua in chapter 1 encouraging Him with this words, “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.” (Joshua 1:9)

Who can forget Joshua leading the people to cross the Jordan river and the victory at Jericho.

Who can forget the scene as Joshua commanded the men of war to put their feet on the necks of the five Amorite kings.

And this record before us, is penned by this leader of the conquest for the nation of Israel, Joshua, the son of Nun.

Turn over with me to Joshua chapter 23.

This particular phrase is repeated similarly in Joshua 23:14 “14 And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.”

As Joshua looked back over the course of His life, now drawing to the end, about to go the way of all the earth… He could say, with honesty from his heart… “Not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord” had promised.

I would like to repeat that truth tonight, looking at my own life and the Word of God.

Perhaps there is someone here who is wavering in your faith concerning God and His Word.

Doubts creep in and the Devil gains a stronghold!

You have great understanding that God has promised certain things, and yet for all that you know, it seems to you that these things will not come to pass.

Can I say to you my friend, “all the good things which the Lord your God has” spoken, not one of them will fail.

Let me just speak some words of comfort tonight a few for just a moments.

This will not be some great expository message, I will make no great doctrinal treatise this afternoon, but rather just an exhortation to trust in the Lord and praise Him for He deserves all praise. Perhaps we will be found echoing the praise, “Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” Revelation 5:13

I would compel you to write these down and when you get down in the mouth concerning this life look up and praise the Lord first of because:

I. God can and will save you to the uttermost.

I say He can and will… because I want every person here tonight to understand that you too can be saved to the uttermost.

It is a truth: that I am saved.

The Bible tells me that the moment I trusted in Christ, I came into possession of eternal life.

And so it is, with any person that trust in Jesus Christ, they are possessors of eternal life.

The Lord promised eternal life, and I testify that He has given to me eternal life.

John 3:36 states, “36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

When the Bible says, “For the son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost.” Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I testify tonight that He surely, sought me out and He surely saved me.

I am living prove of the truth of God’s Word.

I knew nothing of God, and yet He brought me to a local church that was preaching the Gospel.

I would have never stepped foot into Amazing Grace Baptist Church had the Lord not providentially sent my family there.

Of all the places in all the world where I could have been God sent me to a small church in the suburbs of Ga where I heard of the Savior that is the Bread of Life, the One Who give Living waters!

He saved me and took the burden of soul away.

And I testify tonight that He can and will save you to the uttermost.

That old hymn rings in my heart “At the Cross”

Listen to the Words

Alas! and did my Savior bleed And did my Sovereign die? Would He devote that sacred head For such a worm as I?

Chorus At the cross, at the cross Where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day!

I do not know how to describe the operation of the Holy Spirit, other than what the Bible tells me in Titus 3:5-6 “5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;”

But I will never forget the burden of my sin being taken off of my shoulders.

I rejoice and declare unto you that “... he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25

And so I declare to you that God can and will save to the uttermost!

II. God can and will conform you to the image of Christ

Do you believe that tonight?

Do you really believe that God is conforming you to the image of Christ?

Maybe it is that the work of God is hindered in your life, not because God has failed but because you are lacking faith in His Word?

I am afraid that many may be found in this way as it is described in the book of Mark 6:5-6 “5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. 6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.”

Listen if you get God to marvel you’ve done something for sure!

Let me encourage with the Word of truth.

The Word of God says, you and I can be “…confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” Philippians 1:6

The Bible tells us in Romans 8:29 “29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

That Greek word that’s translated conformed there in Romans 8:29 does not mean a superficial likeness but speaks to an inward and thorough likeness.

I can testify tonight, that God is working in my life to conform me to the image of His Son.

And if your a child of God He is working in your life too to conform you to the image of Christ.

I look back and can see where I was and where I am.

And I look and see I am not at the end of it, but I thank the Lord for the work He is doing in my life.

One Bible expositor stated it this way, “God has two purposes in ...[His] plan: our good and His glory. Ultimately, He will make us like Jesus Christ! Best of all, God’s plan is going to succeed!”

Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 541.”

I am reminded of Genesis 18:14 where the Lord states, “14 Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

I am here to declare that God is changing us who are saved conforming us to the image of His Son., this is a conformity to His character.

II Corinthians 3:18 “18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

This is God’s work in our lives.

Not only can I rejoice tonight that I am being conformed, there is a final destination that is yet to come.

As much as I see God working in my life today, I can trust with confidence God’s Word which states that the Lord Jesus Christ, “shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” Philippians 3:21

If all that wasn’t enough to shout about tonight I want to give glory to God tonight that He will will continue to work in the lives of others.

III. God can and will continue to work in the lives of others.

I have seen and can testify, that God works in the lives of others.

It is one thing to testify personally of how He has worked in my life.

But I can testify of what I have seen God do in the lives of others.

Illustration: I ran into a man the other day, who sadly identified Himself as an atheist.

It was sad to learn that He knew the Gospel message, He knew that salvation according to the Bible, was through faith in Christ alone. But He would not believe.

In the course of the conversation, He admitted to what I believe is a ray of hope, somehting is contrary to what He espouses.

He agreed that when He sees a magnificent sunset, surely there must be a God that has made all that is around us.

Just as the evidence of God’s glory is irrefutable from looking at creation for, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament sheweth his handywork.” Psalm 19:1

It is equally irrefutable that God has and is working in the lives of others.

Just as I can see God’s marvelous creation all around me, I can see God’s work in the lives of other people.

And if I can see that, I must also further admit that He will continue to work in the lives of others.

You might be thinking, why so Pastor James?

How do you know, He will continue to work in the lives of others.

Many here tonight know of at least one Christian who has fallen by the wayside in carnality.

Many of us here tonight know of many Christians, that you see have fallen into the trap of the enemy and at this very moment perhaps are yielding to the flesh, and the influence of this world and Satan.

So what comfort is there for us? The comfort is that God is working in their lives and in the lives of others.

The Bible tells us, and I know from experience, that God cannot change.

Malachi 3:6 “6 For I am the Lord, I change not; Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”

James 1:17 “17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

It has been proved through thousands of years of Bible history recorded right here before me that God has not changed.

It is proved further in the 2000 years since the penning of Scripture by the testimony of the millions that God has not changed.

And in my own lifetime, not one time Has God changed.

And if I am sure God cannot change and I stand upon His holy Word, I can stand here tonight in hope that God is working in the lives of others!

I think maybe if we are not praising the Lord yet, perhaps this will jar our memories and cause us to praise the Lord. You see fourthly:

IV. God can and will hear and answer your prayers.

I can say with great joy tonight that God hears my prayers.

He allows me to His “throne of grace...”

Not only does He speak to me through His Word, but He allows me to speak to Him.

I wish I could say I was more disciplined and had recorded all that God has done in answering my prayers.

It is exceedingly wonderful to realize that God hears me and moves according to His will on my behalf.

The psalms recorded for us in the Bible are filled with records of prayers and answered prayer.

In Psalm 3:4 the Bible says, “4 I cried unto the Lord with my voice, And he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.”

In Psalm 34:4 “4 I sought the Lord, and he heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.”

Psalm 66:19 says, “19 But verily God hath heard me; He hath attended to the voice of my prayer.”

Psalm 118:21 “21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, And art become my salvation.”

Psalm 120:1 “1 In my distress I cried unto the Lord, And he heard me.”

The Lord Himself has not only told us to pray but has promised to us that God will hear and answer prayer.

Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

Luke 18:1 “1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;”

I John 5:15 encourages us with this truth, “15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”

God has answered prayer after prayer in my life.

And I praise Him tonight, because God will hear us and answer prayer.

You might be thinking, what is the point of this message? What are we to do? I pray you’ll get the idea, that we need to spend some time praising the Lord.

I have such great confidence in all that I have said tonight, and because of who God is and because of all He does and continues to do I can praise Him because fifthly,

V. God will come back for us.

This, of course that I am referring to is when Christ comes for the church.

When we come to the 14th chapter of the book of John we find the Lord’s promise of His return.

Chapter 14s response is based on what we find in the later part of chapter 13.

The Bible says, I John 13:36-38 “36 Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou?

The Lord Jesus Christ had been carefully explaining and preparing His loved ones for His crucifixion, His death and His resurrection.

Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards. 37 Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. 38 Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.”

The Lord’s continues, John 14:1-3 “1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

This blessed promise was not based on Peter’s faithfulness praise the Lord, but based on the Lord’s faithfulness.

Just as the Lord Jesus Christ ascended up into Heaven, we have testimony even from His angels that “this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11

And I say again this afternoon even in those things which are yet to come, “Not one thing hath [[or will]] [[fail]]of all the good things which the Lord” had promised.”

We can sing with Hymn writer: Marvelous message we bring, Glorious carol we sing, Wonderful word of the King, Jesus is coming again! Chorus Coming again, Coming again, May be morning, may be noon, May be evening and may be soon! Coming again, Coming again; O what a wonderful day it will be - Jesus is coming again!

And lastly let us praise the Lord because

VI. God will judge this world and His justice [[righteous justice]] will reign.

There is an expectation among God’s people, that all of this that we see will be set right.

All of the injustices will be dealt.

Sin will be no more.

The Devil will be no more.

The curse will be no more.

Corruption will be no more.

Death will be no more.

When we come to the 8th chapter of Romans we find that “the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.”

And then further, we “ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.”

There is an expectation that all will be made right.

The Bible says in Revelation 21:5 “5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.”

The Bible tells me there is coming a day when heaven will be opened, “and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.” Revelation 19:11

Whether or not men point to the sky and say, “Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” (II Peter 3:4) matters not… For the Lord Jesus Christ is coming to make all things new.

Peace will reign. All will be set in order. All will be made right.

And as the Lord, who cannot lie has stated in Isaiah 45:23 and repeated in Romans 14:11 “I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”

Can you imagine the ages to come, you and I will be with our Lord and see Him face to face. No fear, no suffering, no pain or corruption....?

I cannot but tonight praise Him for who He is, what He has done, is doing and will do!!!

I cannot but testify to any that will listen, “Not one thing hath [[or will]] [[fail]]of all the good things which the Lord” had promised.”

God can and will save to the uttermost

God can and will conform us to the image of Christ.

God can and will continue to work in the lives of others.

God can and will hear and answer our prayers.

God can and will come back for us.

God can and will judge this world and His justice will reign.

Let’s Pray.