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strang e statem en t we find so often in th e Word of God. The Lord, the Crea tor, th e Ruler, th e HEART OF O m n i po t e n t One, THE LESSON speaking, Himself, to T. C. H orton a man. Yet th e re it is and th a t is the strang est p a rt of our lesson. Joshua was eighty-one years old, a descendant of Joseph. He was a com panion of Moses, a prince in Israel and a victorious leader. God chooses His own men. He always has them in train ing . He can p u t H is hand on them in any emergency. God uses men but He is no t dependent upon them . There are many men upon whom He could not depend and it is a fair question to ask ourselves, “ Can He depend upon m e?” W ere He looking for a real leader would we. feel like saying, “H ere am j, send me.” F o rty years of service w ith Moses had given Joshua some practical experi ence. He was a man of strong convic tions, of stu rd y courage and sane con tro l of men. God w anted a servant. So He says, “My servant Moses is dead. I am going to make you my serv an t.” And He imm ediately tells His serv an t w h at to do. Look a t th e orders th e Lord gives to His servant. Over there, across the riv er is th e land I gave to Israel. Go over and take it.. T h at is a simple, definite command, b u t it was no t so easy as it looks. There is a river full to th e brink, beyond is a walled city. There is a nation of war-like people, Israel is a shepherd, unarm ed people. How can it be done? The solution of th e difficulty is in th e command. “Every place th e sole of your foot shall tread upon is yours,” A prom ise good for a river or fpr a walled city. And if we could stop and learn th is lesson it would be well worth while for it is th e supreme lesson in th e Christian life. , All of our inheritance in Jesus Christ is to become ours when we ta k e it. There are a lot of things which belong to us, which we have never possessed. God does not
lay things in our laps. He describes them . He tells us they belong to us and He gives us th e privilege and urges upon us th e obligation of going over and possessing them . The Church is m ultim illionaire in possessions, never possessed. The tak ing of our own is no t an easy job. We must have much of the heroic in us, so th e Lord exhorts, “Be strong because of my grace.” I have prom ised— believe, tru st. It is yours. You did not earn it. You do no t deserve it, b u t it is yours. Be strong because of my Word. PRACTICAL POINTS (1 ) When faith finds a place for its foot, it comes into a possession. (2 ) When your stand ard is th e Lord’s, no man can w ithstand you. (3 ) Give God’s plan for your life the preference. (4) Courage and cowardice are both contagious. Be a soldier. (5) When you pay the price you get God’s best. (6) H ere is God’s message to a man f of God. (7 ) Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His m ight. (8 ) Have faith in God’s word, the courage of your convictions. “To be a good p atrio t,” said Bishop Berkeley, “at man m ust consider his countrym en as God’s creatures, and him self as accountable for his acting tow ards them .” Joshua was all this and more. Courage. Courage is something th a t pushes us ahead in spite of fear. We need more of it in our work for God. Two sol diers were charging up a hill w ith their regim ent in a des- LESSON p erate attem p t to ILLUSTRATIONS capture a battery. W. H. P ik e When h alf way up one of them tu rned to th e other and said, ’’W hy you are as
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