1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:29,980 Thank you. 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:59,980 Thank you. 3 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:29,980 Thank you. 4 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:39,160 Raisins rising, eyes all turning to you. 5 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:43,160 We turn to you. 6 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:57,440 Hope is stirring, hearts all yearning for you. 7 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:01,920 We long for you 8 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:07,020 Cause when we see you 9 00:09:07,020 --> 00:09:10,880 We find strength to face the death 10 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:16,240 And in your presence 11 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:19,960 All our fears are washed away 12 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:22,900 I washed away 13 00:09:22,900 --> 00:09:31,200 Hosanna, Hosanna 14 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:36,360 You are the God who saves us 15 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:41,100 Worthy of all our praises 16 00:09:41,100 --> 00:09:52,280 Hear the sound of hearts returning to you 17 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:56,840 We turn to you 18 00:09:56,840 --> 00:10:04,660 In your kingdom 19 00:10:04,660 --> 00:10:10,560 Broken lives are made new 20 00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:15,000 You make all things new 21 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:20,240 Cause when we see you 22 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:23,940 We find strength to face the dead 23 00:10:23,940 --> 00:10:29,380 And in your presence 24 00:10:29,380 --> 00:10:33,100 All our fears are washed away 25 00:10:33,100 --> 00:10:36,020 Washed away 26 00:10:36,020 --> 00:10:40,120 Hosanna 27 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:44,360 Hosanna 28 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:49,500 You are the God who saves us 29 00:10:49,500 --> 00:10:54,780 We're worthy of all our praises 30 00:10:54,780 --> 00:11:02,660 Hosanna, Hosanna 31 00:11:02,660 --> 00:11:07,780 Come every way among us 32 00:11:07,780 --> 00:11:11,860 We welcome you here, Lord Jesus 33 00:11:19,500 --> 00:11:49,480 We'll be right back. 34 00:11:49,500 --> 00:12:00,560 ever bring worthy of every breath we could ever breathe we live for you 35 00:12:00,560 --> 00:12:12,060 Jesus the name above every other name 36 00:12:12,060 --> 00:12:18,500 Jesus the only one who could ever say 37 00:12:19,500 --> 00:12:28,960 Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe, we live for you, oh, we live for you. 38 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:39,260 Holy, there is no one like you, there is none beside you. 39 00:12:39,260 --> 00:12:43,920 Open up my eyes in wonder 40 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:47,560 And show me who you are 41 00:12:47,560 --> 00:12:50,840 And fill me with your heart 42 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:58,340 And lead me in your love to those around me 43 00:12:58,340 --> 00:13:03,280 Worthy of every song we could ever sing 44 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:09,840 Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring 45 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:16,240 Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe 46 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:18,320 We live for you 47 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:29,760 Jesus, the name above every other name 48 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:36,340 Jesus, the only one who could ever save 49 00:13:36,340 --> 00:13:42,480 Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe 50 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:47,840 We live for you, oh, we live for you 51 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:54,860 Holy, there is no one like you 52 00:13:54,860 --> 00:13:58,180 There is none beside you 53 00:13:58,180 --> 00:14:16,480 Open up my eyes in wonder and show me who you are and fill me with your heart and lead me in your love to those around me. 54 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:28,980 I will build my life upon your love, it is a firm foundation. 55 00:14:28,980 --> 00:14:42,240 I will put my trust in you alone, and I will not be shaken. 56 00:14:42,940 --> 00:14:50,760 Holy, there is no one like you, there is none beside you. 57 00:14:50,760 --> 00:15:09,900 Open up my eyes in wonder and show me who you are and fill me with your heart and my name in your love to those around me. 58 00:15:12,940 --> 00:15:35,660 Thank you. 59 00:15:42,940 --> 00:16:12,920 Thank you. 60 00:16:12,940 --> 00:16:42,920 Thank you. 61 00:21:42,940 --> 00:22:00,080 Prepare for communion this morning. 62 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:04,100 We're going to sing Cornerstone, 63 00:22:04,100 --> 00:22:07,460 and then we will partake of the Lord's Supper together. 64 00:22:12,940 --> 00:22:34,820 My hope is built on nothing less 65 00:22:34,820 --> 00:22:40,520 Than Jesus' blood and righteousness 66 00:22:42,940 --> 00:22:54,680 I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly trust in Jesus' name. 67 00:22:54,680 --> 00:23:10,560 My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. 68 00:23:12,940 --> 00:23:24,800 I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly trust in Jesus' name. 69 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:40,880 Christ alone, cornerstone, weak made strong in the Savior's love. 70 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:44,200 Through the storm 71 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:51,220 He is Lord, Lord of all 72 00:23:51,220 --> 00:24:01,500 When darkness seems to hide its face 73 00:24:01,500 --> 00:24:08,280 I rest on His unchanging grace 74 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:14,760 In every high and stormy gale 75 00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:20,960 My anchor holds within the veil 76 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:28,780 My anchor holds within the veil 77 00:24:28,780 --> 00:24:37,460 Christ alone, call us home 78 00:24:37,460 --> 00:24:40,520 Weak made strong 79 00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:44,060 In the Savior's light 80 00:24:44,060 --> 00:24:47,500 Through the storm 81 00:24:47,500 --> 00:24:50,880 He is Lord 82 00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:55,340 Lord our Lord 83 00:24:55,340 --> 00:25:00,980 Christ our Lord 84 00:25:00,980 --> 00:25:04,620 Call us home 85 00:25:04,620 --> 00:25:11,220 Weak made strong in the Savior's light 86 00:25:11,220 --> 00:25:22,640 Lord the storm, He is Lord, Lord our Lord 87 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:32,200 When He shall come with trumpet sound 88 00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:38,640 Oh, may I then in Him be found 89 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:45,360 Dressed in His righteousness alone 90 00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:51,700 Faultless than before the throne 91 00:25:51,700 --> 00:26:01,580 Christ alone, call us Lord 92 00:26:01,580 --> 00:26:04,700 Weak, made strong 93 00:26:04,700 --> 00:26:08,240 And the Savior's love 94 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:11,700 Through the storm 95 00:26:11,700 --> 00:26:19,240 He is Lord, Lord of all 96 00:26:31,580 --> 00:26:41,540 This beautiful and wonderful and encouraging and strengthening picture of the gospel. 97 00:26:41,540 --> 00:26:47,940 It begins by talking about where we were without Christ, that we were dead in our trespasses and sins. 98 00:26:47,940 --> 00:26:51,640 It talks about how God has made us alive in Christ. 99 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:57,480 And then it talks about how God has brought us together, both the Jew and the Gentile. 100 00:26:57,480 --> 00:26:59,720 And in verse 17, we find this. 101 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:03,440 he came and he preached peace to you who were far off 102 00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:05,060 and peace to those who were near. 103 00:27:05,060 --> 00:27:09,440 For through him we both have access in one spirit to the Father. 104 00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:12,800 So then you are no longer strangers or aliens, 105 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:15,580 but you are fellow citizens with the saints 106 00:27:15,580 --> 00:27:17,860 and members of the household of God. 107 00:27:17,860 --> 00:27:20,160 And the picture there is that in Christ 108 00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:22,560 we are no longer separated from God, 109 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:24,820 we are no longer separated from each other, 110 00:27:24,820 --> 00:27:28,460 and it's not just that we are no longer separated, 111 00:27:28,860 --> 00:27:31,580 but that we are brought into a family. 112 00:27:31,580 --> 00:27:35,000 And then he's going to talk about the foundation of this family. 113 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:35,500 He'll say, 114 00:27:35,500 --> 00:27:39,760 Belt upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, 115 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:43,380 Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 116 00:27:43,380 --> 00:27:46,280 in whom the structure, being joined together, 117 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:48,500 grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 118 00:27:48,500 --> 00:27:51,340 In him you are also being built together 119 00:27:51,340 --> 00:27:54,900 into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. 120 00:27:54,900 --> 00:27:57,240 And so in our day and in our world, 121 00:27:57,360 --> 00:28:01,440 I think cornerstones tend to be generally symbolic, right? 122 00:28:01,440 --> 00:28:03,260 They'll maybe list the name of the building. 123 00:28:03,260 --> 00:28:08,400 Sometimes they'll contain a little time capsule that as they're building the building, 124 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:12,660 they put some little artifacts in there to remember the construction of the building. 125 00:28:12,660 --> 00:28:18,680 But in the time when Paul was writing, a cornerstone was your foundational piece. 126 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:23,300 It was the one point from which all the rest of the building was measured. 127 00:28:23,300 --> 00:28:25,900 And so how wide is the building going to be? 128 00:28:25,900 --> 00:28:27,200 You measure from the cornerstone. 129 00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:28,980 How long is the building going to be? 130 00:28:28,980 --> 00:28:30,920 You measure from the cornerstone. 131 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:32,780 How tall will the building be? 132 00:28:32,780 --> 00:28:35,100 You measure from the cornerstone. 133 00:28:35,100 --> 00:28:38,940 And one of the pictures in Ephesians chapter 2 134 00:28:38,940 --> 00:28:42,340 is that we are saved, we are brought into the family of God, 135 00:28:42,340 --> 00:28:44,060 we are brought near to each other, 136 00:28:44,060 --> 00:28:46,120 and then God is not finished with us, 137 00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:49,240 that he is at work building us into this structure 138 00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:51,660 where Jesus is the cornerstone, 139 00:28:51,660 --> 00:28:54,040 which means in the life of the church 140 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:55,960 and in the life of the believer, 141 00:28:56,420 --> 00:28:59,980 Everything must be measured from Christ. 142 00:28:59,980 --> 00:29:07,080 We all understand it's filled with busyness and distractions and fears and worries. 143 00:29:07,080 --> 00:29:11,940 And sometimes even our joys can cause us to run in different directions. 144 00:29:11,940 --> 00:29:18,580 And so we gather around this table and we will break this bread and drink this cup 145 00:29:18,580 --> 00:29:25,740 to remind ourselves where it is we're centered, where it is we are measuring life from. 146 00:29:26,420 --> 00:29:29,760 Where it is is the foundation that is not shaken. 147 00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:32,500 That cannot be taken away from us. 148 00:29:32,500 --> 00:29:36,900 So we remember as we gather around this table our cornerstone. 149 00:29:36,900 --> 00:29:38,840 Let's pray and then we'll partake. 150 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:44,180 Father, we thank you for salvation. 151 00:29:44,180 --> 00:29:46,400 We thank you for hope. 152 00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:47,940 We thank you for grace. 153 00:29:47,940 --> 00:29:54,260 We thank you that you have not left us without strength and without help. 154 00:29:54,340 --> 00:29:59,800 And we thank you that you have given us a foundation that will weather any storm. 155 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:04,300 And so we ask this morning, as we consider our lives, 156 00:30:04,300 --> 00:30:06,540 that you would anchor us to your Son, 157 00:30:06,540 --> 00:30:11,620 that in all of our distractions and fears and joys and worries, 158 00:30:11,620 --> 00:30:15,700 all those things that so many times pull our eyes from you, 159 00:30:15,700 --> 00:30:18,680 that you would use these moments as we consider the cross, 160 00:30:18,680 --> 00:30:23,000 as we understand the weight and the burden of our sin, 161 00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:25,840 that You would fix our eyes on Jesus, 162 00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:30,860 that our hope and our life would be focused and centered on Him. 163 00:30:30,860 --> 00:30:33,240 I ask that You bless this bread and this cup. 164 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:35,300 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 165 00:30:35,300 --> 00:30:44,740 Paul will remind us as he reminds the church about the good news of the Gospel 166 00:30:44,740 --> 00:30:47,540 and about celebrating the Lord's Supper. 167 00:30:47,540 --> 00:30:51,080 He will say, when Jesus had given thanks, He took the bread and broke it. 168 00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:53,420 And he said, this is my body, which is for you. 169 00:30:53,420 --> 00:30:55,080 Do this in remembrance of me. 170 00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:55,920 Let's partake together. 171 00:30:55,920 --> 00:31:04,320 In the same way also, he took the cup after supper, saying, 172 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:07,240 this cup is the new covenant in my blood. 173 00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:10,960 Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. 174 00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:19,200 And then Jesus will say, for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, 175 00:31:19,620 --> 00:31:23,680 You proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 176 00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:29,900 We are going to be in Joshua, the seventh chapter this morning. 177 00:31:29,900 --> 00:31:38,320 It's a chapter that, in terms of the story and sort of where Joshua is going, 178 00:31:38,320 --> 00:31:42,080 it seems like it's a fairly simple chapter. 179 00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:47,000 And it's simple in the way that it's sort of written and laid out. 180 00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:52,100 It's not necessarily simple when it comes to applying it to our life. 181 00:31:52,100 --> 00:31:53,800 And I don't mean that it's hard to understand. 182 00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:57,860 I think the problem with Joshua 7 is not that it's hard to understand. 183 00:31:57,860 --> 00:32:02,660 It's that we may not feel comfortable with what we understand. 184 00:32:02,660 --> 00:32:09,500 And so we're going to pray for some guidance and wisdom, and we'll jump into Joshua chapter 7. 185 00:32:09,500 --> 00:32:13,100 If you're following the handouts this morning, you notice there's sort of a two-part. 186 00:32:13,220 --> 00:32:17,420 There's one printout in the back that just has all of Joshua chapter 7 on it, 187 00:32:17,420 --> 00:32:19,740 and then another one that has kind of an outline. 188 00:32:19,740 --> 00:32:26,720 When I was putting it all together, I was just kind of breaking up the outline in kind of a strange way, 189 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:32,780 and so we're kind of jumped back and forth between Joshua, the seventh chapter, and the outline that you have. 190 00:32:32,780 --> 00:32:36,020 So let's go ahead and pray, and then we'll dive right into it. 191 00:32:36,020 --> 00:32:40,700 Father in heaven, as we move into this chapter, as we consider sin, 192 00:32:40,700 --> 00:32:45,120 as we consider judgment, and as we consider your holiness, 193 00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:50,920 may you help us to see your glory. 194 00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:54,880 Help us to see our lives in light of that glory. 195 00:32:54,880 --> 00:32:58,460 And ultimately, help us to see the hope that we have in Jesus. 196 00:32:58,460 --> 00:33:00,300 Give us wisdom. 197 00:33:00,300 --> 00:33:04,120 Be with us as we move through these verses. 198 00:33:04,460 --> 00:33:12,280 For a lot of us, these verses may be a struggle in applying and thinking through. 199 00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:16,940 And so I just ask for your help and that you would be with us this morning. 200 00:33:16,940 --> 00:33:19,540 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 201 00:33:19,540 --> 00:33:28,140 So one of the remarkable things, I remember visiting the chiropractor when I was probably a teenager. 202 00:33:28,140 --> 00:33:30,140 My parents probably know better than I do. 203 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:37,440 But one of the remarkable things to me is that the chiropractor could look at just how you were standing 204 00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:45,640 and see what needed to be corrected or what needed to be adjusted just by looking at you. 205 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:48,040 He could look at you and say, well, you're kind of standing like this. 206 00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:49,500 This side's taller than this side. 207 00:33:49,500 --> 00:33:52,680 Looks like you're favoring that one side or you're not. 208 00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:55,960 And then he would go about correcting things. 209 00:33:56,580 --> 00:34:03,120 And I think Joshua 7, maybe for many of us, is going to work to sort of correct us, 210 00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:10,000 that we come to this text maybe with some wrong thinking and some wrong ideas, 211 00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:13,520 maybe about who God is, maybe about what sin is, 212 00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:17,540 maybe about judgment and the necessity of judgment. 213 00:34:17,540 --> 00:34:22,000 And what we'll do as we move into this text, we may feel uncomfortable. 214 00:34:22,180 --> 00:34:27,960 And one of the things that I think the reason God has given us this account in Joshua chapter 7 215 00:34:27,960 --> 00:34:32,480 is because I think we need some correction, right? 216 00:34:32,480 --> 00:34:38,840 And so there's some things with our lives and maybe our faith that isn't quite lined up right. 217 00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:46,400 And so God uses his word, not just Joshua 7, but all of his word to teach us and to encourage us 218 00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:49,420 and when necessary, correct us. 219 00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:56,300 And as I was thinking about it and kind of struggling through this text over the last week and a half, 220 00:34:56,300 --> 00:35:01,640 you know, it's one of the advantages, I think, even though it doesn't always feel that way, 221 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:06,340 of going through the Bible, sort of chapter by chapter or verse by verse, 222 00:35:06,340 --> 00:35:13,180 because this is probably not a place that I would have chosen to preach from in general, right? 223 00:35:13,180 --> 00:35:19,340 Because there's a picture of judgment, there's loss, there's this punishment of this man and his family 224 00:35:19,340 --> 00:35:23,760 that as we read from our perspective several thousand years later, we say, well, that might 225 00:35:23,760 --> 00:35:30,580 seem like it's incredibly harsh. And so there's a lot of questions, I think, that our soul sort of 226 00:35:30,580 --> 00:35:36,460 begins to raise. And some of those questions, I think, are defensive because we do not want 227 00:35:36,460 --> 00:35:44,000 to truly see the glory of God. So I wanted to sort of try to identify maybe a couple of areas. 228 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:48,640 There's a lot of areas where we have sort of gotten out of alignment, but I want to just share 229 00:35:48,640 --> 00:35:54,420 with you as we begin three that I think if we can sort of at least begin the process of correcting 230 00:35:54,420 --> 00:36:01,580 them will make Joshua the seventh chapter just maybe a little easier to understand and so one 231 00:36:01,580 --> 00:36:06,680 of the struggles that we have had and I don't think it's just me or just us I think the church 232 00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:14,960 in general is that we have often minimized the holiness of God and so when we talk about holiness 233 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:19,320 what we're talking about is that the word means that something is set apart. 234 00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:24,320 And you can be set apart from, or you can be set apart to. 235 00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:28,560 And so a lot of times when we talk about God setting us apart, 236 00:36:28,560 --> 00:36:31,740 when we talk about the saints, we are set apart to the work of God, 237 00:36:31,740 --> 00:36:34,280 and we are set apart from sin. 238 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:37,520 And when we talk about holiness in terms of God, 239 00:36:37,520 --> 00:36:40,960 what we are talking about is that God is removed. 240 00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:45,440 He is set apart from sin and wrongdoing. 241 00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:52,840 When we're talking about the holiness of God, we are talking about an absolute moral purity. 242 00:36:52,840 --> 00:36:57,840 And one of the struggles when it comes to dealing with the holiness of God 243 00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:04,880 is that there's theologians through time have sort of divided the attributes of God into two ways of thinking. 244 00:37:04,880 --> 00:37:09,320 One of them are communicable, which means that we can sort of understand them 245 00:37:09,320 --> 00:37:12,080 because in part, when God creates us in his image, 246 00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:13,420 we share those attributes. 247 00:37:13,420 --> 00:37:17,360 So things like being able to love, being faithful, 248 00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:19,840 those kinds of things are attributes of God 249 00:37:19,840 --> 00:37:21,400 that he has shared through us. 250 00:37:21,400 --> 00:37:25,640 Now, there are attributes of God that we struggle to understand 251 00:37:25,640 --> 00:37:28,100 because they're so far removed from us. 252 00:37:28,100 --> 00:37:31,140 So, for example, the eternal nature of God, right? 253 00:37:31,140 --> 00:37:35,020 No beginning, no end, seeking to understand that, right? 254 00:37:35,020 --> 00:37:37,500 That's a struggle because we have a beginning. 255 00:37:37,500 --> 00:37:42,880 Now, we may be eternal in this direction, but we are not eternal reaching back. 256 00:37:42,880 --> 00:37:47,780 Or maybe God's omnipotence, His all-powerfulness, right? 257 00:37:47,780 --> 00:37:52,820 We're used to power that can only go so far, but God has no limits, 258 00:37:52,820 --> 00:37:57,640 and no limits or the reach of His power is complete. 259 00:37:57,640 --> 00:37:59,540 It's a struggle to understand. 260 00:37:59,540 --> 00:38:05,780 And one of those areas that is a struggle to communicate to us is the holiness of God, 261 00:38:05,780 --> 00:38:08,340 that absolute moral purity. 262 00:38:08,340 --> 00:38:12,640 Because even people that we might say are good or good people 263 00:38:12,640 --> 00:38:15,960 always have some sort of flaw, right? 264 00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:20,200 Even if we do the best we can to make ourselves and separate ourselves from sin, 265 00:38:20,200 --> 00:38:22,020 there's always a flaw. 266 00:38:22,020 --> 00:38:27,040 And to understand that God has this unblemished moral purity 267 00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:29,520 is a struggle for us. 268 00:38:29,520 --> 00:38:32,880 And maybe to help us understand a little bit of God's holiness, 269 00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:35,020 we should look at Isaiah 6. 270 00:38:35,540 --> 00:38:36,260 And it says this, 271 00:38:36,260 --> 00:38:38,980 In the year that King Uzziah died, 272 00:38:38,980 --> 00:38:40,900 this is Isaiah speaking, 273 00:38:40,900 --> 00:38:43,140 I saw the Lord sitting upon the throne, 274 00:38:43,140 --> 00:38:44,260 high and lifted up, 275 00:38:44,260 --> 00:38:46,960 the train of His robe filling the temple. 276 00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:49,180 And above Him were the seraphim. 277 00:38:49,180 --> 00:38:50,380 Each had six wings. 278 00:38:50,380 --> 00:38:52,620 And with two He covered His face, 279 00:38:52,620 --> 00:38:53,860 and two He covered His feet, 280 00:38:53,860 --> 00:38:55,020 and two He flew. 281 00:38:55,020 --> 00:38:56,900 And one called to the other and said, 282 00:38:56,900 --> 00:38:59,660 Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. 283 00:38:59,660 --> 00:39:02,980 The whole earth is full of His glory. 284 00:39:02,980 --> 00:39:06,020 and the foundations of the thresholds shook 285 00:39:06,020 --> 00:39:09,040 and the smoke of him who called the house 286 00:39:09,040 --> 00:39:12,680 and at the voice of him who called 287 00:39:12,680 --> 00:39:13,980 and filled the house with smoke 288 00:39:13,980 --> 00:39:16,740 and I said, woe is me for I am lost 289 00:39:16,740 --> 00:39:18,340 I am a man of unclean lips 290 00:39:18,340 --> 00:39:21,080 and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips 291 00:39:21,080 --> 00:39:25,860 for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts 292 00:39:25,860 --> 00:39:27,620 and so when you hear those words 293 00:39:27,620 --> 00:39:29,080 holy, holy, holy 294 00:39:29,080 --> 00:39:30,780 they're used twice in Scripture 295 00:39:30,780 --> 00:39:32,600 once here and once in Revelation 296 00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:34,260 It's an emphasis. 297 00:39:34,260 --> 00:39:43,140 It's picturing the heart and the emotion and the strength of what is being said. 298 00:39:43,140 --> 00:39:46,280 It expresses force and passion. 299 00:39:46,280 --> 00:39:50,360 And notice those who serve in the presence of God are covering their face 300 00:39:50,360 --> 00:39:55,620 and covering their feet in the glory of God. 301 00:39:55,620 --> 00:39:59,300 And God's holiness cannot be in the presence of sin, 302 00:39:59,300 --> 00:40:02,660 Which is why Isaiah says, woe is me. 303 00:40:02,660 --> 00:40:08,760 Because when we see the glory of God, it so clearly pictures our brokenness. 304 00:40:08,760 --> 00:40:10,800 And Isaiah says, woe is me. 305 00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:13,020 I'm a man of unclean lips, and it's not just me. 306 00:40:13,020 --> 00:40:17,500 It's all my people, and now I have seen the Lord of hosts. 307 00:40:17,500 --> 00:40:22,580 And he just feels like he's falling apart at the glory of God. 308 00:40:22,580 --> 00:40:28,760 To stand before a holy God as a sinful person ultimately is to be obliterated. 309 00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:35,260 And it's why the seraphim flies and cleanses him sort of symbolically with this cold to his lips, 310 00:40:35,260 --> 00:40:40,260 saying, I'm purifying you so that Isaiah was able to stand in the presence of the Lord. 311 00:40:40,260 --> 00:40:48,640 And what we find sometimes is that we begin to minimize the holiness and the righteousness and the greatness of God. 312 00:40:48,640 --> 00:40:52,880 In fact, throughout Scripture, when people begin to get a glimpse of who God is, 313 00:40:53,600 --> 00:40:58,940 Generally, the response is for them to fall on their face in worship 314 00:40:58,940 --> 00:41:04,440 because of the overwhelming power of His glory and of His holiness. 315 00:41:04,440 --> 00:41:08,500 In fact, remember in the ministry of Jesus, 316 00:41:08,500 --> 00:41:12,940 when Jesus causes the fish to be caught in such a large number, 317 00:41:12,940 --> 00:41:15,780 and Peter says, Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man. 318 00:41:15,780 --> 00:41:21,240 He gets that tiny glimpse of the glory and the righteousness and the holiness of God. 319 00:41:21,400 --> 00:41:27,360 In his life, all of a sudden, his sin becomes so clear in the light of the holiness of God 320 00:41:27,360 --> 00:41:30,460 that he says, I can't even be near you. 321 00:41:30,460 --> 00:41:36,180 And so what we find so many times, we've minimized the holiness of God. 322 00:41:36,180 --> 00:41:39,580 There's a sort of a false dichotomy that has occurred in the church 323 00:41:39,580 --> 00:41:45,220 that on one time, we have God's love where he is close to us and he loves us and cares for us. 324 00:41:45,220 --> 00:41:49,540 And on the other side, we have the holiness of God and the justice of God. 325 00:41:49,540 --> 00:41:54,140 and the tendency has been in the church to sort of pick one or the other, right? 326 00:41:54,140 --> 00:41:57,620 So some people are all about the holiness and the wrath of God 327 00:41:57,620 --> 00:42:00,000 and others only speak of the love of God, 328 00:42:00,000 --> 00:42:06,280 but the reality in Scripture is that God is both holy and He is both love. 329 00:42:06,280 --> 00:42:09,800 It's not one or the other, it has to be both. 330 00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:15,740 And when we minimize either one, the holiness or the love of God, 331 00:42:15,740 --> 00:42:20,260 we begin to come sort of out of place from where we should be. 332 00:42:20,260 --> 00:42:22,560 The second thing that we've minimized, 333 00:42:22,560 --> 00:42:24,740 in addition to minimizing the holiness of God, 334 00:42:24,740 --> 00:42:26,500 we have minimized our sin. 335 00:42:26,500 --> 00:42:28,660 Think about the things that we hear about sin, 336 00:42:28,660 --> 00:42:29,620 or maybe we've said, right? 337 00:42:29,620 --> 00:42:31,120 I'm not hurting anybody. 338 00:42:31,120 --> 00:42:32,840 It's not that big a deal. 339 00:42:32,840 --> 00:42:35,620 It's nobody's business but mine. 340 00:42:35,620 --> 00:42:42,300 What we find is that sin is not just breaking some sort of arbitrary rule, 341 00:42:42,720 --> 00:42:46,720 But sin is an affront to the holiness of God. 342 00:42:46,720 --> 00:42:49,520 That God is not just giving us a standard, 343 00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:53,060 but He Himself in His purity is the standard. 344 00:42:53,060 --> 00:42:56,100 And it's why Peter, quoting from the Old Testament in 1 Peter 1, 345 00:42:56,100 --> 00:42:59,960 will say, be holy as I am holy. 346 00:42:59,960 --> 00:43:04,740 And we have excused and we've explained away 347 00:43:04,740 --> 00:43:09,000 and we've blamed and we've minimized our sin. 348 00:43:09,500 --> 00:43:11,980 And if we have a small view of sin 349 00:43:11,980 --> 00:43:13,940 and a small view of the holiness of God, 350 00:43:13,940 --> 00:43:16,920 Joshua chapter 7 is going to be difficult for us. 351 00:43:16,920 --> 00:43:21,000 Third, I think we have minimized our responsibility. 352 00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:23,200 And I don't mean in the sense that 353 00:43:23,200 --> 00:43:26,880 every generation says about the generation that follows it, right? 354 00:43:26,880 --> 00:43:30,080 Every generation looks like the generation that comes after them 355 00:43:30,080 --> 00:43:34,460 and goes, well, those people just don't take responsibility for anything, right? 356 00:43:34,460 --> 00:43:38,240 I'm sure the generations before me have done it about my generation. 357 00:43:38,240 --> 00:43:40,620 I've done it about the generations that follow me. 358 00:43:40,620 --> 00:43:46,700 It's very easy for us to say those people don't take responsibility for anything. 359 00:43:46,700 --> 00:43:52,000 The reality is we have not been taking responsibility since Genesis chapter 3. 360 00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:56,320 Remember, when God comes and confronts Adam and Eve in the garden, what does he say? 361 00:43:56,320 --> 00:43:57,580 Adam, what did you do? 362 00:43:57,580 --> 00:43:58,840 Oh, it's not my fault. 363 00:43:58,840 --> 00:44:00,500 It's the wife you gave me. 364 00:44:00,500 --> 00:44:03,620 So he blames God for the wife that he gives him. 365 00:44:03,620 --> 00:44:05,160 And then Eve, what did you do? 366 00:44:05,160 --> 00:44:06,240 Well, it's not my fault. 367 00:44:06,240 --> 00:44:15,120 it's the serpent. From the very beginning, you and I have struggled to take responsibility for our 368 00:44:15,120 --> 00:44:21,100 sin. And with those three things sort of out of joint, our view of the holiness of God, our view 369 00:44:21,100 --> 00:44:28,320 of sin, and the view of our responsibility, if those things are not correct, Joshua 7 will be 370 00:44:28,320 --> 00:44:35,100 difficult for us. And additionally, part of what Joshua 7, I think, is intended to do in our lives 371 00:44:35,100 --> 00:44:42,720 is to put those things back in place to help us to see that God is holy, that sin is a huge deal, 372 00:44:42,720 --> 00:44:49,680 and that we do bear responsibility for the wrong that we do. So I want to talk just a little bit 373 00:44:49,680 --> 00:44:54,620 about the structure of Joshua chapter 7. One of the remarkable things about this chapter 374 00:44:54,620 --> 00:45:01,360 is that it's incredibly symmetrical. And so if you have a picture, it's exactly the same. You draw a 375 00:45:01,360 --> 00:45:05,800 line down the middle. It's symmetrical. It's the same on either side. You can fold it in half, 376 00:45:05,800 --> 00:45:11,400 right? And both sides match up. And the remarkable thing about the seventh chapter of Joshua 377 00:45:11,400 --> 00:45:17,200 is that's what happens. If you look at the sections, not necessarily the length or the 378 00:45:17,200 --> 00:45:23,580 verse numbers, but if you look at the sections covered in Joshua, what you will see is this 379 00:45:23,580 --> 00:45:31,980 picture of symmetry. In fact, the term for it is a chiasm or chiasmus. And it comes from the 380 00:45:31,980 --> 00:45:38,780 Greek letter X, which you fold in half. It covers itself perfectly. And so in verse 1, you'll see 381 00:45:38,780 --> 00:45:44,840 God's anger. And then in verse 24 and 26, we'll see God's anger removed, right? Those two sections 382 00:45:44,840 --> 00:45:53,180 match up with each other. In verse 2, we'll see Joshua sending out scouts. And in verse 22 and 383 00:45:53,180 --> 00:45:59,880 23, we'll see Joshua sending out messengers, right? So these two places sort of correspond. 384 00:45:59,880 --> 00:46:08,540 In verses 3 through 5, we'll see the judgment on Israel, and in verses 20 and 21, we'll see sort of 385 00:46:08,540 --> 00:46:15,380 where the source of this judgment comes, as Achan confesses to his sin. Verses 6 through 9, Joshua 386 00:46:15,380 --> 00:46:22,160 will speak to God, and then later on, in verses 16 through 19, the passage that corresponds, he's 387 00:46:22,160 --> 00:46:29,440 going to speak about what God has said to Israel. And then in verses 10 through the first half of 388 00:46:29,440 --> 00:46:34,560 verse 12, God is going to announce their sin. And in verses 13 through 15, God's going to announce 389 00:46:34,560 --> 00:46:42,080 judgment. And in the middle of this is the consequence for sin. So I want to read through 390 00:46:42,080 --> 00:46:44,940 these events. We're going to read through this text. We're going to move fairly quickly 391 00:46:44,940 --> 00:46:50,500 because there's a lot here. We'll stop in a couple different places and explain a few things. And 392 00:46:50,500 --> 00:46:55,320 then we'll sort of try to talk through some of the struggles we might have with this text. 393 00:46:55,320 --> 00:47:01,640 Verse 1. The people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son 394 00:47:01,640 --> 00:47:06,600 of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah from the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things, 395 00:47:06,600 --> 00:47:14,400 and the anger of the Lord burned against the people. And then we find the scouts. You sort 396 00:47:14,400 --> 00:47:18,960 of contrast this with the overwhelming victory as well that they've just experienced, and now 397 00:47:18,960 --> 00:47:25,700 they've gone from victory to judgment. Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-Avon, 398 00:47:25,700 --> 00:47:30,160 east of Bethel, and went up to them and said, go up and spy out the land. And the men went up and 399 00:47:30,160 --> 00:47:35,980 spied out Ai. And they returned to Joshua and said, do not have all the people go up, but let 400 00:47:35,980 --> 00:47:41,020 about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people go up there, 401 00:47:41,020 --> 00:47:44,800 for there's few, there's not a lot of people there, right? You don't need a big army, just 402 00:47:44,800 --> 00:47:50,800 2,000 or 3,000. If you remember, as they crossed the Jordan River, just two of the tribes had like 403 00:47:50,800 --> 00:47:57,880 40,000 men of war. So you're taking a tiny amount of people to go to this city. So about 3,000 men 404 00:47:57,880 --> 00:48:04,000 went up from there and from the people, and they fled before the men of Ai. The men of Ai killed 405 00:48:04,000 --> 00:48:10,540 about 36 of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at their 406 00:48:10,540 --> 00:48:15,820 descent, and the hearts of the people melted like water. And so here is where everything that has 407 00:48:15,820 --> 00:48:21,600 happened so far in Joshua kind of turns upside down, right? Remember, they have just come from 408 00:48:21,600 --> 00:48:28,780 Jericho, where they have conquered an entire city, and their losses in that battle have been zero, 409 00:48:28,780 --> 00:48:36,260 right? They've conquered this massive city with massive walls, and they have lost nobody. And now 410 00:48:36,260 --> 00:48:42,720 they come to this little tiny backwater town and they lose 36. And it may not seem like 411 00:48:42,720 --> 00:48:49,080 a big number compared to how some battles go or some losses that even we've seen in 412 00:48:49,080 --> 00:48:55,140 battles. But to go from a massive battle where you lose no one to a tiny skirmish where 413 00:48:55,140 --> 00:49:01,240 you lose 36, it's a big deal. And notice how the tables have turned as they came into the 414 00:49:01,240 --> 00:49:09,640 promised land. In Joshua chapter 3 and 4 and the battle of Jericho and 5 and 6, it says repeatedly 415 00:49:09,640 --> 00:49:15,600 the people's hearts of the land melted before them and now Israel is in the same place where 416 00:49:15,600 --> 00:49:23,100 the people they were attacking were just briefly. And what we see here in these verses, it's not 417 00:49:23,100 --> 00:49:28,900 about the opponent that is before you. The question is, is God with you? Remember when God speaks to 418 00:49:28,900 --> 00:49:33,520 Joshua and Joshua says are you on our side or their side he said well you have to be on 419 00:49:33,520 --> 00:49:40,040 my side and the real victory here is not whether the city is big or small you have a lot of men 420 00:49:40,040 --> 00:49:46,020 or a few men the picture is is God on your side are you on God's side and what we'll see is the 421 00:49:46,020 --> 00:49:52,620 people have left God's side then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face 422 00:49:52,620 --> 00:49:58,280 before the ark of the Lord until evening and he and the elders of Israel they put dust on their 423 00:49:58,280 --> 00:50:03,940 heads. And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all 424 00:50:03,940 --> 00:50:09,040 to give us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? Would that we have been content to 425 00:50:09,040 --> 00:50:14,660 dwell beyond the Jordan? O Lord, what can I say when Israel turn their backs before their enemies 426 00:50:14,660 --> 00:50:20,180 for the Canaanites and the inhabitants of the land will hear of it. They will surround us and 427 00:50:20,180 --> 00:50:25,780 cut off our name from the earth. What will you do for your great name? And when you see in Scripture 428 00:50:25,780 --> 00:50:32,440 people who are tearing their clothes, they're pouring dust on their heads. Job will do it with 429 00:50:32,440 --> 00:50:38,840 ashes. What you're seeing is a picture. We sort of like to kind of keep our appearance and hide 430 00:50:38,840 --> 00:50:44,720 our emotions down inside. In this time, in this culture, what you're seeing is a visible picture 431 00:50:44,720 --> 00:50:50,600 of what Joshua is feeling inside, right? That my life is being torn apart. That my life is falling 432 00:50:50,600 --> 00:50:55,420 apart everything is wrong and he's covering himself in dust and he's tearing his robes 433 00:50:55,420 --> 00:51:02,040 to give a picture a visible picture of his anguish and the Lord said to Joshua get up 434 00:51:02,040 --> 00:51:07,980 why have you fallen on your face Israel has sinned they have transgressed my covenant that i commanded 435 00:51:07,980 --> 00:51:13,060 them they have taken some of the devoted things they have stolen and lied and put them among their 436 00:51:13,060 --> 00:51:19,240 own belongings therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies they turn their 437 00:51:19,240 --> 00:51:25,460 backs before their enemies because they have become devoted to destruction. And then in the 438 00:51:25,460 --> 00:51:32,700 end of verse 12, sort of the center of this text, I will be with you no more unless you destroy the 439 00:51:32,700 --> 00:51:39,080 devoted thing from among you. Get up, consecrate the people and say, consecrate yourself for 440 00:51:39,080 --> 00:51:44,240 tomorrow. For thus says the Lord God of Israel, they are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. 441 00:51:44,660 --> 00:51:49,800 You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you. 442 00:51:49,800 --> 00:51:53,500 And in the morning you shall be brought near by your tribes. 443 00:51:53,500 --> 00:51:58,700 And the tribe that the Lord takes by lot shall come near by clans. 444 00:51:58,700 --> 00:52:01,360 The clan that the Lord takes shall come near by household. 445 00:52:01,360 --> 00:52:05,440 The household that the Lord takes shall come near man by man. 446 00:52:05,440 --> 00:52:12,020 And he who has taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire and all that he has 447 00:52:12,020 --> 00:52:14,760 because he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord 448 00:52:14,760 --> 00:52:19,000 and because he has done an outrageous thing in Israel. 449 00:52:19,000 --> 00:52:24,660 And so what God commands is that Israel will pass before all the tribes individually 450 00:52:24,660 --> 00:52:26,620 and God will say, this tribe. 451 00:52:26,620 --> 00:52:29,740 And that tribe will sort of stand forward and He'll say, 452 00:52:29,740 --> 00:52:32,360 the clans will then pass before God. 453 00:52:32,360 --> 00:52:33,740 And God will say, that clan. 454 00:52:33,740 --> 00:52:36,140 And the clans will then pass before that clan. 455 00:52:36,140 --> 00:52:37,820 And God will say, that family. 456 00:52:37,820 --> 00:52:40,560 And that family will pass before and God will say, 457 00:52:40,740 --> 00:52:43,100 That man is the one who has sinned. 458 00:52:43,100 --> 00:52:46,260 So Joshua arose early in the morning 459 00:52:46,260 --> 00:52:48,160 and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, 460 00:52:48,160 --> 00:52:50,180 and the tribe of Judah was taken. 461 00:52:50,180 --> 00:52:52,420 And he brought near the clans of Judah, 462 00:52:52,420 --> 00:52:54,620 and the clan of the Zerahites was taken. 463 00:52:54,620 --> 00:52:57,780 And he brought near the clan of the Zerahites man by man, 464 00:52:57,780 --> 00:52:59,360 and Zabdi was taken. 465 00:52:59,360 --> 00:53:01,780 And he brought near his household man by man, 466 00:53:01,780 --> 00:53:04,960 and Achan, the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, 467 00:53:04,960 --> 00:53:07,900 son of Zerah of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 468 00:53:07,900 --> 00:53:09,820 Then Joshua said to Achan, 469 00:53:09,920 --> 00:53:12,120 My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel. 470 00:53:12,120 --> 00:53:13,060 Give praise to him. 471 00:53:13,060 --> 00:53:16,100 Tell me now what you have done and do not hide it. 472 00:53:16,100 --> 00:53:18,280 And Achan answered Joshua, 473 00:53:18,280 --> 00:53:20,620 Truly I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel. 474 00:53:20,620 --> 00:53:22,360 This is what I did. 475 00:53:22,360 --> 00:53:25,880 I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, 476 00:53:25,880 --> 00:53:31,200 200 shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels. 477 00:53:31,200 --> 00:53:34,540 And I coveted them and I took them. 478 00:53:34,540 --> 00:53:38,380 And they are hidden inside the earth underneath my tent 479 00:53:38,380 --> 00:53:40,820 with the silver underneath. 480 00:53:40,820 --> 00:53:44,960 And what you find is that he steals gold and silver 481 00:53:44,960 --> 00:53:46,880 and clothes from the city of Jericho. 482 00:53:46,880 --> 00:53:48,640 And if you remember, God has said of Jericho 483 00:53:48,640 --> 00:53:51,340 that everything in the city belongs 484 00:53:51,340 --> 00:53:53,760 and is devoted to God. 485 00:53:53,760 --> 00:53:58,000 And then we find this. 486 00:53:58,000 --> 00:54:00,740 Joshua sent messengers. 487 00:54:00,740 --> 00:54:01,600 They ran to the tent. 488 00:54:01,600 --> 00:54:05,280 Behold, hidden in his tent with the silver underneath, 489 00:54:05,280 --> 00:54:06,780 they took them out of the tent 490 00:54:06,780 --> 00:54:09,080 and brought them to Joshua and to all the people of Israel 491 00:54:09,080 --> 00:54:11,260 and laid them down before the Lord. 492 00:54:11,260 --> 00:54:13,820 And Joshua took all Israel with him. 493 00:54:13,820 --> 00:54:17,860 He took Achan, the son of Zerah, the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold 494 00:54:17,860 --> 00:54:22,040 and his sons and daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent 495 00:54:22,040 --> 00:54:24,840 and all that he had, they brought them up to the valley of Achor. 496 00:54:24,840 --> 00:54:29,500 And this is important for later, but the valley of Achor means the valley of trouble. 497 00:54:29,500 --> 00:54:33,860 And Joshua said, why did you bring trouble on us? 498 00:54:34,360 --> 00:54:36,160 The Lord brings trouble on you today. 499 00:54:36,160 --> 00:54:37,820 All Israel stoned him with stones. 500 00:54:37,820 --> 00:54:41,220 They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. 501 00:54:41,220 --> 00:54:45,080 And they raised him up a great heap of stones that remains to this day. 502 00:54:45,080 --> 00:54:47,060 Then the Lord turned from his burning anger. 503 00:54:47,060 --> 00:54:53,280 Therefore to this day, the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor or the Valley of Trouble. 504 00:54:53,280 --> 00:54:59,000 And God's wrath is removed and I think we are left with kind of a difficult text. 505 00:54:59,000 --> 00:55:03,520 And it's a whole lot different than what I remember being taught in Sunday school. 506 00:55:03,980 --> 00:55:06,600 It's a lot darker and a lot more difficult. 507 00:55:06,600 --> 00:55:12,380 And so I think if we're honest, this chapter for us can be a struggle, right? 508 00:55:12,380 --> 00:55:19,280 It can seem to us unfair to punish an entire nation over the actions of one person. 509 00:55:19,280 --> 00:55:27,840 It can seem excessive to punish Achan and his entire family and all of their belongings. 510 00:55:28,980 --> 00:55:33,980 It can seem like the punishment itself is maybe too big for the crime. 511 00:55:33,980 --> 00:55:39,660 So I want us to talk a little bit about what's actually happening in these events. 512 00:55:39,660 --> 00:55:42,880 Maybe we've experienced this in our modern day, 513 00:55:42,880 --> 00:55:47,600 that we read a news headline about something, but we don't read the details. 514 00:55:47,600 --> 00:55:51,220 And the headline says something that is very shocking, 515 00:55:51,220 --> 00:55:54,100 but the details help us to understand that headline. 516 00:55:54,100 --> 00:55:58,420 The headline for this chapter is the judgment of God upon Israel 517 00:55:58,420 --> 00:56:03,360 and upon Achan and Achan's family in a massive way. 518 00:56:03,360 --> 00:56:07,320 And if all we see is the headline and not the details, 519 00:56:07,320 --> 00:56:10,900 we're going to struggle with what God is doing. 520 00:56:10,900 --> 00:56:13,300 And so to understand what is happening, 521 00:56:13,300 --> 00:56:16,040 we need to go back to Joshua chapter 6 and verse 18. 522 00:56:16,040 --> 00:56:18,060 But keep yourselves, this is God, 523 00:56:18,060 --> 00:56:20,160 not just speaking to one or two people, 524 00:56:20,160 --> 00:56:24,040 He's speaking to all of God's people before they go to Jericho. 525 00:56:24,040 --> 00:56:24,960 Here's what He says, 526 00:56:24,960 --> 00:56:31,280 But you, to all of the Israelites, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, 527 00:56:31,280 --> 00:56:35,240 lest when you have devoted them, you take of the devoted things 528 00:56:35,240 --> 00:56:41,580 and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction and bring trouble upon it. 529 00:56:41,580 --> 00:56:43,260 God has warned them. 530 00:56:43,260 --> 00:56:49,960 In chapter 6 and verse 18, what will happen if as they go into Jericho 531 00:56:49,960 --> 00:56:52,040 Jericho, and they take those things 532 00:56:52,040 --> 00:56:53,980 which are supposed to be given to the 533 00:56:53,980 --> 00:56:56,040 tabernacle of God, devoted to God, 534 00:56:56,040 --> 00:56:57,940 if they take those things, here is 535 00:56:57,940 --> 00:56:59,980 what will happen. God 536 00:56:59,980 --> 00:57:01,580 has been very clear 537 00:57:01,580 --> 00:57:03,740 and very specific about the 538 00:57:03,740 --> 00:57:06,220 consequences of their actions. 539 00:57:06,220 --> 00:57:08,300 Achan's 540 00:57:08,300 --> 00:57:09,480 actions as well, 541 00:57:09,480 --> 00:57:10,840 they're deliberate. 542 00:57:10,840 --> 00:57:13,940 In verse 21, he'll say, I saw, 543 00:57:13,940 --> 00:57:15,660 right, he'll talk about this beautiful 544 00:57:15,660 --> 00:57:17,620 cloak from Shinar or Babylon, 545 00:57:17,620 --> 00:57:19,380 I wanted it, 546 00:57:19,660 --> 00:57:21,560 coveted it, that's when he says coveted it, 547 00:57:21,560 --> 00:57:23,480 and then he will say, so I took it. 548 00:57:23,480 --> 00:57:28,980 Achan's thing is, I see this, I want it, I'm going to take it. 549 00:57:28,980 --> 00:57:33,740 The impression there was that it wasn't a lot of thought given to what God had said. 550 00:57:33,740 --> 00:57:35,960 God had said very clearly, if you take anything, 551 00:57:35,960 --> 00:57:40,340 there will be incredible consequences within the people of God, 552 00:57:40,340 --> 00:57:46,900 and Achan just sees that, and rather than hearing and submitting himself to what God has said, 553 00:57:47,080 --> 00:57:52,820 He just takes what he wants, ignoring what God has done. 554 00:57:52,820 --> 00:57:59,400 Achan has known the command of God, and I think, I don't know for sure, we don't have any scriptural evidence, 555 00:57:59,400 --> 00:58:06,240 I think he knows that the events that happen at Ai are a result of his actions. 556 00:58:06,240 --> 00:58:12,280 And notice, as all of these events are unfolding, and Joshua is saying, why, God, is this happening? 557 00:58:13,000 --> 00:58:17,940 As all of these things are unfolding, as the people of Israel, which would not have been a quick process, 558 00:58:17,940 --> 00:58:23,760 go tribe by tribe, clan by clan, family by family, ultimately ending up on him, 559 00:58:23,760 --> 00:58:27,860 he could have at any point taken responsibility. 560 00:58:27,860 --> 00:58:29,620 But he does what so many of us do. 561 00:58:29,620 --> 00:58:36,280 When he's caught, it's not sorry that we've done something to someone. 562 00:58:36,280 --> 00:58:38,720 We're sorry that we've got caught, right? 563 00:58:39,500 --> 00:58:45,220 Most of us have experienced that, especially when you're a child and you have to apologize for something. 564 00:58:45,220 --> 00:58:49,560 You're not sorry that you did it, you're sorry that you got caught. 565 00:58:49,560 --> 00:58:57,560 And so we don't really, I think, in this text, see Achan ever truly repent. 566 00:58:57,560 --> 00:59:04,820 Additionally, when it comes to his family, you have to remember that Israelite tents are different than the tents that we go camping in today, 567 00:59:04,820 --> 00:59:08,300 where you have this little structure, you zip out the front, you go in and zip it closed. 568 00:59:08,600 --> 00:59:11,500 Remember, we're talking about a tent that would be like a house. 569 00:59:11,500 --> 00:59:14,920 And so for Achan to steal these things, 570 00:59:14,920 --> 00:59:17,480 to steal 50 shekels of gold, 571 00:59:17,480 --> 00:59:20,920 which in modern money is like $320,000, 572 00:59:20,920 --> 00:59:24,240 it's a fair amount of gold, 573 00:59:24,240 --> 00:59:28,120 a fair amount, 200 shekels of silver and these clothes, 574 00:59:28,120 --> 00:59:30,940 and to bury them inside his tent, 575 00:59:30,940 --> 00:59:34,840 his family would have likely known 576 00:59:34,840 --> 00:59:36,760 and likely been culpable 577 00:59:36,760 --> 00:59:41,580 because they're helping him hide and keep this well. 578 00:59:41,580 --> 00:59:47,360 It doesn't really make what we see maybe much easier. 579 00:59:47,360 --> 00:59:51,820 And part of that reason is because we, like Achan, like to hold on to our sin. 580 00:59:51,820 --> 00:59:54,520 We like to try to justify it. 581 00:59:54,520 --> 00:59:55,720 We like to try to hide it. 582 00:59:55,720 --> 00:59:58,600 We like to try to keep it out of view. 583 00:59:58,600 --> 01:00:02,840 And Joshua 7 makes several things very clear to us. 584 01:00:02,840 --> 01:00:05,200 First of all, sin is serious. 585 01:00:05,700 --> 01:00:11,040 It's not a toy to be played with or something to see how close we can get to. 586 01:00:11,040 --> 01:00:16,380 Because oftentimes, especially when it comes to danger or things that we're not supposed to be doing, 587 01:00:16,380 --> 01:00:22,280 we like to try to see how close we can get to the edge before we ultimately fall off or we don't want to fall off. 588 01:00:22,280 --> 01:00:26,100 Or when something's dangerous, we want to see how close we can get to it. 589 01:00:26,100 --> 01:00:31,660 And sin, what we see in Joshua chapter 7, is not something to be toyed with, 590 01:00:31,660 --> 01:00:38,280 Not something to see how close we can get or how much we can do before we get in trouble. 591 01:00:38,280 --> 01:00:42,320 The other thing we see about sin, and we don't just see it in Joshua chapter 7, 592 01:00:42,320 --> 01:00:45,680 we see it in our lives, is that sin, even if in your heart you say, 593 01:00:45,680 --> 01:00:49,700 well, this doesn't affect anybody else, it ultimately does affect other people. 594 01:00:49,700 --> 01:00:53,980 Sin has a tendency to spiral out from our life. 595 01:00:53,980 --> 01:00:57,840 And our sin will affect our relationships, our friendships, 596 01:00:58,340 --> 01:01:03,060 And maybe in some cases, even things on this kind of scale. 597 01:01:03,060 --> 01:01:07,200 You see, we see throughout Scripture that even little sins spread. 598 01:01:07,200 --> 01:01:11,440 Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 5 will compare sin to leaven. 599 01:01:11,440 --> 01:01:15,380 And when you're baking bread and you have all of your ingredients, 600 01:01:15,380 --> 01:01:17,960 your cups of flour, your cups of water, 601 01:01:17,960 --> 01:01:20,640 and then you have just a tiny amount of yeast. 602 01:01:20,640 --> 01:01:24,320 What Paul says is that that tiny amount of yeast 603 01:01:24,320 --> 01:01:28,620 is like the sin that affects everything in that dough. 604 01:01:28,620 --> 01:01:32,140 By percentage-wise and by weight and by size, 605 01:01:32,140 --> 01:01:37,180 that yeast is so small compared to the rest of the dough, 606 01:01:37,180 --> 01:01:40,020 but it has such a massive effect. 607 01:01:40,020 --> 01:01:43,180 And sin does the same thing. 608 01:01:43,180 --> 01:01:46,020 And the problem is we don't see sin as a problem. 609 01:01:46,020 --> 01:01:50,720 God sees it as something that corrupts because it does. 610 01:01:50,720 --> 01:01:53,800 He sees it as something that kills because it does. 611 01:01:53,880 --> 01:01:57,300 He sees it as something that hurts because it does 612 01:01:57,300 --> 01:01:59,380 and it spreads to those around us. 613 01:01:59,380 --> 01:02:02,740 And if we went to the doctor tomorrow and he said, 614 01:02:02,740 --> 01:02:05,140 well, you have cancer, but it's just a little bit of cancer. 615 01:02:05,140 --> 01:02:06,960 Let's just not worry about it for a couple of years. 616 01:02:06,960 --> 01:02:09,580 We would go, no, absolutely not, right? 617 01:02:09,580 --> 01:02:10,920 I want a second opinion. 618 01:02:10,920 --> 01:02:15,020 But when it comes to sin, something that kills us spiritually 619 01:02:15,020 --> 01:02:19,080 and it kills those around us, we go, well, it's not that big a deal. 620 01:02:19,080 --> 01:02:23,000 We can wait to deal with it and like ache and hide our sin. 621 01:02:23,880 --> 01:02:26,700 I don't think our struggle in Joshua 7 622 01:02:26,700 --> 01:02:29,520 is necessarily with what happens to Achan. 623 01:02:29,520 --> 01:02:33,020 It's because it puts our sin into focus 624 01:02:33,020 --> 01:02:35,680 and we begin to see the holiness of God 625 01:02:35,680 --> 01:02:37,380 and we can begin to realize 626 01:02:37,380 --> 01:02:41,840 that sin is truly dangerous. 627 01:02:41,840 --> 01:02:46,400 I want you to see a contrast. 628 01:02:46,400 --> 01:02:49,100 I want you to see a picture of hope 629 01:02:49,100 --> 01:02:51,100 and then I want to try to lead you 630 01:02:51,100 --> 01:02:52,440 to the Savior this morning. 631 01:02:53,320 --> 01:02:57,680 In Joshua chapter 7, verse 18, we find it in Joshua chapter 7, verse 1 as well, 632 01:02:57,680 --> 01:03:01,200 we hear the lineage of this man Achan. 633 01:03:01,200 --> 01:03:04,560 And you might say, why does God keep the lineage in here? 634 01:03:04,560 --> 01:03:07,780 He brought near to this household a man by the name of Achan, 635 01:03:07,780 --> 01:03:11,940 and Achan, the son of Chammai, the son of Zabda, the son of Zerah, 636 01:03:11,940 --> 01:03:14,940 that's important, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 637 01:03:14,940 --> 01:03:19,860 In Genesis, the 38th chapter, you have a woman by Tamar, 638 01:03:19,860 --> 01:03:21,840 and her story is very difficult, 639 01:03:22,620 --> 01:03:24,060 And she has two sons. 640 01:03:24,060 --> 01:03:25,980 One is Zerah, one is Perez. 641 01:03:25,980 --> 01:03:28,220 They're twins, and as they're born, 642 01:03:28,220 --> 01:03:30,360 the nurse who's helping her give birth 643 01:03:30,360 --> 01:03:32,000 wants to make sure they're able to separate them, 644 01:03:32,000 --> 01:03:33,360 so they take a scarlet cord, 645 01:03:33,360 --> 01:03:34,820 and they tie it around. 646 01:03:34,820 --> 01:03:38,540 The first hand she sees, which was Zerah, 647 01:03:38,540 --> 01:03:44,100 but ultimately, Perez is the one who is born first. 648 01:03:44,100 --> 01:03:50,220 And you have this family line coming from Tamar 649 01:03:50,220 --> 01:03:51,980 all the way down now, 650 01:03:52,620 --> 01:03:56,640 And Achan is of the clan or the family of Zerah, 651 01:03:56,640 --> 01:03:59,620 that twin that was almost born first but was born second. 652 01:03:59,620 --> 01:04:02,200 But what's remarkable, in Joshua chapter 2, 653 01:04:02,200 --> 01:04:05,660 we meet somebody who is saved by a scarlet cord. 654 01:04:05,660 --> 01:04:07,600 Her name's Rahab. 655 01:04:07,600 --> 01:04:09,800 And she's brought into the people of Israel. 656 01:04:09,800 --> 01:04:12,280 She eventually marries a man. 657 01:04:12,280 --> 01:04:19,660 In Matthew 5, we find her lineage, Salmon, the father of Boaz, by Rahab. 658 01:04:19,660 --> 01:04:22,100 Do you know Salmon's family was? 659 01:04:22,160 --> 01:04:23,640 it was the other half of those twins. 660 01:04:23,640 --> 01:04:26,260 Perez, the twin that was born second. 661 01:04:26,260 --> 01:04:28,720 And so here you have this contrast 662 01:04:28,720 --> 01:04:30,600 of faithfulness and unfaithfulness. 663 01:04:30,600 --> 01:04:33,740 Rahab outside the people of God 664 01:04:33,740 --> 01:04:35,740 who is faithful and saved 665 01:04:35,740 --> 01:04:37,160 by a scarlet cord. 666 01:04:37,160 --> 01:04:38,800 And then you have Achan 667 01:04:38,800 --> 01:04:40,340 inside the people of God 668 01:04:40,340 --> 01:04:41,440 who is not faithful 669 01:04:41,440 --> 01:04:43,820 even though his lineage is delineated 670 01:04:43,820 --> 01:04:46,340 and marked by a scarlet cord. 671 01:04:46,340 --> 01:04:50,120 Achan's family ends up destroyed. 672 01:04:50,540 --> 01:04:54,660 Rahab's family goes on to be in the lineage of King David 673 01:04:54,660 --> 01:04:56,920 and ultimately of Jesus. 674 01:04:56,920 --> 01:05:00,280 And one of the things we see from that comparison 675 01:05:00,280 --> 01:05:04,400 is that faithfulness is not necessarily based on our family. 676 01:05:04,400 --> 01:05:08,060 It's based on our commitment to following and obeying God. 677 01:05:08,060 --> 01:05:12,620 Also, in the midst of all of this sin and judgment and loss, 678 01:05:12,620 --> 01:05:13,840 there's a promise of hope. 679 01:05:13,840 --> 01:05:17,500 Remember in Joshua chapter 7, there's this valley of trouble, 680 01:05:17,500 --> 01:05:19,260 the valley of Achor. 681 01:05:20,320 --> 01:05:23,100 So several hundred years, a man by the name of Hosea 682 01:05:23,100 --> 01:05:26,300 will write about the unfaithfulness of God's people 683 01:05:26,300 --> 01:05:27,640 and the judgment they will face. 684 01:05:27,640 --> 01:05:30,320 And in the midst of this, he'll make this prophecy about hope. 685 01:05:30,320 --> 01:05:32,500 Therefore, I will allure her. 686 01:05:32,500 --> 01:05:35,200 I will bring her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her, 687 01:05:35,200 --> 01:05:36,280 speaking of God's people. 688 01:05:36,280 --> 01:05:39,220 And there I will give her vineyards 689 01:05:39,220 --> 01:05:43,320 and make the valley of Achor, the valley of trouble, 690 01:05:43,320 --> 01:05:44,900 a door of hope. 691 01:05:44,900 --> 01:05:47,780 And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth 692 01:05:47,780 --> 01:05:50,800 at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt 693 01:05:50,800 --> 01:05:52,800 and in Isaiah 65, 10. 694 01:05:52,800 --> 01:05:55,980 Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks 695 01:05:55,980 --> 01:05:58,040 and the valley of April 696 01:05:58,040 --> 01:06:00,520 is a place for herds to lie down 697 01:06:00,520 --> 01:06:02,800 for my people who have sought me. 698 01:06:02,800 --> 01:06:05,600 That the prophets look at this valley of trouble 699 01:06:05,600 --> 01:06:07,340 with this monument to sin 700 01:06:07,340 --> 01:06:09,040 belt in the middle of it 701 01:06:09,040 --> 01:06:11,340 and they said it's not always going to be this way. 702 01:06:11,340 --> 01:06:12,900 There will be a day 703 01:06:12,900 --> 01:06:15,560 when God will turn the valley of trouble 704 01:06:15,560 --> 01:06:17,080 into the valley of hope 705 01:06:17,080 --> 01:06:19,900 and ultimately he does so through Jesus. 706 01:06:19,900 --> 01:06:23,840 One of the verses that I think pictures this so clearly 707 01:06:23,840 --> 01:06:26,840 is 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21. 708 01:06:26,840 --> 01:06:29,060 Paul is talking about the gospel. 709 01:06:29,060 --> 01:06:32,060 He will talk about Jesus and he will say, 710 01:06:32,060 --> 01:06:34,640 he took him for our sake, 711 01:06:34,640 --> 01:06:39,120 he made him who knew no sin to be sin 712 01:06:39,120 --> 01:06:43,540 so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 713 01:06:43,540 --> 01:06:46,040 The reason for us as we look back 714 01:06:46,040 --> 01:06:48,180 that this is now a valley of hope 715 01:06:48,180 --> 01:06:49,160 in the midst of sin 716 01:06:49,160 --> 01:06:51,980 is because Jesus, who knew no sin, 717 01:06:51,980 --> 01:06:53,980 took our sin 718 01:06:53,980 --> 01:06:56,800 and bore the punishment that we deserved. 719 01:06:56,800 --> 01:06:58,580 In this story in Joshua chapter 7, 720 01:06:58,580 --> 01:07:00,380 the trajectory of our life 721 01:07:00,380 --> 01:07:01,600 is the trajectory of Achan. 722 01:07:01,600 --> 01:07:04,080 One who has rebelled against God 723 01:07:04,080 --> 01:07:06,760 intentionally and without apology 724 01:07:06,760 --> 01:07:08,200 and has hidden our sin 725 01:07:08,200 --> 01:07:09,620 and held on to our sin 726 01:07:09,620 --> 01:07:12,100 and enlisted others in our sin. 727 01:07:12,100 --> 01:07:15,420 But instead of facing the fate of Achan 728 01:07:15,420 --> 01:07:17,680 at the hands of a holy God. 729 01:07:17,680 --> 01:07:20,620 That holy God sends His Son 730 01:07:20,620 --> 01:07:22,600 who takes our sin, 731 01:07:22,600 --> 01:07:24,500 who stands in our place, 732 01:07:24,500 --> 01:07:26,920 in that place of trouble, 733 01:07:26,920 --> 01:07:29,440 so that for us the place of trouble 734 01:07:29,440 --> 01:07:30,620 becomes a place of hope. 735 01:07:30,620 --> 01:07:33,260 You see, the good news of the gospel 736 01:07:33,260 --> 01:07:35,820 is that Jesus at the cross 737 01:07:35,820 --> 01:07:37,800 takes our sin 738 01:07:37,800 --> 01:07:40,880 and He gives us His righteousness 739 01:07:40,880 --> 01:07:44,000 so that as God sees us 740 01:07:44,000 --> 01:07:45,520 and deals with us, 741 01:07:45,520 --> 01:07:46,800 He doesn't see us 742 01:07:46,800 --> 01:07:48,820 with all of our brokenness, 743 01:07:48,820 --> 01:07:49,760 all of our sin, 744 01:07:49,760 --> 01:07:50,620 all of our rebellion. 745 01:07:50,620 --> 01:07:52,760 But He sees the righteousness 746 01:07:52,760 --> 01:07:55,140 given to us by Jesus. 747 01:07:55,140 --> 01:07:56,060 You see, for the Christian, 748 01:07:56,060 --> 01:07:57,560 this is not a valley of fear 749 01:07:57,560 --> 01:07:59,160 or a valley of trouble. 750 01:07:59,160 --> 01:08:01,320 It points ahead 751 01:08:01,320 --> 01:08:03,160 to the One who would make it 752 01:08:03,160 --> 01:08:04,000 a valley of hope. 753 01:08:04,000 --> 01:08:04,960 Let's pray. 754 01:08:04,960 --> 01:08:08,060 Father, thank You for Jesus 755 01:08:08,060 --> 01:08:09,060 and for grace. 756 01:08:09,060 --> 01:08:12,200 Help us as we consider Your holiness 757 01:08:12,200 --> 01:08:15,240 to not minimize our sin or Your holiness, 758 01:08:15,240 --> 01:08:17,420 that we would see our sin, 759 01:08:17,420 --> 01:08:18,880 take responsibility for it, 760 01:08:18,880 --> 01:08:20,240 and run to Jesus, 761 01:08:20,240 --> 01:08:22,300 who stood in our place, 762 01:08:22,300 --> 01:08:24,160 who bore our sin, 763 01:08:24,160 --> 01:08:25,700 who rose again for our victory, 764 01:08:25,700 --> 01:08:28,740 and has gone ahead to prepare a place for us. 765 01:08:28,740 --> 01:08:30,860 Strengthen us with Your Spirit. 766 01:08:30,860 --> 01:08:32,340 It's in Jesus' name we pray. 767 01:08:32,340 --> 01:08:33,140 Amen. 768 01:08:33,140 --> 01:08:35,760 So we're going to stand, 769 01:08:35,760 --> 01:08:36,800 and we're going to sing, 770 01:08:36,800 --> 01:08:37,940 Holy, Holy, Holy. 771 01:08:42,200 --> 01:09:02,620 Holy, holy, holy 772 01:09:02,620 --> 01:09:07,260 Lord God Almighty 773 01:09:07,260 --> 01:09:17,260 Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee 774 01:09:17,260 --> 01:09:26,440 Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty 775 01:09:26,440 --> 01:09:34,560 God in three persons, blessed Trinity 776 01:09:37,260 --> 01:09:47,740 Holy, holy, holy 777 01:09:47,740 --> 01:09:52,940 All the saints adore thee 778 01:09:52,940 --> 01:09:57,820 Casting down their golden crowns 779 01:09:57,820 --> 01:10:01,840 Around the glossy sea 780 01:10:01,840 --> 01:10:07,180 Cherubim and seraphim 781 01:10:07,180 --> 01:10:11,940 Falling down before me 782 01:10:11,940 --> 01:10:15,760 Who was then God 783 01:10:15,760 --> 01:10:20,840 And evermore shall be 784 01:10:20,840 --> 01:10:32,860 Holy, holy, holy 785 01:10:32,860 --> 01:10:37,860 Though the darkness hide Thee 786 01:10:37,860 --> 01:10:46,860 Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see 787 01:10:46,860 --> 01:10:51,860 Only Thou art holy 788 01:10:51,860 --> 01:10:56,860 There is none beside Thee 789 01:10:56,860 --> 01:11:05,100 Perfect in power, in love and purity 790 01:11:05,100 --> 01:11:18,200 Holy, holy, holy 791 01:11:18,200 --> 01:11:22,660 Lord God Almighty 792 01:11:22,660 --> 01:11:28,020 All thy works shall praise thy name 793 01:11:28,020 --> 01:11:32,000 In earth and sky and sea 794 01:11:32,000 --> 01:11:37,040 Holy, holy, holy 795 01:11:37,040 --> 01:11:41,900 Merciful and mighty 796 01:11:41,900 --> 01:11:47,080 God in three persons 797 01:11:47,080 --> 01:11:50,600 Blessed Trinity 798 01:11:52,660 --> 01:11:57,940 We are very thankful that you are here with us this morning, 799 01:11:57,940 --> 01:12:00,780 whether you're joining us in person or online. 800 01:12:00,780 --> 01:12:04,200 I am incredibly thankful for you. 801 01:12:04,200 --> 01:12:06,180 Just a couple of announcements. 802 01:12:06,180 --> 01:12:09,320 We'll be here Wednesday at 7 p.m., 803 01:12:09,320 --> 01:12:11,640 continuing our study of the gospel 804 01:12:11,640 --> 01:12:13,820 and how it changes and transforms us. 805 01:12:13,820 --> 01:12:16,720 It's not just something we talk about and we say, 806 01:12:16,720 --> 01:12:19,200 but the reality is that it changes. 807 01:12:19,200 --> 01:12:20,820 It changes how we deal with others. 808 01:12:20,960 --> 01:12:23,640 It changes how we deal with family. 809 01:12:23,640 --> 01:12:27,020 It changes how we deal with the world in which we live. 810 01:12:27,020 --> 01:12:30,400 So we're here on Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. 811 01:12:30,400 --> 01:12:32,360 I also want to thank a couple people. 812 01:12:32,360 --> 01:12:37,680 I want to thank Debbie for all the cleaning she's been doing and taking care of here. 813 01:12:37,680 --> 01:12:41,900 And Kathy, if you didn't know, she came in and moved all the chairs, 814 01:12:41,900 --> 01:12:45,460 shampooed all the carpets, and we're very thankful for that. 815 01:12:45,460 --> 01:12:49,140 And we're also thankful Tiffany brought in some cookies this morning. 816 01:12:49,620 --> 01:12:53,060 I'm very, very thankful because everywhere was sold out of cinnamon rolls when I went. 817 01:12:53,060 --> 01:12:54,720 Target, Martins, everywhere. 818 01:12:54,720 --> 01:12:58,060 And so when she texted me, I was very, very thankful. 819 01:12:58,060 --> 01:12:59,520 So we're thankful for you. 820 01:12:59,520 --> 01:13:00,540 We're going to pray. 821 01:13:00,540 --> 01:13:06,560 We're going to read a verse, and then we will sing the doxology. 822 01:13:06,560 --> 01:13:09,600 Father in heaven, we have so much to be thankful for. 823 01:13:09,600 --> 01:13:13,120 Most of all, the salvation that you have given us. 824 01:13:13,120 --> 01:13:15,660 Thank you that you have brought us in to your family. 825 01:13:15,660 --> 01:13:17,720 Thank you for the hope you have given us. 826 01:13:17,780 --> 01:13:19,840 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 827 01:13:19,840 --> 01:13:22,820 And in the end of the book of Jude, it says, 828 01:13:22,820 --> 01:13:25,180 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, 829 01:13:25,180 --> 01:13:30,520 and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, 830 01:13:30,520 --> 01:13:33,700 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, 831 01:13:33,700 --> 01:13:40,200 be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time, now and forever. 832 01:13:47,780 --> 01:13:54,480 Praise God from whom all blessings flow 833 01:13:54,480 --> 01:13:59,060 Praise Him all creatures here before 834 01:13:59,060 --> 01:14:05,440 Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts 835 01:14:05,440 --> 01:14:11,080 Praise Son and Holy Ghost 836 01:14:17,780 --> 01:14:47,760 Thank you.