COUNT ON IT
Joshua had led the people of Israel for about 25 years. And during that time he had accomplished quite a few things for God’s people. He had taken them across the Jordan River and into the Promised Land for the very first time. He had coordinated the assaults on the towns and cities that did not surrender to them. He had sent the tribes of Israel out to take possession of the portions of the land assigned to them. He had been their spiritual leader. He had been their mediator in the presence of the Lord. He had been a faithful servant and a living reminder about what the Lord had done for his people in the past. But now Joshua was getting along in years and he knew that his time was just about up. And so before he died he called together all of the elders and leaders and judges and officials of the people of Israel and gave them his farewell speech. This heartfelt address was filled with reminders and encouragements, warnings and instructions. And although every one of Joshua’s words that day were worth remembering, what he said near the end was something especially important for us on a night like tonight: “You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.”
Not one promise had ever failed. Everything that the Lord had ever said to his people had come true. The promise of 40 years of wandering in the desert: fulfilled. The promise of keeping them safe from their enemies: fulfilled. The promise of bringing them one day into the “Promised” Land: fulfilled. The promise of handing over to them the cities and the nations in the land of Israel: fulfilled. The promise that Abraham’s descendants would become uncountable: fulfilled. The promise of his patience, his guidance, his presence, his love: fulfilled. And as the Israelites took a moment to look back that day on all of the things that the Lord had done for his people, it would have been unmistakable to them: every one of God’s promises had been carried out. Not one had been left unfinished. Even during those times when it didn’t seem possible. Even against those enemies that were much stronger and well-prepared. Even at those critical moments when nothing seemed right. Somehow in some way, God made sure that his promises to his people happened just the way he said they would. And if he had done that for his children throughout all those years in the past, they could count on that exact same thing being done for them every year in the future.
Tonight we once again sit on the last few hours of a year that is almost gone. And before we look ahead to what may or may not happen in 2011, let’s take a look back at what has already happened in 2010. Because what Joshua said to his people almost 3500 years ago in the land of Israel could be said to us right now: “You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” That is a truth valid year in and year out. It might not have looked feasible at the beginning of the year; it might not have seemed probable in the middle of the year; but now at the end of the year we can look back and see things clearly. Every promise did come true - again. Every guarantee was carried out - again. Every pledge that the Lord gave us in his Word was accomplished - again. Just think about all of those things that the Lord has done for you this past year:
When you were sick in the last 12 months or when you faced surgery or when you had to deal with a death, wasn’t the Lord right there with you every step of the way just like he promised he would? When you prayed to him for yourself and for others and for your congregation, didn’t he listen carefully to every one of those prayers just like he promised he would? When you came to church and heard the Word, when you sat at home and read the Word, when you gathered together with others and studied the Word, didn’t the Lord strengthen your faith through his gospel just like he said he would? When things weren’t going so well, when money got a little tight, when your sinful nature was pounding on your door more often than usual, didn’t the Lord provide you a way out just like he promised he would? And if the Lord was willing and able to keep all of those promises once again in 2010 just like he had the year before and the year before that and the year before that, what do you think you can count on tomorrow when a near year begins? What do you think you can count on during the next 12 months? What do you think you can count on for the rest of your earthly life?
But that’s not the way our minds work, do they? You’d like to think that after all of God’s promises that have been fulfilled in the past that we wouldn’t get worked up about anything ever again! You’d think that we would be calm and content and never anxious or worried about what might happen in the future! You’d think that it would have sunk in by now! But it hasn’t! One little thing can set us off. One little setback can get us upset. One little change in plans can tie us up in knots. One difference of opinion or one unfixable problem or sometimes just one possible negative outcome that might not even come true can affect us to such an extent that we lose sleep over it.
And when that happens, where are God’s promises? What about his Word? What about all of the things that he has proved to you in the past? Don’t they matter anymore? Don’t they mean anything? Are the situations you are dealing with now any tougher than what the Lord has dealt with in the past? Are the problems you are facing now any more difficult than what the Lord has faced in the past? Is the future any more uncertain now than what the Lord has planned for and worked out for the good of his people in the past? “You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” But if we know that, why do we seem to forget that? Why do we seem to ignore that? That is a truth that will never change! That is a truth that we can always count on.
That’s not a truth that only we forget, though. The Israelites themselves forgot about this truth soon after Joshua died. In the very next book of the Bible, the book of Judges, it says that “Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten… After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel” (Judges 2:8,10). They had forgotten about what the Lord had done! They had left his Word behind! They had lost his promises! And so what did the Lord do with his promises? After his own people had forgotten them and left them and lost them, what do you think the Lord did with all those promises he had given them so long ago? Nothing different. Nothing different! He did not take them away. He did not cancel their fulfillment. He did not withdraw his Word. The Lord continued to keep his promises to his people despite the fact that they didn’t even know about them, despite the fact that they didn’t even care.
And that is the power of the promises of our God: we can’t annul them; we can’t invalidate them; no matter how bad we are, we cannot do anything to stop God from carrying out his promises to us! He’s always going to see them through - whether we believe them or not. Because when he was born into this world he promised us that he would always remain faithful; and so we can count on it. When he died on that cross he promised us that our sins would always be forgiven; and so we can count on it. When he rose from the dead he promised that we would live forever; and so we can count on it. When he ascended into heaven he promised us that he would never leave; and so we can count on it. And that’s never going to change. What he did for us today is what he will do for us tomorrow. What he did for us in 2010 is what he is going to do for us in 2011. What he did for us five years ago is what he’ll do for us five years from now. What he did for us at our birth he will do for us at our death. He will love us. He will forgive us. He will take care of us. And, just like he promised to every Christian in this world, one day he will take us home. That is the Word of our God. And you can count on it - today, tomorrow, and every other year you spend on this earth.
Amen.
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