Turn to Joshua 15. Y'all can start sending private emails to Barbara suggesting that it's getting about time for me to retire. Just titled it for Barbara and I don't ever open it when that happens. Well I did right before the end of the year and that's the first thing I want to do tonight is correct a mistake I made on our last Wednesday night together in 2010. I got, I misread my Bible while I was preparing and I got Caleb in the wrong tribe. Caleb is of the tribe of Judah and Joshua is of the tribe of Ephraim. And I want to begin this overview of two chapters tonight by reminding you of the faith of Caleb. Caleb and Joshua were now old men. or at least Joshua was. Caleb was getting on up there. Joshua was about 90 at this point, and Caleb was 85. And about 45 years ago, when he was 40, He had been with the spies that came in to the promised land and they came as far as his very territory that he would receive. And, of course, they were absolutely frightened and panicked by the sights that they saw. And Caleb remembers that incident and we looked at this at the end of 2010, but I want to go back to chapter 14 beginning with verse 7. Here's Caleb speaking. And Moses swore on that day, saying, Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God. And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years, since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me. My strength now is as my strength was then for war and for going and coming. So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day. For you heard on that day how the Anakim were there with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said. Then Joshua blessed him, and he gave Hebron to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, for an inheritance. Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel. Now, the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath Arba. Kiriath means city. It says in parenthesis, Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim, and the land had rest from war. Caleb knows that God's going to be true to something that he said 45 years ago. He knows that God's promises are true. And this is one of the things that I think is going to come through in our overview of these three chapters tonight. God provides for us concretely. He makes actual, tangible provisions for us. And we certainly understand that the most important thing is his spiritual provisions. We have every spiritual blessing in Christ. And so we understand that the most important thing about our lives is how we grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that it's our walk with God that is primary. It's being conformed to the image of God's dear son. And therefore we may leave this life with very little and even those of us who will leave this life with a lot will still have the one thing paramount that the person who leaves this life with very little has as well, and that is Jesus. He is the only thing we actually leave with. But brothers and sisters, one of the things to see as we go through this allotment of the land is the importance of realizing how God has concretely given us blessings. Given us tangible, verifiable, quantifiable blessings. And many times, we don't even realize what they are. Before we get into this, I will just mention that There is a family that are good friends of Barbara and me. They live in another state, and we were privileged to be able to see them last summer. And one of the things that has changed in their lives over the past several years is the fact that they have adopted a number of children. And they've adopted those children from a foreign country. And all of a sudden, by their visit with us last summer, they had begun to realize, what have we done? There were so many now and they were growing and they were developing unique different personalities and they were developing unique and different problems, unique to each one. This was causing stress in the family as a whole. It was causing financial problems in this day and age. The man's job has never been secure and they have a house that requires a great deal of maintenance. And now they have all of these kids from foreign countries that require a great deal of maintenance. And they also had begun to find that there was, guess what, stress in their marriage. And so at the end of our conversation together, after it seemed that they were really sharing with us honestly, somewhat letting down their guard, I said something that I thought may well have been on their minds, and I guess it was, because the wife was very, very grateful to hear it. I said, you haven't made a mistake. You haven't made a mistake. This was part of the plan of God for your life. It was intended that you should hear of these children, find out about these children, and adopt them. You didn't make a mistake. And she looked so grateful to hear that. I mean, she couldn't have been happier if I'd popped open a Waco Dr. Pepper. I mean, you know, with good old teeth rotting sugar. I mean, she was really thrilled to hear that. Well, why? Because what I was saying is that these kids are provisions from God. One of the hardest things that I have had to do in marriage counseling is to tell people with whom there's been developed a lot of friction, I have to say, you know that God planned for you to be married to this person. This is not a mistake. This is not plan B for your life. And once you realize something like that, what are you then supposed to do? What is it incumbent upon you to do when you hear, well, my spouse was chosen for me by God. I was chosen for her by God, poor thing. What is it incumbent upon you to do once that news reaches you? What? And? Not only praise God, but start doing His will and dealing with the situation as it is. Dance with who brung you, to put it into Texan. In other words, deal with the situation because it's not God's plan B. It is, in fact, something that is going to perhaps challenge you, but something that you can deal with scripturally and by the power of His Spirit. No, you can't deal with it alone. No, you can't do it in your own strength. I mention all of that because we've got us a map here tonight of concrete blessings. And you and I can't fully appreciate what all the names of all the towns mean and what they would have meant to Israelites. But what did Hebron mean to Caleb? He said, oh boy, after 45 years I get to go fight Samanikim in Hebron. That's what God gave me. That's what God ordained for me to have. You know, you look at a map of Texas sometime, and those of you who are steeped in your Texas history, can get kind of a kick out of the various place names in Texas, you know. My favorite is No Trees. No Trees is in West Texas. Cut and Shoot's a good one, too. And you just read that name, Cut and Shoot, and just sense that there's a story behind that, don't you? Well, you go down to the valley, And there's this huge swath of land where there aren't any towns. The Hasses will be crossing it soon. It's the land of the King Ranch on the way to Los Fresnos. But around it are names like Kingsville. Well, that's clear enough. That was named for Captain Richard King, the founder of the Great King Ranch, who had been a ship's captain. But it's kind of fascinating to ponder the name Alice. Alice was Richard King's daughter. So the point is there are place names that speak a great deal to those in the know. And we don't know the etymology of all these names or the history of all these names. But Caleb wanted Hebron. He had been promised Hebron. We're going to read in chapter 17. about those daughters of Zelophehad that had also been promised an area of land, an allotment of land, even though their father had died. Well, Caleb trusted God's word. He considered God to be faithful. Let's start in chapter 15. You will read, The allotment for the tribe of the people of Judah according to their clans reached southward to the boundary of Edom to the wilderness of Zin at the farthest south. And so, Judah actually goes off of this map, goes way down to the south. This map is a little bit incorrect in some areas. And one is that Judah should be shown over here as well in pink. Simeon is taken from the allotment of Judah, as we'll read in chapter 19. But Judah went on down here south of this tribe of Simeon and over here into this area down to the land of Edom, which is down here. And there is all of the description of the boundaries of the allotment for Judah. We're going to skip to verse 12. The west boundary was the great sea with its coastline. So there's the Mediterranean. And this is the boundary around the people of Judah according to their clans. Now back to Caleb, verse 15. or rather verse 13. According to the commandment of the Lord to Joshua, he gave to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, a portion among the people of Judah, Kiriath Arba, that is, Hebron. Arba was the father of Anak. And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak, Shechei and Ahimon and Talmai, the descendants of Anak. And what was so fearsome about the sons of Anak, the Anakim? They were big guys. They were giants. They were frightening to behold. And Caleb, had this wonderful attitude. This is true faith because he said, it may be that the Lord will be with me and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said. As we saw at the end of 2010, when we looked at this story, it's very much like the sons, not the sons, but the three Hebrew children, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. as they answered King Nebuchadnezzar. Johnny, what was their answer when he told them to bow down? But if not, that's right. But if not, then be assured we will not bow down and worship your idols. So in other words, faith is saying our God is well able to do for me what He has promised. If for some reason in His sovereignty He does not, I still worship Him anyway. I believe his promises and I believe that if he's not going to give me what I think he has promised me, then he's going to give me his presence, he's going to give me his power, and he is going to do that which is best concerning me. So that was Caleb's attitude as he took command of Hebron and said, let me at those Anakim after 45 years. Verse 15. And he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir. Now the name of Debir formally was Kiriathsephir. And Caleb said, whoever strikes Kiriathsephir and captures it to him, will I give Aksa, my daughter, as wife. And Othniel, the son of Kinaz, the brother of Caleb, so Othniel is Caleb's nephew, captured it and he gave him Aksa, his daughter, as wife. And so Othniel captured Kiriath Sipher and Aksa. When she came to him, verse 18, When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she got off her donkey, and Caleb said to her, what do you want? She said to me, give me a blessing, since you have given me the land of the Negev, give me also springs of water. And so it says he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. Now remember this man Othniel because we're going to meet him again in Judges chapter 3. He was one of the first judges of Israel and he is Caleb's nephew as well as his son-in-law. So now it speaks about the inheritance of the tribes of the people of the tribe of the people of Judah according to their clans. And it speaks of all the cities from verse 20 on down through verse 61, verse 62 actually. So from verse 20 to 62, It speaks of the villages and the cities in this huge area of Judah. And all these were given to the various members of the tribe of Judah. But one of the things to note here, and this is very important, the cities of the Philistines were here. This chain of cities belonging to the Philistines were part of the inheritance. And the Philistines, as you well know, were a thorn in the side of the tribe of Judah. There was constant battle and warfare against them, even up to and including the time of David. So just because the land was allotted doesn't mean that it is all taken. And one of the most important points about that is at the end of this chapter, verse 63. But the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the people of Judah, could not drive out. So the Jebusites dwell with the people of Judah at Jerusalem to this day. Well, that's at this day is probably sometime before the prophet Samuel between the time of Joshua and the raising up of Samuel. Jerusalem is what's meant the city of the Jebusites. And eventually it was David who conquered Jerusalem. It was David who established his kingdom there, his headquarters there. It was Solomon who built it up and built the temple there. But during this period of time, they could not defeat those Jebusites. Now, this is beginning to, I hope, emerge as a picture in your mind of the fact that God gives blessings to us. But along with those blessings, he gives obstacles as well. He gives opportunities for us to grow through either conquering enemies or going up against problems. He gives us situations where we have to learn to depend on him. Now I hope it isn't true, but a friend of mine emailed me this week and said that his wife has left him and does not intend to reconcile with him. And I met with him, he's not a member of Dayspring, and I met with him and I told him that I thought the marriage could in fact be saved. But he said, well, he said, she has the idea that the Lord wants her to be happy. So she's not even interested in going to a counselor. She's not interested in trying to reconcile. She just has the idea that the Lord wants her to be happy. Well, if she means by that giddy hysterical, that is completely unscriptural. If, she means by that, smiling and superficial, that is completely unscriptural. Your truest happiness has come when you have dealt with problems in a scriptural way. When you have solved problems. When you have overcome evil with good. When God has shown you something of His approval of your faithfulness. You have felt like that God has actually smiled upon you because you have gone through some difficulties and been faithful to Him. So this kind of superficial idea of happiness forms no part of Christianity. And it's kind of a shame that people get the idea that it does. Now, God wants you to be joyful. Do you know there was a difference? Sure. You read the Apostle Paul's list of trials and troubles that he goes through, and he says, always sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. Why? Because your joy is in Christ, and He doesn't change. Your joy is in the Lord, and He doesn't change. And your joy should be in doing the will of God. So, here is the point. These are all, these cities, these mountains, these valleys, they all represent the material blessings of God, but coming by them wasn't easy. And there were many unhappy Israelites for many years. as they fought the good fight against the Lord's enemies and they never could deal with the Jebusites until the time of King David. So the promises of God frequently mean challenges. They frequently mean obstacles, and they frequently mean, here is something that's going to now force me on my face before God. Here is something that has to be solved and handled and directed by God alone. I don't know how to do it. I'm utterly dependent on God. If you're at that place in your life tonight, you're in a very good place. Because that's what God wants from you and me. To be absolutely dependent on him. And to understand that yes, we can indeed do all things through him who strengthens us. But the Bible is about doing things. It is not just about relaxing and just being giddily happy in your Christianity. So now let's go to chapter 16. The allotment of the people of Joseph went from the Jordan by Jericho east of the waters of Jericho, and that's up here on this map. It's this eastern edge of purple, and up into the hill country to Bethel. Now, here's what I want you to see. Verse 4. The people of Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim received their inheritance. Fascinating thing that the writer does here. He talks about the two sons of Joseph. Manasseh and Ephraim. And remember Manasseh has already gotten a huge swath of land on the other side of the Jordan, along with Gad and Reuben. These are the tribes that wanted to camp there and settle there. And Moses said, very well, but you have to fight with your brothers. And once the fighting is done, then you can return home to your families east of the Jordan. So here is Manasseh and Ephraim, and they have received their inheritance. They're called here the people of Joseph. But the interesting thing about that, and you'll probably remember this when you look at verse 5, the territory of the people of Ephraim by their clans was as follows. There's no tribe of Joseph. It says the people of Joseph, but there's no tribe of Joseph. And now the writer begins to talk about two tribes and Manasseh was the firstborn of Joseph, but he gives the priority to Ephraim and begins to talk about Ephraim first rather than Manasseh. Why would he do that? Yes, Johnny. That's exactly right. This is all told about, you may remember, in Genesis 48. Look at Genesis 48. Jacob sits up in bed when Joseph brings Manasseh and Ephraim to him. And he says in verse 3, God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me and said to me, Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession. And now your two sons who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt are mine." Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine as Reuben and Simeon are. So he takes them, both of them, as representative of Joseph. And he says, and the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. You get to keep those, Joseph. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. So in other words, Joseph's subsequent children to Manasseh and Ephraim are of the people of Joseph. But if Jacob had not done this, this area would have been called the tribe of Joseph. But he gives that tribe, he gives that, in this blessing, he gives Joseph a double portion and he does something else. He makes, therefore, 13 tribes. Except, not really. Because if you look here on the map, you'll just see that there are 12. What's the 13th one that didn't get an allotment? Levi. The tribe of Levi. And so you have these two half-tribes, that's what they are called, the half-tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. And now what happened was that Ephraim was given the preeminence. Joseph brought the sons to Jacob. He had them all in position because Jacob was just nearly blind. And so he had Manasseh coming toward Jacob's right hand. So he could put his right hand on Manasseh. He had Ephraim coming toward Jacob's left hand. All was clear and straightforward. And Jacob crossed his hands. So, let's look at what happens. It says in verse 14 of Genesis 48, And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn. So then he blesses Joseph and then In verse 17, it says, When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. And Joseph said to his father, Not this way, my father, since this one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head. But the father refused and said, I know, my son. I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations. So he blessed them that day, saying, By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying, God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh. Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. So here it is in the way our writer tonight is telling us about the allotment. So this describes where the territory of Ephraim was and where the territory of Manasseh was. And actually, this map is not quite correct. Ephraim went a little further down to the southwest than this. and then kind of went on up this way. So there was more to Ephraim. Dan was more L-shaped than this map is showing. But here's another interesting example of someone completely trusting the Word of God. Oh, I'm sorry. I need to mention one more thing. Look at verse 10. However, they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So the Canaanites have lived in the midst of Ephraim to this day, but have been made to do forced labor. That's why I was saying this map is wrong. There is Gezer and it was in Ephraim. So they've got it in Dan on this map here. So much for the Abington Press, Nashville, Tennessee. Anyway, the Canaanites have lived in the midst of Ephraim to this day, but have been made to do forced labor. Just got a comment on the end of chapter 16, verse 10. What's wrong in that verse? Yeah. Yeah. What's the matter with that? Sounds reasonable to me, but it just is defying the command of God. Well, not in this case. Not in this case. The inhabitants of Ephraim were there first. And what were they supposed to do? Drive them out. They were supposed to either completely exterminate them or drive them out. But what they were not supposed to do was accommodate with them. Even to putting them as forced labor. And you can imagine the theological discussions that would have arised over this. This was a compromise. And, you know, you can imagine some of the elders of Ephraim saying, well, forced labor is essentially the same kind of thing as driving them out, if you look at that a certain way. And forced labor enables us to use all kinds of compassion that mirrors the Lord our God. And then the other side was saying, that's not what God told us to do. That's just not what God told us to do. This is a case of the Ephraimites, perhaps due to cowardice, being holier than God. Which is what holier than thou means. It means that you have a rule that God doesn't. And you're going to be either more compassionate than God, or more compromising than God, or whatever. I got a Christmas card today from a young lady, again, who lives in another state. And she was telling Barbara and me all about her life there. It was a wonderful card. And she was telling me about the trouble they're having in their church. And I knew that she and her husband are very conservative Presbyterians. and that they are members of a PCA up there in South Carolina. And she was saying, and she said in the card, she put it this way, and you hear very few people talk like that anymore. She said, oh, to be able to hear the gospel that promises freedom. instead of a gospel that constantly lays guilt on you and gives you works of righteousness to do which you cannot possibly fulfill. And so she was lamenting the lack of preaching the gospel in her good time-tested conservative denomination church, a PCA. Now let's see how well you theological detectives can sniff this out. What's going on in that church? I told Barbara, do you know? A PCA, one that holds to the Westminster Confession, part of a denomination that broke away from the Southern Presbyterian Church because they were conservative and they wanted to be conservative. Sproul was a PCA man, Boyce was a PCA man, Gerstner finally became a PCA man, but they're hearing works righteousness and they're getting guilt that they cannot possibly assuage. What's gone on in that church? What? The new perspective. Because the teaching of N.T. Wright has infiltrated those churches, and he denies the imputation of Christ's righteousness, and it's all about your faithfulness to God as a covenant member. And your faithfulness to God is, pardon me, that doesn't matter doodledy-squat in terms of whether or not you are righteous before God. Is that not right? Jesus and his righteousness are what we're supposed to be clothed in. But the churches that have embraced what they think is the conservative scholarship of the new perspective that denies the insights of Luther and Calvin and the Reformers and denies the imputation of Christ's righteousness have accommodated liberalism. That's what they've done. They've accommodated liberalism and they are now living in a situation where they're like the Ephraimites making the Canaanites do forced labor instead of driving them out. All right, let's go quickly to Number three, verse three of chapter 17. Now, Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, son of Mekir, son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters, and these are the names of his daughters, Mahla, Noah, Hagla, Milka, and Tirza. Who else knows a fictional character named Tirza? Ah, Barbara does. Good. Who was that? Ben-Hur's sister. Next time you watch Ben-Hur, I mean, I don't expect you to read it or anything, just next time you watch Ben-Hur, notice that his sister's name is Tirzan, one of the daughters of Zelophehad. They approached Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the leaders and said, the Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance along with our brothers. So according to the mouth of the Lord, He gave them an inheritance among the brothers of their father. Now that is a really interesting little verse. Verse 4. Because if you want to read the whole story, you can. It's back in Numbers 27. We read it when we got to it. But here is a family where there were only daughters and their fathers died. Our father is dead. And so, way back then, 40 years ago, these, at that time, young women, came to Moses and said, could we have the land that belonged to the father, Zelophehad? And Moses went to the Lord, and the Lord said to Moses, the daughters of Zelophehad are right. And he gave Moses permission to give them the land, and then he gave Moses a statute about that. All that is in Numbers 27. So, from the time of the first chapter of Joshua, what we have seen is that Joshua was the first of the people of a book. There had been a book written by Moses of all the laws and the statutes. And we have been studying those books. And Joshua... believed what was written in those books and did everything according to the word of the Lord. And that is what is being taught here again in chapter 4. According, the Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance along with our brothers. Not only were they the first test case, But Moses got the case law from the Lord for future generations for that. Their test case wound up as statute in the Mosaic law. And so according to the promises of God, the daughters of Zelophehad got their land. They're like Caleb. They have faith in what God had promised them. Now in chapter 17, after we go through the boundaries of Manasseh. Let's look at verse 13, and we see yet a third instance here, where the people of Manasseh disobeyed the Lord. But when the people of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out. So, there's the same kind of problem. Accommodation with the enemy. You don't drive the enemy out, you just simply accommodate him. Now, in verse 14, it says, Then the people of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, Why have you given me but one lot and one portion as an inheritance, although I am a numerous people, since all along the Lord has blessed me? Now this is an amazing request. They've gotten this, this, and this. And they're saying, why haven't you done anything for us? Why don't you ever do anything for us? Why have we just gotten one lot and one portion as our inheritance? There are so many of us. There are so many of us. We're just too many. We need more land. And Joshua is saying to them, You have enough land. That is not the problem. Look at verse 15. And Joshua said to them, If you are a numerous people, go up by yourselves to the forest, and there clear ground for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites, and the Rephaim, since the hill country is too narrow for you. Okay, here is their portion of the hill country. It's too narrow. They say, well, it's getting kind of filled up like this hill country around Austin. And he says, well, go on out and spread out and clear ground for yourself in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim. The people of Joseph said, The whole country is not enough for us. Yet all the Canaanites who dwell in the plain have chariots of iron, both those in Bethshean and its villages and those in the valley of Jezreel. Then Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, You are a numerous people and have great power. You shall not have one allotment only, but the hill country shall be yours. For though it is a forest, you shall clear it and possess it to its farthest borders. For you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron and though they are strong." What is being said here is quit griping and whining and do what you're supposed to be doing. You are supposed to be clearing ground, you are supposed to be taking on the Canaanites, and you are not supposed to be afraid of them, even though they have these iron chariots. Turn back with me to Deuteronomy chapter 7, and we will end. Deuteronomy chapter 7 verses 17 through 22. If you say in your heart, these nations are greater than I, how can I dispossess them? You shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the Lord your God brought you out. So will the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. Moreover, the Lord your God will send hornets among them until those who are left and hide themselves from you are destroyed. You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God. The Lord your God will clear a way these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you, but the Lord your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion until they are destroyed." Now, this is what they were not remembering. This is Joshua giving them a pep talk that's saying, God never said it would be easy, but He said it would be powerful. He said that it would be effective. He said that it would be done by His help. Now, in a couple of years, if Jim and Lori go to the mission field, as they and we are praying they will, And they go to the mission field and all of a sudden there's some persecution. Well, don't come whining to us. You knew that's what you're facing, didn't you? Yeah, of course. And they would never do that. They would write us letters and they would say, there's persecution, pray for us. but they would stay, and they would seek the Lord, and they would use all the legitimate biblical means at their disposal to do what they felt like the Lord had called them to do. Well, that is what these three chapters are about. God gives definite, concrete blessings. This past week, I heard from Ken Barber, and There he is in Belize with his family, and he's already facing opposition from the Rastafarians who are down there. Those cult members have already gotten wind of him, and they're already casing out their home, and they've already had some theft, and there's already difficulties. But at the same time, They're living in kind of a bad section of Belize City and Ken says the amazing thing about this section of town we're living in is that all the men are ex-convicts. And they're all fascinated by me. And many of them are coming to the Bible studies. And many are coming to the church services. They can't get over that I'm an ex-convict. And so they're coming. So the point is, Life in Belize City is not easy, any more than it was in these allotted territories of Israel. Or Canaan, as we should more correctly say. But the point is, God is with Ken, God was with the Israelites, God is with you in whatever situation you're in. So let's end with a word about the Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews chapter 4. Hebrews chapter 4. This is a passage you could probably quote. Beginning with verse 14, Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. Let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. He will never leave you nor forsake you. He will fulfill His promises to you and His plans for you. And yes, the Christian life is going to be difficult. You will be persecuted for His sake. You will find opposition from your family as well as your friends. There will be those who will even seek to kill you because you stand for the gospel. But instead of letting go and letting God, the Bible message is always trust God and get going. And that is exactly what is being taught in our three chapters tonight. Praise the Lord for the faithfulness of Caleb, for the faithfulness of the daughters of Zelophehad, for the faithfulness of Joshua. They all believed the promises of God, and God was with them. Amen.