Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #20250105 - Take It All - Joshua 1:1-5

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#20250105 - Take It All - Joshua 1:1-5 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's Word with pastor and author Ed
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Taylor, recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora, Co.
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To learn more about the many resources available through
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Abounding Grace Media or to tune into our live stream services,
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visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church or download our free
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Calvary Church app. Now.
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Here's Pastor Ed to take us into our study.
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Amen. All right, open your Bibles.
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Joshua chapter 1 is where we are right in the beginning.
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Joshua chapter one, we're going to look at the 1st 5 verses and
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I've entitled our Bible study. Take it all.
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It's the beginning of this series.
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God's heart and desire is for you to have all that He wants to
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give and for you to take it, for you to possess it, for you to
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walk and for me to walk in victory.
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Notice how it opens verse one. After the death of Moses the
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servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to
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Joshua the son of Nun, Moses assistant, saying, Moses, my
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servant is dead. Now, therefore, arise, go over
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this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am
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giving to them the children of Israel.
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Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I
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have given you. And as I said to Moses, from the
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wilderness and this Lebanon, as far as the great river, the
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river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the great sea
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toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory.
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And I love this promise. No man shall be able to stand
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before you all the days of your life.
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As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
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I will not leave you nor forsake you.
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Now it's a sudden opening to the book Joshua.
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It's the first book in the Bible named after a person.
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And Joshua, it seems like it's a sudden, amazing transformation
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in his life, but it's not that. It's not that big of a
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transition because he's been prepared for this.
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He's been trained for this. He has been the assistant of
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Moses for 40 years now. Or give or take, you know, let's
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say 30 years, he has served alongside Moses.
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He has learned from him. He has fought with him, He's
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prayed with him. He has been prepared for this
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day. And although he's a little
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timid, a little concerned about the future, God just tells him
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right at the beginning, I'm with you.
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This is what I want you to do. Moses is no longer with us,
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Joshua. No longer are you the servant of
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Moses. Now you're the servant of the
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whole nation and this is what I've called you to do For some
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of you, that's what this year is going to be it it it says it
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seems to be another day where you wake up.
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It seems to be you have the same name.
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You live in the same house. You have the but there's a
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moment in time where you embrace what God has been preparing you
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for all along and that you take it and that you rise to the
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occasion. But here they are ready to enter
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in. The whole book of Joshua is a
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book about battling and victory and possession.
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But they're ready to battle in. But it's been a long journey to
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get there. And I'm not going to ask for an
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Amen, but you all have some long journeys that have gotten you
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where you are today. It's been a long journey.
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Unfortunately for the children of Israel, it was a journey that
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started with fear and faithlessness.
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It LED them to, well, what could have taken them 11 days or 264
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hours or 15,840 minutes, just 11 days, the journey, if they took
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a reasonable journey, the children of Israel from Egypt
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into the promised land where they are now.
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So from Egypt to where they are now, you look at the pace that
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they would have gone with all that they had in the amount of
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people would have taken them, 11/12/13 days or so. 11 days is
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the prevailing number, but you know, Bible students know that
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took close to 40 years, 40 years of what's known as the
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wilderness wandering, wandering aimlessly because of fear and
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faithlessness. There's two experiences that you
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and I get to enjoy, and I'm carefully choosing my language.
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But one of them we refer to as the mountaintop experience.
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And we we love the mountaintops. Mountaintops in the Bible
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represent that intimacy with God getting away.
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We, we would talk about our men's gathering, our men's
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retreats, our women's retreats, our, our marriage retreats.
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We singles get away. We'd say we want to get away
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from everything. So you can get to the mountain,
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have that time with the Lord, see him glorified, spend some
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days investing. Mountaintop experiences are
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glorious and wonderful, but other experiences in our lives,
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well, they're also known as wilderness experiences.
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Wilderness experiences don't have the best reputation.
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We don't look at them favorably. If I laid before you, I'm sure
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if I did this, when you walked in, everybody was getting a
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piece of paper with an option. Do you want 2025?
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Do you want the wilderness, or do you want the mountaintop?
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I seriously would be surprised if anybody chose the wilderness.
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Nobody chooses the wilderness because the wilderness
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represents to us a time of pain and suffering and dryness and
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difficulty and wandering all throughout the Bible, which
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would be a different Bible study altogether.
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However, God is in the wilderness.
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You know that God is in the wilderness.
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It's in the wilderness that we see Him provide.
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Remember there was the manna in the quail that was given in the
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wilderness. It's in the wilderness that we
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see him shine the light at night, that pillar of fire and
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give shade by day. That happened in the wilderness.
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The wilderness in the Bible, you see they God gives direction and
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comfort. He gives water from rocks and he
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gives food from Ravens. The wilderness.
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And a lot of people in the Bible been through the wilderness.
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Moses, Jacob, the nation of Israel, Job, Elijah, Paul.
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Jesus faced the wilderness the very beginning of his adult
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ministry, as the devil just went right after him.
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And each one of them came out stronger, wiser, prepared for
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every good work. And while the wilderness is not
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a fun experience, it's not a lost experience either.
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It's not wasted. I remember probably Moses or
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Jay, whoever, probably Moses when he was heading off to the
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wilderness. I remember teaching, I'm sure I
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called it, that. He got the backside of the
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desert degree in the wilderness. He got a BSD, not a PhD, but a
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BSD. 40 years in the wilderness where this man needed to unlearn
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all of the pride and the arrogance that it's so taken
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root in his identity to prepare him for what he had in the last
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40 years of his life. It I love what Jon Courson says
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on the wilderness. It's very quick and I quote,
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most of us want to reach the promised land without ever going
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through the wilderness. We want to get there
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immediately, but the father says no, there's a time of
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preparation. Wait, don't panic.
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I will provide and it's true, God will use even the painful
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things in our lives to prepare us for what He has prepared for
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us. And I'm always praying, I mean,
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when I'm when I'm walking in the Spirit.
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Because another thing you're going to see in Joshua, or at
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least in our time today, is that you can face life in the Spirit
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or you can face face life in the flesh.
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That's your choice. You can respond and submit and
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surrender to the work that God's doing in your life, or you can
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fight him and you can wrestle with him and you could be mad at
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him and you could point the finger at him and forget the
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manna, the water, the provision, the, the cover, the shade, all
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that, all that he has. Even in the wilderness, you can
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forget his presence or you can walk in the spirit learning the
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lesson. So when I'm, you know, I'm
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walking in the spirit, I am asking the like I want to learn.
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So I've had enough wilderness times in my life where I have
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learned, I've learned a lot. I've learned a lot about God.
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I've also learned a lot about myself and I've also learned a
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lot about others in the wilderness where he's opened my
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eyes. The wilderness ends.
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The wilderness experience for the nation ends right here in
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Joshua. Moses, my servant is dead.
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God says, I want you to get up and go.
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That may be the word of the Lord for you.
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Get up and go. Arise.
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It's time to get up. It's time to get up and go for
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them. It was across the Jordan.
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They needed to make progress. No longer would they be the
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nation that wanders now they're going to be the nation that
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possesses and that owns everything that God has given
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them. It's all ready for them.
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They just need to arise and go. And two, 2025 could be that year
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for you that you get up and you go take all that God has for you
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that you claim and hold onto like it's time to go into the
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promises of God. A theme throughout when we
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studied Joshua, we learned a theme throughout this book is
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possession. That this isn't something you
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need to create and make happen. I was thinking of singles today
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because we're reading in Genesis and it came.
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Now it's a new year, so we're reading in Genesis and we're
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just reading there. That when Adam and Eve got
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together, it's a very clear scripture where it says that God
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put Adam to sleep and brought Eve to him.
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And so it reminded me that you guys that are single and all the
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pressure that you're feeling one way or the other, just rest in
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the Lord and wait on him, developing these friendships and
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relationships and connection points with other people for the
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sake of serving them and loving them.
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But you, you can just wait on. The Lord got to put you to
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sleep, man. And all those desires,
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everything. It's not a bad thing to be
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desired not to be a single, but it can overtake your life and
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you think, what am I missing out on?
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If you're resting in the Lord, you miss out on nothing.
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Did you know that? And by the way, just for you
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singles, there is a very important scripture in
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Corinthians that says those of you that are single, all you
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need to do is pay attention to the things of the Lord.
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You know what how good that is when those of us that are
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married when we wake up, when we wake up, the first thought we
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need to have is I need a caring. I have a caring concern for my
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wife or for my husband, for my kids and for the Lord.
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But singles while you have this season, I think it's just a word
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from the Lord. It's not in my notes.
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So there must be someone listening right now that needs
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to be reminded. Just rest, just rest and you
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might you know, if you're a guy, you might like Adam, wake up and
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go whoa, man, and you got the name woman.
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Thank you very much. Appreciate that.
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No charge, no extra charge for that high level joke the
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children of Israel are going to possess.
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That's God's heart for you. He wants you to leave the
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wilderness, get up and go take what's yours.
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By faith, this is the year. Enough wandering, enough
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stagnation, enough backsliding, enough excuses, enough game
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playing, enough, enough. When you think of 2025, I want
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you to think about the year where you take it all and you
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possess what God has for you. I don't want you to be
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comfortable wandering. I don't want you to be settled
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in. Think this year about purpose
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and direction and focus. Stepping into this new year
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means taking new land and new ground and new territory, places
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that God is asking us to enter into, to possess and enjoy, to
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have a greater relationship with him.
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So it's a rise and go, get up, move forward.
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God is fulfilling his divine destiny.
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I also like the phrase his intended purpose.
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You know, God has an intended purpose for your life.
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That's so encouraging to know he has an intended.
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He has a divine destiny that you don't need to make up and create
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or feel pressure about what the future holds because you have a
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relationship with a God who knows your future, like
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Jeremiah. The Bible says of Jeremiah that
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God knew him in the womb. He called them even before he
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had an ability to worry about what the future would hold.
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But sin does bring consequences. Let that be a warning to you.
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Sin does bring consequences. If you can only sit at my desk
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for a week or two listening to the destruction of sin or the
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phone calls I get, I've got quite a few phone calls.
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I got a phone call a couple weeks ago from a pastor on the
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other side of the country that he said something happened in.
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I had never in all these years ever heard of that situation.
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Never. And I've heard a lot of things.
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And I remember telling him that I have never heard of that.
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Something personal where I know the people involved.
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I know I've never heard of that sin.
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I mean, I knew about it, but I never heard personally about it.
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Like you got to realize if you, if you were, if you just and you
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won't be able to, I won't record the phone calls and you can't
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sit in my office. But if you did, you'd feel the
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same way I do. You'd be heartbroken, you'd be
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frustrated. Sometimes you experience
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victories. You watch somebody walk out and
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you go, oh, they got it. God's going to do something
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here. But then your others.
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I mean, that's I see just this resistance to all that God has
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for you and it's all rooted in sin and pride.
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You don't need to sit where I sit, just living in the spirit
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with your eyes wide open. You'll see the destructive
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nature of sin. Turn over to Numbers chapter 13.
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Why did they wander? Let's go a little bit farther
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back. Why did they wander?
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Well, let me give you a quick history lesson here.
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Biblically, in Numbers chapter 13, coming out of the nation of
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Egypt, you know, being delivered from slavery, God is leading
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them. They get to the land and in
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Numbers 13 notice verse one, the Lord spoke to Moses saying send
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men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I marked this
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phrase which I am giving to the children of Israel.
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So this is not a reconnaissance trip.
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This is not a trip to go scale out the land and figure out this
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is I want you to go see what I'm giving you.
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God says, I just want you to see it.
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That was the instruction to send a leader from every tribe says
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at the end of verse 2. Then jump down to verse 17.
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So Moses sent them to spy out the land and said to them go up
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this way into the South, go up into the mountains and see what
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the land is like. This is what their instructions
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just see about the people. Are they strong or weak, few or
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many? Whether the land they dwell in
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is good or bad, cities are inhabited or like camps or
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strongholds, whether the Land's rich or poor, whether they're a
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forest there or not, be of good courage and bring back some
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fruit of the land, because this was the season for the ripe
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grapes, he says. So these leaders, they go and
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spy out the land. It says verse 25, they returned
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from spying out the land. After 40 days they departed.
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Verse 26 came back to Moses in the congregation and Aaron of
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the children of Israel in the wilderness of Puran at Kadosh,
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and they brought back word to them and all the congregation
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showed them the fruit. They told them we went to the
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land you sent us. It does flow with milk and
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honey. Look at its fruit.
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Nevertheless, that's a word of contrast and it's almost always
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used in a negative way. So they it's in contrast to
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what's being said. So if what's being said is
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positive, nevertheless it's going to get negative.
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So they did what they were asked to do.
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They spent 40 days in the land. They saw everything.
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Nevertheless, the people who dwell in the land are strong.
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Well, why do you? Why do you say nevertheless,
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that's what we asked you to tell us?
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Were they strong or weak? Just say they're strong.
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The cities were fortified and very large.
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Why do you have to? Nevertheless, why does it have
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to be negative? It doesn't have to be negative.
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Just tell us what all Moses asked was to tell.
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Just go and tell, get some information, bring it back.
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Moreover, we saw the descendants of Enoch there.
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These were the giants. Amaleks dwelled in the land.
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Verse 29 The Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites, and they are the
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Canaanites, dwell by the sea along the banks of the Jordan.
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Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, let's go
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at once and take possession, for we're all able to overcome it.
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But another contrast, the men who had gone up with him said we
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are not able to go up against the people, for they are
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stronger than we. So let me just ask a question.
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Before they went to spy out the land and they knew nothing about
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the land, were they weak in their own strength to gain
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victory in the promise sign? Yes or no?
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Yes. They're not warriors.
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They don't have Chariots. It's like they're going to be
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fighting with, you know, shovels and pickaxes.
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They have nothing. So their weakness is already
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evident in their humanity. Just like you look at your life
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right now. You look at the family you grew
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up with. You, you look at your bank
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account, you look at your job. You, you think a little, I'm too
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weak. I'm but you've always been weak.
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You go, thanks, pastor, but it's true.
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We've always been weak. More money in your bank account
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doesn't make you stronger, it makes you not trust God more.
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Or having the position you've ever wanted as a career doesn't
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make you any stronger with the things of the Lord.
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It just means that God has blessed you in the career that
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He's made you for. You get to reach more people.
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We measure things by the capacity of our ability, but God
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doesn't measure that way because that's how you know that.
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That's how we start looking at each other and we look down on
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each other. Well, you know, I'm better than
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you and I grew up over here and I'm from that city and I like,
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no, they were always weak. This statement now but is being
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said in such a way that they're casting their weakness upon God
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because didn't they go into the land because God told them to?
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Didn't they aren't they obedient because God told him to?
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Aren't they listening to Moses because God said I'm about ready
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to give go spy out the land that I have given you and this is the
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a big barrier for the coming year because of this bad report.
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Notice it says in verse 31. The men who had gone up with
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them said we're not able to go against the people.
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They're stronger than me, and they gave the children of Israel
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a bad report. Nobody asked them to give a bad
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report. You can keep your bad report to
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yourself. But they gave a bad report on
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the land they spied on, saying the land through which we have
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gone as spies as a land that devours its inhabitants.
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Was it a land that devours its inhabitants before they spied it
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out? Yes or no?
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Yes, it's always been that way. This is not new news.
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Is it going to be hard? Yes.
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Are they going to be battles? Yes.
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Is the enemy going to have strongholds?
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Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. They're talking like it's brand
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new information. It's not.
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God just delivered them, by the way.
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God literally just delivered them from Egypt.
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We are with us on our midweek Bible study.
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We saw the dramatic, powerful, miraculous deliverance of this
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ragtag group of men and women and boys and girls delivered
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from Egypt. And here it didn't take long for
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them to look at something and only see what they could do, not
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what God could do. They saw the giants, verse 33.
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And it's because of this bad report that they wander 40 years
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before Joshua won. You have the spies going in and
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Joshua was one of those spies, as was Caleb back in numbers 13.
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You see his name referred to there as Hoshea.
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That's what his parents named him.
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And he was one of those spies. But he wasn't one of the spies
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that gave the bad report. 10 gave a bad report, 2 gave a good
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report, Joshua and Caleb. But here's the thing, and this
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is sometimes we, we are confused in our normal living that we
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kind of grew up with. If you do good, you only
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experience good, you only be rewarded.
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If you do bad, you only experience bad.
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But now that we're adults, we know that's not always true.
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We know that we can do good and suffer horrendously and that
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there are those that don't love God that could do very bad and
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experience tremendous blessing and seemingly have no problems.
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We realize that humanity is a lot more complex than some of
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the ways that we were raised, some of the truths that we're
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told because it is true. We want, we want to do good, but
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the expectation is we do good for the glory of God, not just
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for what we're going to get out of it.
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We don't want to just do something good so we can get
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something back, so we can have a plaque on the wall or, you know,
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somebody can know how moral and good we are.
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No, we do good for the glory of God.
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But here Joshua and Caleb suffered the consequences of the
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disobedience of the other. 10 And this is where it gets
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confusing for us, because we suffer and then we examine our
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lives and they're not like we're perfect or anything.
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Not meaning that. But like sometimes we suffer
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because of other people's sin. And we have to learn to endure
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it, not quit, not jump out. Joshua also wandered, but you
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know what Joshua did? He became the servant of Moses.
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He became the servant of Moses. His answer to difficulty was to
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serve the Lord, to serve God through serving Moses.
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That was his answer. That was the answer in his life
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that that that's his choice. His choice was to take his
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circumstance. I'm going to serve the Lord.
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I'm going to give my life to this man.
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Even as we learn later on in Numbers, I'm even going to fight
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battles. I'm going to, I'm going to stand
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in front of the people and fight battles to protect them.
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As you remember that time Moses went up to the mountain and the
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Amalekites attacked, and when his arms were up, you had Aaron
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and her alongside of him holding up his arms.
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We often use that as an illustration to help our leaders
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hold each other's arms up. But where was Joshua?
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He was down in the valley fighting the battle.
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His life was on the line. Caleb.
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We don't have much about Caleb during the wandering, but we do
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know this. It seems like every single day
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of the wandering, he was thinking about the promised
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land. Because at the end of Joshua,
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Caleb gets to the place where give me, he's like a old man,
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I'm here. I made it.
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I made it. I want my land.
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I'm stronger than I was many 40 years ago.
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He's like, bro, you were like 60 years old, 40 years ago, Now
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you're 100 or whatever he is. It's like, you know, you know,
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the young people are probably laughing at him, but you know,
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Caleb wasn't laughing because he's thereby faith.
24:32
And he got the inheritance. Joshua received the inheritance
24:35
because they rose and they went and they took it.
24:40
That's the word of the Lord for you.
24:42
Because there will always be bad reports and there will always be
24:47
naysayers, and there will always be faithless men and women.
24:51
They're going to be in your life too.
24:53
You can't get rid of them. Please don't get rid of them.
24:56
I'm faithless sometimes. Please don't get rid of me
25:00
because you need them in your life so that God can use you in
25:03
your faith to help them. It's like this thought of, you
25:07
know, I don't want to surround myself with anybody that's
25:09
faithless. I get that you want to be
25:11
careful, but your faith can be a tool to help somebody get
25:15
through a real difficult time because they are faithless.
25:17
The Bible anticipated that. By the way, in first John it
25:21
says that or maybe in Timothy says even if we are faithless,
25:27
he remains faithful. So there's anticipation of
25:30
faithlessness. It's going to happen.
25:34
But as we learned with Paul and the Viper recently, when the the
25:37
Viper of faithlessness tries to grab hold of you, you got to
25:40
learn what to shake it off and move on.
25:44
And what was Paul? You can see this theme
25:46
throughout the Scriptures. What was Paul's solution after
25:50
he just kept serving the Lord? He knew his place in the world
25:55
and that is your place. Not I don't want you to think of
26:02
serving the Lord this year, just like serving in the church
26:07
because pastors, we could easily make this all about serving in
26:10
the church. Let me just emphasize serving in
26:12
the church is super important because it lets you practice on
26:16
believers. It's really important.
26:18
You learn a lot serving here. Like the first thing you need to
26:21
do is make a commitment so that you'll be accountable.
26:24
You'll learn a lot that way. Like people are waiting on you
26:27
like this place isn't going to move forward without you or
26:30
you'll be sent. You'll be felt when you're lost.
26:32
You know you're not here, but this isn't about serving in the
26:35
church. This is about embracing the
26:37
future where you're getting up and going in to what God has for
26:41
you in life. Because not everybody serves at
26:43
the church. Not that that's not your
26:46
calling. That's not everybody's calling.
26:48
Everybody's calling is not to work at a church, but
26:52
everybody's calling is to serve the Lord.
26:55
Every one of us, whether you're bit by a snake or you're
26:59
surrounded with faithlessness, God has called us to serve Him.
27:05
And Joshua is a book that teaches us how to fight.
27:10
It'll be, we'll get into Joshua a little bit more when we get
27:12
into Ephesians because Old Testament Joshua is similar to
27:16
the New Testament in Ephesians, all about what God has for you,
27:20
what he's given you. Just take it, own it, believe
27:24
and enjoy. Not only is it a book about
27:27
fighting, but it's also a book about victory.
27:31
About victory. It's not God's heart that we
27:34
live a defeated, beat up, humdrum, boring life.
27:38
It's not God's will that we put Him down because of the
27:41
circumstances in our lives. It's God's will for us to fight,
27:46
to enjoy victory, and to take what is ours by faith and to
27:50
claim the truth of God's Word and hold on to it.
27:55
Hold on to it like your kids in the nursery right now.
27:58
Will not let go of that toy. They just won't.
28:02
That they're the strongest. That's just most amazing kids
28:05
when they have something they don't want to share, but God
28:09
wants you to latch onto him by faith.
28:12
What a new year might bring. Joshua's also this practical
28:17
example, Paul, when Speaking of the experiences of Israel, their
28:24
history of being delivered from Egypt, going through the
28:26
wilderness, coming into the promised land, said this and
28:30
he's describing it. He said this.
28:32
All these things happened as examples.
28:37
So all these things that we're reading about, we're looking at,
28:40
they're all as examples. That is there, there's a type,
28:44
there's a picture to the behavior even in Joshua, so that
28:49
the bondage in Egypt is equivalent to our bondage in
28:53
sin. What we're being held by passing
28:57
through the Red Sea speaks to being water baptized in the
29:01
newness of life, a new relationship with God, a new
29:04
life, new creations in Christ. All things have passed away.
29:08
Behold, all things have become new, and their wilderness
29:11
experiences are typical of our early experiences seeking the
29:14
Lord. And how hard it is and.
29:16
And how difficult. Nobody told us.
29:18
You know, even as pastors, I try my best.
29:20
It's going to be hard. It's going to be hard.
29:22
But then you go through something, you go, I didn't know
29:23
it was going to be this hard. Yeah.
29:26
Like, life is hard enough. But when you choose to follow
29:29
Christ in a hostile world, expect to be met with a lot of
29:34
opposition. It's hard.
29:36
I mean, it's not hard, like, impossible, because what's
29:39
impossible with man is possible with God.
29:41
But of course, it's hard. But that rock, even in the
29:45
wilderness from which the water of life came, Paul said, was
29:49
Jesus. Jesus was in the wilderness.
29:55
And the real picture in Joshua now is here in chapter 1, the
29:58
Jordan, the Jordan River, that's where they stopped.
30:04
And God said it's time. It's time to get up, rise and
30:09
go. Take what's yours.
30:12
It's time to get up church. That's the word of the Lord to
30:14
us, to walk into all that He has for us.
30:19
Because in the spirit life I find strength to conquer the
30:22
strongholds that my flesh has set up.
30:29
I begin to see walled cities come down, I watch giants fall,
30:35
and I begin to possess the glorious experiences that God
30:38
has promised to every believer that we go forward in the Spirit
30:43
and not in the flesh. Joshua was God's choice, right?
30:48
Because he was doubting, wondering.
30:50
God comes in and say you're the man, You've always been the man,
30:53
this is the time now and you are God's choice.
30:58
You know that Jesus said you didn't choose me, but I chose
31:02
you, which is pretty amazing. John 1516 Couple thoughts before
31:09
we leave something real powerful because if you don't claim the
31:15
truth of God's word in your life related to your identity, you
31:20
will never get to where you want to go.
31:23
You need to believe who you are in Christ, your identity.
31:28
Let me show you something with Joshua for a second, because
31:31
this is what happens year after year.
31:34
It may not be your story, but it's a familiar story.
31:36
Excitement, new year possibilities.
31:40
But then by January into January, February, it seems like
31:43
the same old thing as it was last year.
31:45
Same old thing. I'm not reading my Bible, I
31:47
don't really care. I'm back to drinking, I'm
31:49
partying, I'm mad at my wife. Whatever it is, it starts high
31:54
and then life continues. And then the enemy will lie to
31:59
you and go, this is how you always are and you will never
32:03
change. Now that maybe the enemy doesn't
32:06
say that it could be someone close to you, you'll never
32:09
change. But that's not true in the
32:13
spirit. In the spirit, you're getting up
32:17
and taking what's yours, and that means change.
32:19
You're getting up. Just that one act of getting up
32:22
is change. Moving forward is change and I
32:26
want you to consider Joshua just for his name.
32:29
We meet him as Hoshea, which means to save or salvation.
32:34
We saw that back in Numbers 13. Then his name here in Joshua, it
32:38
seems to be changed to Yahshua, which means it's a beautiful
32:44
one. It means the Lord is our
32:46
salvation, which is the Hebrew equivalent of Jesus, Yeshua to
32:57
Jesus and the Greek, that's the equivalent.
32:59
And you go, OK, Ed, what's that about?
33:01
I just want you, I don't know if you've ever considered this
33:03
before, but I just want you to think about this.
33:06
Joshua, he was named Joshua as a slave.
33:12
His parents were slaves, his grandparents were slaves.
33:17
And any type of future thought, anything in the future, the
33:21
expectation was Joshua's kids would be slaves and his
33:25
grandkids would be slaves. That was his identity.
33:28
His identity was being under the bondage of the Egyptians.
33:33
He did what they told him to do, learn what he told him to learn.
33:37
He was very much under the identity of Egyptian slavery,
33:47
but in the middle of slavery, his parents name him Salvation.
33:58
His parents named him Salvation. Why?
34:02
Because there was a glimmer of hope in their hearts that God
34:06
was going to come through. I know it didn't come through
34:09
for my parents, and I know it didn't come through for my
34:11
grandparents. But this young boy, I think God
34:15
could come through for this young boy, our son.
34:18
We're going to name him Salvation.
34:20
The Lord is our salvation because that's what we're
34:23
looking to. We wake up in the morning, we
34:25
look to salvation, we wake up and we go and do go to work.
34:30
Even though their work was horrific, they go to work.
34:32
The Lord is our salvation. We look down at our Son and
34:36
wonder what his future is going to be.
34:37
I'll tell you what his future is going to be.
34:39
The Lord is his salvation. And in the middle of that, his
34:42
identity was slavery, but God had more for him.
34:48
Joshua and his family were beaten and abused, terribly used
34:52
by the Egyptians, but his parents were looking up and
34:56
looking forward. They were standing literally on
34:59
the promises. They were standing on the
35:02
promises that God gave to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, that God
35:11
would bless his people and rescue them, that he would send
35:15
a deliverer. They believe that God would keep
35:19
His word and we don't care about what our circumstances are or
35:24
what our history has been. Today we believe God is our
35:27
salvation. It's a very powerful moment.
35:32
Entering in the new year involves our past.
35:37
We can't run fast enough away from it.
35:38
We all bring it with us. It's a story of our lives.
35:43
All of us have a past, some of us worse than others.
35:46
But nonetheless, we all have a past.
35:49
And entering into a new year, we've got to do something with
35:52
our past. And it can be a real
35:54
discouragement to step forward. It could be a real
35:58
discouragement even listening to a pastor thinking, well,
36:00
nothing's going to be nothing's going to be new for me this
36:03
year. Pastor, you don't understand
36:04
where I came from. Yeah, but Joshua's name was
36:06
salvation in the midst of where he was.
36:09
It wasn't even his past. It was his present.
36:13
And he lived with hope. It wasn't even his past yet.
36:17
And his parents said this. Every time we look at this kid,
36:19
we're going to remember God's salvation.
36:21
And God knows about all about our past.
36:24
And he calls you to rise up and go take the land.
36:27
And as you go forward by faith to take it all, God knows about
36:30
your past. He knows how you were used.
36:35
He knows about the wounds that you carry.
36:36
He knows about how you were taken advantage of.
36:38
He knows how unfair it was. And he knows how the enemy has
36:42
tried to take you out and damage you and just wipe you out and
36:45
destroy even your capacity to be able to hear or receive the love
36:51
of God. But the enemy has lost that
36:55
battle. The enemy has lost that battle.
37:00
And you say, Ed, but how? Well you have a new name on that
37:04
battle. And that name is faith.
37:09
Whatever the new year has for us, it's going to come by faith
37:12
in the spirit. It's not going to come by our
37:15
old identities and our old way of living.
37:19
We have left the past and we're pressing on into the future.
37:23
Jot it down in Philippians chapter 3, verse 12.
37:26
Paul would say, not that I've already attained or I'm already
37:30
perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which
37:34
Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
37:37
And brethren, I don't count myself to have apprehended.
37:40
But one thing I do, forgetting those things that are behind and
37:44
reaching forward for the things which are ahead.
37:46
I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God
37:50
and Christ Jesus. Joshua is God's choice to lead
37:55
the people, and if they're willing, if they're willing,
37:59
they're going to experience victory.
38:01
And yet today we have a greater than Joshua, Jesus Christ.
38:05
And if you and I, we're willing, we're going to possess all that
38:08
He has for us because we have a new identity.
38:11
It's not an old one. We have a new one.
38:14
So many times we look back to the past and we think it's the
38:18
hindrance, but it's the preparation.
38:24
So much of ministry that flows through our lives, you know,
38:26
comes from our former misery. Have you noticed that so much
38:31
future work in someone's life comes from the depth of the pain
38:35
and heartache that we've experienced?
38:37
I think of all that's happening among us today and how so many
38:42
of you have these big hearts for groups of people in the world
38:45
because this is what happened to you.
38:47
And now you have a heart, a desire, You're stepping into
38:52
lives, you're self sacrificing, you're you're learning, you're
38:55
growing, you're going back to school, you want to step in and
38:58
help people. You're wanting to find that
39:02
ability. So much of our ministry comes
39:04
from former ministry. What we went through and what we
39:06
sacrificed and what we suffered and what we've endured.
39:10
As the Lord heals us and washes us and cleanses us and forgives
39:14
us and restores us, He gives us a fresh life and a refresh of
39:18
our identity. And listen, God will redeem
39:21
anything from your past and use it so that you might be used for
39:25
his glory. He can and he will.
39:28
Second Corinthians chapter one verse 3 says blessed be the God
39:31
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies
39:35
and the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our
39:40
tribulation so that we might be able to comfort those who are in
39:44
any trouble with the comfort with we with with which we
39:48
ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ
39:52
abounding us, so our consolation abounds through Christ.
39:56
The same is true for you and me. If you're willing.
39:59
There's a lot to to take this year, a lot of victory, a lot of
40:03
change it. It doesn't necessarily mean
40:06
like, like massive, like, you know, it's just a complete
40:10
overhaul, although that would not be great.
40:14
But these incremental things that have been holding you back,
40:17
these little strongholds, you think about Jericho, if you read
40:21
in Joshua, it's a walled city. And Jericho is this huge city
40:26
that seemed beyond their ability to defeat.
40:29
But God had a plan already to take the walls down.
40:33
They just needed to go. They just needed to walk and
40:37
obey, trust and obey as we would sing in that song.
40:41
So come back to Joshua chapter one with me if you haven't
40:45
turned. I know we didn't turn, but I
40:47
moved around in Joshua chapter one.
40:49
This is the word of the Lord, that sense of taking it all.
40:52
It says verse 2. Now, therefore arise and go over
40:58
this Jordan, you and all this people to the land which I'm
41:02
giving them the children of Israel.
41:05
So here's the thing, here's some homework.
41:07
I would encourage you to circle the word arise and make it a
41:12
prayer point this year. God, what do you mean for me to
41:14
get up? What does it mean for me to get
41:16
up? What do you want me to get up
41:18
from? How do you want to get me get
41:20
up? I don't want to get up and make
41:22
it a prayer point in your life. So I don't want to get up.
41:24
I like it right here. Very comfortable, very at ease.
41:27
You know, whatever like there arise needs to be dealt with in
41:30
your life. Secondly, go over this Jordan.
41:34
What is it that God, what obstacle the Jordan River we
41:38
know later on in chapter 3 is at flood stage.
41:41
So it's in in amazing that after this they're going to be all
41:44
excited. Let's go, let's go, let's go.
41:46
And then they get right to the Jordan like, oh, I don't think
41:48
we can go. What is it that's been holding
41:51
you back? Is it a mental issue?
41:54
Is it an emotional issue? Is it discouragement?
41:57
Is it depression? Is it, you know, hopelessness?
42:00
And you say, OK, Lord, I I what does it mean to get up and what
42:03
does it mean to go over this? And then you fill in the blank
42:07
and then finally your prayer point is to the land I'm giving
42:11
them. God, what have you?
42:11
What have you given me this year?
42:13
So we're not creating anything. We're not making anything
42:16
happen. We're just taking what God wants
42:17
to give us. What do you want to give me this
42:19
year, Lord? What new revelation, what new
42:22
insight, what new skill, what new love, what new friendship I
42:28
was. I was listening to a Bible study
42:32
in another church actually this this afternoon.
42:37
And one of the things the pastor said is that 2024 was super hard
42:42
for him because him and his wife, because he lost a few
42:45
friendships and he's still grieving over the friendships
42:49
and things that he's going on in his church and such.
42:51
And, and, you know, painful, painful.
42:56
But, you know, I've learned over the years that in relationships
42:59
and friendships, if I have lost any friendships or relationship
43:04
over the years of among many things that God's telling me,
43:06
He's telling me one thing, Ed, I'm moving them on.
43:12
And I have to be happy with that.
43:13
I'm moving them on. You've had your time with them.
43:17
And I was thinking too, I want to get the quote, but I was
43:19
thinking Al Pittman has this great illustration he gives as a
43:23
pastor. And when he's teaching pastors
43:25
and he says, I'm just a I'm going to do that.
43:27
I'll Pitman voice. I'm just, you guys know, I'm
43:31
just a bus driver and people get on and people get off, but I
43:38
drive the bus and I keep driving.
43:42
And I know that you have a lot of pain and I know you may have
43:45
some friendships and relationships, but you you know
43:48
what? Get back to the driver's seat
43:51
and drive the bus. Go forward, go to that upward
43:56
call that God has for you in this new year.
43:59
And the Lord knows what he's doing and allowing new
44:02
friendships and removing friendships.
44:04
He knows what he's doing with your life.
44:07
Just be careful not to be in the flesh.
44:12
Be careful to walk in the Spirit and arise.
44:15
Go over this Jordan to the land that God says I I am giving that
44:21
isn't that great. I love it.
44:23
So Lord, we want to take all that you're giving us.
44:26
We don't want to create anything, but I do pray, Lord,
44:29
we, we get behind the we get behind the burden of all our
44:32
problems and difficulties and we let another year go by and our
44:38
gifts stay stagnant in some ways.
44:42
And, and we're not able. We're, we're mourning the loss
44:45
of this friend, but we're also not stepping into these other
44:47
three friendships that you called us to.
44:49
And we just need that, that clarity of mind that we have.
44:53
We, we have been delivered like Joshua is in the midst of his
44:57
identity. He was given the identity that
45:00
you had for him. He was a reminder of salvation
45:04
and victory. And here he is walking into and
45:08
leading a whole nation into the promises that you have for them,
45:12
into the land that you're giving them.
45:15
And that's our desire, God. We want what you have to give
45:18
us. We want to receive it kind of
45:20
like what we were, you know, with Christmas.
45:22
Lord, it's all about the gifts that we have in Christ.
45:25
We want them, we want to open them.
45:27
We want to enjoy them. We're not taking any of them
45:30
back. We're going to enjoy them all
45:32
and receive them as what you have for us.
45:36
Some of them we wanted. Some of them we didn't want, but
45:40
we receive them because you're giving them.
45:42
You're the great gift giver. I pray that over our church this
45:46
year, how this might work out and what this might look like
45:50
walking in the newness of life and the identities.
45:54
Our divine destiny are your intended purpose for our life.
46:00
And may you have your way with us this year, Lord, with our
46:02
marriages, with our singleness, maybe any relationships that are
46:06
just starting and forming right now.
46:09
Any issues with our kids, our prodigals, our rebellious ones,
46:13
the ones that have deconstructed them their way out of faith
46:17
completely. Lord, the ones that have come
46:19
back, we welcome them. The ones that are wandering and
46:22
just trying to find their way. Lord, help them and protect
46:25
them. That they wouldn't hurt
46:26
themselves too much, that they wouldn't do something that can't
46:31
be undone. Bring them back quickly.
46:34
The foundations that we laid would be the foundations of
46:37
which our kids are built upon. They would choose to build their
46:41
lives on the rock and do even better than we did in our own
46:47
lives. So Lord, bless your church as we
46:49
head into a new year. And the devil, he didn't win
46:52
that battle and he didn't win that battle and he didn't win
46:56
that battle because we're still standing by the grace of God in
47:00
Jesus name, Amen. We pray that you've been
47:04
encouraged by this Bible study delivered live from the
47:06
sanctuary of Calvary Church for prayer.
47:09
Call us at 87730 grace that's 877-304-7223.
47:18
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47:21
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47:30
Be blessed as you worship Jesus this week.