The Promise of God's Presence

Please turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 31. And we read from verses 1 to 23. Then Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. And he said to them, I am 120 years old today. I can no longer go out and come in. Also the Lord has said to me, you shall not cross over this Jordan. The Lord your God himself crosses over before you. He will destroy these nations from before you and you shall dispossess them. Joshua himself crosses over before you just as the Lord has said. And the Lord will do to them as he did to Sion and Og, the kings of the Amorites and their land, when he destroyed them. The Lord will give them over to you, that you may do to them according to every commandment which I have commanded you. Be strong and of good courage. Do not fear, nor be afraid of them. For the Lord your God, he is the one who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, He is the one who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. Do not fear nor be dismayed. So Moses wrote this law and delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. And Moses commanded them, saying, at the end of every seven years at the appointed time in the year of release at the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear that they may learn to fear the Lord your God and carefully observe all the words of this law, and that their children who have not known it may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess. Then the Lord said to Moses, Behold, the days approach when you must die. Call Joshua and present yourself in the tabernacle of meeting, that I may inaugurate him. So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tabernacle of meeting. Now the Lord appeared at the tabernacle in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood above the door of the tabernacle. And the Lord said to Moses, Behold, you will rest with your fathers, and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land where they go to be among them. And they will forsake me and break my covenant which I have made with them. Then my anger shall be aroused against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them. and they shall be destroyed, devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, Have not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us? And I will surely hide my face in that day, because of all the evil which they have done, in that they have turned to other gods. Now therefore, write down this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel. When I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat, that they will turn to other gods and serve them. and they will provoke me and break my covenant. Then it shall be, when many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify against them as a witness, for it will not be forgotten in the mouths of their descendants. For I know the inclination of their behavior today, even before I have brought them to the land of which I swore to give them. Therefore Moses wrote this song the same day and taught it to the children of Israel. Then he inaugurated Joshua the son of Nun and said, Be strong and of good courage, for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land of which I swore to them, and I will be with you." So far, the Lord blessed to us the reading of his holy word. Let us pray. O God, our heavenly Father, we come now with hungry hearts to hear a word from you. We have been pouring out from our heart our words to you, our words of prayer, our words of praise, and now we long for a word from the Lord. But Father, the best messages that any man can prepare are as dry husks, unless the Holy Spirit breathes life into them and through them blesses those who hear. We cast ourselves now in utter dependence upon Him. May he indeed speak powerfully through the words that come from lips of clay. And may you and Christ be glorified in our midst. For Jesus' sake we ask it. Amen. Our text this morning is Deuteronomy 31 and verses 6 to 8. It's one of God's many exceeding and precious promises to be found in his word. Be strong and of good courage, says God. Do not fear nor be afraid of them. For the Lord your God, he is the one who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. What is all the more wonderful is the fact that this is an oft-repeated promise. It's first given to Israel, to all of the people, and then to Joshua when he took over the leadership from Moses. 400 years later, it was given to Solomon when he took over from David and was entrusted with the building of a temple for God in Jerusalem. And then 1,000 years later still, It was given to all Jewish Christians at that time in the first century A.D. who were being sorely tempted to return again to Judaism as a way to escape persecution from Rome. For the Jews, you see, were not persecuted. Judaism was a registered and allowable religion in the Roman Empire. So here is how the writer to the Hebrews in chapter 13 verse 5 applied it to the saints of his day. And of course not only to the Jewish Christians but to all Christians of his day and to this day as well. And he says, English Standard Version, keep your life free from love of money and be content with what you have. For he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. Then the writer adds, under inspiration, his own commentary. So we can confidently say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me? It's my prayer that God the Holy Spirit will take these words, help us by faith to lay hold of them, and find encouragement in it. for the challenges that lie ahead, whether we are individuals or a congregation and a church. First of all, notice the setting in which the promise occurs. It's given in verses 1 to 5. Israel was clearly in need of reassurance and encouragement. The people were encamped on the plains of Moab, on the east bank of the river Jordan. The time had now come to cross the river and possess the land that God had promised them, a task which forty years previously they had shrunk from for fear of the giants, the descendants of Anak, who lived in the land. Forty years had passed, years of dreary, disconsolate wandering in the wilderness and braving the rigor of living in harsh terrain in tents. Moses was now 120 years old, on the verge of death, and no longer able to lead the people of God. It was time to hand over the reins to Joshua, a younger man, still largely untried. It was certainly a time for such a word from God as this. And friends, we today, as we, by faith, Take this promise for ourselves is a very appropriate word for our lives, for our situation. On the national scene, we have a new president who is trying to lead us through the greatest recession the country has gone through since the 1930s. The danger of further and greater military conflict is always on the horizon with nations, rogue nations, like North Korea and possibly Iran now acquiring nuclear weapons. Since September 11, 2001, a large-scale terrorist attack at home cannot be ruled out of question. I say we as a country need God's presence and help. Well, think of the situation of the churches in America, with steadily declining attendances, increasing worldliness, and divorce rates in the church as high as the national rate. Even more alarming is the fact that never before has the church seen so many pastors resigning from the ministry for various reasons. The last figure I read was about 5,000 evangelical pastors a year resign from the ministry. I also read a few years ago in Home Missions magazine that nearly half of the students who are graduating from our seminaries do not do more than two years in Christian ministry before quitting altogether. If we look at our individual lives, the future may seem just as challenging. We may be fighting a life-threatening disease, or facing possible retrenchment, or struggling with family problems that we cannot solve. Whatever the situation, whether it's global, national, ecclesiastical, or personal, here is a promise, I believe, that we can rely on and go forward. Be strong and of good courage. Do not fear. nor be afraid of them. For the Lord your God, He is the one who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you." Then think of the recipients of the promise. We have already assumed that it is for all believers in the one true living God. But are we correct in assuming that? Well, let's look at the text and see. In verse 1 of Deuteronomy 31 we read, Then Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. It's to all God's people that the promise was originally given. And then the writer of Hebrews certainly takes it that way when he quotes it for the benefit of all of his readers. Not only those present, in his lifetime, but for all future generations who would pick up this holy book and read those words. Then in verse 7, as Joshua takes over the responsibility of leading the nation into the promised land, God gives the same promise to him as he gave to the people. In other words, there is enough in this promise to meet the need of every one of God's people, from its most senior leaders to its most junior members. Let's not lose sight of this, because while we are all God's people, we all face different circumstances and have different responsibilities. And yet, notwithstanding our great diversity of need, no matter what lies ahead of us in the coming days, there is enough in this promise for us as individuals and for us as a congregation. Well, having clarified the setting and the recipients of this promise, I want you to look now at its substance. What is the heart? of this promise. What is it that God is promising Joshua and the people as they stand on the threshold of a new chapter in their life with God? Basically, it's the promise of God's continuing presence and help. Verse 8, the Lord, He is the one who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave. That's how it's translated in the King James Version. But literally, the Hebrew has failed. He will not fail you nor forsake you. Now, Moses was speaking from experience. When God called him to lead the people out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, Moses had said to God, If your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. He knew his need of God's continuing presence. All through those 40 grueling years when the people murmured against him and would not cooperate with him, when he was estranged from them and made lonely by the very greatness of his office as their leader, Moses was supported by the knowledge that God was with him. And so as he hands over the reins of office to Joshua, Moses assures him and the people of God's continuing presence and help. Verse 3, the Lord your God himself crosses over before you. He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. So, wherever they go in this new land, And whatever they encounter, God will not fail nor forsake them. David, by the Holy Spirit, gave the same promise to his son Solomon. Solomon was to build the temple and lead the nation to its greatest and finest hour. He would certainly need the courage and wisdom that come from the presence and help of God. So David said to his son, 1 Chronicles 28, be strong and of good courage and do it. Do not fear nor be dismayed for the Lord your God, even my God, will be with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. And friends, I make bold to say you and I have need of the same assurance today. For as I pointed out earlier, the writer to the Hebrews in chapter 13 and verse 5 applies this promise to all believers. Our God is a reliable God. He will never let us down or abandon us. Others may fail us. Others may forsake us for reasons that they cannot help. But not Jesus. Jesus said, I am with you always to the end of the age. Those were his last words on earth to his disciples. What a gracious promise this is. We all know how loneliness doubles the weight of our troubles. That a troubled shed is a trouble that is halved. We all know how much human friendship and companionship lightens up the road in a time of crisis. How much more God's friendship and companionship. How comforting it is in sorrow to know that we have a heavenly confidant. How precious when we are apprehensive to know that God is our helper, our counsellor, our guide and our friend. No matter how great the task before us, no matter how uncertain the future, there is no need to fear, no need to be dismayed. if God our Savior is with us. I say the presence of God can rid his people of all crippling fear and make them strong to do his will. Because whatever you and I are going to face in the future as individuals and as a church, it is not bigger than God. And whatever awaits us as individuals and as a church, it's not going to take God by surprise. For He is not only the God who goes with you, verse 6, but look at verse 8, He is also the God who goes before you. He is our vanguard, to use the word of the prophet Isaiah. The vanguard who leads the way and prepares the way and makes it safe for us to follow. There are no dangers, there are no difficulties ahead of which God is not aware and of which God is not able to handle. Take the children of Israel under Joshua. The first problem that they faced going into the Promised Land was to cross the River Jordan at flood season. But again, God was with them. He parted the waters of the River Jordan and they went across on dry land. But no sooner did they get to the other side than the first city they had to encounter was one of the largest. with a very high walled perimeter. But again, God was with them. He told them what to do. And when they had walked around the city seven times and given a great shout, the walls fell down and the people took the city. My presence is all you need, says God, to be strong and of a good courage. And so I say this morning, this holy boldness that you and I need as we go out into an unknown future has got nothing to do with make-believe. or with the power of positive thinking or wishful thinking. It does not depend on our personality or on the genes with which we are born. We may be the most timid of souls by nature, but that doesn't matter. Because this boldness is born of the confidence that the Lord is He who goes with you. He will not fail you, nor forsake you. It's the presence of God that makes us strong. Our worst foes are no match for God at all. As the Apostle Paul says, if God is for us, who can be against us? You know, there was a day in Martin Luther's life when the road ahead suddenly grew dark and threatening. He was charged with heresy for the wonderful reforms that he had brought to the church. And at one stage in the trial, the Cardinal's legate turned around to him and said, the Pope's little finger is greater than all Germany. Do you think your princes will take up arms to defend you, a wretched worm like you? I tell you, no. And where will you be then? Tell me that. Where will you be then? And Luther replied, then as now, in the hand of Almighty God. The presence of God makes his people strong. That's the substance of this glorious promise. And because God has said, I will never fail you nor forsake you, the writer to the Hebrews under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit can add, we may boldly say, the Lord is our helper, I will not fear. What can man do to me? Now fourthly, look at the condition for enjoying this promise. It's beautifully summed up in the chorus of a well-known hymn we are going to sing at the end of the service. Trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. And what is summed up in that chorus is supported in the context of the chapter in which this promise is found, because it's not an unconditional promise. God doesn't pledge his presence and his help regardless. His blessing is always conditioned upon your obedience and mine to his will. So to quote the verse of the same hymn, when we walk with the Lord in the light of his word, what a glory he sheds on our way. While we do his good will, he abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey. Now, friends, that's good biblical theology, and it is endorsed in verses 16 to 17 of our text. And the Lord said to Moses, Behold, you will rest with your fathers, and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, and they will forsake me and break my covenant. Then my anger shall be aroused against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, Have not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?" The promise of God, you see, was conditioned upon them obeying His commandment to destroy the idolatrous and immoral nations in Canaan who would corrupt them. Verse 5, the Lord will give them over to you that you may do to them according to every commandment which I have commanded you. Be strong and of good courage. Do not fear nor be afraid of them. And it's very interesting that God says exactly the same thing to Joshua in the first chapter of the very next book. Verse 5, No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor forsake you. Only be strong and very courageous that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then, listen, you shall make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have not I commanded you? Be strong. And of good courage do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." The context once again makes it very clear that in order to enjoy the blessing of God's continuing presence and help, both Israel and now Joshua must obey God's word explicitly. You know, the same is true for us under the covenant of grace. Listen to what Jesus says in John 14 verse 23. First of all, he lays down the condition. He says, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word, he will keep my commandments. Then he gives the promise, and he says, my father will love him, And we will come to him, and we will make our home in him. Jesus does the same thing again in Matthew 28 at the end of the chapter. Before he ascends into heaven, he gives this great promise. Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. With you. To help you. Not just to befriend you, but what's the context of that promise in Matthew 28, 19? The context is His command to evangelize the world. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." It's a gigantic task. Evangelising the world makes the conquest of Canaan child's play. But as we obey his command, his promise is, do not fear. Lo, I am with you always. The experience of God's presence and help is entirely dependent upon our willingness to obey his command and evangelize the world by our praying, by our regular attendance at church, by our wise use and stewardship of our money, by the witness of our life, and by our lips. We have no right to apply this gracious promise to ourselves until we fulfill the condition to be involved in the evangelization of the world. It's while we do His good will, He abides with us still. Our hymn, compilers of our hymn book have decided to change that, and I'd like to point that out just now before we sing it. But that's the original wording. While we do His good will, He abides with us still. Now, please don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that if we don't do God's will, we're going to lose our salvation. God will have nothing more to do with us. We do not fall in and out of grace like that. What I'm saying is that it is futile to seek comfort from the promise of God's presence and help if we are not walking with the Lord in the light of His Word. God will be there. but he will withhold his blessing. He will withhold the joy and the sense of his presence. We will not enjoy his smile or his favour. And so the promise to claim if we have fallen into disobedience is 1 John 1 verse 9 which says, if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Going back to the history, to the book of Joshua, do you remember what happened to Joshua and the nation of Israel when they presumed upon the presence of God and went against the small city of Ahi with unconfessed sin? They had just conquered Jericho. And they thought that AI would be a pushover. But instead, Israel was routed by an inferior army and fled in humiliation. And Joshua fell on his face, the book says. Alas, O Lord God, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites? to destroy us. In other words, Lord, you promised to go before us and destroy our enemies. You said no one will be able to stand before you. Why then have we been defeated by the small army? And God said, Israel has sinned. They have taken some of the things that I banned, that I prohibited them. from taking. They have taken some of the loot and therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban that are in your midst. And as you read the story of their occupation of Canaan, this is the outstanding lesson. When the people were humbly obedient, God showed himself strong on their behalf. That's the pathway of blessing, trust and obey. For there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. So, my friends, we must stop excusing our daily sin. We must stop accusing God of failing us. And we must focus on doing God's will, of repenting of our sin when we fail to do His will and claiming His promise. We must say, Lord, I want to do Your will. The Spirit is willing, but, oh, the flesh is so weak. Forgive my disobedience and give me grace to do your will because I need your abiding presence and help. Dear friends, God may help us I should rather say, may God help us to lay hold of this promise I have been trying as best as I can to lay before you as individuals and as a church. God has promised to be with us. He will never fail nor forsake us. And as I conclude, I want to say a word to anyone here this morning who does not know God or live for God, and therefore has no right to a promise like this at all. Whatever else you may have as you face life, you do not have the presence and help of God. For He is not your God, and He has not made this promise to everybody indiscriminately. The promise is only made to those who have been redeemed by the blood of the new covenant. As Jesus took that cup at the last meal, the night before he was crucified, and he said, this is the blood of my covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. So if we have not been reconciled to God by the blood of Christ that cleanses us from all sin, then we cannot claim His continuing presence and help. And I ask this morning, humbly, to help you. On what then can you rely as you face the unknown events of the future? What will you do if the doctor has to tell you you only have six months to live? And what will you do if somebody very near and dear to you is suddenly snatched away and you don't have the presence and the help of God to support you? What will you do if the bottom of your financial world falls out and all the security you have worked for for years is wiped out. Who will you turn to, my friend? Where will you get the strength you so desperately need? Don't you see what a perilous thing it is for anyone to face the unknown future without Christ and without God our Saviour? So I entreat you this morning in the words of Scripture, taste and see that the Lord is good. You'll never be disappointed. Come to Him in the way He has appointed, which is through Christ's death upon the cross as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of all who believe on Him. Don't face another day without Him. For all the promises of God Find their yes, their fulfillment in Christ, even this one. Be strong and of good courage, for he who goes before you is the God who says, I will never fail you nor forsake you. Let's pray. Our dear, dear Father, we thank you for your exceeding great and precious promises in the Holy Bible. We thank you for this one we have been looking at today. Help us to lay hold of it by faith. Father, bring it to our remembrance constantly all the days of our future lives. Help us as individuals and as a church to walk in the light of your word, for the favour you show and the joy you bestow are for them who trust and obey. In Jesus' name we ask it. Amen.