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Filling the Shoes of Moses Msg 1820 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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  Speaker 1: I want to talk this evening about a subject that
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  Speaker 1: is seldom considered from a pulpit. And yet when you
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  Speaker 1: work your way through a book of scripture or through
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  Speaker 1: a life like we are in Moses, you come across
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  Speaker 1: at certain junctures things that you would not normally present.
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  Speaker 1: That's the beauty of an expository pulpit ministry. God directs
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  Speaker 1: you to say things that He wants said, as He
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  Speaker 1: simply brings them to pass in the life or in
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  Speaker 1: the book under study. We've come to our next to
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  Speaker 1: last study in the life of Moses, and they have
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  Speaker 1: been helpful in my life, and as I hear from
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  Speaker 1: various ones of you, they've been helpful in yours, and
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  Speaker 1: I thank God with you. Tonight, I want to talk
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  Speaker 1: about the whole area of filling the shoes of a
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  Speaker 1: great man or great woman. Now many of you are
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  Speaker 1: in school, the number of you are engaged in ministries,
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  Speaker 1: in administrative capacities, and you will be running for office
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  Speaker 1: or you will be looking for replacements in particular positions
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  Speaker 1: of responsibility. And I think God has some things to
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  Speaker 1: say to us about the whole matter of filling the
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  Speaker 1: shoes of someone that's done a good job, and by
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  Speaker 1: the way, that's an unenviable position to be in. Can
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  Speaker 1: you think of the individual's feelings who took the place
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  Speaker 1: of Peter Marshall in Washington, d c. You can't even
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  Speaker 1: name him, can you? I can't either. How about the
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  Speaker 1: one who took the place of Donald Barnhouse that great
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  Speaker 1: Presbyterian church in Philadelphia. How about the one who stepped
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  Speaker 1: in the shoes of Henrietta Meres. You don't even know
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  Speaker 1: who he was, do we? Or how about the one
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  Speaker 1: who took the place of Harry Ironside or g. Campbell Morgan,
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  Speaker 1: or set in the faculty chair in place of Robert
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  Speaker 1: Dick Wilson or Greatchen Machen. What about people who served
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  Speaker 1: following great individuals. It's a true in the military who
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  Speaker 1: took the place in Korea of Douglas MacArthur when Truman
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  Speaker 1: called him home before God, I could not tell you
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  Speaker 1: who that was who stepped in after Churchill, but he
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  Speaker 1: phased out. Isn't it something how the individual who steps
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  Speaker 1: in the shoes of another often is forgotten, but is
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  Speaker 1: quite frequently very capable. We give you a couple of examples.
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  Speaker 1: Dawson Trautman founded the Navigators. He was a man of
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  Speaker 1: great discipline, a man of tremendous enthusiasm and determination vision.
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  Speaker 1: He set up the whole follow up ministry of the
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  Speaker 1: Grand Crusade. He himself set it in motion, and it
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  Speaker 1: follows as a legacy to his to his life. And
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  Speaker 1: God gave him the direction of the Navigators, which is
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  Speaker 1: a Christian organization trained to disciple, recruit disciple, and sind
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  Speaker 1: young men and women to the world. That's their vision. Well,
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  Speaker 1: in God's plan he called him home. At the young
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  Speaker 1: age of fifty he killed, and that he was he
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  Speaker 1: drowned in an accident, in a accident humanly speaking, up
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  Speaker 1: at Screen Lake when he was just fifty years young.
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  Speaker 1: And the man God chose as his replacement is a
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  Speaker 1: fellow named Lauren Sannie, who is different in personality, in appearance,
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  Speaker 1: in physique, in style and expressions. The whole framework, the
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  Speaker 1: whole structure of his fiber is different. And who would
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  Speaker 1: have thought that a Sannie would follow a trotman. Certainly
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  Speaker 1: not Sannie. You should talk to him about that, well,
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  Speaker 1: he would want to go in the opposite direction. When
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  Speaker 1: they came and said, we feel God has placed you
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  Speaker 1: on the heart of this work as a matter of fact,
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  Speaker 1: it's interesting and Trotman died, he had already talked to
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  Speaker 1: his wife and said he had a premonition of death.
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  Speaker 1: And so they sat down and together mapped out the
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  Speaker 1: whole plan of the Navigators for the future before he
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  Speaker 1: ever died. Sort of like buying the nails for your
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  Speaker 1: coffin before it's ever built, isn't it. But it happened.
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  Speaker 1: Let me mention one more the ministry of Richard Sumi,
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  Speaker 1: who has been in this pulpit on an occasion. He
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  Speaker 1: filled the pulpit of Emmanual Baptist Church for over twelve
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  Speaker 1: years and did a magnificent job. It's a devotional speaker.
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  Speaker 1: He's eloquent, tall and dark, and in his day of
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  Speaker 1: great health, he was a very handsome and winsome person,
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  Speaker 1: the evangelist at heart and a heartwarming speaker. And then
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  Speaker 1: in God's marvelous providence, he reached down and plucked him
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  Speaker 1: from Immanuel Baptist and put him at the Wheaton Bible
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  Speaker 1: Church suddenly, I mean, to the surprise of everyone, especially
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  Speaker 1: the people at Emmanuel in Richmond, Virginia. And they waited
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  Speaker 1: and waited and waited for God's man, and finally God
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  Speaker 1: called doctor Stanley to Saint, a name that I doubt
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  Speaker 1: a handful of you would even know, a man who
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  Speaker 1: was very instrumental in the shaping of my own mind
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  Speaker 1: in the area of the New Testament language. But here
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  Speaker 1: he came. He wasn't tall and dark and handsome. He was,
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  Speaker 1: as a matter of fact, a short, rather stumpy appearance,
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  Speaker 1: and in fact, in his earlier years he had about
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  Speaker 1: with polio. He was crippled. He walks with a limp.
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  Speaker 1: He's not a devotional speaker. He's a teacher, rather pedantic.
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  Speaker 1: He's not winsome in the sense of sumi. But he
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  Speaker 1: is altogether committed to the word of God, and God
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  Speaker 1: used his life for several years at Richmond. Now what
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  Speaker 1: I'm saying is that those individuals who step in the
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  Speaker 1: shoes of great men and great women are often very different,
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  Speaker 1: but nevertheless appointed by God to do the job that
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  Speaker 1: is to be done. Frequently God changes the direction of
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  Speaker 1: an organization. Can happen in a mission. For example, when
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  Speaker 1: Hudson Taylor was moved from the China Inland mission by death,
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  Speaker 1: could you even name who took his place, But the
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  Speaker 1: one who took his place reshape the whole mission. In
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  Speaker 1: other words, God used a successor in the wake of
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  Speaker 1: a very successful predecessor to do a whole new work. Now,
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  Speaker 1: I don't know God's plan for your life, neither to you,
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  Speaker 1: But for all you know, He is training you and
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  Speaker 1: shaping you to step in and serve as an officer,
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  Speaker 1: or as a board member, or as a student body
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  Speaker 1: leader in some capacity in the shoes of someone who
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  Speaker 1: has done a bang up job. And you're different, and
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  Speaker 1: you're going to see that God can use it even
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  Speaker 1: though you're different in a remarkable way. Let's begin by
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  Speaker 1: turning to Numbers, chapter twenty. I want to talk about
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  Speaker 1: the replacement in the life of Moses, a man by
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  Speaker 1: the name of Joshua. Now, as you listen to those
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  Speaker 1: thoughts to begin with, you you might have wondered, well,
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  Speaker 1: why could Moses go on into the land of Canaan.
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  Speaker 1: Why was it that this man who had led the
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  Speaker 1: people for four decades, who had been instrumental in the
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  Speaker 1: lives of countless miracles, Miracles in the lives of people,
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  Speaker 1: as well as miracles in the surface of the earth,
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  Speaker 1: as water came from the rock, and as waters were
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  Speaker 1: open in the sea, and as the plagues had been
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  Speaker 1: given through his hand and to the life of Pharaoh.
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  Speaker 1: Why wouldn't God let that man go on into Canaan.
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  Speaker 1: Let me just call your attention to verse eight down
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  Speaker 1: through a few more verses in chapter twenty of Numbers,
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  Speaker 1: God said to Moses, take the rod. Take the rod,
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  Speaker 1: you and your brother Aaron, assemble the congregation and speak
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  Speaker 1: to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield
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  Speaker 1: its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them
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  Speaker 1: out of the rock, and let the congregation and their
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  Speaker 1: beasts drink. Now that's clear instruction. Moses, take the rod,
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  Speaker 1: speak to the rock, and water will come out to
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  Speaker 1: water the animals and to quench the thirst of the people.
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  Speaker 1: But Moses was very impatient. Verse nine, it says he
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  Speaker 1: took the rod from before the Lord, just as he
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  Speaker 1: had commanded him. So far, so good. But Moses and
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  Speaker 1: Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock, and Moses said
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  Speaker 1: to them, listen, now, you rebels, here's an extra sermon
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  Speaker 1: that God hadn't prepared. Here is a hammer that Moses
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  Speaker 1: were going to use to beat beat them over their heads.
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  Speaker 1: And in doing so, he took the glory from heaven,
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  Speaker 1: and he wore it for a few awful moments, and
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  Speaker 1: thereby forfeit died his right into the land. He says,
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  Speaker 1: you rebel, Shall we bring forth water for you out
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  Speaker 1: of this rock? We that's blasphemy. We never brought water.
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  Speaker 1: God alone brings water. We never bring blessing. God brings
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  Speaker 1: blessing through us. But he was angry, and so he
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  Speaker 1: took that rod, and he struck the rock twice with
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  Speaker 1: his rod, and in grace water came out abundantly. But
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  Speaker 1: the Lord got him aside. You will remember, and he said, Moses,
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  Speaker 1: because you did this, you took the glory upon yourself.
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  Speaker 1: No way, you will not go into the land. Verse
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  Speaker 1: twelve tells us you will not bring the assembly into
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  Speaker 1: the land. Why couldn't Moses go in? Not just because
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  Speaker 1: he struck the rock, not just because he lost his
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  Speaker 1: temper for the umpteenth time, but because Moses took the
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  Speaker 1: glory that belonged to the Lord and he tarnished it publicly.
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  Speaker 1: God said, no, that's enough, Moses. You're You're going to
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  Speaker 1: be replaced. There's got to be someone else. Heartrending time.
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  Speaker 1: Another question is who would be qualified to take Moses' place.
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  Speaker 1: Look back at chapter fourteen for another few moments, and
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  Speaker 1: let's land. On verse twenty six, they've come to the
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  Speaker 1: edge of Canaan. Just before entering the land, they sent
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  Speaker 1: spies in, and the spies came back and said, as
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  Speaker 1: a majority report, no way are we going to be
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  Speaker 1: able to take the land. There are giants in the land.
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  Speaker 1: And God was so displeased with the people. Verse twenty six.
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  Speaker 1: He spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, how long shall
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  Speaker 1: I bear with this evil congregation? We're in numbers fourteen
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  Speaker 1: twenty seven, this evil congregation grumbling against me. I have
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  Speaker 1: heard the complaints of the sons of Israel which they
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  Speaker 1: are making against me. Say to them, as I live,
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  Speaker 1: says the Lord, Just as you have spoken in my hearings,
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  Speaker 1: so I will surely do to you. Your corpses shall
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  Speaker 1: fall in the wilderness. Even all your numbered men, according
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  Speaker 1: to your complete number from twenty years old and upward,
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  Speaker 1: and who have grumbled against me. Surely you shall not
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  Speaker 1: come into the land which I swore to settle you.
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  Speaker 1: Except now here are the possibilities. Caleb circle that name,
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  Speaker 1: and Joshua circle that name, who was qualified to take
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  Speaker 1: Moses' place? Only two men who had had the experience
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  Speaker 1: for those years past of training at the feet of
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  Speaker 1: Moses and learning from God's hand in the lives of
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  Speaker 1: the people Caleb and Joshua. Now some people wonder why
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  Speaker 1: didn't God put Caleb in as Moses' replacement, why Joshua. Well,
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  Speaker 1: take a moment and look back at eleven twenty eight,
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  Speaker 1: just one more verse before we get into chapter twenty seven.
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  Speaker 1: You'll see the reason more than likely that God chose Joshua.
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  Speaker 1: Then Joshua, the son of None, the attendant of Moses
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  Speaker 1: from his youth, answered and said, Moses, my Lord, restrained them.
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  Speaker 1: The part that is of interest is he was an
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  Speaker 1: attendant of Moses from his youth. Caleb was as godly
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  Speaker 1: a man, certainly as qualified a man, but he had
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  Speaker 1: not been honed and discipled, to use our word, trained
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  Speaker 1: by Moses. Think of what it must have been like
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  Speaker 1: to have been Moses' servant from your younger years. By
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  Speaker 1: the way, that's how they used to train men for
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  Speaker 1: the ministry. A man who was preparing for the ministry
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  Speaker 1: did not often go to seminary years ago. He simply
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  Speaker 1: moved into the life and home of an older, more
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  Speaker 1: experienced minister, and he imbibed the principles of godliness, the
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  Speaker 1: disciplines of study, prayer, the wisdom of dealing with naughty
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  Speaker 1: problems related to the ministry, the direction involved in leading
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  Speaker 1: a congregation. He learned that by rubbing show over an
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  Speaker 1: extended period of time, not always the same amount of time. G.
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  Speaker 1: Campbell Morgan's life was characterized by training younger men at
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  Speaker 1: his footstool, as it were, for a period of time,
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  Speaker 1: and then releasing them to the ministry. You know that's
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  Speaker 1: not a half bad plan. Seminaries are realizing it today,
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  Speaker 1: and they therefore encourage internships where their students are involved
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  Speaker 1: in ministry's first hand with the lives of pastors and
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  Speaker 1: pastoral staffs, so as to gain this kind of experience.
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  Speaker 1: That's why Moses, that's why Joshua was qualified rather than Caleb.
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  Speaker 1: He had been trained for the task. Now he didn't
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  Speaker 1: know he was being trained to take Moses's place. It
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  Speaker 1: would have scared Joshua a death to think that he
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  Speaker 1: was in training for Moses's job, but he was now
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  Speaker 1: look at chapter twenty seven. Chapter twenty seven is based
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  Speaker 1: on one basic principle. I want to lay it on you,
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  Speaker 1: and then we'll see it as it works out in
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  Speaker 1: the passage. Here's the principle. When a man of God dies,
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  Speaker 1: nothing of God dies. When a man of God is
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  Speaker 1: moved on to another position, nothing of God moves on.
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  Speaker 1: It is terribly easy for a person who is used
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  Speaker 1: of God to become God's replacement in the minds of people.
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  Speaker 1: And then when that person is moved on to another ministry,
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  Speaker 1: or dies or fails, many of those who idolize that
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  Speaker 1: individual fall by the wayside. And God is teaching us
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  Speaker 1: in this twenty seventh of Numbers that when He moves
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  Speaker 1: a man on, like Moses buries him at Mountain Ebo,
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  Speaker 1: nothing of God is buried. He's still at work. When
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  Speaker 1: Donald Barnhouse passed on, nothing of God passed on. In
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  Speaker 1: the work and ministry of a tenth Memorial Presbyterian Church
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  Speaker 1: in Philadelphia moved right on. The same is true of
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  Speaker 1: those other ministries. Nothing of the Navigator suffered when Trotman
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  Speaker 1: was taken. Nothing of China Inland Mission suffered when Taylor
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  Speaker 1: was finished. Because nothing of God suffers. It is so
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  Speaker 1: easy to be tunnel visioned rather than broad and see
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  Speaker 1: God at work in the lives of gifted individuals down
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  Speaker 1: through time. Now we find Moses on the edge of death.
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  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty seven, verse twelve. We see him first of
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  Speaker 1: all viewing the land must have been filled with nostalgia.
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  Speaker 1: Look at verse twelve. Then the Lord said to Moses,
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  Speaker 1: go up to this mountain of Abarim and see the
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  Speaker 1: land which I have given to the sons of Israel.
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  Speaker 1: And when you have seen it, you too shall be
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  Speaker 1: gathered to your people. That's an Old Testament way of saying,
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  Speaker 1: you will die as erin your brother has died. When
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  Speaker 1: you have seen it, you will die. Now as you
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  Speaker 1: read that, you might wrestle with feelings that God was
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  Speaker 1: cruel to do that. That's like having a fellow fall
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  Speaker 1: in love with a girl and God say, look, you
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  Speaker 1: get one final look at that girl this evening, because
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  Speaker 1: she's going to marry somebody else tomorrow. That's like saying
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  Speaker 1: to a hungry dog, look see this nice meal, Well
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  Speaker 1: you can't have it. Oh, why would God do that
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  Speaker 1: for Moses? Now, God is not a mocker. God is
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  Speaker 1: not cruel. I think we have to be broader than that.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, I never find Moses submerged in self pity.
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  Speaker 1: I never see Moses shaking his fist, saying why have
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  Speaker 1: you done that to me? No, God was showing Moses
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  Speaker 1: that he keeps his word. You see, he's been telling
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  Speaker 1: Moses for forty years, I'm going to lead them into
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  Speaker 1: the land. So right on the edge of the land,
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  Speaker 1: he told Moses to go up on that mountain, that
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  Speaker 1: series of mountain ranges and look across and to see
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  Speaker 1: that God keeps his word. Moses, you forfeited the right
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  Speaker 1: to go into the land. You took the glory that
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  Speaker 1: belonged to me, and you did it publicly. And I
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  Speaker 1: can't have that kind of man take my people into
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  Speaker 1: the land. But I want you to see that I
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  Speaker 1: keep my word. And so it was that Moses saw
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  Speaker 1: the land and then he shortly thereafter died. But something
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  Speaker 1: happened in the heart of Moses when he looked out
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  Speaker 1: over the land. Like I say, he had feelings of nostalgia,
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  Speaker 1: but they were deeper than that. He realized that the
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  Speaker 1: people of Israel needed a leader because in the Land
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  Speaker 1: of Canaan were enemies. In fact, some of the art
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  Speaker 1: enemies of Israel rested in the Land of Canaan. As
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  Speaker 1: a matter of fact, they were a godless people. There
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  Speaker 1: are historical documents and archaeological finds that prove pornography started
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  Speaker 1: in Canaan, as did the whole perversion in the sexual life.
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  Speaker 1: It has Canaanite roots. Moses knew that the grapevine was
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  Speaker 1: just as just as fast and just as complete in
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  Speaker 1: those days as is today. And Moses saw those people
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  Speaker 1: that were wicked to the core, and he knew in
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  Speaker 1: order for the people of God to be preserved first
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  Speaker 1: from defeat in battle as well as defeat spiritually, they
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  Speaker 1: needed a leader. Now you're going to read the bigness
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  Speaker 1: of Moses in the next few verses. Let me just
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  Speaker 1: read down, beginning at verse fifteen through seventeen. Listen to
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  Speaker 1: a man who was unselfish enough to think ahead. Moses
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  Speaker 1: spoke to the Lord, saying, may the Lord, the God
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  Speaker 1: of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over
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  Speaker 1: the congregation who will go out and come in before them,
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  Speaker 1: who will lead them out and bring them in, that
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  Speaker 1: the congregation of the Lord may not be like sheep
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  Speaker 1: which have no shepherd. Wait a minute before you turn
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  Speaker 1: the page. Let's stay right here for a minute. I
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  Speaker 1: noticed there were two requests from Moses regarding the man. First,
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  Speaker 1: he requested in verse sixteen, the man must be God's choice. Lord,
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  Speaker 1: you appoint a man. One of the tendencies that strong
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  Speaker 1: leaders wrestle with is appointing their own successor. I've seen
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  Speaker 1: it happen, and I have often seen it fail, almost
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  Speaker 1: with exception. When a strong leader appoints his own successor,
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  Speaker 1: he usually appoints one very much like himself. And God's plan,
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  Speaker 1: as I've said earlier, is often to get a different
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  Speaker 1: kind of man to come and bring a whole new dimension,
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  Speaker 1: that is other that would be otherwise undeveloped. And so
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  Speaker 1: Moses wise enough to see that. So Lord, let him
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  Speaker 1: be your appointment. You tell me who you want. He
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  Speaker 1: didn't hold up to God a handful and say choose
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  Speaker 1: a card. I've got four in mind. Whichever one you
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  Speaker 1: choose will be fine, he said, I have no suggestions.
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  Speaker 1: You make the man known to us and will appoint him.
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  Speaker 1: He must be a man of God's appointment. You notice
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  Speaker 1: what he calls the Lord verse sixteen. He's the god
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  Speaker 1: of the spirits of all fleash. God is unlike man
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  Speaker 1: in that he sees the spirit. We only see the appearance.
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  Speaker 1: First Samuel sixteen seven. Man looks on the outward appearance.
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  Speaker 1: The Lord looks on the heart. You remember the story
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  Speaker 1: of when they had to replace Saul, King Saul, the
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  Speaker 1: first king of Israel. Saul was tall, head and shoulders
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  Speaker 1: above everybody else, and he was probably very handsome, very winsome,
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: very attractive. But he was a failure because he walked
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: in the flesh. God removed him and he said to Samuel,
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: go find a replacement. Samuel, he'll be in the house
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: of Jesse. And so Samuel rolled up his sleeves and
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: took off for the House of Jesse. And when he
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: got there, he saw Eliab. Eliab was the eldest in
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: the family of Jesse, David's oldest brother. Older brothers are
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: problems anyway, but that's another subject. He looked at Eliab
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: and he saw Eliab, and he said, oh, the Lord's
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: anointed is standing before me. And the Lord said, oh,
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: hold it. Well, it's sort of a swindall paraphrase. He
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: said to Samuel something like, this is not my choice.
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: You know what. Samuel was looking for someone just like Saul.
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: Eliab was Samuel's choice. And God said, no way, you
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: back off a minute. I've got my man picked out
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: and he picked a fellow totally unlike Saul, a little
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: shepherd boy who was then in his teenage years forgotten
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: by his dad. He didn't bring him in and parade
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: him before Samuel. Samuel had to say to Jesse, look
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: are these all your sons? And he says, oh, yeah,
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: got one more guy. He's keeping the sheep. That's what
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: happens to babies in the family. But that's another subject
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: as well. Second thing I noticed about the Lord here
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: verse seventeen, that is about the replacement, is he was
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: to have a shepherd's heart. I like this. I like
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: it that Moses says, this, Lord, we need a man
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: who will go out and come in among the people.
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: He needs to realize Lord, as he ministers in this congregation,
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: he's got to be in touch with him. He's got
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: to have people on his heart. God in the heart
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: of Moses at that point was really working. Moses was saying, Oh,
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: we don't we don't need a mystic. These people don't
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: need a man of research, as important as they may
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: be people. These people need a shepherd who know people,
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: who knows people, and will minister and understand people and
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: realize the significance of people. You know what the ministry is.
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: It's people, in whatever capacity you minister, as a Bible teacher,
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: as a as a student preparing for the ministry, as
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: a woman of God, ministering in some capacity in the
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: area of your gift. Your ministry is people, not shuffling papers,
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: not making phone calls. Though all of those things have
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: to be done. Letters must be written. I write an
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: average of forty to fifty letters a week. Letters have
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: to go on, Administrative details must be handled. Our staff
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: carries on administrative details. But I frequently say to them, men,
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: remember the ministry is people. And I've learned that through
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: the hard knocks of dealing with life in the ministry
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: and making some very ridiculous mistakes because I wasn't oriented
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: to the heart of people. You know, the most common
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: thing I hear from individuals who are just beginning to
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: come to the church and yet that they want very
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: much to get to know some of us. They will say,
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: you know, you don't know me, but I'm there on
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: Sunday and I hear you preach, and it's almost apologetic,
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: like Hey, i''m sorry to take your time, but just
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: want to shake your hand. I come back and try
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: to say to each one, Look, you are as important
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: as anybody in this entire church. And that's true. There
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: is no insignificant member in the family of God. I
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: don't say that out of pr I don't say that
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: to make an impression. I say it because I really
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: believe it. You sit there tonight and you may not
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: know me, you may not know an officer in this church.
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: But I want you to know before God, you are special,
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: you are important, You're in His family. There is a
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: record that we got for our kids recently. I don't
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: make any royalty on the record. By the way, as
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: I announced it, it's Bill Gaither Trio of Bill Gaither's
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: Trio especially for children, and it's called I'm a Promise.
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: It's Volume two. And if you've got kiddos, are grand kiddos, hey,
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: that's the thing to get them right there. The reason
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: it's volume two is because we wore out Volume one
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: long ago, so we got a hold of volume two.
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: And our five year old, he is a riot. We
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: have a deal where, you know, to music is really
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: super and so we try to encourage it with our kids.
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: But the same record, you know, day in, day out.
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: So we found the answer if you have a record
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: player and you've got a possibility for plug in earphones,
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: that is the thing to get. Now, here's Chuck, five
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: years old, sitting in the great big chair with these
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: earphones on. I am a promise and sitting there singing
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: his thing. Now, wait a minute. The beauty of it
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: is what he is singing. This is Gaither's own composition,
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: not an arrangement. I learned that tonight. Listen to what
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: they're saying. What they're saying, this is the main tune.
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: I am a promise, I am a possibility. I am
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: a promise with a capital P. I can be anything
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: anything God wants me to be. Here's a little five
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: year old singing that you are a promise, you are
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: a possibility. You are a promise with a capital P.
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: You are a great big bundle of potentiality. I like
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: that line. All right, that's good. And if you'll listen,
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: you'll hear God's voice, and if you'll try, he'll help
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: you make the right choice. You're a promise to be
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: anything he wants you to be. You know something, It
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: doesn't matter what your name is, where you live, who
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: your daddy is, or how big you are or what
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: you look like. Hey, what do you look like? Short? Tall, fat, skinny,
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: got holes in your tennies, freckles on your nose. It
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: doesn't matter one bit. You can be exactly what God
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: wants you to be, and He has something very special
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: in mind for you. It might be climbing mountains, or
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: sailing the sea, helping sick people get well, or singing
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: a song. Whatever it is, you can do it. Hey,
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: that's part of the problem with the image. You break
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: down in our day. You don't realize how important you
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: are to God. Chuck said, Sunday school teacher. No extra
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: charge for this, but I want to tell you what
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: she said. No, it was this quiet, his little choir teacher.
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: Most patient person on earth are those that lead children's
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: choirs of real little people. You know, well, not quite
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: that little, but you know. And Nancy said to me
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: this last week, she rapped on my door. She said,
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: I want to tell you something happened with Chuck. She
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: said we were talking about going to heaven. And she
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: said I was telling all the children how great it
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: would be. And Chuck stood there all by himself listening.
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: She says, gonna be when we're in heaven, we're going
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: to be made like him. We're going to have a
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: whole new body, and we're going to be just like Jesus.
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: We're going to be different, Chuck said, one of his
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: rare moments, he raised his hand to speak. He said,
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: I don't want to go to heaven. She said, you
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: don't want to go to heaven? Why not? He said,
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: because I like my body. Hey, that's all right, you
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: know that. Hey, you ought to like your body. You're
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: to like it. God gave you that, buddy. I don't
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: care if you're a six foot five thirteen year old girl. Hey,
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: you're a great, big bundle of potentiality. He knows exactly
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: what you are and what you need. And let me
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: tell you something else. What he calls a shepherd to
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: minister to a flock. That shepherd has to believe in you. Also.
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: That's why Moses said, Oh, God, don't send us a
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: sterile student. Send us a man with a heart. Send
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: us somebody who will take care of the flock. Hey,
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: and that's a very important balance. You'll never learn it
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: in a seminary. Never. I can number dozens of teachers,
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: but I can't name many shepherds. Okay, So God, God
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: on his horse, as it were, and he pointed out
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: the man. It's beautiful how God answered this prayer, this request. Now,
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: let's look at verse eighteen. So the Lord said to Moses,
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: take Joshua. I love that because God never was biting
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: his nails in heaven, wondering who would take Moses's place.
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: Church boards work on that mission boards, wonder who will
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: possibly take that individual's place. One of the things they're
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: wrestling with right now is who's going to take to
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: Andersen's place over there in Zaire. They've got a man
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: that thinks shape for it, but they're waiting on God
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: to be sure they got that appointment. Anderson's are doing
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: a tremendous work over there, but he's retiring. Churches today
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: are looking for men. Don't forget those churches. Lord, who
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: will we have the shepherd the flock? And when you
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: wait upon God, he comes down real directly upon a name,
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: and he says, take Joshua, the son of None. And
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: he gives one indispensable characteristic. He is a man of
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: the spirit. Isn't that beautiful a man in whom is
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: the spirit? And lay your hand on him. God didn't
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: give him a multiple choice. God didn't run one personality
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: against another and say choose between three men. The majority wins.
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: The Lord says, take Joshua, what put your hands on him.
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: He's got the goods, he's got the spirit. He's a
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: man that lived under the control of the spirit of God. Now,
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: the laying of hands on an individual was the idea
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: of conferring authority on someone. Now the Lord says this
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: to Moses. Take Joshua, and you put your hands on him.
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: No physical power is passed on but there is a
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: spiritual connection of conferring authority. You put your hands on him,
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: and he's my man. Now, look at what happened. He
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: was to stand before the priest and before all the congregation,
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: and there was to be a public commissioning service. You
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: shall put some of your authority on him in order
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: that all the congregation of the Sons of Israel may
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: obey him. Ah, that's important. Moses, let it be publicly
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: known that you support this man. And he did that
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: Verse twenty two. Look carefully, here is the response of Moses.
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: He followed the plan. Moses did just as the Lord
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: commanded him. He took Joshua. I am impressed that there
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: was no argument. Hey, Lord, I would rather have Caleb.
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: That's not there. He took Joshua, that was God's man,
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: and set him before Eliezer the priest and before all
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: the congregation. He laid his hands on him and commissioned him,
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: just as the Lord had spoken through Moses. I'll tell
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: you it's hard to be over impressed with Moses. What
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: a big man. Not an ounce of self pity or
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: resentment or bitterness. I don't think he got Joshua in
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: the tent a few hours later and say you lucky dog,
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: or it isn't fair. Now, that's not Moses' style, is it.
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: Joshua your God's man, And he couldn't get out of
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: Joshua's way fast enough. By the way, if you live
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: on to see your successor step on the scene, get
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: out of the way. I mean by that, back off
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: and let God minister and work in a beautiful fashion
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: and support that individual with heart and soul, and even
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: do it verbally. He's God's appointment, God's man. Now I
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: see a couple or three tidbits that are really worthwhile
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: in this passage by way of application. First, let me
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: point this out. When God removes he replaces. Remember the
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: basic axiom. When a man of God dies, nothing of
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: God dies. So when God reaches down and plucks one flower,
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: he plants another one. When he pulls up one plan,
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: he's got another one ready. He never runs out of
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: potential assistance. When God removes, he replaces. I said it earlier,
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: and I said it rather hurriedly. Let me drive it
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: home again. Pray for our sister churches that are looking
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: for men. Pray for those work those schools that need faculty,
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: those mission boards that need individuals to step in, those
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: places of awesome responsibility to carry on. Pray for those
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: unique positions that are open. Pray that God's appointments will
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: be there. You know, the whole future of our ministry
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: hangs on the leadership. Humanly speaking, Pray that we will
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: have God's men. Think of it as Joshua would have
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: thought of it when he said you're going to take
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: When God said You're going to take Moses's place. When
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: God replaces, When God removes, he replaces. Now here's the second.
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: When God appoints, he approves. The beautiful thing about it
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: is that when he takes control, he blesses. When his
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: counsel is sought for a replacement. He approves. Just as
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: the Lord said to Moses, take Joshua. He didn't even
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: have to say, I will bless him, because he was
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: God's appointment. No, it's a terribly responsible thing to be
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: chosen by God in a position of great responsibility. You
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: answer to him. You punch no time clock for men
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: to examine. Your work is known only to him. Nobody
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: follows up to check on you. Joshua is the man,
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: and I approve him. I find that churches make these
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: two mistakes when they look for a man to follow
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: a great leader. First they try to get someone just
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: like that individual. Or second, they panic and they grab
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: the first one that comes along who's available. Both approaches
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: are lethal. God may have won something like the former man,
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: but it better be his choice. Dare not panic. Third,
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: when God sustains, he succeeds. Oh, that was so true
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: in Joshua's life. He sustained Joshua's life, and there's not
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: a recorded sin against his life. Now, I'm sure Joshua's sin,
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: but his life was not characterized by failure. By the way,
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: when God's in control of the ministry, there's no such
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: thing as failure. It's not an exciting thought. You mean
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: we won't have lean days. And I didn't say that.
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: I said there will never be failure. If God's in
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: charge of a ministry. Now, let me say, if he
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: sustains the ministry, then it succeeds. And if it succeeds,
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: he gets the glory. That's the beauty of it. I'm
• 37:56
  Speaker 1: more encouraged than ever over what He's doing. And I'll
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: tell you on the very thin yet strong wire of faith,
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: we're hanging some awfully heavy weights. God's advanced us in staff,
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: He's broadened us in philosophy, He's purified us. And I
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: thought concerning the ministry, he supported us, relieving us from
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: sism and scandal and division. That's marvelous. That's his grace.
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: I felt so much like Joshua, and I hope I
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: never lose that sense of incredible dependence the heart of God. Well,
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: when he sustains it, it succeeds. Let's bow this evening,
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: shall we. Let's just quietly rest for a moment. I'm
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: never really sure why the Lord directs in certain areas
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: and not another in the ministry of the Word. For
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: all I know, these words fall on some very hungry hearts,
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: or maybe there is a life here that's been strengthened
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: and encouraged just with the thought that you're very special
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: to God. None of his children are insignificant. Or maybe
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: you're in the awesome task of finding a man or
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: a woman in a position that carries with it a
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: great deal of finesse responsibility, and it's just reminded you
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: that you are dependent more than ever on God for
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: his Joshua. Maybe you are that Joshua and you're facing
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: in your work accepting a responsibility that's broader than you
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: ever or maybe at your school, maybe in the realm
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: of some ministry. Some of our churches, as we mentioned,
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: are in need of pastors, and I just wish you'd
• 40:18
  Speaker 1: pray right now that God would keep them from panic
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: and give them just quiet wisdom as they search our Father.
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: We love you. We love you because you care about
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: areas of our lives that that would seem very insignificant
• 40:52
  Speaker 1: to a distant deity. You're never too busy to hear
• 40:56
  Speaker 1: those hurts, to why the tears, and to put your
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: arm of compassion around us and give us words of encouragement.
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: We love you because you first loved us in Christ,
• 41:15
  Speaker 1: and you gave us his life. We love you because
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: you have bound us together in the bond of peace.
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: As the rain quietly falls outside, and as we slip
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: into our cars, and some all alone, make their way
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: to their home or apartment, all alone, I pray that
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: you might be a very personal Lord and savior to
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: them this week. I pray especially for those that are
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: wrestling with loneliness and discouragement. Even though surrounded by people,
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: deep within, there's an ache, meet some needs, Father that
• 42:00
  Speaker 1: only you can do, even as you did in the
• 42:03
  Speaker 1: heart of Moses just a few hours before death. Remind
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: us of this day. It's been a good one. Help
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: us to live in the memory of it this week,
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: in the name of Jesus, our Lord Amen.
• 42:22
  Speaker 2: The preceding message, Filling the Shoes of Moses was copyrighted
• 42:27
  Speaker 2: in nineteen seventy six, nineteen seventy eight, nineteen eighty one,
• 42:31
  Speaker 2: nineteen eighty five, nineteen ninety eight, and twenty twenty four,
• 42:36
  Speaker 2: and the sound recording was copyrighted in twenty twenty four
• 42:39
  Speaker 2: by Charles R. Swindall, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide.
• 42:44
  Speaker 2: Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.
• 42:49
  Speaker 2: In the preceding message, Charles Rswindall, Inc. Is grateful to
• 42:53
  Speaker 2: Hannah Street Music for permission to quote lyrics from I
• 42:57
  Speaker 2: Am A Promise by William and Gloria Gaither, copyrighted in
• 43:00
  Speaker 2: nineteen seventy five,