WEBVTT 00:00:13.870 --> 00:00:25.630 I kind of um I'm I'm been processing a lot this morning and this week, and I think maybe just bandwidth wise I've had a little bit less than my normal, and so I'm kind of in real time processing a couple things. 00:00:25.870 --> 00:00:39.230 But um you know that scene where the the college kid or the person who's hustling to work is is got all their stuff and and then they get bumped into and it all just goes flying everywhere. 00:00:39.870 --> 00:00:42.829 This is a bit how I feel right now. 00:00:42.990 --> 00:00:53.630 And I think that sometimes we all can kind of feel that way when we're trying to juggle life and we're trying to juggle relationships, we're just talking about marriage, we're talking about friendships, we're talking about finances, we're talking about our faith. 00:00:53.789 --> 00:00:58.990 There's all these different things happening all at once, and sometimes it just feels like they're all up in the air. 00:00:59.229 --> 00:01:09.150 You know, I mentioned on Wednesday, I felt like my heart was outside of my chest getting drop-kicked by the world and by you know, just life. 00:01:10.109 --> 00:01:37.870 And um it's sort of that part of it's kind of back in my chest a bit more right now, and it doesn't feel so much like that, but I do feel a little bit a bit bit scattered, you know, and then I have this sort of uh like all of you, we have these responsibilities where we just have to show up, regardless of how scattered we we are, you know, and and how incapable we are. 00:01:38.030 --> 00:01:43.949 And so we we show up and we pretend that everything is exactly where we know it is. 00:01:44.030 --> 00:01:47.550 We'd open up the file and we go like boom, and here's this paper, and here's this, and here's this. 00:01:47.629 --> 00:01:49.469 Oh, you need a copy of that, here it goes. 00:01:49.629 --> 00:01:52.430 But in reality, just everything is up in the air. 00:01:52.750 --> 00:02:02.270 And that is, I think, a good place because it keeps you dependent on the Lord. 00:02:03.229 --> 00:02:11.870 When we have everything together, and and things are just so, we have this tendency to forget the Lord. 00:02:12.430 --> 00:02:21.549 And we we we get into this posture where we just start moving and we don't pray, we don't inquire, we don't seek the Lord diligently. 00:02:21.709 --> 00:02:29.229 We just like I'm keeping my papers in the file and my books in line and my work projects in the right and proper perspectives. 00:02:29.389 --> 00:02:42.349 And so we just get to this place where we are constantly managing those things, and it's not until something hits us and everything goes flying that we realize, oh my goodness, I've been doing this in my own strength. 00:02:42.509 --> 00:02:43.870 I need the Lord right now. 00:02:44.030 --> 00:02:50.909 In fact, I didn't just need him to help me put everything back, but once they were all together, I actually wanted to go, here, you carry them, Lord. 00:02:51.229 --> 00:02:51.549 Right? 00:02:51.629 --> 00:02:53.789 And that's where we really need to be. 00:02:54.189 --> 00:02:59.629 And so uh I want to do something a little different, a couple things a little different this morning. 00:02:59.709 --> 00:03:12.590 But the first thing I want to do right now, which is not different, is pray um for the sermon, for the message, for us, for God to move this morning. 00:03:13.310 --> 00:03:17.789 You guys, there's two realities uh that cannot coexist. 00:03:18.669 --> 00:03:33.629 Okay, either the cross is foolishness, okay, and we should all be pitied for showing up here today, or Christ alone has the words of eternal life. 00:03:35.069 --> 00:03:38.109 Those two things are they can't both be true. 00:03:38.269 --> 00:03:52.590 They can't be true that the cross is not true and false, and then also that the Lord has the words of eternal life, because his word says and reinforces the reality of the cross. 00:03:52.750 --> 00:04:12.189 And so this morning, if we're sitting here and we're playing church, does a big part of what's on my heart this morning, if we're playing church, that we get rattled from that place and we realize that there is something that is supposed to be so serious about what we do here that we can't play. 00:04:12.669 --> 00:04:16.110 And it does transform and it does sober us. 00:04:17.310 --> 00:04:32.990 You know, we talked about uh rest, and we talked about how me time is one of those things that comes into our lives, and if we don't get enough of it, we suffer. 00:04:34.349 --> 00:04:42.909 But then we looked at on Wednesday that that doesn't really hold up underneath the weight of the world. 00:04:43.550 --> 00:04:58.189 And I realize I'm kind of all over the place right now, but what I'm trying to do is just bring us into a place where we're a little bit more understanding of the gravity of our need for Christ. 00:04:59.149 --> 00:05:00.909 For Christ alone. 00:05:01.230 --> 00:05:04.589 You don't need me time, okay? 00:05:04.909 --> 00:05:13.069 You don't need uh uh a nice little sanctuary within your house that is your man cave or your woman. 00:05:15.709 --> 00:05:16.509 She shed. 00:05:17.389 --> 00:05:17.949 Right? 00:05:21.389 --> 00:05:25.790 You ladies do so many things better than us, but a she shed, that's so lame. 00:05:33.790 --> 00:05:39.870 The reason why is because you guys get the rest of the house, so we don't really talk about you guys just get the house, men get the cape. 00:05:40.029 --> 00:05:59.550 But anyway, um there's a there is a weight to what is going on, and the reality is is when you talk about and you get lost in the American ideal of just enough time for you and just enough time here, and there's this kind of Venn diagram, they sort of overlap in this little centerpiece, and you know, but everything else has you know what? 00:06:00.509 --> 00:06:05.629 If you went to Nepal right now, you got an airplane and you flew to Nepal, right? 00:06:05.709 --> 00:06:19.149 And if you guys know what is happening there, thousands of people lost their homes, thousands of people have died, okay, under the weight and water uh uh that has moved down through their city. 00:06:19.389 --> 00:06:33.790 And and they're just so overwhelmed, literally just crawling and and and and just moving away, just mud that just fills back in, and they they move it because they're trying to get to people that they love. 00:06:34.509 --> 00:06:37.389 And they're just so stressed out, and you're like, you know what you need? 00:06:37.469 --> 00:06:38.829 You need some me time. 00:06:41.230 --> 00:06:44.269 You need a space that is just for you, man. 00:06:44.430 --> 00:06:47.790 And if you had that, you would be okay. 00:06:49.870 --> 00:06:53.469 That is not what we serve here, guys. 00:06:54.189 --> 00:06:56.670 That is not what we give people here. 00:06:58.189 --> 00:07:11.629 There is hope, but it's not found in a properly prioritized life with a little bit of you and a little bit of God and a little bit of your family and a little bit of work and then just enough food and travel. 00:07:13.629 --> 00:07:15.230 We serve Christ. 00:07:15.709 --> 00:07:22.509 And we say, we we say, Christ, this, you are our hope, and that's what we're gonna try to give to the world. 00:07:22.829 --> 00:07:24.670 We are hope dealers. 00:07:25.550 --> 00:07:26.829 That's what we want to give. 00:07:26.909 --> 00:07:48.110 And we introduce people to Jesus because it uh it handles the weight of cancer, it handles the weight of criticism, it handles the weight of floods and natural disasters, it handles the weight of terrorist attacks, unexpected loss of a child. 00:07:49.709 --> 00:07:51.790 Me time does not hold up. 00:07:52.029 --> 00:07:54.349 Self-help books do not hold up. 00:07:56.670 --> 00:08:03.629 Making more money, learning how to platform your pain, it does not hold up. 00:08:05.550 --> 00:08:07.550 Christ holds up. 00:08:08.349 --> 00:08:20.269 He took the weight of the world and all the sin on his shoulders, and the fact that he would say, You sinful Ben Alderman, I'm gonna forgive you. 00:08:20.349 --> 00:08:22.110 I'm like, please don't. 00:08:22.909 --> 00:08:24.829 I don't even deserve that. 00:08:26.349 --> 00:08:29.629 We need to feel the weight of our sin sometimes. 00:08:32.909 --> 00:08:50.190 Lord, this morning as we uh try to put ourselves in that place where we can absorb the truth of your word, God, we know that we we just can't. 00:08:50.990 --> 00:08:54.270 Holy Spirit, you've got to come in, you've got to convict. 00:08:55.470 --> 00:09:04.030 Because, Lord, if this is not true, then we should literally all walk away and go do something else. 00:09:04.350 --> 00:09:07.710 Because we only have a little bit of time before we're dead. 00:09:11.629 --> 00:09:17.390 But if this is true, Lord, then can we just grab a hold of it and hang on to it like it matters? 00:09:20.110 --> 00:09:24.190 Like a plane that is crashing, and then we're holding on to our parachute. 00:09:28.910 --> 00:09:30.670 Do we hold on to you, Lord? 00:09:30.910 --> 00:09:32.510 Will you hold on to us? 00:09:44.030 --> 00:09:58.990 Lord, as your word is read this morning, God, I pray, God, if there is me in this, God, that you would remove it, strike me down, remove me in general, God, whatever it is. 00:09:59.310 --> 00:10:01.629 Lord, we only want to hear from you this morning. 00:10:07.150 --> 00:10:10.910 So it's in your name we pray, God, that you would cover this whole service. 00:10:13.310 --> 00:10:13.950 Amen. 00:10:16.110 --> 00:10:24.910 I'm gonna do something a little different, and if it does not uphold, or if it does not hold up under the weight of this scripture, then I need you guys to just get rid of it. 00:10:25.070 --> 00:10:27.710 Send me the emails and the text messages. 00:10:28.270 --> 00:10:28.590 Okay? 00:10:29.390 --> 00:10:42.270 Because I feel like that there is an epidemic within church, and it's not necessarily this church, but it's not not necessarily this church. 00:10:43.230 --> 00:11:09.629 And the epidemic is this that we are so in love with the world and the things that it has, that we are reluctant to truly live for the Lord. 00:11:11.310 --> 00:11:27.790 And in fact, so much so that many people, and again, we have to search and inquire of our own hearts here, many people don't ever come to Christ in a way that says, Christ, you are treasure. 00:11:29.550 --> 00:11:54.910 Instead, they hear about sin, and they hear about the consequences of a life opposed to Jesus, and what they do is they try to find a way to placate and just offset that just enough, and they go, okay, I'm gonna follow Jesus. 00:11:55.070 --> 00:11:59.070 Well, I don't know if I'm gonna follow Jesus, but I'm gonna accept him as my Lord and Savior. 00:12:00.190 --> 00:12:03.950 And then there is some reality there. 00:12:04.350 --> 00:12:04.670 Okay? 00:12:05.870 --> 00:12:07.550 So I'm not talking about the unbeliever here. 00:12:07.629 --> 00:12:13.950 I'm talking about the person who comes to Christ and they just say, Christ, you died for my sins. 00:12:16.910 --> 00:12:18.910 Now I don't go to hell. 00:12:20.830 --> 00:12:23.070 And it stops right there. 00:12:25.150 --> 00:12:28.670 I think that that happens all the time. 00:12:29.710 --> 00:12:49.150 And I think then it turns into uh, you know, I put Jesus in my Instagram profile, I show up to church on Sundays, sometimes, maybe more like Christmas and Easter, or maybe Christmas this year, because I didn't come on Easter. 00:12:50.430 --> 00:12:58.750 And there is this massive amount of people who are stuck right there. 00:13:05.870 --> 00:13:07.710 I don't know if you agree. 00:13:08.910 --> 00:13:10.590 I don't know if you see that. 00:13:11.070 --> 00:13:15.150 I don't know if you go if you're here and you're going like, well, how would I know if that's me? 00:13:15.310 --> 00:13:21.390 You would know if it's you if you don't treasure Christ above everything. 00:13:22.830 --> 00:13:24.110 That's how you know. 00:13:24.910 --> 00:13:35.150 And I'm not gonna say you're not a Christian, but I'm gonna say there's a defect in your heart and in your belief that we need to bring to the cross. 00:13:41.150 --> 00:13:42.350 But is it so? 00:13:42.670 --> 00:13:44.430 Is this really scriptural? 00:13:44.670 --> 00:13:45.629 Is this in the Bible? 00:13:45.710 --> 00:13:49.150 Is there a reason why you're talking about this this morning, Pastor? 00:13:51.230 --> 00:13:54.270 I mean, it has been a rough few weeks, if you think about it. 00:13:54.590 --> 00:14:00.990 The last few weeks, uh, we talked about some pretty weighty, meaty portions of scripture. 00:14:01.230 --> 00:14:03.550 We have the Jordan River, right? 00:14:03.870 --> 00:14:05.550 That is sort of uplifting. 00:14:05.790 --> 00:14:08.350 The Lord holds back the waters. 00:14:08.590 --> 00:14:14.910 And as people cross, you're like, yes, that is the stuff I want to hear about right there. 00:14:15.230 --> 00:14:19.870 God holding back the flood waters, allowing his people to do amazing things. 00:14:21.070 --> 00:14:24.350 Then we hear about the prostitute, Rahab, redeemed. 00:14:24.510 --> 00:14:26.830 Yes, amen to that too, Pastor. 00:14:26.910 --> 00:14:28.110 That's the stuff I want to hear. 00:14:28.270 --> 00:14:42.910 I want to hear about the woman who's lived her whole life, just opposed in lifestyle, in heart, in mind, in culture, and then God comes in and finds a way to rescue her. 00:14:42.990 --> 00:14:44.590 That's what I want to hear about. 00:14:45.790 --> 00:14:47.870 And then there was the destruction of Jericho. 00:14:47.950 --> 00:14:49.950 Yes, the people of God, they win again. 00:14:50.350 --> 00:14:53.710 But when you read it and you go, oh man, oh man. 00:14:54.270 --> 00:14:57.870 The people of God go in there and they just kill everyone. 00:14:58.110 --> 00:15:00.110 Men, women, children. 00:15:02.350 --> 00:15:05.070 There's been some tough stuff. 00:15:05.710 --> 00:15:08.910 The consequence for Israel for one man's sin. 00:15:09.230 --> 00:15:10.830 Remember Achan, right? 00:15:11.070 --> 00:15:17.710 He he he he steals the things from Jericho, the coveted things, and he buries them, and everybody pays the consequence. 00:15:17.790 --> 00:15:28.030 In fact, 36 people die, which means 36 families suffering because of one man's sin. 00:15:30.190 --> 00:15:32.350 Then the death penalty for Achan's sin. 00:15:32.590 --> 00:15:38.590 So we've we've heard some weighty things the last few weeks. 00:15:39.790 --> 00:15:48.590 But the book of Joshua has helped us see the compassion of God, the judgment of God, the redemptive work of the Lord. 00:15:48.990 --> 00:15:57.550 You guys, if you have tough questions, the questions like, well, if God's so loving, then why does he do something so mean? 00:15:59.550 --> 00:16:02.590 And then you look at this and you go, Yeah, that's exactly what I'm talking about. 00:16:02.830 --> 00:16:05.230 Did you listen to the sermon? 00:16:05.390 --> 00:16:12.110 Did you go back, rest life sermons on Apple, Podcasts, Spotify, whatever, and listen. 00:16:12.750 --> 00:16:14.990 God is not silent on these things. 00:16:15.150 --> 00:16:20.110 We don't just get to sit there and go, God is mean, and then go, where's the answer? 00:16:20.350 --> 00:16:22.030 It's here in God's word. 00:16:22.270 --> 00:16:24.190 It stands up to the objections. 00:16:30.110 --> 00:16:37.629 So, that being said, I said that there is some things that the church is suffering from. 00:16:37.870 --> 00:16:44.110 And so, what we want to do is we want to look at Joshua chapter 9 as a church and just see. 00:16:44.430 --> 00:16:46.350 What do we see here? 00:16:46.750 --> 00:17:04.589 So, Joshua chapter 9, it says, As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan, in the hill country, and in the low land along the coast of the Great Sea, towards Lebanon, the Hivites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites heard of this, they gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and Israel. 00:17:05.390 --> 00:17:12.990 Okay, so you have this group, and one reaction to the Lord can be hostile. 00:17:13.789 --> 00:17:23.869 Let's just gather all of our effort, all of our people, and if we we fight together unified, we can win. 00:17:25.950 --> 00:17:28.269 Now, to me, this seems sort of ridiculous. 00:17:29.869 --> 00:17:31.149 But I'm not them. 00:17:31.549 --> 00:17:38.029 And and maybe because of I, the the the defeated I, they had like they were reinvigorated. 00:17:38.109 --> 00:17:40.669 Like, see, look, Israel is beatable. 00:17:41.470 --> 00:17:43.309 Maybe we can beat them. 00:17:43.549 --> 00:17:46.189 They did just lose and get run off. 00:17:48.109 --> 00:17:55.309 So let's just get everybody together and we'll fight against Joshua and Israel. 00:17:55.549 --> 00:17:58.589 That story's not going to pick up until chapter 10. 00:18:00.909 --> 00:18:27.629 But verse 3, there's a second reaction, and it's the inhabitants of Gibeon hear what Joshua had done to Jericho and to I, and they and they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, wineskins worn out and torn and mended, worn out patches, sandals on their feet, and worn out clothes, and all their provisions were dry and crumbly. 00:18:27.789 --> 00:18:37.389 And they went to Joshua in the camp of Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, We have come from a distant country, so now make a covenant with us. 00:18:38.750 --> 00:18:46.509 So you have a really massive group fighting against Joshua and Israel. 00:18:46.669 --> 00:18:49.069 And like I said, that picks up in chapter 10. 00:18:49.869 --> 00:18:51.230 Be here next week. 00:18:51.549 --> 00:19:01.069 And then you have the other reaction, and that is let's not fight against God. 00:19:01.789 --> 00:19:10.189 Let's try to trick and align and move into a place of favor somehow with his people. 00:19:12.990 --> 00:19:17.230 Again, like I said, I think some of this stuff is really foolish, but we have 20-20 hindsight, right? 00:19:17.309 --> 00:19:20.829 We get to read chapter 10 and 11 and 12 and so on and so forth. 00:19:20.990 --> 00:19:32.429 So we don't really get it, but there's this plan for Gibeon. 00:19:33.069 --> 00:19:46.909 It's one city, it's a Hivite city, which is why it trick goes back and forth, the people of Gibeon and the Hivites, uh, the Hivite area, and then Gibeon is one city, so everybody who lives in it is of Gibeon, but also Hivite. 00:19:47.069 --> 00:19:48.509 So that's how you get that. 00:19:48.990 --> 00:19:52.750 Um, yeah, we can't beat them, so let's just trick his people. 00:19:53.470 --> 00:19:57.869 And they are naturally inclined to think with their minds. 00:19:58.029 --> 00:19:58.429 Right? 00:19:58.589 --> 00:19:59.230 That makes sense. 00:20:00.029 --> 00:20:01.549 They're not Israel. 00:20:01.789 --> 00:20:03.230 They're not God's people. 00:20:03.389 --> 00:20:08.429 They don't have his word, they don't have the ark, they don't have the presence of God, they don't have any of these things. 00:20:08.589 --> 00:20:11.869 They've been living by their own devices for centuries. 00:20:12.269 --> 00:20:12.589 Right? 00:20:12.669 --> 00:20:15.950 We know 400 years they've been living in opposition to God. 00:20:16.189 --> 00:20:20.429 So they don't have anything. 00:20:20.589 --> 00:20:29.789 They've been ignoring him, his warnings for repentance, uh, but they see an unwinnable war, really, is what they see in front of them. 00:20:29.950 --> 00:20:32.349 So, how do we get on the right side of this? 00:20:32.589 --> 00:20:35.389 How do we not get destroyed? 00:20:35.629 --> 00:20:37.470 Let's just become one of them. 00:20:38.109 --> 00:20:41.470 That's sort of their whole game plan. 00:20:42.429 --> 00:20:47.629 It says, But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, Perhaps you live among us, then how can we make a covenant with you? 00:20:47.869 --> 00:20:49.710 Basically, how's this all going to work? 00:20:50.189 --> 00:20:52.269 They said to Joshua, We are your servants. 00:20:52.429 --> 00:20:55.069 And Joshua said to them, Who are you? 00:20:55.230 --> 00:20:56.829 And where do you come from? 00:20:57.309 --> 00:21:03.149 They said to him, From a very distant country, your servants have come, because the name of the Lord your God. 00:21:03.470 --> 00:21:15.950 For we have heard a report of him and all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon, the king of Heshbon, and to Og the king of Basham. 00:21:17.470 --> 00:21:20.349 Bashan, who lived in Ash Taroth. 00:21:21.710 --> 00:21:29.549 So they show up, they've got this whole plan, right? 00:21:30.189 --> 00:21:34.589 Old food, old wineskins, worn-out clothes, worn sandals. 00:21:35.549 --> 00:21:41.710 We wanna we wanna trick these guys, we wanna we wanna live amongst them. 00:21:41.950 --> 00:21:42.269 Okay? 00:21:43.069 --> 00:21:47.230 We are from a distant country and we want to make covenant with you. 00:21:48.990 --> 00:21:52.509 So the men of Israel start to question just a little bit. 00:21:52.669 --> 00:21:57.789 I mean, it probably sounds pretty good to them because they want to be their servants. 00:21:59.149 --> 00:22:05.069 I mean, they themselves, just 40 years ago, were slaves in it in Egypt. 00:22:05.230 --> 00:22:08.669 Maybe they're like, oh, it's kind of like our turn now. 00:22:09.470 --> 00:22:12.669 We can have people who are are are working for us. 00:22:13.549 --> 00:22:15.869 Rather than us working for others. 00:22:16.029 --> 00:22:17.549 Maybe there's some of that. 00:22:17.950 --> 00:22:20.349 Maybe they're just thinking, hey, these guys aren't just takers. 00:22:20.429 --> 00:22:22.349 They showed up and they're like willing to be our servants. 00:22:22.509 --> 00:22:23.549 They're willing to work. 00:22:23.789 --> 00:22:24.429 That's nice. 00:22:24.509 --> 00:22:29.789 It's always kind of frustrating when somebody shows up and they're like, hey, you know, I'm here. 00:22:29.950 --> 00:22:33.470 I'd love to take what you have, but not give anything in return. 00:22:33.710 --> 00:22:34.829 Nobody likes that. 00:22:34.990 --> 00:22:36.750 But these guys are like, we'll be your servants. 00:22:36.909 --> 00:22:37.950 A whole city. 00:22:38.109 --> 00:22:40.990 Gibeon was actually a pretty mighty city full of warriors. 00:22:41.470 --> 00:22:48.189 Just strapping, strong men and women who are ready to just be servants. 00:22:48.669 --> 00:22:48.990 Okay. 00:22:50.829 --> 00:22:54.029 Well, Joshua asked them, Where are you from? 00:22:55.549 --> 00:22:58.909 This is, I feel, like, red flag, like number 17. 00:22:59.950 --> 00:23:01.230 A distant land. 00:23:02.990 --> 00:23:06.269 Like never, never land, like way out there, you know? 00:23:06.509 --> 00:23:08.189 Like a distant land. 00:23:11.069 --> 00:23:19.869 The reason why is because, right, there's this area, which we went over, that was devoted to destruction, all the people in it. 00:23:20.029 --> 00:23:26.750 And when they say I'm from a distant land, they're like outside of the area devoted to destruction. 00:23:26.990 --> 00:23:27.309 Right? 00:23:27.470 --> 00:23:31.149 They don't want to be seen as the enemy. 00:23:31.389 --> 00:23:36.909 They want to be seen as a potential ally, or at least neutral. 00:23:37.470 --> 00:23:37.950 Right? 00:23:38.189 --> 00:23:39.069 Neutral. 00:23:41.549 --> 00:23:44.909 So we're from far away. 00:23:45.149 --> 00:23:45.629 Far away. 00:23:45.710 --> 00:23:47.950 Yeah, I don't have any beef with Never Never Land. 00:23:48.189 --> 00:23:48.669 You know? 00:23:48.829 --> 00:23:49.629 The lost boys. 00:23:49.869 --> 00:23:50.589 Like, yeah, cool. 00:23:50.669 --> 00:23:51.710 He can be here. 00:23:57.230 --> 00:24:00.589 So they also know the conquest of the Lord. 00:24:00.669 --> 00:24:02.029 They start rattling them off. 00:24:02.429 --> 00:24:04.429 They don't mention Jericho. 00:24:04.669 --> 00:24:05.869 They don't mention I. 00:24:06.589 --> 00:24:09.069 Very strategically, those things just happened. 00:24:09.230 --> 00:24:11.230 And remember, they're on a journey. 00:24:11.629 --> 00:24:14.909 And so they're keeping up the whole act. 00:24:15.149 --> 00:24:18.269 They're trying to make it seem just perfect, right? 00:24:18.509 --> 00:24:25.950 Just enough truth, just enough humility, just enough flattery, just to make it sound really, really good. 00:24:26.509 --> 00:24:29.389 And look really, really great. 00:24:30.669 --> 00:24:37.389 So in verse 11, so our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, Take provisions. 00:24:37.549 --> 00:24:38.269 Oh, sorry, I read that. 00:24:38.349 --> 00:24:39.549 No, I didn't read that part. 00:24:39.789 --> 00:24:43.230 This is the they kind of repeat themselves, so I'll just read this again. 00:24:43.629 --> 00:24:44.750 Because the Lord repeats it. 00:24:44.909 --> 00:24:53.549 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, Take provisions in your hand for the journey and to go and meet them and say to them, We are your servants, come now, make covenant with us. 00:24:53.710 --> 00:24:54.909 Look, here is our bread. 00:24:54.990 --> 00:24:56.189 It was warm. 00:24:57.470 --> 00:25:02.669 We took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you. 00:25:02.750 --> 00:25:05.309 But now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. 00:25:05.549 --> 00:25:09.629 I kind of laughed because bread stays warm for like no time at all. 00:25:09.789 --> 00:25:11.309 Like it could have been yesterday. 00:25:11.389 --> 00:25:12.829 You know, it's terrible. 00:25:12.990 --> 00:25:19.149 Anyway, verse 13 these wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have bursts. 00:25:19.309 --> 00:25:24.029 And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey. 00:25:24.349 --> 00:25:28.990 So we get a play-by-play as the Israelites are trying to do their due diligence and go, who are you? 00:25:29.149 --> 00:25:29.789 What do you have? 00:25:29.950 --> 00:25:31.789 And they're like, look, here's some evidence. 00:25:32.029 --> 00:25:32.829 Here's some evidence. 00:25:32.909 --> 00:25:35.629 Look, all this stuff is broken and worn out, right? 00:25:35.950 --> 00:25:40.909 Even our sandals, you know, are worn. 00:25:42.109 --> 00:25:48.909 Crazy thing is, if you think about this, they're either from very far away or with no provisions, they're from really close. 00:25:49.789 --> 00:25:50.429 Right? 00:25:52.029 --> 00:25:54.269 Again, we have 2020. 00:25:55.549 --> 00:26:02.669 So the men, verse 14, took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord. 00:26:05.069 --> 00:26:10.990 And Joshua made peace with them and made covenant with them to let them live. 00:26:11.149 --> 00:26:14.750 And the leaders of the congregations swore to them. 00:26:15.389 --> 00:26:23.549 You know, for the for the people of God, and for those of us who want to truly walk in the best that God has for us. 00:26:24.029 --> 00:26:32.189 We don't want just some nominal Christianity where we show up on Sundays and we just kind of like play the part and then we go about our lives. 00:26:32.349 --> 00:26:42.429 For those of us who want all that God has for us, we see here a real issue and the main issue and why the whole plan of the Hivites worked. 00:26:43.950 --> 00:26:48.189 Joshua did not inquire of the Lord. 00:26:48.669 --> 00:26:53.069 He just did what he thought was best. 00:26:53.629 --> 00:26:59.549 He looked at the evidence in front of him, and he's like, Well, I'm going to use my brain again. 00:26:59.869 --> 00:27:02.669 You gave me the brain, Lord, so here we go. 00:27:04.589 --> 00:27:11.629 And the funny thing about a brain is it just it fails you often, along with the heart. 00:27:11.869 --> 00:27:16.909 And it's actually just meant to be evidence as to why you're supposed to inquire of the Lord. 00:27:17.230 --> 00:27:21.710 But Joshua falls prey to the same old thing. 00:27:22.189 --> 00:27:24.589 And so he makes peace with them. 00:27:25.710 --> 00:27:32.189 And in effect, when he makes covenant with the Hivites, he makes the Hivites Israel. 00:27:33.710 --> 00:27:34.509 You see that? 00:27:34.829 --> 00:27:38.429 He makes covenant and he makes them Israel. 00:27:39.869 --> 00:27:44.669 They're not going to be subject to the same consequences that they were supposed to be. 00:27:44.909 --> 00:27:48.750 And they're going to get some of the blessings that were not originally theirs. 00:27:48.990 --> 00:27:52.829 They become, in effect, like the children of God. 00:27:55.710 --> 00:28:00.429 It also validates this portion, also validates the word. 00:28:00.990 --> 00:28:05.549 The word says that man looks at outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. 00:28:05.869 --> 00:28:09.549 Very clearly, Joshua is just looking at what he sees. 00:28:09.789 --> 00:28:11.309 And we can all be tricked, you guys. 00:28:11.549 --> 00:28:14.109 I'm actually thankful that one of my friends isn't here this morning. 00:28:14.429 --> 00:28:15.470 We just heard this story. 00:28:15.629 --> 00:28:20.509 He's a very, very smart, skeptical individual, right? 00:28:21.470 --> 00:28:25.789 And he went on Facebook Marketplace. 00:28:26.269 --> 00:28:28.189 And he wanted a new couch. 00:28:28.829 --> 00:28:29.149 Okay? 00:28:29.629 --> 00:28:34.589 So he goes on Facebook Marketplace, he wants a new couch, and I'm going to kind of elaborate just because it makes it better. 00:28:34.669 --> 00:28:37.389 But you know, it's this really nice couch, actually. 00:28:37.710 --> 00:28:40.509 And he's like, this is a good price. 00:28:40.669 --> 00:28:43.309 There's some good pictures on here, people are going to want this couch. 00:28:43.470 --> 00:28:49.869 And so the person just messaged back, hey, send us 50 bucks, and we'll hold it for you. 00:28:50.589 --> 00:28:51.230 Right? 00:28:52.189 --> 00:28:58.429 And this very smart, skeptical, you know, uh good judge of character person. 00:28:59.230 --> 00:29:02.269 Um he's my friend too. 00:29:02.349 --> 00:29:05.789 Maybe he's not that great of a judge of character, but that's okay. 00:29:06.109 --> 00:29:09.389 He sends 50 bucks. 00:29:10.269 --> 00:29:15.470 And his wife's looking at him like, of all people. 00:29:16.589 --> 00:29:21.230 You of all people sent 50 bucks to this guy on Facebook Marketplace? 00:29:21.470 --> 00:29:23.149 And he's like, yeah, it seemed legit. 00:29:23.389 --> 00:29:24.269 Not legit. 00:29:24.589 --> 00:29:25.869 Okay, not legit. 00:29:25.950 --> 00:29:27.470 It was not legit. 00:29:27.869 --> 00:29:28.189 Okay? 00:29:28.829 --> 00:29:32.109 You guys, we can all be tricked. 00:29:32.509 --> 00:29:36.029 The smartest of us can be tricked. 00:29:36.750 --> 00:29:39.149 Maybe he represents the smartest of us. 00:29:39.710 --> 00:29:40.029 Okay? 00:29:40.269 --> 00:29:43.470 Joshua represents maybe the smartest of us. 00:29:43.629 --> 00:29:45.069 We can all be tricked. 00:29:45.230 --> 00:29:52.990 If Joshua and my friend, I'm very tempted to use his word, his name, but I'm not, okay, can all be tricked. 00:29:55.309 --> 00:30:00.669 But when we go to the Lord and we inquire of the Lord, it changes the game. 00:30:00.829 --> 00:30:04.029 We we have like this ace in the hole. 00:30:04.189 --> 00:30:09.389 We have uh a superpower that we forget to access. 00:30:11.710 --> 00:30:13.149 And it's to inquire of the Lord. 00:30:13.230 --> 00:30:14.349 It's pray. 00:30:14.829 --> 00:30:17.950 God, what am I supposed to do here? 00:30:18.750 --> 00:30:20.349 What it what is going on? 00:30:20.429 --> 00:30:22.029 What this right in front of me, it looks this way. 00:30:22.109 --> 00:30:25.309 Is that what it is what am I seeing what you want me to see? 00:30:28.109 --> 00:30:29.549 We can all be tricked. 00:30:30.669 --> 00:30:32.189 And this is how long the secret. 00:30:32.349 --> 00:30:34.750 The secret is so flimsy. 00:30:35.789 --> 00:30:36.909 So flimsy. 00:30:37.069 --> 00:30:46.589 It says in verse 16, at the end of three days after they had made covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors. 00:30:47.869 --> 00:30:49.309 Their neighbors. 00:30:49.950 --> 00:30:51.950 And they lived among them. 00:30:52.909 --> 00:31:00.909 Oh, we were we looked at this and we looked at this, and it seemed like it was all, you know, they were from far away. 00:31:01.389 --> 00:31:03.389 Dude, the next city. 00:31:03.629 --> 00:31:04.750 They were neighbors. 00:31:04.909 --> 00:31:09.309 They were right there in the same region, only a few miles, I think, from Gilgal. 00:31:11.389 --> 00:31:13.149 Secrets are funny though, right? 00:31:13.230 --> 00:31:16.509 They don't say secret for very long. 00:31:18.509 --> 00:31:19.710 They never do. 00:31:19.950 --> 00:31:21.950 Especially when the Lord's involved. 00:31:22.189 --> 00:31:23.789 And so it comes out. 00:31:24.029 --> 00:31:25.629 And here we have it. 00:31:26.429 --> 00:31:30.509 So the people of Israel set out and reached their cities on the third day. 00:31:30.669 --> 00:31:32.269 It doesn't take three days. 00:31:32.589 --> 00:31:35.549 Remember how when the Lord three days later rose, right? 00:31:35.629 --> 00:31:36.509 He died. 00:31:36.909 --> 00:31:39.629 Okay, he was in the grave and he rose on the third day. 00:31:39.869 --> 00:31:45.789 Okay, so so it's like uh it's like one and a half days, according to the Hebrew calendar, right? 00:31:45.869 --> 00:31:48.750 So they could have set out on a Friday evening and got there on Sunday morning. 00:31:48.829 --> 00:31:50.990 So it's like one day of true walking. 00:31:51.149 --> 00:31:52.349 So it's not that long. 00:31:54.029 --> 00:31:57.309 And the map would show it's like maybe six miles or something like that. 00:31:57.950 --> 00:31:59.309 It's not very long. 00:32:00.109 --> 00:32:02.509 They reached their cities on the third day. 00:32:02.750 --> 00:32:09.470 Now their cities were Gibeon, Jefirah, Beroth, Kiriam, Jirim. 00:32:10.109 --> 00:32:16.269 But the people of Israel did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. 00:32:16.429 --> 00:32:26.029 Then all the congregation murmured against the leaders, but the leaders all said to the congregation, We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we may not touch them. 00:32:26.509 --> 00:32:29.629 This we will do to them, let them live. 00:32:30.029 --> 00:32:30.990 This we will do to them. 00:32:31.069 --> 00:32:32.750 It sounds like a consequence is coming. 00:32:33.629 --> 00:32:34.750 Let them live. 00:32:34.990 --> 00:32:35.470 Right? 00:32:36.750 --> 00:32:37.950 There we go. 00:32:38.750 --> 00:32:40.269 Because the oath we swore to them. 00:32:40.349 --> 00:32:48.349 And the leader said to them, Let them live, so they become cutters of wood and drawers of water for all the congregation, just as the leaders had said of them. 00:32:48.509 --> 00:32:53.230 Not glorious jobs, but rolls nonetheless with the people of God. 00:32:53.869 --> 00:33:03.389 Joshua summoned them, verse twenty-two, and he said to them, Why did you deceive us, saying, We are from very far from you, when you dwell among us? 00:33:04.750 --> 00:33:07.789 You dwell among us, but you said you were from far away. 00:33:09.549 --> 00:33:17.950 Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you shall never be anything but servants, cutters of wood and drawers of water, for the house of my God. 00:33:18.349 --> 00:33:30.990 They answered Joshua, because it was told of your servants, for a certainty that the Lord your God had commanded his servants Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you. 00:33:31.230 --> 00:33:36.029 So we feared greatly for our lives, because of you, and did this thing. 00:33:36.189 --> 00:33:38.509 And now, behold, we are in your hand. 00:33:38.669 --> 00:33:42.509 Whatever seems good and right in your sight, do to us. 00:33:44.669 --> 00:33:49.869 So he did this to them, and he delivered them out of the hand of the people of Israel, and he did not kill them. 00:33:50.029 --> 00:34:00.990 But Joshua made them that day cutters of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord to this day, in the place that he should choose. 00:34:04.029 --> 00:34:12.750 Now, I sort of tipped my hat at what I thought that this was for. 00:34:13.950 --> 00:34:17.630 And I'm wrestling with the Lord, like, Lord, why this passage today? 00:34:17.869 --> 00:34:20.429 Why are we going here as a church? 00:34:21.789 --> 00:34:25.630 Is it to see that Joshua didn't inquire of the Lord, maybe? 00:34:25.870 --> 00:34:31.070 And that's what we're supposed to do is inquire of the Lord with our day-to-day. 00:34:31.870 --> 00:34:36.590 But I really felt like I was met with silence from the Lord. 00:34:36.910 --> 00:34:39.630 I'm just sitting there in prayer and I'm going, like, God, what is this? 00:34:39.870 --> 00:34:40.510 Why? 00:34:41.390 --> 00:34:42.350 What more do you have? 00:34:42.430 --> 00:34:45.550 Do you want me to just keep going and I'll just move into chapter 10? 00:34:46.590 --> 00:34:50.110 The day that the sun stood still for a little while. 00:34:51.309 --> 00:34:53.630 I could teach on some of that stuff. 00:34:53.870 --> 00:34:55.390 It's kind of cool. 00:34:56.990 --> 00:35:01.230 But it really did feel like the floodgate opened, and the Lord did show me. 00:35:02.910 --> 00:35:04.190 And he was good. 00:35:05.309 --> 00:35:12.590 So, like I said earlier, I think a lot of people approach God in the church today like the Hivites. 00:35:14.830 --> 00:35:31.230 First and foremost, they recognize, we can recognize, all of us are capable of falling to this trap, that living a life in opposition to God has consequences. 00:35:33.309 --> 00:35:33.630 Right? 00:35:33.870 --> 00:35:47.710 A life that's entirely for self creates a problem, and if there really is a hell, for those who don't accept Jesus, then I'm in a bad place. 00:35:50.750 --> 00:36:11.070 So what happens is sometimes we start to segment our lives, and and and we create this outward appearance of humility, the show of a place that we're really at, or a place that we're really coming from, that's not really entirely true. 00:36:13.710 --> 00:36:16.750 Maybe we go to church, we sing songs, you know. 00:36:16.990 --> 00:36:20.670 Like I said, we do the Bible verse in our social media profile. 00:36:23.070 --> 00:36:25.390 Because that is not what pleases the Lord. 00:36:26.430 --> 00:36:28.110 It's not what pleases the Lord. 00:36:28.430 --> 00:36:30.110 God is not pleased with the show. 00:36:30.269 --> 00:36:33.309 The Hivites think it worked, it did not work. 00:36:34.030 --> 00:36:35.710