Please turn in your Bibles to Joshua 12. We'll read the whole chapter. Joshua 12. 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 Ereba eastward. Sihon, 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 Jabbok, the boundary of the Ammonites, that is, half of Gilead and the Ereba to the sea of Chinaroth eastward, and in the direction of Beth Jeshimoth, to the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, southward to the foot of the slopes of Pisgah. And Og, king of Bashan, one of the remnant of the Rephaim, who lived at Ashteroth and at Edreai, and ruled over Mount Hermon and Seleka, and all Bashan to the boundary of the Geshurites and the Meachathites, and over half of Gilead to the boundary of Sihon, 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 and the people of Israel defeated on the west side of the Jordan, from Beogad in the valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak that rises toward Seir And Joshua gave their land 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 won. The king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, won. The king of Jerusalem won. The king of Hebron won. The King of Jarmath won. The King of Lachish won. The King of Eglon won. The King of Gazer won. The King of Dabir won. The King of Gader won. The King of Horma won. The King of Arad won. The King of Libna won. The King of Adolam won. The King of Makeda won. The King of Bethel won. The King of Tapua won. The King of Hafer won. The King of Aphek won. The King of Lasharan won. The King of Madon won. The King of Hazor won. The King of Shimron-Meron won. The King of Akshath won. The King of Tayanak won. The King of Megiddo won. The King of Kadesh won. The King of Jachnium in Carmel won. The King of Dor and Naphath Dor, one. The King of Goyim and Galilee, one. The King of Tirzah, one. In all, 31 kings. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. The New Testament reading will be from Romans 7. 7 through 25 and then the first 17 verses of chapter 8. Romans 7, beginning at verse 7. What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means. Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin, for I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, you shall not covet. But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. where apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it, killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, and righteous, and good. Did that which is good then bring death to me? By no means. It was sin producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me that is in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now, if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inner being, but in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. He condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law. Indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not into flesh, but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you. So then brothers, we are not debtors are. So then brothers, we are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live for all who are led by the spirit of God, our sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let us pray. And now, Lord, we pray that you would illumine and help your preacher, illumine your word to our listening ears and your preacher, that your word may go forth in power, truth, accuracy, and may build up your people and their struggle against sin. In Jesus' name, amen. Now, by the time we come to chapter 12, we are actually very near the end of the Joshua series. And you say, wait a minute, there's a lot more chapters. Well, there are, but we're going to do some summarizing because, well, that's what the rest of the book is. It's a lot of summarizing. We'll have one more sermon, at least, in Joshua toward the end of the book. But by the time we get to chapter 12, Israel had entered and conquered the southern region and the northern region of Canaan. That's what you read about, or heard read. And they put to death, and the old-fashioned word is mortify. Paul uses it in Romans 12. Romans, yes, Romans 12 there. Romans, what was that? Eight, right, thank you. Couldn't think. They mortified the inhabitants as God commanded them, according to His justice. And now it was time for them to take possession and inhabit their inheritance. You know, it's one thing to wipe out the kings, 31 of them, and to have all this land as yours, which was promised long ago. It's another thing to go in and settle down and take care of it and take possession of it. You see, the death of the former inhabitants left a vacuum of unoccupied fields and vineyards and houses and towns and wells. Today, I'd like to draw an analogy between Israel's inheritance and the task of taking possession. And the second point is the church's inheritance and the task of taking possession. And finally, the third point, the believer's inheritance and task of taking possession. And I believe there's precedent for this because in 1 Corinthians 10, chapter 10, verse 11, Paul says, now these things, looking back at the Old Testament events, now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction on whom the end of the ages has come. And he therefore goes on to say we can learn from the past. It's a spiritual analogy, and that's what I'm trying to draw today. But first let's look at the historical one, that is Israel's task. And it's there for us in Joshua chapter 12. I'm not gonna read that whole section again, but let me remind you of the first couple of verses. Verse seven, and these are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the people of Israel defeated on the west side of the Jordan. We'd already gotten the list from the east side, but now this is the west side of the Jordan by Joshua. from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak that rises towards 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 Ereba, 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. And then there was that list of kings defeated in this region. One by one, and the count was 31 in all, in verse 24. And then if you go on to chapter 13, you see how these conquered lands are to be divided, not just chapter 13, but several chapters going forward. They're to be divided among the tribes of Israel and how the tribes are to occupy the lands. Why is this important? because lands conquered and left unoccupied, what would happen to them? What happens if you leave a well untended and you leave fields untended and towns untended? They invite wild animals and travelers who might squat and claim the places. This was Israel's inheritance from God, and they were to get busy and manage it to His glory. Take possession, occupy, and keep it going good. This is, by the way, not unusual at all because this is similar to God's command to Adam back in the garden. What did God say to Adam? God blessed them, male and female, Adam and Eve, and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Occupy it, it's all yours. Fill the earth and subdue it. Tend it, take care of it. And have dominion, he says, over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth. So that is the task here. Occupy, have dominion, fill it, use it. God has given it to you. That was Israel's task. Now let's compare that quickly to the church's present task. When Jesus ascended into heaven, just before he ascended, it's recorded very famously for us in Matthew 28, verses 18 through 20, Jesus came and said to them, all authority has been given to me. You church, you believers, therefore, make disciples of all nations. All the place has been given, all the nations have been given, promised to Abraham back in chapter 12 of Genesis. So now, it's been given to you, go and manage it, occupy it, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them. to observe all that I have commanded you. That's a lot. So manage this world to God's glory. And then he says of the promises, he's ascending into heaven, but he says, behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. So you can do it all the way to the end of the age, because I'm gonna be with you to the end of the age. So get busy in conquering, he's already conquered it, but get busy in managing, in discipling, in baptizing the world. This is the church's inheritance, the world, all the nations belong to Jesus Christ and his bride, his church. That is the task before the church. The world is the church's inheritance. And by the way, that was said in a very interesting place in Romans chapter four, when Paul's talking about justification by faith. And he says there in 4.13, interestingly, the promise to Abraham and his offspring was that he would be the heir of what? The nations of Canaan, the land of Canaan. Is that what it says? No, it says he would be heir of the world. And that's what the church gets through Abraham, heir of the world. This did not come through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. That's what Paul says. And we can see this also when we see the eschatology of conquering and occupying and making disciples described by the Apostle Paul in the famous passage in 1 Corinthians 15, verses 24 through 27, where he talks about what it's gonna be like when it's all done. He says, then comes the end. When is that? When he delivers the kingdom to God the Father, After he has destroyed every rule and every authority and power, that's the work of the church. For he must reign from heaven, he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. That's dominion, that's taking possession, that's the church's task. Christ is giving it to us, he's in heaven, he's promised never to leave us or forsake us, but it's our task. He's going to do it. And then it says in verse 27, for God has put all things in subjection under his feet. Since God has put all things in subjection under his feet, he's given us the whole world, he's given us all the nations, therefore we need to get busy. The church needs to be busy about this task of occupying and discipling and doing the work. The church must therefore be about the business of taking the territory of the world, nothing less. And that is not by sword, not by jihad, but by evangelism, sharing the good news about God's saving reign and making disciples, training, teaching, disciplining sometimes so that they learn to obey all that Christ has commanded. That's the task of the church. Paul gives us some of the war language and conquest language related to this in 2 Corinthians 10, 3 through 5. He says, for we, that is the believers, the church, walk in the flesh. We are waging war not according to the flesh. Even though we're in the body right now, we're not waging war with just our bodies. We don't get the swords out. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. You see, that's the work of the church. Go out and destroy the strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised up against the knowledge of God. And we take every thought captive to obey Christ. Doesn't that sound like what Israel was supposed to do? It does. God had given them the victory. Now they were to take and use and disciple and care for all these things. So the church needs to be always about the gospel, no doubt, always about the truth, always for righteousness in a broken world. The church is against falsehood and against wicked ways, and it is not easy. It is a struggle for the church. But at last, it will be said about the church, Revelation 12, 10 through 11, I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come. For the accusers of our brothers have been thrown down, who accused them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives, even unto death. Church struggles and struggles, but the church is triumphant when we don't love our lives, even unto death. Now, we are having it pretty easy compared to many other church times and church places. I was reading an article about the church in Vietnam, and in November last year, They passed a new law in Vietnam which crystallizes the laws against the church there. The churches are now supposed to register with the communist government, and if they don't, they will be arrested. Now, if you do register, then they will look over your shoulder constantly, and they hamper Sunday school classes, any kind of discipleship, they don't allow that, and they don't allow people to take communion either. Amazing, isn't it? Church leaders willing to submit their congregations to religious freedom violations accompanying this registration then leave themselves open to arrest. The leader of an indigenous ministry in the Central Highlands said several pastors remain jailed or are being monitored because of this. This difficult situation has not changed. All these pastors' families are still living under surveillance and are watched closely. The families of pastors jailed or under surveillance are thankful for financial support that concerned parties have managed to secretly pass to them, he added. This person recently learned that some pastors have been released from prison only because their sentences were completed or because they were seriously ill and were sent home to die. At the same time, other pastors have been secretly captured and taken away at night. Additionally, some churches were destroyed in a city, and the persecution is worsening. Why is the government of North Vietnam, or Vietnam as it is now, so upset? Here it is. Because some of the previously most gospel-resistant people in the country are some of the most fruitful evangelists in the North. often sharing their faith in their home villages, especially around Hanoi. Many have started their own house churches, and with so many people accepting the Lord as their Savior, they need someone to guide them on their pilgrim journey. When leadership is not nurtured and discipled, misconceptions and false teachings may develop. Pastors, church workers, and missionaries all need proper biblical instruction to combat the wiles of the enemy. And that's just one story. There were many stories on the site that I saw. And while we were in Nicaragua, where there's not a lot of government oppression, at least at this time, our interpreter, translator, Ricardo, told me that there, the Roman Catholic Church Since it was the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church was telling its people that Martin Luther had recanted his teachings about justification by faith at the end of his life, and that they should not listen to Protestant teachings. Well, that's a subtle kind of persecution, isn't it? The church must be busy about the gospel, about making disciples, and not be lazy. It's not a take-it-easy time, folks. Even though we have a fairly take-it-easy land, it's time to do the work of God's church, the evangelism, the discipleship, in our own personal lives as well as through our missions and outreach and other ways. And now I wanna move to the third point, the believer's task, the believer's task. Now we preach this, I hope we preach this every Sunday here. Justification by faith. Salvation full and free, brought by God, by his spirit who works in us. And it's a wonderful thing. It's primary to know that you are justified by faith alone in Christ alone. It's fun to tell about that, to sing about that, and to think about it. It's very important to think about it. Such hymns as Fanny Crosby's Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it. Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, redeemed through His infinite mercy, His child and so happy in Jesus, no language my rapture can tell. I know that the light of His presence with me doth continually dwell. Yes, it is something wonderful to sing about. And it serves as strong motive to move forward. It is like the deed to new heaven and earth, our promised land. But this legal possession, which we sing about and are so happy about, does not bridge the gap between where I am now in my justified state With many remaining sins and my successful mastery of the world, the flesh, and the snares of the devil, there is a gap between my justified state in heaven now, already glorified, at least according to the Apostle Paul's future use. But where I am now, still struggling, still having sins, still having doubts, still having troubles in my life. And Paul describes that arduous effort that must be ours to take possession of what God has given us in our salvation and to occupy it and to live it out carefully. He describes that, and he describes it in terms of the possibility of having great success or failure. He describes that in 1 Corinthians 3, Let me read that for you and explain it. He says, for no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. God did that. Now, if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, that's taking dominion, isn't it? Doesn't that sound like taking dominion to you, building with these materials? But then he says, or wood, hay, and straw. Wood, hay, and straw. Well, wood is subject to deterioration, dry rot, termites. Hay gets wet and soggy and mess up, and straw, the same thing. And then he says in verse 13, each one's work will become manifest, for the day will disclose it. The day there means the judgment day, the final day. Because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation, that's Christ, salvation, if the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. There's something to be gained. But if anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. So let me explain that quickly. The justification provided by Jesus Christ is the foundation. That can't remove, even if you're saved only by fire. But you and I must, by the work of the Spirit, take possession, master our flesh that we read about in Romans 7 and 8, to build on the foundation. And then he says in verse 14, if the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. Paul teaches that the final judgment will show what kind of building you have done. Your justification is not in jeopardy, but your builder's reward is. The unalterable state of free and full justification that we sing about is the single most precious truth recovered by the reformers in the 16th century. It inspires you to great joy and confidence even when bad news comes into your life story. There are very many hymns reveling in justification, but there are fewer hymns about sanctification. Sanctification is hard work. And sanctification is only possible because of the foundation of justification and the indwelling Holy Spirit who gave you the gift of justifying faith. But sanctification is hard work. If there's anything that we must do in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, it is the cooperative effort of sanctification. That's why we had The Apostle Paul in Romans 8 saying, so then brothers, we are debtors not to the flesh to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if you, by the spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. So what kind of hymns do we need to sing in terms of sanctification, to think in terms of sanctification? Well, John Bunyan's great hymn based on Pilgrim's Progress is one that comes to mind. Listen to these words. He who would valiant be against all disaster, let him with constancy follow the master. There's no discouragement shall make him once relent his first avowed intent to be a pilgrim. Pilgrims aren't taking it easy. Pilgrims are working hard. Whoso beset him round with dismal stories, but do themselves confound, his strength the more is. No foe shall stay his might, though he with giants fight. You have to fight with giants sometimes. Giants in your heart, your life. He will make good his right to be a pilgrim. And then he says in that third stanza, Since, Lord, Thou dost defend us with Thy Spirit, we know we at the end shall life inherit. Then fancies flee away. Get all the silly stuff out. Give it up. All the waste of time. Let fancies flee away. I'll fear not what men say. I'll labor, work hard, night and day, to be a pilgrim. So brothers and sisters, if you do not have a plan for spiritual battle, I think you're a sitting duck for the world, the flesh, and the devil. You need a plan for spiritual battle. You need prayer. You need Bible study. You need regular worship. You need to be engaged in the work of occupying the salvation that God has given you by faith. Like the Israelites in Canaan, you must take dominion over your life, over your weaknesses, over your temptations, over your life-dominating sins. One person struggles with substance abuse, like alcohol or drugs. Another struggles with sexual lust. Another struggles with laziness. Another with work obsession. Another with gossip. Another with You fill in the blank. These weaknesses, these failings are doomed by Christ. They will not enter heaven with you. They will be burned up as wood, hay, and stubble. but by grace as the foundation and the power of the Holy Spirit, these can be significantly overcome in your life to the glory of God. As Francis Schaeffer said, we believe in the work of the Holy Spirit that brings substantial healing in our lives. We don't just get a ticket to heaven and then sail on. This pleases God, brothers and sisters. You can please God or not. That's what Paul said in Romans 7 and 8. He says down in verse, in chapter 8, therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That's justification. For the law of the spirit of life has set you free in Christ from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. He condemned sin in the flesh. It will not enter heaven. Then he says in verse five, for those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh, that's to focus and live in that wood, hay, and stubble stuff, is to set the mind on the flesh is hostile to God. It cannot please God, but those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Well, I've got that a little bit muddled up there, but you know what I'm getting at. Also, in 1 Corinthians 9, 24, he uses an analogy, which I think also brings these ideas together. An analogy there, verse 24, do you not know that in a race, all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run so that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do not receive a perishable wreath, but we, they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly, he says. I do not box as one beating the air, but I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified. He doesn't want to lose his builder's reward, his athlete's reward. So what will it be for you? Real spiritual progress in your life, victory over your sins, a life pleasing to God, or will it be saved, but only as through fire? I am the pastor that quotes the hymn book quite a bit, so I'll finish with one more hymn, which asks the question, am I a soldier of the cross? a follower of the lamb? And shall I fear to own his cause or blush to speak his name? Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease while others fought to win the prize and sailed through bloody seas? Are there no foes for me to face? Must I not stem the flood? Is this vile world a friend to grace to help me unto God? It isn't. Sure, I must fight if I would reign. Increase my courage, Lord. I'll bear the toil, endure the pain, supported by thy word. Israel needed to take possession and occupy the land that God had given them. The church needs to take possession and make disciples of all the nations. And right here in St. Mary's County, right here in our little community, we need to do that too as a congregation. And then you as individual believers, saved by grace through faith with a justification that can never be taken away, need to build with precious stones, not wood, hay, and stubble. Amen. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you. for the challenge of your word. We pray that you'll bless us with vigorous strength. Give us all, each one, plans for resisting the world, the flesh, and the devil. We're building on the foundation of justification with precious stones and gold and beautiful things so that we might be substantially healed, and glorify you by living lives that are beautiful and quiet and peaceful and full of joy. In Jesus' name, amen.