1
00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:02,780
This recording is provided by Times Square Church

2
00:00:02,780 --> 00:00:03,820
in New York City.

3
00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:07,039
You're welcome to make additional copies for free

4
00:00:07,039 --> 00:00:08,400
distribution to friends.

5
00:00:09,100 --> 00:00:12,900
All other unauthorized duplication or electronic transmission is

6
00:00:12,900 --> 00:00:15,640
a violation of copyright and other applicable laws.

7
00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:19,200
This recording cannot be posted on any website.

8
00:00:19,780 --> 00:00:21,980
However, written permission to link to the Times

9
00:00:21,980 --> 00:00:25,300
Square Church homepage may be requested by emailing

10
00:00:25,300 --> 00:00:28,260
info at timessquarechurch.org.

11
00:00:29,190 --> 00:00:32,760
Other recordings are available by calling 1-800

12
00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:38,300
-488-0854 or by writing to Times Square

13
00:00:38,300 --> 00:00:42,680
Church Tape Ministry, 1657 Broadway, New York, New

14
00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:45,020
York, 10019.

15
00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:47,980
I want to talk to you this afternoon

16
00:00:47,980 --> 00:00:52,140
on the topic, A Covenant That Covers.

17
00:00:52,140 --> 00:00:54,020
A Covenant That Covers.

18
00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:57,880
And we are going to begin our survey

19
00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:01,000
in the book of Joshua.

20
00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:06,360
And we will consider the ninth and the

21
00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:10,360
tenth chapters of that book.

22
00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:12,840
And now as you turn into the book

23
00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:17,540
of Joshua, the ninth chapter, I would remind

24
00:01:17,540 --> 00:01:22,480
you of a certain word from the Apostle

25
00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:25,640
Paul in the book of Galatians around the

26
00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:26,340
fifth chapter.

27
00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:31,300
He talks to us about a particular war

28
00:01:31,300 --> 00:01:34,340
that every Christian person is aware of.

29
00:01:34,340 --> 00:01:41,200
The war between the spirit and the flesh.

30
00:01:42,340 --> 00:01:48,140
And he says very clearly that this is

31
00:01:48,140 --> 00:01:50,820
a perpetual war.

32
00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:57,720
We will always be required to wage this

33
00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:01,580
kind of warfare, not by our strength but

34
00:02:01,580 --> 00:02:03,740
according to the spirit of the Lord.

35
00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:09,820
And I want to consider these chapters in

36
00:02:09,820 --> 00:02:13,100
the book of Joshua so that we might,

37
00:02:13,340 --> 00:02:18,040
by way of illustration, consider the nature of

38
00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:22,480
this warfare and how we as Christian persons

39
00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:27,900
are given the grace of God to always

40
00:02:27,900 --> 00:02:32,100
overcome, to always win.

41
00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:38,300
Now, the Bible speaks of the people of

42
00:02:38,300 --> 00:02:44,620
Israel, after having waited forty years to enter

43
00:02:44,620 --> 00:02:48,040
into the land of promise because of their

44
00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:54,000
unbelief, they finally began to move into the

45
00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:55,300
promise of God.

46
00:02:56,420 --> 00:03:00,140
And as they began to move into that

47
00:03:00,140 --> 00:03:05,200
promise, the Bible says that they took some

48
00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:07,000
wonderful victories.

49
00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:12,620
They took wonderful victories on the one side

50
00:03:12,620 --> 00:03:15,700
of the Jordan and then they saw a

51
00:03:15,700 --> 00:03:18,280
miracle of God, the Jordan River open and

52
00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:21,880
they passed through dryshod as they had passed

53
00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:23,720
through the Red Sea.

54
00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:27,720
And they came to this side of the

55
00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:32,660
Jordan and they began to take victories again.

56
00:03:33,640 --> 00:03:39,400
And after having taken a significant victory over

57
00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:47,680
the city that was called Ai, there was

58
00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:54,680
a people of the Hivites called the people

59
00:03:54,680 --> 00:04:01,040
of Gibeon who had heard that God was

60
00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:01,960
on the move.

61
00:04:03,140 --> 00:04:08,120
They heard that God was choosing to glorify

62
00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:10,640
His name once again.

63
00:04:11,260 --> 00:04:15,940
That after forty years of what seemed to

64
00:04:15,940 --> 00:04:23,320
be a slumber, after an entire generation of

65
00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:28,600
what seemed to be a lull in the

66
00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:34,420
move of God, they heard that God was

67
00:04:34,420 --> 00:04:36,520
on the move again.

68
00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:41,140
And the Bible says that fear began to

69
00:04:41,140 --> 00:04:45,000
come upon them and they counseled among each

70
00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:46,880
other and decided this is what we're going

71
00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:47,240
to do.

72
00:04:48,280 --> 00:04:52,060
We are going to disguise ourselves.

73
00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:55,840
We're going to put on some old clothes,

74
00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:57,120
some old shoes.

75
00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:00,140
We're going to bring some tattered and torn

76
00:05:00,140 --> 00:05:02,580
wine bottles and some moldy bread.

77
00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:05,760
And we're going to go to these people

78
00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:08,240
and we're going to say, we are a

79
00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:11,180
people who are from a foreign land.

80
00:05:11,980 --> 00:05:13,920
You don't have to worry about us.

81
00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:17,340
I understand that God has told you when

82
00:05:17,340 --> 00:05:20,220
you come into the land of promise that

83
00:05:20,220 --> 00:05:25,100
you are supposed to take victory over every

84
00:05:25,100 --> 00:05:27,180
nation in that land.

85
00:05:27,900 --> 00:05:31,000
I understand that you are not supposed to

86
00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:35,920
let anything in that land live because the

87
00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:38,840
Lord has chosen to judge you.

88
00:05:39,780 --> 00:05:43,380
But we are from a foreign land.

89
00:05:43,840 --> 00:05:47,180
We're not from right here in the land

90
00:05:47,180 --> 00:05:47,700
of Canaan.

91
00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:53,080
And we have come to enter into a

92
00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:54,440
covenant with you.

93
00:05:55,060 --> 00:05:58,840
We have come to join forces with you.

94
00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:01,720
We have come to, on some level or

95
00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:04,760
another, give you a certain amount of international

96
00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:05,780
prestige.

97
00:06:06,420 --> 00:06:08,260
You see, because the Bible said very clearly

98
00:06:08,260 --> 00:06:10,300
that Gibeah was not a small land at

99
00:06:10,300 --> 00:06:10,580
all.

100
00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:12,780
But it was one of the mighty lands,

101
00:06:12,840 --> 00:06:14,120
one of the lands of the kings.

102
00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:20,820
And the people heard this petition and they

103
00:06:20,820 --> 00:06:25,540
heard this particular proposal and they decided that

104
00:06:25,540 --> 00:06:27,160
it sounds good to me.

105
00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:30,680
They are not from where I live.

106
00:06:30,840 --> 00:06:32,180
They are from a foreign land.

107
00:06:32,300 --> 00:06:35,040
So, yes, why not enter into covenant with

108
00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:35,240
them.

109
00:06:35,280 --> 00:06:37,780
And of course, the Bible says that after

110
00:06:37,780 --> 00:06:42,100
three days they found out that these were

111
00:06:42,100 --> 00:06:42,920
the Hivites.

112
00:06:43,420 --> 00:06:46,740
One of the seven nations of the Canaanites.

113
00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:50,400
And they were one of the seven peoples

114
00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:50,960
of the Canaanites.

115
00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:55,120
And they were supposed to have destroyed them.

116
00:06:55,120 --> 00:07:00,220
But now, they have already entered into a

117
00:07:00,220 --> 00:07:01,880
covenant with them, even in the sight of

118
00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:02,240
the Lord.

119
00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:05,780
Now, some people said, oh, well, you entered

120
00:07:05,780 --> 00:07:08,120
into this covenant through false pretenses.

121
00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:09,080
They lied to you.

122
00:07:09,100 --> 00:07:11,300
So, you don't really need to honor that.

123
00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:14,220
Just destroy them.

124
00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:18,780
But they said, the elders said, but we

125
00:07:18,780 --> 00:07:22,020
have entered into this covenant with them before

126
00:07:22,020 --> 00:07:22,500
the Lord.

127
00:07:22,500 --> 00:07:26,720
We can't just act like it never happened.

128
00:07:27,660 --> 00:07:29,660
But here's what we will do.

129
00:07:30,980 --> 00:07:35,100
We will bring them under subjection.

130
00:07:35,860 --> 00:07:39,800
We will make them hewers of wood and

131
00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:41,420
drawers of water.

132
00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:48,320
And they will serve us all the days

133
00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:49,020
of their life.

134
00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:57,320
Now, this is a picture, an illustration of

135
00:07:57,320 --> 00:08:02,280
what we experience when we as Christian people

136
00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:09,820
make some bad decisions that become on some

137
00:08:09,820 --> 00:08:13,600
level or another a part of our life.

138
00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:16,360
They are not the things that we can

139
00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:17,820
just shake off.

140
00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:22,380
But they are things that we can bring

141
00:08:22,380 --> 00:08:24,680
under subjection.

142
00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:27,240
Now, going back to the beginning of the

143
00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:30,480
story, we see a people who have decided

144
00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:35,140
on their own that this thing that's trying

145
00:08:35,140 --> 00:08:38,840
to come into my life is far from

146
00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:39,159
me.

147
00:08:39,159 --> 00:08:44,160
Oftentimes, whenever the flesh begins to try and

148
00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:47,620
rise up, as God brings His people into

149
00:08:47,620 --> 00:08:50,900
a place of victory, as God begins to

150
00:08:50,900 --> 00:08:54,500
bring them into a promise, as God begins

151
00:08:54,500 --> 00:08:57,040
to try and manifest His glory in their

152
00:08:57,040 --> 00:09:01,220
life, there is a thing that tries to

153
00:09:01,220 --> 00:09:02,320
rise up.

154
00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:06,360
And what it says is, you know, I'm

155
00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:07,480
going to be honest with you.

156
00:09:08,420 --> 00:09:12,540
I am something that is not to be

157
00:09:12,540 --> 00:09:14,800
considered a part of you.

158
00:09:15,220 --> 00:09:16,800
I am not near to you.

159
00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:18,060
I'm not dear to you.

160
00:09:18,420 --> 00:09:20,500
I'm way out here somewhere.

161
00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:24,700
And so, you don't have to worry about

162
00:09:24,700 --> 00:09:28,760
the commandment that God gave you that suggests

163
00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:32,680
that anything and everything that the Lord has

164
00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:36,740
already determined to destroy must be destroyed from

165
00:09:36,740 --> 00:09:38,040
within your provinces.

166
00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:39,760
In other words, it's that kind of a

167
00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:45,880
thing that says, this is far from you.

168
00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:49,680
There are things, for instance, that we might

169
00:09:49,680 --> 00:09:52,240
see on television.

170
00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:55,640
And we say, you know what, I can

171
00:09:55,640 --> 00:10:00,940
somehow entertain myself with that because that's far

172
00:10:00,940 --> 00:10:01,940
from me.

173
00:10:01,940 --> 00:10:05,360
Far be it from me to ever do

174
00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:06,320
that kind of a thing.

175
00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:09,180
Far be it from me to ever live

176
00:10:09,180 --> 00:10:10,880
that kind of way.

177
00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:14,940
This thing is far from me.

178
00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:18,340
And maybe we, you know, at the office

179
00:10:18,340 --> 00:10:20,880
just listen to a little bit of gossip.

180
00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:24,400
We hear, you know, the juicy tidbits about

181
00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:26,780
what so and so is doing and what

182
00:10:26,780 --> 00:10:28,340
such and such is engaging in.

183
00:10:28,340 --> 00:10:31,380
But we say, that's far from me.

184
00:10:31,980 --> 00:10:34,340
Far be it from me to ever engage

185
00:10:34,340 --> 00:10:37,460
in this kind of lifestyle or in that

186
00:10:37,460 --> 00:10:38,260
kind of lifestyle.

187
00:10:38,580 --> 00:10:40,280
It's not that bad for me to be

188
00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:42,000
remotely entertained by it.

189
00:10:42,460 --> 00:10:44,480
Because it's so far from me that I'll

190
00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:46,200
never actually do it.

191
00:10:46,980 --> 00:10:49,700
Sometimes somebody might be in an office situation

192
00:10:49,700 --> 00:10:51,940
and they're kind of, you know, giving, you

193
00:10:51,940 --> 00:10:54,560
know, an eye to somebody of the opposite

194
00:10:54,560 --> 00:10:54,940
sex.

195
00:10:54,940 --> 00:10:56,760
Of course, they're married, I'm married.

196
00:10:57,080 --> 00:10:59,560
But far be it from me, it's never

197
00:10:59,560 --> 00:11:00,640
going to go beyond that.

198
00:11:01,340 --> 00:11:03,200
You see, they live so far out there.

199
00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:05,220
Now, I've dealt with all of the deep

200
00:11:05,220 --> 00:11:06,040
issues of my heart.

201
00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:08,600
I've destroyed, you know, the seven nations of

202
00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:09,120
the Canaanites.

203
00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:10,660
But this is a far people.

204
00:11:11,780 --> 00:11:13,600
You see, they came and they had their

205
00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:17,520
tattered garments and they had their molded bread.

206
00:11:17,860 --> 00:11:19,360
They're not a part of my life, they're

207
00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:20,240
just out there somewhere.

208
00:11:20,500 --> 00:11:22,380
It's alright for me to be remotely entertained

209
00:11:22,380 --> 00:11:22,860
by it.

210
00:11:23,740 --> 00:11:25,560
Because it's far from me.

211
00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:30,960
But the Bible suggests that after three days,

212
00:11:32,140 --> 00:11:35,440
they realize that this thing is not as

213
00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:37,920
far from me as I thought.

214
00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:42,320
It's right here in my heart.

215
00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:45,540
I want to suggest to you that in

216
00:11:45,540 --> 00:11:52,140
this particular instance, these godly people made a

217
00:11:52,140 --> 00:11:54,860
covenant with covetousness.

218
00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:59,360
You see, the Bible says that they made

219
00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:02,380
three very particular errors.

220
00:12:03,180 --> 00:12:06,900
The first one was that they looked at

221
00:12:06,900 --> 00:12:09,900
the surface of the thing that was being

222
00:12:09,900 --> 00:12:15,220
offered to them and never really considered the

223
00:12:15,220 --> 00:12:16,800
substance of it.

224
00:12:17,540 --> 00:12:19,960
They simply looked at their clothes.

225
00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:23,360
They looked at their wine bottles.

226
00:12:23,900 --> 00:12:25,360
They looked at their bread.

227
00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:31,140
Instead of really looking into their faces, instead

228
00:12:31,140 --> 00:12:33,340
of really listening to their words, if they

229
00:12:33,340 --> 00:12:35,200
had listened to them long enough, they might

230
00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:37,720
have found out that they had an accent

231
00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:39,060
that gave them away.

232
00:12:40,580 --> 00:12:43,880
But instead, all they did was look at

233
00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:47,040
the very superficial elements, the same way we

234
00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:48,920
do when we look at the world.

235
00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:52,060
That's what the psalmist says, I think in

236
00:12:52,060 --> 00:12:53,960
the 73rd Psalm, where he said, I looked

237
00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:56,380
at the world and everybody seemed to be

238
00:12:56,380 --> 00:12:57,220
prospering.

239
00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:02,060
I almost stumbled, he said, in my walk

240
00:13:02,060 --> 00:13:03,220
to the house of the Lord.

241
00:13:03,820 --> 00:13:06,240
Because I looked at all of these people

242
00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:08,880
and they all seemed to be doing better

243
00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:09,420
than me.

244
00:13:10,540 --> 00:13:14,800
I looked at the advertisements and everybody seems

245
00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:16,740
to be better looking than me.

246
00:13:17,260 --> 00:13:19,820
Everybody seems to have whiter teeth and a

247
00:13:19,820 --> 00:13:20,580
brighter smile.

248
00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:23,980
Everybody's driving a bigger car.

249
00:13:25,380 --> 00:13:28,960
And I feel like I need that.

250
00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:32,380
The Bible says, for instance, when the Lord

251
00:13:32,380 --> 00:13:34,840
began to stretch forth His hands against the

252
00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:38,060
world, the context of that situation was that

253
00:13:38,060 --> 00:13:41,060
the children of God began to look on

254
00:13:41,060 --> 00:13:43,180
the children of the world and they just

255
00:13:43,180 --> 00:13:45,580
looked and they saw that this woman was

256
00:13:45,580 --> 00:13:47,940
pretty or whatever and without even considering the

257
00:13:47,940 --> 00:13:50,680
substance, they simply looked on the face or

258
00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:52,960
they looked at the superficial elements, the surface

259
00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:55,140
elements and just took wives of anyone that

260
00:13:55,140 --> 00:13:55,560
they wanted.

261
00:13:58,390 --> 00:13:59,630
The lust of the eyes.

262
00:14:02,570 --> 00:14:04,970
And then the Bible says that they took

263
00:14:04,970 --> 00:14:06,210
of their provisions.

264
00:14:07,270 --> 00:14:08,910
Now, I'm going to tell you, brother and

265
00:14:08,910 --> 00:14:10,670
sister, it wasn't the moldy bread that we're

266
00:14:10,670 --> 00:14:11,410
talking about here.

267
00:14:12,330 --> 00:14:13,770
The Bible says that they came from a

268
00:14:13,770 --> 00:14:14,590
mighty nation.

269
00:14:15,570 --> 00:14:17,230
I'm sure it was sort of like the

270
00:14:17,230 --> 00:14:19,490
case where Isaac is trying to figure out

271
00:14:19,490 --> 00:14:20,710
which one of his sons is which.

272
00:14:20,750 --> 00:14:22,950
Remember, he was blind and Jacob is talking

273
00:14:22,950 --> 00:14:24,690
to him and trying to act like Esau

274
00:14:24,690 --> 00:14:27,130
and Isaac is saying, you sound a little

275
00:14:27,130 --> 00:14:28,610
bit like Jacob to me.

276
00:14:28,810 --> 00:14:31,090
And then Jacob whips out the stool.

277
00:14:31,850 --> 00:14:33,210
And all of a sudden, all of his

278
00:14:33,210 --> 00:14:34,490
discernment is out the window.

279
00:14:35,230 --> 00:14:36,430
You know what I mean?

280
00:14:37,370 --> 00:14:39,210
So while they were holding that moldy bread,

281
00:14:39,310 --> 00:14:40,910
they were probably saying, I don't know, you

282
00:14:40,910 --> 00:14:42,210
sound like the highbites to me.

283
00:14:42,290 --> 00:14:43,790
And then they pull out this big chunk

284
00:14:43,790 --> 00:14:44,490
of gold.

285
00:14:44,730 --> 00:14:45,090
Boom!

286
00:14:46,970 --> 00:14:48,250
And all of a sudden, they said, but

287
00:14:48,250 --> 00:14:50,210
then again, you know what I mean?

288
00:14:50,370 --> 00:14:52,330
The British sound a lot like the ones

289
00:14:52,330 --> 00:14:53,910
from Wales, like the ones from Ireland.

290
00:14:54,330 --> 00:14:56,310
I don't know, maybe you are from this

291
00:14:56,310 --> 00:14:56,590
place.

292
00:14:58,590 --> 00:15:00,530
And they took of their provision.

293
00:15:03,010 --> 00:15:04,070
The lust of the flesh.

294
00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:10,920
Far be it from me to ever live

295
00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:14,320
like those people in the world who say

296
00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:15,360
greed is good.

297
00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:18,420
But if they got a couple of extra

298
00:15:18,420 --> 00:15:21,020
dollars, I'm not going to say no.

299
00:15:22,820 --> 00:15:25,620
Far be it from me to ever engage

300
00:15:25,620 --> 00:15:27,560
in the way of the world.

301
00:15:27,740 --> 00:15:30,100
I'm never going to kiss anybody else's wife

302
00:15:30,100 --> 00:15:32,260
and nobody else's wife is going to kiss

303
00:15:32,260 --> 00:15:32,420
me.

304
00:15:32,420 --> 00:15:34,600
But I don't mind being entertained by cutting

305
00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:35,400
on my television.

306
00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:37,880
And watching this married man kiss this married

307
00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:39,780
woman and weeping because it's so romantic.

308
00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:43,940
Far be it from me.

309
00:15:49,020 --> 00:15:49,980
The lust of the flesh.

310
00:15:51,300 --> 00:15:53,860
And then the Bible says that they never

311
00:15:53,860 --> 00:15:56,480
inquired of the Lord.

312
00:15:57,980 --> 00:16:00,640
Because when people are pulling out fancy clothes

313
00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:02,440
and large wedges of gold and so on

314
00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:04,260
and so forth, sometimes we don't want to

315
00:16:04,260 --> 00:16:05,340
hear what God has to say.

316
00:16:08,020 --> 00:16:10,200
Somebody is telling you, if you just cook

317
00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:12,100
the books a little bit, you'll have the

318
00:16:12,100 --> 00:16:13,180
biggest car you ever wanted.

319
00:16:14,780 --> 00:16:16,680
Nobody else in the office is saying anything.

320
00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:18,580
If you don't say anything, if you just

321
00:16:18,580 --> 00:16:20,360
kind of get along and get on board,

322
00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:21,780
you'll have as big a car as we

323
00:16:21,780 --> 00:16:21,980
do.

324
00:16:23,260 --> 00:16:24,880
Far be it from me to ever be

325
00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:27,960
a thief or a liar, but I just

326
00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:28,920
ain't going to say anything.

327
00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:31,720
I'm just not going to do anything.

328
00:16:34,290 --> 00:16:35,110
Far be it from me.

329
00:16:37,070 --> 00:16:38,670
But then they come with the car and

330
00:16:38,670 --> 00:16:39,750
there it is, right there, boom.

331
00:16:41,550 --> 00:16:42,570
Right there in your heart.

332
00:16:43,370 --> 00:16:45,730
That's where the Hittites were, or rather the

333
00:16:45,730 --> 00:16:46,210
Hivites were.

334
00:16:47,270 --> 00:16:49,930
They were right there in the land of

335
00:16:49,930 --> 00:16:50,210
promise.

336
00:16:50,250 --> 00:16:51,030
Right here in our heart.

337
00:16:54,830 --> 00:16:56,910
Now, because they chose not to inquire of

338
00:16:56,910 --> 00:16:59,770
the Lord, it manifests the pride of life.

339
00:17:01,090 --> 00:17:05,410
And this is the nature of the flesh.

340
00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:10,660
This is the nature of that kind of

341
00:17:10,660 --> 00:17:13,680
thing that tries to come against the Christian

342
00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:14,220
person.

343
00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:18,720
As we are entering into this wonderful promise

344
00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:19,660
of God.

345
00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:24,099
And it's something that we must always be

346
00:17:24,099 --> 00:17:25,880
careful of.

347
00:17:27,020 --> 00:17:29,520
They said that we're far from you, somewhere

348
00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:30,960
out there on the periphery.

349
00:17:31,100 --> 00:17:33,220
You never really have to worry about us.

350
00:17:33,420 --> 00:17:35,160
Every now and again we might stop by.

351
00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:36,680
We might ask, you know, for you to

352
00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:38,060
come and visit us once a year or

353
00:17:38,060 --> 00:17:39,720
twice a year or whatever the case might

354
00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:40,060
be.

355
00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:41,900
Just so that we can acknowledge that we

356
00:17:41,900 --> 00:17:44,460
have covenant relationship, but we're way out there

357
00:17:44,460 --> 00:17:44,860
somewhere.

358
00:17:45,740 --> 00:17:47,960
And so we say that to issues of

359
00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:48,400
the heart.

360
00:17:49,060 --> 00:17:50,380
Far be it from me that I should

361
00:17:50,380 --> 00:17:51,040
ever do this.

362
00:17:51,360 --> 00:17:52,360
Far be it from me that I should

363
00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:52,840
ever do that.

364
00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:53,900
And then all of a sudden, boom, there

365
00:17:53,900 --> 00:17:54,240
it is.

366
00:17:54,980 --> 00:17:56,020
There it is.

367
00:17:56,840 --> 00:17:58,720
In this case it was the issue of

368
00:17:58,720 --> 00:17:59,360
covetousness.

369
00:18:00,300 --> 00:18:02,220
They wanted their provision.

370
00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:04,720
They wanted the prestige.

371
00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:06,780
They wanted the protection.

372
00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:10,080
All of those things that appertain to covenant

373
00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:10,820
relationship.

374
00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:13,720
They wanted that from the world.

375
00:18:15,020 --> 00:18:17,960
And so their flesh began to manifest itself

376
00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:18,640
on that area.

377
00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:22,860
When they realized what they had done.

378
00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:27,960
Some people said, well, we were lied to.

379
00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:31,580
They came to us under false pretenses.

380
00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:35,900
And we don't have to even acknowledge that

381
00:18:35,900 --> 00:18:38,720
there is such a thing as this covenant.

382
00:18:40,360 --> 00:18:44,760
There is no relationship between me and the

383
00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:45,000
flesh.

384
00:18:45,060 --> 00:18:46,680
They might have even said, I'll tell you

385
00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:47,300
what I'll do.

386
00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:49,580
The next time there's an altar call, I'm

387
00:18:49,580 --> 00:18:50,700
just going to run to the altar.

388
00:18:51,060 --> 00:18:52,460
I'm going to say a prayer and act

389
00:18:52,460 --> 00:18:53,760
like nothing ever happened.

390
00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:58,080
Act like I didn't develop this habit.

391
00:18:59,900 --> 00:19:02,580
Act like I haven't interacted with the way

392
00:19:02,580 --> 00:19:05,080
of the world on such a level that

393
00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:07,260
I haven't interacted covenant with some habit or

394
00:19:07,260 --> 00:19:07,560
another.

395
00:19:07,860 --> 00:19:09,760
Act like it just never existed.

396
00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:11,580
I'll never have to deal with this again,

397
00:19:11,660 --> 00:19:12,480
thank you very much.

398
00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:14,980
Which is why so many people think that

399
00:19:14,980 --> 00:19:16,240
God is unfaithful.

400
00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:19,220
Because they for some reason believe that they

401
00:19:19,220 --> 00:19:22,680
can enter into some kind of an agreement

402
00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:24,820
with the flesh even in the sight of

403
00:19:24,820 --> 00:19:25,260
God.

404
00:19:26,660 --> 00:19:28,740
And then when they realize how close that

405
00:19:28,740 --> 00:19:30,200
thing is to their bosom.

406
00:19:30,380 --> 00:19:31,740
That thing that they thought was so far

407
00:19:31,740 --> 00:19:32,000
away.

408
00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:33,760
They say, well, let me run to the

409
00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:35,580
altar somewhere and boom, let's just act like

410
00:19:35,580 --> 00:19:36,080
it never happened.

411
00:19:37,300 --> 00:19:38,240
That's what they wanted to do.

412
00:19:38,900 --> 00:19:40,980
Saul did that and God judged them for

413
00:19:40,980 --> 00:19:41,140
it.

414
00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:46,260
He waged war against the Gibeonites when God

415
00:19:46,260 --> 00:19:46,800
said not to.

416
00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:49,100
And God judged them for it.

417
00:19:50,500 --> 00:19:53,780
But Joshua was a penitent man.

418
00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:55,900
And a broken man.

419
00:19:57,000 --> 00:19:58,380
And he said, I'm not going to lie

420
00:19:58,380 --> 00:19:59,600
to God and I'm not going to lie

421
00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:00,100
to myself.

422
00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:06,460
This is an element of my existence.

423
00:20:07,980 --> 00:20:11,820
And now I have to deal with it.

424
00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:14,660
The Lord spoke to Cain one day and

425
00:20:14,660 --> 00:20:17,580
he said, Cain, sin is crouching at your

426
00:20:17,580 --> 00:20:20,540
door but you must overpower it.

427
00:20:22,330 --> 00:20:24,770
Paul said at a certain point that I

428
00:20:24,770 --> 00:20:27,510
beat my body, I buffet my body and

429
00:20:27,510 --> 00:20:29,170
make it my slave.

430
00:20:29,870 --> 00:20:31,750
So that I won't be one of those

431
00:20:31,750 --> 00:20:33,430
people who preach to a whole bunch of

432
00:20:33,430 --> 00:20:35,550
other people and then find myself a castaway.

433
00:20:36,490 --> 00:20:38,610
Because Paul was saying, I go wherever God

434
00:20:38,610 --> 00:20:39,130
sends me.

435
00:20:39,370 --> 00:20:41,530
As we heard earlier today, he said, when

436
00:20:41,530 --> 00:20:44,270
I'm among the Jews, then I live like

437
00:20:44,270 --> 00:20:44,590
a Jew.

438
00:20:44,710 --> 00:20:45,690
In other words, what he was saying, he

439
00:20:45,690 --> 00:20:48,330
was talking specifically in that particular context about

440
00:20:48,330 --> 00:20:50,070
his diet and so on and so forth.

441
00:20:50,110 --> 00:20:51,950
But what it manifested was the fact that

442
00:20:51,950 --> 00:20:54,450
God was using him to meet the needs

443
00:20:54,450 --> 00:20:55,110
of a lot of people.

444
00:20:55,310 --> 00:20:56,210
To win a lot of people.

445
00:20:56,750 --> 00:20:58,210
He said, when I was among the Jews,

446
00:20:58,270 --> 00:20:58,990
I didn't eat pork.

447
00:20:59,430 --> 00:21:00,770
When I was among the Gentiles, you know,

448
00:21:00,810 --> 00:21:01,790
I ate whatever they laid in front of

449
00:21:01,790 --> 00:21:01,890
me.

450
00:21:01,890 --> 00:21:03,350
When I was among the weak, speaking about

451
00:21:03,350 --> 00:21:05,310
those people who were vegetarians, then I didn't

452
00:21:05,310 --> 00:21:06,070
eat any meat at all.

453
00:21:06,310 --> 00:21:07,770
You know, search the scriptures and understand the

454
00:21:07,770 --> 00:21:09,610
context in the book of 1 Corinthians.

455
00:21:10,870 --> 00:21:12,810
He said, in essence, God is using me

456
00:21:12,810 --> 00:21:14,070
to win many souls.

457
00:21:15,470 --> 00:21:18,790
I am moving into the wonderful promise of

458
00:21:18,790 --> 00:21:19,070
God.

459
00:21:20,030 --> 00:21:22,170
God is being glorified in my life but

460
00:21:22,170 --> 00:21:23,330
I realize something.

461
00:21:23,610 --> 00:21:26,470
I still have a flesh.

462
00:21:27,470 --> 00:21:29,730
There is still an element of my being

463
00:21:29,730 --> 00:21:33,050
that must be beaten down every day.

464
00:21:33,590 --> 00:21:36,790
Jesus said, take up your cross daily and

465
00:21:36,790 --> 00:21:37,450
follow me.

466
00:21:38,450 --> 00:21:42,010
And so, we see Joshua saying, here's what

467
00:21:42,010 --> 00:21:44,310
we're going to do with the Gibeonites.

468
00:21:45,250 --> 00:21:49,730
We are going to bring them under subjection.

469
00:21:50,530 --> 00:21:54,150
And we are going to make them our

470
00:21:54,150 --> 00:21:54,530
servants.

471
00:21:55,810 --> 00:21:58,990
And in essence, what you have now is

472
00:21:58,990 --> 00:22:03,350
a person who is engaging in this war

473
00:22:03,350 --> 00:22:06,590
that Paul talked about when he speaks of

474
00:22:06,590 --> 00:22:07,270
the Galatians.

475
00:22:07,750 --> 00:22:11,650
This war against the flesh that is a

476
00:22:11,650 --> 00:22:13,490
regular war.

477
00:22:14,150 --> 00:22:16,650
It is a continual war.

478
00:22:17,350 --> 00:22:20,730
You see, the flesh is, when God's grace

479
00:22:20,730 --> 00:22:23,810
is manifesting Himself in us, the flesh is

480
00:22:23,810 --> 00:22:26,430
subject to the individual.

481
00:22:27,810 --> 00:22:30,410
God allows us to bring it under subjection

482
00:22:30,410 --> 00:22:32,770
but it is always there.

483
00:22:33,870 --> 00:22:35,410
I'll give you an illustration.

484
00:22:36,570 --> 00:22:39,170
In the days of old, whenever a Roman

485
00:22:39,170 --> 00:22:43,030
general would take a mighty victory, there would

486
00:22:43,030 --> 00:22:45,730
be this parade that was made for him.

487
00:22:46,050 --> 00:22:50,390
This procession, this victorious procession.

488
00:22:50,390 --> 00:22:54,290
And he would march along in all of

489
00:22:54,290 --> 00:22:57,610
the pomp and ceremony that appertains to great

490
00:22:57,610 --> 00:22:58,090
victory.

491
00:22:59,170 --> 00:23:05,630
But there was a slave, a servant, who

492
00:23:05,630 --> 00:23:08,250
was actually taken in the battle.

493
00:23:09,110 --> 00:23:13,690
One who was subdued, who had no real

494
00:23:13,690 --> 00:23:14,430
power.

495
00:23:14,910 --> 00:23:17,370
But he was a sign of the battle

496
00:23:17,370 --> 00:23:19,150
that had just taken place.

497
00:23:19,150 --> 00:23:22,210
And while all of the people were cheering

498
00:23:22,210 --> 00:23:26,910
and acknowledging the great victory of this general,

499
00:23:27,510 --> 00:23:33,070
this servant, this slave, would get up really

500
00:23:33,070 --> 00:23:34,570
close to his ear.

501
00:23:35,030 --> 00:23:36,190
That was his responsibility.

502
00:23:37,290 --> 00:23:42,390
And he would whisper in a voice that

503
00:23:42,390 --> 00:23:44,890
shouted, if you will, louder than all of

504
00:23:44,890 --> 00:23:47,390
the applause of the people's roundabout.

505
00:23:48,390 --> 00:23:53,110
And would say, remember, you are just a

506
00:23:53,110 --> 00:23:53,450
man.

507
00:23:54,510 --> 00:23:59,390
Remember, you are just a man.

508
00:24:00,130 --> 00:24:03,990
You see, when the flesh is brought under

509
00:24:03,990 --> 00:24:10,510
subjection, when we buffet our bodies or our

510
00:24:10,510 --> 00:24:14,570
flesh and bring it under subjection or make

511
00:24:14,570 --> 00:24:19,790
it our slave, then it serves a purpose.

512
00:24:20,850 --> 00:24:23,290
It says to you and it says to

513
00:24:23,290 --> 00:24:27,970
me, remember, you are just a man.

514
00:24:28,230 --> 00:24:29,450
You are just a woman.

515
00:24:29,730 --> 00:24:32,710
There's just so much of this stuff that

516
00:24:32,710 --> 00:24:35,490
you can watch before what you think is

517
00:24:35,490 --> 00:24:37,510
far from you is right here.

518
00:24:39,310 --> 00:24:42,370
There's just so many things you can turn

519
00:24:42,370 --> 00:24:45,490
a blind eye to before you find blindness

520
00:24:45,490 --> 00:24:46,750
setting in.

521
00:24:48,430 --> 00:24:51,950
There's just so many times you can refuse

522
00:24:51,950 --> 00:24:54,090
and I can refuse to inquire at the

523
00:24:54,090 --> 00:24:56,770
Lord before we lose, as we heard this

524
00:24:56,770 --> 00:24:59,410
morning, our capacity to discern.

525
00:25:02,060 --> 00:25:03,700
You see what the flesh says as it

526
00:25:03,700 --> 00:25:05,980
whispers into our ear, when it is brought

527
00:25:05,980 --> 00:25:08,620
under subjection, because it lies when it's not.

528
00:25:09,460 --> 00:25:11,600
But when it's brought under subjection, it says,

529
00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:14,280
remember, you're just a man.

530
00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:17,600
That flesh starts rising up in you and

531
00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:20,560
you know how much you need a Savior.

532
00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:23,480
You know how much you and I need

533
00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:24,400
to cry out to God.

534
00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:26,520
And that's why I wanted to talk to

535
00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:29,660
you this afternoon about a covenant that covers.

536
00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:33,640
Because even though they made a foolish covenant

537
00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:40,220
with the flesh, they very, very, very fortunately,

538
00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:42,780
and by the blessing of God, they were

539
00:25:42,780 --> 00:25:45,180
under a much greater covenant.

540
00:25:46,360 --> 00:25:48,960
You see, God had covenanted that He would

541
00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:52,620
bring them into the land of promise and

542
00:25:52,620 --> 00:25:55,360
He would bring them to a place of

543
00:25:55,360 --> 00:25:56,120
stability.

544
00:25:57,300 --> 00:26:01,440
And thank God, even though we make some

545
00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:07,080
foolish decisions sometimes, God has made a promise

546
00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:11,360
that He would bring us into a place

547
00:26:11,360 --> 00:26:14,960
of stability and to an established place.

548
00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:18,520
Now, if they had decided to act like

549
00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:20,860
the issue with the Gibeons never existed and

550
00:26:20,860 --> 00:26:22,460
they had tried to kill the Gibeons in

551
00:26:22,460 --> 00:26:26,180
their own strength, they would have had some

552
00:26:26,180 --> 00:26:27,820
hard times ahead.

553
00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:31,320
But now they came and they acknowledged, God,

554
00:26:31,380 --> 00:26:32,740
we did this in Your sight.

555
00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:35,360
We are not going to try and hide

556
00:26:35,360 --> 00:26:35,820
from You.

557
00:26:36,580 --> 00:26:38,180
We are not going to try and lie

558
00:26:38,180 --> 00:26:39,760
to You and say, Lord, I never did

559
00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:39,880
it.

560
00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:41,540
No, Lord, I did it.

561
00:26:42,180 --> 00:26:43,760
And I did it in Your sight.

562
00:26:44,580 --> 00:26:47,480
And now I have to depend upon the

563
00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:50,720
fact that Your covenant with me through the

564
00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:56,440
Son is more powerful than any foolish covenant

565
00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:59,520
that I made with the world or with

566
00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:00,040
the flesh.

567
00:27:01,360 --> 00:27:05,700
And God's covenant is more powerful.

568
00:27:07,180 --> 00:27:10,020
You see, the only way we can bring

569
00:27:10,020 --> 00:27:14,880
these Gibeonites under subjugation is by virtue of

570
00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:18,220
the covenant that God has made with us

571
00:27:18,220 --> 00:27:19,320
through the Son.

572
00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:27,320
Firstly, it is a covenant of communion.

573
00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:32,080
God opens the door and says, I covenant

574
00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:37,560
to commune with You on the deepest levels

575
00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:38,920
conceivable.

576
00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:42,980
In other words, when you've made a covenant

577
00:27:42,980 --> 00:27:45,440
with something that you thought was so far

578
00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:48,480
from you and you realize it was so

579
00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:51,360
close to you, so dear to your heart,

580
00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:58,580
you can come to me and acknowledge your

581
00:27:58,580 --> 00:27:58,980
sin.

582
00:27:59,820 --> 00:28:03,600
The Bible says that if we confess our

583
00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:07,280
sin, that He is faithful and just to

584
00:28:07,280 --> 00:28:10,100
forgive us our sin and also to cleanse

585
00:28:10,100 --> 00:28:13,020
us from all unrighteousness.

586
00:28:13,020 --> 00:28:15,320
The Bible says that we have an advocate

587
00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:18,500
with the Father, even Jesus Christ, the Righteous

588
00:28:18,500 --> 00:28:18,920
One.

589
00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:22,900
So we go to Him and we say,

590
00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:26,240
by virtue of the great covenant that You

591
00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:29,040
have with me, I need the covenant that

592
00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:32,180
You have with me to be able to

593
00:28:32,180 --> 00:28:37,100
supersede and surpass whatever covenant I made with

594
00:28:37,100 --> 00:28:37,600
the flesh.

595
00:28:38,380 --> 00:28:41,940
Remember, my brothers and sisters, what happened in

596
00:28:41,940 --> 00:28:45,000
the days of Esther, where the king had

597
00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:46,940
made a certain statement.

598
00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:49,180
He sent out a certain decree because somebody

599
00:28:49,180 --> 00:28:50,060
had lied to him.

600
00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:52,880
And he sent out a decree that all

601
00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:54,480
of the Israelites should be destroyed.

602
00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:57,660
And when he found out the truth, he

603
00:28:57,660 --> 00:29:01,340
said, you know, I can't simply undo this

604
00:29:01,340 --> 00:29:01,740
decree.

605
00:29:01,740 --> 00:29:04,900
But what I can do is I can

606
00:29:04,900 --> 00:29:08,220
send out a decree that's even more powerful

607
00:29:08,220 --> 00:29:09,820
than that decree.

608
00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:13,420
A decree that can nullify that decree.

609
00:29:14,100 --> 00:29:18,680
Now we have the covenant with God that

610
00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:21,780
enables us to commune with Him no matter

611
00:29:21,780 --> 00:29:24,880
what our circumstance, no matter how foolish a

612
00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:25,980
decision we made.

613
00:29:26,180 --> 00:29:28,560
We can come to Him in brokenness and

614
00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:30,240
repentance as we heard this morning.

615
00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:32,960
We can come and we can turn and

616
00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:35,260
we can say, God, this is what I

617
00:29:35,260 --> 00:29:35,860
have done.

618
00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:38,140
But I bring it to You now.

619
00:29:38,660 --> 00:29:40,120
I acknowledge my fault.

620
00:29:40,420 --> 00:29:41,680
I acknowledge my sin.

621
00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:43,680
I'm not going to act like I can

622
00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:45,500
wish it away or will it away or

623
00:29:45,500 --> 00:29:47,320
destroy it in my own strength.

624
00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:50,560
I say, by the power of the covenant

625
00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:53,680
of God and the capacity that I have

626
00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:57,360
to communicate with God, the devil cannot shut

627
00:29:57,360 --> 00:29:57,900
my mouth.

628
00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:00,100
He cannot shut me off from God.

629
00:30:00,220 --> 00:30:02,460
As long as I can go to God

630
00:30:02,460 --> 00:30:06,340
and bring my petition to Him, then He

631
00:30:06,340 --> 00:30:09,100
can subdue my flesh.

632
00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:11,700
He can bring it under.

633
00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:14,480
He can bring it under.

634
00:30:16,630 --> 00:30:20,910
But this is also a covenant of commitment

635
00:30:20,910 --> 00:30:27,410
where we commit, for instance, to communicate with

636
00:30:27,410 --> 00:30:27,710
God.

637
00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:32,310
Where we say, Lord, while I have the

638
00:30:32,310 --> 00:30:34,970
opportunity to be entertained on this level or

639
00:30:34,970 --> 00:30:36,690
that level or communicate on this level or

640
00:30:36,690 --> 00:30:41,610
that level, I commit to communing with You.

641
00:30:42,170 --> 00:30:44,370
Do you remember their big problem was that

642
00:30:44,370 --> 00:30:47,790
they did not commune with the Lord.

643
00:30:48,610 --> 00:30:52,510
Now, I don't think for one minute that

644
00:30:52,510 --> 00:30:55,810
they did not go through their ordinary rituals.

645
00:30:56,810 --> 00:30:59,970
They probably offered whatever offering they offer in

646
00:30:59,970 --> 00:31:01,890
the morning and they probably said whatever prayers

647
00:31:01,890 --> 00:31:02,270
they pray.

648
00:31:02,490 --> 00:31:03,690
Throughout the course of the day, they were

649
00:31:03,690 --> 00:31:05,210
just going through their ordinary business.

650
00:31:06,310 --> 00:31:11,130
But they did not communicate with God.

651
00:31:13,350 --> 00:31:15,710
You see, brother and sister Christian, we must

652
00:31:15,710 --> 00:31:19,610
commit to communing with God.

653
00:31:19,790 --> 00:31:22,610
That's much more important than having a habit

654
00:31:22,610 --> 00:31:24,690
of going to church or having a habit

655
00:31:24,690 --> 00:31:26,410
of reading our Bibles or having a habit

656
00:31:26,410 --> 00:31:26,910
of praying.

657
00:31:28,150 --> 00:31:33,330
But a commitment to communion where we say,

658
00:31:33,390 --> 00:31:35,530
God, You tell me where to go.

659
00:31:35,530 --> 00:31:37,750
You tell me what to do.

660
00:31:38,190 --> 00:31:39,890
You tell me how to live.

661
00:31:41,230 --> 00:31:45,910
So that every conversation that I have is

662
00:31:45,910 --> 00:31:49,070
based upon the fact that I am also

663
00:31:49,070 --> 00:31:51,950
in direct communion with God.

664
00:31:53,090 --> 00:31:55,010
So if I'm having a gossip session here

665
00:31:55,010 --> 00:31:56,890
and there's me and there's my neighbor, I'm

666
00:31:56,890 --> 00:31:57,950
going to have to look at it with

667
00:31:57,950 --> 00:32:00,390
my mind's eye as though God is also

668
00:32:00,390 --> 00:32:01,950
a member of that party.

669
00:32:02,930 --> 00:32:05,150
You know, as I'm sipping my Starbucks and

670
00:32:05,150 --> 00:32:06,930
dipping my donut, you know, I'm going to

671
00:32:06,930 --> 00:32:11,010
also think to myself that God is also

672
00:32:11,010 --> 00:32:11,710
in the midst.

673
00:32:13,490 --> 00:32:16,710
And is this the kind of communication that

674
00:32:16,710 --> 00:32:17,370
He enjoys?

675
00:32:18,610 --> 00:32:22,250
Everything I see with my eyes, now I

676
00:32:22,250 --> 00:32:26,330
have to see through the cross of Christ.

677
00:32:27,870 --> 00:32:28,930
You ever see one of those pieces of

678
00:32:28,930 --> 00:32:30,710
paper that have a watermark on it or

679
00:32:30,710 --> 00:32:31,290
something like that?

680
00:32:31,290 --> 00:32:32,670
I mean, you have it on dollar bills

681
00:32:32,670 --> 00:32:33,070
and everything.

682
00:32:33,510 --> 00:32:34,870
You know, you have to look through it

683
00:32:34,870 --> 00:32:36,350
to see whatever else is under it.

684
00:32:37,550 --> 00:32:39,390
There should be that kind of a watermark

685
00:32:39,390 --> 00:32:40,510
in our vision.

686
00:32:41,250 --> 00:32:43,650
So that everything that we look at, we

687
00:32:43,650 --> 00:32:46,430
look at through the cross of Jesus and

688
00:32:46,430 --> 00:32:50,870
reminding ourselves of what price He paid so

689
00:32:50,870 --> 00:32:52,950
that we might be alive today.

690
00:32:55,880 --> 00:32:59,420
Communion with God, but a commitment to communion.

691
00:32:59,420 --> 00:33:01,660
And then I want to say that it

692
00:33:01,660 --> 00:33:05,200
is also a covenant that involves the idea

693
00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:06,400
of consistency.

694
00:33:07,900 --> 00:33:10,260
You see, it's not God today, the world

695
00:33:10,260 --> 00:33:12,400
tomorrow, God today, the world tomorrow and so

696
00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:13,060
on and so forth.

697
00:33:13,820 --> 00:33:16,680
It's God every day.

698
00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:20,080
God all day, every day.

699
00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:21,240
Hallelujah.

700
00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:21,840
Hallelujah.

701
00:33:23,600 --> 00:33:25,880
And we're always asking God, Lord, what do

702
00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:28,420
you want me to understand in this generation?

703
00:33:29,220 --> 00:33:30,640
What do you want me to see?

704
00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:33,160
Even when I think about the news, not

705
00:33:33,160 --> 00:33:35,240
everything that they want to show you on

706
00:33:35,240 --> 00:33:36,240
the news is worth seeing.

707
00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:40,700
You don't have to see everything that they

708
00:33:40,700 --> 00:33:41,380
want to show you.

709
00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:43,000
There are certain things, brother and sister, that

710
00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:45,080
you just don't need to know.

711
00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:47,580
I know that sounds a little bit strange

712
00:33:47,580 --> 00:33:50,800
in our over-inflated information data and, you

713
00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:52,860
know, society where everybody's got a little bit

714
00:33:52,860 --> 00:33:54,660
of this and everybody's got a factoid here

715
00:33:54,660 --> 00:33:56,320
and a thought there and so on and

716
00:33:56,320 --> 00:33:56,720
so forth.

717
00:33:57,200 --> 00:33:58,880
But the truth of the matter is, brothers

718
00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:01,520
and sisters, you and I don't have to

719
00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:04,620
know everything that's going on in the world.

720
00:34:05,080 --> 00:34:08,719
And we don't have to see pictures of

721
00:34:08,719 --> 00:34:10,860
every dead and bloated body.

722
00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:15,480
You don't have to know everything that's going

723
00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:15,860
on.

724
00:34:16,780 --> 00:34:20,440
There must be this kind of prayer that

725
00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:22,120
says, God, what do I need to read

726
00:34:22,120 --> 00:34:24,139
and what do I need to avoid?

727
00:34:24,380 --> 00:34:26,260
Just because a thing says this news or

728
00:34:26,260 --> 00:34:28,760
that news doesn't mean that the Christian person

729
00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:29,940
has to engage it.

730
00:34:32,679 --> 00:34:35,639
So we have to ask ourselves, God, am

731
00:34:35,639 --> 00:34:39,460
I consistent in my communion with you if

732
00:34:39,460 --> 00:34:40,679
I read this thing?

733
00:34:40,679 --> 00:34:43,460
Am I consistent in my communion with you

734
00:34:43,460 --> 00:34:46,659
if I read that thing and so on

735
00:34:46,659 --> 00:34:47,500
and so forth?

736
00:34:48,040 --> 00:34:49,620
And, of course, when we're talking about things

737
00:34:49,620 --> 00:34:51,199
like watching television or going to the movies,

738
00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:55,659
we're talking about complete inconsistency for the most

739
00:34:55,659 --> 00:34:56,040
part.

740
00:34:57,180 --> 00:34:58,840
I mean, you can barely even watch a

741
00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:01,180
zoological program anymore without people telling you that

742
00:35:01,180 --> 00:35:01,880
there's no God.

743
00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:03,200
When I was a kid, I used to

744
00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:06,020
love watching shows about lions and tigers and

745
00:35:06,020 --> 00:35:08,080
bears and stuff, because that really made me

746
00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:09,320
happy, you know, but now you can't even

747
00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:09,800
watch it.

748
00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:12,900
Without people just cramming this evolution down your

749
00:35:12,900 --> 00:35:14,700
throat, telling you that there's no God, there's

750
00:35:14,700 --> 00:35:15,180
no hope.

751
00:35:16,580 --> 00:35:18,060
Be careful, my brothers and sisters.

752
00:35:19,780 --> 00:35:21,520
Things that you think, far be it from

753
00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:21,780
me.

754
00:35:22,960 --> 00:35:24,520
I don't care how many times somebody tells

755
00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:26,000
me that there's no God on some sitcom.

756
00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:27,400
I know that there's a God.

757
00:35:27,460 --> 00:35:28,260
See, I have a Bible.

758
00:35:30,340 --> 00:35:37,940
The idea is if they say it long

759
00:35:37,940 --> 00:35:44,060
enough, and you listen long enough, you will

760
00:35:44,060 --> 00:35:46,100
begin to doubt the Lord.

761
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:48,140
Remember that servant.

762
00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:49,140
Remember the flesh.

763
00:35:50,220 --> 00:35:52,860
You are but a man.

764
00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:56,620
There's just so many times you can listen

765
00:35:56,620 --> 00:35:59,720
to some situation comedy tell you that there

766
00:35:59,720 --> 00:36:02,700
is no reason to fear the Lord, before

767
00:36:02,700 --> 00:36:04,380
the fear of the Lord begins to dwindle

768
00:36:04,380 --> 00:36:06,020
in your own soul.

769
00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:08,260
There's just so many times.

770
00:36:08,320 --> 00:36:09,560
Let the flesh serve you.

771
00:36:10,020 --> 00:36:11,520
Let it tell you as it begins to

772
00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:12,100
rise up.

773
00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:13,960
When you find yourself laughing at some joke

774
00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:15,340
that you know you shouldn't be laughing at,

775
00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:16,300
at the office or whatever.

776
00:36:16,460 --> 00:36:17,780
As it begins to rise up, let it

777
00:36:17,780 --> 00:36:19,400
say to you, there's just so many times

778
00:36:19,400 --> 00:36:21,980
you can listen to this joke, before you

779
00:36:21,980 --> 00:36:22,800
start telling it.

780
00:36:25,740 --> 00:36:28,600
Before you start losing that sense of holiness,

781
00:36:31,150 --> 00:36:32,330
consistency.

782
00:36:33,750 --> 00:36:35,330
And it's a covenant of condition.

783
00:36:37,070 --> 00:36:41,570
A covenant that says, if you try and

784
00:36:41,570 --> 00:36:43,710
act like you never made any covenant with

785
00:36:43,710 --> 00:36:46,630
Gibeah, you try and act like this is

786
00:36:46,630 --> 00:36:48,570
just not a part of you, you and

787
00:36:48,570 --> 00:36:50,330
I can engage in anything we want and

788
00:36:50,330 --> 00:36:51,350
everything is going to be okay.

789
00:36:53,130 --> 00:36:54,490
Then you're going to find yourself in a

790
00:36:54,490 --> 00:36:55,610
rather difficult situation.

791
00:36:56,750 --> 00:36:58,310
We're going to find ourselves in a place

792
00:36:58,310 --> 00:37:05,310
where God, who wants to override this decision,

793
00:37:06,350 --> 00:37:07,170
is not able to.

794
00:37:07,990 --> 00:37:09,430
Because we won't acknowledge it.

795
00:37:10,270 --> 00:37:11,490
We won't admit it.

796
00:37:12,350 --> 00:37:14,010
We won't come to God and say, Lord,

797
00:37:14,110 --> 00:37:16,270
I made a stupid mistake.

798
00:37:17,490 --> 00:37:19,370
I sinned against the Lord.

799
00:37:20,490 --> 00:37:24,730
I engaged in a covenant with covetousness.

800
00:37:26,700 --> 00:37:28,260
Instead we say, well, let's kill it before

801
00:37:28,260 --> 00:37:29,180
God sees it.

802
00:37:30,100 --> 00:37:31,860
Let's just sweep it under the rug before

803
00:37:31,860 --> 00:37:32,620
God notices.

804
00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:35,900
But David said, where can I go?

805
00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:39,100
Where can I hide from God?

806
00:37:39,980 --> 00:37:41,580
Where can I hide from His gaze?

807
00:37:43,040 --> 00:37:44,600
It's like a little child who thinks that

808
00:37:44,600 --> 00:37:46,540
they can hide something from you, you know,

809
00:37:46,560 --> 00:37:47,380
behind their back.

810
00:37:47,380 --> 00:37:49,060
The thing is twice their size.

811
00:37:49,140 --> 00:37:50,860
And they got it behind their back and

812
00:37:50,860 --> 00:37:52,500
they're hoping, you know, like my little daughter

813
00:37:52,500 --> 00:37:54,200
trying to hide a surfboard back there.

814
00:37:54,540 --> 00:37:55,500
You know what I mean?

815
00:37:55,760 --> 00:37:58,240
You and I cannot hide from the Lord.

816
00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:00,200
Everything is transparent.

817
00:38:00,480 --> 00:38:02,080
Another thing I notice that children tend to

818
00:38:02,080 --> 00:38:03,940
do is when they try to hide from

819
00:38:03,940 --> 00:38:05,900
you by closing their own eyes.

820
00:38:06,960 --> 00:38:07,880
You know what I mean?

821
00:38:08,420 --> 00:38:09,400
And we do that.

822
00:38:09,500 --> 00:38:13,940
We allow our discernment to completely dissipate so

823
00:38:13,940 --> 00:38:16,880
that we can't even tell that we are

824
00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:19,080
committing sin, thinking that somehow if I don't

825
00:38:19,080 --> 00:38:19,960
know it, God doesn't know it.

826
00:38:20,540 --> 00:38:22,440
If I can't discern it, God can't discern

827
00:38:22,440 --> 00:38:22,900
it.

828
00:38:24,140 --> 00:38:26,660
But now the Lord says to His church,

829
00:38:27,240 --> 00:38:28,520
bring it to me.

830
00:38:28,760 --> 00:38:29,740
That's the condition.

831
00:38:30,640 --> 00:38:31,540
Don't hide from me.

832
00:38:32,420 --> 00:38:34,020
Don't lie to me.

833
00:38:37,740 --> 00:38:38,800
Now I want to suggest to you, my

834
00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:42,720
brothers and sisters, that when we allow the

835
00:38:42,720 --> 00:38:45,220
fullness of God's covenant to manifest Himself in

836
00:38:45,220 --> 00:38:49,580
our life, then God will subdue our flesh

837
00:38:49,580 --> 00:38:50,980
under us.

838
00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:53,900
And it will serve us in the sense

839
00:38:53,900 --> 00:38:56,460
that it will always remind us, remember, you

840
00:38:56,460 --> 00:38:58,060
need God.

841
00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:02,260
Every time we find ourselves beginning to rise

842
00:39:02,260 --> 00:39:04,500
up in the flesh, it will say, remember,

843
00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:07,040
you need God.

844
00:39:07,100 --> 00:39:08,700
You better go and pray now.

845
00:39:08,700 --> 00:39:11,260
There are times when your flesh has served

846
00:39:11,260 --> 00:39:11,780
you in that way.

847
00:39:12,200 --> 00:39:12,660
You know what I mean?

848
00:39:12,680 --> 00:39:13,880
It begins to rise up.

849
00:39:13,940 --> 00:39:16,100
You're in a situation, you know, you're about

850
00:39:16,100 --> 00:39:18,340
to argue and you're like, I got all

851
00:39:18,340 --> 00:39:18,720
my points.

852
00:39:18,760 --> 00:39:20,080
I got my ducks in a row.

853
00:39:20,160 --> 00:39:21,420
I know I can win this one.

854
00:39:22,660 --> 00:39:24,400
And right about the time the flesh is

855
00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:27,440
about to rise up, there is this reminder.

856
00:39:28,340 --> 00:39:32,280
Remember, you need God.

857
00:39:33,380 --> 00:39:38,760
It says, shut up and pray.

858
00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:43,260
It says, you can't handle this on your

859
00:39:43,260 --> 00:39:43,740
own.

860
00:39:45,060 --> 00:39:47,700
Now, I want to suggest to you, my

861
00:39:47,700 --> 00:39:50,200
brothers and sisters, as you go into the

862
00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:55,040
tenth chapter, that Gibeah used to be a

863
00:39:55,040 --> 00:39:59,720
friend of five other nations in that immediate

864
00:39:59,720 --> 00:40:00,320
community.

865
00:40:01,740 --> 00:40:04,040
And those nations got a bit upset.

866
00:40:04,980 --> 00:40:06,180
In fact, one of the kings of that

867
00:40:06,180 --> 00:40:10,100
nation found out that Gibeah was now a

868
00:40:10,100 --> 00:40:14,120
servant of Joshua and the people of Gom.

869
00:40:15,820 --> 00:40:18,200
And I'm imagining that they probably had a

870
00:40:18,200 --> 00:40:19,620
conversation that went a little like this.

871
00:40:20,300 --> 00:40:22,540
You know, you and I have always had

872
00:40:22,540 --> 00:40:23,400
a relationship.

873
00:40:24,200 --> 00:40:25,440
It was a timorous relationship.

874
00:40:25,600 --> 00:40:26,440
We didn't trust each other.

875
00:40:26,480 --> 00:40:27,680
We didn't like each other very much.

876
00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:30,380
But we dealt.

877
00:40:31,560 --> 00:40:32,360
We engaged.

878
00:40:32,460 --> 00:40:34,000
Then we got along just fine.

879
00:40:34,240 --> 00:40:35,700
Just like the devil would say to our

880
00:40:35,700 --> 00:40:36,120
flesh.

881
00:40:37,260 --> 00:40:39,140
It'll say, you know how we used to

882
00:40:39,140 --> 00:40:39,320
do.

883
00:40:39,440 --> 00:40:40,660
We didn't like each other very much.

884
00:40:41,640 --> 00:40:43,760
We had a very timorous relationship, but we

885
00:40:43,760 --> 00:40:44,200
had a covenant.

886
00:40:45,080 --> 00:40:46,360
We had a friendship.

887
00:40:47,780 --> 00:40:49,380
And now you mean to tell me you're

888
00:40:49,380 --> 00:40:52,160
allowing yourself to be brought under by this?

889
00:40:52,220 --> 00:40:54,280
This people of Israel, just because they believe

890
00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:55,540
that they're coming into some promise.

891
00:40:57,000 --> 00:40:58,740
You're allowing yourself to be brought under?

892
00:40:58,920 --> 00:40:59,180
No.

893
00:40:59,940 --> 00:41:01,880
No, I will bring you under.

894
00:41:03,520 --> 00:41:05,200
I am not going to sit by.

895
00:41:05,280 --> 00:41:06,880
This is what the enemy says to our

896
00:41:06,880 --> 00:41:07,260
flesh.

897
00:41:07,500 --> 00:41:10,480
When God, by His grace, begins to allow

898
00:41:10,480 --> 00:41:12,760
us to subdue the flesh.

899
00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:15,220
The enemy says, no, we used to be

900
00:41:15,220 --> 00:41:15,640
partners.

901
00:41:18,230 --> 00:41:19,350
Have you ever read that book, The Holy

902
00:41:19,350 --> 00:41:20,230
War, by John Bunyan?

903
00:41:20,290 --> 00:41:21,430
It talks about Mansoul.

904
00:41:21,530 --> 00:41:23,110
This is like this fortress, Mansoul.

905
00:41:23,110 --> 00:41:25,890
And it's kind of like this spy inside

906
00:41:25,890 --> 00:41:26,570
Mansoul.

907
00:41:27,530 --> 00:41:30,010
There's this idea of the flesh as a

908
00:41:30,010 --> 00:41:30,210
spy.

909
00:41:31,130 --> 00:41:32,370
Almost a double agent, you know what I

910
00:41:32,370 --> 00:41:32,550
mean?

911
00:41:32,830 --> 00:41:34,730
Because it's telling us, it's giving us everything

912
00:41:34,730 --> 00:41:35,690
that we want.

913
00:41:35,770 --> 00:41:37,090
And it's allowing us to have all kinds

914
00:41:37,090 --> 00:41:37,430
of fun.

915
00:41:37,810 --> 00:41:40,210
Meantime, it's interacting with the devil.

916
00:41:41,910 --> 00:41:44,470
Now, when we, by the grace of God,

917
00:41:44,570 --> 00:41:46,850
begin to subdue the flesh.

918
00:41:48,110 --> 00:41:50,270
The enemy says, oh no, no, no, no,

919
00:41:50,330 --> 00:41:50,470
no.

920
00:41:52,050 --> 00:41:54,510
We have a covenant.

921
00:41:55,450 --> 00:41:56,390
We had a deal.

922
00:41:57,430 --> 00:42:00,330
And I am going to bring you under

923
00:42:00,330 --> 00:42:01,970
subjection.

924
00:42:02,310 --> 00:42:04,210
He says to the flesh, I'm going to

925
00:42:04,210 --> 00:42:05,190
use you again.

926
00:42:06,250 --> 00:42:10,470
I don't care how this person has begun

927
00:42:10,470 --> 00:42:13,510
to believe God for the promise.

928
00:42:14,310 --> 00:42:18,570
I don't care how this person has begun

929
00:42:18,570 --> 00:42:20,750
to subdue the flesh.

930
00:42:20,850 --> 00:42:22,890
I don't care how this person has begun

931
00:42:22,890 --> 00:42:26,190
to fully benefit from their covenant relationship with

932
00:42:26,190 --> 00:42:26,550
God.

933
00:42:28,290 --> 00:42:31,230
I am going to bring you back under

934
00:42:31,230 --> 00:42:32,430
subjection.

935
00:42:32,970 --> 00:42:35,430
Now, the person, of course, is living a

936
00:42:35,430 --> 00:42:36,350
wonderful life now.

937
00:42:37,090 --> 00:42:38,650
They're in this wonderful promise.

938
00:42:38,750 --> 00:42:39,610
They believe in God.

939
00:42:39,610 --> 00:42:43,470
They're fully benefiting from all of the benefits

940
00:42:43,470 --> 00:42:43,990
of covenant.

941
00:42:44,090 --> 00:42:47,790
And not only that, but because the flesh

942
00:42:47,790 --> 00:42:50,750
has been brought under subjection, they are no

943
00:42:50,750 --> 00:42:52,290
longer, as we heard today, they're no longer

944
00:42:52,290 --> 00:42:53,310
sweating and toiling.

945
00:42:54,290 --> 00:42:57,110
Remember, the Gibeonites were now the ones who

946
00:42:57,110 --> 00:42:59,150
were the hewers of wood and the bearers

947
00:42:59,150 --> 00:42:59,570
of water.

948
00:42:59,870 --> 00:43:01,730
So, the Israelites no longer...

949
00:43:01,730 --> 00:43:02,910
See, the thing about it is when we

950
00:43:02,910 --> 00:43:06,450
allow the flesh to have its run in

951
00:43:06,450 --> 00:43:12,150
our lives, then life is toilsome and burdensome.

952
00:43:13,010 --> 00:43:15,190
And we're sweating every day.

953
00:43:16,550 --> 00:43:18,090
And you walk up to the Christian person

954
00:43:18,090 --> 00:43:18,890
and say, How are you doing?

955
00:43:18,970 --> 00:43:20,250
And they say, Oh man, I tell you,

956
00:43:20,310 --> 00:43:21,630
I'm just making it and so on and

957
00:43:21,630 --> 00:43:22,130
so forth.

958
00:43:23,390 --> 00:43:24,950
I know, you know, we're physical people.

959
00:43:25,010 --> 00:43:25,850
We get tired sometimes.

960
00:43:27,630 --> 00:43:29,430
But when I hear that coming from the

961
00:43:29,430 --> 00:43:32,310
soul, I am so tired.

962
00:43:32,950 --> 00:43:34,170
I am so burdened.

963
00:43:34,190 --> 00:43:35,330
I am so overwrought.

964
00:43:35,330 --> 00:43:36,910
My thought is one of two things.

965
00:43:36,970 --> 00:43:38,750
Either they're allowing Gibeon to just have its

966
00:43:38,750 --> 00:43:41,290
run so that Gibeon is not serving the

967
00:43:41,290 --> 00:43:41,730
way it should.

968
00:43:42,830 --> 00:43:44,590
Or they're trying to kill Gibeon in their

969
00:43:44,590 --> 00:43:45,150
own strength.

970
00:43:46,150 --> 00:43:47,550
In other words, they're allowing the flesh to

971
00:43:47,550 --> 00:43:49,150
do whatever it wants or they're trying to

972
00:43:49,150 --> 00:43:51,870
destroy the flesh in their own strength, by

973
00:43:51,870 --> 00:43:53,570
their own religion, whatever the case might be.

974
00:43:54,430 --> 00:43:55,950
And they're constantly tired.

975
00:43:57,090 --> 00:44:00,390
But now, they have brought the flesh under

976
00:44:00,390 --> 00:44:01,010
subjection.

977
00:44:02,030 --> 00:44:06,570
And they are acknowledging the wonderful works of

978
00:44:06,570 --> 00:44:06,850
God.

979
00:44:06,950 --> 00:44:08,310
And the devil says, No, no, no, no,

980
00:44:08,310 --> 00:44:08,450
no.

981
00:44:09,310 --> 00:44:10,730
Yeah, you might have had a victory today,

982
00:44:10,790 --> 00:44:12,010
but I'm going to get you tomorrow.

983
00:44:12,990 --> 00:44:14,230
I'm going to get you, he said.

984
00:44:16,750 --> 00:44:17,850
But Joshua was smart.

985
00:44:18,070 --> 00:44:20,050
Joshua said, as I mentioned this on Friday,

986
00:44:20,350 --> 00:44:21,430
it's been on my heart for a long

987
00:44:21,430 --> 00:44:21,810
time.

988
00:44:22,990 --> 00:44:24,370
But Joshua said, Oh, I know how to

989
00:44:24,370 --> 00:44:24,970
defeat that.

990
00:44:25,530 --> 00:44:26,910
Sometimes the devil will tell you, Oh yeah,

991
00:44:26,930 --> 00:44:28,050
you're having a good time in church today,

992
00:44:28,090 --> 00:44:28,830
but I'll get you tomorrow.

993
00:44:28,830 --> 00:44:31,630
Joshua said, I know, I got a good

994
00:44:31,630 --> 00:44:32,190
remedy for that.

995
00:44:34,340 --> 00:44:36,060
So, he simply looks up to the sun.

996
00:44:37,520 --> 00:44:41,400
And he says, Sun, stand still.

997
00:44:46,160 --> 00:44:48,160
He said, Why should I worry about tomorrow?

998
00:44:49,200 --> 00:44:51,060
This is the day of the Lord.

999
00:44:52,800 --> 00:44:53,920
Why should I worry?

1000
00:44:54,020 --> 00:44:55,680
This is the Sabbath of God.

1001
00:44:55,680 --> 00:44:57,760
This is the day in which the Lord

1002
00:44:57,760 --> 00:45:00,160
has chosen that we should rest in Him.

1003
00:45:01,320 --> 00:45:02,680
Why should I worry about tomorrow?

1004
00:45:02,760 --> 00:45:04,320
I'm not going to hear any lie from

1005
00:45:04,320 --> 00:45:06,080
the devil telling me he's going to do

1006
00:45:06,080 --> 00:45:07,760
this tomorrow, he's going to do that tomorrow.

1007
00:45:07,980 --> 00:45:11,400
No, I'm going to say, Sun, stand still.

1008
00:45:12,520 --> 00:45:17,000
Until God gives me complete victory over every

1009
00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:20,840
one of these kings that set themselves in

1010
00:45:20,840 --> 00:45:22,020
array against me.

1011
00:45:22,020 --> 00:45:24,280
By the covenant of God, by the grace

1012
00:45:24,280 --> 00:45:26,420
of the Most High, I have brought my

1013
00:45:26,420 --> 00:45:28,700
flesh under subjection.

1014
00:45:28,920 --> 00:45:31,500
And the devil has no say-so in

1015
00:45:31,500 --> 00:45:31,840
the matter.

1016
00:45:38,100 --> 00:45:39,720
The Bible says that he said in the

1017
00:45:39,720 --> 00:45:42,660
presence of the Lord, Sun, stand still.

1018
00:45:42,740 --> 00:45:47,000
And when he did, he began to wage

1019
00:45:47,000 --> 00:45:47,620
war.

1020
00:45:48,620 --> 00:45:51,160
He said, I've already waged war against my

1021
00:45:51,160 --> 00:45:52,940
flesh by the grace of God and I

1022
00:45:52,940 --> 00:45:54,180
have brought it under subjection.

1023
00:45:54,820 --> 00:45:56,060
Now it's your turn, devil.

1024
00:45:56,900 --> 00:45:58,920
I'm going to fight against you too.

1025
00:46:00,960 --> 00:46:07,300
Because I will not fall to sin again.

1026
00:46:08,640 --> 00:46:13,060
I will not be a slave to sin

1027
00:46:13,060 --> 00:46:15,720
one more day.

1028
00:46:16,200 --> 00:46:19,940
Never again I will no longer be a

1029
00:46:19,940 --> 00:46:21,040
slave to sin.

1030
00:46:21,540 --> 00:46:23,040
That's what the Bible says, that's what Paul

1031
00:46:23,040 --> 00:46:24,340
says to us in the sixth chapter of

1032
00:46:24,340 --> 00:46:24,580
Romans.

1033
00:46:25,060 --> 00:46:28,460
You will no longer be a slave to

1034
00:46:28,460 --> 00:46:28,700
sin.

1035
00:46:28,780 --> 00:46:29,800
Does that mean that you don't have a

1036
00:46:29,800 --> 00:46:31,400
sinful nature that will try to rise up

1037
00:46:31,400 --> 00:46:32,040
every now and again?

1038
00:46:32,340 --> 00:46:33,580
And every now and again try to bring

1039
00:46:33,580 --> 00:46:34,180
some rebellion?

1040
00:46:34,780 --> 00:46:36,780
No, what it means is that it will

1041
00:46:36,780 --> 00:46:38,360
never win.

1042
00:46:39,180 --> 00:46:41,000
It will never win.

1043
00:46:41,500 --> 00:46:43,260
And when it peeps its head up every

1044
00:46:43,260 --> 00:46:45,000
now and again, if you see it manifest

1045
00:46:45,000 --> 00:46:46,840
itself in some way, you go to God

1046
00:46:46,840 --> 00:46:48,160
and you say, God, I was foolish.

1047
00:46:48,480 --> 00:46:50,580
I did not inquire of the Lord, but

1048
00:46:50,580 --> 00:46:51,920
I come before you right now.

1049
00:46:52,080 --> 00:46:55,440
And I say in Jesus' name, God, let

1050
00:46:55,440 --> 00:46:58,900
there be victory in my life, complete and

1051
00:46:58,900 --> 00:47:00,060
utter victory.

1052
00:47:00,060 --> 00:47:02,260
And I say in the name of Jesus,

1053
00:47:02,440 --> 00:47:07,940
Son, stand still until we defeat every lie

1054
00:47:07,940 --> 00:47:11,020
of Satan that says to us that we

1055
00:47:11,020 --> 00:47:13,920
must be slaves to sin again.

1056
00:47:15,840 --> 00:47:20,880
You and I will never be slaves to

1057
00:47:20,880 --> 00:47:22,000
sin again.

1058
00:47:22,780 --> 00:47:27,760
Because we daily crucify the flesh by the

1059
00:47:27,760 --> 00:47:28,980
power of the Holy Spirit.

1060
00:47:30,440 --> 00:47:32,980
We buffet our body and make it our

1061
00:47:32,980 --> 00:47:33,420
slave.

1062
00:47:35,930 --> 00:47:37,190
See, that's the thing about the flesh.

1063
00:47:37,270 --> 00:47:38,270
If you don't make it your slave, it

1064
00:47:38,270 --> 00:47:39,590
will try to make you its.

1065
00:47:40,970 --> 00:47:42,550
Now, the devil comes with his lie.

1066
00:47:43,850 --> 00:47:45,510
And says, let's buddy up again to the

1067
00:47:45,510 --> 00:47:45,810
flesh.

1068
00:47:48,130 --> 00:47:49,130
He says, you know you want to.

1069
00:47:51,570 --> 00:47:53,030
It's gonna happen tomorrow or the next day

1070
00:47:53,030 --> 00:47:53,510
or the next day.

1071
00:47:53,530 --> 00:47:54,850
And you say, no, no, you don't seem

1072
00:47:54,850 --> 00:47:55,270
to understand.

1073
00:47:56,970 --> 00:47:58,990
I've prayed to the Lord.

1074
00:47:58,990 --> 00:48:01,610
And I've said, Son, stand still.

1075
00:48:01,670 --> 00:48:02,970
Don't you see this is just one day.

1076
00:48:03,510 --> 00:48:04,690
God's day.

1077
00:48:05,630 --> 00:48:07,490
This is the day of the Lord.

1078
00:48:07,930 --> 00:48:10,070
This is the final day.

1079
00:48:10,390 --> 00:48:12,510
This is the Sabbath day.

1080
00:48:12,870 --> 00:48:15,350
This is the Lord's day.

1081
00:48:16,130 --> 00:48:21,030
And I will not be a slave to

1082
00:48:21,030 --> 00:48:21,370
sin.

1083
00:48:22,330 --> 00:48:27,030
I will not give my members over to

1084
00:48:27,030 --> 00:48:27,410
folly.

1085
00:48:28,070 --> 00:48:31,410
I will walk in victory.

1086
00:48:32,370 --> 00:48:34,330
And I in the name of the Lord

1087
00:48:34,330 --> 00:48:36,410
Jesus and by the grace of God.

1088
00:48:36,690 --> 00:48:38,990
And according to the covenant that covers, I

1089
00:48:38,990 --> 00:48:42,270
will defeat every lie of the devil.

1090
00:48:42,550 --> 00:48:44,990
Because God has said it.

1091
00:48:49,580 --> 00:48:50,800
I want you to say a thing in

1092
00:48:50,800 --> 00:48:52,500
your heart right now as we go to

1093
00:48:52,500 --> 00:48:52,800
prayer.

1094
00:48:55,980 --> 00:48:59,220
I want you to look into the heavens.

1095
00:49:00,340 --> 00:49:02,300
And see the awesome power of God.

1096
00:49:04,800 --> 00:49:07,600
And I want you to say along with

1097
00:49:07,600 --> 00:49:08,260
Joshua.

1098
00:49:10,320 --> 00:49:12,100
Son, stand still.

1099
00:49:13,240 --> 00:49:15,140
I'm not worried about tomorrow now.

1100
00:49:16,420 --> 00:49:18,020
I'm not worried about the lie of the

1101
00:49:18,020 --> 00:49:19,420
devil and all of the things that he

1102
00:49:19,420 --> 00:49:20,980
says he's gonna do when I leave the

1103
00:49:20,980 --> 00:49:21,240
church.

1104
00:49:21,320 --> 00:49:22,760
And how tomorrow's gonna be.

1105
00:49:22,880 --> 00:49:24,300
How when I get on the job, it's

1106
00:49:24,300 --> 00:49:25,120
gonna be like this.

1107
00:49:25,140 --> 00:49:26,340
Or how when I get home to my

1108
00:49:26,340 --> 00:49:27,620
husband or my wife, it's gonna be like

1109
00:49:27,620 --> 00:49:27,880
that.

1110
00:49:28,120 --> 00:49:29,280
No, no, no, no, no.

1111
00:49:31,100 --> 00:49:32,340
Son, stand still.

1112
00:49:32,340 --> 00:49:35,440
This is the Lord's day.

1113
00:49:35,900 --> 00:49:39,420
And the devil doesn't have any right in

1114
00:49:39,420 --> 00:49:39,600
it.

1115
00:49:42,660 --> 00:49:46,780
In one day, they decimated the kings that

1116
00:49:46,780 --> 00:49:47,560
came against them.

1117
00:49:48,940 --> 00:49:51,660
And the sun did not go down until

1118
00:49:51,660 --> 00:49:53,560
they had victory.

1119
00:49:54,720 --> 00:49:56,340
Now I want you to say in your

1120
00:49:56,340 --> 00:49:57,500
heart, my brother and sister.

1121
00:49:58,160 --> 00:50:00,360
Son, stand still.

1122
00:50:01,380 --> 00:50:03,540
This is the Lord's day.

1123
00:50:03,540 --> 00:50:08,380
I will not be a slave to sin.

1124
00:50:09,260 --> 00:50:11,280
I will not be a servant to my

1125
00:50:11,280 --> 00:50:11,640
flesh.

1126
00:50:11,900 --> 00:50:13,940
But by the grace of God, I will

1127
00:50:13,940 --> 00:50:16,060
bring it under subjection.

1128
00:50:16,440 --> 00:50:18,960
I will not lie about its existence.

1129
00:50:19,900 --> 00:50:21,740
It will serve me in that it will

1130
00:50:21,740 --> 00:50:23,920
always say to me in my ear, no

1131
00:50:23,920 --> 00:50:25,740
matter what kind of victory I take.

1132
00:50:25,960 --> 00:50:27,960
Remember, you're just a man.

1133
00:50:28,720 --> 00:50:30,120
Remember, you're just a woman.

1134
00:50:30,120 --> 00:50:36,960
And you need your God every single day.

1135
00:50:37,440 --> 00:50:38,780
Would you stand with me, please, my brothers

1136
00:50:38,780 --> 00:50:39,460
and my sisters?

1137
00:50:41,340 --> 00:50:41,820
Hallelujah.

1138
00:50:42,920 --> 00:50:44,320
Glory to His holy name.

1139
00:50:45,560 --> 00:50:47,840
Glory to the name of Jesus, our Savior.

1140
00:50:52,760 --> 00:50:53,860
We want to pray today.

1141
00:50:54,960 --> 00:50:55,980
We're gonna ask you to come up.

1142
00:50:56,080 --> 00:50:57,700
Very simple altar call.

1143
00:51:00,560 --> 00:51:02,220
You are coming up to make a statement.

1144
00:51:03,540 --> 00:51:08,660
Sin will not have dominion over me.

1145
00:51:10,000 --> 00:51:12,540
Very plain, very simple.

1146
00:51:13,760 --> 00:51:17,900
I will not allow sin to have dominion

1147
00:51:17,900 --> 00:51:18,880
over me.

1148
00:51:20,260 --> 00:51:25,320
I will present my flesh before the Lord

1149
00:51:25,320 --> 00:51:29,700
and say, God, I need your covenant to

1150
00:51:29,700 --> 00:51:30,740
cover all of my weakness.

1151
00:51:31,520 --> 00:51:33,720
I need your covenant to cover every bad

1152
00:51:33,720 --> 00:51:35,260
decision I've made in the past or any

1153
00:51:35,260 --> 00:51:36,300
bad decision I might make.

1154
00:51:36,660 --> 00:51:38,360
I need your covenant to cover me, O

1155
00:51:38,360 --> 00:51:38,520
God.

1156
00:51:41,940 --> 00:51:43,500
I want to take victory over the lie

1157
00:51:43,500 --> 00:51:45,820
of the devil, over the influence of the

1158
00:51:45,820 --> 00:51:48,560
flesh, until Jesus be glorified in my life.

1159
00:51:48,580 --> 00:51:49,880
If you want to pray that prayer today,

1160
00:51:50,880 --> 00:51:53,220
on the ground floor, in the balcony, the

1161
00:51:53,220 --> 00:51:54,560
annex, begin to come to the front.

1162
00:51:54,860 --> 00:51:55,380
We're gonna pray.

1163
00:51:56,500 --> 00:51:59,860
And we're gonna see a victory in the

1164
00:51:59,860 --> 00:52:01,200
name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1165
00:52:01,900 --> 00:52:02,340
Amen.

1166
00:52:04,180 --> 00:52:04,620
Hallelujah.

1167
00:52:05,100 --> 00:52:06,880
The Lord bless you, my brothers and sisters.

1168
00:52:07,500 --> 00:52:09,860
I want to remind you as we pray

1169
00:52:09,860 --> 00:52:12,000
that we don't come to an altar like

1170
00:52:12,000 --> 00:52:14,300
this to say, oh, what I'll do right

1171
00:52:14,300 --> 00:52:17,200
now is I'll completely divest myself of my

1172
00:52:17,200 --> 00:52:17,860
sinful nature.

1173
00:52:17,960 --> 00:52:18,940
And now I don't ever have to deal

1174
00:52:18,940 --> 00:52:20,380
with any of the issues of my life

1175
00:52:20,380 --> 00:52:20,700
again.

1176
00:52:21,240 --> 00:52:22,940
What we're saying is, no, Lord, I'm bringing

1177
00:52:22,940 --> 00:52:24,600
my reality to you.

1178
00:52:24,600 --> 00:52:27,640
And I'm asking you, by your grace, to

1179
00:52:27,640 --> 00:52:30,460
cause me to bring it under subjection.

1180
00:52:31,480 --> 00:52:33,300
This is what the Lord has promised.

1181
00:52:33,860 --> 00:52:36,700
And not only that, but he's going to

1182
00:52:36,700 --> 00:52:39,380
defeat the devil in your sight.

1183
00:52:39,980 --> 00:52:42,620
And he's going to rob the devil of

1184
00:52:42,620 --> 00:52:44,520
every one of his lies.

1185
00:52:45,260 --> 00:52:47,700
And you're gonna know, and I'm gonna know,

1186
00:52:48,260 --> 00:52:51,420
a life where God's truth is so prominent

1187
00:52:51,420 --> 00:52:53,820
that every time the devil tries to lie,

1188
00:52:53,920 --> 00:52:57,680
it is just completely obliterated by the awesome

1189
00:52:57,680 --> 00:52:59,960
power of God's truth.

1190
00:53:00,560 --> 00:53:02,840
Spirit of Jesus, we thank you so much

1191
00:53:02,840 --> 00:53:04,260
for your goodness toward us.

1192
00:53:04,720 --> 00:53:06,500
We thank you that we are able to

1193
00:53:06,500 --> 00:53:08,720
come before you and to say, Lord, we've

1194
00:53:08,720 --> 00:53:11,940
made some decisions that have affected us on

1195
00:53:11,940 --> 00:53:12,940
some level or another.

1196
00:53:12,940 --> 00:53:15,320
And try as we might, we can't shake

1197
00:53:15,320 --> 00:53:18,500
certain propensities in us, but we can bring

1198
00:53:18,500 --> 00:53:19,940
them under subjection.

1199
00:53:21,000 --> 00:53:25,540
We will no longer be slaves to sin.

1200
00:53:25,640 --> 00:53:28,100
We are a born-again people.

1201
00:53:28,440 --> 00:53:30,880
A people who have entered into the promise

1202
00:53:30,880 --> 00:53:31,500
of God.

1203
00:53:31,500 --> 00:53:34,800
And so we say, Lord, in Jesus' name.

1204
00:53:35,140 --> 00:53:38,320
We pray along with Joshua and say, Son,

1205
00:53:38,640 --> 00:53:39,680
stand still.

1206
00:53:40,100 --> 00:53:42,940
And let every lie of the devil be

1207
00:53:42,940 --> 00:53:44,680
utterly brought down.

1208
00:53:45,380 --> 00:53:47,920
Let it be cast into the ground.

1209
00:53:48,040 --> 00:53:51,820
Lord, when Joshua took that wonderful victory, he

1210
00:53:51,820 --> 00:53:55,360
brought those kings before him and he put

1211
00:53:55,360 --> 00:53:57,320
his foot on their neck.

1212
00:53:57,320 --> 00:53:59,420
And he told his people to put your

1213
00:53:59,420 --> 00:54:00,840
foot on their neck.

1214
00:54:01,000 --> 00:54:03,900
Because this is what God is going to

1215
00:54:03,900 --> 00:54:05,560
do to your enemy.

1216
00:54:06,040 --> 00:54:08,560
Your foot will be upon his neck.

1217
00:54:08,940 --> 00:54:11,400
You will no longer hear his lies.

1218
00:54:11,700 --> 00:54:14,300
You will no longer believe his deception.

1219
00:54:14,740 --> 00:54:17,780
And your flesh will be brought under subjection

1220
00:54:17,780 --> 00:54:20,460
because of the great covenant of God.

1221
00:54:21,000 --> 00:54:23,140
And the grace of the great king.

1222
00:54:24,040 --> 00:54:28,140
Father, we thank you that we are your

1223
00:54:28,140 --> 00:54:28,540
people.

1224
00:54:29,620 --> 00:54:32,060
That we have entered into the land of

1225
00:54:32,060 --> 00:54:32,640
promise.

1226
00:54:33,660 --> 00:54:37,160
And that we receive everything that appertains to

1227
00:54:37,160 --> 00:54:39,800
the great covenant that we have with you.

1228
00:54:40,500 --> 00:54:41,680
We love you, Lord Jesus.

1229
00:54:42,420 --> 00:54:44,260
And we bless your holy name.

1230
00:54:45,120 --> 00:54:45,380
Amen.

1231
00:54:46,560 --> 00:54:46,980
Amen.

1232
00:54:47,700 --> 00:54:49,260
God bless you, my brothers and sisters.

1233
00:54:50,180 --> 00:54:51,900
This is the conclusion of the message.
