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The Battle Begins Are You Ready- Minister Max Lucado · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

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  Speaker 1: As we continue our journey in the chronological Bible called
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  Speaker 1: the story, we turn the page and find ourselves in
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  Speaker 1: what must be the most exciting book in the Bible.
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  Speaker 1: The book of Joshua. This Old Testament story is in
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  Speaker 1: the Bible to teach us that our best days are
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  Speaker 1: ahead of us. Maybe you find yourself in the wilderness
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  Speaker 1: like the children of Israel did. And maybe you feel
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  Speaker 1: like you're walking in circles. Well, the book of Joshua
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  Speaker 1: introduces to all readers a seven-year period of history in
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  Speaker 1: which the children of Israel were brought out of the
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  Speaker 1: wilderness and they occupied the promised land. And for these
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  Speaker 1: seven years, the Hebrew people were untouchable. They defeated well
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  Speaker 1: over 30 kings. They engaged and were victorious in over
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  Speaker 1: 20 battles. And they reclaimed an inheritance of over 10,000
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  Speaker 1: square miles. Seven years of unbridled success. They were outnumbered,
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  Speaker 1: but they were never outpowered. They were under-equipped, But they
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  Speaker 1: were never overwhelmed. They were the unlikely but unquestioned conquerors
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  Speaker 1: of the most barbaric armies in history. Had this been
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  Speaker 1: a prize fight, the referee would have called it in
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  Speaker 1: the first round. There was scarcely a contest. And for
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  Speaker 1: these seven years, the Hebrew people were unstoppable. Now, they
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  Speaker 1: hadn't always been. The Bible never says, glosses over the
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  Speaker 1: checkered history of God's chosen people. Abraham had too many wives.
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  Speaker 1: Jacob told too many lies. Esau sold his birthright. The
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  Speaker 1: brothers of Joseph sold Joseph. Then came the 400 years
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  Speaker 1: of slavery, 40 years in the wilderness. Then later, 70
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  Speaker 1: years of Babylonian detention. The Hebrews built two temples only
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  Speaker 1: to lose them They were given the Ark of the Covenant,
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  Speaker 1: and nobody knows where it is to this day. Babylonia
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  Speaker 1: was strong. Babylonia built her cities. Greece was strong, flexed
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  Speaker 1: her muscles. Rome was strong. Rome stretched the Roman Empire.
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  Speaker 1: But in the ancient days, Israel always seemed to be
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  Speaker 1: the kid in the corner with the black eye, except
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  Speaker 1: for these seven years. I like to call them the
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  Speaker 1: glory days. In this era, brief as it is, glistens
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  Speaker 1: on the timeline of your Bible somewhere between Moses and
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  Speaker 1: the days of judges which lead into Saul, David, Solomon,
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  Speaker 1: and the establishment of the kingdoms. We're right about 1400 B.C.
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  Speaker 1: And somewhere around 1400 B.C., after the children of Israel
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  Speaker 1: had wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, God spoke
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  Speaker 1: to Moses' protege, Joshua. And Joshua listened. And because Joshua
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  Speaker 1: and the children of Israel listened and obeyed, the Jordan
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  Speaker 1: River opened up. The Jericho walls came down. The sun
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  Speaker 1: stood still. And those 31 kings were forced into early retirement.
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  Speaker 1: Evil was booted and hope was rebooted. It was an
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  Speaker 1: extraordinary season in the history of ancient Israel. The children
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  Speaker 1: of Israel, Bedouin shepherds they were, yet they began to
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  Speaker 1: inherit their land. They began to inhabit Israel. Farms that
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  Speaker 1: they didn't build and reap from land that they had
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  Speaker 1: not tilled. And they received the benefit of vineyards they
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  Speaker 1: had not created. Their accomplishments were so total that the
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  Speaker 1: summary statement of the book of Joshua found in Joshua 21,
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  Speaker 1: 43 through 45 reads, So the Lord gave to Israel
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  Speaker 1: all of the land which He had sworn to give
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  Speaker 1: to their fathers, And they took possession of it and
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  Speaker 1: dwelt in it. And the Lord gave them rest all
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  Speaker 1: around according to all he had sworn to their fathers.
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  Speaker 1: And not a man of all their enemies stood against them.
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  Speaker 1: The Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. And
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  Speaker 1: not a word failed of any good thing which the
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  Speaker 1: Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came
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  Speaker 1: to pass. What sweeping statements. The Lord gave all the land.
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  Speaker 1: The Lord gave them rest. Not a man of all
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  Speaker 1: their enemies stood against them. It all came to pass.
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  Speaker 1: The wilderness gave way to the promised land, and the
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  Speaker 1: winter chill gave way to the springtime thaw, and a
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  Speaker 1: new season began. Could you use a new season in
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  Speaker 1: your life? The book of Joshua is a book of history,
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  Speaker 1: but it's even more. It's also a book of theologies.
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  Speaker 1: Because it reveals to us the mind and ways of God.
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  Speaker 1: The promise we draw from the book of Joshua is
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  Speaker 1: God will give you a new season. He'll take you
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  Speaker 1: out of the wilderness and he'll walk you into your
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  Speaker 1: promised land. And the lesson in the book of Joshua
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  Speaker 1: is this is done not as we conquer the land,
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  Speaker 1: but as we receive the land. In fact, here's the
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  Speaker 1: key word if you like to fill in blanks. The
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  Speaker 1: key word in the book of Joshua is inheritance. Inheritance.
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  Speaker 1: It might surprise you to know that in a book
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  Speaker 1: that is considered a book of military conquest, at no
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  Speaker 1: point is Joshua told to take the land. He's simply
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  Speaker 1: told to receive the land. The word inheritance... appears in
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  Speaker 1: the book of Joshua. Does anybody want to take a
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  Speaker 1: guess how many times? 51 times. You were at the
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  Speaker 1: early service, weren't you, Jay? 51 times. The word inheritance
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  Speaker 1: is to the book of Joshua what taco stands are
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  Speaker 1: to San Antonio. Abundant and on every corner. The resounding
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  Speaker 1: theme in the book of Joshua is receive your inheritance.
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  Speaker 1: Live out of your inheritance. Receive what God has given
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  Speaker 1: to you. In fact, Joshua 24, 28 sounds like the
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  Speaker 1: most important sentence in the book. When the writer says,
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  Speaker 1: so Joshua let the people depart each to his own,
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  Speaker 1: you want to say it? Inheritance. Inheritance. No one went
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  Speaker 1: home that day saying, look, we took the land. But
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  Speaker 1: everyone went home that day saying, oh, finally, we received
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  Speaker 1: the land. The theme, inheritance, appears as early as the
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  Speaker 1: second verse of the first chapter where God said to Joshua,
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  Speaker 1: arise and go over this Jordan, you and all this people,
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  Speaker 1: to the land which I am giving you. to them
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  Speaker 1: not the land which they must conquer and not the
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  Speaker 1: land that they must prove worthy not the land that
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  Speaker 1: they must earn or confiscate or purchase go to the
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  Speaker 1: land I am giving to them the transaction had already
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  Speaker 1: happened Joshua wasn't sent to take the land but to
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  Speaker 1: receive the land victory was certain because victory was God's
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  Speaker 1: And the Hebrews had a new land simply because God
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  Speaker 1: had promised it to them centuries before. About the time
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  Speaker 1: Joshua lifted his jaw off the ground, God explained the
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  Speaker 1: dimensions of the gift. He said, every place that the
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  Speaker 1: sole of your foot shall tread upon, I have given
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  Speaker 1: to you, as I said to Moses, from the wilderness
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  Speaker 1: in this Lebanon as far as the great river, the
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  Speaker 1: river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites. And to
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  Speaker 1: the great sea, to the going down of the sun,
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  Speaker 1: shall be your territory. Now remember, it's just a generation
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  Speaker 1: ago that these two or three million people were slaves.
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  Speaker 1: And then they spent 40 years as gypsies, Bedouin shepherds.
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  Speaker 1: This is no military force we're talking about here. And yet,
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  Speaker 1: God dangled the keys to the promised land in front
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  Speaker 1: of Joseph. And he took them. He began to live
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  Speaker 1: out of his inheritance. Are you living out of yours?
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  Speaker 1: We've looked at the key word. Now can I offer
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  Speaker 1: a key question? Are you living out of your inheritance?
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  Speaker 1: Or are you living out of your circumstances? Did you
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  Speaker 1: know you are an heir to God's fortune? You are
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  Speaker 1: an heir to God's fortune. The reason we say that
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  Speaker 1: Joshua is more than a book of history, but it's
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  Speaker 1: a book of theology is It's because the Apostle Paul,
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  Speaker 1: the great theologian, loved this theme of being heirs of God.
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  Speaker 1: And what God said to the children of Israel, God
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  Speaker 1: says to us. You have an inheritance. For example, from
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  Speaker 1: Ephesians chapter 1. And you were also included in Christ
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  Speaker 1: when you heard the message of the truth, the gospel
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  Speaker 1: of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked by
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  Speaker 1: In him, with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who
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  Speaker 1: is a deposit guaranteeing our, what's the word, church? Inheritance.
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  Speaker 1: Until the redemption of those who are God's possession to
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  Speaker 1: the praise of his glory. Do you know what happened
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  Speaker 1: to you when you believed? An invisible yet unmistakable transaction occurred.
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  Speaker 1: You were sealed. You were sealed like a saran wrap
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  Speaker 1: was wrapped around you. You were sealed. This is the
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  Speaker 1: same image that's used to describe the protection of graves
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  Speaker 1: in the Old Testament. So people would know that the
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  Speaker 1: grave was occupied and that if that seal was ever broken,
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  Speaker 1: then people would know that grave robbers had appeared. It's
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  Speaker 1: that same word, that same description. So when you believed
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  Speaker 1: you were sealed with and indwelt by the Holy Spirit
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  Speaker 1: so that when Satan and his interlopers appear they come
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  Speaker 1: and they see the name of Christ on your heart.
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  Speaker 1: You've been sealed by him. You've been indwelt by him.
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  Speaker 1: This is your inheritance. You are not just a slave
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  Speaker 1: of God though that position would have marvelous benefits. You're
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  Speaker 1: not just a servant of God but That in and
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  Speaker 1: of itself would be a privilege. You're not just a
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  Speaker 1: saint of God, though indeed you are. Yes, you are more.
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  Speaker 1: You are sons. You are daughters of God. You have
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  Speaker 1: an inheritance. You sit at his table. You have your
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  Speaker 1: name in his book. You have his spirit in your heart.
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  Speaker 1: And he has set about the task of reshaping you
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  Speaker 1: along the lines of his son. Oh, the Apostle Paul
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  Speaker 1: loved this theme. He picked it up again in the
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  Speaker 1: book of Galatians. He said, if you're Christ's, then you
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  Speaker 1: are Abraham's seed. And heirs, there it is again, according
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  Speaker 1: to the promise. So you're no longer a slave, but
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  Speaker 1: God's child. And since you're his child, God has made
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  Speaker 1: you also an heir. The will has been executed. The
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  Speaker 1: courts have been satisfied. Your spiritual account has been funded.
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  Speaker 1: In another passage, this time in the book of Romans,
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  Speaker 1: the Apostle Paul tells us the extent to which your
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  Speaker 1: spiritual account has been funded. He says the Spirit Himself
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  Speaker 1: testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now,
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  Speaker 1: if we are children, then we are, what's the word, church?
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  Speaker 2: Heirs.
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  Speaker 1: Heirs of God. And here you go, co-heirs with Christ.
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  Speaker 1: We are co-heirs with Christ. We would be content to
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  Speaker 1: be distant heirs. Let everything else be distributed. We'll take
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  Speaker 1: the penance, whatever's left over. A few crumbs from the
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  Speaker 1: table of heaven will do us, but it will not
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  Speaker 1: satisfy God. He declares that you are a co-heir with Christ.
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  Speaker 1: In other words, whatever Christ receives, you can receive. Don't
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  Speaker 1: you look at me like that. Whatever Christ receives, you
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  Speaker 1: can receive. Do you think Christ has received abundant joy?
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  Speaker 1: That same joy level is yours. Do you think Christ
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  Speaker 1: has access to love for all people? That love is
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  Speaker 1: available to you. Do you think Christ drinks from a
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  Speaker 1: reservoir of peace? You and Jesus Christ share the same reservoir.
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  Speaker 1: You are a co-heir with Christ. What Christ receives, you receive.
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  Speaker 1: You are, hear me now, you and Christ have equal
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  Speaker 1: standing in heaven. Equal standing. Since you are wrapped in
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  Speaker 1: Christ by the gift of grace, since you have believed
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  Speaker 1: in him, the apostle Paul said, when you believed, you
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  Speaker 1: were sealed, stamped, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. You
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  Speaker 1: have been wrapped in Christ. So you are now a
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  Speaker 1: co-heir with Christ. Do you know what happened to you
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  Speaker 1: when you believed? Now many of you are thinking, alright.
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  Speaker 1: Then you say, I have the peace of Christ, then
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  Speaker 1: why do I feel like a perfect mess? You say,
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  Speaker 1: I have the joy level of Christ, then why am
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  Speaker 1: I as grumpy as a donkey? You say, I can
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  Speaker 1: forgive like Christ can forgive, then why do I have
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  Speaker 1: so many grudges? How do I explain the disconnect between
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  Speaker 1: what the Bible says I am and the way I feel?
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  Speaker 1: A couple of possible answers. For some people, they didn't
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  Speaker 1: know about their inheritance. That might be one answer. We
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  Speaker 1: just don't know. about our inheritance. Nobody ever told you
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  Speaker 1: that you are heir to the peace of God. Nobody
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  Speaker 1: ever told you that greater is he who lives in
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  Speaker 1: you than he who lives in the world. Nobody ever
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  Speaker 1: told you that you're a son and a daughter of God.
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  Speaker 1: Many people live with the assumptions That the purpose of
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  Speaker 1: being a Christian is to keep your guy or gal
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  Speaker 1: out of hell. And that when you believe, it's kind
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  Speaker 1: of like going through a car wash. Just get all
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  Speaker 1: the dirt washed off. But nothing changes on the inside.
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  Speaker 1: You drive in an old clunker, you come out a
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  Speaker 1: clean clunker. And nobody ever told you that when you're
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  Speaker 1: in the car wash, God reaches in and he dismounts
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  Speaker 1: that old V6 engine. engine with cracked cylinders and he
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  Speaker 1: replaces it with the Ferrari of his Holy Spirit. In
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  Speaker 1: the presence of God. Maybe nobody told you. Maybe all
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  Speaker 1: you thought the purpose of being a Christian was to
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  Speaker 1: stay out of hell. While really the purpose of being
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  Speaker 1: a Christian is to be indwelt by heaven. To be equipped.
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  Speaker 1: To be grown. To be developed. Where God moves in
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  Speaker 1: and he reclaims every bit of you from top to bottom. Mouth, hands, feet, brain.
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  Speaker 1: Every part of you he begins to indwell. Where you
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  Speaker 1: become the very presence of Christ. Maybe nobody told you that.
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  Speaker 1: But now someone has. Now you know. For many people, though,
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  Speaker 1: there's a disconnect between what the Bible says they are
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  Speaker 1: and what they are because nobody told them. But for others,
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  Speaker 1: there's a disconnect because they simply don't believe it. We
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  Speaker 1: just don't believe in our inheritance. This was the case
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  Speaker 1: with Moses and his followers. Remember, the children of Israel
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  Speaker 1: could have entered the promised land 40 decades, 40 years,
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  Speaker 1: four decades earlier, right? Why didn't they? Well, did you
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  Speaker 1: notice what God said to Joshua? God said, God brought us,
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  Speaker 1: I'm sorry, I skipped a verse. There it is, Joshua
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  Speaker 1: 1 and verse 3. Every place that the sole of
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  Speaker 1: your foot shall tread upon, I have given you. As
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  Speaker 1: I said to Moses, just a little bit of a
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  Speaker 1: dig there. I told Moses and his people this. I
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  Speaker 1: said this to them. And the implication is they didn't
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  Speaker 1: believe me. Joshua believed. Now, so Joshua moved into the
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  Speaker 1: promised land. Because he believed his inheritance. Were there still
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  Speaker 1: problems in taking the promised land? Yes. For one thing,
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  Speaker 1: there was the raging Jordan River at high tide. And
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  Speaker 1: he had to get several million people through that river.
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  Speaker 1: And so when he stepped forward, he said, well, the
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  Speaker 1: circumstance says I can't cross that river. But my inheritance
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  Speaker 1: says that land is ours. So they went into the river,
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  Speaker 1: the water opened, and across they went. The first thing
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  Speaker 1: they saw was the city of Jericho inhabited by evil,
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  Speaker 1: barbaric people who offered children for child sacrifices. Bloodthirsty, barbaric
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  Speaker 1: people who were safely encased in this large, walled city.
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  Speaker 1: And so Joshua thought, well, the circumstance says we could
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  Speaker 1: never take that city. But the inheritance says, I'm a
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  Speaker 1: child of God and he has given us this land.
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  Speaker 1: And so he took God at his word and they
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  Speaker 1: began to walk around the city. And you know what happened?
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  Speaker 1: The walls came down. And that continued one miracle after another,
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  Speaker 1: after another, after another. They still had struggles, mind you.
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  Speaker 1: But they believed. They lived out of their inheritance, not
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  Speaker 1: out of their circumstance. Would you like to do the same?
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  Speaker 1: There was a time in which Moses said this to
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  Speaker 1: the children of Israel. He said, God brought us out
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  Speaker 1: from there in order to bring us in. God brought
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  Speaker 1: us out in order to bring us in. Did you
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  Speaker 1: know God says the same to you? He brought you
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  Speaker 1: out of a life of sin in order to bring
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  Speaker 1: you into a life of redemption. He didn't intend for
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  Speaker 1: you to get stuck in the wilderness. He brings you
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  Speaker 1: out so that he can lead you in. All you
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  Speaker 1: have to do is step forward in faith. Can I
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  Speaker 1: encourage you to receive your inheritance? Just receive it. Let
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  Speaker 1: your mindset shift. You got some problems next week and
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  Speaker 1: you can either look at those problems for what they
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  Speaker 1: are or you can look at your heavenly father for
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  Speaker 1: what he gave and you can begin to live out
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  Speaker 1: of your inheritance. To live out of your inheritance does
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  Speaker 1: not mean you pretend that life is easy. Just the opposite.
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  Speaker 1: It's a recognition that life is tough and you need
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  Speaker 1: all the help you can get. But by faith you
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  Speaker 1: believe that God has taken up residence within you and
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  Speaker 1: he's not going to give you anything that you can't face.
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  Speaker 1: Imagine the difference this makes. Suppose you get a knock
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  Speaker 1: at the door this evening when you get home. You're
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  Speaker 1: not used to letting people into your house, especially strangers.
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  Speaker 1: But this person introduces himself as a lawyer who deals
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  Speaker 1: in large estates. And he says, I'm here to talk
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  Speaker 1: to you about your inheritance and you say whoa okay
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  Speaker 1: well come on in and he asks you um did
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  Speaker 1: your mother grow up in England well yes she did
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  Speaker 1: was she a school teacher in Chicago well yes she
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  Speaker 1: was and did she and your father retire to Florida
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  Speaker 1: well yes they did and did she pass away some
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  Speaker 1: five years ago That's my mom. And is your name
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  Speaker 1: John Smith Jr.? That's me. Well, by now you're very curious.
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  Speaker 1: And the lawyer closes up his portfolio and he says,
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  Speaker 1: we've been looking for you. Your mother had an uncle
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  Speaker 1: who passed away and left her an inheritance. And now
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  Speaker 1: as the surviving heir, that inheritance comes your way. Oh,
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  Speaker 1: you smile and think, oh, that's great. I can buy
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  Speaker 1: those new shoes at Macy's. He says, it's quite large.
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  Speaker 1: You think, I guess I'll go to Nordstrom's. He says,
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  Speaker 1: it's more than you can imagine. You think, I'm going
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  Speaker 1: to go to Saks Fifth Avenue. And then he says,
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  Speaker 1: your mother's uncle had a gold mine in South Africa.
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  Speaker 1: And it's going to take many years for that gold
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  Speaker 1: mine to play out. But we want to go ahead
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  Speaker 1: and give you a deposit on your inheritance. And you
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  Speaker 1: look down and there's a check for $ 20 million. And
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  Speaker 1: you think, I'm going to buy Saks Fifth Avenue. That
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  Speaker 1: same little leap in the heart you felt as I
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  Speaker 1: was telling you that story, That's tiny compared to the
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  Speaker 1: inheritance that awaits a child of the Almighty God. Your
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  Speaker 1: inheritance is so great, so splendid, so beyond any word
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  Speaker 1: that you could ever put around it that it's going
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  Speaker 1: to take all of eternity. For you to enjoy the
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  Speaker 1: glory that awaits you as God restores his planet to
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  Speaker 1: its Garden of Eden splendor. And we live in day
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  Speaker 1: by day communion with him in a world where there
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  Speaker 1: are no graves and no tears and no disease. But
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: you don't have to wait until you get to heaven
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: to begin enjoying your inheritance. Because the same power that
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: raised Christ from the dead is the power that has
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: taken up residence within you. And the same power that
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: has created the heavens and the earth is the same
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: power that's going to help you face your Monday. The
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: same power that decided you were worth redeeming is the
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: same power who's going to lead you into your tomorrow.
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: All that falls to you and me to do is
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: make a Joshua decision. There's a Jordan River, but God said. Oh,
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: there's a Jericho, but God said. And there's those evil kings,
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: but God said. And you counter every problem with a
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: God said. God said. That's called living out of your inheritance. Well,
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: I've got that $ 20 million check. I've got the deposit
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: of the Holy Spirit in my heart, sealing as a guarantee.
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: But God said, roaring before many of you right now,
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: is the Jordan River of guilt. You bear such shame
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: over decisions you've made, acts you'd love to erase from
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: your past. And that shame, that guilt is keeping you
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: from moving in to your promised land. Listen, as you
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: live out of your inheritance, you stand on promises like
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: Romans chapter 8 and verse 1 that says, There is
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: You receive the promise of Ephesians 2.8 that says, We
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: are saved by grace through faith, not by works so
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: that nobody can boast. You receive the Old Testament promise
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: that God's mercies are new every morning. What you did
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: may not have been right, but who God is is good.
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: And you begin to receive that inheritance and you begin
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: to allow those mistakes to be in the past and
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: you press into the future. That's what it means to
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: live out of your inheritance. Some of you are looking
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: at Jericho walls full of fear. You have so many
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: things you're worried about, you can't keep up with them.
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: They're keeping you out of the promised land. In fact,
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: they're keeping you up at night. You've got so many
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: things you're anxious about, everything from the presidential election to
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: the pimple on your toe. All kinds of things just
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: worry you, you worry, you worry, you worry. But then
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: you start living out of your inheritance. You begin remembering
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: what the Apostle Paul said, that you can be anxious
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, you
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: can make requests being known to God with thanksgiving in
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: your heart. And the peace of God will guard your
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: hearts and minds. In Christ Jesus. You begin to live
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: out of your inheritance. I'm a child of God. I'm
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: known by God. He's going to protect me. And he's
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: going to provide for me. As some of you are
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: surrounded by the kings of confusion. Just like Joshua was
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: surrounded by the kings of evil. You have kings of confusion.
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: You don't know what your identity is. You don't know
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: why you wake up every day. The goal of existence
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: you assume is to make it to the next paycheck.
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: And then sober up and make it to the next
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: one again. And then you begin to live out of
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: your inheritance. And you read in the Bible that you
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: were made in the image of God. You're an emblem bearer,
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: image bearer of God's image. And then you read that
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: when you say yes to him, he says yes to
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: you and he moves in. And he begins to change
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: you day by day from one degree of glory to
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: the next. And then you believe your inheritance That you're
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: going to receive the new kingdom and the new earth.
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: A saint and you're going to reign with God forever
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: and ever and ever. Doesn't mean you won't have any trouble.
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: It does mean though you have a guarantee that you
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: will have more victory than you do defeat. You'll come
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: to have more courage than you have fear. And you'll
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: come to be known as a person of hope and
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: not a person of despair. Does that appeal to you?
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: I close with this remarkable brief passage that is tucked
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: away in the first epistle of John. John, the beloved apostle,
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: made this statement. He said, in this world, we are
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: like Jesus. That's what a co-heir is. In this world,
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: we are like Jesus.
• 29:21
  Speaker 3: Jesus.
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: And when we pray, God listens to us like he
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: would listen to Jesus. And when we speak out against
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: the devil, the devil has to leave just as he
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: did when Jesus spoke. And when we step into storms,
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: God comes to help us just as God came to
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: help Jesus. In this world, we are like Jesus. You
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: are not a normal person. There's something different about you.
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: And when you walk into a room, yes, Jesus himself
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: walks into that room. That's your inheritance. You've got to
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: say no to all those voices. Perhaps they were voices
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: from your parents or your coaches or your, I don't know,
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: your pastors through the years who told you lie after
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: lie after lie, who held you back, who told you
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: to sit down, who told you you weren't worth much,
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: you couldn't be forgiven. Those are lies. They come straight
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: from the devil. Don't they smell like his bad breath?
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: But the message of God is the message of hope.
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: He believes in you and he has given you an inheritance.
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: May you live out of your inheritance. Amen? Thank you, Lord,
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: for the promise of inheritance. Help us to become who
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: we are, children of God, heirs of the promise. Through
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: Christ we pray, and all the church said. Thank you.
• 32:13
  Speaker 4: Thank you.
• 33:48
  Speaker 3: You don't have to be new.
• 33:59
  Speaker 4: You don't have to stay close.
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: As long as you're somewhere.
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: Out there That's enough for me.
• 34:15
  Speaker 5: I don't need to hold you near me Don't need
• 34:19
  Speaker 5: promises to keep Just the thought that you are breathing
• 34:25
  Speaker 5: Somewhere in this world I see Even if I'm not
• 34:30
  Speaker 5: beside you Even if you never know There's a quiet
• 34:36
  Speaker 5: kind of comfort Just in knowing you still glow.
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: I don't need forever.
• 34:49
  Speaker 5: I just need you to exist.
• 34:54
  Speaker 6: You don't have to stay with me.
• 34:57
  Speaker 4: You don't have to feel the same.
• 35:00
  Speaker 6: Just as long as you're still out there.
• 35:04
  Speaker 5: Calling softly through my days.
• 35:07
  Speaker 2: You don't have to look my way You don't have
• 35:11
  Speaker 2: to be my home.
• 35:14
  Speaker 4: It's enough to know you're living I won't chase you
• 35:25
  Speaker 4: through the distance Won't disturb your chosen life I'll just
• 35:31
  Speaker 4: keep you in my silence Like a star that shines
• 35:35
  Speaker 4: at night Through the dark and through the blue.
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: I still think of you.
• 35:52
  Speaker 2: You don't have to feel the same Just as long as.
• 35:57
  Speaker 4: You're still out there Calling softly through my days.
• 36:02
  Speaker 2: You don't have to look my way You don't have
• 36:07
  Speaker 2: to be my home It's enough to know you're living
• 36:13
  Speaker 2: In a world I'm not alone.
• 36:31
  Speaker 4: I don't need to be your light I don't need
• 36:35
  Speaker 4: to cross your mind All I need is.
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: Just the truth That you're somewhere.
• 36:43
  Speaker 4: Still alive.
• 36:47
  Speaker 6: You don't have to stay with me You don't have
• 36:51
  Speaker 6: to feel the same Just as long as you're still
• 36:56
  Speaker 6: out there Calling softly through my days You don't have
• 37:01
  Speaker 6: to look my way You don't have to be my
• 37:06
  Speaker 6: home It's enough to know you're living
• 37:13
  Speaker 4: In a world I'm not alone.