1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,000 Thank God for the remarkable care he has entrusted us. He is the God of the heavens, having placed the stars in their orbits, and yet he has entrusted to humanity the care of the earth. 2 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:26,000 When he speaks of our being crowned with glory and honor, David speaks of the image of God bestowed upon every human. The references to foes, enemy, and avenger in the course of praising God for his creation remind us that there was also a fall. 3 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:38,000 Yet despite our fall into sin, God still dignifies his people as the stewards of his creation. Yet we need a savior to overcome not only personal sin, but also the fallen condition of the creation. 4 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:48,000 By quoting this psalm, the writer of the book of Hebrews later clarifies that Christ our Savior is the perfect representation of the humanity described in this psalm. 5 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:54,000 The one through whom the world was created came to restore the image marred at the fall. 6 00:00:54,000 --> 00:01:08,000 Verse 1 and 9 of Psalm 8 not only serve as bookends for the psalm, they also anticipate the end of all things, when Christ's enemies will be made a footstool for his feet, and his name will be majestic through all the earth. 7 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:17,000 And so we're going to go ahead and stand, and we're going to be reading Psalm 8, and we are going to be reading that verse 1 and 2. 8 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:41,000 And it begins, "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants you have established strength, because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger." 9 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:50,000 This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray. God, we thank you so much for the opportunity to gather here today, and we thank you for those that are here. 10 00:01:50,000 --> 00:02:00,000 And that are watching online. And we just ask that you allow us all to be encouraged by each other, and by worshiping you, and by reading together your word. 11 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:12,000 And we just thank you so much for your grace and your mercy that's been there since the beginning and since the fall. And we just thank you so much for Jesus and his sacrifice. 12 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:18,000 And we just ask that you be with our service today, and allow it to glorify you. In Jesus' name. Amen. 13 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:22,000 All right, we're going to begin by singing "Indescribable." 14 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:38,000 From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea 15 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:46,000 Creations revealing your majesty 16 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:54,000 From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring 17 00:02:54,000 --> 00:03:01,000 Every creature unique in the song that it sings 18 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,000 All exclaiming 19 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:06,000 Indescribable 20 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:07,000 Uncontainable 21 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:10,000 You place the stars in the sky 22 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,000 And you know them by name 23 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:17,000 You are amazing God 24 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:22,000 All powerful 25 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:23,000 Untameable 26 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:24,000 All stuck 27 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:26,000 We fall to our knees 28 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:29,000 As we humbly proclaim 29 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:33,000 You are amazing God 30 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:46,000 Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go 31 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:54,000 Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow 32 00:03:54,000 --> 00:04:02,000 Who imagined the sun and gave source to its light 33 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:09,000 Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night 34 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,000 None can fathom 35 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:15,000 Indescribable, uncontainable 36 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:21,000 You place the stars in the sky and you know them by name 37 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:25,000 You are amazing God 38 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,000 All-powerful, untamable 39 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:37,000 All-struck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim 40 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:41,000 You are amazing God 41 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:47,000 Indescribable, uncontainable 42 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:53,000 You place the stars in the sky and you know them by name 43 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:57,000 You are amazing God 44 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:03,000 Incomparable, unchangeable 45 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:09,000 You see the depths of my heart and you love me the same 46 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:13,000 You are amazing God 47 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:21,000 You are amazing God 48 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:52,000 All right, you can remain standing if you'd like or if you'd like to sit, you can. We're going to be moving into our prayer and share time. So if you're watching online, there'll be a phone number for you to text. If you have anything you'd like to send us, please do that and we'll share it here. And then we're going to be muted during that time here for just for privacy. And we'll be back after that to move on to the next part of our service. So as we enter into this time, we're going to be singing "Your Grace Is Enough." 49 00:05:56,000 --> 00:06:25,000 Great is your faithfulness, O God. You wrestle with the sinner's restless heart. 50 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:54,000 You lead us by still waters and to mercy. And nothing can keep us apart. So remember your people. Remember your children. Remember your promise, O God. 51 00:06:54,000 --> 00:07:23,000 Your grace is enough. Your grace is enough. Your grace is enough for me. Great is your love and justice, God of Jacob. You use the weak to live. 52 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:52,000 Your weak to lead the strong. You lead us in the song of your salvation. And all your people sing along. So remember your people. Remember your children. 53 00:07:52,000 --> 00:08:21,000 Remember your promise, oh God. Your grace is enough. Your grace is enough. Your grace is enough for me. Your grace is enough. 54 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:28,000 Your grace is enough. Your grace is enough for me. 55 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:53,000 Let's pray. 56 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:23,000 Let's pray. 57 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:53,000 Let's pray. 58 00:15:51,000 --> 00:16:20,980 As we continue in our time, we're going to be singing this next song, "Who You Say I Am," which is one of my favorite songs because it's such a great reminder of who God says we are. 59 00:16:20,980 --> 00:16:50,960 I know for myself, you know, growing up, you have all these things that you think you are, and when I was growing up, I was the adopted kid, the tall kid, the dorky kid, even the abused kid, and all these other things, and then when I got to see what the gospel was and to know who God said I was, it's just such a refreshing and encouragement and hope that comes into your life that you can't really describe, but anyway, this is one of my favorite songs 60 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:57,960 that kind of reiterates that for my life, and so I hope it does it for you as well, and so we're going to be singing "Who You Say I Am." 61 00:17:20,940 --> 00:17:50,920 Oh, His love for me. Oh, His love for me. Oh, the sun sets free. Oh, it's free indeed. I'm a child of God. Yes, I am. 62 00:17:50,920 --> 00:18:20,900 The grace runs deep. While I was a slave to sin, Jesus died for me. Yes, He died for me. Oh, the sun sets free. Oh, it's free indeed. I'm a child of God. Yes, I am. 63 00:18:20,900 --> 00:18:50,880 In my Father's house, there's a place for me. I'm a child of God. Yes, I am. I am chosen, not forsaken. I am who you say I am. 64 00:18:50,880 --> 00:19:20,860 Who the Son sets free. Who is free in me. I'm a child of God. Yes, I am. In my Father's house, there's a place for me. 65 00:19:20,860 --> 00:19:27,860 I'm a child of God. Yes, I am. 66 00:19:50,840 --> 00:20:20,820 There's a part of us that likes to know who we are, and how when we see the gospel, that changes what we think, and I remember when I was just a brand new baby preacher, I've maybe been a preacher at this little church in Illinois for like maybe three or four months, and we were at this church conference with these preachers that I had grown up listening to, and one of them, we were there the Wednesday night before the conference and at the One Preacher's Church, and he said, 67 00:20:20,820 --> 00:20:50,800 I do this thing on Thursday mornings before the conference. I get together with some preachers, so if you're a preacher here and you're from out of town, come talk to me and come join our small group. We've got room for eight people, and I didn't really think I was a preacher. I was like, "Yeah, I preach at a church," and my dad, being a good encourager, was like, "Go up and talk to him," because I think he knew that this guy was one of my heroes, and so I went up and I said, "Hey, I'm a preacher. Can I come to your group?" and he did and invited me in, and I remember sitting in this room with all of these guys 68 00:20:50,800 --> 00:21:20,780 who were all, like, 40 years older than me, had been doing this, like, longer than I'd been alive. I was, like, 21, and I remember thinking, "This is not the place for me," right? It's like, "Who am I that I'm here with these guys that I've heard, you know, preach, and have, you know, you know, I'm nowhere near belonging to this place?" And there's something in our lives that makes us feel, I think, insignificant at times, and this question that we just sang is 69 00:21:20,780 --> 00:21:50,760 has been asked by some remarkable people in the Bible. I'll give you an example of two. One is Moses, as he stands before the burning bush with God. He goes, "Well, who am I? Like, I'm not good enough, I'm not strong enough, I'm not important enough to lead your people." David will say the same thing to God in the Psalms. He'll say, "Who am I that you would care about me and bless me?" And I think, in a lot of cases, many of us feel like we're too small, we're too insignificant. 70 00:21:50,760 --> 00:22:20,740 The question posed by this song to look at ourselves in light of the gospel. Not who I feel like I am, but who am I to God? And in John, the eighth chapter, Jesus speaking about freedom. And it's interesting because he's having this conversation that is sort of a little bit political. And the people he's talking to think he's talking about political freedom, but Jesus is talking about spiritual freedom. And he will say to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practice 71 00:22:20,740 --> 00:22:50,720 his sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever. The son remains forever. So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed." And what Jesus is saying is that we as slaves to sin, like our freedom and our eternity comes through him when he sets us free. And Jesus sets us free by dying on the cross in our place for our sins and 72 00:22:50,720 --> 00:23:20,700 rising again, defeating Satan, sin, and death, and hell. And we in Christ are truly free. Let's pray. Father, I thank you that you take all of us with all our different roles and places and identities and have brought us in to your family. And sometimes looking at the world, it feels like it overwhelms us. That there's too much trouble and we aren't strong enough and we're not brave enough and we're not good enough. 73 00:23:20,700 --> 00:23:36,700 And so rather than focusing our eyes on ourselves, may we lift our eyes to you. You're where our help comes from. You are our strength. You don't sleep, you don't leave, but that you are there for us and with us. 74 00:23:36,700 --> 00:23:50,680 I thank you for Jesus and the freedom that he has given to us at the cost of his own life. Help us as we break this bread and drink this cup to remember that we are part of a family, that we are set free by 75 00:23:50,680 --> 00:24:02,680 the good news of the gospel, that you have equipped us with your spirit. May you bless this bread and this cup. May we proclaim your son until he comes again. It's in his name I pray. Amen. 76 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:09,680 Paul writes this, "For what I received from the Lord, that which I delivered to you, the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread. 77 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:20,660 And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.'" 78 00:24:20,660 --> 00:24:33,660 In the same way, also, he took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me." 79 00:24:33,660 --> 00:24:42,660 "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." 80 00:24:42,660 --> 00:24:50,660 We're going to be diving into Joshua, the ninth chapter, this morning. 81 00:24:50,660 --> 00:24:57,660 And so we're going to kind of read this a little bit as we go. And so we'll dive into that in just a moment. 82 00:24:57,660 --> 00:25:04,660 We're going to see kind of a startling change in Joshua chapter 9 from where we have been. 83 00:25:04,660 --> 00:25:10,660 So we're going to kind of take a look at that and sort of see some surprising things happen in our text this morning. 84 00:25:10,660 --> 00:25:15,660 So we're going to go ahead and pray, and then we will dive into it. 85 00:25:15,660 --> 00:25:23,660 Father in heaven, I thank you for your grace. I thank you for your word, and I thank you for how it strengthens us, 86 00:25:23,660 --> 00:25:32,660 how it equips us, how it trains us for righteousness, how it corrects us, and how it shows us where to walk. 87 00:25:32,660 --> 00:25:39,660 And so I ask this morning that through your spirit and through your word that you would encourage us, 88 00:25:39,660 --> 00:25:45,660 that you would help a broken and hurting people see your mercy and your grace, 89 00:25:45,660 --> 00:25:53,660 that you would, if necessary, correct us and bring us back from those sins that we are chasing after or walking into, 90 00:25:53,660 --> 00:26:00,660 that you would help us this morning. Be with us as we open your word. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 91 00:26:00,660 --> 00:26:08,660 So as I said, as we come to Joshua chapter 9, we come to sort of a change, and it's an interesting time of year because we're experiencing 92 00:26:08,660 --> 00:26:14,660 sort of an external change as we see this change in the book of Joshua. We wake up, and instead of being warm, it's cold. 93 00:26:14,660 --> 00:26:21,660 Instead of being light, it's dark. The seasons are changing. The holidays are changing. We're kind of in this place right now 94 00:26:21,660 --> 00:26:28,660 where we've got kind of rapid-fire holidays. You've got Halloween, you've got Thanksgiving, you have Christmas all at once, 95 00:26:28,660 --> 00:26:33,660 and people can't seem to figure out which decorations are which, especially if you've been in Cracker Barrel. 96 00:26:33,660 --> 00:26:39,660 They're like a couple months early on the Christmas decorations. And so we are in a time of change, 97 00:26:39,660 --> 00:26:46,660 and in the book of Joshua, chapter 9, what we're going to find is this book and this chapter is a picture of change. 98 00:26:46,660 --> 00:26:51,660 So I'm going to kind of read this as we go through it. I'm going to begin with verses 1 and 2. 99 00:26:51,660 --> 00:26:57,660 "As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and the low land along the coast 100 00:26:57,660 --> 00:27:04,660 of the great sea toward Lebanon, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, 101 00:27:04,660 --> 00:27:11,660 and the Jebusites heard this. They gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and Israel." 102 00:27:11,660 --> 00:27:16,660 And so the first change we see is up until this point in the book of Joshua, 103 00:27:16,660 --> 00:27:23,660 the people of the land that Israel is in the process of invading and taking over have been afraid, 104 00:27:23,660 --> 00:27:30,660 and they have hidden. They have run in fear. The phrase that you see through these first eight chapters a lot is that 105 00:27:30,660 --> 00:27:37,660 their hearts were melting within them. But now the change you see is that these kings are beginning to realize the 106 00:27:37,660 --> 00:27:44,660 Israelites are serious, and they're beginning to realize that they are a danger to them, and so they begin to form an 107 00:27:44,660 --> 00:27:50,660 alliance together. And so instead of hiding in their cities or hoping that Israel doesn't get that far, they're 108 00:27:50,660 --> 00:27:58,660 going to begin to take proactive action against Israel. The second change that we're going to see as we read 109 00:27:58,660 --> 00:28:05,660 through this text is where, for most of this book, God has been the absolute center of everything that 110 00:28:05,660 --> 00:28:12,660 his people do, from equipping them and encouraging them in Joshua chapter 1, to directing them, to bringing 111 00:28:12,660 --> 00:28:19,660 them victory at Jericho, to disciplining them at AI, to ultimately bringing them victory again. 112 00:28:19,660 --> 00:28:26,660 God has been at the center of almost every verse we've read in Joshua this far, and then we get to Joshua 113 00:28:26,660 --> 00:28:32,660 chapter 9, and there's a lot of names and a lot of places, and a whole lot of conversation and talking. 114 00:28:32,660 --> 00:28:40,660 But Israel just kind of ignores God. In fact, one of the sticking points of this chapter is that the God 115 00:28:40,660 --> 00:28:48,660 who has been the center of their lives for the first eight chapters is kind of pushed to the back a little bit. 116 00:28:48,660 --> 00:28:57,660 And so we're going to begin to see these changes. The attitude of God's people has gone from being reassured, 117 00:28:57,660 --> 00:29:03,660 needing reassurance, to guidance, to sort of this self-reliant "we can do it by ourselves." 118 00:29:03,660 --> 00:29:09,660 And so we're going to read the story of the Gibeonites there from the tribe of Hivites that we just read. 119 00:29:09,660 --> 00:29:17,660 And I want to read their story, and then we'll talk about it. So beginning in verse 3, remember the contrast here is 120 00:29:17,660 --> 00:29:23,660 these kings who are gathering together against Israel. "But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard 121 00:29:23,660 --> 00:29:29,660 what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they, on their part, acted with cunning and went and made 122 00:29:29,660 --> 00:29:36,660 ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys and wineskins, worn out and torn and mended, 123 00:29:36,660 --> 00:29:43,660 with worn-out patched sandals on their feet, worn-out clothes, and all their provisions were dry and crumbly. 124 00:29:43,660 --> 00:29:46,660 And they went to Joshua in their camp at Gilgal and said to him, 125 00:29:46,660 --> 00:29:52,660 to the men of Israel, "We have come from a distant country. So now make a covenant with us." 126 00:29:52,660 --> 00:29:58,660 But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, "Perhaps you live among us. How can then we make a covenant with you?" 127 00:29:58,660 --> 00:30:02,660 And they said to Joshua, "We are your servants." And Joshua said to them, "Where do you come from? 128 00:30:02,660 --> 00:30:07,660 Who are you?" And they said to him, "From a very distant country your servants have come, 129 00:30:07,660 --> 00:30:13,660 because of the name of the Lord and your God. For we have heard a report of him and all that he did in Egypt, 130 00:30:13,660 --> 00:30:17,660 and all he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, 131 00:30:17,660 --> 00:30:23,660 to Sihon, the king of Heshbon, and to Og, the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashterah. 132 00:30:23,660 --> 00:30:28,660 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said, "Take provisions in your hands, 133 00:30:28,660 --> 00:30:32,660 for the children will go out and meet them and say to them, 'We are your servants. 134 00:30:32,660 --> 00:30:35,660 Come now, make a covenant with us. Here is our bread. 135 00:30:35,660 --> 00:30:41,660 It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you. 136 00:30:41,660 --> 00:30:47,660 But now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. These wineskins were new when we filled them and they burst. 137 00:30:47,660 --> 00:30:51,660 And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey. 138 00:30:51,660 --> 00:30:56,660 So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord. 139 00:30:56,660 --> 00:31:01,660 And Joshua made a peace with them and made a covenant with them and let them live. 140 00:31:01,660 --> 00:31:05,660 And the leaders of the congregation swore to them. 141 00:31:05,660 --> 00:31:09,660 At the end of three days, after they had made a covenant with them, 142 00:31:09,660 --> 00:31:13,660 they heard that they were their neighbors and that they lived among them. 143 00:31:13,660 --> 00:31:16,660 And the people of Israel set out and reached their cities on the third day. 144 00:31:16,660 --> 00:31:20,660 Now the cities were Gibeon, Chepera, Beroth, and Kirith-Jerom. 145 00:31:20,660 --> 00:31:24,660 But the people of Israel did not attack them because the leaders of the congregation 146 00:31:24,660 --> 00:31:27,660 had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. 147 00:31:27,660 --> 00:31:31,660 Then all the congregation murmured against the leaders. 148 00:31:31,660 --> 00:31:35,660 But the leaders said to the congregation, "We have sworn to the Lord, the God of Israel. 149 00:31:35,660 --> 00:31:39,660 Now we may not touch them. This we will do to them. 150 00:31:39,660 --> 00:31:43,660 Let them live, lest wrath be upon us because of the oath we swore to them." 151 00:31:43,660 --> 00:31:45,660 And the leaders said to them, "Let them live." 152 00:31:45,660 --> 00:31:53,660 So they became cutters of wood, drawers of water for all the congregation, just as the leaders had said of them." 153 00:31:53,660 --> 00:32:01,660 And so you have these people who, instead of joining with the kings as an ally to go and fight the Israelites, 154 00:32:01,660 --> 00:32:07,660 they say, "We have a better plan." And so they get a bunch of disguises. 155 00:32:07,660 --> 00:32:13,660 They get their oldest clothes, their most worn-out sandals, they get the weak-old bread, 156 00:32:13,660 --> 00:32:16,660 and they get saddlebags for their animals that are all patched and torn. 157 00:32:16,660 --> 00:32:25,660 And so when they show up at the camp of the Israelites, it looks like they have been journeying for weeks and weeks and weeks. 158 00:32:25,660 --> 00:32:30,660 And they say to Joshua and the people, they say, "We want to make a treaty with you." 159 00:32:30,660 --> 00:32:34,660 And the people of Israel say, "Well, that would be good not to have enemies that are far away, 160 00:32:34,660 --> 00:32:38,660 but how can we be sure that you aren't our neighbors and you're trying to trick us?" 161 00:32:38,660 --> 00:32:42,660 And so they trot out all of their evidence. Look, our bread is dry and crumbly. 162 00:32:42,660 --> 00:32:51,660 Our sandals are worn out. Our robes are all worn out. Our wineskins have burst open because it's been so long. 163 00:32:51,660 --> 00:32:57,660 And in this deception, these neighbors, right next to where God's people were, 164 00:32:57,660 --> 00:33:02,660 deceived the people into making a treaty and a covenant with them. 165 00:33:02,660 --> 00:33:09,660 And what we see in this chapter, and in this story, and in the response of the people of God, 166 00:33:09,660 --> 00:33:15,660 is this deep and abiding brokenness in the lives of the people of God 167 00:33:15,660 --> 00:33:18,660 and in the lives of the people of Gibeon. 168 00:33:18,660 --> 00:33:24,660 And this is a brokenness that not just is for this story or for this moment, 169 00:33:24,660 --> 00:33:29,660 but this is one that is wide, and it's deep, and it stretches to the past, 170 00:33:29,660 --> 00:33:35,660 and it reaches to the future for all of these groups that are involved here. 171 00:33:35,660 --> 00:33:40,660 And what we find is that when sin enters our life, everything breaks. 172 00:33:40,660 --> 00:33:42,660 You see it in Genesis chapter 3. 173 00:33:42,660 --> 00:33:50,660 You go from this beautiful garden to now having strife and difficulty between men and women, 174 00:33:50,660 --> 00:33:55,660 between man and the ground that he seeks to work. Labor becomes toil. 175 00:33:55,660 --> 00:34:00,660 You find relationship between man and God is broken. 176 00:34:00,660 --> 00:34:05,660 And what you find is that when sin enters our world, it breaks things. 177 00:34:05,660 --> 00:34:08,660 And every single one of us has experienced this, right? 178 00:34:08,660 --> 00:34:11,660 This isn't just something we hear about in the Word of God. 179 00:34:11,660 --> 00:34:17,660 This is something that every single one of us has deep and abiding knowledge of, is that sin breaks things. 180 00:34:17,660 --> 00:34:20,660 We've had relationships destroyed by sin. 181 00:34:20,660 --> 00:34:26,660 Maybe we've seen it in our work, and in our families, and in our friends, and in the world we live in. 182 00:34:26,660 --> 00:34:32,660 When sin comes in, it does nothing but break and destroy. 183 00:34:32,660 --> 00:34:37,660 And here, in Joshua chapter 9, we see this sin. 184 00:34:37,660 --> 00:34:40,660 And we see it sort of illustrated in two different ways. 185 00:34:40,660 --> 00:34:43,660 You see, there's sort of two categories of sin that happen. 186 00:34:43,660 --> 00:34:45,660 One is an active sin, right? 187 00:34:45,660 --> 00:34:50,660 This is the "don't do that thing," and then we go and do that thing. 188 00:34:50,660 --> 00:34:54,660 And on behalf of the Gibeonites, they are actively scheming. 189 00:34:54,660 --> 00:34:57,660 They're seeking to deceive. 190 00:34:57,660 --> 00:35:01,660 So they're actively pursuing the wrong course of action. 191 00:35:01,660 --> 00:35:06,660 But then there's another type of sin, one that may be less talked about, 192 00:35:06,660 --> 00:35:10,660 but in the lives of Christians is no more troubling. 193 00:35:10,660 --> 00:35:16,660 And that is the sin that comes from being passive. 194 00:35:16,660 --> 00:35:19,660 So there's an active sin that says, "Don't do this," and we do it anyway. 195 00:35:19,660 --> 00:35:25,660 But then there's a sin that says, "You should be doing this, but we don't do that." 196 00:35:25,660 --> 00:35:30,660 And we say, "Well, I haven't done anything wrong," but the answer is, "You haven't done anything right either." 197 00:35:30,660 --> 00:35:34,660 And we see this illustrated in the lives of Israel, right? 198 00:35:34,660 --> 00:35:37,660 They went and they did not ask God, right? 199 00:35:37,660 --> 00:35:48,660 They didn't do what they were supposed to do, and as a result, brokenness happens in the lives of the people. 200 00:35:48,660 --> 00:35:54,660 And so coming into the brokenness of sin, one of the first things we see about this sin 201 00:35:54,660 --> 00:35:59,660 is that the brokenness that we see in Joshua the ninth chapter is generational. 202 00:35:59,660 --> 00:36:06,660 And what's remarkable about what is happening here is this story in Joshua chapter 9 goes all the way back 203 00:36:06,660 --> 00:36:13,660 to Genesis chapter 9. This story doesn't start with Israel crossing the Jordan 204 00:36:13,660 --> 00:36:16,660 and these people trying to figure out a way to save themselves. 205 00:36:16,660 --> 00:36:25,660 This story starts as Noah exits the ark with his three sons Ham, Shem, and Japheth. 206 00:36:25,660 --> 00:36:28,660 And Noah plants a vineyard, and maybe you're familiar with the story, 207 00:36:28,660 --> 00:36:32,660 plants the vineyard and does what people for centuries have been doing with vineyards, 208 00:36:32,660 --> 00:36:35,660 and he makes some wine, and he drinks some wine, 209 00:36:35,660 --> 00:36:38,660 and he's in his tent, and he's not wearing any pants, 210 00:36:38,660 --> 00:36:42,660 and his son looks at him and begins to laugh and go get his brothers, 211 00:36:42,660 --> 00:36:45,660 and they're seeking to sort of poke fun at their dad, 212 00:36:45,660 --> 00:36:49,660 and they, respecting their dad, will pick up a cloak and sort of walk backwards in the tent 213 00:36:49,660 --> 00:36:52,660 and cover up Noah. 214 00:36:52,660 --> 00:36:57,660 And when all this sort of shakes out, Noah will say of his sons, 215 00:36:57,660 --> 00:37:02,660 "Cursed be Canaan, a servant shall he be to his brothers. 216 00:37:02,660 --> 00:37:05,660 Blessed be the Lord God of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant. 217 00:37:05,660 --> 00:37:09,660 May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, 218 00:37:09,660 --> 00:37:12,660 and let Canaan be his servant." 219 00:37:12,660 --> 00:37:15,660 So Noah sort of pronounces a blessing and a curse. 220 00:37:15,660 --> 00:37:23,660 A blessing upon Shem and Japheth, and a curse upon him and his son Canaan. 221 00:37:23,660 --> 00:37:28,660 And he says, "The descendants of Canaan will serve the descendants of Shem and Japheth." 222 00:37:28,660 --> 00:37:33,660 You're seeing that fulfilled here in Joshua, the ninth chapter. 223 00:37:33,660 --> 00:37:38,660 The Hivites, the men of Gibeon are Hivites, descendants of Ham, descendants of Canaan. 224 00:37:38,660 --> 00:37:41,660 The Israelites are descendants of Shem. 225 00:37:41,660 --> 00:37:45,660 See that in Genesis, the eleventh chapter. This is not just a new thing. 226 00:37:45,660 --> 00:37:49,660 This is a sort of generational problem. 227 00:37:49,660 --> 00:37:57,660 But this is also not the first time that God's promised people have met the Hivites, the people of Gibeon. 228 00:37:57,660 --> 00:38:02,660 In Genesis, the thirty-fourth chapter, there is this very heartbreaking story. 229 00:38:02,660 --> 00:38:13,660 And it sort of resolves in a way where two sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, make a covenant with the city of the Hivites. 230 00:38:13,660 --> 00:38:16,660 The men of Gibeon are Gibeon and Hivites. 231 00:38:16,660 --> 00:38:23,660 And then Simeon and Levi will break that covenant, go into the city, and murder all the men of the Hivites in that city. 232 00:38:23,660 --> 00:38:31,660 Alright, Genesis chapter thirty-four. The sons of Israel break a covenant with the Hivites. 233 00:38:31,660 --> 00:38:40,660 They sort of instituted on false terms, and here in Joshua chapter nine, the Hivites are now doing the same thing to God's people. 234 00:38:40,660 --> 00:38:47,660 I want you to see that this generational problem of sin, it's not just for them there or them there. 235 00:38:47,660 --> 00:38:51,660 It stretches to their children and back to their parents. 236 00:38:51,660 --> 00:38:56,660 And one of the things that happens when you and I think about sin is we think it's just a "me" problem, right? 237 00:38:56,660 --> 00:39:02,660 It's just my problem. It's nobody else's business, nobody else's problem. 238 00:39:02,660 --> 00:39:09,660 But we see that in Genesis nine, the sin becomes the problem of the descendants. 239 00:39:09,660 --> 00:39:13,660 And we see in Genesis thirty-four that sin becomes the problem of the descendants. 240 00:39:13,660 --> 00:39:21,660 That the consequences, the consequences of our sin may reach farther and farther into the future than we can see. 241 00:39:21,660 --> 00:39:30,660 Sin is a serious thing. And as Christians, we have to stop toying with it and playing with it and getting as close to it as we possibly can. 242 00:39:30,660 --> 00:39:38,660 Sin is a serious thing, right? This brokenness also runs deep in the Hivites. 243 00:39:38,660 --> 00:39:43,660 I don't know if you've ever played a board game or if you play board games, but if you've ever played with a rules lawyer, 244 00:39:43,660 --> 00:39:47,660 we've all met that guy or that girl who's a rules lawyer and may not be in a game, 245 00:39:47,660 --> 00:39:54,660 but they're always looking for a way to take the rules and kind of misrepresent and twist them to get what they want. 246 00:39:54,660 --> 00:39:59,660 And it's especially annoying when you're playing a game and you're going along and you go, "This is the rule," and they do something. 247 00:39:59,660 --> 00:40:07,660 "You can't do that," and they go, "Well, if you look at this rule and you combine it with this rule and you take the implication of this rule, then I can do that." 248 00:40:07,660 --> 00:40:18,660 What you find with the Hivites, the men of Gibeon, is that they don't just know that Israel's coming to get them, they know the Word of God. 249 00:40:18,660 --> 00:40:25,660 They know what God has said to Moses. This deception is not just a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. 250 00:40:25,660 --> 00:40:36,660 They have studied what God has said, and they have come up with a plan to thwart it. And the reason that we know that is in Deuteronomy, the 20th 251 00:40:36,660 --> 00:40:43,660 chapter, God is going to give two sets of rules to his people. He's going to say, "If you encounter enemies who are from 252 00:40:43,660 --> 00:40:51,660 far away, you can make a treaty with them, and they can be your servants." If you encounter enemies that are close to you, and the 253 00:40:51,660 --> 00:40:58,660 Hivites, they are named specifically by name, then you've got to wipe them out. So there's two sets of rules. If you're 254 00:40:58,660 --> 00:41:05,660 far away, this is what you do. If they're close, this is what you do. And somehow, we don't know how or why, the 255 00:41:05,660 --> 00:41:14,660 Hivites, the men of Gibeon, have found out about that. And they said, "Hey, we found a loophole." Back here, Moses told the 256 00:41:14,660 --> 00:41:19,660 people that if they're from far away, they can do this. If they're close, they do this. And he said, "Hey, it's a better 257 00:41:19,660 --> 00:41:25,660 situation for us if we're far away." So this is not just a spur of the moment, accidentally kind of falling into sin. 258 00:41:25,660 --> 00:41:32,660 This is a premeditated strategy. They know what God has said. In fact, in the very end, they're going to say, "We know what 259 00:41:32,660 --> 00:41:41,660 God has done." Right? They know the Word of God and seek to twist it for their own gain. And so we see this 260 00:41:41,660 --> 00:41:50,660 brokenness is generational. We see that this brokenness runs deep. And what you find is that this will have 261 00:41:50,660 --> 00:41:58,660 significant future effects. King Saul, during his reign, will come and he will kill some of the Gibeonites. 262 00:41:58,660 --> 00:42:03,660 He will seek to wipe them out. And this is what happens in 2 Samuel 21. 263 00:42:03,660 --> 00:42:10,660 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years. That means crops are bad for three years. 264 00:42:10,660 --> 00:42:16,660 And David sought the face of the Lord, and the Lord said, "There is blood guilt on Saul and on his house 265 00:42:16,660 --> 00:42:25,660 because he put the Gibeonites to death." Right? So this, Joshua chapter 9, it's not just an isolated 266 00:42:25,660 --> 00:42:32,660 little part of Scripture. Reaches all the way back to Genesis 9. Reaches ahead, far into the future with David 267 00:42:32,660 --> 00:42:38,660 and Saul. And we'll see at the end that it reaches all the way, all the way forward to Nehemiah. 268 00:42:38,660 --> 00:42:45,660 And one of the things we see when it comes to the brokenness of sin is that sin is not just an "us" problem. 269 00:42:45,660 --> 00:42:52,660 It's not just a "you" problem or a "me" problem, right? But our sin can ripple out. If you've ever thrown 270 00:42:52,660 --> 00:42:59,660 a rock into a lake, and watch those ripples spread out. The ripples of our sin spread out, and they 271 00:42:59,660 --> 00:43:07,660 impact everyone around us, and not just right now. But this can reach to future generations. 272 00:43:07,660 --> 00:43:15,660 So, one of the things that I think we see as we look at Israel and Gibeon is, in many ways, what God does with 273 00:43:15,660 --> 00:43:21,660 Scripture is he holds it up like a mirror in front of us. Not just so we see the Israelites here and the Gibeonites 274 00:43:21,660 --> 00:43:26,660 there, and they did this wrong, and they did this wrong. But God holds this up to us, and he says, not just 275 00:43:26,660 --> 00:43:33,660 they did this wrong, or they over here did this wrong, but you did this wrong, and you did this wrong. And God 276 00:43:33,660 --> 00:43:42,660 holds Joshua chapter 9 up to us like a mirror. You see, like Israel, you and I, in self-reliance, so often 277 00:43:42,660 --> 00:43:49,660 just charge ahead without even considering God. Not even asking God what we should be doing. We just simply 278 00:43:49,660 --> 00:43:54,660 look at what's in front of us and say, "All right, let's go." And worse, some of us have 279 00:43:54,660 --> 00:43:58,660 this attitude that we take care of the physical things, God takes care of the 280 00:43:58,660 --> 00:44:02,660 spiritual things, so I'm in charge of all of this stuff, God is in charge of this 281 00:44:02,660 --> 00:44:07,660 stuff, rather than seeing that God is in charge of everything. And so like the 282 00:44:07,660 --> 00:44:14,660 Israelites, this holds up to us a mirror of our own self-reliance, our own self-dependence. 283 00:44:14,660 --> 00:44:20,660 But like the Gibeonites, we're afraid and broken. What leads them to this sin of 284 00:44:20,660 --> 00:44:26,660 deception, this false covenant, is they're afraid, and they're trying to fix it. And 285 00:44:26,660 --> 00:44:33,660 it holds up a mirror to us saying, "We're afraid, and we're broken, and just like every 286 00:44:33,660 --> 00:44:37,660 sinner before us, we're trying to fix it." Isn't that what happens with Adam and Eve as 287 00:44:37,660 --> 00:44:41,660 soon as they sin, they try to fix it? "Oh, we don't have any clothes, let's make some. Let's 288 00:44:41,660 --> 00:44:49,660 try to fix it by excusing, or blaming, or hiding." And what you find, like Gibeon and 289 00:44:49,660 --> 00:44:55,660 like Adam and Eve, we all simply see the brokenness or trying to fix it. And in 290 00:44:55,660 --> 00:44:58,660 seeing our brokenness, what we're doing is we're confronting a history of 291 00:44:58,660 --> 00:45:03,660 brokenness, right, that doesn't just go back to Noah, like the Gibeonites, but it 292 00:45:03,660 --> 00:45:10,660 goes all the way back for us to Adam and Eve. So I want you to see now what happens. 293 00:45:10,660 --> 00:45:19,660 To the sinful liars and the manipulators of Gibeon. It is a remarkable, remarkable 294 00:45:19,660 --> 00:45:27,660 thing. And so in Joshua, the ninth chapter, I want to read this this last part, and I 295 00:45:27,660 --> 00:45:32,660 want you to see what happens to the liars and manipulators of Gibeon. So this is 296 00:45:32,660 --> 00:45:36,660 starting in verse 22. "Joshua summoned them and said to them, 'Why did you deceive 297 00:45:36,660 --> 00:45:41,660 us?' Saying, 'We are very far from you when you dwell among us. Now therefore you 298 00:45:41,660 --> 00:45:46,660 are cursed, and some of you shall never be anything but servants, cutters of wood, and 299 00:45:46,660 --> 00:45:52,660 drawers of water for the house of my God.' They answered Joshua, 'Because it was told to your 300 00:45:52,660 --> 00:45:57,660 servants for a certainty, the Lord your God had commanded Moses to give you all the 301 00:45:57,660 --> 00:46:01,660 land and destroy the inhabitants from this land before you. So we feared greatly for 302 00:46:01,660 --> 00:46:05,660 our lives because of you, and we did this thing.'" They're acknowledging that they 303 00:46:05,660 --> 00:46:08,660 knew what was happening five times. God says they're going to kill all the 304 00:46:08,660 --> 00:46:13,660 Hivites. The Gibeonites are part of that family. They know what God has said. "And 305 00:46:13,660 --> 00:46:17,660 now behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do 306 00:46:17,660 --> 00:46:23,660 to us, do it." So he did this to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the 307 00:46:23,660 --> 00:46:28,660 people of Israel, and he did not kill them. But Joshua made them that day 308 00:46:28,660 --> 00:46:34,660 cutters of wood, drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the 309 00:46:34,660 --> 00:46:40,660 Lord to this day in the place that he would choose. You want to see what God 310 00:46:40,660 --> 00:46:45,660 does? He turns us upside down. Here are these liars, rebellious, deceitful 311 00:46:45,660 --> 00:46:49,660 people. They come in, make a false covenant. They said, "What are you going to do to 312 00:46:49,660 --> 00:46:53,660 us?" And Joshua says, "You're going to be servants." But you're not going to be 313 00:46:53,660 --> 00:46:58,660 servants anywhere. You're going to be servants in the house of God. You see the 314 00:46:58,660 --> 00:47:03,660 mercy of God? He takes the liars and the deceitful people, and instead of going, "Hey, 315 00:47:03,660 --> 00:47:09,660 go to work out there," he puts them as close to himself, and says, "Now you 316 00:47:09,660 --> 00:47:14,660 work for the tabernacle. Now you will work for the temple." And he takes these 317 00:47:14,660 --> 00:47:21,660 deceitful, lying, scheming outsiders, and he brings them into the presence of God. And 318 00:47:21,660 --> 00:47:25,660 said, "Now you are going to work here." But what's remarkable, this is not the first time God 319 00:47:25,660 --> 00:47:32,660 has done this. Remember in Genesis 34 when Levi goes and with his brother Simeon murders 320 00:47:32,660 --> 00:47:37,660 all the men in a city. When Jacob blesses his sons, he will say to Levi, "You're 321 00:47:37,660 --> 00:47:41,660 not going to have any land in the promised land." Do you know what God does with Levi 322 00:47:41,660 --> 00:47:47,660 who broke the covenant with the Hivites? Brings him in, becomes the priests that serve 323 00:47:47,660 --> 00:47:52,660 in the temple of God. So the guy who breaks the covenant with the Hivites or 324 00:47:52,660 --> 00:47:56,660 makes a false covenant with the Hivites is brought in as the priests of God, close 325 00:47:56,660 --> 00:48:01,660 to God. And the people who made a false covenant with the people of God, the 326 00:48:01,660 --> 00:48:06,660 Hivites, who did the same thing, are brought in to be close to the people of God. 327 00:48:06,660 --> 00:48:12,660 Do you see God's mercy on the broken, sinful, rebellious schemers? He takes them from 328 00:48:12,660 --> 00:48:17,660 outside and says, "As a punishment, you're going to be as close to me as possible." Right? 329 00:48:17,660 --> 00:48:23,660 That's not a punishment, we find out. It turns into a blessing. That God takes the 330 00:48:23,660 --> 00:48:30,660 outsider and he brings him close. And what's remarkable about these people is when you go 331 00:48:30,660 --> 00:48:37,660 into the future. And you go to the time of Nehemiah. As Nehemiah begins to rebuild the 332 00:48:37,660 --> 00:48:44,660 walls of the city of Jerusalem, comes back from captivity to help rebuild the walls that 333 00:48:44,660 --> 00:48:50,660 have been broken down for 125 years, in Nehemiah chapter 3, there's a list of 334 00:48:50,660 --> 00:48:55,660 faithful people of God who are building the walls. Listen to this. Jehoiada, the son of 335 00:48:55,660 --> 00:49:02,660 Bethsaia, Meshulam, the son of Bethsaida, repaired the gates of Yeshanah. They laid its 336 00:49:02,660 --> 00:49:09,660 beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars, and next to them repaired Melitiah the 337 00:49:09,660 --> 00:49:15,660 Gibeonite, Jadon the Marathite, the men of Gibeon, and Mizpah the seat of the governor 338 00:49:15,660 --> 00:49:21,660 of the province beyond the river. That this begins a faithfulness for the people of Gibeon 339 00:49:21,660 --> 00:49:28,660 that will stretch throughout and help last the kings of Israel. You see, we see 340 00:49:28,660 --> 00:49:33,660 ourselves, I think, in the people of Gibeon, right? We're afraid and we know it. And we're 341 00:49:33,660 --> 00:49:38,660 going to try to fix it. And trying to fix that, we find out that the problem is too 342 00:49:38,660 --> 00:49:43,660 big, and it goes back not just a few hundred years, but it goes back to the 343 00:49:43,660 --> 00:49:50,660 very beginning. Hurts and brokenness from generation to generation before us. And so 344 00:49:50,660 --> 00:49:57,660 what does God do to us, the broken and rebellious sinners? He doesn't curse us 345 00:49:57,660 --> 00:50:03,660 outside the camp. What does He do? He brings us close to Him. That we don't have to run 346 00:50:03,660 --> 00:50:09,660 and we don't have to hide. In Hebrews, the 12th chapter, there is a picture of two 347 00:50:09,660 --> 00:50:13,660 covenants. One, the covenant of Moses. And he says this of that covenant, "For you have 348 00:50:13,660 --> 00:50:19,660 not come to what may not be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a 349 00:50:19,660 --> 00:50:24,660 tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that 350 00:50:24,660 --> 00:50:28,660 no further messages be spoken to them, calling back to Mount Sinai as God's 351 00:50:28,660 --> 00:50:33,660 people gathered to hear the covenant. For they could not endure the order that was 352 00:50:33,660 --> 00:50:37,660 given if even a beast touches the mountain that shall be stoned. Indeed, so 353 00:50:37,660 --> 00:50:43,660 terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I tremble with fear." And here is a picture 354 00:50:43,660 --> 00:50:52,660 of confronting the holiness of God on one hand. And then it says, "Of us, but you have 355 00:50:52,660 --> 00:50:57,660 come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, to innumerable 356 00:50:57,660 --> 00:51:01,660 angels in festal gathering, to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled 357 00:51:01,660 --> 00:51:06,660 in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirit of the righteous made 358 00:51:06,660 --> 00:51:12,660 perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks 359 00:51:12,660 --> 00:51:16,660 a better word than the blood of Abel." The blood of Abel cries out for 360 00:51:16,660 --> 00:51:21,660 judgment. The blood of Jesus cries out for forgiveness. You see, just as 361 00:51:21,660 --> 00:51:26,660 Joshua takes the broken people and brings them inside the camp of God and 362 00:51:26,660 --> 00:51:31,660 puts them in the place of worship of God, a place of worship where David will pray, where 363 00:51:31,660 --> 00:51:36,660 Solomon will pray, when Solomon has that dream where God asks him what he should 364 00:51:36,660 --> 00:51:41,660 do and he asks for wisdom, that happens in Gibeon. Just as Joshua takes these people and 365 00:51:41,660 --> 00:51:49,660 brings them in, here's a picture of how Jesus, our Joshua, brings us in to a 366 00:51:49,660 --> 00:51:56,660 heavenly city. Not as outsiders, not as servants, but as sons and daughters. As 367 00:51:56,660 --> 00:52:01,660 Jesus will say to his disciples in the Gospel of Luke, "Fear not, little children, it is 368 00:52:01,660 --> 00:52:06,660 the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." And so as we come to Joshua 369 00:52:06,660 --> 00:52:10,660 chapter 9, we're called to put away our deceit because God already 370 00:52:10,660 --> 00:52:16,660 knows. To put away our schemes because they will never work. To set aside our 371 00:52:16,660 --> 00:52:23,660 fears and throw ourselves on the mercy of God. But we're also called to depend and 372 00:52:23,660 --> 00:52:28,660 rely on God in all of the things that we face in life. Let's pray. Father in 373 00:52:28,660 --> 00:52:36,660 heaven, give us dependence upon you. Give us strength. We thank you that you have taken 374 00:52:36,660 --> 00:52:42,660 broken and rebellious and outside sinners, and you have brought us into your family. Thank 375 00:52:42,660 --> 00:52:46,660 you for Jesus and grace. It's in your son's name we pray. Amen. 376 00:52:46,660 --> 00:52:51,660 We're going to stand and sing. This is Amazing Grace. 377 00:53:01,660 --> 00:53:18,660 Who breaks the power of sin and darkness, whose love is mighty and so much stronger, the King of glory, the King above all kings. 378 00:53:18,660 --> 00:53:30,660 Who shakes the holy thunder, who leaves us breathless in awe and wonder, the King of glory. 379 00:53:30,660 --> 00:53:59,660 The King above all kings. This is amazing grace. This is unfailing love. That You would take my place. That You would bear my cross. You would lay down Your life. That I would be saved. 380 00:53:59,660 --> 00:54:28,660 Lord, be set free. Jesus, I sing for all that You've done for me. Who brings our chaos back into order? Who makes the orphan a son and daughter? The King of glory. The King above all kings. 381 00:54:28,660 --> 00:54:57,660 Who rules the nations with truth and justice? Shines like the sun in all of its brilliance. The King of glory. The King above all kings. This is amazing grace. This is unfailing love. 382 00:54:57,660 --> 00:55:26,660 That you would take my place. That you would bear my cross. You would lay down your life. That I would be set free. Jesus, I sing for all that you've done for me. This is amazing grace. 383 00:55:26,660 --> 00:55:55,660 This is unfailing love. That you would take my place. That you would bear my cross. You would lay down your life. That I would be set free. Jesus, I sing for all that you've done for me. 384 00:55:55,660 --> 00:56:02,660 I sing for all that you've done for me. 385 00:56:02,660 --> 00:56:12,660 We're thankful that you are joining us this morning. We're thankful for those of you who are watching online. We are going to be back Wednesday night. 386 00:56:12,660 --> 00:56:24,660 We just finished up a series talking about the gospel being above everything. And as we move into the month, where we sort of end up celebrating those things that we are thankful 387 00:56:24,660 --> 00:56:31,660 for, followed by immediately the next day celebrating our discontent by going out and buying a whole bunch of things really, really cheap, 388 00:56:31,660 --> 00:56:39,660 we want to spend a little bit of time thinking about thankfulness. And so one of the interesting things about thankfulness in the Bible, 389 00:56:39,660 --> 00:56:45,660 it's not just a polite thing. It's not just a please and a thank you. It's not a one-day kind of thing. 390 00:56:45,660 --> 00:56:53,660 In fact, Paul will say one of the reasons that people rejected God is because even though they knew Him, they didn't honor Him as God or give thanks. 391 00:56:53,660 --> 00:56:58,660 And so for the next three weeks, we're going to kind of unpack a theology of thankfulness. 392 00:56:58,660 --> 00:57:06,660 It runs throughout Scripture in a very deep manner, and at least for me, sometimes I think my understanding is probably a little shallow, 393 00:57:06,660 --> 00:57:12,660 and so we want to dig down and dive down deep into what that looks like in the Christian life. 394 00:57:12,660 --> 00:57:17,660 And so that's where we're going for the month of November on Wednesday nights. 395 00:57:17,660 --> 00:57:25,660 Also, last Sunday in November will be the fourth Sunday before Christmas, and so that's when we begin our Advent series. 396 00:57:25,660 --> 00:57:33,660 The word Advent simply means arrival. Instead of just sort of jumping into Christmas, like cannonballing into a cold lake, 397 00:57:33,660 --> 00:57:42,660 we want to sort of prepare for Christmas, prepare for the hope and the joy and the peace and the life that comes through Jesus. 398 00:57:42,660 --> 00:57:48,660 And so we're going to start that at the end of November. 399 00:57:48,660 --> 00:57:52,660 So we're going to go ahead and have a word of prayer, and then we'll sing the doxology and be dismissed. 400 00:57:52,660 --> 00:57:59,660 Father in heaven, thank you for Jesus and for grace. Thank you for hope. Thank you for your church and your people. 401 00:57:59,660 --> 00:58:05,660 I'm so thankful for the encouragement that they are to us. Just be with us as we move through this week, 402 00:58:05,660 --> 00:58:12,660 that you would help us to see that you take the broken and you transform us, that we would depend and rely upon you. 403 00:58:12,660 --> 00:58:15,660 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 404 00:58:15,660 --> 00:58:34,660 Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below. 405 00:58:34,660 --> 00:58:45,660 Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 406 00:59:04,660 --> 00:59:06,660 Amen. 407 00:59:34,660 --> 00:59:36,660 Amen. 408 01:00:04,660 --> 01:00:06,660 Amen.