Good evening, Witness.
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How're you all
doing this evening?
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Are you happy to be here?
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Yes. Amen, so am I.
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Are you excited
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to get into the word
of God together tonight?
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Yes. Amen.
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Before we do, why don't
we bow our heads together
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for another word of prayer?
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Our Father in
heaven, thank You so much
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for the privilege of
being here in Your presence.
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Lord, we have come, some
from far, some from near.
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But we have all come to
hear a word from on high.
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We pray that
during this conference,
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during this weekend that
we would not just be inspired,
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that we would not just
be intellectually informed.
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But that our hearts
would be transformed.
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We thank You in advance
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for doing this,
for You have promised
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and because we have asked
it in Jesus' precious name.
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Amen.
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Have you ever been driving
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and you are on a
multi hour long day trip
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or may be a multi day trip,
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and you have a
little one in the car,
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maybe you yourself were little.
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And inevitably
that question comes up.
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Mummy, are we there
yet? Daddy, are we there yet?
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No, sweetheart, not yet.
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How far are we?
Well, about an hour away.
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Five minutes later,
Daddy, are we there yet?
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No, sweetheart, not
yet, we are not there yet.
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Are we there yet?
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If you've ever been
on a long road trip,
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you know that
the longer the trip,
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it's inevitable that the more
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this question is
going to be asked.
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The more
frequently it will come up.
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Are we there yet?
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I want you to
imagine with me that
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you're driving
on a long road trip.
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You're driving from Perth,
the western end of Australia,
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all the way to
here in Queensland.
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Now this is a
long trip as I know.
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And you are blessed.
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How many people
live here in Queensland,
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by the way, can
I see your hands.
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Praise the
Lord, you are blessed.
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You know, this is
a beautiful place.
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I've heard that it's
called God's country.
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Amen. And I can see why?
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But imagine with me that
you're driving from Perth,
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and you are coming
here to Queensland,
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to God's country.
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And you are driving
through the outback,
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you're driving
through the Nullarbor Plain.
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And the trip just
seems to drag on and on.
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Your children have asked you
many times, are we there yet?
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You yourself wonder,
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"Man, when are we
finally going to arrive?
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When are we gonna get there?"
And then finally it happens.
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After about four
days, you finally arrive
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on the border of Queensland's.
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As you're
approaching Queensland,
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you see that big beautiful
"Welcome to Queensland" sign.
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But just below the sign,
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you see that
there is a police car.
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You see that the lights are on
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and you see that
there is another police car
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in the center of the
road blocking the way.
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You stop and roll
down your windows,
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the police
officer walks over to you,
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and you hear those
words fall on your ears.
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"I'm very sorry, but
you're going to have to go back.
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You cannot enter Queensland.
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We're gonna have
to turn you away."
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You can't drive up to Darwin.
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You can't drive
down the coast to Sydney.
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You can't even stop
somewhere in the outback,
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you need to go back to Perth.
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The discouragement,
the disappointment
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that you can imagine
feeling in that moment,
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is just barely scratching
the surface of the feelings
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that were going on
in the hearts and minds
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of the main
characters in our story,
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where we find them today.
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Well, I ask you to
open your Bibles with me
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to Deuteronomy Chapter 1.
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The fifth book of the
Bible, Deuteronomy Chapter 1.
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Now we find the
people in our story,
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the children of Israel,
not journeying to Queensland,
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but journeying to the Kingsland.
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They're journeying to the land
of Canaan, the Promised Land.
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The land that their king has
Promised Land, promised them.
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They are
journeying to God's country.
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Here they were on the
border of the Promised Lands.
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Here they were at the 'Welcome
to Canaan sign,' if you will.
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And as they were
here, they remembered
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that they had been here before.
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Here in Deuteronomy Chapter 1,
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we find that Moses is
actually recounting the story.
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You see, they were arriving
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at the border of
Queensland 38 years
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after they had been turned away.
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38 years after they had
not been able to enter in.
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38 years after
they had to turn back
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and go into the wilderness,
the outback of the Middle East.
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Deuteronomy 1:19,
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Moses is recounting the
story to the children of Israel.
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The young ones or the ones
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who were listening to
him were young at the time.
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And where we find the words,
we are about to read together,
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we see that the people
listening were children
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when the story that is
being recounted took place.
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Now Moses is reminding
them of what had happened.
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Verse 19, reading
together, Deuteronomy Chapter 1,
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I'll be reading out of
the New King James Version.
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Moses said, "So we
departed from Horeb
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and went through all that great
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and terrible wilderness
which you saw on the way
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to the mountains of
the Emirates, as the Lord,
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our God had commanded us,
then we came to Kadeshbarnea."
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Moses says, we went through that
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great and terrible wilderness.
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You see, Moses
wasn't just pointing them
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back to the place
they had been through,
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prior to the
first time of coming
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up to the border
of the Promised Land.
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It wasn't just the
general Sinai Peninsula,
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where they were journeying.
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Right before
they got to the border
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of the Promised
Land the first time,
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right before they got there,
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they went through a
terrible deserted wilderness.
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It's called the
wilderness of Paran.
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If you go back and
you study the story,
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you find that the children
of Israel were wandering
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through this wilderness,
this desolate wasteland.
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To this day, the
wilderness of Paran is a place
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that no one
would want to be stuck.
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That Arabs call it
et-Tih, the wandering.
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It's a place with jagged
black rocks and chalky soil.
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It's a desert wasteland.
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And it was the
most difficult point
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of their journey
up until this moment.
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You see, when they were there
in the wilderness of Paran,
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the Red Sea was to the south.
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They had the
wilderness of shore to the west.
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To the east of them was Egypt.
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And to the north
was the land of Canaan.
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This place was just south
of their final destination,
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the Promised Land.
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Moses was reminding them,
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as we find here
that they had just come
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through the worst
part of the journey
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and were about to
enter into the land
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that God had promised.
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You know, it's an
interesting parallel
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to us today as
spiritual Israelites,
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that the worst
part of the journey
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is just before our destination.
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Amen.
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Now in verse 20,
Moses continues on, he says,
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"And I said to
you, you have come
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to the
mountains of the Emirates,
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which the Lord,
our God is giving us.
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Look, the Lord, your God
has set the land before you.
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Go up or rise up and
posses it as the Lord,
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God of your
fathers has spoken to you.
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Do not fear nor be discouraged."
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Moses was recounting his
words to the children of Israel.
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He told them that
He said go forward.
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Now is the time to
enter into the Promised Land.
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God has promised us. We
can move forward in faith.
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But the story that
Moses was recounting,
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the story was so familiar,
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it had no doubt played
many times in their minds,
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because they
themselves had lived it.
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They themselves remember
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what happened on
that fateful day.
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Well, what did happen?
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Moses told them to
rise up, to move forward,
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to go on into the Promised Land
according to God's commands.
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But what took place, verse 22,
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"And every one of you
came near to me and said,
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"Let us send men before us
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and let them search
out the land for us.
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And bring back word to us
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of the way by
which we should go up
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and of the cities
into which we shall come."'
00:10:13.43\00:10:17.43
So here the children of Israel,
they say, "You know, Moses,
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why don't we just
send spies ahead of us?
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Yeah, we know that
God had said to go up,
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we know that God
had said we can concur.
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But why don't we just send some
spies into the Promised Land,
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and they can tell us
which way we should enter in,
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they can tell us what it's like.
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Why don't we just send
some men on ahead of us?
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Well, the Bible
actually says in Numbers 13,
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where this story is
originally recorded,
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that scouts were sent to
spy out the Promised Lands.
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And interestingly
enough, there in Numbers 13,
00:10:54.73\00:10:57.14
it says that God
approved of the plan.
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But here as we
read in the next verse,
00:11:00.07\00:11:02.20
verse 23, Moses
recounts a story,
00:11:02.23\00:11:05.36
he says, "The
plan pleased me well.
00:11:05.39\00:11:07.90
So I took 12 of your
men, one man from each tribe.
00:11:07.93\00:11:12.32
So in Numbers 13, it tells
us that God approved of the plan
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and when we take
it with this account,
00:11:15.82\00:11:18.17
we know that what took
place was the people said,
00:11:18.20\00:11:20.12
"Moses, why don't we just send
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some spies out to
scope out the land for us."
00:11:22.10\00:11:25.57
Moses, said,
"Well, it pleases me well.
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Why not, sounds good to me.
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I will take it to the
Lord, and see if He approves."
00:11:30.49\00:11:33.22
And when he took it to the Lord,
00:11:33.25\00:11:35.65
God approved of the
plan that they had asked for.
00:11:35.68\00:11:42.73
He'd approved the
plan that they had desired.
00:11:42.76\00:11:46.10
You know, friends, we
serve a courteous God,
00:11:46.13\00:11:48.27
isn't that right?
00:11:48.30\00:11:50.00
You know, the Lord,
doesn't kick down the door
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to our hearts,
He knocks on them.
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And sometimes, as
we see in this example,
00:11:54.18\00:11:57.49
the Lord even
grants and answers requests
00:11:57.52\00:12:01.36
that are not necessary.
00:12:01.39\00:12:03.74
God didn't need to
allow them to send spies up.
00:12:03.77\00:12:06.34
They had the sure word of God.
00:12:06.37\00:12:09.01
They had His promise.
00:12:09.04\00:12:10.56
His promises that are
guarantees for victory.
00:12:10.59\00:12:16.37
God had given them the commands.
00:12:16.40\00:12:19.26
God's word was
all that they had.
00:12:19.29\00:12:22.14
But they didn't realize
His word was all they needed.
00:12:22.17\00:12:26.46
His word was
all they would need.
00:12:26.49\00:12:29.95
They weren't
satisfied with God's word,
00:12:29.98\00:12:31.65
but they wanted man's word.
00:12:31.68\00:12:34.66
Friends, sad is the day
00:12:34.69\00:12:37.03
when the word of God
is not enough for us.
00:12:37.06\00:12:40.60
Sad is the day when
we seek the words of men,
00:12:40.63\00:12:44.43
when we go to our friends,
when we go to the experts,
00:12:44.46\00:12:47.84
to the scholars,
to the professors.
00:12:47.87\00:12:50.08
When we go to Google,
before we go to our Bible.
00:12:50.11\00:12:54.43
The word of God is enough. Amen.
00:12:54.46\00:12:58.12
The word of God is enough.
His commands are all promises.
00:12:58.15\00:13:03.44
And if He says go forward,
00:13:03.47\00:13:05.64
He will give you the
victory to go forward.
00:13:05.67\00:13:08.37
He will give you the
strength to go forward.
00:13:08.40\00:13:10.48
And He will
guarantee you the victory.
00:13:10.51\00:13:12.84
God's word is all that we need.
00:13:12.87\00:13:15.10
Amen. Amen.
00:13:15.13\00:13:18.23
So they sent out
scouts to spy out the lands.
00:13:18.26\00:13:23.22
Many of us are
familiar with the story
00:13:23.25\00:13:25.60
and I encourage
you to go read it,
00:13:25.63\00:13:27.44
re-read it after tonight.
00:13:27.47\00:13:29.10
So many lessons are there for us
00:13:29.13\00:13:30.74
that the Lord wants to teach us.
00:13:30.77\00:13:32.68
It's found in Numbers 13 and 14.
00:13:32.71\00:13:36.44
Now we remember that
the children of Israel
00:13:36.47\00:13:38.24
sent out 12 spies into the land,
00:13:38.27\00:13:40.85
one from each tribe.
00:13:40.88\00:13:42.81
And as these spies went,
00:13:42.84\00:13:44.76
they stealthily
ascended the mountains.
00:13:44.79\00:13:47.91
And I imagine that
as they looked over
00:13:47.94\00:13:49.65
into the Promised Lands
that their eyes got big.
00:13:49.68\00:13:53.60
They were looking into one
of the most beautiful places
00:13:53.63\00:13:56.71
they had ever
set their eyes upon.
00:13:56.74\00:13:59.56
They were looking into a place
00:13:59.59\00:14:00.72
where the grapes were
the size of pomegranates,
00:14:00.75\00:14:04.26
where flowers just
seemed to blanket the place.
00:14:04.29\00:14:08.49
They spent some time there,
00:14:08.52\00:14:10.14
40 days the Bible
says and they came back.
00:14:10.17\00:14:13.02
You know the Bible
actually says in Numbers 13:23
00:14:13.05\00:14:17.21
that the spies brought
back a cluster of grapes
00:14:17.24\00:14:19.96
and you know how big it was?
00:14:19.99\00:14:21.75
It was so big that they
had to have two men carry it.
00:14:21.78\00:14:26.36
They cut the cluster of grapes
and they tied it to a pole.
00:14:26.39\00:14:30.06
And each man put
it on his shoulder,
00:14:30.09\00:14:32.17
one end on each shoulder
00:14:32.20\00:14:33.59
and they carried this
cluster of grapes out.
00:14:33.62\00:14:36.21
That's how
fertile this land was.
00:14:36.24\00:14:39.66
It was a farmer's dream land.
00:14:39.69\00:14:42.60
It was the best place
00:14:42.63\00:14:43.70
that they could
raise their flocks.
00:14:43.73\00:14:47.87
The green pastures were just
the best place to possibly be.
00:14:47.90\00:14:54.94
The place that God had promised,
00:14:54.97\00:14:58.26
the Promised
Land was incredible.
00:14:58.29\00:15:00.82
Imagine it wasn't too
different than Queensland.
00:15:00.85\00:15:03.89
A place where plants just
seem to grow by themselves.
00:15:03.92\00:15:07.60
A place where the
coldest that it ever really gets
00:15:07.63\00:15:10.81
is around 15 degrees Celsius
or 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
00:15:10.84\00:15:15.99
A paradise, the
Promised Land was a place
00:15:16.02\00:15:19.86
where anyone would want to be.
00:15:19.89\00:15:24.03
But the report that
came back was mixed.
00:15:24.06\00:15:28.11
You remember with me,
00:15:28.14\00:15:29.43
how many people of the 12 spies
00:15:29.46\00:15:32.30
brought back a
positive report and said,
00:15:32.33\00:15:34.60
"We can conquer the
land, it's a good land
00:15:34.63\00:15:36.53
and we can conquer,
how many were there?
00:15:36.56\00:15:39.35
Two, that's right.
00:15:39.38\00:15:40.78
12 minus 2 that leaves how many
00:15:40.81\00:15:42.55
who brought back
a negative report.
00:15:42.58\00:15:45.10
Ten.
00:15:45.13\00:15:46.17
There were ten spies
00:15:46.20\00:15:47.35
that brought back
a negative report,
00:15:47.38\00:15:49.07
but Joshua and
Caleb, Joshua and Caleb,
00:15:49.10\00:15:52.44
those men were giants of faith.
00:15:52.47\00:15:55.33
Amen.
00:15:55.36\00:15:56.39
Those men said,
"God has promised
00:15:56.42\00:15:57.90
that we can be victorious,
we can be victorious.
00:15:57.93\00:16:01.50
Let's go up, let's go
up and possess the lands."
00:16:01.53\00:16:06.30
But the other
ten, the other ten said
00:16:06.33\00:16:09.60
oh, it's a beautiful
land, it's incredible,
00:16:09.63\00:16:12.98
the fruit is great.
00:16:13.01\00:16:14.05
Look at these grapes.
00:16:14.08\00:16:15.68
There are flowers everywhere,
it's an incredible place to be.
00:16:15.71\00:16:19.58
But we cannot go up.
00:16:19.61\00:16:23.51
We cannot go up for
there are giants in the lands.
00:16:23.54\00:16:28.79
Giants are in the lands.
00:16:28.82\00:16:33.50
This struck fear into
the hearts of the Israelites.
00:16:33.53\00:16:37.80
Notice what Moses told them,
he said to them years prior,
00:16:37.83\00:16:42.78
back to Deuteronomy 1:25,
00:16:42.81\00:16:45.78
excuse me, verse 26,
00:16:51.30\00:16:53.08
"Nevertheless
you would not go up
00:16:53.11\00:16:55.19
but rebel against the
commands of the Lord, your God.
00:16:55.22\00:16:58.89
And you complained
in your tents and said
00:16:58.92\00:17:01.88
because the Lord hates us,
00:17:01.91\00:17:03.67
He has brought us
out of the land of Egypt
00:17:03.70\00:17:05.65
to deliver us into the hand
00:17:05.68\00:17:06.90
of the Emirates to destroy us.
00:17:06.93\00:17:10.22
Where can we go
up for our brethren
00:17:10.25\00:17:12.59
have discouraged
our hearts saying
00:17:12.62\00:17:15.26
the people are
greater and taller than we,
00:17:15.29\00:17:18.14
the cities are great
and fortified up to heaven.
00:17:18.17\00:17:21.04
Moreover we have seen the
sons of the Anakim there."
00:17:21.07\00:17:27.91
Now, friends, notice
what Moses told them.
00:17:27.94\00:17:33.23
Notice what Moses told
them in verse 25, he says,
00:17:33.26\00:17:38.40
"They also took some
of the fruit of the land
00:17:38.43\00:17:40.11
in their hands and
brought it down to us.
00:17:40.14\00:17:42.51
And they brought
back word to us saying,
00:17:42.54\00:17:44.33
it is a good land
00:17:44.36\00:17:45.66
which the Lord
our God is giving us.
00:17:45.69\00:17:49.00
Notice that Moses only repeats
the report of Joshua and Caleb.
00:17:49.03\00:17:54.84
Moses didn't even mention
00:17:54.87\00:17:57.20
that he repeated
the report of the spies.
00:17:57.23\00:18:00.54
And you know we as Christians
can take a cue from Moses here.
00:18:00.57\00:18:05.29
Let me ask you numerically
what outweighed the other,
00:18:05.32\00:18:09.85
the good news or the bad news.
00:18:09.88\00:18:13.14
The bad news, ten
spies brought back
00:18:13.17\00:18:14.94
a negative
report compared to two.
00:18:14.97\00:18:17.49
But Moses
didn't even acknowledge
00:18:17.52\00:18:19.43
the negative report.
00:18:19.46\00:18:21.04
He only focused on the good.
00:18:21.07\00:18:24.22
You know, friends,
00:18:24.25\00:18:25.28
we have been given as Christians
00:18:25.31\00:18:27.21
the good news of the gospel.
00:18:27.24\00:18:29.31
And God wants us to
focus on the good news.
00:18:29.34\00:18:32.78
Amen.
00:18:32.81\00:18:34.38
Moses focused on the
good and so should we.
00:18:34.41\00:18:37.83
And while it's
appropriate to discuss
00:18:37.86\00:18:40.19
the signs of the
times that we see around us,
00:18:40.22\00:18:42.49
and while it is necessary
sometimes to share bad news
00:18:42.52\00:18:45.83
and negative
things that have happened.
00:18:45.86\00:18:48.05
God does not want us
to focus on the bad news.
00:18:48.08\00:18:52.18
The Lord doesn't
want us to focus there.
00:18:52.21\00:18:54.76
He doesn't want us
giving the devil's antics
00:18:54.79\00:18:56.85
more air time by
posting them on Facebook.
00:18:56.88\00:19:00.01
He doesn't want
us discussing them
00:19:00.04\00:19:02.09
over the dinner table.
00:19:02.12\00:19:04.22
He doesn't want us to glorify
the enemy by talking about
00:19:04.25\00:19:08.52
what he is doing and
shaking our heads and saying,
00:19:08.55\00:19:11.11
"Man, the devil is
just really busy, isn't he?"
00:19:11.14\00:19:14.31
No. The devil is a defeated foe.
00:19:14.34\00:19:18.02
The devil is a conquered foe,
00:19:18.05\00:19:20.72
just like a serpent
whose head is cut off,
00:19:20.75\00:19:23.90
whose body still thrashes around
00:19:23.93\00:19:25.65
after it is
gone, after it is dead.
00:19:25.68\00:19:28.74
The devil is still trying
to wreak havoc in this world.
00:19:28.77\00:19:32.04
But his head was
crushed at Calvary.
00:19:32.07\00:19:35.14
Christ has defeated the enemy
00:19:35.17\00:19:37.38
and that is the
good news of the gospel.
00:19:37.41\00:19:40.47
God wants us to
focus on the good news.
00:19:40.50\00:19:44.13
Like Moses, let's
focus on the good news.
00:19:44.16\00:19:49.68
Moses continued on.
00:19:49.71\00:19:54.66
Moses shared the positive
report of Joshua and Caleb.
00:19:54.69\00:20:01.57
But in spite of the good
report that was brought back,
00:20:01.60\00:20:05.05
in spite of the
positive reports,
00:20:05.08\00:20:08.68
Sadly, right next to
that welcome to Canaan sign,
00:20:08.71\00:20:13.61
the Israelites
had to turn around
00:20:13.64\00:20:16.23
and they had to go
back into the wilderness
00:20:16.26\00:20:19.46
for 38 long hard years.
00:20:19.49\00:20:25.20
Moses explains
that they complained
00:20:25.23\00:20:29.07
in their tents,
we know the story.
00:20:29.10\00:20:32.60
If you are not
familiar with that,
00:20:32.63\00:20:33.66
I encourage you to
read Numbers 13 and 14.
00:20:33.69\00:20:36.49
After the
Israelites were told by God,
00:20:36.52\00:20:38.53
okay, if you're not
gonna move forward in faith,
00:20:38.56\00:20:41.39
you need to
wander in the wilderness
00:20:41.42\00:20:42.70
for another long time, 40 years.
00:20:42.73\00:20:46.99
They said "Oh,
what have we done?
00:20:47.02\00:20:49.22
And they realized
that they were gonna
00:20:49.25\00:20:50.82
have to go back into wilderness.
00:20:50.85\00:20:52.88
And the next morning
00:20:52.91\00:20:53.94
they marshaled
their forces together
00:20:53.97\00:20:55.53
and they said no, no,
no, we can go into the land.
00:20:55.56\00:20:57.77
We can conquer, we will fight.
00:20:57.80\00:21:00.24
Now the interesting thing is
God never told them to fight.
00:21:00.27\00:21:03.34
He said He would fight for them
and just as they were stubborn
00:21:03.37\00:21:07.69
in their
rebellion by not going in,
00:21:07.72\00:21:10.77
now they were rebellious
to God's word to return.
00:21:10.80\00:21:15.14
We know that they
went and they were chased
00:21:15.17\00:21:16.91
down the mountains
and ran with their tails
00:21:16.94\00:21:19.68
between their legs, so to speak.
00:21:19.71\00:21:21.92
They were conquered and faced
00:21:21.95\00:21:24.10
bitter discouragement
and disappointments.
00:21:24.13\00:21:27.92
Why was it that they stopped?
00:21:27.95\00:21:31.25
Why was it that they did not go
forward into the Promised Land?
00:21:31.28\00:21:34.67
Why did they not
listen to the word of God?
00:21:34.70\00:21:37.70
The Bible tells us, it
repeats their words in verse 28,
00:21:37.73\00:21:42.34
"The people are
greater and taller than we,
00:21:42.37\00:21:45.43
the cities are great
and fortified up to heaven.
00:21:45.46\00:21:49.23
Moreover we have seen the
sons of the Anakim there."
00:21:49.26\00:21:56.27
You know,
genetics are a funny thing.
00:21:56.30\00:21:59.98
I'm 6'4" roughly
about A 192 centimeters,
00:22:00.01\00:22:07.23
I'm a little bit
on the taller side,
00:22:07.26\00:22:09.03
I guess you could say.
00:22:09.06\00:22:10.70
But both of my parents
actually come to my shoulder.
00:22:10.73\00:22:14.46
They're 5'2", But, you know,
00:22:14.49\00:22:17.40
I still look up to
them and I always will.
00:22:17.43\00:22:19.89
My parents,
00:22:19.92\00:22:20.95
I may have passed
them in physical stature,
00:22:20.98\00:22:23.59
but in strength of character
I'm still trying to catch up.
00:22:23.62\00:22:27.14
But genetics are
an interesting thing.
00:22:27.17\00:22:29.63
You see, my dad's side
of the family, his dad's,
00:22:29.66\00:22:32.98
my dad's dad's side of
the family are all very tall
00:22:33.01\00:22:36.30
and his mom's side are
all on the shorter side.
00:22:36.33\00:22:39.52
So my dad's
cousins, I met three of them
00:22:39.55\00:22:43.69
when I was a
boy, I still remember.
00:22:43.72\00:22:45.88
And I met these
brothers and they were huge,
00:22:45.91\00:22:48.92
I was shorter than I am now,
but still I looked up at them,
00:22:48.95\00:22:52.31
I thought, man,
these guys are giants.
00:22:52.34\00:22:55.88
They are huge.
00:22:55.91\00:22:57.37
They were a little
taller than I am now.
00:22:57.40\00:22:59.33
They were bigger than me.
00:22:59.36\00:23:00.70
And I thought
these guys are giants.
00:23:00.73\00:23:03.56
You know, my dad's grandfather
on his dad's side was 6'8"
00:23:03.59\00:23:09.13
that's 201 centimeters.
00:23:09.16\00:23:13.28
Just over two
meters, he was huge.
00:23:13.31\00:23:17.45
And by our standards today,
00:23:17.48\00:23:20.61
he may have seemed
like a giant, right?
00:23:20.64\00:23:23.78
So you may wonder to yourself
what were the giants like,
00:23:23.81\00:23:27.21
the family of giants
in the Promised Lands.
00:23:27.24\00:23:31.28
How big where they?
00:23:31.31\00:23:32.94
Were these just 6'8", 6'10"
00:23:32.97\00:23:36.24
you know, 205
centimeter tall people?
00:23:36.27\00:23:40.32
How big were they?
00:23:40.35\00:23:42.01
Well, the Bible
actually gives us insight
00:23:42.04\00:23:44.33
and answers our question.
00:23:44.36\00:23:46.58
Deuteronomy Chapter 3
tells us, Deuteronomy 3:11,
00:23:46.61\00:23:53.16
here the Bible talks
about a king of Bashan named Og.
00:23:56.19\00:24:00.66
And Og, the king of Bashan
who the Israelites conquered,
00:24:00.69\00:24:04.44
it gives us the size of his bed.
00:24:04.47\00:24:07.17
Now this king had a bed
00:24:07.20\00:24:08.88
that was
massive, listen to this,
00:24:08.91\00:24:11.29
"Nine cubits is its length
and four cubits is its width
00:24:11.32\00:24:15.62
according to
the standard cubits.
00:24:15.65\00:24:18.31
To give you an
idea of how big that is,
00:24:18.34\00:24:21.48
that bed was actually
13 feet long by 6 feet wide
00:24:21.51\00:24:27.20
or four meters
by two meters wide.
00:24:27.23\00:24:32.35
This man was huge.
00:24:32.38\00:24:35.17
The giants in the
Promised Land were giants.
00:24:35.20\00:24:39.29
They were huge.
00:24:39.32\00:24:41.17
This man in fact king
Og, he had to have his bed
00:24:41.20\00:24:45.43
specially made,
custom built for his size.
00:24:45.46\00:24:48.71
Not only that,
the Bible says that
00:24:48.74\00:24:50.18
it was made of iron
because he was so heavy.
00:24:50.21\00:24:54.62
Normal beds made of
wood could not hold him up.
00:24:54.65\00:24:59.00
The giants in the Promised Lands
00:24:59.03\00:25:01.71
were huge.
00:25:01.74\00:25:03.47
They were giants.
00:25:03.50\00:25:05.42
It's no wonder
that they struck fear
00:25:05.45\00:25:07.68
into the hearts
of the Israelites.
00:25:07.71\00:25:12.37
And sadly, at the
report of the spies,
00:25:12.40\00:25:16.75
because of their lack
of faith in God's word,
00:25:16.78\00:25:21.31
they were turned away to wander
00:25:21.34\00:25:24.30
in the wilderness
for 38 long hard years.
00:25:24.33\00:25:30.32
Now, friends, the real problem
00:25:30.35\00:25:32.32
that the Israelites
faced was not external.
00:25:32.35\00:25:35.65
The real problem they
faced was not those giants.
00:25:35.68\00:25:38.95
Turn with me to
Hebrew Chapter 3,
00:25:38.98\00:25:40.52
the Bible gives us insight
to what the real problem was.
00:25:40.55\00:25:44.15
Hebrews Chapter 3
reading in verse 19.
00:25:44.18\00:25:48.04
You see, the problem was
not external but internal.
00:25:48.07\00:25:52.13
Not out there, but in here.
00:25:52.16\00:25:56.10
Here Paul giving us
insight into what took place,
00:25:56.13\00:25:59.33
summarizes it
beautifully, he says,
00:25:59.36\00:26:01.46
"So we see that
they could not enter in
00:26:01.49\00:26:05.08
because of unbelief."
00:26:05.11\00:26:10.33
The reason that
Israelites turned around,
00:26:10.36\00:26:13.49
the reason that
they had to turn around
00:26:13.52\00:26:16.38
and wander
through the wilderness
00:26:16.41\00:26:18.13
was because of their unbelief.
00:26:18.16\00:26:22.10
Back to Deuteronomy Chapter 1,
00:26:22.13\00:26:24.95
here Moses continues to
recount the story to them,
00:26:24.98\00:26:27.72
the story that
they know so well,
00:26:27.75\00:26:29.69
the story that they've
been over in their minds.
00:26:29.72\00:26:32.78
The stories that they remember
00:26:32.81\00:26:34.96
from when they
were just children
00:26:34.99\00:26:37.04
and watched it happen.
00:26:37.07\00:26:39.53
Moses says that he himself
as they started to lose faith,
00:26:39.56\00:26:44.29
as they started to complain,
00:26:44.32\00:26:46.23
he himself tried to
instill faith in them.
00:26:46.26\00:26:49.33
He tried to help them
conquer their unbelief
00:26:49.36\00:26:52.94
and look at what he did.
00:26:52.97\00:26:54.00
He pointed them back
to what God had done.
00:26:54.03\00:26:57.41
And before we read in
verse 29 and continue the story,
00:26:57.44\00:27:00.48
I want to say something
about faith and unbelief.
00:27:00.51\00:27:03.79
You know, God will
never, we are told,
00:27:03.82\00:27:06.20
He will never completely
remove all room for doubts.
00:27:06.23\00:27:11.15
If you really want to
doubt, you'll find a way.
00:27:11.18\00:27:16.25
But adversely,
God always gives us
00:27:16.28\00:27:19.37
sufficient evidence
upon which to base our faith.
00:27:19.40\00:27:23.82
God will always give us
enough evidence upon which
00:27:23.85\00:27:26.34
to base a solid
belief in His word.
00:27:26.37\00:27:30.17
And we can choose to believe
or we can choose to doubt.
00:27:30.20\00:27:36.90
Heard a story
sometime ago of a man
00:27:36.93\00:27:38.64
who was sitting on an airplane
00:27:38.67\00:27:40.49
and he was reading his
Bible, he was a new Christian.
00:27:40.52\00:27:44.63
And as he was
sitting next to someone,
00:27:44.66\00:27:48.14
this man who was
sitting next to him looked over
00:27:48.17\00:27:50.19
and he saw him
reading his Bible, he said,
00:27:50.22\00:27:51.55
"Ah, don't tell me you
believe that book, do you?"
00:27:51.58\00:27:55.28
And the new Christian
said, "Well, yeah, and he said,
00:27:55.31\00:27:58.41
you know, it's pretty amazing
00:27:58.44\00:27:59.57
I just read a
story about a miracle.
00:27:59.60\00:28:01.54
A miracle where God was leading
00:28:01.57\00:28:04.29
the Israelites
through the wilderness
00:28:04.32\00:28:06.13
and He parted the Red Sea
so they could walk through."
00:28:06.16\00:28:09.87
And this man
sitting next to him says,
00:28:09.90\00:28:11.22
"Ah, you don't
believe that, do you?
00:28:11.25\00:28:13.31
Don't you know, it
wasn't the Red Sea,
00:28:13.34\00:28:15.32
it was the Sea of Reeds
and it's only six inches deep."
00:28:15.35\00:28:19.43
New Christian said, "Oh, okay."
00:28:19.46\00:28:22.32
Went back to reading his
Bible, a few minutes later,
00:28:22.35\00:28:26.24
"Wow, this is amazing."
00:28:26.27\00:28:30.73
His neighbor kind of
Disgruntled, said, "What now?"
00:28:30.76\00:28:33.60
And he said,
"Oh, God just drowned
00:28:33.63\00:28:35.67
the entire Egyptian
army in 6 inches of water."
00:28:35.70\00:28:40.93
Friends, we can find
miracles where we look for them.
00:28:40.96\00:28:43.78
Amen.
00:28:43.81\00:28:47.08
You know, Moses wanted
to point the Israelites,
00:28:47.11\00:28:50.13
the children of Israel back
to what God had done for them.
00:28:50.16\00:28:54.12
He wanted to instill
faith in their hearts.
00:28:54.15\00:28:57.27
Look what he says in verse 29,
00:28:57.30\00:28:59.65
"Then I said to
you, do not be terrified
00:28:59.68\00:29:02.89
or afraid of
them, the Lord your God
00:29:02.92\00:29:05.96
who goes before you,
He will fight for you.
00:29:05.99\00:29:09.48
According to all he did for
you and Egypt before your eyes."
00:29:09.51\00:29:13.50
He said, "Don't you remember
what happened in Egypt?"
00:29:13.53\00:29:16.04
Remember when God struck
00:29:16.07\00:29:18.08
the Egyptians with
all of those plague,
00:29:18.11\00:29:20.01
so that pharaoh
would let God's people go.
00:29:20.04\00:29:23.28
So that He would let you
go, don't you remember Egypt
00:29:23.31\00:29:25.67
where He turned the
Nile River to blood?
00:29:25.70\00:29:28.53
Where He caused
frogs to flood the land,
00:29:28.56\00:29:30.75
lice, where the firstborn,
00:29:30.78\00:29:36.41
was stricken by
the angel of death.
00:29:36.44\00:29:38.09
Don't you remember
how God delivered you?
00:29:38.12\00:29:40.95
And Moses continues
on, look at verse 30,
00:29:40.98\00:29:44.62
excuse me, verse 31,
"And in the wilderness
00:29:44.65\00:29:46.93
where you saw how the Lord,
00:29:46.96\00:29:48.29
your God had carried you
as a man carries his son,
00:29:48.32\00:29:52.42
in all the way that you went
until you came to this place."
00:29:52.45\00:29:57.85
Now when the Bible says
that God carried the Israelites,
00:29:57.88\00:30:02.02
you know, what
does that really mean?
00:30:02.05\00:30:04.37
What does it mean that
God carried the Israelites?
00:30:04.40\00:30:09.18
I want to share
something with you
00:30:09.21\00:30:10.31
that might give you a little bit
00:30:10.34\00:30:11.45
deeper of a perspective
of what God really had to do
00:30:11.48\00:30:16.11
to provide for
the children of Israel
00:30:16.14\00:30:18.38
while they were
wandering in the wilderness.
00:30:18.41\00:30:20.97
You know, we know that
00:30:21.00\00:30:22.03
there were about
two million Israelites,
00:30:22.06\00:30:24.39
the Bible tells
us in Exodus 12:37,
00:30:24.42\00:30:27.54
that there where 600,000 men.
00:30:27.57\00:30:30.38
So if you do the math,
00:30:30.41\00:30:31.92
there were at least
two million Israelites.
00:30:31.95\00:30:34.85
Now a number of
years ago the Quartermaster
00:30:34.88\00:30:37.43
General of the
United States Army
00:30:37.46\00:30:39.61
was asked a
question, he was asked,
00:30:39.64\00:30:42.61
"What would it take
to provide for the needs
00:30:42.64\00:30:45.43
of two million
people in the wilderness?"
00:30:45.46\00:30:49.20
Listen to his answer,
00:30:49.23\00:30:51.43
"When it came to
food, it's reported
00:30:51.46\00:30:53.80
that Moses would
have had to have received
00:30:53.83\00:30:56.82
1,500 tons of food each
day or 1.36 million kilograms.
00:30:56.85\00:31:04.79
Bringing that much food each day
00:31:04.82\00:31:06.12
would take two freight trains,
00:31:06.15\00:31:07.82
each a mile long or
a kilometer and half
00:31:07.85\00:31:11.64
to bring the food.
00:31:11.67\00:31:13.50
To have just enough firewood
00:31:13.53\00:31:15.27
for every one to
cook a little bit,
00:31:15.30\00:31:17.14
they would need 4,000 tons
00:31:17.17\00:31:19.28
or 3.6 million
kilograms of wood every day.
00:31:19.31\00:31:24.74
And they were in
transit for 40 years.
00:31:24.77\00:31:28.32
If they only had
enough water to drink
00:31:28.35\00:31:30.48
and wash a few dishes,
00:31:30.51\00:31:32.27
it would take 11
million gallons of water
00:31:32.30\00:31:35.44
or about
41,639,000 liters every day.
00:31:35.47\00:31:40.29
And a freight
train with the tank cart
00:31:40.32\00:31:42.64
1,800 miles long or
nearly 2,900 kilometers."
00:31:42.67\00:31:48.00
That's more than half way
00:31:48.03\00:31:49.78
across the
continent of Australia.
00:31:49.81\00:31:52.69
Each time they camped,
they would need a space
00:31:52.72\00:31:55.09
two thirds the size of
the State of Rhode Islands,
00:31:55.12\00:31:58.25
or 1,200 square kilometers.
00:31:58.28\00:32:02.01
Most amazing to me
00:32:02.04\00:32:03.82
is that they had to
get across the Red Sea.
00:32:03.85\00:32:07.40
The Bible tells us that they
made it across in one night.
00:32:07.43\00:32:11.88
Now if they
went on a narrow path
00:32:11.91\00:32:13.75
and you know, because
of Hollywood's pictures
00:32:13.78\00:32:17.37
and because of story
books and picture books from
00:32:17.40\00:32:20.07
when we were children, we
have this mental picture of
00:32:20.10\00:32:21.88
when the Israelites were going
through the Red Sea, right?
00:32:21.91\00:32:24.51
We have this picture where,
00:32:24.54\00:32:26.03
you know, the sea
split and it was may be
00:32:26.06\00:32:27.63
as wide as this isle
down the center here.
00:32:27.66\00:32:30.63
And you see walls
very high on each side,
00:32:30.66\00:32:34.40
but in reality if
they had gone double file,
00:32:34.43\00:32:38.73
two people side by side
with two million of them.
00:32:38.76\00:32:42.41
It would have been
in a line 800 miles long
00:32:42.44\00:32:45.97
or 1,200 kilometers long.
00:32:46.00\00:32:48.35
And it would have required
00:32:48.38\00:32:49.48
35 days and nights
for them to get through.
00:32:49.51\00:32:52.66
But remember, the Bible says
00:32:52.69\00:32:54.93
that all two million of them
made it through in one night.
00:32:54.96\00:32:58.62
So in order for this to happen,
00:32:58.65\00:33:00.57
there would have needed
to be a space in the Red Sea
00:33:00.60\00:33:03.30
3 miles wide or
nearly 5 kilometers wide,
00:33:03.33\00:33:07.18
so the Israelites could
march 5,000 people across
00:33:07.21\00:33:11.14
and make it across in one night.
00:33:11.17\00:33:14.01
Friends, the way that God
provided for the Israelites
00:33:14.04\00:33:16.82
in the
wilderness was miraculous.
00:33:16.85\00:33:19.11
It was incredible.
00:33:19.14\00:33:20.82
Moses was
pointing them back to this.
00:33:20.85\00:33:22.89
He was pointing them to the path
00:33:22.92\00:33:24.44
to give them
faith in the present.
00:33:24.47\00:33:26.73
He was pointing
them to the past to say,
00:33:26.76\00:33:29.72
"Don't you believe that God
can take care of a few giants?
00:33:29.75\00:33:33.38
Don't tell God how big these
giants are, tell these giants
00:33:33.41\00:33:37.13
and show these
giants how big your God is?"
00:33:37.16\00:33:40.14
Your God is a giant.
00:33:40.17\00:33:43.05
Moses pointed
them back to the past
00:33:43.08\00:33:45.79
to give them faith
00:33:45.82\00:33:47.30
to move forward in the future.
00:33:47.33\00:33:51.23
Friends, we can look
to our past as a people.
00:33:51.26\00:33:55.42
We can look to our
past as individuals
00:33:55.45\00:33:58.47
to gain faith and encouragement
00:33:58.50\00:34:01.03
for what God is
wanting to do in our lives.
00:34:01.06\00:34:05.18
I love the following quotes
00:34:05.21\00:34:09.06
from Christian Experience
and Teachings, page 204.
00:34:09.09\00:34:12.87
It says, "We have nothing
to fear for the future except
00:34:12.90\00:34:16.49
we shall forget the way
that the Lord has lead us
00:34:16.52\00:34:19.79
and His teaching
in our past history."
00:34:19.82\00:34:23.26
They were
afraid of those giants,
00:34:23.29\00:34:25.70
but they had nothing to fear.
00:34:25.73\00:34:28.97
Friends, as we wander
00:34:29.00\00:34:30.03
in the
wilderness of this world's,
00:34:30.06\00:34:32.51
we have nothing to fear.
00:34:32.54\00:34:34.47
When we look at our past
and see how God has lead,
00:34:34.50\00:34:37.61
we remember that
we have every reason
00:34:37.64\00:34:40.25
to be giants of faith.
00:34:40.28\00:34:42.68
We have every reason
to take God and His word.
00:34:42.71\00:34:46.64
Do you fear for our church?
00:34:46.67\00:34:49.26
Do you fear for our church
00:34:49.29\00:34:50.44
when you think of the
giants that are looming?
00:34:50.47\00:34:53.00
These giant issues that we face,
00:34:53.03\00:34:55.68
enormous issues
like theistic evolution
00:34:55.71\00:34:57.91
or disagreement
in styles of worship.
00:34:57.94\00:35:01.27
Giant issues like
spiritualism entering our church
00:35:01.30\00:35:04.34
under the guise of new
types of prayer and meditation.
00:35:04.37\00:35:08.91
My brother, my sister,
00:35:08.94\00:35:12.16
Jesus our commander has
promised us the victory.
00:35:12.19\00:35:17.17
God will purify
and unite His church.
00:35:17.20\00:35:20.85
This is God's church
and He will carry it forward
00:35:20.88\00:35:25.63
to His soon second coming.
00:35:25.66\00:35:28.90
Maybe you fear for yourself.
00:35:28.93\00:35:33.16
You fear as you face
giants in your own life,
00:35:33.19\00:35:36.50
personal giants
that seem insurmountable.
00:35:36.53\00:35:39.76
Giants of addiction maybe,
00:35:39.79\00:35:42.76
where the chains of
addiction are holding you tight.
00:35:42.79\00:35:45.91
Friends, Jesus has
promised to break those chains.
00:35:45.94\00:35:49.06
Jesus has promised the victory.
00:35:49.09\00:35:52.12
Maybe you're facing
a giant of depression,
00:35:52.15\00:35:55.41
a giant of discouragement
00:35:55.44\00:35:56.95
and you don't know
if you can conquer.
00:35:56.98\00:36:00.31
Jesus says, walk with
me, and you will overcome.
00:36:00.34\00:36:04.90
Friend, whatever
giant you find yourself
00:36:04.93\00:36:06.99
facing this
evening, Christ our commander
00:36:07.02\00:36:10.07
has already
guaranteed you the victory.
00:36:10.10\00:36:13.40
We simply need to look at
how He has led us in the past
00:36:13.43\00:36:17.07
and take courage for the future.
00:36:17.10\00:36:20.35
Like the Israelites,
when it boils down to it,
00:36:20.38\00:36:22.83
it's not these external giants
that are really the problem.
00:36:22.86\00:36:27.72
It's not these
things that are external
00:36:27.75\00:36:29.83
that are really the issue.
00:36:29.86\00:36:33.17
The greatest thing preventing us
00:36:33.20\00:36:35.19
from entering into the heavenly
00:36:35.22\00:36:36.99
Promised Lands is
the giants of self.
00:36:37.02\00:36:44.00
The only thing preventing
God's people from perfectly
00:36:44.03\00:36:47.42
reflecting his
character to the world,
00:36:47.45\00:36:49.55
His character of
selfless love, is self.
00:36:49.58\00:36:54.62
If you really think about it,
00:36:54.65\00:36:56.11
every other sin
falls under this heading.
00:36:56.14\00:37:00.08
Self is at the
core, self is the problem.
00:37:00.11\00:37:04.72
Alexander the Great,
00:37:04.75\00:37:06.32
he conquered the entire
world, the then known world,
00:37:06.35\00:37:11.15
and he died at the
age of 33 in drunkenness.
00:37:11.18\00:37:15.92
Alexander the Great
could not conquer self.
00:37:15.95\00:37:21.03
Jesus said, "What
does it profit a man,
00:37:21.06\00:37:24.33
if he gains the whole
world and loses his own soul."
00:37:24.36\00:37:28.22
This literally happened
with Alexander the Great.
00:37:28.25\00:37:32.23
And, friends, the
same battle that he fights
00:37:32.26\00:37:35.24
is the battle that we fight.
00:37:35.27\00:37:37.82
The same war that he
waged needed to wage.
00:37:37.85\00:37:41.17
The battle that
he lost is the battle
00:37:41.20\00:37:42.96
that Jesus
promises you the victory in.
00:37:42.99\00:37:45.81
You see all of the world's wars,
00:37:45.84\00:37:48.99
all of the world's
battles, military history pales
00:37:49.02\00:37:53.26
in comparison to
the battle of self.
00:37:53.29\00:37:57.40
It is the greatest
battle ever fought.
00:37:57.43\00:38:00.32
You see, the
Israelites put on literal armor
00:38:00.35\00:38:03.20
and they went to
wage a physical war.
00:38:03.23\00:38:06.12
But we are told that we battle
not against flesh and blood.
00:38:06.15\00:38:10.59
We do not battle
against flesh and blood.
00:38:10.62\00:38:14.44
But in the end
00:38:14.47\00:38:15.99
against spiritual
wickedness in high places
00:38:16.02\00:38:19.53
and those forces are
contending for our hearts.
00:38:19.56\00:38:23.31
They are playing on
00:38:23.34\00:38:24.74
and taking advantage
of our selfish tendencies.
00:38:24.77\00:38:28.06
It's like they
have an inside agent
00:38:28.09\00:38:30.84
and that inside agent is self.
00:38:30.87\00:38:33.91
But, friends, when Christ
comes to live in our hearts,
00:38:33.94\00:38:37.45
He can give us
victory over self.
00:38:37.48\00:38:40.83
And, you know,
just like the Israelites
00:38:40.86\00:38:42.29
put on physical armor,
00:38:42.32\00:38:43.43
we are told to put on
the whole armor of God,
00:38:43.46\00:38:46.34
the spiritual armor, amen.
00:38:46.37\00:38:48.85
And we know that as Satan
00:38:48.88\00:38:50.66
launches his fiery arrows at us,
00:38:50.69\00:38:53.50
his fiery arrows of
unbelief in our direction,
00:38:53.53\00:38:56.86
we can hold high
the shield of faith.
00:38:56.89\00:38:59.73
And when Satan tries
to corrupt our hearts,
00:38:59.76\00:39:02.84
it stands no chance when we have
00:39:02.87\00:39:04.38
on the
breastplate of righteousness.
00:39:04.41\00:39:07.61
Friends, when we
put on the armor of God,
00:39:07.64\00:39:09.44
we have nothing to fear.
00:39:09.47\00:39:11.31
We need not turn tail and run.
00:39:11.34\00:39:13.94
But we can move forward in faith
00:39:13.97\00:39:16.20
and move on into victory.
00:39:16.23\00:39:18.54
But the key word
there is forward.
00:39:18.57\00:39:20.84
If you look at Ephesians 6,
and examine the armor of God,
00:39:20.87\00:39:25.02
you'll notice that there
is no armor for the back.
00:39:25.05\00:39:30.32
There is no armor for the back,
00:39:30.35\00:39:32.62
because we are never
to turn around and run.
00:39:32.65\00:39:35.91
We are never to retreat
in the battle against self,
00:39:35.94\00:39:39.65
in the battle against
the devil and his angels.
00:39:39.68\00:39:42.36
Friends, the Israelites said,
00:39:42.39\00:39:43.77
"Oh, no, there are
giants in the land.
00:39:43.80\00:39:46.30
There are giants in the land."
00:39:46.33\00:39:48.12
But God wants a people
00:39:48.15\00:39:50.36
that strikes
fear into the hearts
00:39:50.39\00:39:52.02
of the devil and his angels.
00:39:52.05\00:39:54.43
And they say, there
are giants in the land,
00:39:54.46\00:39:57.93
there are
spiritual giants in the land.
00:39:57.96\00:40:01.65
They have died to self.
00:40:01.68\00:40:03.71
They are
reflecting Jesus' character.
00:40:03.74\00:40:07.37
There are giants in the lands.
00:40:07.40\00:40:10.96
God wants us to
be giants of faith.
00:40:10.99\00:40:14.19
He needs us to
be giants of faith.
00:40:14.22\00:40:16.94
He needs men and
women who will strike fear
00:40:16.97\00:40:20.26
into the heart of
the enemy of souls.
00:40:20.29\00:40:22.79
He needs men and women
who are giants of faith.
00:40:22.82\00:40:25.98
Men and women who
are sensitive and kind.
00:40:26.01\00:40:28.62
Men and women
00:40:28.65\00:40:29.68
who put the needs of
others before themselves.
00:40:29.71\00:40:33.35
God needs men and women
00:40:33.38\00:40:35.29
who will put their
Bibles before their breakfast.
00:40:35.32\00:40:38.43
Who will spend
more time in prayer
00:40:38.46\00:40:40.81
than the time they
spend on their hair.
00:40:40.84\00:40:43.61
God needs a people
00:40:43.64\00:40:45.83
who will perfectly
reflect His character
00:40:45.86\00:40:48.51
because he is
living in their hearts.
00:40:48.54\00:40:51.80
Friends, this is the only way.
00:40:51.83\00:40:54.33
This is the only way
we can be giants of faith.
00:40:54.36\00:40:58.46
Is if Jesus,
the giant of giants,
00:40:58.49\00:41:01.25
is living in our hearts.
00:41:01.28\00:41:03.67
And then, we
can finally go home.
00:41:03.70\00:41:08.57
Not to Queensland
but to the Kingsland.
00:41:08.60\00:41:11.86
We can go home to God's country,
00:41:11.89\00:41:14.73
to the heavenly Promised Lands.
00:41:14.76\00:41:17.63
Friends, this is God's desire,
He needs giants in the land.
00:41:17.66\00:41:23.95
There's a little boy
who was with his father
00:41:23.98\00:41:29.45
and as many little
boys and little girls do,
00:41:29.48\00:41:32.47
he asked the question, he
said, "Daddy, how tall am I?"
00:41:32.50\00:41:38.30
He said, "Well, son, you're,
you're getting taller now,
00:41:38.33\00:41:41.25
you're about 5 feet
about 150 centimeters."
00:41:41.28\00:41:46.95
He nodded, he
started thinking again.
00:41:46.98\00:41:49.86
He said, "Daddy,
how tall are you?"
00:41:49.89\00:41:52.53
He said, "Oh, I'm about 6 feet,
00:41:52.56\00:41:54.81
you know I'm, I'm
about 184 centimeters."
00:41:54.84\00:41:59.37
He nodded, his
brow furrowed a bit
00:41:59.40\00:42:01.65
as he was thinking and he said,
00:42:01.68\00:42:03.47
"Daddy how tall is Jesus?"
00:42:03.50\00:42:06.44
And his dad said,
"Oh, I don't know."
00:42:06.47\00:42:09.94
You know Jesus-- but
he must have been tall.
00:42:09.97\00:42:12.03
May be, you
know, 205 centimeters,
00:42:12.06\00:42:14.89
Jesus must have been very tall?
00:42:14.92\00:42:16.29
Oh, yes.
00:42:16.32\00:42:18.51
Little boy thought
00:42:18.54\00:42:21.16
and he thought and then he said,
00:42:21.19\00:42:24.38
"Daddy, I ask Jesus to
live in my heart everyday.
00:42:24.41\00:42:29.86
If Jesus is living in my heart
00:42:29.89\00:42:32.64
that means He must
always be sticking out."
00:42:32.67\00:42:37.64
And, friends, if Jesus
is living in our hearts,
00:42:37.67\00:42:42.66
people won't see
us, they will see Him.
00:42:42.69\00:42:46.82
To be a giant of
faith means to have
00:42:46.85\00:42:49.34
Jesus dwelling in
your heart by faith.
00:42:49.37\00:42:53.31
This is the only way
00:42:53.34\00:42:54.99
that we can finish our
journey through this wilderness.
00:42:55.02\00:42:58.44
This is the only
way that we can go home.
00:42:58.47\00:43:02.11
Tonight if
you're thinking, Lord,
00:43:02.14\00:43:04.48
I want to be a
spiritual giant for You.
00:43:04.51\00:43:07.82
I want to rise up
to a higher standard.
00:43:07.85\00:43:10.20
I want to enter into heaven.
00:43:10.23\00:43:12.57
I want to be a spiritual
giant, But, Lord, I can't.
00:43:12.60\00:43:17.66
Then, you're right,
you can't on your own,
00:43:17.69\00:43:21.50
but Jesus can in you.
00:43:21.53\00:43:24.22
And He has
promised to do so in you,
00:43:24.25\00:43:27.58
if you simply
surrender yourself to Him.
00:43:27.61\00:43:31.97
You surrender yourself and say,
00:43:32.00\00:43:33.52
"Lord, take self off
the throne of my heart
00:43:33.55\00:43:37.70
and set yourself there as King."
00:43:37.73\00:43:41.12
Jesus will make you
into the spiritual giant
00:43:41.15\00:43:44.48
that He is calling you to be.
00:43:44.51\00:43:47.61
We may be weak but He is strong.
00:43:47.64\00:43:51.56
We may lack wisdom,
but He is all knowing.
00:43:51.59\00:43:56.79
Friends, we may lack power,
but Christ is all powerful
00:43:56.82\00:44:01.57
and He will raise
us up to be the giants
00:44:01.60\00:44:04.89
that he needs in this land.
00:44:04.92\00:44:08.08
The question is
will you let him?
00:44:08.11\00:44:13.81
Will you allow Jesus
to enter your hearts?
00:44:13.84\00:44:19.07
Will you allow Jesus to
raise you to higher standards?
00:44:19.10\00:44:23.38
Will you allow him
to help you crucify self
00:44:23.41\00:44:27.89
and to put yourself
last and Jesus first
00:44:27.92\00:44:30.48
and others second?
00:44:30.51\00:44:32.89
Friends, Jesus
does not just want you
00:44:32.92\00:44:34.81
to bring your sins to Him.
00:44:34.84\00:44:36.97
He wants you to
bring yourself to Him.
00:44:37.00\00:44:41.25
Have you done that?
00:44:41.28\00:44:44.39
As you look back over your life,
00:44:44.42\00:44:46.99
if you're honest with yourself,
00:44:47.02\00:44:49.57
does Jesus have
part of your heart?
00:44:49.60\00:44:53.22
Or does He have all of you?
00:44:53.25\00:44:57.21
Have you given
yourself completely?
00:44:57.24\00:44:59.76
Everything you have
and everything you are
00:44:59.79\00:45:04.03
for Jesus to make
you a spiritual giant?
00:45:04.06\00:45:10.19
Is your all on the
altar of sacrifice laid?
00:45:10.22\00:45:13.82
Your heart, does
the Spirit control.
00:45:13.85\00:45:19.20
You can only be blessed
00:45:19.23\00:45:22.80
And find peace and sweet rest
00:45:22.83\00:45:27.06
As you yield Him
your body and soul
00:45:27.09\00:45:35.06
Friends, have you given
everything to Jesus tonight?
00:45:35.09\00:45:42.60
Tonight, do you want to
say, Lord, here is all of me.
00:45:42.63\00:45:47.74
Here I am, everything that I am,
00:45:47.77\00:45:51.01
everything that I have.
00:45:51.04\00:45:54.09
Please, Lord, raise me
up to be the spiritual giant
00:45:54.12\00:45:58.09
that I cannot be on my own.
00:45:58.12\00:46:01.17
Enter into my heart and
take self off of the throne
00:46:01.20\00:46:03.93
and make yourself King.
00:46:03.96\00:46:06.84
If that's your desire tonight,
00:46:06.87\00:46:09.61
I'd like to invite you to stand,
00:46:09.64\00:46:13.03
not standing for a man,
00:46:13.06\00:46:14.74
but standing as
a sign to heaven.
00:46:14.77\00:46:16.95
Lord, I'm giving
you full permission
00:46:16.98\00:46:19.95
to enter into my
life in a brand new way.
00:46:19.98\00:46:23.88
This weekend, I
want to rise higher.
00:46:23.91\00:46:27.31
This weekend, I long to
draw closer to you, Lord.
00:46:27.34\00:46:32.17
I want the prayer of John
the Baptist to be my prayer.
00:46:32.20\00:46:38.22
I must decrease
and He must increase.
00:46:38.25\00:46:42.60
Amen, amen.
00:46:42.63\00:46:46.49
The Lord needs giants in
the lands, giants of faith.
00:46:46.52\00:46:52.30
We've been
wandering in the wilderness
00:46:52.33\00:46:53.81
of this world long
enough and it's time to go home.
00:46:53.84\00:46:57.12
Amen. It's time to go home.
00:46:57.15\00:47:00.80
Friends, we are bound
for the Promised Land.
00:47:00.83\00:47:03.15
Amen.
00:47:03.18\00:47:04.49
We are bound for
the Promised Lands.
00:47:04.52\00:47:07.20
On Jordan's stormy banks I
stand and cast a wishful eye
00:47:07.23\00:47:11.49
to Canaan's fair and happy land,
00:47:11.52\00:47:14.13
where my possessions lie.
00:47:14.16\00:47:16.62
Let's sing with
all of our heart.
00:47:16.65\00:47:17.89
Let's sing like giants together.
00:47:17.92\00:47:19.46
Amen?
00:47:19.49\00:47:20.52
On Jordan's stormy banks I stand
00:47:32.33\00:47:37.81
And cast a wishful eye
00:47:37.84\00:47:43.32
To Canaan's fair and happy land
00:47:43.35\00:47:49.16
Where my possessions lie
00:47:49.19\00:47:53.30
Sing like the giant one
00:47:53.33\00:47:54.93
I am bound for the Promised Land
00:47:54.96\00:48:00.86
I am bound for the Promised Land
00:48:00.89\00:48:06.16
O who will come and go with me?
00:48:06.19\00:48:11.93
I am bound for the Promised Land
00:48:11.96\00:48:15.29
Do you believe it,
let's sing the chorus again.
00:48:15.32\00:48:17.99
I am bound for the Promised Land
00:48:18.02\00:48:23.84
I am bound for the Promised Land
00:48:23.87\00:48:29.52
O who will come and go with me?
00:48:29.55\00:48:35.05
I am bound for the Promised Land
00:48:35.08\00:48:42.88
Our Father, God, thank You
00:48:42.91\00:48:44.61
that indeed we are
bound for the Promised Lands.
00:48:44.64\00:48:48.15
Christ, the forerunner
has already entered there
00:48:48.18\00:48:50.92
and we thank You that soon
He will return to take us home.
00:48:50.95\00:48:56.49
Lord, raise us up to
be giants in these lands.
00:48:56.52\00:49:01.75
Help us to win in
this greatest battle
00:49:01.78\00:49:04.11
that has ever been
fought, the battle against self.
00:49:04.14\00:49:07.93
We pray that you'd
be king of our hearts.
00:49:07.96\00:49:11.52
Thank You for Your
promise of victory.
00:49:11.55\00:49:14.39
And we thank You in
Jesus' precious name.
00:49:14.42\00:49:17.81
Amen.
00:49:17.84\00:49:18.87