WEBVTT 00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:07.440 Hey, I'm Pastor Steve Hole. 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:11.759 I want to empower you today to walk in your true identity as a worshiper and warrior. 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:15.839 Today, embrace the power of God's Word and the Holy Spirit. 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:19.120 Welcome to the Born for War podcast. 00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:27.359 So we are uh we're doing something different today. 00:00:27.440 --> 00:00:31.359 We're we're moving away from looking at the book. 00:00:31.519 --> 00:00:35.759 We didn't cover all the chapters, but we looked at different parts of the book. 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:46.880 But now we're we're preparing ourselves for the book of Joshua, one of my favorite books in the Bible, and definitely one of my favorite books in the Old Testament. 00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:52.479 I've decided to entitle this series, Courage to Possess the Promises of God. 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:57.359 So courage to possess the promises of God. 00:00:57.679 --> 00:01:02.640 It takes courage to possess what is yours. 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:04.799 Isn't that interesting? 00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:08.000 It takes courage to possess what God's already given you. 00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:14.400 And yet most believers don't experience the inheritance that God has for them. 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:21.840 And so the book of Joshua is kind of how to do that in a pictorial form, in story form. 00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:24.799 It's about how to possess the promises of God. 00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:38.239 General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander of the Pacific during World War II, said that Joshua was one of the great generals of the world. 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:48.959 So he had studied extensively, and actually Douglas MacArthur was a man of God's word, and he studied Joshua, and he said he's one of the great generals of antiquity. 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:57.680 President Theodore Roosevelt loved the book of Joshua and often used the book of Joshua in his speeches. 00:01:57.760 --> 00:01:59.599 He talked about the book of Joshua. 00:01:59.760 --> 00:02:01.840 He appreciated the courage of Joshua. 00:02:01.920 --> 00:02:08.560 And if you know anything about Teddy Roosevelt, you know that he was one of our most courageous presidents. 00:02:08.719 --> 00:02:11.439 So Joshua gave Teddy Roosevelt strength. 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:14.560 Joshua gave Douglas MacArthur strength. 00:02:14.639 --> 00:02:21.039 And I could go through a litany of great men and women throughout history who have loved the book of Joshua. 00:02:21.199 --> 00:02:30.560 So Joshua is interesting on a number of fronts, but first of all, it is the first historical book of the Old Testament. 00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:32.000 It's the first historical book. 00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:37.840 So the first five books is called the Pentateuch or the Law in the Old Testament. 00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:41.599 And that's Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. 00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:43.840 And then there's Joshua. 00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:46.639 So Joshua begins, it's a bridge book. 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:56.159 It's a bridge book from the law into history, into the historical works of God in the nation of Israel. 00:02:56.479 --> 00:03:00.879 And it is the first book named after someone. 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:05.199 So it's the first book in the Bible named after someone. 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:08.240 And that name, Joshua, is really, really important. 00:03:08.639 --> 00:03:15.599 So we're gonna cover that just a little bit today, but I'll talk more about it when we actually dive into Joshua next week. 00:03:15.759 --> 00:03:20.400 But the Bible is divided into two parts. 00:03:20.560 --> 00:03:24.960 So there's what we call an Old Testament and there's a New Testament. 00:03:25.039 --> 00:03:29.919 Okay, the 66 books in total, but there's an Old Testament and a New Testament. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:44.319 And so the Old Testament is always a prophetic type, okay, in story form of the spiritual realities found in the New Testament. 00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:49.039 So I want to give you three aspects or three things we can learn from Joshua. 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:56.879 So looking at Joshua as a prophetic book, a type of possessing God's promises, let me give you three aspects. 00:03:56.960 --> 00:04:01.199 There's probably ten, but I feel like three are the most important. 00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:06.240 Number one, Joshua is about spiritual inheritance. 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:10.319 Joshua, the book of Joshua, is about spiritual inheritance. 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:16.639 Joshua is literally gonna lead the people of Israel into what? 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:18.639 The promised land. 00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:24.160 So God has promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob this land. 00:04:24.959 --> 00:04:29.199 Joshua is actually gonna be the leader that leads them in. 00:04:29.519 --> 00:04:31.920 Romans 15, we read these words. 00:04:32.079 --> 00:04:42.319 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:45.040 So that's always the purpose of the Old Testament. 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:46.959 And that's the purpose of Joshua. 00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:50.720 That first of all, it's about our spiritual inheritance. 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:58.720 And if I were to compare Joshua to any book of the New Testament, it would be the book of Ephesians. 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:08.079 So, in a sense, Joshua is prophetic of what we read about in the book of Ephesians. 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:42.240 So in Ephesians chapter 1, in giving a thesis of the book of Ephesians, Paul writes this in him, meaning Christ, you trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of his glory. 00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:52.879 So I often say that the Old Testament is concealed to what the New Testament is revealed. 00:05:53.199 --> 00:06:02.319 So what we see in story form in the Old Testament is the spiritual principles of the New Testament. 00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:07.199 So Joshua is a picture of Ephesians. 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:08.319 All right? 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:20.879 And that's really important because Ephesians talks about our inheritance spiritually, but Joshua talks about our inheritance literally in story form. 00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:23.759 So number one, it's about spiritual inheritance. 00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:29.839 Number two, Joshua is about war and spiritual warfare. 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:35.920 So Joshua is about war and spiritual battles in our life. 00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:43.120 Anybody here know that this life has a lot of spiritual battles? 00:06:43.439 --> 00:06:51.600 How many of you know that in Washington right now there's a war going on between good and evil? 00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:56.800 There's a war going on with spiritual powers at work, okay? 00:06:57.040 --> 00:07:05.439 How many know that in Denver right now, at the Capitol, there's a war going on? 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:14.959 And I've been asked on April the 4th to go and do the opening prayer before Congress in Denver. 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:20.720 And if any of you guys want to come with me, I would love to pack out the gallery with roadsters. 00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:37.759 So love to have you because when I was asked to do that, one of the representatives who, uh Rebecca Kelsey, who comes to the road, told me, you will feel it, Steve, when you walk in the room, the darkness and the spiritual battle going on. 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:40.560 And I was like, come on, bring it on. 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:41.360 I can't wait. 00:07:41.439 --> 00:07:42.959 It's gonna be so exciting. 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:44.959 So if you'd like to, let me know. 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:47.920 I think I have to be up there at I have to pray at 9 a.m. 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:49.279 So we'd have to leave early. 00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:53.120 So if you're interested in that, um, you can call the office, let us know. 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:56.639 We could all meet here early and and head up. 00:07:56.800 --> 00:07:58.079 It'll be a fun time. 00:07:58.319 --> 00:08:04.319 How many of you know that opportunities are disguised as obstacles? 00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:07.680 Opportunities are disguised as obstacles. 00:08:07.759 --> 00:08:11.360 And so for some of us, we're on the Jordan River. 00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:16.639 Just like Joshua, we're on the Jordan River and we're full of fear. 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:28.720 And we're frightened about our future, we're frightened about our economics, or we might be concerned about our marriage, or concerned about some relationships we're in, or concerned about a big decision that we need to make. 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:34.000 You're on that Jordan River and it seems risky. 00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:36.320 That's how Joshua felt. 00:08:36.559 --> 00:08:42.080 We're gonna see next week in chapter one, he has to be told four times to be strong and courageous. 00:08:42.320 --> 00:08:47.600 And I'm gonna show you in Deuteronomy that Moses had to tell him three times to be strong and courageous. 00:08:47.759 --> 00:08:51.919 You don't keep telling someone to be strong and courageous if they are. 00:08:52.639 --> 00:08:55.360 And some of us, we don't feel very strong and courageous. 00:08:55.519 --> 00:09:00.559 Raise your hand if a pretty inordinate amount of time you don't feel very strong and courageous. 00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:02.399 All right, well, welcome to the party. 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:07.360 I mean, that's that's the life we live, that's the spiritual battles we're in. 00:09:07.600 --> 00:09:18.159 And Joshua's gonna teach us a lot about how to have breakthrough courage through holding on to, believing in the promises of God. 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:29.600 I think I find it interesting that, again, back to Ephesians, that Ephesians chapter 1 is telling us of this inheritance that we have through the promises of God. 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:31.600 But what's chapter 6 about? 00:09:32.240 --> 00:09:35.919 Chapter 6 is about spiritual battle. 00:09:36.240 --> 00:09:44.639 It's probably one of the most prolific passages in all of the Bible on spiritual battle, Ephesians 6, 10 through 18. 00:09:44.879 --> 00:09:50.399 So just like Ephesians, the nation of Israel, yeah, they're excited. 00:09:50.480 --> 00:09:55.600 God's saying, you're going in, you're gonna take the land, and you're going to inherit the land. 00:09:55.759 --> 00:09:56.879 I've promised it to you. 00:09:57.039 --> 00:09:57.759 It is yours. 00:09:58.000 --> 00:09:59.360 It's been given to you. 00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:02.399 But they but there's just some fine print. 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:08.080 The fine print is be strong and courageous because you're gonna have to fight for it. 00:10:08.720 --> 00:10:11.759 Church, you have to fight for your inheritance. 00:10:12.879 --> 00:10:18.559 It's not, it's given, but the enemy wants to take it back. 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:21.200 The enemy wants to steal it back. 00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:23.039 And so we have to fight for it. 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:27.679 And the book of Joshua is about the war and the fight that we are in. 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:32.720 Thirdly, Joshua is about spirit-filled courage. 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:36.000 Joshua is about spirit-filled courage. 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:39.279 So Joshua is a type of Christ. 00:10:39.840 --> 00:10:49.600 His name, which means Yahweh is salvation, is a Hebrew equivalent to the Greek Jesus. 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:58.559 So if you had heard a little boy running around the village named Joshua, it would have sounded the same in Hebrew as Jesus Yeshua. 00:10:58.879 --> 00:11:01.440 And so Jesus is your leader. 00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:03.840 Joshua is our leader. 00:11:04.080 --> 00:11:08.639 Joshua is a prototype, Joshua is a prophetic type. 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:19.759 Joshua is an image of a real man who really lived under Moses, who represents Jesus 3,000 years ago. 00:11:20.320 --> 00:11:31.440 You're not going in with the courage to possess the promises of God without Jesus in the lead. 00:11:32.559 --> 00:11:34.240 Jesus in the lead. 00:11:34.480 --> 00:11:38.639 So Joshua, just before he's going to go into Jericho, remember? 00:11:39.840 --> 00:11:48.879 Suddenly what appears before him, we believe is a pre-incarnate Christ, built like, dressed like a warrior. 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:52.639 Joshua's so fearful, so concerned. 00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:55.759 He says, Are you for us or against us? 00:11:56.879 --> 00:11:58.720 And I believe it was Jesus. 00:11:58.879 --> 00:12:01.600 It was Jesus meeting Yesus. 00:12:02.559 --> 00:12:12.799 And then he says, get ready, because it's not about me being on your side, it's about you being on my side. 00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:18.720 And I'll lead you in, and I will give you victory after victory. 00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:23.200 So this is the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that we're going to go into. 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:36.720 But Joshua and this new generation, it's a new generation of Israelites are going to have to take the land, and they will have to fight for every inch of it. 00:12:36.960 --> 00:13:21.120 And we're going to see that there are the descendants of the Nephilim, Genesis 6, those sons of God that came down and mated with the daughters of men in Genesis 6, 1 through 4, one of those cryptic, mysterious passages of the Old Testament, you will see that there will be a call upon Joshua and the nation of Israel to actually go in where there are giants in the land that have never been upended, that have built whole towns and villages built on these spiritual, demonic people that God's going to call Joshua to completely wipe out. 00:13:21.360 --> 00:13:27.440 You see, if you don't understand that, if you don't understand that spiritual principle in Joshua, it's confusing. 00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:35.200 Because sometimes Joshua and the nation of Israel are told to go in and take a village or to take a town. 00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:39.120 Other times they're to go in and wipe everybody out, even the animals. 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:40.240 Wipe everything out. 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:41.360 Well, what's the difference? 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:46.000 The difference is the spiritual powers behind one and not the other. 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:54.240 And sometimes, men and women, in your life, you have to wipe the entire thing out. 00:13:54.960 --> 00:13:55.600 You do. 00:13:56.799 --> 00:14:00.879 I mean, I know men and women, some of you in this room, this is true of. 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:02.960 You have been a drunk. 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:05.919 You've been addicted to alcohol. 00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:09.039 You can't handle even a drop of alcohol. 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:11.360 You gotta wipe the whole thing out. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:13.679 You can't drink. 00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:20.480 Same with other things related to images on a screen or whatever it might be, church. 00:14:20.720 --> 00:14:25.120 Some of you are, well, you're already born liars. 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:28.240 Okay, so every one of us in this room are born liars. 00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:29.600 That's what we do, we lie. 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:33.360 But some of you have a stronghold of lying. 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:34.399 Right? 00:14:34.799 --> 00:14:35.200 Right? 00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:36.080 You lie. 00:14:36.639 --> 00:14:39.200 You've built your whole life around lying. 00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:41.840 And God's calling you to be a truth teller. 00:14:42.159 --> 00:14:46.960 God's telling you to actually start getting set free by telling the truth. 00:14:47.120 --> 00:14:53.519 And so for you, because it's such a stronghold, you have to be aware every day I'm gonna tell the truth. 00:14:54.000 --> 00:15:02.000 Maybe not the way Jim Carrey does it, but you're gonna, okay, you're gonna tell the truth in all that you do. 00:15:02.320 --> 00:15:04.320 You have to wipe out the line. 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:05.679 Does that make sense? 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:19.600 So sometimes the spiritual truths of our lives to possess the promises of God take incredible courage, spirit-filled courage in our lives. 00:15:19.840 --> 00:15:22.320 So Joshua's gonna have to risk all. 00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:24.320 He's gonna have to step out. 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:31.279 He's gonna have to leave the past behind and not be just an associate of Moses. 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:34.240 He's now the leader. 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:36.720 He doesn't have his mentor anymore. 00:15:37.039 --> 00:15:39.840 He's gonna have to step out and it's gonna take strength and courage. 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:41.039 And so it is in our lives. 00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:42.320 We need strength and courage. 00:15:42.399 --> 00:15:49.039 There's so many things, church, that I have faced over the years that I know I can't do it on my own. 00:15:49.120 --> 00:15:54.320 And it's absolutely not because of I'm a coward, it's because I know I can't do it alone. 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:55.679 I just know I don't have it. 00:15:55.840 --> 00:16:05.840 I'm not smart enough, I'm not wise enough, I don't have enough experience, and so I have to trust God and walk in the Spirit. 00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:07.759 That's what Joshua's about. 00:16:08.080 --> 00:16:25.200 In 1 Corinthians 10, we read these things happened to them, meaning those men and women of the Old Testament, as examples and were written down as warnings for us on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 00:16:25.440 --> 00:16:36.399 So we have the beauty of being able to look now from the age of the church back and see in Joshua principles that apply to our lives today. 00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:48.000 Now, I battled this back and forth for weeks, and this is where I landed, in that I wanted to just go right into Joshua because Joshua's so exciting. 00:16:48.240 --> 00:16:55.600 But I kept feeling led by the Spirit to cover a passage in Deuteronomy. 00:16:56.000 --> 00:17:06.960 Because there's this passage in Deuteronomy that Moses needed to speak to Israel about before he died. 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:18.000 So this is kind of Moses' last will and testament of what he believed in was the key to them going into Canaan, where there were gonna be so many temptations. 00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:27.279 So many temptations toward materialism, so many temptations toward idolatry, so many sexual temptations that were gonna come their way. 00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:41.200 And what he's about to say to us is that you've got to remember that all success is related to spiritual power coming from God. 00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:57.200 This is the same thing that Alexander Solsenitsyn, the great Russian dissident, said as he was exiting Russia, he was being kicked out of Soviet Russia, and he said these words, and they're prophetic for us today. 00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:11.680 The strength or weakness of a society, and we could say for an individual, depends more on the level of its spiritual life than on its level of industrialization. 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:21.519 Neither a market economy nor even general abundance constitutes the crowning achievement of human life. 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:36.480 If a nation's spiritual energies have been exhausted, it will not be saved from collapse by the most perfect government structure or by any industrial development. 00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:41.279 A tree with a rotten core cannot stand. 00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:45.200 This is what Moses is about to tell us. 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:47.839 Moses is going to say the same thing. 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:56.079 And for us today, here at the road church, what we're going to read is for you as an individual. 00:18:56.240 --> 00:19:03.119 I've lived my life believing what I'm about to read to you when I first discovered it so many years ago. 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:05.119 I've gone back to it many, many times. 00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:06.559 Never taught on it. 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:09.119 We're going to briefly look at it today. 00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:16.559 And I would, and I'm quoting Dennis Prager, the conservative radio commentator. 00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:23.039 This is the most audacious promise in the Bible. 00:19:23.519 --> 00:19:28.880 Folks, this is the most audacious promise in the Bible. 00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:35.920 Write that if you're taking note, most audacious promise in all of the Bible, and now turn to Deuteronomy 28. 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:48.960 So, Moses, before they're going to cross the Jordan River, wants them to understand the most audacious promise in the Bible. 00:19:49.119 --> 00:20:08.480 The greatest leader in Israel's history is saying it doesn't matter how strong you are militarily, it doesn't matter how strong you are economically, it doesn't matter what strategies you use for battle, this actually is the key. 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:10.160 This is the key to your success. 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:28.640 And men and women, doesn't matter the size of your bank account, doesn't matter what school you went to or how well you're trained or how skilled you are, whether you have a high IQ or a high EQ, this, what we're about to read, is what really matters. 00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:33.519 This is where success and blessing from God comes from. 00:20:33.839 --> 00:20:52.880 Now it shall come to pass, verse one, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all his commandments, which I am commanding you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 00:20:53.200 --> 00:21:04.000 Verse 2, and all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God. 00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:07.119 Blessed shall you be in the city. 00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:09.680 Blessed shall you be in the country. 00:21:09.920 --> 00:21:20.240 Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground, and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle, and the offspring of your flocks. 00:21:20.480 --> 00:21:21.359 Verse 5. 00:21:21.599 --> 00:21:25.200 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 00:21:26.160 --> 00:21:30.480 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. 00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:36.480 The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face. 00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:42.079 They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. 00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:49.200 The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand. 00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:53.599 And he will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. 00:21:53.920 --> 00:22:05.759 The Lord will establish you as a holy people to himself, just As he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. 00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:08.319 Verse 10. 00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:17.039 Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. 00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:32.240 And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:45.039 The Lord will open to you his good treasure in the heavens to give the reign to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand. 00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:50.160 You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 00:22:50.480 --> 00:22:51.440 Verse 13. 00:22:51.599 --> 00:22:54.400 And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail. 00:22:54.559 --> 00:22:58.240 You shall be above only and not beneath. 00:22:59.839 --> 00:23:07.519 If you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. 00:23:08.079 --> 00:23:19.519 So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. 00:23:20.559 --> 00:23:24.000 Guys, that is so audacious. 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:27.279 That's incredible. 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:33.680 That means that if you're struggling and battling in relationships, do it God's way. 00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:37.680 If you're struggling financially, do it God's way. 00:23:39.359 --> 00:23:42.559 If you're looking at a job situation, ask God. 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:44.240 Do it God's way. 00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:47.680 He promises blessings. 00:23:49.599 --> 00:23:51.440 I mean, I love the story of Abraham. 00:23:51.519 --> 00:23:53.519 I wish we had time to go into Abraham right now. 00:23:53.759 --> 00:24:00.079 Abraham goes in, he leaves Ur of Chaldees, he leaves his land to come to this promised land. 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:03.279 This Canaan, he's like a Bedouin shepherd. 00:24:03.359 --> 00:24:05.759 He travels and he goes around, okay? 00:24:06.720 --> 00:24:12.000 And remember, he comes in, he comes into Canaan, and there is a famine. 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:19.599 And then if you read the whole story during the famine, Lot is the one who wants to go to Sodom. 00:24:19.839 --> 00:24:21.680 And Abraham gives him the option. 00:24:21.759 --> 00:24:25.039 He goes to where the riches are, he goes to Sodom. 00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:28.559 Abraham doesn't, but who's got all the possessions? 00:24:28.720 --> 00:24:29.920 Who's got all the herds? 00:24:30.079 --> 00:24:31.279 And who does the rescuing? 00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:31.920 Adam. 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:33.599 I mean, Abraham does. 00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:41.440 He comes through, he comes through a time of great economic famine, richer than ever. 00:24:41.839 --> 00:24:48.720 You say, well, Steve, are you becoming a health and wealth preacher and that we can expect all these blessings from God? 00:24:49.039 --> 00:24:49.680 Yes. 00:24:53.920 --> 00:24:58.960 What I mean by that, what I mean by that is following what he says here, obeying God. 00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:01.039 It always works, gang. 00:25:01.279 --> 00:25:03.839 Man, I hammered this into our kids as they were growing up. 00:25:04.079 --> 00:25:06.319 You obey God, you're gonna get blessed. 00:25:06.480 --> 00:25:10.240 It may not be in the short term, but it'll always be in the long term. 00:25:10.319 --> 00:25:16.880 And there will always be a battle to be blessed by God because it's a battle to possess the promises of God. 00:25:17.200 --> 00:25:17.839 The battle. 00:25:18.319 --> 00:25:20.160 And so many times we quit, right? 00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:20.880 I do too. 00:25:20.960 --> 00:25:21.759 I quit. 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:27.359 And I'm always, I'm always regretful of those decisions in my life. 00:25:27.519 --> 00:25:37.359 Dennis Prager, the conservative radio talk show commentator and a committed Jew, says of this about Deuteronomy 28. 00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:42.319 Quote, this may be the most audacious prediction in history. 00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:52.960 3,000 years ago, a tiny, insignificant group of ex-slaves was told it would one day be set high above all the nations of the earth. 00:25:53.200 --> 00:25:55.279 Yet that is exactly what happened. 00:25:55.440 --> 00:25:58.160 No group has influenced the world more than the Jews. 00:25:58.400 --> 00:26:06.640 Christians have influenced more people, but Christianity is based on the Torah, the law, and the rest of the Hebrew Bible. 00:26:06.960 --> 00:26:11.759 It teaches the divinity and messiahship of a religious Jew, Jesus. 00:26:12.079 --> 00:26:15.599 And its testaments are written by Jews. 00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:17.599 Amazing. 00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:21.279 Seems like we're always talking about Israel. 00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:23.839 We're always talking about the Middle East. 00:26:23.920 --> 00:26:25.200 It's the issue, right? 00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:40.319 It's like at the core and the center of all foreign policy because God raised up this obstinate, rebellious people, and yet they gave us the scriptures. 00:26:40.640 --> 00:26:42.720 They gave us the promises of God. 00:26:42.799 --> 00:26:48.400 That's what's audacious, is that this rebellious nation of Israel gave us the scriptures. 00:26:48.559 --> 00:26:57.359 It's not that Israel is a superior nation as much as Israel gave us a superior book called the Bible. 00:26:57.599 --> 00:27:08.319 That's why I've asked Jay Inman to do this series on the Bible that's coming up in a couple weeks during the second service. 00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:11.519 On how we got our Bible. 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:17.200 How do we know the difference between the Bible that we have, the canon of scripture, and the Gnostic Gospels? 00:27:17.359 --> 00:27:19.759 How do we know what's fake and what's real? 00:27:19.920 --> 00:27:21.119 How did we get our Bible? 00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:22.559 That's all coming up. 00:27:22.880 --> 00:27:28.720 Because it's so important at the road, church, that we are a people of the book. 00:27:29.119 --> 00:27:33.039 We have to be a people of the book. 00:27:33.680 --> 00:27:36.400 We are word and spirit. 00:27:36.559 --> 00:27:40.400 And so Dennis Prager gets it right here. 00:27:40.559 --> 00:27:45.519 And this was the passage that the pilgrims read. 00:27:46.079 --> 00:27:48.880 This is what John Winthrop read. 00:27:49.279 --> 00:28:04.799 And he said to this group in Scrooby, England, I wonder if God might want to raise up a new nation in that new frontier across the sea called America. 00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:10.640 And they believed Deuteronomy 28 was true. 00:28:11.200 --> 00:28:15.920 Because they had experienced so much even in England at that time. 00:28:16.079 --> 00:28:17.599 Look at verse 15. 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:30.559 But it shall come to pass if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God to observe carefully all his commandments and his statutes, which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you. 00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:34.079 Cursed shall you be in the city, cursed shall you be in the country. 00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:37.279 Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 00:28:37.440 --> 00:28:44.559 Cursed shall you be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. 00:28:44.720 --> 00:28:49.359 Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. 00:28:49.599 --> 00:29:09.039 The Lord will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hands to do, until you are destroyed, and until you perish quickly because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken me. 00:29:09.279 --> 00:29:10.640 Men and women, I could go on. 00:29:11.440 --> 00:29:16.240 There's twice as many cursings as blessings in this chapter. 00:29:16.880 --> 00:29:27.440 And I read commentator after commentator about why that is, and there's a lot of different theories about that, but it seems sometimes, there's I guess there's two particular perspectives. 00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:30.559 One is we're really hard of hearing. 00:29:33.279 --> 00:29:35.440 I actually think that's the reason. 00:29:35.759 --> 00:29:43.759 The other is that by repeating it again and again, we're reminded that it really is true. 00:29:45.200 --> 00:29:58.000 So many times I've been with people close friends, and they tell me what they're up to, they tell me what they're doing, and I go, it's not gonna work out well for you. 00:29:58.160 --> 00:30:02.480 And usually it's in the context of great economic blessing. 00:30:03.119 --> 00:30:12.799 Seems like the doors just seem to open for them, the right doors open, the wrong doors close, just blessing, blessing. 00:30:13.039 --> 00:30:21.039 And we're talking about it, and I go, that's great for now, but it's going to eventually kill you. 00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:28.160 Because you have to take care of your spiritual life and be restored within. 00:30:29.279 --> 00:30:31.200 The audacious promise. 00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:42.079 Any nation and by implication, any individual that would obey the commands of God, the voice of God, would be so blessed. 00:30:42.559 --> 00:30:51.759 Western civilization was built on the Judeo-Christian worldview that has made us the richest and most prosperous nation in the world. 00:30:52.400 --> 00:30:55.039 But church, it's a conditional promise. 00:30:55.599 --> 00:30:58.079 It says, if, look at verse 1. 00:30:58.319 --> 00:30:58.640 If. 00:30:59.039 --> 00:31:04.319 Look at verse 1, it says, if you diligently obey. 00:31:04.880 --> 00:31:07.759 Look at verse 13. 00:31:08.079 --> 00:31:09.759 If you heed. 00:31:10.400 --> 00:31:11.920 It's conditional. 00:31:12.480 --> 00:31:19.519 So God gives us the opportunity to obey his voice if we will. 00:31:19.680 --> 00:31:22.880 So the conditions for God's blessing are twofold. 00:31:23.039 --> 00:31:26.000 Number one, listen and obey God's voice. 00:31:26.160 --> 00:31:27.359 Look at verse 1 and 2. 00:31:27.519 --> 00:31:29.119 Listen and obey God's voice. 00:31:29.359 --> 00:31:30.799 Listen and obey God's voice. 00:31:30.880 --> 00:31:34.079 Number one, listen and obey God's voice. 00:31:34.240 --> 00:31:36.799 Number two, do what he tells you to do. 00:31:37.119 --> 00:31:39.599 Number two, do what he tells you to do. 00:31:39.680 --> 00:31:41.759 In other words, obey the commands of God. 00:31:41.920 --> 00:31:46.720 And church, you can't do that unless you're in this book. 00:31:47.519 --> 00:31:51.599 Reading God's word, in God's word, letting God's word speak to you. 00:31:51.759 --> 00:32:09.200 I wake up every morning, first thing I do is get a glass of water or our adrenaline cocktail, which is coconut water mixed with orange juice with a high-quality salt that we use. 00:32:09.440 --> 00:32:10.559 And I mix that together. 00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:15.759 I drink that I work out for 30 minutes, and then I open God's word. 00:32:16.400 --> 00:32:17.680 Every day. 00:32:18.960 --> 00:32:19.680 Every day. 00:32:19.920 --> 00:32:20.960 Open God's Word. 00:32:21.119 --> 00:32:28.559 Because I want to be physically powerful and I want to be spiritually powerful. 00:32:29.119 --> 00:32:30.319 How about you? 00:32:31.759 --> 00:32:33.680 And there's blessing in that. 00:32:34.079 --> 00:32:35.599 Tremendous blessing. 00:32:35.839 --> 00:32:42.240 So we found my grandmother's Bible in a pile of books the other day. 00:32:42.400 --> 00:33:03.680 And we opened it up, and my grandfather, I don't know if you guys remember the story, but my grandfather, who divorced my grandmother because he used to beat her in the 1930s and was a drunk, left her, went to with the flying tigers to Burma during World War II, got sober, came back, and remarried my grandmother. 00:33:03.920 --> 00:33:05.359 So it's kind of a cool story. 00:33:05.440 --> 00:33:05.759 Okay. 00:33:06.079 --> 00:33:07.839 So the book is 1956. 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:10.880 He wrote this really beautiful little note to her. 00:33:11.039 --> 00:33:15.920 But then we flipped through it, and it's like there's not one underlined place. 00:33:16.640 --> 00:33:20.720 I'm not saying she didn't read her Bible, I'm just saying she didn't read this Bible. 00:33:21.039 --> 00:33:24.079 And it didn't look weathered at all. 00:33:24.559 --> 00:33:25.759 How about you? 00:33:26.799 --> 00:33:29.039 Are you opening the book? 00:33:29.519 --> 00:33:30.720 Are you reading the book? 00:33:30.799 --> 00:33:33.119 Are you saying, God, I gotta hear from you today? 00:33:33.279 --> 00:33:35.599 I got a big decision to make at work. 00:33:35.839 --> 00:33:39.440 I've got these people at work that drive me crazy. 00:33:40.559 --> 00:33:43.519 I have these people at church who drive me crazy. 00:33:44.160 --> 00:33:45.599 What do I do? 00:33:45.920 --> 00:33:47.759 Show me, guide me, lead me. 00:33:47.920 --> 00:33:48.480 And guess what? 00:33:48.640 --> 00:33:51.440 His voice comes through the book more than any other place. 00:33:51.839 --> 00:33:55.039 95% of everything you need to know is right here. 00:33:55.200 --> 00:33:56.240 It's in the book. 00:33:56.400 --> 00:34:01.920 You don't need a dream, you don't need a vision, you don't need a warm fuzzy. 00:34:03.839 --> 00:34:06.960 You just need to read God's word and he'll speak to you. 00:34:07.200 --> 00:34:08.800 Because this is, what do we call it? 00:34:08.960 --> 00:34:10.079 The Word of God. 00:34:10.320 --> 00:34:11.440 The Word of God. 00:34:12.159 --> 00:34:16.480 And Jesus is called the Word that became flesh. 00:34:18.800 --> 00:34:23.199 So tonight we're gonna have a special prayer meeting. 00:34:24.880 --> 00:34:29.920 Because of a dream that Liz had about a month and a half ago. 00:34:30.159 --> 00:34:36.320 Some stuff that we believe is pertinent to the next month. 00:34:37.119 --> 00:34:45.840 That's something we believe is coming down that's a counter move of the enemy against what's happening right now in Washington, D.C. 00:34:46.320 --> 00:34:47.679 So I'm not gonna share it here. 00:34:47.760 --> 00:34:53.679 We're gonna share it tonight and then we're gonna pray because it's pretty serious stuff. 00:34:53.920 --> 00:34:58.639 But I want to let you know if you can come tonight at 6 p.m., we're gonna call it breakthrough prayer. 00:34:58.960 --> 00:35:01.519 And we're gonna we're gonna pray. 00:35:02.559 --> 00:35:12.000 Because I don't want you to be frightened, but you will be frightened if you don't watch out, encouraged by the power of the promises of God. 00:35:12.079 --> 00:35:13.920 And then it's exciting. 00:35:14.480 --> 00:35:18.559 It's exciting because God's doing it to humble our nation. 00:35:18.719 --> 00:35:23.599 God's doing it to prepare us for a great revival that He wants to bring to our country. 00:35:28.079 --> 00:35:30.880 Thank you for listening to the Foreign for War podcast. 00:35:31.039 --> 00:35:34.480 We hope today's message has empowered you to make a difference in your world. 00:35:34.719 --> 00:35:40.480 To connect with Pastor Steve's sermons, books, and blog, visit Steve Holtonline.org. 00:35:40.639 --> 00:35:41.519 God bless.