WEBVTT 00:00:00.300 --> 00:00:03.240 Grab your Bible, Joshua chapter one is where we're going to be this morning. 00:00:03.680 --> 00:00:07.750 As we go through this book of scripture, this passage, I'm really going to give us a summary of Joshua. 00:00:07.840 --> 00:00:12.320 I want to highlight an idea that's communicated in the book of Joshua as we look at this together. 00:00:12.720 --> 00:00:19.920 But one thing I want you to know as a church family, we're going through this series called The Kingdom Come looking at God's major theme in scripture which is all about redemption. 00:00:20.180 --> 00:00:24.850 God's made you for relationship in Him, to delight and enjoy that relationship for all of eternity. 00:00:25.380 --> 00:00:28.680 Man's sin, we've rebelled against God, we're alienated from God because of sin. 00:00:29.060 --> 00:00:36.100 We can't, no matter how religious we are perform our way back to God, there is no good that you do in life that will ever make you righteous enough before God 00:00:36.100 --> 00:00:37.740 because God is perfect, God is holy. 00:00:38.700 --> 00:00:39.330 It is an impossibility. 00:00:39.940 --> 00:00:46.040 In fact, when God gave the law in the Old Testament, which we've already looked at together, it demonstrated to us just how sinful we were. 00:00:46.280 --> 00:00:50.380 It is an impossibility to reconcile a relationship with God no matter how religious you may be. 00:00:50.900 --> 00:00:52.940 We need God and His grace to forgive us. 00:00:53.260 --> 00:00:54.840 And the way that He did that was through the cross. 00:00:54.980 --> 00:01:01.360 God pursued us for relationship by being born, as we celebrate this time of year, as a baby and he was a king. 00:01:01.880 --> 00:01:08.520 I've heard it said like this that there have been thousands that have been born babies and became kings, there's only one who is king who became a baby. 00:01:08.880 --> 00:01:10.500 And He's given His life for you. 00:01:10.940 --> 00:01:17.680 But when you think about the Bible sometimes we get lost in the enormity that is scripture, 66 books. 00:01:17.760 --> 00:01:25.000 So one of the things I want to show you this morning is as you look at scripture, here's a little bit of a picture for you to consider how scripture lays itself out 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:26.280 especially in the Old Testament. 00:01:26.280 --> 00:01:27.940 Old Testament's 39 books. 00:01:28.460 --> 00:01:35.900 When you pick up the Old Testament, I think it's important to know that the Old Testament is not put together chronologically, it's put together according to literary 00:01:35.900 --> 00:01:36.580 genre. 00:01:36.920 --> 00:01:41.000 The first 17 books of the Old Testament are historical books. 00:01:41.140 --> 00:01:48.640 They lay out for you really the history of the Bible as it's unfolded for us and it basically 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:54.500 follows that concept from beginning to the end of the first 17 books with a few books that inter lap. 00:01:54.500 --> 00:02:01.680 And so you'll see the first 17 mentioned here, the first five are often called the Torah or the books of the law but it still follows in a chronological 00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:03.020 history for the most part. 00:02:03.620 --> 00:02:07.060 When you get with Genesis, some of these books you'll notice that they are lumped together. 00:02:07.640 --> 00:02:14.660 And by the way, if you're looking at this graph and you're like, "Man, I would like to just be able to see this graph," if you download the church app and you click 00:02:14.660 --> 00:02:19.890 on, at the very beginning of the church app you'll see three options. 00:02:19.960 --> 00:02:21.090 The first is a picture of the church building. 00:02:21.600 --> 00:02:23.440 The second is a picture of me, you're welcome. 00:02:24.040 --> 00:02:25.700 I didn't do that. 00:02:25.780 --> 00:02:32.790 And the third is a picture called notes, you click on notes in the very top it's got Joshua 1-7 which is where we are today. 00:02:33.440 --> 00:02:36.620 And you'll see a few things in there for you that relate to today's message. 00:02:36.780 --> 00:02:38.280 The first one is an outline of the Old Testament. 00:02:38.900 --> 00:02:41.160 So you can look at this on the app. 00:02:41.540 --> 00:02:43.340 The second is a topic I'll deal with in a minute. 00:02:43.820 --> 00:02:49.480 But the first 17 books are history books so you see Genesis and the next two books, Exodus and Leviticus. 00:02:49.740 --> 00:02:57.080 I almost called it Exoticus or something but Exodus, Leviticus is really they work in combination with one another. 00:02:57.140 --> 00:03:00.170 The same is true for Numbers and Deuteronomy, which is where we just ended. 00:03:00.840 --> 00:03:07.980 Joshua and then you got Judges and Ruth and Ruth is a story that happens in the book of Judges and so they 00:03:07.980 --> 00:03:08.760 work together. 00:03:09.420 --> 00:03:16.520 I and II Samuel, I and II Kings, the book of I and II Chronicles really follows the theme of both I and 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:23.270 II Samuel and I and II Kings, it's just got a different purpose as to why it's written even though a lot of the same stories you can find there. 00:03:23.660 --> 00:03:28.380 And then Ezra and Esther, Esther falls during the time period of Ezra and then the book of Nehemiah. 00:03:28.980 --> 00:03:36.200 You'll notice a gap between there because Israel after II Kings was taken into seven years of captivity and when they return 00:03:36.200 --> 00:03:38.260 those three books are written after the return. 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:42.160 And then you have 400 years of silence until the New Testament. 00:03:42.220 --> 00:03:49.540 Now if you think in terms of, "Okay, what about the other 22 books of the Old Testament?" Well, after the first 17 books in your Bible, you have five 00:03:49.540 --> 00:03:50.970 books that are poetic books. 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:54.240 I've actually listed six of them here, I'll tell you why in just a minute. 00:03:54.860 --> 00:04:00.180 The book of Job falls during the time period of Genesis and so it's a poetic book. 00:04:00.220 --> 00:04:07.040 Then the books of Psalms and it spans from the time of Moses to the time of Ezra, a thousand years for the book of Psalms. 00:04:07.140 --> 00:04:11.220 It's Israel's worship book, the songbook that they would sing to the Lord. 00:04:11.720 --> 00:04:17.279 David wrote the most of those and he happens to fall right in the middle of this time period between Moses and Ezra. 00:04:17.899 --> 00:04:22.350 And then you have King Solomon who writes three books which is Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon. 00:04:23.700 --> 00:04:30.760 The book of Lamentations is a poetic book but it actually falls in with the prophetic books because Jeremiah wrote 00:04:30.760 --> 00:04:35.200 it and Jeremiah writes it during his time of prophecy as Jerusalem is falling. 00:04:35.860 --> 00:04:40.260 And when you think about the prophetic books, they all come to the latter half of the Old Testament. 00:04:40.780 --> 00:04:45.000 It's really interesting when you look at these are not written according to chronology. 00:04:45.140 --> 00:04:50.940 They're written basically as they pop up in scripture but you can break them up into three different groups. 00:04:50.980 --> 00:04:58.140 And you'll notice with some of these they had the letters NP or FP right after them, NP means a northern prophet, FP means 00:04:58.140 --> 00:05:00.520 a foreign prophet, he was called to a foreign land. 00:05:00.840 --> 00:05:04.660 And the rest of them were all southern prophets if it doesn't have an NP or an FP beside of it. 00:05:05.320 --> 00:05:12.400 But they have these prophets that come and what's interesting is you look at these prophets as at the very end of 00:05:12.540 --> 00:05:19.620 really the Old Testament, all these prophets start coming prophesying at the same time, multiple prophets, not all of them had books, some of them do have 00:05:19.620 --> 00:05:19.970 books. 00:05:20.460 --> 00:05:23.420 But the last 17 books of your Bible are all prophetic. 00:05:23.840 --> 00:05:30.460 And then when you get to the end of Nehemiah, silence, 400 years of silence in fact. 00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:33.280 Jewish history even records that there was no prophet around. 00:05:34.620 --> 00:05:36.190 As if God wants to get their attention. 00:05:37.520 --> 00:05:44.640 And then when the New Testament starts, finally God prophetically returns again and He appears to John the Baptist parents in 00:05:44.640 --> 00:05:45.310 the temple. 00:05:45.740 --> 00:05:46.340 And then to Mary. 00:05:47.440 --> 00:05:49.540 God grabs her attention with the coming of the Messiah. 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:51.440 So that lays out the Old Testament for you. 00:05:51.860 --> 00:05:54.070 Today, we are in the book of Joshua. 00:05:55.640 --> 00:06:02.900 And Joshua chapter one, if you remember last week we got to the point where Moses brought them right up to the Promised Land, they disobeyed God, they were left to wander for 40 00:06:02.900 --> 00:06:09.900 years and God told them Joshua and Caleb would be the ones that would actually bring them into the Promised Land, that generation would pass 00:06:09.900 --> 00:06:15.940 away anyone that was 20 years old and older and they would bring in this young generation to follow after the Lord. 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:21.320 And so Joshua's the one that brings them into the Promised Land and now he's got to fill the boots of Moses. 00:06:23.060 --> 00:06:24.920 You could imagine how intimidating that would be. 00:06:26.460 --> 00:06:32.340 Moses for the Jewish people that is the leader of leaders and now the guy that follows that... 00:06:32.400 --> 00:06:33.960 Who wants to be the guy that follows that? 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:42.580 And Joshua chapter one, really the Lord comes into Joshua's life and He gives him this statement of really 00:06:42.580 --> 00:06:46.300 encouragement to where he was in his faithfulness and pursuing after the Lord. 00:06:46.400 --> 00:06:53.480 And he says these two verses in Joshua 1:8 and 9, exceptional verses that I think should encourage us in anything that 00:06:53.480 --> 00:06:54.680 we do for God. 00:06:54.680 --> 00:07:01.720 It says this, "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate on it day and night so 00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:08.800 you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have success." I 00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:15.800 don't know if you remember this but when we started this series together, looking at God's Kingdom, we started in Psalm 119 which is all about the power of God's 00:07:15.860 --> 00:07:19.140 word and we actually focused on that word meditate which is in verse eight. 00:07:19.740 --> 00:07:24.480 And it's the same word that the Hebrews would use to refer to a lion, the way a lion would roar. 00:07:25.600 --> 00:07:33.160 And when a lion roars, this is not words that come out of his mouth, the roar of a lion reverberates from the inside of his being to the point that it shakes 00:07:33.160 --> 00:07:33.860 him at his core. 00:07:35.500 --> 00:07:42.580 And when you think about studying God's Word, I think it's intended the same way in our lives that when we look at God's Word it's not just words that we intellectually understand but the 00:07:42.580 --> 00:07:46.840 very center of our being, we're supposed to allow this word to transform our lives. 00:07:48.100 --> 00:07:52.020 And He's saying the same thing to Joshua, "Look, Joshua, you got to lead and here's Moses' secret. 00:07:52.200 --> 00:07:54.460 It was My word." That's it. 00:07:54.620 --> 00:07:55.100 It's not about you. 00:07:56.660 --> 00:07:57.460 It's about Me. 00:07:58.820 --> 00:08:01.960 And so focus on My word and then He says this in verse nine, "Have I not commanded you? 00:08:02.940 --> 00:08:04.740 Be strong and of good courage, or be courageous. 00:08:05.200 --> 00:08:11.160 Do not tremble or be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." It's not based on your power, it's based on His presence. 00:08:12.800 --> 00:08:15.420 So He says, "Focus on My word and recognize I'm not going to abandon you. 00:08:16.780 --> 00:08:19.220 Wherever I call you to, I have already been there. 00:08:20.260 --> 00:08:28.260 And I will be with you wherever you go." And so it was on that promise that Joshua 00:08:28.260 --> 00:08:32.780 leads the people into the Promised Land. 00:08:34.020 --> 00:08:39.100 You know, I think about verses like this, I think one of the encouraging things maybe for us to consider is... 00:08:40.940 --> 00:08:45.830 Maybe I would just say it like this may be a little blunt but stop letting people tell you you're a snowflake. 00:08:47.540 --> 00:08:54.960 I think in our culture today we're so focused on the uniqueness of people, which I think we're beautifully made, we're wonderfully made but the 00:08:55.040 --> 00:08:57.750 power of how you're made has nothing to do with you. 00:08:58.760 --> 00:09:00.390 It's about the God who gave you life. 00:09:01.400 --> 00:09:08.480 And the way that we find our strength in anything that we do in this world, while we recognize you're made beautifully, you're made wonderfully because you're made in the image of God the point is 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:11.000 you're made in the image of God. 00:09:11.160 --> 00:09:18.280 And I think sometimes we focus so much on how individualistic people are, we forget that where that all drives from and apart from the Lord we 00:09:18.280 --> 00:09:19.800 have nothing to even boast about. 00:09:21.240 --> 00:09:28.460 And He's looking at Joshua and here's the problem in our lives, oftentimes we get fearful about doing things in this world it's because 00:09:28.460 --> 00:09:34.760 we focus so much inside of ourselves that we forget to look outside of ourselves from where any of that strength comes from to what we're called to begin with. 00:09:36.600 --> 00:09:43.840 And so for Joshua, he's looking about himself as doing anything as a leader for the Lord and all of us are called to lead in some capacity for Jesus. 00:09:45.560 --> 00:09:50.480 I think he begins to look within himself at the incapability that he feels like he possesses but God isn't there anybody better? 00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:52.730 God, do you not know my flaws? 00:09:52.940 --> 00:09:54.100 Do you not know how messed up I am? 00:09:54.140 --> 00:09:56.660 Do you not know the inadequacies and the struggles that I face? 00:09:56.940 --> 00:09:59.520 And when I look in the mirror the type of person I see? 00:09:59.560 --> 00:10:01.550 And God says, "Stop looking at you. 00:10:03.430 --> 00:10:04.620 Look at me. 00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:08.940 Everything that you're about to enter to is based on my promises anyway. 00:10:09.900 --> 00:10:13.940 That's the only reason you're at the precipice of entering into this Promised Land. 00:10:15.020 --> 00:10:21.460 And if I brought you here, I'm going to carry you through." And so Joshua starts off with that thought. 00:10:21.460 --> 00:10:26.520 And the first battle that they get into as they enter into the land of Canaan is the battle of Jericho. 00:10:28.100 --> 00:10:35.360 And Joshua chapter five is where it picks up and when you get to chapter five, verse 13, really interesting part of this story, 00:10:36.300 --> 00:10:41.240 I'm going to talk about a few particulars here but let me just read this in verse 13. 00:10:41.240 --> 00:10:48.400 It says, "Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn 00:10:48.400 --> 00:10:49.080 in his hand. 00:10:49.340 --> 00:10:56.420 And Joshua went to him and said to him, 'Are you for us or are you for our adversaries?'" Let me stop 00:10:56.420 --> 00:10:56.520 there. 00:10:58.220 --> 00:11:00.920 You can imagine maybe as a leader where Joshua would be in these moments. 00:11:02.700 --> 00:11:07.140 He's going into the Promised Land, final of the fulfillment of all that God has said to His people. 00:11:07.920 --> 00:11:15.020 Outside of Jericho, in the Hebrew literally says when it says he's by Jericho what it's communicating to us, he's literally right beside 00:11:15.020 --> 00:11:16.100 the walls of Jericho. 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:19.960 And if you know this story, the walls of Jericho are going to come tumbling down. 00:11:20.300 --> 00:11:27.400 But he's the adversary to these people and you can kind of get a hint of his bravery here that before the battle even takes place he 00:11:27.400 --> 00:11:29.360 is right beside the wall. 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:38.220 How incredible this moment but maybe we should ask the question, "Why? 00:11:38.660 --> 00:11:45.720 Why would he be by these walls?" I can imagine as a leader knowing the next day this battle could start, that 00:11:45.820 --> 00:11:47.830 Joshua's having a pretty restless night. 00:11:49.220 --> 00:11:56.220 And so perhaps in the middle of the night knowing what awaits for the next day, Joshua gathering his thoughts by 00:11:56.220 --> 00:11:59.120 himself, he decides to wander by the very walls of Jericho. 00:12:00.760 --> 00:12:02.490 Maybe seek God's face. 00:12:03.680 --> 00:12:10.820 And in these moments, he comes across this individual I should say, he finds out it's an angel, and he asks this 00:12:10.820 --> 00:12:14.620 question, "Are you for us, or are you for our adversary?" Could you imagine that? 00:12:14.620 --> 00:12:21.800 This person with a sword drawn right outside of the wall and Joshua, like to me in this moment he's greater than 00:12:21.800 --> 00:12:25.950 Chuck Norris, because most people they see this they're like, "I'll just turn around and go the other direction. 00:12:26.140 --> 00:12:31.680 We'll be back to fight this battle tomorrow." And Joshua's like, "No, we're not." And he just storms right up to him and in these moments say, "Okay. 00:12:31.760 --> 00:12:32.360 Who are you for? 00:12:32.400 --> 00:12:34.840 Are you for me or are you for them?" And I love the answer here. 00:12:36.380 --> 00:12:40.160 The answer verse 14, he said, "No." What kind of answer is this? 00:12:40.460 --> 00:12:43.140 He gave him an either or question and he just answers with a no. 00:12:43.280 --> 00:12:50.520 You have two choices and then you pick third option and he just says, "No." And then he goes on and explains, "Rather I am come now as 00:12:50.920 --> 00:12:52.820 captain of the host of the Lord. 00:12:53.300 --> 00:13:00.500 And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and bowed down and said to him, 'What has my Lord said to His servant?' And the captain 00:13:00.540 --> 00:13:07.680 of the Lord's host said to Joshua, 'Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.' And 00:13:07.760 --> 00:13:12.900 Joshua did so." I love this answer. 00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:19.000 I love the response he gives, he says, "No." Doesn't even answer Joshua's question. 00:13:19.980 --> 00:13:27.120 And if you consider for a minute why in the world would this person not tell Joshua we're on your side or on the other person's side or the angel, why would he not say that? 00:13:27.140 --> 00:13:28.040 Why did he just say no? 00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:37.580 Maybe it's to say this to us as we consider leading in this world or leaders in this world, God 00:13:37.580 --> 00:13:42.800 is more interested in His kingdom than He is in yours. 00:13:44.180 --> 00:13:51.220 If you study history, it's pretty intriguing as people or groups or nations go into 00:13:51.440 --> 00:13:57.570 battle how quick people are in the midst of this battle to determine for everyone else whose side God is on. 00:13:58.440 --> 00:13:59.470 Let's go fight the war. 00:13:59.520 --> 00:14:00.540 God is on our side. 00:14:00.620 --> 00:14:04.500 That's the declaration we justify our actions by saying God is with us, right? 00:14:05.340 --> 00:14:07.800 And I love what the angel does here, the angel of the Lord. 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:11.120 Neither. 00:14:11.800 --> 00:14:12.460 I'm on God's side. 00:14:12.540 --> 00:14:19.880 Maybe the question rather for Joshua was, "Joshua, whose side are you on?" Because we can go so far as to say, has really anyone ever gone into battle completely 00:14:19.880 --> 00:14:20.500 innocent? 00:14:22.400 --> 00:14:29.660 I think all of us in humility recognize that some point there's a need to stand up for what's right against what's wrong but along 00:14:29.660 --> 00:14:31.500 that path, we could all lose our way. 00:14:32.460 --> 00:14:37.320 And what's more important to determine whose side God is on is whether or not we're on God's side. 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:45.160 And so the angel responds and says, "No," meaning Joshua check yourself to recognize which side you're 00:14:45.160 --> 00:14:46.540 on because that's what I'm here for. 00:14:48.560 --> 00:14:51.670 And when Joshua hears the response, it tells us he bows down. 00:14:52.320 --> 00:14:59.340 And when you consider what's happening in this passage of scripture, the Bible tells us ample times but if you want a passage Revelation 22:8 00:14:59.340 --> 00:15:05.380 and 9, "We are not to bow down or worship the angels." So what exactly is Joshua bowing down to? 00:15:07.460 --> 00:15:09.740 Bible tells us that we're to worship God and worship Him alone. 00:15:09.820 --> 00:15:14.380 In fact when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness in Matthew 4:9 and 10, Jesus said as much. 00:15:15.460 --> 00:15:17.200 We are only to bow down to the Lord and He alone. 00:15:18.520 --> 00:15:22.850 It's what theologians will qualify this moment as, this angel of the Lord, this is actually a Christophany. 00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:28.500 This is an Old Testament appearance of Jesus before he physically comes in the flesh in the New Testament. 00:15:28.640 --> 00:15:34.140 This happens a few times within the context of the Old Testament but this is exactly what Joshua is experiencing. 00:15:35.380 --> 00:15:42.400 And so Joshua, in reverence for the angel of the Lord, the Lord of hosts who carries angels into battle, he bows down 00:15:42.400 --> 00:15:43.140 in these moments. 00:15:45.540 --> 00:15:52.620 In chapter six then it gives us the actions that God tells Joshua in chapter six verse one, "Now Jericho was 00:15:52.760 --> 00:15:54.560 tightly shut because of the sons of Israel. 00:15:55.680 --> 00:15:57.720 No one went out, and no one came in. 00:15:58.920 --> 00:16:06.100 And the Lord said to Joshua, 'See, I have given Jericho into your hand with its king and the valiant warriors, you shall march around the city, 00:16:06.280 --> 00:16:08.200 all the men of war circling the city once. 00:16:08.660 --> 00:16:10.680 You shall do so for six days. 00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:14.640 And seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams horns before the ark. 00:16:15.080 --> 00:16:19.260 Then on the seventh day, you shall march around the city seven times and the priest shall blow the trumpets. 00:16:19.720 --> 00:16:26.780 It shall be that when they make a long blast with the rams horn and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all of the people shall shout with a 00:16:26.820 --> 00:16:35.220 great shout and the wall of the city shall fall down flat and the people will go up every man straight ahead." Joshua, 00:16:35.300 --> 00:16:39.780 you can imagine after meeting an angel, he's probably all amped up for this fight. 00:16:40.180 --> 00:16:43.660 Israel finally coming in the Promised Land, he's all amped up for this fight. 00:16:43.800 --> 00:16:46.960 And I don't want to lose sight of how bizarre this moment is. 00:16:47.680 --> 00:16:54.720 They tell us the walls of Jericho were so thick that a double-sized chariot could ride around the top of 00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:55.180 this wall. 00:16:57.340 --> 00:17:02.880 But Joshua's commanded rather than to go in and just fight to walk around this wall for seven days. 00:17:04.220 --> 00:17:11.480 By scholars estimate, about a half a mile march for seven days, six days they just walk around silent no one talking let's just walk 00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:11.960 around this. 00:17:11.980 --> 00:17:14.280 Can you imagine Joshua saying this to his troops? 00:17:14.420 --> 00:17:16.260 "Okay, guys I got God's battle plan. 00:17:17.020 --> 00:17:24.220 We're going to go right up to this wall where they can take stones and cast it on our head and crush us but rather what we're going to do is we're just going to walk around 00:17:24.220 --> 00:17:24.700 the wall. 00:17:24.760 --> 00:17:25.250 No one talk. 00:17:25.740 --> 00:17:28.540 Priests go out there and let's do this." And so they just walk around. 00:17:28.700 --> 00:17:32.860 Can you imagine come home that night and you talk to your family and they're like, "How'd it go? 00:17:32.920 --> 00:17:40.050 'Well, we just quietly walked and we finished our circle and now none of us really said anything to each other but here we are." Silly, 00:17:40.600 --> 00:17:40.700 right? 00:17:41.180 --> 00:17:48.340 But the story goes on in verse 18 says, "Command to them, but as for you only keep yourselves 00:17:48.340 --> 00:17:56.880 from the things under the band so that you will not covet them and take some of the things under the band and make the camp 00:17:56.880 --> 00:18:04.120 of Israel a curse and bring trouble on it." So this is just a highlight verse for a minute but God tells them when they go into Jericho don't take anything 00:18:04.120 --> 00:18:04.840 from here. 00:18:04.860 --> 00:18:08.180 There are certain things that you can give to God but everything else is to be burned and done away with. 00:18:09.300 --> 00:18:15.200 So certain items for treasury to the Lord, they're to dedicate, everything else they're not to have, it's banned from their possession. 00:18:15.460 --> 00:18:16.980 We'll come back to this verse in just a minute. 00:18:17.320 --> 00:18:24.620 But in verse 20, "So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets, and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a 00:18:24.620 --> 00:18:31.660 great shout and the wall fell." So here they are in verse 20, "They do everything that God says to do and they blow 00:18:31.660 --> 00:18:38.800 the trumpet on the seventh day after walking around seven times on the seventh day and the people shout, priests blow their trumpet, when 00:18:38.800 --> 00:18:46.020 people heard the sound of the trumpet the people shout with a great shout, the wall fell down flat so the people went up into the city, every man straight ahead, 00:18:46.420 --> 00:18:47.320 and they took the city. 00:18:47.780 --> 00:18:55.040 They utterly destroyed everything in the city both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep, and donkey with the edge 00:18:55.040 --> 00:19:03.760 of the sword however, Rahab and her father's household and all she had, Joshua spared." Now, 00:19:03.760 --> 00:19:04.890 how do you deal with that? 00:19:07.180 --> 00:19:10.770 How do you deal with what you just read in scripture? 00:19:12.820 --> 00:19:14.990 That God ordains the killing of these people. 00:19:16.940 --> 00:19:24.060 I will tell you, I'm going to give you just some brief thoughts related to this but if you want to read a little more on this, I wrote a blog on it this 00:19:24.060 --> 00:19:31.100 morning, it's on our website but you can also go to the app and click on notes and click on today's sermon and right at the top it says, 00:19:31.600 --> 00:19:36.740 "Dealing with the killing in Jericho and other passages like that in the Bible." But how do you deal with that? 00:19:37.640 --> 00:19:40.380 I could tell you how Richard Dawkins deals with it in his book The God Delusion. 00:19:41.380 --> 00:19:48.600 He says this, "The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all of fiction, jealous, petty, unjust, 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:55.720 unforgiving, control freak, vindictive, blood-thirsty, ethic cleanser, misogynistic, homophobic, racist, 00:19:55.840 --> 00:20:02.880 and infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, capriciously malevolent, bully." 00:20:03.640 --> 00:20:04.180 So there's one option. 00:20:04.620 --> 00:20:07.510 How do you deal with this? 00:20:09.400 --> 00:20:16.880 When you consider this passage of scripture, I think there's a few things that we should understand as it relates to what God ordains in the Old Testament especially as 00:20:16.980 --> 00:20:20.140 Joshua comes in and defeats people at the battle of Jericho. 00:20:21.020 --> 00:20:27.070 The first is just dealing with the concept of who has the right to the authorship and sustaining of life. 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:34.520 I think when it comes to us as individuals, we didn't create life therefore we don't own life. 00:20:36.560 --> 00:20:38.820 But God is the author and sustainer of life. 00:20:40.320 --> 00:20:46.900 And the reality is that God doesn't owe us anything including the next moment of breath that you take. 00:20:48.100 --> 00:20:51.940 Every moment of life that you have is an act of His grace and mercy. 00:20:53.480 --> 00:20:55.660 God is the author of life. 00:20:56.340 --> 00:20:59.790 In addition to that, I would just say as it relates to God, God is not sadistic. 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:06.600 Life is taught in the Bible as sacred, divine, it's a gift from the Lord. 00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:14.720 Ezekiel 33:11 tells us, "God does not delight in the death of the wicked." If you want to read more passages on God's love for 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:18.060 individuals, even sinners, I've quoted that in the blog. 00:21:19.360 --> 00:21:22.280 Third, I would say this that God could've wiped out Jericho without using Israel. 00:21:23.860 --> 00:21:31.320 I think in this moment, God's allowing Israel to go in and be one of His instruments in the destruction of these people here but 00:21:31.380 --> 00:21:32.500 God didn't have to use them. 00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:37.300 In fact if you just look at the precedent in the Old Testament, starting with the Noahic flood... 00:21:38.700 --> 00:21:39.520 Remember the Noahic flood? 00:21:39.520 --> 00:21:46.540 We've studied this together, we asked the same questions related to the Noahic flood and we identified even before the Noahic flood came that God 00:21:46.540 --> 00:21:51.180 for a thousand years had been warning people that judgment was coming and He called them to repent. 00:21:52.840 --> 00:21:59.280 And after that point, God finally brought the flood but it wasn't without an act of His mercy being demonstrated through him. 00:22:00.180 --> 00:22:01.580 And God wiped out the world. 00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:04.580 And God could've done the same here in Jericho. 00:22:06.840 --> 00:22:09.940 But rather He chose to work through a people group. 00:22:10.040 --> 00:22:15.200 Now it's evident that God was working in these moments because God was the one that brought the walls of Jericho down. 00:22:16.260 --> 00:22:21.760 So you see the hand of God there, but He allows Israel to go in and conduct this. 00:22:21.860 --> 00:22:25.600 And so what He's identifying for us is something unique about this people group. 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:33.860 So God in this precedent, could've just in the Exodus when He brought the plagues just did it all Himself, but He wanted to work through this particular people group for 00:22:33.860 --> 00:22:40.580 a specific reason and that was to identify them for a unique purpose which would bring the Messiah that would redeem all of mankind. 00:22:41.040 --> 00:22:48.290 The promise of Genesis 15 that through this people group, all nations be blessed, or I should say through Abraham all nations would be blessed. 00:22:48.820 --> 00:22:50.150 God sends Israel to Jericho. 00:22:50.800 --> 00:22:54.940 He doesn't send Israel to Jericho because he thinks Israel's superior. 00:22:55.580 --> 00:23:02.280 In fact, scripture has already told us that God had declared the people of this land wicked and God had been warning them for centuries. 00:23:03.340 --> 00:23:10.440 In fact if you go back all the way to the promise of Abraham in Genesis 15:16, God even says to Abraham then that 00:23:10.440 --> 00:23:17.640 He's going to send His people into this promised land but not at that moment, God was going to wait 400 years and He tells him the reason 00:23:17.640 --> 00:23:23.180 why, that the sins of the people in the land hasn't come to the place where God's going to judge them yet. 00:23:23.520 --> 00:23:25.840 But in 400 years from now, God will judge them. 00:23:27.120 --> 00:23:34.340 When you think about the judgment what happened in this land, the Bible tells us that God sends them in the land, Deuteronomy 9:5, "because they 00:23:34.340 --> 00:23:41.740 were wicked people." And Deuteronomy 12:31, He tells us the reason He recognizes their wickedness and one of the reasons includes 00:23:41.740 --> 00:23:45.240 they are burning children alive and worship to false gods. 00:23:46.660 --> 00:23:47.140 Slaughtering kids. 00:23:48.680 --> 00:23:54.280 And after hundreds of years of patience, God finally says, "That's enough." And He sends Israel in. 00:23:55.240 --> 00:24:02.260 Now I like in these moments to compare it to things that we know in our history that we have done for the protection of people like World 00:24:02.260 --> 00:24:02.780 War II. 00:24:04.080 --> 00:24:11.180 And you think in terms of World War II, if you look at what was happening with Hitler and the genocide of the Jews, no one would look at that and say, "Standing 00:24:11.180 --> 00:24:15.720 up for them is a wrong thing," absolutely not a wrong thing. 00:24:17.240 --> 00:24:24.300 And if we're willing to look at what men have done in the past to prohibit the genocide of people, how much more should we 00:24:24.300 --> 00:24:28.280 not trust in the goodness of God to do so because God does not delight in the death of the wicked. 00:24:31.360 --> 00:24:37.280 You tell me we're more confident in what man does for the preservation of life than we are for God. 00:24:38.140 --> 00:24:43.260 Last I would say this, it's not about genocide, it was about judging sin. 00:24:46.180 --> 00:24:53.190 When you read passages like this in scripture, I think it's important to just remember that Joshua's 00:24:53.360 --> 00:24:57.920 military conquest it's not an excuse to hate other people. 00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:05.340 I don't think God's saying because of this judgment really just despise and hate people. 00:25:05.780 --> 00:25:07.960 God doesn't hate people. 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:09.070 God created them in His image. 00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:11.480 God made life precious. 00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:13.760 At the same time, God is holy. 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:20.820 And the wickedness of sin shouldn't rise within us, I hate for people, we don't fight against people rather we should fight for people. 00:25:22.320 --> 00:25:27.690 Bible tells us that as God moved physically through Israel in the Old Testament, today God works through His church spiritually. 00:25:27.980 --> 00:25:30.490 So we don't pick up sword and fight people, that's not what we're about. 00:25:30.660 --> 00:25:36.300 Rather the Bible tells us in Ephesians 6 that we're in a spiritual battle for the souls of people. 00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:44.760 And so just because people sin this is not an excuse to hate, thank God that in our sin God didn't hate us rather He came and He died for us. 00:25:46.120 --> 00:25:47.200 He offered us His grace. 00:25:48.500 --> 00:25:55.560 The same grace God extended to the land of Canaan for hundreds of years before final judgment that He used through Israel to identify 00:25:55.600 --> 00:25:56.730 the promise of the Messiah. 00:25:56.920 --> 00:25:59.320 That gives you a little bit of an idea of how you begin to deal with it. 00:25:59.320 --> 00:26:02.320 If you want to read more, you can look at the blog that was wrote there. 00:26:02.460 --> 00:26:07.860 But Joshua goes into battle, the walls come down, and they go in and they defeat. 00:26:09.900 --> 00:26:14.600 Right after this battle, a humbling circumstance arises. 00:26:15.800 --> 00:26:22.840 And this is really where I want to land for the rest of this service to really conclude it is now as you look at 00:26:22.860 --> 00:26:27.080 chapter six there's this comparative story that takes place in chapter seven. 00:26:28.720 --> 00:26:33.780 They go into the Promised Land on the courage of the Lord, not their own, through God's word that they read together. 00:26:34.200 --> 00:26:37.800 And when you get to chapter five and six, you see the way they enter that. 00:26:37.860 --> 00:26:39.900 By the time you get to chapter seven, now they're humbled. 00:26:41.840 --> 00:26:44.180 And the reason is because of an individual named Achan. 00:26:46.460 --> 00:26:53.500 Chapter seven verse one tells us, "But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the 00:26:53.500 --> 00:27:00.640 ban." Remember chapter six verse 18, God said, "There's certain things that are banned, don't take those things." But it says, "Israel 00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:03.140 acted unfaithfully in regard to the things that were under the ban. 00:27:03.280 --> 00:27:10.620 For Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under 00:27:10.620 --> 00:27:14.400 the ban therefore the anger of the Lord burned against the sons of Israel. 00:27:15.400 --> 00:27:22.480 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethlehem, and 00:27:22.560 --> 00:27:29.740 said to them 'Go up and spy out the land,' so the men went up and spied out the land in Ai." And verse five, "The men of Ai struck down about 36 00:27:29.740 --> 00:27:36.880 of their men and pursued them from the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them down on the descent so 00:27:36.880 --> 00:27:43.980 the hearts of the people melted and became as water." So they go up to spy on the land and they decide to attack the land, they go up and they attack and 00:27:43.980 --> 00:27:46.100 what they find themselves immediately doing is retreating. 00:27:47.900 --> 00:27:48.140 And why? 00:27:49.980 --> 00:27:53.460 Achan broke faith in God. 00:27:54.120 --> 00:28:01.220 Achan got greedy and more than just greedy, what he did is he quit depending on 00:28:01.220 --> 00:28:02.470 the Lord. 00:28:03.760 --> 00:28:10.840 And what you see in these two contrasting stories is really indicative of what happens from the book of Joshua 00:28:10.840 --> 00:28:12.440 on through Judges. 00:28:14.040 --> 00:28:21.100 In chapter five, you see Joshua bowing down before this angel in surrender of faith based on the 00:28:21.100 --> 00:28:23.400 promises of God that we read in chapter one. 00:28:24.760 --> 00:28:31.940 And then you read about this life of Achan who Joshua walks in full obedience in these circumstances but Achan now walks 00:28:31.940 --> 00:28:32.940 in partial obedience. 00:28:32.940 --> 00:28:36.660 He goes into battle but he doesn't do all that God says. 00:28:36.660 --> 00:28:40.260 And in that though, I think Achan probably could've justified his actions. 00:28:41.760 --> 00:28:46.560 He comes to his mom and said, "These things are under the ban but really is it everything? 00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:56.320 I'm not as important as Joshua before God so if he took something I'm sure God would be mad at him but I'm just Achan. 00:28:56.580 --> 00:29:03.300 So they're going to destroy this stuff anyway, so I might as well take it." Could you imagine that moment? 00:29:03.300 --> 00:29:10.300 You go into battle, you happen to be in one of the homes that's going to get destroyed and you see these elaborate items and no one 00:29:10.300 --> 00:29:13.700 else is around and you know what's going to happen to everything, it's all going to be burned up. 00:29:15.200 --> 00:29:15.770 And then temptation. 00:29:18.300 --> 00:29:25.960 Maybe in comparison to Achan, we could ask the question where do you stop following the Lord and rather 00:29:25.960 --> 00:29:27.710 choose to follow your desires? 00:29:29.520 --> 00:29:31.700 What if what God calls you to seems hard? 00:29:34.200 --> 00:29:36.260 What are you willing to take and hide in your tent? 00:29:38.940 --> 00:29:46.100 Going into the Promised Land for the first time, in everyone's mind I could think they might be considering, "How are 00:29:46.100 --> 00:29:46.980 we going to sustain here? 00:29:48.980 --> 00:29:56.040 And what kind of supplies are we going to find to be able to meet our needs?" And the first battle in, Achan's like, "All of my 00:29:56.180 --> 00:29:56.870 problems solved. 00:29:57.100 --> 00:30:04.100 Here it is." And rather than listen to the Lord, he decides I think to take 00:30:04.100 --> 00:30:06.690 what he would prefer to be the easy route. 00:30:08.520 --> 00:30:15.560 And rather than trust in God with all of his life, he trusted in God with a partial obedience to 00:30:15.580 --> 00:30:22.000 go into battle but the moment it looks favorable for him, he stops and he pursues his own things. 00:30:24.020 --> 00:30:29.940 When you consider on the other end the idea of Joshua, what Joshua needed to lead Israel was courage. 00:30:32.180 --> 00:30:40.460 When you think about courage, he had the courage to believe that what God has is better than what He wanted, being 00:30:40.460 --> 00:30:45.410 able to trust and rest on the foundation of God is crucial to where God leads you. 00:30:46.840 --> 00:30:54.220 When you look at a passage like this, you can see in comparison these two stories that trusting in the Lord is foundational. 00:30:55.720 --> 00:31:02.780 And I don't think as we consider Achan, when you think back to Joshua, I don't think necessarily what God called Joshua to do was 00:31:02.780 --> 00:31:03.420 all that easy. 00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:13.760 You can imagine getting the battle plans that God says to them, "Go to Jericho and march around it for several days and 00:31:13.760 --> 00:31:21.860 then after being faithful quietly marching around this city for so many days then I'll deliver." I 00:31:21.860 --> 00:31:27.980 don't know about you but I'm the kind of person that I like to see progress when I do things. 00:31:29.140 --> 00:31:36.760 I like to do and immediately see progress, not six days walk, grab thousands 00:31:36.760 --> 00:31:39.320 of people and walk around a building in just wait quietly. 00:31:40.760 --> 00:31:47.840 I don't know maybe this time of year you found yourself in that sort of boat that people always get into this time of year where you've got to buy a gym 00:31:47.840 --> 00:31:48.190 membership. 00:31:48.940 --> 00:31:51.480 It's January 1, I'm starting new. 00:31:51.810 --> 00:31:59.020 That's the number one most popular time of year that people buy gym memberships because you've recognized during the holiday seasons you don't fit in your pants anymore. 00:31:59.300 --> 00:32:03.600 And you're like, "I got to get back to my pants fitting," and so you go to the gym and you start working out. 00:32:03.640 --> 00:32:05.500 And you know what happens when you go to the gym and you start working out? 00:32:05.660 --> 00:32:12.740 When you get home, you flex in the mirror or you jump on the scale or you put on your pants and you want to see if they fit again because we want to see 00:32:12.740 --> 00:32:14.130 immediate gratification. 00:32:14.860 --> 00:32:17.060 We're people that don't like to wait. 00:32:17.360 --> 00:32:19.530 We're people that like to see progress instantaneously. 00:32:20.680 --> 00:32:29.460 But for Joshua, it was walking away for 00:32:29.480 --> 00:32:31.830 six days. 00:32:32.380 --> 00:32:40.120 You think about the battles that you're in, some of you praying for your friends and family feels 00:32:40.120 --> 00:32:42.840 like maybe they're behind that impenetrable wall. 00:32:45.640 --> 00:32:46.310 Can I encourage you? 00:32:48.320 --> 00:32:48.680 Don't quit. 00:32:51.520 --> 00:33:00.120 When you consider what God calls you to in this world, let me encourage you by saying it this way, stop focusing on the outcome rather 00:33:00.120 --> 00:33:01.530 just focus on obedience. 00:33:03.780 --> 00:33:05.560 Outcome is God's responsibility. 00:33:07.900 --> 00:33:08.660 Obedience is ours. 00:33:13.420 --> 00:33:15.200 God doesn't need us to knock down the walls. 00:33:17.140 --> 00:33:24.540 But you know the joy of Joshua's story is he gets to share the incredible journey with God about being present when God Himself knocks 00:33:24.540 --> 00:33:25.740 down the wall. 00:33:27.720 --> 00:33:36.100 Do things for God, it's the want of instant gratification but what God calls us to in our lives, obedience. 00:33:37.900 --> 00:33:44.980 You think about this, when you're leading a group of people like Joshua, thousands of people and they're all just sitting there wondering, 00:33:45.360 --> 00:33:47.640 "Why does he have us just walking around this wall? 00:33:48.480 --> 00:33:52.230 Because God tells him to, that's so weird. 00:33:52.280 --> 00:33:59.380 He's a horrible leader." What if in that walk, day five, day six, Joshua got so 00:33:59.380 --> 00:34:03.040 discouraged and he quit on day six? 00:34:06.900 --> 00:34:08.179 What if he quit on day six? 00:34:10.460 --> 00:34:17.460 I don't know that this would ever happen but what if God's called you into some battles like this in your life, spiritually speaking, and when you get to heaven 00:34:17.460 --> 00:34:18.880 God says, "You quit on day six"? 00:34:23.760 --> 00:34:28.060 Courage is the ability to move forward in obedience without results because God is faithful. 00:34:30.840 --> 00:34:34.409 Endurance is what courage looks like over the long haul. 00:34:36.260 --> 00:34:43.280 When I read the story of Joshua and Jericho and Achan and Ai, what I begin to realize 00:34:43.280 --> 00:34:50.280 contrasting these two stories and I think the reason that they're really back to back in scripture is honestly, there's a piece of 00:34:50.280 --> 00:34:51.380 all of us in both these stories. 00:34:53.840 --> 00:34:58.770 There's moments where we walk in faith where we're like Joshua wanting to conquer the walls. 00:35:00.020 --> 00:35:07.240 And there are moments in our lives where trusting in the Lord just seems hard and the temptation of Achan arises 00:35:07.240 --> 00:35:08.480 in our lives. 00:35:09.920 --> 00:35:17.580 And when you study the book of Joshua, you realize as you look at these two positions shared with us that the 00:35:17.580 --> 00:35:19.740 book of Joshua honestly ends in a tragedy. 00:35:21.760 --> 00:35:25.680 And the reason it ends in a tragedy is because after Joshua there's no leaders. 00:35:27.700 --> 00:35:33.590 You see, Moses finds a successor who's Joshua and Joshua leads them in the Promised Land but after Joshua's gone, there's no leaders. 00:35:33.720 --> 00:35:36.520 And when you get to the book of Judges, you see all of that played out. 00:35:36.580 --> 00:35:40.910 So if you read through this book in Joshua into the book of Judges, here's how Joshua ends. 00:35:41.140 --> 00:35:41.370 Look at this. 00:35:41.700 --> 00:35:48.720 Joshua 24, last chapter is what Joshua says to the people, he said to the people, "You will not be able to serve the Lord for He is a holy God, He is 00:35:48.720 --> 00:35:55.820 a jealous God, He will not forgive your transgressions or your sins." Yet through all this leadership of Joshua, there's no leader appointed for 00:35:55.820 --> 00:35:58.110 Israel for the people to follow after. 00:35:58.830 --> 00:36:01.400 Judges opens up, they're following their own heart. 00:36:01.840 --> 00:36:04.940 And Joshua tells them as the book ends, "Look, you're not following God. 00:36:05.380 --> 00:36:08.140 This is not going to go well." When you read the book of Judges, you see what happens. 00:36:08.360 --> 00:36:08.720 It tells us. 00:36:08.800 --> 00:36:12.240 It starts off and it repeats throughout the book of Judges, "Everyone did what was right in their own eyes. 00:36:12.340 --> 00:36:19.440 Everyone did what was right in their own eyes." And what he's saying is, "Everyone becomes the determiner of truth and really their own god." And what you see in the beginning of 00:36:19.440 --> 00:36:26.660 Judges, everyone's being oppressed by these leaders and by the time you get to the end of Judges what you find is rather than them being oppressed by the people 00:36:26.660 --> 00:36:32.240 in the land of Canaan that the people of Israel have turned on each other and they're fighting and killing one another. 00:36:32.260 --> 00:36:33.260 It ends with a civil war. 00:36:34.000 --> 00:36:34.200 Why? 00:36:35.440 --> 00:36:36.180 Because they're their own gods. 00:36:38.240 --> 00:36:44.710 The story of Joshua and Jericho and Achan and Ai gets played out over and over again from Joshua through the book of Judges. 00:36:45.940 --> 00:36:46.920 And it ends in tragedy. 00:36:49.320 --> 00:36:56.500 The question for us is how do we begin to lead 00:36:56.500 --> 00:37:00.260 and to follow God the way that He calls us to? 00:37:00.340 --> 00:37:01.860 How do we lead for the Lord? 00:37:02.320 --> 00:37:05.660 And how do we follow the Lord the way that He calls us to? 00:37:05.740 --> 00:37:12.740 And as we look at these two stories, I'm just going to give you three thoughts as it relates to this idea of being a godly leader 00:37:12.740 --> 00:37:16.320 for Christ and following after Him because we're all called to be leaders. 00:37:18.280 --> 00:37:25.420 We all lead in some capacity and rather than end with a tragedy the book of Joshua, we want to walk in victory in Christ. 00:37:26.000 --> 00:37:27.380 How do we do that? 00:37:28.740 --> 00:37:34.980 For Joshua as we've already seen, Joshua's book started off with a statement from the Lord. 00:37:35.020 --> 00:37:42.260 Joshua 1:9, "Have I not commanded you?" God, by what authority could I even do what you called 00:37:42.260 --> 00:37:42.950 me to? 00:37:43.380 --> 00:37:45.940 It's the Lord saying, "It's me who's commanded you. 00:37:46.220 --> 00:37:51.800 It's my authority." And so based on that then He gives this thought, "Be strong and courageous. 00:37:52.020 --> 00:38:00.260 Don't tremble or be dismayed." He's saying to him, "Don't be afraid." Some translations will translate that as, "Don't be afraid." You 00:38:00.260 --> 00:38:07.380 know what's interesting when you study this idea of fear in the Bible, do you know fear is used in 00:38:07.380 --> 00:38:09.580 scripture 366 times. 00:38:09.640 --> 00:38:13.620 The idea of don't be afraid is used 366 times in scripture. 00:38:15.040 --> 00:38:17.860 It's one for every day of the year plus leap year and that's what people say. 00:38:19.780 --> 00:38:22.840 When it comes to the idea of being a leader for the Lord, that's what will ultimately creep up. 00:38:22.860 --> 00:38:28.100 When you stand up, when you stand out, when you step out to follow God the question always becomes but can this really happen? 00:38:30.220 --> 00:38:31.120 Can I really do this? 00:38:32.460 --> 00:38:39.600 And the encouragement is don't look on the inside of you because the promise isn't based on you, it's based on Him and you certainly don't want to walk on this false 00:38:39.600 --> 00:38:40.640 idea of who God is. 00:38:40.900 --> 00:38:45.840 You want to truly understand who He is as you take steps in Him but it's based on His authority, not yours. 00:38:45.840 --> 00:38:51.460 And so the promise is don't be afraid because the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. 00:38:54.200 --> 00:38:56.090 Trust what God has for you. 00:38:57.260 --> 00:38:59.620 It's better than what you have for yourself. 00:39:02.040 --> 00:39:03.860 So do what God calls you to. 00:39:05.220 --> 00:39:09.150 Oftentimes, the temptation in life is to almost immediately let it be followed by fear. 00:39:11.400 --> 00:39:14.160 Courage is following after the Lord by faith in the midst of fear. 00:39:15.470 --> 00:39:22.070 And so when it comes to the idea of leadership, this thought of what we give in to in life becomes important. 00:39:22.160 --> 00:39:28.000 For Joshua, he's reminded that it should not be about fear but rather about faith. 00:39:28.040 --> 00:39:31.860 And then for Achan and contrasting to him, Achan has personal obedience. 00:39:33.720 --> 00:39:36.940 And partial obedience really finds itself in cowardly faith. 00:39:38.060 --> 00:39:41.720 It doesn't fully believe in the good promises of God in his life. 00:39:44.440 --> 00:39:48.020 He hears what God says to Israel as they go into the Promised Land. 00:39:50.200 --> 00:39:57.160 And rather than just fully walk in obedience to God, he gets to a moment and says, "But really is God that good? 00:39:59.420 --> 00:39:59.680 Is He? 00:39:59.780 --> 00:40:01.420 He told us not to take this stuff, but really is God... 00:40:01.860 --> 00:40:09.230 If I just take this, keep it to myself, I don't tell anybody about it, hide it in my tent, I can use it later and care for all my needs." And 00:40:10.520 --> 00:40:12.340 so he walks in partial obedience. 00:40:12.440 --> 00:40:15.400 And that partial obedience is built out of cowardly faith. 00:40:17.420 --> 00:40:23.120 He was a coward to trust in all that God said rather than confront the fear with the promises of God, he was cowardly. 00:40:24.720 --> 00:40:27.060 And here's what's shocking to me, guys. 00:40:28.460 --> 00:40:34.540 When you study the idea of being cowardly in scripture, you get to Revelation 21. 00:40:36.020 --> 00:40:38.960 Revelation 21, God starts to describe people that go to hell. 00:40:41.080 --> 00:40:47.100 If I were to say this morning, "Okay, get out your notepads and everyone I want you to write for me a list of people that go to hell. 00:40:48.220 --> 00:40:49.140 Start that list. 00:40:49.140 --> 00:40:56.620 What would be on the top of your list?" You can think of all sorts of descriptions of utter debauchery in society, sinfulness 00:40:56.620 --> 00:40:57.920 of I mean Hitler. 00:40:58.000 --> 00:41:03.200 I don't know if even the characteristic, you just Hitler goes on the top, whatever that was that's what goes on top. 00:41:03.240 --> 00:41:07.200 But when you read Revelation 21:8, do you know what God's list starts with? 00:41:10.860 --> 00:41:13.560 Cowardly. 00:41:15.780 --> 00:41:17.070 It's interesting, isn't it? 00:41:20.820 --> 00:41:20.920 Cowardly. 00:41:24.490 --> 00:41:28.320 God in His grace and His promises have come and He's given it all. 00:41:31.300 --> 00:41:38.780 And rather than give your life back to Him, we 00:41:38.820 --> 00:41:39.340 give into fear. 00:41:42.200 --> 00:41:44.350 We let the pressure of the world supersede it. 00:41:45.640 --> 00:41:49.480 And we trust in the things of this world rather than the One who gave the good things that we find in this world. 00:41:51.090 --> 00:41:53.190 And therefore the soul is lost. 00:41:55.080 --> 00:42:02.080 And when I mentioned something like that the danger is to stop and say, guilt ourselves and say, "I don't want 00:42:02.080 --> 00:42:02.540 to be cowardly. 00:42:02.780 --> 00:42:08.260 I need to muster more strength." But can I just tell you, the answer isn't don't not be cowardly. 00:42:08.280 --> 00:42:10.380 The answer to this problem isn't stop being cowardly. 00:42:13.660 --> 00:42:20.720 The answer to this is Jesus because the strength that's a supply that gives us the strength to overcome fear is never found in 00:42:20.720 --> 00:42:21.220 us. 00:42:22.320 --> 00:42:29.320 So I don't want to read this and walk guilty about being cowardly about anything, it's rather to encourage us to seek God and rest 00:42:29.320 --> 00:42:30.780 ourselves in His promises. 00:42:34.120 --> 00:42:41.160 This last thought I want to give to you is how do you know you're faithfully trusting in God rather than in self or the things of this 00:42:41.160 --> 00:42:41.260 world? 00:42:41.720 --> 00:42:45.420 I will tell you it expresses itself really in one way as a leader and that is in patience. 00:42:47.600 --> 00:42:52.260 Joshua patiently walks around for seven days trusting in God. 00:42:52.360 --> 00:42:59.760 Achan, the moment he can trust in something else to provide for his life when he walked into wherever this location was that had all the possessions he wanted, he 00:42:59.760 --> 00:43:01.200 immediately gives up on God and goes for it. 00:43:01.260 --> 00:43:03.410 He wasn't patient following the Lord to watch God provide. 00:43:04.140 --> 00:43:05.500 How do I know I'm following after the Lord? 00:43:07.600 --> 00:43:11.300 I think it's consistency of faithful patience in your life. 00:43:12.260 --> 00:43:16.250 And you ask the question, Well, how do I know I'm being patient?" And here it is, here's the real kicker, and I need to end with this. 00:43:18.300 --> 00:43:25.500 Bible tells us, very quickly, "Love is patient." You got battles 00:43:25.500 --> 00:43:26.660 you're fighting in your life, right? 00:43:27.760 --> 00:43:32.560 Maybe things you want to see God do, maybe things you want to see God do in the lives of people and it is not happening on your timetable. 00:43:33.540 --> 00:43:37.800 And when those things don't happen what often happens in our life is we get frustrated or we get anxious. 00:43:38.080 --> 00:43:39.040 We fight or we flight. 00:43:41.570 --> 00:43:43.980 When God's moving in our lives, there's patience. 00:43:46.060 --> 00:43:49.620 And the way that's demonstrated is seen in how you love. 00:43:52.740 --> 00:43:57.500 Guys, you need to think about the way you interact in this world as a leader for Him. 00:43:57.760 --> 00:43:59.370 Is patience a mark of your life? 00:44:01.840 --> 00:44:04.560 Is patience being demonstrated and trusting in God? 00:44:05.740 --> 00:44:10.790 The way to really know is to see in how well you love. 00:44:14.030 --> 00:44:21.060 I think for us this is a great lesson in Utah where we live because 00:44:21.060 --> 00:44:22.840 we all have battles in our lives. 00:44:23.120 --> 00:44:31.220 We all have opportunity to be Joshua in Jericho or Achan in Ai but 00:44:31.220 --> 00:44:39.040 what God calls us to is to be godly leaders, to not walk in fear but in faith, to 00:44:39.040 --> 00:44:43.780 not give in to cowardly circumstances with partial obedience but trusting that God is good. 00:44:44.980 --> 00:44:52.480 And in that trust, we can be patient because we know He is the strength over all and in that patience we're able to love, to 00:44:52.500 --> 00:44:55.840 give people the opportunity to come to know Him as well.