The podcast episode emphasizes the theme of God’s faithfulness and the necessity of a deeper relationship with Him, as illustrated through the biblical account in the Book of Joshua. The speaker discusses the significance of Caleb’s request for the promised mountain, reflecting on how believers are encouraged to aspire for greater spiritual heights in their Christian journey. He highlights the transition from reliance on miraculous provisions, such as manna, to embracing the blessings of the land of Canaan, which symbolizes a more abundant and fulfilling Christian life. The discussion also touches on the importance of remembrance and obedience in nurturing one’s faith, urging listeners to seek a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Ultimately, the episode serves as a reminder that true growth in faith requires an active commitment to pursue a deeper connection with God and to recognize His guiding presence in their lives.
Takeaways:
- The central theme of the podcast emphasizes God’s faithfulness and the importance of spiritual growth in a Christian’s life.
- Listeners are encouraged to seek a deeper relationship with Jesus, striving for a more abundant spiritual experience.
- The speaker illustrates the significance of the Passover as a restoration of fellowship with God and its relevance to contemporary believers.
- He emphasizes the necessity of personal growth and reliance on the Holy Spirit for a fulfilled Christian life.
- The discussion includes the transition from dependence on manna to the sustenance found in the land of Canaan, symbolizing growth.
- The podcast highlights the need for Christians to remember past victories and maintain a strong connection with God through daily practice.
Transcript
God is great, isn't he?
Speaker A:His faithfulness is wonderful.
Speaker A:Turn if you would in your Bibles to the book of Joshua, Joshua, chapter five.
Speaker A:Continue our series in the Book of Joshua.
Speaker A:Think about the faithfulness of God.
Speaker A:I think about the hymn Great is Thy Faithfulness.
Speaker A:God is so great and he's so faithful.
Speaker A:Appreciate that song.
Speaker A:Our theme is Higher Call.
Speaker A:That's our theme for the year.
Speaker A:It's out of Joshua, chapter 14.
Speaker A:When Caleb, as they entered the land and about five years into the battle for Canaan land, they came to that mountain.
Speaker A:And he said to Joshua, I want the mountain.
Speaker A:Give me the mountain, the mountain that was promised to him.
Speaker A:And of course, we all have mountains in our lives.
Speaker A:And part of that picture or the analogy for us is that we as Christians, if you're saved this morning, know Jesus as your Savior.
Speaker A:That it ought to be your desire to grow in the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Speaker A:As we grow, we climb higher.
Speaker A:As we grow, we go forward in our Christian life.
Speaker A:We come to that part in our Christian life where we want to have the abundant Christian life, the Spirit filled Christian life, certain terms and various terms used for it.
Speaker A:But we want to go forward.
Speaker A:And I hope that's your goal.
Speaker A:I hope that's what you as a Christian want in your own personal life is a greater.
Speaker A:I'll just this way, a greater relationship with Jesus.
Speaker A:A greater relationship with Jesus than you had last week or the week before.
Speaker A:And as we go forward in our Christian life, look at Joshua chapter 5.
Speaker A:And we.
Speaker A:We left off in at verse 10 a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker A:So last Sunday we preached again and we'll cover that in a minute.
Speaker A:But Christ is our life.
Speaker A:So now let's look at verse 10 through the rest of the chapter.
Speaker A:And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal and kept the Passover on the 14th day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho.
Speaker A:They're just about a mile from Jericho.
Speaker A:And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the Passover.
Speaker A:Unleavened cakes and parched corn in the selfsame day.
Speaker A:And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land.
Speaker A:Neither had the children of Israel manna any more, but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
Speaker A:So remember, we're going to read the rest in a moment, but remember now, when they came to the river Jordan the first time, 40 years prior to this, really 39, but 40 years prior to this they didn't cross over.
Speaker A:They sent in the 12 spies.
Speaker A:10 came back and said, we're not able to.
Speaker A:Joshua.
Speaker A:And Caleb said, yes, let's go in.
Speaker A:Let's take them.
Speaker A:The point I want to make is, once they began to wander in the wilderness, God supplied for them manna every morning, except Saturday.
Speaker A:Every morning they would go out and on the ground would be bread.
Speaker A:It was like the dew in the morning.
Speaker A:And they would pick it up and they would eat it.
Speaker A:They were only allowed a certain amount every day.
Speaker A:They'd pick up that certain amount every day.
Speaker A:They could make all sorts of stuff with it.
Speaker A:They could grind it down, they could bake it, they could fry it, and all sorts of things they could do with it.
Speaker A:But God supplied it miraculously.
Speaker A:Imagine that, going out in your front yard and just picking up little round, you know, balls of bread.
Speaker A:It's amazing.
Speaker A:God provided them quail in the evening.
Speaker A:So when it became evening time that dusk, quail would come into the camp and they literally just go find, just pick them up.
Speaker A:God supplied meat for them.
Speaker A:It's amazing.
Speaker A:God supplied water for them.
Speaker A:And so now they come to the river Jordan again.
Speaker A:They cross over the river Jordan.
Speaker A:And now the manna has stopped.
Speaker A:They began to eat of the old corn.
Speaker A:They began to eat the fruit of that land.
Speaker A:And the manna stopped.
Speaker A:All right, verse 13.
Speaker A:And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, there stood a man over against him with a sword drawn in his hand.
Speaker A:And Joshua went out unto him and said unto him, art thou for us or for our adversaries?
Speaker A:And he said, nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come?
Speaker A:And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and did worship and said unto him, what saith my Lord unto his servant?
Speaker A:And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, loose thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place wherein thou standest is holy ground.
Speaker A:And Joshua did so.
Speaker A:Let's pray.
Speaker A:Heavenly Father, again we come to you, asking you, Lord, to bless the message.
Speaker A:Bless the word as it's been presented.
Speaker A:I pray God that you would open hearts and may we see Jesus Christ again this morning in a greater way.
Speaker A:In Jesus name, Amen.
Speaker A:Again Israel crossed over Jordan.
Speaker A:God parted the waters miraculously of the river Jordan.
Speaker A:The Ark of the Covenant was in the center of the river Jordan.
Speaker A:As the children of Israel, 1 to 3 million of them, crossed over.
Speaker A:They got on the other side again a picture of dying to self.
Speaker A:Jordan.
Speaker A:And I'M going to repeat this on purpose for the next till the end of the year.
Speaker A:Jordan's a picture of dying to self as they cross the River Jordan.
Speaker A:They are in act of obedience to the Lord.
Speaker A:They cross over looking to the Ark, which is a picture of Jesus Christ as they come up out of the River Jordan.
Speaker A:It's a picture of the resurrection and living the resurrected life as they come to Canaan land, the land that was promised to them, the land that was promised to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.
Speaker A:The land promised that God would give them the land.
Speaker A:Over and over again, you'll see it repeated.
Speaker A:I will give it to you.
Speaker A:You won't earn it.
Speaker A:You're not going to be able to defeat these enemies on your own.
Speaker A:It was humanly impossible to defeat Jericho.
Speaker A:The Israelite army had no hope of taking Jericho without the Lord.
Speaker A:But I will give it to you.
Speaker A:It's your inheritance because I promised it to Abraham, I promised it to Isaac, promised it to Jacob.
Speaker A:And there they cross over Jordan.
Speaker A:They camp in Gilgal.
Speaker A:Chapter four.
Speaker A:And you would think as again, as they cross over Jordan, that they would go right directly to the battle.
Speaker A:They would go right to Jericho and start, you know, start trying to whip the enemy.
Speaker A:But no, God gives a delay.
Speaker A:He has them encamp in Gilgal and there he preps them for the battle.
Speaker A:They're about to battle for seven years.
Speaker A:In fact, longer than that, they're going to battle and God is prepping them.
Speaker A:A little delay here as God gets them ready to go in and begin to fight.
Speaker A:All the Ites people, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, Hittites, Jebusites, I don't know.
Speaker A:There's so many of them.
Speaker A:Anyway, there are about seven of them.
Speaker A:And so God's getting them ready.
Speaker A:He tells them to get 12 stones and put them in the Jordan.
Speaker A:He takes 12 stones and puts them in Gilgal.
Speaker A:These big boulders, big stones to remind them of what God did for them as he parted the Jordan river and they walked across on dry ground.
Speaker A:So get it in your mind.
Speaker A:They cross over the River Jordan on dry ground.
Speaker A:He sets up two memorials in order for the children of Israel to be reminded of what God did.
Speaker A:Every time they came back from a battle, they would come back to Gilgal.
Speaker A:Gilgal was their home base.
Speaker A:Every time they went out to battle, they'd come back and they'd see the stones and be reminded that God parted the River Jordan and they walked across on dry ground.
Speaker A:Two to three million of them.
Speaker A:Amazing.
Speaker A:Amazing.
Speaker A:Not only that, but Again, the picture of the resurrection as they God gave that great miracle and they come up on the other side and to live that resurrected life, to live that abundant life, to live a life that is no longer dependent upon manna.
Speaker A:But they're going to eat the old corn of the land.
Speaker A:They're going to eat the fruit of the land.
Speaker A:And we'll describe that here in a moment.
Speaker A:They come to Gilgal and there they have the act of circumcision.
Speaker A:And it's a picture of renouncing, renouncing their own life, renouncing their own will, their own way.
Speaker A:And it's an act of obedience to God, saying, God, I surrender to you.
Speaker A:It's a cutting away of the flesh, a cutting away of the old nature, the cutting away of self.
Speaker A:It's depending again, as far as application to us.
Speaker A:It's a dependent upon the Holy Spirit.
Speaker A:It's an act of remembering that we are again dependent upon God.
Speaker A:We ought to be dependent upon God and the Holy Spirit using the word of God to cut away, to cut away our flesh, to renounce the sin that's in our life, to see that sin and ask for forgiveness.
Speaker A:And then we talked about the restoration they had the Passover.
Speaker A:The Passover.
Speaker A:What was the Passover?
Speaker A:God used the Passover to bring back fellowship with the children of Israel.
Speaker A:Restoration.
Speaker A:Again, they renounced their sin.
Speaker A:They act of obedience to God, putting their faith in Jesus, putting their faith in God, restored that fellowship with God.
Speaker A:Romans 5:1 says, Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Speaker A:I want to remind you this morning the Passover which is found in Ezekiel chapter 12.
Speaker A:The Passover is a picture of the death of Jesus Christ that Jesus Christ gave all for us.
Speaker A:The only way to have again peace with God is through Jesus Christ.
Speaker A:The only way to have your sins forgiven and to escape hell and have a home in heaven is through the work of Jesus Christ, his life, his death and his resurrection.
Speaker A:It's only by Jesus Christ and faith through him that we can be reunited with God and again have peace with God.
Speaker A:Again we think about the peace of God, this restoration, this restoration of fellowship with God.
Speaker A:Philippians chapter 4, verse 7 says, and the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your heart.
Speaker A:And so forth through Jesus Christ.
Speaker A:Again, as we accept Christ as our Savior, we gain peace with God.
Speaker A:And then as Christians, we have the peace of God that passes all understanding.
Speaker A:When we act in obedience to him, when we are dependent upon him.
Speaker A:We can have this peace of God which Passeth all understanding.
Speaker A:It's amazing to me how I see families, Christian families, born again Christian families, go through some very rough times.
Speaker A:And you watch their life as they go through these very, very bad detours in life, adversity in their life.
Speaker A:And God gives them grace, abundant, and you'll see that peace of God which passes all understanding in their lives.
Speaker A:It's amazing.
Speaker A:Right now, Brother Richard Gross is not doing very well.
Speaker A:And I went by the hospice center there on Thursday and visited with Eric and with Rebecca and just dealing with them.
Speaker A:And there's Brother Ross there, Gross, close to the end of his life.
Speaker A:And just to see the peace of God in Eric's life, his son's life, to see the peace of God in his wife's life.
Speaker A:Rebecca, by the way, they met each other when they were children in church.
Speaker A:They were raised in the same church, they got saved in the same church, they got married in the same church.
Speaker A:And they stayed in that church until they moved up here to be closer to family because of health reasons.
Speaker A:And that was just a few years ago.
Speaker A:I mean, here, I don't know how many years.
Speaker A:They're in their 70s, but they've been together all this time.
Speaker A:And yet to see the peace of God in their life is amazing.
Speaker A:It's amazing.
Speaker A:God supplies that peace that we have.
Speaker A:And I used death as an illustration.
Speaker A:But listen, there's so much more to it than that.
Speaker A:The peace of God that we can experience when it comes to anything in our life, whether it's relational with our children or with our spouses, whether it's have to do with our job and having that peace of God when again adversity comes, or having the peace of God when good things are happening.
Speaker A:It's an amazing, amazing thing as a Christian, to experience the peace of God, that grace that we need in time, just in time.
Speaker A:We need it.
Speaker A:We think of the first Passover, the tenth plague in the land of Egypt.
Speaker A:God said, I'm going to come through and I'm going to kill all the firstborn.
Speaker A:You need to take a lamb of the first year, you need to bring it to your house, you need to tie it up to the front porch for four days.
Speaker A:At the end of the four days, you'll take the lamb and you'll slay the lamb and you cook part of it and so forth.
Speaker A:And then you'll take the blood of that lamb and you'll put it on the doorposts of your house.
Speaker A:And when I come through that night, when I come through that night and I see the blood, what I will pass over you.
Speaker A:That's why it's called the Passover.
Speaker A:I will pass over you.
Speaker A:And all the Israelites who obeyed God's command, killed the lamb, put the blood on the doorposts.
Speaker A:The firstborn in that home did not die.
Speaker A:But all across Egypt, all the Egyptians firstborn died.
Speaker A:Even in the house of Pharaoh, the Bible says the firstborn died.
Speaker A:But when I see the blood, I will pass over you.
Speaker A:What a wonderful analogy.
Speaker A:And picture for us again, as the children of Israel get to Gilgal and they take of the Passover, the blood shed presented to God.
Speaker A:When I see the blood, I will pass over you again.
Speaker A:Bring fellowship back with God.
Speaker A:And then as they continue in the land having the peace of God, so many Christians are content with living in the wilderness.
Speaker A:By the way, that's the second best Christianity.
Speaker A:Why would you want second best?
Speaker A:How's your walk with God this morning?
Speaker A:So many Christians are caught up in petty things, caught up in squabbles that really have no bearing on eternity.
Speaker A:I think about VBS this week and the souls that were the kids that were saved this week.
Speaker A:What a great investment our church and you made this week.
Speaker A:All the hours put into it.
Speaker A:It's worth it all.
Speaker A:Again, I always use the illustration about carpet, but, you know, we shouldn't fight over the color carpet.
Speaker A:It doesn't matter what color it is.
Speaker A:Shouldn't fight over whatever petty things are going on between you and other people and between you and maybe a fellow church member.
Speaker A:When our goal is to see folks get saved.
Speaker A:That's our purpose as a church, to see people receive the gospel and accept Christ as their savior.
Speaker A:To experience that peace with God.
Speaker A:We need to realize the Lord responds to obedient children.
Speaker A:We need to count on his presence.
Speaker A:We need his presence.
Speaker A:We need it.
Speaker A:We need his presence.
Speaker A:Last Sunday, again, I preached on Christ is our life.
Speaker A:Is Christ your life?
Speaker A:Are you living in his power?
Speaker A:Are you reckoning upon his victory?
Speaker A:I'm thankful there's victory in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Speaker A:He is the captain of the Lord of hosts.
Speaker A:He does go before us in battle.
Speaker A:And we need to realize the lessons from Gilgal is again that Israel's situation was changing, that things were changing fast.
Speaker A:Everybody loves change.
Speaker A:Change is awesome.
Speaker A:I love change.
Speaker A:I wish things would change every week, especially as you get older.
Speaker A:Change is great.
Speaker A:No, no, it's the opposite, isn't it?
Speaker A:We don't like change.
Speaker A:And a lot, especially men, are geared and some ladies are geared that way.
Speaker A:But I even don't Like I have a habit.
Speaker A:This is what I do every day.
Speaker A:This is kind of.
Speaker A:I go to the restaurant, I eat the same thing every time.
Speaker A:I mean, it's just.
Speaker A:I don't want change.
Speaker A:I don't want to go to a restaurant and them not have what I used on the.
Speaker A:They change the menu.
Speaker A:If I go into Home Depot, don't change where a tool is at or where something's at.
Speaker A:Do that at Walmart, because I don't go there.
Speaker A:My wife.
Speaker A:My wife, that's sad.
Speaker A:But I drop her off at the door of Walmart, I go sit in the parking lot, I come by and pick her up, and when she's done, I help her load the bags.
Speaker A:Yeah, good husband.
Speaker A:But I know why they changed and put stuff on different aisles.
Speaker A:So you have to go search for it.
Speaker A:So you'll see other stuff.
Speaker A:But Home Depot better not.
Speaker A:I go to Tractor Supply.
Speaker A:I want every tractor supply in the world that when I walk in, the stuff is in the same spot.
Speaker A:Whether I go into Cater or Lake Worth or Bowie or wherever I'm in Tractor Supply, it better be in the same spot, because I don't like change.
Speaker A:None of you other men and ladies, huh?
Speaker A:None of y' all are that way again.
Speaker A:Bunch of hypocrites.
Speaker A:Better be in the same spot.
Speaker A:No, we don't like change.
Speaker A:I can't imagine the change that took place on that day as they ate of the corn or they ate of the fruit of the land.
Speaker A:They got up the next morning.
Speaker A:Listen, they've been eating manna for 40 years.
Speaker A:They got up the next morning, there was no manna.
Speaker A:Well, that would have made an impression, wouldn't it?
Speaker A:Something you had been dependent upon, something that you needed because there was no other way to get food.
Speaker A:They were in the desert.
Speaker A:There was no other way to get food for 2 or 3 million people.
Speaker A:God supplied it in such a miraculous way, but now it's gone.
Speaker A:Y' all remember the story of Saul, the first king of Israel?
Speaker A:Israel cried out for a king.
Speaker A:We want a king.
Speaker A:We want a king.
Speaker A:We want to be like the nations around us.
Speaker A:For 300 years, the nation of Israel had been a theocracy, and God had been the God had been the king.
Speaker A:And he did so through his priests, right?
Speaker A:There was no king in Israel.
Speaker A:They cried out for one.
Speaker A:God gave him one and gave him Saul.
Speaker A:Saul started out pretty good, but as time went on, Saul did not walk with God.
Speaker A:We know that.
Speaker A:What did Saul do?
Speaker A:He leaned on Samuel.
Speaker A:He leaned on the high priest.
Speaker A:He leaned on Samuel as his connection to God.
Speaker A:Saul didn't have a relationship with God.
Speaker A:His relationship with God was through Samuel, was through Samuel.
Speaker A:I can't imagine again as that manna wasn't there anymore and things began to change.
Speaker A:Can I tell you, in the Christian life, things change and in this instance, you want them to change.
Speaker A:God is bringing them into a place that they have never been.
Speaker A:God was bringing them to a place of faith that they had never been to.
Speaker A:God was bringing them to a level they had never been to.
Speaker A:And God would do the same for you.
Speaker A:As you walk with the Lord.
Speaker A:There has to come a time when you want to have a personal relationship with Jesus.
Speaker A:Now, I'm not talking about here about salvation.
Speaker A:I'm talking about as a Christian, that you develop personally a walk with God.
Speaker A:That you are almost every day getting up and reading your Bible and praying and you are digging in the Scriptures yourself.
Speaker A:I love going to a service and hearing especially Brother Stewart when he comes.
Speaker A:He always points out something that maybe I had never seen before in the Scripture.
Speaker A:And I love that.
Speaker A:But have you ever read your Bible and found something you had never seen before?
Speaker A:Have you been digging into the Scriptures and you've been reading and God lays up something upon your heart and something fresh comes to mind as you read the Scriptures?
Speaker A:That's feeding on the old corn.
Speaker A:That's not just being dependent upon your preacher to bring you through spiritually.
Speaker A:That's not just depending upon your Sunday school teacher to bring you along.
Speaker A:It's not just depending upon that deacon or maybe your dad or your mom or whatever.
Speaker A:You need to have your personal relationship with Jesus.
Speaker A:You need to develop your walk with God because God in that will prepare you for some great victories.
Speaker A:And God in doing so and bringing you through and bringing you and growing you to that point, you personally can experience those abundant things in which God has planned for you.
Speaker A:God hasn't planned for you.
Speaker A:God told children of Israel, you're going to inherit the land.
Speaker A:You're going to give you this land.
Speaker A:But he preps them first.
Speaker A:No longer living by sight.
Speaker A:No longer living by sight.
Speaker A:No longer living by the manna and the meat in the evening and the cloud by day and the fire by night and the water.
Speaker A:Now they were living by what faith?
Speaker A:Faith.
Speaker A:God leads us to higher ground.
Speaker A:He does all things to our good.
Speaker A:He moves us from the ABCs of Christianity into his rest, into that abundant Christian life as we learn to depend upon him and his grace and his power.
Speaker A:Secondly, not only again are we to be Reminded that we need his presence and be reminded of that growth that we need.
Speaker A:But this revelation of his presence, think about this.
Speaker A:It infers here that Joshua takes a walk, and apparently they were only a mile from Jericho.
Speaker A:Apparently he was walking, and in sight was the walls of Jericho.
Speaker A:And as he does, though, he sees a man, and the man has his sword out of his scabbard and his sword drawn.
Speaker A:And Joshua sees him and he says, are you for us?
Speaker A:Are you against us?
Speaker A:He said, nay.
Speaker A:Basically said, nah, neither one.
Speaker A:I'm the captain, the Lord of hosts.
Speaker A:The captain, the Lord of hosts.
Speaker A:What happened?
Speaker A:I could just imagine as Joshua is looking at those walls going, how in the world are we going to get over these walls?
Speaker A:How in the world are we going to get through these walls, humanly speaking?
Speaker A:Again, they were in a possible situation.
Speaker A:God had said they were going to give him Jericho, that God was going to give them the enemies of the land.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:But how in the world are we gonna get through the wall?
Speaker A:How are we gonna get through the gates?
Speaker A:What, battling ram are we gonna have to have?
Speaker A:How many ladders are we gonna have?
Speaker A:How high do the ladders have to be?
Speaker A:You could just see maybe swirling in his mind, and he sees this man with a sword drawn.
Speaker A:It was not just a man.
Speaker A:It was the captain of the Lord of hosts.
Speaker A:He fell on his face before the great commander, his face at the feet of Jesus.
Speaker A:You say that was Jesus?
Speaker A:Well, Exodus 3:5.
Speaker A:Moses went on top of the mount and there saw a bush that was burning but not consumed.
Speaker A:And a voice spake out of the bush and said, moses, take your shoes off.
Speaker A:The place where you stand is holy ground.
Speaker A:Forty years later, we see that same term repeated.
Speaker A:Joshua, take your shoe off.
Speaker A:You're standing on holy ground.
Speaker A:We know From John chapter 8 that Jesus said, I was the voice that spoke out of the burning bush.
Speaker A:He claimed that.
Speaker A:And this is what we call a theophany or christophany.
Speaker A:It's an Old Testament appearance of Jesus Christ.
Speaker A:He appears to Joshua as the captain of the Lord of hosts.
Speaker A:And just as in the New Testament, we find the leper that falls before the face of Jesus and worships him.
Speaker A:We see Peter when he steps into the boat after going through the storm, and he steps back in the boat, he falls and puts his face and worships Jesus.
Speaker A:We see this in the New Testament several times.
Speaker A:Those who fell before the feet of Jesus and worshiped him, Joshua just follows suit, falls at the feet of Jesus and worships him.
Speaker A:Jesus Christ, the captain.
Speaker A:Now he's the captain of the unseen army, Joshua's going to lead the visible army.
Speaker A:Joshua's going to lead the Israelites into battle.
Speaker A:But Jesus is leading the unseen army.
Speaker A:You say, preacher, there's an unseen army.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And we sometimes take this for granted.
Speaker A:And maybe we're a little hesitant to talk about it, because sometimes you might think, well, people are going to think we're weird.
Speaker A:But can I tell you, the Bible makes it very, very clear that there's a battle taking place we cannot see.
Speaker A:In fact, he says in Ephesians chapter six, that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world.
Speaker A:There's a battle taking place we cannot see.
Speaker A:By the way, a couple of times he's opened up for people to see that we know that the again, the servant of Elisha saw it right.
Speaker A:Remember that the armies of Syria had surrounded Elisha's house.
Speaker A:And the servant of Elisha comes out and says, what are we going to do?
Speaker A:What are we going to do?
Speaker A:And God says, hey, God, would you open his eyes to see what we cannot see?
Speaker A:And God opened that servant's eyes, the spiritual battle that was taking place.
Speaker A:And he could see the hosts, the armies of God, who were standing ready to defeat the Syrian army.
Speaker A:Can I tell you, there's an unseen battle taking place.
Speaker A:And what we understand from this, an illustration for us, an analogy for us to understand as Christians that and as the Jews were, as they were to go into battle, understand the captain, the Lord of hosts, was going before them.
Speaker A:He was leading the charge.
Speaker A:And he wasn't leading the charge with visible army.
Speaker A:He was leading the charge with an invisible army to defeat the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
Speaker A:We need the Lord to do something for us.
Speaker A:Because what we accomplish through our own planning and our own programs, and certainly God can work through those.
Speaker A:But understand, we can put all those together.
Speaker A:But what we really need is God's hand on it.
Speaker A:We need the power of God to fight for us, to gain the victory for us.
Speaker A:We must be committed.
Speaker A:We must surrender.
Speaker A:We must.
Speaker A:As the children of Israel, we must remember.
Speaker A:We must remember.
Speaker A:We see the 12 stones.
Speaker A:We must remember.
Speaker A:We must remember.
Speaker A:We must look back and see the victories God's given us.
Speaker A:By the way, the first great victory was on the cross when you accepted Christ as your Savior.
Speaker A:I hope today you know Jesus Christ as your personal savior.
Speaker A:I hope today that you have knelt at the feet of the cross and the blood of Jesus Christ has washed away your sins and the only way that's gonna happen is by you putting your faith and trust in him, by believing and understanding that he died and he was buried and he rose again for your sins, that you repent of your sins, understanding that your sins and my sins put him on the cross.
Speaker A:He had no sins of his own.
Speaker A:He who knew no sin became sin for us.
Speaker A:He died in our place.
Speaker A:Do you understand that?
Speaker A:I should have been on the cross, but instead he died for me.
Speaker A:He died for my sins.
Speaker A:He paid the price for my sins.
Speaker A:He paid my sin debt.
Speaker A:He paid your sin debt.
Speaker A:Again, simply putting your faith and trust in him, not in your works, not in baptism, not in church membership, not being a good person.
Speaker A:All that leads to hell, all that is is the broad road that leads to hell.
Speaker A:You must put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ and Him alone.
Speaker A:Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life.
Speaker A:No man cometh in the Father, but by me.
Speaker A:That he is the only way.
Speaker A:He's not part of the way.
Speaker A:He's not kind of the way.
Speaker A:He's not the best way.
Speaker A:He's the only way.
Speaker A:We as Christians need to remember, though, the sacrifice he made on Calvary.
Speaker A:We need to remember the 12 stones and be reminded of the great victories that God has already given us, whether it's at salvation or the many other victories he's given us.
Speaker A:It's Satan who likes to remind you of your past.
Speaker A:It's Satan that likes to remind you of your wrong past, of the bad stuff in your past.
Speaker A:Can I remind you, when he reminds you of your past, remind him of his future.
Speaker A:Because one day he'll be thrown into hell forever and we just need to again be reminded of what great things God has done for us.
Speaker A:Be reminded of that and then focus on Jesus.
Speaker A:Focus on the ark.
Speaker A:Renounce your sin.
Speaker A:Renounce yourself.
Speaker A:Renounce and put your faith and trust and obedience into Jesus Christ.
Speaker A:Renew that fellowship.
Speaker A:Maybe you have wandered from the Lord as a Christian.
Speaker A:Maybe you.
Speaker A:By the way, he doesn't wander from you, you wonder from Him.
Speaker A:Maybe you have.
Speaker A:Maybe you have stopped that personal walk that you once had.
Speaker A:Maybe you've never started.
Speaker A:Jesus Christ desires a personal relationship with you.
Speaker A:You need his presence.
Speaker A:Israel needed his presence.
Speaker A:We need the captain, the Lord of hosts, to lead us.
Speaker A:We should follow him.
Speaker A:In Exodus, chapter 33 and 34, you had a back and forth between God and Moses.
Speaker A:Remember, they did that a lot.
Speaker A:God's like, all right, Moses, get out of the way.
Speaker A:I'm going to kill all these people.
Speaker A:The Israelites, wipe them off the face of the surf.
Speaker A:And I'll raise you up a new people.
Speaker A:Moses like, no, Lord, don't do that.
Speaker A:It'll hurt your testimony.
Speaker A:Then it would be Moses saying, Moses, he would come back and go, lord, wipe them out.
Speaker A:This happened several times, but now they were getting close again to coming to the River Jordan.
Speaker A:And God said to Moses, I will bless you.
Speaker A:I will do all these things for the people.
Speaker A:But I'm not going with you.
Speaker A:I'm not going with you.
Speaker A:I'm not going with him.
Speaker A:And Moses, and I'm summarizing here.
Speaker A:Moses begs him.
Speaker A:Moses begs God, we need your presence.
Speaker A:We can't go forward without your presence.
Speaker A:And God says, okay, I'll go with you.
Speaker A:We need his presence.
Speaker A:We need a begging for his presence.
Speaker A:Lord, I know there's things in my life that shouldn't be there.
Speaker A:Lord, help me.
Speaker A:Help me to renounce those things that shouldn't be there.
Speaker A:Help me to remember the cross of Calvary, the blood that you shed there for me and my sins.
Speaker A:Lord, help me, Lord.
Speaker A:I want that sweet Passover.
Speaker A:I want that sweet fellowship that maybe I once experienced.
Speaker A:I want that again.
Speaker A:Or maybe you've never had that sweet presence or felt that sweet presence, man, just to have that fellowship with him.
Speaker A:Lord, I want that.
Speaker A:And Lord, I need your presence.
Speaker A:I want the captain of the Lord of hosts to fight for me.
Speaker A:He's promised to do so if we will follow him.
Speaker A:Christianity is not a religion.
Speaker A:It's not a set of rules.
Speaker A:It's a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Speaker A:I think it's good to be reminded it's all about him, not about us.
Speaker A:Whether you are a secretary walking with God, working at Lockheed or some other factory, walking with God.
Speaker A:Whether you're a housewife walking with the Lord.
Speaker A:Whether you're a dad walking with the Lord.
Speaker A:Whether you're a teenager who's connected to God in whatever capacity God has seen fit to put you in.
Speaker A:The important part of that is that you be connected to the Lord on a daily basis, that you walk with him on a daily basis, that you develop a sweet relationship with Him.
Speaker A:Because if you do so, he's promised to lead you as the captain of the Lord of hosts.
Speaker A:He will lead you.
Speaker A:He will fight your battles for you.
Speaker A:He will go before you remember you're walking with an omnipotent God.
Speaker A:He's all powerful.
Speaker A:He can do anything.
Speaker A:He's there in every situation.
Speaker A:But we need the captive Lord of Hosts.
Speaker A:Not with the sword in his scabbard, but the sword is out, ready to fight for you.
Speaker A:We are more than conquerors.
Speaker A:Through him that loved us, gave his life for us.
Speaker A:As Christians, we need his presence.
Speaker A:We need his presence.
Speaker A:He will go before us.
Speaker A:I don't know how many times we've said this about our church, but if every member was to walk with the Lord every day and come here next Sunday, having walked with the Lord during the week, all week, I believe we would not even come close to understanding the change that would take place in our midst.
Speaker A:Because he's promised that when he is comfortable, that when the habitation is habitable, it's comfortable for him, the Holy Spirit, that He will make himself evident.
Speaker A:Now I'm thankful he's promised to be with us.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Where two or more are gathered together, there am I in the midst.
Speaker A:But just because he's in here, just because he's present with us, and he is this morning, no doubt Bible makes that clear, doesn't mean he has to make himself evident.
Speaker A:You want to see God make Himself evident among us.
Speaker A:We as a church family, we need to do more than just a Sunday and a Wednesday.
Speaker A:We need to walk with the Lord every day.
Speaker A:Well, that just going to benefit the church?
Speaker A:No, it's going to benefit you, but in full circle as you walk with the Lord, it'll benefit us collectively as well.
Speaker A:And we'll talk about that with Achan later down the road.
Speaker A:God's so good, isn't he?
Speaker A:I'm pressing on the upward way New heights I'm gaining every day still praying as I onward bound Lord, plant my feet on higher ground Lord, lift me up and let me stand by faith on heaven's tableland A higher plane than I have found Lord, plant my feet on higher ground Every Christian's prayer should be Lord, plant my feet on higher ground let's all stand.
Notice a problem?
Our sermon archive represents hundreds of hours of cataloging and dedication by staff and volunteers, but we do not always get things right. Report wrong preachers, titles, or mismatched videos here.