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¤¤ >> Amen.
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>> Well, good morning, boys and
girls. Good to see you on this
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beautiful first Sabbath of June.
Can you believe it? Already.
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Summer's over. That's how fast
it goes. Good to see all of you.
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Nice to have you. You're looking
good today. Do you feel as good
as you look? Yeah. That's good.
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Hey, here's a question for you.
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Thank you -- Thank you to
my friend Melchizedek Ponniah,
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who found this story for me.
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Here's a question for you. Does
anybody in your family snore?
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Hmm? Alright. Who
can make a snoring sound?
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Let me see if you know what
snoring is. Let me just hear you
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do a snoring sound.
What? Okay. You got it.
00:07:03.22\00:07:08.62
Yep. Anybody on this side snore?
[ Laughing ] Alright. [ Imitates
00:07:08.62\00:07:14.00
snoring ] >> Yeah. >> [
Smacks lips ] Ahh. >> Yeah.
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>> [ Imitates snoring ] [
Snorts, exhales ] >> My dad.
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>> Your dad. That's what I
figured we would pretty much get
00:07:22.90\00:07:26.24
-- Dad. Sometimes mothers snore,
though. Don't tell anybody, but
that's what they do, too.
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So, the deal is this, guys. A
little family in California,
South Lake Tahoe -- they went to
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bed, just like your family went
to bed last night. They went to
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bed and Mommy and Daddy are in
their bedroom and all of a
sudden Mommy wakes up and she
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says, "Oh, boy, there he goes."
[ Imitates snoring ] [ Snorting
00:07:44.49\00:07:51.17
] [ Sighs ] She fell back
asleep. All of a sudden, Daddy
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wakes up. He hears it. "Oh,
here she goes again." [ Imitates
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snoring ] [ Chuckles ] And
little Sissy and Junior in their
bedroom -- they're hearing that
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same -- [ Imitates snoring ]
"That must be Sissy snoring,"
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Junior says. When everybody gets
to the breakfast table tomorrow,
nobody has slept very well last
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night, and they're all saying,
"Hey, that was you," "No, that
was --" "I heard you."
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"No, I heard you!" "No, it
was you! You were snoring!"
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[ Imitates snoring ] "Oh, well,
who knows? Let's not worry about
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it. Pass the toast, please."
Well, the next morning, the
problem was, same problem.
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[ Snorts ] Somebody snored last
night. "I tell you, I know it
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was you." That went on for night
after night after night after
night. And finally the family
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says, "You know what? We
need help. Let's call the
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authorities." Well, I wonder
what authorities you call when
you want help with snoring, huh?
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Maybe you should call a doctor
or something, but, no, they
called the authorities.
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And the authorities came over,
and they said, "Are you the
family that's been hearing
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snoring?" "Yeah, well, it's
her." "No. It's him. I'm telling
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you." "Okay, okay, okay. Here's
what we're gonna do. I want
everybody to come out of
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the house, okay? Come out of the
house. Come, come, come, come,
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come, come, come. Come into the
front yard. Come, come, come,
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come. Okay, now, I want you four
to stand right here. Now, we
noticed when we drove
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up -- mm-hmm -- you have a crawl
space to your house." Do you
know what a crawl space
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is? It's a hole in the
foundation where you can get
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under the house. "You have
a crawl space in your house.
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Mm-hmm." So, they got up
close -- "Stay there, now."
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They got up close to that crawl
space, and they started making
terrible noise, not
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snoring, but just bang, bang,
bang, bang. They played some
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electronic noise -- bang, bang,
bang, bang, bang, bang, bang,
bang, bang, bang, bang.
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"Stay back." And sure enough,
the noise got so loud that a
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head poked in the crawl space,
and let's see a picture of the
head that poked in.
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Put it on the screen. That's it.
That's a California black bear.
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And that's a mother bear, and
she's looking around like, "Ohh,
it's so bright out.
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Is the sun up already?" And then
she turns around like this -- [
00:10:06.84\00:10:13.41
Snorts ] And she walks out. And
behind her comes a little cub, a
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baby bear. And the baby
bear goes -- [ Grunting ] He's
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looking up. And behind him comes
another baby bear, and he's
looking around -- or maybe she's
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looking around -- saying, "Is
this daylight now?" And behind
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her comes another baby bear. And
behind her -- or him -- another.
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Four baby bears and one mother.
No wonder the snoring was so
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loud. Oh, my. It was
the bears that were snoring.
00:10:41.60\00:10:44.44
What's the point of the story?
Never fight with a bear. [
00:10:44.44\00:10:50.85
Laughter ] Okay? That's
the point. Never. Call the
00:10:50.85\00:10:54.65
authorities in. They called a
company called Bear Lodge. And
they came in because 120 to
00:10:54.65\00:11:00.79
150 bears every winter in South
Lake Tahoe find holes to
hibernate, and the bears were
00:11:00.79\00:11:07.40
sleeping the whole time! And
the family thought it was you.
00:11:07.40\00:11:11.30
Oh, boy. I tell you
what -- no sense fighting.
00:11:11.30\00:11:15.24
I'm not talking about a snoring
bear now. I'm talking about a
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fallen angel. No sense
fighting a fallen angel.
00:11:19.17\00:11:21.88
You have to get somebody
who knows how to fight a fallen
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angel. You have to get an
authority to come in and say,
"Take Satan on for me."
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And how would that authority
be, I wonder? >> Jesus.
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>> Jesus! Absolutely. Jesus --
"Schoo!" -- you pull out your
sword and you take care
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of my fallen enemy. And it's an
easy prayer to pray, four words,
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plus "Jesus." "Jesus, please
help me now." When you're
starting to feel a temptation
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coming on you -- and, oh, little
boys and girls know about that
-- when you start feeling it,
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you say, "Jesus --" How's that
prayer go? Say it out loud with
me. "Jesus, please help me now."
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Let's try that again. >> "Jesus,
please help me now." >> And
guess who will help you.
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>> Jesus. >> The one who's
already beat that fallen angel.
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He's not worried. He can help
us. But we have -- we call out
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to Him. "Jesus, please help me
now." Aren't you glad for Jesus?
00:12:21.64\00:12:25.44
We can count on Him night
or day. It doesn't matter who's
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snoring in the house. Jesus is
our Savior friend. And I'd like
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somebody to thank Him on behalf
of all of us in this church
right now. Who would like to
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thank Jesus for being our Savior
friend? Sissy, I saw your hand
come up first, so come here,
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please. Come on over
here. What's your name? >> Lily.
00:12:43.86\00:12:46.96
>> Lily. Oh, my third
granddaughter's name is Lily.
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I love you even more right now.
That's a beautiful name. Okay,
let's close our eyes and
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fold our hands as Lily thanks
Jesus for being our Savior. >>
Dear Jesus, thank you for
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being our Savior. Thank you for
being with us. Please continue
00:13:00.78\00:13:05.91
for being with us and protecting
us, even when sometimes it's
hard to do stuff that we don't
00:13:05.91\00:13:12.95
like. Please help us to
have the courage do it. Amen.
00:13:12.95\00:13:17.33
>> Beautiful prayer, Lily. Thank
you very much. And thank you,
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boys and girls. You can be
whispering Lily's prayer in your
heart as you go back to Mommy
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and Daddy. Jesus, thank you for
delivering us. Please help me
00:13:26.00\00:13:30.47
now. Happy Sabbath to you.
00:13:30.47\00:13:31.87
>> Please stand as we
sing. [ "Build My Life" begins ]
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¤¤ Our Scripture this morning is
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found in Ephesians 6:11-13. ¤¤
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"Put on the full armor of God
so that you can take your stand
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against the devil's schemes.
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For our struggle is not against
flesh and blood, but against the
rulers, against the authorities,
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and against the powers of this
dark world and against the
spiritual forces of evil in the
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heavenly realms. Therefore, put
on the full armor of God, so
that when the day of
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evil comes, you may be able to
stand your ground, and after you
have done everything, to stand."
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[ "Worthy Is The Lamb" plays ]
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Thanks. ¤¤
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>> I want to pray with you, and
then let's plunge into what we
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have together. Oh, God, those
words are on our minds. We just
sang them as a prayer.
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It's Revelation 5 where all the
angels of the universe and all
of Heaven all bow down and sing,
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"Worthy is the lamb that was
slaughtered." You have purchased
00:23:58.60\00:24:03.51
people and nations and languages
and tongues, and we're in that
-- we're included in that
00:24:03.51\00:24:11.21
praise. Thank you for the lamb.
Bless this time. In His Word,
00:24:11.21\00:24:16.69
speak. Let His voice be the one
that is dominant now. We pray in
00:24:16.69\00:24:21.32
Jesus' name. Amen.
00:24:21.32\00:24:23.73
What do you say we start
off with something a little
00:24:23.76\00:24:25.39
cheerful, huh?
Just a little cheerful.
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Doesn't hurt us.
How's it feel living in a
00:24:28.46\00:24:31.63
country that many
think is going crazy?
00:24:31.63\00:24:37.37
You can't come into worship
and ignore the world around you.
00:24:37.37\00:24:42.01
Back in 1992, I wrote a book.
It was my first book, and the
00:24:42.01\00:24:45.48
first chapter circled around the
sentence, "We are living in a
00:24:45.48\00:24:53.25
war, and the
battle is intensifying."
00:24:53.25\00:24:58.86
Man, that was 30 years ago. We
are still living in a war, and
the battle is intensifying.
00:24:58.89\00:25:07.04
Uvalde, Texas -- another name
seared into the collective
psyche of Americans.
00:25:07.04\00:25:12.31
10 days before, Buffalo,
New York. Eight days after it,
00:25:12.31\00:25:18.15
Tulsa, Oklahoma. And
there have been headlines since.
00:25:18.15\00:25:22.52
Please. But those are just the
guns. We're living in a war, and
00:25:22.52\00:25:28.82
the battle is intensifying. I'm
talking about war inside
everybody who is in this space
00:25:28.82\00:25:32.16
right now. There is a raging war
inside of us, and the battle is
00:25:32.16\00:25:37.33
intensifying. And if there ever
were a time when the story we
00:25:37.33\00:25:41.54
are about to read addresses and
engages us at this moment in
living, this is it.
00:25:41.54\00:25:45.24
Open your Bible to Joshua 5.
Come on. And I'm gonna keep this
00:25:45.24\00:25:49.31
on the screen here because I
love what our Brittany Doyle did
00:25:49.31\00:25:54.65
with this graphic. "Joshua fit
the battle of Jericho." That was
the last time you and I
00:25:54.65\00:25:57.19
were together. That's part one.
Here's part two -- "When the
00:25:57.19\00:25:59.49
lesser meets the greater." And
I -- Look at that. You have to
00:25:59.49\00:26:04.03
look up to him. Open your Bible
to Joshua chapter 5. Let's go.
00:26:04.03\00:26:06.66
Joshua 5, right at the end of
the chapter, please. Right at
the end, you'll see it
00:26:06.66\00:26:11.33
there. The last three
verses of the chapter.
00:26:11.33\00:26:14.54
Yep. Joshua 5:13.
00:26:14.54\00:26:17.54
Oh, boy. Joshua and all the
people that he leads -- they've
00:26:29.95\00:26:36.29
just crossed the mighty Jordan
River. The wispy trail of a
thousand Israelite campfires
00:26:36.29\00:26:45.53
meanders into the heavens. "I
got to be alone. I just have to
00:26:45.53\00:26:49.00
be alone." And he steps away
from the crowd that he leads,
wanders out into the gathering
00:26:49.00\00:26:57.08
twilight shadows, having no idea
that just as his predecessor,
Moses, accidentally stumbled
00:26:57.08\00:27:06.86
into a desert bush engulfed in
flames, but not disintegrating
-- even so now, he's gonna
00:27:06.86\00:27:13.16
"accidentally" stumble in a
theophany where the same deity
that was in the flames will now
00:27:13.16\00:27:18.27
take on physical form. And, oh,
my, what physical form. "Now
when Joshua was near
00:27:18.27\00:27:27.74
Jericho, he looked up and saw a
man standing in front of him
with a --" schoo! -- "a drawn
00:27:27.74\00:27:34.35
sword." You don't have to be an
authority on guns or swords to
00:27:34.35\00:27:39.39
know that a drawn sword or gun
means you are facing an imminent
00:27:39.39\00:27:50.37
offensive threat. True or false?
But of course. And so Joshua --
00:27:50.37\00:27:57.77
this is amazing, the valor
of this warrior-leader. "Joshua
00:27:57.77\00:28:02.94
went up --" I'd have run back,
but Joshua runs forward and asks
that barked command -- "Who goes
00:28:02.94\00:28:08.78
there?" That's what a sentry
always cries out -- "Who goes
00:28:08.78\00:28:11.95
there?" Joshua asks it this way
-- "Are you for us or for our
enemies? And the stranger stands
00:28:11.95\00:28:20.76
there. By the way, one author I
read describes the stranger as
lofty in statute, lofty in
00:28:20.76\00:28:28.54
stature and armed with a
commanding presence." [ Chuckles
00:28:28.54\00:28:34.88
] Oh, boy. The stranger doesn't
flinch. Joshua lunges toward
him. The stranger has a one-word
00:28:34.88\00:28:42.58
answer. I want you to
watch this. "Who are you?
00:28:42.58\00:28:48.92
Are you for us or against us?"
And the stranger replies,
"Neither, but as commander of
00:28:48.92\00:28:57.37
the army of the Lord I
have now come." One-word answer.
00:28:57.37\00:29:03.34
The Hebrew actually reads, "No."
The NIV said, "Listen, you can't
put 'no' because how can you
00:29:03.34\00:29:08.64
answer a yes-or-no question
with 'no'?" "Are you for us or
00:29:08.64\00:29:12.91
against us?" "No."
Please. You haven't answered the
00:29:12.91\00:29:15.18
question yet. So they try
to soften it up. They say,
00:29:15.18\00:29:19.19
"Neither." No, the Hebrew
-- I checked it out. It's "lo."
00:29:19.19\00:29:21.79
It means "no." "No!" "But
as commander of the army of
00:29:21.79\00:29:25.53
the Lord I have now come." "I am
infinitely greater than you can
00:29:25.53\00:29:32.40
possibly imagine. And I'm the
commander of the armies. That's
00:29:32.40\00:29:38.44
why I've come." Wow. Keep
reading. "'Neither,' he said.
00:29:38.44\00:29:43.95
'But as commander of the army
of the Lord I have now come.'"
00:29:43.95\00:29:47.72
The identical words that the
deity speaks from the raging
fire of the burning bush to
00:30:03.83\00:30:09.37
Moses are now repeated. "Take
off your sandals, boy. You're on
00:30:09.37\00:30:18.45
holy ground now." As Robert
Alter correctly observes, both
stories are dedication episodes
00:30:18.45\00:30:24.05
as a leader is about to embark
on his mission. And by the way,
00:30:24.05\00:30:27.59
we already know -- At this point
in the story, we know the
leader, this commander, is
00:30:27.59\00:30:34.20
divine. Two reasons why we know.
Number one, if it were an angel,
you know what the angel would
00:30:34.20\00:30:40.70
have done when Joshua hit the
ground? The same thing he did
00:30:40.70\00:30:43.87
with elderly John on the isle of
Patmos -- "Stop!" Gabriel said,
00:30:43.87\00:30:47.24
"Stop, stop, stop. I'm one of
your brothers. You don't worship
me. You worship God."
00:30:47.24\00:30:51.95
Not a word. The stranger
receives that worship without a
00:30:51.95\00:30:58.79
comment. And then secondly,
there were no chapters when
Joshua penned these memoirs.
00:30:58.79\00:31:04.29
There were no verses set out.
And in fact, the conversation is
00:31:04.29\00:31:08.30
not over. If you keep reading in
chapter 6, verse 1 says Jericho
is locked up tighter than a
00:31:08.30\00:31:12.70
drum. They are scared. And we'll
talk about the walls coming down
00:31:12.70\00:31:16.47
next Sabbath, you and I
together. But then you go to
verse 2. And what does verse 2
00:31:16.47\00:31:21.98
say? It says, "And the Lord said
to Joshua --" That's capital L,
capital O -- I'm s-- Yeah,
00:31:21.98\00:31:29.32
capital L-O-R-D, all caps. It's
the famous Hebrew
Tetragrammaton, the four
00:31:29.32\00:31:35.89
letters. Some think it
might be pronounced "Yahweh."
00:31:35.89\00:31:38.99
He takes the name. He's as
divine as they come. Trust me.
00:31:38.99\00:31:45.20
Ah. But I want to give careful
attention, you and me, for the
00:31:45.20\00:31:49.60
few moments we have. I want to
look at this, this title of his.
00:31:49.60\00:31:53.31
"As Commander of the Army of the
Lord, I have come." Now, in the
Hebrew, "Commander,"
00:31:53.31\00:31:58.28
the word is "sar." And by the
way, in Daniel 8:25, the Messiah
00:31:58.28\00:32:04.09
is called "sar," which means
"prince," "Sar sarim," "Prince
00:32:04.09\00:32:08.16
of princes." So, whoever this
being is, he's of high and noble
personage. He's a sar. He's a
00:32:08.16\00:32:14.40
prince. You can translate it
"captain," as the old King James
does. You could do it like the
00:32:14.40\00:32:18.10
NIV. He's Commander. "As
Commander of the army --"
00:32:18.10\00:32:23.04
"Sabaoth." This is an
abbreviation of "Sabaoth," and
it means "host" or "armies."
00:32:23.04\00:32:27.91
And some translations -- I love
the translation that renders
this "angel armies."
00:32:27.91\00:32:32.65
"I stand before you now as the
prince of princes, the Commander
of the angel armies of the God
00:32:32.65\00:32:39.19
of the universe.
I am...He." Boom!
00:32:39.19\00:32:48.76
On the ground again. Wow.
Robert Alter renders this in the
00:32:48.76\00:32:55.84
words, "And he --" the Stranger,
capital-S Stranger -- "said,
00:32:55.84\00:33:00.58
'No. For I am commander of the
Lord's army. Now I have come."
00:33:00.58\00:33:04.05
Now watch this. "This
pronouncement, just two words in
the Hebrew, is meant to
00:33:04.05\00:33:09.38
portentous. Now is the beginning
--" This is what the Stranger is
00:33:09.38\00:33:15.36
saying. "Now is the beginning of
my great mission of conquest in
which you --" with your face to
00:33:15.36\00:33:20.60
the ground -- "in which you will
serve as my human deputy." My,
00:33:20.60\00:33:27.87
oh, my. I wish there'd have been
a camera right there -- click!
-- because there you have Joshua
00:33:27.87\00:33:32.24
on his face before the one who,
when this tall, lofty-in-stature
Stranger will come as a Christ
00:33:32.24\00:33:38.61
child, will take the name of the
man with his face in the dirt.
00:33:38.61\00:33:45.39
Yeshua. "I'm Yeshua." That's
what they called Jesus. That's
what Mary called her
00:33:45.39\00:33:47.79
little baby -- "Yeshua." Same
name. How would you like it if
00:33:47.79\00:33:52.96
God took your name before
He showed up on Earth? Wouldn't
00:33:52.96\00:33:57.97
that make you feel good? Joshua,
of course, has no clue. Freeze
00:33:57.97\00:34:03.47
that frame because there's one
more -- there's one more aspect
of this divine warrior we need
00:34:03.47\00:34:08.78
to zero in, drill down on right
now, and that is His drawn
sword, okay? Let's look at the
00:34:08.78\00:34:13.95
sword again. Not before we
notice "Patriarchs and
Prophets," who identifies this
00:34:13.95\00:34:18.12
individual very correctly now,
exegetically, we now understand
spot on -- "It was Christ, the
00:34:18.12\00:34:22.96
Exalted One, who stood before
the leader of Israel." Didn't
Jesus -- Hey, wait a
00:34:22.96\00:34:27.56
minute. Wait a minute.
When Jesus came to Earth, didn't
00:34:27.56\00:34:29.70
He at one time say, "Before
Abraham was, I am"? Didn't he
00:34:29.70\00:34:35.10
say that? Yeah. "I am. I am the
I am." There is no question in
00:34:35.10\00:34:42.58
Scripture who this angel is, who
this -- this sword-unsheathed
00:34:42.58\00:34:51.02
stranger is. He's the Eternal
One himself. "It was Christ, the
Exalted One, who stood before
00:34:51.02\00:34:55.36
the leader of Israel." Now let's
go back and see that moment
00:34:55.36\00:34:58.56
again. "Now when Joshua was near
Jericho, he looked up and saw a
00:34:58.56\00:35:02.20
man --" Now, my friend Jacques
Doukhan has written the Sabbath
school lesson core for adults.
00:35:02.20\00:35:07.84
We're studying right now the
Book of Genesis. And just this
00:35:07.84\00:35:12.51
week he pointed out that this
word, "man," is the same word to
describe the man that attacked
00:35:12.51\00:35:20.28
Jacob by the creek, Jabbok. And
we know who that man was, don't
00:35:20.28\00:35:26.79
we? Same word. Same man.
Deity in human form. Wow.
00:35:26.79\00:35:34.10
And he looked up and he saw a
man standing in front of him
with a drawn sword.
00:35:34.10\00:35:38.60
The last time we saw a drawn
sword in Holy Scripture preceded
00:35:38.60\00:35:45.24
this moment. And I wish you
could guess it. If you could
guess it right now, I'd have a
00:35:45.24\00:35:49.44
special prize for you, if you
can guess it right now. You'd
have to do it right now.
00:35:49.44\00:35:53.11
Too late. But I would have sent
you to Rodlie, and he would have
00:35:53.11\00:35:56.52
had something for you.
Okay. So, let's go back to the
00:35:56.52\00:35:59.65
Book of Numbers. This is the
last time we've seen an angelic
00:35:59.65\00:36:05.03
being with a sword in the hand.
Now you're getting it, aren't
00:36:05.03\00:36:06.90
you? Number 22:23 -- "And when
the donkey saw the angel of the
Lord --" And by the way, this is
00:36:06.90\00:36:12.33
the moniker by which the second
person of the Godhead shows up
in the Old Testament.
00:36:12.33\00:36:16.30
Often it's -- New King James
will say capital A 'cause they
know this is the divine one.
00:36:16.30\00:36:21.84
When the donkey sees the divine
one standing in the road with a
-- schoo! -- drawn sword in
00:36:21.84\00:36:27.92
his hand, the donkey turns off
the road into a field. Balaam
beats it to get back on
00:36:27.92\00:36:32.69
the road. That poor, hapless
donkey. Last June, we did a
00:36:32.69\00:36:37.53
series, "For The Love of
Animals," and we relived this
moment. What's going on here?
00:36:37.53\00:36:45.10
The drawn sword once again is
a position of imminent offensive
00:36:45.10\00:36:54.48
danger. "I can pull this trigger
right now." "I can thrust this
00:36:54.48\00:36:59.21
sword right now." It's meant to
be that way. So, what's going on
00:36:59.21\00:37:04.69
here? Does it bother you that
God would somehow embrace a
militant stance, that He would
00:37:04.69\00:37:09.92
show up as a warrior God, a
sword-bearing God, if you
please? I want to talk about our
00:37:09.92\00:37:14.86
little community here. I'll call
it the academy. It is the
natural tendency in
00:37:14.86\00:37:18.20
the academy -- talking about a
university community. It is the
natural tendency for
00:37:18.20\00:37:22.84
us to be against war and armed
conflict. We are pacifists by
00:37:22.84\00:37:28.38
nature. You take a straw vote in
this campus, I'm telling you,
pacifism wins hands down.
00:37:28.38\00:37:32.55
Why? Because that's what bright
minds say -- "We don't believe
00:37:32.55\00:37:35.75
in war. We don't
believe in armed conflict."
00:37:35.75\00:37:37.75
But in embracing that stance, we
need to be very careful not to
00:37:37.79\00:37:42.59
push out of the realm of
possibility this idea we are
00:37:42.59\00:37:49.30
in a war and the battle is
intensifying, not to simply
00:37:49.30\00:37:52.23
eliminate that notion that God
is also a -- schoo! -- offensive
00:37:52.23\00:38:01.94
imminent danger divine
being. And while I understand --
00:38:01.94\00:38:09.45
And I love the
picture just like you do.
00:38:09.45\00:38:11.42
I love the abundant passages
in Scripture in which God
00:38:11.42\00:38:13.96
identifies Himself as a mother.
00:38:13.96\00:38:15.52
The maternal picture of God is a
sweet one -- Isaiah 49. I love
the compassionate picture
00:38:15.56\00:38:21.46
of God as a shepherd in Psalm
23. I love God as a friend and a
00:38:21.46\00:38:25.87
lover as portrayed in the Song
of Solomon and John 15. I even
love the picture of God
00:38:25.87\00:38:32.24
in Psalm 91, where He's
portrayed as a mother hen, and
when Jesus comes to Earth, his
00:38:32.24\00:38:37.11
last words to Jerusalem are,
"How often have I as a mother
hen have I longed to draw you as
00:38:37.11\00:38:42.12
little chicks to me, but you
would not come to me?" I love
the warm-- I resonate
00:38:42.12\00:38:48.36
with the warmth of these
metaphors, these analogies that
God has embedded in scripture.
00:38:48.36\00:38:54.73
But holy scripture also portrays
a very militant warrior side of
00:38:54.73\00:39:01.67
deity, as well. Otherwise,
Joshua 5 is simply an aberration
that we can just kind of "get it
00:39:01.67\00:39:06.68
out." Eh, a little crazy there.
Nope, nope, nope. In fact,
Jeremiah, when he calls
00:39:06.68\00:39:11.65
upon God, in one moment of great
desperation -- read Jeremiah 20
sometime -- Jeremiah says, "But
00:39:11.65\00:39:17.09
the Lord is with me like a
mighty --" and then the New
Revised says, "No, we'll
00:39:17.09\00:39:20.76
call it like a dread warrior."
Why are you with me as a dread
00:39:20.76\00:39:25.59
warrior? So that my persecutors
will stumble and not prevail.
"When I'm in danger, I need a --
00:39:25.59\00:39:30.80
I need a sword-wielding God. I
don't need a mother hen now. I
need a warrior God.
00:39:30.80\00:39:40.01
I'm in danger! Do you
understand? I'm gonna die!
00:39:40.01\00:39:43.14
Deliver me!" That's Jeremiah.
And I'm telling you, it's rife
00:39:43.14\00:39:47.78
in the Old Testament. It's
everywhere. The militant picture
00:39:47.78\00:39:51.02
of God? The Psalms radiate with
militancy. Let's just take the
00:39:51.02\00:39:54.29
first Psalm where it shows up.
This is Psalm 2:9 -- "You --"
speaking to the Messiah -- "will
00:39:54.29\00:39:58.59
break them --" speaking of the
rebel nations -- "with a rod of
iron, you will dash them to
00:39:58.59\00:40:03.37
pieces." Now, that isn't
a warm-and-fuzzy picture.
00:40:03.37\00:40:07.47
That's militancy. And guess what
-- the Bible's last book grabs
00:40:07.47\00:40:12.14
this line and says, "That's the
picture of Jesus." Watch this --
00:40:12.14\00:40:16.58
Revelation 19. This is Jesus on
the white stallion. You remember
00:40:16.58\00:40:19.41
Jesus on the white stallion?
Everybody loves that picture. I
00:40:19.41\00:40:21.88
do, too. And he's got a robe
that's dipped in blood, and he
has a crown on his head, and the
00:40:21.88\00:40:25.95
host -- the army, the angel
armies -- are all with him. It's
the Second Coming in
00:40:25.95\00:40:29.49
Revelation 19. Notice how it's
described here. "And she --"
00:40:29.49\00:40:34.20
This is just before 19. "And she
--" that's the woman -- "gave
birth to a son --" that
00:40:34.20\00:40:38.97
would be a male child, that's
the Messiah -- "who will rule
all the nations with an iron
00:40:38.97\00:40:46.74
scepter." What's going on
here? This is a militant God.
00:40:46.74\00:40:51.68
The one that gets snatched up to
heaven is a militant God. Keep
00:40:51.68\00:40:54.98
reading. Chapter 19 -- "Coming
out of his mouth --" on the
white stallion, the returning
00:40:54.98\00:40:58.95
Christ, who, in that chapter, is
called the Word. "Coming out of
00:40:58.95\00:41:02.02
his mouth is a sharp sword with
which to strike down the
nations." Mercy, keep reading.
00:41:02.02\00:41:06.13
Verse 21 -- "He will rule them
with an iron scepter --" there
00:41:06.13\00:41:09.93
it is. And we say, "Well, that's
just a -- that's just like a
mace in a graduation.
00:41:09.93\00:41:13.00
You know, the marshal has a
mace, and we all follow him. No,
00:41:13.00\00:41:16.37
no, no. This is not a mace. This
is an iron, and this is a sword.
00:41:16.37\00:41:19.57
Watch this. "The rest were
killed with the sword coming out
00:41:19.57\00:41:23.48
of the mouth of the rider on the
horse." This is not a
namby-pamby portrayal.
00:41:23.48\00:41:28.32
This is a militant portrayal.
Nobody is denying -- I
understand that -- the militant
00:41:28.32\00:41:35.09
portrayal of deity in scripture.
But I do have friends -- Now
listen -- and they're my
00:41:35.09\00:41:39.13
friends. I do have friends who
work very hard to show that the
00:41:39.13\00:41:43.40
militant portrayal of God needs
to be softened and explained
away so that we don't -- so that
00:41:43.40\00:41:48.17
we will not have a God behaving
in ways we would not behave.
"Well, if I wouldn't do that,
00:41:48.17\00:41:51.37
God can't do that." Who says?
Who says you're the template?
00:41:51.37\00:41:57.91
I want you to think about this.
Here's the point. In our effort
00:41:57.91\00:42:03.95
to clean up God's reputation and
to show that he's not like the
God extremists tend to portray
00:42:03.95\00:42:09.69
him as, we may inadvertently
miss and unnecessarily destroy
the profound comfort and
00:42:09.69\00:42:14.83
reassurance that comes from sc--
scripture's depiction of a
militant God, as we've just seen
00:42:14.83\00:42:20.90
here in Joshua 5. That's my
point. Be careful what you deny.
00:42:20.90\00:42:26.44
Most people are right in what
they affirm and wrong in what
they deny, by the way.
00:42:26.44\00:42:29.21
That's a little principle
of life. Just tuck that away.
00:42:29.21\00:42:31.58
Most people are right about what
they affirm and wrong about what
00:42:31.58\00:42:35.65
they deny. You'll think that
through, and you'll get it.
There are two real-life, right
00:42:35.65\00:42:41.09
now reasons why we need this
sword-drawn commander of the
angel armies to be the God we
00:42:41.09\00:42:46.43
call upon today -- today
-- right now. Two of them.
00:42:46.43\00:42:50.03
I'm gonna give you the
first one. Reason number one?
00:42:50.03\00:42:52.27
Because a General Conference
Session is convening Monday
morning in St. Louis, Missouri.
00:42:52.27\00:42:57.44
That's why. Now some of you are
saying, "Pfft. I don't even know
00:42:57.44\00:43:02.51
-- What is this General
Conference Session business?"
00:43:02.51\00:43:05.51
That's okay. It's just internal
language to describe the
gathering of leaders and
00:43:05.51\00:43:09.32
delegates from literally all
over the planet. And they will
gather in a stadium.
00:43:09.32\00:43:13.86
Now, in pre-COVID days, on the
second weekend of this 10-day
festival, on the second weekend,
00:43:13.86\00:43:21.23
70,000 people crowded into a --
packed into a stadium. But now
00:43:21.23\00:43:27.37
we've got COVID. In fact, this
event was postponed once and
twice. And now they'll be
00:43:27.37\00:43:34.51
gathering. This time, with
crowds much smaller, with some
delegates actually not able to
00:43:34.51\00:43:38.68
-- not being allowed by the U.S.
government to come into this
00:43:38.68\00:43:43.18
country at all. They'll be on
Zoom. In fact, I got to tell
you, something beautiful
00:43:43.18\00:43:48.22
happened to me totally
serendipitously. Friday -- so,
I'm coming up the stairs from
00:43:48.22\00:43:53.29
downstairs, and I'm walking by
here, I look in the sanctuary --
good night -- who are all these
00:43:53.29\00:43:57.80
people? They're everywhere.
They're taking pictures.
Finally, after we had a
00:43:57.80\00:44:01.57
wonderful visit together -- and
I'll say more about that in one
second -- but I want to show you
00:44:01.57\00:44:05.87
these people. They're
General Conference delegates.
00:44:05.87\00:44:09.74
They're going to St. Louis to be
there Monday morning. I took a
00:44:09.74\00:44:14.65
picture of them. Here they are.
I want you to take a look. And
there's a flag in the
00:44:14.65\00:44:18.25
background. I want you to tell
me, whose country is that flag
00:44:18.25\00:44:22.39
from? Huh? Every American knows
those two stripes belong to what
00:44:22.39\00:44:28.60
country? Ukraine. I want you to
look at those men and women,
they're pastors and
00:44:28.60\00:44:33.60
wives, they're conference
presidents and wives, they're
union president and wife,
00:44:33.60\00:44:37.04
they're seminary president and
wife. What, are there about 40,
00:44:37.04\00:44:41.24
50 of them? When I realized
who they were -- and I had a
00:44:41.24\00:44:46.08
translator that jumped up. When
I realized who they were, I
said, "Listen, I got to be
00:44:46.08\00:44:49.42
talking about you. We have been
praying for you with all our
00:44:49.42\00:44:54.22
hearts. You are something else."
And they began to tell stories
of what it's like in Ukraine.
00:44:54.22\00:44:59.06
They got out, and they're going
back when this is over. This is
not like a vacation.
00:44:59.06\00:45:04.43
They're going back. And then
they came up -- 'Cause I said,
00:45:04.43\00:45:08.40
"I want you to see that there's
a cross embedded in this
platform." It's a beautiful
00:45:08.40\00:45:13.17
cross. And so they came up, and
I said, "I want to have a prayer
with you at the foot of the
00:45:13.17\00:45:16.54
cross." And before we had the
prayer, they said, "Listen, we
want to sing a song to you."
00:45:16.54\00:45:21.62
And so, one of them, one of the
women went to that piano right
there and started playing kind
00:45:21.62\00:45:25.89
of this Slavic minor-key song,
and my heart was just moved.
Because they told me -- the
00:45:25.89\00:45:30.76
translator said, "This is a song
about friendship with God and
how He's the savior, and He can
00:45:30.76\00:45:34.76
rescue us." And when I heard
those men and women who know the
00:45:34.76\00:45:38.27
meaning of crisis -- We're
sitting around whining about the
00:45:38.27\00:45:42.40
price of gas! Take a look at
those people! They're not even
00:45:42.40\00:45:46.94
worried about gas. They're
talking about air -- "Can I
breathe? Will I be breathing
00:45:46.94\00:45:52.85
tomorrow? When I hear them
singing, tears just came to my
eyes. I said, "Man, Dwight,
00:45:52.85\00:45:57.29
don't start crying now." It
was moving. It was the tune, the
00:45:57.29\00:46:02.16
words. And we knelt down, and
I prayed for them. Right here.
00:46:02.16\00:46:08.46
24 hours ago right now. So
that's what's happening in St.
00:46:08.46\00:46:14.00
Louis. There'll be people like
this -- like this -- coming from
all over the world.
00:46:14.00\00:46:19.84
We need to be praying. We need
to be praying militantly for
this General Conference
00:46:19.84\00:46:23.65
Session that comes at such a
troubling hour of this nation's
and world's histories.
00:46:23.65\00:46:28.25
I mean, we have no idea what's
coming next. Lookit -- 10 days,
00:46:28.25\00:46:34.02
8 days, 4 days -- boom!
America's going crazy. And it's
00:46:34.02\00:46:38.93
not just America. That's the
point. It's the whole planet. We
need to pray for our leaders.
00:46:38.93\00:46:43.73
Sometimes we sit on the
sidelines, and we kind of
armchair quarterback, and say,
00:46:43.73\00:46:47.94
"Well, that's not what I
would do. I wouldn't do that."
00:46:47.94\00:46:50.57
Well, who cares what you
would do? You're not our leader.
00:46:50.57\00:46:55.31
We pray for the leaders. The
Bible says, "Pray for those who
00:46:55.31\00:47:00.22
lead you." We must pray. This is
the toughest time in human
history to be a leader --
00:47:00.22\00:47:06.02
anywhere. Thanks to this
pandemic and the detachment now
00:47:06.02\00:47:11.83
that's in the faith community.
Oh, no, no, we gotta get
00:47:11.83\00:47:15.36
militant. What's th-- I love
this promise. I've memorized it,
and I quote it to myself all the
00:47:15.36\00:47:19.13
time. God speaking here -- "Call
upon me in the day of trouble,
and I will deliver you, and you
00:47:19.13\00:47:23.37
will glorify me. "Just call
on me --" shoop! -- "Call on me.
00:47:23.37\00:47:27.08
I have what it takes. Just call
on me. I don't step in if you
00:47:27.08\00:47:30.85
don't want me. Call on
me in the day of trouble."
00:47:30.85\00:47:33.78
We need to call on God on behalf
of our leaders, on behalf of our
00:47:33.78\00:47:38.02
members, and on behalf of the
suffering. We have Adventists
who are suffering today on this
00:47:38.02\00:47:41.62
planet, have no way to come
out of the country. They cannot
00:47:41.62\00:47:45.46
come. A century ago, these words
were written. "If the eyes of
00:47:50.57\00:47:53.87
Joshua had been opened, as were
the eyes of the servant of
Elisha at Dothna --" when he saw
00:47:53.87\00:47:58.91
chariots of fire all around that
little village -- "and Joshua
could have endured the sight, he
00:47:58.91\00:48:05.41
would have seen the angels of
the Lord encamped about the
children of Israel, for the
00:48:05.41\00:48:10.69
tra--" oh, I love this -- "the
trained army of heaven had come
to fight for the people of God,
00:48:10.69\00:48:15.92
and the captain of the Lord's
host --" captain of the angel
armies -- "was there to
00:48:15.92\00:48:23.50
command." Oh, that gives me
courage. No matter how
discouraging life is on this
00:48:23.50\00:48:29.47
planet, no matter how
discouraging the circumstances
are in your life right now, I
00:48:29.47\00:48:34.18
need you to know, on the
authority of holy scripture,
that the captain of the angel
00:48:34.18\00:48:38.95
armies is on your side, and if
you need all the angels of
heaven, he'll send them to you.
00:48:38.95\00:48:43.35
He will send them to you. Don't
you ever capitulate with the
enemy. Don't you ever say,
00:48:43.35\00:48:46.76
"Well, this time, I'm gonna have
to give in. This time, I gotta
yield. This time, it's too --
00:48:46.76\00:48:50.43
this temptation is too
strong for me." Don't you ever
00:48:50.43\00:48:55.56
capitulate. He's able. But like
I told the children, you have to
00:48:55.56\00:49:01.77
ask. "Jesus, please, help me
now." Don't give up. Don't give
up on your marriage.
00:49:01.77\00:49:10.91
Don't give up on your job. Don't
give up on your aspiration.
00:49:10.91\00:49:15.32
Don't give up. Don't
give up with your struggle for
00:49:15.32\00:49:21.06
pornography. Struggle with
pornography -- that's reason
00:49:21.06\00:49:25.93
number two. Yep. We got a
problem. Houston, we have a big
problem. The enemy has found a
00:49:25.93\00:49:32.10
way to burrow in to the faith
community, anonymously. With
00:49:32.10\00:49:41.48
24/7 access. It's called
pornography. I'm glad our lead
chaplain's right here.
00:49:41.48\00:49:45.21
He's so proud of his daughter,
who was -- Sophie -- who was
singing a moment ago.
00:49:45.21\00:49:49.05
But our lead chaplain José
Bourget is here, and we're gonna
be working with the
00:49:49.05\00:49:53.09
Center for Faith Engagement this
fall. Their idea, and we jumped
00:49:53.09\00:49:58.39
on board. Isn't that right?
We jumped on board and said,
00:49:58.39\00:50:01.70
"Let us help you." And we're
taking on the darkest darkness
00:50:01.70\00:50:09.34
the enemy has. He has taken an
entire human race -- almost --
captive to pornography, sexual
00:50:09.34\00:50:17.75
addiction. It's not gonna be
comfortable this fall for the
university or for Andrews
00:50:17.75\00:50:22.88
Academy or for Ruth Murdoch
Elementary School or for the
church or for the community,
00:50:22.88\00:50:27.09
because we can no longer
straddle the fence when it comes
to countercultural life of
00:50:27.09\00:50:31.69
sexual purity. We must face
pornography, we must face the
00:50:31.73\00:50:35.00
confusion over sexuality
and morality in this culture.
00:50:35.00\00:50:37.43
We gotta -- We
will have to face it.
00:50:37.43\00:50:41.50
We will have to
face it. Together.
00:50:41.50\00:50:44.94
In a Christ-like way.
But we can no longer hide.
00:50:44.94\00:50:50.18
We're losing them too
fast -- too fast, too many --
00:50:50.18\00:50:55.78
through sexual addiction.
Oh, how we need praying people
00:50:55.78\00:51:03.93
this fall. One more
quotation, and I'll sit
00:51:03.93\00:51:05.76
down. "Battles
are to be fought every
00:51:05.76\00:51:07.66
day.
00:51:07.66\00:51:08.76
A great warfare is going on over
every soul between the prince of
darkness and the Prince of
00:51:08.80\00:51:13.17
life." That battle is over your
heart, that battle is over my
00:51:13.17\00:51:16.14
heart. "There is a great battle
to be fought, that the
inhabitants of the world may be
00:51:16.14\00:51:20.64
warned of the great day of the
Lord, that the strongholds of
the enemy may be entered.
00:51:20.64\00:51:25.11
Breach the strongholds! That's
what this fall will be about --
taking the offensive.
00:51:25.11\00:51:32.42
Enter the strongholds, "and that
all who love the Lord may be
gathered under the bloodstained
00:51:32.42\00:51:37.03
banner of Prince Emmanuel."
Yeah, that's Revelation 19.
Bloodstained, sword in his
00:51:37.03\00:51:44.57
mouth. "I'm
coming. Don't give up.
00:51:44.57\00:51:48.57
Don't quit yet! I'm on my way.
And I have the help you need for
00:51:48.57\00:51:55.31
your addiction. I have the
power you need for your victory.
00:51:55.31\00:52:01.32
Ask me. I have the
sword." By the way, Calvary --
00:52:01.32\00:52:08.12
bloodstained banner of Prince
Emmanuel. I'm gonna draw the
00:52:08.12\00:52:13.56
cross for you right here, right
now. I'm not making the sign of
00:52:13.56\00:52:16.60
the cross. I'm gonna draw the
cross, all right? So, here's a
00:52:16.60\00:52:19.27
cross. Tell me, is this the
cross? Is that the cross? Watch
00:52:19.27\00:52:28.94
this. If I grab the top part and
turn it around, what do I have?
00:52:28.94\00:52:36.28
It's a sword. Imminent,
offensive strategy! Shwwp! It's
00:52:36.28\00:52:42.82
the cross. It's
Calvary. Calvary. Wow.
00:52:42.82\00:52:51.23
"They will hurry to be gathered
under the bloodstained banner of
00:52:51.23\00:52:54.67
Prince Emmanuel." That's where
I want to be. How about you? I
00:52:54.67\00:52:59.07
want to be there. I want to be
under that banner. I want to
stand in the shadow of Calvary.
00:52:59.07\00:53:03.75
I want that sword turned in
defense of my little, tiny life.
For the glory and honor of the
00:53:03.75\00:53:14.49
Lord Jesus. We need to pray for
two reasons. St. Louis General
00:53:14.49\00:53:19.56
Conference Session, Andrews
University, Andrews Academy,
Ruth Murdoch Elementary School,
00:53:19.56\00:53:23.37
Pioneer Memorial Church. Not
next week but next fall. Both of
00:53:23.37\00:53:28.47
them. We start praying right
now. What do you say? Let's pray
00:53:28.47\00:53:33.38
right now. Kneel with me,
please. ¤¤ Oh, God, here we are.
00:53:33.38\00:53:48.09
Your children. Your people.
If the commander, if the prince
00:53:48.09\00:53:58.03
of princes, if the captain of
the angel armies should appear
right now, we would be flat on
00:53:58.03\00:54:07.48
our faces. I understand
the truth about you, God.
00:54:07.48\00:54:12.45
You don't display your power to
get some sort of high over
everybody dropping to the
00:54:12.45\00:54:17.89
ground. But there are times
in this battle when we must be
00:54:17.89\00:54:25.53
reminded that the one who leads
the angel armies is an eternal,
infinite, omnipotent threat to
00:54:25.53\00:54:35.67
the fallen angel armies. Greater
is he who is in us than he who
00:54:35.67\00:54:43.88
is in the world. And so we bow
before you. We're not flippant
about this. We're not saying
00:54:43.88\00:54:53.19
there's some other way, either.
The cross is the only way. The
bloodstained banner is the
00:54:53.19\00:55:05.17
only flag under which we will
stand. O Father, we pray for St.
00:55:05.17\00:55:12.27
Louis. If Joshua's eyes could've
been opened, he'd have seen the
00:55:12.27\00:55:16.44
chariots of fire. In our mind's
eye right now, we see chariots
of fire gathering around that
00:55:16.44\00:55:24.52
place in St. Louis. O, be with
our leaders, dear God. Grant
them more than human
00:55:24.52\00:55:28.06
wisdom. This is -- This is
the toughest time in history.
00:55:28.06\00:55:32.73
With all that these
circumstances represent, this is
the toughest time ever.
00:55:32.73\00:55:40.37
Anoint our leaders. Anoint the
delegates. Anoint the membership
00:55:40.37\00:55:47.01
of this global faith community.
Bless our delegates from
00:55:47.01\00:55:51.71
Ukraine. We just saw them on the
screen. O, God, bless them,
please. Protect the church in
00:55:51.71\00:55:56.32
that war-torn insanity. And
protect the church and your
people in this nation that
00:55:56.32\00:56:04.79
struggles -- struggling to
survive. We call upon the Prince
00:56:04.79\00:56:14.67
of princes, the captain of the
angels' army... to take charge
00:56:14.67\00:56:24.55
in our space. And so we pray for
this university, the academy and
elementary school, and every
00:56:24.55\00:56:30.92
head and heart bowed before you.
Father, we lift high the cross
00:56:30.92\00:56:38.19
as our only hope. Joshua found
courage out of that encounter.
We, too, find courage.
00:56:38.19\00:56:42.90
Nobody's turning back. Lead
us, O God. Lead us in the mighty
00:56:42.90\00:56:52.17
name of our commander and
captain. Let all the people say
00:56:52.17\00:57:03.55
amen. And amen. >> We've been
really blessed by the financial
00:57:06.99\00:57:09.12
support that comes from our
viewers, and we've made a
conscious decision not to
00:57:09.12\00:57:12.46
continually appeal
to you for that support.
00:57:12.46\00:57:15.50
The fact is, as everyone in the
industry will tell you, we're
00:57:15.50\00:57:18.67
needing to make constant
upgrades to our technology.
00:57:18.67\00:57:21.40
So if God has blessed you and
you'd like to further the work
00:57:21.40\00:57:24.11
of this ministry, we
invite you to partner with us.
00:57:24.11\00:57:26.44
Not a single penny of
your donation will go to me.
00:57:26.44\00:57:29.44
Every bit of your gift goes
to the mission of blessing your
00:57:29.44\00:57:32.91
community and our world.
You can donate on our website,
00:57:32.91\00:57:35.58
newperceptions.tv.
Or call the number.
00:57:35.58\00:57:38.89
You know the
number -- 877-HIS-WILL.
00:57:38.89\00:57:41.32
Again, that number is 877
-- the two words "HIS-WILL."
00:57:41.32\00:57:45.66
And may the God who has blessed
you continue to pour into your
00:57:45.66\00:57:48.23
life the gifts of
His joy and His hope.
00:57:48.23\00:57:51.30
Thank you. And
I'm looking forward to
00:57:51.30\00:57:53.47
seeing you, right
here, again, next time.
00:57:53.47\00:57:56.54
¤¤ ¤¤
00:58:00.61\00:58:20.63
¤¤
00:58:20.63\00:58:26.37