Where Are You On God’s Map?

God’s Map

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JIMS – 7

John Series-41 Map John SERIES PART – 41

Transcript

Let’s open our Bibles to Titus chapter 3. As you’re turning there, the undeniable fact as we look around us is that millions upon millions of people over the last 2,000 years have been miraculously transformed by the Gospel. What I mean by that is people that were formerly totally selfish have become sacrificial, and giving, and loving. People that were totally defiled, who were morally totally consumed with their own passions, have become saintly, and loving, and giving of themselves, not taking for themselves. People who were enslaved to fear have been transformed by the Gospel and are able to live in serenity, and peace, and joy. And all of that is what we call the glorious transformation of salvation. Titus chapter 3 is where we’re going to start this morning to look at the supernatural transformation, the overflowing victorious life Jesus talks about in the Gospel of John. Remember we’re looking at the Gospel of John? This is our third week looking at the supernatural, overflowing life that Christ offers.

But before we read Titus, we’re going to read Titus chapter 3 verse 3 onward, in a few moments, I want to take you back to my friend, Douglas, I told you about last week. Remember, this is at night stories about soul winning with the kids, and so I’ve relived all these. And the one little thing I left out with Douglas that I took, remember the power walker last week I told you about. When he burst in my office, unbeknownst to me, he was not merely the power walker of North Kingstown; he was known as one of the most violent fighters of the bar scene of North Kingstown. He was tenth level martial arts black belt who loved to fight. He enjoyed knocking people out, getting into fights. He wasn’t that big, but he was very powerful. And he would do that to impress, in the darkened corners of those bars, the women, as the Scriptures describe weighed down with their sins, who looked for men who fought in bars and would want to go off with them to fulfill their lustful desires. And so, that was his whole life. During the daytime working out, at night playing. Burst into the office, came to me, dropped on his knees, said, I want what you people have. I shared about the simplest Gospel presentation you could think of because the guy just looked so desperate. So, what do you say to a desperate person? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. And he did, and he got up from his knees and grabbed the Bible and walked out. One week later, comes back and he says, I found the verses that describe me in the Bible, Titus chapter 3. And I want you with me this morning to remember that man who loved to drink, who loved to fight, who loved to brutally teach anyone who fought with him a hard lesson. His goal was to pick up willing girls at darkened nightclubs and bars for his lust. And after dropping on his knees and simply calling out upon the Lord Jesus Christ in faith for salvation, this man changed completely and became another one of the millions, and millions, and millions whose lives have been undeniably transformed from the inside out.

Let’s read this Titus chapter 3, and I want you to imagine, as you hear this, the words of Douglas, as he stood beside me in the waters of baptism and quoted these verses. There was hardly a dry eye in the church as he said in his inimitable New England drawl. He said, this was my life. Verse 3, for we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. What a wonderful change in our lives has been wrought since Jesus came into our hearts.

Let’s bow together. I thank You that this morning, Lord Jesus, You continue to do the miracle, taking the stone-hardened lives of us sinners and cleaning us out and filling us with Your overflowing and endless life. Thank You that that miracle that John captured from 2,000 years ago is still happening today. It was happening yesterday. It happens today. It will happen tomorrow until You come. And Lord, we thank You for the privilege of being partakers and also those who dispense the wonderful words of life to others. Thank You that You’ve called us to share this. And that to the most desperate person, enslaved by every lust, and drunkenness, and sensual appetite, violence, hateful and hating, brutal. The most desperate person needs nothing other than the simple Gospel that Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners, even the chief-est. And Lord, we thank You that we have a victorious, overflowing, endless life. And I pray this morning that as we look at the triumph that You want us to live in, and as we in the days ahead walk through each of Your Gospel presentations in the Gospel by John, that we would let You lead us in triumph all of our days, and we wouldn’t settle for anything less than the triumphal Christian life presented in Your Word. Help us to not settle for any substitute, anything less than our God who always leads us in triumph in Christ Jesus, in whose name we pray, amen. Quite a glowing transformation Douglas had, right? Wouldn’t it be amazing if the bar-walking person in front of our church that everyone in Tulsa knew just overnight changed? That’s the Gospel. That’s what Christ does, and that’s the wonder of salvation. He says, a new heart I’ll give you, a new spirit I’ll put within you. I’ll take out your stony heart, and I’ll make you desire My way, and you walk My way. What’s amazing is, that happens to each one of us when we’re saved, but so quickly we seem to change from that.

This morning, the question that we have to consider in our minds as we look at the Gospel is where are we in our spiritual walk? The Bible, in fact, this week I was pondering this and looking at how the whole Old Testament is actually built around four different words. Remember, the Old Testament, the old covenants, God’s dealing with His promised people, the Jews. And four geographic places basically summarize all of God’s dealing with the Jews, and those four places are Egypt, the wilderness, Canaan, and Babylon. The whole Old Testament! If you think biblically, you can put all of the Old Testament books under one of those four headings. Starting in Genesis 12 is Egypt. That’s where Abraham went down there and found Hagar. And we know the problem, and it’s in the news today, the eternal conflict between Hagar’s son, Ishmael, and the son of promise, Isaac. So, there’s Egypt, and Egypt goes through Exodus 15, and then the wilderness starts Exodus 16 and goes all the way through Joshua 2. And then the Canaan goes from Joshua 3 to 2 Chronicles 36. And all that is Israel living in the Promised Land. And then in 2 Chronicles 36, they’re carried off to Babylon, and they are there until they’re brought back. And the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther about their time in Babylon and the books of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi are about when they get back in the land after. But those four words, if you want to think of the Bible in a big picture, think of Egypt, and think of the wilderness, and think of Canaan, and think of Babylon.

The Apostle Paul tells us, and while you’re turning back to the Gospel of John, I want you to look at one little passage in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 on our way back by because Paul says this, and I want you to think about it, that the Bible gives us that front half that’s so hard to read the books of the Old Testament. For a specific example, 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 6. It’s what the Bible gives us as a little heads-up because the Apostle Paul sums up the whole record of God’s dealing with Israel in 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 6, and he says, now these things. What’s he talking about? He is talking about the wilderness right there in verses 1, where he says they pass through the sea, that’s the great deliverance the Exodus passage through the sea. They ate and drank, verse 4, of that spiritual rock. That’s water out of the rock and the manna. Verse 5, with most of them God wasn’t well pleased, their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. See, it’s the Old Testament scene here. But look at verse 6, now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And then he gives all these records of their lust. Verse 7 idolaters, verse 8 sexual immorality, verse 9 tempting Christ, verse 10 complaining. Those are all lusts and desires that we give in to. Look at verse 11, now all these things happened to them as examples, and were written for our admonition.

And so, the whole Old Testament is like a spiritual atlas, and it shows that the pilgrimage of 2,930 individuals. Did you know that’s how many people’s names are written in the Old Testament? Men and women, there are almost 3,000 individuals listed in the Old Testament record, and God gives a satellite image, watching what they did with their lives. And those lives that are recorded in Egypt, the wilderness, Canaan, and Babylon are examples to admonish us. Admonish us what? To live like some, and to be aware we don’t live like others.

So, with that in mind, I want you to think through Israel as a nation and God’s summarizing of His dealings by these four locations. Now, let me just tell you what happened to Israel in these four locations, and you can just rest for a second and use your minds at the wedding yesterday. You can see some of the beauty left over from our wedding, but someone came up to me all enthusiastically and said, oh, I would love to see the video of your wedding and Bonnie’s. And I said, we were married before video. And Dr. Bill was sitting at the table. He says, our wedding was recorded on a wire. I guess he was from Alexander Graham Bell’s time, at least we had tape recordings, but we’ve got some old people in our church here. But Bonnie and I were PV, pre-video. But one thing I like is we listen to our tape of our wedding. And you know what’s amazing? When you hear something, you can see it in your mind. Kind of like the old days when you used to listen to radio before TV. I remember before TV too. I’m old. But when you think and just hear something in your mind, you can see the picture. And that’s what I really think as I read this, in your mind, you can see the picture of God’s dealing. So, don’t turn anywhere. Just listen.

The four geographic locations, think of them. Egypt was the place of death and bondage from which Israel was delivered at the first Passover. This place reminds us of Christ’s death and resurrection, which delivered believing sinners from the bondage and judgment of sin. So, Egypt in the Bible is always a picture of bondage, and the flesh, and death, and being captive. Remember, Pharaoh and his sorcerers were a picture of Satan and all that.

The wilderness was the experience of Israel, of 40 painful years in the barren wasteland of Sinai. It was a place of craving for their old life. It was a place of complaining about their new life. They didn’t like the new life God gave them. It was a place of multiplied chastisements from God at every hand. Remember, they’d go off and He’d send snakes, and they’d go off and He’d send fire, go off and He’d open the ground and swallow them. It was just all these chastisements and judgements. The wilderness depicts believers, and that’s what Paul’s talking about in 1 Corinthians 10, who live in unbelief and disobedience and don’t enter into the riches of their inheritance in Christ either because they don’t know it’s there or they know it and refuse to enter. They’re delivered from Egypt, but Egypt is still in their hearts, and they’re like the Jews. They have a desire to go back to their old life and instead of marching through life as conquerors, they meander through life as wanderers. They never enjoy the fullness of what God has planned for them.

You say, are you sure they’re believers? While you’re here, turn back to the book of Jude with me because there is a hopeful verse for these kind of people. And if you know any of them, the book of Jude talks about these meanderers, these people who are saved yet so as by fire. Jude only has one chapter. Look at verse 20. Jesus had two earthly brothers who led the Church in the early days, James and Jude. James is in Acts 15. He is the leader of the Jerusalem church, and Jude is this little book, and they were both brothers, earthly brothers of Christ. Verse 20, Jude says, but you, beloved—talking to believers—build yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. Verse 21, here’s our responsibility. See, it’s a choice. Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Now, here are the meanderers. Here are the wilderness people. Verse 22, and on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. Now, that is not the normal Christian life. That is the yet saved so as by fire life. That is the people who persist in their disobedience, their unbelief, and their sin. They are chastened by God, and if God mercifully spares them, we are to pull them out of fire before He takes them home. That is the worst status or condition for a person to be in, the wilderness.

Now, Canaan. Remember, I said there are four places Israel lived: Egypt, wilderness, Canaan, Babylon. Egypt, pre-salvation picture. Wilderness, saved, yet not following and obeying, not all at least, but there were those who followed and obeyed in the wilderness. But Canaan is not Heaven. That’s the problem. I listen to songs. When I tread the verge of Jordan, bid my anxious fears subside. It talks in our songs, in our songbook, about crossing Jordan as going to Heaven and going to Canaan as Beulah Land, which is Heaven. That’s not how the Bible portrays Canaan. Canaan is the life of victory for a believer on Earth. Heaven is Heaven; Canaan is not, and crossing the Jordan is not going to Heaven. But that’s what our songs, and so sometimes people relegate the book of Joshua to be them doing a picture of going to Heaven. It’s not. Canaan in the Old Testament was a place of promise. It was a place when they got there of blessing, it was a place of riches. Remember, God says you’re going to have cities you didn’t build. You’re going to have all these terraced farms that you didn’t plant. You’re going to have houses you didn’t build. You’re going to have all these riches that I’m giving you, the seven nations of the Canaanites that God drove out and allowed them to conquer. It was the inheritance and possession of that God had promised to Abraham’s descendants. For us, the promise land represents the Christian life as it ought to be. You say, are you sure? It says that the book of Hebrews, I’m so glad I’m not spiritualizing. Hebrews talks about the rest that God promised. And therefore, and one of them, and we’ll get to that later in chapter 3 of the book of Hebrews, talks about the rest of entering, on Earth, the promises of God. And I think that’s what Canaan so clearly portrays the promised land of the Christian life as it ought to be of conflict and victory, of faith and obedience, of spiritual riches and spiritual rest. God offers to us a life of faith, a life of trusting Jesus Christ.

In fact, the book of Hebrews calls Joshua a picture of Jesus. In fact, in the New Testament, the book of Ephesians is almost parallel to the book of Joshua in the Old Testament. The book of Ephesians talks about claiming by faith our inheritance in Christ. The book of Joshua is about the people of Israel claiming by faith their inheritance God offered to them. The book of Joshua is a practical book about how to obey and receive blessing, and the book of Ephesians is a spiritual book. And if we take those two, in fact, a good commentator many years ago wrote a commentary on Ephesians, and he called it The Alps of the New Testament, and he used as his introduction, the book of Joshua and tied those two together. So, just for you to think about, Canaan is the picture of Jesus Christ as our Joshua, the Captain of our salvation, who leads us from victory to victory as we follow and obey Him.

So, the four places of Israel’s life: Egypt, the wilderness, Canaan, and then there’s Babylon. Babylon is where the nation of Israel endured 70 years of captivity because they disobeyed God because they worshiped the idols of the pagan nations around them. Spiritually speaking, Babylon represents the periods in life when God’s children are willfully disobedient. God allows us to be chastised and receive. Remember the Lord says, be not deceived, God’s not mocked; whatever you sow, you’re going to reap. If you sow the flesh, you’ll from the flesh reap corruption. If you sow the Spirit, you’ll reap eternal reward from that. Babylon is a picture of the enslavement sin brings and the chastisement that God will put on a life. And so, when God’s children are willfully rebellious, their loving Father must chasten them until they learn to be submissive.

If you’re in Jude, turn back just a few pages to Hebrews chapter 12 because every bit of the picture book of the Old Testament, all of these pictures are drawn into the New Testament and used. In fact, one of the blessings of the New Testament writers is that they knew the Old Testament so well they allude to it constantly. The writer, John, who wrote Revelation alludes to the Old Testament Scriptures over 300 times. When he thought Bible, he thought Old Testament, and it just comes out. And that’s the same with the writer of Hebrews. Look at chapter 12, and basically the first 11 verses. We know verses 1 and 2 about looking unto Jesus. But look at verse 3, consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary. You haven’t yet resisted to bloodshed. You’ve forgotten the exhortation, verse 5, which speaks to you, and here it is: my son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD. Now there’s an Old Testament verse! That’s quoted from Proverbs chapter 3. Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the LORD loves He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives. And if you endure, verse 7, chastening, God deals with you as sons. Verse 8, but if you’re without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then are you illegitimate and not sons. And he goes through talking about it.

Now, what’s he talking about? He’s talking about God allowing us to go into, as it were, a Babylonian captivity. We get enslaved by our sins, and we don’t yield, and we don’t repent, and we don’t turn from them, and so God allows us to be chastised. What is that? That’s when He spanks us. As it says here, He chastens us. When you’re rebuked, verse 5 says. Verse 6 says, when you’re scourged. Jesus alludes to this in Matthew 18. He says, when a believer won’t forgive another believer and show that love of Christ, the torturers will get him. What’s he talking about? He’s talking about a believer feeling like an unbeliever. I know that in the ministry, and Don and I compare notes regularly. We talk about the people who are dabbling in sin and how they come and all they want is they want the consequence of sin taken away. They do not want to repent and turn from that sin. They just don’t like the consequences. And we look at them, and we see how they are feeling lost, and they go through life miserable. They’re in Babylon because they’re not willing to turn from their sin. Okay, so those are the four conditions.

Now, back to the Gospel by John, and we’re going to pull all this together, and I’m going to show you the triumphal life, chapter 2 of John’s Gospel, that Christ offers us. Because the divine perfection of Jesus is reflected in the seven signs, the sign miracles that John records from Christ’s life. John built his whole Gospel as a bridge around these seven signposts. They point us to Christ. The signs that Christ performed brought the people that followed Him in the first century to believe. They were confirming signs. They were signs that helped them to truly embrace the One whose teachings they believed and those signs confirm. But Jesus selected and John recorded seven signs to prove His deity.

Now, what’s interesting is all of the little Bible scholars around our lunch table said, a lot of people came up and said their study Bible says there are eight miracles. I said, but John in chapter 20 verse 31 says, these are written. There are seven sign miracles before John 20:31. The one that’s in chapter 21, the eighth one, is not one of the sign miracles that he’s talking about because that was after the event, and it was private for the disciples. The other seven were written as signposts going up to chapter 20 verse 31. I know that there are eight, but there are only seven that he’s talking about in chapter 20 verse 31, and those seven are, let me repeat them for you. Chapter 2, the turning of water into wine. Salvation is miraculous. Chapter 4, the healing of the nobleman’s son. Salvation is only by faith. Chapter 5, the paralytic. Salvation is by grace, God’s grace alone; it’s a supernatural, gracious event. Then the result in the life is chapter 6, the feeding the 5,000. Salvation brings us an inexhaustible supply; we’re satisfied by Christ. The stilling of the storm in chapter 6, we have complete peace. The wicked are like the restless sea, but when we come to Christ, we have peace like waves of the sea. Chapter 9, the blind man, verses 1 through 7. Salvation brings light to our souls. I always think of Conrad’s classic Lord Jim, and the classic line of that novel is, oh, the horror of the darkness, as that man saw the evil of his soul. We have light in our souls when we come to Christ. He is our Light. And finally, the raising of Lazarus, the seventh sign. Salvation brings the power of an endless life.

In chapter 2, we looked at the fact that Jesus offers inexhaustible joys. Just one point I want to show you. Look at verse 6, and I didn’t mention this, and I want to close out this miracle by showing you this. There were six water pots of stone, John 2:6, according to the manner of purification that held 20 or 30 gallons. Now, that little detail is given to us because Jesus turned those six water pots of stone. Six, the number of man, purification. We’ve already gone through all the symbolism of this, but there’s not a wedding party on Earth that could drink 180 gallons of wine. There’s not one. A wedding party, I don’t mean invite the whole city, the wedding party, the people involved, they could never drink 180 gallons of wine. This is a picture that Jesus gives them exceeding abundantly more than they need, and that’s what salvation is; it’s an inexhaustible supply. It’s not a pittance. It’s not just barely enough to scrape by. It’s not the scrimping life. It’s the abundant, overflowing life, and that’s what John shows there.

By the way, remember, the Gospel by John explains all the Jewish stuff because it’s for the whole world. Did you know in the Greek mythology the god Bacchus, the god of revelry and the god of wine, also turned water into wine? Did you know that? Supposedly. The only problem is it was just a myth, and everybody knew it was just a myth. But Jesus said, I’m the real God of pleasure. Bacchus, Dionysus is not. He’s a myth, and he has all these cute stories, but he has never done it. I can turn water into wine. I am the God of pleasure. I give you 180 gallons. I give you far more than you ever could use. That is the miraculous life.

Now, think about now our opportunity to live this kind of life, and I want you just to think about where you are in the spiritual spectrum. I want you to look at these four places that Israel lived: Egypt, the wilderness, Canaan, and Babylon. And in your mind, think about where are you? Because Jesus offers a triumphant, overflowing life. He offers you; He’s the true God of pleasure. He gives you more than you’ll ever need, or want, or use. But where are you? In Egypt? The Jews learned that if they would come beneath the blood and if they would hide beneath the shadow of that blood, they would be saved. So, if you come that far, have you seen Jesus as the Lamb of God? Have you seen Him as your only Way out of destruction, and Hell, and death, and endless darkness? Have you seen Him as the only Doorway of life? That’s Egypt. The way out of Egypt is through the Passover blood, which is the picture of the cross. Remember, Jesus was crucified outside the gate. All the Old Testament imagery, the Passover is the picture of Christ dying for us. So, are you that far? Are you out of Egypt yet, or are you still in Egypt? There’s no way to Christ without getting out of Egypt, which is coming by faith, hiding beneath the blood.

Then the wilderness, believers who live in unbelief and disobedience who don’t enter into their riches; they’re delivered from Egypt, but Egypt is still in their hearts. Now, that’s most of 1 Corinthians. You want to see what people look like in the wilderness? Read about the Corinthians. The Corinthians were fighting over who led them to the Lord. And they said, I was led to the Lord by Billy Graham. And someone else says, I was led the Lord by Bill Bright. Or someone else says, I was led the Lord by Dawson Troutman; I’m a Nav. It’s just, it goes on. Even today, people are bragging about, and Paul says, it doesn’t matter if you’re of Paul, or if you’re of Peter, or if you’re of Apollos, or if you some really spiritual, say, I’m of Christ, He led me to the Lord. Some people were still alive after the time of Christ, and so they were bragging. And if you look at Corinth, you see people in the wilderness. You see people that were suing each other. You see people that are living in gross immorality, chapter 5. Chapter 6, they’re suing one another. Chapter 7, they’re divorcing one another. Chapter 8, they’re going to the pagan temples and eating meat offered to idols. In chapter 9, they are involved with arguing about the Apostle Paul and whether his credentials are right. And you go all the way through, and you get into the sign gifts by the time you get to 12 and 13 and 14, and they’re misusing the sign gifts. And then by chapter 15, they’re denying the resurrection, or at least not affirming it. And you look at that, and you see that’s what believers or those who say they’re believers look like in the wilderness.

Now, this morning, are you in Egypt, lost? Are you in the wilderness, complaining about your new life from Christ and longing for the old life? Or are you in Canaan? Are you in the Christian life as it ought to be? Yes, there’s conflict, but Christ gives victory. By faith we obey. Christ leads us.

In fact, look at 1 John chapter 5. Let’s go back there because the, you can define our Christian life in Canaan with many verses in the Scriptures; 1 John chapter 5 is a good one. If you haven’t got it, mark verses 4 and 5. It says this, for whoever or whatever is born of God, 1 John 5:4, overcomes the world. See, we should have an overcoming triumphant life on Earth. That’s the living signboard that God wants us to be here on Earth. Verse 4, for whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Verse 5, who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Back to Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 10. As you’re backing up, look at Hebrews 2:10. For it is fitting, Hebrews 2:10, for whom [are] all things and by whom are all things, to bring many sons to glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect. Do you see? Joshua was the captain of the armies of Israel, physically speaking, but Jesus. By the way, appeared to him and Joshua fell down his face, said, who are You? And He says, I’m the Commander of the hosts of the LORD. It was Christ, pre-incarnate. But Joshua was a human picture of Jesus Christ, who is mentioned right here in Hebrews chapter 2 verse 10 as the Captain of our salvation. Jesus is the Captain of our salvation who always leads us in triumph. If you meet a Christian who is leading a defeated, discouraged, downcast, sin-trodden life, they’re not following the Captain.

I grew up out in the country, and I remember when I learned how to drive. We lived on a quarter-mile road through a wheat field. My mom had bought land from her brother who was a wheat farmer, and he gave us a spot right in the middle of 25 acres of wheat. And the road was the grass we had driven over for years. Every time it rained, it got muddy, and my parents had developed the art of driving on the high parts of the ruts. And I remember when I learned to drive, my dad said, follow my tracks. But being a smart Alec, I would try a new way, and I remember how many times I buried the car. It would just be sitting in the mud on the axles, and we’d have to get the tractor and pull it out. That’s when you don’t follow the captain. I see so many Christians who are smart Alecs, and they won’t follow the tracks the Lord left for them. And they’re going to drive their life their own way, and they get slid off into the mud, and they’re buried down, and they’re totally up to their axles in mud because they’re not following the Captain. And Jesus Christ, chapter 2 verse 10, is the Captain of our salvation. He wants us to realize that though there are enemies before us, we can conquer our enemies by faith. And the Christian life of victory isn’t a once for all triumph that ends our problem, all of our problems.

In fact, the book of Joshua presents the victorious Christian life as a series of conflicts and victories. See, that’s where people don’t get it. It’s not boom, I got it all and I’m never going to have another problem. It’s just like Joshua. They go into the Promised Land, and they do first the central campaign. Then they do the northern campaign. Then they do the southern, read the book of Joshua sometime. It was a progressive walk of obedient conquests. That’s what the Christian life is all about. It’s not a nuke them, just blow them all up, all our enemies, and it’ll be all over with. No, no, God said hand to hand combat, and the victorious Christian life is a series of conflicts and victories.

In fact, the eminent Scottish preacher, Alexander Whyte, who all these biographies of all the famous people of the Old Testament, beautiful set he wrote. This is what he said, the victorious Christian life is just a series of new beginnings. Think about that. Every day we can start out new in Christ. We can be no longer condemned for our sin, trusting in Christ’s righteousness, and we can take the Sword of the Spirit, and put on the helmet of salvation, and have a new beginning every day, and start out brand new in Christ. That’s the victorious Christian life. That’s what He offers us.

Living in the Promised Land of Canaan was so portrayed by Joshua. In fact, just for a second, let me show you why I like Joshua so much. Turn back there. That’s the sixth book of the Bible. Joshua chapter 3, and it might be a couple verses that you could mark, Joshua chapter 3. Joshua was one of my heroes. Just looking at his obedience. He should be one of your heroes too. But in the Scriptures, the leading Person in the book of Joshua is not Joshua. The Hero of the book of Joshua is not Joshua. It’s the LORD. And that’s why he’s such a great example. It’s almost like John the Baptist said, He must increase and I must decrease. In Joshua, who was the Captain of the armies of God, invincible undefeatable? They didn’t have any casualties whenever they went into war, as long as they obeyed the LORD. Joshua wasn’t the hero of the book. The LORD was, and the Hero of the Promised Land is the God of Joshua and the God of Israel. And all that Joshua did in conquest; we see him doing it by faith. Okay, here’s the first one, Joshua 3:10. I love this. And Joshua said, by this you shall know that the living God is among you, He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. Who will do it? Me? The LORD. Joshua, when the Jews crossed the Jordan River, reminded them that the living God was among them, and He would overcome their enemies.

Look at chapter 4 verse 23, for the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you crossed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, that all the peoples of the Earth may know that the hand of the LORD, that He is mighty, and that you may fear the LORD your God. Through Israel’s obedience, Joshua wanted all the people on Earth to know that the LORD was true and that they should fear Him. You notice, he always puts the limelight on the LORD.

And finally, at the end of the book. If you ever notice chapter 23 and chapter 24, 24:15 is a great spot, this is on many of our walls. I’ll start in verse 14 of Joshua 24. This is at the end of his life. In his farewell address, Joshua gave all the glory to God. And he says, now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt. And serve the LORD! It is a series of new beginnings. He says, start over again. If there’s any baggage, the closer you get to the LORD, if there’s any idols that somehow have gotten in your junk, put them away. Even if they’re in your mind, even if they’re in your background, even if they’re something you fear but don’t have, put them away. Look at verse 15, and if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourself this day whom you will serve, whether the gods of your fathers that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, whose land you dwell. But as for me. See why he is such a man of faith? As for me, me and my house, we’re going to serve the LORD. I don’t know about you, but that’s one of the greatest desires I have for my family. Last night, little Lizzy, our little 2-year-old, I was praying with her, and teach them to close their eyes, put my little hand over her eyes. And I prayed again what I’ve prayed for all the kids ever since they were born. I said, Lord, help her to love You and to serve You all of her days. As for me, look at verse 15, and my house, we will serve the LORD.

The promised land of victorious living is explained at least 14 times in the book of Joshua. Look at back with me at chapter 7 verse 13. I want to show you something about this life that we live. Joshua 7:13, and 14 times. And if you’re a Bible student, you can mark these. I’m not going to give them all to you, but you can find them. Look what it says in Joshua 7 and verse 13. And this is repeated 14 times in the book. Get up, sanctify yourselves, and say, sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the LORD God of Israel. You say, what is it repeated 14 times? LORD God of Israel. Think about this. Everything Israel did brought either glory or disgrace to the name of their God. So, in this book 14 times, Joshua says, get ready to go to battle because you’re battling for the LORD God of Israel. Walk by faith, Israel, because you’re walking for the LORD God of Israel. Clean up and get rid of all the junk in your life because you’re living for the LORD God of Israel. Did you know everything they did reflected on God? Everything. And if they would obey by faith, God would keep His promises and work on their behalf, and He would be glorified. But when they disobeyed in unbelief, God would abandon them to their own ways, and they were humiliated and defeated. Did you know that’s the same for us today? You and I are Christians, Christ ones. And the world looks on our lives, and they say, is that what Christians do? They get mixed up because everything you and I do, just like everything Israel did reflects on the LORD God of our lives. He wants us to be those who bless and glorify Him.

Real quickly, Babylon, and I just want to introduce Babylon before we go today. Babylon is where the nation endured 70 years of captivity because they disobeyed God. When God’s children are willfully rebellious, their loving Father must chasten them. We already read that, Hebrews chapter 12. Remember? Every son I scourge. When they confess their sins and forsake them, God forgives and restores His children to fellowship and fruitfulness. Actually, 1 John says, 1 John does not say if we confess our sin as soon as we confess that He forgives us; 1 John says if we are confessing our sins, He’s faithful and just already to have forgiven us. It’s not a tit for a tat thing. It’s not if you sin nine times today and confess eight of them, one piles up. And if you sin 12 times tomorrow and confess 10 of them, two more are added to the pile. What the Scriptures say is if we are constantly confessing our sin, God has already forgiven us from all of them, but we are constantly being cleansed. See, the problem with Christians who aren’t confessing their sins, they’re not cleansed, which means they’re not enjoying the fellowship with God because their sins and iniquities block the way. And so, when we allow sins in our lives to be unconfessed and unforsaken, it slowly clouds our lives.

We were driving down the 110 freeway after we were married for three months, Bonnie and I, and she was a healthy New York girl that had grown up out in the sun and the fresh air. And we were in smoggy LA. That was in the eighties when it was just gray and yellow. It was like sulfur was in the air, the clouds. Any of you lived in California when it smogged and socked in, the air was grayish yellow. And she was sitting there, and it took us an hour and 15 minutes to drive up to work, and she had her little mirror out. Women carry those little, tiny mirrors about this big, and they do all that stuff while you’re driving, and they’re, whatever they’re doing. And she was going like this, and she said, oh honey, I’m so sick. And she was, honey, are you sick? What do you mean? She says, my eyes are yellow. And she really was serious. She was looking in her mirror, and I was still driving. I said, honey, your eyes are not yellow. She says, they’re orange and yellow. She says, I’m sick. And so, I took, I said, let me see your mirror. And it’d been in her purse so long, and that brush flied around, all those little particles had gotten on that mirror. And here we were in the car, and I took it and I went, [blows]. I said, look at your eyes now. She says, I feel so much better. My eyes are all white. You know what? Sin does that. Now, I’m not talking about makeup. There’s no correlation between makeup and sin, but sin is like that film on our mirror, and when we look at our lives, we don’t feel saved and we feel sick, and we say, oh. And what we need to do is confess, and forsake, and let the blood of Jesus Christ cleanse us. We’re already forgiven, but we don’t have the benefits of that forgiveness.

As you look at the spiritual map of your Christian life, where are you living? In the wilderness, the Jews were complaining people, but in Canaan, they were a conquering people. In the wilderness, Israel kept looking back, yearning for what they had in their old life, but in the Promised Land, they looked forward and they conquered the enemy, claiming their rest and their riches. In the wilderness, there was chastisement and confusion. In Canaan, there was worship and wonder. In the wilderness generation, everyone except Joshua and Caleb perished and lost the Promised Land. But in Canaan, that generation, everyone lived and obtained the Promised Land. The wilderness was a march that experienced delay, defeat, and death. Canaan was life, and power, and victory. As you look at the spiritual map of your Christian life, where you’re living today? Are you still in Egypt, lost? Are you in the wilderness, defeated, discouraged? Are you in Canaan living a life of life and power and victory? Or have you slipped back to Babylon because your mirror has gotten clouded over and you look at your spiritual life, and you’re not cleansed and you don’t experience the joy of your salvation? As Dr. Whyte said, the victorious Christian life is a series of new beginnings. No failure in our lives needs to be fatal or final. Although we will suffer for our sins, God gave a new beginning to Abraham, to Moses, to David, to Jonah, to Peter, and to a galaxy of others. And when each of them failed, God restored them when they turned back by faith in a new beginning.

I want to close with 2 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 14, and this is how I’m going to introduce our walking through the Gospel by John next week. Next week, we’re going to start looking at those, as we did for all the other books, each of the passages where Jesus explains the Gospel, and each time Jesus explains the Gospel, He explains it from the position of triumph. He says, you come to Me, overflowing water. You come to Me, you’ll never hunger. You come to Me; you’ll never see death. Remember, it’s triumphant living, absolute, at the top, it’s zenith living, just at the top. Now look at 2 Corinthians 2, and I want to just get your appetite whetted for this because this is how the Christian life should be lived. The Apostle Paul was hounded out of city after city. He was discredited by other believers. There was favoritism, there was jealousy, there was rivalry, there were defectors. He was persecuted; he was imprisoned. He was stoned to death, and the Lord raised him back. All that stuff, you and I would’ve struggled. We would need to go to a clinic somewhere for our emotional repair. But look at what Paul says in verse 14 of chapter 2 of 2 Corinthians, now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ. Now, I am going to go through this in a full way but let me explain to you what he’s saying. Because to us, triumph? What is he talking about? A little car, a Triumph? What is he talking about here? This passage teaches us to daily walk in victory that we are to live in. The picture familiar to every person in New Testament world is so unfamiliar to us twenty-first century Christians. An official Roman triumph was a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle. Did you know most people only experience one of those in their whole lifetime of 50 to 60 years? They would see one in their whole life because they were so seldom. What was a triumph? When a Roman general killed at least 5,000 enemy soldiers, gained new territory for the emperor, and was the commander on the ground, not sitting off in Rome, running the show. So, it had to be someone who went to battle, killed 5,000 enemies, and made a positive extension of the empire. And when they did that, they would ride in a golden chariot surrounded by officers and priests. The whole city of Rome would come out. They would burn incense. They would bring, in fact, there’s records of these triumphs, they would bring literally thousands of people chained and all their armor and all the spoil. And finally at the end of the line would come the general in his chariot, and all the people would be saying his name, and screaming it out, and honoring him. And his family would come in a chariot behind him, and they would be sharing in the glory. Now, with that in mind, that’s just a brief overview. Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph. Jesus Christ came to enemy territory, the Earth. He defeated His mortal enemy, Satan. He didn’t kill 5,000 people; He brought 5,000 people to life—3,000 on the day of Pentecost, 4,000 or 5,000 after that. Jesus Christ made a positive extension of territory, took back the fallen land. Jesus Christ leads us in triumph. We are in His procession. We are an incense fragrance of life in this world, and He’s taking us home. You know what Paul said? I’m in triumph. I might be beaten up. I might be disliked by some segments of the Church. He says, I might be discredited by others. I might have a bunch of carnal ones that are living in Corinth, but he says, you know what? I am living in triumph every day.

Where are you in the spiritual map? Still in Egypt? We’d love to point you to Christ today. In the wilderness? I’ll tell you what, it’s an awful place to live. You ought to repent and turn from it. Are you in Canaan? Then walk in triumph. If you choose not to, you’ll be chastised. In Babylon? But the victorious Christian life is a series of new beginnings. The moment you turn in faith back to Christ, repentant, you’ll be back in victory.

Let’s bow together and ask the Lord to lead us this day in triumph. Thank You, O Father, that You are in the miraculous, gracious power of salvation transformation work in our midst today. For 2,000 years, the undeniable change in millions of lives we have witnessed. It’s happening today. It will happen tomorrow, by Your grace. Help us by faith to walk in triumph following You, O Christ, our Captain. Help us to conquer one day at a time and be more than conquerors through You, O Christ. And for any who don’t know You, we pray that their hearts would be drawn, they would be convicted by Your Spirit, and that they would want life for a look at You, O Savior. May they today find the wonderful Water of Life freely in whose name we pray, Lord Jesus, amen. God bless you as you go.

God’s Map – WHERE ARE YOU ON THE SPIRITUAL MAP OF YOUR LIFE?

We are looking at the victorious, overflowing, abundant life Christ offered in the Gospel by John. Are you enjoying this power of Jesus Christ’s victorious life? For the past 2000 years, the effect of Jesus in the lives of those who believe Him is undeniable. If you look around you, around the world, and back through history the fact is that millions upon millions of lives have been changed by the power of Jesus Christ. Those who were formerly weak have become strong, those enslaved by selfishness have become selfless, those who lived so long morally and spiritually defeated have become radiantly victorious, those ensnared to fear and worry have become peacefully serene, and those whose lives were nothing but evil have become full of Christ’s goodness, gentleness, and kindness.

Remember that power walker named Douglas I mentioned last week? Unknown to me, that man who burst into my quiet study was among other things, a black belt in martial arts, and a man of the bar scene. Before Christ he loved to drink, loved to fight, and loved to brutally teach anyone who fought with him a hard lesson. His goal was to pick up willing girls at darkened nightclubs and bars for his lusts. After dropping to his knees in my office and simple calling out to Jesus in faith for salvation, he changed completely. The next week when he came back for his next lesson as he called it he was beaming and showed me what he called the “verse about me”! What did he find that week as he read the entire New Testament? Titus 3:3-8. In fact, a few weeks later as I stood beside him in the waters of baptism he read those verses and shared his amazing transformation by Christ.

Please stand with me and listen to the testimony of the victorious Christian life.

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

Now, the question is where are we in our spiritual walk this morning? Are you living in this power of Christ’s salvation? Or is your life heading in the wrong direction? God’s Word is a historical atlas that charts the lives of saints and sinners. In the Bible we see right and wrong decisions and the good and bad consequences. We see all of this in an inspired record, unedited by human pride and undistorted by human error.  The Apostle Paul once summed up the whole record of God’s dealings with Israel in this way in 1 Corinthians 10:6, 11  “Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.  These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.”

Now, think with me just about Israel as a nation. God summarizes all His dealings with Israel by four specific geographic locations that were not only places that Israel lived, but also in God’s Word represent their spiritual condition. What do I mean? Well 1^st let me share the four places[1] that will make it clearer. When you think of God’s people you will always find them in one of these places: living in the land of Egypt, living in the Wilderness of wandering, living in the Promised land of Canaan, or living in the land of captivity called Babylon.

The four geographic locations seen in the history of Israel illustrate four spiritual experiences.

• Egypt was the place of death and bondage from which Israel was delivered at the 1^st Passover. This reminds us of Christ’s death and resurrection, which delivers the believing sinner from bondage and judgment. = Unsaved and before salvation
• The wilderness experience of Israel was the 40 painful years in the barren wastelands of Sinai, of cravings for their old life, complaining about their new life, and multiplied chastisements from God at every hand. This depicts believers who live in unbelief and disobedience and don’t enter into the rest and riches of their inheritance in Christ, either because they don’t know it’s there or they know and refuse to enter. They are delivered from Egypt, but Egypt is still in their hearts; and like the Jews, they have a desire to go back to the old life. Instead of marching through life as conquerors, they meander through life as wanderers and never enjoy the fullness of what God has planned for them.  = Immature Christian lives
• Canaan was the place of promise, blessing, and riches. It was the inheritance and possession God promised to Abraham’s descendants. The Promised Land represents the Christian life, as it ought to be: conflict and victory, faith and obedience, spiritual riches and rest. It’s a life of faith, trusting Jesus Christ, our Joshua, the Captain of our salvation (Heb. 2:10), to lead us from victory to victory (1 John 5:4–5). = Mature Christian lives
• Babylon was where the nation of Israel endured seventy years of captivity because they disobeyed God and worshiped the idols of the pagan nations around them. This represents the periods in life when God’s children are willfully rebellious, their loving Father must chasten them until they learn to be submissive and obedient (Heb. 12:1–11). When they confess their sins and forsake them, God will forgive and restore His children to fellowship and fruitfulness (1 John 1:9; 2 Cor. 7:1). = God’s chastening

As John[2] captures the 1^st sign miracle by Jesus for his Gospel he must have thought, these are not just physical events Jesus did in Judea and Samaria once long ago, these are also the miracles of salvation that He STILL DOES! Jesus makes life back into what god intended for it to be

This story is John saying to us: “If you want the new exhilaration, become a follower of Jesus Christ, and there will come a change in your life which will be like water turning into wine.” John 10:10 the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (NKJV). Are you enjoying Christ’s offer of an overflowing, endless, joy filled victorious Christian life?

1^st Jesus gave us 7 reflections of salvation in the sign miracles

The divine perfection of Jesus is reflected in the seven “Signs” John records from Christ’s life.  John built his whole Gospel as bridge with seven successive sign posts that transport you to the ultimate sign of chapter 20 – The resurrection of Christ. John notes the ministry of Christ in light of its impact on the hearts of those who saw these signs.  What were the signs Christ performed to bring those who saw His ministry to belief? Out of the many miracles[3] that Christ performed, John selected seven to prove His deity. (The eighth in chapter 21 was for the disciples alone and forms a postlude to the Gospel.) These seven signs are given in a specific order (note 4:54, “This is again the second miracle”), they prove Christ’s Deity, and they portray a beautiful picture of our salvation.

The first three signs show salvation’s reception by the believer:

• HE TURNS water into wine (2:1–11)— Christ’s salvation is always Miraculous;
• he heals the nobleman’s son (4:46–54)—Christ’s salvation is only by faith;
• he heals the paralytic (5:1–9)—salvation is by grace alone;

The last four signs show salvation’s results in the believer:

• he Feeds the 5,000 (6:1–14)—salvation brings inexhaustible satisfaction;
• he Stills the storm (6:16–21)—salvation brings complete peace;
• he heals the blind man (9:1–7)—salvation brings light to our souls;
• he Raises Lazarus (11:38–45)—salvation brings the power of an endless life;

Jesus offers an endless, overflowing life of victorious living

This morning look with me again at the 1^st of Christ’s Sign Miracles[4]. In it we have a striking picture of the regeneration of a sinner. What would the sermon have been after our Lord turned the water into wine? What might He have said?

• Jesus offers inexhaustible joys: The wine running out reminds us that the world’s joy always runs out and cannot be regained, but the joy He gives is an ever flowing river of life giving water. He also says that His eternal life is more abundant than anything else in the Universe! That is quite an offer. John 7:38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.’”
• Jesus offers a miraculous salvation:

• Jesus knows our Emptiness:
• Jesus removes our Worthlessness:
• Jesus offers endless, never ending joys: There is another thing to note in this connection. There were v. 6  “six water pots, each held between twenty and thirty gallons of water”; Jesus turned the water into wine. That would give anything up to one hundred and eighty gallons of wine. Simply to state that fact is to show that John did not mean the story to be taken with crude literalness. What John did mean to say is that when the grace of Jesus comes to men there is enough and to spare for all. No wedding party on earth could drink one hundred and eighty gallons of wine. No need on earth can exhaust the grace of Christ; there is a glorious superabundance in it.

Now, think with me just about Israel as a nation. God gives us four specific geographic locations that were not only places that Israel lived, but also in God’s Word represent their spiritual condition. The events recorded in the Book of Joshua have to do with the life of God’s people and not their death! The Book of Joshua records battles, defeats, sins, and failures—none of which will take place in heaven. This book illustrates how believers today can say good-bye to the old life and enter into their rich inheritance in Jesus Christ. It explains how we can meet our enemies and defeat them, and how to claim for ourselves all that we have in Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:3). What Paul’s letter to the Ephesians explains doctrinally, the Book of Joshua illustrates practically. It shows us how to claim our riches in Christ.

But it also shows us how to claim our rest in Christ. This is one of the major themes of the Book of Hebrews and is explained in chapters 3 and 4 of that epistle. In those chapters, we find four different “rests,” all of which are related: the rest God gave Israel after their conquest of Canaan (3:7–19). God’s promise to Moses was “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Ex. 33:14, NKJV). The Jews certainly had no rest in Egypt or during their wilderness wanderings; but in the Promised Land, God would give them rest. In his farewell message to the people, Moses said, “For as yet you have not come to the rest and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you” (Deut. 12:9, NKJV; and see 3:20; 12:9–10; 25:19). This “Canaan rest” is a picture of the rest that Christian believers experience when they yield their all to Christ and claim their inheritance by faith. The four geographic locations seen in the history of Israel illustrate four spiritual experiences.

• Egypt was the place of death and bondage from which Israel was delivered. They were delivered from death by the blood of the lamb and from bondage by the power of God who opened the Red Sea and took them across safely. This illustrates the salvation we have through faith in Jesus Christ, “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, NKJV) Through His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ delivers the believing sinner from bondage and judgment.
• The wilderness experience of Israel depicts believers who live in unbelief and disobedience and don’t enter into the rest and riches of their inheritance in Christ, either because they don’t know it’s there or they know and refuse to enter. Like Israel, they come to a crisis place (Kadesh Barnea), but refuse to obey the Lord and claim His will for their lives (Num. 13–14). They are delivered from Egypt, but Egypt is still in their hearts; and like the Jews, they have a desire to go back to the old life (Ex. 16:1–3; Num. 11; 14:2–4; see Isaiah 30:3; 31:1). Instead of marching through life as conquerors, they meander through life as wanderers and never enjoy the fullness of what God has planned for them. It’s this crowd that is especially addressed in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
• Canaan represents the Christian life, as it ought to be: conflict and victory, faith and obedience, spiritual riches and rest. It’s a life of faith, trusting Jesus Christ, our Joshua, the Captain of our salvation (Heb. 2:10), to lead us from victory to victory (1 John 5:4–5). When Israel was in Egypt, the enemy was around them, making their lives miserable. When they crossed the Red Sea, Israel put the enemy behind them; but when the nation crossed the Jordan River, they saw new enemies before them, and they conquered these enemies by faith. The victorious Christian life isn’t a once-for-all triumph that ends all our problems. As pictured by Israel in the Book of Joshua, the victorious Christian life is a series of conflicts and victories as we defeat one enemy after another and claim more of our inheritance to the glory of God. The eminent Scottish preacher Alexander Whyte used to say that the victorious Christian life was “a series of new beginnings.” According to Joshua 11:23, the whole land was taken; but according to 13:1, there remained “very much land to be possessed.” Is this a contradiction? No, it’s the declaration of a basic spiritual truth: In Christ, we have all that we need for victorious Christian living, but we must possess our inheritance by faith, a step at a time (Josh. 1:3), and a day at a time. Joshua’s question to his people is a good question to ask the church today: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord . . . has given you?” (18:3, NIV) Joshua best exemplifies living in the Promised Land of Canaan. We notice that the leading person in the Book of Joshua is not Joshua but the Lord. The Hero of the Promised is the God of Joshua and of Israel. In all that Joshua did in the conquest, we see him doing by faith. He always desired to glorify the Lord.

• When the Jews crossed the Jordan River, Joshua reminded them that the living God was among them and would overcome their enemies (Josh. 3:10).
• Through Israel’s obedience, Joshua wanted all the people of the earth to know the Lord and fear Him (4:23–24).
• In his “farewell addresses” to the leaders (chap. 23) and to the nation (chap. 24), Joshua gave God all the glory for what Israel had accomplished under his leadership.

Also Promised Land Victorious Living is explained at least fourteen times in this book in a special way, when God is called “the Lord God of Israel” (7:13, 19–20; 8:30; 9:18–19; 10:40, 42; 13:14, 33; 14:14; 22:24; 24:2, 23). Why? Because everything that Israel did brought either glory or disgrace to the name of their God. When Israel obeyed by faith, God kept His promises and worked on their behalf; and God was glorified. But when they disobeyed in unbelief, God abandoned them to their own ways and they were humiliated in defeat. The same spiritual principle applies to the church today.

• Babylon, where the nation endured seventy years of captivity because they disobeyed God and worshiped the idols of the pagan nations around them. (See 2 Chronicles 36; Jeremiah 39:8–10). When God’s children are willfully rebellious, their loving Father must chasten them until they learn to be submissive and obedient (Heb. 12:1–11). When they confess their sins and forsake them, God will forgive and restore His children to fellowship and fruitfulness (1 John 1:9; 2 Cor. 7:1). This morning, as you look at your life and the life of the church where you fellowship, do you see yourself and your fellow believers wandering in the wilderness or conquering in the Promised Land?

• In the wilderness, the Jews were a complaining people; but in Canaan, they were a conquering people.
• In the wilderness, Israel kept looking back, yearning for what they had in Egypt; but in the Promised Land, they looked forward to conquering the enemy and claiming their rest and their riches.
• In the Wilderness there was chastisement and confusion, in Canaan there was worship and wonder.
• In the Wilderness generation, everyone (but Joshua and Caleb) perished and lost the Promised Land, in the Canaan generation everyone lived and obtained the Promised Land.
• The wilderness march was an experience of delay, defeat, and death; but their experience in Canaan was one of life, power, and victory.

As you look at the “spiritual map” of your Christian life, where are you living? Like the patient potter, God is willing to “mold us again” when we resist Him and damage our own lives. The famous Scottish preacher Alexander Whyte used to say that the victorious Christian life was “a series of new beginnings.”  No failure in our lives need be fatal or final, although we certainly suffer for our sins. God gave new beginnings to Abraham, Moses, David, Jonah, and Peter when they failed, and He can do the same for us today.

To close and apply this to our lives this morning please turn with me to II Corinthians 2:14-17.

This passage teaches us the daily walk in victory that we are to live in. The picture[5] in II Corinthians 2:14–17 was familiar to every Roman but is not to twentieth-century Christians.  An official “Roman Triumph” was indeed something to behold! If a commander in chief won a complete victory over the enemy on foreign soil, and if he killed at least 5,000 enemy soldiers and gained new territory for the Emperor, then that commander in chief was entitled to a Roman Triumph.

The processional would include the commander riding in a golden chariot, surrounded by his officers, priests burned incense in his honor, and the people shouted his name and praised him. The parade would also include a display of the spoils of battle, as well as the captive enemy soldiers. The Roman priests would also be in the parade, carrying burning incense to pay tribute to the victorious army. The procession would follow a special route through the city and would end at the Circus Maximus where the helpless captives would entertain the people by fighting wild beasts. That was a “Roman Triumph.” It was a very special day in Rome when the citizens were treated to a full-scale “Roman Triumph.”

Appendix

These are all the great insights I found as I studied but didn’t use in my message.

I’m sure that by now you can see the steps of their spiritual pilgrimage just by naming those four geographic locations. And already some of you think of how much of the Old Testament is devoted to these four locations.

• EGYPT: Covers the Old Testament period from Genesis 12 to Exodus 15 or roughly 630 years. Genesis 12 is where Abram first slips down out of the Land of Promise into Egypt during a famine, and there picks up a handmaiden for his wife Sarah named Hagar; God’s people are touched by Egypt. It is from a visit to Egypt that the problems between Isaac and Ishmael, that are in the news today, began. Egypt covers from Genesis 12 to Exodus 15 and the death of Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea. Then again Egypt surfaces in I Kings 3:1 during Solomon’s slide away from God by marrying a pagan wife who was Pharaoh’s daughter[6]. Egypt again returns in I Kings 14:25 as the instrument of judgment as Shishak[7] strips away all of David and Solomon’s treasures.
• WILDERNESS: Covers from Exodus 16 to Joshua 2. This period lasts 40 years and was the place of immense spiritual significance.
• CANAAN: covers the majority of the Old Testament from Joshua 3 to II Chronicles 36. And after the Captivity by Haggai through Malachi.
• BABYLON: is the 70 plus years of Captivity described in part by Ezra through Esther.

But it also shows us how to claim our rest in Christ. This is one of the major themes of the Book of Hebrews and is explained in chapters 3 and 4 of that epistle. In those chapters, we find four different “rests,” all of which are related:

• God’s Sabbath rest after creating the worlds (Heb. 4:4; Gen. 2:2);
• The salvation rest we have in Christ (Heb. 4:1, 3, 8–9; Matt. 11:28–30);
• The believer’s eternal rest in heaven (Heb. 4:11); and
• The rest God gave Israel after their conquest of Canaan (3:7–19). God’s promise to Moses was “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Ex. 33:14, NKJV). The Jews certainly had no rest in Egypt or during their wilderness wanderings; but in the Promised Land, God would give them rest. In his farewell message to the people, Moses said, “For as yet you have not come to the rest and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you” (Deut. 12:9, NKJV; and see 3:20; 12:9–10; 25:19). This “Canaan rest” is a picture of the rest that Christian believers experience when they yield their all to Christ and claim their inheritance by faith.

The Old Testament is the spiritual atlas of the lives of the Old Testament saints and sinners from God’s all seeing, all knowing, and everywhere present perspective. And He gave us that record flawlessly by way of His inspired prophets! So every time you open the pages of God’s Word you get to look down upon the lives of the 2,930 specific individual men and women named in the pages of Scripture.

Check Out All The Sermons In The Series

You can find all the sermons and short clips from this series, Christ in all the Scriptures here.

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