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In your Bibles, please come back with me to .
There are many Famous Last Words in history.
Maybe the best was.
General John Sedgewick was a Union Commander in America.
In 1864, looking over the battle, apparently his last words were, “Don’t be stupid, at that range, they couldn’t hit a ____.”
The Bible records many famous last words.
But not to amuse us.
In the Bible, people give their most important messages at the end of their lives.
Jacob, Moses has a whole book containing his last words, Joshua, David, and of course our Lord Jesus Christ.
At the end of Joshua’s life, he gave two farewell speeches.
His second one is the next chapter, 24.
But the one we’re looking at is the first speech to Israel’s leaders.
The 2nd one is a grand and official occassion for the whole nation, his state of the union address, you could say.
But our one tonight is more intimate, a fireside gathering, you could say.
The elders gather round to hear Joshua’s very personal and passionate team talk before handing them the baton.
V1-2 set the scene, and it’s so important to feel the weight of this occasion.
so picture the scene for me while I paint you the picture using the context.
Imagine you’re a Middle eastern man with a big family.
You’ve many scars from years of fighting, but as v1 says, after a long time, the Lord had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them.
It was years ago now that the elders divvied up the land and you’d started building your houses in peace.
But v1 continues Joshua’s by now old and well advanced in years, v2 He summoned all Israel – their elders, leaders, judges and officials.
You’d spent a long day in the fields with your labourers when a young lad runs up to you with the following message: our great leader Yeshua ben Nun is dying and summons you to Shiloh for his final will and testament.
You quickly gather your things and make your way across the plains.
You laugh to yourself in the glorious sunshine remembering how Joshua’d defeated mighty nations, wrestled from them this precious strip of land with such weak men in his army.
But as the day comes to dusk, darkness descends on your mind.
Like we all do when we come to a big transition, your thoughts wander… What’ll future hold without your leader, your loved one?
Will these nations destroy us? what’ll happen to you and your family?
You arrive to a roaring bonfire roaring and the elders chattering among themselves.
What will Joshua say?
Then, An eerie hush…as Joshua opens his mouth to speak…
Look at verse 5.
5 The Lord your God himself will drive them out of your way.
He’ll push them out before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the Lord your God promised you.
What must be the first place we turn in a massive transition?
Surrounded by uncertainty, what’s the only solid foundation to build your life on?
Answer?
The mighty promises of The LORD your God.
1) Feast on the promises of God (v3-5).
God’s promises are the theme of our passage tonight.
We’ve just seen it in verse 5, but Joshua repeats it again in v10, then again 3 times in v14.
Then again in v15.
He says feast on the promises of God.
But also, did you notice how many times the word LORD appeared in our passage?
When LORD is in capital letters like that, it means God’s personal name is used – YHWH.
The God who makes covenants and promises.
I counted 17 times in the Hebrew.
God’s covenant name occurs more often than there are verses!
Again and again Joshua emphasises the covenant God.
Cling to this God and his promises.
But why does he focus on this?
Why is this so important?
The greatest threat to our future as families and as a church, isn’t missing out on the latest fad or advice.
The greatest threat is that you’ll forget the one thing on which you can depend– the promises of God.
How often in transitions do we look anywhere else for security …but none can be found.
When we stand on God’s promises, we harness the most potent force and being in the universe – YHWH, the LORD your God.
When you come to the end of your life, you’ll never regret depending on his promises.
This has personal resonance for me.
A few years ago, my last living grandparent passed away, my grandpa aged 90.
But just before he died we had a big celebration for his 90th birthday.
And naturally he wanted to say a few words.
And do you know the main message Grandpa had for us?
God is always faithful.
Even though we’re so often unfaithful, he is always faithful.
It’s a beautiful thing to be able to testify to that at the end of your life.
So clearly this is important.
But why is it so hard to really believe God’s promises and live by them?
Why do God’s promises feel weak to us?
Well I wonder what you picture when we speak of promises.
Over the next few days, you’re going to see a lot in the news about promises.
Not God’s promises, unfortunately.
But politicians promises.
And there’s only one thing more untrustworthy than a politician’s promise, and that’s the promise of an estate agent.
Or maybe you picture someone in your family who’s always making promises but never keeping them or coming through on them.
Why?
Because they don’t fight to keep them.
Keeping a promise takes determination, it takes prioritizing, it take fight, it means saying no to many good things so that you can keep your promise.
So in contrast I love Joshua’s picture of God in verse 3.
He pictures not a weak and passive God who makes promises willy nilly.
He pictures a warrior God.
Who’s fought for us, fought to keep his promises.
The divine warrior.
That’s our God!
Promises drive the Warrior God’s actions.
And if Joshua could say that God had fought for him, this side of the cross how much more can we say that God has fought for us in Christ?
Jesus walked the long and lonely road to the cross, triumphing over forces of darkness.
Death is the last enemy defeated, vanquished for us in the resurrection of Christ.
Just like Joshua we look to see how our Warrior God fought for us.
That fills us with confidence that his future promises are rock solid.
So reflect on how Warrior God fights to fulfil his promises.
Reflect back on how he’s fought for you in your life.
, by law that fund must tell you these words: past performance is no indication of future returns.
But not so with God.
In the Bible, it’s like every prophet irequired to say the words: pat performance gives every indication of future returns
But wait aren’t these all God’s promises to Israel.
How does any of this apply to me? Well in one way or another, all of this applies to you.
Because says all the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ!
So if you are in Jesus, then all of these promises are for you too.
I wonder if you’re prone to forget God’s promises like the Israelites?
Then what can you do to make them more central in your life?
Write them on the doorframes of your house.
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