1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,520 In the book of Numbers chapter 13, it says this. 2 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:07,840 These are the names of the men who Moses sent to spy out the 3 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:13,240 land, and Moses called Hosea the son of Nun Joshua. 4 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:16,160 Now, this is a very important scripture because we've been 5 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:18,920 talking about people from the Old Testament. 6 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:22,440 The Bible says that our stories are written for our example and 7 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:25,160 also for our admonition. So we can look at their lives 8 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:26,960 and say, well, I want to do that. 9 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:30,040 And in some cases there are examples that we'd say, I don't 10 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:33,560 want to do that. But Joshua is one of those with 11 00:00:33,560 --> 00:00:36,400 a pretty skeller stellar report if you would. 12 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:40,480 And he had this amazing responsibility that God gave to 13 00:00:40,480 --> 00:00:43,480 him to lead the children of Israel into the promised land. 14 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:47,520 And I talked about that last week when God instructed him, 15 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:53,280 but also encouraged him, Joshua, be strong and very courageous 16 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:56,480 because it was going to be a challenging thing to lead the 17 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:59,800 people into the Promised land. But today I want to back up the 18 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:03,600 story just a little bit and talk about a time when they were 19 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:07,800 first facing the enemy and Joshua's pardon, that Moses is 20 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:10,200 still the leader. But it's a time when they've 21 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:13,520 decided, as they've come up to the Promised land, we need to 22 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:17,240 send some spies into the Promised land so we can kind of 23 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:20,640 check out what's there. And the Bible tells us in the 24 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:25,880 opening of chapter 13 that this is where Moses gave this name 25 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:29,520 change, if you would, to Joshua. Now we are talking about the 26 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:32,920 fact that we have to understand this also illustrates to us what 27 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:35,240 the Bible calls the new creation. 28 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:37,640 How do you know what? When we're born again, the Bible 29 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:40,080 says we are new creatures in Christ. 30 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:43,880 And it was always traditional in the early charts for people when 31 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:47,440 they were baptizing or dedicating their children to 32 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:50,560 give them a christening name, if you would, which would be a name 33 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:53,160 that would be different from the natural name if you would, 34 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:55,720 because there was that always this recognition. 35 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:58,800 We wanted to keep in mind that when we're a Christian, we're a 36 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:02,800 new creature in Christ. But here Moses is singling out 37 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:07,120 this man by the name of Hoshea, and his name literally means the 38 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:10,080 deliverer. And as I shared last week, his 39 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:13,920 job wasn't to deliver the children from Egypt. 40 00:02:13,920 --> 00:02:17,960 That was Moses's job, but his job would to be complete the 41 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:21,080 delivery to take them into the promised land. 42 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:24,280 And he just had that kind of a character and that kind of 43 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:27,360 personality that you could say, wow, this is a guy that's going 44 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:29,840 to be strong, He's going to be courageous and he's going to 45 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:32,880 lead the people in. But Moses gave him a name 46 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,600 change, if you would, and they changed his name from Hosea to 47 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:40,320 Joshua. Now the one means the deliverer, 48 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:43,640 but this means Jehovah, our deliverer. 49 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:46,520 And this is a very important concept for us to understand as 50 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:49,320 Christians because when we come into this world, we have our 51 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:51,360 natural person that we're born in. 52 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:55,280 In the natural world, we have our genetics, we have our 53 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:58,760 experiences to make us into the person that we're called to be. 54 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:02,760 And the Bible tells us in the book of Psalms chapter 139, Gods 55 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:05,920 involved in those things. He was in our mother's womb. 56 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:10,440 He fashioned the days for us when we were yet unborn with the 57 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,640 idea that because His call was upon us before we were born, 58 00:03:13,640 --> 00:03:16,960 there would come in time when we would respond to Him and be born 59 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,160 again. So that we wouldn't just be that 60 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:21,400 natural person. We could be what I'd call a 61 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:24,120 supernatural person. Because once we're born again, 62 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:28,040 we have a spiritual side to us and a natural side. 63 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:30,360 And this is what this name represents. 64 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:32,720 You're a deliverer, you're a strong person. 65 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:35,200 But when you have gone to your side, wow, that's going to 66 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:38,960 exponentially increase what you're able to do. 67 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:41,480 And that's why it's important for us to understand. 68 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:45,360 And I like to talk about this a lot these days because I really 69 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:48,120 believe we're living in a time when God wants to do something 70 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:51,800 that according to the Scriptures, is exceedingly and 71 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:54,960 abundantly above all that we could ask or think. 72 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:58,560 But it's only going to be possible for us as we let God 73 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:02,160 work in us and we come to that new creature in Christ, that 74 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:05,640 reality that God has for us that we're talking about in this time 75 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:09,360 as we're thinking about Joshua and the children of Israel going 76 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:13,200 into the promised land. Now we have our own Joshua, if 77 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:15,520 you would. And I spoke about this last 78 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:19,360 week, how that when Mary became pregnant, Joseph was going to 79 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:22,560 put her away privately. The Bible says we're familiar 80 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:25,400 with that story from the Christmas season because he was 81 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:28,840 a kind and a just man. He wasn't going to marry her 82 00:04:28,840 --> 00:04:30,320 because she was already pregnant. 83 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:33,920 She had committed a sin according to the law of Moses. 84 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:37,840 But the Angel Lord comes to him and begins to speak to him and 85 00:04:37,840 --> 00:04:40,240 give him a clarity on the situation. 86 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:44,000 And when he does, he says this, she shall bring forth a son, and 87 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:48,800 you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from 88 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:51,000 their sins. So all this was done that it 89 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:53,400 might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Lord through the 90 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:57,360 prophet saying, behold, the virgin shall be with child and 91 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:00,680 bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is 92 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:04,760 translated God with us. And the name Jesus, as I 93 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:07,560 mentioned last week, is a special name to us. 94 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:10,360 But that's the Greek version of the name Joshua. 95 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:14,320 So when Joseph was given the name, it wasn't significant in 96 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:16,040 the sense that it was a special name. 97 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:18,840 It would have been because he would have remembered the story 98 00:05:18,840 --> 00:05:21,800 of Joshua and he would have known what the name meant 99 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:26,040 because it translates from the Hebrew language as a person who 100 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:29,320 is able to do that, delivering power. 101 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:33,240 And that's why he says His name shall be called Joshua. 102 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:37,920 Again, we call Jesus because He will save the people from their 103 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:40,000 sin. And I was like to point that out 104 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,960 because a lot of people think God only saves us from the guilt 105 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:48,000 and penalty of sin, but God wants us to know He can 106 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,880 literally save us from our sin. How do we know that's a big 107 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:55,160 difference and how do you know that takes a step of faith? 108 00:05:55,280 --> 00:05:57,120 Amen. And that's what I believe that 109 00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:00,400 God is saying to us today. We've got to take that step of 110 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:04,200 faith where we believe that God is able to not only forgive us 111 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:07,040 of our sin, but deliver us from our sin. 112 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:10,520 Most of the sin that we have in our life is self-destructive. 113 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:13,400 And Jesus said I didn't just come to make you alive. 114 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:16,000 I have come to give you the abundant life. 115 00:06:16,280 --> 00:06:19,640 Anybody out there want an abundant life, God can give it 116 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:20,320 to us. Amen. 117 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:22,760 And that's important for us to understand. 118 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:27,800 But the second part is in this particular case, that his name 119 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:32,200 wouldn't be just Joshua, if you would, but his name would be 120 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:37,480 Emmanuel, which literally translates God is with us. 121 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:40,520 And of course, as Christians, we should understand, according to 122 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:44,680 our theology as Christians, Jesus Christ was truly man, but 123 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:49,200 he was also truly God. There was the God part and there 124 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:52,200 was the man part. And that's true of all of us. 125 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:56,040 When we're born again, we aren't truly God like Jesus was, of 126 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:57,920 course. But when we're born again, how 127 00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:00,720 many know we have our natural part and we have our God part as 128 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:03,240 we receive God into our heart and into our life. 129 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:08,280 And Jesus Christ lived a very normal life for the 1st 30 years 130 00:07:08,280 --> 00:07:11,560 of his life, if you could call it normal when you go to Isaiah 131 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:14,360 chapter 53 and see some of the things that he went through. 132 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:18,960 But at that time he talked about the anointing coming upon him 133 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:22,120 and then he began a supernatural ministry. 134 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:24,760 A lot of times people say I wonder what kind of miracles 135 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:27,440 were Jesus work be when he was just a child. 136 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:30,560 And there's some books out there that supposedly talk about it 137 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:34,440 that were not received as a church Canon because they were 138 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:37,720 mostly recognized right away that they weren't written 139 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:41,280 inspired of the Holy Spirit. Because truly the beginning of 140 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:44,240 his ministry was supposed to start when he was in the temple. 141 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,120 And he said the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me. 142 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:51,200 And he was quoting Isaiah chapter 61 because the Lord hath 143 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:54,880 anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, the opening of 144 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:58,240 prison to them that are bound, and also to proclaim the 145 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:02,240 acceptable year of our Lord. He had a three-year earthly 146 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:05,040 ministry, but we like to emphasize how important it is 147 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:07,880 for us to understand. He also has a resurrected 148 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:11,800 ministry, if you would, because the Bible says he ever lives to 149 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:15,360 make intercession for us and he told his disciples and I will 150 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,400 build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against 151 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:19,760 it. Isn't that an awesome thing, 152 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:23,120 church, that we're a part of something Jesus Christ is 153 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:26,960 billing and it is a spiritual habitation. 154 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:31,080 And the Bible says that we are the living stones that truly are 155 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:33,880 a part of that. Now as the children of Israel, 156 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:36,080 we're getting ready to go into the promised land. 157 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:39,880 The Bible tells us that they sent spies into the land, just 158 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:41,640 like in that scripture that I said. 159 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:45,040 But when they sent the spies into the land, the idea was to 160 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:49,080 get a strategy of war. But unfortunately, when they 161 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:55,360 sent the 12 spies in, 10 of the spies had a bad report about the 162 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:57,160 land. And that's what this next verse 163 00:08:57,160 --> 00:09:00,880 of Scripture is about, it says. But the men who had gone up with 164 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:05,040 him said, we are not able to go up against the people, for they 165 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:07,800 are stronger than we. And they gave the children of 166 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:10,960 Israel bad report for the land which they had spied out, 167 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:15,200 saying, the land which you have gone as spies is a land that 168 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:19,720 devours its inhabitants, and all the people with whom it is are 169 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:23,720 men of great stature. There we saw the giants, the 170 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:27,120 descendants of Anik. They came from the giants, and 171 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:29,680 we are like grasshoppers in our own sight. 172 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:34,560 And so we were in their sight. Now I put up here the promised 173 00:09:34,560 --> 00:09:38,160 land, or you could call it the land of Struggle. 174 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:41,680 Now that's very important to understand because we have to 175 00:09:41,680 --> 00:09:44,520 recognize that struggle is a part of life. 176 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:46,480 How do you know when you were born? 177 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:50,200 You were born with a struggle. If you don't know that, call Mom 178 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:54,400 and ask her about it. It's important to understand 179 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:57,760 that it's quite a process to be in travail and have a child. 180 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:01,800 And as a pastor for all these years, we've seen a lot of 181 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:05,000 people, especially our family members who have passed over to 182 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:08,400 the other side and typically they're suffering that's 183 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:11,560 involved in that. I remember an elderly pastor, 184 00:10:11,560 --> 00:10:14,840 Mom Bill from the church office, trained at, She was doing a 185 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:18,440 service for the elderly people in the church, and she was quite 186 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:19,840 elderly at that time. She says. 187 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:22,920 I don't know why we have to suffer so to get to the other 188 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:26,800 side, but there often times is a struggle getting to the other 189 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:28,920 side. And if you want to be honest, 190 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:32,160 there's a struggle from the beginning to the end. 191 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:35,480 Not every day is a struggle, but how, you know, life has its 192 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:38,360 struggles. And I'm kind of an optimistic 193 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:41,440 person, and I kind of look at the good side of life, if you 194 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:43,560 would. So I remember talking to Pastor 195 00:10:43,560 --> 00:10:46,560 Joe Milosek one day, and I said, you know, I've never really had 196 00:10:46,560 --> 00:10:48,520 any struggles in life. He looks at me. 197 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:51,000 He said, Lauren, you had muscular dystrophy, You had 198 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:52,480 seizures. Those are struggles. 199 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:57,440 I'm like, yeah, I guess I did have struggles because I didn't 200 00:10:57,440 --> 00:10:59,720 ever look at it that way, because that's just kind of my 201 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:01,560 personality, the way I look at life. 202 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:05,160 But the truth is we all have struggles, and sometimes we have 203 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:08,520 struggles that seem like they're just not going to go away. 204 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:12,600 Sometimes we look back at our life and we look at struggles 205 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:15,400 we've been through, and we can't figure out, well, what was that 206 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:18,280 all about? But we have to understand that 207 00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:21,600 struggle is a normal part of the human experience. 208 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:25,280 I think that's very important in the day in which we Live Today. 209 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:29,280 Last week being Independence Day celebration, we talked about the 210 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:33,240 fact that as a country we were born in a struggle called the 211 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:37,080 Revolutionary War, and it took many years to really be free. 212 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:39,880 Indeed, that brought on the War of 1812. 213 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:42,720 But they talk a lot on the news these days. 214 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:46,200 And it seems obvious that we are very divided nation, that 215 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:48,800 there's people on this side saying this, people on this side 216 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:51,600 saying this, people on one side are saying the people on other 217 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:54,680 side are not telling the truth. And I remember one day here and 218 00:11:54,680 --> 00:11:58,640 somebody saying there's never been such a divided country as 219 00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:01,200 we have today. And I thought this must this 220 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:06,520 person must not remember we had a civil war church. 221 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:10,000 Our country has always had struggles and there's always 222 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:13,040 been different sides, and I really believe it's the 223 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:15,880 struggles that have made us such a great nation. 224 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:19,440 And I say that not just because I'm a patriotic American. 225 00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:22,600 If you look at the world and you understand why millions of 226 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:25,480 people are trying to get across the borders to be a part of our 227 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:29,440 country, it's because we are a very blessed nation. 228 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:35,440 God is a part of that, no question about it, because the 229 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:39,000 church certainly has been a part of the struggle and has been a 230 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:42,640 very good influence. But a lot of that is is we have 231 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:46,480 had struggles along the way, and struggle is how you get to the 232 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:48,400 place where you're supposed to be. 233 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:52,440 Remember a couple weeks ago I talked about Jacob one day. 234 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:56,440 He's wrestling with the Angel of the Lord, and the Bible tells us 235 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:58,960 that the Angel of the Lord said to him, let me go, the day's 236 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:01,560 breaking. Jacob said, I'm not going to let 237 00:13:01,560 --> 00:13:04,240 you go until you bless me. And of course the Angel of the 238 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:05,600 Lord said, well, what's your name? 239 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:07,920 Well, my name is Jacob. Well, it's not going to be Jacob 240 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:09,320 anymore. It's going to be Israel. 241 00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:13,120 And the Bible says he got the blessing, probably not the 242 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:15,600 blessing he wanted, but the blessing that we all need to 243 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:18,480 understand is what God does in our life, and that's given us 244 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:22,040 that new name. But when he gave him the new 245 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:24,920 name, he said your name will be called Israel because you have 246 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:29,080 struggled with God and with men and have prevailed. 247 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:33,400 A part of the new creation is recognizing that life has its 248 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:37,920 struggles, but God wants to use those struggles apart as a part 249 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:41,840 of the life transformation that we are supposed to go through. 250 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:45,280 Now, when it uses the word struggle there, it's could be 251 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:48,600 implied that you're talking about a war or a real violent 252 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:51,000 upheaval, but that's really not what it's talking about. 253 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:52,920 He was wrestling with the Angel of the Lord. 254 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:55,840 And how do you know when the Angel Lord said, let me go? 255 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:57,840 And he said, I'm not going to let you go. 256 00:13:57,840 --> 00:13:59,360 How do you know? The Angel Lord could have said, 257 00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:01,440 Oh yeah, you're going to let me go? 258 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:03,520 Come on. That's true. 259 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:07,600 The Bible says even touch the thigh of his hip and he was 260 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:10,920 limping the rest of his life. The Angel Lord could have got 261 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:14,360 free anytime he wanted to. But the point of this is, is he 262 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:18,240 was willing to hold on for the blessing that life would have to 263 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:22,400 offer and cherish. God has called us to hold on and 264 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:26,720 I've been believing God to do some things for the 47 years 265 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:29,320 I've been in ministry and I've seen him don't do so much. 266 00:14:29,560 --> 00:14:32,280 But I'm still looking for the end result, if you would. 267 00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:35,320 That's why I love that song, that new song we sing because it 268 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:38,800 talks about having a vision, talks about yielding to God, but 269 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:43,440 it talks about how God is going to bring to pass his wisdom for 270 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:45,160 the church. And that's the day and hour in 271 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:46,520 which we live right now. Church. 272 00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:49,240 I'm excited. I believe with everything within 273 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:52,960 me, it's like the church has come to the promised land and 274 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:55,400 God's saying to us it's time to crossover. 275 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:58,800 There's going to be a level of promise we've never experienced 276 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:01,880 before, but we have to understand there's going to be a 277 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:03,840 struggle. When the children of Israel got 278 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:05,720 to the promised land and they found out they were giants, 279 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:06,880 they're like, I don't want to do that. 280 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:10,120 I don't want to do that. It's a land flowing with milk 281 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:12,280 and honey. It's the promised land. 282 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:15,040 They were slaves in Egypt for 400 years. 283 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:17,560 They didn't really have much of A formal religion. 284 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:21,600 They just had a right called the circumcision of the flesh to 285 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:26,960 remind them that their ancestor from the past, Abraham, had 286 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:30,680 received a promise from God, had sealed it with a covenant of 287 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:32,960 circumcision and said one day you're going to get with the 288 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:35,680 land of Canaan as your inheritance. 289 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:39,200 It was the promised land, a land they had heard was going to flow 290 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:41,640 with milk and honey. So when they come to the 291 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:44,920 promised land, they have to fight with the giants. 292 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:47,480 And they're like, you didn't tell me there was going to be a 293 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:50,800 struggle involved in this. Well, that's the way it is when 294 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:53,920 we become a Christian. When you give your life to God, 295 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:57,720 your life struggles don't end. They just take a whole new 296 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:01,480 dimension as God can become involved in those. 297 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:04,760 And when we look at how God has introduced struggle, it's 298 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:06,360 important for us to understand that. 299 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:09,000 I've often heard over the years people say, you know, Christians 300 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:11,280 have to be united. We have to kind of get together. 301 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:14,920 And part of the thinking of that is we have to figure out how to 302 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:17,120 get along. So if we're going to get along, 303 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:19,160 well, you can't believe that. I can't believe this. 304 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:22,000 You can't talk about the truth. Well, I can't quit talking about 305 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:24,920 the truth because you will know the truth and the truth will 306 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:26,360 make you free. Amen, Charge. 307 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:31,920 But the point I have is that if we all do what God wants us to 308 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:34,200 do, how you know we will be united? 309 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:37,280 We might look at it and not understand how we're united 310 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:39,880 because we don't always know everything that God is doing. 311 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:44,600 But it the struggle and our differences are good because we 312 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:48,760 bring life to each other. Sometimes we bring a little bit 313 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:53,200 of a evening out to each other, but the church is alive. 314 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:56,800 Christians are God's people and God uses everyone for his 315 00:16:56,800 --> 00:16:59,160 purpose. But we've got to fully follow 316 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:00,920 the purpose God has for us. Amen. 317 00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:05,040 Because God introduced his struggle in the very beginning 318 00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:07,480 of time. He created the natural order and 319 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:10,640 then he put mankind in the garden, said be proofful 320 00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:12,599 multiple. He fill up the earth and take 321 00:17:12,599 --> 00:17:15,520 dominion, and so he introduced struggle right away. 322 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:18,880 The Bible says that he created woman who was taken out a man 323 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:22,040 and she was the opposite of him. How do you know that meant a 324 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:26,079 struggle? Come on, if you're married, say 325 00:17:26,079 --> 00:17:27,920 Amen. Just kind of consent to what I'm 326 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:30,320 saying. It doesn't mean you're supposed 327 00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:34,960 to have a war with each other. It means that it takes a 328 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:38,840 struggle to get to the best marriage, takes a struggle to 329 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:41,120 get to the best of what God has for us. 330 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:44,040 And that's what God wants us to understand their individual 331 00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:46,600 lives. There's a struggle right now to 332 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:49,360 get where God wants us. I believe that God's creating a 333 00:17:49,360 --> 00:17:52,720 stirring in the land. Part of that story might be you 334 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:55,120 might be just thinking, well, I'm just not satisfied right 335 00:17:55,120 --> 00:17:55,960 now. What's going on? 336 00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:59,120 God says it's time to go into the promised land. 337 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:02,400 It's time to take full possession of everything that I 338 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:04,960 said I called you to, says the mighty God. 339 00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:07,520 When they came to this land, they only looked at it, a 340 00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:11,200 natural observation. And So what happened is they had 341 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:14,880 a natural convention. We looked at those giants and 342 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:18,440 the Scripture says, and I think this is interesting, we saw 343 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:21,160 ourself as grasshoppers before them. 344 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:26,520 And so that's how they saw us. Church, if you see your obstacle 345 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:29,600 as something that you can overcome, it's going to overcome 346 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:32,440 you. But when you see your obstacle 347 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:35,840 from God's point of view, you know that I can do all things 348 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:37,640 through Christ who strengthens me. 349 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:41,440 Amen, Church. You know that no weapon that's 350 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:44,720 formed against you can prosper. And even every tongue that rises 351 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:47,880 up against you in judgment, the Bible says God will condemn 352 00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:51,600 because this is the urges of the Saints and their righteousness 353 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:54,720 is of me. And so the children of Israel 354 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:57,680 missed the opportunity. And unfortunately what happened 355 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:00,720 is God said, well, you guys don't want the land, you won't 356 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:02,920 get the land. And so they wandered in the 357 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:06,240 wilderness for 40 years. God says, don't be one of those 358 00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:09,440 people that says, I don't want the best that life has to offer. 359 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:12,680 Be one of those people who says, you know what, I'm going to take 360 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:18,520 the land in Jesus name, Amen. Well, that's what Joshua and 361 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:21,520 Caleb were like, it says. But Joshua the son of Non and 362 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:24,800 Caleb the son of Jephena, who were among those who had spied 363 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:26,480 out the land, tore their clothes. 364 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:29,320 They spoke to all the congregation of Israel saying 365 00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:33,120 the land we passed through to spy out, it's an exceedingly 366 00:19:33,120 --> 00:19:37,000 good land. If the Lord delights in us, He 367 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:40,960 will bring us into this landing, give it to us, a land which 368 00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:44,480 flows with milk and honey only. Do not rebel against the Lord, 369 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:47,800 nor fear the people, the land, for they are our bread. 370 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:52,440 Their protection has departed from them and the Lord is with 371 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:54,760 us. Do not fear them. 372 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:59,400 Now it's important to understand because He says that we have to 373 00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:02,200 be a people that see the potential not. 374 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:08,040 The potential of destruction. When Jesus Christ came to the 375 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:10,240 earth, he said you must be born again. 376 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:13,360 If you're born again, you can both see and enter into the 377 00:20:13,360 --> 00:20:15,320 Kingdom of God. That's our promised land. 378 00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:21,240 God will give you the ability to see things from his perspective. 379 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:26,000 God will give you the strength to take the land that God has 380 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,800 before you, Jesus said to his followers. 381 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:32,960 It's the Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. 382 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:36,720 That's why if you notice in that verse, Joshua said them now if 383 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:41,280 we do what God wants us to do, he will give us the land. 384 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:45,280 You see, the struggle isn't something that we accomplished 385 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:48,440 something the struggles within ourselves to be obedient to what 386 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:52,160 God has for us and the struggle to say, I want everything that 387 00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:56,000 God has for me. And the if God is well, if God 388 00:20:56,000 --> 00:21:00,240 speaks, you can be sure he's going to do what he says he's 389 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:03,200 going to do Amen, Church. And so we have to be a people 390 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:06,680 that understand that God is calling us right now and this is 391 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:09,320 such a special time in God. Now. 392 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:12,600 I like what he said here. He said, and these giants are 393 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:14,480 just going to be bread for us to eat. 394 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:17,560 What what are you talking about? Well, the giants are the 395 00:21:17,560 --> 00:21:20,920 breakfast of champions, as it used to say on the Wheaties box 396 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:25,640 because if you're willing to accept the challenge that God 397 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:29,440 sets in front of you, it literally becomes bread for you 398 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:33,400 to eat. It nourishes you, it strengthens 399 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:36,960 you, it has a supernatural impact on you. 400 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:40,240 Now that means you do it with God's help. 401 00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:45,240 That's why when Jesus is was in the wilderness himself and the 402 00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:50,080 devil came to tempt him, he had been fasting for 40 days and the 403 00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:54,280 devil come to him and said, well here, why don't you turn that 404 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:57,840 bread in that stone into some bread so you can eat. 405 00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:01,200 He said man does not live by bread alone, but by every word 406 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:03,080 that proceeds from the mouth of God. 407 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:07,320 I'm not just going to pray that that becomes satisfying to me. 408 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:10,400 I'm going to pray that God will give me a word of instruction so 409 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:13,160 I'll know what to do. Anybody following this right 410 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:16,960 now, how we know it's time to get some real bread right now, 411 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:20,600 The world we live in today, there's so much bread to eat 412 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:22,960 because there's a whole lot of giants in this land. 413 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:26,400 But now God's saying to the people of God, it's time to be 414 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:29,600 like Joshua and get your nourishment because this is a 415 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:33,200 day when God is going to do that great and powerful work that he 416 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:35,040 promised. Hey man, give him a praise on 417 00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:40,120 that. Now this next verse of Scripture 418 00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:43,840 is kind of sad because it's basically God lament. 419 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:47,480 If you would preach this on a Wednesday night a few weeks back 420 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:50,320 that we have to understand that well, we're creating the image 421 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:53,320 and likeness of God. He created us with emotions. 422 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:57,840 He has emotions, He wants us to express love to Him, and when we 423 00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:01,960 don't, it can feel bad for him. In that sense it says, then the 424 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:05,920 Lord said, I have pardoned according to your word. 425 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:09,840 But truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the 426 00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:14,040 glory of the Lord, because all these men who have seen my glory 427 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:17,480 in the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and 428 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:20,800 I've put me to the test now these 10 times, and I've not 429 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:23,440 heeded my voice. They certainly shall not see the 430 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:27,080 land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those 431 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:30,640 who rejected me see it. What is He talking about here? 432 00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:35,200 Well, after they had rejected the opportunity that God had, 433 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:39,720 God was upset and the Bible says he said to Moses, OK, Moses, 434 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:42,960 I've had my fill. Let's kind of just get rid of 435 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:47,000 this group and I'll raise up another seed after you to take 436 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:49,080 the promised land. Now, how do you know if the Lord 437 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:50,560 did that? It would still be Abraham's 438 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:53,800 seed, so he wouldn't be breaking his covenant with the people. 439 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:56,000 It'd just be a longer process if you would. 440 00:23:56,520 --> 00:23:59,240 Well, Moses had this great opportunity, but he's like, no, 441 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:03,080 God, don't do that If you're not going to take them in the 442 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:04,520 promised line. I don't want to go in the 443 00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:06,400 promised line. Forgive this people. 444 00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:08,520 And that's when God said, OK, I'll forgive them. 445 00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:12,880 I'll give them mercy, but they won't go into the land. 446 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:16,840 Now that's a very important Scripture church, because a lot 447 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:20,680 of people want God's mercy, but they don't want his empowerment. 448 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:24,000 And it seems like that's the easiest way out. 449 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:26,720 Oh, let God's grace come and forgive me. 450 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:30,560 Yes, but you're missing on the promised land. 451 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:32,680 You're missing out on the inheritance. 452 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:35,480 You're missing out on the things that God has for you. 453 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:38,760 And God's missing out on a people. 454 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:42,880 And that's what's so very important because God goes on to 455 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:46,760 say, well, one of these days the glory of the Lord is going to be 456 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:49,880 revealed in all flesh, is going to see it together. 457 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:52,760 What did he mean? One of these days there's going 458 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:56,360 to be a people who say, God, I'm going to take that land. 459 00:24:56,600 --> 00:25:00,320 God, I'm going to go in and do what you have told me I can do 460 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:02,120 with your help. And what does that do? 461 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:05,760 That reveals the glory of God. Church, I want to do something 462 00:25:05,760 --> 00:25:07,600 in my life that brings glory to God. 463 00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:10,480 That means ask me something more than Lauren Corubius can do 464 00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:15,760 himself, but something that with God, I can know that all things 465 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:18,280 are possible. And I hear that lament when I 466 00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:20,880 pray because I've been for 47 years. 467 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:24,160 And Lord, I want to be that person that doesn't let you 468 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:26,680 down. I don't want you to say, OK, you 469 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:29,720 can just have my mercy. No, Lord, I want to be like 470 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:32,400 Joshua and Caleb. I want to go in and take the 471 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:34,960 land that you promised me. Amen Church. 472 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:38,480 He's calling us there. Now this is an interesting 473 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:43,120 scripture because he says, but my servant Caleb, because he has 474 00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:48,640 a different what speared in him and has what followed me fully, 475 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:52,360 I will bring into the land where he went and his descendant shall 476 00:25:52,360 --> 00:25:54,480 inherit it. Now this is where it's good to 477 00:25:54,480 --> 00:25:58,200 see what the definition for Caleb is in the original Hebrew. 478 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:00,720 It basically says he was like an attack dog. 479 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:06,440 So here's courageous Joshua and his sidekick the attack dog 480 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:07,440 come. You know, they were quite a 481 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:10,560 team. I want to be a Joshua. 482 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:12,760 I want to be a Caleb. I prefer Joshua. 483 00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:16,640 But anyway, this is what Caleb was like. 484 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:19,600 And why was he like this? Well, the same reason Joshua 485 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:22,360 was. He didn't have the same spirit 486 00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:25,320 in its demonstration. It was he had the spirit that 487 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:28,520 says I want everything that God says is mine. 488 00:26:29,120 --> 00:26:32,280 I want my life to fully represent everything that God 489 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:35,000 can do. That's number one, but it talks 490 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:39,600 about having a different spirit. Now this is important to 491 00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:42,560 understand because when God created us from the earth, he 492 00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:46,200 created his body and then he breathed in our nostrils the 493 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:49,960 breath of life and then we became a living being. 494 00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:54,800 That breath of life is the human spirit, the candle of the Lord. 495 00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:58,440 What makes us aware there's a God makes us aware there's an 496 00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:01,120 us. And that human spirit of is a 497 00:27:01,120 --> 00:27:06,200 very big part of what God wants to do in working in us to make 498 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:10,680 it possible for us to do something awesome in this life. 499 00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:14,200 And so it's so very important for us to recognize the work 500 00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:17,720 that God can do. Look what it says in Ezekiel 36 501 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:22,800 and I will give you a new heart. I will put a new spirit within 502 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:26,360 you, and I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and 503 00:27:26,360 --> 00:27:30,720 give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within 504 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:34,880 you and cause you to walk in my statues and will keep my 505 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:39,240 judgments and do them. This is the Jesus plan, give you 506 00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:40,920 a new heart. But I want you also know that 507 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:45,520 it's a new spirit which is separate from Him giving us his 508 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:47,440 spirit. Now that's very important 509 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:50,320 because of the first Joshua. All he could do is exhort the 510 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:52,920 children of residents like, come on you guys, let's do it. 511 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:58,960 But Jesus, our Joshua says I can do this through you if you'll 512 00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:01,920 let me. He's not just exhorting us to 513 00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:05,560 take the challenge. He's saying I will give you a 514 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:10,040 new heart, I will give you a new spirit. 515 00:28:10,360 --> 00:28:14,480 I will cause you to fully walking if you're willing, I'm 516 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:17,280 able to do that. But you got to give me your 517 00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:20,400 heart and your spirit says the Lord. 518 00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:22,960 And that's why I put up here separate. 519 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:27,720 I will put my spirit in you. I will put because he gives us a 520 00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:32,400 new heart, He gives us a new spirit, and then he puts his 521 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:35,400 Spirit in us. That's a beautiful experience 522 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:36,920 being born again. Amen. 523 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:39,680 Church. If we're born of the water and 524 00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:44,360 of the Spirit and then open up our spirit, God will come and 525 00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:48,960 inhabit us fully that we can be the demonstration of his glory 526 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:53,080 in the earth. Wow, what a plan our Joshua will 527 00:28:53,080 --> 00:28:56,360 do in US. What's necessary for us to face 528 00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:58,160 the life that we're facing Church. 529 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:01,840 Now this is a very important scripture because it says for we 530 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:05,760 have become partakers of Christ. If we hold the beginning of our 531 00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:10,000 confidence steadfast to the end. While it is said today, if you 532 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:12,680 will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the 533 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:16,160 rebellion. For who having heard, rebelled? 534 00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:20,400 Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt led by Moses? 535 00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:24,160 The reason we need a new heart is because in our old heart 536 00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:27,120 that's been damaged by our life experiences. 537 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:29,400 For the children visible was in the wilderness. 538 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:32,240 What they did when they were going through these distresses, 539 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:34,440 they kept hardening their heart, hardening their heart. 540 00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:36,720 And what happened is after a while they couldn't hear the 541 00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:41,000 voice of God because it's with the heart man believes the Bible 542 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:43,680 says, and with the mouth confession is made unto 543 00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:46,840 salvation. So today, if you want to hear 544 00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:49,400 God's word, hey, give him your heart. 545 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:53,000 If you've hardened your heart because of circumstances of your 546 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:57,160 life, today God can give you a new heart. 547 00:29:57,680 --> 00:30:00,640 And if you've never given your life fully to the Lord, you can 548 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:04,560 surrender that today. Go to the waters of baptism and 549 00:30:04,560 --> 00:30:07,000 receive the Spirit as a living God in your life. 550 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:09,160 Church, God has such a great plan for us. 551 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:13,360 Amen. Today if we will hear His voice 552 00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:16,360 and let Him do with our heart. Wow, God has some awesome 553 00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:19,720 things, but I also want to talk about the human spirit because 554 00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:22,880 this is important. Furthermore, we have had a human 555 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:26,400 Father who corrected us, and we paid them respect. 556 00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:31,200 Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father 557 00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:35,760 of what spirits, and live? And remember, the divine breast 558 00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:37,920 came from the Father. He's not talking about other 559 00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:40,640 spheres, angels, He's talking about the spirit that's in us. 560 00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:44,120 For they indeed for a few days chastened us, as seemed best to 561 00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:48,480 them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His 562 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:51,360 Holiness. Now, no chastening seems to be 563 00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:56,440 joyful for the present, but painful nevertheless afterward. 564 00:30:56,440 --> 00:30:59,640 What does it do? It yields the peaceable fruit of 565 00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:03,280 righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 566 00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:06,040 How does God give us a new spirit? 567 00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:08,000 Well, it's just like when He gives us a new heart. 568 00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:11,000 I mean, you get a new heart, but you got to keep giving Him back 569 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:13,400 your heart. In church, the same thing is 570 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:14,600 true. The human spirit. 571 00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:19,200 The human spirit is basically our subconscious self and that's 572 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:22,560 why we can't always be aware of what God is doing. 573 00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:27,960 But he says the Father works in our spirit. 574 00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:31,000 How does he do that? Well, when we're going through 575 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:34,960 the issues of life, when we're going through struggles, if you 576 00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:41,920 would, if we give Him our heart and our spirit, then the Father 577 00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:46,800 is able to work in US and produce His true holiness to 578 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:50,520 make us more like He has called us to be. 579 00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:55,200 As we surrender ourselves to Him, that's when we know God as 580 00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:59,280 our Father, the Father of spirits and the very breath that 581 00:31:59,280 --> 00:32:01,320 He has put inside of us, our human spirit. 582 00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:05,960 He begins to fashion and form into something strong like you 583 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:09,560 can and be like Joshua and the natural have a lot of hoods fit 584 00:32:09,560 --> 00:32:12,600 if you would and just like wow, I'm going to be able to do this. 585 00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:17,480 God can give you that. He can give you a new heart and 586 00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:22,400 also a new spirit. And I love how it says if we're 587 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:26,320 trained by it now in the original new King James version 588 00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:29,320 or excuse me in the King James Version, it says that, but in 589 00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:33,280 the original translation it says who are exercised be it by it. 590 00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:36,080 And I always like to point this out because sometimes when we go 591 00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:39,920 both situations in our life and we look back at them, we can't 592 00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:41,960 say, oh, that's what good came out of that. 593 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:44,440 Does anybody have a part of life you've been through? 594 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:46,560 Maybe you're going through right now and you're like, what's God 595 00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:49,720 going to do with this? You might never know, but if you 596 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:52,360 give him your heart and your spirit, one day you'll realize, 597 00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:55,120 wow, God gave me a new heart and a new sphere. 598 00:32:55,640 --> 00:33:00,200 He made me available for him. And that brings forth the fruit 599 00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:02,960 of the Spirit, which is what the fruit of spirit is. 600 00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:08,200 Lovejoy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, 601 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:12,360 faithfulness, gentleness, and ultimately self-control. 602 00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:15,920 Against such there is no law. Those who are Christ have 603 00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:19,280 crucified the flesh with its own passions and desires. 604 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:23,680 So if we're going to live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the 605 00:33:23,680 --> 00:33:27,520 Spirit. God says I made you alive and 606 00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:31,480 now I can make you the walk the path as you surrender yourself 607 00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:33,960 to me. When I first received the 608 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:36,320 baptism of the Holy Spirit as during the Jesus People 609 00:33:36,320 --> 00:33:40,400 movement, and I was a part of a Pentecostal church at the time, 610 00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:43,320 and we always thought that after you received the Holy Spirit, 611 00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:47,880 the goal was give up control. They just say things like let go 612 00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:50,360 and let God. Well, the ultimate work of the 613 00:33:50,360 --> 00:33:54,440 Holy Spirit isn't that we let go just say, oh, I'm totally 614 00:33:54,440 --> 00:33:57,680 surrendered. It means God gives you 615 00:33:57,840 --> 00:34:01,920 self-control. He gives you the ability to make 616 00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:06,720 the right choices, to walk with strength and be everything that 617 00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:10,920 he has called you to be. And that's such an awesome thing 618 00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:12,679 in church. I really believe with all my 619 00:34:12,679 --> 00:34:16,560 heart we're living in that time. In Hebrews chapter 12 it says 620 00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:19,719 this, but you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living 621 00:34:19,719 --> 00:34:23,480 God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to innumerable company of angels, 622 00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:26,639 to the General Assembly and Church of the first born who are 623 00:34:26,639 --> 00:34:30,920 registered in heaven, to God the judged of all, to the spirits of 624 00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:35,120 just men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of the new 625 00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:37,560 Covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling. 626 00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:40,080 That speaks better things than that of Abel. 627 00:34:40,560 --> 00:34:43,040 When Jesus said He was building His church. 628 00:34:43,040 --> 00:34:46,159 You know, he started way back when, when He called Abraham in 629 00:34:46,159 --> 00:34:48,960 the very beginning. And there's this process that 630 00:34:48,960 --> 00:34:51,440 he's been building. I wrote a whole book on this 631 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:53,360 called The Descending New Jerusalem because a lot of 632 00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:55,080 people think this is talking about heaven. 633 00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:58,520 But when you read it and it talks about the church and talks 634 00:34:58,520 --> 00:35:01,680 about the spirits of just men made perfect it, it lets you 635 00:35:01,680 --> 00:35:03,880 know that this is the whole plan of God. 636 00:35:04,080 --> 00:35:08,200 We have God who is our Father. We have Jesus Christ who gave 637 00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:11,360 his life for us. The new covenant is forgiveness. 638 00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:16,120 But then we have our heavenly Father can perfect us in our 639 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:18,960 spirit. And I really believe that we're 640 00:35:18,960 --> 00:35:21,120 going to see the fulfilment of this vision. 641 00:35:21,120 --> 00:35:25,120 That's why I showed the picture before church starts of the 642 00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:26,600 descending New Jerusalem concerns. 643 00:35:26,840 --> 00:35:29,360 I believe this is the day when God's putting on the final 644 00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:34,400 touches, and a part of that is a people who are going to let God 645 00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:40,520 truly give them not just a new heart, but a new spirit to walk 646 00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:43,240 with power in this day. I'm going to ask everyone to bow 647 00:35:43,240 --> 00:35:46,400 their heads and close your eyes for just a moment because I 648 00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:50,360 believe with all my heart this is a very special time in God. 649 00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:58,000 God's word to the church, God's Word to you as it's time to take 650 00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:06,440 hold of the promise, take a step outside of yourself into God's 651 00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:10,480 dimension to have power in your life. 652 00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:16,040 Not to have a life that's out of control, but a life that's in 653 00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:22,200 control that you can offer to God and let His glory be 654 00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:25,160 revealed. This is an important time when 655 00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:27,440 the glory of the Lord's going to be revealed and people are going 656 00:36:27,440 --> 00:36:29,320 to do it many different areas of life. 657 00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:38,520 It's going to be an amazing time for the glory of the Lord shall 658 00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:41,000 be revealed in all flesh, shall see it together. 659 00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:44,520 Why do I know that? Well, the mouth of the Lord has 660 00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:50,880 spoken it, and you're chosen to reveal the glory of the Lord to 661 00:36:50,880 --> 00:36:55,680 your generation. Father, as we present ourselves 662 00:36:55,680 --> 00:37:00,160 fully to you, I pray Lord, that we would fully yield our heart, 663 00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:06,920 fully yield our spirit, that you can complete the work in us. 664 00:37:07,480 --> 00:37:11,880 We ask it in Jesus mighty name as we give you the glory. 665 00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:16,080 Amen. This is Pastor Lauren Coverbius 666 00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:18,640 from Mount Zion Church. We thank you for joining us 667 00:37:18,640 --> 00:37:21,640 today and invite you to connect with our church family by 668 00:37:21,640 --> 00:37:25,400 visiting mountzion.org and following us on social media. 669 00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:26,400 God bless you.