A Better Way

by | Sep 22, 2024 | Podcast, Sermons

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Preacher: Pastor David Ball

Scripture: Joshua 23

What final words would you want to give to your loved ones before you died? What words would impact them and help them live a better and fulfilled life? In Joshua 23, we have the beginnings of Joshua’s final words to God’s people. In his final words, he reminds them of the grace of God that has been at work in their lives, the promises that He has made to them, and the warning of what will happen if they do not live up to their end of God’s covenant. Joshua 23 points us to God’s better covenant with all who trust His Son, Jesus Christ. A better covenant. One that is filled with joy, rooted in grace, and inspires hope eternally, all through the faithful obedience of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Transcript

Have you ever thought of what you would like your farewell words to be probably not right what would your farewell the last words you knew that you had to be able to say to someone you know I often uh you know encourage uh folks who are in a situation where you know they they’ve gotten a diagnosis and and God’s given them some time and and they know it um and I you know it can be it can be a wonderful gift and it can also be a difficult uh suffering uh but one of the things I encourage those who who do get a diagnosis where they know that uh that the death is coming uh that they would begin to think about how the words that they would speak the blessings that they would offer to those that they love whether it be family members children Friends words that would would make their lives better words that would fulfill their life in some meaningful way that this is your chance this is your chance to offer that that blessing to those that you love to the Next Generation or those that that you’ll be leaving behind to leave you know your legacy it’s an important animportant thing a holy time uh for someone to be able to do but there’s lots of uh the farewell words are are important you can think about all the famous farewell addresses right probably the most famous Farewell Address was Lou garri 1939 you know as he stood there uh suffering with ALS knowing that that it was going to take him uh and he stood there at home plate uh in the New York Yankees Stadium and what did he say today I am the luck EST man on the face of the Earth you know those were powerful words that was a word of farewell a legacy that he wanted to to leave behind what what would you want to leave behind what words of of blessing uh what words of wisdom that would better the life of the person that you love and care for you know today in Joshua 23 hard to believe we we’re we’re almost at the end we’ve got two more chap Afters uh only one after today right so you’re even more than almost there um but it’s the beginning of Joshua’s farewell address to the people it continues on into Joshua 24 that we’ll look at together uh next week uh but Joshua has had has led well incredibly well he is Led Faithfully he wasn’t perfect but he has led F Faithfully he’s held the people together he’s followed the Lord’s command and really in the in the Book of Joshua other than Joshua chapter 7 he has done it without blemish but if you remember Joshua 7 uh Joshua listened after that first win in Jericho after the Lord had given them Victory but he got a little bit too cocky all the people sent some spies in and they thought hey this is easy you don’t even need to send everybody in uh just don’t don’t burden everybody else just send a few in and Conquer it right they didn’t they didn’t seek the Lord they didn’t follow where the Lord was leading they took it upon themselves and it was a disaster and but God even in the midst of of of Joshua’s own failure his imperfection God still used it for good he used that whole experience to expose the sin of a uh and to deal with it to root it out of of Israel so here we get this farewell address from this wonderful leader imperfect man but Wonder wonderful leader uh and this is what we’re told Joshua was old and well advanced in years and so I tried to look back and as best as we can figure what how old Joshua was at this time he was in his early 80s and so he was feeling like you know the time is coming I can’t I can’t do this anymore the time is coming to an end he knows his time of effective leadership at least the way he had been leading uh That season is coming to an end and it’s time for a transition in verse two Joshua summons in this knowledge all of Israel together uh we’re told that all of Israel the elders the uh the heads of the the CL the families the judges the officers uh it’s not clear here if that means just everybody or the representative of everybody that’s not exactly clear but it certainly uh means all of uh of Israel is gathered to hear these final words that Joshua has uh that he would want to leave with them to better their lives to give them a fulfilling life when he’s no longer able to lead them and so Joshua Begins by reminding them all of the wonderful things that the Lord has done for them right uh all that the Lord did to the Nations around them that were in The Promise Land for their sake or for your sake is what he said and then he also reminded them it’s the Lord Who has fought for you for you in both of these places this is a very personal farewell that he’s giving them about wants them to remember about about what God did God didn’t do these things for himself God did these things for you he did them for you he did them for you in this intimate way which leads us to the only conclusion he did it because he loved them he did it because he cared for them he did it because he was their God and that they were his people and that’s what he does for his people he did it for them he’s not some detached far away unapproachable God he is intimately connected in their lives he is personal in every way Joshua needs them to know this as his Farewell I’ve been trying to keep you all he’s he’s telling them I’ve been trying to keep you all in this and I’m not going to be here anymore you’ve got to remember you’ve got to remember all that God has done for you because he loves you so first he reminds them and other words of God’s grace that’s at work in their lives the things that he’s done on their behalf for them and then in verse four secondly he reminds them of the promise that God had made to them that God through Joshua has given uh their allotment of the promised land and those lands though as we’ve learned still pose Danger Don’t They there’s still work to be done there’s still still there’s still enemies in the land that need to be pushed out it’s not over they didn’t complete the conquest the way that God had commanded them to uh they’re still inhabitants to be driven out but God gives them the promise that Joshua wants them to know that they need to know because he’s not going to be there to remind them he says the Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight and you shall possess the land so first Joshua reminds them of God’s gracious and loving work for them secondly he reminds them of the promise that God had already made of what he’s going to do for them in verse six he says now now knowing that the grace of God has already been at work for them and that uh and that his promises of what he’s going to do therefore be strong to keep and do all that is written in the book of of Moses because of God’s gracious love for you and his provision and because of the promise of what’s to come be strong and keep and do all that is written in the book of Moses and secondly cling to the Lord your God meaning keep him close as close as he is to you stay close to the Lord that’s what he wants them to know he wants them to know be strong to keep and do all that is written in the book of the mo the book of Moses and cling cling to the Lord as he has kept close to you and he tells us how to do that and by in verse 11 be very careful to love the Lord your God so armed with God’s grace meaning all that God had already done for them and the promise of what he’s going to continue to do Joshua now urges them to be strong and do all that is uh that is required of them to do in the book of of Moses of the law and stay close to the Lord by loving him above all others and then verses 12- 16 he gives them a warning he gives them a warning of what’s going to happen if they don’t in verse 12 for if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them so that you associate with them and they with you then in verse 13 know for certain that the Lord will no longer drive out these nations before you but they shall be a snare and a trap for you until you perish from off this good ground that the Lord your God has given you and then in verse 15- 16 the warning continues verse 16 if you transgress the the Covenant of the Lord your God which he commanded you and go and serve other gods and bow down to them then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you and You Shall Perish quickly from off the good land that he has given

you Stark warning isn’t it this is what Joshua needs them to know this is his Farewell Address I’m not going to be here to lead you I’m not going to be here to remind you remember the grace of God that’s at work that’s at work for you remember the promises that God has made to you and be sure now to follow and cling to his law and to cling to him to love him above all other gods and to serve him so what of these conditions of this covenantal relationship that God made with his people uh so what we have are the conditions of a of a of a covenantal relationship that God made with his people concerning the land it’s a covenant relationship God has been gracious God promises to continue to be gracious and on condition that they remain faithful to him right this is the reaffirmation of uh of the Covenant that God had already made with Moses it’s the Mosaic Covenant it’s very clear it’s very straightforward if Israel obeys then God will bless them but if they disobey then God is going to punish them it’s a conditional Covenant it’s very very clear so what does this have to do with us what does this have to do with us now there’s a real Temptation here and I’ll get to why it’s a temptation but the Temptation is to try to apply uh this uh conditional Mosaic Covenant directly to us in our lives and to be honest with you I think most of us default to this we can’t help it because it just makes too much dagum sense is it okay that I said that if I did if it wasn’t the real word but it does it makes too much sense it’s straightforward it’s very black and white right you you do this this will happen if you don’t do this then this will happen you know it just makes too much sense uh but we have to be careful the Temptation is to to directly apply this to our lives to our personal lives that if we do and obey God and all that he has commanded us then everything will always go well for us and on the other side if we disobey then everything’s going to fall apart I can’t tell you how I default to this all the time especially you know and you’ll have it in your own ways but for me it’s especially when it comes to preaching like you know I I get ner I’m nervous about preaching like I I get butterflies every time and I stress out about it I can’t sleep on Saturday nights very well uh because I’m worried about it and thinking about it because it’s that that important but also this little thought keeps creeping up in my mind that if I dissipate God in any way leading up to this sermon that he will not bless it and that it will be a failure and that I will have failed him it just creeps in because that old Covenant way of thinking just has this way of of of speaking to my heart and capturing my heart can you can you relate to that do you think of that maybe it’s something that you want maybe it’s something you need in your life and you think that if I’m obedient enough and I do all of the things and I live according to all of God’s ways and I please therefore I’ll please him and therefore he’ll bless me and and I’ll get the things that that that I want and that I

need so I think we do it we we we apply it to our to our own lives just by default we just fall into it we also uh have to be careful that to applying it to our national life together because we can fall into this by default as well because it just makes too much sense that the Mosaic Covenant now applies to to any Sovereign Nation that it’s just Apples to

Apples but we have to read this in context and in light of the whole of the scripture and in light of the go gospel itself the Mosaic Covenant was made by God with Israel because as Exodus 196 tells us God’s promise was to make them and he wanted them to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation Israel was to be God’s light to the dark world around them they were to shine as a beacon of light they were to be special and separate from the nation so that everyone would know that they worshiped the one true God Yahweh the God who keeps his word the God who keeps his

covenants but yet if we look at the rest of the Old Testament how does this work

out it tells us about Israel couldn’t do it they couldn’t live in up to this Covenant next week we’re going to look how they all swear they’ll do it and Joshua is going to tell them do you guys have any idea what you’re saying you can’t do it and you’re not going to be able to do it but yet they all swore no no no no no we’re going to do it we’re going to stay faithful we’re going to be able to abide and obey by all of God’s

law it was failure and the rest of the rest of the Old Testament we see the unfolding of God’s warning coming true and God dispossessing them from the land to the point of even blessing foreign Nations to come who were Pagan nations in order to carry out his will right so if the Mosaic Covenant was for them specifically then what does this all have to do with

us Galatians 3 tells us what it has to do with us in Galatians 3:24 the Apostle Paul says so then the law was our School Master until Christ came in order that we might be justified by faith well Paul was saying is that the law revealed the people’s sinfulness our sinfulness the law made it apparent it exposed us and it exposed our desperate need for a savior is our only hope our only salvation Jesus said that it was the Mosaic law that he came not to to abolish but to what

fulfill I came to fulfill the law and Jesus fulfilled the messic Covenant by his perfect obedience to God he lived it he did what only he could do Jesus did what no one else has been able to do or could ever do not Adam not Abraham not Moses not Joshua not David not any other king or Prophet that came after no one and thus Jesus alone fulfilled the Mosaic Covenant and the righteous requirements of the law and then declared to us Jesus in Luke 22 what we just heard in the institution of the Lord’s Supper this cup that is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my blood there’s a new covenant that we’re living under in Christ God has made a New Covenant with us according to Hebrews 8 Paul calls it a better Covenant a better Covenant Hebrews 8:6 but as it is Christ has obtained a Ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the Covenant he mediates is better since it is enacted on better promises it’s a better Covenant why is it better well Paul goes on to describe it even more in Hebrews 8 under the New Covenant and I’ll just summarize it but you can go back read all of Hebrew 8 it’s incredible it’s amazing this New Covenant that God has made with us but but but four of the main points of the New Covenant is this that God will put his laws into our minds and write them on our hearts in other words I’m going to put them in you they’re going to be in you number two God promises that he will be our God and that we will be his people and number three that that we will know him personally and intimately and number four that he will be merciful towards our iniquities and will remember our sins no more that’s the New Covenant that we’re living under that Christ has won for us Paul concluded in Hebrews 8 with these words in speaking of a New Covenant he makes the first one obsolete

and what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away this New Covenant that we have in Christ it is conditional it is conditional but it’s not conditional Upon Our obedience it’s conditional upon The Obedience of Christ for

us Hebrews 9:15 therefore Jesus is the mediator of a New Covenant so that those who are called may receive the promised Eternal inheritance since his death redeems those from the transgressions committed under the first Covenant friends this is the good news of the Gospel this is why it is good news to us through faith in Christ we are a people of a new and a better Covenant that God has made for us a CO Covenant of Grace beyond our deserving a covenant of Freedom a covenant of true hope a covenant that is full of

joy it’s a better Covenant second Corinthians 3 I know I’ve given you a lot of scripture but it’s because it’s full of it 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 12-8 this is what what Paul wrote since we have such a hope we are very bold not like Moses hear that again since we have such a hope in this new covenant we are very bold not like Moses who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end but their minds were hardened for to this day when they read the old Covenant that same Veil remains unlifted because only through Christ is it taken away yes to this day whenever Moses is read a veil Lies over their hearts but when one turns to the Lord the veil is

removed now the Lord is spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom and we all with unveiled faces beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from one degree of Glory to another for this comes from the Lord who is the spirit spirit this is the better way this is the better Covenant this is the farewell address that Joshua wishes he could have offered us because this was what he offered was just a picture of the greater that was about to come when we turn to Jesus the veil is removed from our hearts and our minds the spirit of the Lord is within us and he’s a spirit of freedom and he is the one work in US transforming us into the image of the glory of the Lord from one degree to another do you see how this New Covenant is has transformed the old Covenant required us to be the one who had to do it the New Covenant God has declared I’m doing it in you put your trust in

me the warning then for us is this so not to turn from this New Covenant of freedom and hope and joy through the finished work of Jesus Christ and the shedding of his blood alone and to turn to a different gospel that’s the warning as Paul warned the Galatians in Galatians 1:6 I am astonished that you’re so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel he told him because that’s exactly what they were doing what I’m talking about here what all of us want to do in our have this default mode of turning back to the Mosaic law that’s what they were doing they were being tempted to turn back they were being influenced to turn back no no no you’re not good enough you haven’t obeyed enough you haven’t done all the right things so God will not bless you you’re not truly God’s unless you’ve done all of the right things he says not that there is another gospel but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ and that’s so true today there are so many that want to distort the gospel and want to turn it back to the Mosaic Covenant telling you that it rests on you that everything rests on your obedience your ability to be strong and to do all that God has commanded you that your Eternal Destiny is dependent upon on it so how do we desert Jesus Now by trusting in our own works by trusting in our own righteousness going back to the old Covenant and thinking that God will love me through my obedience and he’s going to punish me according to all of my Disobedience friends I want to I know there’s a lot of scripture again I’m coming to the end I promise but here these words from Paul’s last words has been addiction to them in Hebrews 13 now May the God of Peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ the great Shepherd of the Sheep by the blood of the new Eternal Covenant equip you with everything good that you may do his will working in us that which is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be the glory forever and ever he’s the one doing the work that’s the promise that’s the New Covenant that’s who we are that’s who we’ve been bought by Don’t Turn back

to an old Covenant to a different gospel there’s no hope there’s no life there’s no joy we’re a people of a new and a better Covenant a covenant that is full of joy a covenant that is rooted in Grace a covenant that inspires hope eternally through the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ amen heavenly father thank

you thank you that we are your children we are Heirs of a better promise a better

Covenant the only Covenant that can bring joy and

grace and hope Lord will you so transform our

hearts Lord don’t let us return and turn to a different

gospel transform our hearts Lord transform the hearts of all all those who are walking in darkness because we know that’s the only hope if you don’t re if you don’t remove the veil of the

hardness of the hearts of those who do not know you Lord they will not turn to you and see that you are the better

way it’s our only hope give us hearts that burn for others to know the joy and the grace and the hope that we have in

you Jesus we ask this in your mighty name amen

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