Cling to the Lord Who Goes Before You (Joshua 23 John Lasken)

Yeah Well, good morning everybody

Yeah Made it. Yes so Ivan that was a self -inflicted wound.

I Went to a funeral in Florida It was a great friend of mine.

He is and was a soul winner loved to evangelize and died unexpectedly

This guy was like larger -than -life. His name was Jim Connelly Just the kind of guy he'd give you the shirt off his back.

Just constantly telling people about Jesus last year He opened a fellowship of Christian athletes Chapter in st.

Petersburg, Florida and then just unexpectedly just passed away. So I went down for his funeral and I knew that I would be arriving like right before the church service flying through the night

So I asked John Laskin where there is Pastor John will be preaching for me today Otherwise, I would say something that I don't even

I'm not I don't know what I said. Oh, I'm kind of loopy here All right, yeah, let's go come on let's go so Yeah, I I flew from this is the way that frontier took me to get from Tampa to Philadelphia You could see

Atlanta or Charlotte. No, they flew me to Denver To get to Philadelphia, so I was all night long, but it was worth it.

It was good time I got to share the gospel with the people. I was sitting next to so praise the Lord for that Alright, let's get to some announcements.

Number one men men's breakfast at 6 a .m Tomorrow here not at Cracker Barrel, but here so guys if you want to come out for a good conversation and we're reading a book

Also on Saturday, we have the love life ministry Which is at the Cherry Hill Women's Center?

We go out and we plead with women not to to murder their babies and we try to encourage them to Choose life and we pray so please join us if you are free on Saturday at 9 a .m

This Saturday the 10th this one coming. Yes The blanket drive the youth are collecting blankets to give to seeds of hope

So if you have blankets that are no longer used But they're in good condition or maybe if you want to just swing by like five below they have cheap

Blankets you could contribute those and those will be given to seeds of hope for those in need We have a hymn sing.

I hear on December the 18th So it'll be a Sunday evening and I'm sure we'll have some

Christmas hymns in that right John when you guess Yeah the week before Christmas Speaking of Christmas Christmas Eve.

We have two services one at 2 30 So it's still light out, but if you want it to be dark it actually gets dark

So early that you can come to the four o 'clock service and by the time we do the candlelights.

It's dark outside So it's a candlelight service And both of them have candlelight so 2 30 and 4 o 'clock, but on Christmas Day mark your calendars

Christmas falls on a Sunday, and we have decided to have one service that day at 1045

So there won't be a 9 a .m. Service that way you can spend time with your families open presents do the whole

Christmas thing and then all together We're just gonna pack it in here and just worship the Lord at On Christmas Day So with that let's go to the

Lord in prayer and seek him for this worship service So father we do come to you now

And we know that we do not come by our own merits because we have nothing to bring to you

We come through the body of Jesus Christ his body torn like the veil of the temple

To open a new and living way Through the shed blood we can now enter into the most holy place

Thank you, Jesus that you have made a way for us to come to the father And so father we come in spirit and in truth

And we ask that you would receive our worship be glorified in your church

We pray that our hearts would be made right before you this morning that we would confess our sins

That we would forgive those who have offended us That we would praise from the heart and that we would have ears to hear your word in Jesus name.

We pray amen Let's stand and sing Is to live in a cold and crowded stall

Father's goal In carnation marvel at this

Miracle Love has come to walk on water turn the water into wine

Touch the leopards bless the children love of Divine praise the wisdom of the father who has spoken

Speaking still he calls us to the glorious impossible

Gloria Glorious impossible Was used for our transgressions

Indy bears the eternal scars He was raised for our salvation

And his righteousness Is Praise the glory of his lavish grace

Receive the glorious impossible Yeah, glorious impossible

Glorious impossible Glorious impossible

Oh It's great to be together and to be worshiping together

And focus in on his his birth Knowing all the time that it was just the beginning of the redemption plan

When he went to the cross for our sins let's Quiet our hearts this morning as we continue to sing behold

This starlit night A king is born in bethlehem

Our journey long We seek the light

That leads to the hollowed manger ground

What fear we felt In the silent age

For hundred years Can he be found? but broken by a baby's cry

Rejoice in the hollowed manger Emmanuel God incarnate

Here to dwell Praise his name

Of god hereborn to bleed a crown of thorns would pierce his brow

He And you

Lord we stand before your throne singing praises to your name

Lord I pray that we will during this really busy season Allow us to push all the busyness aside make time for you.

There's so many times that Throughout the year that we're really really busy and then a peace and your joy

Into our hearts this season We pray Lord that you prepare us for your birth

Oh Oh Is Three words

Let the king of glory

Is As busy as Now he's

Room Let the king

Let's sing that again Room This is the lord's table he has

Invited all to come He sent messengers into the world To say come and many made excuses saying well

I have to go take care of this business or that business and so they wouldn't come And so the king in the parable says

Well, then go and invite the crippled and the lame and those who have need to come and those many of them came

But the parable goes on that the king said But there's still room So go into the highways and the byways and compel them to come in invite them to come

The lord's table is an invitation that we offer to all But the lord's table in order to eat of it

Requires that one come and submit to him as lord That means that when we eat the bread and drink the cup

We do so as believers in christ if you have not yet Bowed the knee

To the lord jesus christ Then when the bread and the cup is offered to you.

Just let it pass by But don't think that you have to be worthy to earn the right to eat and drink of the cup

Rather to come worthily means with that humble attitude of dependence on christ

Confessing your sins and so take a moment to confess your sin And your need for forgiveness

When you come with that humble heart the table is offered to you if you Believe if you submit to the lordship of jesus christ in luke chapter 22 verse 14 and following We're told when the hour came

He jesus reclined At table and the apostles were with them with him and he said to them

I have earnestly desired To eat this passover with you before I suffer

For I tell you listen, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of god

Then he says and he took a cup and when he had given thanks He said take this and divide it among yourselves for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of god comes

And he took bread and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them saying This is my body which is given for you

Do this in remembrance of me And likewise the cup after they had eaten saying this cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood so the body of christ and the blood of christ represents his life and his death

The bread represents the person of christ the bread of life as jesus said in john 6

I am the bread of life And he offers this life to us But we must also believe

That he died and so the cup Represents his blood and that blood

Is his life but his life given in death So the one who comes

Must believe in who christ is and what he's done And so we hear in luke 22

That we are to do this in remembrance of him And rightly so we should always remember

What christ has done It is finished what he has done. He has done once and for all

But there's part of this text that I have often missed In reading through it so focused on what christ has done

And remembering that as well we should I missed this part of it.

Maybe you caught it Jesus said I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer

For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of god

And then he said the same thing about the blood I I about the wine I will not drink until the kingdom of god comes

So do you see what jesus is doing there He's calling us to remember His death burial and resurrection, but he's also calling us to look forward

To a heavenly meal a banquet in heaven with him. I don't know about you

But for me Sometimes this life gets heavy, especially when you lose a friend

You go to a funeral And you see how short life is and how much pain and how much suffering?

Did you know that one of the reasons we come to the table? Is to remember what is soon to come

It is to look forward to the marriage supper of the lamb For every time we eat of this bread and drink this cup, we not only remember what he's done, but we remember

That he's coming soon This is a reminder to hold on It's a reminder to look for his coming the marriage supper of the lamb in revelation 19

That is described for us Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude

Like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder

Crying out. Can you picture it now? There's coming a day when every

Person who has named the name of christ Your family member who's gone before you

Your friend who passed In heaven with you at a banquet a feast

And this is a foretaste of that And they say hallelujah for the lord our god the almighty reigns

Let us rejoice and exalt and give him the glory for the marriage of the lamb has come

And his bride has made herself ready It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen

Bright and pure for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints now

Listen to this and the angel said to me write this blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb

And he said to me these are the true words of god Church, we're invited to the marriage supper of the lamb

And so we come to this supper the lord's table As a foretaste of what is soon to come he is coming soon

It may be far quicker than we expect We look back on what he's done, but we also look forward

To what he's about to do And we will eat with him and with all those who have named the name of christ

So as this bread is passed and then the cup I want you to take some time to confess your sin

And to look forward to that day to rejoice To find hope

And to keep your perspective right on heaven in the marriage supper of the lamb Lest you grow weary and lose heart.

This is sustenance for our soul It's god's grace to us in the lord's supper

So ushers if you'll come forward Let's give thanks

Father we thank you for the bread of life jesus christ

We thank you for his body Broken for us We thank you for the forgiveness of sin

We recognize we could have done nothing to earn forgiveness But you gave it to us as a free gift of your grace

So lord as we come to you now, we confess our sins We ask that you would be faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness

Thank you For the body and for the blood of jesus For I receive from the lord

What I also delivered to you that the lord jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread

And when he had given thanks he broke it and said This is my body Which is for you

Do this in remembrance of me And jesus, thank you

For the shedding of your blood Without which there is no remission of sin

Thank you for the new covenant in your blood the washing of regeneration and renewal by the holy spirit

Thank you for paying the penalty For our sin By giving your very life blood life is in the blood

And you have given your blood to make atonement for sin We remember this and we look forward to the day when we drink the cup of joy

In your presence at the marriage supper of the lamb In the same way also

He took the cup after supper saying this cup Is the new covenant in my blood?

Do this As often as you drink it in remembrance of me There was a song that we've just sang and one of the slides gentlemen if you can find it

Prepare him room Prepare him room let the king of glory enter in Frequently when

I get a chance to stand up and and speak to you I find it intriguing that The songs that we sing in worship

Prepare actually the the thoughts that that the holy spirit has already put on my heart.

This is one of those sundays Michael and I talked about it between services neither one of us prepared for this to happen, but When we sang those words

I just I was just totally caught up prepare him room Prepare him room.

Let the king of glory enter in The one thought i'm going to be speaking about this morning out of joshua 23

Is cling to him Psalm 19 1 the heavens declare the glory of god the firmament shows his handiwork

The heavens declare the glory of god the firmament shows his handiwork

Some thoughts What I see What I perceive

And how I respond you see the the heavens are going to show his handiwork

I had the privilege of of serving the country in the u .s. Navy And when we'd be in the middle of the ocean on the middle of the night

Where there's no light pollution of any sort Looking up to the stars on a clear night it it is awesome.

There is so much to see I have not had the privilege yet. Maybe some of you have of having seen the northern lights

There are things in the skies and in the heavens that just Are so totally awe -inspiring and you are going to look at this and perceive it in one way or another

One option is that this is the result of a big bang with all sorts of particles being spewed across eternity

To what we now perceive as the stars in the heaven I don't buy that Another way to understand it

Is the account in genesis 1 where god created in six days And he put all the stars in their place and he named them and he counts them and he knows them by name and so when

I look out at the heavens and and we've seen images from the hubble telescope and it's

It's limitless on its majesty You can see the stars, but what do you perceive?

Do you perceive An accidental occurrence or do you see god in his sovereign creative hand?

But then what do you how do you respond? And when I looked to the heavens and I looked to to things that are created it's like I i'm in awe

I've also had the privilege of going down through the grand canyon On the water side,

I can't do heights so I couldn't look at it from up above but i'm okay on water I was in the navy and As you go through the canyon 216 miles of it

It's one incredible view after another and I go with my brother who is a great guy one of my best friends

We come from opposite perspectives. He's an atheist. I'm not In case you were wondering and so when he sees the grand canyon

He just sees the result of billions of years of of things that have happened

But you know what? There's a there's a place in the grand canyon that befuddles them. It's called the great inversion

And there's this one spot in the canyon when all the layers that stack up over the historical eons that they propone

They're upside down They can't explain that I can It's called the great flood

Yeah See you see things and how do you perceive things and then how do you respond?

To what you perceive and I I think that we need to respond in awe and to hearing his voice and to saying

Yes, god. I want you. I I I i'm so in awe of you My family had the privilege of several years ago of taking an extensive trip into the highlands of scotland

That's my best scottish word scotland It's a great place lots of cool things to see but they have an interesting law

I think it's called the law of open spaces. I'm not sure but You're driving along the road and there's a field that looks interesting to you

You can get out and walk on the field Even though it belongs to somebody and he's got sheep and all this other kind of stuff.

You're just allowed to walk out there They're not worried about their sheep. Do you know why? And sheep only listen to one voice

And I could try to perhaps Urge the sheep to follow after me, but they won't they only listen to one voice

The cottage we lived in was situated in the midst of fields And we could walk out in them which we did and and the first day we were walking in the one field

There were sheep out in the field. That was so cool But then they moved to another field and they moved to another field and the shepherd by his voice

Calls the sheep And they go where he needs they need to go And when it comes time that the ewes are going to be lambing he would separate

The ewes that were ready to lamb from the rest of the flock But he could call them and they knew his voice

And they would follow after him Scripture uses this imagery to describe us

In psalm 100 verse 3 we are his people And the sheep of his pasture

That's who we are, you know sheep have to be led They need somebody to lead them and that's how he describes us.

We are his people The sheep of his pasture. John 10 verse 4 Says the sheep follow the shepherd because they know his voice

Now this is a truth for those of us who have bowed the knee to christ. Jeff already expressed this concept

This is an important concept And if I don't say this often enough today, I want to say it again right now

If you have never bowed the knee to christ that is the first decision of importance for you

Turning to him and confessing and repenting It's his grace

Leading you to it and then responding in faith becoming his child if we become his child.

John 1 12 We are now described as his people We are now described as the sheep of his pasture wherever we are this is

His pasture and then john 10 27 My sheep know my voice and they follow me

That's our calling Because where we are going what we are doing what life brings in front of us

We have a shepherd. We are his sheep. We know his voice when a child

When a person surrenders bows the knee the holy spirit comes within And enables us to hear the voice of christ in the midst of all of the other noise

Enables us to hear the voice of christ I get intrigued by interesting things

Sometimes I don't know if any of you spelunk anybody know what a spelunker is

So somebody goes into caves We did a cave trip once And as we were coming out one of my daughters says man, i'm sure glad there weren't any bats in there and I went

Do you know how bats know where they're going sonar

They emit a sound And the the echo is tells them what's going on Now there could be hundreds of bats in a cave

They know their sonar from everybody else's sonar if they didn't man, it would be confusing as all get out

I know my master's voice And when he calls I can hear his voice and I can do that because I got the holy spirit dwelling within me

And I even have the holy spirit teaching me and encouraging me to cry out abba father

Now quite frankly, I don't know much about sheep. I've been Amongst them if you would but I do have a little bit more knowledge about dogs.

Maybe some of you do We've had a couple of dogs and our second dog taffy

Wouldn't listen to me not a wit He was sandy's dog

I I probably has something to do with the fact that she's the one that always fed him But taffy was sandy's dog and if sandy spoke taffy would listen if I spoke it was like in one ear and out the other

I'm, sorry. It's almost like talking to a teenager Did I just say that?

But but you get the message you get the message I am A child of my master the shepherd and I know his voice

And when he tells me something I can hear it the message in joshua 23

Is to hear that voice and then cling to it And then cling to it

In this world, there are a lot of voices. There are a lot of sounds There are a lot of enticements to go this way.

There are a lot of attempts to teach you truth And now i'm going to speak to you teenagers or who in in high school or going to college

There are a lot of voices that are going to try to teach you truth, but there is only one who teaches you true truth and that's god cling

To him, we are exhorted to hear his voice And to obey him.

Let's pray lord god. We do know That as your children as those who have bowed the knee

We are sheep who need a master you are that master Lord your voice speaks to us in a way that protects us encourages us guides us

We need to cling to you. We pray in jesus name. Amen You shall fear the lord your god

No, that's the wrong one But you shall cling to the lord your god as you have done to this day.

Joshua 23 8 Debek, that's the word in the hebrew It can be translated depending on which bible you're looking at as clinging holding fast

Cleaving, but the root of that word is debek It's going to talk about a singular devotion

It's going to talk about an adherence that doesn't break that is not only there but is is intentionally

Intentionally followed after it is used in a relationship between people

At if we go back to genesis 2 24 We are told to leave our mother and father and cling to our spouse

That is a relationship of singular devotion of giving without compromise Without without need for for being proven but just clinging giving fully to nobody else

Full devotion that doesn't end this and this metaphor in fact is used by god this marriage metaphor between himself and the church

Okay, we are his bride And and in that way the church is to follow after him forsaking all others

I want to ask you church to always always be in prayer for your pastor for anybody who speaks to you for anybody who teaches you because The dangers of the slightest introduction of something all that other than true truth

Is of major danger because that one little introduction of a something that isn't true truth can spread so always be in prayer

Always be grateful to god for pastor jeff and how he teaches you But we are in this marriage relationship that's described and that's our devotion to god

This word to beck is also then applied in physical realms In jeremiah 13 it talks about the waistband that clings

To the garment it in psalm 137. It talks about the tongue that clings to the palate

And in job 19 it talks about the bones that cling to the flesh. These are adherences that are not broken

These are adherences that can be depended on these are adherences that don't alter or change

But probably more importantly de beck is used in a spiritual context de beck

Having a spiritual allegiance to god Is is responding to him and knowing who he is deuteronomy 10 20.

You shall fear the lord your god You shall serve him and cling to him

By his name you shall swear This is the relationship with god that de beck talks about he is our singular focus he's the one that we

Surrender to because of his sovereignty. We fear him because of his sovereignty and his holiness

He is the one that we serve and we choose not to serve others other than him

He is our spiritual lead our spiritual master And so we hold him and we swear by his name that's the relationship the spiritual relationship

In deuteronomy 30 it says loving the lord your god Obeying his voice

And holding fast to him for he is your life a length of days. These verses are not in a command tense

These verses are in a tense that is an ongoing practice You don't do it once and it's done

These are things that are to be Definitional of who we are in our

Relationship to god loving the lord your god He is our god.

He is our god obeying his voice because what he has to say uniquely teaches us

And if we choose to not obey him the definition of that is believing the lie of satan that you can become your own god

Because if you're not obeying god, who are you obeying? We are obeying somebody We might make ourselves our own god or that thing that we choose to put above god

Obeying him and holding fast to him the back all the days of your life

Life is going to present challenges opportunities and obstacles

And we're going to need guidance to get through them because we don't know what's coming up next

I want to paint a picture of you of a sight -impaired person Who perhaps comes through the doors?

And and comes walking up the aisle Most likely that sight -impaired person would have a companion

And you can see in your mind that person walking up holding tight to the arm As that person walks him around the chairs and up to a place where they can sit because if they lost contact with that person

What would they do next? That sight person debec clings to The companion but then there are like seeing eye dogs and you've seen them walking perhaps in public

And they have that handled Thing that's on the dog and they they are holding on to that because they can't dare let go of that If they did and they were in the middle of somewhere where they didn't know where they were

They would be lost debec they cling to They cling to Satan is going to talk to your flesh and say you don't need debec

Satan is going to talk to your flesh and say you can do it on your own. You do not need god.

You do not need Anything You can reason through it on your own

But i'm telling you right now that we need to seek after god We need to trust god and we need to rely on him

We need to be able to see god not only able to see it But we need to perceive who god is and then we need to respond to who he is

The motivation to do that is very clear here in joshua 23 23 3 as you have seen all the lord has done

To you all these nations what the lord has done to all these nations for your sake

For it is a lord your god who has fought for you The nation of israel has a history that they would know and they would know quite well because they would tell the stories

And these stories would go all the way back to the time of abram Who becomes abraham who has given the promise?

Of becoming a great nation that all nations will be blessed through him the promises that are given to abraham

They knew this story of jacob's sons Who sold joseph into slavery?

And as that story unfolds Joseph says what you meant to me for harm god intended it for good

Joseph was placed in a position of in egypt where Because of his obedience to god and surrender to god's lead he didn't fall into temptation

He ends up becoming the second greatest only to pharaoh And is able to provide food that would protect the jewish people through a famine

They knew the stories of that and then but then there's but then there's a captivity in egypt And then there's the burning bush.

Moses says who should I say sends me? And he goes I am That I am

That's our god they know these stories and then how moses Approaches pharaoh and there's various plagues and eventually they're let go they know the stories of leaving egypt

Only to be confronted by the red sea And here comes pharaoh's chariots.

It's like we made a big mistake right now. No, you didn't You see god still is with them

Moses put your staff out in the sea parts and they walk on dry ground I was in the navy as I said had the chance to go from the mediterranean sea into the indian ocean

Which takes you through the suez canal down through the red sea And down into the indian ocean and I was on watch in the middle of the night one time and I proclaimed to the guys

Gentlemen, I honestly can't tell you exactly where but somewhere. Oh, we just passed over pharaoh's chariots

That is so cool to think how god got and he they knew these stories They knew the stories of god's deliverance

But then but then there's two other stories that they know about they know mount sinai where god gives the ten commandments

And the people get impatient because he's up there so long. What do they do? They make a golden calf

And they know the stories about kadesh barnea where they could have gone right into the promised land

But the ten spies said it ain't gonna work It's it's a land flowing with milk and honey, but hey, dude, we're grasshoppers and they're giants can't happen

They know the story of punishment you see Not only is there god providing for them, but he is also a holy and righteous god

And even his act of punishment Is a blessing because he can't let this sin go and fester and grow he needs the people

To be devoted he wants his people to cling to him At mount sinai they had other things that they were willing to cling to they could control it by making a golden calf

And worshiping it to it or in kadesh barnea. They could control it because we don't get it militarily

We can't do this But you see god had the plan all along all he had to do was cling to him

So the stories of punishment are actually stories of blessing and then the people eventually get

A camp in shitem on the east side of the jordan river

We they got across this river And it's at high flood stage and it's torrential

Now some of you have been around for a while. I started this journey through the book of joshua about three years ago

Uh way back then I actually had a picture of the river jordan at at rushing tide

It's not a little bit of water that the migrants are crossing down at our southern border

This was nasty stuff How are they going to cross it? Well, you see in joshua 1 the lord said have

I not commanded you Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened That water looks pretty bad to me.

Do not be frightened. Do not be dismayed for the lord Your god is with you wherever you go

He gets them across that river the priests go first with the ark and when the priest's foot touches the water

Again, the water separates and on dry ground they crossed over Took stones and set them up As a memorial they know these stories about how god brought them into the land.

They know the stories of the spies that go into jericho And end up in the apartment of rahab of all people

And what does rahab have to tell them? We have heard the stories of how your god has fought for you against the kings on the other side

And the hearts of the people are melted. They cannot stand against you because of your god.

They know these stories You have seen what the lord has done for you the battle of jericho

All they had to do was obey walk take a little hike around the city for a few days shout and the walls come down But they also know about ai and the first time they tried to attack ai there was sin in the camp some of the booty from jericho inappropriately taken and hidden and the leader

Didn't seek god for his direction. I know how to do this one. We just had a great victory at jericho

I don't need god. These are little people they lost Until they cleansed themselves got themselves right with god

And then they routed ai they know these stories The next many chapters in the book of joshua are the battles and the occurrences that they had and how god was faithful Have I not commanded you?

Be strong and courageous the lord your god is with you wherever you go. They know all of these stories

And then they get to mount ebel and mount garrison And on one mountain half the people and on the other mountain the other half the people in the middle is the ark and they

Rehearse what happened back in deuteronomy where they announced the blessings and the curses they know god's

Plan for them They know how he will care for them, but they also know the warnings

That if they don't go there Is and you have seen all that the lord your god has done to all these nations for your sake

The jewish history is one of seeing the hand of god. They know all of this, but here's a question for you

When you see what god has already done in your life And now i'm speaking to my brothers and sisters who have bowed the knee to the lord when you see

What god has done in your life? Your response has got to be one of awe reverent awe

Worship to him surrender to him dependence on him because he will do

What he has done it's time to cling to him cling to him turn to him the lord's prayer

Okay, we go into matthew Chapter six matthew five six and seven is a sermon on the mount matthew

Six he goes into some of these practices and when you give to the needy He tells them what to do and when you pray don't be like the hypocrites who love to step

Standing on the synagogues in the street corners to be seen by them Don't be them and when you pray don't keep on babbling as the hypocrites do they want to be heard by their many words so he's telling them don't just recite things

And then he goes on to say This then is how you should pray our father who art in heaven and we know the lord's prayer

And many have learned the lord's prayer as a young child and and can recite it quite easily It's kind of like saying now

I lay me down to sleep I pray the lord my soul to keep if I should die before I wake I pray the lord my soul to take amen That's not really a prayer

Any more than our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come. I I was raised catholic.

I confess that And I knew how to pray the rosary All right, and on the big beads you would say the our father and on the little beads you would say pray the hail mary

And I knew all that I could I can recite those that is not what he is teaching in the in the sermon on the mount

He didn't say this is what you should pray. He said this is how you should pray

And it starts out by saying our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name

Prayer should start with worship Prayer should start with worship

I like to encourage in fact any of you are in my small group This is a tease because when we get back in january i'm going to launch this one out

It's called god sightings It is a great practice that if you're in the midst of life and something happens again, remember see perceive respond

You can see something and just let it go But if you see something and you perceive that it's god

And then you respond by worshiping him The first service pastor jeff shared a little bit more about his trip back than he did in second service

His day saturday night his trip back saturday started in the evening

And he could look out at the sunset over the gulf of mexico Now it took him so long that by the time he landed in philadelphia, he could see the sunrise

That's how long his trip was Here's the thing if you've ever seen in a majestic sunset it's the

The palette of colors is is just incredible Now you can look at that and maybe think about the physics of the spectrum of of light and Maybe the moisture in the air create you can do all that kind of stuff and that's cool

But you can say god wow That was you and then turn that into worship

These are god sightings that you see all the time now We we cling to god because we see god and we remember what he has done for us

But we're also going to cling to god because of the opportunities that he has placed before us joshua 23 verses 4 and 5

Behold I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes

Okay. Now let's catch on this for a second. I have allotted to you as an inheritance i'm thinking maybe

Uh, my parents had passed away and we're hearing the final will that's given out there and so these are the how

My parents desired that things would be divided up for them and usually you're thinking who's going to get the car

You know, whatever I deliver to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain

That's the first thing he talks about You see as they went through the land and had battle after battle after battle.

They did not completely perform The eradication of the tribes that they were told to do

It's a holy war And in some cases they didn't do it And so there were people left over that weren't supposed to be there

And he's calling them their inheritance I'm giving you an inheritance these people that shouldn't be there, but they are there

It goes on and he says along with all the nations that have already been cut off from the jordan to this great sea in the west

The lord will push them back for you And drive them out of your sight and you shall possess the land

What they've received is the land. All right. Now the last time I spoke it was at gerizim and ebel

I skipped a whole lot of chapters in between to today. It's a listing of the pieces of land that go to all the different tribes

Including the two and a half tribes that stayed went back to the east of river jordan

It's a listing of all the pieces they've received all the land that was given to them Lord has fought the fights for them, but there are nations remaining

That can only cause problems for them God says that I will go before you he reiterates the promise

From back when they were in shittim before they ever crossed the land when god promised joshua.

I will be with you I will go before you and he's promising them now. This is after the land all the battles are done

There are still people there. He says I am still going to be with you I want you to in your mind consider a little child now a little child

I I love the pictures the videos that you've seen The service member has been gone for a while And comes back by surprise

Now the pictures have a little dog reacts they're kind of fun But think about the response of the child

When they see mom or dad who is coming back after many months of deployment

What do they do? They run up and they hold on So tight that you can't get them off of the crowbar.

They just cling to them the little child who gets a gift

A puppy for christmas or something and and there's this jubilant holding on this is clinging

But then there's also the time of fear. There's something bad going on And the little child runs behind mom or dad it grabs a hold of them to hide to be protected clinging to back

This is the clinging Now we're clinging to god. We should cling to god The jews should be clinging to god because they've seen what he has already done

But they're also clinging because of the things that have yet to be done But I want to tell you that this picture

Of the nations that remain it is a battle yet to be fought But it most of all is a spiritual battle,

I think that's why he's calling it an inheritance These nations that remain are going to be an opportunity for the nation of israel

To demonstrate their continued reliance on god clinging to him There is a there is a need for clinging to him ephesians 6 12 tells us that we don't battle against flesh and blood

But against the forces of darkness Now you're telling me that i'm a believer and i'm pretty much

Prepared and well i'm going to tell you that Even jesus was tested

After he fasted in the wilderness. Jesus was tested These spiritual battles that satan thought he could win against messiah

Not not necessarily recognizing that he is not only jesus the man, but jesus god He didn't have a chance.

But if jesus was tested, do you think you're not going to be tested? to beck hold on cling tight

First peter 5 says that the adversary the devil prowls seeking who he may devour

The answer is cling tight to god Some of the scriptural evidences of how god stands up for those in need one of them in second king six

Elisha is in camp with his servant And the enemy forces are surrounding them to the point where the servant is feared for their lives

And elisha prays open the eyes of my servant And you have the camp and you have the enemy forces with chariots

And then around them are the lord's army Guess who's going to win that battle?

Just open the eyes and let me let me see It's not the battle that's going on.

It's the battle that's already being fought By you see ephesians 6 tells us to put on the spiritual armor

Don't go after it without the spiritual armor be ready for the spiritual battle by putting on the spiritual armor

And in psalm 121, we're told that the lord will protect you. He will guide you

It says for the lord will keep you from all evil He will keep your life. The lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forward forever more

This is an eternal promise. This isn't the one time the lord will keep you one time This is a promise that you carry on throughout your life

The lord will keep you and in isaiah 40 he gives power to the faint

Have you just ever felt totally overwhelmed? Have you ever just felt? Perhaps spiritually i'm tired

Have you ever felt I can't go on i've lost That love i've lost my job.

I i'm distressed. I'm depressed. Have you ever felt that thing? He gives power to the faint.

This is a promise of scripture And to him who has no might He increases their strength

Jesus prayed to the father in his priestly prayer in john 17 Father don't take them out of the world.

Wouldn't that have been great? You become a child of god. You're freed He didn't pray that He said but keep them in the world

There are nations in our lives But greater is he who's in you than he who's in the world

Isn't that great? Keep them in the world life's Trials are opportunities

Their challenges, but they are times when we need to cling to god to back cling to god

Joshua's got some advice for us. The first one is watch out for the bad choices Joshua 23 12 13 for if you turn back

And cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them

So that you associate them and they with you get this Know for certain that the lord your god will no longer drive these nations out before you but they shall be a

Snare and a trap for you a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes

They're going to be a trap And the lord isn't going to drive them out So you say when do they become a trap they become a trap when you surrender and go back in the wrong direction

They are an opportunity and a challenge out there, but they become a trap when you it says if you turn back when you turn back if you transgress against god's covenant you allow

The Actions of your life to be displeasing to god in the smallest way In the smallest way.

I don't think anybody ever who's a believer Wakes up one morning and says i'm going to go commit adultery but it might start very simply like That girl in my office.

She saw that I was hurting and she talked to me And that felt good Just the smallest deviation from his covenant and then serving other gods finding

Something else that's important in your life above god. He says he doesn't want you to love anything more than him

Turning back to other nations and I look to that to mean those things that I used to like That I should have gotten rid of that.

I haven't gotten rid of that. I continue to participate in marrying outside his people

Finding alliances and associations these all become a trap And the lord isn't going to help you out once they become a trap now there are two things

I want to bring up here one is For those in here who have not yet bowed the knee

There is a very very very important realization here and that's that you're on your own now hebrews 6

Hebrews has a series of woes that are taught that are really exhortations against those who pretend to their believers

But really aren't hebrews 6 4 to 6 It is impossible in the case of those

Who have once been enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and has shared in the holy spirit And tasted the goodness of the work of god and the powers of the ages to come and then have fallen away

To restore them again to repentance since they are crucifying again The son of god to their own harm and this is a this is talking about an individual that allows himself

Chooses to become part of a fellowship of believers Hearing the word seeing the power of the holy spirit, but never bowing the knee

And then saying no, it's not going to go well for them If you have not yet bowed the knees don't continue down that path

But I want to say that there is an appropriate warning to believers In this passage the jews knew the stories and the jews had seen god's hand

But first I need to give you some promises because it's good to have good news satan will never defeat his church

It says that Jesus asked who does who do you say that I am to peter and he said thou art this christ the son of the living god

He just said on that rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it

Now he's not saying that an individual Congregation might not fall continue to be in prayer

Continue to be in prayer that we hold truth to the truth Individual congregations might go bad

But his church capital h capital c will never be defeated by satan

It's going to go through some really tough times in the tribulation There's going to be a rapture at some point in time

But even after that rapture there will be those who accepted the lord there's going to be witnesses given

Satan can't beat them up In fact, it says if you are a believer sitting here today satan can't get you back

You are a child of god Tecna is the greek word for child in john 1 12 and that identifies the fact that your passport no longer says

Citizen of the world a slave to sin that your passport now says a citizen of the kingdom of god

Done sealed never to be changed Romans 8 38 39 says

I don't care what happens. Nothing can separate you from the love of god. Let's paraphrase But nothing can separate you

And I will also say that if you are a believer sitting here today having surrendered to him that There is no temptation

That satan can throw in front of you But through his power you can endure it because he will give you the way to escape

Cling to him the back cling to him Now there are nations

In your life in my life. There are nations. We know in romans 7 Paul says that what

I don't want to do. That's what I do what I don't want to do That's we know that debate that goes on because he's still living here

And we know in john 1 8 it says if you say you've never sinned you deceive yourself Truth is not within you.

We are fighting a fight But first corinthians 10 13 says in that fight you have the power to win through him

Now there is a path that we need to choose john joshua 23 6 to 8 therefore

Be very strong to keep and do all that is written in the book of law of moses Turning aside from it neither to the right hand to the left.

You see there is one path There is one truth. There is one true truth

Don't turn to the right or the left do not mix with these nations that remain in your lives Do not allow them to entice you away

Don't mix with them or mention the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them

But you shall cling to beck You shall cling to the lord your god just as you have done this day

The book of the law of moses can be summed up in two commands according to the lord

When they asked him, what's the first and greatest commandment? What did he say? Love the lord your god with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and the second is like it love your neighbor

As yourself and on these two hang all the laws Get it get those two

Love the lord with your heart your soul And your mind deuteronomy 6 says the lord your god is one you shall love the lord your god

You shall do what I command you you shall teach them diligently to your children

When you sit in the house and walk by the way make these your habit That's the good path

And the second one says to meditate it says the book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth

But you shall meditate it on a day and night The protection of having the word of god in the forefront of your mind

When those temptations happen That's the path.

That's the path you need to be clinging on to god Israel was encouraged remember ai

Remember your failure You got right. Remember the victory that god against all odds gave you

After they surrendered to god and submitted to god they were restored clinging to god

Does not give any room for clinging to anything else Clinging to god cannot be successful If you're clinging to something else and trying to cling to god your grasp is not sure

The one time I was trying to ride home on my bicycle with a bag of groceries in one hand

And the handlebars in the other you know what happened? I wasn't clinging to the bike

Okay, don't cling if you cling to anything else your grasp is reduced

Onto god and I need you to cling to god. So in application I want you to be careful to listen to his commands

Love the lord your god all your heart all your soul all your mind your neighbor as yourself You see jesus in the sermon on the mount when he talked about application of following god

You have heard it was said to the people long ago do not commit adultery and I imagine everybody out here is saying

Got that one covered But I say to you that if anyone has looked at a woman lustfully

He has already committed adultery with her in his heart He speaks this way about many topics

My brothers and sisters clinging to the lord physically must include with your heart

It must include with your heart Joshua 23 14 says not one word has failed of all the good things that the lord your god has promised

Concerning you all have come to pass for you. None has failed cling to the lord.

His promises will not fail In fact paul writes to the church at philippi and philippians 1 6.

I am sure of this He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of christ

Cling to the lord life presented challenges to the jews as they continued to settle the land

They just needed to cling to the lord now life is going to continue to bring challenges to you your answer cling to the lord

See what he has done. See what you see perceive that it is god Respond in worship to him trust him

Submit to the lord Prepare him room Prepare him room

Let the king of glory come in I was talking to a couple earlier this morning

Who have a fairly new house? And when they moved in the prior owner said i'm going to leave my television for you

This was more like a outdoor movie theater I think they said it was nine feet tall

That tv had to go For them to be able to move into their house the tv had to go are there large screen tvs in your life that have to go

Prepare him room Prepare him room. Let the king of glory Enter in submit to his sovereign power

And therefore worship him as you see his blessings unfold. Amen. Can we close with a song?

Is In excelsis

Me Oh Oh the

Lord I do believe. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, in excelsis

Deo. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, in excelsis

Deo. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, in excelsis

Deo. Seek the

Lord and His strength. Seek His face continuously. Remember His wonderful deeds which

He has done, His marvels and the judgments from His mouth. He is the