Episode 31: 2 Corinthians and Joshua

This episode covers  2 Corinthians 4–10 and Joshua 1–14, emphasizing that our identity in Christ fuels endurance, obedience, and bold faith—even in hardship. It also highlights how God moves through those who trust and obey Him, calling believers to live with eternity in mind and faithfully steward what they’ve been given.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Well, good day, everybody, and I am thrilled that you have taken the time to check in with us today with North Bible Recap. Uh each and every week we're showing up talking about God's Word. I hope that you are reading along with us and diving in and growing and learning, and we'd like to hear it. Matter of fact, we have people that stop, at least me, and I know Pastor Christian and Pastor Samson and others that are guests on this uh uh podcast and telling us that it's making a difference and you're enjoying it. So keep us uh informed and we love it and share it with somebody else. Christian, anything you want to say?

SPEAKER_02 0:43

I just want to say thank you to everyone that watches this every single week, and and it's it's an honor to be able to do this uh one with you and before you guys. Uh so like, subscribe.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

Okay. All right, we're gonna dive into it. Uh yeah, second Corinthians. We are uh uh last week was one through three, and today it's four through ten we're gonna cover, and then we're also going to dive into uh the book of Joshua. We're gonna look at 14 chapters, the first 14 chapters. You're gonna lay a foundation of Joshua for us, and then this week there's no Proverbs and there's no Psalms, which is kind of an odd week. Usually at least you have one Psalms, but this week there's not. Yep. So we're gonna dive into it, and why don't you kind of lead the way? We're continuing.

SPEAKER_02 1:27

Uh 2 Corinthians Pastor Samson did a phenomenal job uh on laying the foundation on 2 Corinthians, the issues of the 2nd Corinthians, which are some some of them are similar from 1 Corinthians, but uh one of the things that we talked about was the super apostles. Uh, and these are the people that are challenging Paul's um um apostleship. And we have talked about this in the last couple of episodes where uh in in Corinth there were this this this rhetoric orders of people that would speak for as their profession, and they were philosophers and uh they were used to like the government would hire them and they will ask them, Hey, we need to convince the people that they need to pay taxes so we can build this stadium, propaganda. So they would hire this professional speakers, and this is all that these people did, and this is important for us to understand. Uh, they were professionals at public speaking, so and then the super apostles that are rising up in the church, they want the church leadership to be like the like the like the like the sophists, like this, this people. And here's it the issue that they have with Paul is that Paul is not only an apostle and a church planter and a leader of the church, but he also has a job, and this was not common for people who have the status of a professional speaker. So they are asking uh the church in the people in the church, well, we need some letters of recommendation, people that speak for Paul, and Paul is telling them, and this is one of the things that Pastor Sampson taught us last week. Paul is saying that no, no, you are my letter of recommendation, like your lifestyle, how how your life has to change. That is my letter of recommendation. So very interesting, uh, but it's very important to to to see that because Paul was an 10 maker, Paul had a job, and part of the reason why he had a job in court is he did not want to take people uh money uh from them because he did not want to confuse them, and he was like, I want to preach the gospel to you for free, and um that's why he has a job. Um, so then we'll go on in chapter four. Chapter four. This is that there's a fake a famous verse, Pastor Rodney, that is the uh treasures in jars of clay. It says verse seven. He says, But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. Now, this is a reference of the knowledge of the glory of God um that that that that we have, these jars of clay. Anything you would like to add about the jars of clays?

SPEAKER_00 4:18

Well, you know, he he goes on. I I think it's very important to understand that um when it talks about these jars of clay, we contain. And it's he's drawn an analogy of so that the people can understand that we are containers and we hold. Either we can hold the things of this world uh that is going to just really waste away. It's not gonna fill us up, it's not gonna, or we can fill ourselves with things that are eternal. In fact, he would that's where he and even lays out the analogy of uh we are temple of the Holy Spirit. And so we are jars of clay, but yet we hold the presence of God's Holy Spirit inside of us. And I think that that's something that we must realize too is that we're filling our life with something. Yep. And if we're not filling ourselves with the word of God, the people of God, and the Spirit of God, and then we leave empty. Yep. And but you know, but if we fill ourselves the right things, we're filling ourselves with uh stuff that um you know is it's gonna matter. That, you know, the literally out of your belly for flow rivers of in water, that's out of our our uh containers. Yep. Uh and so I think that's what Paul is really laying down for them to understand.

SPEAKER_02 5:27

Yeah, and and and in the jars of, you know, we have such a powerful message uh that we carry. We have the good news of Jesus, and uh this is what we need to be doing is sharing the gospel with everyone. And the this whole section that we're really talking about today, what Paul is trying to get them is to be like Christ. Yeah, and that's what you and I need to be doing every single day. Every single day, our goal as Christians is to be more like Jesus. So when we are at work, when we are at a coffee shop, when we are wherever you shop and do your your your daily life, that people can see that there is something different about you. It's very important.

SPEAKER_03 6:06

So so good, so good.

SPEAKER_02 6:08

So uh goes on into uh verses 16 through 18. It's talking about fixing your eyes on eternity. Now, Paul is suffering, uh, he has is facing persecution everywhere that he goes, and he is encouraging the church because now this church is starting to experience some persecution, and Paul is telling them that this this is this pain is temporary, it's gonna stop, but we will we will have an eternal an eternal glory. So the things that you and I go through go through in this life, we're only here for a short period of time. Yeah, you might we might live 60, 70, 80, 90 years, but compared to attaining in eternity, that's a very, very, very, very small uh time. And Paul is trying to get the Corinthians to not think like their culture, not to think about it, and I think this is something that I know I make this mistake, Pastor Ronnie. It's like I don't want to think like the world that I'm in, but I do because I live and coexist with people. And like I and I say things like, well, I don't want to focus on you know all the the the the financial things like buying a bigger house or having a better car. Like I don't want to do that, but I do. So it is something I have to to arrest on. And Paul is telling them, you know, this pain, this persecution that you're facing, it's this this pain is temporary. Don't stop sharing the gospel with people.

SPEAKER_00 7:34

Uh so um, so that's chapter four. And so in chapter four, you the very end of that, you and you mentioned uh verses 16 and 17 is really through 18, is really fixing your eyes on things above. And it's of course, and he makes a statement there, this is why we never give up. Um, because I think he's talking about our bodies and how they are wasting away, but our spirits are growing stronger. And we we've got to realize that every day we're battling against the flesh. It's the spirit of God that wants to rise up and do what's the and then it's the flesh. Our flesh wants, and there's nothing wrong with our flesh wanting a bigger home, better paying job, um, a you know, uh a relationship that's going to there's nothing wrong with that, uh, as long as it's remembered that, okay, but my spirit has to be the most important thing. And um, I just even wrote this week on that verse, verse 16, there uh whatever you do, uh don't stop believing, don't stop trusting, don't stop praying because it's not over. Whatever it is you're facing in life, uh God is not finished with you, and never give up. Have faith and courage, knowing that He will carry you through whatever you're facing, and then when your body is weak, your spirit will be strong, stand firm and stand fast, and Yahweh will give you the victory no matter what you're facing in life.

SPEAKER_02 8:48

Yeah, so good. So, so so good. Chapter five, I think I want to focus in in and I will say this is probably one of the most famous scriptures from Paul is chapter five, verse 17. It says, Therefore, if there if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, the new has come. So, Paul again is reminding them you're a new creation in Christ. You know, the things that you used to do, who you used to be, that person is gone. And uh, one of the things that we uh do often every single week in every single experience is baptism. And it's that symbol of the all has gone and the new has been resurrected uh uh with Christ. What would you what would you um how would you encourage someone who is struggling? Like, I know I'm safe, I hear that, I hear you, Pastor Ronnie, when you say those things, but but I I'm still wrestling inside thinking that I'm that old person. How would you encourage someone to change and fix their mind?

SPEAKER_00 9:54

That's a that's gonna be a constant battle that we all somewhat struggle with. I think that number one is your identity immediately changes. The moment that you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, your identity changes. Yep. Uh so you immediately um are somebody new. Now that doesn't mean that you feel new. That doesn't mean that it's not it's like I can sign up to be a um, you know, to play a sport. But the moment that I sign up to sport, I uh I've joined that basketball team. I've become a basketball player. Now am I the basketball player that I want to be? No, I'm not. And to be honest with you, even the best of the best are never the basketball player they want to be. Uh and that's part of the pursuit of following Christ and becoming like him because he's our goal, he is our standard. You're not the standard, I'm not the standard, uh, no one else is the standard. Jesus is the standard. So, you know, and that's the standard. Yeah, no, none of us are gonna be that, but yet we are in the process of becoming that. And so, you know, uh you're gonna battle your thoughts, you're gonna battle uh your temptations. That's part of it. Um, but it's it's an everyday submitting my flesh and my desires to God. And uh and let me just say this too the devil himself is gonna come, and even some of your friends and people may use and just like talk about how uh you're not that good or you're not you know, they will plant those seeds there. That's where the Bible in Corinthians you gotta take thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ. That's the very end of what we're talking about today is you gotta take those thoughts captive, make them obedient to Christ, and again, re aligning with your identity, which is in Jesus, whether you feel that way or not.

SPEAKER_02 11:43

That is so good because I think that there I know, for example, this is this is me personally, like I know who I am in Christ 100%. But there are times that I can drive by a place that maybe I used to go, or I see people from my past, and it just that that shame and guilt comes upon me, and I have to remind myself sure that's not who I am. Yes, that's what I did, but that's not who I am. And one of the things that I I that we study in in Bible school was uh systematic theology and all types of classic theology, one of the ones that really stuck with me was spiritual formation, the theology of spiritual formation. And I remember the professor, we were studying uh sanctification, you know, and sanctification is it it's it's the process of becoming like Christ, it's the process of becoming holy every single day, you know. But one of the things that I learned in that class and when I was studying and doing research on what is sanctification, I am sanctified the moment I I surrender to Jesus 100, but I am becoming that person that you know that that I'm becoming holy every single day. So it happens in a moment when you surrender your life to Jesus, but it's also a journey for the rest of your life because I am not who I used to be, but I'm not where God has taken me. So it's that process. So I think that often we want something to be right now. I want it, I want it to be, you know, not have any of those thoughts ever again. Well, Paul talks about that for one on his side, you know, whatever that was. Many people believe there was many different things. Um, but whatever it was, God was telling them, My grace is sufficient. All I am all that you need, and that's really what God is it's telling us. You know, the the the the all that we need is Him. So um moving on to chapter six, and this is this portion right here, Pastor Rodney. Can I ask you to read something? Because it's kind of long, and you know my you know my reading level is it's Isla's reading level. Not quite, not quite chapter six, verse 13, verse 3 to 13.

SPEAKER_00 13:53

So it's a little long. We put no obstacle in anyone's way so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God, we commend ourselves in every way, by great endurance in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger. I mean, he went through a lot. Yeah. Verse 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love, by truthful speech, and the power of God, with the weapons of righteousness for the right and the right of for the right hand and for the left, through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise, we are treated as imposters and yet are true, as unknown and yet known, as dying, and behold, we live, as punished and yet killed, as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, as poor, yet making many rich, as having nothing, yet possessing everything. We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians. Our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. Wow. In return, I speak to speak as to children, widen your hearts also.

SPEAKER_02 15:23

So good. This section, pretty more pretty much what's happening here is Paul is defending his ministry as an apostle. This rumors in this, I mean, Pastor Samson talked about this last week's uh episode, where uh this person that led the rebellion against Paul, this is the issues that Paul is dealing with, and Paul is telling them everything that he has gone through. I mean, you name it. Now, he knew that this was gonna happen because when in the book of Acts, God tells him that he's gonna suffer for like, and this is part of that. And and Paul is defending his ministry, not with just the glorious things, but he's defending it with like with his faithfulness. I have endured all of this thing, and I'm still here loving you.

SPEAKER_03 16:15

That's good.

SPEAKER_02 16:15

Which this Corinthians uh are rebelling against Paul and are asking him for all these things, and he is ending. I love how he's in it's like he he's saying, he's saying, widen your hearts also. Because Paul is saying, All the things that have been going on, I have opened my heart to you, and he is trying to win them back with love. Now, it could have been I'm the apostle, I'm the pastor, because of me, you have all these things, right? He's not doing that, he's just telling them, you know, my apostleship is the it's the I'm defending with my faithfulness. He says, But I have opened my heart to you, and he's asking them, Why don't you do the same? It's what we need to do in our life, right? Like, and this is this is one of the things about forgiveness. Paul is really modeling what what a Christian should look like, that even when people betray you, attack you, come against you, that you don't use it to do that back to them, but he's saying, I've opened my heart back to you. It's well, it's hard, it's hard, uh, but it's it's how we should live. So he's using this to teach the the Corinthians what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 17:24

Yeah, I'm I'm reading one of your one of your last points there, and and this thought you some in your notes. You said ministry is not platform, it's endurance. And I was with a pastor yesterday, one of our uh fellow pastors at and he was talking about just a hard season you're going through. We had dinner with him last night, and just just really it's been a difficult time. They've been attacked, uh, people have left the church and just issues, and you know, I'm just I'm trying to encourage him, trying to build him up. And of course, he he's not he's not jumping ship, but he but he's just acknowledging that man, I need this this is a hard time. And in life, not just in ministry, life is gonna be hard. Life is gonna test your faith. Um, life is going to um bring its worst your way. Uh, but that's for you know the presence of God and the spirit of God and you reminding yourself your identity in Christ, and that like Paul, uh, I can endure, I will get through this, and I will stand strong.

SPEAKER_02 18:26

Yeah, so good, so good. And I think you know, you probably have heard this, like pastors need to be, you know, soft, wise, all these things, right? But one of the things that I remember a pastor saying, but pastors need to have the skin of a of a rhino, you know, one of those like heart, and it because it's difficult, right? And I think one of the things that we often talk about, you know, is church hurt, you know, and church hurt about, but most people only think about what the church can do to them. But not often we talked about how often the sheep can attack the pastor. I guarantee you, most every single pastor has been attacked, heard by their sheep. But they have as a minister. All we need to do is show them what Jesus has and is love them, forgive them, and hear that's what we see Paul doing here. So then we will we go on into verse 14. If you can read this, we which this is a very important part of this whole section.

SPEAKER_00 19:25

We have to kind of read it together. Yeah, so the title of it is Unequally Yoked. So verse 14. Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Bilal? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God.

SPEAKER_02 19:57

So Paul moves on from defending his apostleship because of what the super apostle has been saying, then making a shift talking about being unequally yoked. Now, one of the things that we can often use this as relationships, which is a great application of this. But Paul, what he's telling them is you know, this super apostles, this people from the outside, he say, he's saying, one, be careful to be in relationship with them, because light and and and darkness cannot coexist. And now we can apply that into business, relationships, all the types of things. But here specifically, Paul is talking about those who are attacking one Christ, him, and and and the church. Anyone that don't see the church how you see it, not that you completely uh cut them out of your life, but those are not the people that could be speaking life into you because what they're gonna do intentionally, they're gonna bring issues and problems and and and challenge things. So any any any wise words from you on inequality yoke.

SPEAKER_00 21:04

Hmm. That's a good one. You know, there's there's a fine line there between knowing the boundaries are set with people. I think that um we have to involve our lives with others with the lost. Yeah. I've I've got tons of people who over the last several months have become to North Church because I've invited them. But it's not like I I've I've I've talked to them in the gym, I've hung out with them, just hanging out with with outside the gym after we've worked out or just or at a restaurant. But it's not like I am sharing my life and setting down, doing and participating in the things that they're participating in. And I think when Paul's talking about not being unequally yoked together, I think he's very very um setting the boundaries wisely in our life. That we are not participating and sharing in the ungodliness that they are. We are being light and dark. Yep. We are actually pointing them to Christ. We are being the light on the hilltop. We are pointing people to Jesus. And so I think that that's important to see because sometimes we can be isolists, isolationists, we can just let Christians get away and not. No, we are meant to be light and darkness, but yet we are not to participate in the darkness, in the ways of the world. And so to me, that is where we have to be. And I think that that takes wisdom. It takes uh having people around you that can kind of help you navigate that. Um, because you know, if you if you get saved and you've got just a lot of ungodly friends that are just doing stuff that you know you this is I can't do this anymore. How do you influence them to bring them without yet you being in that lifestyle again? And I think that there comes um wisdom, there's needs of maturity there, of growing there, uh that are very important aspects of how to handle what it means of being unequally yoked together. Now, but bottom line is if I am joining in relationship with somebody and participating in their ungodliness, that is not what the scripture is. We gotta we gotta share away from that. We gotta run from that. We flee uh immorality.

SPEAKER_02 23:13

I think you know, one of I I think in you mentioned this maybe a couple of months ago in one of your sermons. Uh, but people often say, and this is the conversation to have with people. He said, Well, would Jesus hang out with sinners and Jesus hang out with those people? True, he did, right? One of the things I remember that you said is like, but he didn't he didn't do those things. He actually, because of the relationship that they had with him, they actually came this direction. Yes, he didn't go that direction.

SPEAKER_00 23:44

Correct. No, it's who's influencing who is what it means, but boils down to who is influencing who. Um, we're all influencing or being influenced by somebody. The question is, are we influencing people to come closer to Christ? And if that's the case, then you need those relationships that if they're pulling you away from Christ, or if that is the temptation that you should be avoiding, then you need to cut ties and move on. Yeah, so good.

SPEAKER_02 24:08

So good. Next section talks about generosity. So Paul is uh now he's making a shift to in this church because he's asking them now to participate in giving uh for the famine that is happening in Jerusalem. So he is he is he is using uh not using them, sorry, he is um telling all the churches that he has planted to gift towards the church in Jerusalem. Many things have happened in Jerusalem. First, nobody wants to do business with Christians because they are they have betrayed you know uh the the religion the Judaism and and and the and their law. And uh Paul is asking them now to be cheerful givers, you know, and he compares them with the church in Macedonia, which it was the church in Philippi. Now, the church in Philippi, here's the difference. The church in Philippi was a very poor church, and they are giving so generosely that he's he's asking them, you know, kind of like to be like the church in Macedonia. Paul is collecting this offering to help them, and he's asking them, you know, to be cheerful givers. Now, one of the things that as I was doing some research and studies, back then taking an offering from Corinth to Jerusalem is not what we do today. Like, if if you know if you're part of North Church, which if you're listening to this, you are you see how when we have hard-free house partners, we'll give them a check for 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, whatever the amount is. We give them that that that money immediately. Back then was not like that. They had to literally go through all of this towns was very dangerous to do. So Paul is asking them well not to give, but also to go to accompany them to to to take care of the needs in the church in Jerusalem. So that's uh kind of chapter nine talking about that, and then chapter 10 is a spiritual warfare, and you mentioned that about making uh taking every thought that is evil and making obedient to Christ. I woke up this morning, it was like 4:35 in the morning with a weird random thought, and I was like, why am I thinking about this? What did I do immediately, Lord? These thoughts are not your thoughts, you know, because if you're having thoughts that you think that you shouldn't be having, um, that doesn't make you that doesn't mean that you're not a Christian. But there's a reason why Paul is saying, like, you should make every captain obedient to Christ. Well, you're gonna have some thoughts and and and even some desires, and you will have to surrender them to Christ.

SPEAKER_00 26:48

So good. That is really good. You know, when you when you talk about the Macedonians um giving, just go back just a little bit, uh, and and just how they gave out of their poverty and how he's encouraging the church at Corinth to be able to respond like them. That that that famine is was a very real historical fact. So if you go back, it's not just recorded in the Bible. Um Josephus and many other historians wrote about, but it was actually prophesied, which I just want to pull that out. Yeah, yeah, that's right. I just want to pull that in the book of Acts, chapter 17. Yeah uh and that is Agabus who actually prophesies that this would happen, and it happens under the reign of Caladius, um, around um you know 445 to 450, excuse me, uh 45 uh AD to 54 AD or so is when that was most intense. And there was a lot going on there, not only literally a famine of uh drought, of but there was also the persecution of the Christians, uh persecution of Jews in general. Uh there was because the Roman government was tightening down uh on things and they did not want to lose control, and so it was very, very difficult uh in then the high taxes that were being paid by the uh Jews and the pressure there. And it it was a very difficult time, and it was easy for um you know Paul's teaching a shared responsibility of the church uh globally, and I think we have to remember that too. And here in America, you know, we've been blessed. Sometimes, you know, we may feel like, well, I don't have much, and it's always but truthfully, comparatively to the world uh economics, we are in a very good situation. And who knows if this will come to an end someday, but we have a responsibility while we have this blessing to be able to be a blessing to others.

SPEAKER_02 28:45

I read one time I was reading a book, and they said people in America are so rich that they have a house for their cars. I was like, because you I'm so grateful for my garage, right? Yeah, but I don't think that over half of the world don't have a home. Yeah, yeah, yeah like that. So it's like we live in here's the thing about uh being a Christian too. It's like my resources are not only to benefit me or to benefit the people of God and to benefit the poor. You know, even if people don't believe what I believe, that is that's what makes Christianity so different than any other religion. Because other religions that will help their own, but Christianity is supposed to help everyone no matter what. That's how we show people what Jesus is.

SPEAKER_00 29:33

So good. So Paul really dives into that sowing and reaping, sowing and reaping. As you sow your reap. If you sow a small harvest, you reap a small harvest. I just encourage people, uh, let giving be a regular part of your life, and then begin to discipline your life. First, just start with the tithe. The tithe goes out, yeah. And then don't just stop there, then beyond that. And then how does it how does how do you be a blessing just with somebody that you're just meeting, just uh people that are poor, uh people that uh are in need, and then with your time, and with your time is one of my hardest things. It's like I feel like I'm stretched, I got a lot on plate. Then when God asks me to like, I want you to give some of your time to this. Um if I sow, I'm gonna reap. So I've got to stop and evaluate am I generous with my time, with my tithe, with my talents? And if I am, I give, God will return back to me in some way. It might not be in the same manner, but it will be in some way. So uh Joshua? Yes. Let's dive into it. Let's go.

SPEAKER_02 30:34

So Joshua, what a what a guy. This this uh historical context, I'll give you really quick. There's a leadership transition between Moses and Joshua. So Moses let the Hebrews out of the land of Egypt. They were in the desert for 40 years. Uh the first generation died in the desert, the second generation is the generation that Joshua is leading. Now, according to scripture, only Joshua and Caleb, they're the oldest two people in the in the in the in the the in the people of Israel. The rest are part of the second generation, so they're probably like 40 years or younger, all of them. So there is this transition period of time. This is uh 1400 BC. Uh, this is when they entered the land of Canaan, what is the promised land. So going back, and if you've been following the podcast and we were talking about Exodus uh in numbers, uh sorry, in numbers, Moses sent 12 spies into to the land of Canaan. Uh, 10 of them give a bad report, only two of them give a good report. Those two are Joshua and Caleb, which are the ones that are leading the people into the promised land. So now the big moment that is happening here is this is the this is the fulfillment of the promise that God gave to Abraham. So now we are seeing this promise being fulfilled. They are going into the promised land. God has finally given them uh the land that they're gonna be in. Now the Canaanite culture, uh very crazy. They believe in child sacrifice, uh, they uh were very violent, uh, and they have a lot of idolatry. Idolatry was the religion, they just had a lot of idols. So, structure of the book, chapter one through chapter five, it's preparing to conquer. So, uh one of the when when we were reading this this past week, uh it says here in verse 11, it says, pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, prepare your provisions for within three for for within three days you are to pass over this uh land, I believe. This the the Jordan to go. So they are for 40 years in the desert, and when Joshua comes to leadership, we got three days and we're moving. So we see how God now is moving very, very, very fast. So we see that uh chapter one through chapter five, they're preparing to conquer the land.

SPEAKER_00 33:04

Um I'm gonna interrupt just one moment because you're talking about the preparing the land, but God had also been preparing Joshua for many, many years. If you go back early on, uh when they come out of Egypt, uh Joshua comes on the scene. What? He's first noted uh in whenever they are going into battle. Joshua is right there uh into battle, and he's while Moses is up on the hillside with his hands uplifted, um, and as long as his hands are uplifted, they were winning. But Joshua's leading. Joshua is also the one going with Moses up and down the mountain and helping as his assistant. Joshua was there in the temple um in the tabernacle when the glory of God is done. So Joshua has been around Moses, Joshua has been prepared. I just encourage people to, you know, prepare your heart because what happens throughout the Bible, you see it, you know, suddenly God did this. Yeah, but actually, God is probably preparing somebody for a long time, and then all of a sudden, bang, it's time.

SPEAKER_04 34:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:05

So while Joshua probably never felt he was completely ready, because I've I'm this way, whether from getting married to having children to starting a church or to expanding a church, I never feel completely ready. But if we prepare ourselves, when that moment comes and like you just got it suddenly, you gotta do it now, you'll be ready if you prepare yourself and give yourself to God.

SPEAKER_02 34:32

You know, young people, they just want things immediately. You know, they want to be famous, they want to have a bunch of followers and all these things. And they they you know, people would say, even like they will say to to you, Pastor Ronnie. Well, you know, you you're an overnight success. All of a sudden you the church has grown. Well, that that night was a very long night, you know, and that's what people don't know. And it what matters what you do in the preparation, right? You might not be where you want to be, but prepare for that. Um, so um they one through five, preparing to conquer the land, chapter six through twelve. Uh, this is the conquest, uh, the conquest of the land. So um now, but something very interesting as we read this together, it's that God is the one fighting the battles. Yes, God is the one doing it for them. So they are preparing to conquer the land, but it's really God who is doing it. They're just walking. People were afraid of them, they were afraid of the is of the of the Lord of the Israelites. Um, now chapter I will say chapters 13 through 24. Uh, these are chapters that most people skip because it they say I get kind of boring, but it's very important because this here is where we see in 13 through 22. Uh uh, this is where Joshua is dividing the land. He divides the land to 10 of them, two of them don't get land. Uh, so we will read this uh as well. Uh, in chapter 23 to 24, is a farewell. And this is same same pattern that Moses did. Uh Moses had a farewell when whenever um he he when whenever he died. So that's kind of a little bit on the structure. Um, so Joshua starts his new movement. Now we're not we're not in the desert anymore. Now we're gonna conquer the land. Now he is moving, he is fighting, and it's not really him again, it's God fighting uh for them. But there is some disobedience, and because of those disobedience, they are defeated. You know, the Israelites did not win every battle. Like that's something that I think that as a as a kid I always thought that the people of God have never lost a battle. Well, they did, but it's not because God wanted them to fail, it's because they disobey God, and our disobedience will bring failures in our life. So, and it's not that God does that in our life, we do that ourselves, and we see that it's in the story as well. Um, so uh I believe it's Joshua, uh Samuel, and the kings, they were known as the former prophets, so that's what like the former prophets, and what they're doing is bringing them back to um to obey God's law. Uh, we all often think that the job of a prophet is to foretell the future. Really, the job of the prophet is to get us to to to to obey the word of God today.

SPEAKER_03 37:25

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 37:25

So um, absolutely be strong and courageous, chapter one, verse six through nine. Okay, very famous.

SPEAKER_03 37:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:33

Um, now this is not the first time that we read this. If you've been doing a scripture reading plan, we read this in uh the end of Deuteronomy. He Moses, God, God is telling Moses to tell these things to Joshua, and now God is telling Joshua. So now God is not speaking, of course. Moses is not there, but now go God is speaking directly to Joshua, and He's telling them, Be strong and courageous. This this uh this uh famous thing. Now, something very uh that I want to discuss with you and hear your thoughts. Have it here in my notes. It's like it says, be strong and courageous. Strength is not connected to my strength, my strength is connected to my obedience. Because when I think about strength, be strong, I feel like I gotta go, I gotta go to the gym, I gotta lift heavy, I have to like build muscle. But here, what God is really saying is that his strength is in his obedience to his word, and it's about spiritual strength where we need to be courageous enough to believe and to obey what the word of God says. Any thoughts on that?

SPEAKER_00 38:41

Yeah, no. I mean, Jesus would say um when he would come along often, only believe, only believe. And really, our strength is in our faith. Um and if we have faith to believe, all things are possible. And so we have to obey God. We have to do and what you find throughout the old testament is that whether that be Abraham, whether it be everybody missed the mark at some point, and so we're all flawed individuals. So what happens is we begin to see the obstacles, the challenges, and we begin to operate in our flesh, and we either shrink back in fear or we try to take control of it ourselves, versus at all times resting in God and obeying Him and then leaving the results to Him. And so I think that um you know, with this idea of being courageous and strength is not connected to my strength, is that my faith is connected to His strength. And then if I rest in Him, and when I say faith, faith is not just some fictitious, you know, thought this is it faith brings action. Faith without works, James says, is dead. Yep. So true faith is actually doing what God says, and that's it. Because I'm around somebody who says, I have faith to believe, but I don't want to see in the miracle. And God's maybe God's asking you to do something and you're not doing it. Because faith is always tied to action.

SPEAKER_02 40:09

Yep. Yep. We see that he he gives them what to do. He says, Meditate in this book of the law day and night. Day and night. Day and night. And you know, this word meditate meditate is not only just to to read it, it's to think about it. It's to whisper. The one of the the the Hebrew words is translated to like like when you like, when you like is it how was the word? Like when you mumble, you know, when you're like it was like that's we are supposed to that's why uh memorizing scripture and quoting scripture is important.

SPEAKER_00 40:41

You should just be coming out of you all the time. I can say that with my my parents, uh, is that I'm around them. And I remember as a kid, dad, my dad just saying verses and praying, uh, just and you could barely hear like what's he's is he saying something to me, but he would be praying. And he still does that. And I've caught myself over the last two years, I noticed that I'm doing that more, um, which I didn't used to, and which I think that I think maybe that's a good sign that I'm maturing in my faith and learning to meditate and to think about and on the things of God, the word of God, and the and pray to God continually. 24-7. I'm Paul, maybe that's what he's talking about when he says pray without ceasing. Yeah, it's just a constant reciting of because most of my prayers are are I'm quoting God's word.

SPEAKER_02 41:26

Yeah. The more one of the things that I've realized, the more that you know the word of God, the more you can pray the word of God over you and your children. This is really becoming a real thing in my life because now that I have two daughters, I can I cannot pray just my with fancy words for them, right? I need to quote the word of God. So when I prayed, I tried to quote scripture. And now this is forcing me to go and memorize some scripture so I can declare that word over their life. I remember growing up in my church, we had this thing that if you memorize a verse, you got a sticker in your thing. And if you if you memorize something, you got X amount of stickers, you could get a big price. You know, I remember as a kid, I'm like, oh, why didn't they just give me the price? What they were and I thought, oh, that's a religious thing. You know, you're trying to make it memorize scripture. Happens often with kids that are going to private Christian school, and some parents I hear parents like, yeah, they make them memorize a whole bunch of scripture, and I'm like, what's the point of put putting them in a Christian school if you don't want them to memorize scripture? But I've learned the now that I'm older, I'm like, oh, that's what my my my kids pastor was trying to do was me to learn the word of God because it's hidden in my heart, so whenever I need it, it will be there. So uh God tells Joshua meditate in this word day and night. Chapter two, we meet Rahab. And Rahab uh was a prostitute. Um, she is in the land of Canaan. That's something very interesting. Moses sent 12 spies, only two brought a good report. So Joshua only sent two spies. I'm like, I'm gonna send two spies because the testimony of two is valid. So only sent two spies to to to scan the land. They were uh that they were chasing after them. Rahab hit them, and um we see that they made a treaty with her. Now, here's very something that as I was doing some research, because God tells them, don't make treaties with foreigners. Very important. But Rahab, uh, and I believe it is in Hebrews chapter 11, he says that the the by faith Rahab believed.

SPEAKER_03 43:33

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 43:33

So they did not make a treaty with the Canaanite woman, they really make a treaty with a Hebrew because she believed the faith of the Hebrew, so she became one of them. So and then God that's why God is protecting her.

SPEAKER_00 43:46

No, that's exactly what we were talking about earlier about not being unequally yoked together. Well, isn't Rahab being unequally yoked? No, because she believed God. Yeah, she believed God. Uh, and what you're talking about, she becomes a Hebrew, she she becomes a one who believes in God. And so the when when the Bible speaks to separating and not intermarrying with other uh groups of people, it is nothing to do, and we've talked about this before, with nationality or um you know economics or anything, it has everything to do with who they are worshiping. And Rahab, the Bible wants you to know is a prostitute. She's also there in Canaan, a Canaanite. Yeah. But then something somewhere happened where she believed in God. Yeah. And when you believe in God, everything changes. We got we gotta remind ourselves of that. Our identity changes. That's what we talked about earlier, too. Everything changes. Um and could somebody hold her, you know, pass prostitution over her head? Absolutely, they could, but God doesn't. Could somebody hold this overhead because she was Canaanite and she comes from this line or whatever? Yeah, somebody could. But God doesn't. What God looks at is her faith. Yeah, and she believed God and trusted God. And so, and as a result, she is in line to kingship. She becomes you know, it goes on to King David, and then eventually her line goes all the way to Jesus, yeah, which is amazing. God speaking powerfully to people listening right now, and you think that I'm not deserving. None of us are deserving, but if you place your faith in God, He makes us He has a perfect the perfect picture.

SPEAKER_02 45:39

This is when he when I hear you saying that, it kind of like it came to my mind, where it's the perfect picture of the New Testament where we are grafted in by believing in in Jesus, into the family of God. So we see a picture of this in the old testament because of she had because by her faith she believed she was grafted in into the family of God. So what a beautiful picture.

SPEAKER_00 46:02

Chapter three and four.

SPEAKER_02 46:04

Chapter three and four, they cross over the the Red Sea, uh not the Red Sea, the Jordan River, and this is like a Red Sea moment. So Moses went through uh the waters in dry land. Now God is using Joshua in the same way.

SPEAKER_00 46:20

Yeah, but this time it's different though. Yeah, it is, yeah. It is different because here's the thing to remember. I'm sure that they were probably wanting it to be done just like the Red Sea. Yeah. Uh Joseph, hold out your uh Joshua, hold out your staff, and all of a sudden you hold your staff and the the Jordan River splits into actually you're probably thinking, well, this is smaller. The Jordan, because I've been to the Jordan, it's no Red Sea, uh, but it is a river. And so, like, well, you can do this, hold out your staff. God says, No, I want you to walk out in the water. Yeah, yeah. I'm just telling you, God, he's the miracle work of God, but we're not the ones that decide how he does it. We're to obey what he's asking us to do, and then he will give the miracle. And so this one was different because they actually had to get wet before the miracle came. Yep. Make sense? Yep, yep.

SPEAKER_02 47:07

And then um, so that it requires faith. You know, I think that's that's as a leader that has to be you you know that God has done it before because you saw Moses. But I think if I'm the if I'm Joshua and I have to go up there, I was like, Lord, give me faith to believe you're gonna do these things because I just I I like I have a very like vivid imagination, and when I read this, I literally picture everyone just behind Joshua, kind of like, well, let's see if this if this one has the same power that Moses had. Sure, but it really wasn't the power of Joshua, it was his obedience to obey what God says, so he does that, and then the miracle happens. When they cross uh that they have those this uh memorial stones, which which they grab this, and and I think that you know traditions are good, right? Like this this memorial stone was a tradition where they were remembering what God has done um up to that point, right? And I think it's important for us to have traditions in our life and remembering what God has done. True. I think that often I was a student pastor for a long time, and I would know the story of the parents, and the kids didn't know the story of the parents. It's like they were afraid of the kids knowing the things that they did in the past. And I know there's a time and a place for that, but I think it's important that as a parent you tell your children what God has done in your life because it builds their faith. Like I remember my mom when she became a Christian, she was delivered from demons. And I remember that my mom will tell us of that deliverance and that freedom that she experienced, and then she will tell us to do not mess with these things, yeah, because this is what happened to me, and and and and and my because of that testimony of my mom. I I believe that God has a power to cast out demons because my mom just told me her testimony so so often throughout life. So it's important that for us to what God has done in your life, this tone is what represented what God has done in their life. For for we need to do that.

SPEAKER_00 49:14

So good, so good, so good. So then we got in kind of the new generation steps into chapter five, and there is circumcision, yep, and apparently it had been it had fallen off the radar, yep, and so that was part of the things that God's calling them back to. And so take us with chapter five.

SPEAKER_02 49:32

So in chapter five, they are they're planning to go and uh conquer Jericho. Now, you know the story of Jericho, had big walls, but God tells them before we do that, you gotta get circumcised. Now, I can imagine the circumcision party that they had and the pain. Because there's no medication, there's no uh what's that thing that put you to sleep or whatever, you know, any cream that would like help you with the soreness. Think about this. God is telling them you're gonna get circumcised, and then he says, Then you're gonna go fight. When I was reading this, I was like, Well, how are they gonna fight? Because they just had surgery and they are weak. And the whole point of this is that yes, you're gonna they're gonna get uh circumcised, uh, but they're gonna go and fight Jericho, but it's not them in their own strength that they're gonna fight Jericho. And if you know the story, you know, they don't really fight the battle, they just obey, and God is the one that destroys uh the walls of Jericho. Uh but before that, I want to say this in 5.12. There's something interesting that happened is that the manna stop. So they've been every single day they've been receiving manna from God. Uh that God was always providing. Now, when they get to the promised land, God's faithfulness is different. He still provides, but now he doesn't provide mana. He now he gives in the trees and the fields and the vineyards, and they're the ones that are to cultivate that. And I think often in our walk with God, we can confuse seasons where God provided in a specific way, and then we expect God to always provide that way, but then God does something different. So we have to be in tune with God because here we see that God provided a different way because it says, then from that moment on, they ate from the fruits of the tree. So true. Um then they go into chapter six, uh, and this is all about obedience to God. And as we're reading the story, for six days they walk around uh the walls one time. Now on the seventh day, they walk seven times. Now, very interesting because they walk for seven days straight, and that seventh day it should be the Sabbath, and this creates um uh depends on how you have a view of the Sabbath. Uh, it can mess you up because in the Sabbath you're not supposed to work, right? Uh, but the reality is that the Sabbath is um it's participation with God, they are participating with God, and I think that often we we we think of the Sabbath, yes, we should rest off work, we should rest off doing other things, but in the Sabbath we're supposed to worship, we're supposed to be in participation with God, and here we see that on the seventh day, they didn't only walk one time, they walked seven times, but they were doing it with God, and actually it was God who was doing it. So um I thought that was just very interesting.

SPEAKER_00 52:31

That's that's very good. In fact, that's that's something I really hadn't thought much about. And so I think for me, that's what I love. Uh hopefully, when you're listening to this, you will feel the same way is that every time I talk about God's word with other people, and we don't rehearse this. Um so we just get on here and he has studied, and I've studied, and we we just begin to uh talk about it. And so it just enlightens, oh yeah, that's true. I hadn't thought of it quite that way in regards to the Sabbath there. But I that is the point. It's resting in him, and so excellent. Yep. Then we go uh chapter seven is Achan. Yeah, that's fine. Achan.

SPEAKER_02 53:14

So uh here we know we we see something very, very um uh interesting, and and it and it's such a big lesson because the sin of one man affected everyone. God said, Don't keep anything. He kept silver and some other things, hid them on the underneath their tent, and God is pretty much mad with everyone because of the sin of one man. This is important for us to understand, and we think, oh, that's old testament, we're under the new law. No, your sin affects more than more than you. And often we say, well, nobody's being affected uh by this. You know, I I remember that you know, people went uh had a family member that isn't is an alcoholic and said, Well, this doesn't affect anyone but me. No, it affected uh his mother, it affected his siblings, it affected everyone around them. And and I think it's important to understand that that that as a Christian we need to be careful to obey the word of God because my sin does not only affect Christian, they affect Natalie, they affect Isla, they affect Mila, they affect my mother, my siblings, and not only that, it affects how other people see God too.

SPEAKER_00 54:24

So so that's so good. You know, when when this story of them being defeated at Ai, okay, and it's tied to Achan's sin. Uh, but it's interesting in verse number two it says that uh Joshua had sent some men uh to spout the land, and in verse number three it says they returned to Joshua and he said they said this there is no need for us to go up um to go uh up there. It won't take but just a two or three thousand men to attack Aon, since there are so few of them. Don't make all our people struggle to go up there. So a couple things. One is that um they are still reveling in their victory of Jericho, and they forget some key things. One, that it was God that provided the victory, not them. Now they begin to gloat in themselves and feel like they've got this thing. Uh secondly, there's no evidence that they prayed about this. You find again and again they turn to God to ask about you know direction. If you find that about the life of David, begin and again, just ask God, should I go up? Should I do this? You know, Moses, but but there's no reference here of them turning to God. Maybe they're like, Oh, we got this. Moses always did. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 55:39

Every time they asked or did something, let me let me go to God.

SPEAKER_00 55:42

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 55:42

And he will go spend 40 days in the mountain.

SPEAKER_00 55:44

Yes. And so what you have here is no reference point.

SPEAKER_01 55:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 55:47

Um, and so I think that that was purposely there because maybe they didn't turn to God before that. And you're so right about the impact of one man's sin. I wrote this uh probably about five or six years ago on verse number one of chapter seven about Aiken's sin. I said, our decisions, just like kind of what you were talking about, our decisions impact others. What one thinks is a choice made in obscurity will likely influence the larger community. We are not an island unto ourselves. This works for the wrong choices we make and the good choices we make. For the right choices we make, the sins of the father and the mother do visit to the third and the fourth generation. But praise the Lord, the blessings of the mother and the father visit up to a thousand generations. Make God-honoring choices, let's impact others with a blessing. So Achan actually impacted his family and um the nation of Israel uh with his sin, but we can also impact those around us with uh with goodness.

SPEAKER_02 56:50

Good, good, good. In chapter eight, uh is the covenant renewal. So Joshua is bringing them back, and he is uh reading the the covenant to them, reading it publicly.

SPEAKER_00 57:02

Uh then chapter uh eight. So just just remember that what happens is they fell with AI, they go back again, fell again, then they come back again, and then he's like, okay, let's go to God. Yeah. Which that's how we should have led with. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 57:17

And you and I should do the same thing. So chapter nine, uh, this is a a I think it's it's just a brilliant story. Again, Joshua did not consult God. Come on. I mean, like he doesn't learn the lesson, and and and he's a I mean, Joshua is like Moses, a great, a great man of God, a great prophet, but did not always consult God. And I think that is something that if we don't model that, it can be lost in the couple of gener in the couple generations. So it's important that we model going to the presence of God as a family. Okay, here's the things that we're dealing with. What decisions do we need to be made? Okay, take a moment to pray with your family. So here's another example of this. They make a treaty with the Gibeonites, and the Gibeonites were uh they just heard that the other kings are forming an alliance, they want to attack Joshua, and they're gonna attack everyone in there. And the Gibbonites fake that they are from a far land, they wear their old clothes, they bring bread that was so old, and pretty much tell them a sad story. And Joshua said, Okay, well, you you can be part of us. Three days later, they find out, oh no, they are they're the ones from the corner, like they're the people from the corner. And Joshua is like, Why did you lie to us? In reality, what he should have done was go to God now. Because of it, he has to fight a battle that was not his. And it's the famous story of chapter 10 when um they are losing the battle, and Joshua prays a crazy prayer, and he prays for the sons to stand still, and he prays the prayer, and God first he got his prayer wrong because the sun doesn't move, the earth does, so it just tells me that God will he because people say, Well, I just don't know how to pray, I just don't know pray good. Well, clearly Joshua didn't either because he's he's asking for the sons to stand still, and we know that the earth moved, the sun stands still. Uh the the sun doesn't move, so he got his prayer answer, even though his prayer was wrong. And so I want to encourage you that that just gives you give you an eye like we don't have to come to God like knowing all the things to all the words. We just need to go with a pure heart because that's what we see here, Joshua. That he know, like he messed up and he is praying. And what is very important here is I love verse 14 says, There has there has been no day like it before or since. And I even like read a study. This is when I was in Bible school, uh, because I was so interested. I mean, I was I was so interested in this. Also, it was when Stephen Frederick wrote the book uh Sunston Seal. Um, and uh in in I think it's in science, there is a day that there's no explanation that they say the earth stopped. So, very, very, very, very, very cool. But what is cool is that God listened to a fall in and it encourages me. Like, God listens to our prayers. It's what I love about David David and the Psalms. He is telling the Lord, listen, give ear to my plea. You know, you and I we we don't need to go to God with fear. Yeah, yeah, we have to have a heart with this fear and trembling for who he is, but God wants to answer our prayers, he wants to uh he is our father. So I want to encourage you to pray uh with faith, with great faith, like Joseph did, Joseph, but like Joshua did.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:46

That's very good. Ask God, go to God first, ask for discernment, and don't be afraid to pray bold bold prayers. That's why not take away from what you're talking about. So they forgot to pray multiple times and go to God, and then he also just kind of um you gotta ask for discernment, but then bold prayers, God answered, God answered those bold prayers. Of course, that the bold prayers was you know, actually, yeah. So, but anyway, just really, really powerful.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:15

Chapter 11 through 14. Here, uh, what is uh as as you're reading it, and I want to encourage you, don't fall off after chapter 12, because there is a lot of uh Joshua's dividing the land. So that's that's what is happening here. One section that a section that I want to uh talk and and discuss with Pastor Rodney is chapter 11.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:39

Sorry, chapter I think it's 11. I only wrote the verse, but not the chapter. Um it's when Caleb asked uh pretty much asked God for his portion of the land.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:53

Oh, yeah, it's chapter 14, uh, verse uh 11. So first Caleb was one of the two spies that came from uh Canaan into Kadesh and give the good report, and because of that report, God tells him that when they cross over to the promised land, he's gonna get land. This is the portion of scripture that uh Caleb is like, hey, where's my land? But what I love is verse 11. Verse 11 says, I am still as strong to as strong today as I was the day that Moses sent me. My strength now is my uh it's as my strength was then for war and for going and coming. He's what 85, 90 years old? He's 85 years of age, and he's saying, I'm just as strong as I was.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:51

And and I think about that, and so I actually talked about that once. Was he actually physically as strong as he was? I don't know. God can do that. God can do that. But I don't maybe think he was physically as strong, but he had a spirit that was strong and a faith that was strong, yeah, and a and a just a desire to honor God into that was strong. And that is more important than physical strength any day of the week, anyway. Yeah, those things. And I even in chapter number 13 and verse number one, it's Joshua kind of says the same thing about the age. When Joshua was an old man, the Lord said to him, You are growing old, and much land remains to be conquered. Yep. And I wrote here on this, and hopefully it encourages people, especially as we get older. Um, I just wrote much more. Growing older does not mean less, but more. It means there's more responsibility, more influence, more to celebrate, more to conquer, more to enjoy. Do let's do more for Jesus today and tomorrow, not less. Betty Calabries, a precious saint who some thought should have taken a bench in her later life. Instead, she was a pastor of thousands of students at summer camps. I used to lead. She said the choice, this is her quote, is to is never to retire in God's kingdom, but always refire. There's always much more God has for us.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:26

It's so true because you you've been that's the is that 13 verse 1?

SPEAKER_03 1:04:30

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:31

Uh much more land. And it's true because David, Jerusalem hasn't even conquered yet.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:36

Uh David is one of those that I mean conquered a lot of land. He expands uh uh Israel. Um so wow, so good.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:46

So good. Hey, yeah, thank you very much. We covered a lot of ground today, and thank you, uh Pastor Christian. And I want to thank everybody who joins us each and every week for the North Bible recap. And I hope that you will keep tuning in, share it again. Do what Pastor Christian said. You know, subscribe, like, let us know, and we'd love to hear from you. And we'll see you next time on North Bible recap.