“Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the Lord said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.” Joshua 13:1
There are times that come into our lives when it seems like we are not able to do what we want to do or ought to do: Maybe a serious operation, or a serious illness. Maybe we face the sunset years of our lives and realize we do not have the strength and energy we once had. When we are prone, because of circumstances, to face the wall and say, “It can’t be done.” However, God gives such a man as Joshua as an example that, even in the darkest hour, the light is just ahead. Joshua said, “I am old and stricken in years.” God said, “You’re old and stricken in years but there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.”
I think General MacArthur is one of the greatest men of our generation. You’ve heard me say this many times and you’ll hear me say it many more times. I think one of the saddest things of our generation is the fact that Douglas MacArthur never sat in the White House. Not a great man, but a good man. And I think he was a good President. Not a great President, but a good President. But I think we elected the wrong general at the end of World War II to sit in the White House. (Now, that’s my own opinion. If you don’t agree with me, I’m sure you’ve been wrong many times before and will be wrong many times from now on.)
By the way, you folks who don’t come on Wednesday night don’t know this, but about twenty-two years ago, in a little East Texas Church, I came up with a little plan of presenting the plan of salvation called “The Roman Road” whereby you take Verses contained in Romans and show people how to be saved using Romans 3:10, and Romans 3:23, and Romans 5:12, and Romans 5:8. and on and on. I termed it, “The Roman Road,” and from the “Roman Road” I wrote the little book, “Let’s Go Soul Winning.” Over one hundred and thirty-five thousand copies of that book have been printed. It has been translated into several foreign languages: Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, French, and others, and has literally gone around the world.
Just before he left Japan and retired, Douglas MacArthur got a copy of the “Roman Road to Salvation” that we started in 1948 or 1949 in East Texas. He gathered his staff together in Japan before he retired and said: “I want to read you something.” And he took my little “Roman Road to Salvation” and, verse by verse, went through the plan with his staff. He asked every person on the staff if they would receive Christ as their personal Savior. Now, that is only one chapter in the life of the great Douglas MacArthur, who I think is in Heaven. Not a perfect man, but a saved man. MacArthur was asked, “How can a person tell when he’s old?” He replied: “A man is old when he looks backward and not forward.”
Age is not determined by the number of moons you’ve seen, the number of times the sun has risen or set in your life. Age is not determined by how many days you’ve lived. MacArthur said you’re still young if you look forward and you’re already old if you look backward. The best days are ahead. The biggest victories are ahead.
Joshua was only old in years. He was stricken only in age by years. Joshua was given the command or the admonition of God, “There remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.” That’s what the prophet meant when he said, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
Now, how old are you? Are you old or young? Somebody said, “Brother Hyles, I’m well up in years.” But which way do you look? Do you have vision? Are there added victories yet to be won? Are there battles that stir your saliva? Are there challenges that you want to meet? Are there goals that you have yet to set? And so, here’s an old man. A man who normally would have retired years ago. A man who normally would have been in retirement out of the military service, but God said, “Joshua, there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.”
A few years ago, “God had said, “Moses my servant is dead.” And the mantle of Moses had fallen to Joshua. “Moses my servant is dead.” Moses, the indispensable one. Moses, the mightiest man in his day. Moses, the greatest man of sixty centuries, I think. Moses, whose name alone in all the Bible is listed in the song of the Lamb in Revelation. Think of that. Moses. Nobody ever lived before like Moses. Nobody has ever lived since like Moses. The greatest man of sixty centuries is dead. And yet, the work of God marches on. For there was a man who was nothing more than a valet, a sidekick, right-hand man to Moses whose name was Joshua who said, “I’ll carry his briefcase. I’ll shine his shoes.”
And by the way, that’s always the kind of person God uses for something big later on. The man who wants “big” never gets “big.” The man who says, “I’ll shine the shoes of Moses. I’ll be his valet. I’ll dust his room. I’ll care for his needs.” And God said, “That’s the kind of man I want to lead Israel.” And so, Joshua came on the scene. Not a Moses. Not as great as Moses. Not as powerful as Moses but the work went on under the hands of Joshua. Yes, death knows no favorites. Death claimed Moses just like it claims the common man.
The Duke of Wellington once came to the communion table. He knelt to pray at the communion table and there was a soldier on one side, and as the Duke of Wellington knelt to pray, the soldier looked up and saw it was the Duke of Wellington. Suddenly a man in rags came beside the Duke of Wellington and knelt to pray. The soldier saw this man and when he smelled his odor he jumped up and walked around to him and said, “Sir, you. You here in rags. Do you realize that kneeling beside you at the communion table is the Duke of Wellington? Move over.” And the Duke of Wellington went beside the fellow and put his arm around his ragged shoulders and said, “Stay here, sir. Do not move. There are no Dukes here. There are no Dukes here.”
Death knows no favorites. The rich die as well as the poor. The learned die as well as the unlearned. The high die as well as the low. The lovely die as well as the ugly. The talented die as well as those not gifted. Death knows no favorites. You’ve got to die.
And, so it is, God’s servant, Moses, is dead. But there comes on the scene another—Joshua.
Do you know how Billy Sunday became an evangelist? Billy Sunday was the man who helped Wilbur Chapman set up his tents. That’s about all he did. He just went around with Wilbur Chapman, who was an evangelist, and helped him set up his tents. When Chapman quit being an evangelist and took a church, he asked Billy Sunday to take his place and preach a revival. And Billy Sunday said, “What? Me? Why I could never do it.” And the man who said he could never do it, did it, and became the great evangelist that he was.
Now, what am I saying? Here’s Joshua. He’s old. He’s stricken in years. But God said, “There remaineth yet very much land to be possessed,” and Joshua said, “I’ll do it.” And in Chapters 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22, there were battles and many victories. And the old man, Joshua, stayed at the helm, and the victories kept coming because he looked toward the future and not toward the past.
Now, many men serve their lives in their early years. For example, Robert Mershain passed away at 33. Did you know that in his 58th year, Dwight Moody went to Heaven? Did you know that in the same year, Charles Spurgeon went to Heaven? Both of them in their 58th year went to Heaven.
By the way, A.J. Gordon, Dwight Moody, and Charles Spurgeon all died in the same year of their lives. David Brainerd died at the age of twenty-nine. And so it is that oftentimes God takes a man when it seems like his best days are ahead. God takes a man as He did Moody. As He did Spurgeon. As He did Brainerd. But in many blessed cases, like W.P. Riley, who at the age of eighty celebrated his forty-fourth anniversary as the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Minneapolis, Minnesota. At the age of eighty. And at the age of eighty-four and eight-five, he was going strong, pastoring.
The other day I was looking at John R. Rice, and Bill Harvey was also, and Bill said, “Look at him. He’s preached five times today and there he is still working. He’s seventy-five.” And he said, “Boy, I hope I have as much energy at seventy-five as he does.” And I said, “I hope I have as much energy at forty-five as he does, and I wish I did at forty-three.”
But Joshua was like that. And Caleb. I preached about Caleb today. And Caleb said, “I am up in years. I am eighty. But my eyesight is like it was. And I am still strong.” And Moses was that way. But now, here’s Joshua. An old man. But there’s land to be conquered. There’s land to be possessed. There’s work to be done.
God needs a man, and He chooses Joshua. Did you know that God always uses men to do His work. Always does. I get a little tired of these pious Christians who say, “We’ll let the Lord do the work. Just let the lord do it.” The Lord never has done the work by Himself if men did not yield themselves.
It was Dean Frost who wrote this. He said, “Apart from God, man can do nothing. And apart from man, God can do nothing.” God has limited Himself to man. God is not going to build a great junior department unless He has a person to help Him. God is not going to build a great church unless He has a person to help Him. God could grow a corn crop in the loop, but He’s not going to. Somebody is going to plant and somebody is going to plow and somebody is going to work. God needs a man.
And so it was that God came to Joshua and said, “Joshua, Moses, my servant, is dead. Now, you take over.” I have a list here I’d like to read for you. Under Joshua, Chapter 12, much good had been done. King after king had fallen before his face. Country after country had been captured. The Hittites, Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites all had been captured in battle and defeated by Joshua. The Jezreeites. The King of Jericho. The King of Ai. The King of Jerusalem. The King of Hebron. All had been conquered by Joshua. The King of Jarmuth. The King of Lachish. The King of Eglon. The King of Gezer. The King of Debir. The King of Geder. The King of Hormah. All had been conquered by Joshua. The King of Arad. The King of Libna. The King of Adullam. The King of Makkedah. All had been conquered by Joshua.
The King of Bethel. The King of Tappuah. And the King of Lasharon. And the King of Aphek. And the King of Madon. And the King of Hepher. All had been conquered by Joshua. The King of Hazor. The King of Shimron-meron. The King of Taanach. The King of Megiddo. The King of Kedesh. The King of Jokneam. The King of Dor. The King of the nations of Gilgal. The King of Tirzah. All the kings.
Thirty-one kings had been conquered by Joshua. Country after country. City after city. King after king. Battle after battle. Now, Joshua was old.
Let me say a word to you. And I say this for your health’s sake. I don’t care who you are, don’t retire. Don’t retire. Some of you men, right now, you’ve already added three inches to your waist just thinking about retiring. Just thinking about it. You’re going to go to Florida, get a fishing pole, and sit there on that bank watching corks bobble, and die with hardening of the arteries a year after you retire. Why? God didn’t make you to retire. God made you to work.
These people who say, “Well, there’s not much left for me.” Well, there never was much for you. Whoever you are. Tomorrow is better than yesterday. Next week is better than last week. Next year is better than last year. The future is better than the past. And Joshua said, “I am an old man. I’m stricken in years.” And God said, “Yes, you are an old man. You are stricken in years. But there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.” And God goes on in Chapter 13 and says, “This land. This land. And this land. And this king. And this place.” He said, “This is the land. Now, Joshua, you can’t die yet. You can’t quit yet. There’s too much to be done.” You see?
And so Joshua kept going. He said, “The best day is tomorrow.”
Did you know that one of the saddest things is that we look upon victories as ends instead of beginnings? Would you like to know what happens to baseball teams who win pennants? Would you like to know what happened to the New York Jets last year? And Joe Namath? I liked it. I hold no bitterness in my heart for Joe Namath. I don’t wish him ill. I just hope he never again wins a game as long as he lives again. But, anyway. You know what happened? You ever notice why a team like the Saint Louis Cardinals with White, and Boyer, and Brock, and Flood, and Toland, and Gibson and others, can win by many games and then the next year they fold and come in fourth or fifth place? You know why? Because we look upon victories as the end. Oh, no, no, no. Victories are only doors opening to new challenges. If a victory is an end, then don’t win; you will become old. However, a victory is to open new opportunities and new challenges.
Let me illustrate. Henry Ford, God bless him. I admire these people that start with nothing and build a fortune. And I hate a government that takes all their fortune away from them in taxes. I don’t believe in this ninety-five percent bracket. I’ll be honest with you, I just don’t. I don’t think a man ought to be taxed because he’s successful. Or taxed because he works hard. And I’m fed up to here with the generation that says take away from the fellow who worked day and night for half a century and feed some poor bum that wants to lie on his back and stick his big gut up Heavenward and do nothing. Let him starve. That’s what I say and that’s what the Bible says.
The Bible says if you don’t work, you ought not eat. I’m sick of all this guaranteed wage. Nowadays, if a colored man on a job won’t work, it’s almost impossible to say anything to him because he says it is race hatred and prejudice. One of the saddest things in our day is the fact that the rich are taxed to feed the poor. Those who work are taxed to feed lazy people.
Well, Henry Ford, the original one, saw that somebody ought to build a car so he began to work on the Model T Ford. He and Mrs. Ford. By the way, if you ever want to know somebody that was a great helpmate, read something about Mrs. Henry Ford. Don’t miss her as you pass through life.
Henry Ford began to build the Model T Ford. Mrs. Ford held a candle over his head by night as he did. She would go get the gasoline to put in the little engines, give him the nuts and the bolts, the pipes, the screws; and together Henry Ford and Mrs. Ford labored to build a Model T Ford. Here’s the interesting thing about it. (When they built it, this is sad. I want to cry when I think about it.)
When Mrs. Ford and Henry Ford had built the Model T, or the facsimile, they decided to take it outside, and they didn’t realize they had built something too big to get through the door. They had the thing finished and ready to try out, but the door wasn’t big enough, so they had to tear the wall down to get the thing out of the building and then rebuild the wall. And now, down the street chugs the old Model T Ford. Remember them? The sparks? The crank? You’ve never been hit unless you don’t get a crank all the way around and it decides to reverse action and hits you in the jaw. You’ve never been hit. And unless you have cranked an old Model T, you’ve never felt any reverberation at all.
Remember the old choke, and the spark, and the running board, and the rumble seat, and all the rest of it? God pit you folks that didn’t live in the day of scientific advance and progress. Who would have thought that cars would have been like they are now?
Mr. Ford said this is it. No, they kept on going. Toward victory. Now, there’s a car. There’s a buggy that doesn’t have to be drawn by horse. Propels itself. It’s only the beginning. Only the beginning.
Are you the superintendent of a department? You say, “We’ve had a great, great spring.” That’s a start! A victory is but an open door toward something greater in the future.
For example, take the Wright brothers. Did you know that few people have been criticized more than the Wright brothers? Did you know that they newspapers in our country were almost unanimously in opposition to what they were trying to do? They would write statements like, “What do you mean, build an instrument that’s heavier than space, that can stay up in the air?” And they did! And, of course, you’ve seen the first planes and so forth. Pictures of them. And some of you perhaps have been to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington and seen them. But who would have dreamed of the progress that would follow?
I have a reservation in a few days to fly on a 747, and I haven’t flown in one, but I’ve seen inside of them. They look like flying hotels. When the jet first came out, who would have thought they could be improved any more than they are now? But somebody said, “There’s something better. There’s something bigger.” There is a vision. Where there is no vision, the people perish. Where there is no future, where there are no dreams, where there are no hopes, where tomorrow is not better than yesterday, the people perish.
And so it is. Those who have done great things for God have looked toward tomorrow as the greatest instead of yesterday. How about you? Which is more important to you? Yesterday or tomorrow? Which is the greatest year of your life? One year in the past or next year?
You say, “Brother Hyles, I’m tired.” Okay, then take some Geritol and perk up. You say, “Brother Hyles, I tell you what. I’m old.” Okay, then listen to what God said to old Joshua. “Josh, you don’t have time to get old. There’s too much land to be possessed. There’s too much to be done.” God has a way.
Charles Spurgeon, the great preacher of London, was on a train one day sitting beside a man and he reached in his pocket to get his ticket and he had no ticket. He had lost his ticket. The fellow beside him said, “Are you having trouble?” And Spurgeon said, “Yes.” He said, “I’ve misplaced my ticket.” And he began to stew a little bit. And fret a bit. And the man said, “You can’t find it anywhere?” And Spurgeon said, “No, I can’t.” And the man said, “What are you going to do?” And Spurgeon said, “The Lord has never failed me.”
The conductor was scheduled to come by to get the ticket in just a few minutes. But Spurgeon said: “Sir, the Lord has never failed me, and the Lord will take care of that ticket before that conductor gets here.” So the conductor came and Spurgeon had no ticket. And the conductor said, “May I have your ticket, please?” Spurgeon began to speak, and the fellow beside him, with whom he had been talking, nodded at the conductor and said, “Pass on.” And the fellow passed on. And Spurgeon said, “He didn’t even ask for my ticket.” And the man with whom he had been talking said, “I’m the Superintendent of the railroad. A nod from me means free passage.”
God always has a way for those who will keep going. For those who will keep going forward. I’m pressing on the upward way. New heights I’m gaining every day. Still praying as I’m onward bound. Lord, plant my feet on higher ground. Say, “Preacher, I just don’t see how I can go any further. I don’t see how I can get the job done. I’ve got to quit my department. I’ve just got to rest up.” Why, of course not. Tomorrow is the brightest day. Tomorrow is the greatest day. The next hour is the best hour. Next week is the best week. Next year is the best year. Now, this is true in life. It’s true in a church. It’s true in a business.
I was in Ohio at a Conference and one of the sweetest things I ever heard happened. Doctor John Rice was selling subscriptions to the “Sword of the Lord.” That’s what he always does. He’s either selling books at a book table or selling subscriptions. I often say that when he dies, the last words he’ll say are, “I’ve fought a good fight. I’ve finished the course. I’ve kept the faith. And please drop your subscription envelopes in the casket as you file by.”
He was up talking about subscriptions and he said, “Now, does anybody want a subscription envelope?” And an old man was sitting down here on the third row, second or third row, and he was a hundred and one years old and so he took out a six-month subscription. That’s all he figured he needed. And Doctor Rice didn’t even notice. I noticed it. Doctor Rice went ahead and was selling subscriptions, and he said, “Now, look. I have a special offer.” He said, “Five years,” I think he said, “For eight dollars.” And the old man began to rustle. Looked down and I saw he was wiggling. And somebody said, (you know how old people are sometimes: they don’t know they’re talking real loud and you can hear them all over the house), and the old man began to talk. He said, “Give me my pencil. I want my envelope back.” And somebody said, “What do you want?” He said, “Man, five years for eight dollars. I’m not going to pass up that bargain.” And he didn’t. And I saw that old man reach out and change that six months to five years and drop eight dollars in there. You know why? He was aiming on being one hundred and six one of these days. Now, me. I wouldn’t take out but a six-month right now, the way I feel. But the old man said, “Five years.” You know what, he lived two more years. And so, he got two years of his five years in subscriptions. But the old fellow had the right idea, didn’t he? He had the right philosophy, didn’t he? He said, “I’ll take five. I’ll go on.”
Joshua was an old man, and the Lord said, “Joshua, I know you are old. But there’s a lot to be done. There’s land to be conquered. There’s land to be possessed.” He said, “Look up.” Don’t you recall, this is not a new thing for Joshua. He didn’t become optimistic today or yesterday. Back yonder years ago, decades ago, the Israelites had gone forward until they came to the very door of the Promised Land. And Moses appointed a committee of twelve to go look into the Promised Land. And the ten came back, and said we cannot go up and possess the land, but there were two men who said, “We can.”
Now, follow me carefully. Don’t miss this. Caleb said, “You can do it.” “But,” said the ten, “we’re like grasshoppers in their sight. How in the world can we go? We are like grasshoppers. The land flows with milk and honey. We’d like to do it. But we can’t. They’re like giants in our sight.” Caleb said, “That’s right, but we can do it.” Now follow me. Joshua said, “That’s right, but we can do it.” Would you like to know what happened to those other ten men? They died of middle age. You know why? Why should they live? They’re not going anywhere. But Joshua and Caleb are two of the three outstanding examples in all the Bible of service for God in old age. Joshua, Caleb, Moses. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old. He didn’t even wear bifocals. Why? His vision was like it was as a young man. His strength and his health. And same way with Caleb. The same way with Joshua. The two men who said—at forty—they said, “Let’s go on” are still saying, “Let’s go on,” at eighty. And God says, “I’m going to keep those folks young.” And do you know Joshua was younger at eighty than those ten spies who said, “We can’t go to war,” at forty? Why? They kept going. They kept going.
It’s that way with individuals. It’s that way with the church. I was thinking last night. I think the greatest days of this church can be in the future. By the way, eleven years ago last Sunday, and I didn’t realize it at the time, but I preached for the first time as a guest pastor in this church. We began to grow, and we got to one thousand. And we got to fifteen hundred. And we got to two thousand. And somebody said, “We can’t go any further.” We got to three thousand. Somebody said, “We can’t go any farther.” We finally got to the place where on big days now, some big pushes, we average over five thousand. And have had as high as sixty-three hundred.
And here in the summer time with hundreds of our folks gone, and with no push at all, thirty-five hundred and sixty this morning. And that’s not really a good crowd for us. I fully believe, whether Jack Hyles be the pastor then or not, I don’t know, but I fully believe that the day can come when this church averages ten thousand in Sunday School. I believe that. I believe that the First Baptist Church of Hammond can be the first church in the history of this country, for that matter, the history of the world, to average ten thousand in Sunday School. You say, “Preacher, preacher, ten thousand.” That’s what they said about five thousand attendees ten years ago. In fact, that’s what I said about five thousand. Don’t you recall that on my first anniversary, I was just about ready to leave. I mean, I was just about ready to go. I mean not voluntarily either. I was being pushed. But, anyway. I was just about ready to throw in the towel. And one day, down in the old fellowship hall that burned, Jack Beilby met me there. And Jack said, on the first anniversary, and I’ll never forget it. He said, “It’s been a pretty rough year, hasn’t it?” And I said, “Boy, you better know it’s been rough.” And he said, “Why don’t you stay and we’ll pass Lee Roberson some day.” Well, Lee Roberson was running three thousand in Sunday School. Now, I didn’t say to jack, but you know what that sounded like to me? That sounded to me like a nursery baby climbing Pike’s Peak. Why, three thousand in Sunday School, I’d settle just to not drop under five hundred. I’d settle not to lose a dozen next week. Why, they were going out of our church—like one fellow said (he had a church called the Open Door Baptist Church) he said he changed it to Revolving Door Baptist Church.
Somebody asked Johnny Ramsey one time, “How many members on your roll?” He said, “Oh, thousands. Half of them rolling in and the other half rolling out.” And they were rolling in and rolling out. And revolving doors. And Jack Beilby said, “Let’s pass Roberson.” You know and I know that for the last six to eight months to a year, we’ve had the second or third largest Sunday School in the world all the time. Why? Because tomorrow’s always the best. And I believe tomorrow can be the best days this church has ever had. Yesterday was a wonderful day. But tomorrow is a more wonderful day.
When I came to this church, we used to have five or six converts a Sunday. I recall one of our men came to me and said, “Pastor, this can’t go on.” Five or six a Sunday. No, it didn’t go on. It became fifteen a Sunday. And I recall folks coming to me and saying, “Brother Hyles, when are you going to win everybody in Hammond?” And I said, “Well, when we win everybody in Hammond, we’ll start on Chicago.” And then it became twenty-five. Then we dedicated this building. And the first Sunday we had thirty-two conversions. And I don’t think we’ve had a Sunday since we’ve been in this building with less than thirty conversions. I’m not sure. But then on and on and on. And this year we’ve averaged over one hundred a Sunday. Over one hundred a Sunday! Now, that’s unthinkable. Unheard of. Unprecedented. Why? I’ll tell you why. Tomorrow is better than yesterday. Next year is better than last year.
So, Joshua comes to fill the shoes of Moses. “Moses my servant is dead.” Joshua will never be a Moses. Never, never, never be a Moses. There never will be another Moses. He who has his name in the song of the Lamb in the Revelation. Greatest man I think since God breathed into man the breath of life was Moses. Moses is dead. Joshua comes up and the work keeps going. And now Joshua is an old man. It’s time for Joshua to say, “I’m going to retire.” Joshua said, “Lord, I’m an old man.” And the Lord said, “Yeah, old man Joshua, you are. But I’ve got a lot of land yet to be possessed. There is yet very much land to be possessed.”
You say, “Preacher, I can’t see it.” You don’t have to see it. You just have to believe it. You say, “Preacher, what is it that I can do?” You don’t have to see it. Just do it. Work and work and build your bus route. And build your class. And build your department. And keep busy. And keep vision and dreams and hopes and goals. If you don’t, you’re old. I know people in this church that are thirty years old thought ought to be using walking sticks. I know folks in this church thirty years old should be wearing long flannels in the summer time. I know folks thirty years old, no future. No dreams. I know people way up in years. Take Harley Dunsworth. God bless him. He’s in Heaven now. He went a few weeks ago. Every time we had a deacons meeting, and for months, and I guess for even a few years almost, Harley would say, “I think I ought to resign the Board. I can’t come to these meetings anymore. I think I ought to resign the Board.” I’d say, “Harley, you can’t resign the Board. We need you.” He’d say, “Oh, preacher, I tell you what, I’m just not in good health. I have sugar diabetes and heart trouble, and everything.” He said, “I think I just ought to resign the Board. I can’t come to these meetings anymore.
One night after the meeting he followed me along. He said, “Now, look, Brother Hyles.” He said, “I can’t come to these meetings anymore.” He said, “I’m getting too old.” And finally I said, “Okay. Okay. Okay.” So I said, “We will make you a Deacon Emeritus. You don’t have to come to the meetings anymore.” Next meeting he showed up. Never missed a meeting until he died. Always there. And he’d say to me, “I can’t take an active part.” And so I made him a Deacon Emeritus. Then he had no vote. He wasn’t supposed to say anything. And every time we had a motion, he would yak about it. You know why? He couldn’t quit. There is too much land to be possessed. Too much land to be possessed.
Now today, if you’re not saved, you’ve got a lot of land to get possessed. If you’re not saved, you haven’t begun to fight. If you are saved, tomorrow. Joshua, how do you feel? “I’m an old man.” Stricken in years? “Yeah.” You are an old man stricken in years. Your hair has grayed. Your brows are furrowed. Your shoulders are not quite as erect as they used to be. But, Joshua, there is yet very much land to be possessed. And after that charge came the greatest years in the life of Joshua. It is not yesterday or what you did that counts. It’s tomorrow and what you’ll do.
Let us pray.