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 --> 00:00:17,560 Now, come along. 8 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:21,440 Let's look into the Bible and see what God has for us here today. 9 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:26,480 All right, so we're going to start our Bible study here this evening. 10 00:00:27,460 --> 00:00:29,140 Now, we started a new one last week. 11 00:00:29,140 --> 00:00:31,140 Does anybody remember what book we're in? 12 00:00:32,900 --> 00:00:33,300 What? 13 00:00:34,020 --> 00:00:34,820 Joshua. 14 00:00:35,380 --> 00:00:35,860 All right. 15 00:00:35,860 --> 00:00:38,620 Sometimes that's a scary thing to ask as a teacher, if anyone remembers 16 00:00:38,620 --> 00:00:39,780 what we talked about last week. 17 00:00:40,260 --> 00:00:40,820 Okay. 18 00:00:41,060 --> 00:00:46,220 The last week you heard a confession from me that I'm a prosperity 19 00:00:46,220 --> 00:00:46,820 preacher. 20 00:00:47,380 --> 00:00:47,940 But not. 21 00:00:48,100 --> 00:00:48,980 Don't clip that. 22 00:00:49,540 --> 00:00:53,220 I'm not a prosperity, material prosperity preacher, but I do believe 23 00:00:53,300 --> 00:00:55,290 in spiritual prosperity. 24 00:00:55,290 --> 00:00:55,530 Right. 25 00:00:55,530 --> 00:01:00,330 Biblically speaking, we looked at Joshua, chapter one, and God gave 26 00:01:00,410 --> 00:01:01,930 Joshua a promise. 27 00:01:02,490 --> 00:01:04,930 The promise was his presence. 28 00:01:04,930 --> 00:01:06,730 Essentially, like, I'm going to be with you. 29 00:01:06,970 --> 00:01:08,410 I've got a plan for you. 30 00:01:08,650 --> 00:01:13,130 And he says, if you want to be spiritually successful, or another 31 00:01:13,130 --> 00:01:17,530 way we could put it, verse number eight, spiritually prosperous, 32 00:01:17,770 --> 00:01:18,690 follow this path. 33 00:01:18,690 --> 00:01:19,610 And what was that path? 34 00:01:19,950 --> 00:01:24,790 He talked about observing the law, observing the word, staying 35 00:01:24,790 --> 00:01:27,230 true to it, not departing from. 36 00:01:27,390 --> 00:01:31,230 From his mouth, meditating upon a day and night, observing it. 37 00:01:31,630 --> 00:01:35,430 He says, if you follow in my word, if you follow in the law, you'll 38 00:01:35,430 --> 00:01:36,270 be successful. 39 00:01:36,350 --> 00:01:38,350 And he's not talking about material success. 40 00:01:39,070 --> 00:01:41,470 You know, if I got up here and told you, if you just love God enough, 41 00:01:41,790 --> 00:01:43,710 he's going to give you everything you've ever wanted, I 42 00:01:43,710 --> 00:01:45,960 would be lying to you, because that's not biblical. 43 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:49,560 Does God choose to bless certain people materially? 44 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:50,040 Of course. 45 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:54,160 But that doesn't equate God's love to us, because there's plenty 46 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:57,120 of people that I've seen God's hand upon that don't have a lot of 47 00:01:57,120 --> 00:01:57,800 money, that. 48 00:01:57,800 --> 00:01:59,200 That might have physical problems. 49 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,560 And so we, we know that the type of prosperity and blessing that 50 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:06,720 God promises is at the deepest level, a spiritual blessing, an eternal 51 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:07,240 blessing. 52 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:07,960 There. 53 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:10,360 There's a passage that we could cross reference in the New 54 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:10,880 Testament. 55 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:15,510 Many of you know that the book of Ephesians speaks to the blessings, 56 00:02:15,510 --> 00:02:18,150 the spiritual blessings that we have in the Lord, the spiritual 57 00:02:18,150 --> 00:02:18,590 riches. 58 00:02:18,830 --> 00:02:21,470 And I just thought of one verse, Ephesians, chapter 1, verse 59 00:02:21,470 --> 00:02:21,710 3. 60 00:02:21,710 --> 00:02:25,470 Blessed be God, be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 61 00:02:25,470 --> 00:02:29,590 who had blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places 62 00:02:29,590 --> 00:02:30,190 in Christ. 63 00:02:30,190 --> 00:02:33,790 And so to have a relationship with Christ means that we have access 64 00:02:33,870 --> 00:02:36,750 to God, and having access to God means we're part of the family 65 00:02:36,750 --> 00:02:37,110 of God. 66 00:02:37,110 --> 00:02:40,300 And being part of the family of God means that we are inheritance 67 00:02:40,300 --> 00:02:41,580 of the blessings of God. 68 00:02:41,900 --> 00:02:45,980 And, and so in the book of Joshua, we, we see the literal story 69 00:02:46,140 --> 00:02:49,980 of God moving the Israelites or finishing moving the Israelites 70 00:02:49,980 --> 00:02:54,460 from a land of bondage to a land of freedom, the land of promise. 71 00:02:54,620 --> 00:02:58,700 And so we do have that story here, but also I believe it's a parallel 72 00:02:58,700 --> 00:03:02,420 story to how God takes us out of the bondage of sin in our Egypt 73 00:03:02,420 --> 00:03:06,220 and moves us to the promised land, moves us to a place of new 74 00:03:06,220 --> 00:03:06,500 life. 75 00:03:06,500 --> 00:03:10,650 And so in Joshua, chapter one, verses one through nine, last week 76 00:03:10,650 --> 00:03:15,770 we looked at God's promise to Joshua, God's promise to his people. 77 00:03:16,570 --> 00:03:20,770 And we're going to look this week about how we as believers can 78 00:03:20,770 --> 00:03:25,130 properly respond to the plan of God in our life. 79 00:03:25,370 --> 00:03:28,210 How do we, how do we properly respond to the plan of God? 80 00:03:28,210 --> 00:03:30,370 Because God has laid out for us a path. 81 00:03:30,370 --> 00:03:31,850 He's laid out for us a plan. 82 00:03:32,250 --> 00:03:36,630 But it's upon us to follow that plan and to live a life of those 83 00:03:36,630 --> 00:03:37,430 spiritual blessings. 84 00:03:37,430 --> 00:03:40,110 And so he says last week, hey, this is what I've promised you. 85 00:03:40,110 --> 00:03:42,310 What did he promise Joshua and the people of Israel? 86 00:03:42,550 --> 00:03:45,190 Well, he promised Joshua Specifically, verse 5. 87 00:03:45,510 --> 00:03:48,310 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the 88 00:03:48,310 --> 00:03:49,190 days of thy life. 89 00:03:49,750 --> 00:03:53,670 As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. 90 00:03:53,670 --> 00:03:56,150 I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 91 00:03:56,550 --> 00:03:58,430 So the promise to Joshua was this. 92 00:03:58,430 --> 00:03:59,430 I'm going to be with you. 93 00:03:59,590 --> 00:04:02,430 God says, joshua, I'm going to be with you just as I was with Moses. 94 00:04:02,430 --> 00:04:05,170 And by the way, Joshua would have understood what that meant by 95 00:04:05,170 --> 00:04:07,890 witnessing all the great things that God did in the life of 96 00:04:07,890 --> 00:04:09,450 Moses, as Moses was the leader. 97 00:04:09,930 --> 00:04:13,970 And so now God says, just as you saw me in the life of Moses, 98 00:04:13,970 --> 00:04:15,290 so I will be there with you. 99 00:04:15,690 --> 00:04:18,850 So it's a promise that I will be with you through the difficulties. 100 00:04:18,850 --> 00:04:21,530 He doesn't promise Joshua, hey, life's going to be easy. 101 00:04:21,530 --> 00:04:23,770 You're not going to face any problems, you're not going to face 102 00:04:23,770 --> 00:04:26,170 any giants, you're not going to face any people that are going 103 00:04:26,170 --> 00:04:26,930 to come against you. 104 00:04:26,930 --> 00:04:28,970 By, by war standards. 105 00:04:28,970 --> 00:04:31,130 No, he says, I'm going to be with you. 106 00:04:31,340 --> 00:04:33,260 And I think that's the same promise that God gives us. 107 00:04:33,260 --> 00:04:36,780 Obviously, you think about the story of the disciples following 108 00:04:36,780 --> 00:04:39,620 Jesus and they get in the boat and Jesus says, we're going to go 109 00:04:39,620 --> 00:04:40,300 to the other side. 110 00:04:40,860 --> 00:04:43,820 Well, he doesn't say, hey, we're not going to have any storms. 111 00:04:43,820 --> 00:04:45,700 He says, I'm going to be with you and we're going to get to the 112 00:04:45,700 --> 00:04:46,140 other side. 113 00:04:46,460 --> 00:04:50,140 And so God doesn't promise us exemptions from the struggles and 114 00:04:50,140 --> 00:04:50,700 the storms. 115 00:04:50,780 --> 00:04:53,340 What he promises us is that he's going to be with us through 116 00:04:53,340 --> 00:04:53,660 that. 117 00:04:53,900 --> 00:04:56,420 And so when God gives us a plan for our life, when he gives 118 00:04:56,420 --> 00:04:58,630 us a direction, when he gives us promises, when He. 119 00:04:58,940 --> 00:05:02,020 To claim those promises essentially means to trust him and 120 00:05:02,020 --> 00:05:03,980 to trust that he will keep his word. 121 00:05:04,540 --> 00:05:06,540 And so what did God promise Joshua? 122 00:05:06,540 --> 00:05:07,580 That he was going to be with him? 123 00:05:07,580 --> 00:05:08,220 His presence. 124 00:05:08,220 --> 00:05:12,060 His presence was part of the promise, but he also promised his 125 00:05:12,060 --> 00:05:13,260 power, right? 126 00:05:13,260 --> 00:05:15,860 He says, I it's going to be my power that you're going to have this 127 00:05:15,860 --> 00:05:16,100 victory. 128 00:05:16,100 --> 00:05:18,980 It's going to be my power that you cross the River Jordan and go 129 00:05:18,980 --> 00:05:22,180 to the other side and face all of these foes and eventually have 130 00:05:22,180 --> 00:05:23,460 the land that I have promised you. 131 00:05:23,460 --> 00:05:27,280 And so God, when He gives us his plan and his promise, he always 132 00:05:27,280 --> 00:05:31,360 gives that to us with his promise and his presence and his 133 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:31,640 power. 134 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:34,320 We looked at the Great Commission, you guys remember at 135 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:38,480 the end of Matthew, chapter 28, Jesus says, All power is given 136 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:39,840 unto me in heaven and earth. 137 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:42,000 And then he gives us the Great Commission. 138 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:43,400 Go make disciples. 139 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:44,680 Go preach the word. 140 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:47,600 Go baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. 141 00:05:47,840 --> 00:05:49,280 Go disciple people. 142 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:50,320 Make disciples. 143 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:51,840 And then he ends with this. 144 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:54,800 And lo, I'm with you always, even to the end of the earth. 145 00:05:55,590 --> 00:05:57,750 And so what we see in, in this concept is this. 146 00:05:57,750 --> 00:06:01,950 When God makes that promise, he then reminds us that it's his 147 00:06:01,950 --> 00:06:03,950 power that's going to give us the opportunity to do the things 148 00:06:03,950 --> 00:06:04,870 that he's promised us. 149 00:06:04,870 --> 00:06:07,950 And it's his presence that will be with us through that, through 150 00:06:07,950 --> 00:06:08,630 that struggle. 151 00:06:09,030 --> 00:06:10,670 And so he ends with verse number nine. 152 00:06:10,670 --> 00:06:11,790 This is what we looked at last week. 153 00:06:11,790 --> 00:06:13,030 And then we're going to jump into it. 154 00:06:13,110 --> 00:06:16,310 Verse 10 this week says, have I not commanded thee? 155 00:06:16,630 --> 00:06:18,550 Be strong and of a good courage. 156 00:06:18,950 --> 00:06:22,080 Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed. 157 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:25,560 Why, for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. 158 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,920 He doesn't just say, joshua, don't be afraid, Joshua. 159 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:29,600 Figure it out. 160 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:30,560 Joshua. 161 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:31,760 Just, just don't fear. 162 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:36,120 I. I remember having good coaches in sports and bad coaches 163 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:36,639 in sports. 164 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:41,200 Some of my bad coaches would say, like, hey, stop making mistakes. 165 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:42,920 And I would say, yeah, no kidding. 166 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:43,480 Like, I know that. 167 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:44,360 I know I shouldn't do that. 168 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:45,680 I know I shouldn't make this mistake. 169 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:48,480 But a good coach comes alongside and says, hey, hey, you're 170 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:49,280 making mistakes. 171 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:50,640 This is how you can fix it. 172 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:52,080 Let's work on this. 173 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:56,000 This is how we can overcome this struggle that you're having 174 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:56,560 in your life. 175 00:06:56,640 --> 00:06:57,480 That's what God does. 176 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:01,760 God doesn't just tell us, hey, stop the fear, stop the anxiety, 177 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:03,280 stop the, the doubt. 178 00:07:03,280 --> 00:07:03,480 No. 179 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:06,800 He comes in and he says, no, I've given you a reason to have the 180 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:07,640 understanding of victory. 181 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:09,880 I've given you the reason that you can overcome fear. 182 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:11,520 And that is what the end of verse nine. 183 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:14,920 For the Lord thy God is with the whithersoever thou goest again. 184 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:18,400 It's his presence, we know in the New Testament it says that he 185 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:19,920 will never leave us nor forsake us. 186 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:23,040 And that's a, that's a promise that sometimes we do talk about, 187 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:25,080 but sometimes we forget about by the way that we live. 188 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:29,440 You know, sometimes I'm willing to trust that God has my 189 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:33,600 eternal destination handled, but I don't trust that he's got my 190 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:34,760 day to day handle. 191 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:38,360 And I stress and I worry about maybe a thing that's going on in 192 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:40,760 my life or I doubt or I fear. 193 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:43,850 And so understanding the promise of God and the plan of God 194 00:07:43,850 --> 00:07:46,690 means this, that he's going to be with me whether or not I understand 195 00:07:46,690 --> 00:07:49,650 it right now, whether or not it's in my timing, whether or not 196 00:07:49,650 --> 00:07:50,410 it's in my way. 197 00:07:50,410 --> 00:07:52,850 He's got a plan, and I need to trust that plan. 198 00:07:53,250 --> 00:07:57,689 So let's see how we can properly respond to the plan and 199 00:07:57,689 --> 00:07:58,810 the promise of God in our life. 200 00:07:58,810 --> 00:08:02,450 So let's look at verse number 10, Joshua's response. 201 00:08:02,770 --> 00:08:06,290 This is where we see Joshua responding to the promise that God 202 00:08:06,610 --> 00:08:07,250 gave him. 203 00:08:07,250 --> 00:08:10,820 There in verses one through nine, we see that he takes action. 204 00:08:12,180 --> 00:08:15,460 We see that the action is proof that he believes. 205 00:08:16,820 --> 00:08:20,220 Now, we talk about faith, and we should, right? 206 00:08:20,220 --> 00:08:21,460 Faith is what saves us. 207 00:08:21,940 --> 00:08:24,620 But we know that the book of James says, faith without works is 208 00:08:24,620 --> 00:08:24,939 dead. 209 00:08:24,939 --> 00:08:27,900 Now some people say, well, does that mean that my works are 210 00:08:27,900 --> 00:08:28,580 what saves me? 211 00:08:28,580 --> 00:08:28,860 No. 212 00:08:28,860 --> 00:08:30,820 But true faith produces action. 213 00:08:31,620 --> 00:08:34,100 You've heard the classic analogy of, okay, I've got a chair 214 00:08:34,100 --> 00:08:37,300 here, and I believe that that chair will keep me up, but it's sitting. 215 00:08:37,380 --> 00:08:40,580 Being seated in that chair proves that I trust in it. 216 00:08:40,740 --> 00:08:43,420 And so what happens here is that a lot of people will say, I 217 00:08:43,420 --> 00:08:44,100 trust God. 218 00:08:44,100 --> 00:08:46,380 I know he's got my back, I know he's got my future. 219 00:08:46,380 --> 00:08:47,620 I know he's got my family. 220 00:08:47,860 --> 00:08:52,780 But their life doesn't look that Way their life doesn't look 221 00:08:52,780 --> 00:08:55,460 like they trust that God has got it all under control. 222 00:08:56,020 --> 00:08:57,020 So what does Joshua do? 223 00:08:57,020 --> 00:08:57,820 Well, he takes action. 224 00:08:57,820 --> 00:09:01,440 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, pass 225 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:05,240 through the host and command the people, saying, prepare your 226 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:09,040 victuals, prepare your provisions, for within three days, 227 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:14,520 ye shall pass over this Jordan to go in to possess the land which 228 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:17,920 the Lord your God giveth you to possess it. 229 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:19,400 So you say, what's. 230 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:20,240 What's happening here? 231 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:24,040 Well, Joshua says, hey, we need to prepare for the work of God. 232 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:25,360 God has made a promise. 233 00:09:25,680 --> 00:09:28,760 Now we need to get ourselves ready to see God's plan coming to 234 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:29,040 pass. 235 00:09:30,380 --> 00:09:31,540 What can we take from that? 236 00:09:31,540 --> 00:09:34,100 When God promises us something, we don't just sit back 237 00:09:34,100 --> 00:09:37,340 and say, well, I. I guess I'll just, you know, it'll all just drop 238 00:09:37,340 --> 00:09:37,820 on me. 239 00:09:37,900 --> 00:09:40,140 No, it's preparing ourselves to be used by God. 240 00:09:40,460 --> 00:09:40,860 1. 241 00:09:40,940 --> 00:09:43,220 I don't remember a lot of sermons, and I've heard thousands 242 00:09:43,220 --> 00:09:44,900 and thousands and thousands of sermons in my life. 243 00:09:44,900 --> 00:09:47,020 I grew up in a Baptist church just like this. 244 00:09:47,260 --> 00:09:48,700 I grew up in a Christian school. 245 00:09:48,700 --> 00:09:51,900 I heard countless sermons, and I'll remember a lot of them. 246 00:09:51,900 --> 00:09:55,830 But I do remember one sermon that my pastor preached shortly before 247 00:09:55,830 --> 00:09:57,030 I got into the ministry. 248 00:09:57,990 --> 00:10:01,030 And he got up and he says, are you ready to be used by God? 249 00:10:01,990 --> 00:10:05,070 Is your life in a place where you could say, you know what? 250 00:10:05,070 --> 00:10:06,070 I'm ready to be used? 251 00:10:06,070 --> 00:10:06,950 Or are you. 252 00:10:06,950 --> 00:10:07,990 Do you have too much baggage? 253 00:10:07,990 --> 00:10:09,910 Are you holding on to too many things from this world? 254 00:10:10,870 --> 00:10:13,590 And I thought about that, and in the reality, in the moment, I'm 255 00:10:13,590 --> 00:10:14,030 like, you know what? 256 00:10:14,030 --> 00:10:14,750 No, I'm not ready. 257 00:10:14,750 --> 00:10:17,470 If God called me to do something right now, I've got too 258 00:10:17,470 --> 00:10:21,390 much business with this world that I can't go to what God would 259 00:10:21,390 --> 00:10:22,070 have me to do. 260 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:24,440 And so in that moment, I went forward. 261 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:26,480 I remember that day going forward and saying, lord, get me 262 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:27,920 ready for whatever you have for me. 263 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:30,360 And I don't know what that is, but, Lord, get me ready. 264 00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:31,400 And that's a scary thing. 265 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:33,920 For some people, it's becoming a missionary. 266 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:36,560 For some people, it's getting into vocational ministry. 267 00:10:36,560 --> 00:10:39,240 For other people, it's serving where God has you in the business 268 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:41,160 field and serving God in that way. 269 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:43,160 And all of those things have challenges. 270 00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:44,960 And so what does Joshua do? 271 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:46,200 He says, hey, we need to get ready. 272 00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:49,970 We need to get our provisions ready for God to move us. 273 00:10:49,970 --> 00:10:51,010 And so it's. 274 00:10:51,010 --> 00:10:51,970 It's a waiting period. 275 00:10:52,130 --> 00:10:52,930 It's a waiting period. 276 00:10:52,930 --> 00:10:55,770 Even though it's three days here, sometimes when God gives us 277 00:10:55,770 --> 00:10:57,810 A promise, and he gives us a plan. 278 00:10:57,890 --> 00:11:00,530 It doesn't happen in the way that we think it should happen, in 279 00:11:00,530 --> 00:11:01,970 the timing that we expect. 280 00:11:02,290 --> 00:11:06,210 And so the waiting for God is often, sometimes, I would say, for 281 00:11:06,210 --> 00:11:08,130 me, the most difficult part. 282 00:11:09,570 --> 00:11:13,810 But what ultimately comes through that is the waiting should 283 00:11:13,810 --> 00:11:14,610 be preparation. 284 00:11:15,010 --> 00:11:15,210 There's. 285 00:11:15,210 --> 00:11:15,570 There's. 286 00:11:15,570 --> 00:11:16,810 God doesn't waste his time. 287 00:11:16,810 --> 00:11:19,970 So a lot of times the waiting period is not just us sitting there. 288 00:11:19,970 --> 00:11:23,490 It's us supposed to be preparing ourselves for God working 289 00:11:23,490 --> 00:11:24,010 in our lives. 290 00:11:24,010 --> 00:11:27,610 And so I think about it, there was this Christian movie one time. 291 00:11:27,610 --> 00:11:30,930 I can't remember the exact context and the exact thought, but 292 00:11:31,170 --> 00:11:32,130 basically it was this. 293 00:11:32,130 --> 00:11:35,490 Like, the farmer is praying for rain, but he goes out and prepares 294 00:11:35,490 --> 00:11:35,930 the fields. 295 00:11:35,930 --> 00:11:36,210 Right? 296 00:11:36,770 --> 00:11:38,970 You know, I, I, Lord, I want the rain to come. 297 00:11:38,970 --> 00:11:40,210 Well, I've got to go plant the seed. 298 00:11:40,860 --> 00:11:43,420 And so I'm not, I'm not saying that God helps those that help themselves. 299 00:11:43,420 --> 00:11:43,740 That's. 300 00:11:43,740 --> 00:11:44,620 That's not what I'm saying. 301 00:11:44,620 --> 00:11:47,300 But what I am saying is if I believe that God has a plan for my 302 00:11:47,300 --> 00:11:49,460 life, I want to be ready to be used by him. 303 00:11:49,460 --> 00:11:51,540 I want to be prepared to be used by Him. 304 00:11:51,540 --> 00:11:54,700 And so that's what we see here in this, that Joshua takes action. 305 00:11:55,020 --> 00:11:56,820 He's busy about God's plan. 306 00:11:56,820 --> 00:11:57,940 He says, hey, we need to get going. 307 00:11:57,940 --> 00:11:59,420 Within three days, it's going to happen. 308 00:11:59,660 --> 00:12:01,340 So get yourselves ready. 309 00:12:01,500 --> 00:12:06,060 And as a pastor, one of my goals, the best that I can, is to, 310 00:12:06,060 --> 00:12:06,540 to get. 311 00:12:06,540 --> 00:12:09,940 To get us ready, to, to get the church ready for the plan that 312 00:12:09,940 --> 00:12:10,940 God has for us. 313 00:12:11,980 --> 00:12:13,740 The Bible says to redeem the time. 314 00:12:14,620 --> 00:12:14,940 Why? 315 00:12:14,940 --> 00:12:16,140 Because the days are evil. 316 00:12:16,300 --> 00:12:18,780 Redeem just means to buy back, to use, to. 317 00:12:18,780 --> 00:12:19,020 To. 318 00:12:19,020 --> 00:12:20,340 To get in, in. 319 00:12:20,340 --> 00:12:22,140 In a place where we can start serving now. 320 00:12:22,140 --> 00:12:23,899 To, to use the time that God has us. 321 00:12:23,899 --> 00:12:26,380 A lot of us, including myself, waste our time. 322 00:12:27,180 --> 00:12:30,540 I can't tell you how many times in my day I realized, you know, 323 00:12:30,540 --> 00:12:31,580 what I've just wasted. 324 00:12:31,740 --> 00:12:32,860 I've wasted too much. 325 00:12:33,750 --> 00:12:36,710 I. I've got distracted for whatever reason. 326 00:12:37,270 --> 00:12:40,270 I'm not saying, you know, I'm not saying that we should all smash 327 00:12:40,270 --> 00:12:41,910 our smartphones because they're great tools. 328 00:12:42,390 --> 00:12:43,590 They're awesome tools. 329 00:12:43,750 --> 00:12:45,630 I mean, I run my calendar off of this. 330 00:12:45,630 --> 00:12:46,030 I run. 331 00:12:46,030 --> 00:12:46,470 I get this. 332 00:12:46,470 --> 00:12:47,670 I'll communicate with people. 333 00:12:48,070 --> 00:12:52,270 But at the same time, we all know that things like this can be 334 00:12:52,270 --> 00:12:55,110 huge distractions for us to just waste our time. 335 00:12:56,310 --> 00:12:59,550 But I guarantee you, people are wasting time before smartphones. 336 00:12:59,550 --> 00:13:02,100 Some of you guys remember those times when we didn't have smartphones, 337 00:13:02,100 --> 00:13:04,460 but we still wasted our time, because in our human nature, that's 338 00:13:04,460 --> 00:13:05,100 what we do. 339 00:13:05,500 --> 00:13:09,260 But what I want to say here this evening is this, as a pastor, 340 00:13:09,260 --> 00:13:10,300 I want to. 341 00:13:10,380 --> 00:13:11,460 I want to challenge you. 342 00:13:11,460 --> 00:13:15,140 Because Ephesians, Ephesians chapter four tells me as a pastor 343 00:13:15,140 --> 00:13:15,780 what my role is. 344 00:13:15,780 --> 00:13:20,140 And that is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, 345 00:13:20,620 --> 00:13:21,820 to prepare us. 346 00:13:22,140 --> 00:13:23,900 My job is not to do the whole ministry. 347 00:13:24,780 --> 00:13:27,300 What if I said, okay, guys, I'm going to do everything. 348 00:13:27,300 --> 00:13:28,620 You guys just sit back and enjoy? 349 00:13:29,550 --> 00:13:30,230 That would not be. 350 00:13:30,230 --> 00:13:31,790 That's not biblical, right? 351 00:13:31,870 --> 00:13:33,470 Sometimes that's how we think church should be. 352 00:13:34,110 --> 00:13:37,830 But, but really, biblically speaking, my job is to do the work 353 00:13:37,830 --> 00:13:40,910 of the ministry and equip those and challenge those and encourage 354 00:13:40,910 --> 00:13:42,990 those to get involved with the ministry as well. 355 00:13:43,470 --> 00:13:46,030 Sometimes people hear the word ministry and they think, well, that's 356 00:13:46,030 --> 00:13:49,110 pastor, that's missionary, that's evangelist. 357 00:13:49,110 --> 00:13:50,590 Well, that's vocational ministry. 358 00:13:50,590 --> 00:13:52,190 Those are people that get paid for that. 359 00:13:52,350 --> 00:13:53,950 But all of us are in the ministry. 360 00:13:53,950 --> 00:13:56,190 If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, you are in the ministry. 361 00:13:56,190 --> 00:13:56,990 You signed up. 362 00:13:57,490 --> 00:14:00,050 You know, whether or not you're going to be preaching or you're 363 00:14:00,050 --> 00:14:01,490 going to be serving behind the scenes. 364 00:14:01,490 --> 00:14:02,770 We all have a purpose. 365 00:14:02,770 --> 00:14:04,210 We all have a plan in our life. 366 00:14:04,210 --> 00:14:06,130 And so what we can see here is this. 367 00:14:06,450 --> 00:14:09,930 We have an opportunity as a church to move forward and say, lord, 368 00:14:09,930 --> 00:14:12,610 you have a plan for me, you have a plan for our church. 369 00:14:12,690 --> 00:14:14,450 And a lot of times we sit there and we. 370 00:14:14,450 --> 00:14:15,170 We worry. 371 00:14:15,170 --> 00:14:17,610 We stress about, well, are we in the will of God? 372 00:14:17,610 --> 00:14:18,610 Are we doing the right thing? 373 00:14:18,690 --> 00:14:23,490 I'm going to tell you very clearly, the Bible gives the church 374 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:25,400 what our marching order should be. 375 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:27,880 Matthew, chapter 28. 376 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:28,840 It's called the Great Commission. 377 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:31,920 Make disciples to. 378 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:36,040 To live a life of salt and light so that the world around us 379 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:39,400 can see our good works and glorify our Father, which is in heaven. 380 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:40,920 It's to lead people to Christ. 381 00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:43,320 And then at the same time, the Bible speaks a lot about the body 382 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:45,160 of Christ edifying one another. 383 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:49,360 Forsake not the assembly of ourselves together, as the Bible 384 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:50,520 says many were at that time. 385 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:50,800 Why? 386 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:54,110 So that we can encourage one another, so we can exhort one another 387 00:14:54,110 --> 00:14:55,510 to love and to good works. 388 00:14:56,870 --> 00:14:58,070 So we have a purpose. 389 00:14:58,390 --> 00:15:01,550 Now, your individual purpose might be different than somebody 390 00:15:01,550 --> 00:15:02,830 else's individual purpose. 391 00:15:02,830 --> 00:15:06,910 And it's not my role to come up to you and say, well, I know how 392 00:15:06,910 --> 00:15:09,990 God maybe, maybe I can see something in someone's life, but 393 00:15:09,990 --> 00:15:13,110 ultimates between you and the Lord where God has you specifically 394 00:15:13,110 --> 00:15:13,990 in that plan. 395 00:15:14,870 --> 00:15:17,310 But what we need to see here this evening is that we have to be 396 00:15:17,310 --> 00:15:17,710 prepared. 397 00:15:17,710 --> 00:15:18,470 We have to be ready. 398 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:22,720 Now, I'm not saying that everyone's going to have a call to 399 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:28,040 do missions, but how many of us, truly. 400 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:30,080 And I'm going to speak from the heart this evening. 401 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:33,400 How many of us would really say, like, if God called me, I would 402 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:35,480 go, well, Pastor, you. 403 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:36,280 You'll know my. 404 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:37,400 My situation. 405 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:38,840 No, I. I get it. 406 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:39,400 Like, not. 407 00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:42,360 I. I'm not saying that all of us are called to go. 408 00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:45,000 And I don't think God's going to call someone that isn't ready. 409 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:46,800 But what I am saying is this. 410 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:47,240 If. 411 00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:51,360 If there is something in my life that I'm holding on to too tightly, 412 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:51,840 what. 413 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:54,720 What I might do is I might miss the opportunity to be prepared 414 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:55,760 for God's work in my life. 415 00:15:56,880 --> 00:15:58,400 I hate to see people go. 416 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:00,080 I would never want to see anyone leave. 417 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:05,400 You know, like, when Pastor John left and he went to another 418 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:07,520 church, I'm like, no, I don't want to see you go. 419 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:08,560 But I knew where. 420 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:10,480 Where God had him, right? 421 00:16:10,810 --> 00:16:11,210 The same thing. 422 00:16:11,210 --> 00:16:13,290 If someone came up to me here this evening said, and. 423 00:16:13,290 --> 00:16:13,930 And, hey, we. 424 00:16:13,930 --> 00:16:15,610 Maybe we just got them into a ministry. 425 00:16:15,610 --> 00:16:16,650 Maybe they're serving. 426 00:16:16,810 --> 00:16:18,090 Maybe they're on fire for God. 427 00:16:18,090 --> 00:16:19,210 And they say, hey, you know what? 428 00:16:19,370 --> 00:16:24,330 God's calling us to be missionaries to, I don't know, Uganda 429 00:16:24,330 --> 00:16:24,890 in Africa. 430 00:16:25,770 --> 00:16:27,850 Part of me would say, no, I don't want to see you go, because 431 00:16:27,850 --> 00:16:31,610 there's blessing in that of having them here. 432 00:16:32,010 --> 00:16:34,010 But at the same time, what's it all about? 433 00:16:34,010 --> 00:16:35,530 It's about spreading the gospel. 434 00:16:35,690 --> 00:16:37,930 It's about equipping the saints for the work of the ministry. 435 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:40,920 I remember when I went to tell my pastor in Florida that I was leaving, 436 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:42,520 say, hey, hey. 437 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:45,120 We had prayed through a lot, and he was like, are you sure you 438 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:45,560 want to go? 439 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:48,000 Are you sure Delaware is the right place to go? 440 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:49,600 And I'm like, not really. 441 00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:51,320 But, I mean, I just feel like God's calling me. 442 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:51,800 And it's. 443 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:54,439 It was a tough thing, but I remember him saying, you know what? 444 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:55,720 That's where God has you. 445 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:58,720 I support this same conversation I had with my dad. 446 00:16:58,720 --> 00:16:59,680 I mean, that was a tough one. 447 00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:00,840 My dad and I are best friends. 448 00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:04,440 And I was like, dad, I think God's calling me to move to Delaware. 449 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:05,240 And he's like, what? 450 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:06,880 He's like, no. 451 00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:08,480 At first he was like, man, he was. 452 00:17:08,480 --> 00:17:09,320 He was struggling with it. 453 00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:10,080 I'm not gonna lie. 454 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:10,560 But. 455 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:11,120 But he. 456 00:17:11,120 --> 00:17:13,600 He says this by way of testimony that through prayer. 457 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:16,560 He was like, I don't want to get in the way of what God has for 458 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:17,200 you. 459 00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:18,800 So I support this. 460 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:20,640 And I say all that to say this. 461 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:26,520 A lot of times we look at human material hindrances to what 462 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:27,480 God has called us to do. 463 00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:29,480 But when God calls us to do something, he's going to give us 464 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:30,400 everything that we need. 465 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:31,850 So movement moving forward here. 466 00:17:31,850 --> 00:17:33,170 I don't want to get too hung up that. 467 00:17:33,170 --> 00:17:33,690 Verse 12. 468 00:17:34,090 --> 00:17:38,690 And this is Joshua talking to a portion of the Israelites that 469 00:17:38,690 --> 00:17:42,050 have already settled on the one side, that aren't planning to 470 00:17:42,050 --> 00:17:43,090 go across, okay? 471 00:17:43,090 --> 00:17:46,810 They, they're already settled in their, Their civilization, their 472 00:17:46,810 --> 00:17:48,490 area, their culture is settled here. 473 00:17:48,490 --> 00:17:52,570 He says into the Rubenites, into the Gadites, and to half of 474 00:17:52,570 --> 00:17:56,210 the tribe of Manasseh spake Joshua saying, remember the word 475 00:17:56,210 --> 00:17:59,640 which Moses, the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, the 476 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:02,800 Lord your God have given you rest and have given you this land. 477 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:06,440 Your wives, your little ones and your cattle shall remain in the 478 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:09,840 land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan. 479 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:14,040 But ye shall pass before your brethren, armed all the mighty men 480 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:18,160 of valor, and help them until the Lord have given your brethren 481 00:18:18,160 --> 00:18:21,680 rest as ye have given you, and they also have possessed the land 482 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:24,000 which the Lord your God giveth them. 483 00:18:24,570 --> 00:18:28,050 Then ye shall return unto the land of your possession and enjoy 484 00:18:28,050 --> 00:18:32,770 it, which Moses and the Lord's servant gave you on this side Jordan, 485 00:18:32,770 --> 00:18:33,610 toward the sun rising. 486 00:18:33,610 --> 00:18:36,730 Now, if he didn't catch what's happening here, there's a group of 487 00:18:36,730 --> 00:18:39,290 Israelites that already have their land that was in promise to 488 00:18:39,290 --> 00:18:39,450 them. 489 00:18:39,450 --> 00:18:40,250 They're already there. 490 00:18:41,690 --> 00:18:44,890 But what the promise was and you can reference back, we won't 491 00:18:44,890 --> 00:18:45,170 go there. 492 00:18:45,170 --> 00:18:50,130 But in numbers, chapter 32, basically, these individuals, these 493 00:18:50,130 --> 00:18:52,970 Israelites said they'll help the rest of the people get across 494 00:18:52,970 --> 00:18:55,850 Jordan and fight these battles for them so that they can be settled 495 00:18:55,850 --> 00:18:56,870 where God had them. 496 00:18:57,750 --> 00:18:59,870 And so if you're not catching this, what it's basically saying 497 00:18:59,870 --> 00:19:00,190 is this. 498 00:19:00,190 --> 00:19:03,470 God has already given you your rest, your land, your. 499 00:19:03,470 --> 00:19:06,950 Your peace, but your brethren aren't there yet. 500 00:19:07,830 --> 00:19:09,230 Your brethren need that victory. 501 00:19:09,230 --> 00:19:09,870 And so what do you do? 502 00:19:09,870 --> 00:19:13,270 You don't say, well, not, not my issue, not my problem, no, they're 503 00:19:13,270 --> 00:19:13,830 your brethren. 504 00:19:14,950 --> 00:19:18,910 And, and so he says, remember the promise that you made, and for 505 00:19:18,910 --> 00:19:21,350 us, we can reference that back to numbers chapter 32. 506 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:25,240 And, and I believe that this is the same principle that really, 507 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:27,280 I think, should operate the body of Christ. 508 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:31,920 When one member is in need, the whole body feels it. 509 00:19:33,360 --> 00:19:35,560 And, and so I like how one commentator put It. 510 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:40,600 He said we should never refuse to help a brother because our own 511 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:41,600 state is settled. 512 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:44,160 What does that mean? 513 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:46,800 There's a lot of people that are like, well, God's gotten me in 514 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:47,320 my lane. 515 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:48,640 God's got me where I am. 516 00:19:49,070 --> 00:19:51,190 I see a person over here struggling, that needs the victory, 517 00:19:51,190 --> 00:19:52,190 but they're not my problem. 518 00:19:52,430 --> 00:19:52,910 Okay? 519 00:19:52,910 --> 00:19:53,710 I'm already there. 520 00:19:54,830 --> 00:19:55,550 That's all right. 521 00:19:58,590 --> 00:19:58,990 So. 522 00:19:58,990 --> 00:20:00,590 So what happens is, is that as. 523 00:20:00,590 --> 00:20:04,510 As believers, sometimes we can be complacent because we've already 524 00:20:04,510 --> 00:20:08,190 experienced the blessing, we've been saved for 40, 50 years, 525 00:20:08,190 --> 00:20:10,790 and we look at someone else that might be struggling, and we 526 00:20:10,790 --> 00:20:12,190 say, yeah, I don't need to fight for them. 527 00:20:12,990 --> 00:20:14,630 I don't need to fight for the next generation. 528 00:20:14,630 --> 00:20:14,910 My. 529 00:20:14,910 --> 00:20:16,350 My generation's sealed with. 530 00:20:16,770 --> 00:20:19,130 And I think that Brother Dan, as he was talking this morning about 531 00:20:19,130 --> 00:20:19,490 our. 532 00:20:19,570 --> 00:20:22,330 Our teens and the next generation, and Amy, as she mentioned, 533 00:20:22,330 --> 00:20:24,370 sign the testimony about the next generation, folks. 534 00:20:24,610 --> 00:20:27,850 We should be fighting for the truth, not just for ourselves, but 535 00:20:27,850 --> 00:20:29,010 for the next generation. 536 00:20:29,650 --> 00:20:31,490 We should be preparing the way for them. 537 00:20:31,490 --> 00:20:35,290 Because the truth is, is that who knows what our children and our 538 00:20:35,290 --> 00:20:37,970 grandchildren and our great grandchildren and if the Lord Terry's 539 00:20:37,970 --> 00:20:41,290 great, great grandchildren will face when they become adults 540 00:20:41,290 --> 00:20:43,670 and are serving in church, okay, we don't know. 541 00:20:44,230 --> 00:20:46,710 And so what we can see here in this case is he says, hey, look, 542 00:20:46,870 --> 00:20:51,590 just because you have it, okay, just because you are settled 543 00:20:51,590 --> 00:20:53,790 and you are at peace, that doesn't mean you can just sit back 544 00:20:53,790 --> 00:20:54,790 and be apathetic. 545 00:20:54,790 --> 00:20:55,830 You are part of this. 546 00:20:55,830 --> 00:20:57,030 You, this is your people. 547 00:20:58,070 --> 00:21:03,430 I think of First Corinthians, chapter 12, verse 25 and 26. 548 00:21:04,790 --> 00:21:07,350 I think this is the New Testament principle within the church. 549 00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:11,520 I don't say, well, my life's all good, so I can just. 550 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:12,720 I can just coast. 551 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:16,720 No says in verse 25 that there should be no schism in the body, 552 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:21,440 but that the members should have the same care, one for another. 553 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:25,240 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it, or 554 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:28,320 one member be honored, all members rejoice with it. 555 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:32,240 So I think the principle for us as believers today is that, hey, 556 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:35,040 okay, maybe God has gotten me through that struggle. 557 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:37,075 Maybe God has given me the victory in that sin. 558 00:21:37,075 --> 00:21:37,190 But. 559 00:21:37,260 --> 00:21:39,460 But my brother might be struggling, so I want to fight that 560 00:21:39,460 --> 00:21:40,220 battle with him. 561 00:21:41,020 --> 00:21:44,340 I'm going to be there with him and pray with him and deal with it 562 00:21:44,340 --> 00:21:47,780 when he's fallen down and help him get back up and keep walking 563 00:21:47,780 --> 00:21:50,540 in the path of righteousness in the Lord. 564 00:21:50,540 --> 00:21:53,660 And so what I think about when it comes to this is is how. 565 00:21:53,900 --> 00:21:56,980 When one part of the body is hurting, whether we know it or not, 566 00:21:56,980 --> 00:21:58,060 the whole body is hurting. 567 00:21:59,420 --> 00:22:01,180 And sometimes those things are small things. 568 00:22:01,580 --> 00:22:03,100 I use the analogy all the time. 569 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:03,960 It gets old. 570 00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:06,040 But it's the one thing that I can see. 571 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:09,000 I. I have to see it, like, in pictures in my brain when. 572 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:10,480 When I have my kidney stone. 573 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:12,800 Like, it was this little, tiny, tiny thing. 574 00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:17,640 But since that tiny thing was in a very specific place, it hurt 575 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:18,240 my whole body. 576 00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:18,880 Right? 577 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:20,040 My whole body felt it. 578 00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:22,480 I. I wasn't saying to my wife that that night. 579 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:25,520 Well, my hands feel good and my head feels good and my. 580 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:27,080 My legs feel good, but damn, Just. 581 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:27,400 Just this. 582 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:28,120 This thing on my stomach. 583 00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:28,920 No, I was like, everything. 584 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:29,750 You're like, we. 585 00:22:29,750 --> 00:22:29,990 We. 586 00:22:29,990 --> 00:22:31,230 My whole body felt it. 587 00:22:31,230 --> 00:22:32,590 And as the body of Christ, we. 588 00:22:32,590 --> 00:22:33,150 We might. 589 00:22:33,550 --> 00:22:36,430 I might be in a good place right now in my spiritual walk, but 590 00:22:36,430 --> 00:22:38,670 if my brother's hurting, I'm hurting. 591 00:22:39,630 --> 00:22:41,430 If my brother's weeping, I'm. 592 00:22:41,430 --> 00:22:42,510 I'm weeping with him. 593 00:22:42,750 --> 00:22:44,590 My brother's rejoicing, I'm rejoicing. 594 00:22:44,590 --> 00:22:47,270 So we see it from this perspective of, hey, you know what? 595 00:22:47,270 --> 00:22:48,270 The challenge is this. 596 00:22:48,350 --> 00:22:50,030 Don't leave someone behind. 597 00:22:51,550 --> 00:22:52,990 Don't turn a blind eye. 598 00:22:52,990 --> 00:22:55,870 The Bible talks about walking circumspectly. 599 00:22:57,060 --> 00:22:58,260 Walking circumspectly. 600 00:22:58,260 --> 00:22:58,580 Why? 601 00:22:58,900 --> 00:23:01,140 Well, so that we can know what's going on around us. 602 00:23:01,140 --> 00:23:07,300 Sometimes we get so laser focused in our own issues that we 603 00:23:07,300 --> 00:23:09,380 miss needs around us. 604 00:23:10,980 --> 00:23:14,020 I. I think of a story that happened with me some of, you know, 605 00:23:14,020 --> 00:23:21,100 a little while back, we went down to Alabama, and when we were 606 00:23:21,100 --> 00:23:23,660 down in Alabama, I had some free time, which free time is not 607 00:23:23,660 --> 00:23:25,300 something that I have very often. 608 00:23:26,700 --> 00:23:28,620 And I was like, you know, I'm gonna go to the gym. 609 00:23:28,860 --> 00:23:29,820 I'm gonna go to the gym. 610 00:23:29,820 --> 00:23:30,620 I'm gonna work out here. 611 00:23:30,620 --> 00:23:32,300 I'm gonna exercise my body. 612 00:23:32,860 --> 00:23:33,660 And I. 613 00:23:33,820 --> 00:23:36,980 When I go to the gym, I like to listen either to a podcast or 614 00:23:36,980 --> 00:23:38,220 to some Christian music. 615 00:23:38,620 --> 00:23:40,620 And my phone was almost dead, so I said, you know what? 616 00:23:40,620 --> 00:23:44,260 I'm just gonna park out in the parking lot, and I'm just gonna let 617 00:23:44,260 --> 00:23:46,660 my phone charge a little bit before I go in and work out. 618 00:23:46,660 --> 00:23:47,820 I had a lot of time ahead of me. 619 00:23:47,820 --> 00:23:48,780 I had, like three hours free. 620 00:23:49,100 --> 00:23:51,580 Everyone was just doing stuff, and I'm like, okay, some free time. 621 00:23:52,250 --> 00:23:55,370 So I'm sitting there, I plug my phone in, and I'm just looking 622 00:23:55,370 --> 00:23:59,050 at things on my phone, reading some stuff, and a few minutes go 623 00:23:59,050 --> 00:24:01,610 by, a few minutes go by, I'm just totally locked in on what I'm 624 00:24:01,610 --> 00:24:02,810 reading on my phone and doing. 625 00:24:02,810 --> 00:24:05,610 And all of a sudden I hear, get your hands up. 626 00:24:05,930 --> 00:24:06,690 And I'm like, what? 627 00:24:06,690 --> 00:24:07,609 And I'm parked, by the way. 628 00:24:07,609 --> 00:24:08,890 Let me another part of the story. 629 00:24:09,370 --> 00:24:10,930 We just bought our. 630 00:24:10,930 --> 00:24:12,530 Our new van, okay? 631 00:24:12,530 --> 00:24:14,530 So Alicia's like, park it farther out. 632 00:24:14,530 --> 00:24:15,890 So I'm parked out way on the part. 633 00:24:15,890 --> 00:24:16,850 There's no one around me. 634 00:24:16,850 --> 00:24:18,490 There's literally nobody around me. 635 00:24:18,790 --> 00:24:19,990 So I'm parked way out there. 636 00:24:20,150 --> 00:24:21,030 All of a sudden I hear, get. 637 00:24:21,030 --> 00:24:21,830 Get your hands up. 638 00:24:21,830 --> 00:24:22,630 Let me see your hands. 639 00:24:22,630 --> 00:24:23,590 And I'm, like, looking up. 640 00:24:23,590 --> 00:24:25,950 And as soon as I look up, there's a police officer in front 641 00:24:25,950 --> 00:24:27,670 of my car with his gun drawn. 642 00:24:28,310 --> 00:24:29,350 And I'm like, whoa. 643 00:24:29,350 --> 00:24:30,510 Okay, now I'm in it. 644 00:24:30,510 --> 00:24:31,430 Now what did I do? 645 00:24:31,510 --> 00:24:33,830 So I'm trying to think about, like, did I do anything when I was 646 00:24:33,830 --> 00:24:34,350 driving in here? 647 00:24:34,350 --> 00:24:35,750 And I'm like, no, I don't think so. 648 00:24:35,830 --> 00:24:36,550 I'm pretty good. 649 00:24:36,630 --> 00:24:38,710 And all of a sudden I, like, I start to, like, it all starts to 650 00:24:38,710 --> 00:24:41,190 come into focus, and there's, like, six cop cars around me. 651 00:24:41,590 --> 00:24:42,950 And I'm going, like, what. 652 00:24:42,950 --> 00:24:43,550 What happened? 653 00:24:43,550 --> 00:24:45,900 Like, they had me caught for somebody else. 654 00:24:45,900 --> 00:24:49,740 And they've got guns drawn, handguns, long guns. 655 00:24:49,740 --> 00:24:51,220 And I'm going, okay, this is. 656 00:24:51,700 --> 00:24:52,660 What am I going to do? 657 00:24:52,980 --> 00:24:53,340 And. 658 00:24:53,340 --> 00:24:57,740 And so then I. I happen to look behind me, and there's a vehicle 659 00:24:57,740 --> 00:24:58,900 parked right behind me. 660 00:24:59,380 --> 00:25:00,580 So then I put two and two together. 661 00:25:00,580 --> 00:25:02,260 They're after this guy, but I'm in the middle. 662 00:25:03,060 --> 00:25:03,500 So I'm. 663 00:25:03,500 --> 00:25:06,180 I'm sitting there, and like I said, they were using our vehicle 664 00:25:06,180 --> 00:25:09,780 kind of as a barrier in front of me looking back this way. 665 00:25:10,180 --> 00:25:13,340 So what I do is I try to, like, lower myself down the seat 666 00:25:13,340 --> 00:25:14,420 as far as I can, because I'm like. 667 00:25:14,420 --> 00:25:15,980 I don't want to get hit by any crossfire here. 668 00:25:15,980 --> 00:25:19,520 I'm like, to get down, and it's pretty intense. 669 00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:22,720 And so they find, like, I won't draw you out with the whole 670 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:24,600 story, but basically they get the guy, and they finally pull him 671 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:24,760 out. 672 00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:25,320 They broke. 673 00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:26,080 Broke the window. 674 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:27,800 I'm like, all in the middle of this. 675 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:30,320 They drag him out of the car, like, through the window, and I pull 676 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:31,760 him out, and, like, he's on the ground. 677 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:32,360 They cuff him. 678 00:25:32,360 --> 00:25:33,320 I don't know what he ever did. 679 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:35,600 I never found out what he did, but he's obviously a threat. 680 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:39,680 But the point I'm trying to make is I was so locked into my life 681 00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:43,040 and my phone and my stuff that I didn't even notice all these police 682 00:25:43,040 --> 00:25:43,880 cars coming In. 683 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:45,240 Okay, they, like, flown in. 684 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:46,320 I must have had the, the. 685 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:47,520 The sound on or something. 686 00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:50,760 And, and I think that's again, how we. 687 00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:52,240 We act within our life. 688 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:56,280 All right, so Ephesians chapter, cross reference here. 689 00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:57,240 Ephesians chapter 5. 690 00:25:57,240 --> 00:25:58,640 I want you to see this really quickly. 691 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:00,799 Ephesians chapter five. 692 00:26:00,799 --> 00:26:01,720 And then we'll. 693 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:04,720 We'll get back to Joshua and I'll have a few concluding thoughts 694 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:04,960 here. 695 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:06,720 Ephesians chapter 5. 696 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:14,690 He talks about walking not as a fool, but as wise. 697 00:26:14,690 --> 00:26:18,970 And so he says in Ephesians 5, 15, see then that you walk circumspectly, 698 00:26:19,210 --> 00:26:23,290 meaning like walking, looking around, being aware of our surroundings. 699 00:26:23,530 --> 00:26:25,330 Not as fools, but as wise. 700 00:26:25,330 --> 00:26:27,850 And now, by the way, it's not just talking about our physical surroundings, 701 00:26:27,850 --> 00:26:31,250 it's obviously talking about opportunities around us, redeeming 702 00:26:31,250 --> 00:26:32,890 the time because the days are evil. 703 00:26:33,290 --> 00:26:37,170 Wherefore be not unwise, but understanding what the will of the 704 00:26:37,170 --> 00:26:37,690 Lord is. 705 00:26:38,390 --> 00:26:40,670 Be not drunk with wine, whereas in excess, but be filled 706 00:26:40,670 --> 00:26:41,230 with the spirit. 707 00:26:41,230 --> 00:26:44,910 So he talks about, hey, don't allow other things to control you. 708 00:26:44,910 --> 00:26:46,630 Allow the Holy Spirit to control you. 709 00:26:47,510 --> 00:26:49,670 And then he speaks more about how we interact. 710 00:26:49,670 --> 00:26:51,870 Speaking to yourselves in psalms, hymns, a spiritual song, 711 00:26:51,870 --> 00:26:54,390 singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving things 712 00:26:54,390 --> 00:26:57,790 always for all things unto God the Father, in the name of our Lord 713 00:26:57,790 --> 00:27:00,350 Jesus Christ, to make yourselves one to another in the 714 00:27:00,350 --> 00:27:01,110 fear of God. 715 00:27:01,430 --> 00:27:05,070 So the point that I would like to explain here this evening is that 716 00:27:05,070 --> 00:27:08,470 we need to be walking around, obviously dealing with situations 717 00:27:08,470 --> 00:27:12,800 that we have in the Lord, but looking circumspectly around us for 718 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:14,520 opportunities to help others in need. 719 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:18,440 And so the point would be is that these individuals back in the 720 00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:21,360 book of Joshua, the Rubenites, the Gadites, and half of the tribe 721 00:27:21,360 --> 00:27:25,000 of Manasseh could have said, not our problem. 722 00:27:25,639 --> 00:27:27,000 We don't need to cross the river. 723 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:28,640 We already got our land, promise. 724 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:29,880 We're safe, we're secure. 725 00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:33,000 But they said, no, they responded properly here. 726 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:37,120 They responded in verse 16, and they answered Joshua saying, 727 00:27:37,120 --> 00:27:41,120 all that thou command us, we will do so. 728 00:27:41,120 --> 00:27:44,360 Yes, they're obeying Joshua, but really in this time period, by 729 00:27:44,360 --> 00:27:45,720 extension, they're following God. 730 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:46,480 They're obeying God. 731 00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:49,680 Obviously, Joshua was the mouthpiece for God, just as Moses 732 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:50,000 was. 733 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:53,880 And so in this case, we see that Joshua says, hey, this is what 734 00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:54,640 I need from you. 735 00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:56,720 And they said, yes, we will obey. 736 00:27:56,720 --> 00:27:58,240 We will follow that commandment. 737 00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:00,280 And so he says all they say. 738 00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:02,840 They say back to Joshua, and whithersoever thou send this us, 739 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:03,520 we will go. 740 00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:07,120 So it's A response ultimately to God that says, hey, wherever God 741 00:28:07,120 --> 00:28:07,840 sends us, we'll go. 742 00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:09,280 We'll do what we need to do for him. 743 00:28:10,180 --> 00:28:11,700 We'll do what we need to do for his people. 744 00:28:12,100 --> 00:28:15,540 Verse 17, according, as we hearken unto Moses in all things, 745 00:28:16,020 --> 00:28:17,540 so we will hearken unto thee. 746 00:28:17,540 --> 00:28:18,660 So we see that connection. 747 00:28:18,660 --> 00:28:22,060 They said, we followed Moses as Moses followed God. 748 00:28:22,060 --> 00:28:24,420 We'll follow you as you follow God. 749 00:28:25,299 --> 00:28:28,140 And they say at the end of verse 17, only the Lord thy God be 750 00:28:28,140 --> 00:28:29,740 with thee, as he was with Moses. 751 00:28:29,740 --> 00:28:32,740 Again, there's that focus on the presence of God. 752 00:28:32,980 --> 00:28:33,620 Verse 18. 753 00:28:33,620 --> 00:28:37,860 Whosoever he be that doth rebel against thy commandment and 754 00:28:37,860 --> 00:28:41,180 will not hearken unto thy words, and all that thou commandest 755 00:28:41,180 --> 00:28:42,380 him, he shall be put to death. 756 00:28:42,380 --> 00:28:44,740 Only be strong and of good courage. 757 00:28:45,700 --> 00:28:48,420 We see that repetition over and over again in chapter one. 758 00:28:48,500 --> 00:28:49,820 Be strong and of a good courage. 759 00:28:49,820 --> 00:28:50,940 Be strong and of a good courage. 760 00:28:50,940 --> 00:28:51,220 Why? 761 00:28:51,699 --> 00:28:54,340 You know, I kind of mentioned this last week when, when I text 762 00:28:54,340 --> 00:28:57,380 the church member or something, hey, I'm praying for you. 763 00:28:58,100 --> 00:28:59,700 Like, why do I need prayer? 764 00:28:59,700 --> 00:29:00,420 What's going on? 765 00:29:00,420 --> 00:29:03,470 It's that idea of, like that, that reminder, I believe, is that 766 00:29:03,470 --> 00:29:06,790 God is preparing the heart of Joshua because there is going to 767 00:29:06,790 --> 00:29:09,630 be a temptation to not be strong and of a good courage, there 768 00:29:09,630 --> 00:29:11,030 is going to be a temptation to fear. 769 00:29:11,590 --> 00:29:11,990 Why? 770 00:29:11,990 --> 00:29:14,950 Because some of the things that the Israelites are going to 771 00:29:14,950 --> 00:29:18,950 face in this conquest are going to be very, very important, 772 00:29:19,190 --> 00:29:21,430 very, very difficult situations. 773 00:29:21,430 --> 00:29:23,870 Obviously, they're going to be going, you guys know a lot of these 774 00:29:23,870 --> 00:29:25,110 stories that we're going to be talking about. 775 00:29:25,830 --> 00:29:27,230 They're going to be crossing the Jordan. 776 00:29:27,230 --> 00:29:29,590 They're going to be facing individuals that are not just going 777 00:29:29,590 --> 00:29:30,350 to give the land to them. 778 00:29:30,350 --> 00:29:31,630 Oh, by the way, you guys want this land? 779 00:29:31,630 --> 00:29:32,550 Okay, here, take it. 780 00:29:32,630 --> 00:29:33,910 No, there's going to be battles. 781 00:29:33,910 --> 00:29:36,830 There's going to be physical battles and spiritual battles, but 782 00:29:36,830 --> 00:29:39,150 the hand of God is going to be upon them when they are. 783 00:29:39,150 --> 00:29:39,510 When. 784 00:29:39,510 --> 00:29:41,430 When they are walking in obedience, When. 785 00:29:41,430 --> 00:29:42,630 When they act in their flesh. 786 00:29:42,870 --> 00:29:44,750 Obviously there's repercussions for that. 787 00:29:44,750 --> 00:29:47,150 And, and so within our own Christian life, what does that mean 788 00:29:47,150 --> 00:29:47,510 for us? 789 00:29:47,510 --> 00:29:47,830 What. 790 00:29:48,070 --> 00:29:51,790 How can we take the story of Joshua and say, you know what, what 791 00:29:51,790 --> 00:29:52,510 can I take from this? 792 00:29:52,510 --> 00:29:54,310 Because I think that there are important takeaways. 793 00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:55,080 Not. 794 00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:56,560 Not everything in scripture is. 795 00:29:56,560 --> 00:29:57,640 Is prescriptive. 796 00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:00,120 By the way, what do I mean by that? 797 00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:03,720 There are some stories in Scripture that are narratives. 798 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:05,560 They're descriptive. 799 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:11,960 So, for example, like, I wouldn't take a young man and say, 800 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,120 hey, you're looking to marry a woman. 801 00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:15,880 Let's go to the Book of Hosea. 802 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:18,720 So if you know what's going on in the Book of Hosea, okay, Would 803 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:19,880 not take them to that. 804 00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:21,510 That's a, that's a narrative that's different. 805 00:30:22,710 --> 00:30:25,710 So, so there are things that are descriptive and there's things 806 00:30:25,710 --> 00:30:26,710 that are prescriptive. 807 00:30:27,110 --> 00:30:28,630 So there's going to be some things that we talk about in the 808 00:30:28,630 --> 00:30:30,270 Book of Joshua that we should not follow. 809 00:30:30,270 --> 00:30:30,710 Okay. 810 00:30:30,710 --> 00:30:32,870 Rebellion against God is not something that we should do. 811 00:30:33,270 --> 00:30:34,590 But there, there are things here. 812 00:30:34,590 --> 00:30:37,270 And I believe Joshua chapter one is a great passage of Scripture 813 00:30:37,430 --> 00:30:41,550 describing what Joshua did, but also prescribing to us what it 814 00:30:41,550 --> 00:30:44,350 means to walk in fellowship with God and walk in obedience when 815 00:30:44,350 --> 00:30:46,750 God's plan is, is revealed to us. 816 00:30:46,750 --> 00:30:49,130 And God's plan is revealed in many different ways. 817 00:30:49,130 --> 00:30:49,530 God's. 818 00:30:49,530 --> 00:30:50,050 God's plan. 819 00:30:50,050 --> 00:30:50,650 I think. 820 00:30:50,650 --> 00:30:53,850 I believe that God first and foremost reveals Himself through 821 00:30:53,850 --> 00:30:55,730 the Word of, through His Word, through the Bible. 822 00:30:56,370 --> 00:30:58,490 And so if we're not in His Word, we're not going to know what 823 00:30:58,490 --> 00:30:59,570 God's plan is for us. 824 00:31:00,450 --> 00:31:03,410 I think a lot of times people just want the plan to be written 825 00:31:03,410 --> 00:31:04,610 in the sky when they walk outside. 826 00:31:04,610 --> 00:31:07,130 And that's not typical, right? 827 00:31:07,130 --> 00:31:08,410 Not saying that God can't do that. 828 00:31:08,410 --> 00:31:10,290 I'm not saying that he hasn't done something like that. 829 00:31:10,290 --> 00:31:13,920 But, but, but typically speaking the way in the normative 830 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:16,040 sense, God speaks to us through His Word. 831 00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:19,440 And so I would venture to say that if we're not in His Word, we're 832 00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:20,560 not going to understand His. 833 00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:21,560 His desires. 834 00:31:21,560 --> 00:31:21,840 He's. 835 00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:22,840 We're not going to understand His. 836 00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:25,840 His plan or his path that, that he has for us. 837 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:29,920 We talked last week about communication being key with any 838 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:31,360 relationship, communication is key. 839 00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:34,200 And so we communicate with God through the reading of His Word and 840 00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:37,520 through praying and through petitioning him for our needs and, 841 00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:39,200 and going to him and worship. 842 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:44,850 And so I believe that to understand the plan of God, we must 843 00:31:44,850 --> 00:31:46,130 be in fellowship with Him. 844 00:31:46,130 --> 00:31:47,370 We must be walking with Him. 845 00:31:47,530 --> 00:31:50,330 Now, there are going to be times and places where we stumble, 846 00:31:50,330 --> 00:31:53,610 and certainly there's a path to repentance and restoration. 847 00:31:54,330 --> 00:31:57,490 But if we want to know the plan of God, we need to be sensitive 848 00:31:57,490 --> 00:32:01,210 to the Word, sensitive to the Holy Spirit, because the Lord speaks 849 00:32:01,210 --> 00:32:02,730 to us other ways in the word of God. 850 00:32:02,730 --> 00:32:05,530 I mean, I can sit and read the Bible all day, but if I'm not sensitive 851 00:32:05,530 --> 00:32:09,260 to the Holy Spirit's conviction or comfort or guidance 852 00:32:09,580 --> 00:32:12,980 or teaching, then I'm not going to be able to understand God's. 853 00:32:12,980 --> 00:32:14,060 Plan for my life either. 854 00:32:14,540 --> 00:32:16,580 The Bible says that the Holy Spirit is, is. 855 00:32:16,580 --> 00:32:17,500 Is the comforter. 856 00:32:18,300 --> 00:32:21,740 And we love the Holy Spirit's comfort, but sometimes we forget 857 00:32:21,740 --> 00:32:25,860 that the Holy Spirit is also the convictor and we push away the 858 00:32:25,860 --> 00:32:27,660 Holy Spirit's conviction in our life. 859 00:32:28,380 --> 00:32:31,980 And, and I know that there are some commentators that says that 860 00:32:32,060 --> 00:32:36,990 I read this one time, that the Holy Spirit can be a pillow for comfort, 861 00:32:37,390 --> 00:32:39,710 but it can also be a prod of conviction. 862 00:32:40,030 --> 00:32:44,430 And we need to be equally welcoming to both of those things. 863 00:32:44,990 --> 00:32:47,550 But the Bible also says that the Holy Spirit will lead us into 864 00:32:47,550 --> 00:32:49,629 all truth or teach us in all truth. 865 00:32:50,110 --> 00:32:52,990 So the Holy Spirit will teach us truths from the word of God. 866 00:32:53,230 --> 00:32:54,550 The Holy Spirit will convict us. 867 00:32:54,550 --> 00:32:55,910 The Holy Spirit will comfort us. 868 00:32:55,910 --> 00:33:00,700 The Holy Spirit will lead for us the path that he has in, in our 869 00:33:00,700 --> 00:33:00,900 life. 870 00:33:00,900 --> 00:33:04,820 And so I encourage you to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, Holy 871 00:33:04,820 --> 00:33:07,460 Spirit's conviction, Holy Spirit's comfort. 872 00:33:07,940 --> 00:33:11,580 And so the proper response to the plan of God is to walk with him, 873 00:33:11,580 --> 00:33:12,340 obey him. 874 00:33:12,660 --> 00:33:13,340 Obedience. 875 00:33:13,340 --> 00:33:14,740 That's what Joshua showed us here. 876 00:33:14,740 --> 00:33:15,300 Obedience. 877 00:33:15,540 --> 00:33:16,100 Prep. 878 00:33:16,180 --> 00:33:16,860 Prepared. 879 00:33:16,860 --> 00:33:18,660 Being prepared to be used by God. 880 00:33:20,180 --> 00:33:22,740 They got their provisions ready to go to move. 881 00:33:23,220 --> 00:33:25,900 I would encourage you to get your provisions ready to go if God 882 00:33:25,900 --> 00:33:26,580 has you to move. 883 00:33:27,230 --> 00:33:29,270 And I'm not saying move away from Middletown Baptist Church just 884 00:33:29,270 --> 00:33:29,630 to move. 885 00:33:29,710 --> 00:33:30,910 I don't want to see you. 886 00:33:30,910 --> 00:33:35,430 I don't see anyone go, but I do want to see you move and follow 887 00:33:35,430 --> 00:33:37,150 God's will and plan for your life. 888 00:33:37,870 --> 00:33:41,830 You know, so someone asked me one time, is your church the right 889 00:33:41,830 --> 00:33:42,070 church? 890 00:33:42,070 --> 00:33:46,510 For me, my initial reaction, my fleshly reaction is like, of course, 891 00:33:46,510 --> 00:33:47,390 like, I'm biased. 892 00:33:47,710 --> 00:33:49,230 I want this church to be your church. 893 00:33:49,550 --> 00:33:52,590 But at the same time, this church isn't forever. 894 00:33:53,060 --> 00:33:55,380 I don't believe everyone in the world can come to Middletown 895 00:33:55,380 --> 00:33:55,820 Baptist Church. 896 00:33:55,820 --> 00:33:56,540 That's not God's plan. 897 00:33:56,540 --> 00:33:59,060 We would not reach the world for the cause of the gospel. 898 00:33:59,780 --> 00:34:02,500 Someone asked me, what are we going to do if we get so many people 899 00:34:02,500 --> 00:34:05,100 that we can't deal with this building anymore? 900 00:34:05,100 --> 00:34:05,460 And we. 901 00:34:05,700 --> 00:34:07,060 Maybe we'll build another building. 902 00:34:07,460 --> 00:34:08,660 Maybe we'll meet twice. 903 00:34:09,140 --> 00:34:10,540 Maybe we'll plan another church. 904 00:34:10,540 --> 00:34:11,460 Maybe we'll send people. 905 00:34:11,460 --> 00:34:13,580 Who knows what God has for Middletown Baptist Church. 906 00:34:13,580 --> 00:34:17,540 It's not my job to be the one who devises the plan. 907 00:34:17,540 --> 00:34:20,100 All my job is, is to do is follow God's will. 908 00:34:20,350 --> 00:34:21,270 And that's all of our jobs. 909 00:34:21,270 --> 00:34:24,270 Like a lot of times, what happened in my life, and maybe this 910 00:34:24,270 --> 00:34:28,830 is something that you struggle with, is I come up with my plan. 911 00:34:29,950 --> 00:34:33,030 I Come up with my 5 year plan, my 10 year plan, my 20 year plan, 912 00:34:33,030 --> 00:34:34,630 however long plans that you have. 913 00:34:34,630 --> 00:34:36,870 Some of you may be like, Pastor Josh, that's not me. 914 00:34:36,870 --> 00:34:37,550 I'm not a planner. 915 00:34:37,550 --> 00:34:38,390 I go day by day. 916 00:34:38,390 --> 00:34:39,310 Okay, that's fine too. 917 00:34:39,630 --> 00:34:42,710 But, but sometimes what people do is they make their plan and then 918 00:34:42,710 --> 00:34:44,190 they say, okay, God, bless this plan. 919 00:34:45,390 --> 00:34:45,990 But there's. 920 00:34:45,990 --> 00:34:48,430 There's not been any seeking after the Lord in this plan. 921 00:34:48,430 --> 00:34:50,440 It's just been, this is what I want, Lord. 922 00:34:50,440 --> 00:34:51,520 Now bless this plan. 923 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:53,160 We saw how that kind of goes. 924 00:34:53,160 --> 00:34:55,000 Or, or maybe you would even say it this way. 925 00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:58,480 God, I know you need me to do this, but I, I'm not wanting to wait 926 00:34:58,480 --> 00:34:59,560 for you and do it this way. 927 00:34:59,560 --> 00:35:00,720 I want to do it my way. 928 00:35:01,360 --> 00:35:03,280 We saw how that worked with Abraham, right? 929 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:05,120 Like, okay, got it. 930 00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:06,199 I believe you got. 931 00:35:06,199 --> 00:35:08,040 I believe that you have a son for me, but I'm gonna do it this 932 00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:08,320 way. 933 00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:10,640 Well, I'm gonna, I'm gonna try it my way. 934 00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:12,960 And, and we see the results of that as well. 935 00:35:13,440 --> 00:35:15,960 So I encourage you to think about, okay, what is God's plan for 936 00:35:15,960 --> 00:35:16,160 me? 937 00:35:16,160 --> 00:35:18,040 Like, there are some basic things that you don't need to pray 938 00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:18,320 about. 939 00:35:19,370 --> 00:35:19,690 Okay. 940 00:35:19,690 --> 00:35:23,170 I believe that is, he's not willing that any should perish, but 941 00:35:23,170 --> 00:35:24,330 all should come to repentance. 942 00:35:24,330 --> 00:35:24,770 Okay. 943 00:35:24,770 --> 00:35:25,450 It's God's plan. 944 00:35:25,450 --> 00:35:27,210 I believe he desires you to be saved. 945 00:35:27,210 --> 00:35:29,010 I believe he desires you to grow in him. 946 00:35:29,010 --> 00:35:32,730 I believe he desires to have you in his word and serving and being 947 00:35:32,730 --> 00:35:36,250 part of the local body of believers and presenting the gospel, 948 00:35:36,250 --> 00:35:37,930 being the salt and light, doing the Great Commission. 949 00:35:38,170 --> 00:35:39,930 So all of those things are given. 950 00:35:40,170 --> 00:35:41,090 We just go in that. 951 00:35:41,090 --> 00:35:42,730 Lord, give me the strength to do those things. 952 00:35:42,970 --> 00:35:44,410 Be with me when I'm doing those things. 953 00:35:44,810 --> 00:35:47,370 But there are other nuanced things that we do need to seek the 954 00:35:47,370 --> 00:35:48,250 Lord's guidance on. 955 00:35:48,490 --> 00:35:51,290 For some that are younger in the room, or maybe not younger, who. 956 00:35:51,290 --> 00:35:52,090 Who do I marry? 957 00:35:53,130 --> 00:35:55,210 Well, if you're already married, that's your plan, that's 958 00:35:55,210 --> 00:35:55,530 your person. 959 00:35:55,530 --> 00:35:55,930 Okay? 960 00:35:55,930 --> 00:35:56,530 Stay with it. 961 00:35:56,530 --> 00:35:59,130 Okay, but if you're not married yet, that's, that's a plan. 962 00:35:59,130 --> 00:36:01,130 That's a, that's a thing to pray for. 963 00:36:01,690 --> 00:36:03,090 Some, some people it's jobs. 964 00:36:03,090 --> 00:36:04,970 Some people it's, it's, it's where you live. 965 00:36:04,970 --> 00:36:07,850 Some people it's financial, some people it's whatever. 966 00:36:08,090 --> 00:36:10,930 But, but those are the things that God is going to guide us in 967 00:36:10,930 --> 00:36:11,850 more specific ways. 968 00:36:11,850 --> 00:36:14,350 And I encourage you to ask God's wisdom on that. 969 00:36:14,350 --> 00:36:17,750 And then also the way that God does work is he uses godly counsel. 970 00:36:18,390 --> 00:36:18,750 Right. 971 00:36:18,750 --> 00:36:21,830 Don't, don't be ashamed to go to someone that again, that you trust 972 00:36:21,830 --> 00:36:24,910 in the Lord that you think is, is following God's plan and say, 973 00:36:24,910 --> 00:36:26,710 hey, can, can you pray with me with this? 974 00:36:26,950 --> 00:36:28,470 Do you have any advice in this? 975 00:36:28,550 --> 00:36:31,430 Doesn't mean that you have to take that advice, but there's, there's 976 00:36:31,430 --> 00:36:32,950 wisdom in a multitude of counsel. 977 00:36:33,750 --> 00:36:35,670 And so don't, don't think that you're on an island. 978 00:36:35,670 --> 00:36:36,710 That's what the church is here for. 979 00:36:36,710 --> 00:36:40,390 The church, the church is not just a place where we come together 980 00:36:40,390 --> 00:36:43,230 and get entertained or hear the word of God or, you know, have 981 00:36:43,230 --> 00:36:43,990 a social club. 982 00:36:43,990 --> 00:36:45,730 Like, those are all great things. 983 00:36:45,890 --> 00:36:50,250 But at the end of the day, one of the huge benefits of being part 984 00:36:50,250 --> 00:36:53,770 of the family of God is the encouragement, the edification, confessing 985 00:36:53,770 --> 00:36:56,290 our faults one with another so that we can pray for each other. 986 00:36:57,650 --> 00:37:00,649 It's coming together and realizing that hopefully, hopefully 987 00:37:00,649 --> 00:37:04,890 if the church is running properly like the plan of God, we're 988 00:37:04,890 --> 00:37:06,690 in it together for the same purpose. 989 00:37:07,010 --> 00:37:08,530 So your victory is my victory. 990 00:37:09,570 --> 00:37:13,850 You know, that's really when we start to see God's plan working 991 00:37:13,850 --> 00:37:14,210 out. 992 00:37:14,370 --> 00:37:19,330 But when we suffer with selfishness, like, why is God blessing 993 00:37:19,330 --> 00:37:19,810 that person? 994 00:37:19,970 --> 00:37:21,250 That should be my ministry. 995 00:37:21,970 --> 00:37:25,530 Why is God giving so many people to that small group? 996 00:37:25,530 --> 00:37:27,090 And why is not my small group growing? 997 00:37:27,090 --> 00:37:28,370 I want my small group to grow. 998 00:37:28,850 --> 00:37:31,330 When selfishness starts to seep in, we start to have issues, 999 00:37:31,330 --> 00:37:31,650 right? 1000 00:37:31,650 --> 00:37:32,690 Because we think that person. 1001 00:37:32,770 --> 00:37:34,850 Because that's really ultimately covetousness. 1002 00:37:34,930 --> 00:37:38,050 Covetousness is I want what that person has, and I don't think 1003 00:37:38,050 --> 00:37:38,770 they should have that. 1004 00:37:39,960 --> 00:37:43,320 And that's, that leads to bitterness, leads to a lot of other 1005 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:43,720 sins. 1006 00:37:44,040 --> 00:37:46,360 So what I've encouraged you to do is understand that if there's 1007 00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:50,000 a believer that's being blessed by God, it's a blessing for 1008 00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:51,880 you because we're part of the family of God. 1009 00:37:52,840 --> 00:37:55,440 And I encourage you to think about that and pray about that. 1010 00:37:55,440 --> 00:38:00,240 And so we're going to come back in chapter two, Joshua, chapter 1011 00:38:00,240 --> 00:38:05,280 two, when we're going to see the famous story of the spies going 1012 00:38:05,280 --> 00:38:06,920 into the land there. 1013 00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:09,560 And Rahab, some of you know the story of Rahab. 1014 00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:13,560 If you don't, it's a very interesting story and we'll get into 1015 00:38:13,560 --> 00:38:15,720 that as we go along here in the book of Joshua. 1016 00:38:15,720 --> 00:38:17,800 So I hope that this is a beneficial study for you. 1017 00:38:18,040 --> 00:38:19,920 I hope that you can read ahead. 1018 00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:21,400 I would encourage you to read ahead. 1019 00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:24,480 Obviously, most of you probably have your own Bible reading 1020 00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:26,440 plan and that's fantastic. 1021 00:38:26,600 --> 00:38:29,920 But I would encourage you to know like hey, what what were in 1022 00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:30,760 books of the Bible. 1023 00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:34,360 So Sunday mornings were in Romans, Sunday nights were in Joshua, 1024 00:38:34,360 --> 00:38:37,200 Wednesday nights were just concluding first John. 1025 00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:37,720 Okay. 1026 00:38:37,720 --> 00:38:40,680 So you know, hey, I could read ahead and be prepared for that. 1027 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:43,800 Unless you guys like surprises, then you'll just have 1028 00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:44,200 to wait. 1029 00:38:44,600 --> 00:38:47,600 But nonetheless, I think it'll be beneficial for us to travel through 1030 00:38:47,600 --> 00:38:48,120 this together. 1031 00:38:49,240 --> 00:38:51,880 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 1032 00:38:51,880 --> 00:38:52,520 podcast. 1033 00:38:52,760 --> 00:38:55,080 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 1034 00:38:55,720 --> 00:38:58,000 If you would like to find out more information about our church 1035 00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:01,200 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org 1036 00:39:01,990 --> 00:39:04,390 or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 1037 00:39:05,110 --> 00:39:09,550 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaroiddletownbaptistchurch 1038 00:39:09,550 --> 00:39:12,150 dot com if you've enjoyed this podcast. 1039 00:39:12,390 --> 00:39:16,790 Please subscribe and follow along for future podcast and updates. 1040 00:39:17,510 --> 00:39:18,390 Thank you so much. 1041 00:39:18,630 --> 00:39:19,350 God bless. 1042 00:39:19,590 --> 00:39:20,870 Have a wonderful day.