joshua 23b

Joshua's Joshua's final final wordswords to Israel. to Israel.

1March 7, 2010

Joshua reminded the Israelites of all the good things that God had done for them.

Then he told them this:

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Joshua 23:6 Be ye therefore very courageousvery courageous to keepkeep and to do alldo all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;

7 That ye come not amongcome not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them:

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"Come not among these nations."

God didn't stammer nor stutter.

Plain talkPlain talk is easy understood.

7 That ye come not amongcome not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them:

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Hang out with them.

Talk about their gods.

Swear by them.

Serve them.

Worship them.

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2 Corinthians 6 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

God warned them: If you come among these nations, you will begin to serve their gods.

Don'tDon't come among them.

"Tell me what company thou keepst, and I'll tell thee what thou art."

Miguel de Cervantes (1547 - 1616) Spanish novelist.

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"True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends, but in their worth and choice."

Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784) British lexiographer

"Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company."

George Washington (1732 - 1799) US Statesman.

Proverbs 18 24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

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Proverbs 22 24-25 Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.

Amos 3 3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

1 Corinthians 15 (NIV) 33 Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."

8 But cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day.

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The Israelites had not been perfect.But, they had always repented and come back

to worship the True and Living God.

Joshua gave them credit for that!There might be many things amiss among them, but they had not forsaken the Lord their God; the way to make people better, is to make the best of them.

Matthew Henry Concise Bible Commentary.

If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will.

Abraham Lincoln

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1 Corinthians 13 (TLB) 7 If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best expect the best of himof him, and always stand your ground in defending him.

8 But cleavecleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day.

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1 Thessalonians 5 21 Prove all things; hold fasthold fast that which is good.

Job 27 6 My righteousness I hold fastMy righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

James 1 6-8 … For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

God never changes; His Truth never changes.

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God's Truth doesn't change to conform to a culture or a time.

Truth in Abraham's day in Canaan is Truth in 2010 in the United States of America.

Your circumstances may have changed, but God has not changed.

If it used to be sin, it's still sin today.

9 For the Lord hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before you unto this day.

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They were a powerful nation onlyonly because they served a Powerful God.

Ephesians 6 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the Power of His Might.

The same is true for the church.

Psalms 121 1-2 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, Which made Heaven and earth.

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The Israelites were victorious onlyonly when The Lord God fought for them.

10 One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the Lord your God, He it is that fighteth for you, as He hath promised you.

We walk in victory with joy and peace onlyonly when we walk with

God.

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Ephesians 6 11-12 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

All of lifeAll of life is a spiritual battle:

Between good and evilBetween God's armyGod's army and the forces of the devilthe devil.

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Many people try to divide lifedivide life into secular (worldly) and spiritual.

They would say, "My job has nothing to with my spiritual life."

OrOr, "My spiritual life has nothing to do with my job."

11 Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God.

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Take good heed!

Hedge about yourself. Guard yourself.

Do we need to take precautions so that we do not backslide from our sincere love of our Lord?

Yes we do!

To protect ourselves from our own weaknesses.

11 Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God.

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James 4 4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

There's no such thing as a little of both.

The way of sin is a downhill road.

Galatians 5 24-25 And they that are Christ's have crucified the fleshcrucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spiritwalk in the Spirit.

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Galatians 5 16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfillnot fulfill the lust of the flesh.

If we want the Power of the early church:Peter, Paul, James, and John

We will have to live the lifelive the life they lived:

Fully dedicated unto the LordFully dedicated unto the LordNot satisfying the flesh; walking in the Spirit.