1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,520 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast, 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,480 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,720 My name is Pastor Josh and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:10,480 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,680 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,080 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,160 Now come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has 8 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:21,440 for us here today. 9 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:27,200 If you have been with us, you know that we're in the book of Joshua. 10 00:00:27,950 --> 00:00:29,710 So we're in Joshua chapter 20. 11 00:00:30,430 --> 00:00:35,590 We studied last week a long passage of scripture detailing the 12 00:00:35,590 --> 00:00:40,070 inheritance of land given to each one of the tribes and obviously 13 00:00:40,070 --> 00:00:42,430 all the tribes except for the tribe of Levi. 14 00:00:42,990 --> 00:00:44,670 And that was obviously the. 15 00:00:45,630 --> 00:00:49,510 The inheritance of having a relationship with God and communing 16 00:00:49,510 --> 00:00:50,030 with Him. 17 00:00:50,350 --> 00:00:54,850 But now we've got to Joshua chapter 20, and we have a very interesting 18 00:00:54,850 --> 00:00:55,530 passage here. 19 00:00:55,530 --> 00:00:55,890 It's a. 20 00:00:55,890 --> 00:00:58,330 It's a short chapter, only nine verses. 21 00:00:58,330 --> 00:00:59,850 We're going to study this this evening. 22 00:00:59,850 --> 00:01:05,570 This is actually Joshua following God's plan. 23 00:01:05,570 --> 00:01:09,210 That was actually commanded through Moses all the way back in 24 00:01:09,210 --> 00:01:10,610 Numbers chapter 35. 25 00:01:11,170 --> 00:01:14,890 And so if you've gone through the Book of Numbers, certainly you 26 00:01:14,890 --> 00:01:18,490 know that that was a major portion of the Book of Numbers is 27 00:01:18,490 --> 00:01:21,660 obviously a God working through Moses with the people of 28 00:01:21,660 --> 00:01:22,180 Israel. 29 00:01:22,500 --> 00:01:26,940 And there was a time in which God told Moses in Numbers Chapter 30 00:01:26,940 --> 00:01:31,380 35 to appoint six cities of refuge for a specific purpose. 31 00:01:31,860 --> 00:01:36,260 And what we actually see In Joshua chapter 20 is those six cities 32 00:01:36,260 --> 00:01:40,580 being placed in the nation of Israel, the. 33 00:01:40,580 --> 00:01:42,900 The land that God had provided for them. 34 00:01:43,060 --> 00:01:46,590 And we're going to study this this evening because at first glance, 35 00:01:46,590 --> 00:01:49,470 this is an interesting passage just to be put in here. 36 00:01:49,630 --> 00:01:52,830 It doesn't seem necessarily to line up with everything else because 37 00:01:53,230 --> 00:01:53,590 of. 38 00:01:53,590 --> 00:01:54,790 Of many different reasons. 39 00:01:54,790 --> 00:01:59,070 But also it would be tempting to just read this passage as a historical 40 00:01:59,070 --> 00:02:02,350 account just to see, yes, there was a place for people to run 41 00:02:02,350 --> 00:02:04,030 when certain things happened. 42 00:02:04,270 --> 00:02:07,990 But I do believe that there's a greater spiritual impact and lesson 43 00:02:07,990 --> 00:02:10,710 that we can learn here in Joshua chapter 20, even about our 44 00:02:10,710 --> 00:02:13,830 own salvation that we find in Jesus Christ. 45 00:02:14,230 --> 00:02:17,030 So let's go ahead and read through this passage here. 46 00:02:17,670 --> 00:02:20,790 We're going to talk about specifically these six cities of 47 00:02:20,790 --> 00:02:25,150 refuge, what they were there for, how the individuals that would 48 00:02:25,150 --> 00:02:29,590 live within this land could access these cities of refuge and 49 00:02:29,590 --> 00:02:32,590 what that means for us within our own Christian walk. 50 00:02:32,590 --> 00:02:33,790 So let's look at verse number one. 51 00:02:33,790 --> 00:02:36,870 It says, and the Lord also spake unto Joshua, saying, speak 52 00:02:36,870 --> 00:02:40,710 to the children of Israel, saying, appoint out for you cities 53 00:02:40,710 --> 00:02:43,690 of refuge, whereof I spake to you. 54 00:02:43,690 --> 00:02:44,890 By the hand of Moses. 55 00:02:44,890 --> 00:02:47,490 So there's that reminder there that this has already been brought 56 00:02:47,490 --> 00:02:48,050 to Moses. 57 00:02:48,050 --> 00:02:51,930 Joshua gets to be the one who gets to see the blessing come to 58 00:02:51,930 --> 00:02:52,130 pass. 59 00:02:52,130 --> 00:02:55,090 And we actually see that as a theme a lot in the book of Joshua 60 00:02:55,090 --> 00:02:57,130 that God had spoken to Moses. 61 00:02:57,130 --> 00:03:00,210 And certainly Moses got a lot accomplished in the will of the Lord. 62 00:03:00,530 --> 00:03:03,770 But Joshua now gets to see a lot of the fruit of those promises 63 00:03:03,770 --> 00:03:07,410 given back, and really the commandments given back earlier on 64 00:03:07,410 --> 00:03:08,010 in the. 65 00:03:08,010 --> 00:03:09,330 The ministry of Moses. 66 00:03:09,870 --> 00:03:14,990 And so he says that there is a call to create these cities of refuge. 67 00:03:15,230 --> 00:03:17,550 And then he says in verse three, the purpose of these cities 68 00:03:17,550 --> 00:03:18,270 of refuge. 69 00:03:18,350 --> 00:03:24,830 He says that the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly 70 00:03:25,150 --> 00:03:30,830 may flee thither, and they shall be your refuge from the avenger 71 00:03:30,830 --> 00:03:31,390 of blood. 72 00:03:31,390 --> 00:03:35,350 Now, this is interesting because some people think that this 73 00:03:35,350 --> 00:03:37,830 is a passage of scripture, basically to let people get off for 74 00:03:37,830 --> 00:03:38,190 murder. 75 00:03:38,190 --> 00:03:39,270 That's not what this is saying. 76 00:03:39,270 --> 00:03:41,770 If you catch it and just read what it says there, there. 77 00:03:41,930 --> 00:03:47,010 It's for those who kill somebody unawares and unwittingly, 78 00:03:47,010 --> 00:03:48,650 meaning accidental deaths. 79 00:03:48,970 --> 00:03:52,690 And we know that with a lot of people, there are going to be instances 80 00:03:52,690 --> 00:03:54,650 where there are some accidental deaths. 81 00:03:55,370 --> 00:03:59,530 And so there's actually here a plan that God gives to the people 82 00:04:00,010 --> 00:04:05,170 of how these individuals who accidentally kill somebody, how they 83 00:04:05,170 --> 00:04:08,330 can find refuge, and actually how they can find a place of a fair 84 00:04:08,330 --> 00:04:11,820 trial where they can be treated fairly and not just have 85 00:04:11,820 --> 00:04:15,980 the person of the family that is deceased come and take revenge 86 00:04:15,980 --> 00:04:17,580 and be the avenger of blood. 87 00:04:17,580 --> 00:04:20,940 So there's this reference to the avenger of blood. 88 00:04:20,940 --> 00:04:24,540 And a person who was the avenger of blood needed. 89 00:04:25,420 --> 00:04:26,940 They had this responsibility. 90 00:04:27,180 --> 00:04:29,820 Now, the Hebrew word for this phrase is goel. 91 00:04:30,060 --> 00:04:33,460 And it was in the context of someone being a representative for 92 00:04:33,460 --> 00:04:34,300 the victim's family. 93 00:04:34,380 --> 00:04:35,740 So someone dies. 94 00:04:36,130 --> 00:04:39,570 There was someone in that person's family that passed away. 95 00:04:39,730 --> 00:04:43,170 It was upon them as a responsibility to make things right, 96 00:04:43,490 --> 00:04:43,810 to. 97 00:04:43,810 --> 00:04:46,930 To avenge the blood of that person who had been killed. 98 00:04:47,090 --> 00:04:49,010 And that was in the sense of murder, right? 99 00:04:49,010 --> 00:04:51,490 And it was the avenger of blood who would go take that person, 100 00:04:51,969 --> 00:04:55,410 take them to the leadership, and ultimately there would be the 101 00:04:55,410 --> 00:04:56,210 death penalty. 102 00:04:56,370 --> 00:04:58,930 But in the case of manslaughter, here, in the case of 103 00:04:58,930 --> 00:05:02,530 an accidental death, there wasn't a death penalty for a person. 104 00:05:02,850 --> 00:05:07,190 And so this was to protect the person from having some sort of vengeance 105 00:05:07,190 --> 00:05:11,550 against an individual who really didn't need to go and face 106 00:05:11,550 --> 00:05:11,910 that. 107 00:05:12,070 --> 00:05:13,030 That punishment. 108 00:05:13,270 --> 00:05:17,590 And so what we see here really is the heart of God and the truth 109 00:05:17,590 --> 00:05:22,670 of God protecting those who did not need to face death when it 110 00:05:22,670 --> 00:05:25,950 came to the accusations that the family might have. 111 00:05:25,950 --> 00:05:30,150 And so this is a way so that there could be a clear state of affairs, 112 00:05:30,550 --> 00:05:34,070 an orderly fashion in which people could have a fair look when 113 00:05:34,070 --> 00:05:35,950 it came to an accidental death. 114 00:05:36,270 --> 00:05:39,870 And so there are aspects in the Old Testament that speak to capital 115 00:05:39,870 --> 00:05:40,590 punishment. 116 00:05:40,910 --> 00:05:44,230 We see that in Genesis chapter nine, and even in Romans, chapter 117 00:05:44,230 --> 00:05:49,790 13, we see that one of the roles of the government is to punish 118 00:05:49,790 --> 00:05:50,990 those who do evil. 119 00:05:51,470 --> 00:05:55,590 And so there is the heart of God that does show that there should 120 00:05:55,590 --> 00:05:58,550 be some type of discipline, there should be type of judgment 121 00:05:58,550 --> 00:06:00,310 upon those who are acting in evil. 122 00:06:00,310 --> 00:06:03,270 But at the same time, we know that as humans, sometimes we can 123 00:06:03,430 --> 00:06:07,350 be passionate about something, we can be emotional about something. 124 00:06:07,510 --> 00:06:11,630 And a person who loses a loved one might want to avenge the blood 125 00:06:11,630 --> 00:06:13,750 of their loved one, even if that's not the right thing. 126 00:06:13,830 --> 00:06:17,669 So the question would be, is this person someone who murdered 127 00:06:17,669 --> 00:06:20,950 someone, or is this person someone who accidentally killed somebody? 128 00:06:21,190 --> 00:06:26,510 And so since the avenger of blood might see themselves as a person 129 00:06:26,510 --> 00:06:29,920 who needed to take things into their own hands, instead of doing 130 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:32,120 the right thing, they might actually do the wrong thing and go 131 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:33,000 further than they should. 132 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,520 So the city of refuge was established to protect the person 133 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:40,480 who was innocent, someone who did not commit murder, from facing 134 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:42,000 the judgment of a murder. 135 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:44,760 Okay, so with that being said, let's go a little bit further and 136 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:46,720 let's see kind of what that was supposed to be. 137 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:47,440 Verse 4. 138 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:51,400 And when he doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the 139 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:54,320 entering gate of the city and shall declare his cause in the ears 140 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:55,980 of the elders of that city. 141 00:06:55,980 --> 00:07:00,260 So most of the ancient cities would have had gates, obviously to 142 00:07:00,260 --> 00:07:02,660 protect them, but in those gates there would have been something 143 00:07:02,660 --> 00:07:05,380 like a bench that the elders would have sat at for most of the 144 00:07:05,380 --> 00:07:05,660 day. 145 00:07:05,740 --> 00:07:08,620 And they would be the ones that would make decisions about different 146 00:07:09,020 --> 00:07:09,700 conflicts. 147 00:07:09,700 --> 00:07:12,420 And they would be the ones that would be there to give advice 148 00:07:12,420 --> 00:07:13,820 and judgments upon things. 149 00:07:13,980 --> 00:07:15,060 And actually, it was really neat. 150 00:07:15,060 --> 00:07:16,980 When we went to Israel, there was one of these gates, and they 151 00:07:16,980 --> 00:07:19,100 had a little bench, and they said, all the pastors come down and 152 00:07:19,100 --> 00:07:20,220 sit at the elder bench. 153 00:07:20,220 --> 00:07:22,140 And so we sat at the bench and took a picture. 154 00:07:22,580 --> 00:07:24,700 And so I've definitely seen this with my own eyes. 155 00:07:24,700 --> 00:07:26,780 There's a place there where people would come in. 156 00:07:26,780 --> 00:07:28,180 And that's what that's talking about there. 157 00:07:28,260 --> 00:07:31,380 There would be elders sitting at the gates, and they would hear 158 00:07:31,620 --> 00:07:34,340 the person's case as they would Come into the city. 159 00:07:34,660 --> 00:07:37,380 So let's say someone accidentally killed somebody. 160 00:07:37,700 --> 00:07:38,900 They didn't mean to. 161 00:07:39,060 --> 00:07:43,300 They run to this refuge city, they talk to the elders and they 162 00:07:43,300 --> 00:07:44,180 state their case. 163 00:07:44,420 --> 00:07:46,980 So basically they're getting a fair chance, a fair trial. 164 00:07:47,140 --> 00:07:50,790 And so they stated to the ears of the elders of that city, and they 165 00:07:50,790 --> 00:07:54,670 shall take him into the city unto them and give him a place that 166 00:07:54,670 --> 00:07:55,790 he may dwell among them. 167 00:07:55,790 --> 00:07:58,710 So what would happen is the elders would listen to the case. 168 00:07:58,710 --> 00:07:59,790 They would hear the evidence. 169 00:07:59,790 --> 00:08:04,430 If it was a justified sense in which they weren't murderers, they 170 00:08:04,430 --> 00:08:06,470 would bring them in and they could live among them. 171 00:08:07,110 --> 00:08:07,430 Then. 172 00:08:07,430 --> 00:08:08,070 Verse 5. 173 00:08:08,150 --> 00:08:09,470 And if the Avenger of Blood. 174 00:08:09,470 --> 00:08:11,590 Remember, the Avenger of the Blood is the one who's coming back 175 00:08:11,590 --> 00:08:12,310 to get vengeance. 176 00:08:12,310 --> 00:08:15,350 He's the one who's coming to make things right because of a murder. 177 00:08:15,430 --> 00:08:17,590 And did the Avenger of Blood pursue after him. 178 00:08:18,020 --> 00:08:20,540 Then they shall not deliver the Slayer up into his hand. 179 00:08:20,540 --> 00:08:23,420 So basically what would happen is that the Avenger of Blood would 180 00:08:23,420 --> 00:08:26,300 get to the gate of the city and say, turn over so. 181 00:08:26,300 --> 00:08:29,900 And so, because he killed my brother or whatever, they would not 182 00:08:29,900 --> 00:08:32,940 turn that person over to those people who came in. 183 00:08:32,940 --> 00:08:34,019 The Avenger of Blood. 184 00:08:34,100 --> 00:08:38,100 And it says, because he smote his neighbor unwittingly and hated 185 00:08:38,100 --> 00:08:39,860 not before time, meaning this. 186 00:08:39,940 --> 00:08:42,980 The motivation was not at the heart of hatred. 187 00:08:43,060 --> 00:08:44,900 The motivation wasn't revenge. 188 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:47,080 The motivation was no motivation. 189 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:48,000 It was an accident. 190 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:49,600 And so they would make a decision. 191 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:52,840 They would say, okay, this person accidentally or unwittingly 192 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:53,240 hurt someone. 193 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:54,560 There was no hate involved. 194 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:58,880 And a lot of times with even the Jewish law, there was a lot of 195 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:02,080 focus on the motivation of the problem at hand. 196 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:03,000 And so they. 197 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:04,160 They would make a decision. 198 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:05,760 They would say, okay, it was on accident. 199 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:07,280 There was no motivation. 200 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:08,560 He did not hate him. 201 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:11,200 And so therefore we're not going to turn him over to you. 202 00:09:11,460 --> 00:09:11,820 Verse 6. 203 00:09:11,820 --> 00:09:13,100 And he shall dwell in that city. 204 00:09:13,100 --> 00:09:15,660 So not only is he protected for a. 205 00:09:15,660 --> 00:09:18,740 For a short amount of time, but he actually could live in that 206 00:09:18,740 --> 00:09:19,060 city. 207 00:09:19,300 --> 00:09:22,740 And it says, until he stand before the congregation for judgment 208 00:09:22,900 --> 00:09:26,580 and until the death of the High Priest, that shall be in those 209 00:09:26,580 --> 00:09:28,220 days, then shall the slayer return. 210 00:09:28,220 --> 00:09:31,460 So there is a point in time, and it doesn't give us the exact 211 00:09:31,460 --> 00:09:34,980 time, but it says until he could face judgment or until the 212 00:09:34,980 --> 00:09:36,260 death of the High priest. 213 00:09:36,260 --> 00:09:37,540 That was in those days. 214 00:09:38,050 --> 00:09:41,130 Then after that they could return, as it says there, the slayer 215 00:09:41,130 --> 00:09:45,170 could return and come into his own city, unto his own house, unto 216 00:09:45,170 --> 00:09:46,610 the city from whence he fled. 217 00:09:46,610 --> 00:09:51,170 So there was a plan for A person to be protected and then return 218 00:09:51,410 --> 00:09:53,290 back to his original place. 219 00:09:53,290 --> 00:09:56,930 And so, according to the custom, the elders would take in 220 00:09:56,930 --> 00:09:57,410 the information. 221 00:09:58,290 --> 00:10:00,050 They would be the ones who would make the decision. 222 00:10:00,610 --> 00:10:04,410 And after explaining the case, the person who was fleeing could 223 00:10:04,410 --> 00:10:05,970 expect to find a few different things. 224 00:10:05,970 --> 00:10:08,330 Protection, a life. 225 00:10:08,730 --> 00:10:12,690 And ultimately they can enjoy that type of safety for a period 226 00:10:12,690 --> 00:10:13,210 of time. 227 00:10:13,450 --> 00:10:16,730 And it says that the leaders of the city would give them refuge. 228 00:10:16,730 --> 00:10:20,290 They were obliged to give protection to those people. 229 00:10:20,290 --> 00:10:24,290 And they had no legal standing to give them over to the avenger 230 00:10:24,290 --> 00:10:24,890 of blood. 231 00:10:25,290 --> 00:10:30,250 And so this was a way in which someone could be fairly judged, fairly 232 00:10:30,250 --> 00:10:33,240 tried, and not be misunderstood, tried when it came 233 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:34,800 to emotions or anger. 234 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:38,200 So to be protected against the avenger of blood, the person who 235 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:42,040 accidentally killed another person could live within the walls, 236 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:46,840 could find refuge there, and then give the him or her a proper 237 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:50,120 chance to talk to the authorities and give their case, 238 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:52,600 or until the death of the high priest. 239 00:10:52,680 --> 00:10:57,360 And so after that, there could be a declaration of innocence, and 240 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:00,920 then they could go back to their life that they lived in before. 241 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:03,630 So we see verse 7, 8, and 9. 242 00:11:03,710 --> 00:11:05,310 Basically, those cities defined. 243 00:11:05,310 --> 00:11:08,670 And it says, and they appointed Kadesh and Galilee in the 244 00:11:08,670 --> 00:11:12,830 mounts of Naphtali and Shechem in Mount Ephraim and Kirjath Arbo, 245 00:11:12,830 --> 00:11:15,910 which is in Hebron in the mountain of Judah, on the other side 246 00:11:15,910 --> 00:11:17,549 of Jordan by Jericho, eastward. 247 00:11:17,549 --> 00:11:20,510 They assigned Beezer in the wilderness upon the plain, out of 248 00:11:20,510 --> 00:11:23,710 the tribe of Reuben and Ramoth and Gilead, out of the tribe of Gad 249 00:11:23,790 --> 00:11:26,670 and Golan and Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh. 250 00:11:26,670 --> 00:11:28,870 These were the cities appointed for all the children of 251 00:11:28,870 --> 00:11:29,305 Israel. 252 00:11:29,305 --> 00:11:33,730 And and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever 253 00:11:33,730 --> 00:11:38,050 killeth any person at unawares might flee thither and not die by 254 00:11:38,050 --> 00:11:42,090 the hand of the avenger of blood until he stood before the congregation. 255 00:11:42,170 --> 00:11:47,930 So verse nine essentially restates the purpose of this refuge 256 00:11:48,330 --> 00:11:52,090 and the purpose of why they're going to create these six cities. 257 00:11:52,170 --> 00:11:56,240 But also we see something very interesting in verse nine that we 258 00:11:56,240 --> 00:11:59,760 might not think would be the case, that this isn't just for the 259 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:01,000 children of Israel. 260 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:02,600 But what do we see in verse nine? 261 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:03,560 It says this. 262 00:12:03,560 --> 00:12:06,120 These are the cities appointed for all the children of Israel and 263 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:10,040 for the stranger that sojourneth among them. 264 00:12:11,319 --> 00:12:15,400 So what the Bible actually tells us is that this refuge for 265 00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:19,160 these people who accidentally kill somebody was not just for the 266 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:21,840 people of Israel, but even for people that were outsiders, that 267 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:22,760 were traveling through. 268 00:12:23,390 --> 00:12:26,910 And so this is a very unique element of these refuge cities that 269 00:12:26,910 --> 00:12:29,510 would be unheard of at the time to not only give these types 270 00:12:29,510 --> 00:12:32,310 of blessings for your own people, but also for people that 271 00:12:32,310 --> 00:12:35,190 were not part of your tribe or not part of your community or not 272 00:12:35,190 --> 00:12:35,950 part of your nation. 273 00:12:36,510 --> 00:12:40,390 But this is speaking of the fairness and the nature that God 274 00:12:40,390 --> 00:12:41,950 is not a respecter of persons. 275 00:12:42,190 --> 00:12:44,630 And, and I think that there could be so much to be said just 276 00:12:44,630 --> 00:12:46,510 about the principles that God has ordained here. 277 00:12:46,510 --> 00:12:49,470 Number one, God doesn't want people to be tried unfairly. 278 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:51,480 God is a God of truth. 279 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:56,040 And so there were obviously cases in which people would be tried 280 00:12:56,040 --> 00:12:57,720 for something that they shouldn't be tried for. 281 00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:00,680 And ultimately we know that God wanted these people. 282 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:03,480 And by the way, people had to have proof of all this. 283 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:05,160 There had to be a case tried. 284 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:06,680 And so what he says here is this. 285 00:13:06,680 --> 00:13:10,120 He says that the person who kills someone unawares might flee 286 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:12,840 thither and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood. 287 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:16,160 So the avenger of blood, he might be doing the right thing, or 288 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:18,400 at least trying to do the right thing, but go above and beyond 289 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:20,920 and go too far, and this is a way to protect them. 290 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:26,440 Similar today, I mean, in our country we have things that are limiting 291 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:28,920 people from just taking the law into their own hands. 292 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:30,200 That's essentially what this is. 293 00:13:30,280 --> 00:13:35,000 This is obviously allowing for people in authority and ultimately 294 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:38,800 God to make a plan for people, not just to take the law into their 295 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:39,400 own hands. 296 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:42,120 And so there's a right to a fair trial. 297 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:45,600 We even see here that God would give a person of that right 298 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:48,620 and if they were found guilty, then they would have to face the 299 00:13:49,100 --> 00:13:49,740 punishment. 300 00:13:49,740 --> 00:13:53,260 But in this case, we see that this is designed for people who did 301 00:13:53,260 --> 00:13:55,100 not mean to do something evil. 302 00:13:55,260 --> 00:13:59,140 And yet there are some things that obviously in our own society 303 00:13:59,140 --> 00:14:00,660 today that we could think about. 304 00:14:00,660 --> 00:14:01,420 Motivation, right? 305 00:14:01,420 --> 00:14:03,460 Motivation's key when it comes to certain things. 306 00:14:03,460 --> 00:14:07,020 I mean, obviously accidents happen, and it doesn't mean that 307 00:14:07,020 --> 00:14:08,060 we get off scot free. 308 00:14:08,220 --> 00:14:10,380 There are definitely some things that we have to deal with 309 00:14:10,380 --> 00:14:11,340 even with accidents. 310 00:14:11,970 --> 00:14:14,410 But what the Bible is saying here is that someone that commits 311 00:14:14,410 --> 00:14:17,810 this in a way of accident should be treated differently than 312 00:14:17,810 --> 00:14:21,530 someone commits it willingly, premeditated, with anger and with 313 00:14:21,530 --> 00:14:22,690 bitterness and with hatred. 314 00:14:22,690 --> 00:14:24,970 And so that's what we see here in this case. 315 00:14:24,970 --> 00:14:27,130 And so he restates this principle. 316 00:14:27,130 --> 00:14:31,410 He says that basically the end of verse nine, he says that the person 317 00:14:31,570 --> 00:14:34,770 could, as it says here, until he stood before the congregation. 318 00:14:34,770 --> 00:14:37,250 It's basically giving someone a chance to plead their case. 319 00:14:38,850 --> 00:14:42,610 And so the appointment of these Six cities gives us the opportunity 320 00:14:42,610 --> 00:14:45,930 to see that God had a heart for his people to be tried fairly, 321 00:14:45,930 --> 00:14:48,730 and even not just for his own people, but for the people that were 322 00:14:48,730 --> 00:14:49,730 coming into that area. 323 00:14:50,450 --> 00:14:54,090 And so if you were to look at these cities on a map, we would see 324 00:14:54,090 --> 00:14:57,770 that the cities of refuge were really spaced out through the whole 325 00:14:57,770 --> 00:14:58,050 country. 326 00:14:58,370 --> 00:15:02,530 So it gave an opportunity for people all over to have some type 327 00:15:02,530 --> 00:15:03,730 of hope that they could flee there. 328 00:15:03,730 --> 00:15:07,340 And so no matter where you were in the lands, you are not really 329 00:15:07,340 --> 00:15:09,820 far away from one of these cities of refuge. 330 00:15:09,820 --> 00:15:12,580 And so this speaks of God's provision for the people. 331 00:15:13,300 --> 00:15:16,540 And we even know that in other places, like Deuteronomy, chapter 332 00:15:16,540 --> 00:15:20,260 19, it tells us that there were roads to be built to be maintained 333 00:15:20,260 --> 00:15:21,940 in these cities of refuge. 334 00:15:22,100 --> 00:15:25,100 And so basically, it was a given opportunity for someone to 335 00:15:25,100 --> 00:15:29,140 find this type of assistance, to find this type of salvation. 336 00:15:29,460 --> 00:15:31,980 And so we come to verse number nine, and we see that purpose. 337 00:15:31,980 --> 00:15:35,070 And so the cities of refuge were not only there for the benefit 338 00:15:35,070 --> 00:15:38,270 of the Israelites, but they were there also for the strangers 339 00:15:38,270 --> 00:15:39,110 that were coming around. 340 00:15:39,430 --> 00:15:43,430 And so what we see here is that God's justice was really applied 341 00:15:43,430 --> 00:15:44,590 without partiality. 342 00:15:44,590 --> 00:15:45,750 And we know that God is. 343 00:15:45,910 --> 00:15:47,750 Is not a respecter of persons. 344 00:15:47,830 --> 00:15:49,830 And so that's a beautiful picture of this. 345 00:15:49,830 --> 00:15:52,110 But then I thought about this, and I would say, okay, well, what 346 00:15:52,110 --> 00:15:52,910 does this mean for us? 347 00:15:52,910 --> 00:15:55,230 I mean, obviously we weren't around at that time. 348 00:15:55,230 --> 00:15:55,470 What. 349 00:15:55,470 --> 00:15:56,310 What could this mean? 350 00:15:56,390 --> 00:15:59,910 Well, I think that there's also some parallels to these cities 351 00:15:59,910 --> 00:16:02,870 of refuge as a picture of what Jesus Christ does for us. 352 00:16:03,510 --> 00:16:03,870 And. 353 00:16:03,870 --> 00:16:06,710 And I think that we can take a few different aspects of that. 354 00:16:07,030 --> 00:16:09,350 Think about Psalm 46, verse 1. 355 00:16:10,310 --> 00:16:14,230 Some of, you know, Psalm 46, verse 1, and it's a verse that, you 356 00:16:14,230 --> 00:16:17,590 know, I've often come to in times of my life when I feel overwhelmed, 357 00:16:17,750 --> 00:16:20,630 and times of my life where I don't have the strength. 358 00:16:21,030 --> 00:16:21,470 It's a. 359 00:16:21,470 --> 00:16:24,590 It's a very classic passage of scripture that I think we all should 360 00:16:24,590 --> 00:16:25,430 know in our lives. 361 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:31,400 Psalm 46:1 says, God is our refuge and strength, a very present 362 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:32,600 help in trouble. 363 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:36,960 Now, sometimes we face trouble in our life, and it's trouble that 364 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:38,240 we've caused in our own life. 365 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:38,760 Okay? 366 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:40,440 Sometimes it's because of a bad decision. 367 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:43,320 Sometimes it's because of a lack of discernment. 368 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:44,600 We have trouble in our life. 369 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:47,360 The Bible says that even though we have created some trouble 370 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:49,800 in our life, we can go to the Lord and he can help us in that. 371 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:52,880 But other troubles that we face in Our life are beyond us. 372 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:55,000 I mean, maybe it's trouble that someone's bringing to us. 373 00:16:55,290 --> 00:16:58,090 Maybe it's trouble that we find with someone that's against 374 00:16:58,090 --> 00:16:58,370 us. 375 00:16:58,370 --> 00:16:59,450 Or maybe it's just a. 376 00:16:59,690 --> 00:17:03,050 A situation in which trouble has come our way through. 377 00:17:03,210 --> 00:17:08,050 Maybe a sickness or maybe, you know, we would say violence against 378 00:17:08,050 --> 00:17:08,290 us. 379 00:17:08,290 --> 00:17:11,129 It could even be that verse one, God is our refuge and strength, 380 00:17:11,129 --> 00:17:12,970 a very present help in trouble. 381 00:17:14,090 --> 00:17:17,610 So we need to go back to this concept of just as someone who found 382 00:17:17,610 --> 00:17:21,450 themselves in trouble back in the book of Joshua, with maybe this 383 00:17:21,450 --> 00:17:26,010 accidental killing, they could flee and find refuge in one of these 384 00:17:26,010 --> 00:17:26,410 cities. 385 00:17:26,650 --> 00:17:30,970 We as Christians, when we find trouble, we can flee and find refuge 386 00:17:30,970 --> 00:17:31,450 in the Lord. 387 00:17:31,450 --> 00:17:34,690 And the Bible says that we can find refuge and strength and a very 388 00:17:34,690 --> 00:17:36,170 present help in time of trouble. 389 00:17:36,250 --> 00:17:37,930 He says, what's the result of that? 390 00:17:37,930 --> 00:17:42,610 Therefore will not we fear though the earth be removed and though 391 00:17:42,610 --> 00:17:45,730 the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though the 392 00:17:45,730 --> 00:17:49,010 waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountain shake 393 00:17:49,010 --> 00:17:49,970 with the swelling thereof. 394 00:17:49,970 --> 00:17:50,570 Selah. 395 00:17:50,950 --> 00:17:53,390 Then he says, there is a river, the streams whereof shall 396 00:17:53,390 --> 00:17:56,710 make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of 397 00:17:56,710 --> 00:17:57,350 the Most High. 398 00:17:57,830 --> 00:17:59,190 God is in the midst of her. 399 00:17:59,350 --> 00:18:00,430 She shall not be moved. 400 00:18:00,430 --> 00:18:01,430 God shall help her. 401 00:18:01,430 --> 00:18:05,350 That right early the heathen rage, the kingdoms removed. 402 00:18:05,510 --> 00:18:07,310 He uttered his voice and the earth melted. 403 00:18:07,310 --> 00:18:08,950 The Lord of hosts is with us. 404 00:18:09,030 --> 00:18:11,270 The God of Jacob is our refuge. 405 00:18:11,830 --> 00:18:15,190 So the Bible tells us that we can find refuge in the Lord. 406 00:18:15,190 --> 00:18:18,500 And there's other passages of scripture, some in the New Testament, 407 00:18:18,500 --> 00:18:21,700 that speak of God and his salvation to us is. 408 00:18:21,700 --> 00:18:22,980 Is our refuge. 409 00:18:22,980 --> 00:18:23,340 It's. 410 00:18:23,340 --> 00:18:24,740 It's where we can flee to. 411 00:18:24,740 --> 00:18:27,180 We can try to go to a lot of places in our life. 412 00:18:27,180 --> 00:18:30,900 I. I know that, you know, just knowing other people and knowing 413 00:18:30,900 --> 00:18:35,460 myself, that oftentimes we try to find peace and refuge and strength 414 00:18:35,460 --> 00:18:36,700 in all the wrong things. 415 00:18:37,740 --> 00:18:38,620 You've seen people. 416 00:18:38,620 --> 00:18:42,860 Sometimes I've often wondered, how can someone turn to a substance 417 00:18:42,860 --> 00:18:44,700 or how can someone turn to. 418 00:18:44,930 --> 00:18:46,490 To an illicit relationship? 419 00:18:46,490 --> 00:18:49,850 How could someone be so far away from God knowing that that's 420 00:18:49,850 --> 00:18:50,090 wrong? 421 00:18:50,090 --> 00:18:53,930 It's because sometimes we believe that those fleshly decisions 422 00:18:53,930 --> 00:18:57,050 that bring us temporary pleasure are the refuge that can 423 00:18:57,050 --> 00:18:59,770 give us some sort of satisfaction and some. 424 00:18:59,770 --> 00:19:03,690 Some sort of delay from the pain or even subsiding of the pain. 425 00:19:03,690 --> 00:19:06,930 But what the Bible says is that all of those things in which 426 00:19:06,930 --> 00:19:10,450 we feel are going to bring us some sort of immediate blessing are 427 00:19:10,450 --> 00:19:13,290 not going to bring us full satisfaction and full refuge. 428 00:19:13,370 --> 00:19:16,210 We can't hide in the cleft of any of those rocks for very long 429 00:19:16,210 --> 00:19:18,890 because eventually our sin will find us out. 430 00:19:18,890 --> 00:19:22,610 But the Bible says that we can go to the Lord where we are and find 431 00:19:22,610 --> 00:19:24,930 refuge and strength in time of trouble. 432 00:19:24,930 --> 00:19:28,730 And so just as these cities were places of refuge for people 433 00:19:28,730 --> 00:19:32,170 who found themselves in trouble, so Jesus is the refuge that 434 00:19:32,170 --> 00:19:33,850 we can find in times of trouble. 435 00:19:34,330 --> 00:19:37,460 There's times in my life in which I've looked at a situation. 436 00:19:37,460 --> 00:19:37,860 I've. 437 00:19:37,860 --> 00:19:38,260 I've said. 438 00:19:38,260 --> 00:19:39,860 I've literally said these words. 439 00:19:40,020 --> 00:19:41,860 I don't think I can get out of this one. 440 00:19:42,340 --> 00:19:42,900 This one. 441 00:19:42,900 --> 00:19:44,100 This one's going to get me. 442 00:19:44,420 --> 00:19:45,380 This is too much. 443 00:19:45,780 --> 00:19:46,740 I can't do this. 444 00:19:47,460 --> 00:19:48,580 All those words, right? 445 00:19:48,580 --> 00:19:51,780 All those phrases that maybe some of you have used as well. 446 00:19:52,660 --> 00:19:56,900 And in our human perspective and the trouble that we're in, we 447 00:19:56,900 --> 00:19:59,620 can truly say, yeah, this one I can't get out of. 448 00:20:00,020 --> 00:20:02,860 But there's a time and a place where we have to give ourselves up 449 00:20:02,860 --> 00:20:04,980 to the Lord and say, lord, you are my refuge. 450 00:20:05,300 --> 00:20:06,420 Lord, you are my strength. 451 00:20:06,420 --> 00:20:09,300 Lord, I have to come to you and find satisfaction. 452 00:20:09,300 --> 00:20:11,140 And that's really what these people are all about. 453 00:20:11,380 --> 00:20:12,220 Think about this. 454 00:20:12,220 --> 00:20:13,620 Think about you or that person. 455 00:20:14,180 --> 00:20:14,700 I don't know. 456 00:20:14,700 --> 00:20:16,140 Let's get a hypothetical scenario. 457 00:20:16,140 --> 00:20:16,820 You're out working. 458 00:20:17,140 --> 00:20:20,700 It's you and a couple other guys out working as a stone worker 459 00:20:20,700 --> 00:20:25,220 on a wall, and you accidentally slip and the rock falls 460 00:20:25,220 --> 00:20:26,020 and kills a person. 461 00:20:26,020 --> 00:20:26,580 Okay? 462 00:20:26,580 --> 00:20:27,700 And that's a sad thing. 463 00:20:27,700 --> 00:20:28,660 That's a terrible thing. 464 00:20:28,660 --> 00:20:31,220 But now, though you didn't mean to. 465 00:20:31,370 --> 00:20:33,520 You, you are going to be seen as a murderer. 466 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:36,960 And now your life is in risk and you have nowhere to turn. 467 00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:37,840 You can't turn to your friend. 468 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:38,720 Your friend goes, I. 469 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:40,440 Well, you know what? 470 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:41,120 It's your problem. 471 00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:41,800 I'm leaving. 472 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:42,720 I'm not going to help you out. 473 00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:44,000 You ever had that happen? 474 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:46,120 You ever had someone say, I'm going to be there with you through 475 00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:46,560 it all? 476 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:49,040 And then your first problem comes and you turn around and they're 477 00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:49,280 gone. 478 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:50,320 Like, hey, where'd you go? 479 00:20:51,120 --> 00:20:51,480 That. 480 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:53,120 That's sometimes what might be. 481 00:20:53,120 --> 00:20:55,280 And so these people are finding themselves in trouble. 482 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:56,760 I didn't mean to do that. 483 00:20:56,760 --> 00:20:58,160 No one's going to vouch for me. 484 00:20:58,630 --> 00:21:01,990 And so the only place they can turn is this city of refuge. 485 00:21:02,390 --> 00:21:02,950 They run. 486 00:21:02,950 --> 00:21:04,150 They say, I got to get there. 487 00:21:04,390 --> 00:21:05,590 That's my only hope. 488 00:21:06,310 --> 00:21:09,430 That's the same thing for us when we find ourselves in that place 489 00:21:09,430 --> 00:21:12,150 where nobody's there to help us other than God. 490 00:21:12,470 --> 00:21:14,150 No one has any answers for us. 491 00:21:14,710 --> 00:21:16,110 We can't Figure this out on our own. 492 00:21:16,110 --> 00:21:17,510 We have nowhere else to turn. 493 00:21:17,750 --> 00:21:18,550 That's that place. 494 00:21:18,550 --> 00:21:24,150 What we would call is being so vulnerable and so needy and really 495 00:21:24,150 --> 00:21:27,350 humble in the place that the only place that we can find salvation 496 00:21:27,350 --> 00:21:29,080 is finding it in Jesus Christ. 497 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:30,040 That's. 498 00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:32,520 That's the spirit of these refuge places. 499 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:35,360 It was a place in which these people could run to find some kind 500 00:21:35,360 --> 00:21:36,360 of salvation. 501 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:40,120 And really, we know that Jesus is the only place that we could run 502 00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:41,640 to for salvation. 503 00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:47,680 So Jesus, just like these refuge cities are available to those 504 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:50,600 who are at rock bottom, who have no other place to turn. 505 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:53,800 And really, I would argue that that's the best place to find the 506 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:56,600 Lord is when we have nowhere else to turn, when we don't have 507 00:21:56,600 --> 00:21:57,760 any alternatives. 508 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:01,440 I've heard some people say, just try Jesus. 509 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:02,840 Just try him. 510 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:04,080 Just add him into your life. 511 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:07,160 And I would say that's not a complete understanding of really 512 00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:09,040 what it means to have a relationship with God. 513 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:11,960 To have a relationship with God means I don't have any other 514 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:12,960 backup plans. 515 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:17,880 To have a true relationship with the Lord and walk as he's. 516 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:20,480 My master is not well, Lord, if you fail, I've got this other 517 00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:23,780 backup contingency plan here because that's not really faith, 518 00:22:23,780 --> 00:22:24,180 right? 519 00:22:24,180 --> 00:22:26,980 Faith is not saying, okay, Lord, I trust in you, but I've got 520 00:22:27,060 --> 00:22:30,500 like three other paths that if you fail me, I'll go to that. 521 00:22:30,580 --> 00:22:33,220 No, faith is saying, lord, you are the only way. 522 00:22:33,380 --> 00:22:34,820 I can only turn to you. 523 00:22:34,820 --> 00:22:35,900 You are my refuge. 524 00:22:35,900 --> 00:22:36,900 You are my strength. 525 00:22:37,380 --> 00:22:39,300 And so Jesus was the only way. 526 00:22:39,300 --> 00:22:41,980 But also, we see, as I mentioned before, think about the 527 00:22:41,980 --> 00:22:43,140 location of these cities. 528 00:22:43,140 --> 00:22:43,780 They were close. 529 00:22:44,660 --> 00:22:48,300 Person didn't have to travel, you know, a year to get to the refuge 530 00:22:48,300 --> 00:22:48,580 city. 531 00:22:49,220 --> 00:22:52,620 And just as these cities were close to these people who were in 532 00:22:52,620 --> 00:22:54,100 need, so God is close to us. 533 00:22:54,260 --> 00:22:56,260 I think a lot of times we think that we have to jump through 534 00:22:56,260 --> 00:22:57,940 hoops and clean up our life. 535 00:22:57,940 --> 00:23:00,620 And I've heard people even say, well, I can't come to church 536 00:23:00,620 --> 00:23:02,060 and trust in the Lord because I'm just. 537 00:23:02,060 --> 00:23:03,460 I need to clean up my life first. 538 00:23:03,700 --> 00:23:04,380 No, no, no. 539 00:23:04,380 --> 00:23:05,700 That's the wrong perception. 540 00:23:06,020 --> 00:23:08,860 Come to the Lord with all of your filthy rags. 541 00:23:08,860 --> 00:23:11,820 Come to the Lord with all of your struggles and your pain and 542 00:23:11,820 --> 00:23:12,580 your baggage. 543 00:23:12,820 --> 00:23:15,950 And as the Bible says in First Peter five, seven, right? 544 00:23:15,950 --> 00:23:19,470 Micah, casting all our care upon him because he cares for us. 545 00:23:19,950 --> 00:23:20,270 Right? 546 00:23:20,270 --> 00:23:20,510 We. 547 00:23:20,510 --> 00:23:20,750 And. 548 00:23:20,750 --> 00:23:21,110 And that. 549 00:23:21,110 --> 00:23:23,070 That passage is not talking about this. 550 00:23:23,070 --> 00:23:25,150 It's not talking about, well, you know what? 551 00:23:25,150 --> 00:23:27,150 I. I got a little situation today. 552 00:23:27,310 --> 00:23:28,870 So, Lord, if you have time. 553 00:23:28,870 --> 00:23:30,830 Let me just cast a little care over to you. 554 00:23:30,990 --> 00:23:31,310 That. 555 00:23:31,310 --> 00:23:31,550 That. 556 00:23:31,550 --> 00:23:34,470 That idea of casting my care upon the Lord in First Peter, chapter 557 00:23:34,470 --> 00:23:35,230 five is this. 558 00:23:35,230 --> 00:23:39,150 It's casting our anxieties, casting our pain, casting our sorrow, 559 00:23:39,230 --> 00:23:41,750 casting our hopelessness and saying, lord, I need you. 560 00:23:41,750 --> 00:23:43,510 It's throwing it over to the Lord. 561 00:23:43,510 --> 00:23:43,710 Why? 562 00:23:43,710 --> 00:23:45,710 Because he can bear those burdens for us. 563 00:23:45,950 --> 00:23:48,630 There are certain burdens that we are bearing in our life that we 564 00:23:48,630 --> 00:23:51,670 are not designed to bear, but God can bear those burdens. 565 00:23:51,670 --> 00:23:54,270 And so we lay those burdens at the foot of the cross. 566 00:23:54,510 --> 00:23:57,870 And if we're in fear, if we're in anxiety, if we are in a place 567 00:23:57,870 --> 00:24:01,710 of doubt, if we're in a place of confusion, we can come to the 568 00:24:01,710 --> 00:24:04,310 Lord and we say, lord, you take care of this for me. 569 00:24:04,310 --> 00:24:05,550 You can bear this weight. 570 00:24:05,550 --> 00:24:07,310 You can answer my struggles. 571 00:24:07,390 --> 00:24:09,590 You can come to a place in my life to clean me up. 572 00:24:09,590 --> 00:24:12,640 As we mentioned this morning, there's nothing that we can do to 573 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:13,520 clean up ourselves. 574 00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:16,040 We can temporarily try to clean up ourselves. 575 00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:19,760 I don't know about you, but there's been times that I've come 576 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:23,840 into a situation, whether it be church or whether it be work or 577 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:27,280 whether it be just like the time where I'm getting together with 578 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:30,040 people and I'm in, the last place I want to be is there. 579 00:24:30,360 --> 00:24:31,000 Okay? 580 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:32,680 My mind's in a different place. 581 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:36,930 I'm struggling, and I try to put my happy face on, and I try to 582 00:24:36,930 --> 00:24:40,370 present myself in such a way that I want to be there, but really 583 00:24:40,370 --> 00:24:41,810 I need to be somewhere else. 584 00:24:41,970 --> 00:24:44,210 At least in my mind, I think I need to be somewhere else. 585 00:24:44,370 --> 00:24:45,890 That's sometimes how we come to the Lord. 586 00:24:45,890 --> 00:24:47,850 We come to the Lord thinking, okay, Lord, you're going to handle 587 00:24:47,850 --> 00:24:48,130 this. 588 00:24:48,130 --> 00:24:51,050 But the whole time we are in church, we're thinking about all 589 00:24:51,050 --> 00:24:52,850 the problems that we have to face on our own. 590 00:24:53,010 --> 00:24:55,090 Instead of just saying, lord, I'm going to turn it over to you. 591 00:24:55,730 --> 00:24:58,810 And so we see similarities to the fact that God is close. 592 00:24:58,810 --> 00:24:59,250 He's. 593 00:24:59,250 --> 00:25:00,130 He's imminent. 594 00:25:00,130 --> 00:25:00,610 He's. 595 00:25:00,610 --> 00:25:01,410 He's personal. 596 00:25:01,570 --> 00:25:02,690 He's not far away. 597 00:25:03,740 --> 00:25:05,220 We even saw that in the Book of Romans. 598 00:25:05,220 --> 00:25:08,380 It says that you don't have to ascend into heaven or go down into 599 00:25:08,380 --> 00:25:10,140 the pit of the earth to find God. 600 00:25:10,140 --> 00:25:14,460 God is there, and so Jesus is accessible. 601 00:25:14,460 --> 00:25:16,060 So were these refuge cities. 602 00:25:16,060 --> 00:25:19,500 Another thing that we could say is that Jesus, as well as these 603 00:25:19,500 --> 00:25:22,740 refuge cities, became a place where not only we could come and 604 00:25:22,740 --> 00:25:25,220 find salvation, but we could live right. 605 00:25:25,220 --> 00:25:29,860 That person could go and be saved from the Immediate problem 606 00:25:29,860 --> 00:25:31,180 of the avenger of blood. 607 00:25:31,390 --> 00:25:34,350 But the Bible says here in Joshua, chapter 20, that they could 608 00:25:34,350 --> 00:25:39,070 dwell in that city and live with comfort, live with some sort 609 00:25:39,070 --> 00:25:43,710 of comfort, knowing and confidence, knowing that that avenger 610 00:25:43,710 --> 00:25:45,630 of blood wasn't going to get them in the middle of the night, 611 00:25:45,950 --> 00:25:47,870 that there could be some sort of security. 612 00:25:48,750 --> 00:25:52,830 And as a believer, we can, like the people that fled to these 613 00:25:52,830 --> 00:25:56,870 cities, could, can, and will find security in our relationship 614 00:25:56,870 --> 00:25:57,390 with God. 615 00:25:57,740 --> 00:25:59,940 We can find comfort in a relationship with God. 616 00:25:59,940 --> 00:26:02,860 We don't have to live looking over our shoulder and worrying about 617 00:26:02,860 --> 00:26:04,060 what's going to get us next. 618 00:26:04,140 --> 00:26:07,380 We can live with peace knowing that, yes, I have problems on the 619 00:26:07,380 --> 00:26:10,620 outside, but inside of this relationship with Jesus, I can find 620 00:26:10,620 --> 00:26:13,899 peace and comfort and satisfaction and confidence in him. 621 00:26:14,700 --> 00:26:17,260 One of my favorite words, and I'm weird like that. 622 00:26:17,260 --> 00:26:18,460 I've got words that I like. 623 00:26:18,460 --> 00:26:20,060 One of my favorite words is confidence. 624 00:26:20,220 --> 00:26:22,740 And if you really break down that word confidence, in the Latin, 625 00:26:22,740 --> 00:26:24,000 it's two words. 626 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:26,080 Confide with faith. 627 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:28,440 To live with confidence doesn't mean confidence. 628 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:31,520 And it could technically, like, if I said to you, I've got 629 00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:34,320 confidence in myself, that would mean I'm living with faith 630 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:35,680 in myself to do something. 631 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:38,560 But biblically speaking, our confidence is not in ourselves. 632 00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:41,600 It's in our relationship with God and what he is going to do for 633 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:41,920 us. 634 00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:43,880 So the confidence is not in ourselves. 635 00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:46,240 The confidence is in the protection around us. 636 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:48,320 And so there's that aspect of this. 637 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:50,890 There's the aspect of living without any fear. 638 00:26:50,890 --> 00:26:52,490 It's living with confidence. 639 00:26:52,490 --> 00:26:54,610 As a Christian, I don't know about you, but there's been times 640 00:26:54,610 --> 00:26:58,530 in my life, particularly when I was living at home with my parents, 641 00:26:59,010 --> 00:27:01,730 that I would have done something, whether it be at school 642 00:27:01,730 --> 00:27:03,050 or whether it be with my friends. 643 00:27:03,050 --> 00:27:05,330 And I knew it was something that my parents didn't want me to 644 00:27:05,330 --> 00:27:05,570 do. 645 00:27:06,050 --> 00:27:08,530 And my biggest hope was that they wouldn't find out. 646 00:27:10,210 --> 00:27:12,130 So I would be living with that fear. 647 00:27:12,610 --> 00:27:16,210 I would be living with that burden, that weight. 648 00:27:16,210 --> 00:27:18,450 And I was the type of person, I wasn't a good liar. 649 00:27:19,310 --> 00:27:20,110 Still not a good liar. 650 00:27:20,110 --> 00:27:23,430 That's why, you know, I gotta be honest. 651 00:27:23,430 --> 00:27:24,590 I'm just gonna tell the truth. 652 00:27:25,470 --> 00:27:25,790 The. 653 00:27:25,790 --> 00:27:28,630 The idea would be that I would be sitting there and struggling, 654 00:27:28,630 --> 00:27:31,350 and my parents would be sitting there, and I'm like, they 655 00:27:31,350 --> 00:27:31,630 know. 656 00:27:31,790 --> 00:27:32,830 They obviously know. 657 00:27:33,230 --> 00:27:35,150 They're acting different, they're acting strange. 658 00:27:35,710 --> 00:27:37,030 And I could never live with peace. 659 00:27:37,030 --> 00:27:38,070 I wouldn't eat my food. 660 00:27:38,070 --> 00:27:38,950 And they're like, what's wrong? 661 00:27:38,950 --> 00:27:39,550 What's going on? 662 00:27:39,950 --> 00:27:42,190 And I'm Like, I just, you know, they're like, you're not yourself. 663 00:27:42,190 --> 00:27:42,910 I'm like, yeah, I know. 664 00:27:42,910 --> 00:27:45,330 I'm just, I'm just not feeling good the whole time. 665 00:27:45,330 --> 00:27:50,970 I'm just getting eat up with, with, with conviction, with guilt. 666 00:27:51,770 --> 00:27:53,490 I'm thinking like, they're going to find out eventually. 667 00:27:53,490 --> 00:27:54,890 It's going to get worse and worse and worse. 668 00:27:54,890 --> 00:27:58,370 And I remember one particular time my parents confronted me on 669 00:27:58,370 --> 00:27:58,650 something. 670 00:27:58,730 --> 00:28:02,170 I'm like, I knew they knew and they let me, they let me just like 671 00:28:02,170 --> 00:28:03,930 struggle with it for so long. 672 00:28:05,130 --> 00:28:07,130 I think that's sometimes how we live as Christians. 673 00:28:07,130 --> 00:28:10,130 We live with this type of like condemnation and guilt and it's like, 674 00:28:10,130 --> 00:28:11,840 ah, I know I should get that right. 675 00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:14,160 I, I know maybe my sin will find me out. 676 00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:17,720 I can't be living as a double minded person, but yet I'm living 677 00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:18,400 a double life. 678 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:19,880 And I don't want anyone to know this. 679 00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:21,200 I don't want anyone to know that. 680 00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:23,800 It's such a liberating feeling to say, Lord, I've got everything 681 00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:25,560 out before you, Lord. 682 00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:29,000 Like David said, search me, oh God, know my heart, try me and know 683 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:29,480 my thoughts. 684 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:32,400 See if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. 685 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:36,680 Folks, I, I know that you know this, but when you're living in that 686 00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:38,520 type of transparency before the Lord. 687 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:40,750 By the way, I couldn't hide things from my parents. 688 00:28:40,830 --> 00:28:42,990 They knew me, they could see right through me. 689 00:28:43,150 --> 00:28:44,110 Same thing with the Lord. 690 00:28:44,190 --> 00:28:46,910 We, we think maybe that we can hide things from him. 691 00:28:47,070 --> 00:28:49,390 We might be able to hide it from someone that's close to us. 692 00:28:49,390 --> 00:28:51,710 We might be able to hide it from a friend, we might be able to 693 00:28:51,710 --> 00:28:52,830 hide it from a family member. 694 00:28:52,830 --> 00:28:56,270 But folks, we cannot hide what's in our hearts before the Lord. 695 00:28:56,830 --> 00:28:59,670 And so when we say, search me, oh God, it's not giving him permission 696 00:28:59,670 --> 00:29:00,230 to search us. 697 00:29:00,230 --> 00:29:01,710 He's already searched our hearts. 698 00:29:01,710 --> 00:29:05,190 It's opening ourselves and recognizing, Lord, I'm confessing 699 00:29:05,190 --> 00:29:05,910 everything to you. 700 00:29:05,910 --> 00:29:07,230 I'm getting everything ahead of you. 701 00:29:07,230 --> 00:29:09,900 And so what we see here is that when they lived in these cities, 702 00:29:09,900 --> 00:29:11,220 there was nothing they had to hide. 703 00:29:11,540 --> 00:29:13,940 They didn't have to go into the city and say, well, I'm going 704 00:29:13,940 --> 00:29:16,700 to go under a different name and I'm going to live in a way in 705 00:29:16,700 --> 00:29:17,860 which I can't live publicly. 706 00:29:17,860 --> 00:29:20,980 They could live within these refuge cities freely knowing that 707 00:29:20,980 --> 00:29:22,980 there's confidence that I'm going to be okay. 708 00:29:22,980 --> 00:29:24,220 And that's the same thing as a Christian. 709 00:29:24,220 --> 00:29:26,420 Doesn't mean we live perfectly, but it means that we're 710 00:29:26,420 --> 00:29:29,380 living before the Lord, and we have nothing hidden before him, that 711 00:29:29,380 --> 00:29:32,180 we can live freely and confidently, that we are walking 712 00:29:32,180 --> 00:29:32,980 in his truth. 713 00:29:33,790 --> 00:29:37,150 So there's that aspect of these, and so there's the accessibility, 714 00:29:38,270 --> 00:29:39,390 there's the availability. 715 00:29:39,470 --> 00:29:39,830 Why? 716 00:29:39,830 --> 00:29:40,590 Think about this. 717 00:29:40,750 --> 00:29:42,590 The refuge city was open to all. 718 00:29:42,590 --> 00:29:45,390 It wasn't just the people of Israel. 719 00:29:45,870 --> 00:29:46,870 It was open to everyone. 720 00:29:46,870 --> 00:29:48,350 That's the same thing with salvation today. 721 00:29:48,350 --> 00:29:49,550 We talked about it this morning. 722 00:29:49,630 --> 00:29:51,310 It's not just for one type of people. 723 00:29:51,470 --> 00:29:56,310 It's not just for one person, for one nation, for one socioeconomic 724 00:29:56,310 --> 00:29:57,710 class, for one culture. 725 00:29:57,790 --> 00:29:59,870 The gospel message is available to all. 726 00:29:59,870 --> 00:30:01,910 The city of refuge is available for all. 727 00:30:01,910 --> 00:30:04,900 Jesus is the Savior to the person who is in. 728 00:30:04,900 --> 00:30:06,420 Living in squalor, in a. 729 00:30:06,420 --> 00:30:09,980 In a mud hut, and to someone who's living in a mansion. 730 00:30:10,140 --> 00:30:13,140 And I would actually argue to say that there's probably people 731 00:30:13,140 --> 00:30:16,900 in this world that are living in tiny little shacks that have more 732 00:30:16,900 --> 00:30:20,140 confidence and more gratitude and more thankfulness than someone 733 00:30:20,140 --> 00:30:21,140 who's living in a mansion. 734 00:30:21,140 --> 00:30:24,420 I'm not saying that that's the case in every situation, but what 735 00:30:24,420 --> 00:30:27,460 we've seen throughout history is that there's a lot of people who 736 00:30:27,460 --> 00:30:29,660 believe that we need more than what we actually do. 737 00:30:30,180 --> 00:30:32,540 Because what we see is that materialism is something that just 738 00:30:32,540 --> 00:30:35,820 keeps pulling and pulling, and we never get satisfied when we're 739 00:30:35,820 --> 00:30:37,260 looking at that perspective. 740 00:30:37,260 --> 00:30:40,740 And so we see that there's the accessibility, the availability. 741 00:30:40,900 --> 00:30:46,780 But then we also see that Jesus as these cities of refuge were 742 00:30:46,780 --> 00:30:47,220 like this. 743 00:30:47,220 --> 00:30:47,540 It was. 744 00:30:47,540 --> 00:30:49,100 It was the final point. 745 00:30:49,100 --> 00:30:50,460 It was the bottom line. 746 00:30:50,460 --> 00:30:51,860 It was the only alternative. 747 00:30:51,860 --> 00:30:54,300 There was no other ways to see it. 748 00:30:54,300 --> 00:30:59,120 And so Jesus and these cities of refuge were the opportunity to 749 00:30:59,120 --> 00:30:59,720 find it on. 750 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:00,840 On the terms of the Lord. 751 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:04,120 Like, so, for example, let's say someone accidentally killed someone, 752 00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:06,080 and they say, well, I'm not going to go to a refuge city. 753 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:08,080 I'm just going to go try to make my own refuge city. 754 00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:10,000 Okay, well, that wouldn't have worked. 755 00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:14,720 The refuge city was defined by God under the parameters of God. 756 00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:16,040 Same thing with salvation. 757 00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:19,920 Salvation is defined by the parameters of God by faith. 758 00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:20,720 Right? 759 00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:21,480 It's. 760 00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:22,840 It's by grace, by faith. 761 00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:24,420 Okay, so what that means is this. 762 00:31:24,420 --> 00:31:27,100 There are people in the world today that might be saying, well, 763 00:31:27,100 --> 00:31:30,260 I know I need salvation, but I want to define it on my own terms. 764 00:31:30,820 --> 00:31:32,500 I want to come to God in my own way. 765 00:31:33,140 --> 00:31:36,980 I want to find salvation through my comfort zone. 766 00:31:37,460 --> 00:31:39,699 And basically defining salvation on their own. 767 00:31:40,180 --> 00:31:46,420 Well, a person who was running from the avenger of blood could not 768 00:31:46,980 --> 00:31:48,260 make it on their own way. 769 00:31:48,260 --> 00:31:50,660 They had to go on the way that God had ordained it to be. 770 00:31:51,650 --> 00:31:53,050 And so that's the example there. 771 00:31:53,050 --> 00:31:55,010 But then I think that there is one difference. 772 00:31:55,650 --> 00:31:59,290 One commentator put it this way, that the cities of refuge were 773 00:31:59,290 --> 00:32:01,450 only there to help people who were innocent. 774 00:32:01,450 --> 00:32:03,650 Really, technically, they were innocent of murder. 775 00:32:04,130 --> 00:32:06,530 So they were coming to be fairly tried. 776 00:32:08,050 --> 00:32:11,130 So if they were murderers and they got to the door and they were 777 00:32:11,130 --> 00:32:15,370 truly guilty, and they were trying to talk to the elders and 778 00:32:15,370 --> 00:32:17,730 say, hey, elders, you know, I didn't do it. 779 00:32:17,730 --> 00:32:19,170 I promise I didn't mean to. 780 00:32:19,470 --> 00:32:22,790 And then five other people came and there was witnesses, and 781 00:32:22,790 --> 00:32:25,670 they say, no, we all saw you killed him and you said you were 782 00:32:25,670 --> 00:32:27,790 going to kill him and you had plans to kill him, and we found, 783 00:32:27,870 --> 00:32:29,550 you know, scrolls in your. 784 00:32:29,630 --> 00:32:32,510 In your room there, and it said that you were going to. 785 00:32:33,630 --> 00:32:36,350 Then at that point in time, that person is no longer innocent. 786 00:32:36,350 --> 00:32:39,070 Now they're guilty, and now they can avoid the judgment. 787 00:32:39,870 --> 00:32:42,510 But the distinction between what Jesus does for us and what the 788 00:32:42,510 --> 00:32:45,610 cities of refuge did is that the cities of refuge allowed for 789 00:32:45,610 --> 00:32:48,610 innocent people to stay in a place of fairness. 790 00:32:48,930 --> 00:32:51,450 But what we get in Jesus Christ is that we're the ones who 791 00:32:51,450 --> 00:32:52,050 are guilty. 792 00:32:52,370 --> 00:32:54,970 Now, we might not be physically the murderers, but all 793 00:32:54,970 --> 00:32:58,370 of us stand before the Lord, not innocent, looking for protection. 794 00:32:58,530 --> 00:33:01,890 We stand before the Lord guilty, needing salvation. 795 00:33:02,290 --> 00:33:05,250 And so, yes, there is a sense of God being our refuge, but he's 796 00:33:05,250 --> 00:33:06,410 also our Savior. 797 00:33:06,410 --> 00:33:09,250 The Bible says in the book of Hebrews that he's the author and 798 00:33:09,250 --> 00:33:10,450 finisher of our faith. 799 00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:13,600 He's not one that just extends our faith. 800 00:33:13,600 --> 00:33:15,520 He's not one that just helps us in our faith. 801 00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:18,280 The Bible says that he's the author and finisher of our faith, 802 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:19,960 therefore we come to him guilty. 803 00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:26,520 We mentioned this at some point within our studies here that, 804 00:33:26,760 --> 00:33:29,800 you know, Jesus took the standard and moved it further. 805 00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:32,880 Because if I stood up here tonight and I said, you know what? 806 00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:35,000 All of you are murderers. 807 00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:38,600 Hope none of you are literal murderers within the building, okay? 808 00:33:39,590 --> 00:33:42,310 But the truth is, is that if I got up here and just said, hey, guys, 809 00:33:42,310 --> 00:33:44,670 you guys are murderers, you would say, well, I've never killed 810 00:33:44,670 --> 00:33:45,510 anybody in my life. 811 00:33:46,550 --> 00:33:47,870 Well, what did Jesus say? 812 00:33:47,870 --> 00:33:50,350 Jesus said, it's not just about physically killing somebody, 813 00:33:50,350 --> 00:33:52,070 but it's about hating your brother in your heart. 814 00:33:52,310 --> 00:33:55,270 Jesus took the standard and moved it further, saying this. 815 00:33:55,350 --> 00:33:58,310 It's not just about your actions, it's also about your motives. 816 00:33:58,630 --> 00:34:01,110 Though you might not have killed your brother with your hands, 817 00:34:01,110 --> 00:34:03,390 you've killed your Brother, with your heart and your mind, and 818 00:34:03,390 --> 00:34:04,070 that's a sin. 819 00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:07,040 And others, you know, he, Jesus goes further. 820 00:34:07,040 --> 00:34:08,880 He talks about adultery, he talks about lust. 821 00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:12,320 He talks about all these things that many of us think that 822 00:34:12,320 --> 00:34:13,520 we're not guilty of. 823 00:34:14,320 --> 00:34:14,960 Think about this. 824 00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:19,040 I, I, I don't sit around thinking, well, I'm, I'm a murderer, 825 00:34:19,360 --> 00:34:21,680 okay, well, literally, I haven't murdered somebody. 826 00:34:21,840 --> 00:34:24,920 But if you take it from Jesus's perspective, we've all at 827 00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:27,200 some point in our life struggled with hate, we've struggled 828 00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:27,920 with bitterness. 829 00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:31,680 And so in our heart of hearts, we do have a heart of rebellion. 830 00:34:32,240 --> 00:34:35,360 And so what we do is we come to Jesus and we ask him for salvation. 831 00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:37,680 It's nothing that we earn, like we talked about this morning. 832 00:34:37,920 --> 00:34:41,120 And, but in that, isn't that a beautiful thing, that we can find 833 00:34:41,120 --> 00:34:44,680 refuge and strength even as people that are guilty and no longer 834 00:34:44,680 --> 00:34:46,960 do we have to pay the price for our guilt. 835 00:34:47,040 --> 00:34:50,680 We know the Bible says the wages of sin is death, but Jesus 836 00:34:50,680 --> 00:34:52,080 comes and he pays that price for us. 837 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:53,680 It was the death of the high priest. 838 00:34:53,680 --> 00:34:56,520 It was the death of the one who came and sacrificed himself for 839 00:34:56,520 --> 00:34:56,680 us. 840 00:34:56,680 --> 00:34:57,920 And what Jesus said is this. 841 00:34:58,330 --> 00:35:01,650 He said, you know, I didn't commit any of those sins, but I'm 842 00:35:01,650 --> 00:35:04,250 willing, because I love you, to pay the price for those sins. 843 00:35:04,970 --> 00:35:07,970 And so I think that that's a beautiful picture of that city of 844 00:35:07,970 --> 00:35:10,410 refuge is finding salvation in Jesus Christ. 845 00:35:10,410 --> 00:35:13,250 But the only distinction is that we don't come innocent. 846 00:35:13,250 --> 00:35:14,970 We come guilty and broken. 847 00:35:15,210 --> 00:35:18,130 And really what we would see even in the book of Isaiah is that 848 00:35:18,130 --> 00:35:21,290 even in our righteousness, our righteousness is like filthy rags. 849 00:35:22,170 --> 00:35:24,730 Now, that's not a call for us to live unrighteous lives. 850 00:35:25,310 --> 00:35:28,270 What that's saying is that we understand in perspective that nothing 851 00:35:28,270 --> 00:35:29,510 that we do has earned it. 852 00:35:29,510 --> 00:35:33,910 And so Joshua here is creating these cities of refuge to show the 853 00:35:33,910 --> 00:35:37,350 heart of God, to show that God doesn't want people to be wrongly 854 00:35:37,350 --> 00:35:39,630 accused for an accidental death. 855 00:35:39,790 --> 00:35:43,710 But at the same time, we see a greater picture in the type of confidence 856 00:35:44,110 --> 00:35:48,750 and security and hope and really victory that we can find in 857 00:35:48,750 --> 00:35:50,110 Jesus when we come to him. 858 00:35:50,760 --> 00:35:53,360 And I believe, I'm a firm believer that throughout the book 859 00:35:53,360 --> 00:35:56,560 of Genesis, all the way to the book of Revelation, is a story and 860 00:35:56,560 --> 00:35:59,360 a picture of the salvation that Jesus provides for us. 861 00:35:59,360 --> 00:36:02,040 It's the story of Jesus and the story of redemption. 862 00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:05,400 I mean, you can't read the book of Joshua and not see Jesus. 863 00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:08,520 You can't read the book of Genesis and not see Jesus. 864 00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:10,040 You see it over and over again. 865 00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:12,200 And the book of Hebrews tells us that that's what it's all about. 866 00:36:12,680 --> 00:36:16,400 The sacrificial system was not a system that was there to save people. 867 00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:19,600 It was there to show us the picture of who Jesus is and what 868 00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:20,480 he would be as. 869 00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:23,680 As a shadowy picture of ultimately the culmination of. 870 00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:25,480 Of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice. 871 00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:26,640 So often we. 872 00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:27,760 We don't think about that. 873 00:36:27,760 --> 00:36:32,840 Often we think of Christianity and our faith in very simple terms. 874 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:36,480 And I think that Christianity and our faith is very simple to some 875 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:36,920 degree. 876 00:36:36,920 --> 00:36:40,960 But in other degrees, we don't think about the greater picture of 877 00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:42,920 what we're called to be and what we're called to believe. 878 00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:49,100 There is a running, growing movement within the church. 879 00:36:49,500 --> 00:36:51,820 It's something that I didn't come up with this term, but it's 880 00:36:51,820 --> 00:36:54,900 something that I. I found and that I've studied, that I do believe 881 00:36:54,900 --> 00:36:57,900 is a chronic problem within our church movement. 882 00:36:58,060 --> 00:37:00,860 And that is something called moralistic therapeutic deism. 883 00:37:01,179 --> 00:37:02,780 You say that's a lot of words right there. 884 00:37:02,780 --> 00:37:04,300 Okay, I'll break them all down for you. 885 00:37:04,700 --> 00:37:05,460 Moralistic. 886 00:37:05,460 --> 00:37:07,860 A lot of times we preach morals within church, and we should 887 00:37:07,860 --> 00:37:14,550 preach morals, but morals outside of the moral lawgiver is 888 00:37:14,550 --> 00:37:15,470 a mistake. 889 00:37:15,790 --> 00:37:17,870 Because I could sit here all day and I could tell my children, 890 00:37:17,870 --> 00:37:19,870 make sure that you don't disobey your parents. 891 00:37:20,350 --> 00:37:23,550 But if they don't understand the heart behind that, they're missing 892 00:37:23,550 --> 00:37:23,950 the point. 893 00:37:24,750 --> 00:37:27,550 Okay, well, I'm not supposed to disobey my dad, so. 894 00:37:27,710 --> 00:37:28,510 Okay, why? 895 00:37:28,909 --> 00:37:30,350 So there's always the question of why. 896 00:37:30,990 --> 00:37:34,430 So if we only teach morals within the church and we don't teach 897 00:37:34,670 --> 00:37:38,190 behind the morals, the why behind it, then we're missing the 898 00:37:38,190 --> 00:37:38,430 point. 899 00:37:38,700 --> 00:37:41,100 Then we see moralistic therapeutic. 900 00:37:41,340 --> 00:37:43,980 Therapeutic means people are coming just to get some type of, 901 00:37:43,980 --> 00:37:48,500 like, therapy, some, Some type of satisfaction from all the voices 902 00:37:48,500 --> 00:37:49,580 that they hear in their head. 903 00:37:49,660 --> 00:37:51,900 Maybe sometimes people feel guilty of what they do when they 904 00:37:51,900 --> 00:37:52,340 come to church. 905 00:37:52,340 --> 00:37:54,180 You ever heard someone say, well, I just went to church, and 906 00:37:54,180 --> 00:37:54,499 I just. 907 00:37:54,499 --> 00:37:56,340 I felt so much better about myself when I left. 908 00:37:56,340 --> 00:37:56,860 That's good. 909 00:37:56,860 --> 00:37:58,220 You should to some degree. 910 00:37:58,300 --> 00:38:01,100 But frankly, there's some times where we leave church that 911 00:38:01,100 --> 00:38:03,340 we shouldn't feel good about the way we've been acting this week. 912 00:38:03,500 --> 00:38:04,660 Okay, I've been challenged. 913 00:38:04,660 --> 00:38:06,940 I. I'm challenged throughout my week that as I'm studying the 914 00:38:06,940 --> 00:38:08,000 word of God, I'm. 915 00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:09,720 I'm getting the message before all of you. 916 00:38:09,720 --> 00:38:11,640 And there's times in my week that I say, you know what? 917 00:38:11,640 --> 00:38:14,840 I got to get this right before I Get to the pulpit because there's 918 00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:18,360 a, there's an aspect of conviction within the word of God. 919 00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:21,160 And if all we're doing is coming to church to get to a place 920 00:38:21,160 --> 00:38:23,960 that we say, well, I just feel a lot better now that I checked my 921 00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:24,840 Christian box today. 922 00:38:24,920 --> 00:38:26,920 So now I can just go back to doing what I want to do. 923 00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:29,960 No, the Bible says that it's not just about making ourselves feel 924 00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:32,960 better, but it's about challenging us to be better in the 925 00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:34,850 Lord, not being a better you. 926 00:38:36,450 --> 00:38:41,330 You know, the truth is, is that there's a lot of noise today 927 00:38:41,330 --> 00:38:44,410 about just becoming a better you, being the best you that you 928 00:38:44,410 --> 00:38:44,850 can be. 929 00:38:46,130 --> 00:38:49,489 But outside of Jesus, the best me is so. 930 00:38:49,489 --> 00:38:51,170 It's so inadequate. 931 00:38:51,570 --> 00:38:54,490 And so what the Bible says is that we can find Jesus. 932 00:38:54,490 --> 00:38:57,850 And then so we see that there's moralistic, therapeutic deism. 933 00:38:57,850 --> 00:39:01,570 Deism is that there's just a God up there separate from us. 934 00:39:01,810 --> 00:39:05,930 It's some, some classic deists believe that there's the clock maker 935 00:39:05,930 --> 00:39:09,610 analogy that God made the clock, he set an emotion, then he 936 00:39:09,610 --> 00:39:10,170 just stepped away. 937 00:39:10,170 --> 00:39:12,050 And he didn't want a personal relationship with us. 938 00:39:12,690 --> 00:39:15,370 And that's what a lot of times people see is that there's this God 939 00:39:15,370 --> 00:39:15,810 up there. 940 00:39:15,969 --> 00:39:19,090 He's handling things, but he doesn't care about my day to day. 941 00:39:19,330 --> 00:39:23,290 He doesn't want to come and, you know, hear from me. 942 00:39:23,290 --> 00:39:24,530 It's not a big deal. 943 00:39:24,530 --> 00:39:27,690 But what the Bible says is that God wants that personal walk 944 00:39:27,690 --> 00:39:28,130 with us. 945 00:39:28,130 --> 00:39:31,890 He wants us to, to know and be reminded of our inadequacies and 946 00:39:31,890 --> 00:39:34,330 be reminded of his greatness and his. 947 00:39:34,330 --> 00:39:35,930 In his infinite nature. 948 00:39:36,330 --> 00:39:38,690 Folks, there's times in my life where I just sit down and I 949 00:39:38,690 --> 00:39:43,330 want to just meditate upon the grandeur and the infinite nature 950 00:39:43,330 --> 00:39:44,170 of who God is. 951 00:39:45,130 --> 00:39:46,090 You ever think about that? 952 00:39:46,090 --> 00:39:49,170 You ever sit down and think about how your life could have been 953 00:39:49,170 --> 00:39:50,090 without the Lord? 954 00:39:50,410 --> 00:39:51,530 I've done that a lot. 955 00:39:51,690 --> 00:39:54,090 I've sat and thought, you know, what, what would I be? 956 00:39:54,090 --> 00:39:57,070 Who would I be without the impact of the Lord in my life? 957 00:39:57,550 --> 00:39:58,790 I don't want to know that person. 958 00:39:58,790 --> 00:40:00,950 That, that's, that's not something that I want to be. 959 00:40:00,950 --> 00:40:02,750 And that's never where I want to go. 960 00:40:03,230 --> 00:40:05,750 And so what I would encourage you to do, just as we see here in 961 00:40:05,750 --> 00:40:08,430 these cities of refuge, is they go to these cities of refuge, 962 00:40:08,910 --> 00:40:11,350 they find peace, they find comfort, they find. 963 00:40:11,350 --> 00:40:12,590 Really, I would, I. 964 00:40:12,590 --> 00:40:14,550 It doesn't say this here, okay? 965 00:40:14,550 --> 00:40:17,470 So I got to be very careful that this, this is not in scripture, 966 00:40:18,110 --> 00:40:21,070 but I would venture to say that most people that went to find 967 00:40:21,070 --> 00:40:23,430 these cities of refuge were very thankful for the people that 968 00:40:23,430 --> 00:40:23,880 protected them. 969 00:40:24,030 --> 00:40:24,510 Them, Right? 970 00:40:24,590 --> 00:40:25,870 Like, thank you for this. 971 00:40:25,950 --> 00:40:28,110 That's what really, it should be in our own hearts. 972 00:40:28,110 --> 00:40:31,230 We should live in a sense of gratitude because God has saved us. 973 00:40:31,470 --> 00:40:34,270 We don't deserve what we have. 974 00:40:35,230 --> 00:40:36,710 I often look and. 975 00:40:36,710 --> 00:40:40,310 And I. I really can get very emotional because if I look at my 976 00:40:40,310 --> 00:40:43,870 life and I see the blessing that God's given me now, what. 977 00:40:43,870 --> 00:40:45,670 What I could do, because you know what? 978 00:40:45,670 --> 00:40:45,950 I'm. 979 00:40:45,950 --> 00:40:48,390 When I'm in the spirit, I'm thankful for all the blessings God's 980 00:40:48,390 --> 00:40:48,790 given me. 981 00:40:48,790 --> 00:40:50,670 When I'm walking in the flesh, you know what I do? 982 00:40:51,120 --> 00:40:51,600 Okay. 983 00:40:51,600 --> 00:40:55,480 I say, this house, it's breaking down over here. 984 00:40:55,480 --> 00:40:57,280 I could live over there and that'd be better. 985 00:40:57,440 --> 00:40:59,560 Or I look at my vehicle and I say, look at that person. 986 00:40:59,560 --> 00:41:00,080 You know what? 987 00:41:00,080 --> 00:41:02,240 When we're in the spirit, it's not gratitude. 988 00:41:02,560 --> 00:41:04,280 It's bitterness and discontentment. 989 00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:05,680 It's like, I wish I had that. 990 00:41:05,680 --> 00:41:06,640 I wish I was here. 991 00:41:06,720 --> 00:41:07,840 I wish I looked this way. 992 00:41:07,840 --> 00:41:08,800 I wish I talked this way. 993 00:41:08,800 --> 00:41:09,920 I wish I had these gifts. 994 00:41:09,920 --> 00:41:11,600 I wish that I had more money. 995 00:41:11,600 --> 00:41:13,520 I wish I had more this and more that. 996 00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:15,120 And that's where we're at in the flesh. 997 00:41:15,120 --> 00:41:17,610 But when we're walking in the spirit, we're like, thank you, Lord, 998 00:41:17,610 --> 00:41:18,410 for everything you give. 999 00:41:18,730 --> 00:41:22,170 And every little gift is a good gift that comes down from God. 1000 00:41:22,570 --> 00:41:24,010 And I challenge you to think about that. 1001 00:41:24,090 --> 00:41:26,530 Just as those people would have seen those cities of refuge 1002 00:41:26,530 --> 00:41:27,770 as a blessing, a gift. 1003 00:41:27,850 --> 00:41:28,890 God saved us. 1004 00:41:28,890 --> 00:41:31,850 He didn't just come into our lives to make our lives better, though. 1005 00:41:31,850 --> 00:41:32,970 He does make our lives better. 1006 00:41:33,690 --> 00:41:35,770 God doesn't just come in to make my life better. 1007 00:41:36,170 --> 00:41:38,170 He doesn't just come to make me happy. 1008 00:41:38,330 --> 00:41:40,970 He doesn't just come to give me everything that I want. 1009 00:41:41,530 --> 00:41:44,940 Jesus saved me from the dead is what the Bible says. 1010 00:41:45,260 --> 00:41:48,460 The Bible says that he took us from lifelessness and brought us 1011 00:41:48,460 --> 00:41:49,460 to everlasting life. 1012 00:41:49,460 --> 00:41:52,540 He took us from darkness and he moved us to marvelous light. 1013 00:41:53,500 --> 00:41:55,460 And when we have Christians who say, you know what? 1014 00:41:55,460 --> 00:41:55,900 I'm just. 1015 00:41:55,900 --> 00:41:58,620 I just don't see God working anymore, folks. 1016 00:41:58,860 --> 00:42:01,980 We think about that perspective of God's working through 1017 00:42:01,980 --> 00:42:05,540 us and the fact that we are renewed, that we are restored, that 1018 00:42:05,540 --> 00:42:07,980 we're walking around in newness of life, having the Holy 1019 00:42:07,980 --> 00:42:10,820 Spirit living within us, that's enough to see that God is 1020 00:42:10,820 --> 00:42:11,100 working. 1021 00:42:11,970 --> 00:42:13,890 And so sometimes I look at my life and I'm. 1022 00:42:13,890 --> 00:42:14,290 I'm. 1023 00:42:14,450 --> 00:42:16,130 I struggle with dissatisfaction. 1024 00:42:16,930 --> 00:42:19,090 I look at certain things and say, I wish I would have done it 1025 00:42:19,090 --> 00:42:19,330 this way. 1026 00:42:19,330 --> 00:42:20,770 I wish I could have said it this way. 1027 00:42:20,770 --> 00:42:23,010 I wish I could be a better in this area. 1028 00:42:23,010 --> 00:42:26,570 But at the end of the day, God has us for a specific purpose. 1029 00:42:26,570 --> 00:42:29,330 And the Bible says that in Philippians 4:13, I can do all things 1030 00:42:29,330 --> 00:42:30,690 to Christ which strengtheneth me. 1031 00:42:31,170 --> 00:42:33,250 God's got you in a specific place in your life. 1032 00:42:33,250 --> 00:42:34,930 He's going to give you the strength to get through this. 1033 00:42:34,930 --> 00:42:36,930 Just as these people ran to the city. 1034 00:42:37,290 --> 00:42:41,490 Now, by the way, the, the, the reality would be that even as they're 1035 00:42:41,490 --> 00:42:43,170 fleeing, there's probably someone right behind them. 1036 00:42:43,170 --> 00:42:44,210 And sometimes that's how we feel. 1037 00:42:44,210 --> 00:42:46,610 We feel like there's someone right behind us, something right 1038 00:42:46,610 --> 00:42:48,290 behind us and nipping at us. 1039 00:42:48,290 --> 00:42:52,330 And the truth is that there is Satan and, and his minions are under 1040 00:42:53,370 --> 00:42:57,970 tremendous, what we would say is maybe conviction to come after 1041 00:42:57,970 --> 00:43:00,450 us, that they're, they're, they're convicted in this. 1042 00:43:00,450 --> 00:43:01,530 They want to do this. 1043 00:43:01,530 --> 00:43:03,970 They want to destroy the kingdom of God, not because they 1044 00:43:03,970 --> 00:43:05,530 hate us, but because they hate our Savior. 1045 00:43:06,380 --> 00:43:08,820 And so the truth is, is that yes, as Christians, we will feel 1046 00:43:08,820 --> 00:43:09,900 the pressure around us. 1047 00:43:09,900 --> 00:43:13,180 We will feel someone behind us, the accuser of the brethren, 1048 00:43:13,180 --> 00:43:13,740 by the way. 1049 00:43:14,140 --> 00:43:16,340 And when you hear those accusations that are not according 1050 00:43:16,340 --> 00:43:18,780 to scripture, the Bible says that's the accuser of the brethren, 1051 00:43:19,500 --> 00:43:23,260 that's Satan accusing us and not giving us the confidence in which 1052 00:43:23,260 --> 00:43:24,020 Jesus gives us. 1053 00:43:24,020 --> 00:43:26,900 And so we look at the contrast between what Satan brings and what 1054 00:43:26,900 --> 00:43:27,740 Jesus brings. 1055 00:43:27,820 --> 00:43:31,910 Satan and our flesh bring us hopelessness, lies, deceit. 1056 00:43:33,510 --> 00:43:37,190 Jesus brings us confidence, the truth, and ultimately life. 1057 00:43:37,350 --> 00:43:40,030 And so that's what we think about when we think about these refuge 1058 00:43:40,030 --> 00:43:40,390 cities. 1059 00:43:40,950 --> 00:43:43,630 So this isn't a passage of scripture that says that God was 1060 00:43:43,630 --> 00:43:44,710 letting people off the hook. 1061 00:43:45,430 --> 00:43:47,830 No, this is a passage of scripture teaching that God is a 1062 00:43:47,830 --> 00:43:48,470 God of grace. 1063 00:43:48,710 --> 00:43:50,950 He's a God of fairness, He's a God of truth. 1064 00:43:51,270 --> 00:43:52,630 And we have to understand that. 1065 00:43:52,710 --> 00:43:56,270 Now we'll come back and we'll study not next week because it's 1066 00:43:56,270 --> 00:44:00,510 Mother's Day, but we'll come back in two weeks and we will look 1067 00:44:00,510 --> 00:44:04,790 at some more of the inheritances given to Levi and the 1068 00:44:04,790 --> 00:44:06,590 cities of Aaron and some of the others. 1069 00:44:06,750 --> 00:44:10,830 And then eventually we will get to that great passage of scripture 1070 00:44:10,910 --> 00:44:14,430 where Joshua speaks to Israel and he gives them that final challenge 1071 00:44:14,670 --> 00:44:16,830 to choose who they're going to serve. 1072 00:44:16,990 --> 00:44:19,190 And I think that all of us have to get to that place in our 1073 00:44:19,190 --> 00:44:23,030 life where we have to draw a line in the sand and say, okay, I'm 1074 00:44:23,030 --> 00:44:23,870 choosing this. 1075 00:44:24,510 --> 00:44:26,070 I don't know what everyone else chooses. 1076 00:44:26,070 --> 00:44:28,950 And actually, frankly, I don't care what everyone else chooses. 1077 00:44:28,950 --> 00:44:31,390 I'm going to choose to follow the Lord no matter what, no matter 1078 00:44:31,390 --> 00:44:32,670 how hard that is around me. 1079 00:44:33,150 --> 00:44:35,550 You know, and that's one of the things that oftentimes people 1080 00:44:35,550 --> 00:44:36,030 will say. 1081 00:44:36,030 --> 00:44:40,629 They'll say, well, I won't use my kids as an analogy, but I'll use 1082 00:44:40,629 --> 00:44:41,430 me as an analogy. 1083 00:44:41,430 --> 00:44:44,270 Like, rewind 20 years ago, 30 years ago. 1084 00:44:44,350 --> 00:44:48,270 I would tell my parents, well, everyone else is doing it, so why 1085 00:44:48,270 --> 00:44:48,830 can't I? 1086 00:44:49,230 --> 00:44:50,470 Like, everyone else is doing it. 1087 00:44:50,470 --> 00:44:51,390 Their parents don't care. 1088 00:44:52,160 --> 00:44:52,360 And. 1089 00:44:52,360 --> 00:44:54,480 And the reality is, is that, that sometimes we. 1090 00:44:54,480 --> 00:44:56,680 We laugh at that because that's, you know, we laugh. 1091 00:44:56,680 --> 00:44:58,560 We look at kids and teenagers and they say that. 1092 00:44:58,640 --> 00:45:01,160 But sometimes that's how we are as people, as adults. 1093 00:45:01,160 --> 00:45:04,000 We say, well, everyone else is not serious about this. 1094 00:45:04,000 --> 00:45:04,400 No one. 1095 00:45:04,400 --> 00:45:06,440 No one else is committed to the Lord this way. 1096 00:45:06,440 --> 00:45:06,920 So you know what? 1097 00:45:06,920 --> 00:45:07,840 I don't need to be either. 1098 00:45:08,320 --> 00:45:11,200 And just as the people of Israel drifted, you would think that 1099 00:45:11,200 --> 00:45:12,200 the people that saw. 1100 00:45:12,200 --> 00:45:12,920 Think about this. 1101 00:45:12,920 --> 00:45:14,760 The people that saw the sun stand still. 1102 00:45:14,760 --> 00:45:17,240 The people that saw the Jordan river parts, the. 1103 00:45:17,240 --> 00:45:17,440 The. 1104 00:45:17,440 --> 00:45:21,350 The people that saw all these miraculous things happening through 1105 00:45:21,510 --> 00:45:25,150 the ministry of Joshua, they're the same people that are 1106 00:45:25,150 --> 00:45:27,590 tempted to turn to the false gods of the land. 1107 00:45:27,750 --> 00:45:30,910 Doesn't make a lot of sense to us, but what we see is it's so easy 1108 00:45:30,910 --> 00:45:33,190 to drift away from the truth of God when we start putting our 1109 00:45:33,190 --> 00:45:33,910 eyes on other things. 1110 00:45:33,910 --> 00:45:36,950 And so we will come back and study that in the future. 1111 00:45:37,750 --> 00:45:40,390 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 1112 00:45:40,390 --> 00:45:41,030 podcast. 1113 00:45:41,270 --> 00:45:43,590 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 1114 00:45:44,480 --> 00:45:46,560 If you would like to find out more information about our church 1115 00:45:46,560 --> 00:45:50,000 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org 1116 00:45:50,320 --> 00:45:52,960 or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 1117 00:45:53,600 --> 00:45:58,120 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaroiddletownbaptistchurch 1118 00:45:58,120 --> 00:46:02,520 dot com if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow 1119 00:46:02,520 --> 00:46:05,280 along for future podcasts and updates. 1120 00:46:06,000 --> 00:46:06,960 Thank you so much. 1121 00:46:07,200 --> 00:46:07,920 God bless. 1122 00:46:08,160 --> 00:46:09,440 Have a wonderful day.