Latest / Max Lucado Daily Sermons / Don t Forget to Remember- Minister Max Lucado
Transcript
- 0:01Speaker 1: So so Thank you.
- 1:03Speaker 2: God is the God of fresh starts, new beginnings, and
- 1:05Speaker 2: second chances. Could you use some? If so, welcome to
- 1:12Speaker 2: Glory Days, a series of messages on the life and
- 1:16Speaker 2: the book of Joshua. God gave him in the Hebrews
- 1:20Speaker 2: a promised land life. He offers you the same. Let's
- 1:24Speaker 2: make our Glory Days declaration, shall we? Fill your lungs
- 1:29Speaker 2: with air and your hearts with hope. Now, I don't
- 1:31Speaker 2: want you to say this unless you mean it. I've
- 1:33Speaker 2: got a sincerity meter floating out there. Let's say it together.
- 1:38Speaker 2: These days are glory days. My past is past. My
- 1:43Speaker 2: future is bright. God's promises are true. His word is sure.
- 1:47Speaker 2: With God as my helper. I will do all He
- 1:49Speaker 2: wants me to be. Do all He wants me to do.
- 1:53Speaker 2: And receive all He wants me to receive. Though sometimes
- 2:02Speaker 2: they don't feel like it, Father, what with the enemy
- 2:05Speaker 2: and his attacks, sorrows, sadness, challenges, stress, we feel besieged
- 2:12Speaker 2: on every side. Today, dear Father, your people, we, your people,
- 2:19Speaker 2: come to you asking for nothing short of a supernatural breakthrough.
- 2:28Speaker 2: Would you, Father, lift the weariness Strengthen the faint hearted.
- 2:36Speaker 2: Embolden the coward. Forgive the sinner. Have mercy upon the
- 2:47Speaker 2: one who speaks. His sins are many. Help us to
- 2:52Speaker 2: see Jesus. Through Christ we pray. And all the church said.
- 3:00Speaker 2: For a book of conquests, the story of Joshua is
- 3:04Speaker 2: sure skimpy on military details. How many generals did he have?
- 3:09Speaker 2: How did he organize his troops? What weapons did he use?
- 3:12Speaker 2: Did he have an elite force? If so, what kind
- 3:15Speaker 2: of training did he require? The answer to all of
- 3:20Speaker 2: these questions and others, we don't know. We don't know
- 3:25Speaker 2: because the emphasis is not on a physical war but
- 3:29Speaker 2: on a spiritual battle. The real conflict wasn't with the
- 3:33Speaker 2: Canaanites or the Amorites or the Hittites. The real conflict
- 3:40Speaker 2: was with Satan and his demons. Here's why. Canaan was
- 3:47Speaker 2: the choicest real estate on earth. It connected Africa with Europe.
- 3:52Speaker 2: It accessed the Mediterranean Sea. It was marked by fertile
- 3:56Speaker 2: fields and valleys. But most important, this land was a
- 4:01Speaker 2: gift of God to Israel. Four centuries earlier, God told Abraham,
- 4:08Speaker 2: to your descendants, I will give this land. So God
- 4:11Speaker 2: set this property apart as a special place. And he
- 4:15Speaker 2: set his people apart to be a special blessing for
- 4:18Speaker 2: the entire world. God told Abraham, I will make you
- 4:22Speaker 2: a great nation. And I will bless you and make
- 4:25Speaker 2: your name great. And you shall be a blessing. So
- 4:29Speaker 2: God would bless the people so they then could be
- 4:31Speaker 2: a blessing. So this land was to be a place
- 4:34Speaker 2: for God to stage or demonstrate his blessings. And the
- 4:39Speaker 2: Hebrew people would be a blessing to others. They would
- 4:43Speaker 2: be the couriers of God's covenant to a galaxy worth
- 4:47Speaker 2: of people. This land played an important role in God's plan.
- 4:54Speaker 2: It was the parchment on which God's redemption story would
- 4:57Speaker 2: be written. These names that we've come to treasure, the
- 5:01Speaker 2: town of Bethlehem, the city of Jerusalem, the sacrifices at
- 5:06Speaker 2: the temple, the arid area of Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee,
- 5:12Speaker 2: all were a part of this drama. All were a
- 5:14Speaker 2: part of this land. But most importantly, the Redeemer would
- 5:19Speaker 2: be born on this land. He would walk on this soil.
- 5:22Speaker 2: He would live his life here. He would soak this
- 5:25Speaker 2: dirt with his blood. He would shake this ground. With
- 5:29Speaker 2: his resurrection. So the book of Joshua. Isn't really about
- 5:34Speaker 2: reclaiming real estate. For a dislocated nation. It's more about
- 5:40Speaker 2: preserving the stage. God's intended stage for his redemptive story.
- 5:47Speaker 2: Satan's counter strategy then. Was to contaminate this promised land.
- 5:53Speaker 2: Contaminate it with evil. Contaminate it with sin. contaminate the
- 5:58Speaker 2: promised land and by doing so preempt the promised child.
- 6:04Speaker 2: If he could destroy God's people or keep God's people
- 6:07Speaker 2: out of this place, then hopefully he would destroy God's work.
- 6:12Speaker 2: So the battle in Joshua is really less about physical
- 6:16Speaker 2: armies and more about a spiritual battle. Our battle too
- 6:22Speaker 2: is a spiritual battle. Our fight is not against people
- 6:25Speaker 2: on earth. but against the rulers and authorities and the
- 6:28Speaker 2: powers of this world's darkness. Against the spiritual powers of
- 6:34Speaker 2: evil in the heavenly world. That is why you need
- 6:37Speaker 2: to put on God's full armor. Then on the day
- 6:41Speaker 2: of evil, you will be able to stand strong. And
- 6:44Speaker 2: when you have finished the whole fight, you will still
- 6:47Speaker 2: be standing. So stand strong with the belt of truth
- 6:51Speaker 2: tied around your waist and the protection of right living
- 6:55Speaker 2: on your chest. On your feet wear the good news
- 6:58Speaker 2: of peace to help you stand strong. And also use
- 7:02Speaker 2: the shield of faith with which you can stop all
- 7:06Speaker 2: the burning arrows of the evil one. This idea of
- 7:10Speaker 2: the evil one strikes many people as old and outdated.
- 7:15Speaker 2: The popular trend of our day is to blame all
- 7:18Speaker 2: of our problems on genetics or the government or on environment.
- 7:24Speaker 2: The Bible, however, says, presents a real and present danger
- 7:28Speaker 2: a foe to our faith his name is satan other
- 7:34Speaker 2: scriptures call him beelzebul belial the obstructor the temp tempter
- 7:39Speaker 2: the evil one the accuser the prince of demons the
- 7:42Speaker 2: ruler of this world or the prince of the power
- 7:44Speaker 2: of the air whatever name you choose the enemy is
- 7:48Speaker 2: real and so is the danger Satan is not the
- 7:53Speaker 2: cute and harmless character of the cartoons. He is not
- 7:58Speaker 2: the imaginary counterpart to the Easter Bunny. He is the
- 8:03Speaker 2: invisible yet forceful fallen angel known as Lucifer who vied
- 8:12Speaker 2: for the throne and crown of God and when he
- 8:15Speaker 2: could not have it he was cast out and he
- 8:18Speaker 2: rebelled against God and he has sought to take every
- 8:22Speaker 2: possible being down with him. The devil, your enemy, goes
- 8:28Speaker 2: around like a roaring lion looking for someone to eat.
- 8:35Speaker 2: Maybe you heard his roars even this week. You want
- 8:39Speaker 2: to read his rap sheet? Satan incited David. He sought
- 8:46Speaker 2: to sift Simon as wheat. He persuaded Judas Iscariot to
- 8:53Speaker 2: turn against Jesus. He kept a disabled woman bound for
- 8:58Speaker 2: 18 long years. He has blinded the minds of those
- 9:03Speaker 2: who don't believe. As a result, they don't see the
- 9:06Speaker 2: light of the good news. He is now at work
- 9:10Speaker 2: in those who are disobedient. Satan incites Satan. He sifts,
- 9:16Speaker 2: he persuades, he binds, he rules, and he blinds. He
- 9:22Speaker 2: has one objective, and that is to steal and to
- 9:25Speaker 2: kill and destroy. And you need to know that he
- 9:29Speaker 2: has really ticked off at you. All this talk about
- 9:33Speaker 2: promised land living, this talk about glory days, about putting
- 9:37Speaker 2: your past in the past, about receiving all God wants
- 9:41Speaker 2: you to give and being all God wants you to be,
- 9:43Speaker 2: about leaning into grace, And not guilt. About walking in faith.
- 9:48Speaker 2: And not fear. This really bothers him. As long as
- 9:52Speaker 2: he had you in the wilderness. Walking in circles of
- 9:57Speaker 2: doubt and discouragement. then you were of no concern, no
- 10:01Speaker 2: threat to him. But now that you're pressing into God's promises,
- 10:07Speaker 2: you've really put him in a foul mood. You have
- 10:11Speaker 2: entered into enemy territory. Joshua did.
- 10:15Speaker 3: He did.
- 10:17Speaker 2: For the first time in four centuries, the Hebrew people
- 10:20Speaker 2: were camping in Canaan. They'd been talking about this ever
- 10:24Speaker 2: since the days of Abraham when the promise was made.
- 10:27Speaker 2: How many times had Hebrews gazed out from the wilderness
- 10:31Speaker 2: across the Jordan at the promised land? Some of them
- 10:35Speaker 2: had been waiting, Joshua and Caleb had, for 40 years.
- 10:40Speaker 2: And when God opened the waters of the Jordan River,
- 10:43Speaker 2: they didn't have to be asked twice. All told, about 40,000
- 10:47Speaker 2: armed soldiers crossed over before God to the plains of Jericho.
- 10:52Speaker 2: They were ready for battle. I can just hear them
- 10:57Speaker 2: running across with a hoop and a hauler over that
- 10:59Speaker 2: dried riverbed. Had God not stopped them, they would have
- 11:04Speaker 2: gone straight to Jericho. But God did stop them. They
- 11:08Speaker 2: were not ready. They probably thought they were ready. We
- 11:13Speaker 2: probably would have thought they were ready. But God knew
- 11:16Speaker 2: they weren't quite ready for the spiritual battle. So he
- 11:21Speaker 2: stopped the invasion. He put everything on hold and he
- 11:25Speaker 2: gave the people two reminders. It's kind of like a
- 11:29Speaker 2: mom when her son is about to go off to
- 11:32Speaker 2: the school for the very first time. Just as he's
- 11:35Speaker 2: walking out the door, she gets eye level with him
- 11:37Speaker 2: and says, now you remember. You remember. That's what God
- 11:42Speaker 2: did to the Hebrew people. He stopped everything. And he said,
- 11:45Speaker 2: you remember. If you like to fill in the blanks,
- 11:48Speaker 2: here's what he told them to remember. Remember what God did.
- 11:53Speaker 2: He wanted the people to remember what God did. And
- 11:57Speaker 2: it came to pass when all the people had completely
- 11:59Speaker 2: crossed over the Jordan that the Lord spoke to Joshua saying,
- 12:03Speaker 2: take for yourselves 12 men from the people, one man
- 12:06Speaker 2: from every tribe. and command them, saying, Take for yourselves
- 12:10Speaker 2: twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan,
- 12:13Speaker 2: from the place where the priest's feet stood firm. You
- 12:17Speaker 2: shall carry them over with you, and leave them in
- 12:20Speaker 2: the lodging where you lodge here tonight. Where you lodge tonight.
- 12:26Speaker 2: Joshua did this. He commanded twelve men, one man from
- 12:30Speaker 2: each tribe, to return to the riverbed. And from the
- 12:33Speaker 2: very spot where the priest had stood holding the Ark
- 12:36Speaker 2: of the Covenant, as the water was held at bay,
- 12:40Speaker 2: they dislodged twelve stones. And they took those stones to Joshua.
- 12:46Speaker 2: And Joshua stacked those stones in a monument or a memorial.
- 12:52Speaker 2: When the twelfth stone was securely placed on the top,
- 12:55Speaker 2: he turned to his people and he said this, When
- 12:59Speaker 2: your children ask their fathers, The first step of the
- 13:02Speaker 2: saints in enemy territory is to pause to remember. The
- 13:30Speaker 2: secret of survival in enemy territory. Remember what God has done.
- 13:37Speaker 2: Record his accomplishments in your biography. Stack some stones. Keep
- 13:43Speaker 2: a list of the miracles that have happened in your life.
- 13:47Speaker 2: Don't march into Jericho without looking back at the Jordan.
- 13:56Speaker 2: Some years ago, my daughter reminded me of this. My
- 14:00Speaker 2: middle daughter, Andrea, was in middle school at the time,
- 14:03Speaker 2: and I was driving her to school. She noticed that
- 14:07Speaker 2: I was a bit quiet that morning and something was
- 14:09Speaker 2: bothering me. She said, Dad, why are you so quiet?
- 14:13Speaker 2: I told her I had a book deadline and I
- 14:15Speaker 2: was worried about meeting it. Now, kids are not always
- 14:19Speaker 2: clued in on their parents' profession, and Andrea was just
- 14:24Speaker 2: beginning to understand what her dad did for a living.
- 14:27Speaker 2: So she said, haven't you written some other books? I said,
- 14:31Speaker 2: I have. She said, how many? At that time, the
- 14:35Speaker 2: answer was 15. So I told her. And she got
- 14:38Speaker 2: real quiet. And she looked across the seat at me
- 14:41Speaker 2: as I was driving. And she said, well, Dad, have
- 14:44Speaker 2: you ever missed a deadline before? I said, no. She said,
- 14:51Speaker 2: so God has already helped you 15 different times? I said, yes.
- 14:59Speaker 2: He's helped you each time? I really went, she sure
- 15:03Speaker 2: can sound like her mother sometimes. If he has helped
- 15:09Speaker 2: you 15 different times, don't you think he will help
- 15:13Speaker 2: you this time? Stack some stones, dad. Satan has no
- 15:22Speaker 2: recourse to your testimony. Satan has no recourse to your testimony.
- 15:35Speaker 2: He wants you to forget what God has done because
- 15:39Speaker 2: he knows when you forget, fear comes in. For that reason,
- 15:44Speaker 2: the psalmist says, don't forget a single blessing. He forgives
- 15:51Speaker 2: your sins, everyone. He heals your diseases, everyone. He redeems
- 15:54Speaker 2: you from hell, saves your life. He crowns you with
- 15:58Speaker 2: love and mercy, a paradise crown. He wraps you in goodness,
- 16:02Speaker 2: beauty eternal. He renews your youth. You're always young in
- 16:05Speaker 2: his presence. God makes everything turn out right. He puts
- 16:13Speaker 2: victims back on their feet. Don't forget a single blessing.
- 16:19Speaker 2: If you want to press into Jericho, take a moment
- 16:22Speaker 2: and look back at the Jordan and be reminded what
- 16:25Speaker 2: God has done. Maybe a good assignment would be for
- 16:28Speaker 2: you to create a trophy room in your heart. So
- 16:34Speaker 2: that every so often you can just step in and say,
- 16:36Speaker 2: look at all the paychecks God has provided. Look at
- 16:41Speaker 2: all the opportunities God has provided. Look at all the
- 16:44Speaker 2: prayers that God has answered. Again, Satan does not want
- 16:48Speaker 2: you to remember this. But God does. Young David, I think,
- 16:54Speaker 2: is our hero. Before David went in to fight Goliath,
- 16:59Speaker 2: David thought backwards. He said, well, I've already killed the
- 17:02Speaker 2: lion and the bear as a young shepherd. I think
- 17:06Speaker 2: I can take on this Philistine. Because he remembered the
- 17:10Speaker 2: lion and the bear, he could take on the giant.
- 17:12Speaker 2: Don't forget the victories of your past. Because that's where
- 17:17Speaker 2: you find strength for your future. Okay, okay, I'm imagining
- 17:24Speaker 2: some soldier thinking, we've stacked these stones. Can we go
- 17:28Speaker 2: into Jericho now? Not yet, not yet. First we remember
- 17:34Speaker 2: what God did, but then secondly, remember whose you are.
- 17:43Speaker 2: At that time the Lord said to Joshua, Make flint
- 17:47Speaker 2: knives for yourselves and circumcise the sons of Israel again
- 17:54Speaker 2: the second time. You just read the most unusual military
- 17:58Speaker 2: tactic in the history of invasions. 600 years earlier, God
- 18:04Speaker 2: had inaugurated the practice of male circumcision. Circumcision, he told Abraham,
- 18:10Speaker 2: shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.
- 18:16Speaker 2: So within eight days of birth, every male child was
- 18:19Speaker 2: to be symbolically set apart. His organ of male identity altered.
- 18:25Speaker 2: He was to be set apart, not like the pagans
- 18:29Speaker 2: who knew no God or who knew many gods. He
- 18:32Speaker 2: was a child of the covenant. His identity was changed.
- 18:38Speaker 2: Now during the 40 years of the wilderness wanderings, the
- 18:41Speaker 2: Hebrews let this practice lapse. We can only imagine why.
- 18:46Speaker 2: Their hearts were hard. The people ignored the instructions. And
- 18:50Speaker 2: they would have been tempted to ignore them again. It
- 18:55Speaker 2: made sense. I mean, this act would leave the men
- 18:58Speaker 2: in convalescence for weeks. The wives and the children would
- 19:02Speaker 2: be unprotected by the seven enemy nations. They were watching
- 19:07Speaker 2: every move. Shouldn't the men remain at maximum strength so
- 19:13Speaker 2: they could fight? Yet the military strength of the soldiers
- 19:19Speaker 2: really did not mean much to God. He didn't need
- 19:24Speaker 2: their agility. He wasn't counting on their numbers or their muscles.
- 19:30Speaker 2: He just wanted them to remember whose they were. They
- 19:36Speaker 2: were His people. And specifically, the scripture says He wanted
- 19:42Speaker 2: to roll away The reproach of Egypt. That is to say,
- 19:48Speaker 2: he was ready for the people. to put those terrible
- 19:51Speaker 2: days of Egyptian slavery behind them. Roll it away. The reproach,
- 19:57Speaker 2: the embarrassment, the shame. They had become the laughing stock
- 20:02Speaker 2: of all the nations. These Hebrew people who had been
- 20:05Speaker 2: taken into captivity. Turned into slaves by the Egyptians. God
- 20:11Speaker 2: wanted to put that permanently in the past. He wanted
- 20:14Speaker 2: a clean break. You might say he wanted to cut
- 20:17Speaker 2: off that part of their history. Circumcision then was a
- 20:23Speaker 2: symbolic separation with the past. The act declared a new day.
- 20:30Speaker 2: A new identity. You're no longer who you were, God
- 20:35Speaker 2: was saying. You now are mine. You're no longer slaves.
- 20:39Speaker 2: You're free. You're no longer in bondage. You're liberated. So
- 20:43Speaker 2: God's message to the Hebrews was, remember whose you are.
- 20:50Speaker 2: God's message to you and me, remember whose you are.
- 20:58Speaker 2: In a sense, all believers have been circumcised. This may
- 21:03Speaker 2: be news to you, but the Apostle Paul wrote, When
- 21:07Speaker 2: you came to Christ, he set you free from your
- 21:11Speaker 2: evil desires. Not by a bodily operation of circumcision, but
- 21:17Speaker 2: by a spiritual operation. The baptism of your souls. Christ
- 21:24Speaker 2: cut away your old life. The old life with its longings,
- 21:28Speaker 2: with its lusts, with its guilt. He cut it away.
- 21:33Speaker 2: He separated you away from that old life. When you
- 21:37Speaker 2: gave your heart to Christ, he detached you from the
- 21:41Speaker 2: power of your former life. Your identity has been forever altered.
- 21:48Speaker 2: All that is of death and of the devil, he
- 21:52Speaker 2: has cut away. It no longer has influence over you.
- 21:57Speaker 2: You're no longer held under the act of condemnation, the
- 22:02Speaker 2: guilt of it, And you're no longer held under the
- 22:06Speaker 2: control of it. The other night I attended a banquet
- 22:12Speaker 2: in benefit of the Grace House. The Grace House is
- 22:17Speaker 2: a transition home for women who are coming out of
- 22:21Speaker 2: a difficult chapter of life. Women who have spent time
- 22:26Speaker 2: in prison. A dozen or so women at a time
- 22:31Speaker 2: live in this house under the same roof. They sit
- 22:33Speaker 2: at the same table. They learn a trade. But most
- 22:39Speaker 2: of all, they learn their new identity in Christ. One
- 22:45Speaker 2: of the ladies told her story. She gave her testimony.
- 22:51Speaker 2: She described a former life of prostitution and drugs and alcohol,
- 22:56Speaker 2: a time in which she lost her marriage. she lost
- 22:59Speaker 2: her children, ultimately she lost her freedom. But then Christ
- 23:03Speaker 2: found her. What struck me in her story was the
- 23:07Speaker 2: rhythm of her message. She kept saying, I was, but now.
- 23:12Speaker 2: I was, but now. I was on the streets, but
- 23:18Speaker 2: now I'm on my feet. I was on drugs, but
- 23:21Speaker 2: now I'm clean. I was all alone, but now I
- 23:24Speaker 2: have friends. I was, but now. I was, but now.
- 23:28Speaker 2: This is the chorus of grace. And this is the
- 23:34Speaker 2: work of God. And you can say this as well.
- 23:39Speaker 2: I was but now. I was lost but now I
- 23:48Speaker 2: am found. God has forever altered your identity. Do not
- 23:56Speaker 2: underestimate what happened. the moment you gave your heart to Christ,
- 24:02Speaker 2: it could very well be that the undiscovered secret of
- 24:08Speaker 2: the Christian life is the supernatural miracle that happens in
- 24:13Speaker 2: what appears to be a simple act of confession and conversion.
- 24:18Speaker 2: We need to understand that at that moment, something supernatural
- 24:23Speaker 2: and miraculous happens. And that is the old life miracle.
- 24:27Speaker 2: with all of its temptation, with all of its longings,
- 24:30Speaker 2: with all of its lustings, is disempowered. It is cut away.
- 24:35Speaker 2: It cannot be stated too often or pondered too much.
- 24:40Speaker 2: When Christ died, you died. When Christ was buried, your
- 24:46Speaker 2: old self was buried. When Christ rose from the dead,
- 24:49Speaker 2: a new you rose from the dead. And when you
- 24:53Speaker 2: connected yourself, when you identified yourself with the death, burial,
- 24:58Speaker 2: and resurrection of Christ, you were buried, you were killed,
- 25:02Speaker 2: you were buried, and you rose from the dead in
- 25:05Speaker 2: a new you stance. You are not who you used
- 25:10Speaker 2: to be. And just because you used to be doesn't
- 25:17Speaker 2: mean you will be. And just because your parents were,
- 25:22Speaker 2: that doesn't mean you will be. And just because everybody
- 25:25Speaker 2: else was, that doesn't mean you will be. You have
- 25:29Speaker 2: been severed. You have been separated from all of the
- 25:31Speaker 2: power of the past. Your dad was a drunk. You
- 25:34Speaker 2: don't have to be one. Everybody else was poor. You
- 25:37Speaker 2: don't have to be poor. Everybody else was cranky or
- 25:41Speaker 2: a bigot or prejudice. It doesn't mean you have to be.
- 25:44Speaker 2: You are not held to be anything anyone else was.
- 25:50Speaker 3: Why?
- 25:51Speaker 2: Because Christ himself has deposited himself within you. And his
- 25:56Speaker 2: plan is that in time as you grow from glory
- 26:00Speaker 2: into glory into glory, more and more Christ will come
- 26:04Speaker 2: out and less and less of you will appear. I
- 26:09Speaker 2: think this was the Apostle Paul's favorite theme. Maybe summarized
- 26:14Speaker 2: in this admonition. He said, consider yourselves to be dead
- 26:19Speaker 2: to the power of sin and alive to God. In
- 26:24Speaker 2: other words, when the power of sin comes, when temptation comes,
- 26:28Speaker 2: when pornography comes, when alcohol comes, when greed comes, then
- 26:35Speaker 2: you just take a stand against it for crying out loud.
- 26:40Speaker 2: I'm dead to you. What are you doing showing up?
- 26:43Speaker 2: You don't live here any longer. I'm dead to you.
- 26:47Speaker 2: How dare you? How dare you dare to tempt me again?
- 26:51Speaker 2: Don't you know you were buried when I was buried?
- 26:54Speaker 2: Don't you know you're six feet under? Don't you know?
- 26:58Speaker 2: I am no longer who I used to be. I was,
- 27:02Speaker 2: but now. Well, who are you now? I'm so glad
- 27:06Speaker 2: you asked. You are Amen. Amen. You don't need to
- 27:42Speaker 2: try to be somebody else. You just need to be
- 27:45Speaker 2: who you already are. Just lean into these promises. Walk
- 27:51Speaker 2: in the Spirit. In time. In time. God will change
- 27:58Speaker 2: you from one degree of glory to the next. And
- 28:02Speaker 2: that list will increase of I was but nows. Every
- 28:06Speaker 2: day a new victory. Every day a new change. Every
- 28:09Speaker 2: day a new development. You will not be who you are.
- 28:12Speaker 2: You are not who you were. Now Satan does not
- 28:17Speaker 2: want you to know this. This is why your first
- 28:20Speaker 2: step into the promised land is to reaffirm your identity.
- 28:27Speaker 2: He either doesn't want you to know this, or if
- 28:28Speaker 2: you know it, he wants you to forget it. So
- 28:30Speaker 2: the next time he comes at you, you remind him
- 28:33Speaker 2: who you are. You say, no, I've been bought with
- 28:35Speaker 2: a price. I belong to God. I have not been
- 28:38Speaker 2: given a spirit of fear, but of power and love
- 28:41Speaker 2: and a sound mind. I cannot be separated from the
- 28:44Speaker 2: love of God. I can find grace and mercy at
- 28:46Speaker 2: the time of need. I can do all things through
- 28:48Speaker 2: Christ who strengthens me. This is called putting on the
- 28:52Speaker 2: belt of truth. responding to lies with truth. It is
- 28:57Speaker 2: a battle. And the battle is fought right up here
- 28:59Speaker 2: in your thoughts. And you have to stand. Just because
- 29:02Speaker 2: you have a thought, you don't have to think it. Right?
- 29:10Speaker 2: Just because you have a thought, you don't have to
- 29:13Speaker 2: think it. You can take every thought captive. And you
- 29:16Speaker 2: stand it down with the weapon, with the shield of faith.
- 29:22Speaker 2: You stand against those fiery darts, these lies of the devil,
- 29:26Speaker 2: and you stand them down and you say, no, I
- 29:28Speaker 2: am a new person. Promised land people do this. Promised
- 29:34Speaker 2: land people don't think like other people think. Promised land
- 29:38Speaker 2: people have a reverence swagger to their walk. They say,
- 29:43Speaker 2: you know, I've got a new dad. I've got a
- 29:46Speaker 2: new identity. I've got a new name on my birth certificate.
- 29:49Speaker 2: I've got a destiny that's out of this world. I've
- 29:53Speaker 2: been spiritually circumcised. I know that's a terribly awkward term
- 29:58Speaker 2: and very indelicate. But it is a biblical concept. So
- 30:02Speaker 2: just let the symbolism instruct you that God has removed
- 30:08Speaker 2: all that is of death and is lifeless. You're a
- 30:13Speaker 2: new creation. God's spirit who is in you is greater
- 30:18Speaker 2: than the devil who is in the world. So how
- 30:22Speaker 2: do you survive in enemy territory? You're constantly remembering what
- 30:26Speaker 2: God has done You're constantly remembering whose child you are. Well,
- 30:33Speaker 2: the Hebrews did this. They stacked the stones. They re-inaugurated
- 30:37Speaker 2: the rite of circumcision. I can't help but think that
- 30:41Speaker 2: some of the soldiers were thinking, isn't this a waste
- 30:43Speaker 2: of time? Isn't this a waste of time? I mean,
- 30:47Speaker 2: we've got these enemy nations coming at us, and now
- 30:51Speaker 2: we're all in convalescence and recovery. We're vulnerable. We're Could
- 30:56Speaker 2: be attacked any day. What a waste of time. Shouldn't
- 31:00Speaker 2: we be going to fight? Not if you want God
- 31:04Speaker 2: to fight for you. I don't know if you noticed
- 31:07Speaker 2: this verse in chapter 5 verses 1 and 2. And
- 31:10Speaker 2: so it was when all the kings of the Amorites
- 31:13Speaker 2: who were on the west side of the Jordan and
- 31:15Speaker 2: all the kings who were by the sea heard that
- 31:18Speaker 2: the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan
- 31:20Speaker 2: their heart melted and there was no spirit in them
- 31:24Speaker 2: any longer and Because of the children of Israel. Look,
- 31:27Speaker 2: their hearts melted. And Joshua's men hadn't even pulled out
- 31:30Speaker 2: a sword yet. God was fighting for them. And while
- 31:35Speaker 2: he was strengthening the Hebrews, he was depositing fear in
- 31:39Speaker 2: the hearts of the enemies. And while the Hebrews were
- 31:43Speaker 2: remembering God, God was preparing the ground for the battle.
- 31:49Speaker 2: As the Hebrews devoted themselves, God protected the Hebrews. This
- 31:55Speaker 2: is a big point, church. And that is, don't face
- 32:00Speaker 2: Satan by facing Satan. Face Satan by facing God. Don't
- 32:08Speaker 2: face Satan by obsessing yourself with the devil. You don't
- 32:13Speaker 2: need to study the occult. You don't need to memorize
- 32:17Speaker 2: all the names of the devil. You don't need to
- 32:20Speaker 2: try to disentangle all the different levels of principalities. and
- 32:25Speaker 2: powers you don't give him the time of day don't
- 32:31Speaker 2: all he deserves is a passing glance glance at the
- 32:34Speaker 2: devil but gaze at Christ set your eyes on Christ
- 32:40Speaker 2: God prepared the Hebrew people to face the enemy by
- 32:44Speaker 2: calling them to turn their face toward him through gratitude
- 32:48Speaker 2: and through renewed identity so that's what you do and
- 32:52Speaker 2: that's what we do don't obsess yourself with the devil
- 32:55Speaker 2: But obsess yourself with Christ. Here's all you need to
- 32:58Speaker 2: know about the devil. He is a fallen angel whose
- 33:02Speaker 2: time is short. And he knows that. He is a
- 33:07Speaker 2: fallen angel whose time is short. He's already been defeated.
- 33:12Speaker 2: God stripped the spiritual powers. Spiritual rulers and powers of
- 33:16Speaker 2: their authority. With the cross he won the victory. And
- 33:19Speaker 2: showed the world that they were powerless. Satan has no answer.
- 33:25Speaker 2: To the work of Christ on the cross. So you
- 33:28Speaker 2: stay focused on Christ. And whenever you sense the power
- 33:32Speaker 2: of the devil or evil or darkness. Then you just
- 33:34Speaker 2: turn your mind toward God. And you begin to list
- 33:38Speaker 2: what God has done. Remember what God has done. And
- 33:42Speaker 2: then also you focus on who you are. Remember whose
- 33:47Speaker 2: you are. And then and only then will you be
- 33:51Speaker 2: ready to face Jericho. Amen.
- 33:55Speaker 1: Amen.
- 33:55Speaker 2: Thank you, Lord, that you have not left us with
- 33:58Speaker 2: no resource with which to fight the force of evil.
- 34:02Speaker 2: Thank you that you've reminded us even today whose we
- 34:05Speaker 2: are and what you have done. Grant, O Lord, that
- 34:09Speaker 2: you would bring these teachings to our mind over the
- 34:11Speaker 2: next few days, that we could be stronger and we
- 34:14Speaker 2: could stand strong and move in to the promised land
- 34:18Speaker 2: that you have offered. Through Christ we pray and all
- 34:22Speaker 2: the church said, Thank you.
- 35:17Speaker 4: Thank you.
- 36:07Speaker 1: So so Thank you.
- 40:26Speaker 4: Everything I used to live for Faded slowly out of
- 40:31Speaker 4: sight Now my days just circle around you Like I'm
- 40:37Speaker 4: lost without a light All.
- 40:40Speaker 3: The noise just turns to silence When your memory comes
- 40:45Speaker 3: through And the world I once was chasing Now feels
- 40:50Speaker 3: small And shaped like you My whole world is only
- 40:57Speaker 3: you Every thought keeps breaking through You're so close inside
- 41:04Speaker 3: my mind But so far in real life I can.
- 41:09Speaker 4: Feel you everywhere In the things we never shared All
- 41:16Speaker 4: this love I'm.
- 41:17Speaker 3: Going through Never reaches you Every image feels so real
- 41:29Speaker 3: now like you're standing next to me.
- 41:33Speaker 4: But the truth is.
- 41:34Speaker 3: In the silence you were never meant to see. My
- 41:40Speaker 3: whole world is only you. Every thought keeps breaking through
- 41:49Speaker 3: You're so close inside my mind But so far in
- 41:54Speaker 3: real life I can feel you everywhere In the things
- 42:00Speaker 3: we never shared All this love I'm going through Never
- 42:06Speaker 3: reaches you If you felt it for a moment Would
- 42:13Speaker 3: it change the way you stay.
- 42:16Speaker 4: Or would I still be the shadow that just fades away?
- 42:22Speaker 1: My whole world.
- 42:42Speaker 3: I'm just someone passing by in your open sky Still
- 42:49Speaker 3: I hold on to what's true Every heartbeat calls for
- 42:54Speaker 3: you All this love I always knew Will never reach
- 43:00Speaker 3: you
- 43:09Speaker 1: Hmm Hmm