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[0:00] of the Holy Scriptures and be thankful for them and find Joshua chapter 7. Joshua chapter 7.

[0:30] Do we want to read it? Yeah, let's read it.

[0:43] We're going to be in the entire chapter, so it saved me some reading throughout. If maybe we just read it all now and get it in our heads.

[0:56] I can read it or I can get some of you to join me. I like when you guys read. Who wants to help? How many? I got one. One reader here, one reader here.

[1:06] I saw another hand. I see two readers here. Looking for three, looking for three. The more readers we have, the less verses you have to read. So right now they're on 13 verses each.

[1:18] Is that a? Okay, Eric. I got Linda. Eric. That's three. What? Oh.

[1:29] Four. Got four. Just got less. Did I see Samuel? What? Five? Got five? Now we're down to five verses each roughly. Carla?

[1:44] Six? I just need to get 26 and it'll be easy. All right, we'll go with six. What's that put us at? About four apiece. And I'll finish it off.

[1:54] So we'll go in the order that you, most of you volunteered. So we'll start with you. Go four verses please. Joshua 7. Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us?

[2:13] The Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones and burnt them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day.

[2:24] So the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called the Valley of Achor unto this day. Let's pray together. Lord, please, as we opened and read this chapter, this story that was retained in your holy book forever.

[2:38] God, may we learn something from it today that can help us. To help us when we make these mistakes. When we don't seek your will. And then we're left to deal with the consequences.

[2:50] Father, help us to learn a lesson. And to apply it to our lives. And do whatever you choose to. Lord, I don't know where this may land and who needs this.

[3:01] But I fully believe you do. And so I ask that you'll do the work that only you can do from your word. And do it in Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen.

[3:12] So there's the chapter. I like reading the chapter when we do kind of outline chapters and stories. And an interesting thing. Come to the end of verse 5 and notice the phrase.

[3:23] It says, wherefore the hearts of the people melted and became as water. My how the tables have turned. Because that's the exact phrase and usage of phrase that is described about, for instance, Rahab said that back in chapter 2.

[3:38] When the spies came into Jericho and into her home. And she's like, you know the people, their hearts melt. And there's no courage left in them. And then in the first verse of chapter 5 it says the same thing about the king of the Amorites.

[3:50] The kings of the Amorites are all coming together. And it says that the, I'll just not misquote it. It says that their heart melted because there was, neither was their spirit anymore.

[4:02] And then because of the children of Israel. And that's the effect that they have on all the inhabitants of the land. Here come this people. Big and great coming through. The Lord's drying up rivers. They're walking right over on dry land.

[4:14] They have a God among them that we can't touch. Their hearts melted. They were scared to death. And my how the tables have turned. Because now it's Israel's heart that is melting within them.

[4:26] And they're losing hope and courage and spirit. They're now on the losing end of things. And they've suffered after the, you read the chapter before this.

[4:38] They marched around this massively fortified city. And just shouted, blew some trumpets, the ram's horns and shouted. And the walls came a-tumbling down.

[4:49] After this incredible victory, they suffer an embarrassing defeat. Here in chapter 7. This army.

[5:00] This nation. This conquest of this promised land. It pictures very well for us the ups and the downs of your Christian life.

[5:15] The battling. The fighting. The enemies. And in some cases, the mistakes. There's great victories in your Christian life.

[5:26] And sometimes they're followed by, just like that, embarrassing defeats. Now, we all make mistakes. We, you know, that's fine. We all make mistakes. We all fall.

[5:37] We all make bad decisions. And probably like Joshua here, we all do things without seeking the Lord. And we end up in a mess. At some point, likely, you're going to find yourself in a real mess.

[5:51] I've been in a few in my life. And I hope to God I don't get into too many more. But I've been in them. I know what it's like. Some people, sadly, their life is just one mess after another.

[6:03] They can never seem to get any traction in their Christian life. And their life's just this, they're stuck in this cycle of just going through it. Going through it. Get out of it to go into another one. And that's not the way God intended your Christian life to be.

[6:17] Now, when I talk about getting into messes, preachers get into messes. And it doesn't necessarily mean they fall into some gross sin of adultery. And they get kicked out of the pulpit. It doesn't necessarily mean that.

[6:28] Preachers can make bad decisions for their churches. Or can make bad decisions. I was talking to a brother the other day. He has a guy that's an assistant. And he's struggling about that. Because he's not sure if he ever should have had him be his assistant in the church.

[6:41] And now he doesn't know what to do. Preachers make messes. And sometimes you've got to find a way out of them. Nobody's immune to finding themselves in a bad spot.

[6:54] Because of something they did or some choice they made. And so I want to look at this chapter and preach to you a message. How to get out of a mess. How to get out of a mess. There's a formula.

[7:05] There's a way. And you want to follow the Bible way. To get out of the messes you get yourself into. Like I said it doesn't mean it's some filthy gross sin. It could be.

[7:16] Or it could just be a situation. Or a relationship. Or a decision. And you're in a mess. You're in a spot where you're finding yourself hard to get out of.

[7:29] Or it's going to pull you down. Or it's not going to work out right. You didn't seek the Lord. So here's the formula. You might make. I got five points. They're short.

[7:40] They're simple. Might make the notes if it helps you. The first way. How to get out of a mess. Is in verse 6. And that's go to God right away.

[7:52] In verse 6. Joshua rent his clothes and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord. Go to God right away.

[8:04] Joshua didn't waste any time. He didn't speak to the men and speak to the soldiers and say. Guys what happened? This is an easy one. We should have knocked this thing out without any trouble.

[8:16] He didn't even try to pretend that. Hey guys everything's going to be okay. The Lord knows. He didn't give. He just got straight on his face before the Lord.

[8:28] Something's wrong. We're in a mess. We just conquered that entire city Jericho. And now we're smitten before this. Nobody. Joshua sees something's wrong.

[8:40] And he got right on his face. The first thing and always the first thing is go to God right away. Don't pretend things are going to work out.

[8:50] When you find you're in a mess. You made a bad choice. Get on your face. I think Joshua probably could have avoided this mess entirely. If he would have been on his face before the battle.

[9:02] There's no reference to him seeking God. As a matter of fact. The difference between what they came up with to do. And what God says in the next chapter. Is way different of a battle plan.

[9:13] This wasn't God's doing at all. As a matter of fact. The Lord even tells you. I'm not with you. And I'm not going to be with you. Until you get this thing taken care of. So Joshua obviously. Didn't get on his face before the battle.

[9:26] He didn't even realize. That God was not in this. He thought. This will work out. He never sought the Lord. The plan seemed like a good idea. The men came back.

[9:36] We read that in verse 3. They said. Let not all the people go up. But let about 2 or 3 thousand men go up. And smite a eye. And make not all the people to labor. There but few. And it made sense.

[9:48] Yeah. Why would we send all the men up there. To do something that 2 or 3 thousand. Can take care of. Without any trouble at all. And he never sought the Lord. And man came up with an idea.

[9:59] That made sense. And it didn't work. It thought it was a good idea. But it didn't work out. It made real good sense on paper. But it didn't work out.

[10:10] And we're in a mess now. So the first thing to do. Is do what Joshua did. And get on your face before the Lord. This is going to require humility.

[10:24] It's going to require humility. To humble yourself. Joshua is the leader. You think he likes being made a fool of. He just took over this responsibility.

[10:35] Just brought him across the Jordan. One great victory. I mean. He was. In chapter 1. He got constantly. Be of good courage. Be strong. Fear not. Neither be dismayed.

[10:45] Be of good courage. And there he is. Like this thing is going to work out okay. And then the very next. Little thing he can't handle. It's going to require humility. He had to get the elders together.

[10:58] In verse 6. And put dust on their heads. And fall down before the Lord. I remember a time in my life. Getting into a mess. A real mess. By making some choices.

[11:09] To live for myself. And sin. And I got to the place where I was getting in trouble. And things were like a house of cars. Just the whole thing was just falling apart fast.

[11:20] And I was in a place that I had a townhouse. And upstairs in my bedroom of a townhouse. And I'm in that room. By myself.

[11:32] And just pacing the room. Just walking back and forth. And just weighing it out in my mind. What are you going to do? What are you going to do? What are you going to do? You got to do something.

[11:43] This life that you chose. Things aren't working. Things aren't working really fast. They're falling apart. And inside of me. I don't want to give up the sin. I don't want to give up what I'm doing.

[11:55] And how much I like it. It's fun. I want to keep doing this. But I realize. I'm not stupid. I realize it's tearing my life apart. And this ruin here is going to get worse and worse and worse.

[12:07] I'm in a mess. On the other hand. I know what's right. And I know that I should get right with God. And I know I should repent of this sin. And turn from it. And walk with the Lord.

[12:19] But I don't want to. And I was at a crossroads. In that room. Nobody else but me and God. And the devil. And just walking back and forth. Thinking what am I going to do.

[12:29] What should you do. I know what you should do. And I know with the Lord. There's mercy. And I know if I go this route with the world. And my sin. There's no mercy in that. It's just going to get worse.

[12:41] And I fought. And I fought. And I fought. And I paced. And I paced. And I just realized. I thought. Do I really want to do this. The rest of my life. I'm already in trouble with the law.

[12:52] And I don't know how this is going to turn out. Do I really want to keep going this direction. I'm going to end up in a jail cell. Is that what I want for my life. And I said. I can't. I'm not doing this. I can't do this.

[13:02] And my bed was there. I knelt down on the side of the bed. And I didn't have nothing to say. I just knelt there. And just. Waited. And I felt too foolish.

[13:14] And I felt too. Just. I just despised. Myself. I didn't. I didn't know what to say.

[13:24] I didn't. I didn't feel like I could just be like. Hey God. Forgive me. And I just knelt there. I just knelt there. I started crying. And I started weeping. And I just started.

[13:36] Talking to God. And it was a joy. It was a humbling. Hard thing to do. Because I had resisted the Lord. For so many years. It felt like just.

[13:47] Tell him no. Tell him no. Tell him no. And now I'm in a mess. And I didn't want to be that hypocrite. I didn't want to be like. Okay God. Please fix it. And I was. It was a. It was a tough thing for me to do.

[13:58] But it was. The best choice I've made. For a long long time. First. And always first.

[14:10] Get on your face. Before the Lord. Don't fear it. It is absolutely. The best move you have. It is. Without question.

[14:21] The best move you have. If you're in a mess. Is to get on your face. And go to God. Go to God right away. There's another step to this.

[14:31] The second thing is. Is identify the problem. In verse number 11. The Lord says it in three words. Israel has sinned.

[14:42] The Lord doesn't have much trouble. Just getting to the point. Identify the problem. And by the way. This is the right order. I said it several times. First.

[14:53] Is get on your face. Don't try to identify the problem. And the cause. And why is this taking place. And how can I fix this. Because your heart. Is deceitful.

[15:03] Above all things. And desperately wicked. It will not. Tell you the truth. About the situation. But if you'll go to God. And seek the Lord. And open up.

[15:14] And repent. And be wide open. God. Alas. Alas. Oh Lord God. And you'll open yourself up to God.

[15:25] He'll help you identify the problem. Exactly. What the problem is. I mean right down to the very point. God has a way of revealing exactly what is wrong.

[15:35] But your heart. Not going to be so honest about it. So if you're in a mess. Go to God right away. And then secondly. Identify the problem. If you're in a mess.

[15:47] There's a reason you're in a mess. There's a reason for it. There's a problem. You can identify it. It didn't happen on its own. And I'm not talking about Christians suffering for well doing. And persecution of this world.

[15:58] I'm talking about like in verse 1. The anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel. And later in the chapter. He said. In verse 12. He says. Neither will I be with you anymore.

[16:10] Except ye destroy the accursed among. So I'm talking about something that you did. Or you're against God in this. God's not with you on it. Identify the problem. Don't blame others.

[16:23] Don't be a victim. The truth is. The truth always is. The problem is not as complicated. As you may want it to appear to others. Or as it may seem.

[16:34] God said it real plain. Israel hath sinned. And in your case. It may be a sin. Or like I said. It could be a bad decision. Or a bad relationship.

[16:46] Or a bad situation. A bad choice. That ends up going this direction. It may not be some grievous sin in your heart. Whatever the case is.

[16:56] You're in a mess. If you want to get out of it. You're going to have to identify the problem. And while going to God. And getting in your face. May require humility.

[17:07] Identifying the problem. Is going to require honesty. In verse 20 and 21. When Achan is chosen. And he's put on the spot. He says this.

[17:18] Indeed I have sinned. Against the Lord God of Israel. And thus and thus have I done. And he describes in detail. What exactly he took. And where they are. The whole thing.

[17:29] He came clean. Identify the problem. It requires honesty. The flesh is going to fight you. The flesh is going to say. Oh no.

[17:40] No, no, no. You don't have to go that direction. We can find another way around this. We can fix this. We don't have to get honest with God. About this thing. And the flesh will do anything.

[17:51] Find any other way to avoid omitting anything. Whether it's sin or a bad decision. Because the flesh knows this. If I nail down what the problem is.

[18:02] Then there's another step. That's going to follow that. And that's deal with the problem. So the flesh is going to stay away from that. As much as possible. But if you get in a mess.

[18:13] You go to God right away. You identify the problem. And thirdly. There it is. Deal with the problem. Deal with it. In verses 12 through 15. We read how God described.

[18:24] What they need to do. But here's what he said. In verse 12. At the end of the verse. He said. I will be with. Neither will I be with you anymore. Except ye destroy.

[18:35] The accursed from among you. In verse 13. He said at the end. Until ye take away. The accursed thing. From among you. In verse number 15. He says.

[18:45] He hath teregraced the covenant of the Lord. Because he hath wrought following his. No I missed it. He says. That he be taken. With the accursed thing. Shall be burnt with fire. Burnt with fire.

[18:55] God says destroy. Take away. Burn with fire. He's saying. Eliminate it. Eliminate it from among you. You got to deal with the problem. There's a lot of people.

[19:06] That are too proud to. First of all. Identify the problem. But they're also afraid. To get it right. They're also afraid. To have it out in the open. To have others find out.

[19:20] It's. Your flesh refuses. To be vulnerable. To be embarrassed. Your flesh. Fears ridicule. Even if. So. So your flesh will tell you.

[19:31] Just say for instance. In this church. And right here tonight. If there was something. And I'm not proposing. This happens at all. But if there was something. That you needed to get right. With this church. Your flesh is going to say.

[19:44] Oh no. They're going to. They're going to turn on you. They're going to hate you. They're going to make fun of you. They're going to tell everybody about you. But the truth is. They would embrace you. They would pray with you.

[19:56] They would love you. They would want you to be restored. And things to be right. The truth is. God has a way that's better. Your flesh says. Oh you can't dare go there. Because they paint it.

[20:07] To be something you can't handle. But deal with the problem. Don't be too proud. Or afraid to get it right. You know what your flesh wants you to do.

[20:17] Is to feel the need to retain. The reputation. That only you think you have. And so your flesh. And you'd rather pretend.

[20:28] That things are okay. And continue in the mess. And dealing with the consequences. And hiding it. Rather than dealing with it. How to get out of the mess. You're going to have to eliminate it.

[20:41] Deal with the problem. And that's going to take some time. You have to deal with it. The right way. In verse 14 and 15. God gave. A way.

[20:53] For this thing to be exposed. And exactly what to do. In dealing with it. It was going to be. Had to be destroyed. Had to be burnt with fire. There was a process.

[21:04] That God laid out. For calling the tribes. The heads of the tribes. The families of the tribes. Until they got it very. Narrowed down. To the very man himself.

[21:15] Of the millions of people. Brought it down. To the very man. The very. Very thing. Put the needle. Right on him. If you're going to deal with the problem.

[21:26] You have to deal with it. The right way. And it's probably going to. Be a process. It's not going to be. A quick confession. And everything's well. It's God. Washes it away. So. Singing I go.

[21:37] Along life's road. Praising the Lord. Not if there's a mess. That you're in. You can get restored to God. But you still got to deal with the mess. And this sin.

[21:49] In this chapter. It affected the entire nation. And so it had to be dealt with publicly. And so in verse 25. It says that all Israel.

[21:59] Stoned him. With stones. And burnt them. With fire. After they had stoned them. With stones. They were obeying. God's view. And God's command.

[22:11] And dealing with the problem. And so you're going to have to deal with it. The right way. And it's going to be a process. And it's going to take some time. And things are going to have to be put on stop.

[22:21] The conquest of the land. Is going to stop right now. Because we have to focus. And deal with this today. Joshua. It says that. I think he says. It got up early in the morning.

[22:33] Well it says in verse 14. In the morning. Therefore you shall be brought. And so in verse 16. Joshua rose up early in the morning. He's dealing with this thing. As soon as possible. Right away.

[22:45] Getting this thing out of here. Because it needs to be gotten. Out of here. And so that's the way. To deal with a mess. Deal with the issue.

[22:55] The way God says to do it. Follow his instructions. And eliminate the problem completely. Here's another part. About dealing with it. In verse 23. It says. They took them out of the midst of the tent.

[23:06] All of these things. That he took and hid. It says. They took them out of the midst of the tent. And brought them unto Joshua. And the children of Israel. And notice the end of verse 23. It says. And laid them. Laid them out.

[23:18] Before the Lord. In dealing with the problem. It's a good idea. To just lay it out. Before the Lord. It's a good idea to say.

[23:29] Here it is. All of it. I'm not holding anything back. It's all. All 52 cards. Are face up. And on the table. I'm not. It's all out in the open.

[23:40] Now. It doesn't say. And what I would say. Is. They're laying it out before the Lord. Not before the brethren. It's not as much a confession. To all the nation of Israel.

[23:50] To walk by. One by one. To see what it is. It's none of their business. It was. There was enough. Joshua. Probably the elders. And certain family members. That were there. In the very location.

[24:01] In the immediate thing. But I bet you. This was. A bit isolated. To what was. Displayed. Even if it wasn't. It doesn't matter. The rule to live by. With sin.

[24:12] Is if you. If you. Sin privately. Then you repent. Privately. And get it right. But if you sin publicly. And it affects other people. Then you repent publicly. And you make sure.

[24:22] That other people know. And it's taken care of. But lay it out before the Lord. Absolutely. Lay it out before the Lord. Either way. Deal with the problem. Don't duck it.

[24:33] Don't hope it fixes itself. The liberty that you can experience. And know. About getting out of the mess. Only follows. If you do it the right way. And God gave a plan.

[24:44] And they had to follow it to a T. So go to God. Right away. Identify the problem. Then deal with the problem. And lastly.

[24:54] In dealing with the problem. There's going to be some. There's going to be a cost. And in verse 24 and 25. This man was killed. As well as it says. His sons.

[25:05] His daughters. His oxen. His asses. His sheep. Tent. All that he had. Brought them. Burned them. Stoned them. And burned them. Just a massive fire. And pile of a heap there.

[25:16] There's a cost. A great loss. Says he's the son of Carmi. Says he's the son of Carmi. That man lost his son that day. And all Israel knew it. They all knew it. I don't doubt he was mourning that day.

[25:28] To see his son. His grandchildren. To see this just stripped from him. But it had to be dealt with. And there's a cost.

[25:39] And there was great loss. Fourthly. Learn the lesson. You want to deal with the mess. Get out of the mess.

[25:49] Learn the lesson. Don't forget it. Remember. Remember the sin and the cost. It's in verse 26. It says. So those stones.

[26:02] This heap. Stood as a memorial. A constant reminder. Of what happens when you sin. What happens when you bring a big mess on. It's an ugly thing.

[26:15] To put in public view. It's you know. We decorate up cemeteries. Which is an ugly thing. But we green mowed grass. And flowers everywhere.

[26:25] Wear manicure. Just to make it as pretty as possible. They decorate cell phone towers around here. Good night. Try to make them look like something pretty. Back at our home.

[26:36] They grew green grass on the landfill. And it's just this beautiful green hill. But it's filthy. It stinks.

[26:48] The whole place. The whole area stinks when you drive by it. But it's pretty. Nobody's picnicking up on that hill. Well. But learn the lesson.

[26:58] This is the case here. This thing is an ugly thing to view in public. You. It has a purpose though. It's for you to remember the price.

[27:08] Remember. To learn a lesson from this thing. Don't pretend it didn't happen. Leave those stones. That pile of rubble right there. Where everybody can see them. And there's carcasses underneath there.

[27:20] There's piles of ashes underneath there. Leave it right there. So we can all be reminded. And see it all the time. And remember what sin will do. What messes we get ourselves into.

[27:33] You're a fool. You're a fool. If you pretend it doesn't happen. Or didn't happen. Or that you're better than you really are. Because that ugly pile of stones is covering a mess.

[27:44] A mess that you caused. And if you deal with it the way God says to deal with it. Then make sure you learn the lesson. Learn the lesson from it. That pile is supposed to stay there.

[27:56] It says unto this day. It's never supposed to go away. And let me stop here and say that learning a lesson. And I speak from experience. Is truly a great thing.

[28:09] It is absolutely a great thing. That can come out of a mess. Learning from it is something. You get experience that you don't otherwise have.

[28:21] And can't otherwise have. Now a wise man can learn from other people's mistakes. And that's great. Much better. But when you learn from your own mistakes. It's that much more motivation inside of you.

[28:33] That says I am not going down that road again. Ever. And by the grace of God. I learned some lessons from my messes. That has stuck with me.

[28:45] And are constant reminders. The Lord brings back to memory certain things. And he reminds me. Stay away. It's not worth it. It's a mess. It's a mess.

[28:56] I can guarantee that those Jews that picked up stones. And threw those stones. They'll think twice when they're tempted to transgress against the covenant of God. They saw firsthand.

[29:06] They don't want to be on the other side of those stones. They know what it smelled like when that fire was burning. I'll bet that smell never left their mind. A fool doesn't learn from his errors.

[29:21] A fool finds himself right back in the same problem. But a wise man will learn the lesson. And now fifth and finally.

[29:32] In the beginning of the next chapter. Move forward. Move forward. After you deal with the mess.

[29:42] You learn your lesson. Now move forward. In chapter 8 verse 1. The Lord said unto Joshua. Fear not. Neither be thou dismayed. Take all the people of war with thee.

[29:53] And arise and go up to Ai. See I have given into thine hand the king of Ai. And his people. And his city. And his land. And thou shalt do to Ai and her king. As thou didst unto Jericho and her king.

[30:04] Only the spoil thereof. And the cattle thereof. You shall take for a prey unto yourselves. Lay thee an ambush for the city behind it. So Joshua arose. And all the people of war. To go up against Ai.

[30:15] And Joshua chose out 30,000 mighty men of valor. And sent them away by night. And he tells them to lie in wait. And sets this ambush. And gets it all ready. And if you've read the story.

[30:26] You know how it turns out. Easy peasy. But move forward. There's a few things I want to say. And we'll be done. Number one. In verse 1. God is speaking. The Lord said unto Joshua.

[30:38] Fear not. Neither be thou dismayed. He's speaking to Joshua. He's giving him directions again. God apparently put it behind him. His anger was kindled.

[30:51] But he's fine now. He's saying. Hey. Let's go. The word of God is coming to you. The Lord is speaking to you. And his plan hasn't changed a bit. It's the same language that was back in chapter 1.

[31:03] When he's telling Joshua. To fear not. Neither be thou dismayed. Let's go. Let's fight. Let's move forward. And when you learn your lesson.

[31:15] And deal with the sin the way you ought to. Or the problem. Or the mess. The word of God comes to you. And says move forward. Let's go. Arise and go. Secondly.

[31:26] Move forward. According to the word of God. You're going to do it God's way this time. Last time it was. Let's just send 2 or 3 thousand up there. And see. When the Lord comes.

[31:37] He doesn't just say. Just send 2 or 3 thousand. I'll be with you. He says send 30 thousand. Whew. God's like. We're going to pound them into the ground. There's going to be nothing left of them.

[31:48] This is how I do it. He's setting an ambush. Bring them out. We're going to burn the city. Let's do it all. Those men. I don't know if they're playing a game. Or thought they were more than they were.

[31:59] But when God sends you to move forward. You do it according to his word. You do it God's way. And it is guaranteed to be a success. And thirdly. In verse 3.

[32:10] I should say. Get right back to the fight. When you learn your lesson. You deal with that mess. Get out of that mess. Get right back to the fight. In verse 3.

[32:20] Joshua arose. And all the people of war. To go up against Ai. You get out of that mess. You grow from it. You determine you're not going to fall back into that again. God forgives you.

[32:32] God's interested in you walking with him. So Joshua arose. And he went to fight. And that's moving forward. It's getting back in the fight. And the last thing is. Go all out.

[32:44] Take 30,000 men. Not just three. Because the best way to assure that you don't fall into this mess again. Is by going all in. And when you're going to move forward for God.

[32:55] Go all in. Don't try to say. Well I'll just. I'll just start reading my Bible a little bit. I'll read you know. A chapter or two here and there. No. You're going to need to get out of the mess.

[33:06] You don't want to fall back into it. So walk in the spirit now. Recognize the flesh will distract you. The flesh will pull you into sin. The flesh will lie to you. It'll show you one thing.

[33:18] And it'll never work out. The flesh will tell you. That this decision is fine. It'll make sense. It makes perfect sense to me. No. Go all out.

[33:29] Don't play with your Christian life. You're going to find yourself in a mess. You want to get out of a mess? There's a method. There's a way in this chapter. And it's a good one.

[33:40] Get on your face before God. And then find out what that problem is. Let God put his finger on that problem. And then deal with it. And after you deal with it.

[33:51] Learn from it. Learn the lesson so you don't go back to it. And then move forward. It's not complicated. We all get into a mess. And when we do.

[34:01] There's a way out. It's going to cost you something. But it's worth the payment. To be right with God. And to have him with you again. And to have him speaking to you again.

[34:13] And to have him leading you. And instructing you. And strengthening you. It's worth it. The flesh says. No. Never. Don't even think about it.

[34:23] You can't do it. Because it's lying to you. Your flesh. Your heart. That voice inside your head. Is lying to you. Because it's a coward. And it's weak.

[34:34] And let me finish by saying. Being right with God. And having peace. In your heart with God. Knowing you can trust him.

[34:44] And knowing he's going to take care of you. And knowing whether you have the answers or not. Doesn't matter. Or God does. That's priceless. That is so much better than falling into another mess.

[34:55] Down the road. So if you're in one tonight. It starts with you getting on your face. And being honest with God. Don't deceive yourself.

[35:06] Thinking. It'll work out. It'll work out. I'll figure it out. Because you're not. Your flesh is lying to you. And you're a fool. Your mess will just grow bigger.

[35:16] And the consequences will too. And the cost will too. So there's a way to get out of a mess. And we just read it. And I hope that helps you.

[35:26] Or I hope that. Somewhere along the line. Maybe. At best. It'll keep you. From getting into one. God help us. To stay out of those messes. Father.

[35:37] Thank you for this chapter. Thank you for this lesson. And Lord. May it bear fruit in our lives. May we. Be strengthened. By the word of God. And by learning.

[35:48] From others mistakes. But also thank you. That you gave us. This formula. For us to follow. And to get out of those messes. Lord. I pray that you'd give us. Courage. Each one of us.

[35:59] To not listen to the flesh. To put it down. And the courage. To do right. To get on our face. Humble ourselves. And get honest with you.

[36:09] About these things. And choices. And decisions. We've made. Or haven't made. Or sins. That we've fallen into. Whatever the case is. Lord. If anybody's in a mess. I pray that you'd give them courage.

[36:20] And show them. It's easier to get out of it. Than their flesh is telling them. And may they get the victory. And may they be able to go on. For Jesus Christ. And get back in the fight.

[36:31] And accomplish something. And please you. Lord. I pray that we'd all please you. I pray you'll be with us as we go. Keep us safe. We ask that you'll. Help us to be a blessing. To others.

[36:42]  And Lord. I pray that we'll have a good Sunday. Coming up this weekend. Strengthen us. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. You're dismissed tonight.