Joshua had been one of two out of the original twelve spies who had entered into the promised land to seek out evidence that the land was as God said it would be. As the land was discovered to be as it should be, the people still refused to enter in and as a result, the Lord kept that generation from entering; with the exception of Joshua and Caleb.

During the 40 years of wandering, Moses, Joshua's mentor, as well as the rest of his generation died.

With a whole new generation of people to be led, a land promised by God still to be occupied, and the mantle of command placed on his shoulders, Joshua would need encouragement to proceed. God's promise to never leave or forsake Joshua and his people.

We as the people of God have as much need for this promise as the people of Israel did. We still have to live out the common life in the character of Christ in our day to day ministrations to our families, work-mates, and associates. The fact is, the truest religious life is that in which a man follows the ordinary calling of life in the spirit of a Christian. Now, are you doing so? If so, you are as much ministering before God in measuring out stocks in the market, or stocking shelves in the store, as Joshua was in slaying Hivites, Jebusites, and Hittites! You are as much serving God in looking after your own children and training them up in God’s fear, and minding the house and making your household a church for God, as you would be if you had been called to lead an army to battle for the Lord of hosts! And you may take this promise for yourself, for the path of duty is the path where this promise is to be enjoyed. “I will not fail you, nor forsake you.”

(Due to a technical problem, this is not a full recording)

God has prepared an inheritance for His saints and given it to them through a covenant established in His Son. This covenant is exceedingly broad and unfortunately most Christians do not conquer all the country that has been made available to them. But, like the Israelites, who settled the narrow bounds of Canaan instead of conquering the whole of the land promised them.

There are divine graces which God makes available to us: deeper knowledge of Himself and His ways, spiritual formation. When we come to Christ by faith, we are born again and we perceive new life that develops itself in the beauty of holiness, holiness being the fruit of regeneration.

Many believe that they can be saved from the grosser sins, but that they cannot ascend to the glorious heights of consecration and sanctification without which the believer can never attain the stature of a fully formed image of Christ in them.

The people of Israel once had the opportunity to cross over the river Jordan to lay claim to the land that God had promised them. Because of their disbelief, they had been consigned to 40 years of wandering. Now, they again have the chance to cross over and as they prepare to do so, God calls them to be strong and courageous.

The land was meant to be their rest, a place where they could be God's people, to grow in the knowledge of Him. That was the true promise.

It would require being steadfast in a trust of the One who had made the promise. It would require courage in the face of adversity.

We as believers today are called to be God's people, inhabitants of His Kingdom. God will, we trust, ultimately bring s the peace of God which passes all understanding, for we have sufficient faith to prove ourselves as His people and therefore, the Lord will surely bring us in. But it will take a great deal of marching for what may seem, at the present, very small amount of progress.

In the message for today, we will examine an account in the Old Testament scriptures that revolves around 4 men who had spent a great deal of their lives living outside the city walls of Samaria. These 4 men had become infected with the disease of Leprosy. This malady had left the isolated and abandoned from their home, their family, their employment, their purpose, virtually everything that would give life meaning and fulfillment. Living off the scraps thrown to them over the city walls, the would have been seen as barely living. In the same way, we are isolated, alone, without true and lasting fulfillment in a way that makes us live off the scraps of the world. Barely living, though we see ourselves as alive.

Join us as we see the story of the Lepers and how they mirror our lives apart from Christ.

Camak Baptist Church

Camak Baptist Church

How can we actually, practically, face and get through the suffering that has come upon us?

Most resources, articles, and books for sufferers today no longer talk about enduring affliction but instead use a language drawn from business and psychology that is geared to encourage people to simply manage, reduce, and cope with stress, strain, or trauma. We are told to avoid negative thoughts, to buffer ourselves with time off, supportive relationships and exercise and to learn to accept things that we cannot do anything about.

But all the focus is on controlling your immediate emotions and responses and the surrounding environment.

For centuries though, Christianity has gone higher and deeper in order to furnish believers with the resources to face tribulation.

Diversity in suffering does not just include the external factors; but, also includes the internal factors- person's temperament and personality also play a role in how a person responds to suffering, and the lasting effects that the suffering will have on them.

This message will describe three ways that a person can respond to suffering and adversity.

As much as we may want the growth, we dislike the fact that suffering constitutes a very important part of our growth; both as human beings, and as followers of Jesus Christ. People who have gone through suffering find themselves aware of their strengths and weaknesses, developing wisdom that combats the naivetes about life and living, and a tempering that resists the fragilities of life. We also know that suffering does not enrich us and deepen us automatically. Fire in the furnace can kill, and gymnasiums can severely injure; and, as an old saying goes, "the same fire that melts wax, can harden clay". This message will help prepare us to handle suffering in such as way that it leads to growth.

In the Bible, a refiner's fire is used as a metaphor to describe times of suffering. A less well-known metaphor is that of a "gymnasium". 1 Peter and Hebrews, as well as several other passages, picture great groups of Christians facing many trials and afflictions. The Bible acknowledges that these times of pressure are painful, but also states that these are great times of training where, under the hand of the Lord, they have the ability to produce a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who are being trained by it.

The Greek word for "trained" is 'gymnazdo' and it means to be "stripped naked and exercised. It is in the Lord's gymnasium, that of suffering and hardship, that our weaknesses and deficiencies are revealed and we receive training to be built up as a child of God.