If you turn in your copies of God's word now to Joshua, we'll continue our study there tonight in chapter 12 and a little bit of 13. I think that's on page 222 of your Pew Bibles. Joshua chapter 12, beginning at verse one. Let's give attention now to the very word of God. Now these are the kings of the land whom the people of Israel defeated and took possession of their land beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise from the valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon with all the Arba eastward. king of the Amorites who lived at Heshbon and ruled from Aror, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and from the middle of the valley as far as the river Jebok, the boundary of the Ammonites, that is, half of Gilead, and the Arba to the sea of Chinneroth, eastward, and in the direction of Beth Jeshmosh, to the sea of the Arba, the Salt Sea, southward to the foot of the slopes of Pisgah, And Og, king of Bashan, one of the remnant of the Rephium, who lived at Ashtaroth and at Edri, and ruled over Mount Hermon and Salecha and all Bashan to the boundary of the Gesherites and the Maccathites, and over half of Gilead to the boundary of Shayan, king of Heshbon, Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the people of Israel defeated them. And Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave their land for possession to the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. And these are the kings of the land whom Joshua, the people of Israel, defeated on the west side of the Jordan, from Balgad, in the valley of Lebanon, to Mount Halak. that rises toward Seir and Joshua gave their land to the tribes of Israel as possession according to their allotments in the hill country, in the lowland, in the Arabah, in the slopes, in the wilderness, and in the Negev, the land of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The king of Jericho, one. The king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one. The king of Jerusalem, one. The king of Hebron, one. The king of Jarmath, one. The king of Lachish, one. The king of Eglon, one. The king of Gezir, one. The king of Debir, one. The king of Gedir, one. The king of Horma, one. The king of Arad, one. The king of Libna, one. The king of Adumla, one. 1, the king of Makeda, 1, the king of Bethel, 1, the king of Tapua, 1, the king of Hefer, 1, the king of Aphek, 1, the king of Lasseron, 1, the king of Madon, 1, the king of Hazor, 1, the king of Shimron-Meron, 1, the king of Akshaph, 1, the king of Tanakh, 1, the king of Megiddo, 1, The king of Kedesh won. The king of Jachnim in Carmel won. The king of Dor in Naphtha Dor won. The king of Goyim in Galilee won. The king of Tirzah won in all 31 kings. Joshua was old and advanced in years. And the Lord said to him, You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess. This is the land that yet remains, all the regions of the Philistines and all those of the Gesherites. From Shaihor, which is east of Egypt, northward to the boundary of Ekron, it is counted as Canaanite. There are five rulers of the Philistines, those of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, and those of the Avim in the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Merah that belongs to the Sidonians, to Ephek, to the boundary of the Amorites, and the land of the Gebelites, and all Lebanon toward the sunrise from Baal God below Mount Hermon to Lebo Hamath. and all the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Mishrafath, Mayim, even all the Sidonians. I myself will drive them out before the people of Israel. Only allot the land to Israel for an inheritance, as I have commanded you. Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half tribe of Manasseh." as far as the reading of God's word. Amen. Please be seated. Would you pray with me? Father and our God, we come now to a passage where many of us may be wondering How does this apply to us tonight? How does this list of kings of geographic lands help us understand who Christ is and what He has done? Father, we pray by Your Spirit, guide us, help us, work in our hearts. Convict us not only of the truth of this passage, of these, your word. But Father, we pray, apply them to our hearts tonight. Help us, Holy Spirit. We ask in Jesus' precious name. Amen. This is the time for New Year's resolutions. And the question is, Where does your confidence lie? Are you confident in yourself or are you confident in Jesus Christ? Earlier tonight, we read a passage from Hebrews 11, that chapter which is sometimes referred to as the Hall of Faith. And we went to the end of that after the inspired author had set forth all the various names of those who had faith. And he ends by summarizing. He mentions a few and then says, who through faith conquered kingdoms. They stopped the mouths of lions. They quenched the power of fire. They became mighty in war and put foreign armies to flight. The writer there says they had already done this. It was complete. They had had all of these victories as they walked in faith. But there was a but. Others suffered mocking and flogging, even chains and imprisonment. And then as the writer summed up these two different groups, those who had accomplished mighty things by and through their faith, along with those who were destitute, who were mistreated, of whom the world was not worthy. He sums it up by saying, all of them did not receive what was promised since God had provided something better for us. Meaning that apart from us, those to whom the writer to the Hebrews was writing, apart from us, they, meaning those who had gone before them, should not be perfect, should not be made perfect. There was an already. Already those who had come to faith, those who had walked in faith, even being mistreated in their faith. And then there was a not yet. That they should not yet be made perfect without us, without those to whom the writer was writing. And what was their confidence? What is your confidence tonight? As we've been walking through this book of Joshua, we've seen the confidence of the Israelites as they entered into the promised land after 40 years of wilderness wandering as the Lord has been with them as he separated the waters of the Jordan so that they could cross over on dry ground. And as they have now defeated many kingdoms, beginning with Jericho, as they've seen supernatural victories in their sight. Indeed, their confidence was in the Lord. They'd seen their enemies become devoted to destruction. And even in the last two chapters, we saw details of their victories. As the sun stood still, as they placed their foot on the necks of the kings whom they had defeated, and the land had war from rest, which brings us to our passage tonight. As we go through this passage tonight, I'd like you to see that true believers rest assured in future victories of Jesus as they meditate upon his past works. True believers Rest assured in future victories of Jesus as they meditate upon past works. Tonight we'll see that in two simple points. First, true believers in Jesus the King experience victory over sin. And secondly, true believers in Jesus the King will continue to fight against sin. As we go through this passage tonight, once again, I'd like you to be asking yourself that question. Whom am I confident in? Myself or in Jesus Christ? Well, first, true believers in Jesus the King experience victory over sin. Tonight, as we enter into this chapter 12, we see, in a sense, a summary of all the victories that have been given to Israel thus far. As they're entering into the Promised Land, we've read of the details of certain victories, certainly in chapters 10 and 11, even preceding that with Jericho and Ai. Now we're given a summary going back to Moses even before they entered what we would consider to be the promised land, even going back to Moses as they had victories over Og and the king of Bashan and the king of Sidon. that land that was given to the three, the two and a half tribes, and then the summary of the kings defeated by Joshua, all set together in one chapter for us. 31 kings in all for Joshua, two kings for Abraham, excuse me, for Moses, but a summary of the victories accomplished to date by the Israelites. Why? Why do we have this summary here? Why was it necessary for the inspired writer, for the one who wrote Joshua, the book we have now entitled Joshua, to set forth this summary? We've read about them, not about all of them, Generally speaking, we've been reading about the victories. Well, what would be the reason that we'd have to have this set forth in summary fashion for us even tonight? And we'd say, well, one would be just to identify the land that the Israelites were now occupying. This would be helpful for those who were reading this for the first time to see, oh, this is what happened. This is how my parents came into possession of this land to understand the history of the redemption of the people of God, the promised land. the land which the Lord had promised to give his people being given over to his people, to the Israelites. And so the author here describes that land that had been taken. We see the promises of God are true. That's what the original readers would have known and seen. The promises of God are true, that as he fought for Israel, he was bringing his people to that place of rest and worship that he had promised to them. It clearly tells us that the promises of God are those which we can trust. That was given to the Israelites. They would have looked upon this as a rehearsal of their experiences, or of their parents' experiences, or of their grandparents' experiences, and that they also could trust in the promises of God. Furthermore, that those who opposed God would be destroyed. Ultimately, those who rebelled against God, those who would not follow the Lord Jesus Christ, would be destroyed. These kings, these kingdoms, were all decimated, as the author lists them here in summary fashion. Shion, the king of the Amorites. Og, the king of Bashan. And then we get into Joshua, the king of Jericho, one. The king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one. The king of Jerusalem, one. On and on and on. Each one, each king, each kingdom, decimated, soundly, roundly defeated, removed from that place which God Himself would dwell in with His people, bringing His people into that place to live. The conspiracy, so to speak, defeated. Those who amassed themselves together against God's people, against God Himself, who appointed his anointed were roundly and soundly defeated. The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed saying, let us burst their bonds apart, cast away their cords from us. And the people were given victory. Ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession. Psalm 2 coming to pass here in Joshua. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Is that not exactly what happened to those who opposed the Israelites to the people of God? And that's summed up for us here in a resounding fashion, that this victory was complete over these kings, over these kingdoms. These Israelites could occupy the land. So complete was the victory that they could just move in. You see a complete defeat of this conspiracy against God and against His anointed, and thus a complete, partial victory at this point in time for the people of God. The victory of the Israelites over these kingdoms and these kings point to us, or point us to the victory that the people of God, the elect people of God, the chosen people of God have over sin. Did you hear that? These victories here recorded for us in Joshua point us to the various victories that the church has had collectively and you individually, if you're trusting in Jesus tonight, over sin. Did you notice how many kings or kingdoms were listed here? At least 33. And so each of those battles were individual, and yet they're brought together here collectively. And so it points to the fact that the people of God, the chosen people of God, the elect of God, have individual victories over sin. And yet, we have a collective victory over sin as a people, as the church. Let's open that up just a bit. First, our collective victory. How many times did we gather for corporate worship in 2025? I can't tell you. But every time we gathered, every time we assembled, every time every true particular church has gathered together for corporate worship, each of those is a collective victory over Satan who despises the assembly of God's people, even tonight. This is not Satan's desire that we'd be here, that we'd be worshipping in spirit and truth, that we'd be worshipping the living God. But every single time we come together, it is a collective victory over Satan. Now, what about your individual victories? If you're following Christ this evening, and if you'd followed Jesus for some time, you will have experienced individual victories over sin. Think of your past. Think of the way you used to live before your conversion. You should be able to recount as you compare those days to today, you should be able to recount individual victories that you've had over sin. maybe prior to conversion, or even as a young Christian you struggled with using the Lord's name, taking it in vain. The transgression of the second commandment, a fairly common and yet egregious sin that we hear repeatedly if we watch television or listen to politicians or other public figures. The Lord's name is used in vain constantly. Quite possibly that was one of your struggles. as a young Christian. But as you followed Christ, as you came to know the depth and significance of the commandments, the Lord possibly gave you a measure of victory over your tongue, over your speech, over the way you used the names of the Lord, Jehovah, God, Jesus Christ. Maybe you struggled with envy or covetousness. Maybe you were discontent with that which the Lord had given you before he changed your heart. And as you've come to know God, to know Jesus Christ, to know their sovereignty and come to know their holiness and goodness, your heart has been changed such that you're now joyful and content with that which the Lord has provided you. Maybe now you're praying prayers full of petitions and supplications with thanksgiving. And so quite possibly the Lord has given you victory over discontentment, over envy, over covetousness. You could go on, and you should go on, as you recount the ways in which the Spirit has been working sanctification in you since the day and time of your conversion. Just like listing these kings in Joshua 12. The king of Arad, one. The king of Libna, one. The king of Adullam, one. You could do it. In fact, we should do it. Pride, one. Lusting, one. Bitterness, one. Strife, one. Malice, one. Worry, one. Anxiety, one. Lack of peace, one. Discontentment, one. Do you see? Just like the kingdoms ticked off one by one, as you thank the Lord for the work of the Spirit, you can do the same with regard to the sins that you have been given victory over. And do you acknowledge that this is the work of Jesus Christ, that victory comes by the hand of God? There's a sense, as the inspired writer reviews these victories, that he's recounting the work of God. Certainly he is. These victories were brought about by the hand of the living God. He's not praising the armies. You know that each and every one of these victories came as a result of the powerful hand of God, the captain, the commander, the lord of hosts had been leading each and every battle, such that the victory was not only secured, it was guaranteed. Just as was promised Abraham. So it came to pass by the powerful and almighty hand of God, as the Lord Jesus Christ led and commanded the battle of the warriors. Remember the Son of God, the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ is the one who met Joshua as they entered into the first battle of Jericho. He was the one that confronted Joshua and indicated, I am the commander of the army of the Lord, now I have come. He was the one giving the Israelites victory one by one over those various kings and kingdoms listed here in chapter 12. He was the leader. It was Christ. And it's the same Christ who's giving you victory over sin, who has given you victory over your sin. Because it's this Jesus who went to the tomb and within the tomb broke the chains to your sin and death. You see, as Jesus rose from the dead, he was breaking your chains to sin and thus giving you victory over these individual sins, just like he gave Israel the victory over those individual kings and kingdoms. It's all the work of Christ. I'm called tonight to give praise to him for that. That brings us to our second point, the true believers in Jesus, the king will continue to fight against sin. Well. Chapter 12 ends. And it's butted up to chapter 13, no surprise. But did you see what the inspired writer did? He lists, as in summary fashion, the victories that the Israelites had to date. And right after it, he indicates that there are more fights to come. There are more battles. This is the land that yet remains. And he lists them. In a sense, he's saying, these are the fights that are yet to be had. I myself will drive them out from before the people of Israel. Do you see what he's doing? He's putting them next to each other. The victories, the kingdoms defeated, the kings conquered. Right next to the future battles that needed to be fought. The remainder of the land that needed to be conquered. Why? It seems that at least one of the purposes would be to give the Israelites, the warriors, the ones to whom the land was being given, confidence. Not in themselves, but in the one who had given them the land. confidence in the one who had promised to give the land, such that they could go forward in these future battles, in these future wars, and be assured of victory. As they looked back upon what the Lord had already done, they would see unequivocally that He had kept His word. And there was no reason to doubt that He would do so in the future. that God, the Lord Jesus Christ, was true to his word, and that he would secure the victory, the battles to come, providing the rest of the land for his people. Well, that is true and set forth in this passage as well. This passage tells us that there were multiple victories, doesn't it? It summarizes the kings and the kingdoms over which the Israelites had true battle victories. And these kings and kingdoms were indeed defeated, destroyed, so much that they were occupying the land at the time that this was written. There were individual and collective victories. God's covenantal promise to provide a place for his people had come to pass. It was being fulfilled partially. There was more to come, wasn't there? And we see it here in chapter 13. And so there were more. There were more battles to be fought. It doesn't mean that the prior victories weren't real and true. They were. It doesn't mean that they weren't accomplished. They were. It doesn't mean that they weren't occupying the land. They were occupying the land. But there was a component of a not yet. There was more to be done to occupy the remainder of the land that God is giving over to the Israelites. There's an already component, as we read in chapter 12, the true victories, but there's also the picture of the not yet. There would be more war, more battles to be fought, even though they were already residing in the promised land. So the question would become, how would they continue to fight? How would they, at the same time, live in peace? It's that idea of the already and the not yet. So many times throughout scripture, we see that. And we're seeing it here in Joshua. We see it with regard to salvation, don't we? Once a person is regenerated and converted, meaning he or she comes to faith, a sincere faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and repents of his or her sins, that person is saved. Salvation has been accomplished by Jesus Christ and then applied to the one who's come to true saving faith. Yet, if that person is still alive, who's come to faith by the gift of God, by God's grace, is not yet in glory. That person, while having faith, has not yet entered into the very presence of the triune God where ultimate eternal life exists. And so even though we speak of that person as having been saved, as they've come to faith, a sincere faith in Jesus, there's yet a day when Jesus will return to judge the nations and take that one home, entering into glory, saved eternally. So we speak of salvation as that which is already and not yet. I think it's R.C. Sproul who puts it this way, I have been saved, I am being saved, and I will be saved. You see, an already, but a not yet. And so that's what we have set forth before us tonight. That's the concept, that's the truth that we can apply to our hearts. As we've already spoken, we have experienced victory over sin. And those victories have been real, historical, and experiential. But sin still remains. There's a remnant of our corruption in Adam that remains, even as you who are trusting in Jesus Christ tonight sit here. That doesn't negate the past or prior victories that you've experienced over particular sins. But those past and prior victories do not negate the truth that we still struggle with sin. that we still have battles with sin, just like the lands, the kings, and the kingdoms that were yet to be fought against here in chapter 13. There's land to be conquered, occupied. And similarly, we still experience sin in our hearts, which needs to be fought against, which needs to be conquered, just like the Lord told Cain, you must rule over it. So what do you do? What do you do tonight? Do you lose hope? Do you conclude that because you struggle with sin today that there will not be salvation when Jesus returns? Do you enter into a downward spiral considering there will be no forgiveness left for you if you continue to sin against a holy God and have achieved victory over that sin in the past, but now you're struggling with it again? No. No, the answer is absolutely not. The fact that you've had victory over sin in the past in no way means that you won't struggle with that same sin in the future. We know that. We experience that. Paul, the apostle, tells us of his struggle with sin in the seventh chapter of his letter to the Romans. While he does not describe the sin that he was battling against, he tells us that there's a war raging within his soul. And so while we've had victory in the past, We nonetheless struggle and wage war today with the same sins over which we have had victory in the past, just like the land that was being conquered by the Israelites. In a sense, it was the same land, just different portions of it that they still needed to battle for. The individual victories were sweet and true and real, but they had more battles to fight, and so do you. So the call tonight is not to lose hope, You may be scratching your heads and wondering, why? Well, first, because God loves you. If you're in Christ tonight, if you're in Jesus tonight, because he has secured the victory, as a result of his victory, the living God loves you. And there's nothing, there's nothing that can separate you from the love of God in Christ. It's exactly what we read in Romans chapter 8. We know that. And so what about those sins that you struggle with? What about those battles that lie ahead, even this New Year? Well, secondly, the Spirit abides. Despite your sin, the Spirit of the living God continues to abide in you. And the Spirit is not going to let you fall away from Jesus Christ. His grip is on you. He has you. Is that not why, at least one reason why, Jesus said He had to ascend? because it would be better for you, so that He could send His Spirit to abide and dwell within your heart. The Spirit is the key. It's the Spirit who's the central part of your hope and trust and reliance, independence upon Him. If it were up to you, if it were up to your own strength, you would have no hope. But with the Spirit of Christ, your hope is certain. You see, it's just like the Israelites. Why did they ever enter into battle after Ai, after that resounding defeat? It's only because Jesus Christ was with them. It's only because the Lord was fighting the battle for them. You must see that tonight, for that still applies to you. The Lord is fighting the spiritual battle for you by and through His Spirit. So if tonight you're trusting in Christ and Him alone for your salvation, if you've come to faith, true saving faith in Jesus, there are more battles to be fought, and you have not yet entered into glory, but that day is coming, and it's not yet arrived, so that you are living, even today, in a state of already, but not yet. And the question is how? Back to that same question. Do you remember what Paul wrote in his letter to the saints at Rome after he confessed his struggle with sin? Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death? At his very next breath, he praises Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. That's the answer, isn't it? That was Paul's certain hope, even as he recognized his wretchedness, that he still sinned after conversion. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. That's how, and you may be saying, well, I need some more specifics. Back to that question, how am I going to live in peace and yet fight these battles? As Satan attacks me this week, tempting my heart through the remnant of your Adamic corruption, attempting you to enter into sin, where will you go? What will you do when the battle is right there in front of you? How will you fight? It can only be in the power of the spirit. It can only be in the confidence of the spirit. And the question is really, will you win? And the answer is yes and yes. You will win in some of those battles as you triumph in the power of the Spirit by running away from sin and running to Christ. And you will succumb to sin in other battles. And for those battles you win, you will give praise to God in and through His Son who has secured the victory. And in those battles that you succumb to sin, you will plead for the blood of Christ to cover you as you confess and repent in the strength of the Spirit. And then you will give praise to God in and through His Son, Jesus Christ, who has secured the victory. It's yes and yes. And so the Israelites were confident to enter battle back into Ai even after their first defeat, because the Lord was with them. And do you have that same confidence tonight? As the Lord has promised to bring you into glory, into heaven, into eternal promised land, into his presence, do you have that same kind of assurance that it's guaranteed? That it will come to pass, that the victory is certain, that you will enter the eternal state of bliss and glory in the presence of your creator, do you? Maybe you're questioning that this evening. Maybe you're doubting. Maybe you're unsure. What can you do? Can you not look back upon the prior works, the prior victories of the Lord Jesus Christ in your life? As he secured victory after victory after victory for you, just like the inspired writer here lists off the kings and thus the kingdoms conquered one after the other, do the same. You can list the ways in which Jesus Christ has conquered your enemies time and again. Think of how you used to sin in the past, even this past year, and see how Jesus has overcome your sin in his blood time after time, how he's conquered your sin, securing forgiveness in his blood. Consider how Jesus has given you victory over the temptations of Satan. Remember, remember how things were tempting in the past. but are no longer tempting for you today. Remember how the Spirit has given you an exit route from the darts to the flaming arrows that Satan has consistently sent your way. How many times has Jesus done that? And now as you look ahead, now as there are more battles to come, more temptations, more sin, more persecutions, more oppressions as a Christian to be faced, to fight through, your confidence should increase. As you consider how Jesus has worked in the past, as you consider how many victories he secured on your behalf, even this past year, that should give you confidence. Not in yourself, but in Christ and his ability to continue to break you free from sin and show you the exit route from the temptations of Satan. You may be thinking, well, that's good and well. Remember the works of Christ. But you want more. You want more practical, helpful guidance. For you know the battle is coming and you want to be prepared. There are wars that lie ahead. What can you do? First, you can pray. In addition to remembering and resting in the past victories of Jesus, cry out to Him. Just like a call to 911 in an emergency, cry out to Jesus for immediate help. Call upon Him. Call upon your Father, pleading for His immediate spiritual help to lead you away from that sin that you're contemplating, from the temptation that is being sent your way by Satan. Plead with Him to give you the strength by and through His Spirit. And then feed upon Christ. Feed upon Jesus. You have the opportunity to do that tonight here. I'm hoping you're doing it here in the preaching of the word, but come to the table. Come with open hands and a wounded yet healing heart to the table. Come with confidence in the Lord of Lord and King of kings and feed upon the one who has ascended on high and is coming again. Come with the expectation of being nourished such that your spiritual strength will be renewed and increased and these doubts of yours will be washed away. knowing that you will be truly spiritually fed with the body and blood of Christ who has indeed won the victory. That's how. Now ask for the continued work of the abiding spirit to bring all of these things to pass. This is God's will. that you would remain pure and fight against sin. So ask. This is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 John 5, verse 14. Yes, true believers do rest assured in future victories of Jesus as they meditate upon his past works. Yes, apart from us, they should not be made perfect, already and not yet. The saints who have gone before us are waiting. They're waiting to be joined to us. They have already experienced the love of God in Christ. But it's not full. Not yet. They're waiting. So are you. As you've experienced the already. And you have yet to experience that which is coming. So the confidence tonight that you need It's not in yourself. It's not in your New Year's resolutions. It's in Christ and in Him alone. Amen. Heavenly Father, we now ask that you'd help us. We're weak. We're frail. We confess that. We know, Lord God, that we're sinners. We know that Satan will tempt us. And this next week, this year to come, we know we'll struggle with sin, and we pray even now, Lord God, that you'd help us to meditate and recall and rehearse the victories of Christ, His work in us. Help us even to sit down and list the ways in which He's worked in our hearts and given us victory over sin. But then, Father, we pray alongside that, Help us, Holy Spirit, as you abide. Lead us away from sin. Give us the exit route. Mark it clearly. Father, we pray that you'd encourage us in our prayers, that we would come to you as if we were calling 911 in an emergency, that we would run to you. And we'd run to Christ. Oh, and Father, that we'd meditate upon His power, His works. Help us, Lord. Help us, keep us in the palm of Your hand by the work of Your Spirit. Help us to be confident not in ourselves, but in the work of the Spirit who abides and is promised that there's nothing that can separate us from Your love in Christ. We ask all these things in Jesus' name.