WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.959 Hello everyone, I'm Dr. 00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:01.679 Steve Holt. 00:00:01.840 --> 00:00:04.799 I want to welcome you to the Road Church podcast. 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:07.280 Each week we go into God's Word. 00:00:07.440 --> 00:00:10.240 We teach chapter by chapter and verse by verse. 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:15.599 And we are here to build the Kingdom of God revolution through empowering people to change the world. 00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:21.280 So we pray this will minister to you at your heart level and change your life. 00:00:21.519 --> 00:00:24.960 Today, be encouraged by our guest speaker. 00:00:28.239 --> 00:00:29.679 Well, good morning. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:31.519 Welcome to the Road Church. 00:00:31.600 --> 00:00:33.280 My name is Pastor Josh. 00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:37.840 I'm uh over the prayer and worship ministries here. 00:00:38.560 --> 00:00:44.640 Uh we're gonna continue our study in the book of Joshua today, which is fun because that's who I was named after. 00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:47.920 I'm the first Josh in my family. 00:00:48.079 --> 00:00:53.439 Uh so I've read this book a lot of times, just like I think any of us have. 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:58.719 And Joshua 1 has been really formational for me in my walk with the Lord. 00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:08.000 And we're gonna continue the story today in Joshua chapter 2, starting in verse 15, and we're gonna cross the Jordan today, which is really fun. 00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:14.640 I'm like, man, who thought that I'd be able to preach on crossing the Jordan out of Joshua? 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:18.079 Like, I'm I'm tickled pink about that. 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:22.079 So before we start, let me pray and uh we'll dive in. 00:01:22.159 --> 00:01:24.079 So, Lord, thank you for your word. 00:01:24.799 --> 00:01:30.959 Thank you for your word that is like a sword that cuts to pieces the lies of the enemy. 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:36.159 Thank you for your word that's like a sharpened arrow that pierces hearts. 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:43.599 Psalm 45 says, Your arrows are in the hearts of your enemies and uh makes us into your friends. 00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:46.640 Thank you for the polished spear of your word. 00:01:47.439 --> 00:02:04.239 And God, I ask that your word would run swiftly to every heart this morning, including mine, fill us with courage to possess your promises, fill us with hope to dream again, fill us with faith as you speak. 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:09.520 I know that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Rhema word of Christ. 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:12.080 So, Jesus, I invite you to speak today. 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:20.639 If you've got to shut everybody's ears so that they don't hear anything I say, uh that'd probably be good if they can hear you. 00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:27.120 So uh help me to not say anything stupid or heretical, and help me to represent you well this morning. 00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:28.159 In Jesus' name. 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:28.960 Amen. 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:30.960 Okay, well, let's dive in. 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:39.840 Joshua 2, verse 15, and uh I'm just gonna read through some of these passages and give some remarks, and we'll have a good time. 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:42.240 Verse 15 of Joshua chapter 2. 00:02:42.319 --> 00:02:49.280 Then she, she being Rahab, let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall. 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:51.759 She dwelt on the wall, and that's pretty common. 00:02:52.080 --> 00:03:02.560 You have a city like Jericho, which is really the oldest city in history that we know of, that they would have this really thick wall, and then they would build houses into the wall. 00:03:02.719 --> 00:03:05.039 So she had one of those houses that was built into the wall. 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:06.560 She lets them out the window. 00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:17.840 Verse 16, and she said to them, Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you, hide there three days until the pursuers have returned, afterward you may go your way. 00:03:18.479 --> 00:03:24.560 So the men said to her, We will be blameless of this oath of yours, which you have made us swear. 00:03:24.960 --> 00:03:53.360 Unless when we come into the land you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all of your father's household to your own home, so it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless, and whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if a hand is laid on him. 00:03:53.520 --> 00:04:00.000 And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath, which you made us swear. 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:03.840 Then she said, According to your words, so be it. 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:09.439 And she sent them away, and they departed, and she bound the scarlet cord in the window. 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:24.480 So Rahab didn't really know it, but the scarlet cord would be her family's salvation, and it would lead to this scarlet bloodline of King David, and ultimately to King Jesus, the Savior of the world. 00:04:24.639 --> 00:04:32.240 And this scarlet line symbolizes the blood that ran down the hands, the feet, and the side of our Lord, the blood that takes away all sin. 00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:38.240 And though the walls would crumble, that scarlet cord would remain. 00:04:38.480 --> 00:04:40.160 And uh, you know why scarlet? 00:04:40.240 --> 00:04:47.279 You know, maybe the spies were thinking back to the Passover when the homes marked with scarlet blood were spared. 00:04:47.519 --> 00:04:51.279 And in this case it was just one home, but the principle remained. 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:58.079 And uh it's a pretty cool image for us this morning that all you need is the scarlet cord. 00:04:58.639 --> 00:05:01.519 You don't need a dissertation. 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:06.399 She didn't have to submit a resume to be accepted into Israel. 00:05:06.639 --> 00:05:11.680 She didn't have to put a scarlet cord and then pray really hard. 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:17.600 Um she didn't have to put a scarlet cord and then say, I believe, I believe, I believe, I receive, I receive, I receive. 00:05:17.839 --> 00:05:20.800 She just trusted the scarlet cord. 00:05:21.040 --> 00:05:25.120 And that's pretty cool for us this morning that we can do the same thing. 00:05:25.519 --> 00:05:36.319 Rahab was asked to put her faith in her salvation through a scarlet cord, just as God asks us to put our faith in his salvation through the blood of Christ. 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:37.759 And nothing. 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:38.879 That's enough. 00:05:39.120 --> 00:05:40.480 His blood is enough. 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:42.399 Her faith was just like ours. 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:50.399 She said in verse 21, according to your words, so be it, and immediately bound the scarlet cord in the window. 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:54.879 She didn't, you know, she didn't waste any time and she didn't try to argue, well, why scarlet? 00:05:54.959 --> 00:05:55.279 Why not? 00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:56.800 I've got better colors. 00:05:57.439 --> 00:06:01.199 Why not purple or blue or green? 00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:02.160 Something like that. 00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:03.600 She just said, okay. 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:09.920 And immediately, I mean, immediately, bound the scarlet cord to the window. 00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:11.279 She had plenty of time. 00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:27.040 They were gonna stay for three days before they even got back to Israel, and then, you know, three and a half million, two, three, three and a half million Israelites were gonna have to cross the Jordan and then travel to Jericho, and then they were gonna take seven days to march around Jericho. 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:28.720 I mean, she had plenty of time. 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:33.040 She could have thought about it, she could have weighed out her options a little more. 00:06:33.360 --> 00:06:55.920 Well, you know, Yahweh seems pretty powerful, but um, you know, there's this guy, Buddha, too, or um Muhammad that I could put my faith in, or Joseph Smith, or I mean, she didn't she didn't weigh her options, she didn't delay, she just tied the scarlet cord around her household. 00:06:56.480 --> 00:07:01.839 And uh I think it's pretty awesome that it wasn't just her that was saved, but it was her entire household. 00:07:02.160 --> 00:07:20.319 I think that speaks to us today as well that when you put your faith in Christ and you tie the scarlet cord, the bloodline, around your windowsill, it becomes a breakthrough that's not just for you, but it's also for your family. 00:07:20.720 --> 00:07:24.720 It's also for your spouse, it's for your children, it's even for your parents. 00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:46.399 My uh mom has a pretty cool testimony of getting saved when she was 19 and she went home and led her three siblings to the Lord, and later on would introduce both of her parents to Christ, and later on she'd meet my dad and introduce him to Christ, and then he would introduce his siblings to Christ and his son and his ex-wife to Christ. 00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:58.399 I mean, it's a pretty cool, my family has a pretty cool heritage of one 19-year-old girl's faith impacting our entire family. 00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:02.079 And that's still available for anybody here today. 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:10.480 You know, you might feel like you're by yourself, you might feel like you're the only one out of an entire city of people that knows the power of God. 00:08:10.639 --> 00:08:12.079 You know, that was Rahab. 00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:14.560 All of Jericho was seeing the fire. 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:18.560 The fire by night and the cloud by day, which is pretty cool. 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:25.920 I don't know if you've ever heard this before, but this thought came to me, and then I heard somebody else say it, so it felt legal. 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:36.799 Um, but that think about the goodness of God and his provision, that at night in the desert, you know, it's pretty cold, right? 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:42.639 And I always thought as a kid, well, he's this pillar of fire to scare these Israelites straight. 00:08:42.799 --> 00:08:49.039 You know, these children of Israel, they need to get their act together, so I'm gonna be this big pillar of fire to scare them straight. 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:57.440 And I'm sure it was pretty scary, and even when they crossed the Exodus, you know, he was a barrier behind them that kept Pharaoh from approaching while they crossed the Red Sea. 00:08:57.759 --> 00:09:01.600 But also, it just kept them warm at night. 00:09:02.399 --> 00:09:03.039 You know? 00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:09.519 Like they didn't freeze to death in the middle of the desert because they had this giant bonfire. 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:12.399 And then during the day, it's really hot. 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:17.759 So, what do you want in the middle of the desert on a really hot day? 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:19.279 A cloud. 00:09:19.519 --> 00:09:20.960 Isn't that cool? 00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:22.960 Anyway, that's not in my notes. 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:25.519 That just popped into my head. 00:09:26.159 --> 00:09:30.080 Yeah, this scarlet cord, according to your word, so be it. 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:32.480 So don't waste any time. 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:33.759 Be like Rahab. 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:37.039 Just if you haven't put your faith in Jesus, do it right now. 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:39.200 Don't even wait for me to quit preaching. 00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:46.399 Grab a hold of the blood of Christ today and watch it impact more than your life. 00:09:46.799 --> 00:09:57.440 Hebrews 11 31 said, By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe when she had received the spies with peace. 00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:00.320 By faith, it's it's just trust. 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:02.000 It's just saying yes. 00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:17.759 It kind of blows my mind that she's the only person in Jericho that put their trust in God when they all saw the same stuff that she said, and it convinced her to faith. 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:21.279 You know, I think it kind of reminds me, I think it's in Matthew 9. 00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:28.240 It's in, I think it's in all the gospels, but it's for sure in Matthew 9, when Jesus is eating with all these sinners and tax collectors. 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:33.759 And uh the Pharisees, I can't remember if it was their thoughts he perceived. 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:45.840 We don't have time to go there, but he says to them, because they're all bent out of shape that he's hanging out with tax collectors and sinners, and he says, Well, it's not the well that need a doctor, it's the sick. 00:10:46.559 --> 00:10:50.320 And how many of you know he wasn't telling the Pharisees that they were well? 00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:51.519 Right? 00:10:51.759 --> 00:10:55.600 Like, here's the thing the Pharisees thought they were well. 00:10:56.080 --> 00:11:01.120 They didn't know they were sick, they didn't know they needed a doctor. 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:12.080 See, that's the difference between Rahab the harlot and all these other, I don't know what you call somebody from Jericho, Jerichites, Jerichoites, whatever. 00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:14.639 That's the difference between her and them. 00:11:15.039 --> 00:11:18.720 Is she was very in touch with her brokenness. 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:24.799 She was very in touch with her depravity, and that qualified her for the scarlet cord. 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:32.000 See, Jesus just needs us to be aware of our brokenness. 00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:34.480 Blessed are the poor in spirit. 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:38.080 Those are the ones that inherit the kingdom from God. 00:11:38.159 --> 00:11:42.559 Those are the ones that will receive things from the kingdom. 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:45.039 It's those that really don't think they're rich. 00:11:45.200 --> 00:11:56.720 You know, it reminds me of Laodicea, where they say, he says, you think that you're wealthy, you think you can see, you think you're clothed, but really you're blind, you're naked, and you're poor. 00:11:57.120 --> 00:12:08.960 And you would be much better off if you viewed yourself that way, because then you could come and buy gold refined by the fire from me, and I salve for your eyes to see, and linen garments to cover the shame of your nakedness. 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:15.200 See, all you need is an awareness of your depravity, and you are now qualified for the gospel. 00:12:15.919 --> 00:12:17.120 And that's faith. 00:12:17.360 --> 00:12:18.000 That's faith. 00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:22.960 When we come to Jesus and we say, you know, Lord, I don't have it all figured out. 00:12:23.120 --> 00:12:25.120 I'm pretty messed up and broken. 00:12:25.840 --> 00:12:34.639 I've got these things going on in my life, I've got this sin struggle, I've got these fears, and he can meet you there. 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:37.759 Where he can't meet you is I've got it figured out. 00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:40.480 So that's that's pretty cool. 00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:41.600 I think. 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:42.879 Let's keep going. 00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:44.240 I've got a lot to get through. 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:46.960 I'm just chatting away, blah, blah, blah. 00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:52.639 Verse 22 They departed and went to the mountain and stayed there three days until the pursuers returned. 00:12:52.799 --> 00:12:57.519 The pursuers sought them all along the way, but did not find them. 00:12:58.080 --> 00:13:05.519 So the two men returned, descended from the mountain, and crossed over, and they came to Joshua, the son of Nun, and told him all that had befallen him. 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:16.720 And they said to Joshua, Truly the Lord has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are faint-hearted because of us. 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:19.279 Well, how do they know they're faint-hearted? 00:13:19.679 --> 00:13:22.320 They didn't talk to anybody but a harlot. 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:24.159 Why are you gonna trust her word? 00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:25.759 She's a prostitute. 00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:32.399 But there was something in her faith that quickened their faith. 00:13:32.799 --> 00:13:35.600 There was something in her belief in God. 00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:38.159 She never even met God. 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:45.279 But she believed, and her belief spurred on their belief, which is gonna spur on a nation's belief. 00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:47.039 That's what faith can do. 00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:53.600 When you choose to have faith, your faith can inspire someone else's faith. 00:13:54.879 --> 00:14:03.840 She told them the hearts of Chericho were melted and faint from last week, and they returned with faith in their hearts because of the faith in her heart. 00:14:04.159 --> 00:14:05.360 That's pretty cool. 00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:06.879 Rahab's alright. 00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:09.759 The word Rahab, by the way, that just means broad. 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:12.799 And I don't mean like she was abroad. 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:14.159 Right? 00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:17.440 Like my I used to say, I wanted to study abroad in college. 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:20.240 I could never just pick which one I wanted to study. 00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:21.679 That was a bad joke. 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:22.799 I'm sorry. 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:32.080 But uh her name just means broad, and uh when you look into the etymology, is that the right word of her name? 00:14:32.320 --> 00:14:36.480 Um, it doesn't mean broad as in like she had eaten too much. 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:42.879 It means that she was the the word basically means proud or haughty. 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:48.879 I'm like, dang, this this gal got the short end of the stick twice, you know? 00:14:49.120 --> 00:14:51.679 Like the proud prostitute. 00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:52.639 Like, man. 00:14:53.279 --> 00:14:58.399 But God doesn't really care what your resume is, and he doesn't care what your name is, and he doesn't care what your heritage is. 00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:04.240 He's looking for those whose hearts are loyal to him, so that he can show himself strong on their behalf. 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:08.240 I love that God's not ashamed to be our God in Hebrews 11:16. 00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:15.759 He looked at Rahab, a Canaanite harlot, and was proud of her faith, and he even chose to send his son through her lineage. 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:16.960 That's pretty cool. 00:15:17.200 --> 00:15:18.960 So let's go into chapter three. 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:31.120 Joshua rose early in the morning, and they set out from Acacia grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over. 00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:46.639 So it was, after three days, that the officers went through the camp, and they commanded the people, saying, When you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:53.440 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits, that's about a half a mile, by measure. 00:15:53.679 --> 00:16:00.080 Do not come near it, so that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before. 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:05.919 So they're to follow the Ark of the Covenant, which is very important because this is new for their generation. 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:17.039 All their lives they followed a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, and now they're supposed to follow the ark from a distance because they've never gone this way before. 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:19.759 So there's no there's no fire anymore. 00:16:19.919 --> 00:16:21.279 There's no cloud anymore. 00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:28.799 They're following the ark, they're following the priests, they're following the presence, they're following the covenant, God's word. 00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:31.120 And that's what we do. 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:41.039 You know, we don't see God the way that they saw God, but Jesus said, Blessed are those who didn't see and still believe. 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:43.279 So this is an upgrade. 00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:49.440 It seems like it's a downgrade to everybody else, but it's actually an upgrade. 00:16:50.080 --> 00:17:01.279 Because in order to walk into the promised land, they're gonna have to follow his word and his presence more than what they see, hear, touch, taste, or smell. 00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:03.200 And that's still true for us, too. 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:06.799 We're called to walk by faith and not by sight. 00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:08.640 So this is really important. 00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:19.839 This is a this is a change for the Israelites because only two of them have known anything other than walking around in a circle around a mountain their whole life. 00:17:20.319 --> 00:17:22.240 Just Joshua and Caleb. 00:17:22.720 --> 00:17:30.000 The rest of them have been walking around in the wilderness for the last forty years. 00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:35.759 And everybody else died because of their unbelief, is what Hebrew says. 00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:37.920 So let's go to verse five. 00:17:38.079 --> 00:17:42.880 And Joshua said to the people, Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you. 00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:48.640 Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, Take up the Ark of the Covenant and cross over before the people. 00:17:48.799 --> 00:18:01.599 So they took up the Ark of the Covenant and went before the people, and the Lord said to Joshua, This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:09.440 You shall command the priests who bear the Ark of the Covenant, saying, When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan. 00:18:09.839 --> 00:18:14.960 So Joshua said to the children of Israel, Come here and hear the words of the Lord your God. 00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:23.200 And Joshua said, By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail. 00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:25.920 Wow, everybody say, Without fail. 00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:34.799 Drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Gergeshites and the Amorites and the Jebusites. 00:18:35.119 --> 00:18:39.039 So the instruction wasn't go sharpen your swords or carboh load. 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:40.799 You guys remember carboh loading? 00:18:40.960 --> 00:18:42.799 Was that just when I was in high school? 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:46.240 Before a football game, they'd always say, Okay, you need a carbo load tonight. 00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:52.160 Like eat a bunch of pasta so that you have those, all the glycogen in your muscles for tomorrow. 00:18:52.319 --> 00:18:54.160 He didn't say, go eat a bunch of pasta. 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:56.720 He didn't say, you know, sharpen your swords. 00:18:56.799 --> 00:18:59.759 He didn't say do some extra push-ups tonight. 00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:03.359 He said, Sanctify yourselves. 00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:07.599 Set yourselves apart, consecrate yourselves. 00:19:09.119 --> 00:19:19.680 2 Chronicles 16, 9 says, the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to him. 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:22.480 See he's saying, you're not going to need much strength. 00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:24.240 You just need loyalty. 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:30.240 You just need your heart to be in the right place, and God will show himself strong. 00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:34.000 So you might feel weak, you might feel disqualified. 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:36.720 I feel very weak and disqualified. 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:43.359 I do not feel qualified to be standing up here and talking to you guys from Joshua. 00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:46.319 I'd rather listen to Pastor Steve preach. 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:53.440 But God doesn't really need me to be good at this, He just needs my heart to be loyal and He can show Himself strong. 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:55.839 He can show Himself powerful. 00:19:57.519 --> 00:20:03.839 You know, I just I figure if He can talk through Balaam's donkey, I'm okay. 00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:05.440 I can do it. 00:20:05.599 --> 00:20:10.079 I can just be a cult of a donkey that the King of Glory can ride in on. 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:13.519 So God's not looking for great personalities. 00:20:13.759 --> 00:20:18.079 He's not looking for people with clean shirts or influence or talents. 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:22.160 He's looking for loyal hearts fully committed to him. 00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:26.079 So we've got this pillar of fire, the smoke, that's all stopped. 00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:29.119 The children of Israel are following the Ark of the Covenant. 00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:34.880 They're following His word, they're following His promise instead of their senses, instead of what they see. 00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:38.000 And Jericho is seeing the same thing from across the river. 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:44.400 So I feel like if I was in Jericho, I'd go, oh, well, their fire went out, so maybe we're safe. 00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:46.799 Maybe we're good to go. 00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:53.599 All of Jericho knew about Yahweh, but only a prostitute and her household would be saved. 00:20:53.759 --> 00:20:58.240 So it's one thing to know about God, but it's really another to truly know him. 00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:00.000 So let's read on. 00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:00.880 Verse 11. 00:21:01.119 --> 00:21:06.880 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. 00:21:07.039 --> 00:21:32.799 Now therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe, and it shall come to pass as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap. 00:21:34.079 --> 00:21:59.359 So it was when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant before the people, and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water, for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest, that the waters which came down from upstream stood still and rose in a heap very far. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:04.240 Way at Adam, the city that is beside Zaraton. 00:22:04.640 --> 00:22:13.839 So the waters that went down into the Sea of Erabah, the Salt Sea, failed and were cut off, and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:28.000 Then the priests who bore the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel crossed over on dry ground until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan. 00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:37.279 So I love this in verse eleven, he says, Behold how cool I am as the leader of this people and taking over from Moses. 00:22:37.680 --> 00:22:38.640 He doesn't do that, right? 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:43.599 He says, Behold the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing before you. 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:52.720 He didn't point to himself or his ability, but to the Ark of the Covenant, the word, the promise, the presence of the Lord. 00:22:53.839 --> 00:23:00.480 It kind of gives us this understanding in verse 15 that this is flood season. 00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:03.200 So the Jordan's over its banks. 00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:09.519 And if I'm a priest, I'm looking at this huge body of water that's rushing by. 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:12.240 I used to, I'm Swiftwater Rescu certified. 00:23:12.319 --> 00:23:25.359 So I used to do a bunch of river stuff down in Pueblo when I was in college, and I taught kayaking and practiced river rescue things and throw ropes and pegging people in the head with a throw rope bag and all that fun stuff. 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:27.920 And uh rivers are dangerous. 00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:30.160 Rivers are very scary. 00:23:30.400 --> 00:23:32.480 People die in rivers all the time. 00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:38.720 And uh most of the time, the way you die in a river is exactly what they're gonna do. 00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:40.160 You put your foot down. 00:23:40.480 --> 00:23:41.279 Did you know that? 00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:43.519 Because there's this thing called foot entrapment. 00:23:43.599 --> 00:23:55.279 So you put your foot down, and then there's this big rock, and the current of the water pushes you against that rock, and your foot gets stuck, and then you end up all the way on the bottom of the river, and you can't even move. 00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:57.440 And that's how people die in rivers. 00:23:57.599 --> 00:23:59.599 So, what does God tell them to do? 00:23:59.839 --> 00:24:02.079 Do exactly what's gonna kill you. 00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:06.079 They really have to put their faith in God. 00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:11.119 And everybody's watching them for half a mile before they even follow. 00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:19.680 Can you imagine being half a mile into this river and you're looking behind you and you're like, boy howdy, we are we're cooked. 00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:21.920 We're cooked, priesthood. 00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:23.599 It's pretty scary. 00:24:24.079 --> 00:24:41.599 But it's cool because not only did the Lord pull up the waters, as soon as they stepped into the water, as they're walking in, the water starts piling up all the way to this city called Adam, which is 16 miles upstream. 00:24:41.839 --> 00:24:45.039 So we're talking, we're not talking about like a little gap. 00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:59.759 If they only made enough space for the Ark of the Covenant, which is probably this wide, and then a priest on either side to walk through, you know how much time it would take for two, three, three and a half million people to pass through that space? 00:25:00.960 --> 00:25:02.400 Like weeks. 00:25:03.039 --> 00:25:12.319 So God backs up the water all the way to Adam, and you've got this huge pile of river water. 00:25:12.480 --> 00:25:16.720 I mean, I don't know, I have no comprehension of what that would look like. 00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:25.759 Because it probably took them eight to twelve hours, even with this 16-mile gap, for two, three million people to cross the Jordan River. 00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:27.759 And it's on dry ground too, which is cool. 00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:32.480 So there's not like fish flopping around and they're not muddy getting their shoes all dirty. 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:36.000 But it's dry, which is also pretty. 00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:37.519 Do you guys think this way? 00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:40.640 I'm like picturing it in my mind and going, This is wacky. 00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:41.279 This is cool. 00:25:41.440 --> 00:25:44.480 I don't really understand it, but it's pretty cool. 00:25:45.279 --> 00:25:55.920 So you guys know the Jordan, it goes from the Sea of Galilee all the way down to the Dead Sea, which is the lowest place on the face of the planet, which I feel like that's kind of symbolic, you know. 00:25:56.160 --> 00:26:02.319 If you got swept away by the Jordan, you'd end up just floating around in the Dead Sea. 00:26:02.559 --> 00:26:09.279 And also, I think it'd be really tempting to just cross the Jordan and then just camp out there on the other side. 00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:11.759 You know, I think a lot of us charismatics do that. 00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:16.000 We get baptized in the Holy Spirit and we start speaking in tongues and we're like, all right, I'm good, I got it. 00:26:16.240 --> 00:26:18.720 It's like, dude, there's a whole promised land. 00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:23.839 There's a whole inheritance for you to investigate, for you to conquer, for you to overcome. 00:26:24.000 --> 00:26:31.440 But most of us are just like, all right, well, I got I got my gift of tongues and now I'm hanging out. 00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:45.680 And eventually, if you're not careful, you could end up just floating on down the lazy river to the Dead Sea, which is like 34% salinity, which is 10 times more saline than the ocean. 00:26:46.799 --> 00:26:49.839 And even the word Jordan means descend. 00:26:51.279 --> 00:26:53.279 So I just think all that stuff is cool. 00:26:53.359 --> 00:26:56.079 I think it's a it's a cool imagery. 00:26:56.960 --> 00:26:59.200 It's kind of like faith without works. 00:26:59.920 --> 00:27:00.160 Right? 00:27:00.240 --> 00:27:02.799 Like James 2 talks about faith without works. 00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:07.359 Have you ever talked to somebody that say they believe in hygiene but they smell really bad? 00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:09.279 That's faith without works. 00:27:09.359 --> 00:27:11.440 Like, oh yeah, I believe in personal hygiene. 00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:16.079 Brother, you haven't touched a bar of soap in months. 00:27:16.240 --> 00:27:18.720 You don't believe in personal hygiene. 00:27:18.960 --> 00:27:20.319 Yeah, I believe in prayer. 00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:23.359 Brother, you haven't been to a prayer meeting in months. 00:27:23.599 --> 00:27:25.440 What do you mean you believe in prayer? 00:27:25.680 --> 00:27:27.680 You know, there's a lot of things that we say we believe in. 00:27:27.759 --> 00:27:37.119 I remember in college, I used to watch hours and hours and hours of uh videos of guys sharing their faith and uh doing apologetics and praying for the sick. 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:40.799 And I never did any of it, but I sure felt like an expert on it. 00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:42.880 And I think we do that in the church a lot. 00:27:43.039 --> 00:27:47.039 We listen to sermons, we read books, and then we do squat with it. 00:27:47.440 --> 00:27:53.039 And we just sit and camp out right by the Jordan River with our fly fishing rods. 00:27:53.279 --> 00:27:55.359 I wish I could fly fish, I'm not very good at it. 00:27:55.440 --> 00:27:59.519 So we grew up with horses, and I can't turn off that buggy whip thing. 00:27:59.839 --> 00:28:04.880 So don't take me fly fishing because you'll lose all your flies because I'll whip the end off of them. 00:28:05.039 --> 00:28:06.000 It's just not good. 00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:07.759 So I have to spin cast. 00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:16.240 But so many of us as Christians, we just sit there on the banks of the Jordan, we crossed over, all right, we're good to go. 00:28:16.640 --> 00:28:18.559 It's just chapter three. 00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:21.119 We gotta possess the promises. 00:28:21.680 --> 00:28:23.680 And yeah, it takes courage to do that. 00:28:23.759 --> 00:28:27.279 It takes courage to possess the promises of God. 00:28:27.920 --> 00:28:33.839 So one day I started, you know, stepping out in faith, and we used to do this fun thing when I was in college. 00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:44.400 We called it the name game, and we'd go to a restaurant and we would ask the Lord to tell us either the name, if they weren't wearing a name tag, or the middle name of our server. 00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:46.960 And most of the time we got it dead wrong. 00:28:47.119 --> 00:28:49.039 But it was a it was a cool way to break the ice. 00:28:49.119 --> 00:28:50.319 Hey, what's your middle name? 00:28:50.559 --> 00:28:57.200 Or we would we'd say, Hey, we're playing this game where we're asking Jesus what your middle name is. 00:28:57.519 --> 00:29:01.839 And we've got like three different options, but how cool would it be if one of them's right? 00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:03.839 So they're like, wow, you're crazy. 00:29:04.079 --> 00:29:10.319 But every once in a while we get it right, and it opens the door to a conversation, and you know, eventually we got pretty good at it. 00:29:10.400 --> 00:29:14.960 We got pretty good at hearing God's voice out in the public place. 00:29:15.759 --> 00:29:20.079 It's really easy to hear God's voice in church, right? 00:29:20.240 --> 00:29:22.319 Especially with all these great singers we have up here. 00:29:22.480 --> 00:29:25.599 I can just listen to charity sing, and I'm like, it's God's voice. 00:29:25.920 --> 00:29:26.559 Wow. 00:29:27.279 --> 00:29:30.559 But it's different to hear God's voice in Texas Roadhouse. 00:29:31.599 --> 00:29:35.200 But but we started seeing people some of these waiters get healed. 00:29:35.279 --> 00:29:37.359 We'd see these waiters come to church on Sunday. 00:29:37.440 --> 00:29:38.640 I remember this one guy. 00:29:38.720 --> 00:29:42.640 Um, I don't remember his name, but I remember his middle name was Michael. 00:29:43.680 --> 00:29:45.359 I won't forget that. 00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:52.000 And uh he was so blown away, he was like, I can't believe that God would tell you guys my middle name. 00:29:52.160 --> 00:29:55.759 And I think we had three guesses, too, so it wasn't even that supernatural. 00:29:55.920 --> 00:29:58.000 But just that was enough for him. 00:29:58.240 --> 00:30:01.920 And uh we said, Well, let it let's just bless you, let's pray for you. 00:30:02.079 --> 00:30:05.839 And we find out that he hadn't been to church in a really long time. 00:30:06.319 --> 00:30:12.480 And uh, while we were praying, I saw this picture in my mind of his left shoulder highlighted red. 00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:15.119 So I said, Hey man, is there a problem with your left shoulder? 00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:17.599 And he's like, He told you that too. 00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:19.680 What the bleep, bleep. 00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:22.799 And I guess he'd fallen off of a ladder and hurt his shoulder. 00:30:22.880 --> 00:30:23.599 So we prayed for him. 00:30:23.759 --> 00:30:31.920 God healed his shoulder, and he came to church that next Sunday, and he was at the altar, snot and tears and everything. 00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:45.279 But it took a long time for us to actually get the courage to step out, to do more than just cross over, but actually inherit, actually possess. 00:30:45.920 --> 00:30:52.319 You know, there was a whole generation before Joshua took the Israelites across the promised land. 00:30:52.480 --> 00:30:57.039 You know how long it takes to get from the Red Sea to the Jordan River? 00:30:57.119 --> 00:30:59.359 And they came up around the east side, right? 00:30:59.440 --> 00:31:08.720 So they came across the Red Sea, then they went around the Dead Sea, and they came up to the east side, and they're crossing from the east to west into what is now modern-day Jordan. 00:31:09.279 --> 00:31:15.039 And uh, you know how long it takes to get from the Red Sea to the Jordan River where they crossed? 00:31:16.400 --> 00:31:18.000 11 to 13 days. 00:31:18.240 --> 00:31:20.079 Do you know how long it took them? 00:31:21.599 --> 00:31:22.960 40 years. 00:31:24.480 --> 00:31:39.599 I don't think that God would have had them pilgrimage, an 11-day pilgrimage, for 40 years, if his original intention was for it to be 40 years long. 00:31:40.559 --> 00:31:47.440 I think God's heart was for that generation to inherit the promises that he promised them. 00:31:48.480 --> 00:32:00.720 And because of their grumbling, because of their complaining, because they believed 10 spies instead of two spies, the only people that got to cross over were the two spies that crossed over and believed God's word. 00:32:01.920 --> 00:32:08.799 I don't know about you, but there's areas of my life that I still feel like I'm just walking around Mount Sinai. 00:32:10.640 --> 00:32:26.640 I feel like I'm probably grumbling too much, complaining too much, which, according to Hebrews 3 and 4, is unbelief and failing to mix the Word of God with faith. 00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:28.960 Isn't that crazy? 00:32:29.599 --> 00:32:37.279 As I was doing this study, I think I realized for the first time that complaining and grumbling is unbelief. 00:32:38.559 --> 00:32:45.119 It is a failure to mix faith with God's words over my life. 00:32:45.839 --> 00:32:47.680 And I don't want to live that way. 00:32:48.480 --> 00:32:50.079 You guys want to live that way? 00:32:50.799 --> 00:32:52.400 I don't want to live that way. 00:32:52.559 --> 00:32:54.160 I want to believe God. 00:32:55.039 --> 00:33:01.599 I mean, I've got prophetic words over my life that seem entirely impossible. 00:33:02.319 --> 00:33:16.160 I remember when I was a school teacher, I got probably two to three different times prophetic words about being a worship leader and uh about being in ministry, being a pastor. 00:33:16.880 --> 00:33:20.880 And I did not believe that because of my background. 00:33:21.119 --> 00:33:25.279 I was like, nope, I don't think anybody would want me to be a pastor. 00:33:25.440 --> 00:33:32.160 I don't think anybody would want me to be leading other people because I mean, look at what I've done. 00:33:33.680 --> 00:33:44.640 But here I am, kind of, kind of surprisingly to me, and there's still a lot of words over my life that are very, very uh hard for me to believe. 00:33:45.440 --> 00:33:51.839 But your other option of believing God is grumbling and complaining about his leadership. 00:33:53.119 --> 00:33:58.079 And then I think that a lot of the things that he promised you, he has to wait and give to your kids. 00:33:58.319 --> 00:34:08.320 But on the flip side, I think when we actually possess the promises of God, it's a pretty cool thing because we get to give it away to anybody that we want. 00:34:08.960 --> 00:34:13.599 I've got all these things in my notes that I'm not gonna have time to talk about. 00:34:14.320 --> 00:34:27.039 But I just I just think that God wants us to use faith to believe Him, follow His leadership, and actually possess what He's promised us. 00:34:27.440 --> 00:34:34.239 I remember probably 10 years ago I heard Randy Clark say this, and it changed my life. 00:34:34.880 --> 00:34:56.079 And uh he was talking about back in the day when he was a vineyard pastor, and and he was teaching the Mark 16, these signs will follow those who believe, all of that stuff, and he'd be like, They'll lay their hands on the sick and the sick shall recover because they'd been seeing people get healed, and then he said, and they'll cast out demons and they'll raise the dead. 00:34:58.159 --> 00:35:01.519 Because he hadn't seen that, hadn't even heard of it. 00:35:01.679 --> 00:35:03.280 Or if he had, he didn't really believe it. 00:35:03.360 --> 00:35:06.559 And the Holy Spirit said to him, You don't like that part, do you? 00:35:06.800 --> 00:35:13.679 And he's like, No, I sure don't, Lord, because why would you put something so impossible in there as a standard just for a believer? 00:35:13.840 --> 00:35:16.480 I mean, you didn't even say these signs will follow the apostles. 00:35:16.559 --> 00:35:18.880 You said these signs will follow anybody who believes. 00:35:19.039 --> 00:35:20.400