What a privilege to be here. I'm excited that Dr. Bill asked me to come and I enjoy coming. I think maybe this is the fourth time, third, fourth time that I've been able to preach in the chapel service at Ambassador Baptist College. Appreciate this school and what it's doing and the young servants of the Lord that it's turning out for him. I what I meant by it's easy to see and not easy to find. You just about have to have the GPS to get in there to us. You can find us on the interstate but then there's a few off roads that gets to where we are. You mentioned that Dr. Bill was leaving Herndon, West Virginia. That's my hometown, that area. I'm from Logan and so I know he's in the mountains. He needs more than a GPS to get out of where he's at. today but again thank you for coming I'm preaching this morning from Joshua chapter 5 excuse me chapter 3 we may hit chapter 5 too but we'll see Joshua chapter 3 while you're turning I if there's any runners in the crowd our church is sponsoring a 5k for missions on October the 29th You're looking at me and you're thinking, well, I bet Pastor doesn't run. Well, I actually do. I ran six miles yesterday. If you call a 12 minute mile running, I was running and coming up a little incline and decided I'd take a walk break. And I was really somewhat confused between whether I was running or walking. I wasn't real sure when I slowed down. But at any rate, we'd love for you to participate if you'd like to. I know the director of the 5K. I can cut you a great deal, get you in and get you a t-shirt where you ran. All right? Joshua chapter 3, beginning at verse 1. And Joshua rose early in the morning, and they removed from Shittim and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host. They commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go. For ye have not passed this way heretofore. Joshua said unto the people, sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you. What a powerful passage. I have gone to on many occasions in the last 33 years as a pastor and reminded myself that the same God that was with Moses and was with Joshua is the same God that is with us today. And the thing that God has taught me in 33 years of pastoring is this one valuable lesson and that is to rely upon Him. That's what I want to preach about today, relying upon our God. Father, you're so good to us, and I thank you for the privilege and the opportunity to be at Ambassador Baptist College. Thank you for these young men and women who are training to serve you in this world. And I ask God that you would speak to their hearts today concerning the work that you want to do in their life. Thank you for the professors and the staff and those that lead this great college. And I ask God that your hand would be upon the school and it would continue to honor and magnify you in the work that it does. Lord, meet with us now, I ask, in Jesus' holy name. Amen. I want to draw your attention back to verse 4 of our text. The Bible says, Yet there shall be a space between you and it, referring to the Ark of the Covenant, about two thousand cubits by measure. He said, Come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go. For ye have not passed this way here I think I heard someone's testimony say that they're not sure what they are or what they're doing. Well God's leading all of us to places that maybe we've never been before. Some of you are in a place that maybe you've never been before spiritually or trying to discern the work of God and the will of God for your life. And God's getting ready to lead you to a place that you've never been before. been or a work that you've never involved yourself with before. But God has a call on your life and God wants to use your life. And it's obvious throughout the scriptures that God intends that we depend upon Him at all times and in all places of our life. That's certainly true of Joshua's life. Joshua was a person of such stature that he could succeed in filling the shoes of an incomparable Moses which were some big shoes to fill. The Bible records for us of Joshua in chapter 24, verse 31, and Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua. What a testimony! I mean, there's been a lot of things said about great men of God in the Scriptures. Abraham, the friend of God. David, a man after God's own heart. The Bible says of Joshua that Joshua challenged the people that the people served God all the days of his leadership. Joshua was at the helm of the nation during the conquest, the distribution and the settlement of Cana. He was able to challenge God's people by God's Word and by the example that God had given in him. He was a military leader. He was a political leader. And he was a spiritual leader. He was successful in all areas of leadership. Joshua is what America needs in a president. I'm looking for Jesus, aren't you? I don't have confidence in the next president of the United States, but I do have confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ. And what we need are men and women like you who are willing to rely upon God and make a difference, maybe in the church that God places you, or the community, or the mission field, or wherever God chooses to you that you're going to rely upon Him and make an impact on the life of others. Joshua had been one of the twelve spies that Moses had sent in to investigate the land of Canaan. He and Caleb returned with a positive but a minority report. And these two men believed God against the odds. because Joshua was a man of faith. And I'm going to tell you, there are going to be times in the ministry that you're going to be in the minority report. There are going to be times that God leads you to pastor. There are going to be times as a pastor when you're following God's leadership and God's direction for that local church that you may be the minority. In fact, you may be the only one standing where God wants you to stand. In fact, there may be times whether you're an evangelist or a missionary, that you're going to be in the minority as far as your situation or circumstances are concerned. But like Joshua, you need to be someone of faith, someone who believes, I'm here where God called me to be. I'm doing what God's called me to do. And I'll trust God to provide through the situation or circumstances that I find myself. I think without exaggeration, we can clearly say that Joshua was an extraordinary man of God. One of the reasons he was such a great man of God is because he learned early in life not to do anything without first seeking God's leadership. My goal in this message today is to help you learn that lesson as well. I'm thankful that we have a school with us today visiting in the chapel service. Maybe God's dealing with some of these young men and women from that school today about the next step in their lives. what God wants to do in their heart, where God wants to use them, and how God wants to prepare them. And so my goal in this lesson or message is to help you learn to rely upon Him. Number one, I want you to see that we must rely upon God's presence. I think it's one of the areas that we take for granted unless we spend time with God. And unless you spend time with God, it's going to be difficult for you to experience God's presence in your life. I discipline myself. Now I'm a late bloomer when it comes to physical discipline, but I discipline myself. I get up early every morning and the first thing I do is spend time with God. I preach three times a week. I teach a Sunday school lesson. I get invited to be other places. But my thing with God is that I want to spend time with God every morning of my life. And I wake up and that's one of the first things, after I grab a cup of coffee I get my Bible and I begin spending time and I just read. I was with a group of preachers recently and they were talking about some of their preparation in time and how that they don't separate their devotion from their preparation time. Maybe I'm different, maybe I'm just Maybe it's just a little harder for me. But I need that personal time with God. I need that time alone with the Lord. I don't know what I'm going to face on any given day. The other day in our church, we had a birth and a death on the same day. We had marriages that were in trouble on the same day. And counselors and people calling and saying, Pastor, I need you. Do you have time to meet with me? Pastor, can you help me in this situation? Listen, if I'm not meeting with God on a regular basis, I won't be prepared for those things that I will face throughout the day. Joshua met with God. Joshua 1, verse 5. The Bible says, There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life. Notice what God said to Joshua. As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. He said in verse 9 of chapter 1, Be strong, or have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage. Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed. For the Lord thy God is with thee, wheresoever thou goest. In chapter 3 verse 7, And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know as I was with Moses. So, I will be with thee. You know, I believe that God is still looking for some men and women, young men and women, maybe some young high school students who are willing to live their lives relying upon the presence And in 33 years of pastoring, there have been many trials and many obstacles in my life and in the ministry. And every trial, every trouble, every tribulation was meant to draw me closer to God. Was meant to better prepare me for the next work that God had in store for me. Or what God wanted to do in my heart. Or as someone said in their testimony this morning, just to draw closer to Him. God's looking for some folks like that today. God has given us the promise that we must trust that promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us. In Joshua chapter 3 verse 3, And they commanded the people, saying, when you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priest, the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place and go after it." Now Joshua said, when the ark moves, you move. When God moves, you move. Wherever God is, that's where you want to be. You want to be in the presence of God. And we must make every effort to follow God's Word and go after it. There are those who are following after men and they usually end up being discouraged, disappointed and at times defeated. God is asking us to follow His Word. Those who follow His Word have found a greater faith in the promise of God that He will never leave them. He will never forsake them. He will never fail them and they can trust in Him. You see, when Moses was leading the children of Israel through the wilderness God would go before them by day in a pillar of cloud. So everywhere they traveled as long as that cloud was in their midst they knew that God was leading and that God was there. And by night a pillar of fire. Wherever that pillar of fire was, they knew that God was there, and that they were to follow that pillar of fire, and that God's presence with them. They knew that as long as those things existed, that God's presence was with them. There came a time, because of their sin, that God said to Moses, Moses, I'm not going with you anymore. I'll never forget the story. I love reading it. Moses came out of his tent and he said, Dear God, if you don't go, I'm not going. God, if you're not going with us, I'm not moving. God, I don't want to go without you. And that needs to be our attitude. God, I don't want to go to the mission field without you. God, I don't want to preach in the next church without you. God, I don't want to answer the call unless you're going to be there. God, I don't want to be what you want me to be unless you're going to be with me, God. Unless you're going to help me. Moses said, God, I know that you called me to do this, but Lord, I can't do this without you. That's where some of us need to be today. God, I can't do this without You. The Ark of the Covenant became a symbol of God's presence for Joshua and the children of Israel. And He said, when you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, go after it. The Ark was dear to them, as dear to them as the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire was to Moses. You see, the Word of God was enshrined in the ark of the covenant. It was there, and the mercy seat was there as well. And to follow the ark was to follow after the mercy and the forgiveness of God. Inside the ark, the law of God reminded them that they were not sufficient within themselves, and that they must rely upon God's mercy and grace, and that they must depend upon God's power and God's presence in their life. In verse 4 of Joshua chapter 3, he said, Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Come not near unto it, that you may know by the way which you must go, for you have not passed this way heretofore. Some believe that maybe the space between the people and the ark was out of respect and reverence. I believe maybe there was something else here that we ought to consider. He said you've not passed this way heretofore. You need me. You can't go where you want to go without me. You can't do what you desire to do without me. God was about to lead them into a new land. A land where they had never been. The reason that God required the distance between them and the ark was so that they could see the ark. Here's a valuable lesson for us that we must keep our eyes on the Lord at all times while following Him. I see in my own church where God wants to take Promised Land Baptist Church to places maybe it's never been before. We recently launched out two years ago to build a church in the country of Nicaragua. And we've been traveling and building this church and working with a great pastor over there. And God's been teaching. I don't know Spanish, but I'm learning just enough to get me in trouble. And then sometimes when I say things and I try or attempt to say things in Spanish, you put a hillbilly from West Virginia and try to teach him Spanish and put him in the country of Nicaragua. We got problems. And so a lot of times I'll say, and they'll just look at me and grin, like, yeah, you don't have a clue. And they're right, I don't have a clue. But God is using Promised Land Baptist Church to do a work that they never thought they could do before. Sometimes we'll sit down and say, we just can't afford to do this. No, we can't afford not to do it if God has put it on our hearts to do it. We need to trust God for it. We need to look to Him and depend upon Him and rely upon Him. We've not been that way heretofore. I mean, therefore we must keep our eyes upon God and His Word and not upon our own efforts and wisdom. God's maybe dealing with some of you today about the next... step of ministry in your life, or answering that call, or surrendering to that mission field, or whatever it is that God's working in your life, and you say, well, I just don't know that I can do it. Number one, God would never call you if He wasn't going to prepare you. So you just need to look to Him. I see God looking for individuals to do greater things than has been done before. I think sometimes we have this mentality that there can be no more Spurgeons or there can be no more Moody's or there can be no more you put the name there. The truth of the matter is God can use any one of us who's willing to yield their heart and life to Him. God's looking for the next great evangelist or God's looking for the next great pastor. You don't have to have social status. You don't have to be invited to all of the conferences and all the meetings. You just need to be the person God called you to be. You just need to serve the Lord from your heart and you need to be obedient to the calling that God has given you. And God wants to see you give your life to Him for His glory and to keep your eyes upon Him and follow Him through His Word. And I think one of the things that made Joshua such a great leader was that Joshua kept his eyes upon the Lord. And the reason God used Joshua to do the things that he did for the nation of Israel was because Joshua relied upon the presence of God. He not only relied upon the presence of God, I see in this passage that we must rely upon God's power. Look at verse 15 through 17 of Joshua chapter 3. As they that bear the ark were coming to Jordan, the feet of the priests that bear the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest. That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up, upon a heap very far from the city of Adam, and that is beside Zaretan. And those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, felled and were cut off. And the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priest that bared the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan. and all Israelites, the Israelites passed over on dry ground until all the people were passed clean over Jordan. I think there's some things that we ought to at least acknowledge about this passage. Number one, the Bible doesn't tell us what kind of sandals that the priests were wearing. I remember when I first started preaching in West Virginia. And I grew up in the coalfields of West Virginia. And I hope you don't take that like I'm demeaning where I was born and raised. I love the life that God has given me to live. But the truth of the matter is, the older preachers were just a different mentality and a different mindset. My pastor said, son, if you're going to preach, you need to get you a suit. And I got me a suit. And I remember the first time I was invited to preach somewhere, I walked in the church, there's a place called Greenville, up on the creek side, you know, and the preacher met me at the door and he said, son, you know, the suit don't make the preacher. What am I supposed to do? The pastor said, buy a suit. The next preacher said, the suit don't make the preacher. And he was right. The suit didn't make the preacher. But it was the power of God. It wasn't the sandals that the priest were wearing. It was the power of God. Did you notice the Bible didn't even tell us the names of the priests that were carrying the Ark of the Covenant? Because it wasn't what they had done. It's what God had done. I really think that one of our problems today is that we're exalting men to a level that we ought not exalt men to. We need to focus on what God is doing in our lives. And we need to be reminded that it was God that called us. And that God is going to equip us. And that God is going to empower us. And that God is going to use us. And that God is going to be there when it's a great day. And God is going to be there when it's a bad day. And God is going to be there when the sun is shining. And God is going to be there when the clouds are hanging over our head. We need to rely upon Him in our lives. His power. We get in the pulpit, we need the power of God. They simply followed God as God required them. And once they put their feet in the Jordan, the power of God caused the water to dry up so that they could walk over on dry ground. I simply believe that when you do what God calls you to do, when you do what the Bible says you're supposed to do, then God's power will be available to you. Why else would God record this? Why did He record in verse 15 that Jordan overfloweth all of his banks all the time of harvest? And some say, well, maybe to keep the liberal theologians from claiming that the Jordan was already dried up. No, I just believe that God was reminding His people that He was all-sufficient for their needs and that they can trust Him even in those times when it seemed impossible. You can trust Him when the finances get tight and you go to your mailbox and there's $100. You can know that God sent that and God used somebody to send that, but God sent that. I often find myself in a church where I pastor that if the finances are not what we need them to be. It's not God so-and-so needs to give, or God so-and-so needs to cough up some money, or God those who've been backslidden and not given their tithe need to start tithing. No, God, it's your church. These are your people. This is your work. God, I'm trusting you. It doesn't matter where you send it from. God, as long as it comes, because when it comes, I know it's going to come from you. So God wants us to know sometimes when the situation seems impossible that His power is available. Maybe God is leading you to do something you've never done before. I just don't know if I can do it. He's sufficient for your need. Every church there are those who say it can't be done. I love it when you're doing God's work God's way. And in God's power, in God's presence, God does things that nobody else can take credit for but Him. I love it when God does that. He moves on everyone to know that He's available to them. We must rely upon His presence. We must rely upon His power. Number three, we must rely upon His promise. Joshua 3, verse 7. The Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. Why would God tell Joshua that as he was with Moses, he would be with him? Obviously Moses was a great leader. The Bible refers to Moses as a meek man of God. Moses did marvelous things that our world still marvels over today. So, God is the same whether it's Moses or Joshua or you or me. So why is God coming to Joshua and saying to Joshua, as I was with Moses, I will be with thee to be sure he's the same, but follow me just for a moment on this thought. Joshua was a new generation. I want to say to you today, you're a new generation. This world is not the same world that I grew up in or have been growing up in. I'm 58. When I was a little boy in the hills of West Virginia, I never dreamed or even imagined that I would hear of or see the things that we hear of and see today in our life. Joshua was going to see some things that Moses hadn't seen. Joshua was going to experience some things that Moses hadn't experienced. And you're going to experience some things that your pastor hasn't experienced. The truth of the matter is it may be even more difficult in your generation than it was in your pastor's generation. The truth of the matter is, in evangelism, it may be more difficult to get those meetings because churches are no longer scheduling revivals like they used to. It may be more difficult, it may be more challenging, and there may be another avenue that you must find in order to do what God has called you to do. But you're a new generation, and God's saying to a new generation, as I was with Moses, I'm going to be with you! You today need to have the confidence to know that God is with me and God is going to use me. I promise you, times change. People change. Places change. Technology changes. I know just enough technology to tear something up. And when my associate pastor comes in and says, Pastor, do you want to do this on your computer? And I say, no, I don't want to do that. I don't want to do anything except what I know to do. I don't want to learn. At this point, I'm not interested in learning anything new in technology. I just want to keep doing what I'm doing. You're a new generation. My grandkids are better at technology than I am. And the oldest of five is five. I have a one-year-old granddaughter today. Papa, papa. And she took my phone. And she's doing things on my phone. It scares me. I have a grandson that gets on my phone and he's three years old and he's making calls. Papa don't play games on his phone. Don't mess Papa's phone up now. You'd get something out of sync. I'm in trouble. Technology changes. Methods change. But aren't you glad that God never changes? Too glad he's the same yesterday, today, and forevermore. Maybe, just maybe what he was saying with Joshua, Joshua, things are going to be different, but I'm going to be the same. Joshua, people are going to perceive things differently than what they used to, but I'm the same. Joshua, the crowd may look a little rougher, but I'm the same. Joshua, the battles may be a little more intense, but I'm the same. We sometimes act as though God has run out of energy or that God has disengaged Himself and nothing could be further than the truth. God is not looking for you and I to make the changes. God's looking for us to depend upon Him and allow Him to make the changes through us. That's what God is looking for. We've changed. I think today we're going in our own strength rather than in the strength of the Lord. You know, Joshua understood he couldn't do it without God. Just like Moses. And Joshua was standing by when Moses was saying, God, I can't go without you. I'm not gonna go without you, God. Joshua heard those words and Joshua said, God, if Moses couldn't do it without you, I know I can't do it without you. I'm just not gonna attempt it without you. And I think sometimes what we are doing in our churches today is that we're doing it without him. May I remind us today that the God that was with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, with Moses, and Joshua, and his prophets, and David, and his son, Jesus Christ, and the apostle is the same God that's with you today. Number four, and I'm finished. We must rely upon God's precepts. Verse seven and verse eight of Joshua chapter one. Notice what he said. Only be thou strong and very courageous. that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee. Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whethersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein. For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous. When? When they do what the book says. When you do what God says, your way becomes prosperous. And then thou shalt have good success. Do it God's way. Go to God's Word. Today we don't have a cloud by day or a pillar of fire by night. We don't have the Ark of the Covenant that's leading us to the place that God wants us to be. We have something more precious than that. We have God's Word. We must follow it. We must follow the Word of God. Pastor, how do we do it? Just follow God's Word. Follow God's Word. You started the West Virginia stuff, I can't get away from it now. I remember on a Sunday saying to my pastor, as a young man, Pastor, I believe God's called me to preach. I was in Kessler, West Virginia, K-I-S-T-L-E-R. Logan County, 1972, there was a big flood, Buffalo Creek flood, coal mine, dam had bust and washed out everything. My wife's family had lost everything they had. 100 lives, I think, 108 lives were lost. in that, that's the area I'm from. And I remember telling my pastor on a Sunday, I really believe God's called me to preach. He said, great, you preach Wednesday. I don't know how to preach. All I knew is I thought God had called me. I wasn't expecting him to ask me. What do you mean I'm preaching Wednesday? I studied the whole chapter of John 6. What is it, 70 verses? Five minutes, I was finished. I was finished in five minutes. My mouth was dry. My tongue couldn't get loose from my teeth. I was in trouble. I remember going home and saying, dear God, I lied. I told those people you called me to preach. I can't preach five minutes. But I knew there was something in my heart I was supposed to do. So I just committed myself to his word. and I read, and I bought every book I could buy, and I read, and I learned, and I studied, and I applied, and I grew, and I matured, and I got help, and I sought for advice, and I learned everything I could learn. And I have learned that in 33 years, that if I just keep doing it His way, it's gonna work. You know what's true when it comes to marriage? That if your marriage just goes God's way, It works. I'm always counseling with married couples. The reason they're in trouble is because they're not doing it God's way. It works when you're a parent trying to raise your children. I was in a men's conference and I was on the a little council, a board, they were asking questions to and they said, can you recommend some books? And I recommended some books. They said, well, where did you get your best advice for raising your children? I have three children that are in the ministry. I have two sons that are pastor and associate pastor, Laurel Baptist Church in Charlotte. My daughter just married an associate pastor in San Antonio, Texas, Calvary Baptist Church. and all of my children are serving the Lord in ministry, and somebody said, well, what did you do? What did you do differently? I don't want to oversimplify it, but the truth of the matter is, I just tried to do it God's way. I just read it, and whatever God said, as a family, we said, we're just going to do it God's way. My wife and I said, well, if it's in the Bible, and the Bible said that's what we ought to do, then let's just do it God's way. You know, Joshua learned that when you do it God's way, it works. You do it God's way, it'll work for you. We have the presence and the power of God. We have the Holy Spirit of God. We just need to yield our lives to Him and listen to Him and follow Him. Perhaps God is calling some of you to do something you've never done before. Some of you young people from the school, God's calling you to a Christian college. a Bible-preaching, believing college like Ambassador Faddis College. Maybe you're trying to decide whether I should go to a Bible college or a secular college. God's looking for young men and women who will go those places they've never been before. Maybe God's dealing with some of you students here in the college about answering the call to preach. You came to the college, you hadn't necessarily answered the call to ministry or whether or not God has called you to preach or to be a missionary or a Christian school teacher or an evangelist or whatever it is that God wants to do in your life or through your life. You're still trying to determine that. God has called you and you know it. You're just struggling whether or not you ought to yield to it. because you haven't been this way here before. Maybe God's calling you to a mission field. Boy, pastor, I don't know about going to a foreign country. You can go anywhere God sends you because he said, I'll be with you, just like he was with Joshua. God knows you haven't been that way before, but look upon him. and go after it. It is God who called. Once we obey that call, then we can know God's presence is with us just as it was with Joshua. God's power was available to us just as it was to Joshua. Had Joshua and the people of Israel not obeyed God's word, they would have never seen the miracles that God has performed in their presence. Rely upon it. Rely upon his presence. Rely upon his power. Rely upon his promises. Rely upon his precepts. Father in heaven, thank you for the privilege of standing in the pulpit of the chapel at Pastor Baptist College. Thank you for clearly laying up on my heart the message for today. Pray God that as I'm reminded myself how much I must depend upon your presence and rely upon your power, trust your promises and follow your precepts, that those of us here today would make those same commitments to you. We sure love you and we commit our lives to you now in Jesus' name. you