All For You
Take the Promise
September 30, 2018
Rev. Gabe Sylvia
Using Joshua and Psalm 16, the sermon argues that God's promise is not merely land but a spiritual inheritance in which God is our refuge, riches, and resource—calling us to trust Christ, receive his proactive counsel, and respond with praise and thanksgiving as the Spirit and Word strengthen us in the church.
Summary
The sermon transitions from the Joshua series to a new emphasis on being compelled to serve and explains that the conquest in Joshua points beyond territory to God bringing his people into a promised, bountiful reality. Drawing on Psalm 16 (and related Psalms), it presents God as refuge, riches, and resource, using metaphors like portion, spoil, cup, and inheritance to describe the blessings believers possess in Christ. It warns that our experience can distort the plain fact of God's refuge and that right perspective comes through faith in Jesus. God initiates guidance (Psalm 32:8), and the fitting response is praise and thanksgiving; the Spirit, working with the Word within the church, anchors that gratitude and strengthens believers.
Key Points
- Church next focus: four sermons on time, treasure, talents, and worship, then Advent
- Joshua's conquest symbolizes God bringing people into his promised goodness, not merely acquiring land
- Psalm 16 presents three realities in God: refuge, riches, and resource
- Refuge is both a fact and an experienced reality; only sin distorts our perception, and faith in Christ restores proper perspective
- God’s richness is conveyed by four metaphors: portion, spoil, cup, and inheritance
- Believers already participate in spiritual warfare and possess an inheritance, but often fail to perceive its bounty
- Psalm 32:8 shows God proactively provides counsel and guidance before we ask
- The appropriate human response is praise and thanksgiving
- Psalm 119: thanksgiving recounts God's works, and the Spirit with the Word in the church anchors and strengthens our faith
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