1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,280 or contact us at my libertybaptist.org or just look 5 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,760 us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,080 message from God's Word will be a blessing to you. 7 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:26,640 Tell the message. Tonight this is is one that I 8 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:27,840 hope will be an encouragement to you. 9 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:31,240 And it's called the Two Keys to victory by talking about the 10 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:33,800 victorious Christian life. And I know I've mentioned. 11 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:36,880 On Wednesday nights, I came in right before 7:00 because I was 12 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:40,120 calling a baseball game right before I got to church. 13 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:42,520 So certainly something that I've never done before on a Wednesday 14 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:45,040 to. Leave a field at six. 45 and 15 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:47,760 stand on a platform at 7:00 and start church and something 16 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:49,200 hopefully I never have to do again. 17 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:52,440 Hopefully I don't mind doing them together, but maybe a 18 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:55,480 little bit of distance between being on a field and say just 19 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:57,440 outside and then, you know, say open your Bibles. 20 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:00,080 You know, it's just a, it was a very awkward transition a lot of 21 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:03,080 ways, particularly considering how serious the message was on 22 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:04,879 Wednesday night, of which I preach. 23 00:01:04,879 --> 00:01:08,240 But one of the things that we do during the broadcast over the 24 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:11,400 last few years as we have ad reads or certain people that 25 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:15,240 have sponsored Easton Community Access Television to do what we 26 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:16,760 do. And just as you know, that's a 27 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:19,640 volunteer effort on my part and the others, we don't get paid to 28 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:21,360 do it. It's just something we enjoy to 29 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:24,280 do to help the town and for me to be able to meet people in 30 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:26,080 town. But there are sponsors and I've 31 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:29,720 turned those sponsors into ad reads because I enjoy that 32 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:31,600 aspect of broadcasting and those things. 33 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:35,720 And you'll watch baseball sports online or sports on TV all these 34 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:38,720 years. And so one of those is ad reads 35 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:40,560 is for the keys of the game. It's in the middle of the 36 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:41,720 second. Any of the keys of the game are 37 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:43,200 brought to you by the Easton Lions Club. 38 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:44,480 Where there's a need, there's a line. 39 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:46,840 To find out more, go to eastonlions.com. 40 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:48,480 I like that. That's pretty good, isn't? 41 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:51,040 That's pretty good, isn't. Yeah, that's true. 42 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:53,920 Don't quit your day job, though. I'd rather do this, all things 43 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:56,800 considered. But during that middle portion 44 00:01:56,800 --> 00:02:00,000 of the second inning, I and the commentator that's with me, we 45 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:02,360 go over what we have considered to be the keys of the game. 46 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:05,000 We have looked at the strengths of the all of the Rings Tigers. 47 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:07,760 We've looked at the strengths of the visiting team, whoever that 48 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:09,800 may be. And so we have tried within our 49 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:13,200 mind to figure out what is the best way for all of our Ames to 50 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:15,400 win and what are the keys for them to be able to be 51 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:17,160 victorious. But I'll be honest with you, 52 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:21,120 more often than not, my keys to victory have nothing to do with 53 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:24,160 that ends up happening in the game because the game, you just 54 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:25,520 don't know what's going to happen, right? 55 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:29,240 I mean, there was the time last year when they were playing the 56 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:31,320 best team in the league. All of our aims were the worst 57 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:33,040 teams the league. The key to victory was kind of 58 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:35,320 like, we'll just survive. I mean, that was it. 59 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:37,440 I couldn't say that on the television, but that's what it 60 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:38,640 was. And they ended up winning and 61 00:02:38,640 --> 00:02:40,520 end up winning big. There are times that I think the 62 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:43,240 key to victory is they need to have more offense and they end 63 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:45,400 up not having none. There's times that it's about 64 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:47,200 pitching and it really has nothing to do with pitching. 65 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:49,880 On Wednesday night, I said the umpires have a big strike zone 66 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:53,600 because you try to get the game in before darkness around 7:00, 67 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:56,600 and so the hitters just need to hit away because the strike 68 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:58,440 zones would be big. That was a small strike zone 69 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:00,160 we've had all year. It's like the umpire just want 70 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:02,280 to be out there till dark. I don't know what it was. 71 00:03:02,640 --> 00:03:05,640 What I'm saying is I may think that I know the keys, but I 72 00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:07,520 don't. A broadcaster may think that 73 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:10,040 they know the keys to victory and they don't. 74 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:13,400 But you know, when we consider the victorious Christian life, I 75 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:16,200 am so thankful that when it comes to victorious Christian 76 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:20,040 life, it is not a moving target like the keys to victory in a 77 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:22,160 ball game. That when it comes to the issue 78 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:26,080 of how you can live victorious in Jesus Christ, I don't have to 79 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:28,760 stand up here tonight and say, well, I hope this is it. 80 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:33,120 I wonder if this will work. I hope you can have success and 81 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:35,680 then find out later that I was completely wrong. 82 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:39,520 Because if it's in my mind, my thoughts, my heart, well, we 83 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:42,640 know that that just isn't exactly what is going to get you 84 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:44,920 where you need to go in your spiritual life. 85 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:48,280 But yet, as we look at Joshua chapter #6 this evening, and as 86 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:51,280 you may know, that chapter is a pivotal chapter in the life of 87 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:54,200 Israel because it was where Joshua fought the battle of 88 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:58,320 Jericho. And there's some very key helps 89 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:01,440 for us not to win. Physical battles in this life. 90 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:04,600 But rather to win the spiritual battles that we go through. 91 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:07,080 And I want us to look at these keys to victory tonight because 92 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:10,280 what Joshua went through with the Angel of the Lord, as well 93 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:12,880 as the game plan, if you will, that was given to him. 94 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:15,360 There's some very real principles that will help us 95 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:19,279 here and now to be able to have success, good success, as it's 96 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:22,920 called, Joshua chapter 1, the Lord's success in our spiritual 97 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:24,360 life. So would you stand please, to 98 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:25,960 read God's Word? It's going to be a little bit of 99 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:28,800 a longer section this evening, if so, if you're able. 100 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:30,600 John. John, that was this morning. 101 00:04:30,840 --> 00:04:33,400 Joshua chapter #6. Verse #8. 102 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:39,040 And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that 103 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:42,040 the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of Ram's horns 104 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:45,560 passed on before the Lord, and blew with the trumpets, And the 105 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:47,720 ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. 106 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:50,360 And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the 107 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:53,080 trumpets. And the re reward came after the 108 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:56,440 ark, the priests going on and blowing with the trumpets, And 109 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:59,520 Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor 110 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:02,800 make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed 111 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:05,280 out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout. 112 00:05:05,280 --> 00:05:07,520 Then shall you shout so the. Ark of the. 113 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:09,880 Lord can pass the city going about it once. 114 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:12,360 And they came into the camp and lodged in the camp. 115 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:15,840 And Joshua rose early in the morning and the priest took up 116 00:05:15,840 --> 00:05:18,640 the ark of the Lord. The seven priests bearing 7 117 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:22,120 trumpets of ram's horns before the ark of the Lord went on 118 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:25,040 continuing blew with the trumpets, and the armed men went 119 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:27,440 before them. But the re reward came after the 120 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,000 ark of the Lord, the priest going on and blowing with the 121 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,320 trumpets. And the second day they can pass 122 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:34,080 the city once and return into the camp. 123 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:36,480 So they did six days, you said? Pastor, I thought you said there 124 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:38,880 was a battle here. Well, this is the Battle of 125 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:42,040 Jericho, but it certainly looks different than what we would 126 00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:43,520 call a normal battle. Wouldn't we? 127 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:47,360 Well, let's continue. And it says, And it came to pass 128 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:50,880 verse 15 on the 7th day, that they rose early about the 129 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:53,440 dawning of the day, and could pass the city after the same 130 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:56,520 manner 7 times. Only on that day they can pass 131 00:05:56,520 --> 00:06:00,080 the city 7 times. And it came to pass the 7th time 132 00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:02,560 when the priest blew with the trumpets, Joshua said, And the 133 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:07,440 people shout, For the Lord hath given you the city, And the city 134 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,600 shall be accursed, even it and all that are therein to the 135 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:12,520 Lord. Only Rahab the harlot shall 136 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:15,120 live. She and all that are with her in 137 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:17,960 the house, because she hid the messengers that were sent. 138 00:06:18,280 --> 00:06:21,120 And ye in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed 139 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:24,120 thing, lest you make yourselves. Accursed, when you take of the 140 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:26,880 accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel cursed and 141 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:29,200 trouble it. But all the silver and gold and 142 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:32,480 vessels of brass and iron are consecrated unto the Lord, they 143 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:34,800 shall come into the treasury of the Lord. 144 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:37,720 So the people shouted when the priest blew with the trumpets. 145 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:40,240 And it came to pass when the people heard the sound of the 146 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:42,680 trumpet and the people shouted with a great shout. 147 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:46,200 That the wall fell down flat. So that the people went up into 148 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:49,160 the city, every man straight before him, and they took the 149 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:52,400 city, and they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both 150 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:56,280 man and woman, young and old, the ox and sheep and ass with 151 00:06:56,280 --> 00:06:59,400 the edge of the sword. But Joshua had said unto the two 152 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,520 men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot's 153 00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:05,640 house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as 154 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:07,760 you swear unto her. And the young? 155 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:10,760 Men that were spies went in and brought out Rahab and her 156 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:13,520 father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had, 157 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:16,920 And they brought out all her kindred, and left them without 158 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:19,840 the camp of Israel, And they burnt the city with fire, and 159 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:22,360 all that was therein. Only the silver, the gold, the 160 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:25,200 vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of 161 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:28,200 the House of the Lord. And Joshua save Rahab the harlot 162 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:31,200 alive, her father's household, and all that she had. 163 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:34,560 And she dwelt in Israel even unto this day, because she hid 164 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:37,880 the messengers which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. 165 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:41,400 You may be seated what you. SAW was no ordinary battle. 166 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:45,640 And that's because Jericho was no ordinary city, and the people 167 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:48,720 of Israel on their own had no business winning this battle. 168 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:51,760 But yet when God intervened. Could we put it this way when 169 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:55,880 God gave the keys to victory that Israel could not lose if 170 00:07:55,880 --> 00:07:59,000 they followed that which the Lord had placed before them So I 171 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,080 wanted to look at that here tonight, the 2 keys to victory 172 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:04,160 how you can have victory in your. 173 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:07,160 Spiritual life, Heavenly Father, be with us as we continue this 174 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:08,920 message. Help me to portray these 175 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:10,880 principles right as they are, through the Word of God, 176 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:13,160 straight and true. Help us to be able to hear, to 177 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:15,880 learn, to understand and to put into practice that which we 178 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:18,600 received tonight. And we do ask it in Jesus name, 179 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:21,800 Amen. Well, Joshua is fresh off an 180 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:24,840 encounter with the. Lord, the host of the Lord, 181 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:26,640 rather, the captain of the host of the Lord. 182 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:30,240 You might remember that Joshua had met this man and seemingly 183 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:31,920 was a man. I do believe it was a. 184 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:35,640 Pre Incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ he comes before him 185 00:08:35,799 --> 00:08:38,400 and he says, Joshua says whose side are you on? 186 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:41,480 On my side, on Israel's side or the side of our enemies and the 187 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:44,080 captain of. The Lord of the of the host of 188 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:47,000 the Lord says nay and that really wasn't one of the options 189 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:49,240 that Joshua gave him. It was either one or the other 190 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:52,640 and the Lord says no, I am not. So the reason why was because 191 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:55,080 the Lord wasn't on someone's side. 192 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:57,880 This is really a principle for us in our lives that we don't 193 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:00,200 just get to quote get the Lord on our side. 194 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:03,160 We need to be on the Lord's side that we make sure that we don't 195 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:05,920 just carry them around in our pocket or carry them around on 196 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:08,200 our neck as well. I have the Lord on my side 197 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:10,840 because I've done XYZ. You know, you need to be, and I 198 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:12,800 need to be exactly where the Lord wants us to be. 199 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:14,760 That's the desire of the Lord's heart. 200 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:17,840 Well, all of this has taken place and now a plan has been 201 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:22,160 given from the Lord directly to Joshua, and that plan has been 202 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:24,800 communicated. We saw it right here in the 203 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:26,640 text. And interestingly enough, you 204 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:29,560 know, you and I, maybe not, we don't blink at this too much 205 00:09:29,560 --> 00:09:32,360 because as always, when we're reading the Word of God, these 206 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:33,840 are events that have already happened. 207 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:38,440 And we get to see a whole week's worth of events take place in a 208 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:40,160 reading of about two or three minutes, right? 209 00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:43,000 So there's really no mystery that's involved when we read the 210 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:45,040 word of God. Even if you have read this for 211 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:46,880 the first time, let's say you've never read it before. 212 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:50,200 Still, there's not a lot left to the imagination because we went 213 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:52,760 from the beginning of the end of these seven days in just a few 214 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:55,000 minutes. Now imagine are the people of 215 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:57,120 Israel. They are ready to go into their 216 00:09:57,120 --> 00:09:58,800 first battle across the promised land. 217 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:00,160 They've crossed the Jordan River. 218 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:02,280 They've wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. 219 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:06,400 It is finally time to get to battle these, these amoral, 220 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:09,640 these ungodly nations that are there, that have been defiant to 221 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:11,800 God for generation after generation. 222 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:14,720 The Bible says their cup of iniquity is now full and 223 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:17,560 judgment is about to come, and God is going to use the 224 00:10:17,560 --> 00:10:21,160 Israelites to do just that. But their very first stop is 225 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:24,120 Jericho. And Jericho is a very formidable 226 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:26,480 place in so many ways. Why? 227 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:31,880 Because Jericho was a large walled city and walled in such a 228 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:35,320 way that it seemed to be at that time, impenetrable. 229 00:10:35,680 --> 00:10:38,920 Now I have some perspective on this type of thing from going to 230 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:42,560 Scotland just a few weeks ago and getting to see, for 231 00:10:42,560 --> 00:10:45,040 instance, Edinburgh Castle. Kaylee's been to Edinburgh 232 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:47,160 Castle before. He's seen Edinburgh Castle and 233 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:49,320 there is right there in the middle of the city, just this 234 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:54,360 old city on top of a rock, on top of a inactive volcano. 235 00:10:54,680 --> 00:10:57,600 There it is, a castle that's sitting right there with walls 236 00:10:57,600 --> 00:10:59,360 around it. And you look at it even in 237 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:01,960 modern day and think, how would I scale something like this? 238 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:05,280 How would I get to the top? How would we take over something 239 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:06,800 like this? No, I wasn't planning a coup. 240 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:08,760 All right, I want to make sure I wasn't thinking that way. 241 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:11,320 I would like to get a visa again if I'd go, but in the future, So 242 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:13,440 I'm being careful what I say. But if you were just to look at 243 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:16,480 it, you think, humanly speaking, how on earth could we scale 244 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:18,440 something like this? How on earth could somebody 245 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:21,560 break into something like this? And that's why something like 246 00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:25,760 that has stood there for well over 1000 years because of the 247 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:28,920 walls that were there. Well, the walls of Jericho were 248 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:32,360 some of the most impenetrable, if not the most impenetrable 249 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:35,400 that you would find anywhere. In fact, according to Answers of 250 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:40,400 Genesis, the idea of the walls of Jericho as it is portrayed in 251 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:43,480 the Word of God, giving more a little bit more understanding 252 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:47,720 because of modern archaeology, which has confirmed that which 253 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:49,120 has been found in the Word of God. 254 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:51,760 And we shouldn't be surprised if archaeology confirms the word of 255 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:53,840 God, Amen. Because the word of God is true. 256 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:57,080 The Word of God is not a history book, but yet when it speaks of 257 00:11:57,080 --> 00:11:58,600 history, it always speaks truthfully. 258 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:01,480 The Word of God is not an archaeological book, but when it 259 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:04,480 speaks of archaeology, it speaks truthfully and we can go right 260 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:06,360 down the line. The Word of God is not any of 261 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:08,480 those types of books. I would say this, the Word of 262 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:10,200 God is a life book more than anything. 263 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:13,000 It's by what we live our lives. But when it talks about any 264 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:16,760 other subject, it always speaks truthfully because the book is 265 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:19,280 perfect. But Answers in Genesis is the 266 00:12:19,280 --> 00:12:22,880 mound or tell of Jericho was surrounded by a great earth and 267 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:26,080 ram part or embankment with a stone retaining wall at its 268 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:28,400 base. The retaining wall was some four 269 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:30,880 or five meters, about 12 to 15 feet high. 270 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:34,920 On top of that was a mud brick wall. 2 meters or 6 feet thick, 271 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:38,360 and about 6 to 8 meters 20 to 26 feet high. 272 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:40,160 At the crust of the embankment was a. 273 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:44,960 Similar mud brick wall whose base was roughly 14 meters or 46 274 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:47,680 feet above the ground level outside the retaining wall. 275 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:50,920 This is what loomed high above the Israelites as they marched 276 00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:54,480 around the city each day for. Seven days and they added. 277 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:58,080 Humanly speaking, it was impossible for the Israelites to 278 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:01,280 penetrate the impregnable bastion of Jericho. 279 00:13:01,560 --> 00:13:03,880 Think of this impressive structure that would have. 280 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:08,040 Risen somewhere around 7 to 8 stories high at the very least. 281 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:10,680 It was also quite thick. They said Chariots could run 282 00:13:10,680 --> 00:13:13,920 several abreast a top of the Walls of Jericho. 283 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:17,120 We know that it was thick enough that Rahab could have had a 284 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:20,000 household that was literally built inside of the wall, that 285 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:22,880 there were apartments, if you will, that were built inside of 286 00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:24,760 that wall where people were able to live. 287 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:27,720 These walls were tall. These walls were thick. 288 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:31,000 We're not talking about the ways of Modern Warfare that you could 289 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:34,480 break down such a wall. What we have here is something 290 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:38,040 that seems impenetrable in so many ways. 291 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,960 What was it going to take for them to be able to win? 292 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:43,800 Well, it was going to take courage. 293 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:46,360 It would have taken courage to get the victory. 294 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:48,600 Why? Because as we saw here just a 295 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:51,600 moment ago, they were going to wander around, weren't they? 296 00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:55,160 They were going to wander for six days, once a day around the 297 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:58,280 city, and then on the 7th day, 7 times around. 298 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:01,520 Could you imagine the courage it would have taken to have to walk 299 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:05,040 around knowing that you weren't able to use your sword, that you 300 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:07,200 weren't able to be able to defend yourself? 301 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:09,360 Now, sure, again, we've read the story. 302 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:12,240 We know how it ends, but I'm talking about these people who 303 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:14,920 haven't read the story because they're living it now. 304 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,040 What are they doing when they are told that the rules of 305 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:21,400 engagement of this don't use your sword, don't talk. 306 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:24,040 All that's going to happen is the shofar. 307 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:27,320 That's the ram's horn is going to blow, but that's it. 308 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:29,800 Now, the shofar was something that was very affordable. 309 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:32,520 I don't know how many of you heard a shofar blow before. 310 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:33,960 I know, brother. Dan and I are. 311 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:37,000 Privy to it Evangelist who blows the shofar he sometimes. 312 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:39,480 Struggles being able to blow it because it's not an easy 313 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:42,200 instrument to be able to blow, but it's literally a hollowed 314 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:45,480 out ram's horn. And once it's blown in a proper 315 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:48,640 way, it's a pretty amazing sound. 316 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:51,840 But yet that's all. I mean, in modern history, we 317 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:54,680 know that there are sometimes music that's incorporated or 318 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:58,640 even in in history past in warfare, that history or that 319 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:01,080 music is a part of that. To be able to rally the troops, 320 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:05,280 but to rally them to do what? Just walk and that's it took 321 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:07,320 courage. It would have taken endurance. 322 00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:10,720 They had to March for six days persisting in something that 323 00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:13,160 didn't make a whole lot of sense in their mind. 324 00:15:13,280 --> 00:15:15,240 They had to have discipline. Why was that? 325 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:17,720 Because they were told there's some things that are there that 326 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:20,440 you're not allowed to touch. Things that were called the 327 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:22,960 first things that will end up being a problem in the next 328 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:24,800 chapter. When someone decides that they 329 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:27,440 are to take of those things that God told them not to take. 330 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:30,680 It wouldn't just take courage and endurance and discipline, 331 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:34,480 but it would also cause them to recognize their helplessness. 332 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:37,280 They were utterly helpless on their own. 333 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:41,240 There was nothing they could do. Now we find other place in the 334 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:43,360 word of God that there were times that people who were 335 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:47,640 inside a walled city would attack by dropping a millstone 336 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:50,960 on someone who was walking around the outside of the wall. 337 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:53,760 Could you imagine their helplessness? 338 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:57,920 They looked up that wall and thought all they have to do is 339 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:00,360 just drop. Something down from there and 340 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:02,680 I'm dead and there's nothing I can do. 341 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:06,200 How could they win such a battle? 342 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:09,320 Humanly speaking, it was impossible. 343 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:12,160 But as we look at the keys to victory tonight, there's two 344 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:15,400 that I want to make clear to us because we are not fighting a 345 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:18,440 physical battle this evening. This is not a message for me to 346 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:21,840 incite you to be able to say that we need to go out and fight 347 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:23,520 some sort of physical battle tonight. 348 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:26,520 That is not what I am Speaking of in any way, shape or form. 349 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:29,880 But I am saying this, that the Christian life itself is full of 350 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:33,160 spiritual battles, that there are spiritual victories that we 351 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:36,160 must win, that we must overcome sin, we must overcome 352 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:38,640 temptation, we must overcome difficulty. 353 00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:41,040 We must overcome those things that have been brought into our 354 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:42,960 life. Well, what are the quote, UN 355 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:46,320 quote, keys to victory for us? Well, the Bible makes it clear 356 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:48,360 that there are two. We find them both here in our 357 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:50,160 text. I'd encourage you to write these 358 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:51,920 down for your own edification tonight. 359 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:54,960 And the first is this. The victorious Christian life 360 00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:59,360 requires God's leadership. The victorious Christian life 361 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:03,320 requires God's leadership. Let me be clear with you 362 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:07,359 something this evening. On their own, Israel had no 363 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:12,599 chance of winning this battle. We have to start from this place 364 00:17:12,599 --> 00:17:16,440 tonight. Israel on their own had no 365 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:21,000 chance to win this battle. Now in ancient warfare, there 366 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:24,160 were probably 3 different ways that Israel could have 367 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:27,000 conceivably won a victory against. 368 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:30,160 Actually more than three, but several ways that they could 369 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:32,760 have won the victory against such a defense city. 370 00:17:32,760 --> 00:17:35,440 The first would be a full frontal assault. 371 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:40,120 Knowing that many people would die, you could have lost a great 372 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:43,000 portion of your force as you're throwing them in the meat 373 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:47,320 grinder of the battle. You could siege, have a siege 374 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:50,320 around a city like that, try to starve them off, be able to 375 00:17:50,360 --> 00:17:53,160 surround them to make sure that they didn't have any more 376 00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:55,240 resources. And eventually there would have 377 00:17:55,240 --> 00:17:59,920 to be some level of conciliation between the people who are being 378 00:17:59,920 --> 00:18:01,800 sieged and the people on the outside. 379 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:05,520 There were times that they tried to invaders tried to weaken the 380 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:08,440 stone walls with fire or by tunneling. 381 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:10,520 Sometimes they would. Heap Earth. 382 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:14,320 Just dirt up and try to make a ramp up to the top of the wall 383 00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:18,000 so that men could just literally run up to the top of the wall. 384 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:20,960 It's certainly that would be possible with smaller walls, but 385 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:23,840 not one that was. 75 feet. Or so tall. 386 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:27,760 And each of these methods of assault could take weeks or 387 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:29,960 months. And the attacking force usually 388 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:34,040 suffered great, great losses. So we look at this and we say, 389 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:35,760 how on earth could they have won? 390 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:39,960 Well, we know because there was a reckoning, A census that was 391 00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:44,000 taken some time for that. Israel's fighting for some time 392 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:47,000 around right where we are in Joshua chapter 6. 393 00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:50,960 Their manpower would have been somewhere around 600,000 394 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:53,720 soldiers. Most certainly they would have 395 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:57,320 had more soldiers than those who were contained inside of 396 00:18:57,320 --> 00:18:58,840 Jericho. There was no way that there 397 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:02,760 would have been a fighting force of 600,000 inside the walls of 398 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:05,800 Jericho. So he has some choices. 399 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:09,040 Humanly speaking, as I mentioned, he can just throw 400 00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:12,600 those men into a meat grinder. And I think of the Civil War and 401 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:15,640 I think of men like Ulysses S Grant that literally just threw 402 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:19,920 men in the middle of a battle and knew that it was going to 403 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:21,240 come at great. Cost. 404 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:24,440 But yet that was the only way that victory would be secured. 405 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:27,160 And that was one of the reasons Abraham Lincoln elevated Ulysses 406 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:29,560 S Grant was he said. What I like about him is he 407 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:32,320 knows how to fight. But he also understood that it 408 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:36,160 came at a great human cost. I would submit to you that even 409 00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:40,720 with 600,000 men, it would have been near impossible, if not 410 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:44,600 impossible for a full frontal assault to breach those types of 411 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:47,840 walls because still you have the problem of you can't get through 412 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:50,200 the walls no matter how many men you have. 413 00:19:50,480 --> 00:19:52,720 Now, the second is the siege. And there's a part of you that 414 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:55,000 says, well, maybe the siege would have worked out well 415 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:58,400 because there were so many of Israel on the outside and there 416 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:01,320 was so little comparatively speaking, of Jericho on the 417 00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:02,760 inside. And that is true. 418 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:04,560 And so there was the possibility. 419 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:06,840 Of a siege. But here's the problem that we 420 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:09,560 find out as we continue to read the book of Joshua, which we 421 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:12,760 won't do tonight, but you could do this on your own, that sure, 422 00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:16,360 there were fewer inside of Jericho than the Israelites on 423 00:20:16,360 --> 00:20:18,200 the outside. But here's the problem. 424 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:22,440 If the Israelites tried to apply a siege, there was more of the 425 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:26,160 Canaanites that were in the land than there were of the 426 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:28,680 Israelites that were there. So sure, the Israelites could 427 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:32,400 have applied a siege, but very quickly the other hosts of the 428 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:35,120 Canaanites that were around would have wiped Israel off the 429 00:20:35,120 --> 00:20:37,800 face of the map. And there was a time when there 430 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:41,200 were several city states of Canaan that tried to come 431 00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:44,160 together, new confederacy and tried to beat Israel. 432 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:46,920 So a siege is impossible because you can't. 433 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:52,640 You can't just starve out of people who are themselves could 434 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:55,520 be rescued by the other people that are outside of you. 435 00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:58,080 And then we just talked about the earthen works to try to get 436 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:00,240 up to the top of the wall. It's not going to work with a 437 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:02,640 wall that's that wide and a wall that's that bit big. 438 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:07,280 Here's the issue. On their own, they can't win. 439 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:12,000 The Christian writer W Philip Keller, who wrote a wonderful 440 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,000 book about Joshua. I would encourage you to read 441 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:15,320 it. I have it in my office. 442 00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:18,120 It's one of those that I've read multiple times. 443 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:21,080 He said this In reality. It was God's wisdom. 444 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:26,560 God's spirit, God's power, God's presence, God's hand at work 445 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:29,240 behind the walls of Jericho that finally flattened them. 446 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:31,480 It was in truth. And an actual. 447 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:35,920 Fact that God who gave Israel this tremendous triumph. 448 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:41,680 The only way Israel could win was by following God's plan. 449 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:48,440 What was the plan? March, be quiet, blow the 450 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:55,000 trumpet. Day 7, March 7 times when the 451 00:21:55,000 --> 00:22:00,040 trumpet blows its final blow, shout and the walls will fall. 452 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:03,160 Now again, they're spent one day in the military. 453 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:05,200 I've hung around Dave a lot, but other than that, I've never 454 00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:08,640 spent one day in the military. But I know this. 455 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:12,480 That is one of the, humanly speaking, worst battle plans you 456 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:15,840 can find. I can't imagine the Secretary of 457 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:17,880 Defense or the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth. 458 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:20,560 Say we've got a plan, guys. This is what we're going to do. 459 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:23,520 We're we're just going to March around and then we're going to 460 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:26,000 blow trumpets. You say, well, well, that's an 461 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,320 awful idea. Well, it's it is an awful idea 462 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:31,000 no matter who it is, no matter what administration it is. 463 00:22:31,120 --> 00:22:34,440 If anyone said that and the word was leaked out to the media, 464 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:36,040 everybody would go crazy. Why? 465 00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:41,160 Because it's an awful idea. But yet this is what God told 466 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:44,000 them to do. Now why was that? 467 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:48,640 Because God was making it clear the only way you will win is 468 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:53,160 doing it my way. You will not win on your own. 469 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,720 Do you know the same is true for us today? 470 00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:00,880 If you want to have victory in your spiritual life, the way to 471 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:06,120 do it is not to buy is by not following your own plan, by 472 00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:08,600 going your own way. Doing what? 473 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:12,280 Seems right following humanistic thinking. 474 00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:16,120 But rather, the way to have victory in the spiritual life is 475 00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:20,200 this. Do what the Word of God says. 476 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:22,600 How do you have victory over sin? 477 00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:25,720 Anyone in here tired of sin? I don't know about you, but I 478 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:26,760 am. Nobody's tired of sin. 479 00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:28,640 All right, that was it was a trick question. 480 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:29,920 We're all tired of sin, aren't we? 481 00:23:31,120 --> 00:23:32,240 Well, how do you how do you have? 482 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:36,320 Victory over sin? Well, do you go through? 483 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:41,400 Self help gurus, Humanistic techniques following far eastern 484 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:45,240 religious models. Do you believe in the champion 485 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:48,240 that's inside of you? Do. 486 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:52,120 You do you just realize that all you've got to do is just have 487 00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:55,640 enough courage and discipline within yourself because you are 488 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:59,360 the higher power for your own self and you can make it happen. 489 00:23:59,360 --> 00:24:01,360 Is this how you gain victory over sin? 490 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:07,760 Or do we submit to what the Word of God says when it comes to our 491 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:11,320 flesh, even when it doesn't always make sense? 492 00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:14,560 Because the world tells us this. You want to fulfill life. 493 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:18,560 Do what you want. Do it feels good, do what makes 494 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:22,200 you happy baby. This is what the world says and 495 00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:26,120 they look at us as narrow minded Bible believers who would. 496 00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:29,320 Dare from a pulpit say that there's some things you ought 497 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:32,680 not to do in your life because a holy God said don't do them. 498 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:37,200 Well, who's to be believed? Well, you could follow the 499 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:41,320 world's game plan, but I can assure you, like the Israelites, 500 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:45,360 you won't win. Or you can follow God's plan and 501 00:24:45,360 --> 00:24:48,960 recognize that His plan has been working for a very, very long 502 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:51,920 time, and you can have victory over sin. 503 00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:55,240 What does the world say at best? You you may. 504 00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:58,520 Control sin, but you'll not ever get over sin. 505 00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:02,320 But what does the Bible say? He was free is free indeed. 506 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:05,520 That you can have freedom from sin in your life, that that 507 00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:07,240 doesn't mean you don't need to be cautious about certain 508 00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:10,120 triggers in your life that that might bring up old habits and 509 00:25:10,120 --> 00:25:12,080 old ways. Again, no, no, I'm not trying to 510 00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:13,800 say that. What I am saying is this, that 511 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:17,320 you can live with freedom in Christ, but you got to follow 512 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:19,760 his plan. It's a key to victory. 513 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:23,840 How does a church? Grow and have an impact in the 514 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:29,440 community in this day and age, Well, common sense and the world 515 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:33,960 would say you got to entertain people, you got to bring them in 516 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:36,960 any way you can. Draw a crowd. 517 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:39,880 Make it exciting, you know Liven. 518 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:42,240 Things up a little bit, You know, for us, livening things up 519 00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:44,240 is turning this wall white and then blue again. 520 00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:47,320 That's as lively as we get. We don't know what color it is 521 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:48,920 from week to week. We're mixing it up. 522 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:55,880 But the world says you got to look like the world to win the 523 00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:59,400 world. But yet the model of the Bible 524 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:04,080 is this, that we're to be peculiar people, zealous of good 525 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:05,640 works. It says in Titus chapter 2. 526 00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:07,640 Now many of us got that peculiar thing down. 527 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:11,480 I know that I do. But the idea is not to be. 528 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:13,160 Peculiar. As I'm going around being 529 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:16,040 strange for the sake of being strange, it means that I'm 530 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:18,120 peculiar. Peculiar. 531 00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:20,680 I am. I'm different. 532 00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:26,200 I'm going to be peculiar. I'm not going to do it, so I'm 533 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:28,440 not even going to try it. What was that, Belinda? 534 00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:30,800 That's it. I like that. 535 00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:34,920 That was Good Hope that Mike's got that different than the 536 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:38,560 world that that we are to be a haven from the world, not to be 537 00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:41,560 the world. That's what this space is to be 538 00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:44,840 that we're to love each other. No, no, not the way that the 539 00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:49,000 world pretends to love each other, but real, genuine 540 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:52,880 fellowship and love. I was walking just last night 541 00:26:52,880 --> 00:26:57,880 and I was walking in an area where there were there was a bar 542 00:26:57,880 --> 00:26:59,800 and of course the Celtics game was going on. 543 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:02,120 The Celtics game is about finishing and I'm looking at all 544 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:04,440 the people that are enjoying just through the windows, 545 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:06,240 they're enjoying the game. And I looked at all the people 546 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:08,720 right about the time it ended that we're not enjoying the game 547 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:11,840 anymore and starting to pour out from the. 548 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:14,240 I thought, you know, you look inside. 549 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:16,760 And you think, boy, those people really have camaraderie. 550 00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:20,360 Those people really have something together. 551 00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:24,640 But then you think about it and you realize, no, they really 552 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:27,240 don't. It may look like that to the 553 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:32,080 world, but what do we have here? Fellowship in Christ and what 554 00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:33,640 would you do? Follow the Lord's game plan when 555 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:37,040 it comes to a church. How do you have victory in a in 556 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:39,640 a marriage or victory in a family? 557 00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:43,040 What do you need to do? Well, the world gives you all 558 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:46,200 kinds of ideas. Every influencer has their idea. 559 00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:50,240 Every podcaster has their idea. Everybody's going to tell you 560 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:53,440 what to do and how to do it, and there are some ideas. 561 00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:55,920 That are not bad. I'm not saying that every idea 562 00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:59,720 that comes from online or every idea that comes from someone is 563 00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:01,880 wrong. There's lots of truth that's out 564 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:02,800 there, and by the way, all truth. 565 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:06,120 Is God's truth, and someone that's even lost can stumble 566 00:28:06,120 --> 00:28:08,760 upon God's truth of in their own life, whether they realize it's 567 00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:12,760 from the word of God or not. But I will say this, when it 568 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:18,360 comes to a family, where's the plan that can help a family grow 569 00:28:18,360 --> 00:28:21,080 spiritually? Where's the plan that can help a 570 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:26,000 marriage grow spiritually? Well, it's not found in a second 571 00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:27,560 honeymoon. It's not found in a bigger 572 00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:29,360 house. It's not found another vacation. 573 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:31,240 It's not found in buying more things. 574 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:35,040 The plan for the family is found here in the Word of God. 575 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:37,800 I go to Ephesians chapter 5, not right now, but you can read 576 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:39,560 Ephesians chapter 5 and Ephesians chapter 6. 577 00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:42,640 It'll talk a lot about what the family is to do and what the 578 00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:45,840 family is to be and how it's to reflect Christ in the church. 579 00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:50,240 That this is what God intends for us, that God has given us a 580 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:53,240 plan. God has not left us without a 581 00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:56,440 plan how to be victorious. Could you imagine that God saves 582 00:28:56,440 --> 00:28:59,520 us and then says, hey, do your best till you get to heaven, 583 00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:03,000 I'll see you then. Well, how cruel would that be? 584 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:05,720 Faithful is he who calleth us who also will do it. 585 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:08,200 He has called us to live the Christian life. 586 00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:11,520 And as such, He will give us the plan that we need. 587 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:13,880 And the plan is found here in His Word. 588 00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:16,480 And I know I've said it a lot, particularly in the last few 589 00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:19,840 weeks, but This is why you need to be in the Word of God every 590 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:21,600 day. This is why you need to be in 591 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:24,160 prayer every day. This is why you need to absorb 592 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:25,880 this book. This is why you need the bread 593 00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:30,240 of life in your life, so that you can have the plan, God's 594 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:34,680 plan, readily available to you in your life #1 the victorious 595 00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:37,240 Christian life requires God's leadership without God's 596 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:39,560 leadership. You cannot win. 597 00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:43,960 But here's the second key to victory, and that's this. 598 00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:48,000 The victorious Christian life requires personal effort. 599 00:29:49,280 --> 00:29:52,160 The victorious Christian life requires personal effort. 600 00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:54,440 Now, maybe you're hearing this tonight. 601 00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:55,880 You say? Hold on a second. 602 00:29:55,880 --> 00:30:02,880 Pastor, you're saying that salvation is about God's plan 603 00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:06,000 for salvation, but then our effort and my answer would be 604 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:09,560 that's exactly opposite of what? I'm saying salvation is not 605 00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:12,560 about your effort, it's about what Christ already did on the 606 00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:14,200 cross. If we were saying that it was 607 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:16,200 about your effort, here's what we will be doing, we would be 608 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:19,120 veering off into Catholic teaching, which is this It is 609 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:23,000 your works plus Christ's sacrifice equaling salvation. 610 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:24,280 That's not what the Bible teaches. 611 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:27,680 But we're not talking about salvation this evening. 612 00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:30,720 We are talking about the victorious Christian life. 613 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:34,640 What happens after that? Well, God has put together a 614 00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:37,080 plan. Well, what do we need to do? 615 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:42,440 We got to work the plan. The Bible's there for the 616 00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:45,240 taking, if you will. The question is, what are you 617 00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:49,160 going to do with it? That's what the victorious 618 00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:51,080 Christian life is about. Both of these are equal. 619 00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:53,480 God has. Given us his perfect plan, but 620 00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:56,320 at the same time it is up to us. OK. 621 00:30:57,320 --> 00:31:01,560 No, Yeah, what what I want to. Go home with. 622 00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:02,560 Kaylee. Yeah, I know. 623 00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:04,680 Well, Kaylee's back there and there's a lot of people want to 624 00:31:04,680 --> 00:31:08,600 go home, all right? But anyway, all right, so all 625 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:10,680 right, just be calm for a few more minutes, OK? 626 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:11,760 All right. Yeah. 627 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:13,360 So at least. Didn't fire me this time, all 628 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:16,760 right? It requires personal effort. 629 00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:18,920 What did the Israelites need to do? 630 00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:23,840 God gave them the plan, but they still had to circle Jericho 13 631 00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:26,440 times. They still had to carry a sword 632 00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:28,800 and shield. And by the way, they needed to 633 00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:31,880 use them because once the walls fell down to the supernatural 634 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:35,120 way of which they fell down, there was still a battle that 635 00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:38,480 was going to commence inside those walls that had fallen 636 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:40,360 down. So they had to take the sword 637 00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:43,080 and shield. They had to restrain themselves 638 00:31:43,320 --> 00:31:47,160 to be able to make sure that they did not touch the accursed 639 00:31:47,160 --> 00:31:51,040 thing that was there inside that gold, that silver, those vessels 640 00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:52,800 that God had told them not to do. 641 00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:56,600 They a listening ear to make sure that they heard the 642 00:31:56,600 --> 00:31:59,280 instructions of Joshua in the 1st place. 643 00:31:59,440 --> 00:32:02,280 But these are action verbs. They circled, they carried, they 644 00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:05,760 restrained, they listened. These are things that they had 645 00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:09,240 to do. And God has given us a plan to 646 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:12,480 have victory. But you got to work the plan 647 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:16,280 that it's not just enough to have a Bible toted under your 648 00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:21,520 arm and to say I've got my shield and nothing can happen 649 00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:24,120 now that I have my Bible with me. 650 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:27,400 Well, certainly it's a wonderful thing to have a Bible with you. 651 00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:31,840 But you've got to do what the Bible says, and the keys to the 652 00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:32,960 victory is. You follow God's. 653 00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:36,880 Plan, but then you do the plan of which he gave. 654 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:39,120 How do you have victory over sin? 655 00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:41,320 We'll take action. Start here. 656 00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:44,320 Repent. Ask the Lord to forgive you for 657 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:46,680 that sin of which you are struggling with. 658 00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:50,440 Remove that sin from your life. Get as far away from it as you 659 00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:52,840 can. Take whatever steps necessary to 660 00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:56,560 get it out of your way. Pray on those issues. 661 00:32:57,040 --> 00:32:59,760 Pray on it every day. Pray on it every hour. 662 00:32:59,960 --> 00:33:02,640 Pray on every minute as it comes up in your mind as you're 663 00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:04,880 tempted. Once again, this is the plan 664 00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:08,640 that God has given us. We don't also just take things 665 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:11,080 out of our life. The Bible tells us to put on as 666 00:33:11,080 --> 00:33:12,840 well. Put off the old things, but put 667 00:33:12,920 --> 00:33:16,080 on the Lord Jesus Christ that those things that we take out of 668 00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:18,920 our life that are sinful, we need to put something inside of 669 00:33:18,920 --> 00:33:22,600 our life that fills that gap that's healthful and that's good 670 00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:25,920 and that can give us something that will bring restoration to 671 00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:27,440 our life. Instead of continuing, break it 672 00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:30,360 down by sin. How does the church grow in this 673 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:33,120 day and age? Well, action. 674 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:38,240 You know what you do? Hand out tracks, Visit people, 675 00:33:39,640 --> 00:33:42,880 love people, be active in the community. 676 00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:46,640 Just finding people to love on. You know it's important because 677 00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:50,200 there's been a. Time that we as a particular 678 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:53,040 independent Baptist been very zealous about going door to door 679 00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:54,720 in evangelism. And I believe that it's 680 00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:58,840 important that we do and I hope and pray that we do more of 681 00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:01,600 that. But I will say that Evangelum is 682 00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:03,720 not just going on a door to door on Saturday. 683 00:34:04,720 --> 00:34:08,760 It's also just trying to get to know people and love people as 684 00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:11,840 you meet him every day that bank tellers you see every couple of 685 00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:13,800 weeks. Do you know her name? 686 00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:17,120 Have you ever had a conversation with them before? 687 00:34:17,920 --> 00:34:20,400 See the same guy at the coffee shop maybe two or three times a 688 00:34:20,400 --> 00:34:22,320 week. You ever told him what your name 689 00:34:22,320 --> 00:34:23,480 is? Ask him what his name is. 690 00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:25,320 Boy, it's a lot easier to hand someone to track if you know 691 00:34:25,320 --> 00:34:29,440 him, the person at the post office, you know you see him 692 00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:31,440 every once in a while you hand them an arm and a leg. 693 00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:32,800 Now to be able to get a book of stamps. 694 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:37,639 Do you know who they are? Have you ever talked to him 695 00:34:37,639 --> 00:34:38,920 before? It's a lot easier to influence 696 00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:41,440 someone for Christ when you take time to get to know them. 697 00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:42,639 What does that mean? Action. 698 00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:46,880 That's how churches grow. Churches don't grow because you 699 00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:51,719 pay a pastor. Say that again, churches don't 700 00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:55,040 grow because you pay a pastor. Churches don't grow because then 701 00:34:55,040 --> 00:34:57,920 you hire an assistant pastor or because you have more staff. 702 00:34:58,440 --> 00:35:01,600 Now I'll say a pastor, assistant pastor, staff, whatever they 703 00:35:01,600 --> 00:35:03,560 ought to be doing, what they should be for the Lord when it 704 00:35:03,560 --> 00:35:05,760 comes to witnessing an outreach and such. 705 00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:08,400 But it's up to all of us to have action. 706 00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:13,880 And any time we say, you know, I wonder, I wonder if we should do 707 00:35:13,880 --> 00:35:15,480 this ministry. Will the answer is, well, 708 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:19,160 somebody's got to do. It I wonder if we should go 709 00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:21,080 visit this person. Somebody has to do it. 710 00:35:22,440 --> 00:35:24,280 I wonder if we should start doing this in the church. 711 00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:26,080 Someone has to do It requires action. 712 00:35:26,080 --> 00:35:28,360 We follow God's plan to make sure we're not doing something 713 00:35:28,360 --> 00:35:31,360 outside of His will, but then we have to have the action. 714 00:35:31,560 --> 00:35:36,920 To do it, how do marriages and families stay strong or get 715 00:35:36,920 --> 00:35:40,600 strong well? We pray as a husband. 716 00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:44,720 And wife together you have family devotions with a child. 717 00:35:45,560 --> 00:35:49,320 Again, child. Children need to be able to hear 718 00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:52,080 the word of God, not just here, but at home as well. 719 00:35:52,680 --> 00:35:55,440 Go over time, once a week, a couple times a week. 720 00:35:55,440 --> 00:35:58,640 Start small to be able to teach your children the Word of God. 721 00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:03,960 How do families get together? Well, they come to church 722 00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:07,320 together. They learned the word of God 723 00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:09,560 together. How are marriages restored? 724 00:36:09,560 --> 00:36:11,840 How are marriages brought to the place where they need to be? 725 00:36:12,080 --> 00:36:16,920 Well, one serves the other. In love of Christ and the Bible 726 00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:20,280 says that the testimony of 1 can help win the other either to 727 00:36:20,280 --> 00:36:24,120 salvation or win the other one to coming back to the Lord would 728 00:36:24,120 --> 00:36:28,240 have them to be. What am I saying that it takes 729 00:36:28,240 --> 00:36:31,880 some work. And you know what a lot of 730 00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:35,280 people don't want in this microwave age society, this 731 00:36:35,280 --> 00:36:38,080 Internet Society we live in, we want it right now. 732 00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:40,640 And if we don't get it now, it doesn't work. 733 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:44,800 Well, I'm old enough to remember that there are some things that 734 00:36:44,800 --> 00:36:50,240 take time, like non microwave meals or finding out information 735 00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:56,120 that you didn't just ask Google or ChatGPT about and that once 736 00:36:56,120 --> 00:36:58,640 you put a little effort in, it was a lot more meaningful. 737 00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:01,480 You know, there's not a lot of microwave meals. 738 00:37:01,480 --> 00:37:05,600 I really like, you know why they're quick and well, they're 739 00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:07,440 quick. That's what they're there for. 740 00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:11,920 You know, I could look up a random fact on my phone, but 741 00:37:12,360 --> 00:37:14,840 I'll probably remember it a minute or forget it a minute or 742 00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:17,840 two later because I looked it up quickly and I'll forget it 743 00:37:17,840 --> 00:37:19,560 quickly. Some of you are old enough to 744 00:37:19,560 --> 00:37:20,960 remember. If you want to find something, 745 00:37:20,960 --> 00:37:25,000 you went to a library, you found a card catalog. 746 00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:29,000 You. Thumb through all those cards 747 00:37:29,680 --> 00:37:31,440 you went to go find the book. Then you found out you couldn't 748 00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:34,080 check it out because it was a, it was a circular. 749 00:37:34,080 --> 00:37:36,040 So what did you need to do? You had to go make a copy or a 750 00:37:36,040 --> 00:37:39,280 mimeograph. Of it and take it home. 751 00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:44,320 And then you finally knew, you know that struggle, that action 752 00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:49,160 actually made all those things more meaningful than what we 753 00:37:49,160 --> 00:37:51,920 have today in so many ways. And if that's true for that, how 754 00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:53,400 much more so than the Word of God? 755 00:37:54,480 --> 00:37:56,040 If you're looking for a microwave answer, for your 756 00:37:56,040 --> 00:38:00,000 family, for a church, for your personal spiritual struggles, 757 00:38:01,040 --> 00:38:04,120 it's going to be hard to find. But if you're willing to take 758 00:38:04,120 --> 00:38:07,840 the plan of the Word of God and put it into action, or what 759 00:38:07,840 --> 00:38:09,920 happened to Israel? They won a battle they never 760 00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:11,840 should have won. You know, there are families 761 00:38:11,840 --> 00:38:14,640 that are on the brink. Maybe they know it, maybe they 762 00:38:14,640 --> 00:38:17,880 don't, but they follow what the Lord says for them in their 763 00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:19,280 life. Maybe they get saved. 764 00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:20,280 Of course, that's the first step. 765 00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:21,200 Maybe they are saved. They've. 766 00:38:21,200 --> 00:38:23,240 Gotten away from the Lord? You know what? 767 00:38:23,240 --> 00:38:27,320 God can do miraculous things when even there's just one 768 00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:32,360 person in the family, just one who's willing to follow the plan 769 00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:36,760 that God has. A church can have revival. 770 00:38:37,400 --> 00:38:39,320 How? Because there's just a small 771 00:38:39,320 --> 00:38:41,200 group. Of people that say we're going 772 00:38:41,200 --> 00:38:45,880 to do whatever we can to follow what God's plan is for us within 773 00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:48,920 this church. And even with the struggles of 774 00:38:48,920 --> 00:38:51,080 what you may be tempted with tonight, and I don't know what 775 00:38:51,080 --> 00:38:52,840 that is, we all deal with different things. 776 00:38:53,360 --> 00:38:56,400 Some of them can be big and large and outward, and some of 777 00:38:56,400 --> 00:39:00,080 them are small and inward and pernicious, and they're both 778 00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:03,320 just as bad. Whether the issues of the heart 779 00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:05,600 or the issues that have already manifested themselves on the 780 00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:07,960 outside, they're all destructive because they're all sin. 781 00:39:08,640 --> 00:39:09,720 How do you get? Victory over that. 782 00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:15,000 In yourself you don't. In Christ you could have 783 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:18,160 victory. The Christian life is filled 784 00:39:18,160 --> 00:39:22,480 with battles, but the only way to have victory is to have 785 00:39:22,480 --> 00:39:25,800 victory through Christ and, and this is really the key for us 786 00:39:25,800 --> 00:39:30,440 this evening as Christians, we fight from a place of victory. 787 00:39:31,640 --> 00:39:33,120 We don't need to fight for victory. 788 00:39:34,160 --> 00:39:35,640 Now here's what I mean because this is important. 789 00:39:35,640 --> 00:39:37,880 It might change the way you think about this we. 790 00:39:37,880 --> 00:39:42,640 Fight from a place of victory, not the fact that we fight for 791 00:39:42,680 --> 00:39:45,520 victory. When I call a game between 792 00:39:45,520 --> 00:39:49,600 Oliver Ames and, let's say, the Mansfield Hornets, each team is 793 00:39:49,600 --> 00:39:53,280 struggling to win. It's a battle of wills, isn't 794 00:39:53,280 --> 00:39:55,400 it? One team is throwing the ball as 795 00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:58,280 hard as they can. The other team is trying to hit 796 00:39:58,360 --> 00:40:01,360 the ball as hard as they can. It's a matter of. 797 00:40:01,360 --> 00:40:04,160 Who? Will will exert themselves over 798 00:40:04,320 --> 00:40:06,600 the other. That's the team that will win 799 00:40:06,760 --> 00:40:09,400 victory. I think a lot of times for us in 800 00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:12,320 our spiritual life, we think that that is how we achieve 801 00:40:12,320 --> 00:40:17,200 victory, that we have to exert our will in a greater way than 802 00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:20,720 the evil 1 exerts will. And as long as we exert 803 00:40:20,720 --> 00:40:23,400 ourselves in a greater way, of course with the Lord's help, 804 00:40:23,640 --> 00:40:27,160 then then we can have victory. But here's the issue with that. 805 00:40:27,400 --> 00:40:31,040 The victory has already been won. 806 00:40:32,760 --> 00:40:37,320 We're not fighting for victory. We're fighting from a place of 807 00:40:37,320 --> 00:40:41,520 victory, that victory's already been secured in Jesus Christ and 808 00:40:41,520 --> 00:40:44,560 that you already have victory secured over sin, that you can 809 00:40:44,560 --> 00:40:47,240 already have victory secured in a church, that you can already 810 00:40:47,240 --> 00:40:49,080 have victory secured in a family. 811 00:40:49,160 --> 00:40:52,800 You have everything you need because Christ has given you the 812 00:40:52,800 --> 00:40:56,160 plan. All you've got to do is put it 813 00:40:56,440 --> 00:41:00,880 into place. And the best part is His spirit 814 00:41:01,720 --> 00:41:10,040 will help you put it into place. This chapter makes no sense but 815 00:41:10,200 --> 00:41:13,200 God. And then it makes perfect sense 816 00:41:14,520 --> 00:41:18,800 because it's what God willed and the people followed along and 817 00:41:18,800 --> 00:41:20,960 the victory took place. In fact, that's pretty much the 818 00:41:20,960 --> 00:41:24,800 testimony of the book of Joshua. God said fight this way. 819 00:41:25,680 --> 00:41:28,080 They fought this way and they had victory. 820 00:41:29,480 --> 00:41:32,240 There were just. Sometimes when they didn't, for 821 00:41:32,240 --> 00:41:35,520 instance, there was a man named Aiken who took of the accursed 822 00:41:35,520 --> 00:41:39,800 thing here in chapter #6 in Chapter 7, they went to a little 823 00:41:39,800 --> 00:41:43,680 tiny place called AII call the Mayberry of Canaan. 824 00:41:44,480 --> 00:41:47,840 There was nobody there. They should have won handily. 825 00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:52,320 In fact, Joshua said of those 6. 100,000 men, he said send. 1000 826 00:41:52,320 --> 00:41:54,480 from each tribe. That's all we need. 827 00:41:55,160 --> 00:41:59,600 Never prayed, never sought the Lord and they lost. 828 00:42:00,480 --> 00:42:03,920 Why? They didn't follow God's plan. 829 00:42:04,720 --> 00:42:06,880 A little later, there's some Gibeonites who will come. 830 00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:09,560 The Gibeonites pretend they're from a far country. 831 00:42:10,200 --> 00:42:12,440 You see, the Israelites could make treaties with those who are 832 00:42:12,440 --> 00:42:15,400 from a far country. God allowed that. 833 00:42:16,240 --> 00:42:19,120 But the Gibeonites were from right around the corner, and 834 00:42:19,120 --> 00:42:23,080 they came with old clothes and old bread, and they presented 835 00:42:23,080 --> 00:42:24,760 themselves. They've been on a long journey. 836 00:42:25,840 --> 00:42:28,480 They never prayed. They never asked the Lord for 837 00:42:28,480 --> 00:42:30,160 guidance. And what happened? 838 00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:32,680 They made a treaty with the Gibby Nights, and the Gibby 839 00:42:32,680 --> 00:42:37,400 Nights became a snare to Israel for generations, as we're going 840 00:42:37,400 --> 00:42:42,680 to see in Second Samuel here. In very short order, What 841 00:42:42,680 --> 00:42:46,160 happened when the times they didn't follow the plan, they got 842 00:42:46,160 --> 00:42:49,080 themselves into trouble. The times they followed the 843 00:42:49,080 --> 00:42:53,840 plan, they couldn't lose. Now, I'm not telling you that 844 00:42:53,840 --> 00:42:56,920 the magical formula for your Christian life is you do what 845 00:42:56,920 --> 00:42:59,080 the word of God says and you'll never have problems. 846 00:42:59,440 --> 00:43:03,000 Did I say that? I did not say that, but I did 847 00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:05,680 say this. Even in the problems, you will 848 00:43:05,680 --> 00:43:06,880 have victory. Why? 849 00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:08,720 Because you don't need to fight for victory. 850 00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:12,120 The victory has already been secured in Christ. 851 00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:15,880 Thank you for listening to the sermon from the pulpit of 852 00:43:15,880 --> 00:43:18,800 Liberty Baptist Church. If this message was a blessing 853 00:43:18,800 --> 00:43:22,240 to you, or if there's any way we can serve you, please let us 854 00:43:22,240 --> 00:43:26,840 know by contacting us at info@mylibertybaptist.org. 855 00:43:27,160 --> 00:43:31,680 Or you can visit us this Sunday at 800 Washington St. in Easton, 856 00:43:31,680 --> 00:43:34,520 MA. May the Lord bless you as you 857 00:43:34,520 --> 00:43:35,720 grow in His Word.