1 00:00:02,580 --> 00:00:08,960 - Well, good morning, Springhouse. 2 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:10,940 Are you glad to be here this morning? 3 00:00:10,940 --> 00:00:13,800 Has God been good to you this week? 4 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:14,620 Amen. 5 00:00:14,620 --> 00:00:17,120 Well, be sure to tell somebody about that today. 6 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:19,560 We always want to be in a position to share 7 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:22,320 about God's goodness and glory in our lives, 8 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:25,360 so be sure to share with somebody what God has done. 9 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:26,660 If you're joining us on live stream, 10 00:00:26,660 --> 00:00:29,440 thank you for joining us this morning. 11 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:30,800 Just a few things for this morning. 12 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:32,580 I know you're coming and bringing your dollar 13 00:00:32,580 --> 00:00:35,400 for those who are in need. 14 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:37,820 I have a couple of announcements for us. 15 00:00:37,820 --> 00:00:42,740 First of all, on Tuesday morning, 16 00:00:42,740 --> 00:00:44,360 we will be doing something called 17 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:47,000 the Business Collective here at Springhouse. 18 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,400 Josh McLeod and Justin Beshears lead that, 19 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:53,040 and if you are a business owner, entrepreneur, 20 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:56,900 aspiring manager, anything of that sort 21 00:00:56,900 --> 00:01:00,400 and in those positions, I encourage you to come 22 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:02,040 and be a part of this fellowship 23 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:04,960 and this teaching opportunities, Time of Connection. 24 00:01:04,960 --> 00:01:07,640 Nine o'clock here at Springhouse, 25 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:08,800 we'll feed you breakfast, 26 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:10,640 be a great teaching time for connection. 27 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:13,340 That's on Tuesday morning. 28 00:01:13,340 --> 00:01:17,760 And then Easter Sunday is right there, it's coming, 29 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:21,220 and we've got a change here at Springhouse, 30 00:01:21,220 --> 00:01:24,720 and it is that our time of service for this gathering 31 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:28,220 is going to change and it will be starting at 11 a.m. 32 00:01:28,220 --> 00:01:30,160 beginning on Easter Sunday. 33 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:32,800 And that will carry forward on into the future. 34 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:37,800 So if you come at 1030 on Easter Sunday or afterward, 35 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:41,040 you will know what it is to be on time to church. 36 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:43,000 And so we encourage you to fellowship 37 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:47,060 and share the blessings of God in that. 38 00:01:47,060 --> 00:01:49,340 And we'll welcome you, but we do have a time change, 39 00:01:49,340 --> 00:01:51,380 so be aware of that. 40 00:01:51,380 --> 00:01:55,040 The service will end at 1230 beginning on Easter Sunday 41 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:55,880 as well. 42 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:59,520 And then lastly, we have some newcomers. 43 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:01,800 And Shari and I were talking, actually last night, 44 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:04,040 she was saying, somebody in the church was saying, 45 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:06,220 what is this deal with this app thing 46 00:02:06,220 --> 00:02:07,600 and how do you sign up for it? 47 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:09,960 And you may have some similar questions 48 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:12,100 if you're new or new word to the church, 49 00:02:12,100 --> 00:02:14,760 and we just wanna meet you, we wanna love on you, 50 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:17,320 we wanna invite you to be a part of our family. 51 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:19,420 And so if you've never attended 52 00:02:19,420 --> 00:02:23,240 one of our newcomer luncheons, I invite you to come. 53 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:24,440 There's a QR code there, 54 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:25,800 and the reason we want you to do that, 55 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:27,680 it's actually gonna show you how to sign up 56 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:29,200 for the app I was just talking about. 57 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:30,440 But if you scan that, 58 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:32,240 we'll be able to get you registered for lunch 59 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:33,600 so that we have enough food for you. 60 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:34,840 We wanna make sure we have enough food 61 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:35,740 for everybody who comes. 62 00:02:35,740 --> 00:02:37,440 And the pastoral team will be there, 63 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:39,520 some of our ministry leaders will be there. 64 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:41,280 And we wanna share with you our heart 65 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:43,120 about the ministry here at Springhouse. 66 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:46,200 We wanna invite you to be a part of an imperfect family. 67 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:47,800 Is that true, Springhouse family? 68 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:50,500 Imperfect family who serves a perfect God, 69 00:02:50,500 --> 00:02:52,660 who serves a perfect sovereign God. 70 00:02:52,660 --> 00:02:54,940 And so we want to invite you to be a part of that. 71 00:02:54,940 --> 00:02:57,140 We'll be on May 4th, okay, so it'll be May 4th. 72 00:02:57,140 --> 00:02:58,220 So anybody you're bringing, 73 00:02:58,220 --> 00:03:00,300 maybe visitors in the next few weeks, 74 00:03:00,300 --> 00:03:03,780 I wanna give them opportunity to come as well. 75 00:03:03,780 --> 00:03:06,020 Are you guys ready to get into the Word today? 76 00:03:06,020 --> 00:03:08,340 I've heard this, and I'm so thrilled 77 00:03:08,340 --> 00:03:09,340 to hear it a second time. 78 00:03:09,340 --> 00:03:10,380 It's a good word. 79 00:03:10,380 --> 00:03:11,700 Would you guys welcome Pastor Ronnie 80 00:03:11,700 --> 00:03:14,180 as he continues the greatest stories ever told? 81 00:03:14,180 --> 00:03:17,680 (congregation applauding) 82 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:20,020 (gentle music) 83 00:03:20,020 --> 00:03:23,480 - Yeah, May the 4th be with you. 84 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:27,180 You already knew that, right? 85 00:03:27,180 --> 00:03:31,060 Okay, I just gotta say this 86 00:03:31,060 --> 00:03:33,620 because I just have to say it doesn't mean anything 87 00:03:33,620 --> 00:03:35,420 or have anything to do with anything. 88 00:03:35,420 --> 00:03:39,980 But yeah, I'm aware that my t-shirt's a little long 89 00:03:39,980 --> 00:03:42,980 and all that stuff and it maybe not look cool. 90 00:03:42,980 --> 00:03:44,620 I have given up. 91 00:03:44,620 --> 00:03:49,200 (congregation laughing and applauding) 92 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:52,580 And some of you need to give up. 93 00:03:52,580 --> 00:03:58,220 Just saying, yeah, you know who you are. 94 00:03:58,220 --> 00:04:03,920 Okay, we're gonna talk about Jericho this morning, 95 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:06,840 but we're not gonna talk about the battle. 96 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:11,280 We're not gonna talk about the walls and all that stuff. 97 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:14,280 You probably already know about the battle. 98 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:15,120 You know about the walls. 99 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:19,220 If you don't, I can encapsulate it for you in 15 seconds. 100 00:04:19,220 --> 00:04:21,760 ♪ Joshua fed the battle of Jericho ♪ 101 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:23,820 ♪ Jericho, Jericho ♪ 102 00:04:23,820 --> 00:04:26,100 ♪ And the walls coming tumbling down ♪ 103 00:04:26,100 --> 00:04:26,940 That's it. 104 00:04:26,940 --> 00:04:30,940 So you know that now, but we're gonna talk about three. 105 00:04:30,940 --> 00:04:34,180 We're gonna talk about three incidents 106 00:04:34,180 --> 00:04:35,860 connected to the battle. 107 00:04:35,860 --> 00:04:38,140 Two of them happened before. 108 00:04:38,140 --> 00:04:40,140 One of them happened after. 109 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:46,320 And we're gonna start with an encounter between two spies. 110 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:51,040 Joshua sent two spies into Jericho and a woman. 111 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:53,020 And we're gonna read a passage of scripture 112 00:04:53,020 --> 00:04:55,600 about what the woman said to the spies. 113 00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:56,920 So would you stand with me? 114 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:01,780 And don't complain or I'll make you stand more. 115 00:05:01,780 --> 00:05:07,160 Before the spies lay down for the night, 116 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:10,400 she went up on the roof and said to them, 117 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:14,420 "I know that the Lord has given you this land 118 00:05:14,420 --> 00:05:18,440 "and that a great fear of you has fallen on us 119 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:21,480 "so that all who live in this country 120 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:25,100 "are melting in fear because of you. 121 00:05:25,100 --> 00:05:28,620 "We have heard how the Lord dried up the water 122 00:05:28,620 --> 00:05:32,960 "of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt 123 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:36,280 "and what you did to Shihon and Og, 124 00:05:36,280 --> 00:05:40,200 "the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, 125 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:43,240 "whom you completely destroyed. 126 00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:47,320 "When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear 127 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:51,200 "and everyone's courage failed because of you. 128 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:55,640 "For the Lord your God is God in heaven above 129 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:57,580 "and on the earth below." 130 00:05:57,580 --> 00:05:59,480 Father, I thank you for your word. 131 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:02,680 I thank you for the life that is in your word. 132 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:07,440 And I pray for the presence of the Holy Spirit to be here 133 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:11,720 so that that life may be ministered to us in Jesus' name. 134 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:13,060 Amen. 135 00:06:13,060 --> 00:06:14,040 You may be seated. 136 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:19,040 Joshua sent two spies into Jericho, 137 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:20,540 but their cover was blown. 138 00:06:20,540 --> 00:06:26,200 And the officials of Jericho came to understand, 139 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:28,140 "Hey, these guys are spies. 140 00:06:28,140 --> 00:06:31,020 "We need to go get them. 141 00:06:31,020 --> 00:06:32,360 "We need to do something about that." 142 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:34,180 And they knew that they had been staying 143 00:06:34,180 --> 00:06:38,300 with this woman, Rahab. 144 00:06:38,300 --> 00:06:44,500 And so they go to Rahab and they say, 145 00:06:44,500 --> 00:06:47,360 "You know those two guys who have been staying with you? 146 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:50,400 "They're spies and we need to get them. 147 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:52,080 "They're from the Israelites." 148 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:54,180 And Rahab goes, boom. 149 00:06:54,180 --> 00:06:57,100 She didn't have a microphone on. 150 00:06:57,100 --> 00:07:02,740 Rahab goes, "Oh no, I had no idea that they were spies. 151 00:07:02,740 --> 00:07:03,860 "Oh my goodness." 152 00:07:03,860 --> 00:07:05,360 She had hid them up on the roof 153 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:10,020 and she covered them over with some flax, flax. 154 00:07:10,020 --> 00:07:13,640 And she said, "Now you just missed them. 155 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:14,780 "They're headed for the Jordan. 156 00:07:14,780 --> 00:07:18,560 "I bet if you leave right now, you can go and get them." 157 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:22,160 And so they hurried off, they scurried off. 158 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:28,020 And Rahab protected the spies and she made a deal with them. 159 00:07:28,020 --> 00:07:32,180 She said, "I'm gonna cover for you guys 160 00:07:32,180 --> 00:07:34,000 "and I'm gonna help you get away. 161 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:38,240 "But when you come and you take this city, 162 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:39,680 "I want you to save my family. 163 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:42,220 "I want you to spare my family and me." 164 00:07:42,220 --> 00:07:45,860 So they said, "Deal, we're in on that." 165 00:07:45,860 --> 00:07:50,520 Rahab was a prostitute 166 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:54,840 and there's just no way of getting around it. 167 00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:57,200 She was, the New Testament tells us that twice. 168 00:07:57,200 --> 00:07:58,920 The Old Testament tells us that. 169 00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:01,280 She was a prostitute. 170 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:05,720 And what she did was betray her country. 171 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:10,480 What she did was she committed treason. 172 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:13,920 We're gonna learn two things from this, 173 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:15,460 this encounter that she had. 174 00:08:15,460 --> 00:08:19,840 Back in 1976, there was a book came out 175 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:21,000 called "Daughter of Destiny." 176 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:23,380 It was about a woman named Catherine Kuhlman. 177 00:08:23,380 --> 00:08:27,020 And Catherine Kuhlman was a faith healer, 178 00:08:27,020 --> 00:08:31,360 a very prominent faith healer in the mid 20th century. 179 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:33,660 And boy, does it sound weird to say that. 180 00:08:33,660 --> 00:08:36,700 But in the mid 20th century. 181 00:08:36,700 --> 00:08:38,960 And when that book came out, 182 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:43,340 I had just come back to the Lord the year before 183 00:08:43,340 --> 00:08:46,240 and I was interested in getting a copy of it. 184 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:50,600 And so I went down to Conneal Bookstore in Nashville 185 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:53,620 and a guy who was running it was a guy named Bob Huey. 186 00:08:53,620 --> 00:08:55,800 And Huey was a character himself. 187 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:58,600 But Huey saw that I had that book and he came up to me 188 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:03,100 and he said, "Do you know what I learned from that book?" 189 00:09:03,100 --> 00:09:06,560 And I said, "No, Bob, what did you learn?" 190 00:09:06,560 --> 00:09:10,240 She said, "I learned that God uses cracked pots." 191 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:14,140 (congregation laughing) 192 00:09:14,140 --> 00:09:15,400 And that stuck with me. 193 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:18,280 I mean, it stuck with me. 194 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:20,440 I thought, that's pretty. 195 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:21,800 And you know, and I read the book 196 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:24,300 and Catherine Kuhlman was a cracked pot. 197 00:09:24,300 --> 00:09:25,780 (congregation laughing) 198 00:09:25,780 --> 00:09:27,180 For sure. 199 00:09:27,180 --> 00:09:28,280 But God used her. 200 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:31,260 I'm a cracked pot. 201 00:09:31,260 --> 00:09:35,300 I come from a long line of cracked pots. 202 00:09:35,300 --> 00:09:37,920 And so do you. 203 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:41,620 And some of those cracked pots have been very prominent 204 00:09:41,620 --> 00:09:43,080 and very famous. 205 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:48,080 Simon Peter, Jonah, King David, Moses, Abraham. 206 00:09:52,940 --> 00:09:56,240 In fact, you can't name a person who isn't a cracked pot. 207 00:09:56,240 --> 00:10:00,100 And God uses them. 208 00:10:00,100 --> 00:10:03,020 And Rahab was a prostitute. 209 00:10:03,020 --> 00:10:05,420 Now, I'm not saying it's okay to be a prostitute 210 00:10:05,420 --> 00:10:07,140 and it doesn't matter what you do. 211 00:10:07,140 --> 00:10:11,900 What I am saying is that regardless of your past 212 00:10:11,900 --> 00:10:16,900 and even in spite of your present, God can use you. 213 00:10:16,900 --> 00:10:19,660 He absolutely can. 214 00:10:20,820 --> 00:10:24,080 When I first came to the church back in '88, 215 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:29,080 there was a, I was gonna say an elderly couple. 216 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:33,460 They probably were younger than I am now. 217 00:10:33,460 --> 00:10:36,340 But there was an older couple in the church, 218 00:10:36,340 --> 00:10:40,960 real sweet couple, faithful in attendance 219 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:42,940 and faithful in giving. 220 00:10:42,940 --> 00:10:44,860 His name was Carl. 221 00:10:44,860 --> 00:10:49,860 And we had a situation where we were kind of short on ushers. 222 00:10:50,460 --> 00:10:52,380 We needed some help with that. 223 00:10:52,380 --> 00:10:53,340 We needed some help. 224 00:10:53,340 --> 00:10:55,980 Well, back actually in those days, 225 00:10:55,980 --> 00:10:57,580 all the ushers, they'd just take up the offering. 226 00:10:57,580 --> 00:10:59,960 Nobody needed help finding a seat or anything 227 00:10:59,960 --> 00:11:02,400 'cause there were plenty of them. 228 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:06,500 But I went to Carl one day and I said, 229 00:11:06,500 --> 00:11:11,460 "Carl, would you be willing to help us 230 00:11:11,460 --> 00:11:12,580 take up the offering?" 231 00:11:12,580 --> 00:11:16,240 Oh no, brother Ronnie, I can't do that. 232 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:17,720 See, I've been divorced. 233 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:20,960 (congregation laughing) 234 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:22,360 And that ticked me off. 235 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:28,320 But not at Carl, not at Carl at all. 236 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:32,460 I'm totally good with Carl at the devil. 237 00:11:32,460 --> 00:11:37,800 Because one of the enemy's greatest lies 238 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:42,400 is that you can't do anything because you're unclean, 239 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:43,620 you're unworthy. 240 00:11:43,620 --> 00:11:47,400 And you know, the most potent lies are the ones 241 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:49,720 that are seasoned with a little bit of truth. 242 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:52,640 And the truth is you are unclean. 243 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:54,320 You are unworthy. 244 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:58,880 The lie is God can't use you because of that. 245 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:01,680 That's the lie. 246 00:12:01,680 --> 00:12:07,640 And so God uses this prostitute to take care 247 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:12,520 of these Jewish spies who've come to Jericho 248 00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:14,980 before they enter the Promised Land. 249 00:12:14,980 --> 00:12:16,320 Now, why did she do this? 250 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:19,720 Why did she betray her nation? 251 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:24,720 Why was she treasonous? 252 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:26,880 Benedict Arnold, if you will. 253 00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:29,480 Does anybody know who Benedict Arnold is anymore? 254 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:34,600 You know, actually, well, I'm not gonna get into that. 255 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:37,440 (congregation laughing) 256 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:38,280 No, no. 257 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:43,720 The reason why she did it can be summed up in one word, 258 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:46,160 faith. 259 00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:49,520 Faith. 260 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:54,520 Twice in the New Testament, Rahab is noted as an example, 261 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:59,440 along with Abraham, a pretty heavy hitter there. 262 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:02,640 Abraham, Rahab, twice they're noted 263 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:05,240 as being a person of real faith. 264 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:11,360 One of the places is over in James 2, verse 25. 265 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:15,160 "In the same way was not even Rahab the prostitute 266 00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:18,420 considered righteous for what she did 267 00:13:18,420 --> 00:13:20,220 when she gave lodging to the spies 268 00:13:20,220 --> 00:13:22,360 and sent them off in a different direction." 269 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:24,620 Yeah. 270 00:13:24,620 --> 00:13:32,200 Well, let's read the next one first. 271 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:33,660 Hebrews 11, 31. 272 00:13:33,660 --> 00:13:37,300 "By faith, the prostitute Rahab, 273 00:13:37,300 --> 00:13:39,180 because she welcomed the spies, 274 00:13:39,180 --> 00:13:42,120 was not killed with those who were disobedient." 275 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:44,020 Now, how do we know it was by faith? 276 00:13:44,020 --> 00:13:45,540 How do we know that's why she did that? 277 00:13:45,540 --> 00:13:48,000 I mean, for most of us, 278 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:51,180 see if you track with this, see if this makes sense. 279 00:13:51,180 --> 00:13:55,480 For most of us, hey, I know you guys are gonna win. 280 00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:57,240 I know you guys are gonna come 281 00:13:57,240 --> 00:13:58,700 and you're gonna take over the city 282 00:13:58,700 --> 00:14:00,520 and you're gonna destroy everything. 283 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:01,920 So I wanna be on your side. 284 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:08,320 That's probably how most of us would think, 285 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:11,440 but that's not how she thought. 286 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:16,440 Remember what we read and how she stated 287 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:22,040 what they all knew, what everybody in the city knew, 288 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:25,600 but apparently not everyone drew the same conclusion 289 00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:26,720 that she drew. 290 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:29,580 You see, they say knowledge is power and knowledge is power, 291 00:14:29,580 --> 00:14:33,000 but if you don't have wisdom, knowledge, dynamite's power, 292 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:34,960 but it can kill you. 293 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:38,500 It can blow your fingers off. 294 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:42,000 They all knew something, 295 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,400 but she drew a different conclusion 296 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:46,360 than everyone else was drawing. 297 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:49,600 What the conclusion she drew was, 298 00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:53,960 the Lord your God is God in heaven above 299 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:55,520 and on the earth below. 300 00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:58,360 And so I wanna be with Him. 301 00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:03,540 I believe, and that's why she was doing this. 302 00:15:03,540 --> 00:15:06,880 Everyone in Jericho had the same information 303 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:08,220 and they were scared. 304 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:14,200 They were afraid, but when Rahab heard it, 305 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:19,000 she believed and by believing she knew 306 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:21,400 the Lord your God is God, 307 00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:25,520 heaven above and on the earth below. 308 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:29,680 And because of her faith, she didn't just wear the t-shirt, 309 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:31,220 she didn't just have the bumper sticker, 310 00:15:31,220 --> 00:15:36,220 she didn't just learn the language, talk the lingo. 311 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:41,880 She put her faith into action. 312 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:46,840 And James describes it as the kind of action 313 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:48,380 that proves your faith. 314 00:15:48,380 --> 00:15:53,240 He says, faith without that kind of action is dead. 315 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:55,640 Faith without that kind of action is just words. 316 00:15:55,640 --> 00:16:02,200 It was about faith then, as it is always about faith now 317 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:06,520 and always will be about faith until faith becomes sight. 318 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:10,280 So two things that we learned. 319 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:15,180 God uses cracked pots and it's about faith. 320 00:16:15,180 --> 00:16:20,140 Next incident that happened and y'all been so good, 321 00:16:20,140 --> 00:16:21,740 I'm not gonna make you stand up, 322 00:16:21,740 --> 00:16:25,200 but I'm thinking about it. 323 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:30,440 But you can sit there and let's read it anyway. 324 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:35,280 And then this, while Joshua was there near Jericho, 325 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:38,800 he looked up and saw right in front of him, 326 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:42,720 a man standing, holding his drawn sword. 327 00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:45,720 Joshua stepped up to him and said, 328 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:47,720 "Whose side are you on? 329 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:50,000 "Ours are our enemies." 330 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:54,680 He said, "Neither, I'm commander of God's army. 331 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:56,760 "I've just arrived." 332 00:16:56,760 --> 00:17:01,760 Joshua fell face down to the ground and worshiped. 333 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:06,760 He asked, "What orders does my master have for his servant? 334 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:10,420 "God's army commander ordered Joshua, 335 00:17:10,420 --> 00:17:12,880 "take your sandals off your feet. 336 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:15,940 "The place you are standing is holy." 337 00:17:15,940 --> 00:17:17,380 Joshua did it. 338 00:17:17,380 --> 00:17:23,720 I chose the message intentionally for this 339 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:26,720 because it's clearer actually, I think, 340 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:28,200 than the other translations. 341 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:30,520 Because all the other translations 342 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:32,800 basically have Joshua coming up and going, 343 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:36,980 "Are you for us or are you for our enemies?" 344 00:17:36,980 --> 00:17:39,680 Now, if he had just stopped with the first question, 345 00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:40,520 that'd been okay. 346 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:42,620 But when he added the second question, 347 00:17:42,620 --> 00:17:45,080 what he's really saying is, "Whose side are you on? 348 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:49,200 "You on our side, you on their side." 349 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:56,120 "Neither, I've come to take charge." 350 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:01,880 We have, and I would say especially in this country, 351 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:03,560 but I think a lot of people have, 352 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:06,100 maybe in all large countries in particular, 353 00:18:06,100 --> 00:18:09,300 we have a whose side are you on mentality. 354 00:18:09,300 --> 00:18:14,880 And we're especially, at this point in our nation's history, 355 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:19,240 we're swimming in a whose side are you on culture. 356 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:23,040 That's what we're doing. 357 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:30,760 And it is about as far off the mark as you could possibly be. 358 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:33,520 I know no one remembers this 'cause I didn't remember it 359 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:38,520 until I looked back at the last time that I taught. 360 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:40,160 And at that time I said, 361 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:43,100 "The wrong question can be worse than the wrong answer." 362 00:18:43,100 --> 00:18:48,560 Because the wrong answer could be fixed 363 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:49,860 with the right answer. 364 00:18:49,860 --> 00:18:52,400 But the wrong question just keeps festering, 365 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:54,640 just keeps going and going and going. 366 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:56,640 And let me tell you whose side are you on 367 00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:58,980 is the wrong question. 368 00:18:58,980 --> 00:19:03,540 I'm gonna put something up here. 369 00:19:03,540 --> 00:19:05,800 And some of you are already there and that's great. 370 00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:07,920 And some of you got there before I got there 371 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:09,740 and that's terrific. 372 00:19:09,740 --> 00:19:13,560 But some of you are hopefully gonna be offended by it 373 00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:18,960 or at least taken aback and if so, good. 374 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:24,080 God is not on your side. 375 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:28,320 He's not, no, no, no, he's not. 376 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:29,400 He's not on your side. 377 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:32,680 You see, because if he were on your side, 378 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:35,720 then there'd be times that he could not be on my side 379 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:37,040 and I wouldn't like that. 380 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:41,120 And if he's always on my side, 381 00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:44,840 there're gonna be times that he's not gonna be on your side. 382 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:48,160 And you probably aren't gonna like that either. 383 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:50,320 Well, why can't he be on everyone's side? 384 00:19:52,180 --> 00:19:54,180 Have you ever seen "Bruce Almighty"? 385 00:19:54,180 --> 00:19:57,500 (congregation laughing) 386 00:19:57,500 --> 00:20:00,760 Well, if you hadn't, you should. 387 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:07,800 'Cause it's a good movie and I love the scene 388 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:11,300 where he decides that he's finally just gonna say yes 389 00:20:11,300 --> 00:20:12,340 to everybody. 390 00:20:12,340 --> 00:20:15,000 I'm gonna say yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. 391 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:18,340 And you're gonna say everybody gets a yes. 392 00:20:18,340 --> 00:20:21,040 And then they have this lottery 393 00:20:21,040 --> 00:20:25,900 and there's over $6 million to be won, 394 00:20:25,900 --> 00:20:30,300 but 400,000 people win it and they get $17 each. 395 00:20:30,300 --> 00:20:35,360 And they don't like the lottery anymore. 396 00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:37,980 I don't know what does a lottery ticket cost. 397 00:20:37,980 --> 00:20:40,560 It's gotta cost more than they're giving away. 398 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:44,040 But anyway, yeah. 399 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:51,060 He is not on your side, but he is for you. 400 00:20:51,060 --> 00:20:54,260 And the difference is vast. 401 00:20:54,260 --> 00:20:59,200 They couldn't be, he couldn't be any vaster. 402 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:07,300 You may go, well, he's gotta be on our side. 403 00:21:07,300 --> 00:21:10,060 Maybe not my side, but he's on our side. 404 00:21:10,060 --> 00:21:12,100 Look at how successful we are. 405 00:21:12,100 --> 00:21:13,060 Look at how powerful. 406 00:21:13,060 --> 00:21:17,140 Look at how wealthy we are. 407 00:21:18,140 --> 00:21:20,760 So we got a lot of stuff, huh? 408 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:28,260 Have you never read Psalm 73 where the Psalmist says, 409 00:21:28,260 --> 00:21:32,720 "When I saw the prosperity of the wicked, 410 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:34,420 "I almost stumbled." 411 00:21:34,420 --> 00:21:35,440 We're not wicked. 412 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:39,360 That's another sermon. 413 00:21:39,360 --> 00:21:43,100 We're not going there today. 414 00:21:43,100 --> 00:21:47,400 But when I saw prosperity on the people 415 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:49,300 that I didn't think should have it, 416 00:21:49,300 --> 00:21:55,100 I almost stumbled until I went to the house of the Lord. 417 00:21:55,100 --> 00:21:58,400 I got to the house of the Lord 418 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:01,500 and I considered what their end would be. 419 00:22:01,500 --> 00:22:06,560 Have you never read where Jesus said, 420 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:08,400 time is coming, a day is coming 421 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:11,880 when the first shall be last. 422 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:14,220 The last shall be first. 423 00:22:14,220 --> 00:22:16,260 And he seemed pretty happy about it, 424 00:22:16,260 --> 00:22:19,260 the fact that that time was coming. 425 00:22:19,260 --> 00:22:22,420 So you can't look at the stuff, 426 00:22:22,420 --> 00:22:23,780 you can't look at the influence, 427 00:22:23,780 --> 00:22:25,780 you can't look at the prosperity and go, 428 00:22:25,780 --> 00:22:28,660 well, he's on our side. 429 00:22:28,660 --> 00:22:32,460 Well, he must be on our side because we're for Israel. 430 00:22:32,460 --> 00:22:34,700 Now, some of you are gonna be real upset with me about this, 431 00:22:34,700 --> 00:22:37,760 but I just need to say, 432 00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:42,760 there have been many who were on Israel's side, 433 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:48,500 but not on God's side and didn't find the favor of God. 434 00:22:48,500 --> 00:22:54,780 So well, for example, well, the kings of Israel. 435 00:22:54,780 --> 00:23:01,600 The Northern Kingdom had 19 kings. 436 00:23:03,220 --> 00:23:07,800 One of them could possibly be have been considered 437 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:08,960 a godly king. 438 00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:13,760 The Southern Kingdom, Judah, the house of David, 439 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:15,740 they had 23 kings. 440 00:23:15,740 --> 00:23:21,060 10 of them, you know, would be in the God column. 441 00:23:21,060 --> 00:23:22,800 Now they kind of jumped back and forth, 442 00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:25,320 but they'd be in the God columns. 443 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:32,960 So that's 42 kings and 11 of them. 444 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:35,540 I don't know, you do the math. 445 00:23:35,540 --> 00:23:42,520 So just because I'm on Israel's side 446 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:45,780 doesn't necessarily mean I'm in favor of God. 447 00:23:45,780 --> 00:23:49,000 It's not that simple. 448 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:53,180 Well, he must be on our side because scripture says, 449 00:23:53,180 --> 00:23:56,860 if God is on our side, then who can be against us? 450 00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:02,200 Y'all gonna let me get away with that. 451 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:05,040 Come on. 452 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:06,880 No, no, no, no, no. 453 00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:09,680 It does not say that. 454 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:14,680 It says, if God is for us, who can be against us? 455 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:18,320 And I know that he is for us. 456 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:21,400 I know that he's for you because Romans 8, 28 says, 457 00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:24,840 and we know that in all things, God works for the good 458 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:26,960 of those who love him, who've been called 459 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:28,600 according to his purpose. 460 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:30,640 Oh, pastor, I don't know if I'm called or not. 461 00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:32,000 You know, you're called. 462 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:34,840 You're staying, I mean, you're retired, but you're up there. 463 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:36,640 You had a calling. 464 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:40,160 Pastor Kevin's called. 465 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:41,880 My kid's Sunday school teacher, they're called. 466 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:43,120 I don't know if I'm called. 467 00:24:43,120 --> 00:24:44,440 Are you saved? 468 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:48,920 Because if you belong to Jesus, 469 00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:53,920 if you have become a follower of Christ, you've been called. 470 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:56,480 You have been called to be conformed 471 00:24:56,480 --> 00:25:01,480 to the image of his son, which is, that's a calling now. 472 00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:04,440 That is a heavy duty calling. 473 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:11,720 He cannot work for our good and always be on our side. 474 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:14,040 He just simply can't. 475 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:18,680 Have you ever wanted something and you got it, 476 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:20,440 and then you go, uh-oh. 477 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:27,760 Okay, yeah, I mean, I'm asking, 478 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:30,720 I'm gonna pretend that y'all are, 479 00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:33,800 that you're sitting there considering every word 480 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:35,080 that is being said. 481 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:38,240 Have you ever wanted something and then you got it 482 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:40,600 and you had to go, uh-oh. 483 00:25:40,600 --> 00:25:43,640 This wasn't what I was bargaining for. 484 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:45,360 When I was in the fourth grade, 485 00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:49,120 my teacher was this woman. 486 00:25:49,120 --> 00:25:51,960 Her name is Margaret Meek. 487 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:53,440 She was my mother. 488 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:58,440 And some of you might think, oh, cool, man. 489 00:25:58,440 --> 00:26:00,360 Yeah, your mom was your teacher. 490 00:26:00,360 --> 00:26:03,800 That ain't cool. 491 00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:09,280 No, not at all. 492 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:10,840 She was an excellent teacher. 493 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:11,800 Now don't get me wrong, 494 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:14,160 and a lot of people who had her in school, 495 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:16,600 a lot of people who had her in Bible classes 496 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:18,900 will tell you she was an excellent teacher. 497 00:26:18,900 --> 00:26:22,640 But I wasn't too keen on it because for all the world, 498 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:25,800 it seemed that she was not on my side. 499 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:28,520 In fact, she often would bend over backwards 500 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:32,220 to make it clear that she was not on my side. 501 00:26:32,220 --> 00:26:37,800 And the reason why she would do that was because in fact, 502 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:39,560 she was not on my side. 503 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:44,920 But she was for me. 504 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:50,840 She was for me more than she could possibly 505 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:52,140 have been for anyone. 506 00:26:53,140 --> 00:26:54,780 'Cause I was her one and only. 507 00:26:54,780 --> 00:26:58,380 I didn't have to compete with, nevermind. 508 00:26:58,380 --> 00:27:01,820 She was totally for me. 509 00:27:01,820 --> 00:27:06,820 And another reason why God can't always be on our side 510 00:27:06,820 --> 00:27:08,180 is because we're ignorant. 511 00:27:08,180 --> 00:27:12,980 We just don't know much. 512 00:27:12,980 --> 00:27:18,700 A lot of people at the end of their emails, 513 00:27:18,700 --> 00:27:21,140 they have a quote, they have a tag there, 514 00:27:21,140 --> 00:27:24,960 mine, 2 Timothy 2 23, 515 00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:28,100 "Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments 516 00:27:28,100 --> 00:27:29,840 "which only produce quarrels." 517 00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:34,700 After close to 40 years in the ministry, 518 00:27:34,700 --> 00:27:39,140 I decided that's what I want people to know. 519 00:27:39,140 --> 00:27:42,860 Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments 520 00:27:42,860 --> 00:27:46,220 'cause they do, they produce quarrels 521 00:27:46,220 --> 00:27:47,780 and just all kinds of mischief. 522 00:27:50,060 --> 00:27:55,060 This last week, I got an email that Michael Fraser sent out 523 00:27:55,060 --> 00:27:59,260 and I saw his quotes on the end of them. 524 00:27:59,260 --> 00:28:01,660 And one of them was a C.S. Lewis quote, it was good. 525 00:28:01,660 --> 00:28:03,960 I don't remember what it was, but it was good. 526 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:07,520 But one was a Timothy Keller quote. 527 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:08,820 And he said this, 528 00:28:08,820 --> 00:28:13,340 "God will only give you what you would have asked for, 529 00:28:13,340 --> 00:28:17,720 "what you would have asked for, 530 00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:19,820 "if you knew everything He knows." 531 00:28:19,820 --> 00:28:26,460 I'm gonna pause for consideration there 532 00:28:26,460 --> 00:28:31,360 'cause that's something to consider. 533 00:28:31,360 --> 00:28:36,400 Why did Joshua send the spies into Jericho? 534 00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:39,840 You know, I've known this story 535 00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:43,600 for probably at least 70 years. 536 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:45,560 I'm sure by the time I was five, 537 00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:48,380 I knew that Joshua sent the spies in 538 00:28:48,380 --> 00:28:53,380 and Rahab took them in and she helped them escape 539 00:28:53,380 --> 00:28:58,420 and put the scarlet cord down out of the window. 540 00:28:58,420 --> 00:29:00,420 And I've known that. 541 00:29:00,420 --> 00:29:04,940 Never occurred to me till this last week 542 00:29:04,940 --> 00:29:08,860 or maybe the week before. 543 00:29:08,860 --> 00:29:12,680 I mean, talk about an old dog and new tricks. 544 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:14,120 You just keep reading the Bible 545 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:17,120 and God will mess with you, 546 00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:19,920 no matter how old you are or how many times you've read it. 547 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:22,220 And I thought, 548 00:29:22,220 --> 00:29:27,940 oh, I know why he sent the spies. 549 00:29:27,940 --> 00:29:32,000 I had always kind of wondered about it a little bit 550 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:34,400 because I thought, well, Moses sent spies 551 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:36,080 and that didn't work out very well. 552 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:38,920 So, why did he send spies? 553 00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:40,640 And in the natural, 554 00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:43,620 I think we could all come up with the same conclusion 555 00:29:43,620 --> 00:29:45,260 or all come up with the same idea. 556 00:29:45,260 --> 00:29:49,500 He sent the spies in so they could scout out the enemy 557 00:29:49,500 --> 00:29:52,140 and scout out the weaknesses 558 00:29:52,140 --> 00:29:54,140 and formulate a plan of attack. 559 00:29:54,140 --> 00:29:55,380 Sounds right. 560 00:29:55,380 --> 00:29:59,840 That wasn't why he sent the spies in. 561 00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:02,400 That's why he thought he sent the spies in. 562 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:07,140 The plan of attack had already been put together. 563 00:30:07,140 --> 00:30:09,620 The plan of attack, in fact, Joshua, 564 00:30:09,620 --> 00:30:11,040 yeah, I missed this. 565 00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:12,820 I need to go back and pick it up. 566 00:30:12,820 --> 00:30:15,100 When Joshua met that guy with a drawn sword, 567 00:30:15,100 --> 00:30:16,740 the commander of the Lord's army, 568 00:30:16,740 --> 00:30:21,740 and said, "What instructions do you have for me?" 569 00:30:21,740 --> 00:30:24,220 I'm sure that's when he got the instruction. 570 00:30:24,220 --> 00:30:28,380 You're gonna march around the city each day 571 00:30:28,380 --> 00:30:29,580 and you're gonna do it in silence. 572 00:30:29,580 --> 00:30:31,860 And on the seventh day, you'll march around seven times 573 00:30:31,860 --> 00:30:34,660 and then you'll shout and that is your battle plan. 574 00:30:34,660 --> 00:30:36,120 That's what you're gonna do. 575 00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:38,220 But that's not the first thing he told him. 576 00:30:40,860 --> 00:30:43,700 What instructions does my Lord have for me? 577 00:30:43,700 --> 00:30:45,040 Take your shoes off. 578 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:47,440 This is holy ground. 579 00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:54,380 And when we come to God, because when we come to God, 580 00:30:54,380 --> 00:30:59,740 He hasn't come to be on your side. 581 00:30:59,740 --> 00:31:04,740 He has come to take over and be in charge. 582 00:31:04,740 --> 00:31:09,540 And so the first thing that He wants us to do 583 00:31:09,540 --> 00:31:13,020 is not find out what the battle plan is. 584 00:31:13,020 --> 00:31:16,420 The first thing He wants us to do is get our shoes off 585 00:31:16,420 --> 00:31:21,500 and acknowledge where we are and who we're dealing with, 586 00:31:21,500 --> 00:31:24,300 who we're really talking to. 587 00:31:24,300 --> 00:31:27,980 And so, yeah, He wasn't sent. 588 00:31:27,980 --> 00:31:29,100 Those spies didn't go in 589 00:31:29,100 --> 00:31:31,220 so they could formulate a battle plan. 590 00:31:31,220 --> 00:31:32,900 Battle plan was already done. 591 00:31:32,900 --> 00:31:37,900 The spies went in so they could meet a woman 592 00:31:39,420 --> 00:31:42,740 that Joshua had never, didn't know existed 593 00:31:42,740 --> 00:31:46,260 on the face of the earth, had never thought about. 594 00:31:46,260 --> 00:31:50,180 The spies went in so that they could meet Rahab 595 00:31:50,180 --> 00:31:52,980 so that her family could be saved 596 00:31:52,980 --> 00:31:56,420 and they could become a part of the lineage of the Messiah. 597 00:31:56,420 --> 00:31:59,200 Who knew? 598 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:03,420 We don't know what's going on, people. 599 00:32:03,420 --> 00:32:06,060 We don't know when we pull this string, 600 00:32:06,060 --> 00:32:08,000 what's gonna happen in eternity. 601 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:10,560 (congregation murmuring) 602 00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:15,560 If there was ever anyone whose side God was on, 603 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:17,280 it would have been His Son. 604 00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:24,840 And yet it appeared for all the world that His Son had lost, 605 00:32:24,840 --> 00:32:29,040 had been defeated by those who opposed Him. 606 00:32:29,040 --> 00:32:34,140 But that was only because He was for you. 607 00:32:34,140 --> 00:32:36,920 He's for me. 608 00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:39,720 He's for Rahab. 609 00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:45,560 Oh, and He was for His Son too, 610 00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:48,600 because He's exalted Him to the highest place, 611 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:52,000 giving Him a name that's above every other name, 612 00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:55,520 that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow 613 00:32:55,520 --> 00:32:58,780 and every tongue will confess all hail King Jesus. 614 00:32:58,780 --> 00:33:03,600 It's the second encounter. 615 00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:08,600 Third encounter, third incident, happened after the battle. 616 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:15,520 It's a man named Achan. 617 00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:21,080 And I'm just gonna scoot these shoes over here. 618 00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:23,640 I might be tempted to slip back into them. 619 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:26,240 I'm gonna keep my socks on though, you're welcome. 620 00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:29,920 (congregation laughing) 621 00:33:29,920 --> 00:33:32,580 Sometimes victory is not good for us. 622 00:33:33,540 --> 00:33:36,520 Sometimes it's not good for us. 623 00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:42,380 My two grandsons who go to church here, Jack and Bo, 624 00:33:42,380 --> 00:33:44,780 we're on a basketball team this year. 625 00:33:44,780 --> 00:33:48,900 And City League, nine and 10 year old. 626 00:33:48,900 --> 00:33:53,720 And they won every game they played, 627 00:33:53,720 --> 00:33:55,780 most of them by double digits, 628 00:33:55,780 --> 00:33:58,860 until they came to the championship. 629 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:02,800 And when they came to the championship, 630 00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:09,300 their grandfather has some issues with the officiating. 631 00:34:09,300 --> 00:34:12,640 (congregation laughing) 632 00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:16,460 But that's not why they lost. 633 00:34:16,460 --> 00:34:22,440 They lost because their shots just weren't falling. 634 00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:24,620 And the other team was hot as a pistol. 635 00:34:24,620 --> 00:34:27,960 I mean, they were really on fire. 636 00:34:27,960 --> 00:34:28,860 It was still pretty close. 637 00:34:28,860 --> 00:34:31,440 It was 26, 22, I think something like that. 638 00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:34,820 I gotta believe they were the better team, 639 00:34:34,820 --> 00:34:38,320 but you know, it just wasn't their night. 640 00:34:38,320 --> 00:34:41,340 After the game, when their daddy Jeremy, 641 00:34:41,340 --> 00:34:44,560 who was also the coach, got the players together, 642 00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:48,000 I thought he said the most wonderful thing, 643 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:49,540 the most profound thing. 644 00:34:49,540 --> 00:34:54,540 He said, "Guys, you learn a lot more from a loss 645 00:34:54,540 --> 00:34:57,360 "than you'll ever learn from a victory." 646 00:34:58,260 --> 00:35:01,740 Wow, that's, you wanna preach? 647 00:35:01,740 --> 00:35:07,660 Because Israel defeated Jericho, 648 00:35:07,660 --> 00:35:12,340 and God had given them this instruction. 649 00:35:12,340 --> 00:35:14,560 He said, "When you go in, it's gonna be the first battle 650 00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:17,060 "you're gonna face in the promised land, 651 00:35:17,060 --> 00:35:19,900 "and you're gonna do it, you're gonna take it, 652 00:35:19,900 --> 00:35:21,620 "destroy everything. 653 00:35:21,620 --> 00:35:23,360 "Nothing belongs to you. 654 00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:25,200 "It all belongs to me. 655 00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:26,740 "Dedicate it to me." 656 00:35:26,740 --> 00:35:28,200 That was the instruction. 657 00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:31,140 But they won, and they got there, 658 00:35:31,140 --> 00:35:35,760 and this man named Achan was tempted by material gain 659 00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:40,240 to ignore the word of the Lord that he had heard. 660 00:35:40,240 --> 00:35:44,660 And so I don't know if anybody can relate 661 00:35:44,660 --> 00:35:49,660 to being tempted by material gain 662 00:35:49,660 --> 00:35:51,580 to ignore the word of the Lord. 663 00:35:51,580 --> 00:35:54,340 Don't know if anybody can relate to that, 664 00:35:54,340 --> 00:35:57,380 but Achan took some things dedicated to the Lord. 665 00:35:58,380 --> 00:36:01,300 He took a beautiful robe, 666 00:36:01,300 --> 00:36:03,460 and who doesn't need a beautiful robe? 667 00:36:03,460 --> 00:36:10,780 And he took $2,600 of silver in today's value. 668 00:36:10,780 --> 00:36:13,680 That's not a whole lot. 669 00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:18,180 $60,000 worth of gold, though. 670 00:36:18,180 --> 00:36:20,180 You know, so I mean, we're talking what, $62,600 671 00:36:20,180 --> 00:36:24,840 and a beautiful robe? 672 00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:28,400 Was it worth it? 673 00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:31,440 If you don't know the story, 674 00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:33,120 the result was the next battle, 675 00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:34,560 the Israelites were defeated 676 00:36:34,560 --> 00:36:39,360 because they had the things that belonged to the Lord. 677 00:36:39,360 --> 00:36:42,240 Among, they had stolen, had them. 678 00:36:42,240 --> 00:36:46,280 And 36 of his fellow Israelites lost their lives. 679 00:36:46,280 --> 00:36:47,680 That's not a whole lot of people. 680 00:36:47,680 --> 00:36:51,080 36 families were grieving the loss of a loved one 681 00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:52,880 because of what this man did. 682 00:36:53,760 --> 00:36:56,260 And it wasn't just those people. 683 00:36:56,260 --> 00:37:00,040 When things came out and they did come out, 684 00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:04,960 Achan and his family were stoned to death and burned. 685 00:37:04,960 --> 00:37:11,300 His wife, maybe wives, I don't know, children, 686 00:37:11,300 --> 00:37:12,640 all that he had. 687 00:37:12,640 --> 00:37:18,680 What you do does not just impact you. 688 00:37:22,760 --> 00:37:24,260 I've been greatly blessed. 689 00:37:24,260 --> 00:37:26,140 I mean, I've had a life that, 690 00:37:26,140 --> 00:37:30,240 you know, if you knew, 691 00:37:30,240 --> 00:37:35,760 from looking at me now, you might go, 692 00:37:35,760 --> 00:37:37,500 "Yeah, I ain't trading with you." 693 00:37:37,500 --> 00:37:39,960 But if you knew my whole life, 694 00:37:39,960 --> 00:37:42,400 a lot of, almost all of you go, "I'll take that. 695 00:37:42,400 --> 00:37:44,680 I'll take that." 696 00:37:44,680 --> 00:37:46,400 I've had a greatly blessed life. 697 00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:48,800 Never been in the hospital, 698 00:37:48,800 --> 00:37:52,600 never missed a meal. 699 00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:53,480 Obviously. 700 00:37:53,480 --> 00:37:58,020 It's just been, 701 00:37:58,020 --> 00:38:04,100 my first marriage was a wonderful marriage. 702 00:38:04,100 --> 00:38:05,280 My wife passed. 703 00:38:05,280 --> 00:38:08,480 My second marriage, that was a wonderful marriage too. 704 00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:10,180 I'm two for two, people. 705 00:38:10,180 --> 00:38:17,200 You know, it's been good. 706 00:38:17,200 --> 00:38:18,260 I don't deserve it. 707 00:38:20,720 --> 00:38:23,120 But I believe that much of the blessing 708 00:38:23,120 --> 00:38:26,160 has come from a fateful heritage 709 00:38:26,160 --> 00:38:27,760 that was handed down to me. 710 00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:30,720 My parents both just sacrificed 711 00:38:30,720 --> 00:38:34,000 and really served the Lord all of their lives. 712 00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:37,880 On my mother's side, her dad was a Pentecostal preacher 713 00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:41,880 back when that was absolutely not a cool thing to be. 714 00:38:41,880 --> 00:38:43,960 In fact, my understanding is, 715 00:38:43,960 --> 00:38:45,360 I don't know a whole lot about this, 716 00:38:45,360 --> 00:38:47,600 but my understanding is that his family 717 00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:50,800 was kind of like what my dad would call muckety mucks. 718 00:38:50,800 --> 00:38:54,400 They were big deals up in Benton County. 719 00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:56,740 And when my grandfather decided 720 00:38:56,740 --> 00:38:59,560 to become a Pentecostal preacher, answered that call, 721 00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:01,260 they just owned him. 722 00:39:01,260 --> 00:39:03,000 It wouldn't have anything to do with him 723 00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:04,920 anymore after that. 724 00:39:04,920 --> 00:39:08,440 On my dad's side, it's a little bit, 725 00:39:08,440 --> 00:39:10,240 it's a little, yeah. 726 00:39:10,240 --> 00:39:13,800 His dad wasn't a preacher. 727 00:39:13,800 --> 00:39:16,440 He was a sharecropper and he kind of died young. 728 00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:19,780 I know his mom though was a very fateful, 729 00:39:19,780 --> 00:39:23,520 believing woman, raised six kids as a widow 730 00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:25,920 through the depression and everything. 731 00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:29,600 And I had a cousin who did some research on further back 732 00:39:29,600 --> 00:39:32,480 and there are a number of preachers in my line. 733 00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:36,080 Most of them couldn't stay places very long 734 00:39:36,080 --> 00:39:38,800 'cause they got run out of town. 735 00:39:38,800 --> 00:39:41,760 They might've been a little bit troublemakers or something. 736 00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:42,720 I don't know. 737 00:39:42,720 --> 00:39:46,520 But this heritage, 738 00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:52,080 I did nothing to receive it. 739 00:39:52,080 --> 00:39:53,660 I did have to receive it. 740 00:39:53,660 --> 00:39:58,000 And you know, there is that part of the equation. 741 00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:02,420 You do have to receive it, but I did not earn it. 742 00:40:02,420 --> 00:40:09,840 Aiken's lack of faith and actions brought disaster 743 00:40:09,840 --> 00:40:13,060 on his family, on his family line. 744 00:40:13,060 --> 00:40:19,480 Rahab's faith and actions brought salvation for her family. 745 00:40:19,480 --> 00:40:24,500 And not just the saving of their lives when Jericho fell, 746 00:40:24,500 --> 00:40:28,460 but also, like I said, they entered into 747 00:40:28,460 --> 00:40:31,940 the family line of Messiah. 748 00:40:31,940 --> 00:40:36,080 We don't know anything about those who came before them. 749 00:40:36,080 --> 00:40:37,400 We don't know. 750 00:40:37,400 --> 00:40:40,240 But we know what their actions produced 751 00:40:40,240 --> 00:40:41,940 for those who came after them. 752 00:40:41,940 --> 00:40:46,000 All families have skeletons. 753 00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:48,160 My family's got skeletons. 754 00:40:48,160 --> 00:40:51,120 I know of a whole bunch of them 755 00:40:51,120 --> 00:40:52,940 if you include my generation. 756 00:40:52,940 --> 00:40:56,160 But all families have skeletons. 757 00:40:56,160 --> 00:40:59,620 And generational curses can be very real things. 758 00:40:59,620 --> 00:41:04,620 Whether it's addictions or fear or poor health 759 00:41:05,160 --> 00:41:09,440 or poverty or there's all kinds of things 760 00:41:09,440 --> 00:41:12,540 that can be passed down that's bad stuff. 761 00:41:12,540 --> 00:41:18,720 But somewhere along the family line, 762 00:41:18,720 --> 00:41:22,480 someone has to take the faith of Rahab 763 00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:24,920 and stand up and go, "It ends here. 764 00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:28,700 "It stops here. 765 00:41:28,700 --> 00:41:30,620 "I'm gonna be faithful to the Lord. 766 00:41:30,620 --> 00:41:34,640 "I'm gonna pass on a blessing." 767 00:41:35,640 --> 00:41:37,760 Someone has to be the curse breaker. 768 00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:44,000 I asked Wayne Barry to sing a song 769 00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:47,400 that he had written at this point, 770 00:41:47,400 --> 00:41:49,900 but unfortunately, he can't be here this week. 771 00:41:49,900 --> 00:41:52,680 So I'm just gonna tell you about it. 772 00:41:52,680 --> 00:41:56,840 The song was written over 30 years ago, 773 00:41:56,840 --> 00:41:58,880 came from a visit that he had 774 00:41:58,880 --> 00:42:01,200 with a couple of his great aunts. 775 00:42:01,200 --> 00:42:03,560 And they filled him in on some family history 776 00:42:03,560 --> 00:42:04,680 he didn't know about. 777 00:42:04,680 --> 00:42:12,200 And the song says, "My great grandfather was an angry man. 778 00:42:12,200 --> 00:42:15,540 "He abused his family. 779 00:42:15,540 --> 00:42:19,260 "And he passed along that heritage 780 00:42:19,260 --> 00:42:21,520 "through the roots of our family tree. 781 00:42:21,520 --> 00:42:26,480 "But his sons rose up against him, 782 00:42:26,480 --> 00:42:28,280 "drove him from his home, 783 00:42:28,280 --> 00:42:32,040 "never knowing where he ended up 784 00:42:32,040 --> 00:42:33,480 "or if he died alone. 785 00:42:33,480 --> 00:42:40,260 "My grandfather was an honest man. 786 00:42:40,260 --> 00:42:41,940 "He tried to do what's right. 787 00:42:41,940 --> 00:42:46,960 "But somewhere in the darkness, 788 00:42:46,960 --> 00:42:49,280 "he fell without a fight. 789 00:42:49,280 --> 00:42:54,880 "So he took his sons and his dignity, 790 00:42:54,880 --> 00:42:56,540 "climbed up in his truck, 791 00:42:56,540 --> 00:43:00,040 "drove off in the shadows, 792 00:43:00,040 --> 00:43:02,240 "trying to break his string of luck. 793 00:43:02,240 --> 00:43:07,600 "But I will not run. 794 00:43:07,600 --> 00:43:12,620 "I will not run. 795 00:43:12,620 --> 00:43:19,380 "By God's grace, I'll stand and face 796 00:43:19,380 --> 00:43:22,700 "each new day as it comes. 797 00:43:22,700 --> 00:43:28,480 "My father was a godly man. 798 00:43:28,480 --> 00:43:30,460 (gentle music) 799 00:43:30,460 --> 00:43:33,000 "And of that, there is no doubt. 800 00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:38,020 "But he told me once when he was young, 801 00:43:38,020 --> 00:43:42,660 "he tried to find his way out. 802 00:43:42,660 --> 00:43:49,620 "But his love for God and mom and me 803 00:43:49,620 --> 00:43:53,040 "was greater than his fear. 804 00:43:54,660 --> 00:43:58,100 "And Jesus Christ was glorified 805 00:43:58,100 --> 00:44:03,180 "by the life dad lived down here. 806 00:44:03,180 --> 00:44:07,860 "And now I will not run. 807 00:44:07,860 --> 00:44:13,320 "I will not run. 808 00:44:13,320 --> 00:44:19,740 "Family curse has been reversed. 809 00:44:19,740 --> 00:44:23,300 "Now there's a blessing for my son. 810 00:44:23,300 --> 00:44:28,300 "And I will not run." 811 00:44:28,300 --> 00:44:36,960 Jesus was our curse breaker. 812 00:44:36,960 --> 00:44:42,240 And you have been called to be conformed 813 00:44:42,240 --> 00:44:45,520 to the image of Jesus Christ. 814 00:44:45,520 --> 00:44:49,680 Some of you already are curse breakers. 815 00:44:50,960 --> 00:44:53,740 Some of you have already put a stop 816 00:44:53,740 --> 00:45:00,100 to things that were flowing, the bad stuff. 817 00:45:00,100 --> 00:45:05,380 Some of you want to be curse breakers. 818 00:45:05,380 --> 00:45:12,580 Some of you have never thought about it until today. 819 00:45:12,580 --> 00:45:14,380 And it's why you're here. 820 00:45:14,380 --> 00:45:18,560 'Cause the Holy Spirit brought you here. 821 00:45:18,560 --> 00:45:21,140 (gentle music) 822 00:45:21,140 --> 00:45:23,720 God is for you. 823 00:45:23,720 --> 00:45:28,880 And if he is for you, there's nothing 824 00:45:28,880 --> 00:45:30,640 that he can't do through you. 825 00:45:30,640 --> 00:45:36,940 Things that will affect generations to come 826 00:45:36,940 --> 00:45:38,960 and echo into eternity. 827 00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:44,640 And if God could use the prostitute Rahab 828 00:45:44,640 --> 00:45:48,160 to bring blessing to her family, 829 00:45:49,160 --> 00:45:54,160 he can certainly use you regardless of any labels 830 00:45:54,160 --> 00:45:59,640 that have been placed on you by others or by yourself. 831 00:45:59,640 --> 00:46:05,200 Would you stand with me? 832 00:46:05,200 --> 00:46:10,320 I'm gonna ask our elders, those who are gonna pray 833 00:46:10,320 --> 00:46:11,280 with people to come down. 834 00:46:11,280 --> 00:46:14,960 We're gonna be doing a worship song here. 835 00:46:14,960 --> 00:46:17,840 If you came today and you need prayer, 836 00:46:17,840 --> 00:46:22,160 it may be about being a curse breaker or the need for it. 837 00:46:22,160 --> 00:46:25,040 It may be about something else, maybe about anything. 838 00:46:25,040 --> 00:46:27,200 You're welcome to come. 839 00:46:27,200 --> 00:46:30,880 And these brothers and sisters will pray for you. 840 00:46:30,880 --> 00:46:33,860 [ Music ]