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Welcome to the Bridge Church VB Podcast, your weekly source for uplifting and transformative Sunday messages! Each episode features insightful, practical teachings rooted in Scripture, designed to inspire and guide you on your spiritual journey. Led by our passionate Lead Pastors, Archie and Tangie Callahan, we strive to create a welcoming environment that encourages individuals from all walks of life to connect with the person, power, and purpose of Jesus Christ.
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0.000000 3.420000 I want you to take out your Bibles and turn to Joshua, chapter three.
3.420000 6.220000 We continue the series called "Strong and Courageous."
6.220000 14.560000 And today we're going to talk about being prepared and positioned, prepared and positioned.
14.560000 17.940000 You know, in life, preparation is key.
17.940000 28.940000 John Wooden, the great UCLA basketball coach, once said, "Success is where preparation and opportunity meet."
28.940000 38.400000 You know, preparation is not our enemy, it's actually our friend, something that we can hold on to and learn from.
38.400000 41.080000 See, we're in a constant state of preparation.
41.080000 46.680000 Most of us don't realize that, but every day we're preparing for tomorrow.
46.680000 50.000000 We're preparing this minute for the next minute.
50.000000 53.000000 Preparation is key in life.
53.000000 63.740000 And in Joshua, chapter three, verse five, and verse 17, we're going to read a couple scriptures, and we're going to talk about being prepared and being positioned.
63.740000 73.740000 Verse five, it says, "And Joshua said to the people, 'Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.'"
73.740000 82.140000 Verse 17, "The priests who carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, stop in the middle of the Jordan."
82.140000 85.980000 Anybody glad here that God stopped in the middle of your mess?
85.980000 99.140000 Come on, and give you a message, and stood on dry ground while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.
99.140000 105.000000 In life, there's always preparation before there is possession.
105.000000 110.540000 Whatever you're trying to possess in life, whether that's a career in business, maybe you want to be a nurse,
110.540000 121.020000 maybe you want to be a doctor, lawyer, maybe you want to be a homemaker, whatever you are wanting to possess, there's always preparation.
121.020000 128.580000 Tony Miller once said, "God is constantly preparing you for what He has prepared for you."
128.580000 136.060000 Let's say that again, "God is constantly preparing you for what He has prepared for you."
136.060000 148.700000 God has a predetermined work for you. It has something good in store for you, so He takes you into this state of preparation, preparing you for that prepared work.
148.700000 156.940000 See, again, preparation is not your enemy. It is your friend, and we are called to be prepared in life.
156.940000 163.460000 When you look at the book of Joshua, Joshua was not a better man than Moses. He was just the next man.
163.460000 172.260000 Moses, who was a great leader, prophet of Israel, did many signs and wonders and miracles by his hands through God.
172.260000 182.180000 He dies in Deuteronomy 34, and he dies in the nation of Israel, is mourning his death for 30 days.
182.180000 195.780000 But in 1st chapter of Joshua, God tells Joshua, "My servant Moses is dead, now I want you to arise and lead these people into the land that I had promised to give them."
195.780000 207.140000 Joshua could have felt timidity at that moment. Joshua could have felt unprepared at that moment. He could have felt anxious, he could have felt discouraged, he could have felt fearful.
207.140000 219.140000 And God understood that to the point that he tells Joshua four times in chapter 1, "Be strong and courageous," and that's our theme this year, "be strong and courageous."
219.140000 229.060000 And so he tells him four times, "Be strong and courageous," and he adds this to it. He says, "Do not be afraid and do not be discouraged."
229.060000 242.500000 God understood the ability to lead the people into the promise land that was given to them would require a strong leader who was courageous, who was not afraid and would not be discouraged.
242.500000 252.580000 And so Joshua does just that. He begins to prepare the people for that. In chapter 2, he sends two spies across the Jordan River into the promise land.
252.580000 265.860000 They first come to Jericho. They spy out the city of Jericho. Jericho was an ancient city. Canaanites lived there. They were worshippers of the moon. They were enemies of God's people.
265.860000 273.860000 So these two spies are there and Rahab, the Harlet, the prostitute, protects them against their enemies.
273.860000 291.780000 And she asks that she would be saved because of her protection. They go back across the Jordan River back to Joshua and tells Joshua, "We can take the land. God has given us the land into our hands. These people are fearful of us."
291.780000 301.220000 As soon as Joshua hears that, in chapter 3, he begins to do several things in order to march across the Jordan River.
301.220000 312.340000 He got to understand something about the Jordan River. Historically during this time, it was at flood stage. It was very high. The water and the rapids of that water were moving fast.
312.340000 318.180000 So for 2.5 million people plus to go across the Jordan River, it would take a miracle.
318.180000 330.980000 And so, though it was at flood stage, Joshua had this ringing in his ears. Be strong. Be courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged.
330.980000 341.060000 He heard that echoing in his soul, in his spirit, in his ears. So he gets up and he does two things that I think we need to do.
341.060000 349.140000 He gets the people prepared, say, prepared. All of us need to get prepared in life.
349.140000 360.980000 And in Joshua chapter number 3 verse 5, it says, "And Joshua said to the people, 'Sanctify yourselves.'"
360.980000 372.420000 Wow. Just leave that verse there. "Sanctify yourselves. For tomorrow, the Lord will do wonders among you."
372.420000 379.300000 The Passion translation says it this way. Joshua instructed the people, "Get yourselves ready."
379.300000 385.060000 That word "sanctify" there. What does that mean? What does it mean to us?
385.060000 392.980000 Joshua tells the people to sanctify themselves. In Exodus 19, God tells Moses to sanctify the people.
392.980000 402.980000 That word "sanctify" actually means to set apart. God sets us apart. We are set apart from common ordinary things.
402.980000 411.060000 He has separated us unto himself. That's what the word "sanctify" means. It means to be set apart.
411.060000 421.540000 Sanctification actually means to be become pure, to be pure, to be holy, to be set apart for the purposes of God on your life.
421.540000 430.580000 And so when we think about this word "sanctify," Joshua says, "You sanctify yourselves, but when we come in over into the New Testament,"
430.580000 436.740000 God begins to talk about this word "sanctification" in multiple ways.
436.740000 444.820000 In 1 Corinthians 6, 9 and 10, it says this, "Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God?"
444.820000 458.660000 "Do not be deceived, neither the sexual immoral or idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who have sex with men, nor thieves, nor greedy, nor drunkards, nor slander, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."
458.660000 467.540000 Paul is saying, "Nobody like that who remains that and consistently walks in that behavior will inherit the kingdom of God."
467.540000 476.820000 Verse 11, he says this, "And that is what some of you were," say word. I mean, you know, he's talking about past tense.
476.820000 487.220000 "But you were washed." There's that word "were." You were washed. You were sanctified. There's that word set apart, made pure.
487.220000 494.420000 "You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by walk, the Spirit of God."
494.420000 501.860000 He is saying, "Some of you were like that, but you were sanctified. You were justified. You were made holy."
501.860000 509.220000 He says, "That's your former life, but there's a sanctifying work that happened in your life."
509.220000 518.500000 Now, I want to pose this question, "How does God sanctify my life? How does God set me apart?"
518.500000 527.620000 Number 1, "And how does God make me holy?" How does that happen? I know you've been up all night thinking about that.
527.620000 539.060000 But I believe it's very important for us to ask this question, "How does God do that in my life? How does God sanctify me? How does He make me holy?"
539.060000 543.940000 Number 1, "Through the blood of Jesus," say the blood of Jesus.
543.940000 556.100000 Hebrews 13, 12 says, "So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through His own blood."
556.100000 567.140000 Blood. Jesus sanctifies us through His own blood. Aren't you happy and glad for the blood of Jesus?
567.140000 578.260000 I'm so glad for the blood of Jesus. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
578.260000 584.580000 First John 1, 9, He cleanses us from all unrighteousness through His blood.
584.580000 596.980000 Through His blood, when did that happen? It happened at the moment that I repented of my sin and believed on Him for my salvation.
596.980000 604.180000 And I became a new creation. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Second Corinthians 5, 17 says,
604.180000 607.940000 "He's a new creation. The old is going to be, hold all things, become new."
607.940000 613.780000 So the blood of Jesus sanctifies me when I receive the forgiveness of sin.
613.780000 620.580000 When I repent of my sin, I am sanctified. I am set apart for a purpose.
620.580000 627.620000 But I can't stop there. Because there are more ways that God sanctifies my life.
627.620000 631.940000 And theologically, we call it a means. How does God sanctify us?
631.940000 639.940000 What is the means of sanctification in my life? How does God set me apart? How does God make me pure? How does God make me holy?
639.940000 643.540000 Number two is the Word of God. Say, Word of God.
643.540000 655.300000 It's the truth of God's Word that can sanctify us. John 17, 17 says, "Sanctify them by thy truth. Thy Word is truth."
655.300000 659.460000 How many of you took a bath or shower this morning, or at least last night?
659.460000 662.580000 If you didn't do it this morning, you just did it last night.
662.580000 668.180000 Okay. We wash this physical temple. We wash this body.
668.180000 675.460000 If we don't wash it and we don't purify it, we don't cleanse it, nobody's going to want to sit beside us.
675.460000 677.860000 Amen.
677.860000 686.580000 But did you know the Word of God sanctifies us internally?
686.580000 692.820000 It sanctifies our motives. It washes us. It cleanses us. How does it do that?
692.820000 701.060000 It does that to the proportion that I open up the Word of God and read it not because I have to,
701.060000 705.860000 but because I desire to, and not only just read it, but obey it.
705.860000 715.860000 James the half-brother of Jesus in James chapter 1, he says, "Do not be merely hearers of the Word,
715.860000 725.220000 but do what it says." As I hear the Word of God and I read the Word of God and I obey the Word of God,
725.220000 732.340000 it sanctifies my life. The Bible says, "We are cleansed by the washing of the water of the Word,"
732.340000 738.260000 that when I read the Bible, I'm actually taking a shower. Now, if we take a shower every day,
738.260000 744.180000 and some of us take two showers a day, how much more should we read and meditate on God's Word,
744.180000 754.420000 so it sanctifies us and purifies our lives? 3. The third way God sanctifies us is by the presence
754.420000 763.060000 of the Holy Spirit. Say, "Holy Spirit." John 16, 13 says, "The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth."
763.060000 771.380000 How many of you? The Holy Spirit will never lead you into deception. That's not his job. His job
771.380000 781.220000 is to expose deception. His job is to lead us in truth, into the truth of the Word of God,
781.220000 788.180000 so it cleanses us, what did Paul say in 1 Corinthians 6? We've been washed, we've been sanctified,
788.180000 794.500000 you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. So the Holy
794.500000 804.260000 Spirit is at work to make us holy. That's why he's called the Holy Spirit. Amen? The Holy Spirit
804.260000 811.860000 gives us a depiction of his job description. Not only is he Holy Spirit, but if he lives in me,
811.860000 820.980000 he's going to make me holy as God is holy. Get what I'm saying? Number four, here it is,
822.420000 829.220000 community of believers. God uses the community, the church, small groups, large group on Sunday
829.220000 836.980000 to sanctify and purify my life to the degree that I humble myself in community.
836.980000 845.780000 Woo! Remember that movie? You can't handle the truth. Sometimes as believers in our
845.780000 852.500000 immaturity, we can't handle the truth, especially when it comes from somebody else. We call it
852.500000 858.980000 judgment. They're judging me. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. We're just being disarming. We're being
858.980000 865.620000 loving and we're being communal to the point that, hey, as iron sharpens iron, so the men sharp
865.620000 871.300000 and men, so it's in the context of the local church and small groups that God begins to work on me.
872.340000 882.980000 If I posture my life in humility, how many, you know, oftentimes God sounds like your wife.
882.980000 889.380000 Oftentimes God's voice takes on the voice of your husband.
889.380000 896.340000 God might sound like your supervisor tomorrow.
900.180000 909.300000 It got quiet in here. Why? Because God uses people to begin to sanctify my life.
909.300000 915.940000 And so it's not for our harm that God uses people. It is for our good.
915.940000 925.380000 We call it correction. We call it discipline. The Bible says God disciplines those he loves.
927.060000 934.340000 How do you believe God loves you? If God loves you, guess what he's going to do? He will correct you.
934.340000 942.660000 He will discipline you. A parent who will not correct other children do not love their children.
942.660000 949.780000 Oh, that's a little Johnny. I'm just going to let him grow up to do what he wants to do. No, you don't
949.780000 960.980000 love him. That's profound for some of you. Because I love my kids, I will correct my kids. I don't punish them.
960.980000 968.500000 Little Johnny, I'm going to punish you. No, we don't punish our kids. We correct our kids.
968.500000 974.660000 Punishment means wrath. We're not bringing wrath. We're bringing correction. We're not bringing
974.660000 982.260000 destruction. We're bringing correction for future growth. And that's the way God is with us. And so
982.260000 990.260000 he begins to sanctify us through his blood, through his word, through his Holy Spirit, and through
990.260000 996.180000 the community of believers called the church. The Bible defines the church. Jesus said in Matthew 16
996.180000 1003.060000 upon this rock, I will build my church. The Greek word there is Ecclesia. It's a group of people
1003.060000 1009.220000 who have been called out of darkness into God's marvelous light. The Ecclesia in the Roman world
1009.220000 1014.900000 was a group of people who were rulers. How many, you know, you're called to be a ruler. You're called
1014.900000 1022.740000 to sit in the seat of rulership in the kingdom of God. You're called to lead. The Ecclesia is a group
1022.740000 1029.380000 of people that have been called out of darkness into God's marvelous light. This church that Jesus
1029.380000 1038.020000 has established is not a social club. It is not an organization. It is a living, breathing, vibrant
1038.020000 1052.740000 organism. It is alive. It is active. It is marching forward in the grace of God. So he sanctifies us
1052.740000 1060.180000 within the community of church. But if I only come to church to hear a talking head and I never get
1060.180000 1069.700000 connected, I limit the ability of God in my life to forge and to shape and mold my life into the
1069.700000 1075.460000 image of his son. The only thing I do is if I just come to church on Sunday and that's all I do.
1075.460000 1083.380000 I never give God time enough to shape and mold me. That's why small groups are important.
1083.380000 1090.500000 I want to connect the dots for you. God uses people to sanctify you.
1090.500000 1100.340000 He does to the level that I allow it. How many of my wife can say something to me?
1101.380000 1107.140000 And if I'm not a lover of the truth, she can speak truth to me and love. And if I'm so prideful
1107.140000 1115.060000 and can't receive from her, I can no longer be forged into the likeness of Jesus.
1115.060000 1123.780000 That's why God gives us teachers. That's why God gives us mentors. That's why God gives us people
1123.780000 1132.660000 to disciple us. I lead a smoker. I can tell you this right here. Oftentimes, I'll facilitate it,
1132.660000 1137.540000 but I'm learning from the guys that are in the group. Why? Because we're all shopping in each other.
1137.540000 1146.660000 We're moving together in Christ. So when you think about this thing called sanctification,
1146.660000 1156.100000 this being set apart, this being made holy. There are several ways you got to think about it.
1156.100000 1165.220000 Number one, from a positional standpoint, I'm sanctified in Christ. That I was placed in him
1165.220000 1171.700000 as salvation. I was sanctified. I was set apart in him. That's positional sanctification.
1173.220000 1181.540000 That does not mean that all my actions appear. This is where we miss it in the body of Christ.
1181.540000 1189.060000 We get saved, then we stop. And we say, I'm on my way to heaven. I signed the dotted line.
1189.060000 1195.220000 I told the pastor I was saved and I can live my own life. That is not what the New Testament teaches.
1195.220000 1202.260000 I don't care what pastor told you that. That is not what the gospel is.
1203.060000 1205.940000 The gospel is not something just to get you out of hill.
1205.940000 1215.300000 The gospel is about transformation of your life. The gospel is about making you a new creation,
1215.300000 1226.500000 not just one time, but daily. You can say it this way. I was saved when I received Jesus Christ,
1226.500000 1232.740000 my Lord and saved. I repented of my sin. I was saved. I was sanctified in Christ. So that's position.
1232.740000 1239.940000 And there's also a progressive sanctification. What is that? It's me growing in grace.
1239.940000 1252.420000 It's me growing daily. It's me outgrowing sins in my life. It's me growing past my rage and my anger
1252.420000 1263.540000 and my bitterness. It's me growing past the addiction. It's me growing past the pain of my childhood.
1263.540000 1268.580000 What is sanctification? It's God taken out of you. What the world has put in you.
1268.580000 1275.860000 It's God taken out of you. What experiential practical things of the heaviness and the hurt and
1275.860000 1281.460000 pain of life have put in you. And God takes all of that out of you and puts his spirit in you and
1281.460000 1290.820000 puts his fruit of the spirit in you and me. So this is a progressive thing that happens every day
1290.820000 1298.100000 in my life. Grow in the fear and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said, "It's for
1298.100000 1304.100000 God's that working you, both the will and the work for He is, good pleasure." It's progressive.
1305.060000 1312.020000 Positional sanctification is what Christ did. Progressive sanctification is what I do in the fear of the
1312.020000 1319.780000 Lord. That's why Paul said in Philippians 212, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."
1319.780000 1326.420000 I want to turn to you now to say, "You got to work it out." You got to work it out. You got to work
1326.420000 1332.660000 it out. You got to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. That means I got to work
1332.660000 1342.100000 it out. I got to work really positioning myself in God's Word, hearing His Spirit in the body.
1342.100000 1347.780000 I got to read the Word. I got to work it out. I got to meditate on Scripture day and night so
1347.780000 1353.620000 I can be like a tree firmly planted by the streams of water. It's the spiritual growth that God has us
1353.620000 1363.220000 on. This upward path toward Christ's likeness that is progressive sanctification. I am sanctified,
1363.220000 1372.020000 set apart, through Christ Jesus. Holiness is something I work out daily in my relationship with Him
1372.020000 1381.780000 and others. Get it? So I'm positionally sanctified but I'm not going to stop there because I don't want
1381.780000 1386.500000 to just be positionally sanctified. I want to just shout that position on positional positional
1386.500000 1393.940000 and act like the devil. Anybody can stop cussing on Sunday for one hour.
1393.940000 1402.420000 Anybody can not be become enraged in one hour on Sunday morning. So I'm here about to become
1402.420000 1405.220000 enraged right now because I'm touching some of the enemies of your soul.
1409.060000 1415.780000 But it's this progressive work. So I'm positional. It's progressive. But guess what?
1415.780000 1424.340000 Ultimately, it's perfected sanctification. When I become like Jesus and receive a glorified
1424.340000 1434.740000 body when I get to heaven, I will become as He is ultimately. So we're on this path of sanctification
1434.740000 1443.060000 that God has us on. And Joshua said, prepare yourself. How do we do that? How we've been doing that
1443.060000 1448.340000 over the last 14 days? We've been fasting. We've been praying. We've been reading God's word. We've
1448.340000 1453.620000 been saying, Lord, prepare us because God is constantly preparing us for the greater work He
1453.620000 1459.140000 has prepared for us. So we're in this constant state of preparation. You don't take time off from
1459.140000 1469.860000 preparation. You don't take a vacation from preparation spiritually. You say, Lord, I'm going to
1469.860000 1475.540000 stay in your word. I'm going to pray. And sometimes it gets hard done it. Life gets busy.
1475.540000 1484.660000 Kids act crazy. Sometimes I say, I don't have the time. But I have to make time. I make time for
1484.660000 1494.500000 everything that I want to do. I'm not talking about religious activity for religious activity sake.
1494.500000 1502.740000 I'm talking about a relationship where God gives me the desire because He's changed my heart.
1502.740000 1510.580000 Ezekiel 36, 26 says, God will take out a heart of stone, your heart of stone and give you a heart of
1510.580000 1516.820000 flesh. You may be able to obey His commands. It's that new birth experience. And once He does that in
1516.820000 1525.700000 my life, He gives me a desire for His presence, a desire for church. If an infant is healthy,
1525.700000 1536.580000 that infant will naturally eat. If a Christian is born again in a healthy way, He will naturally
1536.580000 1546.340000 desire the milk of God's word. Graduate from milk to baby formula number one. Baby formula another two.
1546.340000 1554.020000 Green beans, mashed potatoes, and eventually get to that Ruth Chris steak.
1554.020000 1563.460000 Anybody love that man? That's some good stuff. I got hungry. I'm fasting. But you got to grow.
1565.380000 1574.740000 You got to grow. Sankify yourselves because God will do wonders among you tomorrow. So as we're
1574.740000 1582.740000 preparing ourselves, God begins to do wonders. He begins to do miracles. They were they were they're
1582.740000 1588.340000 prepared and they were number two were positions. They positioned. Look what it says.
1590.900000 1597.780000 It says this in verse six, take up the arc of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people. So they
1597.780000 1606.820000 took it up and went ahead of them. What does that mean? What is the arc of the covenant? The arc of
1606.820000 1613.620000 the covenant was a box. It was made of a KO wood. It was a certain way you had to handle it. It was
1613.620000 1620.020000 overlaid with gold inside. It had gold. It had three things in the arc of the covenant. It had the
1620.020000 1626.660000 10 commandments that were given to Moses. It had Aaron's rod that butted which represented it. It
1626.660000 1634.420000 represented that God could bring life out of dead things. And it also had manna. Manna was the
1634.420000 1639.780000 bread that fell from heaven for the children of Israel and the wilderness. So it was a representation
1639.780000 1650.900000 of God's provision. Everything in that box was in Jesus. He fulfilled the commandments. He brought
1650.900000 1659.860000 life out of death and he is our spiritual provision. Everything in that box was in Jesus. But everything
1659.860000 1669.460000 in that box is now in you if you're a believer. That box represented the presence of God to the
1669.460000 1677.940000 people. It represented God's covenant with the people of God and it represented the mercy of God
1677.940000 1685.860000 that was extended to those people. And God tells Joshua to command the priest to take the
1685.860000 1690.900000 arc of the covenant which represented for the nation of Israel, the very presence of God, the
1690.900000 1696.420000 covenant of God, and the mercy of God. And we want you to take that arc of the covenant and get
1696.420000 1703.300000 out in front of the people. What was Joshua saying? He was saying, "I want you to position yourself
1703.300000 1712.180000 up front and allow the people to come behind God." How many know when you get in the right position,
1712.180000 1719.540000 you see the miracles of God. We are called to be followers of Jesus in the New Testament. Jesus
1719.540000 1724.900000 said in Matthew 1624, "If any man wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross
1724.900000 1732.500000 and follow me. The initial call of Jesus is one of following him so they had to follow the arc of
1732.500000 1739.940000 the covenant in the Old Testament just as we follow Jesus who is our spiritual arc of the covenant
1739.940000 1746.740000 in the New Testament. We follow him and they had to follow, look here, the arc into the Jordan river.
1746.740000 1752.180000 Here's the miracle, the Jordan river was at flood stage. And as soon as the priest put their
1752.180000 1760.020000 feet into the water, the water began to stand still. They went into the middle of the Jordan river.
1760.020000 1766.820000 God went in the middle of the Jordan river and made away for the nation of Israel. Let me tell you
1766.820000 1772.900000 something. God is in the middle of your mess. He's in the middle of your situation. He is in the middle
1772.900000 1778.260000 of your circumstance. He is in the middle of your pain. He is in the middle of your grief. And you
1778.260000 1784.340000 got to understand when God gets in the middle, you're going to pass through on dry ground. And though I
1784.340000 1791.540000 walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. If God says you're going to the
1791.540000 1797.540000 other side, he is in the middle making away for you. And I just hear God saying he is in the middle
1797.540000 1805.300000 for you today. He is standing in the middle of your situation. He is standing there. The Bible says
1805.300000 1818.180000 they marched over the Jordan river on dry ground. They were positioned on dry ground. I don't know
1818.180000 1824.740000 in the middle of your situation is what you're standing in the middle. You might be standing in the
1824.740000 1828.980000 middle of divorce. You might be standing in the middle of pain. You might be standing in the middle
1828.980000 1834.580000 of heart. You might be standing in the middle of a business going berserk. You might be standing
1834.580000 1840.100000 in the middle of a financial reversal. Whatever you're standing in the middle of, I can rest
1840.100000 1846.820000 assured. You can rest assured that God said, I will never leave you or forsake you. I'll be with you
1846.820000 1854.500000 to the end of the age. God is there. And Joshua had a word from God. Be strong in courageous. Do not
1854.500000 1861.380000 be afraid. Do not be discouraged. He could say that to Joshua because he already knew that his
1861.380000 1866.340000 presence was going to be in the middle of the Jordan river, that he was already going to be in the
1866.340000 1872.100000 middle pushing them forward into their purpose and destiny. Even though Jericho was there,
1872.100000 1878.580000 and it was a canonite group of people who worshiped the moon, and they had to defeat that enemy.
1878.580000 1886.820000 Guess what? God was saying, Joshua, be strong in courageous. Be strong in courageous. Don't be afraid.
1886.820000 1892.500000 Don't be discouraged. I know the city has walls around it, but I have given you the city.
1892.500000 1897.140000 I'm going to wrap this up. I've got seven minutes to wrap it up or less.
1897.140000 1904.180000 When you read the book of Joshua, you got to realize the Old Testament book of Joshua
1904.180000 1907.220000 is our New Testament book of Ephesians.
1910.820000 1918.500000 In Ephesians, we see the wealth of the believer, we see the walk of the believer, and we see the
1918.500000 1925.140000 warfare of the believer. Paul says, our wealth is in our position.
1925.140000 1933.540000 He shows us where we're positioned in Ephesians chapter 1. We're seated with Christ into heaven,
1933.540000 1939.380000 living on them. You can't get any greater position than that. If you're way up here,
1939.380000 1945.860000 guess what? Everything else is under your feet. You have a great position to see. You have a great
1945.860000 1955.460000 position to walk. So it's in the wealth, the walk, and the warfare. In the old covenant, the warfare
1955.460000 1962.660000 was physical. They fought physical enemies. They fought the canonites and all the other nights.
1962.660000 1971.220000 There's a lot of them. In the New Testament, the warfare is not physical. It is spiritual.
1971.220000 1978.260000 Ephesians 6, 10, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might,
1978.260000 1987.540000 for we wrestle not against what? Flesh and blood. Your enemy is not your spouse.
1989.220000 1995.700000 Your enemy is not the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. Your enemy is the devil.
1995.700000 2004.980000 The Bible says we have three enemies. The world, the flesh, the devil. You crucify the world
2004.980000 2012.820000 to when you want to overcome it. You crucify your flesh and you cast it down or kick out the devil.
2013.780000 2020.420000 But here's the problem in our church. Oftentimes we blame the devil for the things that we do.
2020.420000 2027.300000 See, the greatest enemy in life is not the enemy out here. The greatest enemy is enemy.
2027.300000 2042.100000 Here's the enemy. Galatians 5, rage, anger, sedition, slander, bitterness, unforgiveness.
2042.100000 2049.060000 What is all that stuff? What is all this? It's the works of the flesh.
2049.060000 2059.380000 That's the enemy. The greater enemy is the work of the flesh. The flesh that has not been submitted
2059.380000 2071.220000 and crucified. And so we come into this spiritual battle. He gives us spiritual weapons.
2071.220000 2081.780000 He gives us the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God. Wow, the Word of God helps you
2081.780000 2087.220000 find that battle. The helmet of salvation. What is the helmet of salvation? What does it do? It
2087.220000 2092.580000 protects your mind. I mean, you know, you have fiery darts coming toward your mind every day. Thoughts.
2092.580000 2100.740000 Thoughts. Take every thought captive. How? Through the helmet of salvation. The shield of faith.
2101.460000 2108.740000 That blocks the dark to the enemy. The belt of truth. The breastplate of righteousness.
2108.740000 2118.180000 We have a righteousness in Christ and the shoes of peace. And we fight this battle,
2118.180000 2121.860000 not on physical ground, but spiritual ground.
2124.100000 2131.140000 Positioned in Christ. That we're in Christ. I like what it says in Colossians 1.
2131.140000 2136.980000 In Christ, all things hold together. Let me ask you this. Are your relationships in Christ?
2136.980000 2143.860000 Is your marriage in Christ? Is your finances in Christ? Is your life hidden in Christ?
2143.860000 2152.100000 Because God is doing that sanctifying, working us through His blood, through His Word, through His Spirit,
2152.100000 2160.100000 through the community of faith. And He's in the middle. But I've got a partner with God.
2160.100000 2167.540000 I say, Lord, I want to walk with you. I want you to transform my life. I'm not talking about
2167.540000 2176.260000 magic. I'm not talking about a genie in a bottle. I'm talking about truly partnering with God
2177.060000 2186.180000 for transformation. How do I do that? I humble myself. A daily become introspective.
2186.180000 2194.500000 See, oftentimes we're good at pointing out the sins of others. But we're not so good at seeing our own sin.
2194.500000 2202.100000 I found this to be true. I spend so much time partnering with God, cleaning up my own life,
2202.820000 2209.780000 that I don't have a whole lot of time to help other people clean up. Here I felt that way. I have
2209.780000 2218.260000 so it's God at work and you both the will and the work for His good pleasure.
2222.980000 2233.620000 We were saved. We are being saved. And one day we will ultimately be saved.
2233.620000 2245.380000 Don't stop walking. Don't stop loving God. Don't stop pressing. You'll find grace in those things.
2245.380000 2256.740000 Let's stand. When we are prepared and positioned rightly, we see the provision of God.
2256.740000 2262.980000 Verse 17, "The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord,
2262.980000 2268.580000 stopped in the middle of the Jordan, stood on dry ground while all Israel passed by until the
2268.580000 2278.420000 whole nation had completed crossing on dry ground. They stood there. Those priests that had the ark that
2278.420000 2287.380000 represented God stood there." You know what that represents? Philippians 1, 6, Paul speaking to
2287.380000 2293.300000 the church at Philippi while he's chained to a Roman guard in Rome. He said, "I'm confident of
2293.300000 2300.180000 this very thing that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus
2300.180000 2310.100000 on the Lord." If he's going to perfect that good work, what's my job? Surrender. Surrender. Surrender.
2310.100000 2315.620000 I mean, that's a hard thing to do sometimes. It's hard to surrender my will. It's hard to surrender.
2315.620000 2322.500000 My ambition. It's hard to surrender my pain. It's hard to surrender my own opinions. I need to
2322.500000 2327.780000 surrender that to God. Let's power hands. Lord, I just thank you today.
2327.780000 2339.060000 God, that we can surrender all to you. We can surrender all to you today.