(Breath of Life Theme Music)
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Sermon #S041 - Don't Go
Down With The Ship - (Part 1)
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Pastor Snell:  And for
those who are in the building,
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I'm going to invite you to stand
to your feet as we go to the
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word today. We're going to go to
a couple places in the
scriptures. We're going to begin
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in Proverbs chapter 22 and verse
number three. And then we're
going to go over to Joshua
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chapter two, which is where
we will land sermonically today.
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Proverbs chapter 22 and verse
number three when you get there,
let me hear you say amen.
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Proverbs chapter 22 and verse
number three, how many of us
need a word from the Lord today?
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[Congregation: Amen]
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Amen. I just need to know where
to aim this sermon today. I want
to give it to people who want
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it. Amen. [Congregation: Amen]
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Proverbs 22 and verse three. And
if you don't mind, just put your
finger over in Joshua chapter
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two. Again, we're in our pivot
series. We're still in our
series entitled The Pivot,
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and we've been talking about
how to adjust to divine detour.
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There are times where the life
of faith is not a straight line,
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but the life of faith requires
some turns along the way.
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But I need you to know that
God will be there at every turn.
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Proverbs 22 and verse three,
just a simple statement of
wisdom for the general body of
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Christ today. Proverbs 22 and
verse three, when you get there,
just say, pastor I'm here.
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[Congregation: I'm here.]
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It says, "A prudent man
foreseeth evil and hides
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himself: but the simple
pass on and are punished."
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Now, go with me over to Joshua
chapter two and we'll begin at
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verse number one, and we'll read
honestly a good little bit of
this today just so that you have
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a full frame from which to
understand the word today.
Joshua chapter two in verse one.
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When you get there, just see it
say Amen. [Congregation: Amen]
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The Bible says, "Now Joshua, the
son of Nun, sent out two men
from Acacia Grove to spy
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secretly, saying, 'Go view the
land, especially Jericho.' So
they went out and came to the
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house of a harlot named Rahab
and lodged there. And it was
told the king of Jericho,
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saying, 'Behold, men have come
here tonight from the children
of Israel to search out the
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country." So the King of Jericho
sent to Rahab, saying, 'Bring
out the men who have come to
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you, who hav'e entered your
home, they have come to search
out all the country.' Then the
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woman took the two men and hid
them. So she said, "Yes, the men
came to me, but I did not know
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where they were from. And it
happened as the gate was being
shut when it was dark, that the
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men went out. Where the men
went, I do not know. Pursue them
quickly, for you may overtake
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them." But she had brought them
up to the roof and hidden them
with the stalks of flax,
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which she had laid in order on
the roof. Then the men pursued
them by the road to the Jordan
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and the fords. And as soon as
those who were pursuing them had
gone out, they shut the gate.
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Now, before they lay down, she
came up to them on the roof and
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said to the men, "I know that
the Lord has given you the land,
that the terror of you has
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fallen on us, and that all the
inhabitants of the land are
fainthearted because of you.
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For we have heard how the Lord
dried up the water of the Red
Sea for you when you came from
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Egypt, and what you did to the
two kings of the Amorites who
were on the other side of the
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Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you
utterly destroyed. And as soon
as we heard these things, our
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hearts melted. Neither did there
remain any more courage in
anyone because of you. For the
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Lord your God, He is God in
heaven above and on the earth
beneath. Now, therefore, I beg
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you, stay with me, Church, I beg
you, swear to me by the Lord,
since I have shown you kindness,
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that you will show kindness to
my father's house, to give me a
true token, and spare my father,
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my mother, my brothers and
sisters, and all that they have,
and deliver our lives from
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death." So the men answered her,
"Our lives for yours. If none of
you tells this business of ours,
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it shall be when the Lord has
given us the land that we will
deal kindly and truly with you."
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Then she let them down by a rope
through the window, for her
house was on the city wall.
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She dwelt on the wall. And she
said to them, "Get to the
mountain, lest the pursuers meet
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you. Hide there three days until
the pursuers have returned. And
afterward, you may go your way."
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So the men said unto her,
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"We will be blameless of this
oath of yours which you have
made us swear unless when we
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come into the land, you bind
this line of scarlet cord in the
window through which you let us
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down." And unless you bring your
father, your mother, your
brothers, and all of your
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father's household to your own
home, and so it shall be that
whoever goes out of the doors of
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your house into the streets, his
blood will be on his own head,
for we will be guiltless for
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whoever is with you. In what?
His blood shall be on our head.
If a hand is laid upon him, and
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if you tell this business of
yours, then we will be free from
your oath, which you have made
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us swear. Then she said,
according to your words, so it
be, and she sent them away, and
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they departed, and she bound the
scarlet cord in the window. They
departed and went to the
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mountain and stayed there three
days until the pursuers
returned. So the pursuers sought
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them along the way but did not
find them. So the two men
returned, descended from the
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mountain and crossed over and
came to Joshua, the son of Nun,
and told him all that had
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befallen them. And they said to
Joshua, "Truly the Lord has
delivered all the land into our
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hands." For indeed the
inhabitants of this country are
faint-hearted because of us.
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Today Saints, for a little
while, I want to talk to you. I
under the subject, "Don't go
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down with the ship." Tell your
neighbor real quickly, "Don't go
down with the ship."
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[Congregation: Don't
go down with the ship.]
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Pastor Snell: Turn
to the other neighbor
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and say, "Just because the ship
is going down doesn't mean you
have to go down with it."
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[Congregation: Yes, sir.]
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Amen. Let's pray together today.
Father, in this little while,
will you please say much?
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Lord, I pray that you would
attach a rare power to the
sharing and the reception of
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this word. Father, I pray in the
name of Jesus that in the
hearing of the word, faith will
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be multiplied exponentially. So
Lord, would you please hide me
in the shadows of the cross that
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Jesus alone might be seen, that
Christ alone would be heard? And
at the end of our time together,
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may Jesus alone be praised. And
Father, at the end of our time
together, Lord, may we have the
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assurance that heaven rejoices
with us because at least one
sinner has heard your voice and
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hearkened unto your divine
invitation. Bless us to this
end. We pray in the wonderful
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name of Jesus our Lord. Let
those who believe say together,
Amen. [Congregation: Amen]
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And Amen, you may be
seated in the house of the Lord.
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We read just a second ago that
the book of Proverbs teaches
that the prudent see danger and
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take cover, but the foolish see
it, keep going and suffer the
punishment. And there are times
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that through observation,
revelation, or experience, God
allows you to be able to see how
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a situation is going to end or
pivot from the particular road
that you are on. And the story
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of Rahab personifies this
principle because most likely
Rahab is from the city of
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Jericho. Perhaps Jericho is all
that she knows, and yet she has
roots in the city of Jericho,
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and yet Rahab is able to discern
the fate of Jericho. She can
sense that destruction is near,
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and yet she makes a
decision to begin to pivot.
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And what Rahab teaches us is
that you don't have to go down
with the ship you came in on.
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Part of the message, friends, is
to address the pathology of
misplaced loyalty. You see,
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wisdom, friends, is knowing that
your loyalty is justified, and
there are some that have applied
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blind loyalty to people and
systems and ways of thought,
even to their own detriment. And
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it's interesting that we've
applied some virtue and
credibility to misplaced loyalty
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in our time. So much so that we
kind of praise the ride or die
woman that sticks with a ratchet
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man, even to her own detriment.
We will have a way of extolling
the brother that's willing to
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not snitch on his friends, even
if it causes him to go to jail.
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And the motive of this message
is that you've got to be more
loyal to God's plan than you are
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to people groups or even your
social conditioning. And I need
somebody to get this,
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that whenever you notice God
withdrawing His blessing from a
thing, you ought to also
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withdraw your loyalty. In other
words, you got to make sure that
your loyalty is justified. Are
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you all hearing the preacher
today? [Congregation: Yes.]
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And I need to give you three
brief principles of how to be
able to ascertain or evaluate
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whether your
loyalty is warranted.
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Number one, you've got to be
able to see the difference
between somebody who is loyal
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and somebody who is dependent.
In other words, there are some
folk who are not loyal to you,
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they're just dependent on you,
and understand that their
loyalty is only going to go as
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far as your resources, and as
soon as your resources
disappear, so goes their
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loyalty. And there's nothing
wrong with having folk that are
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dependent, but you've just got
to categorize them the correct
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way. The second thing about
loyalty is how many of us know
that loyalty has to have
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boundaries? And, in other words,
I like to be a loyalty cat, but
I need you to know very publicly
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that my loyalty has boundaries,
so that I ain't letting nobody
bring drama to my house, no
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drama to my job, and I ain't
going to let you mess with my
income. Are you all hearing what
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I'm saying? [Congregation: Yes.]
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As a matter of
fact, like 10 years ago,
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I had a group of friends that
don't share my spiritual
convictions from high school,
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and they like to kind of send
certain types of pictures in a
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group chat. And I had to let
them know that you going to see
the wrong side of me if I have
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to answer for something that you
did, you going to be out outside
of the circle of trust. Are you
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all hearing me
today? [Congregation: Yes.]
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The third thing about loyalty,
friends, is that loyalty has to
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be reciprocal. It cannot be
one-sided. In other words, we
can't thrive at my expense.
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It's got to be a situation where
we pour into one another and
help one another and bless one
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another. Does that make sense
today? And so what I need some
young person to do is to begin
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to evaluate your loyalty, make
sure you know who's being loyal
to you and that your loyalty
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that you give is justified so
that loyalty does not work out
to your detriment but to your
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benefit. Are you all hearing
me today? [Congregation: Yes.]
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In fact, let me say it this way,
and you may kind of feel a
certain way about me when I say
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this. I need you to know that my
loyalty is going to go only so
far. In other words, If I
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remember, in the summertime, all
of my cousins from south Florida
would come up to Tallahassee and
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spend the summers in our house.
And whenever you had like eight
kids in the house, things were
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destined to be broken. And so I
remember one day something got
broken, and my parents called us
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all in and asked who did it, and
nobody said anything. We didn't
want to snitch on nobody, but I
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had some of those old school
parents who said, if don't
nobody talk, then guess what?
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Everybody's going to get a
spanking. And I remember one
day, man, I took a whooping for
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the cause of the good, but I
remember there came another day
about a week from then where
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something got broke and they
called everybody in and asked
who did it and then nobody say
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anything. And now I need to
know, I didn't call nobody by
name, but I did this to where my
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cousin Gator to let 'em know
that he was the one that did it.
And I learned around the fifth
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grade that I wasn't going to
take a whooping for nobody else.
Ain't going to jail for nobody
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else, and ain't going to hell
for nobody else. I've got some
limitations to my loyalty.
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[Congregation: Applause] Are you
all hearing the words today, my
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friends? [Congregation: Yes.]
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And so go back with me here to
the book of Joshua, and I need
you to know, friends,
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that this particular story has
some great implications for life
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and godliness and the journey of
faith. But the first thing this
teaches us today, friends, is
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that real faith is actually
informed, let me say it again,
that real faith is not ignorant,
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but real faith is informed. Now
understand, friends, you have a
situation where God has removed
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the mantle of leadership from
Moses and he's placed it
squarely on the shoulders of
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Joshua. And God has given him
the assurance that as I was with
Joshua, the same way I am going
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to be with you. And God told
Joshua that everywhere the soul
of your feet touch, I'm going to
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give the land to you as an
inheritance. And so God has
already assured him that you are
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going to take down Jericho and
occupy the land. But note that
Joshua still sends spies to do
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some reconnaissance and gather
information and bring it back to
him. And it's amazing because
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patriarch and Prophet says that
the two spies are sent to gain
the capabilities of the people
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to see the strength of the walls
or fortifications. But mainly
they went to observe how much
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courage or strength was in the
people, and notice, friends,
that even though they were
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assured by God, he gathers as
much information as he can. Even
though God is on his side, he
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does his due diligence, even
though he has a promise, he
still does his homework. He's
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got to know the points of
vulnerability. He's got to know
the places of escape. In other
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words, Joshua still has to know
what he's up against. In other
words, Joshua doesn't just
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charge in with a promise, Joshua
charges in with a strategy. And
see, I need to kind of have this
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conversation so that we can look
at it in a balanced way because
some of us are very strong
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spiritually, but we're kind of
weak strategically. In other
words, some of us will sit long
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enough to hear God say what we
are supposed to do, but we won't
sit long enough to hear God say
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how we are supposed to get it
done. In other words, there's
not a problem with being
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strategic. The problem is when
your strategy lacks anointing,
are you all hearing me today?
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And see, that's why Jesus says
that my people are to be as wise
and cunning as a serpent and
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still be as harmless and
innocent as a dove. In other
words, as believers, we are not
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supposed to be crooked, grimy,
or slimy. But yes, what we are
still supposed to be thoughtful
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and calculating and
opportunistic for when God says,
move. And it's amazing because
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God, we can only see God in the
revelation, but sometimes we
can't see God in the research.
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Let me say it again. Sometimes
we can see God in the
revelation, but we can't see God
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in the research. And notice,
friends, that the research that
they do, it just confirmed the
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revelation they already had.
Remember they come back to
Joshua and it's like, man, what
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God has said is true. The people
have lost their courage because
of us, and God is going to give
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us the city. In other words, the
research doesn't conflict with
the revelation when you do
00:17:48.90\00:17:56.24
research, it just confirms the
revelation. And see, the reason
you've got to have that research
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is how many of us know that we
are fallible and prone to
mistakes, that sometimes we get
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deceived by others, sometimes we
can even deceive ourselves. And
sometimes you've got to gather
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some objective data to help
inform some spiritual decisions.
In other words, friends, every
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now and then God's people need
some R and R. And when I say
that, I don't just mean rest and
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relaxation when I say you need R
and R, you need revelation and
research. In other words, you
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need to know what God is saying
and you need to have it
confirmed through study. Are you
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all hearing me today? And I need
you to know that you could never
have rest and relaxation if you
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hadn't had revelation and done
no research. Are you all hearing
me today, friends? In other
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words, I need somebody to know
that maybe God has revealed that
this is the time for you to
00:18:54.50\00:19:00.07
purchase a home. But guess what?
You still got to research the
market. You've got to research
00:19:00.10\00:19:07.31
the interest rates. You've got
to research the realtors. Don't
just charge in with a
00:19:07.34\00:19:12.91
revelation. Maybe God has shown
you it's time to start the
business, but you've got to see
00:19:12.95\00:19:18.29
if there is a market for your
product, you've got to research
how to do accounting and tax law
00:19:18.32\00:19:21.16
for your particular area. Maybe
God has revealed that it's time
for you to come here to Oakwood
00:19:21.19\00:19:26.16
University, but you've got to do
some research on the department.
You need to research financial
00:19:26.19\00:19:31.77
aid, you need to learn when the
application is due. Don't just
show up with a dream and a bag
00:19:31.80\00:19:35.50
of luggage. You've got to do
some research. Are you all
hearing what I'm saying? And I
00:19:35.54\00:19:41.94
need you to know some sister
today, I need you to know that
somewhere your future husband is
00:19:41.98\00:19:43.98
on the other side of the church
researching you. [Congregation:
Laughing] In other words, I need
00:19:44.01\00:19:49.15
you to know that a good man
isn't just going to step to you
based on how you look, he's
00:19:49.18\00:19:53.79
going to wait and gather some
detail when you didn't even know
how he was looking. In other
00:19:53.82\00:19:58.86
words, listen, when I got ready
to step to Sister Snell, I
didn't just step day one, I was
00:19:58.89\00:20:02.66
watching to see how she treated
others beside me. I wanted to
see if she came to prayer
00:20:02.70\00:20:06.63
meeting when I was not around. I
wanted to see kind of how she
did things and moved when she
00:20:06.67\00:20:11.51
didn't think anybody was seeing.
I had to do my research. And she
did the same thing. She asked my
00:20:11.54\00:20:18.85
friends, she asked people that
were loyal to me. And the reason
we've got rest and relaxation is
00:20:18.88\00:20:26.42
because we had revelation and
research. Are you all hearing
what the pastor is saying today?
00:20:26.45\00:20:28.32
See, it's crazy because the book
of Hosea says, "My people are
destroyed by a lack of
00:20:28.36\00:20:41.07
knowledge." You see faith wants
to remain informed, but fear
wants to abide in ignorance. Oh
00:20:41.10\00:20:49.44
let me say it again. That faith
wants to be informed, but fear
wants to operate in ignorance.
00:20:49.48\00:20:56.75
Why? Because in a life of faith,
based upon what is revealed, I
am willing to amend my course.
00:20:56.79\00:21:03.06
But when I am fear-based, I
choose a path and I wan to avoid
information because I've already
00:21:03.09\00:21:09.60
made up my mind. In other
words, when you are fearful,
00:21:09.63\00:21:12.57
you don't even wan to go to the
doctor cause you don't even when
you don't want to hear what the
00:21:12.60\00:21:18.61
doctor has to say, when you are
fearful, you don't ask around
00:21:18.64\00:21:21.04
because you are fearful that
they're not the person you've
built them up in your minds to
00:21:21.08\00:21:27.22
become. And there are
times, friends of mine,
00:21:27.25\00:21:29.25
where we allow fear to drive us
into improper decisions instead
of taking the time to be
00:21:29.28\00:21:36.79
well-researched and understand
what God is telling us to do.
Sometimes you still got to spy
00:21:36.83\00:21:45.07
out the land. Are you
all hearing the pastor today?
00:21:45.10\00:21:46.57
[Congregation: Yes.]
00:21:46.60\00:21:48.24
Now, I do need to save this,
friends of mine, with a
particular balance because see,
00:21:48.27\00:21:50.81
there's somebody that's hearing
this and taking it too far
00:21:50.84\00:21:54.28
because see, I need you to know
that research should inform
faith; it should not replace
00:21:54.31\00:22:00.48
faith. [Congregation: Amen]
00:22:00.52\00:22:02.72
Pastor Snell: Okay? See, some of
us, if we're not careful, we're
going to Google our way out of
00:22:02.75\00:22:08.82
belief. [Congregation: Applause]
00:22:08.86\00:22:11.93
Because remember when the spies
come back, they come back and
the revelation is confirmed.
00:22:11.96\00:22:17.17
But how many of us know that
even if the spies had come back
and said, "Man, these folks are
00:22:17.20\00:22:22.20
on 10, they are ready to fight,"
guess what? It would not have
changed the mission.
00:22:22.24\00:22:26.31
It would've just changed the way
that they went about it. And
see, I need you to know,
00:22:26.34\00:22:32.45
friends, that if you always
allow research to replace faith,
you'll live as a bucket of nerve
00:22:32.48\00:22:38.65
because we will have research
but no spirituality. See, I need
00:22:38.69\00:22:43.36
you to know, be careful about
man Googling every symptom.
00:22:43.39\00:22:48.43
[Congregation: Applause]
00:22:48.46\00:22:50.13
Am telling the truth today?
00:22:50.17\00:22:52.40
[Congregation: Yes.]
00:22:52.43\00:22:54.37
Pastor Snell: Listen, man, I
woke up one time with my side. I
slept on the side on my side one
00:22:54.40\00:22:57.57
night, and it's crazy because
when I woke up, man, my chest
was hurting on the left side.
00:22:57.61\00:23:01.61
And so I googled, 'What does it
mean when your chest is hurting
00:23:01.64\00:23:05.88
on the left side?' And it's
crazy, I almost checked myself
into the ER. Because, guess
00:23:05.91\00:23:15.02
what, man, you'll Google
yourself into a panic. I'm not
preaching at anybody today. In
00:23:15.06\00:23:17.59
other words, I remember sometime
ago I met with somebody who was
having a series of bad dreams.
00:23:17.63\00:23:22.70
And guess what? Man? She went to
the internet and googled, 'What
00:23:22.73\00:23:28.14
does this mean?' And the answer
said it meant that I'm going to
die. I said, 'This doesn't mean
00:23:28.17\00:23:33.51
you're going to die, it means
you ate Mexican food after 11
o'clock. Go to bed a little
00:23:33.54\00:23:39.98
earlier and you're going to be
okay.' Are you all hearing what
00:23:40.02\00:23:41.68
I'm saying? And what I'm saying
is that sometimes even your
research is going to reveal
00:23:41.72\00:23:46.92
obstacles, but obstacles don't
mean that you don't move. It
just means you change the way
00:23:46.96\00:23:53.73
that you move. The research
teaches you just how much you
need to be praying. And see,
00:23:53.76\00:24:02.50
it's just like when you ride a
bicycle, you've got to have air
00:24:02.54\00:24:06.21
in both tires. Oh, God. In other
words, it doesn't matter how
much air you got in that front
00:24:06.24\00:24:14.52
tire if the back tire is flat.
So in the same way, I've got to
have air in my research tire.
00:24:14.55\00:24:21.19
I've got to have air in the
revelation tire, and I cannot
have imbalance. I got to be full
00:24:21.22\00:24:26.90
on both ends. Are you all
hearing me today, friends?
[Congregation: Yes.]
00:24:26.93\00:24:28.73
The second thing that this story
teaches us is that sometimes sin
compromises your defense system.
00:24:28.76\00:24:37.27
You know what, friends?
00:24:37.31\00:24:39.24
One of the things that baffles
me is how do the spies gain such
easy access to the city of
00:24:39.27\00:24:47.32
Jericho? In other words, by
Rahab's own testimony, everybody
is on high alert because we knew
00:24:47.35\00:24:55.72
that Israel was near, we heard
about how you destroyed the
Ammonites, and we heard actually
00:24:55.76\00:25:03.57
how God used you to open up the
Red Sea. And it's crazy because
their threat level is already on
00:25:03.60\00:25:07.84
orange, but yet the spies are
able to infiltrate the city so
00:25:07.87\00:25:13.04
easily. And it's amazing because
Jericho is known for its massive
walls and its impregnable
00:25:13.07\00:25:20.62
defense system. And yet the
spies just waddle on in without
any confrontation on the start.
00:25:20.65\00:25:26.72
Now, I believe, what I learned
about Jericho is that they go to
what the Bible refers to as a
00:25:26.76\00:25:33.33
harlot's house. Now, what I
learned about Jericho is that
prostitution was a large part of
00:25:33.36\00:25:40.74
their tourism, their commerce,
and their attraction. And see,
the crazy thing is that if you
00:25:40.77\00:25:48.08
came through the front door,
they'd ask for documents,
interrogation, and you'd be
00:25:48.11\00:25:53.82
questioned. But if you came
around to the harlot's corner,
you could just walk right on in.
00:25:53.85\00:26:00.52
In other words, if you came on
business, you were going to be
confronted. But if you just
00:26:00.56\00:26:06.83
wanted a girl and a good time,
then guess what? You could just
slide on by. In other words, it
00:26:06.86\00:26:14.07
was their love of sin that
compromised their defense
system. It was their love of
00:26:14.10\00:26:21.71
wickedness that gave their
enemies the upper hand. In other
words, Israel could not come and
00:26:21.74\00:26:29.52
knock down the front door. The
only way they could get in is to
find an access point that wasn't
00:26:29.55\00:26:35.66
covered. And see, how many of us
understand that we have an enemy
as well? And the good news is
00:26:35.69\00:26:44.67
that he cannot just knock down
the front door because the angel
of the Lord encamped about those
00:26:44.70\00:26:55.68
who love him. And the only way
he can get in is to find an
access point that is not
00:26:55.71\00:26:57.91
completely covered. Are you all
hearing me today, friends? Thank
you so much for joining us for
00:26:57.95\00:27:04.99
the Breath of Life Television
Ministries broadcast with Pastor
Debleaire Snell! We hope and
00:27:05.02\00:27:12.66
pray that you have been blessed
by this fourth message in the
sermon series titled “The
00:27:12.69\00:28:11.32
Pivot.” Join us next week for
Part Two of the message entitled
“Don't Go Down with the Ship.”
00:28:11.35\00:28:33.21
You don't want to miss it!
(Breath of Life Theme Music)
00:28:33.24\00:28:48.26