1 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:13,840 He can't be hid. He's too good not to believe. 2 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:28,080 I love you Jesus. Whether it be miracle or healing 3 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:34,000 or experience, the magnitude of his mercy and grace, He's too 4 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:39,760 good not to believe. That day in which Jesus walked 5 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:42,680 in his earthly ministry healed a blind man. 6 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:48,520 Religious rulers came asking to speak to the man. 7 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:51,280 Actually they went to his parents 1st and they said, well 8 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:54,600 you ask him, he says whether he be Sinner. 9 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaking of Christ, he said whether it be Sinner or not I 10 00:00:56,640 --> 00:01:01,280 know not. But one thing I do know I once 11 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:08,000 was blind but now I see says whatever it is, it's just too 12 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:16,840 good to not testify of the goodness that I've experienced 13 00:01:17,320 --> 00:01:21,240 first hand in my life. Undeniable. 14 00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:32,880 Religious leaders bring Peter and John because a lame man's no 15 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:35,120 longer lame sitting at the city gate, they say. 16 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:36,880 You know what? There's one thing undeniable 17 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:38,520 that we're dealing with here right now. 18 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:42,760 This man used to be lame every day at the gate, but he's not 19 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:45,560 that anymore. That's irrefutable. 20 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:52,680 Too good for there not to be something about that. 21 00:01:56,800 --> 00:02:00,000 Amen. He's a good dog. 22 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:02,840 You can stand with me here tonight. 23 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:08,960 It's been our steam privilege over the past fives now 5 24 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:13,280 services to have Brother Sanford with us from Walnut, Ms. 25 00:02:13,640 --> 00:02:15,000 ministering the Word of the Lord. 26 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:20,000 Brother Sanford has, for the past 11 years, I think it is, 27 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:23,920 has crisscrossed our country in ministering the word of the 28 00:02:23,920 --> 00:02:28,520 Lord, holding revival services. And in all the time that I've 29 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:33,360 known him, he's always been a a person of humility. 30 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:38,200 Never, never have I've ever picked up on any fanfare or any 31 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:42,120 of this type of attitude or anything such in him. 32 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:45,800 He's the same as he preached here as he does in every other 33 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:48,120 church conference or camp meeting that I've ever heard him 34 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:50,600 preach. He's the same, Amen, And I think 35 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:53,360 that's to be commended, Amen, here tonight. 36 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:56,640 We have been blessed over just the past few services by the 37 00:02:56,640 --> 00:02:58,120 ministry of the Word of the Lord. 38 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:01,680 And I know we will tonight because God's faithful Amen. 39 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:05,720 God's faithful Hallelujah. And so can we again, Amen. 40 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:08,880 Receive Brother Sam for tonight as he comes to minister the Word 41 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:11,480 of the Lord. Amen of this place this evening. 42 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:17,040 Amen. Let's one more time give the 43 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:21,760 Lord that praise. If you know He's worthy of your 44 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:24,120 praise, why don't you give Him praise right now? 45 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:33,760 It is. The goodness of God leadeth men 46 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:37,720 to repentance. Aren't you thankful you're 47 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:41,680 serving a good God? Oh, that men would praise the 48 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:47,520 Lord for He's good and His mercy endures forever. 49 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:51,800 That's the only two reasons I need to give God praise. 50 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:56,720 He's been good to me, and He's been merciful to me. 51 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:00,400 Anybody know what it's like to receive goodness when you didn't 52 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:03,440 deserve it? Anybody know what it's like to 53 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:05,560 receive mercy when you didn't deserve it? 54 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:08,680 If that's you, you have a reason. 55 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:11,440 You have two reasons to give God praise every day you live. 56 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:16,480 Amen. Because that's the basis of 57 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:18,600 praise. I can give him praise every day. 58 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:21,640 No matter what I've gone through, no matter what I'm 59 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:27,600 facing, He's still a good God and he's still a merciful God. 60 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:31,280 Aren't you thankful you serve that kind of God this evening? 61 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:34,160 Amen. What a great presence of the 62 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:38,680 Lord that is in this house. And thank you again to the 63 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:41,520 singers and musicians for leading us into worship. 64 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:48,840 And atmospheres like this don't just happen, but I believe God 65 00:04:48,840 --> 00:04:53,480 honors faithfulness and practice and dedication and doing all of 66 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:59,240 those things decently in an order to to create an atmosphere 67 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:02,560 for the Lord to move in. And I'm thankful for the 68 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:04,840 atmosphere that I feel in this room tonight. 69 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:09,240 I know you're standing, so I'll quickly go to Isaiah chapter 70 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:15,840 #52, Isaiah chapter #52, and I will begin at verse #9. 71 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:21,280 And as you're finding that, would like to say one more time 72 00:05:21,280 --> 00:05:23,800 that it's been an honor of mine to be here with you these last 73 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:28,000 few days and give honor to all of you for being in the House of 74 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:31,080 the Lord and for your faithfulness to revival. 75 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:36,440 And give honor to your great leadership that you have here, 76 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:40,960 your Bishop and his wife, and also to your pastor and his wife 77 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:43,480 and family. And don't you just love the 78 00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:47,920 McGee family? And I give them honor to not and 79 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:51,120 give honor to this great ministry team. 80 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:56,440 And it just, it takes a lot of things to make a church go, 81 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:02,080 takes a lot of ministries and a lot of people that make church 82 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:03,720 go. And I give all of you honor to 83 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:08,840 not and thank you for the hospitality and for the food and 84 00:06:08,840 --> 00:06:12,800 the fellowship in the room and my toy cars that I'm taking 85 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:16,720 home. And my kids may find them, they 86 00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:17,560 may not. I don't know. 87 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:22,240 I may just keep them for myself. But it's been an honor to be 88 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:25,520 here and thank you again. And it doesn't have to stop just 89 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:29,040 because a series of services come to an end. 90 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:34,720 You got prayer meeting tomorrow night, we got Pentecost Sunday, 91 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:41,760 Sunday, you can have Pentecost Sunday the next Sunday, and 92 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:43,920 Pentecost Sunday the Sunday after that. 93 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:47,040 That's just the thing about Pentecost. 94 00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:51,640 You can have it anytime, Amen. And I'm just excited about what 95 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:56,920 the Lord is doing. Isaiah chapter #52 verse #9 The 96 00:06:56,920 --> 00:07:03,200 prophet says, Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste 97 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:07,680 places of Jerusalem. For the Lord hath comforted his 98 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:09,560 people. This is why you break forth into 99 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:12,400 joy. This is why you sing together. 100 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:15,160 Because the Lord has comforted his people. 101 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:21,080 He hath redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord hath made bear His holy 102 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:23,120 arm in the eyes of all the nations. 103 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:27,600 All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. 104 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:32,760 Depart ye, depart ye. Go out, or go ye out from fence. 105 00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:36,800 Touch no unclean thing. Go ye out of the midst of her. 106 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,040 Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. 107 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:44,600 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor by flight. 108 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:49,800 For the Lord. Will go before you, and the God 109 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:54,920 of Israel will be your re reward. 110 00:07:56,920 --> 00:08:01,280 In the King James it is re reward as you see on the screen, 111 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:04,840 it's sometimes rearward. But the Lord. 112 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:09,560 Tells Israel, don't go out with haste, don't go out by flight 113 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:12,120 because I'm going to go before you. 114 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:19,680 The God of Israel will be your re reward. 115 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:25,440 I want to preach to you tonight for a few moments on this last 116 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:30,520 night of revival about the re reward of Israel. 117 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:37,640 The re reward of Israel. Why don't we one more time lift 118 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:43,679 our hands all over this house? And as our hands are lifted, why 119 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:47,760 don't we just continue to magnify the Lord and give Him 120 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:52,880 praise even without a song? And as we give him praise, why 121 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:55,200 don't we ask the Lord to speak His word in this house? 122 00:09:09,630 --> 00:09:13,750 In Jesus name, why don't you give him another great handclap 123 00:09:13,750 --> 00:09:18,430 of praise and you may be seated tonight. 124 00:09:19,230 --> 00:09:25,510 Thank you for standing. Isaiah chapter #52 is a very 125 00:09:25,510 --> 00:09:29,680 fascinating chapter concerning the people, the nation of 126 00:09:29,680 --> 00:09:33,320 Israel. We find God speaking to His 127 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:38,200 people through his prophet, telling them, in fact even 128 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:41,640 encouraging them to get intentional about their 129 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:46,520 transition from Babylon back to their sacred homeland of 130 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:50,280 Jerusalem. We remember that years prior, 131 00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:54,920 Nebuchadnezzar had breached the walls of that very sacred city 132 00:09:55,560 --> 00:09:58,960 and systematically destroyed its buildings and monuments. 133 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:03,320 It was such a devastating event that a many theologians call it 134 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:06,600 the sack or the destruction of Jerusalem. 135 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:10,120 The Temple of Solomon, one of the city's most important and 136 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:13,200 sacred structures, was burned to the ground. 137 00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:16,800 But not only did Nebuchadnezzar burn the Temple of Solomon to 138 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:21,320 the ground, but he also removed all of the treasures from the 139 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:22,520 Temple. Of the Lord. 140 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:26,560 The city walls were torn down, many people were killed and 141 00:10:26,560 --> 00:10:31,320 others were taken captive. And for the next 70 years, of 142 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:36,200 those who were taken captive lived in captivity in that 143 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:40,240 foreign land called Babylon. But it's in our text where we 144 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:44,280 found the Lord speaking to those same Israelites, speaking to 145 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:48,400 those same Jews, and tells them that it's time to leave this 146 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:52,640 captivity and return back to their homeland of Jerusalem. 147 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:55,960 And this is where we find the Lord telling them to break forth 148 00:10:55,960 --> 00:11:00,120 into joy and sing together. You waste places of Jerusalem. 149 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:04,840 He goes on to tell them that the Lord has comforted his people, 150 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:09,240 He has redeemed Jerusalem. He says that the Lord has made 151 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:13,120 bear his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the 152 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:16,720 ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God. 153 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:19,200 But it's them that the Lord commands them. 154 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:24,040 That while you're getting ready to go back to Jerusalem, I want 155 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:27,080 you to leave everything in Babylon that's unclean. 156 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:30,000 Anything to remind you of idol worship. 157 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:32,960 You are, Amanda, to leave that in Babylon. 158 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:36,560 But when you get ready to go back to Jerusalem, there is 159 00:11:36,560 --> 00:11:38,760 something that I do want you to take with you. 160 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:43,520 I want you to take all of the treasures Nebuchadnezzar taken 161 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:47,120 from the temple of Solomon and take them back with you to 162 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:50,320 Jerusalem, because those treasures were going to be 163 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:55,160 needful as Israel began the restored relationship with the 164 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:57,360 Lord. But it's in the midst of this 165 00:11:57,360 --> 00:12:00,360 great prophecy. It's in the midst of this great 166 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:05,080 command that the Lord then tells them that when you get ready to 167 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:09,080 leave Babylon and go back to Jerusalem, you're not going to 168 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:13,120 go out with haste and you're not going to go out by flight. 169 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:17,000 That word haste gives you the understanding that God was 170 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,160 telling them that you're not going to have to leave in a 171 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:21,160 hurry. And when He tells them that 172 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:24,240 you're not going to go out by flight, He's telling them that 173 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:27,400 you're not going to have to look over your shoulder and feel like 174 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:30,240 a fugitive. Because understand the Lord is 175 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:33,840 telling His people, people that when it's time to leave Babylon, 176 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:37,680 when it's time to leave your oppressors, when it's time to go 177 00:12:37,680 --> 00:12:41,800 back to Jerusalem, you don't have to be in a hurry and you 178 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:43,920 don't have to feel like a fugitive. 179 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:49,440 Those words are a stark contrast when it was time for Israel to 180 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:52,640 leave Egypt. It is back in Exodus chapter 12, 181 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:55,680 verse 39. But the Bible says when Israel 182 00:12:55,680 --> 00:12:59,240 got ready to leave Egypt that they baked unleavened cakes of 183 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:02,000 the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt. 184 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:06,240 For it was not leavened because they were thrust out of Egypt 185 00:13:06,560 --> 00:13:09,600 and could not tarry, neither have they prepared for 186 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:13,160 themselves any victual. Understand, when it was time for 187 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:16,760 Israel to leave Egypt, it had to happen immediately. 188 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:21,040 There could be no time wasted. There could be no tearing. 189 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:24,920 This is why the Bible says the bread was not leavened and they 190 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:28,280 were thrust out and they did not even prepare food for the 191 00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:32,080 journey because when it was time for them to leave in Egypt, it 192 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:35,560 had to happen immediately. But now when it's time to leave 193 00:13:35,560 --> 00:13:40,320 Babylon, God tells them the exact opposite. 194 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:44,280 He said you're not going to go out with haste and you're not 195 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:48,080 going to go out by flight. The Lord is commanding Israel 196 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:52,920 that your exodus from Babylon will not be like your exodus out 197 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:56,640 of Egypt. Israel, I understand that you've 198 00:13:56,640 --> 00:13:59,280 been living in captivity for 70 years. 199 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:04,360 In fact, the writer of Psalm 137 speaks of a time when they sat 200 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:07,840 by the rivers of Babylon and they wept when they remembered 201 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:10,400 Zion. They even hung their hearts upon 202 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:13,600 the willows because they didn't think they could sing the Lord's 203 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:18,400 song in a strange land. Israel, I understand it's been 204 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:23,200 decade after decade of fear and oppression, but there's no need 205 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:26,760 to hurry this delivery. There's no need to get anxious. 206 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:29,040 There's no need to overthink this. 207 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:31,640 There's no need to make rash decisions. 208 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:36,160 Israel, I just need you to get off from where you are and start 209 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:40,240 walking back to Jerusalem. Why did God give them this 210 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:43,120 command? He answers it in the same verse. 211 00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:46,600 He said you're not going to have to go out with haste and you 212 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:49,720 don't have to go out by flight for your Lord. 213 00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:54,720 We'll go before you understand God was telling Israel, you 214 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:57,960 don't have to rush this and you don't have to look over your 215 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:03,560 shoulder, because the same God who's with you right now is the 216 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:06,640 same God who's already gone before you. 217 00:15:07,040 --> 00:15:10,560 You just start walking back to Jerusalem, and if there's an 218 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:14,200 enemy between you and where you're going, by the time you 219 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:16,840 get there, it's going to be removed. 220 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:23,160 Because I am a God who goes before my people. 221 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:29,720 He's not just with us, but he goes before us. 222 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:32,600 Can I remind us that God is with us? 223 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:36,080 I'm preaching a simple principle right now, but somebody needs to 224 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:39,640 be reminded that God said that when you pass through the 225 00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:44,000 waters, I will be with you, and the rivers will not overflow. 226 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:47,440 And when you walk through the fire, it will not burn you, 227 00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:51,120 because God is with us. Yeah, though I walk through the 228 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:56,240 valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil because thou 229 00:15:56,240 --> 00:15:59,400 art with me. You see, there's a boldness and 230 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:02,520 a confidence that comes to my heart when I've got the 231 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:04,760 revelation. God's with me. 232 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:08,240 And I've come to tell this congregation, you don't have to 233 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:13,160 be afraid, and you don't have to be fearful because God is with 234 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:18,800 you. But he's not just with us. 235 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:23,000 God tells Israel, I'm already going before you. 236 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:29,520 This is exactly what Israel needs to hear in Deuteronomy 31. 237 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:35,120 They stand on the brink of the Jordan River, and just across 238 00:16:35,120 --> 00:16:41,040 Jordan is Canaan, a land that flows with milk and honey. 239 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:45,360 There's vineyards that they didn't plant, cities they didn't 240 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:47,880 build. It's a land that flows with milk 241 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:49,880 and honey. It's a promise 400 years in the 242 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:53,360 making, and they're on the threshold of walking in its 243 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:56,360 fulfillment. But instead of celebration, 244 00:16:57,160 --> 00:16:59,200 there's trepidation and uncertainty. 245 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:04,920 Why is Israel fearful to cross Jordan and walk into Canaan? 246 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:08,480 You've got to go back even further from Deuteronomy 31 247 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:12,359 because remember when the Lord told Moses to speak to the rock? 248 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:16,800 Israel's frustration bled over to Moses. 249 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:20,880 And now Moses becomes frustrated and instead of speaking to the 250 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:23,319 rock, he strikes it a second time. 251 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:26,760 And the Lord in his mercy allows water to begin to flow from that 252 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:30,120 rock. But God tells Moses, because of 253 00:17:30,120 --> 00:17:33,920 your disobedience, you're going to see the Promised Land, but 254 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:35,840 you'll never walk in the Promised Land. 255 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:41,720 And Israel understands Moses cannot cross over with us. 256 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:46,880 The same man that brought us out of Egypt and the same man that 257 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:50,680 led us through the wilderness is the same man that cannot take us 258 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:54,400 in to our promised land. And it's in this moment when 259 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:56,560 Moses understands I'm about to die. 260 00:17:56,800 --> 00:18:00,280 But before I die, I've got to give Israel some encouragement. 261 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:04,840 And This is why Moses tells him in Deuteronomy 31 that the Lord 262 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:09,160 thy God, he will go over before thee and destroy the nations 263 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:13,280 from before thy face. He it is that doth go with thee, 264 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:17,160 He will not fail thee, and he will not forsake thee. 265 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:21,000 But then he looks at Joshua, the man that's going to take up the 266 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:24,640 mantle, and said, Joshua, you need to get this in your spirit 267 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:27,360 as well. The Lord is with thee, but he's 268 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:32,000 also going to go before thee. He will not fail thee, and he 269 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:38,160 will not forsake thee. Fear not, neither be dismayed. 270 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:43,360 Moses tells Israel and Moses tells Joshua that the same God 271 00:18:43,360 --> 00:18:46,920 that's been with us up until where we stand is also the same 272 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:49,920 God that's with us right now. But he's already across the 273 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:53,880 Jordan taking care of our enemy. This is exactly what the Lord 274 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:58,040 told Cyrus when he said, I will go before thee and make the 275 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:01,280 crooked places straight. I will break into pieces the 276 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:05,480 gates of brass and cut in some of the bars of iron, and I will 277 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:09,840 give thee the treasures of darkness, and I'll also give you 278 00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:11,640 the hidden riches of secret places. 279 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:16,000 God says, Cyrus, there's no need to be afraid, because I'm going 280 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:19,000 to go before you. Another translation says I will 281 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:22,160 level every mountain and I will remove every obstacle. 282 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:24,960 He said I will break into pieces the gates of brass. 283 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:29,800 There were 100 gates of brass around Babylon, 25 on each side. 284 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:33,200 But God said you just keep walking and by the time you get 285 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:35,720 there, the gates of brass are going to be broken. 286 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:40,560 And I'll also cut and sunder the bars of iron, those very things 287 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:42,720 that held the city gates together. 288 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:46,120 I've come to tell this congregation, we don't have to 289 00:19:46,120 --> 00:19:50,760 worry and we don't have to fear, and we don't have to be dismayed 290 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:56,920 about what tomorrow may bring, because God is already in our 291 00:19:56,920 --> 00:20:01,960 tomorrow. Israel, you just keep walking 292 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:06,720 back toward the Promised Land. And if there's anything between 293 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:10,360 you and the fulfillment of your promise, I'm going to take care 294 00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:12,960 of it. And I'll tell everybody in this 295 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:14,400 room. That's why I don't have to worry 296 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:17,520 about what tomorrow may bring, and I don't have to worry about 297 00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:20,720 what challenges may come my way. And I don't have to worry about 298 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:24,480 what enemy may try to fight me. Because the same God who's with 299 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:32,840 me has already gone before me. He's already in June 2026. 300 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:41,440 And the Lord says Israel, you don't have to rush this because 301 00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:45,680 I'm already in front of you, but you don't have to go out by 302 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:49,040 flight. You don't have to look over your 303 00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:54,960 shoulder because the God of Israel is going to be your re 304 00:20:54,960 --> 00:21:00,520 reward. It is a word that is only used 305 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:04,240 six times in the King James Version of the Bible. 306 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:07,760 In fact, I think I'm safe in saying that re reward is a word 307 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:09,440 that nobody used in this room today. 308 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:14,640 Probably a word that most of us has never used in our life. 309 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:19,000 It's a rare word when it comes to scripture because it's only 310 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:22,480 used six times. It is a picturesque old English 311 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:26,240 term that is sometimes written rear ward like we saw on the 312 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:30,800 screen, but it means the rear guard or the troops in the rear 313 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:34,040 of a marching army. And to bring more understanding 314 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:37,480 to what this word actually means, this is exactly what the 315 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:42,320 tribe of Dan was for Israel Numbers chapter 10 verse 25 316 00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:45,000 tells us. And the standard of the camp of 317 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:49,400 the children of dance set forward, which was the re reward 318 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:54,880 of all the camps. Everybody wants to be the 319 00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:59,520 leader. Everybody wants to go first or 320 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:02,480 be first. I don't know anybody that lifts 321 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:04,760 their hands and says, I want to be in the back of the line. 322 00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:07,800 I don't know anybody that lifts their hands and says, I'll go 323 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:11,280 last. Everybody wants to go first. 324 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:15,720 Everybody wants to be as close as they can to the front. 325 00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:18,920 But can I tell you, God strategically looked over his 326 00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:21,480 people. He strategically looked down at 327 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:25,200 the nation of Israel and looked at the tribe of Dan and said, 328 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:28,160 Dan, I've got a responsibility I need you to fulfill. 329 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:32,080 I don't need you in the front of the nation and I don't even need 330 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:36,240 you in the middle. I need you to be the re reward. 331 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:40,080 I need you, Dan, to be all the way in the back. 332 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:44,760 See, many times when we read about Israel in the Old 333 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:48,800 Testament, the tribe of Judah would lead the people. 334 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:53,240 I'm reminded of the story of Jehoshaphat, who finds himself 335 00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:56,360 surrounded by the enemy, the Ammonites, and he doesn't know 336 00:22:56,360 --> 00:22:58,800 what to do. And so he has a prayer meeting 337 00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:01,480 and he says, Lord, you've got to tell me, what are we going to do 338 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:03,640 tomorrow? And the Lord says, I'll tell you 339 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:05,640 what we're going to do. We're going to do things a 340 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:08,680 little bit differently. Instead of sending the soldiers 341 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:11,280 in first, I want you to send the praisers. 342 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:13,560 I want you to send the worshippers in. 343 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:16,400 And can I tell you? Because Judah went first, 344 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:21,640 Because praise led the nation, God sent an ambush and destroyed 345 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:25,960 every enemy of the Israelites. Because something powerful 346 00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:30,520 happens when praise goes first. Something supernatural shifts 347 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:36,120 when I walk into any battle with praise in my heart. 348 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:42,560 But there's other times when the tribe of Levi would lead, the 349 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:46,360 priest would lead the people. In fact, when they stepped in 350 00:23:46,360 --> 00:23:50,200 the Jordan, it was the priest that carry the ark on their 351 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:52,720 shoulders. They were the ones that stepped 352 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:55,640 in the River Jordan. First, understand there were 353 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:58,440 times when praise led the people, and there were other 354 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:00,200 times when the priest led the people. 355 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:04,280 But God understood it's not enough to have a tribe but leave 356 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:07,920 my people. If I don't have somebody 357 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:12,640 protecting my people, what good is it to lead my people if 358 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:17,520 they're exposed and vulnerable? And so God understands I've got 359 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:19,920 Judah leading, I've got Levi leading. 360 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:25,080 But then he looks at Dan, says, Dan, you're not going to get a 361 00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:29,120 lot of pat on the backs. You're not going to get 362 00:24:29,120 --> 00:24:33,000 recognition on Facebook, but I need you all the way in the 363 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:36,800 back. See Dan wasn't distinguished 364 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:41,000 among the 12 tribes of Israel. In fact they were the last ones 365 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:44,440 to receive their portion, which was the smallest of the 12. 366 00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:48,360 But God looked at Dan, probably the most insignificant if you 367 00:24:48,360 --> 00:24:50,840 want to use that word, tribe out of all 12. 368 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:54,080 And God says Dan, I need you to do something. 369 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:58,720 I need you to be the re reward of Israel. 370 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:03,680 See, they were also called the collectors or the gatherers of 371 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:06,760 all the camps. They gathered up everything that 372 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:10,240 was left behind as the people begin to March forward. 373 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:13,760 You see, it was their responsibility to make sure all 374 00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:15,800 the women and children were accounted for. 375 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:19,800 They had to make sure that those who are weak and feeble were not 376 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:23,800 left behind. Dan collected and Dan gathered 377 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:30,920 everything and everybody, but they also secured Israel from 378 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:34,120 enemies who pursued them from behind. 379 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:39,800 It's amazing that in that same verse of Numbers 1025, you and I 380 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:43,120 are introduced to the commander of the rear guard. 381 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:47,520 His name is a He'ser. Son of Amish should die. 382 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:51,920 And when you put those two men's names together, you see the 383 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:54,640 beautiful picture God was painting through scripture 384 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:59,280 because the rearguard chief of Dan was a man named Dahezer. 385 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:03,680 His name means helper, but his father is Amish Shadaya, which 386 00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:07,040 means people of the Almighty. You see when you put those two 387 00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:11,040 names together, the re reward of Israel literally meant the 388 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:13,560 helper of the people of the Almighty. 389 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:17,520 You see, they help the people by collecting and they help the 390 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:22,240 people by God, but they also helped Israel by protecting them 391 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:30,840 from enemies they had no idea. See, the tribe of Dan, the re 392 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:35,840 reward could see things in the back that nobody could see in 393 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:39,560 the front. Oh, it's great in the front 394 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:41,080 because praise is leading the way. 395 00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:44,080 It's great in the front because the priesthood is leading the 396 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:46,320 nation. But can I tell you Dan had a 397 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:50,400 vantage point that praise did not have, and Dan had a vantage 398 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:54,280 point that Levi could not have. They were aware of enemies 399 00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:58,120 nobody else saw coming. They had an insight to dangers 400 00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:02,280 that lurked in the shadow. And God understood it's not 401 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:04,440 enough to have praise and priesthood leading. 402 00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:10,000 I've got to have somebody in the back who's going to fight and 403 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:16,880 guard and protect my people because praise by itself will 404 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:20,560 not get you to where you're going and the priesthood will 405 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:21,960 not get you to where you're going. 406 00:27:22,360 --> 00:27:25,640 I need somebody to be the re reward. 407 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:32,960 See, it's amazing that the tribe of Judah LED out of the 12 408 00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:39,560 tribes with men 20 years and older who could fight. 74,600 409 00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:43,720 men 20 years and older, they're leading Israel. 410 00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:51,400 The coming in at #2 out of the 12 was Dan. 62,700 men 20 years 411 00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:54,120 and older. Because praise would lead the 412 00:27:54,120 --> 00:27:58,240 nation but the re reward would protect the nation. 413 00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:03,600 The priesthood would guide the nation, but the re reward would 414 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:08,000 look over the nation. This is why Psalm 121 is so 415 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:11,560 powerful when you understand the context in which it was written. 416 00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:15,760 It is what they call the second song of ascent because Israel 417 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:18,600 would begin to sing it as they approach the heels of Jerusalem. 418 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:22,400 This is why the writer said, I will lift up my eyes until the 419 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:26,680 heels from which cometh my help, my help coming from the Lord, 420 00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:30,200 which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to 421 00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:32,760 be moved. He that keepeth thee will not 422 00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:35,240 slumber. Behold, He that keepeth Israel 423 00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:39,240 shall neither slumber nor sleep. He said, the Lord is my keeper. 424 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:41,680 The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. 425 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:45,440 The sun will not smite me by day, nor the moon by night. 426 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:48,880 He said the Lord will preserve me from all evil. 427 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:52,280 He will preserve my soul. The Lord is going to preserve 428 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:57,800 thy going out and not coming in from this time forth, even 429 00:28:57,800 --> 00:29:02,480 forevermore. They begin to sing that song as 430 00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:04,400 they walked up the hills to Jerusalem. 431 00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:07,640 I'll tell you why they sang it. I'll tell you why they got 432 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:10,480 excited about it. It's because they understood 433 00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:14,560 their safety in Jerusalem. There's protection in Jerusalem, 434 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:17,800 they said. The Lord is my keeper and the 435 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:23,920 Lord is going to preserve me. It's 2 words in the English, but 436 00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:27,160 it's one in Hebrew. Keeper and preserve both mean to 437 00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:29,480 hedge about, to guard and protect. 438 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:33,000 And that's why they sing it. It's because God taught them a 439 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:36,480 valuable lesson by giving Dan the responsibility of the re 440 00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:37,920 reward. I'll tell you. 441 00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:41,000 That's why they could sleep in a wilderness and not be afraid. 442 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:43,520 That's why they can lay their head down and nod and not be 443 00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:46,280 afraid. It's because the Lord is keeping 444 00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:48,880 me. The Lord is preserving me. 445 00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:53,240 The Lord has guarded and put a hedge. 446 00:29:55,640 --> 00:30:00,360 Around me. That's why they could lay down 447 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:05,520 at night and get sleep. Think about it. 448 00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:11,040 They're in a wilderness. The elements alone are dangerous 449 00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:14,840 enough to kill you. Now you've got animals to deal 450 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:19,560 with. Then you've got enemies to deal 451 00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:26,880 with, laying their kids down at night, surrounded by an 452 00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:29,280 environment that could kill you, surrounded by animals and 453 00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:30,600 enemies that could take your life. 454 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:35,240 When I read Psalm 121, I get the understanding that they can lay 455 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:39,920 down at night in peace because they understood Brother McGee. 456 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:44,240 Somewhere throughout those mountains, there's 63,000 men 457 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:50,080 watching over me. I can't see Dan, but Dan can see 458 00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:51,400 me. I don't. 459 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:54,960 I don't know where Dan is, but Dan knows where I am and he 460 00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:58,720 knows where my family is, and he's watching over my children. 461 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:01,040 That's why they can lay down, man. 462 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:02,560 I feel my Holy Ghost to tell you. 463 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:06,440 That's why we can lay down at night and get a good night's 464 00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:09,680 rest. It's because I understand God's 465 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:12,920 watching over me. God is protecting me. 466 00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:17,000 Can I tell somebody right now you ought to make up your mind? 467 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:19,920 I'm going to lay down the not cut the lights off, turn off the 468 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:24,040 phone and I'm going to get rest because God is my keeper. 469 00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:32,000 God is going to preserve me because the same language that 470 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:36,520 was used to describe Dan is the same language Isaiah uses to 471 00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:39,960 describe our God. Because what Dan done for 472 00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:43,800 Israel, here's what God does for us. 473 00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:50,680 Dan fought battles nobody else knew we're being fought. 474 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:55,040 And how many times has God fought battles for us? 475 00:31:55,480 --> 00:32:01,680 And we'll never know about it. How many times did Dan protect 476 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:04,280 Israel from things that they didn't even know were that 477 00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:06,480 close? And how many times has God 478 00:32:06,480 --> 00:32:09,600 protected us from things that were about to take us out? 479 00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:13,440 I'm preaching about a God who we may not see everything he does 480 00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:17,120 for us on this side of heaven, but I can lift my hands and 481 00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:21,560 celebrate because I know if it had not been for God who was on 482 00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:24,760 my side, I wouldn't be where I am tonight. 483 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:29,600 It's because God has become my re reward. 484 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:37,040 How many lives were spared because of Dan? 485 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:41,760 How many attacks were avoided because of the RE reward? 486 00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:46,920 How many tragedies were bypassed because Dan saw things? 487 00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:51,680 Oh, everything's great in the front, man. 488 00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:55,400 We're moving, we're progressing, but all hell is breaking loose 489 00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:59,600 in the back because Dan understands. 490 00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:02,800 I got to protect them. I've got to cover their blind 491 00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:04,960 spots. They can't see in every 492 00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:07,000 direction. So I'm going to strategically 493 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:10,880 place 63,000 men on the parameters in the backside of my 494 00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:15,000 people. See. 495 00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:20,840 It's usually not the things we see coming that affect us the 496 00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:25,000 most. I don't know about you, but if I 497 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:28,960 know it's coming, I can prepare for it now. 498 00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:31,240 It may be terrible, but at least I know it's coming. 499 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:35,320 But it's those things that we don't see coming. 500 00:33:35,320 --> 00:33:39,240 The blind side us, those unexpected trials that we didn't 501 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:43,160 see coming, those unexpected attacks from the enemy we had no 502 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:46,440 idea about. Those unexpected heartaches and 503 00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:48,760 situations. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm 504 00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:51,760 thankful that I have a God that's with me, and I'm thankful 505 00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:55,040 that I have a God that goes before me, but I'm also thankful 506 00:33:55,040 --> 00:33:57,000 that I have a God who walks behind me. 507 00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:02,480 And so I say that it's it's time to not only give God thanks for 508 00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:05,400 everything he's LED us through, I say that it's time that we 509 00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:08,520 give him thanks for everything that he's kept us from. 510 00:34:10,159 --> 00:34:11,719 I'm preaching to people in this room. 511 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:15,400 You've got testimony after testimony because you knew it 512 00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:17,600 was coming, but God LED you through it. 513 00:34:17,880 --> 00:34:20,840 But I'm of the persuasion that we've got just as many 514 00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:23,320 testimonies that we'll never know about. 515 00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:28,480 I'm talking about a car wreck that was just a moment away, but 516 00:34:28,480 --> 00:34:31,520 God spares you. I'm talking about a diagnosis 517 00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:33,880 that God didn't let take over your body. 518 00:34:34,320 --> 00:34:37,920 I thank God for everything I know about, but I'm also 519 00:34:37,920 --> 00:34:40,920 thankful for everything I'll never know about. 520 00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:44,480 And I say we ought to praise Him for that. 521 00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:51,840 We ought to thank Him for that because He's kept us, because 522 00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:58,520 He's preserved us. How many unseen victories do we 523 00:34:58,520 --> 00:35:00,480 have in this room that we'll never know about until we 524 00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:04,720 crossover? How many tragedies did God let 525 00:35:04,720 --> 00:35:08,160 us avoid? How many battles has God kept us 526 00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:10,760 out of? I'm preaching to people in this 527 00:35:10,760 --> 00:35:14,360 room who should even be here. I'm preaching to people you 528 00:35:14,360 --> 00:35:17,840 shouldn't even be alive but the only reason you're here and the 529 00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:21,400 only reason I'm here is because the re reward had in my back. 530 00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:25,320 The only reason I'm in the House of God tonight is because he was 531 00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:27,760 fighting battles I never saw him fight. 532 00:35:28,040 --> 00:35:31,240 He was holding back. He was holding back an enemy 533 00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:33,880 that I don't know is about to take over my family. 534 00:35:34,320 --> 00:35:38,200 I thank God for everything He brought me through, but I thank 535 00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:40,120 Him for everything He kept me out of. 536 00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:46,120 Come on. There ought to be somebody else 537 00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:48,920 that rejoices. I'm talking about unknown 538 00:35:48,920 --> 00:36:04,730 miracles, unseen victories. I'm talking about a God that's 539 00:36:04,730 --> 00:36:07,370 preserved us. I'm talking about a God that's 540 00:36:07,370 --> 00:36:09,370 kept us. And you may never know 541 00:36:09,370 --> 00:36:12,850 everything that He done for you on this side of heaven. 542 00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:23,680 But when we crossover and everything's revealed, David put 543 00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:29,840 it this way. Thy rod and thy staff, they 544 00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:39,320 comfort me. Thy rod and thy staff got to 545 00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:41,480 understand that the language David uses is that of a 546 00:36:41,480 --> 00:36:45,960 shepherd. He said that staff leads me. 547 00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:52,400 It leads me through things that I know about, but it's the rod 548 00:36:53,280 --> 00:36:56,120 that protects me from things that I may not know about. 549 00:36:57,400 --> 00:37:03,440 And David said because you lead me and protect me, it comforts 550 00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:06,560 me. That word comfort in the Hebrew 551 00:37:06,560 --> 00:37:11,280 means I sigh with relief when I understand God's going to lead 552 00:37:11,280 --> 00:37:15,000 me through everything I can see, but He's going to protect me 553 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:16,760 from those things that I cannot see. 554 00:37:20,120 --> 00:37:22,440 How many times have we gone through seasons of life and it 555 00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:25,440 felt like man, everything's great, couldn't get better? 556 00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:27,560 Have we gone through seasons of life and it felt like man, 557 00:37:27,560 --> 00:37:30,080 everything's great, couldn't get better? 558 00:37:31,280 --> 00:37:36,120 I'm going to tell you it's not an accident, but it's fighting 559 00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:40,200 on your behalf because I'm preaching about a God who 560 00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:43,600 doesn't just guide us, He guards us. 561 00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:47,000 I've come to tell this congregation you ought to take 562 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:51,680 consolation in the fact that God is going to be with you and he's 563 00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:55,520 going to go before you, but He's also going to walk behind you. 564 00:37:56,160 --> 00:37:58,080 Why do you think Isaiah went on to say that? 565 00:37:58,080 --> 00:38:02,960 Thy righteousness will go before me, but the glory of the Lord 566 00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:08,160 will be my re reward? I've heard a lot of preaching 567 00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:11,280 about glory the last few years, but I've come to learn through 568 00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:13,800 the Word of God. Glory has a divine location. 569 00:38:14,480 --> 00:38:16,440 It stands behind every man and woman. 570 00:38:17,320 --> 00:38:19,040 It's walking in the right direction. 571 00:38:20,720 --> 00:38:23,200 That's why Exodus 13 and 14, so powerful. 572 00:38:23,880 --> 00:38:26,160 Israel has been brought out of Egypt, but now in front of them 573 00:38:26,160 --> 00:38:30,400 is a Red Sea. In front of them is a Red Sea. 574 00:38:30,400 --> 00:38:34,800 They cannot pass, and closing in behind them is an enemy they 575 00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:38,840 cannot fight. Talk about being stuck between a 576 00:38:38,840 --> 00:38:42,560 rock and a hard place, and it's in this moment. 577 00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:47,960 But the Bible says that when Israel sees a Red Sea in front 578 00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:51,720 of them and 600 Chariots closing in behind them and all the 579 00:38:51,720 --> 00:38:53,280 Chariots of Egypt, he goes on to say. 580 00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:57,400 And all the. Captains, they say, did God 581 00:38:57,400 --> 00:39:01,040 bring us out of Egypt to let us die in the wilderness? 582 00:39:01,960 --> 00:39:04,400 Wherefore has he dealt thus with us? 583 00:39:05,200 --> 00:39:12,040 And Moses responds and says 5 powerful words, Fear you not 584 00:39:13,120 --> 00:39:21,840 stand still, get rid of fear and just stand still and do nothing. 585 00:39:23,320 --> 00:39:27,120 Sometimes the two hardest things that we have to confront our 586 00:39:27,120 --> 00:39:33,040 fears and doing nothing, because a lot of times the hardest thing 587 00:39:33,040 --> 00:39:38,000 to do is to do nothing at all. But God says if you can get rid 588 00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:41,040 of the fear and you can just stand still, you're going to see 589 00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:44,120 my salvation, which I will show you this day. 590 00:39:44,720 --> 00:39:47,160 For the Egyptians who you see today, you're going to see them 591 00:39:47,160 --> 00:39:50,920 no more. God says just stand still, slow 592 00:39:50,920 --> 00:39:56,440 down because if you go into the Red Sea before I do, you'll 593 00:39:56,440 --> 00:39:59,560 drowned. And if you try to fight Pharaoh 594 00:39:59,560 --> 00:40:05,880 by yourself, he'll kill you because the worst place to be. 595 00:40:06,720 --> 00:40:09,080 Is to be on the outside of the cloud. 596 00:40:11,640 --> 00:40:14,920 Why do you think when they got in the wilderness that cloud 597 00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:17,640 started moving? Usually understood, it's time to 598 00:40:17,640 --> 00:40:21,640 pack up and start moving. But when the cloud stayed, they 599 00:40:21,680 --> 00:40:25,400 begin to unpack and they count because the safest place to be 600 00:40:25,680 --> 00:40:28,120 is under the cloud. But the most vulnerable, 601 00:40:28,120 --> 00:40:31,160 dangerous place to be is to be outside the cloud. 602 00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:34,760 And that's why the Lord says you just stand still, and what's in 603 00:40:34,760 --> 00:40:36,360 front of you I'll take care of it. 604 00:40:36,720 --> 00:40:38,880 And what's behind you I'll take care of it. 605 00:40:39,280 --> 00:40:42,680 And that's why the Bible says that the Angel of the Lord, 606 00:40:42,880 --> 00:40:47,240 which had gone before the camp of Israel, removed himself and 607 00:40:47,240 --> 00:40:50,000 stood behind them. And the pillar of cloud I went 608 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:52,400 before their face, stood behind them. 609 00:40:52,760 --> 00:40:55,480 I think God was teaching Israel valuable lesson. 610 00:40:55,720 --> 00:40:58,440 Before you ever get in the wilderness, I want you to 611 00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:02,200 understand that I'm going to go before you and remove every 612 00:41:02,200 --> 00:41:06,480 obstacle, but I'm also going to stand behind you and protect 613 00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:09,080 you. Can I tell you? 614 00:41:09,080 --> 00:41:11,520 I think that's why there's a pillar of cloud by day. 615 00:41:11,880 --> 00:41:15,400 He's going to guide you, but there's a pillar of fire by not. 616 00:41:15,720 --> 00:41:18,520 He's going to guard you. And I've come to tell this 617 00:41:18,520 --> 00:41:22,680 congregation, we don't have to be afraid of what tomorrow 618 00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:28,840 brings, but we don't have to be afraid of what the enemy may try 619 00:41:28,840 --> 00:41:34,440 to do in the shadows, because he's the vanguard and the 620 00:41:34,440 --> 00:41:42,040 rearguard. Our prayers have changed 621 00:41:42,040 --> 00:41:45,960 recently. It's not a day that goes by 622 00:41:45,960 --> 00:41:47,520 where I don't pray for me and my family. 623 00:41:48,920 --> 00:41:52,840 I pray for God to be with us. I can't tell you the times I 624 00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:54,640 prayed the prayer that God gave Cyrus. 625 00:41:55,240 --> 00:41:56,960 Lord, go before us. Make every crooked place 626 00:41:56,960 --> 00:41:59,680 straight. I've prayed at numerous Times 627 00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:02,120 Now. I've added a little something to 628 00:42:02,120 --> 00:42:06,640 it. Don't just be with us and don't 629 00:42:06,640 --> 00:42:09,960 just go before us. Lord, I need you to walk behind 630 00:42:09,960 --> 00:42:13,880 me because I can't see everything. 631 00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:17,360 I need you to cover my blind spots. 632 00:42:18,040 --> 00:42:20,200 I need you to protect me and my family from things. 633 00:42:20,200 --> 00:42:21,720 I don't see that that's approaching. 634 00:42:23,640 --> 00:42:24,960 Can I tell somebody in this room? 635 00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:28,120 I think that's why the psalmist said you ought to just focus on 636 00:42:28,120 --> 00:42:32,200 two things that are behind you. Surely goodness and mercy will 637 00:42:32,200 --> 00:42:34,080 follow me all the days of my life. 638 00:42:34,400 --> 00:42:37,640 I think that's why he went on to say that you beset yourself 639 00:42:37,640 --> 00:42:41,000 behind me and before me, and you've laid your hand on me. 640 00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:44,400 You know what I pray now? I say, God, I want your hand on 641 00:42:44,400 --> 00:42:48,160 my family and I want you to be in front of me, but I also want 642 00:42:48,160 --> 00:42:56,400 your glory to stand behind me. They that trust in the Lord will 643 00:42:56,400 --> 00:43:01,280 be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed but abides forever as 644 00:43:01,280 --> 00:43:03,600 mountains around about Jerusalem. 645 00:43:04,160 --> 00:43:07,720 So the Lord is round about his people forever. 646 00:43:08,800 --> 00:43:12,280 What's the psalmist teaching us? He's saying that just as sure as 647 00:43:12,280 --> 00:43:15,840 the mountain surrounds Jerusalem, God surrounds his 648 00:43:15,840 --> 00:43:20,200 people. He's with us, He's in front of 649 00:43:20,200 --> 00:43:28,680 us, but he's also behind us. He's the re reward O magnify the 650 00:43:28,680 --> 00:43:33,240 Lord with me. Let us exalt his name together. 651 00:43:34,640 --> 00:43:38,920 Now that preaches good and we have no context of why we preach 652 00:43:38,920 --> 00:43:41,920 it. It sounds good during the 653 00:43:41,920 --> 00:43:44,000 worship service, Magnify the Lord with me. 654 00:43:44,640 --> 00:43:45,520 I don't know why. What? 655 00:43:45,520 --> 00:43:47,880 Let's just do it. Let's exalt. 656 00:43:47,880 --> 00:43:49,480 Is that why? I don't know, let's just do it. 657 00:43:50,720 --> 00:43:52,960 I'll tell you why the Bible says we can magnify the Lord 658 00:43:52,960 --> 00:43:55,240 together. And while we can exalt his name 659 00:43:55,240 --> 00:43:59,200 together, it's because 4 verses later he says I'll tell you why 660 00:43:59,200 --> 00:44:00,960 you can magnify and exalt the Lord. 661 00:44:01,640 --> 00:44:05,320 Because the Angel of the Lord encamps around about them that 662 00:44:05,320 --> 00:44:08,400 fear him and delivereth them all. 663 00:44:09,840 --> 00:44:12,440 And I tell everybody in this room, every morning we wake up, 664 00:44:13,520 --> 00:44:18,840 you ought to give him praise because he surrounds us and He's 665 00:44:18,840 --> 00:44:21,520 not just going to lead us through the things we do see 666 00:44:21,520 --> 00:44:25,400 coming. He'll protect us from the things 667 00:44:26,240 --> 00:44:31,160 we don't see coming. That's why verse #12 of our text 668 00:44:31,160 --> 00:44:36,280 is so interesting, because the language is different. 669 00:44:37,400 --> 00:44:39,960 He says don't go out with haste. Don't go out by flat for the 670 00:44:39,960 --> 00:44:43,120 Lord. All caps will go before you. 671 00:44:43,120 --> 00:44:48,040 Now you're well enough taught here that you know any time the 672 00:44:48,040 --> 00:44:52,200 word Lord is capitalized, that's the covenant name of God speaks 673 00:44:52,200 --> 00:44:56,040 of all of his promises. Jova Jarrah, Jovanese. 674 00:44:56,040 --> 00:44:58,640 It's all the covenant of promises God made with Israel. 675 00:44:58,960 --> 00:45:02,880 And so the Lord is saying all of your promises are still in front 676 00:45:02,880 --> 00:45:06,280 of you. Just keep walking toward them. 677 00:45:07,080 --> 00:45:10,760 But then he changes the language because he doesn't say the Lord 678 00:45:10,760 --> 00:45:16,840 will be your reward. He said the God of Israel, the 679 00:45:16,840 --> 00:45:19,960 Lord is going to go before you. Your promises are in front of 680 00:45:19,960 --> 00:45:24,240 you. But the Elohim of Israel, 681 00:45:25,600 --> 00:45:28,480 Elohim, God is power, my strength. 682 00:45:29,320 --> 00:45:32,080 It's the attributes of God. It's who God is. 683 00:45:33,040 --> 00:45:35,600 God is telling Israel you just keep walking toward your 684 00:45:35,600 --> 00:45:40,680 promise, and if there's anything between you and your promise, 685 00:45:40,680 --> 00:45:42,600 I'll take care of it by the time you get there. 686 00:45:44,040 --> 00:45:46,480 But if there's an enemy that tries to sneak up behind you in 687 00:45:46,480 --> 00:45:50,920 the process of walking, my power, my might, and my strength 688 00:45:51,840 --> 00:45:53,920 will protect you from those things you cannot. 689 00:45:56,640 --> 00:45:58,840 I've simply come to tell this church on the last night of 690 00:45:58,840 --> 00:46:03,440 revival. Just keep moving forward and 691 00:46:03,440 --> 00:46:08,120 keep pursuing every promise God's made you, because he's not 692 00:46:08,120 --> 00:46:11,640 a man that he should lie, nor the Son of Man that he should 693 00:46:11,640 --> 00:46:14,160 repent. Hath he said, shall he not do 694 00:46:14,160 --> 00:46:15,240 it? Hath He spoken, shall he not 695 00:46:15,240 --> 00:46:17,320 make it good? I've come to tell you every 696 00:46:17,320 --> 00:46:19,960 promise and every word and every declaration and every prophecy 697 00:46:20,320 --> 00:46:22,680 that God has spoken over this church and individuals in this 698 00:46:22,680 --> 00:46:25,240 church. God didn't lie to you and God 699 00:46:25,240 --> 00:46:28,240 didn't get your hopes up. Every promise is still in front 700 00:46:28,240 --> 00:46:30,080 of us. We just have to keep moving 701 00:46:30,080 --> 00:46:33,600 forward. But I've got good news to tell 702 00:46:33,600 --> 00:46:36,120 you that there's a re reward that's standing at your back. 703 00:46:36,600 --> 00:46:39,920 There's a God that's called the re reward that's going to 704 00:46:39,920 --> 00:46:47,960 protect us. They make their way to the 705 00:46:47,960 --> 00:46:54,280 keyboard this evening. We don't have to go out by haste 706 00:46:55,640 --> 00:47:01,320 and we don't have to look over our shoulders because there's a 707 00:47:01,320 --> 00:47:07,080 God who stands at our back. That's why I love that Jesus 708 00:47:07,920 --> 00:47:12,640 looks at his disciples that day. He says it's expedient that I 709 00:47:12,640 --> 00:47:16,320 leave you. In other words, it's better that 710 00:47:16,320 --> 00:47:20,760 I leave you then stay with you. They've been with him 3 1/2 711 00:47:20,760 --> 00:47:23,520 years. They've seen miracles, signs and 712 00:47:23,520 --> 00:47:27,960 wonders what's better than walking with him? 713 00:47:29,480 --> 00:47:31,920 The Lord said if I don't leave, I cannot send back the comforter 714 00:47:31,920 --> 00:47:33,360 in my name, which is the Holy Ghost. 715 00:47:34,200 --> 00:47:36,640 The only thing better than walking with Jesus is having 716 00:47:36,720 --> 00:47:40,160 Jesus living inside of you. And he said, if I don't leave, I 717 00:47:40,160 --> 00:47:44,360 cannot send back the comforter. We talked about it Monday night. 718 00:47:44,360 --> 00:47:47,560 It's rest. But that word comforter in the 719 00:47:47,560 --> 00:47:54,760 Greek is the word paraclete. And Jesus is using warfare 720 00:47:54,840 --> 00:47:59,520 battlefield terminology, because when you've got to understand 721 00:47:59,520 --> 00:48:03,880 that the word Paraclete means in the Greek that no soldier would 722 00:48:03,880 --> 00:48:08,080 go to battle by himself, but they would always go out two by 723 00:48:08,080 --> 00:48:12,440 two. Some suggest that's why Jesus 724 00:48:12,440 --> 00:48:14,840 sent them out two by two, because 2 is better than one. 725 00:48:16,480 --> 00:48:18,800 No soldier ever faced an enemy by himself. 726 00:48:18,800 --> 00:48:20,440 No soldier faced a battle by himself. 727 00:48:20,680 --> 00:48:24,080 They were always paired up, but they never stood shoulder to 728 00:48:24,080 --> 00:48:25,560 shoulder and fought in One Direction. 729 00:48:26,760 --> 00:48:28,400 They would always stand back-to-back. 730 00:48:29,800 --> 00:48:31,160 They were each other's empirically. 731 00:48:33,000 --> 00:48:35,560 Because if you're standing in my back, you can see things I can't 732 00:48:35,560 --> 00:48:38,760 see. But if I'm standing at your 733 00:48:38,760 --> 00:48:40,520 back, I can see things you can't see. 734 00:48:42,800 --> 00:48:48,160 And the Lord said, when the Holy Ghost comes, it will be rest, it 735 00:48:48,160 --> 00:48:49,920 will be a comforter, it'll be peace. 736 00:48:49,920 --> 00:48:53,800 In those troubled times, Lord was telling them that you'll 737 00:48:53,800 --> 00:48:56,000 never face a battle by yourself again. 738 00:48:58,120 --> 00:49:01,040 You'll never have to face an enemy by yourself again. 739 00:49:03,120 --> 00:49:07,400 Because His glory will be our re reward. 740 00:49:11,760 --> 00:49:14,000 There's fear in this house that God wants to take care of. 741 00:49:16,720 --> 00:49:19,120 That just came to me. I'm telling you, God's perfect 742 00:49:19,120 --> 00:49:25,600 love cast out all fear. Lord wants people to understand 743 00:49:26,600 --> 00:49:28,640 you ain't got to look over your shoulder figuratively or 744 00:49:28,640 --> 00:49:30,880 literally. What's going to happen next? 745 00:49:30,880 --> 00:49:34,520 What God says my glory stands at your back. 746 00:49:36,840 --> 00:49:38,800 Protect you from things that you'll never know? 747 00:49:38,800 --> 00:49:43,680 I wonder. If we can lift our hands right 748 00:49:43,680 --> 00:49:44,800 now all over the. House, 749 00:49:58,930 --> 00:50:01,290 I'm just going to tell somebody what the Lord told Israel that 750 00:50:01,290 --> 00:50:07,090 day. Fear you not stand still. 751 00:50:09,440 --> 00:50:13,440 We can get rid of the fear and get rid of trying to figure it 752 00:50:13,440 --> 00:50:15,880 out by ourselves. Just let the Lord take it. 753 00:50:17,720 --> 00:50:20,400 The Lord says you'll see my salvation this day. 754 00:50:23,120 --> 00:50:28,560 That Red Sea will part and the enemy will be taken care of 755 00:50:31,960 --> 00:50:34,280 because I'm the vanguard and the rear guard. 756 00:50:36,120 --> 00:50:38,360 I wonder, we could stand right now all over this house and our 757 00:50:38,360 --> 00:50:49,880 hands are still lived. We're about to transition, but 758 00:50:49,880 --> 00:50:56,160 that fear needs to leave because God has not given us a spirit of 759 00:50:56,160 --> 00:50:59,720 fear, of power, love, and a sound mind. 760 00:51:03,880 --> 00:51:06,000 I would say sometimes the best thing you can do is just quote 761 00:51:06,000 --> 00:51:07,720 Bible verses on what you're dealing with. 762 00:51:10,960 --> 00:51:13,240 I'm telling somebody right now, whatever you're dealing with, if 763 00:51:13,240 --> 00:51:16,000 you're dealing with fear, you ought to find every verse in the 764 00:51:16,000 --> 00:51:19,840 Bible that combats and attacks fear and start praying it every 765 00:51:19,840 --> 00:51:23,720 day that you wake up. Because if you're fearful, it 766 00:51:23,720 --> 00:51:27,400 did not come from God because God has not given us a spirit of 767 00:51:27,400 --> 00:51:30,760 fear, power loving, a sound mind, and perfect love. 768 00:51:30,760 --> 00:51:35,800 Cast out all fear. You ought to start waking up 769 00:51:35,800 --> 00:51:39,240 every morning and saying, Lord, I want you to be with me. 770 00:51:40,840 --> 00:51:45,080 I want you to go before me. I need you to walk behind me and 771 00:51:45,080 --> 00:51:49,480 protect me. I wonder right now they're about 772 00:51:49,480 --> 00:51:51,240 to play, sing, whatever they feel to do. 773 00:51:52,520 --> 00:51:54,800 But I wonder right now if you could grab somebody by the hand, 774 00:51:54,800 --> 00:51:58,040 if it's your family, if you want to do it, say, Lord, I want you 775 00:51:58,040 --> 00:52:03,840 to be our vanguard, but I also want you to be our rear guard. 776 00:52:06,520 --> 00:52:11,480 I want you to be that Paraclete that stands at my back and 777 00:52:11,480 --> 00:52:16,040 protects me from things. Well, I wonder if we can step 778 00:52:16,040 --> 00:52:24,790 out of our pews and come stand around this front right now as 779 00:52:24,790 --> 00:52:28,070 we individually and as a church collectively move forward. 780 00:52:31,680 --> 00:52:34,680 Simply come to remind you that God stands at your back. 781 00:52:40,800 --> 00:52:42,640 I feel a peace in this house right now. 782 00:52:42,640 --> 00:52:47,360 Well, why don't we lift our hands right now? 783 00:52:47,360 --> 00:52:49,160 They're about to play, say whatever they feel to do. 784 00:52:50,720 --> 00:52:54,760 There ought to be a confidence that comes in this room that God 785 00:52:54,760 --> 00:52:57,960 has not left his people exposed or by themselves. 786 00:53:01,320 --> 00:53:05,920 He's my re reward. If he's kept me to this point, 787 00:53:05,920 --> 00:53:07,400 he's going to keep me going forward. 788 00:53:07,400 --> 00:53:11,920 Well, I'm telling somebody, if God's gotten you to where you 789 00:53:11,960 --> 00:53:13,680 are, he's not going to walk away now. 790 00:53:14,520 --> 00:53:16,480 He's not going to. He's not going to forsake you 791 00:53:16,480 --> 00:53:23,680 now. Come on, let that word resonate 792 00:53:23,680 --> 00:53:28,600 in your spirit right now. He's not going to abandon me. 793 00:53:30,840 --> 00:53:34,000 You may feel alone, but you'll never be abandoned because God 794 00:53:34,800 --> 00:53:36,120 is the re reward.