WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:15.599 Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah. 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:20.480 ! It is wonderful that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah, 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:25.679 either by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all, would you pray for us 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:32.159 that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people like yourself? 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:37.359 The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian, 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:42.159 we really, I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:48.799 Bible, they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We will do 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:55.120 what we can to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you're a non-Christian, 00:00:55.119 --> 00:01:00.320 checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't hesitate to send us 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:05.280 questions. It helps me actually to know, as I'm preaching, how to deal with the types of things 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:07.759 that you're really struggling with. So God bless. 00:01:07.760 --> 00:01:20.080 Let's bow our heads in prayer. Father, we give you thanks and praise that you know us perfectly and 00:01:20.080 --> 00:01:27.200 still you love us. And you know, Father, how even your people, we often forget your promises 00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:35.200 promises and therefore don't live by them. And we know, Father, that you know that we often don't 00:01:35.200 --> 00:01:40.480 like your warnings. And not only do we forget them, Father, but we actually try to act or 00:01:41.359 --> 00:01:47.359 talk or live as if your warnings don't even exist. And so, Father, we ask that you would do a very 00:01:47.359 --> 00:01:54.240 powerful and blessed work in each of our lives this morning. May your Holy Spirit so move and work within 00:01:54.239 --> 00:02:02.000 us that we might know and remember and live by your promises and that we might know and remember and 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:09.359 live by your warnings, knowing that they both come, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, from your love. And we 00:02:09.359 --> 00:02:14.479 ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen. Please be seated. 00:02:14.479 --> 00:02:21.919 Amen. So one of the things about having conversations with people who are outside the Christian faith 00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:27.519 is that sometimes I come across people for a variety of reasons who've been reading the Bible for 00:02:27.519 --> 00:02:33.280 themselves and they have different things that they'd like to talk to me about. And I mean, 00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:38.639 sometimes maybe to stump me, sometimes just because they know that I'm quite easy going about these 00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:45.279 conversations just to really express their puzzlement and sometimes even the revulsion with the Bible. 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:52.239 And the text that we're looking at today is a text that just a little while ago somebody shared their 00:02:52.239 --> 00:02:59.279 revulsion of the text with me. How is it they had read the book of Joshua? How is it that the book of 00:02:59.279 --> 00:03:07.359 Joshua seems to so gleefully almost talk about the killing and slaughter of people, men and women, 00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:15.520 in the land that used to be called Canaan? How is it that they can almost celebrate killing 12,000 men 00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:21.200 and women? Like, how is it that they do that? And how could you believe a book which talks about that? 00:03:22.960 --> 00:03:29.440 It's interesting because just a few days after I had that conversation with somebody in a coffee shop, 00:03:29.440 --> 00:03:34.800 I had a conversation with a very different person who's also Christian curious, by the way. And I 00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:40.400 mentioned that I was going to be talking about genocide and war and violence in the Bible and 00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:44.160 how what it means in the Bible for how we live. And he said, wow, like, that's like, 00:03:44.800 --> 00:03:49.360 that's like a really big topic. That's really important. There's so much horrible things going 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:55.120 on. Like, that's sort of interesting you guys would actually look at it. So there are two reactions and 00:03:55.120 --> 00:04:00.560 we are going to look at it. And one of the reasons we're going to look at it is because I think modern 00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:04.560 Christians, I'm going to show you how older Christians thought about this at the end of the 00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:14.000 sermon. But because we get so intimidated by the at least surface horrendous aspect of this text, 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:18.480 and some of you are already saying, George, George, not just surface if 12,000 people die. That's not 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:24.720 surface. Yes, I'm going to get to that. And I understand that. I'm very Canadian. 00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:30.480 But it's because we get intimidated by these texts, as I've said several other times, 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:37.200 we miss the things which are profoundly important. And in this text, there's something very profoundly 00:04:37.200 --> 00:04:43.760 important about meaning and identity and also how to deal with anxiety and fear. And I think we would 00:04:43.760 --> 00:04:49.520 all acknowledge that anxiety and fear is a very, very big problem in Canada. And this text that we're 00:04:49.520 --> 00:04:54.640 going to look at talks about that in a way which is very helpful and very wise and very beautiful. 00:04:55.439 --> 00:05:04.800 So pick up your Bibles. I'm using this journal Bible. And turn to the book of Joshua, chapter 11, 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:13.759 verses 10 and following. And we've been preaching through the book of Joshua. We're almost finished. 00:05:13.759 --> 00:05:18.479 There's two sermons after this. And you're thinking, wow, we've just gone to the chapter 11. 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:26.160 And basically, what I'm going to read to you is the summary of all of the battles that have gone 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:33.280 on in the book of Joshua. And then from chapter 12 sort of just finishes the summary. And then 13 to 22 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:39.039 or 21 or something is about how the land is divided up. And I'm not going to talk about that very much, 00:05:39.039 --> 00:05:43.679 other than in the last two chapters, a couple of very important lessons in terms of how the book ends. 00:05:43.679 --> 00:05:47.679 So that's sort of where we are and why we're reading this particular text. 00:05:47.680 --> 00:05:51.360 And I made sure that I picked a text that didn't avoid the hard questions, 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:59.759 because it's important for us as a people to walk towards problems and pray into problems rather than 00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:05.599 pretend that they don't exist. And so here's how the text goes, just to refresh your memory. 00:06:06.560 --> 00:06:14.000 And to see why one of my friends was sort of repulsed, found it revolting. 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:17.839 And Joshua, chapter 11, verse 10, 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:23.039 And Joshua turned back at that time and captured Hazar and struck its king with the sword. 00:06:23.759 --> 00:06:27.120 For Hazar, formerly, was the head of all those kingdoms. 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:31.519 And they struck, that's the Jewish people, with the Jewish army. 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:36.879 And they struck with the sword all who were in it, devoting them to destruction. 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:40.560 There was none left that breathed. 00:06:41.920 --> 00:06:43.680 And he burned Hazar with fire. 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:51.759 And all the cities of those kings and all their kings, Joshua captured and struck them with the edge of the sword, 00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:54.399 devoting them to destruction. 00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:58.719 Just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded. 00:07:00.799 --> 00:07:07.120 But none of the cities that stood on mounds did Israel burn, except Hazar alone, that Joshua burned. 00:07:07.120 --> 00:07:11.759 And all the spoil of these cities and the livestock the people of Israel took for their plunder. 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:18.079 But every person they struck with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them. 00:07:18.079 --> 00:07:21.599 And they did not leave any who breathed. 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:27.680 Just as the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua. 00:07:27.680 --> 00:07:30.079 And so Joshua did. 00:07:30.479 --> 00:07:35.199 He left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses. 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:48.180 So Joshua took all that land, the hill country and all the Negev and all the land of Goshen and the lowland and the lowland and the hill country of Israel and its lowland. 00:07:48.180 --> 00:07:53.699 And this long list of places, it's sort of showing you that he's giving a summary of all the battles. 00:07:53.699 --> 00:07:55.220 That's what he's doing. 00:07:55.220 --> 00:07:56.100 The writer. 00:07:56.740 --> 00:08:05.360 From Mount Halak, verse 17, which rises towards Seir, as far as Baal, God, in the valley of Lebanon, below Mount Hermon. 00:08:06.079 --> 00:08:11.500 And he, that's Joshua, captured all their kings and struck them and put them to death. 00:08:11.500 --> 00:08:17.079 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. 00:08:17.819 --> 00:08:23.759 It's summarized quite quickly in the book, but scholars say it was a five to seven years of war. 00:08:25.100 --> 00:08:31.180 There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. 00:08:31.819 --> 00:08:33.639 They took them all in battle. 00:08:34.139 --> 00:08:34.879 That's the others. 00:08:34.879 --> 00:08:55.100 For it was the Lord's doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed just as the Lord commanded Moses. 00:08:56.919 --> 00:08:58.820 It's a very sobering text. 00:08:58.820 --> 00:09:06.379 And the last bit, a bit of an aside about mighty warriors descended from giants. 00:09:07.520 --> 00:09:09.260 But you get the basic idea. 00:09:10.420 --> 00:09:13.379 So, I mean, this is partly what I said to my friend. 00:09:13.920 --> 00:09:15.280 And it's part of the big message. 00:09:15.420 --> 00:09:27.520 If after this you start to get spaced out about different issues, which I understand can happen, pray that I'm interesting enough or the Bible's interesting enough or the Holy Spirit's at work so that doesn't happen too often. 00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:31.000 Pray because unless the Lord does it, it's just going to happen. 00:09:31.620 --> 00:09:42.079 The way you have to think about this text and about all of the book of Joshua is think harbinger, big word, harbinger of God's final judgment. 00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:47.259 If you don't understand that idea, the book of Joshua will seem odd. 00:09:47.259 --> 00:09:55.200 Harbinger is a picture or a sign or an omen or a warning of something that's going to happen in the future. 00:09:56.179 --> 00:10:01.419 And that's how you have to understand the text. 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:08.039 That it's a text warning us of something that will happen to every human being. 00:10:08.039 --> 00:10:12.379 The average Canadian thinks that they go about their life. 00:10:12.459 --> 00:10:13.719 I shared this a couple of weeks ago. 00:10:13.779 --> 00:10:14.639 They go about their life. 00:10:14.740 --> 00:10:15.419 They have good times. 00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:16.379 They have bad times. 00:10:16.860 --> 00:10:17.759 They have some success. 00:10:17.899 --> 00:10:18.799 They have some failure. 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:20.959 And then they die. 00:10:21.839 --> 00:10:24.879 And there's, in a sense, no consequences for any of the bad things they've done. 00:10:25.079 --> 00:10:30.039 Nor, at the end, any real reward for what they've done other than the reward they have on this side of the grave. 00:10:30.039 --> 00:10:32.360 And that's how the average Canadian thinks. 00:10:32.439 --> 00:10:36.620 But the Bible says that that is actually a fable. 00:10:37.480 --> 00:10:38.599 It's an illusion. 00:10:39.779 --> 00:10:46.639 That what really happens is you live your life day by day, good times, bad times, success, failure, happiness, sadness. 00:10:47.059 --> 00:10:48.159 And then you die. 00:10:48.279 --> 00:10:50.980 And then you appear before God face to face. 00:10:51.740 --> 00:10:53.199 That that's the real world. 00:10:53.200 --> 00:11:03.860 And it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 00:11:06.660 --> 00:11:12.759 To see that this story is ultimately really about, primarily about the judgment on Canaan. 00:11:13.300 --> 00:11:17.700 And only secondarily about giving the promised land to the Jewish people. 00:11:18.020 --> 00:11:20.420 I don't have time to read it because there's a lot to go through. 00:11:20.419 --> 00:11:26.019 And if you, by the way, if you'd like to get these scripture references, you can listen to the sermon because it's recorded and left online. 00:11:26.079 --> 00:11:27.279 Or you can just email the office. 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:36.799 But if you read Genesis 15, verse 6, you'll see that when God is making his covenant with Abraham and the generations that come after him. 00:11:36.839 --> 00:11:41.579 And when he's promising a deliverer, he says to Abraham about what's going to happen. 00:11:41.580 --> 00:11:45.680 And he says that you're not going to get the promised land yet. 00:11:46.360 --> 00:11:53.500 Because the sins of the people who live in Canaan have not reached their full fruition or terror. 00:11:54.280 --> 00:11:58.500 And then if you go and read Deuteronomy chapter 9, verses 4 to 5, 00:11:58.500 --> 00:12:11.220 you'll see that it's very clearly said that it's not because the Jewish people are more righteous or more intelligent or more anything. 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:15.279 It's a sign of God's promise and favor towards them. 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:19.779 In a sense, it's a way how God takes the weak and the foolish of the world to shame the wise. 00:12:19.779 --> 00:12:29.519 And it's because of the evil in the land that they are going to take it and that God is giving them to land to be a very, very different type of people. 00:12:30.500 --> 00:12:32.839 I might talk about this a bit more later on. 00:12:32.839 --> 00:12:39.159 But one of the themes in the Bible that goes right from Genesis chapter 1 to Revelation chapter 22, I've said it before, 00:12:39.379 --> 00:12:42.100 it's a really important idea to get your mind around, 00:12:42.500 --> 00:12:46.480 is that it's a story of the Lord's people in the Lord's place, 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:50.500 in the Lord's presence, under the Lord's saving rule. 00:12:51.639 --> 00:12:57.300 And so that's what Earth has made, the universe has made to be human beings' home, the Garden of Eden. 00:12:57.460 --> 00:13:00.700 The Garden of Eden was to become, in a sense, the galaxy, the universe. 00:13:01.460 --> 00:13:02.680 Human beings rebelled. 00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:04.220 And then there's the promises. 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:09.100 And at the end of the Bible, you see God amidst his people. 00:13:09.100 --> 00:13:16.759 And in Matthew 28, up until Matthew, the Gospel, we, you know, that being in the Lord's place is connected to the promised land. 00:13:17.180 --> 00:13:20.000 Although you see some other hints of more than that. 00:13:20.060 --> 00:13:23.379 And then with Matthew 28, you see that it's still the same idea. 00:13:23.899 --> 00:13:27.639 But now we're all over the people who are the Lord's people are all over the planet. 00:13:27.740 --> 00:13:29.540 The Lord isn't finished with the Jewish people. 00:13:29.639 --> 00:13:32.379 There's still an important part for the Jewish people to play. 00:13:32.379 --> 00:13:36.460 But now we are the Lord's people in Ottawa. 00:13:37.080 --> 00:13:39.700 This is the place he has called us to be for a season. 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:45.279 And we are to be here in his presence as his people, under his saving rule. 00:13:45.419 --> 00:13:46.960 And that's a big idea of the Bible. 00:13:48.539 --> 00:13:55.439 And so what we see then is this story is, on one hand, about the Lord having a people. 00:13:55.919 --> 00:13:58.379 But it's primarily about a matter of judgment. 00:13:58.379 --> 00:13:59.100 A judgment. 00:14:00.919 --> 00:14:03.100 Now, some of you might say, well, George, that's very, very interesting. 00:14:03.240 --> 00:14:06.580 But, George, this story, surely it's a terrible story. 00:14:06.820 --> 00:14:08.539 And doesn't it justify slaughter? 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:10.779 And doesn't it justify genocide? 00:14:11.240 --> 00:14:16.019 And, well, no, it doesn't. 00:14:16.080 --> 00:14:18.299 Which I'll explain very briefly in a couple of things. 00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:20.220 So, first of all, there's a little thing about the numbers. 00:14:20.439 --> 00:14:25.100 And this is just an important thing to know, especially about the early part of the Old Testament. 00:14:25.100 --> 00:14:28.540 Whenever you see the word thousand, it could mean thousand. 00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:33.060 But it also can mean military unit or clan. 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:39.180 So, for instance, if you go back and read the beginning of Judges, and you'll see that they send 3,000 men. 00:14:39.580 --> 00:14:41.519 And they get defeated by AI. 00:14:42.060 --> 00:14:44.019 And they say that 36 people die. 00:14:44.100 --> 00:14:45.220 And that's, like, really puzzling. 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:46.019 Like, really? 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:48.940 3,000 people are intimidated by 36 people dying? 00:14:48.940 --> 00:14:55.960 But if you understand that it was actually translated as military unit, and a military unit has 10 to 20 people. 00:14:57.000 --> 00:15:01.060 Then if you have 45 people going and 36 of them die, you can see why they fled. 00:15:02.040 --> 00:15:05.380 And the other word for it is clan or family unit. 00:15:06.100 --> 00:15:09.140 And that would be between 20 to 50 people. 00:15:09.680 --> 00:15:11.140 So, the numbers are far smaller. 00:15:11.280 --> 00:15:14.720 That doesn't mean, by the way, that it's all right, that the deaths don't matter. 00:15:14.780 --> 00:15:16.400 But the number is vastly smaller. 00:15:16.399 --> 00:15:20.799 The other thing is that whenever you see these words cities, don't think Ottawa. 00:15:21.059 --> 00:15:21.959 Don't think Toronto. 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:24.519 Don't think the GTA. 00:15:25.220 --> 00:15:26.379 Think fortress. 00:15:27.620 --> 00:15:28.799 Think fortress. 00:15:29.439 --> 00:15:41.039 So, what the cities were was really what they would call a city then was basically a fortress where the military-aged males and the senior advisors and the support staff are located. 00:15:41.559 --> 00:15:43.019 And that's what's killed. 00:15:43.019 --> 00:15:52.279 There would have been farmland and land and all these other things that would go on, depending on how big the city was, for miles and miles, kilometers and kilometers around. 00:15:52.740 --> 00:15:58.519 But when it describes killing the king and killing the city, they're killing the fortress. 00:15:58.980 --> 00:16:02.860 An example I use at the 8 o'clock service is don't think Pembroke and Petawawa. 00:16:03.079 --> 00:16:05.100 Think CFB Petawawa. 00:16:05.100 --> 00:16:07.779 Don't think all of Kingston. 00:16:08.360 --> 00:16:10.279 Think the Royal Military College. 00:16:10.899 --> 00:16:11.960 That's what's being killed. 00:16:13.040 --> 00:16:15.639 It's a very, very different type of idea. 00:16:15.820 --> 00:16:17.200 It's still judgment. 00:16:17.500 --> 00:16:18.279 It's still sad. 00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:24.060 The other thing to understand about these languages, about everybody who breathed, is it's exaggerated language. 00:16:24.500 --> 00:16:26.740 And I don't say that just to get out of a problem. 00:16:26.740 --> 00:16:31.980 I say that because if you read the text carefully, you realize that it's exaggerated language. 00:16:33.139 --> 00:16:37.060 So, for instance, sorry for all of you Leaf fans. 00:16:37.180 --> 00:16:38.560 I apologize for a moment. 00:16:38.700 --> 00:16:48.340 But let's say the next time the Leafs play the Senators, and let's say it's even in Toronto, and the Senators win the game 9-0. 00:16:48.340 --> 00:16:54.259 And the sportscasters would say the Senators annihilated the Leafs. 00:16:54.500 --> 00:16:56.340 Blood all over the place. 00:16:56.820 --> 00:16:58.560 Nothing for them to stand on. 00:16:58.639 --> 00:17:05.579 The whole city is completely and utterly just destroyed by this battle of the Leafs and the Senators winning 9-0. 00:17:06.259 --> 00:17:12.059 And then, if that maybe was recorded, and then you read it a thousand years later in a very literal type of way, 00:17:12.120 --> 00:17:15.500 and then you find out that there was another Leaf game the next night, you'd wonder, what? 00:17:15.500 --> 00:17:18.359 Like, no, no, it's exaggerated language. 00:17:18.500 --> 00:17:24.759 And why do we say that is if you read all of Joshua, and then you read Judges, and then you read the rest of the Old Testament, 00:17:25.700 --> 00:17:27.180 the Jebusites are still there. 00:17:27.460 --> 00:17:29.119 The Hittites are still there. 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:31.779 The Canaanites are still there. 00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:34.400 They keep going back and taking over the cities. 00:17:34.900 --> 00:17:37.640 It isn't a matter of them killing every single person. 00:17:37.640 --> 00:17:44.720 What it's a matter of is that they break the back of the political power, which I'll explain while I'm in, 00:17:44.759 --> 00:17:46.880 and the cultic and social power. 00:17:47.060 --> 00:17:48.080 It's broken. 00:17:48.780 --> 00:17:57.280 The fortresses no longer are centers to send power and authority and fear and terror and war and bloodshed and enforce things. 00:17:57.920 --> 00:18:04.400 The back of the army and the command structure and the cultic center is completely and utterly dealt with. 00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:09.600 And that's why, if you look at the ESV very carefully, you'll often see that they use the word take, 00:18:10.120 --> 00:18:13.320 because in Hebrew, there's a difference between take and possess. 00:18:14.300 --> 00:18:20.000 And possess means, it would be, possess means that everybody in Ottawa has moved out and new people come and move in. 00:18:20.600 --> 00:18:23.720 But take would just mean that the control of the city is taken. 00:18:23.920 --> 00:18:25.820 It doesn't mean that people have necessarily left. 00:18:26.140 --> 00:18:28.000 And that's the word which is used regularly. 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:33.859 The control and power of the kings and the priests are completely and utterly broken. 00:18:34.660 --> 00:18:38.220 And the other thing about this story, which is very, very important, 00:18:38.460 --> 00:18:42.059 is at no point in time does it say, go and do likewise. 00:18:42.779 --> 00:18:46.079 You don't see that in the rest of the story that it's telling you, 00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:53.359 or in the story, that you should go and do this to all of the cities in the world and do it repeatedly. 00:18:53.359 --> 00:18:59.059 No, no, the story is a harbinger of God's judgment on people, which is a very sobering thought, 00:18:59.459 --> 00:19:01.419 something Canadians don't like to think about. 00:19:01.799 --> 00:19:04.979 But there's never any command to go and do likewise. 00:19:05.419 --> 00:19:09.419 It's not like the commands that you see in the Bible about how, 00:19:09.859 --> 00:19:12.839 when you have an escaped slave that has come into your people, 00:19:13.019 --> 00:19:15.919 you treat them as a person, not as a slave. 00:19:16.279 --> 00:19:19.399 There's no commands like that connected to the text. 00:19:19.400 --> 00:19:24.420 But so you might say, but George, okay, okay. 00:19:25.320 --> 00:19:28.100 It's all about judgment and, okay. 00:19:28.340 --> 00:19:33.400 I mean, I know, George, you're not saying that, okay, if 12,000 people die, 00:19:33.560 --> 00:19:37.200 that might actually only be 12 times 15 or 12 times 25. 00:19:37.500 --> 00:19:40.120 But, you know, George, and I know you're not saying that it's all right then, 00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:41.200 because it's a smaller number. 00:19:41.900 --> 00:19:45.140 I know you're not pulling a Stalin on me, a death of a million. 00:19:45.360 --> 00:19:48.420 You know, a death of one person is a tragedy, a death of a million is a statistic. 00:19:48.420 --> 00:19:53.779 But why go after the kings and everything like that? 00:19:53.860 --> 00:19:55.240 Why go after their power? 00:19:57.140 --> 00:20:00.680 Well, chapter 7, you need to understand that what would happen 00:20:00.680 --> 00:20:03.940 if they were to make a covenant or a treaty with any of those people 00:20:03.940 --> 00:20:06.560 isn't that they then live completely separate lives, 00:20:06.800 --> 00:20:10.120 but in a sense it would become a multicultural society, 00:20:10.380 --> 00:20:12.120 and they would live amongst each other. 00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:14.779 They would marry, intermarry. 00:20:14.779 --> 00:20:18.480 They would just become one type of people mixing this with that. 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:21.099 And that's what's warned against in Deuteronomy 7, 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:22.279 that they're not to do that. 00:20:22.359 --> 00:20:25.039 They have to be completely different from the people they're going in, 00:20:25.259 --> 00:20:27.940 which also sounds very, very shocking. 00:20:28.200 --> 00:20:30.339 But when you read about the Canaanites, 00:20:30.660 --> 00:20:32.420 those of you who know the Lord of the Rings, 00:20:33.279 --> 00:20:36.019 don't think, when you're thinking of the Canaanites, 00:20:36.019 --> 00:20:41.059 don't think the Shire, think where orcs live. 00:20:43.879 --> 00:20:50.440 Could orcs and the Shire, could orcs and hobbits inhabit the same place? 00:20:50.960 --> 00:20:55.019 Or think of a nation of vampires and the Amish. 00:20:55.839 --> 00:20:58.599 Could they coexist as one people? 00:20:58.599 --> 00:20:59.599 Could they be a man of the people? 00:20:59.599 --> 00:21:00.599 Could they be a man of the people? 00:21:00.599 --> 00:21:03.240 Now, you might say that's really, really hard, 00:21:03.539 --> 00:21:05.859 and I know there might be some children here, 00:21:05.939 --> 00:21:07.359 and you might want to block their ears. 00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:12.980 If you read Leviticus 18 and other parts of the Bible 00:21:12.980 --> 00:21:15.099 and some other anthropological studies, 00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:19.159 the bloodthirstiness and the evil of this land at this time 00:21:19.159 --> 00:21:20.599 was something quite repulsive. 00:21:21.699 --> 00:21:25.639 Don't think of anything to do with husbands and wives or families 00:21:25.640 --> 00:21:28.759 or any of the types of barriers that we have, 00:21:28.900 --> 00:21:30.740 their understanding of sexuality 00:21:30.740 --> 00:21:36.380 was there's penetrators and there's penetrated. 00:21:38.220 --> 00:21:40.800 And if you're strong enough to be a penetrator, 00:21:41.220 --> 00:21:44.360 you can penetrate whatever you happen to want, 00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:48.900 whether it's your mother, your aunt, your sister, 00:21:48.900 --> 00:21:55.259 your daughter, your son, your dad, your uncle, 00:21:55.640 --> 00:21:59.920 your neighbor, if you're strong enough to be the penetrator, 00:22:00.740 --> 00:22:03.900 go ahead and penetrate whatever you want. 00:22:04.860 --> 00:22:08.060 That's what their mythology and cults 00:22:08.060 --> 00:22:10.840 and political system taught and reinforced. 00:22:12.060 --> 00:22:14.600 They were a culture that regularly sought 00:22:14.600 --> 00:22:15.900 what we would now understand, 00:22:15.960 --> 00:22:18.640 and the Bible understands, as demons for advice. 00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:23.800 It was a culture where people would generally even penetrate animals 00:22:23.800 --> 00:22:28.180 or force women to be penetrated by animals, 00:22:28.180 --> 00:22:32.200 where children were sacrificed to demons. 00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:42.059 And the king was a god in the making who had to be obeyed. 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:45.720 And their entire culture is one. 00:22:45.980 --> 00:22:48.500 There's no sense of separation of church and state. 00:22:48.640 --> 00:22:52.400 It's a complete unit between political power, 00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:55.259 religious power, the stories you live by, 00:22:55.600 --> 00:22:58.740 the way families and businesses are organized. 00:22:58.740 --> 00:23:00.079 It's one structure. 00:23:06.279 --> 00:23:08.380 And so it came under God's judgment. 00:23:12.759 --> 00:23:16.180 But you might say, George, if that's all that God judges, 00:23:16.359 --> 00:23:17.740 then I'm pretty safe and all. 00:23:18.539 --> 00:23:21.180 And even that, George, didn't the part you just read 00:23:21.180 --> 00:23:23.220 talk about God hardening people's hearts 00:23:23.220 --> 00:23:25.360 and withholding mercy? 00:23:26.500 --> 00:23:27.980 Like George, that's just horrific. 00:23:29.180 --> 00:23:32.360 But here's the problem with our natural human response 00:23:32.360 --> 00:23:33.400 to hearing those things, 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:35.400 about God hardening their hearts so they wouldn't... 00:23:35.400 --> 00:23:36.240 How did it go again? 00:23:36.360 --> 00:23:38.360 How it said something... 00:23:38.360 --> 00:23:40.860 But they should be devoted to destruction, 00:23:41.480 --> 00:23:43.880 for it was the Lord's doing, verse 20, 00:23:43.940 --> 00:23:44.920 to harden their hearts, 00:23:44.980 --> 00:23:46.799 that they should come against Israel and battle 00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:49.079 in order that they should be devoted to destruction 00:23:49.079 --> 00:23:52.220 and should receive no mercy but be to destroy. 00:23:52.919 --> 00:23:54.419 So the problem we have with this 00:23:54.419 --> 00:23:57.859 is that we tend to think of it in very, very similar ways. 00:23:58.460 --> 00:23:59.559 It's as if... 00:23:59.559 --> 00:24:01.720 So, by the way, I... 00:24:01.720 --> 00:24:02.939 You know, because I'm a Canadian, 00:24:03.059 --> 00:24:05.639 I would never say out loud that I'm a good person, 00:24:06.259 --> 00:24:08.419 not normally, unless people are threatening it. 00:24:08.899 --> 00:24:10.500 But, you know, by Canadian standards, 00:24:10.599 --> 00:24:11.379 I'm a good person. 00:24:11.599 --> 00:24:14.119 You know, like, you know, I'm an all-right neighbour. 00:24:14.119 --> 00:24:17.119 You know, I'm sort of more or less all-right boss. 00:24:17.119 --> 00:24:19.439 And, I don't know, like, I talk to... 00:24:19.439 --> 00:24:20.979 Visit sick people and shut-ins. 00:24:21.139 --> 00:24:22.479 And, like, I'm a good person, right? 00:24:23.039 --> 00:24:25.339 And so the image for most Canadians 00:24:25.339 --> 00:24:26.539 is that I'm a good person. 00:24:26.699 --> 00:24:28.239 And this text sounds as if one day, 00:24:28.299 --> 00:24:30.719 here I am, good person, just wandering along. 00:24:30.899 --> 00:24:33.559 And all of a sudden, a ray from God 00:24:33.559 --> 00:24:35.639 comes and hits my head and hits my heart 00:24:35.639 --> 00:24:36.739 and turns my heart hard. 00:24:37.579 --> 00:24:38.819 So all of a sudden now, 00:24:38.939 --> 00:24:41.000 I'm in complete rebellion against God, 00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:42.559 and I'm going to go fight his people 00:24:42.559 --> 00:24:44.319 and do all sorts of heretical things 00:24:44.319 --> 00:24:45.079 and horrible things. 00:24:45.079 --> 00:24:46.699 And that's how we tend to think of 00:24:46.699 --> 00:24:47.740 when we hear this language 00:24:47.740 --> 00:24:49.339 of the Lord hardening our hearts. 00:24:49.559 --> 00:24:51.379 But that's not the way to understand 00:24:51.379 --> 00:24:52.779 what's being said in the Bible. 00:24:53.659 --> 00:24:56.539 And that's if you look at Exodus with the Pharaoh, 00:24:56.720 --> 00:24:58.159 and if you look into the New Testament, 00:24:58.299 --> 00:24:59.799 you look and see the whole context. 00:25:00.399 --> 00:25:02.599 And that's not how things work. 00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:05.159 In fact, the fact that we automatically 00:25:05.159 --> 00:25:07.179 tend to think of it in those terms 00:25:07.179 --> 00:25:09.859 is partly why we need a saviour. 00:25:09.939 --> 00:25:11.539 Not just people like in Canaan 00:25:11.539 --> 00:25:12.419 who are really bad, 00:25:12.420 --> 00:25:14.640 but every human being needs a saviour 00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:16.820 because we can't save ourselves 00:25:16.820 --> 00:25:19.440 because the natural inclination of our heart 00:25:19.440 --> 00:25:21.680 is to view God as a threat 00:25:21.680 --> 00:25:24.940 and view God as, at best, a clumsy oath 00:25:24.940 --> 00:25:27.480 and as one that we have to be careful of. 00:25:27.539 --> 00:25:29.240 And we need to keep him at a distance 00:25:29.240 --> 00:25:31.840 because he's liable to do terrible things like that 00:25:31.840 --> 00:25:33.860 and be angry and judgmental, 00:25:33.940 --> 00:25:35.840 unlike me, who is good. 00:25:35.839 --> 00:25:40.679 But what actually the Bible describes 00:25:40.679 --> 00:25:42.019 as a hardening heart is this, 00:25:42.480 --> 00:25:44.220 that God's common grace 00:25:44.220 --> 00:25:46.119 is at work in every human being. 00:25:47.539 --> 00:25:49.839 And in my heart of hearts, 00:25:49.939 --> 00:25:50.879 if I was just to left, 00:25:50.980 --> 00:25:53.000 if you were to see George with no grace, 00:25:53.139 --> 00:25:54.779 special grace or no common grace, 00:25:55.099 --> 00:25:56.539 and you were to see George 00:25:56.539 --> 00:25:59.000 in all of George's full desire, 00:25:59.240 --> 00:26:01.839 none of those desires being restrained, 00:26:02.579 --> 00:26:04.259 you would definitely not want 00:26:05.839 --> 00:26:10.579 because my tendency to want to lie, 00:26:10.740 --> 00:26:12.879 to possess, for greed, for envy, 00:26:13.179 --> 00:26:14.959 for gluttony, for lust, 00:26:15.099 --> 00:26:16.539 for all of those types of things, 00:26:16.679 --> 00:26:18.899 for pride, for putting people down, 00:26:19.000 --> 00:26:20.139 for being judgmental, 00:26:20.220 --> 00:26:21.519 for all of those types of things. 00:26:22.039 --> 00:26:24.439 God's common grace is at work in me 00:26:24.439 --> 00:26:26.819 to restrain these pressures 00:26:26.819 --> 00:26:32.139 and drifts and currents of George. 00:26:32.659 --> 00:26:34.859 God's common grace restrains that 00:26:34.859 --> 00:26:36.819 and still keeps within me 00:26:36.819 --> 00:26:38.939 a conscience and a desire for the good 00:26:38.939 --> 00:26:40.179 and the true and the beautiful 00:26:40.179 --> 00:26:41.759 and justice and mercy. 00:26:42.599 --> 00:26:44.859 And so there's always part of God's common grace 00:26:44.859 --> 00:26:46.359 which is going on within us. 00:26:46.679 --> 00:26:47.699 But at some point in time, 00:26:47.799 --> 00:26:48.719 in the New Testament, 00:26:48.919 --> 00:26:50.500 the equivalent idea in the New Testament 00:26:50.500 --> 00:26:52.199 is the sin against the Holy Spirit. 00:26:52.319 --> 00:26:53.619 That's the New Testament equivalent. 00:26:54.199 --> 00:26:56.099 And what happens is at some point in time 00:26:56.099 --> 00:26:57.099 in the mystery of God, 00:26:57.199 --> 00:26:58.979 there is a tipping point that is reached. 00:26:58.980 --> 00:27:03.380 And that tipping point has come here in this battle. 00:27:03.500 --> 00:27:05.980 The idea of the battles going on five to seven years 00:27:05.980 --> 00:27:09.120 means that those people had five to seven years to repent. 00:27:13.259 --> 00:27:14.380 Five to seven years. 00:27:14.500 --> 00:27:16.740 God could have just destroyed all of them in a second, 00:27:16.940 --> 00:27:18.920 but five to seven years to repent. 00:27:19.920 --> 00:27:22.120 And we know from the book that Rahab repented, 00:27:22.259 --> 00:27:23.259 the Gibeonites repented, 00:27:23.259 --> 00:27:25.819 and we'll see at the end of the giving up of the land 00:27:25.819 --> 00:27:27.619 that sojourners, in other words, 00:27:27.720 --> 00:27:29.759 Canaanites did actually throw themselves 00:27:29.759 --> 00:27:30.940 on the mercy of the Lord. 00:27:31.539 --> 00:27:34.099 But there comes a point in time when I say, 00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:35.559 I don't want your mercy. 00:27:36.059 --> 00:27:37.599 Keep your mercy to yourself. 00:27:37.940 --> 00:27:39.319 I don't need your mercy. 00:27:39.779 --> 00:27:40.960 I'm a good person. 00:27:41.319 --> 00:27:42.579 And if I need to say, 00:27:42.779 --> 00:27:43.759 if I need to be saved, 00:27:43.819 --> 00:27:44.940 I'm going to save myself. 00:27:45.099 --> 00:27:46.279 I don't need your mercy. 00:27:46.420 --> 00:27:47.440 I don't need your grace. 00:27:47.579 --> 00:27:49.039 I don't need your savior. 00:27:49.400 --> 00:27:51.200 I don't need you telling me what to do. 00:27:51.200 --> 00:27:53.539 I want to live my own life in my own terms. 00:27:53.840 --> 00:27:54.960 Just stay away from me. 00:27:55.039 --> 00:27:55.660 Let me be. 00:27:56.019 --> 00:27:56.900 Just stay away. 00:27:57.319 --> 00:27:58.500 I don't want your mercy. 00:27:58.620 --> 00:27:59.880 And at some point in time, 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:01.080 the Lord says, 00:28:01.580 --> 00:28:03.900 You have always resisted me 00:28:03.900 --> 00:28:05.220 and turned your back on me 00:28:05.220 --> 00:28:07.500 and desired no salvation, no mercy, 00:28:07.759 --> 00:28:10.720 and to be completely and utterly by your own devices. 00:28:12.519 --> 00:28:14.000 And that is what you will get. 00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:19.580 It's not a matter of the Lord 00:28:19.579 --> 00:28:20.659 taking the good me 00:28:20.659 --> 00:28:22.240 and turning me into a bad thing. 00:28:23.079 --> 00:28:25.839 It's a withdrawing of his common grace. 00:28:26.079 --> 00:28:27.139 And I just want to tell you, 00:28:27.899 --> 00:28:29.480 if you're here today, 00:28:30.159 --> 00:28:32.980 that means you have not reached that point. 00:28:35.220 --> 00:28:37.859 And I urge you to turn to Christ. 00:28:39.699 --> 00:28:40.819 That's how it works. 00:28:41.339 --> 00:28:42.399 There's a tipping point. 00:28:42.400 --> 00:28:45.600 Okay, but George, 00:28:45.940 --> 00:28:48.440 devoted to destruction? 00:28:49.140 --> 00:28:50.480 Devoted to destruction? 00:28:51.680 --> 00:28:53.080 Well, remember I told you 00:28:53.080 --> 00:28:54.580 that this whole story 00:28:54.580 --> 00:28:56.380 is a harbinger, 00:28:56.720 --> 00:28:58.040 a picture of the end. 00:28:58.700 --> 00:29:00.980 And even this word devoted to destruction 00:29:00.980 --> 00:29:04.180 is a picture of the first end 00:29:04.180 --> 00:29:05.580 before the final end. 00:29:05.579 --> 00:29:07.679 Because, you see, 00:29:07.799 --> 00:29:09.439 if you continue to read the story, 00:29:09.619 --> 00:29:11.019 you'll see there is one 00:29:11.019 --> 00:29:11.939 who famously 00:29:11.939 --> 00:29:13.740 is devoted to destruction. 00:29:14.460 --> 00:29:16.059 And we bear his name. 00:29:16.439 --> 00:29:17.480 I am a Christian. 00:29:18.199 --> 00:29:19.720 I am in Christ. 00:29:20.919 --> 00:29:23.279 Because Christ was devoted to destruction. 00:29:23.740 --> 00:29:25.319 The very first encounter 00:29:25.319 --> 00:29:26.819 that's recorded in the Bible 00:29:26.819 --> 00:29:28.139 of Jesus as an adult 00:29:28.139 --> 00:29:29.519 is when John the Baptist, 00:29:29.659 --> 00:29:31.259 the last and the greatest of the prophets, 00:29:31.259 --> 00:29:33.099 sees Jesus coming 00:29:33.099 --> 00:29:34.819 and points to him and says, 00:29:34.940 --> 00:29:36.460 Behold the Lamb of God 00:29:36.460 --> 00:29:38.359 who takes away the sin of the world. 00:29:39.079 --> 00:29:40.539 The story of the Bible 00:29:40.539 --> 00:29:42.039 is ultimately about 00:29:42.039 --> 00:29:44.319 when we could no longer save ourselves, 00:29:44.720 --> 00:29:45.960 that we were in danger 00:29:45.960 --> 00:29:47.220 of becoming orcs, 00:29:47.279 --> 00:29:47.980 so to speak, 00:29:48.019 --> 00:29:48.759 or vampires. 00:29:49.400 --> 00:29:50.519 And God's common grace 00:29:50.519 --> 00:29:52.319 is grace enough to show us 00:29:52.319 --> 00:29:53.940 that we should pursue the good, 00:29:54.039 --> 00:29:54.700 the true, the beautiful, 00:29:54.779 --> 00:29:55.180 and the just, 00:29:55.259 --> 00:29:56.579 but we can't save ourselves. 00:29:56.700 --> 00:29:57.799 We need God to do something 00:29:57.799 --> 00:29:58.799 we cannot do. 00:29:59.240 --> 00:30:00.180 And God the Father, 00:30:00.319 --> 00:30:00.960 God the Son, 00:30:00.960 --> 00:30:02.120 God the Holy Spirit, 00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:04.259 in perfect love and unity, 00:30:04.460 --> 00:30:05.420 acted together 00:30:05.420 --> 00:30:06.319 for the redemption 00:30:06.319 --> 00:30:07.340 of the human race 00:30:07.340 --> 00:30:09.200 to deliver us out of slavery 00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:11.420 and under, in a sense, 00:30:11.480 --> 00:30:13.299 the direction of God the Father 00:30:13.299 --> 00:30:14.960 and in the power of the Holy Spirit, 00:30:15.120 --> 00:30:16.079 God the Son of God 00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:18.079 sets aside his appearance as God, 00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:19.620 his divine prerogatives 00:30:19.620 --> 00:30:20.400 and his power, 00:30:20.799 --> 00:30:21.819 takes into himself 00:30:21.819 --> 00:30:23.240 a complete human nature 00:30:23.240 --> 00:30:24.960 and lives amongst us 00:30:24.960 --> 00:30:26.380 and he comes, 00:30:26.920 --> 00:30:29.019 he is completely and utterly devoted 00:30:29.019 --> 00:30:30.359 to one cause, 00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:32.940 which is to die on the cross 00:30:32.940 --> 00:30:35.539 as the Lamb of God 00:30:35.539 --> 00:30:38.779 who takes away the sin of the world. 00:30:38.980 --> 00:30:40.900 That means George's sin 00:30:40.900 --> 00:30:42.259 and Jono's sin 00:30:42.259 --> 00:30:44.099 and Deborah's sin 00:30:44.099 --> 00:30:46.139 and Andrew's sin 00:30:46.139 --> 00:30:47.579 and Shannon and Owen's 00:30:47.579 --> 00:30:49.480 and on and on and on and on. 00:30:50.420 --> 00:30:52.160 That is why he came. 00:30:52.160 --> 00:30:55.519 The last words on the cross 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:56.600 are it is finished 00:30:56.600 --> 00:30:57.980 and it's a telos word. 00:30:58.140 --> 00:30:59.300 It could also be translated 00:30:59.300 --> 00:31:00.460 as it is accomplished. 00:31:01.060 --> 00:31:03.360 The whole divine rescue mission 00:31:03.360 --> 00:31:05.100 that comes out of the love of God 00:31:05.100 --> 00:31:06.060 to bring us back 00:31:06.060 --> 00:31:07.640 in union with the love of God 00:31:07.640 --> 00:31:08.420 is accomplished 00:31:08.420 --> 00:31:11.779 as Jesus dies on the cross. 00:31:12.320 --> 00:31:15.180 He was devoted to destruction 00:31:15.180 --> 00:31:18.480 and because he was devoted 00:31:18.480 --> 00:31:19.380 to destruction 00:31:19.380 --> 00:31:21.259 when I am in him, 00:31:21.720 --> 00:31:23.180 I will not experience 00:31:23.740 --> 00:31:25.480 the wrath of God 00:31:25.480 --> 00:31:27.779 because it fell on him 00:31:27.779 --> 00:31:30.519 and I will have the life 00:31:30.519 --> 00:31:32.440 and favor in union with him 00:31:32.440 --> 00:31:33.700 that is proper to him. 00:31:34.560 --> 00:31:37.039 He takes my sin. 00:31:38.160 --> 00:31:40.420 I receive his life 00:31:40.420 --> 00:31:42.279 when I am in him. 00:31:45.180 --> 00:31:48.700 That is the most beautiful story 00:31:48.700 --> 00:31:49.220 in the world 00:31:49.220 --> 00:31:52.820 and we cannot be formed enough by it. 00:31:55.400 --> 00:31:56.660 So what is this text? 00:31:56.740 --> 00:31:58.060 Just in inclusion, 00:31:58.600 --> 00:31:59.400 you might have noticed 00:31:59.400 --> 00:32:00.100 in my prayer, 00:32:00.220 --> 00:32:01.700 I said that Christians often 00:32:01.700 --> 00:32:03.360 forget God's promises 00:32:03.360 --> 00:32:05.000 and they forget God's warnings. 00:32:06.220 --> 00:32:07.620 But we need to really 00:32:07.620 --> 00:32:09.120 be gripped by both, 00:32:09.580 --> 00:32:10.580 by his promises 00:32:10.580 --> 00:32:11.320 and his warnings. 00:32:11.620 --> 00:32:13.220 This story is a promise 00:32:13.220 --> 00:32:14.820 of the one who would come, 00:32:14.819 --> 00:32:16.099 who is devoted to destruction. 00:32:16.599 --> 00:32:17.559 It is a promise 00:32:17.559 --> 00:32:19.079 that when we put our faith 00:32:19.079 --> 00:32:20.159 and trust in Christ, 00:32:20.480 --> 00:32:22.319 we get a complete new identity 00:32:22.319 --> 00:32:24.059 and we begin to have 00:32:24.059 --> 00:32:25.359 a meaning in life 00:32:25.359 --> 00:32:27.980 that is not just good for us 00:32:27.980 --> 00:32:28.919 day by day, 00:32:29.019 --> 00:32:30.799 but is also transcendent 00:32:30.799 --> 00:32:31.579 and eternal. 00:32:32.299 --> 00:32:34.259 I am to understand myself 00:32:34.259 --> 00:32:36.799 not as a first generation Canadian 00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:39.559 born of lower working class 00:32:39.559 --> 00:32:40.740 Irish immigrants 00:32:40.740 --> 00:32:41.980 who came to this country. 00:32:42.099 --> 00:32:43.619 I am not to identify myself 00:32:43.619 --> 00:32:45.659 by my academic degrees 00:32:45.659 --> 00:32:48.779 or by my financial situation 00:32:48.779 --> 00:32:50.379 which is just like so-so 00:32:50.379 --> 00:32:51.719 or anything like that 00:32:51.719 --> 00:32:53.059 or the color of my skin 00:32:53.059 --> 00:32:54.679 or the party that I vote for 00:32:54.679 --> 00:32:56.439 or the nation that I belong to. 00:32:57.119 --> 00:32:58.799 I, in union with Christ, 00:32:58.939 --> 00:33:00.799 I am now part of the Lord's people 00:33:00.799 --> 00:33:03.679 in the Lord's place. 00:33:04.079 --> 00:33:05.459 He's called me to be in Ottawa. 00:33:05.739 --> 00:33:07.359 If I had gone to Regent College 00:33:07.359 --> 00:33:09.159 to do a year or two 00:33:09.159 --> 00:33:10.339 of graduate study there 00:33:10.339 --> 00:33:11.799 before pursuing my PhD 00:33:11.799 --> 00:33:12.559 in sociology, 00:33:12.839 --> 00:33:14.099 which was my original exam, 00:33:14.480 --> 00:33:15.779 I would never have left 00:33:15.779 --> 00:33:16.599 the lower mainland 00:33:16.599 --> 00:33:17.619 of British Columbia. 00:33:18.159 --> 00:33:19.399 I loved it. 00:33:19.679 --> 00:33:20.439 But the Lord, 00:33:20.539 --> 00:33:21.939 in his mercy and his humor, 00:33:22.119 --> 00:33:23.519 called me to this place. 00:33:23.959 --> 00:33:25.819 I am one of the Lord's people 00:33:25.819 --> 00:33:27.079 in this place, 00:33:27.399 --> 00:33:28.559 part of this congregation. 00:33:29.179 --> 00:33:31.480 I am to be in his presence with you 00:33:31.480 --> 00:33:34.179 and I am to be under his saving rule. 00:33:34.539 --> 00:33:35.539 And I am here 00:33:35.539 --> 00:33:37.240 to not only let people know 00:33:37.240 --> 00:33:38.059 about the Savior, 00:33:38.059 --> 00:33:39.899 but to seek the good of this city 00:33:39.899 --> 00:33:41.200 and the good of this nation 00:33:41.200 --> 00:33:43.480 and the good of all other people groups 00:33:43.480 --> 00:33:45.099 through our support of missionaries 00:33:45.099 --> 00:33:46.759 and evangelists at home and abroad. 00:33:47.000 --> 00:33:49.299 I have a new identity in Christ, 00:33:49.460 --> 00:33:50.819 an identity which begins 00:33:50.819 --> 00:33:52.819 and gets furthered and deepened here, 00:33:53.240 --> 00:33:55.299 an identity centered around Christ, 00:33:55.639 --> 00:33:57.179 which is to grow 00:33:57.179 --> 00:33:58.339 and go into all eternity 00:33:58.339 --> 00:33:59.460 and there's a meaning 00:33:59.460 --> 00:34:00.179 and a purpose 00:34:00.179 --> 00:34:01.200 and a common life 00:34:01.200 --> 00:34:02.440 and that's what we have. 00:34:03.500 --> 00:34:04.399 So these stories, 00:34:04.519 --> 00:34:05.379 why are they important? 00:34:06.179 --> 00:34:07.019 Not just that we have 00:34:07.019 --> 00:34:08.539 a new meaning identity in Christ. 00:34:09.119 --> 00:34:09.460 One, 00:34:10.920 --> 00:34:12.820 if you understand 00:34:12.820 --> 00:34:14.119 that every human being you meet 00:34:14.119 --> 00:34:16.119 will appear before the judgment seat of God 00:34:16.119 --> 00:34:17.039 and will be judged 00:34:17.039 --> 00:34:20.539 and will fail that judgment, 00:34:21.659 --> 00:34:24.800 that is to be a profound incentive 00:34:24.800 --> 00:34:26.079 for us to pray for those 00:34:26.079 --> 00:34:27.199 who are not yet Christians 00:34:27.199 --> 00:34:29.039 to give their lives to Jesus. 00:34:29.840 --> 00:34:30.820 And if you are here 00:34:30.820 --> 00:34:32.420 and you have not given your life to Jesus, 00:34:32.579 --> 00:34:33.519 you're not sure you have, 00:34:33.599 --> 00:34:34.639 there is no better time 00:34:34.639 --> 00:34:35.179 than right now 00:34:35.179 --> 00:34:36.199 to call out to Jesus 00:34:36.199 --> 00:34:36.679 and say, 00:34:36.759 --> 00:34:37.059 Jesus, 00:34:37.299 --> 00:34:40.119 I am terrified of my hard heart. 00:34:40.219 --> 00:34:40.960 I am terrified 00:34:40.960 --> 00:34:42.059 of any of these things. 00:34:42.179 --> 00:34:43.519 I throw myself upon you 00:34:43.519 --> 00:34:44.519 and in your mercy 00:34:44.519 --> 00:34:45.259 be my Savior. 00:34:45.399 --> 00:34:45.559 And Lord, 00:34:45.559 --> 00:34:46.419 use your own words. 00:34:46.500 --> 00:34:47.779 There's no time better than now, 00:34:47.919 --> 00:34:49.379 but it's an incentive 00:34:49.379 --> 00:34:50.139 for us to pray. 00:34:51.919 --> 00:34:52.739 And I've already shared 00:34:52.739 --> 00:34:54.299 how it's part of a new meaning identity. 00:34:54.759 --> 00:34:56.199 And here's the final thing. 00:34:57.899 --> 00:34:58.739 One of the things 00:34:58.739 --> 00:34:59.659 which we've lost 00:34:59.659 --> 00:35:01.099 because we're afraid of this book 00:35:01.099 --> 00:35:03.039 is a very profound truth. 00:35:03.860 --> 00:35:06.599 The Lord fights for his people. 00:35:07.980 --> 00:35:10.980 The Lord fights for you. 00:35:12.920 --> 00:35:14.880 The Lord is not indifferent 00:35:14.880 --> 00:35:16.400 to your anxiety, 00:35:16.940 --> 00:35:17.799 your fears, 00:35:18.219 --> 00:35:19.839 the things which threaten you. 00:35:20.380 --> 00:35:20.819 He's not, 00:35:21.079 --> 00:35:22.099 whether those enemies 00:35:22.099 --> 00:35:24.179 are aging or illness 00:35:24.179 --> 00:35:26.619 or cancer or dementia, 00:35:26.619 --> 00:35:29.699 whether it is mortgage rates 00:35:29.699 --> 00:35:31.319 and income, 00:35:31.759 --> 00:35:33.920 whether it is particular people, 00:35:34.099 --> 00:35:37.039 the Lord knows who you are 00:35:37.039 --> 00:35:38.839 and he fights for you. 00:35:40.079 --> 00:35:41.920 And we understand fights for you 00:35:41.920 --> 00:35:42.460 not just, 00:35:42.699 --> 00:35:44.179 if the Bible ended 00:35:44.179 --> 00:35:45.259 at the end of the book of Joshua, 00:35:45.359 --> 00:35:46.359 we'd have to understand it 00:35:46.359 --> 00:35:47.279 in one particular way, 00:35:47.359 --> 00:35:47.940 but it doesn't end 00:35:47.940 --> 00:35:48.659 at the book of Joshua. 00:35:48.779 --> 00:35:49.619 It continues on. 00:35:50.079 --> 00:35:50.960 And so when we understand 00:35:50.960 --> 00:35:51.759 that he fights for, 00:35:51.779 --> 00:35:52.400 when I understand 00:35:52.400 --> 00:35:53.679 that he fights for me, 00:35:54.199 --> 00:35:54.460 when I, 00:35:54.639 --> 00:35:55.500 then the truth comes 00:35:55.500 --> 00:35:56.719 that I don't have to deal 00:35:56.719 --> 00:35:57.159 these things, 00:35:57.280 --> 00:35:58.260 but not only am I part 00:35:58.260 --> 00:35:58.920 of the Lord's people 00:35:58.920 --> 00:35:59.820 and people who will, 00:35:59.900 --> 00:36:01.460 who will cry with me 00:36:01.460 --> 00:36:02.300 and laugh with me 00:36:02.300 --> 00:36:03.400 and high five with me 00:36:03.400 --> 00:36:04.019 and get on their knees 00:36:04.019 --> 00:36:04.679 and pray for me. 00:36:04.699 --> 00:36:05.739 And that's what a church should do. 00:36:05.800 --> 00:36:06.980 A good church should do that. 00:36:07.320 --> 00:36:08.579 That's why you have small groups 00:36:08.579 --> 00:36:08.800 and, 00:36:08.860 --> 00:36:10.260 and prayer times 00:36:10.260 --> 00:36:11.019 and mentors 00:36:11.019 --> 00:36:11.760 and all of those, 00:36:11.880 --> 00:36:12.840 and women's groups 00:36:12.840 --> 00:36:13.500 and men's groups 00:36:13.500 --> 00:36:14.260 is to meet people 00:36:14.260 --> 00:36:15.179 and to pray for each other. 00:36:15.340 --> 00:36:16.039 But the Lord, 00:36:16.039 --> 00:36:17.059 the Lord fights me. 00:36:17.139 --> 00:36:17.679 And I understand 00:36:17.679 --> 00:36:18.719 from the whole story 00:36:18.719 --> 00:36:19.440 as it goes on, 00:36:19.739 --> 00:36:21.139 there's a very powerful story 00:36:21.139 --> 00:36:22.400 in Daniel chapter three 00:36:22.400 --> 00:36:23.639 when Nebuchadnezzar, 00:36:23.719 --> 00:36:24.940 the most powerful person 00:36:24.940 --> 00:36:25.780 that whole part 00:36:25.780 --> 00:36:26.099 of the, 00:36:26.099 --> 00:36:27.039 the whole part 00:36:27.039 --> 00:36:27.579 of the planet. 00:36:28.079 --> 00:36:28.200 He, 00:36:28.240 --> 00:36:28.900 he says, 00:36:28.940 --> 00:36:29.619 you have to fall down 00:36:29.619 --> 00:36:30.099 and worship 00:36:30.099 --> 00:36:31.780 this particular statue 00:36:31.780 --> 00:36:32.440 and Shadrach, 00:36:32.539 --> 00:36:32.840 Meshach, 00:36:32.900 --> 00:36:33.440 and Abednego, 00:36:33.539 --> 00:36:34.220 these three Jews 00:36:34.220 --> 00:36:35.119 refused to do it. 00:36:35.360 --> 00:36:36.179 And Nebuchadnezzar 00:36:36.179 --> 00:36:36.760 says to them, 00:36:36.800 --> 00:36:37.980 what God will deliver you 00:36:37.980 --> 00:36:38.780 from my hand? 00:36:39.960 --> 00:36:40.960 And they say, 00:36:41.099 --> 00:36:42.159 we have a God 00:36:42.159 --> 00:36:43.039 who can deliver us 00:36:43.039 --> 00:36:44.240 from your hand 00:36:44.240 --> 00:36:45.460 and we are trusting in him. 00:36:45.800 --> 00:36:47.920 But if not, 00:36:47.920 --> 00:36:51.119 we will die in the furnace. 00:36:53.460 --> 00:36:54.840 And we understand Paul 00:36:54.840 --> 00:36:56.619 who says to live is Christ 00:36:56.619 --> 00:36:57.820 and to die is gain. 00:36:59.760 --> 00:37:01.139 There will come a time we die 00:37:01.139 --> 00:37:02.720 and maybe we will have to die 00:37:02.720 --> 00:37:03.579 for that which is good 00:37:03.579 --> 00:37:04.380 and true and beautiful. 00:37:05.340 --> 00:37:06.180 But we know the Lord 00:37:06.180 --> 00:37:07.099 fights for us 00:37:07.099 --> 00:37:08.280 and my death 00:37:08.280 --> 00:37:09.920 is gain. 00:37:10.840 --> 00:37:11.860 And in the new heaven 00:37:11.860 --> 00:37:12.480 and the new earth, 00:37:12.539 --> 00:37:13.220 he will wipe away 00:37:13.220 --> 00:37:13.820 every tear 00:37:13.820 --> 00:37:14.700 from every eye. 00:37:14.699 --> 00:37:17.899 The Lord fights for you. 00:37:18.500 --> 00:37:19.159 So just in closing, 00:37:19.279 --> 00:37:19.919 I think it will hopefully 00:37:19.919 --> 00:37:20.539 be on the screen. 00:37:20.719 --> 00:37:21.319 Listen to how 00:37:21.319 --> 00:37:22.879 older Christians 00:37:22.879 --> 00:37:24.500 understood these truths 00:37:24.500 --> 00:37:25.919 because they weren't embarrassed 00:37:25.919 --> 00:37:27.039 by the book of Joshua. 00:37:27.779 --> 00:37:28.899 If you haven't done it, 00:37:28.919 --> 00:37:30.039 I encourage you to consider 00:37:30.039 --> 00:37:31.319 doing morning and evening prayer. 00:37:31.460 --> 00:37:32.379 Maybe even it's just 00:37:32.379 --> 00:37:33.239 if every morning 00:37:33.239 --> 00:37:34.099 when you do your Bible 00:37:34.099 --> 00:37:34.719 reading and prayer, 00:37:34.859 --> 00:37:36.199 you read the two colics 00:37:36.199 --> 00:37:36.719 for the day, 00:37:36.879 --> 00:37:38.099 the standard colics 00:37:38.099 --> 00:37:39.799 or the two standard colics 00:37:39.799 --> 00:37:40.399 for the evening. 00:37:41.239 --> 00:37:43.079 This is almost 500 years 00:37:43.079 --> 00:37:43.879 that people have been 00:37:43.879 --> 00:37:44.679 praying this prayer. 00:37:44.699 --> 00:37:46.219 Just listen to it 00:37:46.219 --> 00:37:47.339 when you understand 00:37:47.339 --> 00:37:48.739 the truth and the power 00:37:48.739 --> 00:37:49.539 of this idea. 00:37:49.679 --> 00:37:50.879 Listen to the second colic 00:37:50.879 --> 00:37:51.460 for peace, 00:37:51.919 --> 00:37:53.319 which is a standard prayer 00:37:53.319 --> 00:37:54.259 for morning prayer 00:37:54.259 --> 00:37:55.019 every day. 00:37:55.739 --> 00:37:56.379 O God, 00:37:56.779 --> 00:37:57.399 who art the... 00:37:57.399 --> 00:37:58.199 My words might be 00:37:58.199 --> 00:37:58.839 slightly different 00:37:58.839 --> 00:37:59.259 because I think 00:37:59.259 --> 00:38:00.119 that's modern English, 00:38:00.279 --> 00:38:01.119 but you'll get the idea. 00:38:01.719 --> 00:38:02.259 O God, 00:38:02.339 --> 00:38:03.899 who art the author of peace 00:38:03.899 --> 00:38:06.039 and lover of concord, 00:38:06.839 --> 00:38:08.279 in knowledge of whom 00:38:08.279 --> 00:38:11.399 standeth our eternal life, 00:38:12.119 --> 00:38:13.079 whose service 00:38:13.079 --> 00:38:14.819 is perfect freedom. 00:38:15.599 --> 00:38:16.860 Just think for a second, 00:38:17.059 --> 00:38:18.099 pause for those prayers. 00:38:18.340 --> 00:38:19.360 Our flesh says 00:38:19.360 --> 00:38:21.340 that knowing you 00:38:21.340 --> 00:38:22.159 has nothing to do 00:38:22.159 --> 00:38:23.059 with real life 00:38:23.059 --> 00:38:24.380 and serving you 00:38:24.380 --> 00:38:25.360 will be bondage, 00:38:25.480 --> 00:38:26.739 but this prayer reminds us 00:38:26.739 --> 00:38:27.920 of what the Bible teaches, 00:38:28.059 --> 00:38:28.619 that we are to be 00:38:28.619 --> 00:38:29.380 the Lord's people 00:38:29.380 --> 00:38:30.279 in the Lord's place 00:38:30.279 --> 00:38:31.279 in the Lord's presence 00:38:31.279 --> 00:38:32.980 under the Lord's saving, 00:38:33.319 --> 00:38:34.000 redeeming, 00:38:34.239 --> 00:38:35.039 freeing rule, 00:38:35.299 --> 00:38:36.920 whose service 00:38:36.920 --> 00:38:37.880 is perfect freedom. 00:38:38.079 --> 00:38:38.980 And then look at this. 00:38:38.980 --> 00:38:40.400 Defend us, 00:38:40.559 --> 00:38:42.000 your humble servants, 00:38:42.139 --> 00:38:43.400 in all assaults 00:38:43.400 --> 00:38:44.380 of our enemies, 00:38:44.719 --> 00:38:45.920 that we, 00:38:46.159 --> 00:38:47.099 surely trusting 00:38:47.099 --> 00:38:48.400 in thy defense, 00:38:48.980 --> 00:38:49.920 may not fear 00:38:49.920 --> 00:38:50.760 the power 00:38:50.760 --> 00:38:52.460 of any adversaries 00:38:52.460 --> 00:38:53.940 through the might 00:38:53.940 --> 00:38:55.199 of Jesus Christ, 00:38:55.360 --> 00:38:55.860 our Lord. 00:38:57.500 --> 00:38:58.500 Older Christians 00:38:58.500 --> 00:38:59.320 weren't embarrassed 00:38:59.320 --> 00:39:00.440 by the book of Joshua. 00:39:00.820 --> 00:39:01.559 They knew they had 00:39:01.559 --> 00:39:02.119 to pray it. 00:39:03.219 --> 00:39:03.639 You know, 00:39:03.719 --> 00:39:04.559 because we're afraid 00:39:04.559 --> 00:39:05.219 of the demonic, 00:39:05.639 --> 00:39:06.699 we're afraid of death, 00:39:06.699 --> 00:39:08.199 we're afraid of things 00:39:08.199 --> 00:39:08.679 that we do 00:39:08.679 --> 00:39:10.139 that terrify us. 00:39:10.299 --> 00:39:11.319 We're afraid of others. 00:39:11.480 --> 00:39:12.679 We're afraid in our culture. 00:39:12.839 --> 00:39:14.539 We are an anxious age. 00:39:15.739 --> 00:39:16.980 And listen to the final prayer 00:39:16.980 --> 00:39:17.679 for the morning, 00:39:18.059 --> 00:39:19.119 the call it for grace. 00:39:19.679 --> 00:39:20.199 O Lord, 00:39:20.319 --> 00:39:21.439 our Heavenly Father, 00:39:22.159 --> 00:39:22.699 Almighty 00:39:22.699 --> 00:39:24.619 and everlasting God, 00:39:25.079 --> 00:39:26.719 who has safely brought us 00:39:26.719 --> 00:39:27.359 to the beginning 00:39:27.359 --> 00:39:28.259 of this day, 00:39:28.980 --> 00:39:30.579 defend us in the same, 00:39:30.739 --> 00:39:31.879 defend us this day 00:39:31.879 --> 00:39:33.939 with your mighty power 00:39:33.939 --> 00:39:36.219 and grant that this day 00:39:36.219 --> 00:39:38.159 we fall into no sin, 00:39:39.079 --> 00:39:40.459 neither run into 00:39:40.459 --> 00:39:41.899 any kind of danger, 00:39:42.579 --> 00:39:44.139 but that all our doings, 00:39:44.219 --> 00:39:44.959 everything we do, 00:39:45.359 --> 00:39:46.179 may be ordered 00:39:46.179 --> 00:39:48.000 by your governance, 00:39:48.159 --> 00:39:48.779 your rule. 00:39:49.259 --> 00:39:49.619 Why? 00:39:50.259 --> 00:39:51.359 To do always 00:39:51.359 --> 00:39:52.439 what is righteous 00:39:52.439 --> 00:39:53.459 in your sight 00:39:53.459 --> 00:39:54.359 through Jesus Christ, 00:39:54.459 --> 00:39:54.859 our Lord. 00:39:54.980 --> 00:39:55.279 Amen. 00:39:56.319 --> 00:39:57.519 What wonderful way 00:39:57.519 --> 00:39:58.319 to begin our day. 00:40:00.139 --> 00:40:01.159 Christians have been doing this 00:40:01.159 --> 00:40:02.219 for 500 years. 00:40:02.219 --> 00:40:04.959 don't be embarrassed 00:40:04.959 --> 00:40:05.879 by Joshua. 00:40:06.299 --> 00:40:07.679 The Lord defends you 00:40:07.679 --> 00:40:08.599 and fights for you 00:40:08.599 --> 00:40:09.799 because he loves you. 00:40:10.980 --> 00:40:11.859 Invite you to stand. 00:40:17.379 --> 00:40:18.719 Bow our heads in prayer. 00:40:21.579 --> 00:40:22.139 Father, 00:40:22.359 --> 00:40:24.279 I began by praying 00:40:24.279 --> 00:40:25.739 and I end with praying 00:40:25.739 --> 00:40:27.000 the same basic idea. 00:40:27.179 --> 00:40:27.439 Father, 00:40:27.619 --> 00:40:28.799 I ask that you would do 00:40:28.799 --> 00:40:29.719 a wonderful work 00:40:29.719 --> 00:40:30.639 in each of our hearts, 00:40:30.639 --> 00:40:31.659 in each of our minds, 00:40:31.759 --> 00:40:32.679 in each of our lives 00:40:32.679 --> 00:40:34.079 and help us 00:40:34.079 --> 00:40:34.599 to remember 00:40:34.599 --> 00:40:35.420 your promises 00:40:35.420 --> 00:40:37.319 and help us, 00:40:37.579 --> 00:40:37.619 Father, 00:40:37.659 --> 00:40:38.299 to be formed 00:40:38.299 --> 00:40:39.279 by your promises. 00:40:39.619 --> 00:40:39.960 Thank us, 00:40:40.219 --> 00:40:41.599 help us to be always formed 00:40:41.599 --> 00:40:42.339 by the promise 00:40:42.339 --> 00:40:43.299 of eternal life 00:40:43.299 --> 00:40:44.839 and in union 00:40:44.839 --> 00:40:45.579 with Christ 00:40:45.579 --> 00:40:46.920 and what he's accomplished 00:40:46.920 --> 00:40:47.839 for us in the cross. 00:40:48.359 --> 00:40:48.819 Help us, 00:40:49.079 --> 00:40:49.139 Father, 00:40:49.199 --> 00:40:50.440 to live day by day 00:40:50.440 --> 00:40:51.980 mindful of your promises 00:40:51.980 --> 00:40:53.440 and Father, 00:40:53.579 --> 00:40:54.420 bring your warnings 00:40:54.420 --> 00:40:55.519 home to us as well 00:40:55.519 --> 00:40:58.139 that we might remember them 00:40:58.139 --> 00:40:59.400 and that they might form us 00:40:59.400 --> 00:41:00.599 and we ask, 00:41:00.860 --> 00:41:00.920 Father, 00:41:01.000 --> 00:41:02.039 in light of your promises 00:41:02.039 --> 00:41:03.619 and in light of your warnings 00:41:03.619 --> 00:41:04.539 that you would make us 00:41:04.539 --> 00:41:05.420 a people of prayer, 00:41:06.340 --> 00:41:07.579 that you would help us 00:41:07.579 --> 00:41:08.880 to pray for the successes 00:41:08.880 --> 00:41:09.619 and failures 00:41:09.619 --> 00:41:10.480 of those of us 00:41:10.480 --> 00:41:10.960 who are around, 00:41:11.039 --> 00:41:11.800 not that they fail, 00:41:12.219 --> 00:41:13.320 but pray for others 00:41:13.320 --> 00:41:14.199 in their success 00:41:14.199 --> 00:41:15.019 and in their failure, 00:41:15.240 --> 00:41:16.460 pray for a common life, 00:41:16.900 --> 00:41:17.840 pray for the city, 00:41:18.059 --> 00:41:18.940 pray for this nation 00:41:18.940 --> 00:41:20.260 and pray for our loved ones 00:41:20.260 --> 00:41:21.260 that they will come 00:41:21.260 --> 00:41:21.940 to know Jesus. 00:41:22.780 --> 00:41:23.280 So, Father, 00:41:23.360 --> 00:41:24.160 we ask that you bring 00:41:24.160 --> 00:41:24.760 your promises 00:41:24.760 --> 00:41:25.560 and your warnings 00:41:25.560 --> 00:41:26.980 deeply home to us 00:41:26.980 --> 00:41:28.120 in light of Jesus 00:41:28.120 --> 00:41:30.120 and make us people 00:41:30.120 --> 00:41:31.760 willing to get down 00:41:31.760 --> 00:41:32.280 on our knees 00:41:32.280 --> 00:41:33.280 to pray for others 00:41:33.280 --> 00:41:34.980 and to roll up our sleeves 00:41:34.980 --> 00:41:36.140 and help others. 00:41:36.560 --> 00:41:37.300 And we ask this 00:41:37.300 --> 00:41:38.180 in the name of Jesus, 00:41:38.340 --> 00:41:39.440 your Son and our Savior 00:41:39.440 --> 00:41:41.100 and all God's people said, 00:41:41.620 --> 00:41:42.180 Amen. 00:41:50.260 --> 00:41:51.260 Amen.