Sunday Worship Service June 9, 2024

Prelude
Call to Worship John 10:28
Hymn JBC # 33 Lord, the light of Your love is shining
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn JBC # 327 Lead on, O King eternal
Offering
Scripture Joshua 23:14～16
Prayer
Sermon “The Lord’s promises were all fulfilled”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 456 Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling
Doxology JBC # 673
Benediction
Postlude

Joshua’s [words of farewell] who succeeding Moses, became the leader of the Israelites, meaning his words when he realized that his death was up close, is today’s bible passage.
Joshua succeeded Moses, became the leader of the Israelites and entered the land of Canaan that was given by the Lord God to the people of Israel.
And Joshua fulfilled his duty to assign each tribe in Israel the land where they are to live respectively.
　In the [book of Joshua]is recorded the state where they come to defeat that land they entered.

In the beginning of today’s passage is written the words of Joshua [Now I am about to go the way of all the earth]

“…the way of all the earth”, means to die. Joshua says death a “way”.

To live (life) is often likened to a way(path). We walk the way called life with the life that we received from God.
And to the believer that believes the God of the bible, death is not the end but so to speak, the waypoint of the way of life. Death is one point of the journey and there is life that continues ahead.
No one can precisely assert what death is, or what is the world beyond death.
However, through faith we can have the hope concerning death and the world beyond death as well.

Firstly, believe Jesus Christ as Lord and be a Christian, that is, to be baptized (baptism) means dying to oneself once in this world.
In the Baptist church, we have considered throughout significant the form of “immersion baptism”, where the whole body is immersed in water as a form of baptism.
Excluding the case where particularly the whole-body water immersion is difficult due to health condition, basically through the form of immersing the whole- body in water, demonstrates faith where “one dies completely to his own sinful old self once with Jesus Christ”.
And demonstrates faith that by being raised from the water once again, we receive new life together with the resurrected Jesus Christ as well. That is the faith that “immersion baptism” demonstrates.

Thus, the person that confesses Christ as Lord in this world and received a new life by baptism has already once experienced death (spiritual) in this world.
Therefore, it is possible to believe by faith that even beyond physical death in this world, our life’s path continues, spiritual life continues.
And Joshua expresses that path called “death” as “the way of all the earth”. Surely, death is a matter that certainly comes to all of us.
In that sense, death is certainly “the way of all the earth”. It is because no one can pass through avoiding the path of death.
As to when we pass through that way, that is, we cannot fathom when will death and in what form it will come to us.
Usually, especially the young and healthy people are not probably aware of death.

However, death is one point of our life’s path, and surely is a way that we will certainly pass through someday.
Therefore, in my opinion, it is not to detest death, or look away from it, but to earnestly consider face to face with death also leads us to live this moment significantly.
To live and die are side by side. Let us be grateful of the life we have and be joyful that we are made to live by God. And let us firmly face by faith even of the reality that this physical life on earth has a limit.
Joshua has achieved his duty in Canaan the promised land that God had given to the Israelites, to occupy every region and to allot a land to every tribe of Israel.
However, Joshua could not completely carry out that duty while he lived. The lands that should be occupied were still left.

In Joshua 13:1 is written as follows.
When Joshua had grown old, the Lord said to him, “You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over.

Joshua had to face death not having accomplished to subdue the promised land.
In the last passage of [Deuteronomy], we have also read the scene where Moses was to face death. The Lord God did not allow Moses who had led the Israelites and journeyed the wilderness for 40 years to enter the promised land of Canaan.
And even concerning Joshua’s duty where his task remains unfinished, so to speak, the Lord has destined that he (Joshua) had to face death.
Joshua might have wished to live long enough until the completion of the promised land’s conquest.

Even us probably have the aspiration to accomplish or carry out something while we live. However, we have no idea whether that wish will be fulfilled.
　With thought and aspiration to accomplish something, I think it’s important to make effort aiming on it. However, there are also instances where we cannot accomplish something as we have desired.
Perhaps a time may also come when, wishing [Just this, is all I want to achieve] but it never comes true and our life on this earth comes to an end.
However, the value of our life or living does not depend on what we have accomplished or achieved, moreover, on how much riches of this world we have stored.

In a sense, things we do on this earth are all “incomplete” and “unfinished”. Isn’t that, right? It’s because we are all imperfect. And the perfect One is solely the Lord God.
It is important that we admit or accept our own imperfectness or immaturity. And I pray that we amazingly respond anew, for imperfect as this, and self-centered sinful person, we are forgiven, given a new life and live through Jesus Christ the Son of God.

It is not what we can do, or on how much we have accomplished, but only because of God’s infinite love and mercy, we are considered precious and irreplaceable existence before Him, and that to us is the utmost joy.
In today’s passage, Joshua says in his farewell remark that, their God has fulfilled all the good promises He has made, and not one has failed (v. 14)
Joshua instructs the Israelites of that matter “know with all your heart and soul”.
Joshua says that God has fulfilled His good promises for He has led the Israelites, protected them all the time, provided them great blessing that primarily they are unworthy to receive.

　It is my prayer that the believers who believe the Lord God will know “with all their heart and soul” the blessings from God, the countless blessings that God has already given us, and become people that offer sincere praises and thanksgiving to Him.
To know God’s blessing with all our heart and soul, and to live offering sincere praises and thanksgiving to Him, is to us the true blissful way of living.
In the latter part of today’s passage, Joshua mentions something which maybe, if possible, we don’t want to hear about it.

Let me read verses 15～16.

15 But just as all the good things the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. 16 If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.”

God’s wrath or destruction is a matter wherein we probably wish that, if possible, we could pass through avoiding it, if we can avoid incurring it, we want to leave it untouched (not think of it).
Even I as a preacher, if I just speak of the love of God Jesus Christ, His forgiveness and grace, maybe our heart would be peaceful and quiet.
However, the more we are believers in God, the more seriously we need to consider about God’s wrath that Joshua said in today’s passage just before his death, and the destruction that is brought about by being rebellious against God and our obedience to other gods.
When we say the Lord’s wrath flares up, we may have a wrathful, fearful image of God. It is often said that [The God of the Old Testament is a wrathful, fearful God]

But, God Himself who had given us His only Son Jesus Christ and has allowed that the life of Christ His Son be taken away (Christ being killed) on the cross, is sure enough an extremely severe (or should I say, fearful) Being.
However, desiring to save us human beings even to that extent, to save us from the path of destruction, that harshness and fearfulness is also God’s love, His infinite mercy that loves us endlessly.
Is it extremely unreasonable when God who fully fulfilled His promise of blessings, who blesses us even now, punishes us if we rebel against Him, revere things that are not God as God and bow down before it?

Particularly, we who once believed God and chose to walk the path to obey Him, it is my prayer that we consider earnestly the great blessing of God’s grace and forgiveness, and to treasure (keep receiving) the faith that we once received.

Finally, let me read the words of the Israelites in [the book of Joshua] chapter 24:16～18, and end the sermon.

16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods! 17 It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. 18 And the Lord drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.”