1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,500 I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. 2 00:00:06,500 --> 00:00:12,500 I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. 3 00:00:12,500 --> 00:00:17,500 I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. 4 00:06:57,500 --> 00:07:03,000 I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. 5 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:12,000 I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. 6 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:18,000 I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. 7 00:08:44,500 --> 00:08:45,500 I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. 8 00:08:45,500 --> 00:08:46,500 I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. 9 00:08:46,500 --> 00:08:48,500 I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. 10 00:08:48,500 --> 00:08:49,500 I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. 11 00:08:57,500 --> 00:08:58,500 I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. 12 00:08:58,500 --> 00:08:59,500 I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. 13 00:08:59,500 --> 00:09:02,500 I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. 14 00:09:02,500 --> 00:09:03,500 I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. 15 00:09:03,500 --> 00:09:04,500 I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. 16 00:09:19,500 --> 00:09:20,500 I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. 17 00:09:20,500 --> 00:09:21,500 I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. 18 00:09:21,500 --> 00:09:22,500 I want you to see what God is doing in this passage. 19 00:09:22,500 --> 00:09:31,500 Hear my cry, O God. Listen to my prayer. From the end of the earth, I call to you when my heart is faint. 20 00:09:31,500 --> 00:09:41,500 Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. 21 00:09:41,500 --> 00:09:49,500 This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray. God, we thank you so much for being able to gather here this morning 22 00:09:49,500 --> 00:09:54,500 and to worship you together and to worship with those that are watching online. 23 00:09:54,500 --> 00:10:02,500 And we thank you so much for what your word tells us, how you are a tower for us and a refuge in times of desperation 24 00:10:02,500 --> 00:10:09,500 and when we feel overwhelmed, and how you are an unmoving rock that is greater than anything we could ever be. 25 00:10:09,500 --> 00:10:16,500 And we just ask that you be with our service today and allow it to glorify you. In Jesus' name. Amen. 26 00:10:16,500 --> 00:10:20,500 All right, we're going to start this morning with Raise a Hallelujah. 27 00:10:20,500 --> 00:10:31,500 I raise a hallelujah 28 00:10:31,500 --> 00:10:37,500 In the presence of my enemies 29 00:10:37,500 --> 00:10:43,500 I raise a hallelujah 30 00:10:45,500 --> 00:10:48,500 Louder than the unbelief 31 00:10:48,500 --> 00:10:54,500 I raise a hallelujah 32 00:10:54,500 --> 00:10:59,500 My weapon is a melody 33 00:10:59,500 --> 00:11:05,500 I raise a hallelujah 34 00:11:05,500 --> 00:11:11,500 Heaven comes to fight for me 35 00:11:14,500 --> 00:11:16,500 I'm gonna sing 36 00:11:16,500 --> 00:11:19,500 In the middle of the storm 37 00:11:19,500 --> 00:11:22,500 Louder and louder 38 00:11:22,500 --> 00:11:25,500 You're gonna hear my praises roar 39 00:11:25,500 --> 00:11:28,500 Up from the ashes 40 00:11:28,500 --> 00:11:31,500 Hope will arise 41 00:11:31,500 --> 00:11:33,500 Death is defeated 42 00:11:33,500 --> 00:11:37,500 The King is alive 43 00:11:37,500 --> 00:11:43,500 I raise a hallelujah 44 00:11:44,500 --> 00:11:48,500 With everything inside of me 45 00:11:48,500 --> 00:11:54,500 I raise a hallelujah 46 00:11:54,500 --> 00:12:00,500 I will watch the darkness flee 47 00:12:00,500 --> 00:12:04,500 I raise a hallelujah 48 00:12:04,500 --> 00:12:08,500 In the middle of the mystery 49 00:12:08,500 --> 00:12:13,500 In the middle of the mystery 50 00:12:13,500 --> 00:12:19,500 I raise a hallelujah 51 00:12:19,500 --> 00:12:24,500 Fear you lost your hold on me 52 00:12:24,500 --> 00:12:29,500 And I'm gonna sing 53 00:12:29,500 --> 00:12:32,500 In the middle of the storm 54 00:12:32,500 --> 00:12:35,500 Louder and louder 55 00:12:35,500 --> 00:12:38,500 You're gonna hear my praises roar 56 00:12:38,500 --> 00:12:41,500 Up from the ashes 57 00:12:41,500 --> 00:12:44,500 Hope will arise 58 00:12:44,500 --> 00:12:46,500 Death is defeated 59 00:12:46,500 --> 00:12:50,500 The King is alive 60 00:12:50,500 --> 00:12:55,500 Sing a little louder 61 00:12:55,500 --> 00:12:59,500 In the presence of my enemies 62 00:12:59,500 --> 00:13:01,500 Sing a little louder 63 00:13:02,500 --> 00:13:05,500 Louder than the unbelief 64 00:13:05,500 --> 00:13:07,500 Sing a little louder 65 00:13:07,500 --> 00:13:11,500 My weapon is a melody 66 00:13:11,500 --> 00:13:13,500 Sing a little louder 67 00:13:13,500 --> 00:13:17,500 Heaven comes to fight for me 68 00:13:17,500 --> 00:13:19,500 I'm gonna sing 69 00:13:19,500 --> 00:13:22,500 In the middle of the storm 70 00:13:22,500 --> 00:13:25,500 Louder and louder 71 00:13:25,500 --> 00:13:28,500 You're gonna hear my praises roar 72 00:13:29,500 --> 00:13:31,500 Up from the ashes 73 00:13:31,500 --> 00:13:34,500 Hope will arise 74 00:13:34,500 --> 00:13:37,500 Death is defeated 75 00:13:37,500 --> 00:13:40,500 The King is alive 76 00:13:40,500 --> 00:13:42,500 I'm gonna sing 77 00:13:42,500 --> 00:13:45,500 In the middle of the storm 78 00:13:45,500 --> 00:13:48,500 Louder and louder 79 00:13:48,500 --> 00:13:51,500 You're gonna hear my praises roar 80 00:13:51,500 --> 00:13:54,500 Up from the ashes 81 00:13:54,500 --> 00:13:57,500 Hope will arise 82 00:13:58,500 --> 00:14:00,500 Death is defeated 83 00:14:00,500 --> 00:14:03,500 The King is alive 84 00:14:03,500 --> 00:14:27,500 Alright, we're gonna be moving into our prayer and share time next. So if you're watching online, there will 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 that here. And then we're going to be muted here during that time for privacy reasons. And after that, we'll be back and we'll be back to you. 85 00:14:27,500 --> 00:14:33,500 And then after that, we'll be back and we'll move into our time of communion. And so we're going to be singing together Waymaker. 86 00:14:34,500 --> 00:14:49,500 You are here, moving in our midst. I worship You. I worship You. I worship You. 87 00:14:49,500 --> 00:15:16,500 You are here, moving in our midst. I worship You. I worship You. You are here, working in this place. I worship You. I worship You. 88 00:15:16,500 --> 00:15:43,500 I worship You. You are here, moving in our midst. I worship You. I worship You. You are here, working in this place. I worship You. I worship You. 89 00:15:43,500 --> 00:16:04,500 I worship You. Waymaker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the darkness. My God, that is who You are. Waymaker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the darkness. My God, that is who You are. 90 00:16:04,500 --> 00:16:12,500 Waymaker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the darkness. My God, that is who You are. Waymaker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the darkness. My God, that is who You are. 91 00:16:12,500 --> 00:16:30,100 God that is who you are you are here touching every heart i worship you i worship you 92 00:16:30,100 --> 00:16:40,980 you are here healing every heart i worship you 93 00:16:42,500 --> 00:16:45,940 i worship you 94 00:16:45,940 --> 00:16:53,060 you are here turning lives around 95 00:16:53,060 --> 00:16:57,060 i worship you 96 00:16:57,060 --> 00:17:01,060 i worship you 97 00:17:01,060 --> 00:17:04,020 you are here 98 00:17:04,020 --> 00:17:08,020 bending every heart 99 00:17:08,020 --> 00:17:11,940 i worship you 100 00:17:11,940 --> 00:17:17,460 i worship you 101 00:17:17,460 --> 00:17:24,740 way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness 102 00:17:24,740 --> 00:17:31,940 my God, that is who you are 103 00:17:31,940 --> 00:17:37,540 way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness 104 00:17:37,540 --> 00:17:46,500 my God, that is who you are 105 00:17:46,500 --> 00:17:53,860 way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness 106 00:17:53,860 --> 00:18:01,220 my God, that is who you are 107 00:18:01,220 --> 00:18:07,060 way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the 108 00:18:07,060 --> 00:18:16,500 darkness, my God, that is who you are 109 00:18:37,060 --> 00:18:48,080 And I want us to pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. Let's pray. 110 00:19:07,060 --> 00:19:37,040 Let's pray. 111 00:19:37,060 --> 00:20:07,040 Let's pray. 112 00:20:07,060 --> 00:20:37,040 Let's pray. 113 00:22:07,060 --> 00:22:37,040 "Follow me." Let's pray. 114 00:22:37,060 --> 00:22:39,060 "Follow me." Let's pray. 115 00:23:07,060 --> 00:23:09,060 Let's pray. 116 00:23:37,060 --> 00:23:39,060 Let's pray. 117 00:24:07,060 --> 00:24:09,060 Let's pray. 118 00:25:07,060 --> 00:25:34,060 All right. Thanks, Russell. Before we move into our next song, "Build My Life," I just wanted to share something to kind of pair along with the verses we read together this morning based on Psalm 61. 119 00:25:34,060 --> 00:25:42,060 It says, "When we are in trouble, God often feels distant." Notice that David says he's crying out to God from the end of the earth in verse 2. 120 00:25:42,060 --> 00:25:52,060 He's wandering far from what is familiar, and God seems far off. But David remembers his past history with God. You have been my refuge, a strong tower. 121 00:25:52,060 --> 00:26:01,060 You, O God, have heard my vows. When in distress, David clings to what he knows has been true of God over the course of David's life. 122 00:26:01,060 --> 00:26:09,060 Now, therefore, David does not curl up in feelings of futility or hopelessness. He goes to God, trusting that his voice will be heard. 123 00:26:09,060 --> 00:26:15,060 "Hear my cry, O God." He asks the Lord to deliver him. "Lead me to the rock that is higher than I." 124 00:26:15,060 --> 00:26:22,060 In other words, David is asking God to take him to a place of safety that he himself cannot attain on his own strength. 125 00:26:22,060 --> 00:26:30,060 Picture a rising flood. David needs God to guide him to a rock that gets him higher than he himself could reach, lest he drown. 126 00:26:30,060 --> 00:26:36,060 How do you handle distress, emotional, psychological, physical, financial? 127 00:26:36,060 --> 00:26:43,060 What is your heart impulse when you feel swamped by adversity? Cry out to the Lord. He will lead you to a place of safety. 128 00:26:43,060 --> 00:26:49,060 Perhaps it will not be the safety you expect, and perhaps it will not be immediate deliverance from your present trials. 129 00:26:49,060 --> 00:26:59,060 But at the bottom, he will assure you of your final and ultimate safety in the arms of Jesus Christ, the true rock that is higher than you yourself could attain. 130 00:26:59,060 --> 00:27:12,060 This rock not only lifts you above the floodwaters of your earthly adversity, it lifts you all the way up into heaven, by grace, instead of on the basis of your own resources. 131 00:27:28,060 --> 00:27:48,060 Worthy of every song we could ever sing. Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring. Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe. We live for you. 132 00:27:55,060 --> 00:28:18,060 Jesus, the name above every other name. Jesus, the only one who could ever sing. Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe. We live for you. Oh, we live for you. 133 00:28:20,060 --> 00:28:46,060 Holy, there is no one like you. There is none beside you. 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. 134 00:28:47,060 --> 00:29:07,060 Worthy of every song we could ever sing. Worthy of all the praise we could ever bring. Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe. We live for you. 135 00:29:14,060 --> 00:29:38,060 Jesus, the name above every other name. Jesus, the only one who could ever sing. Worthy of every breath we could ever breathe. We live for you. Oh, we live for you. 136 00:29:39,060 --> 00:30:04,060 Holy, there is no one like you. There is none beside you. 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. 137 00:30:04,060 --> 00:30:31,060 I will build my life upon your love. It is a firm foundation. I will put my trust in you alone, and I will not be shaken. 138 00:30:31,060 --> 00:30:58,060 Holy, there is no one like you. There is none beside you. 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. 139 00:30:58,060 --> 00:31:27,060 As we have been moving through the book of Joshua, 140 00:31:27,060 --> 00:31:38,060 we have seen exciting and remarkable things. We've seen God split the Jordan River at flood stage. We've seen the walls of Jericho. 141 00:31:38,060 --> 00:31:52,060 We've seen great victories by God's people. We've seen how Scripture in so many ways ties together and fits together from what comes before Joshua to how Joshua points its way ahead. 142 00:31:52,060 --> 00:31:57,060 And in a moment, we'll look at a little more of that in Joshua, the 11th chapter. 143 00:31:57,060 --> 00:32:07,060 But I want to draw your attention this morning as we prepare to celebrate communion together to the 12th chapter of the book of Joshua. 144 00:32:07,060 --> 00:32:14,060 And the 12th chapter of the book of Joshua is one of those chapters that is essentially just a really long list. 145 00:32:14,060 --> 00:32:21,060 It's a long list geographically, as it lists a whole bunch of places that we might struggle to pronounce. 146 00:32:21,060 --> 00:32:28,060 It's a big list in terms of names that we also struggle to pronounce. 147 00:32:28,060 --> 00:32:36,060 And what it is is divided into two sections: one for the battles that Israel fought on the east side of the Jordan, 148 00:32:36,060 --> 00:32:43,060 and then those who Israel fought on the west side of the Jordan, and it just ends like this. 149 00:32:43,060 --> 00:32:47,060 As you go through this giant list of names, it ends like this: 150 00:32:47,060 --> 00:32:55,060 "In all, 31 kings." And the picture here is a defeat of all of these kings. 151 00:32:55,060 --> 00:33:01,060 And as we come to chapters like this, we can sort of tend to struggle with what God is speaking to us. 152 00:33:01,060 --> 00:33:07,060 He's just sort of giving us some facts of history, just like when we were in school and we had to memorize - 153 00:33:07,060 --> 00:33:13,060 maybe you had to memorize a list of presidents, or a list of wars that we've been involved in, 154 00:33:13,060 --> 00:33:21,060 or a list of historical facts and a list of dates. I don't think God's purpose, while He does share history with us, 155 00:33:21,060 --> 00:33:30,060 I don't think His purpose in this chapter is simply that we would remember all of these sort of historical facts. 156 00:33:30,060 --> 00:33:36,060 Going forward from here, we're going to see the land of Canaan now becomes the land of Israel, 157 00:33:36,060 --> 00:33:42,060 and it's divided by tribes as an inheritance from God. 158 00:33:42,060 --> 00:33:46,060 And in many ways, when we list out a will, we list out what we're going to be giving, 159 00:33:46,060 --> 00:33:54,060 and so some might look at chapter 12 as a way to say, "Here's what God has done, now let's go through and divide it up." 160 00:33:54,060 --> 00:34:01,060 But I think it's more than that as well, not just a list of what God is about to give His people. 161 00:34:01,060 --> 00:34:11,060 I think, ultimately, the purpose of Joshua chapter 12, just like all of Joshua and just like all of Scripture, is to show us 162 00:34:11,060 --> 00:34:18,060 the God who is over all things. And in Joshua chapter 12, in this big list of names that we struggle to pronounce, 163 00:34:18,060 --> 00:34:23,060 in this big list of places we struggle to pronounce, in this big list of places that probably none of us, 164 00:34:23,060 --> 00:34:30,060 maybe with the exception of Jerusalem, can identify on a map, the purpose of this is to point us to the 165 00:34:30,060 --> 00:34:38,060 faithfulness of God that spans through generations. Because in Joshua 12, you see a fulfillment going all the way back 166 00:34:38,060 --> 00:34:45,060 to Abraham. Not just a fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham, but a fulfillment of God's judgment that God 167 00:34:45,060 --> 00:34:53,060 also speaks to Abraham about the lands of Canaan. And so as Israel would hear this and read this, what they 168 00:34:53,060 --> 00:34:59,060 would see is the faithfulness of God in the past. And when we look back to the faithfulness of God in the 169 00:34:59,060 --> 00:35:05,060 past, one of the things that it does is it firmly plants our feet upon His goodness so that as we look 170 00:35:05,060 --> 00:35:14,060 forward to a future that is so often filled with uncertainty or an immediate moment that's filled 171 00:35:14,060 --> 00:35:21,060 with conflict, and we live in hurt and brokenness and anxiety, and as we look toward all of this and we 172 00:35:21,060 --> 00:35:28,060 say, "How am I able to do this?" One of the things that grounds us upon the rock of God's goodness is 173 00:35:28,060 --> 00:35:34,060 to look to what He has done in His faithfulness in the past. And so when we look back to the faithfulness 174 00:35:34,060 --> 00:35:43,060 of God in the past, we're also reminded that God has promised to be faithful into the future. 175 00:35:43,060 --> 00:35:49,060 And so Joshua, the 12th chapter, is a recordness of God's faithfulness to His people, and as we've 176 00:35:49,060 --> 00:35:57,060 already seen in Joshua, even when they weren't always faithful. I want to read to you from 177 00:35:57,060 --> 00:36:06,060 Colossians, the first chapter, as we prepare to celebrate the Lord's Supper, a passage that 178 00:36:06,060 --> 00:36:12,060 I think for us points us back to the place where our feet are firmly grounded in the goodness of 179 00:36:12,060 --> 00:36:19,060 God and into the future as we see God's goodness stretching before us. So from Colossians 1, 180 00:36:19,060 --> 00:36:24,060 beginning in verse 15, it begins by describing Jesus like this: "He is the image of the invisible 181 00:36:24,060 --> 00:36:31,060 God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible 182 00:36:31,060 --> 00:36:37,060 and invisible, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities. All things were created through him 183 00:36:37,060 --> 00:36:44,060 and for him, and he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the 184 00:36:44,060 --> 00:36:50,060 body of the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be 185 00:36:50,060 --> 00:36:57,060 preeminent. For in him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself 186 00:36:57,060 --> 00:37:05,060 all things, whether on earth or heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who were once 187 00:37:05,060 --> 00:37:15,060 hostile, alienated, doing evil deeds, he has reconciled you in both in his body and flesh by his death, in order 188 00:37:15,060 --> 00:37:21,060 to present you holy and blameless and above reproach to him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable 189 00:37:21,060 --> 00:37:27,060 and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which he has proclaimed in all 190 00:37:27,060 --> 00:37:37,060 creation under heaven, and of which by Paul became a minister. Let's pray. Father, as we have read 191 00:37:37,060 --> 00:37:42,060 Scripture together this morning, may you be our refuge and strength. And as we look back to your 192 00:37:42,060 --> 00:37:48,060 to your goodness in the past and your provision in the present and your promises for the future, may 193 00:37:48,060 --> 00:37:56,060 you make for us a place of refuge in your goodness. We don't always know what lies ahead of us, but we do 194 00:37:56,060 --> 00:38:03,060 know your faithfulness has never failed and will never fail. And so as we look back to your faithfulness 195 00:38:03,060 --> 00:38:10,060 and our salvation through the death of your son on the cross, may you strengthen us, encourage us, that you 196 00:38:10,060 --> 00:38:17,060 would help us to be steadfast and unwavering, that if we are struggling in this moment, that you would 197 00:38:17,060 --> 00:38:24,060 strengthen us. If we're fearful, you would bring us courage. If we're wavering, that you would plant our 198 00:38:24,060 --> 00:38:30,060 feet firmly on the rock that is Christ. So be with us this morning as we break this bread and drink this 199 00:38:30,060 --> 00:38:38,060 cup. May you bless it. May you bless us. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 200 00:38:38,060 --> 00:38:44,060 Paul writes, "For I received from the Lord that which I delivered to you, that the 201 00:38:44,060 --> 00:38:48,060 Lord Jesus, in the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke 202 00:38:48,060 --> 00:38:59,060 it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' In the same 203 00:38:59,060 --> 00:39:04,060 way also, he took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do 204 00:39:04,060 --> 00:39:14,060 this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink 205 00:39:14,060 --> 00:39:23,060 this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." Just a moment, we are heading to 206 00:39:23,060 --> 00:39:33,060 Joshua, the 11th chapter. We're going to see the, sort of the, I guess I've entitled it the 207 00:39:33,060 --> 00:39:39,060 last battle. It is not necessarily the last battle that Israel will fight in their conquest 208 00:39:39,060 --> 00:39:45,060 for the land. What we find is there is still some unconquested ground that needs to be taken 209 00:39:45,060 --> 00:39:51,060 care of, or maybe not. I don't want to spoil that for you. But what we'll see is this is 210 00:39:51,060 --> 00:39:57,060 sort of the last recorded battle we're going to see for the book of Joshua. So this is 211 00:39:57,060 --> 00:40:02,060 sort of the last big battle, and it's a, it's a sort of a big one. So let's pray, and we'll 212 00:40:02,060 --> 00:40:07,060 dive right into it. Father in heaven, thank you for Jesus and grace. Thank you for your word. 213 00:40:07,060 --> 00:40:14,060 Thank you for this record of your goodness, this testimony to your faithfulness, this 214 00:40:14,060 --> 00:40:21,060 picture of your power that has encouraged us, that has helped us to see Scripture more deeply 215 00:40:21,060 --> 00:40:27,060 and more clearly. Help us as we continue in our study of Joshua that you would strengthen 216 00:40:27,060 --> 00:40:31,060 and encourage us. Be with us this morning as we see 217 00:40:31,060 --> 00:40:37,060 sort of overwhelming circumstances and the power of your goodness and provision. 218 00:40:37,060 --> 00:40:43,060 Strengthen our hearts this morning. Turn us toward you. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 219 00:40:43,060 --> 00:40:47,060 So probably most of us have at one time or another found themselves 220 00:40:47,060 --> 00:40:53,060 in a very chaotic situation. And for us, or for me, maybe for us as a family, 221 00:40:53,060 --> 00:41:00,060 that was like Friday night, about 8:40 at night. And we had some people over to our house 222 00:41:00,060 --> 00:41:07,060 because Rachel keeps introducing herself to the neighbors. And so some neighbors came over to have dinner with us. 223 00:41:07,060 --> 00:41:15,060 They have five kids. We have three. So there's eight children running around being very, very loud. 224 00:41:15,060 --> 00:41:19,060 It really kind of helps me understand my grandfather, why when all the grandkids would come over, 225 00:41:19,060 --> 00:41:27,060 he'd go out and work in the garage. And so I'm thinking about a garage just so I can do that with all of the noise. 226 00:41:27,060 --> 00:41:35,060 And so it was already pretty chaotic, and Rachel had gone outside to take our dogs out, and we were all downstairs just talking and chatting. 227 00:41:35,060 --> 00:41:42,060 And my phone starts ringing, and it was Rachel, which is a weird thing because usually we don't call each other when we're in sort of the same place. 228 00:41:42,060 --> 00:41:48,060 And so I answered the phone, and she's like, "The dogs just introduced themselves to a skunk." 229 00:41:48,060 --> 00:41:56,060 And so thankfully, they were both outside, and Rachel was outside with them, so I was not involved in this scenario. 230 00:41:56,060 --> 00:42:05,060 The downside that you're probably seeing is if you know the weather, on Friday night, it was pouring down rain. 231 00:42:05,060 --> 00:42:08,060 And so the first thing, you know, we've got to figure out a way to clean up the dogs. 232 00:42:08,060 --> 00:42:15,060 And so I checked PetSmart's hours because you can go and buy some de-skunking liquid that you can wash your dogs in, 233 00:42:15,060 --> 00:42:20,060 and just sort of a heads up, it works. It does not work perfectly. 234 00:42:20,060 --> 00:42:25,060 So if anybody needs a dog for the next couple of weeks, we have two that we would be happy to leave. 235 00:42:25,060 --> 00:42:31,060 We would be happy to loan you. And so they closed. PetSmart, the problem is PetSmart closes at 9. 236 00:42:31,060 --> 00:42:38,060 Rachel's outside in the pouring rain. I've got three kids that I, there's no way I'm getting them into the car, 237 00:42:38,060 --> 00:42:43,060 getting them to PetSmart, getting what I need, and getting out before 9 o'clock at night. 238 00:42:43,060 --> 00:42:48,060 And thankfully, our new friends that we've met a couple times, they were like, "Hey, we can just take the kids to our house, 239 00:42:48,060 --> 00:42:54,060 get everybody calmed down, and you can come pick them up when you're done dealing with the terrifying thing that has just happened to your dogs." 240 00:42:54,060 --> 00:42:58,060 And so there's chaos. You know, they're trying to load eight kids into a minivan. 241 00:42:58,060 --> 00:43:03,060 I'm trying to find my shoes and get out the door and get to PetSmart. Before I'm going, I call another neighbor. 242 00:43:03,060 --> 00:43:08,060 He's like, "I'm pretty sure they close at 8." And so I was texting our friend who was a vet tech going, 243 00:43:08,060 --> 00:43:12,060 "If they're not open, what do I do next?" And it was just all of these things happening at once, 244 00:43:12,060 --> 00:43:20,060 all while Rachel is standing out in the play area with two dogs that smell horrific in the pouring rain. 245 00:43:20,060 --> 00:43:30,060 It was just absolute chaos. Everything happening all at once. And as we come to Joshua, the 11th chapter, 246 00:43:30,060 --> 00:43:37,060 this is what we see happening with God's people. It's sort of this chaos that is happening all at once. 247 00:43:37,060 --> 00:43:42,060 There's not necessarily from the point of the text that it's sort of this picture of preparation, 248 00:43:42,060 --> 00:43:49,060 although there certainly was. The way we're introduced into Joshua, the 11th chapter, is simply chaos. 249 00:43:49,060 --> 00:43:56,060 Listen to what it says. "When Jabin, the king of Hazor, heard this," and so hearing about how 250 00:43:56,060 --> 00:44:02,060 Israel has conquered the south of Canaan, "he sent to Jobab, the king of Madon, to the king of Shemron, 251 00:44:02,060 --> 00:44:07,060 to the king of Akshaph, and to the kings who were in the northern hill country, and in Erebus, 252 00:44:07,060 --> 00:44:12,060 south of Chinaroth, and in the low land, in Naphoth-dor on the west, to the Canaanites in the east, 253 00:44:12,060 --> 00:44:18,060 in the west, to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites in the hill country, 254 00:44:18,060 --> 00:44:23,060 and the Hivites under Hermon in the land of Mizpah, and they came out with their troops, 255 00:44:23,060 --> 00:44:30,060 a great horde, a number like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. 256 00:44:30,060 --> 00:44:37,060 And all of these kings joined their forces and came and encamped together at the waters of Miram 257 00:44:37,060 --> 00:44:44,060 to fight against Israel." And so, first of all, you can see this is all of northern Canaan. 258 00:44:44,060 --> 00:44:47,060 And notice how the author of Joshua describes this, right? 259 00:44:47,060 --> 00:44:55,060 You have sort of two main kings by name. You have two kings of major cities as well. 260 00:44:55,060 --> 00:45:02,060 And then you have kings, right, from the north, the south, the east, the west, from the hills and from the valleys, 261 00:45:02,060 --> 00:45:09,060 from every place you can name. This is a biblical way of saying all of them everywhere. 262 00:45:09,060 --> 00:45:16,060 So while you've seen some small alliances so far in Joshua where you'll have four or five kings sort of gather together 263 00:45:16,060 --> 00:45:24,060 against Israel, the picture here now is all of Canaan, what's left, all the northern part of Canaan, 264 00:45:24,060 --> 00:45:28,060 everybody, every king, whether you're on the east, the west, the north, the south, 265 00:45:28,060 --> 00:45:35,060 whether you live in the mountains, whether you live in the valleys, they are all coming together all at once. 266 00:45:35,060 --> 00:45:41,060 And additionally, we see something new as well, that they are coming with a whole bunch of military assets. 267 00:45:41,060 --> 00:45:48,060 Their troops are unlike anything we've seen in Joshua so far. It's a great horde. 268 00:45:48,060 --> 00:45:52,060 Or another way of describing it is like sand on the seashore. 269 00:45:52,060 --> 00:45:58,060 They have horses and chariots. The soldier on foot, oftentimes in ancient chariots, 270 00:45:58,060 --> 00:46:02,060 what they would do is they wouldn't just sort of fight from the back of the chariot. 271 00:46:02,060 --> 00:46:10,060 They would sort of attach long, sharp poles or knives to the wheels, and then he would just run through the oncoming enemy, 272 00:46:10,060 --> 00:46:19,060 chopping them down at their legs, running them over with these chariots, and in addition to that, you have horsemen as well. 273 00:46:19,060 --> 00:46:27,060 And so you don't just have a large army facing you. You have a large army that also has horses and chariots. 274 00:46:27,060 --> 00:46:36,060 Now, Josephus, in one of his books, The Antiquities of the Jews, he kind of walks through the events we've seen in Joshua, 275 00:46:36,060 --> 00:46:43,060 and this is what he says, and you have to be careful with Josephus because sometimes he likes to exaggerate the numbers a little bit, 276 00:46:43,060 --> 00:46:50,060 but here's what he says about this battle. Now, the number of the whole army was 300,000 armed footmen, 277 00:46:50,060 --> 00:47:00,060 10,000 horsemen, and 20,000 chariots. Now, we don't know for sure how many soldiers Israel is fielding at this time. 278 00:47:00,060 --> 00:47:06,060 We know when they come across the Jordan, there's an escort of 40,000. We know when they go to Ai, 279 00:47:06,060 --> 00:47:14,060 there's a group of 30,000 that goes off into an ambush. But either way, it seems from this picture of what's being described, 280 00:47:14,060 --> 00:47:22,060 Israel is outnumbered and they're outgunned. We're also seeing here not just a distinct change in the tribes unifying 281 00:47:22,060 --> 00:47:28,060 and the size of the army and the kind of equipment they're bringing. We're also seeing a distinct change 282 00:47:28,060 --> 00:47:36,060 in the attitude of the people. So in the first half of Joshua, you have this picture where people will hear 283 00:47:36,060 --> 00:47:44,060 what God has done, and it says they melted away. They sort of dissolve. If you've ever thrown butter into a pan 284 00:47:44,060 --> 00:47:50,060 to melt it before you cook something, you throw that sort of solid chunk of butter and it just sort of flattens out 285 00:47:50,060 --> 00:47:56,060 and dissolves into liquid. It's a picture of what's happening to Israel's enemies. And so this is what Rahab 286 00:47:56,060 --> 00:48:02,060 will say about Jericho. When we heard what you were doing, our hearts melted, right? They just dissolved 287 00:48:02,060 --> 00:48:10,060 away. We'll see it later on. The Amorites and the Canaanites in Joshua chapter 5, what? They hear and 288 00:48:10,060 --> 00:48:16,060 they dissolve, but then something changes. And we begin to see in the second half of what we've covered 289 00:48:16,060 --> 00:48:24,060 so far, we begin to hear that they hear what God has done and they gather against Israel. So in Joshua 290 00:48:24,060 --> 00:48:30,060 chapter 9, they hear what God has done and they gather together to fight. Joshua 10, in the very 291 00:48:30,060 --> 00:48:36,060 beginning, they gather together to fight. Here in Joshua 11, they gather together and fight. And so what 292 00:48:36,060 --> 00:48:44,060 changed from a people who at one point were hearing and melting to now they're hearing and they're preparing 293 00:48:44,060 --> 00:48:52,060 for battle? Two things that I think happened. First of all, Joshua chapter 7, we have the first 294 00:48:52,060 --> 00:49:00,460 battle of Ai, where Israel goes up against this city and they do so not having listened and followed what 295 00:49:00,460 --> 00:49:07,660 God has said to do, specifically on the part of Achan, and they lose that battle. And from that, every tribe 296 00:49:07,660 --> 00:49:13,500 in Canaan now says, "This army that looked unstoppable, that crossed the Jordan, that knocked down the walls 297 00:49:13,500 --> 00:49:21,100 of Jericho, now they can be beaten." And one of the things you see is after Ai, all of the attitudes of their 298 00:49:21,100 --> 00:49:28,380 enemies begin to change. They're emboldened. And when we see Achan's sin, so often the tendency for you 299 00:49:28,380 --> 00:49:35,260 and I is to minimize and dismiss our sin. But in Achan's sin, we see it doesn't just affect him. It 300 00:49:35,260 --> 00:49:42,220 affects his entire country, those who have lost their lives at Ai because of them, but it also echoes into 301 00:49:42,220 --> 00:49:49,420 the future. And in every one of these battles where the attitude of the Canaanites has changed, all hinges 302 00:49:50,140 --> 00:49:56,780 where Achan sinned. You see, this one man's sin doesn't just affect him, but it affects his nation, and it 303 00:49:56,780 --> 00:50:04,380 affects the future trajectory of his people. And so these people, knowing that Israel might be able to 304 00:50:04,380 --> 00:50:10,780 be defeated, begin to depend on their allies and their tactics. But the second thing that has happened, 305 00:50:10,780 --> 00:50:18,380 and we see this in Joshua chapter 11, is that God has hardened their hearts. We'll read sort of the summary of 306 00:50:18,380 --> 00:50:24,940 the war beginning in verse 18: "Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. There was not a city that 307 00:50:24,940 --> 00:50:30,620 made peace with the people of Israel except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon, and they took 308 00:50:30,620 --> 00:50:37,020 them all in battle. For it was the Lord's doing to harden their hearts that they should come against 309 00:50:37,020 --> 00:50:43,020 Israel in battle in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be 310 00:50:43,020 --> 00:50:51,580 destroyed just as the Lord commanded Moses." So all of these forces, as you begin Joshua chapter 11, 311 00:50:51,580 --> 00:50:58,060 and you see all of these powerful kings from every corner of Canaan, from the mountains to the valleys, 312 00:50:58,060 --> 00:51:06,780 they're all arrayed against Israel by the hand of God who has hardened their heart. And that might seem 313 00:51:06,780 --> 00:51:12,700 to us maybe a little unfair, both to the people of Israel and both to these Canaanites who are about 314 00:51:12,700 --> 00:51:20,300 to die at the hand of Israel because God has hardened their hearts. We might look at God and say, "Well, 315 00:51:20,300 --> 00:51:27,180 why would he harden their hearts? Is he giving them no choice but to go and to fight and oppose Israel?" 316 00:51:27,180 --> 00:51:34,140 I'll say this, God is not manipulating Canaan into fighting them. He's not forcing them into battle. He's 317 00:51:34,140 --> 00:51:41,180 simply allowing them to do what they want to do. So another way of seeing God harden hearts, we see this in 318 00:51:42,380 --> 00:51:49,980 the first chapter, is that God, as Paul talks about this, they will say this about the people. He said, 319 00:51:49,980 --> 00:51:56,140 "Even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him. But they became 320 00:51:56,140 --> 00:52:01,100 futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 321 00:52:01,100 --> 00:52:09,020 and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, animals, and creeping 322 00:52:09,020 --> 00:52:15,580 things." And so what Romans 1 tells us is that there's been this exchange made in our hearts where 323 00:52:15,580 --> 00:52:21,660 we stop worshiping the Creator, we begin worshiping the creature, and then three times in the next several 324 00:52:21,660 --> 00:52:31,820 verses, Paul will say this about God. He'll say that God gave them up. So in verse 24, he gave them up to 325 00:52:31,820 --> 00:52:38,460 their lust. In verse 26 of Romans 1, he gave them up to their dishonorable passions. In verse 28, he gave 326 00:52:38,460 --> 00:52:46,140 them up to a debased mind. And you say, "Well, God's giving them up. What does that mean?" God looks at these 327 00:52:46,140 --> 00:52:53,260 people in their sin and says, "If that is what they want to do, I'm going to let them." And this is what 328 00:52:53,260 --> 00:53:00,780 God has done with the Canaanites. He says, "If they want to follow their own way and worship what they 329 00:53:00,780 --> 00:53:07,900 want to do, then I'm going to let them." And remember, God has given them chance after chance. We saw last week 330 00:53:07,900 --> 00:53:14,220 how Abraham was welcomed into Jerusalem by Melchizedek, who was both the priest of the 331 00:53:14,220 --> 00:53:20,060 Most High God and the King of Jerusalem. But this time in Joshua chapter 10, the King of Jerusalem is 332 00:53:20,060 --> 00:53:26,460 the one organizing against God's people. And you've seen this city go from righteousness to unrighteousness. 333 00:53:26,460 --> 00:53:37,340 God has given them chance after chance. In Genesis 15, God will tell Abraham that they haven't filled up sort of the cup of 334 00:53:37,340 --> 00:53:46,220 the wrath of God, that God has given them all of this time and all of these chances. We see God welcoming in 335 00:53:46,220 --> 00:53:54,460 the outsider in Rahab, who becomes part of the lineage of Jesus. How even though they lied and they cheated to 336 00:53:54,460 --> 00:54:01,500 fool Israel, the Gibeonites are brought in and they don't just serve as Israel's servants, but they serve 337 00:54:01,500 --> 00:54:07,180 around the tabernacle, the place of God. We even see the Gibeonites and Nehemiah working to 338 00:54:07,180 --> 00:54:14,620 rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. And so there has been mercy given in the book of Joshua. But here 339 00:54:14,620 --> 00:54:20,540 what we see is people who have been hardened. And when we see that language, what we're seeing is God 340 00:54:20,540 --> 00:54:25,980 saying, "You know what? If you want to pursue this course, I'm going to let you." And so many of us 341 00:54:25,980 --> 00:54:33,580 are terrified of God disciplining us, or God correcting us, or God bringing consequences into our life. I'll 342 00:54:33,580 --> 00:54:39,260 tell you what's more terrifying, when God looks at us and says, "All right, if you want to do that, you go 343 00:54:39,260 --> 00:54:47,180 do that." And what we're seeing in Joshua, the 11th chapter, is God just letting them do what they want 344 00:54:47,180 --> 00:54:53,900 to do. God hardening their hearts. Their hearts have become so calloused, and God says, "If that's the 345 00:54:53,900 --> 00:55:01,260 direction you want to go, you are welcome to go in that direction." And the result of this unrestrained 346 00:55:01,260 --> 00:55:09,580 pursuit of sin is an absolute hatred of God. Someone who can't stand the sight of God, who reacts 347 00:55:09,580 --> 00:55:18,140 violently toward the people of God. Our dog before the two we have now, Rigby, she was mainly a good dog, 348 00:55:18,140 --> 00:55:24,780 and I don't know what happened in her past, and I've shared with some of you before, she had an absolute 349 00:55:24,780 --> 00:55:32,060 hatred of UPS. Didn't matter if the UPS driver was a man or a woman, you could actually tell if you were 350 00:55:32,060 --> 00:55:37,260 expecting something from UPS, you'd just sit with Rigby, and then she would just start growling, and 351 00:55:37,260 --> 00:55:45,100 about five minutes later, here comes the UPS truck, right? She chased guys back into their truck. In fact, 352 00:55:45,100 --> 00:55:50,540 for a while, the guy would kind of look out real careful before he got out of his truck, and she hated 353 00:55:50,540 --> 00:55:55,180 all delivery people, but not quite as bad. One day, the FedEx guy comes, jumps out of his truck, goes, "I'm 354 00:55:55,180 --> 00:56:01,580 great with dogs," and I was like, "Ah, not this one." Tosses her a treat. She catches the treat while looking 355 00:56:01,580 --> 00:56:08,620 him dead in the eyes, spits the treat out, and just starts snarling. But UPS was her ultimate hatred. I 356 00:56:08,620 --> 00:56:15,580 don't know what happened to the heart of Rigby that hardened her heart against UPS. This is the picture 357 00:56:16,300 --> 00:56:22,940 of the northern part of Canaan. They have become so entrenched and so habitual in their sin that they 358 00:56:22,940 --> 00:56:31,100 see no other option than to oppose God at every step. And what we learn from Joshua 11, it's not 359 00:56:31,100 --> 00:56:38,780 just the judgment of God in sending Joshua to fight and destroy them, but God's judgment is also in the 360 00:56:38,780 --> 00:56:44,540 hardening of their hearts, simply saying, "You know what? You want to do that? Go do it." One of the scariest 361 00:56:44,540 --> 00:56:51,260 things for us is to come to that point where God simply says, "If you want to live that way, I'm going 362 00:56:51,260 --> 00:57:00,140 to let you." And so God's people are now facing a force. It's not just large in size. It's not just united. 363 00:57:00,140 --> 00:57:06,220 It's not just equipped with the best people. They hate God's people. But then there's one more thing. 364 00:57:06,220 --> 00:57:12,460 Like an infomercial that goes, "Well, just one more thing, but wait, there's more." And there is more for 365 00:57:12,460 --> 00:57:19,740 this. And it's probably a twist you wouldn't expect. It's giants. So at the end of the chapter, 366 00:57:19,740 --> 00:57:27,820 Joshua 11, 21 and 22, "Joshua came at that time and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, 367 00:57:27,820 --> 00:57:33,420 from Debir, from Anab, from the hill country of Judah, and from all the country of Israel. Joshua 368 00:57:33,420 --> 00:57:39,500 devoted them to destruction and their cities. There were none of the Anakim left in the land of the people 369 00:57:39,500 --> 00:57:45,100 of Israel. Only in Gaza and Gath and in Ashdod did some remain." When we hear that word "Anakim," 370 00:57:45,100 --> 00:57:50,780 these people are giants. Remember when the twelve spies went in from the wilderness and said, "We can't 371 00:57:50,780 --> 00:57:55,820 go fight those people because everybody's really tall and they're giants." That's who we're talking 372 00:57:55,820 --> 00:58:02,940 about in Deuteronomy 9. It says, "A people great and tall, the sons of Anakim, whom you know, of whom 373 00:58:02,940 --> 00:58:11,820 you have heard." It said, "Who can stand before the sons of Anak?" Goliath is a descendant from these 374 00:58:11,820 --> 00:58:15,980 people. Remember those three cities of the Philistines that don't get destroyed where they still live? 375 00:58:15,980 --> 00:58:26,460 Remember when Goliath faces David, standing likely nine feet tall, wearing 125 pounds of armor. The tip 376 00:58:26,460 --> 00:58:32,620 of his spear, his spear is described as being a weaver's rod with a with an iron head, and he 377 00:58:32,620 --> 00:58:37,340 talks about how many shekels it weighs. It's literally 15 pounds. If you want to replicate 378 00:58:37,340 --> 00:58:43,660 that at home, get a real thick stick, tape two gallons of milk to the end of it. That's what 379 00:58:43,660 --> 00:58:47,900 Goliath was fighting with, and probably what some of you do CrossFit with, right? You got this stick, 380 00:58:47,900 --> 00:58:51,820 and it's really heavy on the end, and you wave it around, and you build some strength, right? 381 00:58:51,820 --> 00:58:59,500 Most of us are not going to be throwing a 15-pound spear in addition to the wood that's involved. This 382 00:58:59,500 --> 00:59:06,300 guy is huge. So in addition to people who are hating Israel, united against him, horses and chariots, 383 00:59:06,300 --> 00:59:15,100 you throw in a bunch of giants as well. It seems a little overwhelming. It seems like everything's 384 00:59:15,100 --> 00:59:21,820 happening at once. And the Lord said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time 385 00:59:21,820 --> 00:59:28,220 I will give over all of them slain to Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots 386 00:59:28,220 --> 00:59:34,380 with fire. So Joshua and all his warriors came suddenly against them by the waters of Mer, fell 387 00:59:34,380 --> 00:59:40,540 upon them, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel, who struck them, chased them as far as great 388 00:59:40,540 --> 00:59:46,140 Sidon and Mishraim, and eastward to the valley of Mizpah, and they struck them until he left none 389 00:59:46,140 --> 00:59:52,780 remaining. Joshua did to them as the Lord had said to him. He hamstrung the horses and burned the chariots 390 00:59:52,780 --> 01:00:02,700 with fire. So facing this onslaught, God first encourages his people, right? He says, "Don't be 391 01:00:02,700 --> 01:00:09,900 afraid." Now, if you've ever said to someone, "Don't be afraid," you know that oftentimes we don't listen 392 01:00:09,900 --> 01:00:15,340 very well, right? It's easy to say, "Don't be afraid." It's a whole lot different story to say, "Stop being 393 01:00:15,340 --> 01:00:20,460 afraid," right? You can say to somebody, "Don't be afraid all day long," and they're still going to be 394 01:00:20,460 --> 01:00:27,980 scared, right? Especially in this case. Oh, God, it's easy for you to say, "Don't be afraid." You're not the one 395 01:00:27,980 --> 01:00:35,420 who's outnumbered and outgunned, and there's giants about to fight you. What I love about how God deals 396 01:00:35,420 --> 01:00:44,060 with us is he doesn't simply say, "Don't be afraid." He's then going to tell Joshua and Israel what he's 397 01:00:44,060 --> 01:00:48,220 going to do. You see this pattern repeated through the Psalms, you know, "Praise God." You say, "Well, 398 01:00:48,220 --> 01:00:55,100 why should I praise?" And then it's listed. "Don't be afraid." And now he's going to tell us why. And one of 399 01:00:55,100 --> 01:01:01,740 the things we see is that God's presence and power are at the center of Joshua chapter 11, the center of 400 01:01:01,740 --> 01:01:07,740 this entire book. Ten times in this chapter, you're going to see God speaking, whether he's instructing 401 01:01:07,740 --> 01:01:15,660 or encouraging or commanding or reminding of what has been already said. You see, from our perspective, 402 01:01:15,660 --> 01:01:20,940 we see the chariots and the horses and the giants and the thousands of people arrayed against us from 403 01:01:20,940 --> 01:01:31,820 God's perspective. Right? We see God over all of these things. And so God begins by promising and encouraging. 404 01:01:31,820 --> 01:01:40,860 But then in verse 8, he just fulfills that promise. So remember, we belt up this army for the first five 405 01:01:40,860 --> 01:01:47,820 verses. Here's the battle. Verse 7, "So Joshua's warriors came suddenly against them by the waters of Miriam and 406 01:01:47,820 --> 01:01:53,020 fell upon them, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel, who struck them, chased them, and struck 407 01:01:53,020 --> 01:01:59,420 them till there was none remaining." We've spent all of this time, and the author of Joshua intentionally 408 01:01:59,420 --> 01:02:05,580 emphasizes the greatness of the battle, and then just simply says God did what he said he was going to do. 409 01:02:06,380 --> 01:02:15,340 He makes it look easy, because for God and his power and his greatness, it is. God doesn't promise and 410 01:02:15,340 --> 01:02:24,220 encourage, but he also fulfills. And then God commands. In verse 20, we read this a minute ago, "For as the 411 01:02:24,220 --> 01:02:28,460 Lord is doing to harden their hearts, that they should come to Israel in battle, in order they should be 412 01:02:28,460 --> 01:02:35,100 devoted to destruction, and should receive no mercy, but be destroyed, just as the Lord commanded Moses." God 413 01:02:35,100 --> 01:02:41,500 has had this as his plan, not just in this moment. God's not surprised by the army that's arrayed against 414 01:02:41,500 --> 01:02:47,100 Israel. He's not surprised at the circumstances and the struggles and the hurts that are arrayed against 415 01:02:47,100 --> 01:02:53,420 you. God knows what he's doing. He knows where this is going. He doesn't just command, but he gives them 416 01:02:53,420 --> 01:03:01,980 the strength to obey. And you see God protecting his people. But it's not a protection from battle, although 417 01:03:01,980 --> 01:03:09,100 he certainly does that. He protects them in this moment spiritually. Look at verse 6. The Lord says to 418 01:03:09,100 --> 01:03:14,380 Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give all of them over, slain to Israel. 419 01:03:14,380 --> 01:03:22,060 You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire." Why does God say get rid of 420 01:03:22,060 --> 01:03:28,460 all the military hardware? Hamstring the horses because they can't rock right. Burn all the chariots. You'd 421 01:03:28,460 --> 01:03:33,660 seem like because this is the initial battle. Now Joshua is going to spread out from this initial 422 01:03:33,660 --> 01:03:39,100 battle where he kills all the fighting men and he's going to go from city to city and eliminate anybody 423 01:03:39,100 --> 01:03:46,220 else. Doesn't it seem like maybe some of this military hardware being abandoned by the Canaanites would be 424 01:03:46,220 --> 01:03:53,340 great for Israel to use? Let's get some horses. Let's get some chariots. Let's make this easy. Why does God 425 01:03:53,340 --> 01:03:59,580 say no horses, no chariots? In fact, I'm not just going to say no horses, no chariots. I'm going to command 426 01:03:59,580 --> 01:04:07,820 you to put them permanently out of commission. Why would God do that? God is protecting his people in 427 01:04:07,820 --> 01:04:12,780 this. In one sense, he's likely protecting these people from these things being used against them. 428 01:04:12,780 --> 01:04:18,300 Israel at this time didn't have horses and chariots. They don't know necessarily how to use them. Some of 429 01:04:18,300 --> 01:04:23,580 them may not be used. Some of them may be left behind. It would be easy for the resistance and 430 01:04:23,580 --> 01:04:29,980 the enemy to take them. But God, I think most of all, is protecting them from their wandering hearts. 431 01:04:29,980 --> 01:04:37,500 In Psalm 33, it says, "The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot 432 01:04:37,500 --> 01:04:41,980 rescue." Wouldn't it be easy? If you're an Israelite, you've just defeated this battle, all of a sudden you 433 01:04:41,980 --> 01:04:47,740 have 10,000 chariots and horses. Wouldn't it be easy to say, "Now we can do this on our own. We've got 434 01:04:47,740 --> 01:04:53,660 enough equipment. We've got enough stuff." And God is protecting these people from their wandering 435 01:04:53,660 --> 01:05:01,100 hearts. But additionally, by removing all this military hardware, God's preparing this land for 436 01:05:01,100 --> 01:05:07,660 peace. This ends like this. So Joshua took the whole land, that all that the Lord had spoken to Moses, 437 01:05:07,660 --> 01:05:15,420 Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments, and the land had rest from 438 01:05:15,420 --> 01:05:22,860 war. And so God, in calling them to destroy this, he's protecting his people. He's protecting them from 439 01:05:22,860 --> 01:05:26,940 those who might take those chariots, use them against them. He's protecting their wandering 440 01:05:26,940 --> 01:05:34,380 hearts from trusting in themselves, but he's also preparing this land for peace. And so as we look at 441 01:05:34,380 --> 01:05:43,820 Joshua chapter 11, are you guarding your heart? Are you caring for your heart? In this chapter we see a 442 01:05:43,820 --> 01:05:51,020 group of people who for more than 400 years have been turning their hearts to something else, and it 443 01:05:51,020 --> 01:05:56,860 results in judgment. And before that we saw Israel in the wilderness who constantly turned their hearts 444 01:05:56,860 --> 01:06:02,300 to something else, and it resulted in judgment. And so when we come to the book of Hebrews, we hear this 445 01:06:02,300 --> 01:06:09,980 warning, "Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil and unbelieving heart, leading you to fall 446 01:06:09,980 --> 01:06:16,940 astray from the living God, but exhort one another the power of community every day, for as long as it is 447 01:06:16,940 --> 01:06:22,300 called today, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, for we have come to share 448 01:06:22,300 --> 01:06:29,020 in Christ, if indeed we hold in our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said today, if you hear his 449 01:06:29,020 --> 01:06:37,500 voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." So how are you caring for your heart? God calls his 450 01:06:37,500 --> 01:06:42,540 people to care for their hearts one way by taking away those things that they may fixate their heart 451 01:06:42,540 --> 01:06:49,580 upon. And so I would call you this morning to take a look at where your hope and your joy is focused. 452 01:06:49,580 --> 01:06:58,540 Care for your heart. The psalmist says this, he prays it this way, "Search me, O God, and know my heart. 453 01:06:58,540 --> 01:07:05,980 Try me and know my thoughts, and see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the everlasting 454 01:07:05,980 --> 01:07:11,260 way." The psalmist prays, "God, look at my heart. Identify those areas where my heart is going after 455 01:07:11,260 --> 01:07:18,780 something else, and move my heart back to what matters." And so Joshua, the 11th chapter, calls us to 456 01:07:18,780 --> 01:07:27,100 look at our heart and say, "Where am I fixed? What am I chasing? What am I hoping in?" Not just our hearts, 457 01:07:27,100 --> 01:07:34,460 but it causes us to look at our eyes. Right? Joshua and the people, they have two options, right? 458 01:07:34,460 --> 01:07:39,980 They have, they can look at this army, with the giants, with the chariots, with the horsemen, and all 459 01:07:39,980 --> 01:07:45,820 the kings and the people of northern Canaan, where they can look to the power and the might 460 01:07:45,820 --> 01:07:53,740 of God. Right? We have options. And I don't know about you, but when I'm having a rough day, 461 01:07:53,740 --> 01:07:59,100 when I'm having a struggle, my tendency is to take all that bad stuff and just pile it right up in 462 01:07:59,100 --> 01:08:02,940 front of me, right? Well, this is happening. I didn't want this, and I didn't plan for this, 463 01:08:02,940 --> 01:08:06,380 and this isn't working, and that's not working, and I'm hungry, and I'm tired, and I haven't had 464 01:08:06,380 --> 01:08:12,780 coffee yet, and I pile all these bad things up, and I just stare at them, and my mood gets worse and 465 01:08:12,780 --> 01:08:19,900 worse. My day gets worse and worse. Do you remember what the psalmist says? I lift up my eyes to the 466 01:08:19,900 --> 01:08:24,700 hills. Where does my help come from? Help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. 467 01:08:24,700 --> 01:08:29,420 And so here's the psalmist in the valley, and it'd be easy to stack all those troubles in front of him, 468 01:08:29,420 --> 01:08:35,180 right? There's enemies, there's sorrow, there's hurt, but God says lift up your eyes and look to him. 469 01:08:35,180 --> 01:08:41,820 You see, you and I find ourselves in the same place as Joshua, facing this army that's coming 470 01:08:41,820 --> 01:08:46,380 against us, and we can either look at all the struggles, or we can look to the God who saves. 471 01:08:46,380 --> 01:08:52,620 Like the psalmist, when we find ourselves in the valley, we can look to all of the brokenness that 472 01:08:52,620 --> 01:08:57,580 surrounds us, or we can look to the God who saves. I asked Evelyn if I could talk about this a little 473 01:08:57,580 --> 01:09:02,380 bit this morning, and she's doing horse riding lessons, and we've been really, really blessed 474 01:09:02,380 --> 01:09:10,620 with an amazing teacher who loves Jesus, who's incredibly patient, and he's a real cowboy. You're 475 01:09:10,620 --> 01:09:16,300 not just a guy with all hat and no horse. And so we were talking, and one of the things he's constantly 476 01:09:16,300 --> 01:09:22,060 reminding when you're on the horse is you've got to keep your eyes fixed forward. And he says that because 477 01:09:22,060 --> 01:09:27,260 it's real easy to start looking and to lose your balance and lose your grip, and then to not pay 478 01:09:27,260 --> 01:09:34,700 attention to what's in front of you. And what happens to you and I so many times, if we're not 479 01:09:34,700 --> 01:09:39,020 paying attention to our eyes, we'll fix it on distractions. We'll fix it on problems. Sometimes 480 01:09:39,020 --> 01:09:44,620 we'll even take and pile our problems up in front of our vision instead of looking to the goodness 481 01:09:44,620 --> 01:09:53,020 of God who brings us stability, keeps us anchored, and keeps us safe. So where's your heart? Where's 482 01:09:53,020 --> 01:10:01,100 your eyes? What are you doing? God's power, and I love this, because there's this debate in the church 483 01:10:01,100 --> 01:10:08,140 about the sovereignty of God and man's action. Does God do it or do I do it? What you find is that when 484 01:10:08,140 --> 01:10:14,540 you see God is sovereign over all things, it does not cause us to sit back and say, "All right, I'm just 485 01:10:14,540 --> 01:10:20,780 going to let God take care of this." When you see that God is in control, it energizes and mobilizes 486 01:10:20,780 --> 01:10:27,100 God's people to do amazing and mighty things. One commentator says that the sovereignty of God 487 01:10:27,100 --> 01:10:35,820 is the elixir that stimulates the church to action. Look at what it says in Joshua 11. "Do not be afraid 488 01:10:35,820 --> 01:10:41,180 of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give them all over slain to Israel. You shall hamstring their 489 01:10:41,180 --> 01:10:45,100 horses, burn their chariots." God says, "You don't have to be afraid. I'm going to take care of all of 490 01:10:45,100 --> 01:10:50,540 them. I'm going to kill them all for you." And then Joshua and all his warriors came suddenly against 491 01:10:50,540 --> 01:10:55,660 them by the waters of Maran and fell upon them. Joshua doesn't hear God say that and say, "All right, 492 01:10:55,660 --> 01:11:02,700 guys, pack it up and go home." He trusts in God's sovereignty and follows God's leading, that God is 493 01:11:02,700 --> 01:11:09,900 the one who equips and directs and brings them to this point. And that's not for us to simply say, "Okay, 494 01:11:09,900 --> 01:11:15,420 sort of let go and let God do it, and I'll sit over here and do my thing." But rather, when we understand 495 01:11:15,420 --> 01:11:20,300 that God is over all things, including all of our enemies, it moves us to action. 496 01:11:20,300 --> 01:11:27,980 Listen to how Peter says it. "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of 497 01:11:27,980 --> 01:11:34,860 God's very grace." Whoever speaks as one who speaks the oracles of God, whoever serves as the one who 498 01:11:34,860 --> 01:11:41,340 serves by the strength that God supplies in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus 499 01:11:41,340 --> 01:11:50,060 Christ. To Him belongs the glory, dominion forever and ever. Amen." Notice what he says, "If you're speaking, you speak what God has 500 01:11:50,060 --> 01:11:55,180 given you. When you serve in your strength, you do it not through your own effort, but through what God has 501 01:11:55,180 --> 01:12:01,020 given you. And when you realize that God is the one who directs and is sovereign and who equips you, it 502 01:12:01,020 --> 01:12:08,300 doesn't cause you to stop, but rather it propels you forward with joy because it is God who is working in 503 01:12:08,300 --> 01:12:17,820 you in these moments." So those three questions: Where is your heart? Where are your eyes? What are you doing with your 504 01:12:17,820 --> 01:12:23,660 hands? God is sovereign over all these things. What are you going to do? Are you going to trust him and follow 505 01:12:23,660 --> 01:12:33,580 him? Or will you simply sit by? Joshua chapter 11 pictures the final recorded battle of the book of 506 01:12:33,580 --> 01:12:43,340 Joshua, but it points us forward to another battle. Another battle in the future of God's people where 507 01:12:43,340 --> 01:12:51,100 on one side is judgment and the other side is joy. Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, 508 01:12:51,100 --> 01:12:57,580 the one sitting on it called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes 509 01:12:57,580 --> 01:13:02,700 are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems. And he has a name written that no one 510 01:13:02,700 --> 01:13:09,500 knows but himself, and he is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and by the name which he is called is the 511 01:13:09,500 --> 01:13:15,580 word of God. And the armies, the raid and fine linen, white and pure, were following him on horses, 512 01:13:15,580 --> 01:13:20,860 and from his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. And he will rule them 513 01:13:20,860 --> 01:13:27,340 with a rod of iron, and he will tread the winepress of his fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his 514 01:13:27,340 --> 01:13:35,580 robe and on his thigh he has the name written: King of kings and Lord of lords. Let's pray. Father, as we 515 01:13:35,580 --> 01:13:47,180 look back to this victory over an overwhelming force by your power through your grace, help us to 516 01:13:47,180 --> 01:13:52,780 realize the victory that is ahead of us is also through your power and your grace that we would 517 01:13:52,780 --> 01:14:01,900 not be discouraged. May we this morning examine our hearts, examine our eyes, and examine our hands to see 518 01:14:03,020 --> 01:14:09,340 what it is that we are delighting in with our hearts, what it is we are focused on with our eyes, and what it 519 01:14:09,340 --> 01:14:19,020 is we are doing with our hands. Energize us for the work of your kingdom, direct us to you, and turn our 520 01:14:19,020 --> 01:14:30,460 affections towards you. It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. We're going to stand and sing about the hope we see. 521 01:14:30,460 --> 01:14:57,900 How great the chasm that lay between us, how high the mountain I could not climb. In desperation 522 01:14:57,900 --> 01:15:25,340 I turned to heaven and spoke your name into the night. Then through the darkness your loving-kindness tore through the shadows of my soul. The work is finished, the end is written. 523 01:15:25,340 --> 01:15:38,860 The end is written. Jesus Christ, my living hope. 524 01:15:38,860 --> 01:15:52,200 Who could imagine so great a mercy? What heart could fathom such boundless grace? 525 01:15:52,200 --> 01:16:05,640 The God of ages stepped down from glory to wear my sin and bear my shame. 526 01:16:05,640 --> 01:16:19,060 The cross has spoken. I am forgiven. The King of kings calls me his own. 527 01:16:19,060 --> 01:16:32,400 Beautiful Savior, I'm yours forever. Jesus Christ, my living hope. 528 01:16:32,400 --> 01:16:45,920 Hallelujah! Praise the One who set me free. Hallelujah! Death has lost its grip on me. 529 01:16:45,920 --> 01:16:58,920 You have broken every chain. There's salvation in Your name. Jesus Christ, my living hope. 530 01:16:58,920 --> 01:17:14,780 Then came the morning that sealed the promise. Your buried body began to breathe. 531 01:17:14,780 --> 01:17:40,640 Out of the silence the roaring lion declared the grave has no claim on me. Then came the morning that sealed the promise. Your buried body began to breathe. 532 01:17:43,640 --> 01:18:02,400 The silence the roaring lion declared the grave has no claim on me. Jesus, yours is the victory. 533 01:18:02,400 --> 01:18:12,500 Hallelujah. Praise the one who set me free. 534 01:18:12,500 --> 01:18:32,080 Hallelujah. Death has lost its grip on me. You have broken every chain. There's salvation in your name. Jesus Christ, my living hope. 535 01:18:32,080 --> 01:18:41,360 Hallelujah. Praise the one who set me free. Hallelujah. 536 01:18:41,360 --> 01:19:00,380 Death has lost its grip on me. You have broken every chain. There's salvation in your name. Jesus Christ, my living hope. Jesus Christ, my living hope. 537 01:19:00,380 --> 01:19:10,220 Oh God, you are my living hope. 538 01:19:10,220 --> 01:19:39,080 We'll be continuing in Joshua one more week and then we'll take a little bit of a break as we come to sort of prepare our hearts to celebrate the arrival of Jesus, and so for the four weeks starting the Sunday following Thanksgiving, we'll be walking through those sort of big themes as we see the hope and the peace and the 539 01:19:39,080 --> 01:20:07,940 joy and love that is announced by the birth of our Savior. Also, on Wednesday nights, we are talking about what it means to be thankful and how to be thankful and how thankfulness anchors our life in a theology of thankfulness. That's Wednesday nights at 7 p.m., and so we'd invite you to join us for that as well. So we're going to sing. I'm going to pray. We'll read a verse of Scripture and 540 01:20:07,940 --> 01:20:36,800 sing the doxology and be dismissed. Father in heaven, I thank you for your grace. I thank you for the peace that you have given us. As we see Joshua bringing peace to the land, we thank you that your son Jesus has brought peace to us, that he has defeated our enemies of sin and death and hell and Satan, and that we can 541 01:20:36,800 --> 01:20:50,800 have peace in him. So help us as we move through this week. May we watch our hearts and our eyes, and may we put our hands to work for your kingdom. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 542 01:20:50,800 --> 01:21:05,660 As Paul writes in Thessalonians, he says this, "Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, with soul and body, be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you 543 01:21:05,660 --> 01:21:09,660 who is faithful, he will surely do it." 544 01:21:09,660 --> 01:21:34,520 Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and God. 545 01:21:34,520 --> 01:21:39,520 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 546 01:22:04,520 --> 01:22:34,500 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 547 01:22:34,520 --> 01:23:04,500 Father, Son, Holy Ghost. 548 01:23:04,520 --> 01:23:34,500 Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Son, Holy Ghost. 549 01:23:34,520 --> 01:24:04,500 Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Son, Holy Ghost, Son, Holy Ghost. 550 01:24:04,520 --> 01:24:34,500 Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Son, Holy Ghost. 551 01:24:34,520 --> 01:25:04,500 Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Son, Holy Ghost, Son, Holy Ghost. 552 01:25:04,520 --> 01:25:34,500 Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Son, Holy Ghost, Son, Holy Ghost. 553 01:25:34,520 --> 01:26:04,500 Father, Son, Holy Ghost. 554 01:26:04,520 --> 01:26:34,500 Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Son, Holy Ghost. 555 01:26:34,520 --> 01:26:52,440 Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Son, Holy Ghost.