Canaan is Still Waiting

Now, somebody without them singing the words of that song, why don't you begin to speak victory over your situation? Begin to speak victory to your situation. Well, the word of God gives us power and the words that we use and we can express it right now through a worship and a praise given to God. I know it may not look like everything's going our way, but God, we speak victory in the name of Jesus. And we speak it through our worship and we speak it through our praise.

We're not GOING TO DOUBT YOU, GOD. We're going to trust you and speak it into our lives. Yes. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you God for victory. Thank you Lord. You are not lacking for I >> no matter how great the other power And I have that power to you as myth. >> Yes. >> Oh, you're doing it. Why don't we worship the Lord for that promise? Thank you, Lord. You know, sometimes in our context, we live from loss to loss.

Things might be going well, but always in the back of our mind, we're saying, "Well, we know something's going to go wrong. What's next? What's what's going to happen that's going to break this all up?" Y'all, I think the Lord has stepped into this room to help us resist and rebuke that mindset. I'm not going to live from loss to loss. I'm not going to wait to see when the second shoe drops or when the hammer falls. I'm going to lift my eyes to the heavens and say, "God, I don't see it yet, but I'm waiting on that victory that you promised.

God, I don't see all the evidence yet. It doesn't look like it's going my way just yet, but I'm not living from loss to loss. I'm living from victory to victory. Not because I am able. Not because I can figure it out. The truth is we can't, but because God has already got it figured out. BECAUSE GOD HAS ALREADY GOT THE ANSWER. GOD HAS ALREADY WORKED IT OUT AND is fighting IN OUR BEHALF IN OUR FAVOR. AND BECAUSE THAT'S JUST THE REALITY of the believer, I choose worship and praise and faith in the God who brings about victory in our life.

GOD IS NOT A GOD THAT LOSES. >> God is a God that wins. >> All he knows is victory. >> And if we're on his side, if we belong to him, if we are his children, THEN ALL WE WILL KNOW IS VICTORY. AND I KNOW WE HAVE TO FIGHT THAT WITH FAITH. Faith because it doesn't feel that way all the time. >> Oh, but give it time. >> Give it time. Whether this life or the next one, give it time and you're going to see the ultimate victory of God in your life and in your family's life.

I know I'm not to the sermon yet, but I'm preaching faith right now. If you'll just trust him a little bit longer, if you'll just place it in his hands just a little bit longer, you're going to see a victory. Not by your hands, but by his hands. Not by your power, but by his power. He's going to bring a victory to you. We thank you, Lord. We thank you, Lord. We thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. You know, God is good. And I'm I'm just talking personally right now.

I know you believe that, but let me let me testify for a second. God is good. I was asked to fill in today to preach this service some month plus ago. And immediately I had a thought. I wanted to preach a thought. It was it was vague. I had to develop it, but it was a thought. And it was about victory. It's not a traditional Palm Sunday necessarily sermon, but I but I struggled. You can ask bishop or pastor. I came to them. Will you please pray for me?

I'm really wrestling with this. I'm I'm trying to get clarity. I'm trying to say it right. You know, and even this morning walking in, I'm like, God, I I'm just I've really wrestled with this. And all of a sudden, I I didn't really know, but God has begun to orchestrate this service, and we have landed on the theme of victory. So, here's what I take from that one. Thank you, Lord, that you help a flawed human being understand that you really are trying to say some things, but also I believe that the Lord is here on purpose this morning to speak to us about victory.

I know that we've walked through some things. I I know things have been tough from time to time, but God wants to tell us about victory this morning. God wants to tell us about overcoming this morning. God wants to speak a clear word to us today, and it's on victory. Many times they ask preachers for what's called a 3:00 a.m. sentence. And that's if somebody calls you at 3:00 a.m. and wakes you up, can you say in one sentence what you're going to preach about? Can I tell you what I wrote before we got here?

Are you ready? Victory is promised to those who continue trusting God. Before we ever got to this moment, that was pinned down as the Lord tried to lead this fallible human being. But I hope you take encouragement this morning that God wants to tell you something about victory, about victory. Amen. Will you pray with me here at the outset? I need the the Lord's help to do this well. But I also want to pray for our own hearts that we would receive a word of victory.

Maybe we're not used to it. Maybe we're hesitant to receive it. But let's pray. God, help us to receive the word about victory. Let's pray together right now. Jesus, God, I pray that you would help me to do a good job. That I would have clarity of thought and speech and boldness of spirit. Yes. But I pray ultimately that you would, like you did Lydia's heart, that you would turn our hearts to heed the voice of the Lord this morning. That we would hear your word clearly as you begin to tell us about victory, as you begin to walk us through the promise.

that if we will just keep walking, if we will just keep following after you, if we will just keep being obedient to the word and voice of the Lord in our life, that victory is a promise, victory is assured, victory is real, God, help us to receive it and help us to walk in it. God, I pray and ask for your help today in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. And everybody said, "Amen." Amen. You can return back to your seats. We're going to go straight to the word of the Lord in Deuteronomy chapter 8.

The Lord is speaking to the people of Israel through Moses. He says, "For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land." Everybody say, "A good land." >> It's a land of brooks of water and of fountains and springs that flow out of the valleys and hills. It's a a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates. It's a land of olive oil and honey. It's a land which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing.

a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And when you have eaten, not if, but when you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which he has given you. ABC, God has promised us a good land. If I could say it this way, the description of that land in Deuteronomy, it's a thriving land. >> It's a thriving land. And God has promised us that thriving land if only our faith will rise to take hold of it.

And so I'm here to talk to you about that thriving land and the work of faith that it requires to arrive there. Amen. >> Amen. Thank you. I want to walk through this section of God's saving work in the life of Israel because I think it illustrates for us the various stages of the life of faith. And more specifically, it I believe that Israel's journey into the land of Canaan helps us understand what's going on even in the season that we are in. The broader story that I'm referring to, of course, is the Exodus where God rescues Israel out of the land of Egypt.

He leads them through the wilderness. He leads a nation of slaves through the wilderness and provides for them all the way through. And he brings them to a land, their very own land, a land of favor, a land of abundance, a thriving land, a land called Canaan. If I could summarize some of the principles for our purpose, I would say it this way. God gave his people a promise to bring them into a thriving land. But as their story unfolded, it became increasingly clear that to lay hold of that promise would require an active, consistent, and even tenacious faith.

A faith that causes somebody to walk on even when the walking and the going gets tough. In Egypt, the people of Israel needed faith to believe that God would bring them out. Out of slavery, out of bondage, out of addiction and oppression, wherever you want to place that in your life, they needed faith that God would bring them out. In the wilderness, the people of Israel needed faith that God would bring them through, that he really would provide, that he really would meet the need in that season.

And finally, as they begin to enter into Canaan right over the border, they needed faith to believe that God would bring them fully in to the promises of God. And they failed a lot, y'all. They failed often. They grumbled. They doubted. They complained. They struggled. It sounds familiar. But through it all, God, he remained faithful. God kept rescuing. God kept providing. God kept correcting and speaking and calling them forward. He kept reminding them of this central truth and that is that Canaan was waiting for them.

But it wasn't waiting on God. The promise had been made. God said it was theirs. It was theirs for the taking. Canaan was waiting for them to believe God. Canaan was theirs by right. If only their faith would rise to take hold of it. If they would simply walk on, if they would simply continue to trust God and put one foot in front of the other, Canaan was still waiting for them. >> And it's this call to Israel that God gave them as they entered Canaan that I feel the Lord is speaking to us today.

We in the room perhaps like Israel, we have faced multiple difficulties through our life that have required faith in the Lord. I can get an amen on that. At least >> we've faced difficulty. God has saved us from our past brokenness and sin. God has transformed us and worked in our hearts through difficulty and trial. God has called us to live a life, a spiritual life of abundance and his goodness. He's he's done all that for us in the room. But there is another stage of the life of faith.

A stage that simply requires us to walk on. After he's saved us, after he's transformed us, after he's given us promises, he then calls us to simply walk on. But if we will simply do that, putting one foot in front of the other. God has made us a promise as the scriptures revealed to Israel in Deuteronomy 8:7-10. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land. He is bringing you into a thriving land in which you will lack nothing. And when you have eaten and are full, not if, when you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which he has given you.

And so I simply preach to us and the spirit of God APC Canaan is still waiting for us. The promises of God over this church and over families and over individuals are still waiting for a people simply to make up their mind that I'm going to keep walking. That I'm going to keep putting ONE FOOT IN FRONT of the OTHER THAT I'M SIMPLY going to remain FAITHFUL. IS IT GOING TO REQUIRE FAITH? ABSOLUTELY. It's going to require faith. IS IT GOING TO TEST US THAT WE WALK BY FAITH AND NOT BY SIGHT OR BY OUR EMOTIONS OR HOW WE FEEL?

YES, IT'S GOING TO TEST US IN THAT AREA, BUT OH, BUT IF WE WILL JUST KEEP WALKING, IF IF WE WILL JUST KEEP MARCHING ALONG, LED BY THE LORD, GOD IS BRINGING US INTO THE GOOD LAND OF HIS PROMISE. GOD IS BRINGING US INTO HIS FAVOR WHERE WE WILL EXPERIENCE HIS ABUNDANCE. >> If only we will just keep walking. If only we will just keep walking. >> It's as simple as that. And y'all, I feel it in the room today. We're tired of walking. But victory is assured to those that just keep walking, that just stay faithful, that just keep showing up, that keep resting on the promises and power and abundance of God to help them put one foot in front of the other.

Thankfully, we're not left by ourselves in this. I I'm not here to just yell at you and tell you to keep walking. I'm I'm here to let the word teach us. Romans 15:4, it tells us, "For whatever things were written before," talking about the Old Testament stories, one of which we're reading, those things that were written before, they were written for our learning. We're supposed to learn something from this journey that Israel took. That we through the patience and the comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

That is to say, that Israel's story is not just a story. It's not just history. It's meant to be for our instruction. It's meant to be a pattern for us to look at and say, "Look how God works. Look how God works in the lives of his people. It's meant to be a picture of God's promise to us." And when we look at Israel's journey from the Exodus to Canaan, we see at least three major arenas of the life of faith. For the notetakers, that's right, three.

The first one is the arena of salvation where God steps in and rescues for the very first time, redeems them out of bondage. in our life. It's where God steps in and redeems us from sin or spiritual darkness in our lives. God has to do that. The second arena is the arena of the wilderness where God forms and strengthens faith and builds character in the dry seasons. The final arena is on the border of promise. We just step over into the goodness of God and we start experiencing the promises of God.

This arena is where we realize that God still beckons us and calls us. keep on walking. If we understand these arenas, I think we're going to understand where we are and what God is doing in our midst. And so, let's start with the first arena. Yeah. Arena one, salvation. Truth is that every life of faith begins here because it must God must break in to our spiritual slavery. He must break in to the oppression of sin in our life and free us from them if there's to be any hope of living in God's promise.

So it was with Israel in Exodus 3 we find recorded it says and the Lord said to Moses I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt and they have and I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land to a land flowing with milk and honey, a thriving land to the place of the Canaanites, or if you will to Canaan.

Notice the order of that scripture. God saw, heard, and knew the oppression and bondage of Israel. And out of that knowledge, out of that sight, out of that hearing, God came down and God delivered. See, God knew Israel's slavery. God knew Israel's oppression. God knew Israel's suffering. He knew that they were helpless. In fact, he knew that they could provide nothing for him that would benefit him in any way. Yet, though that was their state, God moved toward them anyway. And I love that because that's the story of every believer because our walk with God did not begin because we were good enough.

Our walk with God did not BE BEGIN BECAUSE WE could entreat God's favor in our lives. It simply began because God looked, he heard, he saw, he knew, and he came down and he redeemed. It be IT BEGAN SIMPLY BECAUSE of the mercy of God reaching into our mess and rescuing us from our own spiritual bondage as Ephesians 2 makes clear. But because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, he made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.

And just to put a point on it, Paul makes it clear. It is by grace that we have BEEN SAVED. IT'S IT'S not because anything we have done. It's it's not because anything we could do. It is simply a gift of God's mercy. And that matters because some people maybe even in this very room struggle to believe that they belong in the story of God or they deserve the goodness of God. But the truth is really you don't deserve it. And if God's saving of Israel teaches us anything, it teaches us this that God does not start with qualified people.

God does not start with good people. GOD DOES NOT START WITH PEOPLE THAT HAVE IT ALL TOGETHER. NO, GOD STARTS WITH A SLAVE PEOPLE. GOD STARTS WITH A CRYING PEOPLE. GOD STARTS WITH A BROKEN PEOPLE. GOD STARTS WITH A HELPLESS. I WISH SOMEBODY WOULD GET A HOLD OF THIS TODAY. GOD STARTS WITH THOSE THAT CANNOT HELP THEMSELVES. AND HE DELIGHTS TO DO SO. HE LOOKS DOWN AND HE SEES YOUR BROKENNESS. HE SEES YOUR BONDAGE AND HE DOESN'T WITHDRAW. HE DRAWS NEAR TO YOU. >> OH, it all begins there.

God starts with dead people and makes them alive. AND HE REQUIRES NOTHING FROM THEM EXCEPT THAT he accept their offer AND THAT THEY FOLLOW HIM OUT OF EGYPT. >> We've just got to follow him out of Egypt. That's the only requirement. We've got to remember what Titus 3:5 teaches us. That God saved us not because of righteous things we have done, but simply because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. Speaking of Israel's experience of salvation, Paul writes, "They," meaning the Israelites, they were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.

This is key for us because the cloud was the very spirit and presence of God leading a people of God out of slavery through the wilderness into promise. It was the spirit of God that led. It was a supernatural leading and guiding that was promised to them through the spirit of God. But also it says they were baptized in the sea. What sea? The Red Sea. And this gives us an image to understand what happens in our salvation. Because you see, Israel passed in a form of baptism through the Red Sea, unscathed and unharmed.

But as soon as they came out of that water, everything that had been chasing them, that condemned them and tried to drag them back into slavery, all of a sudden the waters crashed over the top of them and wiped out Israel's enemy in just a moment. And we've got to understand something before we move on to the wilderness and before we move on to Canaan. Something happened at salvation. Something happened in the waters of baptism. That stuff that's been chasing you, it's just A FIGMENT. IT'S DEAD IN THE WATERS OF BAPTISM.

ALL THAT SIN THAT BURDENED YOU AND DRAGGED YOU DOWN, IT WAS LEFT IN THE WATERS OF BAPTISM. COME ON. IT'S JUST NOT A SYMBOL. IT'S NOT A SYMBOL OF SOMETHING GOING ON ON THE INSIDE. IT'S A SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION. IT'S A SPIRITUAL RELEASE FROM PRISON. IT'S A RESCUE FROM CAPTIVITY. AND IF YOU'VE EXPERIENCED, YOU'RE FREE. IF YOU'VE EXPERIENCED IT, YOU HAVE LIBERTY. IF YOU'VE BEEN BAPTIZED IN THE NAME OF JESUS, YOU OUGHT TO REJOICE FOR THE FREEDOM OF GOD THAT HAS BEEN BROUGHT INTO YOUR LIFE. COME ON.

WE DIDN'T EARN IT. WE JUST FOLLOWED HIM OUT OF EGYPT. YOU SAY, "GO THROUGH THE RED SEA. WE'RE GOING TO GO THROUGH THE RED SEA." AND SIMPLY BY JUST WALKING BY FAITH, ALL OF A SUDDEN, EGYPT IS drowned in the Red Sea and Israel is free. Oh, some of you are wondering why I'm taking so long to talk about the first arena. Don't worry, it speeds up. But I've got to talk about the first arena because it's the beginning of everything. There's a continual phrase, do not forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Oh, because if you do, all of a sudden you'll think that you did this OR YOU BROUGHT YOURSELF INTO THE LAND OF PROMISE. NO, it was a work of God's mercy. It was a work of God's grace. It was a work of God's salvation. And before we get anything else, we have got to get this. >> Come on. We didn't stumble into the good life. We were redeemed into it by the mercy of God. We didn't stumble into Canaan. We were redeemed into Canaan. WE DIDN'T STUMBLE INTO A THRIVING LAND.

We were redeemed into a thriving land. God did it. >> God did it. Oh, somebody just let us thankful. God did something for us that we could not do on our own. God rescued us. God rescued us from ourselves. He rescued us from our spiritual enemies and has brought us into a thriving land. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Oh, we can't move too quickly. But I've got some bad news after that good news. And that is that salvation is not the destination of the life of faith.

Salvation is the doorway into it. And unfortunately, it's one of the hardest doorways that you will ever walk through because oftent times it's a pattern in scripture after God's saving work in the life of his people. It becomes a doorway through which he leads them into the wilderness. I thought that's about how that would go. Such a strange reality that when God saves a people, they're often called to the desert to wilderness seasons. It's true of Israel. It's true of each one of us who follow God eventually, maybe multiple times through our life.

The good news about the wilderness is that he uses it. God uses it to shape us. When things dry up, when things get difficult, when you feel lonely, like no one understands, you're in the wilderness. And the wilderness has a gifting. And its gifting is that it will reveal what we trust. To reveal what we crave, what we cling to, what we run to when things get hard in troubled times. And God uses the wilderness not only to reveal those things, but to root out those things, to remove any crutch or idol that we lean on when it gets difficult.

The wilderness season is meant to draw us closer to God because it strips us of all other options. The wilderness reminds us that we are not in control like we think we are. It forces us to recognize that God is not one source among many. He is the only source. And in the wilderness, we finally come to the end of ourselves. And we have to admit what the psalmist admitted in Psalm 62:2. He only He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense.

I shall not be greatly moved. Somebody that's in the wilderness, hear me. The wilderness, the wilderness seasons of our life, they are not meant to be cruelty. They are meant to be God's mercy. Listen to how he speaks of the wilderness to the children of Israel. Deuteronomy 8:16 says, "He gave you mana to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you." The wilderness was for them and for us meant to be for our benefit because the wilderness teaches us a true dependence on God.

Something we cannot learn on the mountain. Something we cannot learn even in Canaan. We've got to learn it in the wilderness as it draws us closer to him. And by drawing close to God, here's where the benefit comes in. We connect ourselves to a neverending source of strength. As the scripture says in Isaiah 40, even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted. Even those that are young and vibrant, even that strength is going to run out one day. Verse 31 says, "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.

They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. But this perpetual inner strength, it's not found in the good times. It's not found when everything's going great. It's not found when we're sure of ourselves and our own power. Israel did not learn trust in God, if they ever learned it at all. They did not learn it in Canaan. No, they learned it in the wilderness when everything else was stripped away. And all they had was God.

And truly the best thing about the wilderness is that reality right there that God is there in the wilderness. You're not left by yourself. You're not left alone. You're not left to pass the test all by your lonesome. No, you are left there with God. You were led there by God. And you will be led through there with God. So if you find yourself in the wilderness season this morning, I need you to hear me. God has not left you. God has not forsaken you. He may be closer than he ever has been before because he's trying to teach you the greatest lesson you could ever learn.

And that is when when you call on the Lord, he is truly near to all to all to all. That voice that say, "God, I NEED YOU. GOD, I'VE GOT NOTHING ELSE. WILL YOU SUSTAIN ME?" And it's IN THE WILDERNESS WHERE GOD STEPS IN AND DOES THAT SUSTAINING WORK THAT REVIVES OUR SPIRIT AND FINALLY TEACHES us what we need to know before we can ever enter Canaan. Once we learn this lesson, maybe a few times in our lives, I've had a couple wilderness seasons in my life.

Once we learn this lesson, we're equipped for Canaan. Arena 3, y'all. We made it. Joshua 5:11 records it this way. Says, "The day after the Passover, that very day, check this out." They ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened bread and roasted grain. This little detail that says they ate some of the produce of the land. What land? Some of the produce of the land of Canaan, the promised land. In other words, God really did it. God really brought them into his promises. >> God really did bring them into a land of favor and a land of abundance just right over the border maybe, but he really did it.

>> This is where the border of Canaan becomes so important because it's a liinal space. It's another doorway. It's another hinged moment. It It's a place of potential breakthrough. It's the space between what God has already done and what he has yet to do. All of Canaan was not conquered yet. they were just on the border. So, it's where you can clearly see that God has been faithful. He has been active and working, but there's still a lot more ground to take. Canaan is where we realize that the greatest test to this point was not walking out of Egypt under the hand of the Lord.

It it wasn't even surviving the wilderness and learning character formation through it. The greatest test was just ahead, right over the border when the people of God realized their faith would need to be stronger than ever. Let's celebrate one more time though that God really had brought Israel to the border of Canaan. It wasn't the fullness of God's promise just yet, but they were no longer slaves and they were no longer vagabons in the wilderness. They weren't slaves. >> They weren't in the wilderness season. They were living in the goodness of God.

They had stepped into the land. They had stepped into their land. They were tasting the promise. God had kept his word. Let all the saints of God rejoice and be glad and voice praises to him. Yes and amen, y'all. APC, we've stepped into Canaan already, haven't we? We've experienced miracle after miracle. We've experienced health in our homes. We've experienced the goodness of God. WE MADE IT. GOD KEPT HIS PROMISE. OH, BUT then on the border of Canaan, casting a shadow from its base all the way to the eastern border where Israel stood, Jericho.

Jericho wasn't the biggest city in Canaan, but it was one of the most strategically intimidating. It was small, but it was heavily fortified. It had walls. It had ramperts, if you know what a rampert is. It had ramperts. had supplies. It had a protected water source, which means somebody could mount a siege against Jericho and it would be fine for long periods of time. To Israel, it was the first sign that their need to trust God did not stop just because they crossed the border of Canaan.

This is where the story becomes so relatable for us. I think especially for the season many of us are in because after everything the people of God had been through. They finally enter the blessing, favor, and promise of God to be met immediately by a wall. I I'll just be honest. I'll speak for me in my notes. I say we I'm not going to put that on you. If if I'm just being honest about me, I'd understand if some people in the congregation that day would have said, "Lord, after all of this, after Egypt, after we buried a generation in the wilderness, after all the fighting, after all the faith, after everything that we've had to do, Jericho, this we can feel that.

We can feel that in our own lives and in our own spirits. God, after everything we've done, after all of the trouble, after all of the struggle, after all of the problems, after all the faith, after all of the fighting, you're telling me I have to have more faith. You're telling me I have to fight longer. You're telling me I have to walk just one more day. You're telling me I still have family struggles that I've got to wrestle with. You're telling me I still got to handle marital tension and prodigal children and financial pressure and job uncertainty and ministry fatigue and offense and emotional exhaustion.

Are you serious, God? Jericho. You know what I'm talking about? Are you with me? Jericho. And the temptation in this moment for Israel and for us, it's it's not open rejection of God. It's never been open rejection of God. Once you're on the border of Canaan, it's it's a lot quieter than that. Sometimes it sounds like this. Well, well, maybe I don't need all of Canaan. Maybe I'll settle for less today. Maybe maybe I've had just enough. Maybe just inside the border of God's promises is enough for me and for my family and for my church.

Maybe I can stop here. Maybe maybe I can just disengage and take a backseat all of a sudden now that we're across the border of Canaan. Maybe I don't need to be so vigilant. Maybe I don't need to be so passionate LIKE I HAVE BEEN. MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, RIGHT INSIDE THE BORDER IS ENOUGH for me. Maybe I can settle for this and go no further and stop walking today. Well, I understand the sentiments. I understand them and I personally identify them. Whether they were spoken out loud or just said internally, I have to preach the truth of God's word today.

Those thoughts, those sentiments, they are a temptation of the arena that we're talking about the border of Canaan. And they are brought on by Jericho and not from God. >> You see, Jericho represents a test of obedience that requires a tenacious faith in God. Israel had seen God's power. They had watched him split the Red Sea and later roll back the river Jordan to make a way into the promised land. They had seen God's hand in the plagues in Egypt. They had seen his glory in the cloud.

They had seen his provision of mana in the wilderness. THEY HAD HEARD HIS VOICE ON THE MOUNTAIN. God had fought FOR THEM. GOD HAD carried them. God had sustained THEM. GOD HAD CALLED THEM TO HAVE FAITH EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. AND YOU WOULD THINK AFTER ALL OF THAT THAT FINALLY THEY WOULD GET SOME REST. BUT NOW JERICHO, not only are they tired and facing down Jericho, but then the man of God, Joshua, gets up in front of them preaching about faith. How could you, Joshua?

YOU REALIZE HOW TIRED WE ARE? WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THRIVING APOSTOLIC HOMES? YOU KNOW WHAT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH? gets in front of them, preaches faith, tells them how they're going to conquer Jericho, but it sounds absolutely crazy. >> Do you want to hear Joshua's speech? This is Peter, right? Translation. Are you ready? This is Joshua's speech. Gets the people of God. We're going to take Jericho. >> All right, let's try that again. I need some crowd participation here. All right, we're going to take Jericho. Are you ready?

This is a longer one, but you still need to woohoo. All right. God has gone before us and put fear in OUR ENEMY'S HEARTS. THEY KNOW THEY CAN'T WIN. >> GOD HAS PROMISED US A VICTORY. >> GOD'S GOING TO WIN THIS THING. >> That one wasn't even in my notes. I just wanted to say it because it felt good. It was a great pep talk. You felt it. And maybe just for a moment, Joshua inspired a battleworn Israel to agree to at least one more fight.

We'll walk one more time. Good job, Joshua. Good pep talk. But then he couldn't keep his mouth shut because then he kept going with this speech of his. Says, "We're not going to charge the city." All right, maybe we're going to sneak up on it. You know, that's all right. We got other options. Maybe we maybe maybe we'll siege the city. We'll just starve them out. You know, we're not going to sneak up on THE CITY. WE'RE NOT going to siege the city. We're not building any ramps.

Joshua, we're running out of plans here. We're not going to storm the walls at all. Then what are you talking about? It's not going to look like you expect it to, Israel. Now, hear me out. Here's the plan. I'm still Joshua at this point. Step one here. Hear me out. It's great. Step one, we're going to march around the city once a day for six days while not saying a word. Oh. OH, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT. BUT THERE'S TRUMPETS. But there's TRUMPETS AND WE'VE GOT THIS BIG BOX WE'RE GOING TO CARRY THAT'S like 300 lb.

It's going to be great. It's not the response. But hear me out. Listen, that's just step one. There's two steps to this thing. Step two is on the seventh day, we're going to march around the city seven times. We're not going to say a word until day seven, lap seven. And then we're going to blow the trumpets and we're going to scream AND THE WALL IS GOING TO fall down. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Quit lying. All right? Don't lie in the house of God.

If you hear that plan, you're leaving. You're like, "Not the church for me. Maybe we can catch the Baptist down the road, you know? crickets. And just to be clear, I read commentaries. I'm trying to help Joshua out. There is no correlation with any other ancient neareastern people, city, warrior plan where this was the plan. Nobody's just walking around a city blowing trumpets. Israel had never done it. No one had ever done it in the history of the world. And Joshua says, "You know what we're going to do?

We're going to take a walk and we're going to worship God and we're going to keep his presence in the middle of it all while we're doing it. And God's going to bring about a victory in our life. And I know I know the Bible paints the stories if everyone in Israel just was good with this and they did it. But man, just imagine with me every day Joshua's running around beating the drum. Have faith. God's going to do it. Just keep walking. What in the world?

But for those paying attention to the story thus far, we realized something. We realized that the challenge Israel faced was not really the distance. It wasn't the walking that was easy. The plan was not burdensome. The the command was not difficult. One foot in front of the other. They could do that. The challenge Israel faced was one of faith. And that's the real test in the border of Canaan. Would they keep putting one foot in front of the other when it all didn't make sense? Let's place ourselves in that moment.

Maybe day one and two, I'm behind Joshua. But by day three or four, I'm having some questions and I'm wondering some things. And maybe as I'm walking by the wall, day three or four, I'm checking the wall. Is that a new crack? Is it working? Is God do that? Pebble used to be there. I swear I it it's now over there. There's some progress going on. But if we're honest, day three, four, five, and six, nothing changed. Nothing changed. Just another lap around Jericho. Just another day of putting one foot in front of the other.

Just another day of obedience to the word and voice of the Lord. And then they get to day seven and Joshua gets up early, starts beating the drum louder than ever and says, "It's day seven, Israel. Here we go. Oh, come on. Have faith. Come on, praise the Lord. Come on, get it together." And maybe if we're in the crowd that day, we start to hear, "Oh, here we go again. Oh, Joshua's at it again. Same wall, same walk again. Healthy, thriving homes again. Ephesians 4:16, and the NLT again." And by the time they marched around the city six times on day seven, they've been walking for over an hour, maybe possibly closer to two or three hours.

and it's one foot in front of the other. Maybe there's some sweat on their brow because even walking can be burdensome over the long haul. But they didn't really mind the idea of walking, the time spent wasn't the issue. It was the silence. It was the repetition without progress. It was the mundane nature of it all. It was the questions. Will God really do what he said? Is this really doing anything? This one foot in front of the other. Will patient obedience to God's plan really produce a victory?

IS IT REALLY DOING ANYTHING? I DON'T SEE CHANGES JUST YET. I DON'T SEE ANYTHING being different just yet. Is it really working? Oh, we identify, don't we? Because sometimes living for God feels like walking past the same wall every day. It's the same struggle. It's the same burden. It's the same prayer request. It's the same unanswered question. And maybe the instruction from the Lord doesn't feel dramatic enough for the size of the problem. You're telling me I just need to keep praying. Just keep obeying. Just keep being faithful to the house of God.

Just keep leading our families. JUST KEEP PUTTING GOD'S presence in the MIDDLE OF IT ALL. JUST KEEP PURSUING HEALTH. Just keep working ON BEING A THRIVING APOSTOLIC HOME. JUST KEEP WALKING. YOU'RE telling me that's the answer? That's the solution to this thing. AND IF WE'RE NOT CAREFUL, IF WE'RE NOT CAREFUL ON THE BORDER OF CANAAN, it can feel too simple. IT CAN FEEL TOO EASY, TOO REPETITIVE, TOO SLOW, TOO UNIMPRESSIVE. OH, BUT WE HAVE LEARNED SOME things to this point in the story. We've learned some things in the wilderness seasons of life that Israel had to learn, too.

And it's simple. GOD'S WAYS MAY NOT ALWAYS MAKE SENSE TO ME. THEY MAY NOT ALWAYS LINE UP WITH MY SENSIBILITIES. THEY MAY NOT ALWAYS FEEL BIG ENOUGH TO FIT THE SIZE OF MY PROBLEMS. BUT IF I will just keep walking. Oh, I KNOW IT DOESN'T LOOK RIGHT. I KNOW IT MIGHT FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE. BUT WE'VE LEARNED IN THE WILDERNESS ALREADY. OH, IF WE WILL JUST KEEP WALKING. OH, IT'S ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER. I KNOW IT TAKES FAITH. I KNOW IT TAKES ENDURANCE, BUT IF WE WILL just keep walking.

Oh, I know it doesn't look like anything's changing, child of God, but just keep walking. I know IT FEELS LIKE YOU'VE BEEN WALKING A WHILE, BUT HEAR ME. YOU'RE ON THE border of Canaan. You're on the border of breakthrough. JUST KEEP WALKING. I KNOW YOU'RE WEARY TODAY. OH, BUT JUST keep putting one foot IN FRONT OF THE OTHER BECAUSE THE LORD IS WITH US. THE LORD IS FOR US. THE LORD HAS MADE US A PROMISE THAT HE IS BRINGING US INTO A GOOD LAND, INTO A THRIVING LAND.

AND IF WE'LL JUST KEEP WALKING, OH, WE'RE GOING to get there. Because all of a sudden, day seven, lap seven, the people of GOD BEGIN TO SHOUT LIKE YOU'RE DOING RIGHT now in Jericho, without any signs of progress before, begin to tremble. the ground underneath Jericho. It moved all of a sudden. Oh, THE WALLS BEGIN TO SHOW SIGNS OF CRACKING and in disruption along the wall. AND SUDDENLY, ALL OF A SUDDEN, AFTER YEARS AND YEARS AND DECADES OF JUST WALKING, that great fortress OF CANAAN, THAT BARRIER STANDING BETWEEN Israel and the fullness of GOD'S PROMISE, IT FELL BEFORE A PEOPLE OF GOD WHO WERE willing to just keep walking.

Oh, I feel such a special weight of the Lord. He's trying to help us right now. Comes a point in every service if you're using biblical stories where it's got to stop being Israel's story. It's got to be our story. >> It's got to be our response. Because the truth is, I know I know I know some of the stories and I don't know others, but I I could take a wise guess that there are many people in this room that have walked in exhausted.

I've been staring at the same wall wondering, God, has anything really happened? I've been faithful. I've been coming to church. I've been praying. I've been leading my family. Has anything really happened? And I doesn't look like it, but I've been sent here this morning to tell you if you'll just keep walking, God will fight for you. If you'll just keep obeying, God will still move for you. If you'll just keep worshiping, even though it doesn't look like you should be worshiping, God will still cause walls to fall for you.

Maybe for some of us, the wall isn't out there. Maybe it's a wall in here that we've been dealing with internally. Maybe it's fear. Maybe it's compromise or spiritual inconsistency or prayerlessness or distraction. Maybe it's a heart that once burned for God, but somewhere along the way as we were walking and cooled off. I've come to preach to you, too. God's promises are still for you. God did not bring you this far to leave you outside of Canaan. Canaan is still waiting for you. Oh, get back up, child of God.

The promise is still real for you. The spirit of God is still moving for you. And day seven is coming for you. It always comes for the people who simply don't quit. So today, here's the call. Paul, if you'll stand with me in the presence of the Lord. Before a wall ever fell for Israel, they had to give God a fresh yes of commitment at Gilgal. They had to tell him once and again, God, we're going to follow you and we're just going to keep walking.

So, that may need to happen for many of us today. And that's what I'm calling for. God wants a fresh yes in our spirit today. That we're going to commit ourselves to connecting with God and others. That we're going to commit ourselves to be a thriving apostolic church filled with thriving apostolic homes and individuals. That we're going to keep praying and keep fighting and keep walking. We're going to give God a fresh surrender today, a fresh obedience today, a fresh worship today. We're going to give God a fresh commitment today that says, "Even if I don't see it yet, I'm still walking.

Even if I don't understand it yet, I'm still trusting. Even if it feels slow, I'm still obeying. Even if you tell me to worship my way through this when I don't feel like worshiping, I'm going to worship. And so I wonder today all across this room if there are people here that are ready to trust God again. If there are people here who are ready to make a commitment to say, "God, I know it's not big. I know it's not a lot. And I know that I'm tired, but I'm committing to just keep walking.

I'm committed to just keep putting one foot in front of the other." If that's your desire today, I'm opening these altars for you to come and recommit to the Lord. And as you do, I want you to realize you're not just coming up to the front for a moment. You're not just coming up to the front for just another second to stand around and watch and see what happens. No, you're taking another lap around Jericho. You're taking another lap around that wall that's been facing you down and been facing your family down and been facing maybe your own personal spirituality down.

You're taking another lap today. And I promise you, who knows? Who knows? Maybe this altar call is day seven, lap seven. MAYBE THE PRAYER YOU'RE ABOUT TO PRAY IS WHEN JERICHO STARTS TO TREMBLE. WHEN THE GROUND BENEATH OUR FEET STARTS TO SHIFT AND THE WALLS BEGIN TO CRACK. WHO KNOWS IF TODAY that worship you offer TO GOD WILL BRING JERICHO DOWN. OH. OH. ABC Canaan is still waiting. THE PROMISES OF GOD OVER YOU AND OVER YOUR FAMILY, OVER THIS CHURCH, THEY'RE STILL WAITING. OH, I implore you.

I implore you. Respond to the Lord. Oh, just put one foot in front of the other. Oh, come on. GET YOURSELF UP. JUST PUT ONE FOOT IN front of the other. Oh, just take another lap around Jericho. Just take another step into the Canaan, into the promised land. Oh, just give him another step. Just give him another step today. Canaan is still waiting. >> >> Perfect submission. All is at rest. I know the author of tomorrow has ordered my steps. So this is my story. This is my song.

Praising my risen king and savior all the day long. I trust in God my savior, the one who will never fail. He will never fail. I trust in God. My savior, the one who will never fail. He will never fail. I trust in God, my savior. The one who will never fail. He will never fail. I trust in God, my savior. The one who will never fail. He will never fail. I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered. I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered.

I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered. That's why I trusted. That's why I trusted. I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered. I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered. I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered. That's why I trusted. That's why I trusted. I saw the Lord and he heard and he answered. I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered. I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered. That's why I trust him.

That's why I trust him. I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered. I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered. I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered. That's why I trust him. That's why I trust in God. My savior, the one who will never fail. He will never fail. I trust in God, my savior, the one who will never fail. >> >> He will never fail. I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered. I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered.

I sought the Lord and he heard and he answered. That's why I trusted. That's why I trust him. I sought the Lord anywhere. And he answered. I sought the Lord. And he answered. I sought the Lord. And he answered. That's why I trust him. That's why I trust him. I sought the Lord. And he answer. I sought the Lord. And he heard and he answered. I sought the Lord. And he heard and he answered. That's why I trust him. That's why I trust him. I sought the Lord.

And he heard and he answered. I saw the Lord. And he heard and he answered. I saw the Lord. And he heard and he answered. That's why I trust in That's why I trust in God. My savior. The one who will never f I trust in God, my savior. The one who will never qu Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. >> >> This morning at the house sitting with the Lord felt the Lord encourage me that he has predetermined the course of every battle that we are facing and the end result will be victory.

It will be victory. You are not disqualified from it. So, I'm going to say it again to somebody who's in the fight of your life. The end result, if you keep walking, will be victory. It will. That's right. I don't know what lap we're on. I don't know what day we're on, brother Peter. Maybe we're on the first day. Some of us are all of us are hoping we're on the seventh day and the seventh lap. I don't know how far we've got to go. But I know this.

I want to see it. I want to see that victory. And I want to be a part of it. So, I'm going to keep walking. And we're going to keep preaching the word of God. We're going to keep striving for health, healthy growing, full of love. We're going to keep pressing on. >> And in the process, we're going to help those who are weary. Hebrews tells us to run the race with patience. And then it says, "Strengthen the hands which hang down and the feeble knees.

Make straight paths for your feet. >> What's lame may not be dislocated. Pursue peace with all people in holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God." So you run the race with patience, but also look around. And I imagine Joshua and those leaders when people are getting tired are throwing their hands in the air saying, "No, no, keep going. We're almost there. We're going to see it. We're going to see it happen. This is going to work.

God's plan's going to work." And I imagine there's some people right now just as he said, maybe you're looking around wondering, "Why should I keep going? I've been walking a long time. I don't know if it's going to happen." If you're just weary and welloing and this is not to say that you doubt the Lord or you're you're one of those vagabons in the wilderness. No, you're just tired of walking or you're just tired. You just be honest right now and lift your hands. Say, you know what?

Yeah, that's me. Yeah. And now, brothers and sisters, look around. Keep that hand lifted if you wouldn't mind. Keep that hand lifted. Bible says to look around and we're going to help and we're going to come alongside these individuals and we're going to pray because we want them to see the victory just as much as we want to see it. If there's someone nearby you with their hand lifted, would you just go to them? And again, if you need strength right now, lift your hand. If you're weary and welloing and we're going to pray and God's going to help and God's going to strengthen and you're going to see victory.

If I see victory, I want you to see it. Uh we're not going to leave you. We're not going to leave you on the first day. We're not going to leave you on the first lap. We're going to make sure you make it. You're going to see the same victory. Lord, I pray that you'd help those who are weary and welloing, knowing that if they if they continue walking in due season, they're going to reap, but they faint not. There is something on the other side of Jericho.

There is victory waiting on them. You've predetermined it, oh God. And I pray you'd help them to get back on their feet, Lord. or if they're already on their feet, that you'd give them the strength. If their knees are feeble, Lord, if they're tired, if they're weary, come alongside them with a fresh strength, knowing that your strength is made perfect in the middle of weakness. Give them your help right now. And I pray, Lord, that you would help us as a body to make sure that one another make it.

Oh, we're going to see victory, and we're going to see it together in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus, we trust in you, Lord. We trust in you. We trust in you, Jesus. See a vision of a thriving apostolic church. I can see it. And you're a part of it. And there's others on the other side of Jericho. And you need to make it. We're going to see victory. Would you just thank the Lord in advance for it right now and lift your hands and voices, oh God, thank you, Lord, for victory that's promised.

Oh, I thank you for the victory we feel already. You've ordained this service, this word, oh God. Thank you, Lord, for victory for every family and home and every individual. Thank you for walls that are going to fall flat, oh God. Thank you, Jesus, for promises. and we're going to see it in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Don't stop walking now. You're going to want to see this victory and you're a part of it. We're thankful this church family and thank you for every guest who's joined us today joining us in victory.

You're a guest. We'd love for you to join us on this march to victory. We're going to believe for the Lord's help that you'll see it in your life and your family as well.