vs5, “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 leave you nor forsake you.”
The Lord is with us, as we do His will, as we preach Christ, and as we obtain the promises that He's given us. He is with us in good works, with us in reconciliation, and He is with us until the very end!
Bless God. He is with us in good works. The Promised Land is more than forgiveness; it is power to obey. God hasn't only given us rest from having to earn His favor, justifying us by faith, but He is with us in the life of faith, as we do His will.
Look upon the promises, the commands, the warnings, and everything in the bible as yours and God as your helper. He says in Hebrews 13:5-6, “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we may boldly say: The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”. Do not think, “I must do this myself”, or, “This is impossible because of me”. But, when you see “go” and “do”, know the Lord is with you to go and He will bless your doing. It is written, “So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs” (Mark 16:19-20). Ask the Lord to prove that He is with you and to show you His power; but BELIEVE that He is with you continually, and power will come.
Secondly, the Lord is with us in reconciliation. The blood He shed is sufficient for all sin and blasphemy, so that the errors of your past have not turned Him against you. He is not with you in part, but in full, and He will give you grace by reconciliation. We read in Romans 5:9-10, “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Rom 5:9-10). Christ, and not you, is why God is with you. He loved you freely, without a cause in you and me, choosing us out of every nation, kindred, tribe, and language, and He has justified Himself in doing us good by the blood that Christ shed, so that all sin is rightfully paid and all grace is justifiably earned. Hebrews 9:15 says, “And for this reason, He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance”. There is no cause to think God is against you because of anything. The promises are yours, even if you've fallen, even if you've seen much sin. You may count on God now, safely and surely. He is not with us partly but always.
Third, the Lord is with us unto the very end. He says, "As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you." Many friends and family will turn away. Yes, a man's foes will be of his own household, Jesus said (Matt 10:36). Many you've enjoyed fellowship with will forsake you, and we must never put trust in man whose breath is in his nostrils, and who for a piece of bread will transgress (Isaiah 2:22; Prov 28:21). We must always put hope and trust in the ever faithful Lord. You will find that you let yourself down, you sin against your own standards, and yet God will never say, “You have failed me, so I will fail you”. He will always be there, ready to give the grace needful to obey.
Third, the Lord is with us unto the very end. He says, "As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you." Many friends and family will turn away. Yes, a man's foes will be of his own household, Jesus said (Matt 10:36). Many you've enjoyed fellowship with will forsake you, and we must never put trust in man whose breath is in his nostrils, and who for a piece of bread will transgress (Isaiah 2:22; Prov 28:21). We must always put hope and trust in the ever faithful Lord. You will find that you let yourself down, you sin against your own standards, and yet God will never say, “You have failed me, so I will fail you”. He will always be there, ready to give the grace needful to obey.
Lastly, this being “with us” is in obedience and not in sin. God says, “Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you” (Josh 1:7). Now, we are in the new covenant, observing faith and love continually, “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment” (1 John 3:23). He continues with Joshua, “Do not turn from it to the right hand or 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 you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success” (Josh 1:7-8). Do not think, “God is with me, so I can do as I please”, for you will see your strength gone, like Samson. Delilah told him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson! So he awoke from his sleep, and said, I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free! But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him” (Judges 16:20). He is with you in repentance and faith; He is with you in His will, but He is not with us in our own wills and sin, for that would be the Lord countenancing and approving of wickedness. He is with us in the right, and we need not be fearful of pursuing obedience to His will. He told Asa His servant, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you” (2 Chron 15:2), so that His promise has conditions that force us to get the promise for real.
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