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Amen. 
Take your Bibles this morning, 

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if you will, and turn over to 
Joshua chapter 6, Joshua chapter

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6 and veteran's day. 
I thought that I would take you 

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to another battle that happened 
in the Bible and talk to you 

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about some things here. 
You know, Israel had finally 

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just crossed the Jordan. 
God had promised them that they 

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would have the, the, the land of
Canaan to be their inheritance 

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and that they would, that all of
that would be theirs. 

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And of course they didn't, they 
didn't believe. 

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They only two of them, Joshua 
and Caleb, out of the 12 spies 

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that went in and looked at the 
land of Canaan and, and only two

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of them believed. 
And so God said, all right, 

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you're going to spend those 40 
years in the wilderness and he 

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killed those 10 spies and 
everybody else that was above 

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the age of 20 and only those who
were young kids. 

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And, and, and I mean, if they 
were 19 at the time that they 

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started the wandering in the 
wilderness, I mean, still by 

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this time, they're, they're 
about to hit 60 years old. 

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So we, you know, it wasn't all 
just kids that were going into 

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the land of Canaan. 
It was families and and there 

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was a lot of a lot of different 
dynamics to the whole thing, but

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they finally finished up their 
wanderings in the wilderness. 

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God parted the Jordan River and 
they crossed on dry ground the 

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Jordan River and went into the 
land of Canaan. 

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In the 1st place they came to 
was a city called Jericho. 

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They prepared themselves 
spiritually as at least as much 

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as they knew how. 
And they had up to this point in

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that section of the of the 
journey anyway, and follow God's

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orders to the letter. 
And now they're ready to begin 

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their conquest, conquest of the 
promised land. 

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And they're, they're ready to 
claim for themselves the land 

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that God had been promising them
for for many, many years in many

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generations. 
And I can imagine how exciting 

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it must have been for those 
people to be the ones that were 

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actually going to be crossing 
into the land that God had said 

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that he was going to give them. 
You know, you think about it, I 

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think about this the same thing 
that happens to with us. 

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You know, God's been promising 
for years and years and years 

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that Jesus Christ is going to 
come back. 

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And we're going to be gathered 
together in the clouds with with

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the dead in Christ that rise 
first. 

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We're going to meet the Lord in 
the air. 

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And the Bible says, so shall we 
ever be with the Lord? 

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One of these generations is 
going to be the one that gets to

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go up in the rapture. 
I hope it's mine. 

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But you know, there's been many 
generations that have come along

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and, and died and come along and
died and come along and died. 

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And obviously they were not the 
ones that were alive on the 

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earth when Jesus Christ came 
back. 

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And I think that's kind of the 
same thing. 

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I mean, the anticipation, you 
know, one of these days, one of 

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these days, we're going to be 
the generation that gets to go 

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into the land that God promised.
And here they finally were. 

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And now, just for a moment, try 
to put yourself into the shoes 

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of the average. 
Israelite soldier. 

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Most of you know the story. 
We're going to read different 

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parts of this story this 
morning. 

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But for most of these men, 
Jericho was the first city that 

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they had ever seen that was 
surrounded by huge walls. 

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I mean, they've been in the 
wilderness. 

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You know, there was there was 
cities there and, and they they 

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came across different places and
some of them would have had 

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walls, but nothing like the city
of Jericho. 

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It was, it must have looked like
an absolute impossibility for 

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them to conquer this place, 
first place that they come into 

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in the land of Canaan. 
And by the way, many songs, even

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good songs that, that have the 
idea that you're crossing the 

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Jordan River and you're going 
into the promised land, which is

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heaven. 
And this is the land that God 

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promised to give us. 
The, the, the picture that we 

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have in the Bible is not the, 
the promised land is not heaven.

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The promised land is a 
victorious Christian life 

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because there are no obstacles 
in heaven. 

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There are no battles to face in 
heaven. 

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There are no, there are no 
difficulties in heaven, but 

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there are in the Christian life 
and across the Jordan River. 

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And you know, they, they get 
saved and they enter into the 

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life that God's promised them. 
And the first thing they come up

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against is the city of Jericho. 
I've been to the city of Jericho

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and it wasn't anything like it 
was back in the days of the 

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Bible time. 
It's just a, just a bunch of 

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ruins now. 
But back in the day when Jericho

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was was in, it's, by the way, 
Jericho's the oldest city in the

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world. 
And at least that's what their 

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claim is. 
And and there's, there's, 

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there's good reason to believe 
that. 

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But the outer wall of Jericho, 
it was actually surrounded. 

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Jericho is actually surrounded 
by two massive walls, one that 

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was shorter and one that was 
taller. 

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The shorter wall was was 6 feet 
thick and about 20 feet high. 

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Now just just having that would 
be enough to to stop most 

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people. 
But then there was a guarded 

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passageway that was about 15 
feet wide and then another wall 

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behind that one that was 
actually 12 feet thick and 30 

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feet high. 
So if you somehow made it 

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through the 1st wall and somehow
made it past all of those guards

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that were in that little opening
and you got to the second wall. 

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Now that one was double thick 
and double high almost. 

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I mean, it's Can you imagine 
what Israel must have thought 

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when they God said, all right, 
this land is yours, cross the 

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Jordan River, go into Canaan. 
This is the this is what I've 

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been promising you. 
And the first thing they come to

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is this. 
Imagine how discouraging or 

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disappointed it would have been 
for them to get there. 

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But how does that relate to us? 
Well, we're living in days of. 

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Of battle and spiritual 
struggle. 

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We we get saved. 
We crossover into what's 

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supposed to be a victorious 
Christian life and by the way, 

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can be a victorious Christian 
life. 

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But we're going to face some 
battles, we're going to face 

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some struggles. 
And we need to know how to 

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fight. 
We need to know that our God is 

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able to give us the victory. 
We need to know how to follow 

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him to that victory. 
And, and, and just in the same 

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way that Israel faced those 
mighty walls of Jericho, you and

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I face walls and obstacles that,
that, that are in our path and 

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in our lives as well. 
And we need to know how to 

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overcome them as we March toward
that victory that God has 

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promised. 
Now, God already promised them 

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that they would have the victory
in the land of Canaan. 

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Every part of that land of 
Canaan could be theirs. 

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God told them that it was 
theirs. 

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They just had to go in there and
take it. 

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Now, if God made them that 
promise, then don't you think 

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that there's a way that He would
make it possible for that 

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promise to be fulfilled? 
Absolutely He will. 

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There are things in that land 
that might look difficult. 

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There might think there. 
There are things in that land 

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that might look to be an 
impossibility. 

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There are things in that land 
that might look like no way we 

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can take these. 
In fact, that's what the 10 spy 

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said. 
There's giants in that land. 

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There's huge people over there, 
there's big cities. 

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We I don't, I just don't think 
we can take it right. 

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But God was giving it to them. 
And God has promised every one 

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of us through him a victorious 
Christian life. 

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And you come across obstacles 
sometimes that make it look like

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no way that I can win this 
victory, no way that I can have 

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the what God has promised me 
that I can have. 

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But the battle for Jericho 
closely resembles our. 

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Christian Life. 
Are you going to do what God 

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said or not? 
Are you going to, are you going 

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to follow God toward that 
victory or not? 

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And I want to try to be an 
encouragement to you this 

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morning. 
Sometimes what we're told to do 

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doesn't make sense. 
If it's God's plan, though, then

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He'll work it out for us. 
Sometimes what we see happening 

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doesn't make sense. 
I think we saw that this past 

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Tuesday. 
Doesn't make sense. 

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Doesn't make sense to me why God
would allow all of these people 

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who hate him and hate everything
that he has to do with to get 

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into office. 
I don't know what our what our 

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state is going to look like at 
the end of these next four 

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years. 
I don't know. 

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But I'll tell you this. 
God's in control. 

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He didn't forget that we were 
here. 

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He didn't lose the ability to 
put people in place or to take 

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people out of place. 
In fact, I just read this in 

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Psalm 75, verse 7 in my 
devotions just a couple days 

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ago. 
But God is the judge. 

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He put it down one and set it up
another. 

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They did not take him by 
surprise. 

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What happened this past week did
not take him by surprise. 

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He is fully aware of everything 
that's going on in this state. 

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Maybe at the very least to just 
wake up some Christians and help

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us realize that we need to stand
up and fight for righteousness. 

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We need to stand up and fight 
for godliness. 

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But sometimes it doesn't make 
sense. 

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It's confusing because we pray 
and it seems as if God doesn't 

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answer sometimes. 
But there are 5 parallels that I

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want to look at this morning 
between the battle for Jericho 

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and winning the victory in our 
Christian life. 

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The title of my message, if I 
was going to give you 1, is 

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simply just the Christian life, 
the Christian life. 

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There are things that we're 
going to face in our Christian 

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life and things that 
characterize the Christian life,

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if you will, if we're going to 
have the victory through Christ.

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And I hope it'll be a help to 
you this morning. 

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Let's pray. 
Father, again, we thank you so 

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much for your goodness to us. 
I thank you for an opportunity 

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we have together around Your 
word. 

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I pray that it would be a help 
to us this morning. 

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I pray that it would be, you 
know what every person is 

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struggling with. 
You know what every person is? 

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Dealing with God, May you help 
us. 

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To have a great desire to live 
for you, may you help us to to 

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get rid of the apathy in our 
lives and and go forward for the

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cause of Christ God, may you 
give us a great desire to please

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you with everything we. 
Do in our lives and again we 

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thank you so much for all that 
you do for us in Jesus name, 

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Amen. 
First thing I want you to see is

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this and go ahead and if you 
will, if you have a bookmark or 

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a marker that may be a ribbon or
something, put it there in 

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Joshua chapter 6. 
We're going to be coming back to

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that over and over and over. 
But got a few other verses that 

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I want you to jump around with 
me to this morning. 

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But I want you to see this. 
The Christian life is a life of 

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routine. 
The Christian life is a life of 

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routine. 
There were the Bible says this 

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in Joshua chapter 6, and we'll 
just begin in verse #1 Now 

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Jericho was straightly shut up 
because of the children of 

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Israel. 
None went out and none came in. 

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So Can you imagine being 
Jericho? 

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Obviously, we, we kind of put 
ourselves in the position of 

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being Israel. 
We crossed the, the Jordan River

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and now we see this massive 
city. 

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There's over 2 million people 
that crossed the Jordan River 

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and they're heading toward your 
city. 

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And you know, you got some big 
walls. 

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You know, you've got some good 
protection, but against 2 

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million people that's a lot. 
And so Jericho closes all the 

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gates, gets everybody into the 
city, and they're waiting to see

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what's going to happen. 
Verse 2 And the Lord said unto 

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Joshua, See, I have given into 
thine hand. 

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Jericho, and the king thereof, 
and the mighty men of valor. 

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And you shall compass the city, 
walk around it, all, ye men of 

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war, and go round about the city
once. 

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Thus shalt thou do 6 days, and 
seven priests shall bear before 

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the ark 7 trumpets of ram's 
horns. 

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And the 7th day ye shall compass
the city 7 times. 

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And the priests shall blow at 
the trumpets. 

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And it goes on. 
The Bible says that they did 

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that verse #13 and seven priests
bearing 7 trumpets of ram's 

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horns before the ark of the Lord
went on continually and blew 

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with the trumpets and the armed 
men went before them. 

226
00:10:30,680 --> 00:10:33,560
But the re reward came after the
ark of the Lord, the priests 

227
00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:36,480
going on and blowing with the 
trumpets and the second day they

228
00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:38,480
compass the city once and 
returning to the camp. 

229
00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:40,320
So they did 6 days and it came 
to. 

230
00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:42,600
Pass on the 7th. 
Day that they rose early about 

231
00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:45,120
the dawning of the day and 
compass the city after the same 

232
00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:48,880
manner 7 times. 
Only on that day they compass 

233
00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:52,200
the city 7 times. 
Now I think this is interesting.

234
00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:55,480
They were to do this once every 
day for six days. 

235
00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:57,600
Walk around the walls of the 
city. 

236
00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:01,800
Now one of the things that 
Moses. 

237
00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:04,480
Had said to God over and over 
and over in the wilderness when 

238
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God said, let me just kill him 
and start over with you. 

239
00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:08,960
And God said no, no, no, no. 
I mean Moses said, said to God, 

240
00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:10,800
don't, don't do that. 
They're they're not going to 

241
00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:12,760
respect. 
They already are scared of us. 

242
00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:15,840
Everybody in the land of Canaan 
knows everything there is about 

243
00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:18,600
us, and they're afraid of you if
you kill everybody in the 

244
00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:20,360
wilderness and you start with 
just me. 

245
00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:22,760
They're not going to be afraid 
of us when we cross the Jordan 

246
00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:26,040
to go into that land. 
So you know that Jericho had 

247
00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:30,200
heard about Israel and they had 
heard about Israel's God, and 

248
00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:32,680
they were afraid. 
I think that's one of the 

249
00:11:32,680 --> 00:11:35,960
reasons why they retreated back 
into the city, then send out the

250
00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:38,080
mighty men of war to meet them 
as they came across. 

251
00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:39,880
They were. 
They were retreated in the city 

252
00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:43,360
and imagine what Jericho must 
have been thinking when they saw

253
00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:48,120
all the nation of Israel walk up
and form lines and just make a 

254
00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:51,000
big lap around their city. 
I think they were probably 

255
00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:52,080
scared. 
What are they doing? 

256
00:11:52,560 --> 00:11:55,240
Are they, are they, are they 
getting into battle positions? 

257
00:11:55,240 --> 00:12:00,440
What's going on? 
And then they all go home and 

258
00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:03,800
they come back the next day. 
OK, Now they were first day. 

259
00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:05,720
They must have just been 
scouting, trying to figure out 

260
00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:07,720
what they were going to do. 
Now here they are. 

261
00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:09,640
And they walk all the way around
the city again. 

262
00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:13,240
Now, this is this is 2 million 
people, right? 

263
00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:15,400
I mean, the city of Jericho was 
not that big. 

264
00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:18,240
It was a big city. 
But it would have been enough 

265
00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:20,560
that the back of the line would 
have probably been meeting the 

266
00:12:20,560 --> 00:12:23,760
front of the line, and it would 
have been a a whole group of 

267
00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:26,000
people surrounding the entire 
city of Jericho. 

268
00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:29,160
All right, get ready, men. 
They're getting ready to attack.

269
00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:32,320
And the line just keeps going. 
And they all go back to where 

270
00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:36,160
they came from and they do it 
again the third day and a fourth

271
00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:39,760
day and a fifth day and 1/6 day.
Could you imagine what Jericho 

272
00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:42,720
must have been thinking? 
This is ridiculous. 

273
00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:44,640
What are they doing? 
Can you imagine what the 

274
00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:45,920
Israelites must have been 
thinking? 

275
00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:47,800
This is ridiculous. 
What are we doing? 

276
00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:50,480
Right? 
And then on the 7th day they get

277
00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:53,200
up early in the morning and they
walk around it 7 times. 

278
00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:58,840
No nothing, no, no, no armor, no
no weapons, no anything. 

279
00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:03,200
Just walking around the city, I 
mean both of the both Israel and

280
00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:06,080
and Jericho must have been like 
what in the world is going on 

281
00:13:06,080 --> 00:13:08,320
here, right? 
The Israelites were just doing 

282
00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:10,200
what they were told. 
The people that were standing 

283
00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:12,720
there in Jericho every single 
day getting. 

284
00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:15,160
Ready to fight and they're just 
walking in circles. 

285
00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:19,600
They had just come into Canaan. 
Their time was very precious, 

286
00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:20,840
right? 
They had a lot to accomplish. 

287
00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:24,000
They had a lot to a great amount
of work before them. 

288
00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:26,960
And yet to linger so many days 
around Jericho, just going in 

289
00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:30,440
circles, seeming to do nothing, 
not making any progress. 

290
00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:33,680
God could have caused the walls 
of Jericho to fall the second 

291
00:13:33,680 --> 00:13:36,800
they walked into the vicinity of
Jericho. 

292
00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:39,280
He could have caused the walls 
to fall the first time they 

293
00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:40,960
walked around the city. 
He could have. 

294
00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:42,480
He could have done anything he 
wanted to. 

295
00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:44,960
He could have, he could have 
killed everybody in in the city 

296
00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:47,960
and said go in the front gate. 
Here's a big walled city for 

297
00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:49,720
you. 
He could have done any of those 

298
00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:51,680
things. 
But he told him to walk around 

299
00:13:51,680 --> 00:13:54,400
the city and keep walking around
the city. 

300
00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:57,320
I think a a better way to say 
this might be to say that the 

301
00:13:57,320 --> 00:13:59,160
Christian life is a life of 
patience. 

302
00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:03,280
It's a life of routine, but it's
it's a life of patience. 

303
00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:05,760
We're not going to see victories
every single day of the 

304
00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:07,600
magnitude that we see here in 
Jericho. 

305
00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:09,920
God's promised us the victory in
our Christian life. 

306
00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:13,240
But just like those victories 
have to come in God's way, they 

307
00:14:13,240 --> 00:14:18,360
also come in God's time. 
Those who serve God can afford 

308
00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:20,720
to wait. 
The walls may not fall on the 

309
00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:23,520
6th day and you might be getting
discouraged because you don't 

310
00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:25,480
see movement and you don't see 
answers. 

311
00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:28,200
But wait on God. 
The walls are going to fall on 

312
00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:30,160
the 7th day, not in the way that
you. 

313
00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:32,720
Plan, but in the way that God 
planned, and not in your time, 

314
00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:35,360
but in God's time. 
The problem with a lot of 

315
00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:37,720
Christians is that they're only 
willing to work and follow God 

316
00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:39,760
when they think success is right
around the corner. 

317
00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:44,720
The person that only fights in 
the hour of evident victory is 

318
00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:48,160
not worthy of the name of 
Soldier Boy. 

319
00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:50,720
I tell you, it's easy to fight 
when everything's going your 

320
00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:53,280
way. 
It's hard to fight when it's 

321
00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:55,440
not. 
It's hard to fight when 

322
00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:57,800
everybody else has turned tail 
and run and you're the only one 

323
00:14:57,800 --> 00:14:59,880
left standing there. 
That's when it's hard to fight. 

324
00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:04,040
But that's when a soldier does 
what a soldier does. 

325
00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:07,200
When you stand and fight when 
nobody else is with you, or when

326
00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:09,480
you stand and fight when it's 
just a small group with you, 

327
00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:11,960
that's when you do what a 
soldier does. 

328
00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:14,880
Oh, it's easy to fight when 
everybody's fighting. 

329
00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:16,840
It's easy to fight when 
everything is going your way. 

330
00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:19,760
It's easy to to be the one that 
runs into Jericho after the 

331
00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:23,480
walls are already down. 
All right, that's the easy part.

332
00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:26,320
But what about being the one on 
the frontline, not knowing 

333
00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:28,240
what's going to happen, but just
following and doing what God 

334
00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:32,800
said to do? 
Those who are involved in this 

335
00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:35,600
church know how the battle of 
being a small church is. 

336
00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:37,560
Wouldn't it be? 
Easy to join a church that's 

337
00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:40,520
already well established, it 
already has a beautiful 

338
00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:43,040
buildings, already has a full 
staff, already has every 

339
00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:45,680
ministry up and running, money 
to do whatever they want to do. 

340
00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:49,560
That would be nice. 
Of course, you're here in the 

341
00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:51,760
trenches. 
You're here when it's not easy. 

342
00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:54,760
And as we wait on God, he will 
bless. 

343
00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:57,480
I don't know what God has for 
us, but we're in that period 

344
00:15:57,480 --> 00:15:59,760
right now. 
The idea of the Christian life 

345
00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:02,400
is just a life of routine. 
We just put 1 foot in front of 

346
00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:03,600
the other. 
We just keep marching. 

347
00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:06,520
We just keep doing what God's 
already told us to do. 

348
00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:11,720
It's a life of patience because 
I don't know why God's waiting, 

349
00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:14,200
especially when it comes to this
idea of a building for AI. 

350
00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:17,280
Don't know why God's waiting. 
It seems to me like he would 

351
00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:20,160
answer this request four years 
ago or three years ago or two 

352
00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:21,960
years ago or last year. 
But he hasn't. 

353
00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:25,280
Maybe he's just, we're just, 
we're just walking around the 

354
00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:27,120
walls. 
Doesn't make sense. 

355
00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:29,040
Maybe that's what we need to do 
to this place. 

356
00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:31,240
Just start going in circles and 
see what happens. 

357
00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:33,560
Yeah. 
Let everybody on Broad Street 

358
00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:35,000
say, what in the world are they 
doing? 

359
00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:38,280
Hey, we're just, we're just 
walking laps around the building

360
00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:39,920
because God's going to do 
something. 

361
00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:42,120
Maybe if the walls fall down, 
he'll let us build a new. 

362
00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:45,400
One I don't know. 
But you see what I'm saying that

363
00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:47,600
that the Christian life is just 
a life of routine. 

364
00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:50,680
All you know to do and all you 
should be doing is just exactly 

365
00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:53,600
what God's told you to do. 
You don't have to go make 

366
00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:56,680
something happen. 
You don't have to just charge, 

367
00:16:56,760 --> 00:16:59,160
you know, charge the walls of 
the city because why are we 

368
00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:00,200
doing this? 
This is dumb. 

369
00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:03,760
No, God told them to just March 
around the city and keep 

370
00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:07,280
marching around the city. 
That makes sense to you, but it 

371
00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:10,200
makes sense to him and he's 
looking at it from the view on 

372
00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:11,880
the top. 
All we can see is what's right 

373
00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:15,839
in front of us. 
Our Lord is a is a great example

374
00:17:15,839 --> 00:17:17,839
of one who waited on God in 
God's timing. 

375
00:17:17,839 --> 00:17:21,200
In fact, one commentator said it
like this, how the Savior waited

376
00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:24,359
during those 30 long years ere 
he began his work. 

377
00:17:25,079 --> 00:17:28,119
Not less patiently did Christ 
wait after His work commenced. 

378
00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:30,880
He knew how to pass through the 
midst of wrathful men who sought

379
00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:34,040
to cast Him from the brow of the
hill at Nazareth on the very day

380
00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:35,720
when He began His ministry. 
And yet. 

381
00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:40,240
Not to be discouraged he can 
endure to say, The Son of Man 

382
00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:42,600
hath not where to lay his head, 
and not only to say that, but a 

383
00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:45,480
feel the bitterness of such 
rejection as none. 

384
00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:48,280
But he could feel it. 
And yet to continue His silent 

385
00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:51,560
and holy service, he could bear 
to know that neither did his 

386
00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:53,640
brethren believe on him and 
still work. 

387
00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:55,840
He couldn't. 
He could see one apostle waiting

388
00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:58,960
in weakness to deny him, and 
another in malice already on the

389
00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:01,640
way to betray him, and then 
glancing back over his 

390
00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:04,080
apparently fruitless ministry. 
Say to the 11. 

391
00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:07,720
He that believe is on me. 
The works that I do shall He do 

392
00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:10,120
also. 
The greater works than these 

393
00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:12,320
shall He do because I go into my
Father. 

394
00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:15,960
He could enter into the agony of
Gethsemane, expire amid the 

395
00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:19,000
hootings of a nation who crowned
their rejection of Him on 

396
00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:21,360
Golgotha. 
Pass into the darkness of the 

397
00:18:21,360 --> 00:18:24,840
tomb and emerging fence, say 
even to the disciples who had 

398
00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:27,640
all forsaken him and fled. 
Tarry ye in the city of 

399
00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:30,240
Jerusalem, until you be endued 
with power from on high. 

400
00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:34,200
Though despised and rejected of 
men, He commanded them to wait 

401
00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:37,080
for the promise of the Father in
the very place where men would 

402
00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:38,920
have said failure was most 
apparent. 

403
00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:41,880
And when that promise of the 
Father came, they were to arise 

404
00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:45,920
and preach the gospel among all 
nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

405
00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:47,360
The. 
Patience, said the Lord. 

406
00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:49,960
He came. 
He came to die. 

407
00:18:50,360 --> 00:18:55,840
He came to to. 
Not to, not to the righteous, 

408
00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:57,640
but to call sinners to 
repentance. 

409
00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:01,120
And he had to wait 30 years 
before God gave him the 

410
00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:02,480
permission to start that 
ministry. 

411
00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:06,960
Oh, I'm sure that at 18, I mean,
think about it, at 12, he was 

412
00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:09,880
ready. 
He was he was in the Temple 

413
00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:17,160
discussing with the with the the
chief of the rabbis, the 

414
00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:20,960
smartest of all at 12. 
Years old he was ready to go. 

415
00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:29,520
I'm sure at 18 he was ready. 
God is now the time, 2022, 2528.

416
00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:33,240
God, what are you waiting on? 
I'm ready. 

417
00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:35,680
I'm ready to fulfill this 
ministry that you brought me to 

418
00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:37,240
do. 
And God said, no, no, just just 

419
00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:40,240
hang on, just keep doing. 
We don't know anything about 

420
00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:42,840
what Jesus did from the time 
that he was 12 until he was 30 

421
00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:45,800
years old. 
It was just a life of routine. 

422
00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:51,960
He just did what God told him to
do day after day after day after

423
00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:53,320
day. 
And then finally the day came 

424
00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:56,600
when God said, all right, now is
the time you go to that little 

425
00:19:56,600 --> 00:20:00,280
marriage in Cana, do that 
miracle, turn that water into 

426
00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:02,080
wine. 
That's going to start 

427
00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:05,360
everything. 
But even then, 3 1/2 years, he 

428
00:20:05,360 --> 00:20:09,040
had to wait before he could 
fulfill the work that he was 

429
00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:12,040
called to do. 
The Christian life is just a 

430
00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:15,120
life of routine. 
It's a life of just doing what 

431
00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:18,040
God has called us to do day in 
and day out. 

432
00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:22,000
Psalm 37 and verse 7 says rest 
in the Lord and wait patiently 

433
00:20:23,120 --> 00:20:25,360
for him. 
Lamentations. 

434
00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:27,640
I would get you to turn over 
there, but it'd probably take 

435
00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:30,400
you too long to get there. 
Lamentations chapter. 

436
00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:32,760
Three and verse number. 
Six It is good that a man should

437
00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:36,800
both hope and quietly wait for 
the salvation of the Lord. 

438
00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:43,160
It is good that a man should 
both hope and quietly wait for 

439
00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:46,320
the salvation of the Lord. 
Someone discovered this written 

440
00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:48,880
on the walls of a prison camp in
Nazi Germany. 

441
00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:52,560
I believe in the sun even when 
it is not shining. 

442
00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:57,320
I believe in love even when I 
don't feel it, and I believe in 

443
00:20:57,320 --> 00:21:01,120
God even when he is silent. 
Sometimes God is silent. 

444
00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:04,960
Sometimes we don't understand 
what God is doing. 

445
00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:08,560
But the Christian life is just a
life of routine. 

446
00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:11,920
Just keep marching. 
Just keep putting 1 foot in 

447
00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:14,680
front of the other. 
It's a life of routine. 

448
00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:16,080
But I want you to see this as 
well. 

449
00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:18,920
The life, Christian life is a 
life of discipline. 

450
00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:22,320
Back in Joshua chapter 6 and 
verse #10. 

451
00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:27,120
And Joshua commanded the people,
saying, Ye shall not shout, nor 

452
00:21:27,120 --> 00:21:31,640
make any noise with your voice, 
neither shall any word proceed 

453
00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:36,400
out of your mouth, until the day
I bid you shout, then shall you 

454
00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:38,520
shout. 
All the people were commanded to

455
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:42,440
be silent, not to speak a word, 
not to make any noise. 

456
00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:45,920
I think that would be very. 
Unsettling for the the people in

457
00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:48,760
Jericho. 
Nobody's talking, nobody's 

458
00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:51,480
saying a word. 
No sound whatsoever except the 

459
00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:55,320
feet touching the ground of 2 
million. 

460
00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:59,600
People, you know how? 
Hard that must have been, not to

461
00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:02,280
say anything, especially for the
ladies. 

462
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,000
Now that took discipline. 
I didn't want to say it, but I 

463
00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:09,720
made myself do it. 
Christian life is a life of 

464
00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:13,320
discipline. 
They were not to make a sound 

465
00:22:14,120 --> 00:22:16,200
that that would have taken some 
serious discipline. 

466
00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:20,400
Could you imagine that? 
Not saying anything at all? 

467
00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:26,200
No, no sound, no words. 
I don't know how you go that 

468
00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:27,960
long without saying anything, 
right? 

469
00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:30,160
But they did it. 
They did. 

470
00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:32,240
It was a life of discipline, and
the Christian life takes 

471
00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:35,000
discipline to live in a way 
that's pleasing to God. 

472
00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:40,280
Turn over to Psalm 18. 
See, it takes discipline to 

473
00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:44,000
pray. 
It's not easy, but it takes 

474
00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:46,080
discipline to pray. 
He commanded us to do. 

475
00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:49,240
It takes discipline to read your
Bible. 

476
00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:51,960
Takes discipline to say no to 
temptation. 

477
00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:55,320
The devil is always going to to 
to put temptations in front of 

478
00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:58,800
you to to drink and to smoke and
to look in what? 

479
00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:01,640
Look at things and watch things 
that you shouldn't say things 

480
00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:04,200
that you shouldn't go places 
maybe that you shouldn't. 

481
00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:06,760
There's always going to be 
temptations in front of you to 

482
00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:09,320
do those things. 
But it takes discipline to say 

483
00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:12,560
no to those temptations. 
Judges 2125. 

484
00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:16,280
The Bible says every man did 
that which was right in his own.

485
00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:19,320
Eyes. 
That is, that's no discipline 

486
00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:22,320
whatsoever. 
That's the easy way out. 

487
00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:26,760
Psalm 18 and verse 25 says this.
I was also upright before him. 

488
00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:31,320
I kept sorry, verse 23. 
I was also upright before him, 

489
00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:34,480
and I kept myself from mine 
iniquity. 

490
00:23:35,120 --> 00:23:40,560
Turn over to Romans chapter 6. 
Romans chapter 6 takes 

491
00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:41,880
discipline to live the 
Christian. 

492
00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:43,880
Life. 
Oh, and people. 

493
00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:45,840
Say often, I don't know what's 
wrong. 

494
00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:48,800
I'm I'm just trying so hard to 
be a good Christian and I can't,

495
00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:51,280
I don't know why I can't be a 
good Christian. 

496
00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:52,840
But you have 0 discipline in 
your life. 

497
00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:56,720
No, no time for prayer, no time 
for reading your Bible, no time 

498
00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:58,960
for doing the things that are 
that are the spiritual 

499
00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:00,800
disciplines. 
But I have no problem getting on

500
00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:03,720
my phone and playing for hours. 
No problem getting on my phone 

501
00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:05,440
or what and watching things for 
hours. 

502
00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:08,640
No problem sitting on the couch 
for three hours at a time just 

503
00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:11,360
watching TV. 
I have no problem doing that. 

504
00:24:11,360 --> 00:24:13,400
But I just can't find time to 
pray. 

505
00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:16,120
I can't find time to read my 
Bible. 

506
00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:18,600
I'm just so busy. 
There's so many things going on 

507
00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:21,000
in my life. 
Let me challenge you to 

508
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:23,360
something, if that's. 
You and you say, I don't know. 

509
00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:25,960
I don't have time to pray, I 
don't have time to read my 

510
00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:27,520
Bible. 
I don't have time to go out 

511
00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:29,680
knocking on doors. 
I don't have time to share the 

512
00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:31,240
gospel. 
I'm just too busy. 

513
00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:33,720
Here's what I want you to do for
one week. 

514
00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:39,280
Write down everything that you 
did for an one hour at a time. 

515
00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:41,920
From 8:00 to 9:00, this is what 
I did. 

516
00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:43,880
From 9:00 to 10:00, this is what
I did. 

517
00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:46,360
From 10:00 to 11:00 this is what
I did and I can. 

518
00:24:46,360 --> 00:24:50,400
Promise you that you're going to
find that you have way more time

519
00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:53,640
than you think you have. 
We waste a lot of time. 

520
00:24:54,520 --> 00:25:00,160
We waste a lot of time on things
that don't even matter. 

521
00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:03,800
And then we say, I don't have 
time to pray. 

522
00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:06,240
I don't have time to read my 
Bible. 

523
00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:08,560
You do have time. 
It's just a matter of what 

524
00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:11,920
you're spending that time on. 
It's just a matter of what your 

525
00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:15,320
priorities are. 
Oh no, I the Bible is the most 

526
00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:18,160
important thing in my life, that
God's word is the most important

527
00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:22,400
thing that we have. 
But you'll prioritize watching 

528
00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:25,800
your videos over you will 
reading the Bible. 

529
00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:30,960
You'll prioritize spending time 
on the phone with somebody that 

530
00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:33,200
you want to talk to over 
spending time in prayer, talking

531
00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:37,200
to the one that really matters. 
Oh, we have time. 

532
00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:38,800
We just don't spend. 
It the right way. 

533
00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:43,280
Romans chapter 6 and verse #12 
The Bible says this. 

534
00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:46,280
Let not sin therefore reign in 
your mortal body, that you 

535
00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:48,520
should obey it in the lust 
thereof. 

536
00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:51,920
Neither yield ye your members as
instruments of unrighteousness 

537
00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:56,520
unto sin, but yield yourselves 
unto God as those that are alive

538
00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:59,280
from the dead, and your members 
as instruments of righteousness 

539
00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:02,760
unto God. 
If you're saved, if you're a 

540
00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:05,800
Christian, if you know Jesus 
Christ as your Savior, then you 

541
00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:08,400
don't belong to yourself, you 
belong to Him. 

542
00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:11,000
And if you belong to Him, then 
don't. 

543
00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:14,000
Why would you yield yourself 
over to the lust of the flesh? 

544
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:16,120
Why would you fulfill the lust 
of the flesh? 

545
00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:19,520
He says yield yourselves unto 
God as somebody that's alive 

546
00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:21,400
from the dead. 
That's you. 

547
00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:25,440
Could you imagine if you were 
given a second lease on life? 

548
00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:29,240
You hear from time to time about
people who die on the operating 

549
00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:32,480
table and they're dead for 
5/10/15 minutes and the doctors 

550
00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:35,520
are able to bring them back. 
You have a second chance at 

551
00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:37,240
life. 
Could you imagine what you would

552
00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:43,120
do with a second chance? 
We have that second chance. 

553
00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:49,920
You were dead in your sins and 
you were made alive by Jesus 

554
00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:53,240
Christ. 
Why don't you live like 

555
00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:57,080
somebody, as the Bible says 
here, that's alive? 

556
00:26:57,080 --> 00:26:59,600
From the dead. 
Yield your your, yield your 

557
00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:01,840
members as instruments of 
righteousness unto God. 

558
00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:04,360
Here's turn over to 2nd 
Corinthians chapter 10, just 

559
00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:08,920
maybe a few pages over. 2nd 
Corinthians chapter 10. 

560
00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:17,120
Think about the magnitude of 
this verse when we're talking 

561
00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:19,920
about the Christian life being a
life of discipline. 

562
00:27:20,360 --> 00:27:24,520
Second Corinthians chapter 10 
and verse #5 casting down 

563
00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:31,160
imaginations and every high 
thing that exalteth itself 

564
00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:33,080
against the knowledge of God. 
Get this. 

565
00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:39,680
And bringing into captivity 
every thought to the obedience 

566
00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:45,360
of Christ. 
Every thought to the obedience 

567
00:27:45,360 --> 00:27:48,040
of Christ. 
Could you imagine how it would 

568
00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:51,200
change our life if we even 
brought 90% of our thoughts? 

569
00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:56,440
Into the obedience of Christ, 
let alone every thought, bring 

570
00:27:56,440 --> 00:28:01,280
it into captivity, casting down 
imaginations, and every high 

571
00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:05,920
thing that it is exalteth itself
against the knowledge of God. 

572
00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:10,200
What high things do you have in 
your life that you are exalting 

573
00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:13,160
above the knowledge of God? 
Oh, nothing, nothing. 

574
00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:15,840
God's first place not Not if 
you're saying I don't have time 

575
00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:17,160
to pray, I don't have time to 
read my. 

576
00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:19,520
Bible, but I'm doing all of 
these other things instead. 

577
00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:22,600
You have set those things up, 
imaginations, high things, 

578
00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:25,120
whatever you want to call it. 
You have set those things up in 

579
00:28:25,120 --> 00:28:30,120
front of God and in front of 
your relationship with God. 

580
00:28:30,120 --> 00:28:33,840
And it takes discipline to turn 
off the TV and go into your room

581
00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:37,000
and read your Bible. 
Takes discipline to put your 

582
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:39,720
phone down and go in there and 
get on your knees and have some 

583
00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:43,280
time with God. 
The Christian life is a life of 

584
00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:47,240
discipline. 
Could you imagine if some of 

585
00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:49,360
these Israelites, as they were 
marching around the wall, 

586
00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:51,920
started having a conversation 
and started laughing and joking 

587
00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:54,920
about all kinds of things? 
I don't know what would have 

588
00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:55,880
happened. 
But I know. 

589
00:28:55,880 --> 00:28:57,320
This. 
They didn't do it. 

590
00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:02,680
They didn't talk. 
There was not a sound as they 

591
00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:05,920
marched on the walls of Jericho.
Christian life is a life of 

592
00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:07,280
discipline. 
But I want you to see this 

593
00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:10,960
number 3 Christian life is a 
life of obedience. 

594
00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:14,240
Verse #12 Back in Joshua chapter
6. 

595
00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:17,320
Verse #12 and Joshua rose. 
Early in the morning and the 

596
00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:19,600
priest took up the ark of the 
Lord, and the seven priests 

597
00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:22,360
bearing 7 trumpets of ram's 
horns before the ark of the Lord

598
00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:24,760
went on continually and blew 
with the trumpets. 

599
00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:26,320
And the armed men went before 
them. 

600
00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:29,120
But the re reward came after the
ark of the Lord, the priests 

601
00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:30,720
going on and blowing with the 
trumpets. 

602
00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:33,520
And the second day they compass 
the city once and returned into 

603
00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:35,400
the camp. 
So they did 6 days, and it came 

604
00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:38,440
to pass on the 7th day. 
But they rose early about the 

605
00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:42,440
dawning of the day and compass 
the city after the same manner 7

606
00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:44,600
times. 
Only on that day they compass 

607
00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:47,600
the city 7 times. 
And it came to pass at the 7th 

608
00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:48,960
time. 
When the priest blew with the 

609
00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:53,160
trumpets, Joshua said unto the 
people, Shout for the Lord hath 

610
00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:56,400
given you the city. 
Now could you imagine how the 

611
00:29:56,400 --> 00:29:58,680
Israelites must have felt 
following these commands? 

612
00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:01,480
I've mentioned it already, but 
by all standards, by all 

613
00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:03,280
military standards. 
This was absurd. 

614
00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:06,360
The scoffing of the people 
inside Jericho by the time they 

615
00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:09,920
got to the 4th, 5th, 6th day. 
This is the great army of 

616
00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:13,560
Israel. 
This is how they intend to take 

617
00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:15,640
our city, marching in circles 
around it. 

618
00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:17,880
What do they think is going to 
happen that randomly we're just 

619
00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:21,240
going to all die or something? 
I mean, could you imagine what I

620
00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:23,920
mean? 
The Israelites were marching 

621
00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:27,680
around in silence, but I can 
imagine that those inside. 

622
00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:30,920
Jericho were not silent. 
I mean, maybe by the 5th, 6th, 

623
00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:33,560
7th day they started shouting 
jeers at them. 

624
00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:35,960
What are you doing? 
You think that's going to do 

625
00:30:35,960 --> 00:30:38,240
something? 
You know, kind of like the smack

626
00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:39,480
talk of. 
War I guess. 

627
00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:42,320
What do you think's going to 
happen? 

628
00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:44,240
The walls are just going to fall
down or something. 

629
00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:49,120
You're going to walk right in. 
Now, how absurd that marching 

630
00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:50,720
would have been to most of those
Israelites. 

631
00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:55,400
I think that if, if, if the 
dividing of the Jordan River 

632
00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:58,240
that they had just walked across
on dry ground had not been so 

633
00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:00,240
fresh on their mind, I think 
there probably would have been 

634
00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:03,040
another rebellion. 
But it was fresh. 

635
00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:04,880
They had just walked across the 
dry ground. 

636
00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:07,440
They had just seen God do this 
miracle, and now this is what 

637
00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:09,480
God's telling them to do. 
I think it was fresh enough on 

638
00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:11,400
their mind that they were 
willing to follow. 

639
00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:14,800
But the process of besieging the
city in this way was exactly 

640
00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:18,320
adapted to accomplish the 
purpose that God had for the 

641
00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:21,880
nation of Israel. 
And I'll say this, God often 

642
00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:26,000
tries His servants by commanding
things that apparently have 

643
00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:28,200
little to do with what He's 
trying to accomplish. 

644
00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:33,200
I say that apparently because 
God always has a purpose for 

645
00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:37,000
what He tells us to do. 
God was not waiting all of this 

646
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:39,800
time to collect His energy to be
able to knock the walls of 

647
00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:43,160
Jericho down. 
He was not waiting to gather up 

648
00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:45,360
His power for the destruction of
the Canaanites. 

649
00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:48,520
He could have spoken and 
destroyed the city with one 

650
00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:51,440
word. 
The Lord had a more exalted war.

651
00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:55,920
His battle was not with Jericho.
His battle was with the hearts 

652
00:31:57,120 --> 00:32:00,640
of the Israelites. 
He was trying to see if they 

653
00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:03,600
were going to give in to him. 
He was trying to see if they 

654
00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:07,160
were going to surrender to him. 
And we go back to this idea of 

655
00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:08,960
patience. 
Sometimes God commands us to 

656
00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:12,240
stand still and see the 
salvation of the Lord, and it 

657
00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:14,560
doesn't make sense humanly 
speaking. 

658
00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:17,880
We think we have to get out 
there and make it happen instead

659
00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:20,040
of waiting on God. 
Turn over to first Samuel 

660
00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:25,160
chapter 15. 
You think about what would have 

661
00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:27,360
happened if one of the. 
Israelites finally had enough 

662
00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:32,160
and said this marching is 
ridiculous, Decided to charge 

663
00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:36,200
the gates of Jericho. 
This is no battle strategy. 

664
00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:38,360
We're just walking around. 
I'm going toward the gates. 

665
00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:41,320
Who's coming with me? 
I guarantee you that that 

666
00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:44,960
soldier would have been dead and
it probably would have kept the 

667
00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:47,680
entire nation of Israel from 
being able to take that city of 

668
00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:50,520
Jericho. 
First Samuel chapter 15 and 

669
00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:52,480
verse 22. 
And Samuel said, hath the Lord 

670
00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:55,680
is great delight and burnt 
offerings and sacrifices, as in 

671
00:32:55,680 --> 00:32:59,680
obeying the voice of the Lord. 
Behold, to obey is better than 

672
00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:04,160
sacrificing to hearken than the 
Fed of Rams. 

673
00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:07,680
See, when the Lord is fighting 
for us, it's best to let all men

674
00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:10,160
see that the battle is not ours,
but His. 

675
00:33:11,680 --> 00:33:14,720
It's not my battle. 
I can't accomplish it in my 

676
00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:17,800
strength. 
It's best for us to obey His 

677
00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:20,360
commandments. 
John chapter 14 and verse 15 

678
00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:23,440
says if you love me, keep my 
commandments. 

679
00:33:24,280 --> 00:33:33,200
Turn over to 1st John chapter 5.
First John chapter 5, verse #1. 

680
00:33:35,240 --> 00:33:38,160
Whosoever believeth that Jesus 
is the Christ is born of God, 

681
00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:41,520
and everyone that loveth him, 
that begat loveth him also, that

682
00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:44,560
is begotten of him. 
By this we know that we love the

683
00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:47,280
children of God when we love God
and keep his commandments. 

684
00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:50,640
For this is the love of God, 
that we keep His commandments, 

685
00:33:50,840 --> 00:33:54,600
and his commandments are not 
grievous. 

686
00:33:55,440 --> 00:33:57,280
See, the Christian life is a 
life of routine. 

687
00:33:57,280 --> 00:34:00,480
It's a life of discipline. 
It's a life of obedience. 

688
00:34:00,480 --> 00:34:01,920
But I want you to see this 
number four. 

689
00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:05,520
Turn over to Hebrews Chapter 11.
Christian life is a life of 

690
00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:08,280
faith. 
Christian life is a life of 

691
00:34:08,280 --> 00:34:09,960
faith. 
It took a lot of faith in the 

692
00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:11,880
part of the Israelites. 
It took a lot of faith in the 

693
00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:15,080
part of Joshua and Caleb. 
Could you imagine? 

694
00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:19,280
Joshua was a man of war. 
Joshua understood how to battle.

695
00:34:20,639 --> 00:34:23,440
And he goes and sits down and 
says, God, all right, we're 

696
00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:25,800
getting ready to cross the 
Jordan River. 

697
00:34:26,480 --> 00:34:29,120
And I know for a fact that 
Jericho is the First Nation 

698
00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:30,960
we're going to come to. 
What do you want us to do? 

699
00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:32,280
How do you want us to take this 
city? 

700
00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:36,960
And God says March around it. 
One time a day for six days and 

701
00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:38,960
then the 7th day marched around 
at 7 times. 

702
00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:40,560
Could you imagine what Joshua 
must have thought? 

703
00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:44,080
Seriously, that's what you want 
us to do? 

704
00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:50,040
Joshua was a man of war and then
the fact that he had to go to 

705
00:34:50,040 --> 00:34:53,080
the nation of Israel and tell 
him this exact same strategy 

706
00:34:53,159 --> 00:34:56,920
with a straight face. 
Most of these guys were men of. 

707
00:34:56,920 --> 00:34:58,600
War they were. 
Battle hardened they were. 

708
00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:02,400
They were tested. 
They were trained, Joshua had 

709
00:35:02,400 --> 00:35:04,880
probably taught them some 
military strategy, and now the 

710
00:35:04,880 --> 00:35:08,200
very first opportunity they have
to really battle, he goes and he

711
00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:09,920
says, all right, man, here's how
we're going to do it. 

712
00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:14,600
Could you imagine the looks on 
their faces when he's telling 

713
00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:16,280
them that this is our battle 
strategy? 

714
00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:20,240
But the Christian life is a life
of faith. 

715
00:35:20,240 --> 00:35:21,920
This is what God had told them 
to do. 

716
00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:26,120
Hebrews Chapter 11 and verse #30
says by faith the walls of 

717
00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:31,320
Jericho fell down after they 
were compassed about 7 days. 

718
00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:35,440
Interesting. 
The hall of faith, we call it 

719
00:35:36,760 --> 00:35:41,560
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Enoch, 
all of these, Noah, Moses, all 

720
00:35:41,560 --> 00:35:45,840
of these in the hall of faith, 
and he mentions this by faith. 

721
00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:49,720
The walls of Jericho fell down. 
Whose faith? 

722
00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:51,600
To some extent it was the faith 
of the people. 

723
00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:56,800
It was the faith of Joshua and 
Caleb in a day when they marched

724
00:35:56,800 --> 00:35:59,680
around day by day in full 
assurance that God was going to 

725
00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:01,000
do what he said He was going to 
do. 

726
00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:14,010
Turn over to Mark Chapter 11, 
2nd Corinthians chapter 10, and 

727
00:36:14,010 --> 00:36:17,090
verse #4 says, For the weapons 
of our warfare are not mighty, 

728
00:36:17,730 --> 00:36:19,970
are not carnal, sorry, but 
mighty through God to the 

729
00:36:19,970 --> 00:36:23,880
pulling down of strongholds. 
Mark Chapter 11 and verse #23. 

730
00:36:23,880 --> 00:36:27,360
For verily I say unto you, that 
whosoever shall say unto this 

731
00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:30,640
mountain, be thou removed, and 
be cast into the sea, and shall 

732
00:36:30,640 --> 00:36:33,680
not doubt in his heart, but 
shall believe that those things 

733
00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:36,600
which he said shall come to 
pass, he shall have whatsoever 

734
00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:39,000
he saith. 
Therefore I say unto you, What 

735
00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:42,240
things so ever you desire when 
you pray, believe that you 

736
00:36:42,240 --> 00:36:44,760
receive them, and ye shall have 
them. 

737
00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:49,280
To the citizens of Jericho the 
actions of the Israelites must 

738
00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:52,360
have appeared incomprehensible, 
must have must have seen 

739
00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:55,960
ludicrous to them. 
But God's people were being 

740
00:36:55,960 --> 00:36:59,800
trained day by day to do exactly
what God had told them to. 

741
00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:02,960
Do and they were doing exactly 
what God told them to do when 

742
00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:05,680
the walls came down. 
Let God do the work. 

743
00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:08,200
You just do what God told you to
do. 

744
00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:11,640
You just trust God and then 
follow Him by faith, and you let

745
00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:12,720
him do the. 
Work. 

746
00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:15,760
We don't have to make it happen 
in our own strength. 

747
00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:18,280
We don't have to make it happen 
in our own genius. 

748
00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:22,320
Just do what God said. 
Just trust that he'll do what He

749
00:37:22,320 --> 00:37:25,640
said he's going to do. 
Any strongholds are the enemy 

750
00:37:25,640 --> 00:37:28,320
that seem like they would never 
come down with fall if only the 

751
00:37:28,320 --> 00:37:30,680
church would go about them in 
faith. 

752
00:37:31,680 --> 00:37:35,240
So many times we get into a spot
where it doesn't look like 

753
00:37:35,240 --> 00:37:38,320
things are humanly possible. 
And so we start, we start 

754
00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:41,720
finagling things. 
We start making things into a 

755
00:37:41,720 --> 00:37:44,800
position where we can, we can 
accomplish this on our own. 

756
00:37:45,120 --> 00:37:47,720
Well, it doesn't seem like God's
going to come through this time,

757
00:37:47,720 --> 00:37:49,880
so I'm going to have to do what 
I can do to make it work. 

758
00:37:51,360 --> 00:37:54,400
And how often we get into that 
position where we say, wow, that

759
00:37:54,400 --> 00:37:56,640
was a really smart idea on my 
part. 

760
00:37:57,040 --> 00:37:59,280
If I hadn't done that, we 
wouldn't have been able to 

761
00:37:59,280 --> 00:38:03,480
accomplish that, right? 
If if we hadn't decided to make 

762
00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:06,680
that move, then then God 
obviously wasn't coming through 

763
00:38:06,680 --> 00:38:08,520
for us. 
So we decided to do it and look 

764
00:38:08,520 --> 00:38:11,000
how it turned out. 
And sometimes it does turn out 

765
00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:13,440
all right and we start poking 
our chest out and saying, look 

766
00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:15,240
at us, look what we've 
accomplished. 

767
00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:19,760
One pastor said it this way. 
When God spoke all things into 

768
00:38:19,760 --> 00:38:22,160
being, the everlasting silence 
remained unbroken. 

769
00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:24,680
No stir was seen, no commotion 
felt. 

770
00:38:24,840 --> 00:38:29,440
The starting into life of 10,000
* 10,000 millions of angels from

771
00:38:29,440 --> 00:38:31,800
the deep abyss of eternity 
created no noise. 

772
00:38:32,320 --> 00:38:35,160
The creation of millions upon 
millions of worlds by the Fiat 

773
00:38:35,160 --> 00:38:37,920
of His matchless power was done 
in noiselessness and peace. 

774
00:38:38,880 --> 00:38:42,400
You know, a lot of people think 
that commotion and disturbance 

775
00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:44,680
is what shows that work is being
done. 

776
00:38:45,280 --> 00:38:46,960
But silence is sufficient for 
God. 

777
00:38:47,200 --> 00:38:49,040
Just wait. 
Just wait. 

778
00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:54,800
Sometimes, as we see here around
Jericho, God asked his children 

779
00:38:54,800 --> 00:38:58,360
to believe. 
Just believe there's nothing but

780
00:38:58,360 --> 00:39:01,080
Himself on which their faith can
rest. 

781
00:39:02,160 --> 00:39:04,600
When his children do rest in 
faith, they're content to walk. 

782
00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:09,600
In to walk on in the same 
silence that the Israelites did 

783
00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:13,160
when we when we have that quiet 
faith, when we have that quiet 

784
00:39:13,160 --> 00:39:17,000
trust in him, just stand still 
and see the salvation of the 

785
00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:20,080
Lord. 
I don't need all the the motion 

786
00:39:20,080 --> 00:39:23,680
commotion to make it look like 
we're busy doing all of these 

787
00:39:23,680 --> 00:39:25,400
things. 
Just wait on the Lord. 

788
00:39:26,320 --> 00:39:29,680
I wanted to tell you this 
lastly, and we'll be done back 

789
00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:34,240
in Joshua chapter 6, we see that
the life, the Christian life is 

790
00:39:34,240 --> 00:39:36,120
a life of routine. 
It's a life of discipline. 

791
00:39:36,120 --> 00:39:38,120
It's a life of obedience. 
It's a life of faith. 

792
00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:42,280
I want you to see this lastly 
can be a life of victory. 

793
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:46,720
Joshua chapter 6 and verse #20 
So the people shouted when the 

794
00:39:46,720 --> 00:39:49,000
priest blew with the trumpets. 
And it came to pass, when the 

795
00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:51,840
people heard the sound of the 
trumpet, that the people shouted

796
00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:56,200
with a great shout, that the 
wall fell down flat. 

797
00:39:56,840 --> 00:39:59,600
So that the people went up into 
the city, every man straight 

798
00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:01,920
before him, and they took the 
city when the Bible says that 

799
00:40:01,920 --> 00:40:04,520
the walls fell down flat. 
Now there is evidence in the 

800
00:40:04,520 --> 00:40:06,640
city of Jericho as they've done 
excavations to. 

801
00:40:06,640 --> 00:40:09,120
Prove that those walls just fell
straight in on themselves. 

802
00:40:09,600 --> 00:40:12,760
Enough in easy enough that the 
Israelites could walk straight 

803
00:40:12,760 --> 00:40:15,560
into the city. 
It wasn't like it left some 

804
00:40:15,560 --> 00:40:17,640
gigantic mound that they had to 
try to climb over. 

805
00:40:17,640 --> 00:40:20,280
The walls just fell down flat 
and they walked right into the 

806
00:40:20,280 --> 00:40:23,920
city and took it. 
Could you imagine what the what 

807
00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:27,400
the what those in Jericho must 
have thought when they heard 

808
00:40:27,400 --> 00:40:31,280
that rumbling start to happen 
and the walls start to shake and

809
00:40:31,280 --> 00:40:34,280
here they are standing on the 
top of it with their all their 

810
00:40:34,280 --> 00:40:38,080
machines, all their man made 
armor and their man made weapons

811
00:40:38,080 --> 00:40:40,680
and all of those other things 
and they just topple straight 

812
00:40:40,680 --> 00:40:42,680
over? 
Could you imagine what that must

813
00:40:42,680 --> 00:40:44,960
have been like for them? 
Could you imagine what it must 

814
00:40:44,960 --> 00:40:47,760
have been like for Israel? 
We did it God's way, and look 

815
00:40:47,760 --> 00:40:50,960
what God did. 
They just ran right into the 

816
00:40:50,960 --> 00:40:53,080
city. 
The wall fell down flat, 

817
00:40:53,080 --> 00:40:56,000
probably killed a lot of people,
the guards, the Sentinels that 

818
00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:58,000
were on the top of that wall, 
others crowded around it. 

819
00:40:58,200 --> 00:41:01,480
Israelites just marched right on
in and took it because God said 

820
00:41:01,480 --> 00:41:03,040
they could turn over to Psalm 
60. 

821
00:41:04,240 --> 00:41:07,360
See, God will do the same thing 
to His enemies, into the enemies

822
00:41:07,400 --> 00:41:09,680
of a Christian. 
Not not physical enemies 

823
00:41:09,680 --> 00:41:13,720
necessarily, but spiritual. 
The God of heaven easily can, 

824
00:41:13,720 --> 00:41:18,040
and certainly will break down 
all the opposing power of his 

825
00:41:18,040 --> 00:41:22,920
and His Church's enemy. 
Psalm 60 and verse #9 Who will 

826
00:41:22,920 --> 00:41:26,040
bring me into the strong city? 
Who will lead me into Edom? 

827
00:41:26,200 --> 00:41:30,360
Will not thou, O God, which has 
cast us off, and thou, O God, 

828
00:41:30,360 --> 00:41:32,400
which this not go out with our 
armies? 

829
00:41:32,840 --> 00:41:35,520
Give us help from trouble, for 
vain is the help of. 

830
00:41:35,520 --> 00:41:39,520
Man through God we shall do 
valiantly, for he it is that 

831
00:41:39,520 --> 00:41:44,960
shall tread down our enemies. 
Nobody, no one can stand before 

832
00:41:44,960 --> 00:41:48,040
God. 
Strongholds of sin, pride, 

833
00:41:48,080 --> 00:41:51,560
lying, disobedience, vices, 
wickedness, whatever it is, they

834
00:41:51,560 --> 00:41:54,960
can all be broken down and they 
can all be defeated when we turn

835
00:41:54,960 --> 00:41:59,480
to God for help. 
I heard about a pastor in London

836
00:42:00,040 --> 00:42:05,440
whose work had had gotten to the
point where by all standards had

837
00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:09,280
had reached a level of great 
prosperity, and he was reaching 

838
00:42:09,280 --> 00:42:11,160
people for Christ. 
People were getting saved. 

839
00:42:12,160 --> 00:42:15,920
And he made this statement in a 
in a message he said with the 

840
00:42:15,920 --> 00:42:19,480
first church over which I was 
called to preside, I spent four 

841
00:42:19,480 --> 00:42:21,840
years in what seemed an almost 
fruitless ministry. 

842
00:42:22,480 --> 00:42:24,720
I think I preached this 
fervently then as I preached 

843
00:42:24,720 --> 00:42:27,120
now, when I prayed for God's 
blessing with all my heart. 

844
00:42:27,600 --> 00:42:30,560
I looked for success and week by
week announced times at which I 

845
00:42:30,560 --> 00:42:32,560
would meet inquirers, but none 
came. 

846
00:42:32,920 --> 00:42:35,320
I prayed till prayer became in 
agony within me. 

847
00:42:35,320 --> 00:42:38,600
Still there were no converts. 
On one Sunday evening I made a 

848
00:42:38,600 --> 00:42:40,640
special effort to win souls to 
Christ. 

849
00:42:40,800 --> 00:42:43,640
All through the preceding week I
pleaded as though I were pouring

850
00:42:43,640 --> 00:42:46,120
out my very soul for a blessing 
on that service. 

851
00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:49,680
I prepared, as far as I knew 
how, simply with a view to 

852
00:42:49,680 --> 00:42:51,840
conversion. 
On the evening before the 

853
00:42:51,840 --> 00:42:54,040
service in question, I went into
a field at the back of the 

854
00:42:54,040 --> 00:42:55,720
Chapel. 
And again with tears, I begot. 

855
00:42:55,720 --> 00:43:00,360
I besought God to save some. 
I gave out that I would meet in 

856
00:43:00,360 --> 00:43:02,120
choirs at the close of the 
service. 

857
00:43:02,960 --> 00:43:06,360
Not one came, either then or 
afterwards, as the fruit of that

858
00:43:06,360 --> 00:43:10,000
appeal. 
Eight years ago I preached the 

859
00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:13,200
same sermon and what was then my
new sphere of Labor, and 97 

860
00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:15,760
persons joined the church who 
trace their conversion to that 

861
00:43:15,760 --> 00:43:20,360
one discourse. 
He concluded by saying this. 

862
00:43:20,360 --> 00:43:22,840
I think that in my 4 years of 
fruitless labor, the Lord was 

863
00:43:22,840 --> 00:43:26,320
enabling me to bear present 
success and getting me in a fit 

864
00:43:26,320 --> 00:43:29,600
mind to endure the large measure
of prosperity which with which 

865
00:43:29,600 --> 00:43:31,480
I've been cheered for these past
nine years. 

866
00:43:33,120 --> 00:43:35,120
You know, sometimes in our 
Christian life we might feel 

867
00:43:35,120 --> 00:43:36,600
like we're not making any 
progress. 

868
00:43:38,680 --> 00:43:40,800
Sometimes in our Christian life,
we might feel like we're just 

869
00:43:40,800 --> 00:43:45,280
walking around the walls of 
Jericho, pointless, not going 

870
00:43:45,280 --> 00:43:50,880
anywhere, just going in circles,
just marching around an enemy 

871
00:43:50,880 --> 00:43:53,560
that's probably laughing at us 
and wondering what in the world 

872
00:43:53,560 --> 00:43:56,960
are they doing. 
I may feel like we're struggling

873
00:43:56,960 --> 00:43:59,760
and fighting through 
difficulties, and it says if God

874
00:43:59,760 --> 00:44:01,400
doesn't even remember who we 
are. 

875
00:44:02,840 --> 00:44:06,440
But hold on, because the 
Christian life is a life of 

876
00:44:06,440 --> 00:44:08,160
routine. 
It's a life of patience. 

877
00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:11,760
Patience in waiting for Him. 
It's a life of discipline, 

878
00:44:11,760 --> 00:44:16,120
following through and making the
tough decision to just do what's

879
00:44:16,120 --> 00:44:19,160
right. 
It's a life of obedience and 

880
00:44:19,160 --> 00:44:22,920
faith, trusting God enough to 
obey Him and that will 

881
00:44:22,920 --> 00:44:26,680
ultimately lead to victory. 
We may not see it today. 

882
00:44:27,200 --> 00:44:29,400
We may not see it tomorrow. 
We may not even see it a year 

883
00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:32,040
from now. 
But we'll see it if we stay 

884
00:44:32,040 --> 00:44:37,760
faithful Christian life. 
It's a funny thing sometimes. 

885
00:44:38,960 --> 00:44:41,880
Sometimes we see wonderful 
victories, and sometimes we just

886
00:44:41,880 --> 00:44:43,520
seem like nothing's moving at 
all. 

887
00:44:45,240 --> 00:44:50,040
But we have to trust God. 
It's a life of faith, and we 

888
00:44:50,040 --> 00:44:53,320
just do what He told us to do. 
It's a life of obedience. 

889
00:44:53,960 --> 00:44:55,160
And when? 
We do what? 

890
00:44:55,160 --> 00:44:58,000
He's told us to do. 
It takes discipline to do those 

891
00:44:58,000 --> 00:44:59,920
things. 
It's a life of discipline, but 

892
00:44:59,920 --> 00:45:03,560
it's a life of routine. 
Just keep doing what He said He 

893
00:45:04,640 --> 00:45:07,400
wants us to do. 
Don't have to make something 

894
00:45:07,400 --> 00:45:09,600
happen. 
You don't have to get out there 

895
00:45:09,600 --> 00:45:12,800
and do what you want to do 
because God's not moving. 

896
00:45:12,800 --> 00:45:15,520
Just let God work. 
That doesn't mean we sit back 

897
00:45:15,520 --> 00:45:19,080
and do nothing. 
We work and we pray and we get 

898
00:45:19,080 --> 00:45:21,280
busy doing those things that 
God's wanting us to do. 

899
00:45:22,120 --> 00:45:25,320
But when nothing's happening, I 
don't have to go make something 

900
00:45:25,320 --> 00:45:28,600
happen. 
I just do what He told me to do.

901
00:45:29,000 --> 00:45:34,080
Just keep putting 1 foot in 
front of the other and 

902
00:45:34,080 --> 00:45:35,760
eventually those walls are going
to fall down. 

903
00:45:36,760 --> 00:45:41,840
God's going to do it though. 
You know what happened with 

904
00:45:41,840 --> 00:45:46,240
Israel and with Jericho? 
This is stupid. 

905
00:45:46,240 --> 00:45:50,040
What in the world are we doing 
walking in circles around this 

906
00:45:50,040 --> 00:45:52,680
city? 
But guess what? 

907
00:45:52,680 --> 00:45:56,760
When the walls fell down, they 
didn't take credit for it 

908
00:45:58,520 --> 00:46:01,680
because it was dumb by human 
standards. 

909
00:46:02,280 --> 00:46:04,080
It was dumb from a human 
perspective. 

910
00:46:04,800 --> 00:46:07,480
You don't knock the walls down 
of a city by walking around it. 

911
00:46:08,320 --> 00:46:11,680
You don't conquer by walking in 
silence around the city. 

912
00:46:13,920 --> 00:46:19,920
But Israel and Jericho both 
understood wasn't us, it was 

913
00:46:19,920 --> 00:46:22,440
God. 
And guess what happened? 

914
00:46:22,440 --> 00:46:24,400
For all the rest. 
Of the nations that they came up

915
00:46:24,400 --> 00:46:27,960
against, this is the God that 
knocked the walls of Jericho 

916
00:46:27,960 --> 00:46:30,280
down. 
They didn't say, Oh no, this is 

917
00:46:30,280 --> 00:46:32,600
the nation of Israel that 
knocked the walls of Jericho 

918
00:46:32,600 --> 00:46:35,920
down. 
This the God that knocked down 

919
00:46:35,920 --> 00:46:41,200
the walls of Jericho. 
Because when God does it in his 

920
00:46:41,200 --> 00:46:43,960
time, it's very obvious that it 
was him. 

921
00:46:45,280 --> 00:46:47,240
That's what he's waiting for us 
to do. 

922
00:46:47,400 --> 00:46:49,480
Are you going to let him do it? 
Are you just going to keep doing

923
00:46:49,480 --> 00:46:52,240
what you're supposed to do? 
Don't get out in front of his 

924
00:46:52,240 --> 00:46:54,120
timing. 
Just follow him. 

925
00:46:54,840 --> 00:47:01,720
Just let him lead. 
Just do what He wants to do and 

926
00:47:01,720 --> 00:47:05,880
He can give us the victory. 
And that victory is a lot 

927
00:47:05,880 --> 00:47:07,960
sweeter because you know, it had
nothing to do with you. 

928
00:47:07,960 --> 00:47:09,160
It had everything to do with 
him. 

929
00:47:10,480 --> 00:47:11,880
Let's pray. 
Father, again, we thank you so 

930
00:47:11,880 --> 00:47:14,880
much for your goodness to us. 
So thank you for the fact that 

931
00:47:14,880 --> 00:47:17,400
you will fight for us. 
But God, I pray that you'd help 

932
00:47:17,400 --> 00:47:19,720
us to be Christians that do it 
your way. 

933
00:47:20,960 --> 00:47:23,160
I pray that you'd help us to 
live lives of obedience. 

934
00:47:23,160 --> 00:47:24,800
I pray that you help us to live 
lives of faith. 

935
00:47:24,800 --> 00:47:28,080
I pray that you help us to live 
lives of discipline and patience

936
00:47:28,080 --> 00:47:31,560
as we wait on you. 
God, where we need to make 

937
00:47:31,560 --> 00:47:34,200
decisions in that area this 
morning, may you help us. 

938
00:47:34,200 --> 00:47:37,720
Thank you again for all you do 
for us in Jesus name, Amen. 

939
00:47:37,720 --> 00:47:39,280
If you'd stand up your. 
Seats with your heads bowed and 

940
00:47:39,280 --> 00:47:40,640
your eyes closed. 
We're going to have a time of 

941
00:47:40,640 --> 00:47:42,880
invitation. 
God spoke to your heart this 

942
00:47:42,880 --> 00:47:44,440
morning as the piano plays you 
come.