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Good evening, everyone. Lovely to have you here. We're continuing our series in Joshua and in a few moments Jackie's gonna come and read for us. But I thought I'd just remind us where we've been up to. Now this evening it's gonna be really like more helpful than probably ever before to have a Bible in front of you so wonderfully.

Kevin and those at the back are gonna come around and proffer some Bibles. We probably need some at the front and the sides. They're just gonna meander around. If you didn't pick one on the way in and you don't have a smartphone with you and just pop a hand up and grab a Bible, we'll go there in a minute. But let me recap first.

So we've been in this book of Joshua, we've been working our way through it and we've seen the kind of promise that God's people are going to move into the land they were promised this long ago. They've been wandering around the desert in the wilderness, and Joshua, now the leader, is taking the people into the land. And for our purposes this evening, we need to remember that a few weeks ago we looked at chapter six. Chapter six was the fall of this massive city called Jericho. Now, God's people are not a battle hardened army.

They're not trained and equipped. They've never fought a battle before. And they go to Jericho with this crazy plan. I'll just read it to you for now. In chapter six, they're told to go round the city.

They do this for six days. On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak, marched around the city seven times. Except on the seventh day they go seven times, round and round. The seventh time, when the priest sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua shouted. Now this is crucial shout, for the Lord has given the city to you.

The city and all devoted to it, all in it are devoted to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are in her house shall be spared because she hid the spies that we sent. So they go in, they take hold of this massive city and they barely lift a finger. God basically does it, and then he does it again in the next city that they come to a chapter or so later. And then God's people, we saw two weeks ago, went and worshipped God and kind of recommit themselves to following God and living for him.

And now they're basically going to go into the land. And all of this raises a question in our mind because it's safe and fine for the people of God. But for everybody else, God's people, it feels like there is a keep out sign that's kind of heavily on their borders. We're going in, we're God's people and everyone else has got to keep out of our way. In fact, I wanted to make this point so strongly that some of you will have it underneath your chairs, some are on the windows.

If you've got a piece of paper near you, would you mind just getting up and turning the ones around on the windows? Pick up the ones that you've got with you. They're going to be really useful. I'm going to get my giant blue box as well. Let me carefully get that.

I'll turn this one round while I'm here, see if it stays. This sentiment of keep out has been all over the Old Testament and it raised in my mind a question.

How do you get in? How do you get into God's people? Because surely that's the place to be. That's where safety is guaranteed. And we've already had a little glimpse of it and we're going to get a much bigger glimpse this evening because in the passage I just read, it said that one person.

It didn't say, see Keep out or no entry sign. In fact, Rahab. Rahab the prostitute doesn't hold back, does it? The Bible is welcome in for her. Ah, my big moment done.

No, for her, the keep out sign doesn't exist. It's fine. Well, we got rid of one. In fact, not just for her, but for all that she sheltered in her household. The keep out sign doesn't exist, in fact, for anybody.

That Rahab spread the word to keep out. No, God's people says it's okay, you can come in. So we got rid of three keep out signs, but there's a lot more people around. So how do we get into God's kingdom? And it's a matter for us this evening because, well, I'm guessing most of us are not from the people of Israel, from God's covenant people.

So how do we get in? And we've got an incredible story. Genuinely, if we don't have fun this evening and see this story, I've done a terrible job and Jackie is just going to give us a little teaser of it. We're not going to read very far now. We're going to read just the first few verses.

So grab a Bible. You're going to go to page 223 and Jackie's going to read the start of our passage. Thanks, Jackie.

Thank you, Matt. So yes, I'm going to take us to just the middle of verse four. Okay. And we're on bottom page 223. Now, when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things, the kings in the hill country in the western foothills and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far as Lebanon, the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel.

However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and AI, they resorted to a ruse. And that is where we're going to leave Matt to probably perform the rest of the chapter for us. But just before he does it, can I just say a quick prayer? Lord, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this book of Joshua, which reminds us of all you've done and points us to Jesus.

We pray that tonight we'd hear from you again and be ready to receive your word in Jesus name. Amen.

Thank you. And I spotted one more to turn around. Let me come and turn this one.

Well, they resorted to a ruse. This got me thinking. This is not a story that puts me in a good light, but I'll start with it anyway. When I was in year eight at school, there was a French listening exam. Now you need to know that I was only in French because I was alright.

English. I was okay at English because I'd spoken it for quite a long time by that point. I wasn't very good at French though. But I wanted to be in a certain group with my friends. Amazingly, I was sick for the listening and speaking exam.

I was ill, just happened to be. And I thought, great, I've got away with it. But then when I returned to the classroom, they said, Matt, you missed it. What you need to do is you need to go off to the supply cupboard with a little tape recorder and we'll record you. So I wanted to be in.

I really wanted to be in this group. And I have to say I resorted to a ruse. As I was leaving the classroom, the teacher said, do you have anything in your pockets? I said, I've got a few bits in my pockets. What I actually had in my pocket, I think this is probably the only time I did this.

I'm sharing it with you, was a cheat sheet. No, it's not good. This is not an inspirational story. Please understand.

So I went into the cupboard and I read from my cheat sheet. I don't know how much I read. I Think I was very nervous that someone was going to come in. I made it. I made it in.

I resorted to a ruse. But of course, like any ruse, it's not long before you get found out. And in my case, I'm sitting in the class and I don't understand a word of it. It becomes pretty obvious that I wasn't meant to be there. Well, I wanted to be in that group.

But boy, do the people in this tribe of Gibeon, in this people group of Gibeon, they want to be in God's people because they understand something, something that Rahab the prostitute understood, something actually that we see throughout the land. Basically, everyone gets God's people are coming in and he's promised he's going to do it. Rahab understands that that promise means that she's got to kind of get into God's people. That's the only safe place. But we see a couple of different responses.

Either you're going to fight against God and his words, or you're going to understand that it's true and you're going to change your life. So let's pick up our passage. You're gonna need a Bible in your hands or a phone with you. And we got quite a long bit. I'm gonna read most of it and we're just gonna stop off along the way.

And the story itself is brilliant, so I hope you're just gonna enjoy it with me now. When all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things, that's the destruction of these other places. The kings in the hill country in the western foothills along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far as Lebanon, the kings of the Hivites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel. However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and I, they resorted to a ruse. This is their plan.

They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn out sacks and old wineskins cracked and mended. They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food was supply was dry and mouldy. They went to Joshua in the camp of Gilgal and said to the Israelites, we have come from a distant country. Make a treaty with us.

Good question. Coming up, the Israelites said to the Hivites, but perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty with you? We are your servants, they said to Joshua. But Joshua said, who are you? And where do you come from?

Well, when you're in deep in the lie, you carry on, don't you? Verse 9. They said, you servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we heard the reports of him, all that he did in Egypt, and all he did to the kings of Og and Bashan, so on and so forth. And our elders.

Verse 11. And all those living in the country said, take provisions for your journey, go and meet them. We are your servants. Make a treaty with us. This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you.

But now see how dry and mouldy it is. And these wineskins that were new, see how cracked they are. And our sandals and clothes are worn out for the very long journey. The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live.

And the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath. We'll pause there. So they come up with this plan. They go with their back, in fact. Now let me show you the plan.

They go with their bags of mouldy food and worn out things and they take. And they think, well, we've got to make it look as though we're from a long way away, like we've travelled a really long distance, because remember, God's promised all the surrounding lands to the people. We've got to make it look good. So they pack in, you know, they go to Sainsbury's or the equivalent and say, food that you're throwing out, we'll put it in a bag, we'll let it rot for a little bit and we'll make it mouldy. And they took the clothes that they had.

Now, I should tell you before you get too alarmed by this, this coat is already very worn out. In fact, it has lost its waterproofness. The hood doesn't work, the pockets have fallen through. So it's already in bad state of repair. But for your sake, I'm going to go further this evening.

It's of no use to anyone. Don't worry, I'm not well. I'm just checking I've got the right coat. This is the bit I felt most nervous about. So they take their clothing and they go at it.

Don't they say, well, we'll make it look ripped and worn. This was hard to practise, actually. I'm going to cut it.

All right, don't panic, nobody worry, I can do it. On the sleeve. Here we go. They make it. You get the idea, right?

It's a perfect illustration. There was no way of practising this on your behalf. I have to say, here we go. Yes. They start and they start ripping it.

They take the clothes and then they put it on. Don't they don't stand on my scissors. They take it and they put it on and they travel and they go before the people. Now just a quick word. In the Bible, when people are wearing clothes, gosh, it's quite effective.

When people are wearing clothes, what they're wearing is really significant. Okay. It's not just a little detail, it's a picture for us. We're gonna think about that later. They're wearing these clothes that are worn out.

They've got food that's worn out. And they come with this ruse and they say, please, please make a treaty with us. Now notice if you go to Bible, look again at verse 14. The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord's. Don't want to make a huge point of this this evening.

It's not the main point of the passage, but it is a reminder to us of how easy this is to do. And Steve spoke this morning of being spirit filled, empowered by the spirit, and how quickly we say, I've done this kind of thing before, I can do it in my own strength and confidence. And we forget to talk to God. And the Christian leaders that I most admire and look up to when I've spent a little bit of time with them, what I realised is this about things big and things small. It's like a reflex for them just to talk to God about it.

Maybe they're thinking of, well, should I? Oh, family holiday is here, but there's a summer camp for our youth here. And oh, how are we going to juggle this? And it's really a wisdom call. It's not like one's right and one's wrong and they pray about it.

Or maybe they're thinking, yeah, we could do this with our friends at Christmas, but should we do this? Should we invite them to come to church? We'll pray about it. Things big and small, it's normal to pray. But here the Israelites are already slipping into self confidence.

They think, yeah, this makes sense. These people have come from far away, they've got clothes that are worn out, so on and so forth, and they make a treaty with them and they ratify it. Verse 15 by oath. They can't take their word back. I'm Going to take the coat off now.

So what happens next? It's almost comical if you look down at verse 16. Let me read it to you. Three days. Interesting number.

Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard they were their neighbours living near them. Oh, gosh, can you imagine how that conversation went? You remember that guy Joe popped over the other day from Far Far. He actually lives really close to us. Oh, gosh.

Now it's a big thing because they now cannot take the land. So the Israelites, they set out as they have been going to do. They set out verse 17, and on the third day and come to the cities, Gibeon and Kiriath, Jearim. But the Israelites did not attack them because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath by the Lord, their God of Israel. The whole assembly grumbled, of course you would.

This is the land that they're meant to take. And they immediately can't do it against the leaders. But the leaders answered, we've given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, we cannot touch them now. This is what we'll do. We'll let them live so that God's wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them.

They continued, let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers in the service of the whole assembly. So the leader's promise to them was kept. Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, why did you deceive us by saying, we live a long way from you when you actually live near us? You are now under a curse. You will never be released from service as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.

They answered, joshua, your servants were clearly told how the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded his servant Moses to give the whole land and to wipe out the inhabitants before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. We are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you. So Joshua saved them from the Israelites and they did not kill them that day.

He made the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers for the assembly to provide for the needs of the altar of the Lord at the place the Lord would choose. And that is what they are to this day. Pause there again. Lots going on in these verses. Let's just jump into two or three little things that we can notice.

And firstly, they're safe, they're protected. It's remarkable their ruse actually works. Not because they came up with a brilliant plan, but because that is what God is like. It was what it was always like, that the people were meant to be ready to receive. And yeah, they came up with this weird plan, but actually it works for them.

Notice that the Israelites decide to do this thing. And Joshua says in verse 23, verse 23, you are now under a curse. I mean, if you're going to get under a curse, this is a pretty brilliant curse to be under. It's not the strongest of curses. You will never be released from service as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my gods.

See, the Gibeonites, who should have been on the outside, should have been enemies of God. People are brought so close. Later in the verse we're told that they're going to be there at the altar of the Lord, providing for the knees of the altar of the Lord. It's a picture for us. Two other quick things to notice.

Firstly, Joshua says no, verse 26, Joshua saved them. So Joshua saved them from the Israelites and they did not kill them. I don't think necessarily Joshua saved them. Of course he did. But that's a picture for us of the Lord and Joshua working so closely together, bringing in these people.

And how long does it last for? It lasts until that day when this book of Joshua was written. So if you've got a keep out sign near you, could you grab it in your hand for a moment? I'll take this one from over here.

It was never the case that God's people were saying keep out. It was never the case that that was the thing. In fact it was meant to be that it was a come in ness. And so we see here these gibeonites, I mean they're dressed for it, right? They're not bringing anything.

Good. It's funny because clothes are important. They are a rab temple little mess. It's quite fun. Always when I put this one on, it's like so like it's there they come, they come with absolutely nothing.

They come with this crazy plan. And what does God do? He makes a way for them, Makes a way for them. Just like with Rahab the prostitute, that incredible case study. And the Israelites can't touch them.

And we say, well, the keep out sign is destroyed. In fact, if you've got a keep out sign, can we do it on the count of three together? Maybe just hold it so that people can see around you. We're going to do it on the count of three. One, two, three.

And we're going to rip it and rip it again and rip it again. I'm going to even stamp on mine. You can put yours on the floor, make a big mess. It's fine, I'll clean it up. I'll be here till late.

Not a problem.

God's people now includes these Gibeonites, who are such a mess, who are meant to be enemies and they're brought near, say, great. Oh, what a beautiful picture for us. Except I got one more keep out sign. Because I don't know if you've ever thought about the gospel. Maybe it's the first few times that you're hearing it and I hope you keep coming back and listening, but I wonder if you're a Christian here today, whether sometimes you think, okay, God would have certain people.

I can understand if God's kingdom is wide open, that there's loads of people God would want to have in. But maybe there's a nagging voice, maybe it's the enemy's voice that says, really, you, you with all your mess and your sin and your, oh, gosh, really, would he let you in? And maybe the Gibeonites picture that for us. They're not the people of Israel. Are they really welcome in?

Are they really allowed to be in? Won't Joshua and the others just grumble and continue and think, can't we get rid of them? They're not really. Oh, God would never use the people like that. Well, that is why we're given the next few verses.

If you've got a Bible, we're just going to do this briefly. Again, we're into chapter 10. And in chapter 10 an issue comes because Gibeon is actually, we're told, a strategic city. And the other kings around them realise, gosh, if this Gibeon is with. If Gibeon is with the people of God, we're in danger.

Now, Adonai Zedekiah, king of Jerusalem, heard that Joshua had been taken AI and totally destroyed it, doing to AI and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the people of Gibeon had made a treaty of peace with the Israelites and had become their allies. And then we get through. If you jump to verse five, he kind of gathers the enemies and says, look, we've got to do something about this. This could be a big threat. Then the five kings of the Ammonites, the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon joined forces.

They moved with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it. Now if you're people of Gibeon and these five massive armies come towards you, surely you think, gosh, we're in a mess here, we've made a bad decision, what are we going to do? We can't fight them off by ourselves. And they cry out again, a picture for us for help. Verse 6.

The Gibeonites then said word to Joshua in the camp of Gilgal, do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us. Help us. Because the Ammonite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us. We'll pause there now if I'm Joshua and the people, I think, brilliant.

Maybe this is God's plan. Oh, we fell for that silly ruse. But maybe, just maybe, this is God's way of dealing with the problem. Gibeon will be wiped out by the enemies and we won't even be guilty. We wouldn't be wrong in letting that happen.

Oh great. And then we can go back to saying, everyone keep out. We won't fall for any more silly ruses. If anyone else comes and says they're from miles away, we'll actually pray about it, so on and so forth. Is that what God is like?

Is God just desperate to get rid of the weakest? Is it like a kind of audition for the Apprentice and he's just looking for the absolute best? Well, we've already seen in Joshua that can't be true. He took Rahab the prostitute in. She's going to be in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus himself.

But what's remarkable is how Joshua responds and how God's people come to the rescue. Verse 7. So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. The Lord said to Joshua, don't be afraid of them. Given them into your hands, not one of them will be able to withstand you.

After an all out march. Presumably they're exhausted from Gilgal. Joshua took them by surprise. Who's fighting for them? The Lord still.

The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel. So Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road, coming up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Aza and Medicaid. We'll pause there again. So they cry out, these Gibeonites, they call out and they say, please come and rescue us.

Maybe that's our experience. We're battling that sin again. We've messed up so badly. I think God, surely you know, oh gosh, I wish I just again. And we find ourselves calling out to one who can come and save us.

And each and every time the Lord God says, yeah, I'm going to come. I'm on your side. I'm not going to abandon you. I'm not going to abandon you. But actually, this passage finishes.

We're nearing a close of reading our long text. Well done. This passage finishes with a remarkable miracle. And I think this is the biggest picture of all, that God is absolutely on our side this evening. If we needed any evidence, it's coming now.

Verse 12. On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel, sun stand still over Gibeon, and you moon over the valley of Ajalon. So the sun stood still and the moon stopped till the nation avenged itself from its enemies. As it's written in the book of Joshua, the sun stopped in the middle of the day and delayed going down about a full day. There's never been a day like it before or since.

A day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel. Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp of Gilgal.

See the Gibeonites. God's now people included in, still vulnerable. These five kings have come and Israel have saved them once. But what's to say that there won't be a resurgence? That they won't gather again and come and attack when Israel is somewhere else?

And so Joshua prays this astonishing prayer and says, God, we need to utterly win this battle today. There can't be a chance that there's going to be a resurgence here. We need it to be a complete defeat. And it is. God listens and he causes this incredible, incredible miracle where the sun stands still.

And I think it's a picture for us, as so much of this passage has been, and it's a picture of this. There's a day coming when every enemy that stands against the people of God, everything that makes us shake and fear, every attack, every lie, every kind of feeling of deficiency within us, every sin, all of it is going to be dealt with. Every last little bit, every bit, it's going to be defeated. And we're going to have absolute confidence that God is on our side. In Revelation, we get a picture very similar to this kind of picture.

And it's this. The armies of God on the final day. The armies of God are on one side. Jesus and all his troops and the armies of the world are on the other side. Everyone that stands against, represented by these kings here.

And you Imagine what's going to happen is kind of Lord of the Rings style, a massive, you know, boom battle. It's going to be incredible. Don't believe a word of it. It's not going to be like that at all. There is going to be a battle, but it's only going to be one person from this side who writes out and fights the battle.

Here we're told that he's on a horse and his name is faithful and true. And the Lord Jesus comes out from the army lines and he takes on everything all by himself. We just get to sit and watch. We get to witness as Jesus destroys sin and death and everything that stands against us forever. It is going to be the most incredible day.

And it is coming. And this little picture here shows us that no matter who we are, no matter how weak and small we are, that can be our story too. You see the keep out sign? It was never what God had intended. Instead, anyone who was willing to respond, anyone is welcomed in.

Rahab the prostitute was welcomed in. The Gibeonites were welcomed in us. With all our mess, all the stuff that we bring, we are welcome into the people of God. And a day is coming when every enemy that stands against us will be defeated. It's coming soon.

We just need to keep holding on and living for that day.

So as we close, which side do you want to be on this evening? I was talking to a member of our church family this week and I said, let's just talk the gospel more. Let's just tell the gospel. That's what we need, isn't it? Week by week, we want the gospel.

And this picture here, across these two chapters is the gospel that broken and weak people are welcomed in. You and I are welcome.

We can say, as the people of Israel could say, as the Gibeonites could say, as Rahab could say. Surely the Lord was fighting for us. And as Jesus dies and rises again, yes, he was fighting for me. He took my sin. So I'm going to invite us to respond in a slightly different way this evening during our next song.

In a moment, you'll find on the end of the row of the chairs some post it notes and some pens underneath. And it's completely up to you, but I just think what a picture this is of the people of Gibeon coming, like Rahab came to the people of God. And my suggestion is this, if you can't find them, there's some more at the front. At some point in the next couple of songs that we sing, you might want to just write your name on a post it note. Quite a simple thing to do.

And if you'd like to, you can wander to the front while we're singing, while we're worshipping, and you can put your name somewhere on and you can remember that you're welcome. No longer a keep out sign, no longer a reason to be afraid, but that all of us are welcome and all of us look forward to that day when everything that stands against us, every sin, will be eliminated and defeated. So if you'd like to respond in that way, you can. If you just want to sit, it's fine. We're not going to do it in any order.

No one's going to notice whether you come or not. Very relaxed. But let me lead us just in a couple of moments of prayer.

Thank you Lord God, that you are so gracious that you open the door wide that we don't need to lie or trick our way in, but through Jesus, death and resurrection, you've made the way open for all who would come. Thank you that we're welcome into your family. In Jesus name. We thank you. Amen.

And if you want to push the illustration even further, I mean, I can lend you my pair of scissors and you can cut up all your clothes and you can bring them in. You don't need to go that far, but you can remember that we don't bring anything we just received from the Lord Jesus. So I'll put this at the front. If you want to come up, you're more than welcome. We're going to stand and sing and rejoice in the God who loves us.