Untitled Sermon

1 Then Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel, 2 saying, “I am now 120 years old; I can no longer act as your leader. The Lord has told me, ‘You will not cross this Jordan.’ 3 The Lord your God is the One who will cross ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will drive them out. Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, as the Lord has said.

Leaders are important. BUT

Leaders come and leaders go.

Leaders are not such because they have a title, they might get a title because they are such.

God is the mover and shaker behind every leader. AT EVERY LEVEL. The heart of the king is like channels of water in the Lord’s hands.

God is the ultimate Victor

Deuteronomy 31:3–5 HCSB

3 The Lord your God is the One who will cross ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will drive them out. Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, as the Lord has said. 4 The Lord will deal with them as He did Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and their land when He destroyed them. 5 The Lord will deliver them over to you, and you must do to them exactly as I have commanded you.

The Bible is filled with examples of God doing mighty things with small instruments, whether armies, small statured people, or small bodies of believers.

IF we learn to be marching in His army, doing His Will, building His kingdom, then victory is assured.

Faith is the Victory

Deuteronomy 31:6–8 HCSB

6 Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For it is the Lord your God who goes with you; He will not leave you or forsake you.” 7 Moses then summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land the Lord swore to give to their fathers. You will enable them to take possession of it. 8 The Lord is the One who will go before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”

These are such encouraging words. And wonderful and powerful promises. The reason they could be strong and courageous was BECAUSE they were doing what God had commanded them to do.

The pathway to God’s blessings is obedience.

The Word of God Builds our Faith

Deuteronomy 31:9–13 HCSB

9 Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of debt cancellation, during the Festival of Booths, 11 when all Israel assembles in the presence of the Lord your God at the place He chooses, you are to read this law aloud before all Israel. 12 Gather the people—men, women, children, and foreigners living within your gates—so that they may listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and be careful to follow all the words of this law. 13 Then their children who do not know the law will listen and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

This cannot be overstated. Read the Bible. Meditate on in it. Treasure it. Hide it in your heart.

Teach it to your kids. In the last few months Mason and I have had a recurring conversation.

Because God and I have a recurring conversation. Seek the Lord. Seek His Face. Ask Him what He wants to do in you and through you.

Rinse and repeat. You will never outgrow your need for a steady diet of the Word of God.

Ongoing Victory Requires Ongoing Faithfulness

Deuteronomy 31:14–18 HCSB

14 The Lord said to Moses, “The time of your death is now approaching. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting so that I may commission him.” When Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting, 15 the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the cloud stood at the entrance to the tent. 16 The Lord said to Moses, “You are about to rest with your fathers, and these people will soon commit adultery with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will abandon Me and break the covenant I have made with them. 17 My anger will burn against them on that day; I will abandon them and hide My face from them so that they will become easy prey. Many troubles and afflictions will come to them. On that day they will say, ‘Haven’t these troubles come to us because our God is no longer with us?’ 18 I will certainly hide My face on that day because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods.

God anticipates the day when Israel does not walk wholeheartedly with the Lord.

They came under His judgment. We should not think that we can grow cold in our love for the Lord and for each other and for ONE MORE and it not set us back.