God Is Faithful! - 250412

Speaker A Hello, I'm Clive Nash. Welcome to Let God Speak. I remember simple promises my parents would make to me. Things like, tidy up your room and then you can go out to play. My parents fulfilled their promises. Politicians make promises, but for one reason or another, they can't always keep them. When the Bible hero Joshua reviewed his life, he could say that not one of God's promises had failed. Think about how faithful God has been to you. Have his promises been true and trustworthy? In a moment, our panel will dig into the topic for today. God is faithful. Speaker A Along our panel today, we have Rosemary Malkiewycz and Joshua Wood. Good to have you with us. And I think it's our first time working together, isn't it, Josh? I'm looking forward to our discussion, but before we begin, let's take time to pray. Our loving Father in heaven. We've really been enjoying the studies of the book of Joshua. And as we continue in that study today, we pray that you'll bless our listeners and our viewers. May your holy Spirit guide each one of us. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Speaker B Amen. Speaker A Well, I'm going to begin by reading from Joshua's book. Joshua, chapter 21, verses 43 and 44. So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which he had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. The Lord gave them rest all around according to all that he had sworn to their fathers. And and not a man of all their enemies stood against them. The Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. Now, Rosemary, I noticed the word sworn occurs a couple of times there. What does it mean by that? Speaker C Okay, sworn means promised. And if we have a Look at chapter 21, verse 45, just two verses down, it says, not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel, all came to pass. It's interesting. It says any good thing. So Israel had taken possession of the land that God had promised them at this stage. This is at the end of the life of Joshua. But this thought was repeated a little bit later by Joshua when we look at Joshua 23. Speaker C And verse. Speaker C 14. Speaker C And it says, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. This is Joshua. But you know in all your hearts and in your souls that not one thing has failed. Of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you, all have come to pass for you. Not one word of them failed. So as Joshua is coming to the near, near the end of his life, he is looking back on all the things that he has seen God do for him and the children of Israel from the time of leaving Egypt. And he's just amazed that God has fulfilled everything. God is faithful. So God is still faithful today for his children today. And we have to remember that for us as a church and as individuals. Speaker A Yeah, the fidelity or the faithfulness of God was something Joshua could count on, isn't it? And it's interesting when we go over to the New Testament to second Timothy, chapter two in verse 13 says, if we are faithless, if we are faithless, he remains faithful. He cannot deny himself. So do you think this was true for Joshua and for Israel, Josh? Speaker B Absolutely, yeah. Joshua could look back at the past events that he had experienced with God leading the children of Israel. Some of those events that we've looked at through Let God Speak. And yeah, in the first book of Joshua, we see the victories over the enemy that were. That were outlined. And then in the second half of the book, we look at the allocation of the land to the different tribes of Israel. Speaker B And through it all, we can see that the conquest was not always smooth, was not always a smooth process. There was disobedience, for example, the presumption at AI, which involved Achan's sin. Speaker B But it's. I guess it relates to us as well, like how often we fall short in our own relationship with God. Speaker B But overall, we could see that Joshua could be content with how God had, with what God had accomplished through his leadership, and could testify to God's faithfulness through it all. Speaker A Yeah, thanks for that thought. You know, sometimes we think that we are accomplishing things in our own strength, but as far as Israel is concerned, Rosemary, who was it that enabled them? Speaker C Okay, let's look again at Joshua 21:43. And it says, so the Lord gave to Israel all the land which he had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. So it was God who gave them the land. And in verse 44 it says again that God gave them not only the land, but he gave them rest, and he delivered them from all their enemies who were in the land that they took over. Speaker A So three times the Lord in these verses gets the credit. Speaker C That's right. And so all of the success was from faithful God. He was the one who should be praised. And it's the same with us. For salvation, let's look at Ephesians, chapter 2 and verse verses 8 and 9. Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 8 and 9. And it says here, for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast. So salvation is a work of God in our hearts. He has done it all through Jesus dying on the cross. And he's made our relationship with him possible. And if we continue in that relationship with him, he continues to sustain that relationship. Speaker A Yeah, it's interesting that Moses could write that, you know, God was not like us. We have our faults, our failings. But when I read back in, for example, numbers, Numbers chapter 23 and verse 19, he writes here, God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man that he should repent. Has he said and will he not do, or has he spoken and will he not make it good? So what's the. These are questions, Joshua. But what's the implied answer to the questions? Speaker B Yeah, clearly the answer to these questions is a firm no, God will not fail on us. He will be faithful always, even when we're tempted. And I love this verse in First Corinthians 10:13, which says, no temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you're able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it. We can always count on God's fidelity, just as Joshua and Israel could completely trust in God and his faithfulness. Speaker A Yeah. And it's interesting when we go a bit further into Joshua in chapter 23 and verse one, we come to the, you know, Joshua's making his farewell address. He and that the verse you read earlier. Speaker A Rosebud, where he said, I'm going the way of all flesh. He knew he was coming to the end of his life. And here in verse one, he says now it came to pass a long time after the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies roundabout, that Joshua was old and advanced in age. And so like any good statesman. Speaker A He'S reviewing his life. He's looking forward too, to what might follow. And you know, how did he do this, Rosemary? Speaker C Well, let's read verses. You read verse one. We'll read verse 23, two to five. And it says, and Joshua called for all Israel for their elders and their heads, of their judges and their officers, and said to them, I am old, advanced in age. You have seen all the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you. For the Lord your God is he who has brought fought for you. See, I have divided to you by lot These nations that remain to be an inheritance for your tribes from the Jordan and all the nations with all nations that I have cut off as far as the great sea westward. And the Lord your God will expel them from before you and drive them out of your sight so you shall possess their land as the Lord your God promised you. So here we have him first of all, saying to the elders that God gave Joshua the ability, he gave him health and the long life to be able to accomplish what he wanted him to do with the people in being their leader. And all the glory Joshua gave to God because it was God who gained the victories, not Joshua. But then also we hear here that the work is not yet finished. Joshua reminded them in verse four that the leaders had received the land by lot. It had been divided up, but it was still unconquered. Not all of it was taken over yet. But then there's another thing in verse five that he reminds them that the Lord will accomplish what he has promised so they can trust in the God that has been faithful in the past, that he will help them in the future. And it's the same with us. When we've got our work to do today, God will be faithful in helping us to reach the unpeopled people around the world, the unchurched people, because we have not taken over all the land yet they had not secured at all. We have much to possess as well, as far as spreading the Gospel. Speaker A Okay, now, Josh, when you look back, you know we're in chapter 23 here. When you look back to the rest of the book of Joshua, God was faithful. Well, what about Israel? Were they always faithful to God? Speaker B Yeah, we can see they weren't. They did mess up a couple times. But it really encourages me because I'd love to say that I've lived a faithful Christian life, but I haven't. None of us can say that we've all fallen short of the glory of God. Speaker B But it shows that even when I do fall short, even when I do, even when I'm not faithful to God, God is always faithful to me. And he will come and pick me up from where I've fallen. And it reminds me of the story of the prodigal Son that Jesus tells in the Gospels, where the Son, he leaves his Father, he goes and wastes his inheritance on prodigal living. But when he does decide to come home, the Father runs to him and he wraps his arms around him and forgives him and is faithful to him. And it's the same with Israel. Israel Faltered. But God drew them back to himself. Speaker A Now, Rosemary, there's an encouraging promise in verse 10 of chapter 23. Can you comment on that? Speaker C Okay. It says there in verse 10 of chapter 23, one man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God is he who fights for you as he promised you. So it's God who fights for them, not them themselves. And God gives them the strength to succeed in that battle. And it's the same for us. It's not a physical battle. It's a spirit, spiritual battle that we're in in this world. And the Holy Spirit is with us to guide us and to strengthen us for every challenge that we face. Speaker A Yeah, that's an assuring, a reassuring thing, isn't it? Speaker C God fights for us. Speaker A Yeah. I'm thinking of what Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, and I'm looking at Second Corinthians, chapter 10, and verse 3 where he writes, for though we walk in the flesh, we do not walk war according to the flesh. So, Josh, do you see parallels between ancient Israel and spiritual Israel today? Speaker B Definitely, yeah. God's promises are just as sure today as they as they were back then. And, yeah, if we just read that verse again in verse four as well, it says, for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. I love this verse. In a couple of other translations as well. Speaker B In Moffat's translation, it says, the weapons of my warfare are not weapons of the flesh, but divinely strong to demolish fortresses. And another translation, Blanco's clear word translation paraphrase, says, our mighty weapons come from God against whom nothing can stand. And then lastly, the new living translation of verse 5 says, with these weapons, we can break down every proud argument that keeps people from knowing God. I like those thoughts as they give me confidence in the power of God in my own life. And I hope these thoughts bring courage and confidence to every listener and viewer here today as well. Speaker A Yeah. Now, Rosemary, we often hear a phenomenon known as peer pressure. You know, we've got various pressures on us in environment, our society and so on, and sometimes they're for good influences, for good, sometimes they're not. Speaker A So was Joshua aware of this, do you think, in his final address? Speaker C If we look at chapter 23, verse 6 and 7, we'll see what Joshua says. Therefore, be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, lest you turn Aside from it to the right hand or to the left, unless you go among these nations, these who remain among you, you shall not make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them. You shall not serve them, nor bow down to them. So I think Joshua was aware of peer pressure because first of all he tells them to stay faithful to God and the things written in the book of the law. And this is the same as he was told by God in Joshua chapter one. But also they're told not to turn away to the pagan gods because the pagan gods would take them away from God. They weren't even allowed to mention the name of the pagan gods because of the influence that would have on their lives to even mention their names. And it's relevant for us today because we may not have images and idols like they had in those days, but we still can have idols that we worship instead of God. And it could be things like money, time, our own thoughts that are more important to us than God is. And if they're more important, then they're an idol. And so we have to be careful of that. So we have to have a clear choice of who are we going to worship, the God of heaven or man made gods. Speaker A Yeah. And it's often said that Australia today is becoming more of a secular nation, isn't it? So, so we've got similar influences around us as Christians here in this country, as perhaps the children of Israel had then. Speaker C That's right, yeah. Speaker A What about, there's another issue that's mentioned in Joshua and that is about marrying foreigners. So Joshua, was that a temptation for them? You know, oh, I've seen a handsome man or a beautiful woman. Speaker B Yeah, certainly it was a trap for Israel just like it was for King Solomon. As we can see in the Old Testament, if we read in Joshua 23:12, 13 it says, or else, if indeed you do go back and cling to the remnant of these nations, these that remain among you and make marriages with them and go into them, and they to you know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. They shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges in your side, and thorns in your eyes until you perish from this good land which the Lord your God has given you. Many people have regretted marriage to unbelievers, someone who shares the same faith. And we can see this principle as well in Amos 3, 3 which says, can two walk together unless agreed? Walking together in marriage requires agreement. It's important that when we are married, we are married to someone who shares the same faith and the same beliefs as us. There's an inspired piece of advice on the subject, which I love from Ellen White in Testimonies for the Church, Volume 5, Page 363, which says, unless you would have a home where the shadows are never lifted, do not unite yourself with one who is an enemy of God. I think that's great advice for when it comes to marriage. Speaker A Now, Rosemary, I'll put a hypothetical to you. What should I do if I become a Christian believer after I've been married to a non believer? Speaker C Okay. There is some advice from Paul in First Corinthians, chapter 7, verses 12 to 16. And this is very good advice. But to the rest, I, not the Lord, say, if any brother has a wife who does not believe and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean. But now they are holy. But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. So Paul says, these are what I think from my knowledge, from my spiritual knowledge, and from what I have seen happen, that if a believing partner has an unbelieving spouse, they can have a holy influence on that spouse and turn them to God. Not in every case, but it is possible that this is for people who've become a Christian after they're married, not for someone to go and marry someone who is not a Christian when they are. When the person marrying the other person is a Christian. That's presumption. If you think that you will marry a non Christian or even someone of a different faith within Christianity and that you are going to convert them, that's not necessarily going to happen. Speaker A Yes. Speaker C And it's dangerous and can lead to repercussions in your marriage and for your children. Speaker A Yeah. Look, I'm going to introduce another rather tricky idea, and that's. Speaker A Joshua introduced the idea of God's anger in his farewell speech. Speaker A Was this a warning, Josh? Speaker B Definitely, yeah. If we read in Joshua 23:15, it says, Therefore it shall come to pass that as all the good things have come upon you, which the Lord your God promised you, so the Lord will bring upon you all harmful things. Until he has destroyed you from this good land which the Lord your God has given you. So we can see here that disobedience always has its negative consequences. God is promising to give blessing for obedience, but when the children of Israel would choose to disobey, it would bring consequences. If we continue reading, in verse 16, it says, when you have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods and bowed down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which he has given you. So we can see here that even though God is patient and. Speaker B He'S long suffering, he also warns of the penalties as well as blessings that can. That can come, or blessings that can be, I guess, a way, a stumbling block for us to cause us to disobey Him. And we have records of God's anger throughout some more of the Old Testament in the wilderness wanderings of Israel. So I'm just going to quickly turn to Numbers, chapter 11, verse 33, and Read. Speaker B Says. Speaker B But while the meat was still between their teeth before it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was aroused against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague. So here we can see the context of this verse is where Israel is unsatisfied with the manner that God is providing for them, their lusting for meat, for the flesh foods. And although God allows the consumption of clean animals, it's the problem of gluttony that is being addressed here. And God had previously given a command to consecrate them. Speaker B To consecrate the children of Israel to God, and that the children of Israel had ignored that command. And we can also see other examples of this as well. For example, the golden calf, where God's wrath is against the children of Israel's disobedience and faithfulness. Speaker A Yeah, let me talk of another instance of the anger of God or His just judgment. And Second Chronicles, chapter 36, verse 15 says, and the Lord God of their Father sent warnings. So this is, you know, God's been gracious to them by his messengers rising up early and sending them because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. Now this is in connection with the fall of Jerusalem under the Babylonian conquest. So Rosemary, is this another instance of the wrath of God? Speaker C Well, what we've got to look at is another verse to go with. That is verse 16. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of The Lord arose against his people and till there was no remedy. So we've got to remember the context when we read these things. God had continually tried to reach them and they refused to listen to God. They were not willing to to listen to him. And Lamentations 3:33 says that God is not willing to afflict the children of men, so he always warns and lets them know the consequences. And unfortunately, sometimes he has to act in a way that he doesn't want to. If we look at Jeremiah. Speaker C Chapter 3 and verse chapter 31 and verse 3, it says, the Lord has appeared of old to me, saying, yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore with loving kindness I have drawn you. God draws us with his love. He doesn't turn us away. God is love. It says in First John 4, 18 chapter, verse 8. And so we've got to remember that always in how God deals with us. Speaker A Now, Joshua, Joshua gave the advice to the to the leaders to hold fast to the Lord. What did he mean? Speaker B I love to read that verse in Joshua 23:8. In the New living translation, it says, cling tightly to the Lord your God. And if we read in the message, it says, hold tight to God. And this language of clinging reminds me of the story of Ruth and Naomi where Ruth is clinging to Naomi and refusing to leave her. And this relationship that Ruth had with Naomi is the same relationship that Joshua wants the Israelites to have with God after his death. Speaker A Yeah, that's a lovely example, isn't it? Ruth and Naomi, beautiful story. Well, on my panel today, Rosemary Malkovich and Joshua Wood. And my name is Clive Nash. You know, Joshua was a great leader of ancient Israel. His deathbed thoughts can be compared to the new Joshua, Jesus himself. So what did Jesus Christ say when he was approaching death on the cross? His words in John 14 through to 17 are worth studying. How encouraging was the promise of Jesus when he said, in my Father's house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. I pray that the message of our faithful God will make you strong and courageous for him, just as Joshua was encouraged to be strong and good courage at the beginning of the book. Well, we're glad you joined us today on Let God Speak. If you were blessed by this program, why not tell your friends? Remember all past programs plus teacher's notes are available on our website 3abnaustralia.org au and you can email us too if you'd like to do that. And our email address is lgsabnaustralia.org au we hope you'll join us again next time, and until that time, we wish you God's blessing. SPEAKER B You have been listening to let God speak, a production of 3ABN Australia television. To catch up on past programmes, please visit 3abnaustralia.org.au. Call us in Australia on 02 4973 3456. Or email [email protected]. we'd love to hear from you.