1 00:00:11,833 --> 00:00:13,333 Welcome to Mars Hill church. 2 00:00:13,417 --> 00:00:16,333 Jesus is using Mars Hill to make disciples 3 00:00:16,375 --> 00:00:18,625 and plant churches all over the world 4 00:00:18,667 --> 00:00:21,333 and this wouldn't be happening without your help. 5 00:00:21,417 --> 00:00:24,167 Your gifts enable what you're watching right now 6 00:00:24,250 --> 00:00:26,750 and help plant churches, equip evangelists, 7 00:00:26,833 --> 00:00:29,500 and translate resources and study materials 8 00:00:29,542 --> 00:00:33,458 for people who have never had access to them before. 9 00:00:33,500 --> 00:00:36,667 Whether you're a part of a local Mars Hill church 10 00:00:36,708 --> 00:00:40,333 or you're one of hundreds of thousands of people 11 00:00:40,417 --> 00:00:43,417 listening and watching sermons each and every week, 12 00:00:43,500 --> 00:00:47,208 you're a part of our global family and I want to thank you. 13 00:00:47,292 --> 00:00:50,500 I encourage you to pray about giving to Mars Hill. 14 00:00:50,542 --> 00:00:54,250 You make this content available for free to anyone in the world, 15 00:00:54,333 --> 00:00:57,625 send out more pastors, plant more churches, 16 00:00:57,667 --> 00:01:02,500 and bring the kingdom of Jesus Christ to our world today. 17 00:01:02,542 --> 00:01:04,167 Thank you. 18 00:01:05,833 --> 00:01:07,167 Howdy Mars Hill. 19 00:01:07,208 --> 00:01:09,667 Pastor Mark here on vacation with Grace and the kids. 20 00:01:09,708 --> 00:01:13,042 One of the things we like to do is the Best Sermon Ever Series 21 00:01:13,125 --> 00:01:15,833 during the summer where we bring in some world class, 22 00:01:15,875 --> 00:01:18,875 Jesus-loving, Bible-teaching pastors to bring 23 00:01:18,958 --> 00:01:20,417 God's word to you. 24 00:01:20,500 --> 00:01:22,333 Today, I'm really excited to introduce you 25 00:01:22,375 --> 00:01:23,708 to a friend of mine. 26 00:01:23,792 --> 00:01:25,125 His name's Tope. 27 00:01:25,167 --> 00:01:28,750 He was born, raised, married in Nigeria. 28 00:01:28,833 --> 00:01:33,458 He then moved to London and he was working as an unpaid 29 00:01:33,500 --> 00:01:36,375 volunteer elder at a church for a number of years, 30 00:01:36,458 --> 00:01:38,125 just loving and serving the people. 31 00:01:38,167 --> 00:01:40,958 He went from being an unpaid pastor and volunteer 32 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:43,500 to being the lead preaching and teaching pastor, 33 00:01:43,583 --> 00:01:45,167 and the church has exploded. 34 00:01:45,250 --> 00:01:46,792 It's really grown. 35 00:01:46,833 --> 00:01:49,167 He's a very gifted leader, a very godly man. 36 00:01:49,208 --> 00:01:52,167 I've stayed in his home in London with he and his family. 37 00:01:52,208 --> 00:01:54,333 He's got a beautiful family, sweet wife, delightful son. 38 00:01:54,417 --> 00:01:57,333 This is a beautiful, great, wonderful family. 39 00:01:57,375 --> 00:01:58,833 You're absolutely going to love him. 40 00:01:58,875 --> 00:02:01,583 And Pastor Tope, thank you for coming to serve the people 41 00:02:01,667 --> 00:02:03,000 at Mars Hill Church. 42 00:02:03,042 --> 00:02:04,500 Thank you for being my friend. 43 00:02:04,542 --> 00:02:06,000 We love you. We appreciate you. 44 00:02:06,042 --> 00:02:08,583 We're very, very, very glad to have you. 45 00:02:08,667 --> 00:02:12,458 And as is always the case, we have a quirky little gift that 46 00:02:12,500 --> 00:02:16,458 we like to share with our friends at Best Sermon Ever. 47 00:02:16,500 --> 00:02:19,458 And since you're far away from home and it can be difficult 48 00:02:19,500 --> 00:02:21,208 when you're in a different country, 49 00:02:21,292 --> 00:02:23,000 we wanted you to feel at home, 50 00:02:23,042 --> 00:02:25,042 so we got you a Spice Girls album 51 00:02:25,125 --> 00:02:28,375 and a David Beckham poster to enjoy in your hotel room 52 00:02:28,458 --> 00:02:30,333 to remind you of home in your absence. 53 00:02:30,417 --> 00:02:32,958 We love you buddy. There you go. 54 00:02:37,583 --> 00:02:39,792 Good morning! 55 00:02:39,833 --> 00:02:45,542 Well, it's a real joy to be here and I am thrilled and grateful. 56 00:02:45,625 --> 00:02:51,292 I'm really, really grateful for the Spice Girls CD. 57 00:02:51,333 --> 00:02:53,333 No, I'm really grateful to be here. 58 00:02:53,375 --> 00:02:58,167 Your pastor is a dear, dear, and good friend. 59 00:02:58,208 --> 00:03:03,542 On a number of occasions really, Mark has been such a help to me, 60 00:03:03,625 --> 00:03:09,375 and so for me to come back here and serve him and serve you with 61 00:03:09,458 --> 00:03:13,500 whatever eyedrop worth of help I may be able to bring, 62 00:03:13,542 --> 00:03:16,167 it's a joy for me to be here. 63 00:03:16,250 --> 00:03:20,167 I'm going to read from Joshua chapter 5 into 6 64 00:03:20,250 --> 00:03:22,375 in a few moments, but before I do that, 65 00:03:22,458 --> 00:03:25,042 because it's so rare that my wife is with me-- 66 00:03:25,125 --> 00:03:28,208 she doesn't like to travel a whole lot to the places I go, 67 00:03:28,292 --> 00:03:31,208 but she is here today and I am so thrilled. 68 00:03:31,292 --> 00:03:34,875 So if you would just, you know, humor me as she stands up so you 69 00:03:34,958 --> 00:03:36,917 can just see her, this is Kemi. 70 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:39,083 Would you applaud her as she-- 71 00:03:39,167 --> 00:03:45,875 [congregation applauding] 72 00:03:45,958 --> 00:03:48,208 Yeah, good, good, good. 73 00:03:48,292 --> 00:03:50,458 She is a--if you didn't see her way back, 74 00:03:50,500 --> 00:03:56,833 she's like really beautiful and sexy, so, yeah. 75 00:03:56,875 --> 00:03:59,833 I'm going to read from Joshua 5:13, 76 00:03:59,875 --> 00:04:02,542 and then I'm going to hop, skip, and jump my way 77 00:04:02,625 --> 00:04:05,042 through a number of the other verses. 78 00:04:05,125 --> 00:04:08,833 "When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, 79 00:04:08,917 --> 00:04:13,167 "and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword 80 00:04:13,250 --> 00:04:14,792 "in his hand. 81 00:04:14,833 --> 00:04:18,000 "And Joshua went to him and said to him, 'Are you for us, 82 00:04:18,042 --> 00:04:20,083 "'or for our adversaries?' 83 00:04:20,167 --> 00:04:22,792 "And he said, 'No; but I am the commander 84 00:04:22,833 --> 00:04:24,375 "'of the army of the Lord. 85 00:04:24,458 --> 00:04:26,208 "'Now I have come.' 86 00:04:26,292 --> 00:04:28,917 "And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped 87 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:31,917 "and said to him, 'What does my lord say to his servant?' 88 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:34,417 "And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, 89 00:04:34,500 --> 00:04:36,458 "'Take off your sandals from your feet, 90 00:04:36,500 --> 00:04:39,208 "'for the place where you are standing is holy.' 91 00:04:39,292 --> 00:04:41,000 "And Joshua did so. 92 00:04:41,042 --> 00:04:44,333 "Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside 93 00:04:44,417 --> 00:04:46,958 "because of the people of Israel. 94 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:48,708 "None went out, and none came in. 95 00:04:48,792 --> 00:04:50,667 "And the Lord said to Joshua, 96 00:04:50,708 --> 00:04:53,750 "'See, I have given Jericho into your hand, 97 00:04:53,833 --> 00:04:55,750 "with its king and mighty men of valor. 98 00:04:55,833 --> 00:04:58,083 "You shall march around the city, 99 00:04:58,167 --> 00:05:01,292 "all the men of war going around the city once. 100 00:05:01,333 --> 00:05:03,833 "Thus shall you do for six days. 101 00:05:03,917 --> 00:05:07,333 "Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns 102 00:05:07,417 --> 00:05:09,333 "before the ark. 103 00:05:09,375 --> 00:05:12,292 "On the seventh day you shall march around the city 104 00:05:12,333 --> 00:05:17,167 seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.'" 105 00:05:17,250 --> 00:05:21,917 Verse 15, "And on the seventh day they rose early, 106 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:24,792 "at the dawn of day, and marched around the city 107 00:05:24,833 --> 00:05:26,458 "in the same manner seven times. 108 00:05:26,500 --> 00:05:28,667 "It was on this day that they marched around 109 00:05:28,750 --> 00:05:31,083 the city seven times." 110 00:05:31,167 --> 00:05:35,333 Let me just stop to say I know you know this story, 111 00:05:35,375 --> 00:05:41,833 but as I said earlier on, if ever you're asked to preach, 112 00:05:41,875 --> 00:05:47,375 you don't have a lot to say, read a lot of verses. 113 00:05:47,458 --> 00:05:49,792 A lot of verses. 114 00:05:49,833 --> 00:05:51,375 So we're still in Joshua. 115 00:05:51,458 --> 00:05:55,167 We'll be in Revelations soon. 116 00:05:55,250 --> 00:05:58,208 Verse 16, "And at the seventh time, 117 00:05:58,292 --> 00:06:00,292 "when the priests had blown the trumpets, 118 00:06:00,333 --> 00:06:01,833 "Joshua said to the people, 119 00:06:01,875 --> 00:06:04,833 'Shout, for the Lord has given you the city.'" 120 00:06:04,875 --> 00:06:08,708 Then verse 20, "So the people shouted, 121 00:06:08,792 --> 00:06:10,458 "and the trumpets were blown. 122 00:06:10,500 --> 00:06:13,208 "As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, 123 00:06:13,292 --> 00:06:16,042 "the people shouted a great shout, 124 00:06:16,125 --> 00:06:19,917 "and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up 125 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:22,583 "into the city, every man straight before him, 126 00:06:22,667 --> 00:06:26,000 and they captured the city." 127 00:06:26,042 --> 00:06:31,542 Father, we come this morning to your word and we are hungry 128 00:06:31,625 --> 00:06:33,833 to hear from you. 129 00:06:33,917 --> 00:06:36,458 We need a word from the Lord. 130 00:06:36,500 --> 00:06:40,375 There were times when your word was scarce to people. 131 00:06:40,458 --> 00:06:44,375 Let it not be scarce to us this day. 132 00:06:44,458 --> 00:06:47,042 Give us our daily bread. 133 00:06:47,125 --> 00:06:51,792 We pray that we'd be filled by it, that at the end of it, 134 00:06:51,833 --> 00:06:54,667 we all be edified and built up. 135 00:06:54,708 --> 00:06:57,167 And may Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, 136 00:06:57,250 --> 00:06:59,708 may he be glorified in this place in Jesus' name. 137 00:06:59,792 --> 00:07:01,292 And everybody said-- 138 00:07:01,333 --> 00:07:02,667 Amen. 139 00:07:02,750 --> 00:07:04,375 Yeah. 140 00:07:04,458 --> 00:07:07,125 I know he warned you about the whole amen stuff 141 00:07:07,167 --> 00:07:10,625 before I came, and he's right. 142 00:07:10,667 --> 00:07:16,250 But you know, I guess--I think the reason why I love for people 143 00:07:16,333 --> 00:07:21,583 to say amen from time to time on my prompt is, I guess, 144 00:07:21,667 --> 00:07:24,000 on the first--the first reason is probably because I think 145 00:07:24,083 --> 00:07:26,583 people sometimes do want to say amen, 146 00:07:26,667 --> 00:07:28,250 particularly when it's a Bible verse, 147 00:07:28,333 --> 00:07:29,833 or Scripture, or something. 148 00:07:29,917 --> 00:07:33,625 I think there's something on the inside of us that wants 149 00:07:33,667 --> 00:07:37,167 to say yes to the truth we just heard. 150 00:07:37,250 --> 00:07:40,667 And sometimes people just almost need something of a permission, 151 00:07:40,750 --> 00:07:45,333 so I just give the permission and then the people say amen. 152 00:07:45,417 --> 00:07:48,167 But there's a deeper reason, that there are times 153 00:07:48,208 --> 00:07:53,083 that God speaks, and by his Spirit he, if you like, 154 00:07:53,167 --> 00:07:58,500 injects something of truth deep inside you that you're 155 00:07:58,583 --> 00:08:04,833 responding to fill your lungs and speak forth in agreement. 156 00:08:04,875 --> 00:08:08,875 Now amen is not just something Pentecostal preacher guy says 157 00:08:08,958 --> 00:08:10,500 because he doesn't have a word, 158 00:08:10,583 --> 00:08:12,250 he doesn't know what next to say. 159 00:08:12,333 --> 00:08:16,083 But he says it to help the people rise up to that truth, 160 00:08:16,167 --> 00:08:20,458 to fill your lung and speak it forth so that this building and 161 00:08:20,500 --> 00:08:24,000 the walls feel it, that there are a few people here 162 00:08:24,083 --> 00:08:27,292 who know God, and love God, and the whole thing shakes 163 00:08:27,333 --> 00:08:28,833 to the glory of God. 164 00:08:28,875 --> 00:08:32,000 It does far more good than you realize when you say, 165 00:08:32,083 --> 00:08:34,917 "I heard that truth and I agree with it." 166 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:37,292 You put that truth on your lips, it makes 167 00:08:37,333 --> 00:08:39,500 a whole lot of difference. 168 00:08:39,583 --> 00:08:44,167 My prayer is that this morning that the Lord will speak to you, 169 00:08:44,208 --> 00:08:47,208 by his grace through me, but speak directly to you, 170 00:08:47,292 --> 00:08:51,458 that you'll be blessed, and changed, and vantaged, 171 00:08:51,500 --> 00:08:54,958 and ready for another day with God in Jesus' name. 172 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:56,333 And everybody shouted-- 173 00:08:56,417 --> 00:08:57,917 Amen! 174 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:03,417 You bet they did. 175 00:09:03,500 --> 00:09:10,417 For without faith, it is impossible to please God. 176 00:09:10,500 --> 00:09:15,208 "Without faith, it is impossible to please God, 177 00:09:15,292 --> 00:09:19,917 "for he who comes to God must believe that he is and he is 178 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:25,375 a rewarder of those who earnestly, diligently seek him." 179 00:09:25,458 --> 00:09:29,208 Without faith, it is impossible to please God. 180 00:09:29,292 --> 00:09:31,833 Who here does not want to please God? 181 00:09:31,917 --> 00:09:36,333 Even if you do not know God, you're here today. 182 00:09:36,417 --> 00:09:41,042 There's got to be something on the inside of you at some level 183 00:09:41,125 --> 00:09:43,333 that just wants to do right with God. 184 00:09:43,417 --> 00:09:48,000 He who comes to God must come wanting to please God, 185 00:09:48,083 --> 00:09:50,250 but the way to do it is this. 186 00:09:50,333 --> 00:09:52,708 He has to have faith, for without faith, 187 00:09:52,792 --> 00:09:58,708 it is impossible to please God. 188 00:09:58,792 --> 00:10:02,500 It's with all that I said that I want to use as a title 189 00:10:02,542 --> 00:10:05,875 this morning, "Living By Faith." 190 00:10:05,958 --> 00:10:07,792 "Living By Faith." 191 00:10:07,833 --> 00:10:12,167 And I want to bring to you what I believe is important for all 192 00:10:12,208 --> 00:10:16,583 of us, certainly for me in my own life, as we walk with God. 193 00:10:16,667 --> 00:10:20,583 The Bible--the Bible really is the book--it's really 194 00:10:20,667 --> 00:10:22,000 got one story. 195 00:10:22,083 --> 00:10:26,417 It's one meta narrative of the story of deliverance, 196 00:10:26,500 --> 00:10:30,500 that God, not out of any weakness or need in him, 197 00:10:30,542 --> 00:10:34,333 he gladly, joyfully made man. 198 00:10:34,375 --> 00:10:38,333 And he breathed into him and he became a living soul. 199 00:10:38,375 --> 00:10:41,333 And he made it for man to worship him, and love him, 200 00:10:41,417 --> 00:10:45,708 and serve him, and be really all about him. 201 00:10:45,792 --> 00:10:47,625 But you know the story. 202 00:10:47,667 --> 00:10:51,042 The rebellion of man came. 203 00:10:51,125 --> 00:10:52,667 Sin entered into the world. 204 00:10:52,750 --> 00:10:57,167 But God, in his mercy and his benevolence, 205 00:10:57,208 --> 00:11:01,583 he comes to redeem man from his rebellion, 206 00:11:01,667 --> 00:11:05,000 revive him by putting his Spirit back in him, 207 00:11:05,083 --> 00:11:09,167 restore him so that now the purpose for which he was made 208 00:11:09,208 --> 00:11:13,542 in the first place can be realized again. 209 00:11:13,625 --> 00:11:19,375 Which that purpose, by the way, is to worship God--is to worship 210 00:11:19,458 --> 00:11:22,708 God, for God wants a place where--God has always wanted--he 211 00:11:22,792 --> 00:11:26,500 wants to dwell somewhere, and he wants to dwell amongst people, 212 00:11:26,583 --> 00:11:28,708 in the midst of people. 213 00:11:28,792 --> 00:11:33,500 This story is best--it comes to us pretty strongly in the story 214 00:11:33,542 --> 00:11:36,708 of the Israelites who, there they are in Egypt 215 00:11:36,792 --> 00:11:38,583 because of their own sin. 216 00:11:38,667 --> 00:11:40,083 Now they are being captured. 217 00:11:40,167 --> 00:11:42,833 They're living in Egypt, and then God sends Moses 218 00:11:42,917 --> 00:11:48,375 to bring deliverance to them, and God delivers them. 219 00:11:48,458 --> 00:11:50,750 And in delivering them, what God did is this. 220 00:11:50,833 --> 00:11:54,792 He's trying to take them out of darkness and into light. 221 00:11:54,833 --> 00:11:58,125 He's trying to take people who were just a motley crew of 222 00:11:58,167 --> 00:12:05,083 people, people who had a slavish mindset--a slavish mindset. 223 00:12:05,167 --> 00:12:10,208 On one occasion, Moses was going to set one of them free. 224 00:12:10,292 --> 00:12:13,708 He had killed a man and saved the life of a Hebrew guy, 225 00:12:13,792 --> 00:12:15,667 and you know what the Hebrew people said? 226 00:12:15,708 --> 00:12:17,042 "Stay away from us. 227 00:12:17,125 --> 00:12:18,792 We want nothing to do with you." 228 00:12:18,833 --> 00:12:22,167 Somewhere in there is the mind of a slave who is like, 229 00:12:22,208 --> 00:12:24,167 "I'm just bound and I'm forever bound. 230 00:12:24,250 --> 00:12:26,250 What do you mean freedom?" 231 00:12:26,333 --> 00:12:27,833 Well God comes to them now 232 00:12:27,875 --> 00:12:30,000 and he's wanting to take them out of slavery 233 00:12:30,083 --> 00:12:33,208 and make them sons, out of being just a motley crew 234 00:12:33,292 --> 00:12:39,375 of people and make them an army of God's own people. 235 00:12:39,458 --> 00:12:41,458 And so he did it in three ways. 236 00:12:41,500 --> 00:12:45,583 Number one, he delivered them by miracles. 237 00:12:45,667 --> 00:12:49,292 He delivered them by miracles when he sent Moses in. 238 00:12:49,333 --> 00:12:51,375 And the man that he sent, frankly, 239 00:12:51,458 --> 00:12:54,167 in sending Moses-- if you were God, 240 00:12:54,208 --> 00:12:56,167 you would not have sent Moses. 241 00:12:56,208 --> 00:13:00,333 Yeah, thankfully you're not God, so that's that. 242 00:13:00,417 --> 00:13:03,958 But if you were, you would not have sent Moses because this-- 243 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:06,292 I think--I think he's a fairly short guy. 244 00:13:06,333 --> 00:13:09,458 I don't know where I got that from, but I think so. 245 00:13:09,500 --> 00:13:11,167 I think he's a very short guy. 246 00:13:11,208 --> 00:13:13,667 But the thing about Moses is when God called Moses, 247 00:13:13,708 --> 00:13:16,750 he was like, "You got the wrong guy." 248 00:13:16,833 --> 00:13:19,000 He just did not want to do this job. 249 00:13:19,042 --> 00:13:22,583 And God called him and God said, "I'll be with you," and he said, 250 00:13:22,667 --> 00:13:24,625 "No, I just can't do it." 251 00:13:24,667 --> 00:13:26,833 And he needed reassurance from God, and God says, 252 00:13:26,875 --> 00:13:28,333 "What is that in your hand?" 253 00:13:28,375 --> 00:13:29,708 He says, "It's a staff." 254 00:13:29,792 --> 00:13:31,458 God says, "Put it on the ground." 255 00:13:31,500 --> 00:13:33,958 He puts it down, and it turns into a snake, 256 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:35,333 and he runs from it. 257 00:13:35,417 --> 00:13:36,833 You would have done the same. 258 00:13:36,917 --> 00:13:38,250 He runs from it. 259 00:13:38,333 --> 00:13:40,917 And as if that's not enough, God says, "Pick it up." 260 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:43,583 Now listen, throwing it down and it turns into a snake 261 00:13:43,667 --> 00:13:45,833 is pretty cool and impressive, right? 262 00:13:45,875 --> 00:13:48,542 Until he says, "Pick it up." 263 00:13:48,625 --> 00:13:50,958 Then you're like, "No, no, we don't do that 264 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:52,333 where I come from." 265 00:13:52,417 --> 00:13:54,167 "Pick it up," he says. 266 00:13:54,208 --> 00:13:58,417 It's amazing when God calls a man how he tries to educate him 267 00:13:58,500 --> 00:14:01,167 and help him know the kind of God he's dealing with. 268 00:14:01,250 --> 00:14:04,167 This thing is rolling around, and he goes and picks it up, 269 00:14:04,250 --> 00:14:06,333 and it becomes a staff again. 270 00:14:06,375 --> 00:14:12,167 Moses' response, "You know, I still don't want to go." 271 00:14:12,208 --> 00:14:15,333 He says, "Put your hand in your cloak." 272 00:14:15,375 --> 00:14:19,833 He puts his hand in his jacket, brings it out, 273 00:14:19,917 --> 00:14:23,833 the whole thing has gone leprous. 274 00:14:23,917 --> 00:14:25,333 By now you're scared. 275 00:14:25,375 --> 00:14:27,833 You're dealing with some--"Put it back in." 276 00:14:27,917 --> 00:14:30,750 It comes forth, it's healed. 277 00:14:30,833 --> 00:14:33,875 God is trying to send him a message. 278 00:14:33,958 --> 00:14:37,167 Moses says, "Not sure." 279 00:14:37,250 --> 00:14:39,167 Doesn't want to go. 280 00:14:39,250 --> 00:14:43,375 Eventually, he says to God, "I cannot speak. 281 00:14:43,458 --> 00:14:47,458 I cannot speak." 282 00:14:51,500 --> 00:14:53,167 You know, my mind--there's a thousand things 283 00:14:53,208 --> 00:14:55,667 going through my mind I want to say to you. 284 00:14:55,708 --> 00:15:01,708 These days, we want to look--stop letting your 285 00:15:01,792 --> 00:15:07,417 own limitations dictate what God can do with you. 286 00:15:07,500 --> 00:15:11,125 He says, "I cannot speak." 287 00:15:11,167 --> 00:15:12,625 God says, "I'll be with you." 288 00:15:12,667 --> 00:15:14,000 He says, "I cannot speak." 289 00:15:14,083 --> 00:15:16,208 God says, "Okay, in case you didn't get it, 290 00:15:16,292 --> 00:15:18,958 I'll be with your mouth." 291 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:21,208 Still he says, "I don't want to do this." 292 00:15:21,292 --> 00:15:23,708 So in the end, God has to get another guy 293 00:15:23,792 --> 00:15:26,000 to come beside him and Aaron. 294 00:15:26,042 --> 00:15:30,125 But by now, he realizes that God is dealing with and he goes, 295 00:15:30,167 --> 00:15:32,667 and miracles begin to happen. 296 00:15:32,708 --> 00:15:37,708 Ten plagues in Egypt, water that turned into blood, and lice, 297 00:15:37,792 --> 00:15:41,667 and the cackle that died, and everything, darkness. 298 00:15:41,750 --> 00:15:46,083 The Bible says, "The darkness was so dark that the people 299 00:15:46,167 --> 00:15:48,167 could feel the darkness." 300 00:15:48,250 --> 00:15:49,667 Think about that. 301 00:15:49,750 --> 00:15:53,500 So much so, nobody moved for 3 days in Egypt, 302 00:15:53,583 --> 00:15:57,375 all because Moses said this is going to happen, and it did. 303 00:15:57,458 --> 00:16:01,167 He's virtually playing God. 304 00:16:01,208 --> 00:16:04,167 And at the same time, there is life in the camp 305 00:16:04,208 --> 00:16:06,833 of the Israelites. 306 00:16:06,875 --> 00:16:09,083 He delivered them by miracles. 307 00:16:09,167 --> 00:16:11,917 By now, the Israelites are beginning to think--because if 308 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:14,250 you were an Israelite and you met Moses initially, 309 00:16:14,333 --> 00:16:17,292 you would not want that guy to be the one leading you. 310 00:16:17,333 --> 00:16:20,042 Because a short guy who can't speak, 311 00:16:20,125 --> 00:16:23,333 the whole--imagine Moses comes and I say, "Who are you, Moses?" 312 00:16:23,417 --> 00:16:26,625 "Well, God--God--God sent--G-G-G-G-God 313 00:16:26,667 --> 00:16:30,750 sent--God--God--God--God sent me." 314 00:16:30,833 --> 00:16:34,375 Okay, that does not conjure up confidence. 315 00:16:34,458 --> 00:16:36,375 That doesn't conjure up confidence, 316 00:16:36,458 --> 00:16:38,375 but by the time they saw the miracles, 317 00:16:38,458 --> 00:16:40,875 they know there's something about this guy, 318 00:16:40,958 --> 00:16:43,250 there's something about this God. 319 00:16:43,333 --> 00:16:45,917 By the time they're leaving, they're singing a song, 320 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:47,750 "Who is like unto thee, O God? 321 00:16:47,833 --> 00:16:49,833 "Who is like unto thee among the gods? 322 00:16:49,875 --> 00:16:51,208 "There is none like you. 323 00:16:51,292 --> 00:16:53,042 "Glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, 324 00:16:53,125 --> 00:16:55,458 and always doing wonders." 325 00:16:55,500 --> 00:16:58,542 Always doing wonders. 326 00:16:58,625 --> 00:17:02,542 When God came to show those people who he really is, 327 00:17:02,625 --> 00:17:05,792 he did not come with a set of propositional truths. 328 00:17:05,833 --> 00:17:08,667 He didn't even come with clean, beautiful, 329 00:17:08,750 --> 00:17:10,333 alliterated doctrines. 330 00:17:10,375 --> 00:17:12,375 He didn't! 331 00:17:12,458 --> 00:17:14,125 That was not where he started. 332 00:17:14,167 --> 00:17:16,500 He began by just showing them his power, 333 00:17:16,542 --> 00:17:20,208 showing them his authority, showing them his majesty. 334 00:17:20,292 --> 00:17:22,833 Later he will go on to teach them his words, 335 00:17:22,917 --> 00:17:26,833 but first of all for them to just know who he really is. 336 00:17:26,875 --> 00:17:29,792 He delivered them by miracles. 337 00:17:29,833 --> 00:17:34,167 Not just that, he destined them by promises. 338 00:17:34,208 --> 00:17:36,125 In Exodus 6, God says to Moses, 339 00:17:36,167 --> 00:17:37,792 "Moses, tell the people this." 340 00:17:37,833 --> 00:17:39,792 And God speaks to the people by saying, 341 00:17:39,833 --> 00:17:42,917 "Listen, I am the Lord your God, the God of your fathers." 342 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:46,292 He says, "I will bring you out from under this burden." 343 00:17:46,333 --> 00:17:48,625 He says, "I will deliver you from under this-- 344 00:17:48,667 --> 00:17:50,000 "from this slavery. 345 00:17:50,083 --> 00:17:52,083 "I will redeem you with my outstretched hand. 346 00:17:52,167 --> 00:17:55,208 "I will make you my people. I will be your God. 347 00:17:55,292 --> 00:17:56,667 "I will give you land. 348 00:17:56,708 --> 00:17:58,167 It will be for your possession." 349 00:17:58,250 --> 00:18:03,083 Seven times, God says, "I will, I will, I will, I will," 350 00:18:03,167 --> 00:18:06,750 assuring them, reassuring them, educating them, 351 00:18:06,833 --> 00:18:10,000 teaching them, "This is the God you're dealing with, 352 00:18:10,042 --> 00:18:15,708 and it just so happens I'm on your side." 353 00:18:15,792 --> 00:18:19,000 Delivered them by miracles, destined them by promises, 354 00:18:19,083 --> 00:18:23,667 thirdly, he sustained them by the supernatural. 355 00:18:23,750 --> 00:18:26,250 Oh, now this one I love. 356 00:18:26,333 --> 00:18:28,500 He sustained them by the supernatural. 357 00:18:28,542 --> 00:18:31,583 Because they came out, and the first problem they hit 358 00:18:31,667 --> 00:18:33,458 is the Red Sea. 359 00:18:33,500 --> 00:18:35,542 The Red Sea. 360 00:18:35,625 --> 00:18:37,875 And Moses says to God, "What do we do?" 361 00:18:37,958 --> 00:18:39,625 God says, "What is in your hand?" 362 00:18:39,667 --> 00:18:41,000 He says, "It's a staff." 363 00:18:41,083 --> 00:18:43,000 He points it and the whole thing opens. 364 00:18:43,083 --> 00:18:47,000 You and I, we have heard these things a billion times. 365 00:18:47,083 --> 00:18:54,000 We've almost become, you know, just overfamiliar with them. 366 00:18:54,083 --> 00:18:59,250 Not me because I'm easily impressed. 367 00:18:59,333 --> 00:19:02,458 I'm very easily impressed. 368 00:19:02,500 --> 00:19:04,000 I'm still impressed by remote control. 369 00:19:04,083 --> 00:19:06,500 I don't know how that thing works. 370 00:19:06,583 --> 00:19:08,000 Still today I'm still impressed. 371 00:19:08,083 --> 00:19:11,000 I don't watch a whole lot of television because I don't have 372 00:19:11,083 --> 00:19:13,750 time, but my gosh I can flick channels again, and again, 373 00:19:13,833 --> 00:19:16,000 and again, and again, and again. 374 00:19:16,083 --> 00:19:18,000 It's still--it's like a miracle to me. 375 00:19:18,083 --> 00:19:20,208 I'm about the only pastor in the world who, 376 00:19:20,292 --> 00:19:23,625 when no one is looking, has gone outside the door and try to see, 377 00:19:23,667 --> 00:19:25,000 "Will it work from here? 378 00:19:25,083 --> 00:19:26,542 Will it work from--oh, oh, oh!" 379 00:19:26,625 --> 00:19:28,375 Easily impressed. 380 00:19:28,458 --> 00:19:32,500 And sometimes there are things to be impressed by. 381 00:19:32,542 --> 00:19:35,167 The speed with which they put up buildings these days, 382 00:19:35,208 --> 00:19:37,667 the amazing engineer, and everything just goes up 383 00:19:37,708 --> 00:19:39,042 in no time. 384 00:19:39,125 --> 00:19:41,125 You give it 6 weeks, something is erected. 385 00:19:41,167 --> 00:19:42,500 Easily impressed. 386 00:19:42,583 --> 00:19:45,000 But listen, listen, if you really want to be impressed, 387 00:19:45,083 --> 00:19:49,667 come to the God of the Bible who spoke the earth into existence 388 00:19:49,750 --> 00:19:51,167 with a whisper. 389 00:19:51,208 --> 00:19:53,792 Just said, "Let it be," and it was. 390 00:19:53,833 --> 00:19:55,292 That's power. 391 00:19:55,333 --> 00:19:56,667 That's majesty. 392 00:19:56,750 --> 00:19:58,458 That's God. 393 00:19:58,500 --> 00:20:01,417 So that when they are coming out of Israel--of Egypt, 394 00:20:01,500 --> 00:20:06,458 and Moses puts the rod and the Red Sea parts, think about it. 395 00:20:06,500 --> 00:20:12,875 The Red Sea-- the sea...just separates. 396 00:20:12,958 --> 00:20:16,333 And the children of Israel are now going to walk on dry land 397 00:20:16,375 --> 00:20:18,875 in the middle of the sea. 398 00:20:18,958 --> 00:20:23,292 Whoever heard of such a--you're walking through, 399 00:20:23,333 --> 00:20:27,042 and your children are singing the whole time, and the walls, 400 00:20:27,125 --> 00:20:30,542 vertical walls of water that you can see the fish and everything. 401 00:20:30,625 --> 00:20:33,333 God would have had to tar that thing in a hurry 402 00:20:33,375 --> 00:20:35,667 so they don't sink. 403 00:20:35,750 --> 00:20:40,292 And you're walking, you could have a drink--gulp-- 404 00:20:40,333 --> 00:20:42,667 as you walk through. 405 00:20:42,750 --> 00:20:45,667 I think it's pretty cool. 406 00:20:45,708 --> 00:20:52,250 He fed them in the wilderness for--listen now--40 years. 407 00:20:52,333 --> 00:20:54,333 Manna just came from heaven. 408 00:20:54,375 --> 00:20:59,000 For 40 years, he fed them every single day. 409 00:20:59,083 --> 00:21:02,750 And in fact, he insisted that nobody keep any of this food 410 00:21:02,833 --> 00:21:05,875 until tomorrow because he wanted to provide for them 411 00:21:05,958 --> 00:21:08,792 every single morning. 412 00:21:08,833 --> 00:21:13,333 "Morning by morning, new mercies I see. 413 00:21:13,375 --> 00:21:15,833 "All I have needed thy hands have provided. 414 00:21:15,917 --> 00:21:18,542 Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me." 415 00:21:18,625 --> 00:21:22,625 Morning by morning, it was there, every time. 416 00:21:22,667 --> 00:21:25,125 See, I'm Nigerian, right? 417 00:21:25,167 --> 00:21:27,625 If I was there at that time, I'm thinking there's 418 00:21:27,667 --> 00:21:30,333 a business opportunity here. 419 00:21:30,375 --> 00:21:32,125 There's a business opportunity. 420 00:21:32,167 --> 00:21:35,208 Get some of this stuff, keep it, hide it, pile it, 421 00:21:35,292 --> 00:21:38,875 you know, sell it. 422 00:21:38,958 --> 00:21:40,333 Yeah. 423 00:21:40,375 --> 00:21:42,042 God knew somebody would think of that. 424 00:21:42,125 --> 00:21:43,792 He said, "Nobody keep it until tomorrow. 425 00:21:43,833 --> 00:21:45,167 "You eat it today. 426 00:21:45,250 --> 00:21:46,917 "Whatever you don't eat, just leave it. 427 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:49,000 It will be new following day." 428 00:21:49,042 --> 00:21:51,208 Water that came out of a rock. 429 00:21:51,292 --> 00:21:53,708 Water that came out of a rock. 430 00:21:53,792 --> 00:21:56,833 If it came out of a well we would not be impressed today, 431 00:21:56,917 --> 00:21:59,000 even though it would still would have been impressive 432 00:21:59,083 --> 00:22:00,917 to water 2 million people. 433 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:03,250 But it came out of the rock. 434 00:22:03,333 --> 00:22:06,500 I mean, how much squeezing do you have to do to get water 435 00:22:06,542 --> 00:22:10,417 out of a rock? 436 00:22:10,500 --> 00:22:12,000 But I think God just winked 437 00:22:12,083 --> 00:22:15,083 and that thing gave water right up. 438 00:22:15,167 --> 00:22:18,625 The book of Psalms says, "And the water gushed out." 439 00:22:18,667 --> 00:22:21,500 It didn't just drip forth. 440 00:22:21,583 --> 00:22:26,792 He led them by pillar of fire at night. 441 00:22:26,833 --> 00:22:28,292 They could see at night. 442 00:22:28,333 --> 00:22:30,292 They knew where they were going at night. 443 00:22:30,333 --> 00:22:31,792 Day time, they had cloud there. 444 00:22:31,833 --> 00:22:37,833 There was always a perpetual cloud in the sky, leading them. 445 00:22:37,917 --> 00:22:42,333 We get impressed by our GPSes in our cars. 446 00:22:42,417 --> 00:22:46,083 God has been doing this for years. 447 00:22:46,167 --> 00:22:47,750 He's been doing it for years. 448 00:22:47,833 --> 00:22:49,167 They were following it. 449 00:22:49,208 --> 00:22:51,167 "At the end of the mountain, turn right." 450 00:22:51,208 --> 00:22:54,833 Everybody knows where they're going. 451 00:22:54,875 --> 00:22:57,417 Says their slippers never wore out. 452 00:22:57,500 --> 00:23:00,458 Their shoes never wore out. 453 00:23:00,500 --> 00:23:04,458 So, he was--listen, there's something powerful in that. 454 00:23:04,500 --> 00:23:07,417 To the minutest of details, 455 00:23:07,500 --> 00:23:10,958 he was trying to show them that he cares. 456 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:12,792 They're probably sitting there after 30 years 457 00:23:12,833 --> 00:23:14,292 of walking in the wilderness saying, 458 00:23:14,333 --> 00:23:18,042 "You know, I bought these shoes in Egypt. 459 00:23:18,125 --> 00:23:20,792 They're still going, you know." 460 00:23:20,833 --> 00:23:22,333 They probably think those Egyptians, 461 00:23:22,375 --> 00:23:24,000 they sure can make shoes. 462 00:23:24,083 --> 00:23:25,792 It's not the Egyptians, you fool. 463 00:23:25,833 --> 00:23:28,375 It's God sustaining you the whole time. 464 00:23:28,458 --> 00:23:30,458 Now, lots of Christians will talk like that. 465 00:23:30,500 --> 00:23:32,750 You know, "Yeah, things are going well for me. 466 00:23:32,833 --> 00:23:34,167 I mean, I work hard." 467 00:23:34,208 --> 00:23:36,625 Shut up. 468 00:23:36,667 --> 00:23:40,667 You sit here breathing without even thinking about it, 469 00:23:40,750 --> 00:23:42,833 unconscious without electricity or batteries. 470 00:23:42,917 --> 00:23:45,167 You think it's all down to your organic food? 471 00:23:45,250 --> 00:23:47,625 No it's not, don't be silly. 472 00:23:47,667 --> 00:23:51,833 It's down to God! It's down to God. 473 00:23:55,667 --> 00:24:00,833 They saw all these things, and sad to say, the Bible says this. 474 00:24:00,875 --> 00:24:05,833 "And yet God was not pleased with that generation." 475 00:24:05,875 --> 00:24:10,500 Sad to say, he wasn't pleased with them, 1 Corinthians 10:5. 476 00:24:10,542 --> 00:24:13,500 He wasn't pleased with them, and there are a number of reasons 477 00:24:13,542 --> 00:24:14,875 why he wasn't. 478 00:24:14,958 --> 00:24:16,750 Psalm 106 will summarize it for you. 479 00:24:16,833 --> 00:24:19,417 When you read it, you will see one of the reasons 480 00:24:19,500 --> 00:24:20,833 he wasn't pleased was this. 481 00:24:20,875 --> 00:24:22,500 They were an ungrateful people. 482 00:24:22,542 --> 00:24:25,500 After awhile, they just took things for granted. 483 00:24:25,542 --> 00:24:27,208 Even the manna, after awhile, they're all, 484 00:24:27,292 --> 00:24:29,667 "Oh, what, this manna again? 485 00:24:29,708 --> 00:24:31,208 "No, we're done with manna. 486 00:24:31,292 --> 00:24:32,625 "We're fed up with miracles. 487 00:24:32,667 --> 00:24:35,625 We want real food." 488 00:24:35,667 --> 00:24:37,125 Christians talk like that still today. 489 00:24:37,167 --> 00:24:39,833 "Oh, give me something else." 490 00:24:39,875 --> 00:24:42,667 Unbelievable. 491 00:24:42,708 --> 00:24:46,292 Ingratitude, not just the idolatry. 492 00:24:46,333 --> 00:24:50,083 It says, "They joined themselves to Baal Peor 493 00:24:50,167 --> 00:24:51,958 and they sacrificed unto other gods," 494 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:54,583 it quotes in Psalm 160 there. 495 00:24:54,667 --> 00:24:56,875 They sacrificed to other gods. 496 00:24:56,958 --> 00:25:00,458 Never mind the God who called them, who destined them, 497 00:25:00,500 --> 00:25:02,208 who showed them his power. 498 00:25:02,292 --> 00:25:05,542 They just fancied something else. 499 00:25:05,625 --> 00:25:10,500 But perhaps the worse one is unbelief. 500 00:25:10,583 --> 00:25:12,500 Unbelief. 501 00:25:12,542 --> 00:25:19,208 It says in Psalm 106:24, "They had no faith in his promises." 502 00:25:19,292 --> 00:25:24,958 Unbelief was a problem, was the root problem. 503 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,667 In the book of Hebrew 3:19, it says the same thing. 504 00:25:27,750 --> 00:25:30,375 It says, "They did not really enter into all that God 505 00:25:30,458 --> 00:25:36,125 had for them because of their unbelief." 506 00:25:36,167 --> 00:25:39,000 There's a big message for you and I here, 507 00:25:39,083 --> 00:25:42,833 that you can know Jesus, 508 00:25:42,917 --> 00:25:46,125 you could have given your life to him. 509 00:25:46,167 --> 00:25:48,542 And you probably remember when you first came to him. 510 00:25:48,625 --> 00:25:52,625 There's a joy on the inside that burbled up, 511 00:25:52,667 --> 00:25:57,125 and you were just happy and grateful, 512 00:25:57,167 --> 00:26:00,792 even with situations around that are not all fixed. 513 00:26:00,833 --> 00:26:04,208 But somehow, there's an inner confidence. 514 00:26:04,292 --> 00:26:07,083 You know that your Redeemer lives. 515 00:26:07,167 --> 00:26:10,083 But over time, what happens? 516 00:26:10,167 --> 00:26:12,875 I think we call it growing up. 517 00:26:12,958 --> 00:26:15,083 It's not. 518 00:26:15,167 --> 00:26:17,833 Over time, we learn to do things ourselves. 519 00:26:17,875 --> 00:26:22,208 Over time, our joy goes because our faith reduces. 520 00:26:22,292 --> 00:26:25,917 And at some point, some Christian wanting to help you 521 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:27,500 will probably say something like this. 522 00:26:27,542 --> 00:26:30,250 "Oh, you got to add some common sense to that thing." 523 00:26:30,333 --> 00:26:32,250 And I know what they're trying to say, 524 00:26:32,333 --> 00:26:34,458 but I'm trying to say this to you though. 525 00:26:34,500 --> 00:26:38,792 Very often, faith gets rinsed out of us and we get to do life 526 00:26:38,833 --> 00:26:41,542 completely pragmatically. 527 00:26:41,625 --> 00:26:44,917 God never intended--never intended--that his people 528 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:47,875 would just do life at a completely pragmatic level. 529 00:26:47,958 --> 00:26:50,625 That's how the world lives. 530 00:26:50,667 --> 00:26:52,958 That's how the world lives. 531 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:55,750 He wanted people that they would be a people who are 532 00:26:55,833 --> 00:27:00,875 supernatural, a people who know that God is not a man 533 00:27:00,958 --> 00:27:02,375 that he should lie, 534 00:27:02,458 --> 00:27:05,375 nor is he the Son of Man that he should change his 535 00:27:05,458 --> 00:27:07,875 mind or repent, that if he promised, he'll do it. 536 00:27:07,958 --> 00:27:09,500 Numbers 23 says that. 537 00:27:09,542 --> 00:27:12,333 "God who cannot lie." 538 00:27:12,417 --> 00:27:14,958 Titus 1:2 says that. 539 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:18,542 "By two immutable things by which it is impossible 540 00:27:18,625 --> 00:27:21,333 for God to lie." 541 00:27:21,417 --> 00:27:23,083 Hebrews 6 says that. 542 00:27:23,167 --> 00:27:24,500 Impossible. 543 00:27:24,542 --> 00:27:28,208 That God is not a liar, but somehow over time, 544 00:27:28,292 --> 00:27:32,583 believing his promises is something that becomes distance 545 00:27:32,667 --> 00:27:36,083 from us and we just learn to do life in a routine way 546 00:27:36,167 --> 00:27:38,500 because faith is gone. 547 00:27:38,583 --> 00:27:40,167 This does happen to people. 548 00:27:40,250 --> 00:27:42,167 Faith gets drained out. 549 00:27:42,250 --> 00:27:45,167 And you know that that is happening to you because the joy 550 00:27:45,208 --> 00:27:49,667 is gone, and life with God becomes completely routine, 551 00:27:49,708 --> 00:27:52,000 where you go to work, and you come back, 552 00:27:52,042 --> 00:27:53,917 and on Sunday you do the church thing. 553 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:57,208 You may even serve, but you continue on that cycle. 554 00:27:57,292 --> 00:27:59,833 And it's really not going anywhere really, 555 00:27:59,917 --> 00:28:02,667 and the joy is not there anymore, 556 00:28:02,750 --> 00:28:05,042 but you've learned to do it, and to praise, 557 00:28:05,125 --> 00:28:08,333 and you have dropped the right posture, and so on. 558 00:28:08,417 --> 00:28:11,958 It's possible to love God, but over time, 559 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:15,083 it wanes and faith isn't there anymore. 560 00:28:15,167 --> 00:28:17,083 This is possible. 561 00:28:17,167 --> 00:28:21,292 And when that happens, it's a sad day. 562 00:28:21,333 --> 00:28:24,583 When that happens, it's sad because, number one, 563 00:28:24,667 --> 00:28:27,167 it affects your hope. 564 00:28:27,208 --> 00:28:31,208 It affects the way you walk with God where you walk with him, 565 00:28:31,292 --> 00:28:36,083 but you don't know if he will do what he said he would do. 566 00:28:36,167 --> 00:28:39,167 An expectation for another day is no longer there. 567 00:28:39,250 --> 00:28:42,167 You feel you have to work everything out yourself, 568 00:28:42,250 --> 00:28:45,500 and anything to do with the supernatural dimension 569 00:28:45,542 --> 00:28:50,208 is completely evacuated from your thinking. 570 00:28:50,292 --> 00:28:54,250 So that hope becomes nothing but wishful thinking. 571 00:28:54,333 --> 00:28:58,000 It affects how we pray. 572 00:28:58,083 --> 00:29:00,500 If there is no faith, it totally affects that. 573 00:29:00,583 --> 00:29:02,542 It makes faith impotent. 574 00:29:02,625 --> 00:29:04,708 It renders it impotent. 575 00:29:04,792 --> 00:29:08,667 It makes prayer impotent, where in the end, you pray, 576 00:29:08,708 --> 00:29:12,083 but it's nothing short of therapy. 577 00:29:12,167 --> 00:29:15,417 You just learn to say it because it just--it does something 578 00:29:15,500 --> 00:29:19,667 for--but whether there's a real belief deep down at the deepest 579 00:29:19,750 --> 00:29:22,500 psyche on the inside, it's not--you don't really 580 00:29:22,583 --> 00:29:25,250 believe it, but you've learned to say it. 581 00:29:25,333 --> 00:29:27,333 And the sentences over time in the prayer, 582 00:29:27,375 --> 00:29:31,083 they just become the same old sentences and you say it again, 583 00:29:31,167 --> 00:29:34,667 and again, and then you move right now. 584 00:29:34,708 --> 00:29:37,917 This thing comes to all of us slowly, insidiously, 585 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:40,500 and it takes a grip on life. 586 00:29:40,583 --> 00:29:43,000 And yes, they're Christians, they're destined for God. 587 00:29:43,083 --> 00:29:45,000 They're not going to ever lose their salvation. 588 00:29:45,042 --> 00:29:50,917 That deal is done, but they live like people of the world. 589 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:54,167 They no longer trust his promises. 590 00:29:54,208 --> 00:29:57,083 It affects our approach to the word of God, 591 00:29:57,167 --> 00:30:01,167 where if there is no faith, the reading of the word of God 592 00:30:01,250 --> 00:30:05,167 just becomes a very good, dutiful exercise 593 00:30:05,250 --> 00:30:07,833 that you tick off and you're like, "Yeah, I read daily. 594 00:30:07,917 --> 00:30:09,833 I read daily," and that's it. 595 00:30:09,875 --> 00:30:11,958 "In fact, I memorized portions of it." 596 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:15,167 But whether that thing is flowing into your life 597 00:30:15,250 --> 00:30:20,542 and making a difference is a different story. 598 00:30:20,625 --> 00:30:22,750 I've got to tell you, I'm like you. 599 00:30:22,833 --> 00:30:25,167 I have heard the faith preachers--if I put 600 00:30:25,208 --> 00:30:27,500 "faith preachers" in virtual commas there. 601 00:30:27,542 --> 00:30:30,333 You know, the faith preacher guy who just tells people, 602 00:30:30,375 --> 00:30:33,125 you know, nonsense stuff? 603 00:30:33,167 --> 00:30:36,500 You know, tells them, "Oh yeah, you know, just believe God. 604 00:30:36,542 --> 00:30:39,792 You know, just name it and claim it." 605 00:30:39,833 --> 00:30:42,292 I beg your pardon? 606 00:30:42,333 --> 00:30:44,333 "Oh yeah, just name it and claim it." 607 00:30:44,417 --> 00:30:47,292 Sounds like covetousness to me. 608 00:30:47,333 --> 00:30:49,167 Name it and claim it. 609 00:30:49,250 --> 00:30:51,500 I grew up back in Africa, 610 00:30:51,542 --> 00:30:53,500 and some of this teaching was just there. 611 00:30:53,542 --> 00:30:56,667 Which, by the way, let me pause and say it came from your 612 00:30:56,750 --> 00:30:58,458 jolly country, but never mind. 613 00:30:58,500 --> 00:31:00,458 It's there. 614 00:31:00,500 --> 00:31:02,917 And the prosperity preacher are trying to, you know, 615 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:05,375 jazz everybody up. 616 00:31:05,458 --> 00:31:08,458 That thing is so offensive to the Almighty. 617 00:31:08,500 --> 00:31:11,292 It really is because it turns God into some kind of 618 00:31:11,333 --> 00:31:15,917 irresponsible bank manager who just dishes out money to anyone. 619 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:19,000 That is not what Jesus intended at all. 620 00:31:19,083 --> 00:31:23,833 Name it, claim it, short of saying steal it. 621 00:31:23,917 --> 00:31:26,333 All of that stuff is foreign. 622 00:31:26,375 --> 00:31:29,125 That's another gospel. 623 00:31:29,167 --> 00:31:31,958 But nonetheless, I want to say this. 624 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:35,958 I pray God that we do not throw out the baby with the bathwater. 625 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:39,250 And the danger that we run through going to the other side 626 00:31:39,333 --> 00:31:43,833 is reading the Bible so that it becomes just a book full of, 627 00:31:43,875 --> 00:31:45,500 you know, stories. 628 00:31:45,542 --> 00:31:47,917 It is not just a book full of stories. 629 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:50,458 It's a book waiting for discoveries, 630 00:31:50,500 --> 00:31:54,208 that if you will let the Holy Spirit help you 631 00:31:54,292 --> 00:31:56,417 in interpreting and making this thing real, 632 00:31:56,500 --> 00:31:59,917 you will hear God speak to you. 633 00:32:00,042 --> 00:32:06,000 Because in case you don't realize, God still speaks. 634 00:32:06,042 --> 00:32:08,833 God still speaks. 635 00:32:08,875 --> 00:32:11,417 I know there's a whole theological construction that, 636 00:32:11,500 --> 00:32:13,708 you know, God doesn't speak anymore, 637 00:32:13,792 --> 00:32:17,750 and blahdy, blahdy, blah. 638 00:32:17,833 --> 00:32:21,208 Yeah, yeah, that's cheap to say when you live in a society 639 00:32:21,292 --> 00:32:23,208 where you have virtually everything. 640 00:32:23,292 --> 00:32:25,250 You're ill, you go to the doctors here. 641 00:32:25,333 --> 00:32:27,000 You need that, you go to welfare. 642 00:32:27,042 --> 00:32:29,833 You need this, you go to-- that's easy to say 643 00:32:29,875 --> 00:32:32,333 and foreign to the Scriptures. 644 00:32:32,375 --> 00:32:34,042 Now, I didn't want to go there. 645 00:32:34,125 --> 00:32:38,625 Now look what you've done. 646 00:32:38,667 --> 00:32:42,583 When you have faith, 647 00:32:42,667 --> 00:32:45,667 like Moses who the rod became a staff-- 648 00:32:45,750 --> 00:32:49,375 he never knew that that thing could be alive. 649 00:32:49,458 --> 00:32:52,917 When you have faith, there's a way you approach the word. 650 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:56,500 "Well with a prayer, Lord, speak to me today through this." 651 00:32:56,583 --> 00:33:00,375 You will be amazed how much the Lord will speak to you, 652 00:33:00,458 --> 00:33:02,667 how much he will prompt you by his Spirit, 653 00:33:02,708 --> 00:33:04,917 how much he will lead you and guide you. 654 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:08,542 You can be spoken to by God, and frankly God is speaking 655 00:33:08,625 --> 00:33:11,250 every time through the Bible, his eternal word, 656 00:33:11,333 --> 00:33:13,792 through prophecy, prophetic words. 657 00:33:13,833 --> 00:33:16,083 This can be. 658 00:33:16,167 --> 00:33:18,417 And when that thing is deleted out, 659 00:33:18,500 --> 00:33:22,917 the Christian is short-changed. 660 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:26,917 The word of God with faith comes totally alive, 661 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:29,542 because the word of God was never supposed to be 662 00:33:29,625 --> 00:33:31,708 a resource for education. 663 00:33:31,792 --> 00:33:37,875 It was supposed to be truth for an encounter with God. 664 00:33:37,958 --> 00:33:40,958 May that be true for you in Jesus' name. 665 00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:43,792 Would you shout amen to that? 666 00:33:43,833 --> 00:33:45,917 Because that makes all the difference, 667 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:48,167 hearing a God who lived. 668 00:33:48,208 --> 00:33:54,250 How does one go from having a faith that may have been vibrant 669 00:33:54,333 --> 00:33:58,000 at one point, but over time and over the hits of life 670 00:33:58,083 --> 00:34:02,167 has become stayed and stagnant? 671 00:34:02,208 --> 00:34:03,792 How does one revive that thing? 672 00:34:03,833 --> 00:34:08,417 Number one, acknowledge God afresh. 673 00:34:08,500 --> 00:34:13,500 You need to acknowledge God all over again. 674 00:34:13,583 --> 00:34:18,083 By the time we get to what I read to you there, Joshua 5, 675 00:34:18,167 --> 00:34:20,167 this is a different generation. 676 00:34:20,208 --> 00:34:21,917 The generation that came out with Moses, 677 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:26,250 they have died in the wilderness except for Joshua and Caleb. 678 00:34:26,333 --> 00:34:28,542 And now this new generation, God comes to Joshua, 679 00:34:28,625 --> 00:34:32,542 and he says to Joshua, "Moses, my servant, is dead. 680 00:34:32,625 --> 00:34:33,958 "Therefore get up. 681 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:38,000 "I will use you to take these people to inherit this land. 682 00:34:38,083 --> 00:34:40,250 I will use you." 683 00:34:40,333 --> 00:34:43,208 And he says to him, "Therefore be bold and be courageous." 684 00:34:43,292 --> 00:34:47,667 And so as Moses took them through the Red Sea, 685 00:34:47,750 --> 00:34:52,667 Joshua took them through the Jordan by the power of God. 686 00:34:52,750 --> 00:34:56,833 Moses sent spies and Joshua sent spies, though I've got to say, 687 00:34:56,917 --> 00:34:58,833 Joshua was kind of cleverer. 688 00:34:58,875 --> 00:35:03,167 Moses sent 12 spies, 10 of 'em were negative, 2 were positive. 689 00:35:03,208 --> 00:35:06,333 When Joshua sent, he sent only two. 690 00:35:06,375 --> 00:35:08,125 Very bright leader. 691 00:35:08,167 --> 00:35:10,167 Like, "Let's find the two positive ones 692 00:35:10,250 --> 00:35:12,042 and let's send them." 693 00:35:12,125 --> 00:35:15,833 And so it is that by--you get to chapter 5 and the Bible 694 00:35:15,875 --> 00:35:18,167 says--and then in chapter 6 it says, 695 00:35:18,208 --> 00:35:20,750 "And then there was Jericho." 696 00:35:20,833 --> 00:35:22,417 Then there was Jericho. 697 00:35:22,500 --> 00:35:24,917 Now, let me pause to say something to you here. 698 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:28,667 I know that I run the risk of somebody doubtless thinking, 699 00:35:28,750 --> 00:35:31,292 "Oh, this is just Old Testament stories, 700 00:35:31,333 --> 00:35:34,000 "you know, to be told to our children. 701 00:35:34,042 --> 00:35:36,500 "You know, give us something meaty. 702 00:35:36,542 --> 00:35:39,208 "Give us something meaty from the New Testament, 703 00:35:39,292 --> 00:35:41,958 something tough." 704 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:45,417 Okay, well first thing I will say to you is this. 705 00:35:45,500 --> 00:35:51,208 All Scripture is inspired by God, all Scripture. 706 00:35:51,292 --> 00:35:55,417 1 Timothy 3:16, "All Scripture is inspired by God and it's 707 00:35:55,500 --> 00:35:57,667 "profitable for correction, and for reproof, 708 00:35:57,708 --> 00:36:00,167 and for everything that the man of God may--" 709 00:36:00,250 --> 00:36:02,250 we need the whole thing. 710 00:36:02,333 --> 00:36:04,750 Secondly, when Jesus Christ, in Luke 4, 711 00:36:04,833 --> 00:36:09,917 appears to the disciples walking on the Emmaus road, 712 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:12,000 and they're talking about everything that has happened, 713 00:36:12,083 --> 00:36:15,167 and Jesus walked beside ever so silently. 714 00:36:15,250 --> 00:36:18,250 If you would choose to walk with him, trust me, 715 00:36:18,333 --> 00:36:19,750 he's walking with you. 716 00:36:19,833 --> 00:36:23,250 And you may not realize it, but he's there. 717 00:36:23,333 --> 00:36:25,750 And he says to them, "What are you talking about?" 718 00:36:25,833 --> 00:36:28,750 And they say to him, "What are you--are you the only one 719 00:36:28,833 --> 00:36:31,750 in Israel that doesn't know what's going on?" 720 00:36:31,833 --> 00:36:34,500 Which is very humorous, because they're talking to the only one 721 00:36:34,583 --> 00:36:38,500 in Israel who does know what's going on. 722 00:36:38,542 --> 00:36:41,333 And the Bible says this, "And he began to explain 723 00:36:41,375 --> 00:36:42,917 everything to them." 724 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:45,333 Starting with Moses and the prophet, 725 00:36:45,375 --> 00:36:48,833 he explained everything concerning himself. 726 00:36:48,917 --> 00:36:51,833 This is why it's right to say it's all about Jesus. 727 00:36:51,875 --> 00:36:53,958 Everything from the Old Testament 728 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:56,750 right through, which means every page of the Bible, 729 00:36:56,833 --> 00:36:59,417 Jesus is in there somewhere. 730 00:36:59,500 --> 00:37:02,750 And when you get that down, you learn to look for him. 731 00:37:02,833 --> 00:37:05,833 He will speak to you through the Scriptures-- 732 00:37:05,917 --> 00:37:07,792 through the Scriptures. 733 00:37:07,833 --> 00:37:10,000 He's in there somewhere. 734 00:37:10,083 --> 00:37:12,833 But maybe one third bit of evidence, 735 00:37:12,875 --> 00:37:16,000 1 Corinthians 10 says that these things were written 736 00:37:16,083 --> 00:37:18,333 for our example. 737 00:37:18,417 --> 00:37:21,292 "Let he that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." 738 00:37:21,333 --> 00:37:25,333 These things were written for us that we may learn. 739 00:37:25,375 --> 00:37:29,750 So we approach this story, not wanting to be a preacher who 740 00:37:29,833 --> 00:37:32,750 just picks up an Old Testament story, makes a parabolic jump, 741 00:37:32,833 --> 00:37:35,417 an illustration, and land, and just give it to you, 742 00:37:35,500 --> 00:37:38,458 but that this is truth if you will listen carefully. 743 00:37:38,500 --> 00:37:40,125 How does one resurrect faith? 744 00:37:40,167 --> 00:37:41,833 Number one, you need to acknowledge God. 745 00:37:41,875 --> 00:37:43,833 Joshua wakes up. 746 00:37:43,875 --> 00:37:46,833 And the Bible says in waking up, he sees a soldier standing 747 00:37:46,875 --> 00:37:49,667 in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. 748 00:37:49,750 --> 00:37:52,583 Joshua is a military man. 749 00:37:52,667 --> 00:37:54,917 He's a general. 750 00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:58,250 If this guy was just some short guy with a plastic sword, 751 00:37:58,333 --> 00:38:00,500 I don't think this would make the Bible. 752 00:38:00,583 --> 00:38:05,500 Joshua has seen something fairly formidable. 753 00:38:05,583 --> 00:38:08,500 And Joshua looks to him, and this man must have been 754 00:38:08,542 --> 00:38:12,208 so impressive, an incredible warrior from God, 755 00:38:12,292 --> 00:38:13,917 and Joshua looks at him and says, 756 00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:17,917 "Are you for us or for our enemies?" 757 00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:19,583 I don't blame Josh. 758 00:38:19,667 --> 00:38:21,667 That's exactly what I would have asked 759 00:38:21,750 --> 00:38:26,000 because it would be good to know. 760 00:38:26,083 --> 00:38:29,000 Are you for us or for our enemies? 761 00:38:29,083 --> 00:38:32,500 It reminds me a long time ago, driving with my sons in the car. 762 00:38:32,583 --> 00:38:35,000 They were about 4, 3 years old, 4 years old. 763 00:38:35,083 --> 00:38:38,500 I was driving on the highway and on the other side 764 00:38:38,542 --> 00:38:41,917 of the highway, we see a row of military tanks. 765 00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:44,125 Lots of them. 766 00:38:44,167 --> 00:38:47,042 And I spoke to the boys behind and I jazzed them up. 767 00:38:47,125 --> 00:38:48,708 "Look at these tanks! Augh! 768 00:38:48,792 --> 00:38:50,208 We're going to blow something up!" 769 00:38:50,292 --> 00:38:52,208 And you know what boys are like, "Ahhhh!" 770 00:38:52,292 --> 00:38:54,500 They're all that, and I'm stoking them even more. 771 00:38:54,542 --> 00:38:56,708 They're shouting and we're having all this fun. 772 00:38:56,792 --> 00:39:03,833 And then in dawns on me, "Hang on, are they our tanks?" 773 00:39:06,042 --> 00:39:07,542 Are they--they are ours. 774 00:39:07,625 --> 00:39:10,458 Because it would be so ridiculous to be being invaded 775 00:39:10,500 --> 00:39:14,167 and applauding as you're being invaded. 776 00:39:14,250 --> 00:39:15,833 Are they our tanks? 777 00:39:15,917 --> 00:39:18,917 Joshua wakes up and sees this guy, 778 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:22,750 and he doesn't try to fight him because no one can fight 779 00:39:22,833 --> 00:39:24,625 this person I'm seeing. 780 00:39:24,667 --> 00:39:27,417 And he says, "Are you on our side or against us?" 781 00:39:27,500 --> 00:39:31,583 And then answer is this, "No." 782 00:39:31,667 --> 00:39:33,833 "Okay, that wasn't helpful, let's try again. 783 00:39:33,875 --> 00:39:37,000 Are you on our side or are you against us?" 784 00:39:37,042 --> 00:39:40,833 He says, "I'm the head of the command of the Lord's army. 785 00:39:40,875 --> 00:39:42,625 I have come." 786 00:39:42,667 --> 00:39:44,708 He's come to take over. 787 00:39:44,792 --> 00:39:47,667 And commentators say--commentators say this, 788 00:39:47,708 --> 00:39:50,250 that this is a picture of--preincarnate picture 789 00:39:50,333 --> 00:39:52,833 of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 790 00:39:52,917 --> 00:39:55,833 Because Joshua takes--he bows down and he worships. 791 00:39:55,917 --> 00:39:57,417 He said, "What should I do?" 792 00:39:57,500 --> 00:39:59,417 He says, "Take your shoes off. 793 00:39:59,500 --> 00:40:01,542 Go where you were, it's holy ground." 794 00:40:01,625 --> 00:40:03,333 And Joshua responds. 795 00:40:03,417 --> 00:40:05,292 How does a person revive faith? 796 00:40:05,333 --> 00:40:07,333 Listen, you start by this. 797 00:40:07,375 --> 00:40:09,542 You look to Jesus. 798 00:40:09,625 --> 00:40:12,500 You have to look to him afresh. 799 00:40:12,583 --> 00:40:16,417 You have to acknowledge him all over again because the tendency 800 00:40:16,500 --> 00:40:21,875 to confuse intimacy with familiarity, that happens, 801 00:40:21,958 --> 00:40:24,875 that we get so familiar, so familiar, after awhile, 802 00:40:24,958 --> 00:40:27,375 you see Jesus, you just want to high five him. 803 00:40:27,458 --> 00:40:30,917 "How you doing here Christ? Hey..." 804 00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:33,917 When you get to that place, you are forgetting a lot, 805 00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:35,542 and when you're forgetting a lot, 806 00:40:35,625 --> 00:40:37,542 you're going to miss out on a lot. 807 00:40:37,625 --> 00:40:39,083 He is the Son of God. 808 00:40:39,167 --> 00:40:40,500 He is mighty. 809 00:40:40,542 --> 00:40:41,875 He is majestic. 810 00:40:41,958 --> 00:40:43,375 For there is none like him. 811 00:40:43,458 --> 00:40:45,542 The Son of Righteousness with healing in his wings. 812 00:40:45,625 --> 00:40:49,375 This is God, Almighty God. 813 00:40:49,458 --> 00:40:54,208 You know, you walk with Jesus all your life. 814 00:40:54,292 --> 00:40:56,667 You walk like this and Jesus is here. 815 00:40:56,708 --> 00:41:00,375 Jesus is here, you're here, and he just walks silently. 816 00:41:00,458 --> 00:41:02,667 You do all your chirping and all your asking. 817 00:41:02,708 --> 00:41:05,000 He'll walk with you silently. 818 00:41:05,083 --> 00:41:09,667 One day, he stops, and he looks to you, and says, 819 00:41:09,708 --> 00:41:16,208 "I am God," and then he continues. 820 00:41:18,667 --> 00:41:22,208 You think that doesn't matter in your life? 821 00:41:22,292 --> 00:41:24,250 You think that encounter doesn't count? 822 00:41:24,333 --> 00:41:26,792 It counts for everything. 823 00:41:26,833 --> 00:41:29,750 Yes, you knew him, and yes you know him, 824 00:41:29,833 --> 00:41:33,917 but you need that regular encounter of whom 825 00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:35,583 that we have to deal with. 826 00:41:35,667 --> 00:41:37,000 This is God. 827 00:41:37,083 --> 00:41:40,000 When Jesus said to Peter, "Who do men say that I am 828 00:41:40,083 --> 00:41:42,000 and who do you say that I am?" 829 00:41:42,083 --> 00:41:45,125 Peter says, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." 830 00:41:45,167 --> 00:41:46,833 Those three things are important. 831 00:41:46,875 --> 00:41:49,958 "You are the Christ," that is Savior, "you are the Son," 832 00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:53,708 second member of the Trinity, "and you are the Living God." 833 00:41:53,792 --> 00:41:55,542 That's who Jesus is. 834 00:41:55,625 --> 00:41:58,042 So in case you have forgotten who Jesus is, 835 00:41:58,125 --> 00:42:00,708 in case he has become a character in a book 836 00:42:00,792 --> 00:42:04,083 that you just read through and flick through. 837 00:42:04,167 --> 00:42:07,542 No, no, no, you need to rediscover him afresh, 838 00:42:07,625 --> 00:42:11,167 and that has a way of making faith come alive. 839 00:42:11,250 --> 00:42:14,333 And he--by the way, there is nothing that he cannot solve, 840 00:42:14,375 --> 00:42:16,375 he cannot deal with, he cannot handle. 841 00:42:16,458 --> 00:42:18,125 Can you shout amen to that? 842 00:42:18,167 --> 00:42:20,458 There's no one that says this better, I think, 843 00:42:20,500 --> 00:42:22,000 than Spurgeon when he says this. 844 00:42:22,083 --> 00:42:24,042 Listen to this, great quote. 845 00:42:24,125 --> 00:42:27,042 "Is it not written, 'Cast thy burdens upon the Lord'? 846 00:42:27,125 --> 00:42:29,708 "Is it not written, 'Be careful for nothing, 847 00:42:29,792 --> 00:42:33,000 "'but in everything by prayer and supplication make known 848 00:42:33,042 --> 00:42:35,167 "'your wants unto God'? 849 00:42:35,250 --> 00:42:38,167 "If you cannot trust God for temporals, 850 00:42:38,208 --> 00:42:41,667 "how dare you trust him for spirituals. 851 00:42:41,708 --> 00:42:44,708 "If you cannot trust him for your--if you can trust him with 852 00:42:44,792 --> 00:42:48,833 "your soul's redemption, how come you cannot rely on him 853 00:42:48,917 --> 00:42:52,000 "for lesser mercies? 854 00:42:52,042 --> 00:42:56,417 "Is not God enough for thy needs or is his all-sufficiency 855 00:42:56,500 --> 00:42:59,083 "too narrow for thy wants? 856 00:42:59,167 --> 00:43:00,917 "Is his heart too faint? 857 00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:03,042 "Is his arm too weary? 858 00:43:03,125 --> 00:43:07,208 If so, seek another god." 859 00:43:07,292 --> 00:43:10,667 I wish I wrote that. 860 00:43:11,375 --> 00:43:13,167 I wish I wrote that. 861 00:43:13,208 --> 00:43:15,042 Is this God too narrow for you? 862 00:43:15,125 --> 00:43:16,958 Is this God too small for you? 863 00:43:17,000 --> 00:43:19,875 If so, go find another god. 864 00:43:19,958 --> 00:43:21,542 Go find another god. 865 00:43:21,625 --> 00:43:28,500 But if he is infinite, if he is omnipotent, if he is faithful, 866 00:43:28,542 --> 00:43:33,167 and true, and all-wise, why seek abroad for another confidence? 867 00:43:33,208 --> 00:43:36,250 Why rake the earth looking for another foundation? 868 00:43:36,333 --> 00:43:39,042 He is sufficient for thee. 869 00:43:39,125 --> 00:43:41,000 Can you shout amen to that? 870 00:43:41,083 --> 00:43:43,583 He is sufficient for thee. 871 00:43:43,667 --> 00:43:46,667 And so you don't need to look elsewhere, he is already there. 872 00:43:46,708 --> 00:43:49,333 You just need to see him again for who he is. 873 00:43:49,375 --> 00:43:50,708 How does one begin? 874 00:43:50,792 --> 00:43:52,125 You acknowledge God. 875 00:43:52,167 --> 00:43:54,833 Joshua acknowledged him, took off his shoes, worshiped. 876 00:43:54,917 --> 00:44:00,375 Number two, you need to walk by faith again, and again, 877 00:44:00,458 --> 00:44:04,167 and again, and again, because faith, by its very definition, 878 00:44:04,250 --> 00:44:07,208 has to do also with not giving up. 879 00:44:07,292 --> 00:44:11,708 Faith is believing that God is telling the truth and not lying, 880 00:44:11,792 --> 00:44:14,000 and because you know God is telling the truth, 881 00:44:14,042 --> 00:44:16,750 you keep going, and trusting, and walking, 882 00:44:16,833 --> 00:44:19,417 and you realize one day he begins to really 883 00:44:19,500 --> 00:44:20,833 come true for you. 884 00:44:20,875 --> 00:44:22,958 This is so important. 885 00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:28,000 Doctrine alone will not do it, but mixing the word of God with 886 00:44:28,042 --> 00:44:32,667 faith makes all the difference. 887 00:44:32,708 --> 00:44:35,417 See, everybody--and the reason I say you have to go again 888 00:44:35,500 --> 00:44:36,917 and again is because of this. 889 00:44:37,000 --> 00:44:41,667 Listen, anyone can have faith for 5 minutes. 890 00:44:41,750 --> 00:44:43,708 It's those who endure the whole way, 891 00:44:43,792 --> 00:44:45,458 that's where the difference is. 892 00:44:45,500 --> 00:44:48,375 So when Joshua comes to the people and says to the people, 893 00:44:48,458 --> 00:44:50,583 "Okay, this is how we're going to bring down 894 00:44:50,667 --> 00:44:52,250 the Wall of Jericho." 895 00:44:52,333 --> 00:44:54,917 Why do you want to bring down the Wall of Jericho? 896 00:44:55,000 --> 00:44:56,333 I'll tell you why. 897 00:44:56,375 --> 00:44:58,833 Because that wall is formidable, that wall is strong, 898 00:44:58,917 --> 00:45:00,917 that wall is unrelenting. 899 00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:04,708 Commentaries say you could have driven an 18-wheeler truck 900 00:45:04,792 --> 00:45:10,250 atop that wall. 901 00:45:10,333 --> 00:45:13,917 And I had really believed, just like it says of Jesus, 902 00:45:14,000 --> 00:45:15,583 "For the rock in the desert." 903 00:45:15,667 --> 00:45:17,375 It says, "For that rock was Christ." 904 00:45:17,458 --> 00:45:19,875 Does it mean that rock was actually Jesus Christ sitting 905 00:45:19,958 --> 00:45:22,875 down in the desert all this time, hiding away in the dark? 906 00:45:22,958 --> 00:45:26,792 No, it means that that rock was a picture of Jesus, 907 00:45:26,833 --> 00:45:28,833 was a shadow of what would really be. 908 00:45:28,875 --> 00:45:31,750 And I want to suggest to you that in the same way, 909 00:45:31,833 --> 00:45:35,667 we all face Jerichos in our lives. 910 00:45:35,750 --> 00:45:38,250 We really do, that you walk with the Lord, 911 00:45:38,333 --> 00:45:42,000 you're out of Egypt you say, but at some point you hit something 912 00:45:42,042 --> 00:45:44,333 and you don't know how to cross this thing. 913 00:45:44,417 --> 00:45:48,250 Jericho comes in different forms. 914 00:45:48,333 --> 00:45:51,417 For some people, it's probably at the physical dimension 915 00:45:51,500 --> 00:45:53,292 of life. 916 00:45:53,333 --> 00:45:55,958 Some kind of healing that you're trusting God for, 917 00:45:56,000 --> 00:45:58,625 but it just hasn't happened. 918 00:45:58,667 --> 00:46:00,625 And when it hasn't happened over time, 919 00:46:00,667 --> 00:46:04,000 faith begins to be dissipated from you. 920 00:46:04,042 --> 00:46:08,083 For some people, it's at the emotional dimension of life. 921 00:46:08,167 --> 00:46:10,625 Fears that have a way of crippling people 922 00:46:10,667 --> 00:46:12,667 and handicapping them. 923 00:46:12,708 --> 00:46:17,833 Fear of man, fear of the future, fear of the unknown. 924 00:46:17,875 --> 00:46:22,250 For some people, it has to do with just thoughts that fill 925 00:46:22,333 --> 00:46:26,542 the mind until it's like a cesspool of sewage, 926 00:46:26,625 --> 00:46:31,500 thoughts that are negative thoughts that harm. 927 00:46:31,542 --> 00:46:35,500 All these things have a way of becoming Jerichos to us. 928 00:46:35,583 --> 00:46:38,292 How does one deal with a Jericho then? 929 00:46:38,333 --> 00:46:40,500 Well, many people think, "I'll just work harder. 930 00:46:40,542 --> 00:46:42,167 "I'll throw myself into my job. 931 00:46:42,250 --> 00:46:43,833 I'll overcome this thing." 932 00:46:43,875 --> 00:46:46,750 And a kind of perfectionism begins to show up 933 00:46:46,833 --> 00:46:49,583 in their lives, and that thing will run its course, 934 00:46:49,667 --> 00:46:51,500 and they'll run out of energy, 935 00:46:51,542 --> 00:46:54,292 and then they have a crisis of faith. 936 00:46:54,333 --> 00:46:57,167 Some try to climb over Jericho. 937 00:46:57,208 --> 00:46:59,500 You can't climb over it. 938 00:46:59,583 --> 00:47:02,500 But they know too much than to go back into Egypt, 939 00:47:02,583 --> 00:47:07,125 so most Christians will camp base--will camp at the base 940 00:47:07,167 --> 00:47:10,458 of Jericho and just live there. 941 00:47:10,500 --> 00:47:14,333 Not advancing, not retreating, stuck in a rut. 942 00:47:14,417 --> 00:47:16,958 Well that would have been okay except for this. 943 00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:19,833 Christianity was never meant to be--your salvation was 944 00:47:19,875 --> 00:47:23,167 never meant to be just a destination, "I'm saved." 945 00:47:23,208 --> 00:47:25,000 It was supposed to be a destination, 946 00:47:25,083 --> 00:47:27,333 and more so even a destiny, 947 00:47:27,375 --> 00:47:29,375 the open of a door to a destiny, 948 00:47:29,458 --> 00:47:32,458 who God intended for you to be, the way he wired you, 949 00:47:32,500 --> 00:47:34,167 the purpose for which he made you, 950 00:47:34,208 --> 00:47:37,125 his intention for your life, Ephesians 2:10, 951 00:47:37,167 --> 00:47:40,542 good works that he has prepared for you that if you don't get 952 00:47:40,625 --> 00:47:42,833 that thing right, you just camp there. 953 00:47:42,917 --> 00:47:46,625 And sad to say, sometimes theologies get built around it 954 00:47:46,667 --> 00:47:48,208 to say, "Yeah, just stay there. 955 00:47:48,292 --> 00:47:49,875 That's your lot in life." 956 00:47:49,958 --> 00:47:52,333 That's closer to Islam and fatalism. 957 00:47:52,417 --> 00:47:54,083 I do believe that there is suffering 958 00:47:54,167 --> 00:47:55,708 in the Christian world. 959 00:47:55,792 --> 00:48:00,375 I mean, the one who saved us died on a blood-stained cross. 960 00:48:00,458 --> 00:48:03,458 That's like a big hint that there's suffering in this thing, 961 00:48:03,500 --> 00:48:06,750 but you can suffer well. 962 00:48:06,833 --> 00:48:09,625 But you can suffer knowing that you're going through this 963 00:48:09,667 --> 00:48:13,125 because you will not yield to something else apart 964 00:48:13,167 --> 00:48:15,333 from his way and his word. 965 00:48:15,375 --> 00:48:16,917 And then he brings you through. 966 00:48:17,000 --> 00:48:18,500 How does one overcome that thing, 967 00:48:18,542 --> 00:48:19,958 camping at the base of Jericho? 968 00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:22,333 Joshua comes to the people and says to them, 969 00:48:22,375 --> 00:48:24,750 "The way we're going to bring Jericho down is, yeah, 970 00:48:24,833 --> 00:48:30,083 we're going to walk around the wall, yeah, once a day." 971 00:48:30,167 --> 00:48:33,583 What do you think the people thought when they heard that? 972 00:48:33,667 --> 00:48:35,042 "Really? 973 00:48:35,125 --> 00:48:37,708 "We're going to bring the wall down--sorry, did you say--sorry, 974 00:48:37,792 --> 00:48:40,833 for a second there I thought you said we're going to walk." 975 00:48:40,917 --> 00:48:43,583 "Yeah, we're going to walk once a day. 976 00:48:43,667 --> 00:48:46,792 "So early in the morning, every morning, everybody wake up. 977 00:48:46,833 --> 00:48:48,458 We're going to walk." 978 00:48:48,500 --> 00:48:51,667 Now, let me tell you, this is a picture of what church life 979 00:48:51,708 --> 00:48:55,083 can be like because I've been a pastor for a little while, 980 00:48:55,167 --> 00:48:59,958 so I can tell you what the relationship between pastor, 981 00:49:00,083 --> 00:49:02,375 you know, shepherd and sheep can be like sometimes. 982 00:49:02,458 --> 00:49:04,625 Especially if you have, like, a new pastor on, 983 00:49:04,667 --> 00:49:06,375 yeah, this is interesting. 984 00:49:06,458 --> 00:49:09,375 On day one, they're all on your side. 985 00:49:09,458 --> 00:49:10,792 Yeah. 986 00:49:10,833 --> 00:49:13,292 So you'll go, "We're going to go around the mountain. 987 00:49:13,333 --> 00:49:14,792 We're going to go around Jericho." 988 00:49:14,833 --> 00:49:16,292 And everybody's thinking, "Yeah, Joshua. 989 00:49:16,333 --> 00:49:17,667 "Impressive guy, Joshua. 990 00:49:17,750 --> 00:49:19,083 "Fantastic leader. 991 00:49:19,167 --> 00:49:20,833 "I like him, oh yes! Oh yes! 992 00:49:20,875 --> 00:49:22,208 He's the guy." 993 00:49:22,292 --> 00:49:24,708 And they walk around. Yeah, that's day one. 994 00:49:24,792 --> 00:49:26,708 Everyone can have faith for half an hour. 995 00:49:26,792 --> 00:49:29,542 Day two, he wakes them up. "We're going around again." 996 00:49:29,625 --> 00:49:31,042 "Yeah, yeah, go on Joshua. 997 00:49:31,125 --> 00:49:33,542 "He has a plan, you know? He has a plan. 998 00:49:33,625 --> 00:49:34,958 "Joshua has a plan. 999 00:49:35,000 --> 00:49:37,458 "I think us marching at the same time might weaken 1000 00:49:37,500 --> 00:49:39,125 "the foundations of the wall. 1001 00:49:39,167 --> 00:49:40,500 He has a plan." 1002 00:49:40,583 --> 00:49:42,667 And they do all that. That's day two. 1003 00:49:42,750 --> 00:49:47,000 By day three, there's a little silence. 1004 00:49:47,042 --> 00:49:51,167 Then he says, "You know, I was just thinking. 1005 00:49:51,250 --> 00:49:55,042 Now you know me, I'm not one to complain." 1006 00:49:55,125 --> 00:49:59,708 Yeah, any time you hear that, run for your life. 1007 00:49:59,792 --> 00:50:03,125 "I'm not one to complain, but I was just wondering, you know, 1008 00:50:03,167 --> 00:50:05,333 "it just looks like we're going around in circles. 1009 00:50:05,417 --> 00:50:07,708 We're not--we're just going around in circles." 1010 00:50:07,792 --> 00:50:11,500 By day four, it's like, "What are we doing here, huh? 1011 00:50:11,542 --> 00:50:13,250 "What are we doing? 1012 00:50:13,333 --> 00:50:16,250 "I mean, how do we know this guy Joshua really has it? 1013 00:50:16,333 --> 00:50:18,000 "I mean, who is his dad anyway? 1014 00:50:18,042 --> 00:50:19,375 Who knows his family?" 1015 00:50:19,458 --> 00:50:22,083 Yeah, by day five they're like, "We're fed up of this. 1016 00:50:22,167 --> 00:50:23,875 "We want blood! 1017 00:50:23,958 --> 00:50:26,292 "Give us a hammer or a chisel. 1018 00:50:26,333 --> 00:50:28,167 "Let's go at this wall or something. 1019 00:50:28,208 --> 00:50:30,458 "Who ever heard of just marching around every morning 1020 00:50:30,500 --> 00:50:33,000 disturbing our sleep?" 1021 00:50:33,083 --> 00:50:35,500 That's how it tends to go. 1022 00:50:35,583 --> 00:50:38,500 And then on the 7th day, he comes to them and says, 1023 00:50:38,583 --> 00:50:39,917 "Right, now today--" 1024 00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:41,417 They're like, "Yeah, we know, 1025 00:50:41,500 --> 00:50:42,833 we're going around the wall." 1026 00:50:42,875 --> 00:50:45,542 It's like, "No, no, actually, today we're going to go around 1027 00:50:45,625 --> 00:50:47,583 the wall seven times." 1028 00:50:47,667 --> 00:50:51,583 You know what happens when God wants to do something mighty 1029 00:50:51,667 --> 00:50:56,125 and he gives people a simple directive, but halfway through, 1030 00:50:56,167 --> 00:50:58,125 they begin to give up? 1031 00:50:58,167 --> 00:50:59,500 They begin to give up. 1032 00:50:59,583 --> 00:51:01,958 They begin to wreck it with things they think, 1033 00:51:02,000 --> 00:51:05,333 and things they say, and how they feel about the whole thing. 1034 00:51:05,375 --> 00:51:09,083 There are some faith killers that you need to watch out for. 1035 00:51:09,167 --> 00:51:13,000 The first one is negativism, the disposition 1036 00:51:13,083 --> 00:51:16,458 to always project to the worst case scenario. 1037 00:51:16,500 --> 00:51:19,875 You must know somebody like that. 1038 00:51:19,958 --> 00:51:22,625 Every church has--oh, you're sitting there all looking pretty 1039 00:51:22,667 --> 00:51:24,000 like it doesn't. 1040 00:51:24,083 --> 00:51:25,417 It happens in every church. 1041 00:51:25,500 --> 00:51:27,708 You must have somebody here who's like that. 1042 00:51:27,792 --> 00:51:29,417 Every church has one. 1043 00:51:29,500 --> 00:51:34,417 Maybe it's you. 1044 00:51:34,500 --> 00:51:36,000 Negativism. 1045 00:51:36,042 --> 00:51:39,042 There's some people, no matter how positive anything is, 1046 00:51:39,125 --> 00:51:42,417 they will find a negative thing in it. 1047 00:51:42,500 --> 00:51:46,417 And you don't realize that thing has a way of extinguishing 1048 00:51:46,500 --> 00:51:47,833 your faith. 1049 00:51:47,875 --> 00:51:50,417 It does you more harm than you realize. 1050 00:51:50,500 --> 00:51:52,417 They always cover up their negativism with, 1051 00:51:52,500 --> 00:51:55,750 "No, it's just common sense," but it's usually unbelief 1052 00:51:55,833 --> 00:51:58,917 masquerading as common sense. 1053 00:51:59,000 --> 00:52:01,042 Second thing is criticism, 1054 00:52:01,125 --> 00:52:03,375 the disposition that's preoccupied with 1055 00:52:03,458 --> 00:52:06,500 the incomplete or with the imperfect. 1056 00:52:06,542 --> 00:52:09,000 Oh, I know people like that. 1057 00:52:09,042 --> 00:52:11,833 Criticism is like a gift to them. 1058 00:52:11,875 --> 00:52:13,417 It's like a spiritual gift, 1059 00:52:13,500 --> 00:52:15,417 but it didn't come from the Holy Spirit. 1060 00:52:15,500 --> 00:52:18,792 It came from somewhere else. 1061 00:52:18,833 --> 00:52:20,917 And they can criticize effortlessly. 1062 00:52:21,000 --> 00:52:23,167 It's recreational for them. 1063 00:52:23,250 --> 00:52:28,500 Or skepticism, the disposition that is determined to 1064 00:52:28,583 --> 00:52:31,292 always question, but never commit. 1065 00:52:31,333 --> 00:52:34,583 Yeah, you know those kinds of people. 1066 00:52:34,667 --> 00:52:36,583 They question, "Really? Why? 1067 00:52:36,667 --> 00:52:38,000 "Where are we going now? 1068 00:52:38,042 --> 00:52:40,125 What are we doing now as a church?" 1069 00:52:40,167 --> 00:52:42,792 But when it comes to, "Okay, this is what we're doing. 1070 00:52:42,833 --> 00:52:44,792 Let's commit," no commitment, but they always question. 1071 00:52:44,833 --> 00:52:46,292 Skeptic. 1072 00:52:46,333 --> 00:52:49,000 These things harm your faith more than you realize. 1073 00:52:49,083 --> 00:52:54,208 Or cynicism, the disposition to reject any human enterprise 1074 00:52:54,292 --> 00:52:57,333 as unselfishly motivated. 1075 00:52:57,375 --> 00:53:00,125 Anything that's happening, "Ooh, what are they doing now? 1076 00:53:00,167 --> 00:53:01,958 "There's got to be something behind it? 1077 00:53:02,000 --> 00:53:03,333 What's behind that?" 1078 00:53:03,417 --> 00:53:05,875 There's nothing behind it, but you have grown to become 1079 00:53:05,958 --> 00:53:08,417 so suspicious of everything. 1080 00:53:08,500 --> 00:53:13,333 The point is, those things, they gnaw at your faith until they 1081 00:53:13,417 --> 00:53:16,792 extinguish your faith and you don't even realize it. 1082 00:53:16,833 --> 00:53:20,125 By the way, be married to somebody who has all these four 1083 00:53:20,167 --> 00:53:22,083 and you're done. 1084 00:53:22,167 --> 00:53:23,875 It's game over. 1085 00:53:23,958 --> 00:53:26,667 You're going to have to work super hard at that marriage. 1086 00:53:26,708 --> 00:53:29,083 Nothing worse than a husband who comes and says, 1087 00:53:29,167 --> 00:53:30,500 "Well that wasn't very good. 1088 00:53:30,542 --> 00:53:31,875 "What are we having today? 1089 00:53:31,958 --> 00:53:33,958 Burnt offerings or--" nastiness the whole time. 1090 00:53:34,000 --> 00:53:36,417 That's hard. 1091 00:53:36,500 --> 00:53:38,833 So my counsel, by the way, before you marry them, 1092 00:53:38,917 --> 00:53:40,875 double check. 1093 00:53:40,958 --> 00:53:45,750 Don't give yourself a life imprisonment now. 1094 00:53:45,833 --> 00:53:48,250 I felt this morning just praying and preparing for this, 1095 00:53:48,333 --> 00:53:50,167 the Lord really dropped something on my heart, 1096 00:53:50,250 --> 00:53:52,667 a fifth one, which is not on your PowerPoint here, 1097 00:53:52,750 --> 00:53:54,708 but it's unforgiveness. 1098 00:53:54,792 --> 00:54:00,833 And it's probably bigger than all the other ones put together, 1099 00:54:00,917 --> 00:54:04,000 unforgiveness, because unforgiveness becomes like 1100 00:54:04,083 --> 00:54:08,167 an albatross, like a big rock, and it causes a blockage 1101 00:54:08,208 --> 00:54:10,833 on the inside of you. 1102 00:54:10,917 --> 00:54:14,333 And you will not hear from God the way you ought to, 1103 00:54:14,417 --> 00:54:17,667 you will not receive from God, you will not have a walk with 1104 00:54:17,708 --> 00:54:21,458 God that has real traction or life in it if unforgiveness is 1105 00:54:21,500 --> 00:54:24,292 dominating your life. 1106 00:54:24,333 --> 00:54:26,833 And there are too many Christians that this thing ties 1107 00:54:26,875 --> 00:54:32,167 them up and gags them down, but they hold onto their 1108 00:54:32,208 --> 00:54:34,750 unforgiveness and they carry their unforgiveness 1109 00:54:34,833 --> 00:54:36,250 everywhere they go. 1110 00:54:36,333 --> 00:54:37,917 That thing is a marriage wrecker. 1111 00:54:38,000 --> 00:54:39,917 It's a life wrecker. 1112 00:54:40,000 --> 00:54:42,667 No wonder Jesus spoke about it so many times and said, 1113 00:54:42,750 --> 00:54:44,625 "Let it go." 1114 00:54:44,667 --> 00:54:46,417 Let it go! 1115 00:54:46,500 --> 00:54:51,875 Let it go. 1116 00:54:51,958 --> 00:54:56,500 On one occasion, Jesus told the story of the man who's coming 1117 00:54:56,583 --> 00:54:59,833 to give an offering in church, and Jesus says, 1118 00:54:59,917 --> 00:55:01,875 "Leave your offering there. 1119 00:55:01,958 --> 00:55:04,375 Go put it right with your brother." 1120 00:55:04,458 --> 00:55:06,833 You know what he probably could think God is saying? 1121 00:55:06,917 --> 00:55:09,000 "You've got unforgiveness in your heart. 1122 00:55:09,083 --> 00:55:11,167 "Please don't bother coming. 1123 00:55:11,250 --> 00:55:14,042 Don't even bother coming." 1124 00:55:14,125 --> 00:55:17,167 It stifles faith. 1125 00:55:17,208 --> 00:55:22,333 No, the way to resurrect faith, acknowledge God for who he is 1126 00:55:22,417 --> 00:55:25,792 and then walk by faith again, and again. 1127 00:55:25,833 --> 00:55:30,000 And right through that journey, you refuse to let faith killers 1128 00:55:30,083 --> 00:55:33,750 come gnaw at it and kill it. 1129 00:55:33,833 --> 00:55:39,958 And finally, the third one, obey God's word boldly. 1130 00:55:40,000 --> 00:55:44,833 Whoever it is that said, "Faith is spelled R-I-S-K" is right. 1131 00:55:44,875 --> 00:55:47,458 He's got a good point. 1132 00:55:47,500 --> 00:55:50,292 Faith involves risk. 1133 00:55:50,333 --> 00:55:52,750 I'll close by telling you this. 1134 00:55:52,833 --> 00:55:55,333 A friend of mine--actually it's one of our pastors now. 1135 00:55:55,375 --> 00:55:59,750 He was an occupational therapist in the hospital and he would-- 1136 00:55:59,833 --> 00:56:02,708 on this particular occasion, he went to a patient 1137 00:56:02,792 --> 00:56:04,208 who had a surgery. 1138 00:56:04,292 --> 00:56:07,583 It wasn't that major a surgery, but he was kind of an older guy 1139 00:56:07,667 --> 00:56:10,792 who was kind of a complaining kind of man a lot, you know? 1140 00:56:10,833 --> 00:56:13,792 And he came to this guy and said to him, "Okay, sir, 1141 00:56:13,833 --> 00:56:16,667 "we see you've had your surgery and you've recuperated well. 1142 00:56:16,750 --> 00:56:18,167 "We just need to mobilize you, 1143 00:56:18,250 --> 00:56:20,375 get your legs walking again and everything." 1144 00:56:20,458 --> 00:56:26,625 The guy's like, "What? You want me to walk? 1145 00:56:26,667 --> 00:56:29,958 "No! I just had a big surgery. 1146 00:56:30,000 --> 00:56:31,667 "I feared for my life. 1147 00:56:31,750 --> 00:56:33,750 "You can't just come tell me to--no thanks, 1148 00:56:33,833 --> 00:56:35,667 I want a second opinion." 1149 00:56:35,750 --> 00:56:39,833 Okay, so they get the second opinion and the person 1150 00:56:39,917 --> 00:56:43,542 they sent now, young girl, new to the job, just qualifies. 1151 00:56:43,625 --> 00:56:47,833 She comes with, "Sir, would you like to walk?" 1152 00:56:47,875 --> 00:56:50,417 He says, "No!" 1153 00:56:50,500 --> 00:56:53,083 She says, "Okay." 1154 00:56:53,167 --> 00:56:54,708 She leaves him. 1155 00:56:54,792 --> 00:56:56,167 Next week she comes. 1156 00:56:56,250 --> 00:56:58,500 "Sir, would you like to walk?" 1157 00:56:58,583 --> 00:57:00,417 "No!" 1158 00:57:00,500 --> 00:57:03,292 She says, "Okay." 1159 00:57:03,333 --> 00:57:06,292 Third time she comes, "Would you like to walk?" 1160 00:57:06,333 --> 00:57:07,833 Now he's realizing, 1161 00:57:07,875 --> 00:57:10,833 "I think she's just going to keep saying okay." 1162 00:57:10,875 --> 00:57:13,542 And he's thinking, "But I do want to walk one day," 1163 00:57:13,625 --> 00:57:17,125 so he says, "I want the other occupational therapist back." 1164 00:57:17,167 --> 00:57:19,667 So they bring my friend back. 1165 00:57:19,708 --> 00:57:24,125 He comes and he says, "Sir, I see we meet again. 1166 00:57:24,167 --> 00:57:25,833 Would you like to walk?" 1167 00:57:25,917 --> 00:57:29,125 "Well, I'm scared if I walk, you know, if I take this step, 1168 00:57:29,167 --> 00:57:30,500 you know, I might--" 1169 00:57:30,583 --> 00:57:32,167 "Sir, would you like to walk?" 1170 00:57:32,250 --> 00:57:35,167 "Yeah, I know, I want to walk but I'm just saying that, 1171 00:57:35,250 --> 00:57:36,792 you know, it's early, my surgery--" 1172 00:57:36,833 --> 00:57:38,167 "Sir, would you like--" 1173 00:57:38,250 --> 00:57:40,125 "Yes, yes, yes, I want to walk." 1174 00:57:40,167 --> 00:57:46,667 So he finally gets him, lifts him, helps him, mobilizes him, 1175 00:57:46,708 --> 00:57:48,208 and eventually he's walking. 1176 00:57:48,292 --> 00:57:49,750 The point is this. 1177 00:57:49,833 --> 00:57:52,250 You cannot say, "I'm trying to have faith with God," 1178 00:57:52,333 --> 00:57:53,667 but you won't do anything. 1179 00:57:53,708 --> 00:57:55,833 You're just going to sit down in one spot 1180 00:57:55,917 --> 00:57:57,250 and in one place forever. 1181 00:57:57,333 --> 00:57:58,667 It doesn't work that way. 1182 00:57:58,708 --> 00:58:01,292 At some point, you're going to have to get up. 1183 00:58:01,333 --> 00:58:03,958 At some point, you're going to have to make a difference. 1184 00:58:04,000 --> 00:58:06,625 You learn to hear from God and take the first step. 1185 00:58:06,667 --> 00:58:08,125 The way that faith works, really, 1186 00:58:08,167 --> 00:58:11,917 you take the first step and God supports you in it 1187 00:58:12,000 --> 00:58:13,333 and he's there with you. 1188 00:58:13,417 --> 00:58:15,375 And you think it through, pray it through, 1189 00:58:15,458 --> 00:58:18,208 and be counseled well by God-fearing people, 1190 00:58:18,292 --> 00:58:22,583 but in the end, you have to take still that first step. 1191 00:58:22,667 --> 00:58:24,125 Because the Bible says this. 1192 00:58:24,167 --> 00:58:26,375 When after they walked around seven times--walked around 1193 00:58:26,458 --> 00:58:30,458 the wall, Joshua said to them, "Now shout." 1194 00:58:30,500 --> 00:58:31,833 Think about it. 1195 00:58:31,917 --> 00:58:33,583 They walked around seven times each day. 1196 00:58:33,667 --> 00:58:37,000 Now on the 7th day they walk around 7 times on the 7th day. 1197 00:58:37,042 --> 00:58:38,875 Still, not even a crack. 1198 00:58:38,958 --> 00:58:41,333 I mean, by now you're expecting at least a crack. 1199 00:58:41,375 --> 00:58:44,375 No cracks, nothing, no fracture in the whole thing. 1200 00:58:44,458 --> 00:58:46,833 Then it says, "Now shout." 1201 00:58:46,917 --> 00:58:51,792 To praise God before the thing comes is the height of faith. 1202 00:58:51,833 --> 00:58:53,333 "Now shout." 1203 00:58:53,417 --> 00:58:57,333 And the Bible says, "And so they shouted a great shout." 1204 00:58:57,375 --> 00:59:01,667 And only when they shouted, the walls of Jericho came down. 1205 00:59:01,708 --> 00:59:04,167 And Hebrews 11 tells us that by faith, 1206 00:59:04,250 --> 00:59:07,625 the walls of Jericho came down. 1207 00:59:07,667 --> 00:59:13,667 My prayer is that you will be lifted from a life of dormancy, 1208 00:59:13,750 --> 00:59:16,833 wherever that might be, and a life of routine, 1209 00:59:16,875 --> 00:59:20,458 and a life that just follows pragmatics and strategies, 1210 00:59:20,500 --> 00:59:23,208 and get back to a flow of the Spirit, 1211 00:59:23,292 --> 00:59:26,792 and let your heart be so open so that kingdom authority may flow 1212 00:59:26,833 --> 00:59:30,292 from his throne onto you, his own. 1213 00:59:30,333 --> 00:59:32,833 That you may hear God, his little nudge, 1214 00:59:32,875 --> 00:59:35,292 his little explanation, his little help. 1215 00:59:35,333 --> 00:59:37,958 So that when you open the word of God, 1216 00:59:38,000 --> 00:59:41,583 this is not just a routine where I read, and I take, 1217 00:59:41,667 --> 00:59:43,833 and I'm done, but the whole time, 1218 00:59:43,917 --> 00:59:46,625 he is whispering something to me. 1219 00:59:46,667 --> 00:59:49,625 This makes a difference in anybody's life. 1220 00:59:49,667 --> 00:59:52,667 May that be the case for you in Jesus' name. 1221 00:59:52,708 --> 00:59:54,333 And everybody said amen. 1222 00:59:54,417 --> 00:59:57,958 God bless you for listening. 1223 00:59:59,500 --> 01:00:00,833 Pastor Sutton Turner here. 1224 01:00:00,875 --> 01:00:02,167 The sermon just finished 1225 01:00:02,250 --> 01:00:05,125 and you can still play a role at Mars Hill church. 1226 01:00:05,167 --> 01:00:09,125 Whether you're part of one of our local Mars Hill churches, 1227 01:00:09,167 --> 01:00:12,500 or part of our global Mars Hill community, 1228 01:00:12,542 --> 01:00:16,167 if you value this sermon, please consider making a donation 1229 01:00:16,250 --> 01:00:20,750 by visiting marshill.com/give. 1230 01:00:20,833 --> 01:00:23,833 Sermons like this are recorded and streamed for free 1231 01:00:23,917 --> 01:00:27,000 to anyone interested in learning more about Jesus 1232 01:00:27,042 --> 01:00:28,667 and living their faith. 1233 01:00:28,708 --> 01:00:32,000 And I'd like to ask you to support making that happen 1234 01:00:32,042 --> 01:00:35,500 by making a gift, even a small one, to Mars Hill, 1235 01:00:35,583 --> 01:00:39,750 you will help a global family of brothers and sisters in Christ 1236 01:00:39,833 --> 01:00:44,958 that download sermons like this one over 10 million times. 1237 01:00:45,000 --> 01:00:49,000 Your gift also helps plant churches, equip evangelists, 1238 01:00:49,083 --> 01:00:53,542 distribute bibles and study materials all over the world. 1239 01:00:53,625 --> 01:00:56,417 Let's see more materials translated, 1240 01:00:56,500 --> 01:00:59,500 more pastors sent out, more churches planted, 1241 01:00:59,583 --> 01:01:02,000 and more people saved by Jesus Christ.