Pastor Carlton Howell
Amen. Can we just praise the Lord one more time? We got to show him some praise, y’all. We got to show him some praise. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Really nice day. It was supposed to be all stormy. The skies opened up. OK, well, with that, thank you, Lord, for the little ones. A handful, but they will definitely they’ll be good. As I was saying, today is a start of the good day. They said that this day wouldn’t even be like this. But yet and still, here we are. I wanted to come to you today from the book of Joshua. And that’s what we’re going to be focusing in on on the next couple of Sundays as I come up to speak to you all. I want to relay a command that the Lord had gave to Joshua as he was getting ready to cross into the promised land. It is such a magnificent message. It’s a very short message, but it’s just a magnificent message that it tells us that in the face of adversity, in the face of the unknown, in the face of all there is that we should something we’ll get there. So as they get ready to go in, you have to understand what’s happening. So let’s give some context before I even read it. Let’s give some context. The history in the book of Numbers, the book of Numbers, it begins around, I say, chapter 12, chapter 13. Well, not chapter 12, but like 12 or 13 months after Exodus. So here in the book of Numbers there, they have left Egypt and the Israelites had spent almost a year in that region around Mount Sinai. And they had received one, the law of God. And they also received Mosaic law and Israel for the next 39 years has to walk around in the circles prior to the entrance into the promised land. Something that was promised all the way back to their forefather before he was Abraham. But he had already been in that place. So they was going back to where he was anyway. But about after 11 months in the region of Sinai, the Israelites, they set out for the promised land. Of course, they walked around in the proverbial circle for the next 39 years because they complained too much. Let that be a note. The children of Israel walked around in a proverbial circle for 39 years because they complained too much. They complained about their hardships. In Numbers chapter 10, verse 11, they complained about their hardships, complained about the food saying, if only we had meat. They complained about the fish that they ate in Egypt at no cost. They complained about the cucumbers, complained about the melons, the garlic. These were some serious complainers. They had lost even their appetite from complaining so much. And they got mad and said, all we ever see is this manna, this manna from heaven. They’re complaining angered God to the point where God showed judgment and grace at the same time. So after arriving around Kadesh HaBush, Berner, it’s along the southernmost part of the promised land. The Lord, he had spoke to Moses and he said, send me some men to spy out the land of Cana. Y’all remember this story. He said, send them in there. Let them go and see what I’m about to give them. They all went in and they went up and they explored and they came back and they confirmed that the land was good. It was good. This land, it truly does. It flows with milk and honey. It is great. The land that they explored was so awesome and so fantastical that they knew it was great. But see, they were also complainers. The people there were of great size. And to them, they felt like they were grasshoppers in the midst of these people. And that’s the report that they gave. They didn’t give the report of the land flowing with milk and honey.
They gave the report that they’re like grasshoppers in the midst of giants. All except two. So that night, all the people heard. Because the men of the land were so large and it was so great, they wept. And the Israelites grumbled against Moses. They were mad at him. They were mad at Moses and they were mad at Abram. And they said to each other, we should we should just choose a leader to take us back to Egypt. Chapter 14, verse four. But Joshua and Caleb, who were among those who explored the land, said, hey, if the Lord is pleased with us, he’ll lead us into that land flowing in milk and honey and and he’ll give it to us. Moses got a little mad. But the Lord was, I think, even madder at that point. Because in chapter 11, also, the Lord asked Moses some very pointed questions. How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me? Then he made a statement. I’m going to strike him down. Isn’t it great when you have someone to plead on your case? Moses said as he interceded for the children of Israel, he asked God to forgive him. Again, God showed judgment and grace all in the same thing. So God replied between verses 13 and 19. He said, I’ve forgiven him. He said, nevertheless, none will see the land. None of them will see the land. Hold on to that. None of them is going to see the land. Joshua and Caleb saw the land and they entered into the land. But they were the only two who came back with the report that was true. The rest of them did. 39 years, they walked around in a proverbial circle. The Lord told Moses, tell them in this desert, your bodies will fall. Every one of you, 20 years old or more, who has grumbled against me. None of you will enter the land except for Caleb and Joshua. Chapter 14, verses 29 and 30. So your children will be shepherds here for 40 years, suffering for your unfaithfulness. The next day, the Israelites, they decided, well, the Lord said, we’re just going to go ahead and go in there. We won’t believe them. They did. And Moses said to him, why are you going to disobey the Lord again? You’re going to go in there. You’re not going to succeed. Don’t go up because the Lord is with you. You’re going to be defeated by the enemies.
Nevertheless, they were prosperous and they went on ahead towards the high hill country. And all the Malcolmites and them Canaanites who lived in that country came down. They beat the mess out of them. They beat the snot out of them. I mean, they beat them so bad. You ever had a whooping put on you so bad you still remember it after 20 years? That’s the type of whooping that they got put on them. The Israelites went up there without God and them Canaanites held them hands. They put paws on them and they returned with a tail in between their legs. Referring to Israel’s wilderness, the apostle Paul writes, he says this. These things happen to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us. On whom the fulfillment of the ages have come. The author of Hebrews tells him that in the New Testament passages, that Israel’s wilderness experience to Christians today refers to some of the following excerpts. Those who heard and rebelled. I’ll just leave it at that. And so since we have something now standing in front of us as a reminder, why not to do a certain thing? We stand at a proverbial, once again, stand at the entrance into God’s promises in our lives. And promises in the church. We literally stand right there. We’re right there. Right there. Once again, we was there a couple of years ago and somebody came back with a bad report. Even though God had told us something, somebody came back with a bad report and everybody believed it. And next thing you know, we were no longer in that place. I’m just going to give you the history of the church. If you was the one who came back with a bad report, God bless you. If you wasn’t, then God bless you. But I’m just telling you the same as we did several years ago. We’re back at that precipice. We’re right there. I mean, we’re right there. And so if each and every one of you in your lives, you may be right there at that precipice, getting ready to walk into what God has promised you. And this may say has come. So who’s reported you’re going to believe? So Joshua and Caleb in the book of Joshua chapter one has found themselves again at that precipice. They’re standing at the border of the promised land. Thirty nine years later. Once again, they are standing there. And the Lord is now going to comfort them. And get them ready to go to the place that he has told them that they’re going to go. And it doesn’t come at the greatest of times. It literally comes probably at the worst of times because Moses has just died. So if you would open your Bibles, go to Joshua chapter one, we’re going to start at verse one, skip over the title card and go straight to the verse on. We’re going to go to Joshua chapter one. We’re going to start at verse one. We’re going to read through verse nine. And the word of God says this after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, we can pop right there and go into a whole sermon. You’ve got to think that this man was the spiritual leader of this entire nation for several years. And then he just died. And now it’s time for them to do something. So after the death of Moses, the Lord’s servant, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua, the son of none, Moses’ servant, saying, Moses, my servant is dead. Now, therefore, arise, go over this Jordan and you and all this people to the land, which I am giving to them, the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given you. As I said to Moses from the wilderness and this Lebanon, as far as the great river, the great the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites and the great sea towards the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you. Nor forsake you. Be strong, verse six says, be strong. I like in the CJV, it also tells you to be bold. In the CJV, it says, be strong, be bold. Here in the New King James, be strong and of good courage. For to this people, you shall divide as an inheritance the land, which I swore to their fathers to give them. Well, here go the second time the Lord done said it, be strong. Now, he says, be very courageous or very bold. That you may observe to do according to all the law, which Moses, my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it. To the right hand or to the left that you may prosper wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth. You shall meditate on it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. But then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success. Here’s the third time in the Lord said, have I not commanded you? I love it when the Lord goes in threes. Have I not commanded you be strong, be bold and of good courage. Do not be afraid nor dismay for your God is with you wherever you go. I have affectionately titled today’s sermon. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Have I not commanded you? In our age, there is a very misunderstanding when it comes to the life of the believer. The shows align with books that teach us how to make Christian life easier, how to make the life of the believer easier and the church more acceptable to the world. The truth of the matter is there’s nothing easy and should not be acceptable. The world standard. In any way, shape, form or fashion. It is not always contrary to many popular, well-known Christian philosophers and people’s beliefs to live right. It’s easier to do wrong. There’s more opportunity to do wrong.
But to live according not to the flesh, but to the spirit.
Sometimes I have to admit it is hard in Ephesians chapter six. It tells us what we were against and we do not work against. Flesh and blood. But against spirits, principalities, against powers, against rulers in what high places. Wickedness. These are the things we’re fighting against. If we’re aligned with them, then we’re not fighting against them. We’re not fighting against the unseen things if we’re aligning ourselves with it. Sometimes harder. The gospel of Jesus Christ will not be accepted by the world. I know we listen to the great, marvelous, wonderful, high, holy evangelists that be speaking on our televisions and on our screens. They have the money to come through our car radios that we may send them dollars and cents. They say these wonderful things that Christian life is easy. All you got to do is just walk outside and tell everybody you see God loves you. It doesn’t happen that way. It can be hard. It can be downright hard if you are truly going out into the world and witnessing and living life according to what his word says. And don’t be confused and don’t be dismayed. Nothing of God has went away. You still just can’t go and openly sin. You still can’t just go and openly lie. You still can’t just go and openly disobey. We have a greater intercessor than Moses who quells the anger of the almighty. His name is Jesus Christ. And every time the Lord says, I’m going to strike them down. I just know that he’s saying, look at my hands. Look at my feet. Have mercy. His anger ain’t passed. We just have a greater intercessor. Look at my hands. Look at my feet. Look at my side. Have mercy. So we find ourselves just like the children of Israel as they’re getting ready to go into the land of Canaan. They’re in a physical battle. We’re in a spiritual battle. We have to know who these enemies are. That’s why they went to spy out the land. Where is it? Not only let’s see who’s in the land, but let’s see how good the land is. Within our own strength, we have to understand that we cannot defeat the enemy. This is why the apostle Paul says when he had asked the Lord, I believe he was kind of begging the Lord those three times. He asked the Lord, take this thorn out of my side. This messenger of Satan that you sent to buffet me. Take this thorn out of my side. This messenger of Satan that you sent to buffet me. Take this thorn out of my side, oh Lord. This messenger of Satan that you sent to buffet me. It hurts. The Lord said, no. No. I’m not going to do that. My grace. My grace is sufficient for this. Isn’t it interesting when the Lord tells you, I love it. Remember that sermon when God says no? What you going to do when he says no? Lord, deliver me from this situation. No. What? I thought it was your will. No, it’s not. I’m pretty sure Job several times was like, Lord, could you take the scales off me? Not yet. You let him. Yes, I did. Trust me. Believe me. All will be well. In your own strength, you can’t do it. The good news is that our enemy, not as powerful as our God. So look, you don’t have the strength to defeat him, but you’ve already defeated him. Not because of anything that you can do, but because our God is greater than the enemy. Even in the very midst of our battles, we can always place our hope in the victory that’s already there. We’re just waiting. Paul says to the Romans, what should we say to these things? I’ll be for us. You can be against us. He says, no, not at all. He says, because it is where we’re all conquerors. And we can believe and we can we can rest in that hope that we’re conquerors through him who loved us. We have that ability to do it. It doesn’t mean that the fight season. It doesn’t mean that every day you’re not getting up and you’re not praying to the Lord to give you strength to get through the day. The fact the Bible tells us that we are recipients of a victory through Christ Jesus. That does not mean we do not lean upon him for help in every instance of trouble. At every instance, Moses was a great leader. Rome. He died, though. Joshua came in his bed, appointed to do what he was doing, but just to a greater level to lead them into Cana after this 40 years. To fulfill what he has said to Abram all the way back in Genesis seven. I will give this land to you and build here an altar unto the Lord. That’s what he did. He built an altar there. God’s command was very, very specific. And there is a reason why he repeated it three times. The significance in why he repeated it to Joshua three times. He is reminded several times that this land has been given to him, the children of Israel, and that it was promised all the way back to Abram. Even though Moses, the man of God, is dead and he’s mourning. He is to get up and he is to walk into that land with his head held high, his shoulder back ready to take by force, if necessary, everything God has told them. Everything that was given to them. By Abram. And through Abram, because Abram was already in the land when God gave it to him. He set up an altar in a place that you’re not at. So that he built the physical altar in that land and claimed it as God had told him to. So the land was already theirs.
They were just going back and claiming and reaffirming the promise in that generation. Indeed, this was their land. They had already had it. There was no need to continue to go around to be homeless in the wilderness. But they had to first believe. They had to believe that this land was theirs and go in and claim it. We look and we see so many believers or those who say they believe in Christ Jesus who are walking around defeated. I am one of them. I have been there. A defeated individual who claims Christ Jesus and I should be standing in victory. And yet I’m walking around with a defeatist attitude. When God has told me through Joshua to be strong, to be bold, to be very courageous. He tells them three times and I hear him at times saying to me, have I not commanded you? Have I not given you victory? You look at a cross. You talk about a cross. You know the significance of the cross, but you don’t believe in the cross because your actions. I love the one in Proverbs. I think it’s Proverbs. Don’t be about word and deed. Don’t be about just wordless lip service. It may not be Proverbs. It’s somewhere. And this mic is stupid. Give me your mic. Don’t be about lip service, but be about action and deed. Action and deed. That’s what the Lord is looking for. He’s looking for action. He’s looking for deeds. He’s not looking for you to just walk around with a bunch of lip service. That’s not what he’s looking for. He definitely does not want that. He wants people who are going to truly walk and believe in what their Lord has said. He wants people who are truly going to walk with victory in the midst of struggle. Who has intent and purpose. That intent and purpose is based on his word. God has a place of victory for each and every one of us. He has promised us that in our lives and we can see it through the word. We can go back and we can see the revelation of it happening throughout the word. Even Paul, who was close to death, said, Thanks be unto God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ. And make of manifest the Savior of his knowledge by us in every place. I argue that a lot of the times the reason why we walk around with a defeatist mentality is because we have not studied. If we do not study, we do not know. If we do not know, it’s hard to believe. It’s hard to believe in something you just have no idea about. And we do not believe in the worst that we see because the world is way more convincing. Cunning, lucrative, flashy. Luring. It seems at times the world has more voices. You’ve got to think about it. Those spies. Out of all the spies that went in, there was only two with the full report. So they were drowned out by the other spies. Think about the prophet Elijah. When he when he when he abandoned his his his servant. He ran 150 miles south of Beersheba. He sat up on a Jupiter tree or boom tree. And he begged the Lord to kill him. Because he was all alone. I’m not even going to talk about the hundred that was hidden away. I’m just going to talk about the one that he left. I think I mentioned this last week. A lot of times we’re alone because we left on our own. We left people behind. We cut the ties. God didn’t move it away from us. Those prophets wasn’t dead. Yes, Jezebel killed a lot of people, but not all. And he had one. But he said, no, man, stay here. I’m going to continue on by myself. Then I get so far away and I say, Lord, why? Why have everybody abandoned me? What? You left the one person who was going to stick by you through thick and thin. You say, stay here and I’m going. And then you get and you say, Lord, I’m alone. By your own making, I’m the only prophet left. Because you’re all you can see. I believe in my heart that God did not save us to see us defeated. That’s why he sent angels to feed that man, to get him healthy enough to receive his word. Some of us need to eat the bread of life, the word of God, that we may be strong enough to receive what he is going to say. A weak minded body. Who was not full when I say weak minded body, I’m not talking about the physical food that you eat. I’m talking about the spiritual food that is going to enrich your mind, enrich your soul and lift your spirit. A weak minded body is not able to receive what God is saying. Think about it. This is why he had to feed Elijah under that tree. He had to get him strong enough in knowledge and understanding that he may receive what he had to say to him when he passed by in the wind and passed by. But he wasn’t there and passed by in the fire. But he was not there, shook the ground. But he was not there. And then he spoke to him. And let him see. This voice is the one you need to hear. He had to be strong enough in our weak minds because we have not been fulfilled with this word in such a way that is taken whole. We’ll see the flashy neon lights, the soft pascal colors of the all inclusive. There is no sin anymore. Church, you can be who you want to be. Live how you want to live. And because God’s grace is sufficient, you’re going to be all right. Go ahead and murder people. God’s grace is so good. Go ahead and commit adultery. God’s grace is so great. But you don’t have to worry about doing wrong commandments. Why? Jesus is enough. He is. Enough for you to turn from your wicked ways and repent for the kingdom of the Lord is here. He’s already came. So it’s not at hand is here. And you wonder why we so defeated. I watch and listen to some some sermons and it makes my stomach turn. Most of the time we defeat it because we refuse to walk in victory. We refuse to even know what the victory is. There is a place of conquest for every child of God. And you can claim your cana. You can claim your your little sliver of the promised land that God has promised you. God gave them about 300,000 square miles. They only claimed about 30,000. They were limited to the 300. But that’s what they were given. They only took a tenth of it. They were given much as they were willing to claim. The extinct of their victory was limited by their faith. And their faith alone. And the same is true with us. The limit of your victory is limited by your faith.
Want more victory?
Ask the Lord for more faith. And they stand on it. It doesn’t mean that you’re not going to have to face some things in order to retain it. They had to fight. And their fight was unconventional. Look at the walls of Jericho. They destroyed a city by walking around it. Silently. Sometimes we got to learn to keep our mouth shut. Silently they marched around it. And only opened their mouths when God said so. Yeah, we got to learn to keep our mouth shut. We talk too much. Sometimes I have to say, Carlton, shut up. I’ve even talked myself out of a blessing. You ever talk yourself out of something God done told you gonna happen? You don’t let somebody come up to you and say, well, you know. No, man, get out of my face. No, God said it, I believe it. Who are you to question what God has said? If God’s thing is wrong, I’d rather walk on the wrongness of God than the rightness of man. I’d rather mess around in an era that God made than trust anything that man did. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7, ask and it shall be given. Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be open. We’re trusting that. Because just like with the Apostle John, this is the confidence that we should have in who? Jesus. This is the confidence that we have. That if we ask anything according to his will. Wait, pause. How do I know that? You gotta have that word enriched in your body, enriched in your mind. You gotta be able to open the source of your mind up and grab onto his word. You have to be able to know it. Knowing it means living it. Not just being able to recite it. Many people can recite John 3.16, but not everybody understands and can walk in John 3.16. So when I say you gotta know the will of God, not just like some scholars, they know it. But they can say, hey man of God, what does Joshua 2 and 19 say? And they just boop. I do not know what Joshua 2 and 19. I could read it, but I don’t know it. But I can live it. I can walk it out. I understand the principles and I want to, as best as I can, place those things in. And so because I know that, because we know that, we can have that said confidence. That anything we ask according to the will of God, which we know, and we can even reference to find, that he will hear us. And if he hears us, whatever we ask according to his will, whatever those petitions are, he will do for us. Now, there’s an editor’s note. It’s not going to be on your timeline. It’s not going to be on your timeline. It’s not going to be on your timeline. That’s another mistake we make. Another reason why we end up defeated. We think, I checked the box. God’s will. I asked. Okay. And now I patiently wait. And I’ve waited, Lord, for five years. I give up. I ain’t waiting no more. We have to have said confidence in the Lord that he will do what he wills. Joshua is reminded of some precious promises. And I want to remind you of those precious promises. This is all in verse five. He promises the victory over every enemy. He promises his presence and the power of God. He promises the faithfulness of God. He promised absolute victory. And he promised to keep his promises. God promises to keep his promises. It’s like a double positive. I’ve made promises to you. And now I’m going to promise to keep those promises. I promise you this. Joshua only had to do one thing. So do we. That’s it. Simple but hard. Short but long. It’s a lifetime of doing it. And it can be done right now.
The fact is we do this one thing that Joshua did. You and I right now can walk in the promises of God and it will be beautiful. It will be hard. We will have fights. But you can rest assured that you will have victory just like God said over every enemy. You will have the promise of the very presence of God. You will have the faithfulness of God on your side. Because even when we are faithful, the Bible says God is faithful not to you but to his word. So if he promised a thing, that means he’s going to do a thing. He’s going to promise you and he’s promised you and he’s already given to you. Absolute victory. All you got to do is turn to the back of the book, Revelation chapter 20. You will see we are victorious. So you may not see it right now in your life but you can turn. I’m going to give you some prophecy. Here, I’m going to prophesy to you. In the end we win. There you go. Don’t believe me? Turn to the back of the Bible. Read Revelation around chapter 20. Yeah, between 19 and 20. Yeah, maybe 19. Yeah. Somewhere around in there. You’ll find that we win. What will happen is you’ll see that the creator, the alpha, the omega, will say it is finished. And when he says it’s finished, that means that he won. Because only the person who wins can declare when something’s over. The loser of a war don’t say, well, that’s it. No, that ain’t how it works. The winner is the one who declares when it’s over. And where are you going to sign your thing of surrender? The location. You can make a request. The enemy can make a request. Can I surrender here? And the Lord has the right because he is the victorious one to say, no, you’re going to come here and do it. So there’s this thing. We have this promise. It’s victory over the enemy. The presence of the power of God to go with us anywhere we are. The promise of the faithfulness of God. The promise of the absolute victory. And the promise to keep the promise. He promises. We can have that right now. It’s yours. You can have it in an instant. This is the quickest thing you’ll ever have. And all you got to do is trust him. That’s it. I make it sound so easy, so simple. So no, it ain’t that easy. It ain’t that simple. It’s an everyday thing. You’re waking up, you’re dying daily. Like I tell people, I have to die by the minute. I’m getting to the point now. I think that it has to be by the second. Because the more and more I figure out how to die daily, the more and more I end up having to fight by the hour. And when I figure out how to fight by the hour, I realize that every minute I’m trying to kill that which is not of God. And when I finally figure that out, when that day comes, I’ll let y’all know. I’m pretty sure that God is going to make me have to figure out how to die by the second. And I can go to a deeper time scale than that, but I don’t have time. Just like you and I, Joshua, is simply an instrument that God has chosen to do what He needs done on this earth. These things are going to happen whether you like them or not. The world is going to continue to fall into chaos. It’s going to more and more shift itself away from biblical principles. Those who claim to be of the faith are more and more going to abandon the very things of the Bible. More and more you’re going to see things that the Bible say are not, say they are, and people will twist them on both ends of the spectrum. You’ll have some very ultra hard leaning, you can’t cough on a Wednesday in the month of Nassim. Don’t pick your nose on the Sabbath. Don’t comb your hair on the Sabbath. Oh wait, that’s already something that happens. No. So there’s two ends of the spectrum. You can do anything you want and you’re so rule-stricken you don’t know if you can breathe right. No. What God has is going to happen. And what He wants, just like Joshua, He wants us to be a part of it. Remember that God’s promises are powerful. There’s victory in the name of Jesus. There’s validity even in the story of Joshua for us today. And you and I can still count on the Lord to do what He has promised to do. That’s why I’m telling you, church, we stand once again on the precipice of promise. We stand on the precipice of promise. I really don’t want it to be like last time. God, please don’t let it be like last time. And I’m asking you all as petitioners of the faith with me, don’t let it be like last time. Those who have walked with us since then know exactly what happened. You know the trials and the tribulations over the several years that we have been a ministry. And you know when we was on the precipice the last time. I see Mama smiling because you know what we’re talking about. God has taken us places. He’s getting ready to give us an opportunity. I don’t know what. He’s getting ready to give us an opportunity that is going to look like we cannot do it. He’s going to give us an opportunity and it’s going to look like we cannot do it.
The finances ain’t going to look right. The people ain’t going to look right. It’s not going to be right. Everything that’s in us that is humanly intelligible will tell us that it is a bad decision. Human intelligible. Human wisdom. It’s going to tell us that it’s not doable. We can’t do it. God gives us victory over those enemies. He will go with us wherever we go if we keep him right there close and understand and stay within his will. We know that if he said a thing he is faithful and that there is absolute victory. He will keep his promise. You and I must first trust though. Again what do we have to do to see these things come to pass not only in our lives but in the lives of our children, the lives of our loved ones, the lives of our church, the lives of those who we care for. We have to trust when it comes about when it’s time and is presented by whoever is presented by whether it be mother, whether it be Lee, whether it be Paul, whether it be myself, whether it be anyone. When it comes time receive what the Lord is saying and let us learn to take our place of faith with God at all times and in every situations. Trust me it will work. Matter of fact don’t trust me trust the word. Has he not commanded you? It is a call to carry out God’s law. What does that mean? It is a call to do what is right in the Lord day in and day out. The Lord tells Joshua that if he is to lead the people that he is to remember what God has already written. He must take heed to what God has said and take that into that land. We have to take the word of God and let it lead us as we walk out into this world. And as God pushes us into a new paradigm and shift of ministry we have to take what he has taught us and keep moving. He wants us to be faithful to his word to do everything that he has said to do not to turn even the least bit from it. He wants us to meditate on his word day and night. He wants us to not turn the least bit from it. Have our mind set to be occupied with his word. He wants us to love it. He wants us to hold it. He wants us to cherish it. He wants it to fill our hearts and our minds. The Lord wants this word that is his to to be the forefront in the center of our life and it will then become what leads us. And the beginning was the word and the word was with God. So the word is very important and the word was God. So the word is even more important. And then we skip down a couple of verses. The word became flesh. So what God is telling Joshua and what God is telling you and I is that he wants his son Yeshua Jesus, whatever language we speak. The name of Jesus reigns supreme. No matter what language whether it be Hebrew, Yeshua, English, Jesus. And I can’t pronounce in other languages. Yep. Yep. Thank you. Aramaic and all the others. The Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one, the word. The word has to be kept. Jesus has to be kept. The word has to be meditated upon. See, a lot of people don’t understand that like some of the other faiths believe that we are worshipping. We’re man worshipping because of Jesus. What they don’t understand is that he is a quintessential part of the belief because he is the actual word of God. He is the word manifested and realized in the flesh. He is the only one who was a part of the father. Is the only one who was a part of the father that so the father could really understand the plight of us came down and became like us that he may endure like us. He may suffer. He was he is the only one who made he lowered himself that he may feel the same anguish of breathing. And so as he prospered when he came down here on the in the flesh, he wants us also to prosper. How did he do it? By honoring himself, the word. Or as they said back then, the law. Everything I said word you can also input law. Because the law is contained within the word. God promised to Joshua that he if he lived around the word of God, the law of God for us, Christ Jesus. We would prosper because God would prosper him and us in everything we and he does. God will make him and us successful if we live our lives around his word, his law. These things will happen. That’s why this is more of a lesson of victory today. Because if we do these simple things, which is also hard, but not too hard. Because I know of a man who showed us that although he came from God, he took he showed us that even in human form. With the indwelling of the spirit of God, we are able to accomplish that. So I thank the Lord that we’re not subject to the written law and the punishments of it. Although technically, theoretically, we kind of are. Because not a dot has been taken away. Not a T has been uncrossed. But I praise him that we’re not subject to the punishments if we believe in Christ Jesus. And do the things that he said. All that then is fulfilled for us. So since we’re not under such stringent criteria, does that mean we’re free to do as we please? No. That attitude is a dangerous one to have. You’re still subject to what it says. But not subject to the punishment, the anguish of having to do it over and over again every single year. Because there’s nothing capable to take the stain of it away. That’s the great thing about the blood of Christ. It did what the blood of lamb and goats could not do. Those could not erase the stain of sin. This is why we’re not subject to the law. It’s because of the blood. Not because it’s gone. You can’t murder. That’s the law. You can’t steal. That’s the law. You’re not supposed to covet your neighbor’s wife. You won’t get away far with me and many other men I know. You can’t go and covet their things. I’m pretty sure my brother’s not going to let you come in, throw your feet up and claim his house as your own. While he’s still living there if he did not offer it to you. Now if you ask him, he might be like, well, take a corner. That’s yours. But you come in and say, that’s my corner now. No. You can’t do that. You can’t bear false witness. You can’t have no other God above Yahweh. You can’t dance around the Assura pole. Have I hit them all yet? I think I said that one. Adultery. Let me make sure I get that out there. I didn’t end up repeating that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. False witness, adultery. You still got to honor your mother and father. You still should keep the Sabbath because Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. Oh, there’s so much debate on that one. I’m not going there. The crazy thing about it, all God is saying is, look, man, I have given you some rest. Go and take it so your batteries can recharge. And I’m going to be your recharger. Just focus on me. The world is going to work you like a dog for six days a week. Just come and rest upon me for one of them. We hate it so much. We have conspired with the world so much that many of us don’t take one day. That’s all He requests. Just take a day and rest. We allow our jobs not to allow us to have a day of rest. Work me six days, but I’m going to take one of them. One of those seven days is going to be my day of rest. I’m going to give that to the Lord. We have developed such a love for God’s word that nothing else comes before. So His law hasn’t passed. Now, when you mess up and you ultimately lie, you inadvertently covet one of your brother’s things because it’s more than just going and taking his house. You bear false witness. You find out that you have put something before God. Self, wife, work, church, games, money, children, self, self, then self. That’s short for me, myself, and I. You don’t have to take the sin offering to the high priest. You don’t have to take your hand, put it on the hand of the goat, while the priest takes his hand and puts it on the hand of the goat, and then the priest takes and slices the goat’s neck and allows all the blood to fall out in the basin and to collect it all. They don’t have to go and separate the fat from the skin and burn the fat on the burnt offering pillar so there’d be a sweet smelling aroma up into the nose of God. You don’t then have to go in and consecrate yourself, the high priest, so that they can go through the heavy, thick blankets into the Holy of Holies, which it was so thick that all they could do was crawl in. We don’t have to have bells hanging off of us now, just in case. When we go into the Holy of Holies, we ain’t cleansed ourselves, and all of the people of the children of Israel were not cleansed through what was going on, and something was found on us, and we went into the Holy of Holies, and God found us unclean, and so we die. So when the bells stop ringing, they pull on the rope to pull your dead behind out of the Holy of Holies. No! That’s been fulfilled. Jesus was the only one who was found clean enough to go into that place, and his blood has the ability to wash us so clean that we too now have access to go to that place where they could not go, only through Christ Jesus. Man, if that ain’t victory, I don’t know what is. So we’re to feed on the Word of God, and to live by the Word of God, and we’ll be blessed if we do these things. We’re called to a courage to be courageous, and lead in the midst of all of this. God calls Joshua to take people three times to be courageous, take himself and these people into a land that is great. To stand firm in the face of opposition. When you walk out in the world, and the world tells you you don’t have to do that, I get told all the time, you know, you don’t have to do all that. I know what I don’t have to do, and what I choose to do, and I choose to live by the Word of God wholeheartedly. You don’t like it, then don’t pay attention to me. Joshua would need great courage to stand in front of these giants that make him look so small. Oh, but the one who was standing behind him was greater. The enemy to us is large, is huge, it is literally like little old me fighting Mike Tyson. I feel so sorry for Jake Paul. I’m sorry I had to throw that in there. It’s like me fighting him in his prime. That’s like me fighting any professional boxer. But the one standing behind me is greater than that enemy that’s in front of me. And the courage I need is to know who’s behind me. If I know that God’s behind me, and is for me, then who can be against me? Do it if you want, if you dare. I dare you, my daddy got my back. My daddy got my back. When I was little, I’m a baby boy. When I was little, I was walking up the street from where I used to live in College Park. When we moved to College Park, there was a road called Peppermill Lane. I got jumped by these two boys, I don’t know why. They put the whooping on me, but I wasn’t afraid, I fought back hard. I lost, but I fought back. But that fight wasn’t over, because I went and got my big brother, who was nine years my elder. Nine years there’s two. And I went in, scruffed up. My brother said, take me to him. And so I went out there after getting my butt handed to me with so much confidence, bleeding. And I walked up to him, and commenced the battle again. But this time, with more confidence than I did the first time, I knew that I was going to overcome that enemy. Not because of what I had, because by myself, I could not beat them two boys. By myself, I probably couldn’t beat one of them. I was a little old thing when I was younger. I was a runt. Everybody was bigger than me. I was about my baby girl size, until I hit a growth spurt at 16. I didn’t hit five foot seven until I was 16 years old. I was still under five feet. They thought I had dwarfism. But oh, I gave it all I had, because I knew who was behind me. My brother was behind me. Oh, no, we gave it. We whooped him. We beat him. I was victorious. There is an enemy who is great, big, he’s intimidating, and right in front of you. And he has whooped your behind before. He has whooped you. Oh, he whooped you good. Y’all all remember, just think back. He beat you good. He beat you up. Go get your father in heaven. Go get your savior. Remember their promises. No matter where you go, I’ll be with you. Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. And go back to that enemy. With confidence, vigor in your feet. Having put on a whole armor of God, you done been knocked down, and you’ve done all that you can stand if he’s your successor. Therefore, stand. So you still standing. And they look and say, you coming back for more? Oh, yes, I’m here. But I got somebody with me. Have you met my friend Jesus? He’s not too happy that you beat up on his boy. So he’s come to teach you a lesson that you know you’ve already lost. And you should have already learned. So he calls us to stand firm, to stand firm in the face of opposition. He would need this great courage as we would need to stand in front of a great enemy and even declare to the people of Israel to stand and be victorious in the very land that God promised them.
By God’s help, we can stand in that fall, all the days of our life. It is possible. We just got to remember, greater is he if you believe, if you have faith. You can trust, even though it doesn’t look right, doesn’t always look right. My eyes deceive me. My eyes deceive me. My eyes deceive me about what I see. We’re going to keep on going later on. I’m going to pause it right here. But I want you to stay encouraged with the simple words. And I love this. Always use it whenever somebody’s down and out, whenever I’m down and out. I always turn to the book of Joshua, chapter one, verse nine. And I read what he says. Have I not commanded you? Let that strike within your inner man. I don’t think I’m going to be able to do this. Have I not commanded you? Be strong, be strong. In the face of this enemy, be strong. In the face of this procedure, be strong. In the face of turning away from this thing, be strong. Where I’m sending you to, be strong. Where you coming from, be strong. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be downhearted. Because the Lord, your God, is with you. And if he’s with you, who can come against you? If he’s for you, how can you be defeated? Yes, you will feel the pain. Yes, you will feel the thorn. Yes, the message of Satan will be there to buffet you. But he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. Stand firm. Have trust. Have faith. Know that God is with you. And you can be bold in the face of adversity. You can be bold in the face of trials and tribulations. You can be bold in those times. And you can stand firm on his word. And there’s your victory. You have it in a nutshell. You can have it today. You can have it in a moment. You can have it in this instance. All we have to do is trust. We have to do the hard thing, not the easy thing. It’s easy for me to go out there and sin. It’s hard for me to withstand what my flesh wants. I’ve lived in my flesh longer than I’ve lived in God. My flesh is strong. But I know somebody who’s stronger. And I can kill it. All I gotta do is trust. The great thing about it is, unlike with Joshua, the servant, the one who came down to serve us, by shepherding us, Jesus, unlike Moses, is not dead. The difference between Joshua and us is this. Their shepherd died. And another had to take his place. Moses, who had inferiorities in human nature, still a great man. But he too would eventually die. The one who came down to serve mankind by giving his life for them, according to what the Father has sent him, is not dead, but is alive. The chief shepherd. So let us do right, so that when the chief shepherd returns, we will get our reward. The shepherd served his pasture, his sheep. Moses died. Jesus rose. Moses died. But Jesus rose. One is gone. The other’s still here. He has promised us. Remember, God said, I’m gonna promise you to keep my promise. So here’s a promise. He has promised us that he has gone to a place to prepare that place for us, that he may receive us. See, I love it.
Somebody told us that we do, we do, um, Carlton, did you put up there that I’m three minutes over? There’s literally a thing over there saying you’re three minutes over time. My son done hit the wrap it up button. Wow. Oh, okay. I was about to say my son done hit the wrap it up button. Like, Daddy, you’re going too long. Daddy, you’re going too long. Too much, Daddy. Slow it down now. Come on, I’m hungry. You’re going too hard. My stomach growling. Where’s my man at? Praise the Lord. Thank you, son, for being able to be so kindhearted to let me mess with you and not get mad at me. You know, I thank God for some of my, well, all my children. Here’s the problem is this is a live video and I got three other kids that’s going to watch this. And they’re going to be like, which one is some of them? Like, ah, let y’all fight it out. You know it ain’t Carlton. So, um, yeah, you know, oh, my Lord. This is crazy. I love all my children. Each one of them are unique, very unique. I love them all. Um, I don’t even know. I don’t know what I was closing with. And I didn’t cut my thing off and I’m not going back in there to find those notes. I. God is good. God is good. Yes, strong and courageous. I love it. I love it. You know, these are the times where being online does not help you. For those who are online, I’m not like making fun of you. Some of you are truly in, um, in need of a breakthrough. Those of you who are online and even those of us who are here. It just sparked my memory saying that there’s some people who could not be here, not because they didn’t want to be here because situations wouldn’t allow them to be here. So I ask that you keep them in your prayers. Um. The Wolf family, keep them in your prayers. They had a heart to be here. But situations would not allow them as they thought of others before themselves. Um, would not allow them to be here. They would have loved to be here to laugh with us, that their children may play with the children in the back. So let us keep them in our prayers. Keep them lifted up for healing and breakthrough in their family because they need to get like, uh, one of them said they need to get back to work. I think they could do that work both physically and spiritually. Take care of their family on both ends. So let us keep them in our prayers. And anybody else who is sick, keep grandma Estrella in your prayers too. Keep her lifted up. They gotta keep her strength. And the Estrella family. Sarah. Both Sarahs. Little Sarah and big Sarah. Keep them both lifted up. Um. Especially with baby Taliesin. Did I say that name right? Okay. He is, uh, he’s a fighter. That boy’s a fighter. From the day he was. Man, I think from the day he was conceived, that boy been fighting. God been keeping him. He is a miracle in the working. He wasn’t even supposed to make it this long. And look at him. He fighting. So keep him in your prayers. Keep him lifted up. Keep him lifted up. There’s some other prayer requests. Um, I know pray for lady Ivy. She’s having surgery Tuesday. Um. I. Just. Who else am I meant with? Who? Since I done went and started doing a prayer list, who? And. Hmm. Mama’s going in. Look at that medical, medical, medical, medical for the ladies. Tuesday. Keep them in your prayers. Both of them. Mother. And lady Ivy. Keep them lifted in your prayers. And my brother, I want to keep you in my prayers. Your journey is great. God’s going to continue to strengthen for those who are online. God bless you. God keep you. May he keep his face upon you. Please join with us this Thursday as we go into Bible study. Thank you. And if you have anything you need from us, please do not hesitate to reach out in the many ways that you have. Thank you so much. Go ahead and end.
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