We need to Pray It Forward

Welcome to this week's message from the Church at Chelsea Westover.

Our core values are vibrant worship, intimate fellowship, fulfilling service, and clear biblical truth.

We pray that this message changes your life.

Let's tune in to today's message and see what God has in store for you.

Turn your Bibles this morning to Joshua chapter 10.

Joshua 10 · chapter mention

Joshua chapter 10.

Joshua 10 · chapter mention

And I want to speak to you a message in light of what Pastor Danny's been doing the series on the disciples' prayer.

And I'm not going to continue on that, but I want to use the topic of prayer in Joshua chapter 10 and bring to you a concept this morning, a message called Pray It Forward.

Joshua 10 · chapter mention

Pray it forward in Joshua chapter 10.

Joshua 10 · chapter mention

And I am honored this morning as always to be in this pulpit.

I don't take lightly our pastor, and if he's watching, we say hello to you.

But we have a pastor who it's just an unusual circumstance for a man at 58 to listen to God's heart and plant a church.

And I feel privileged that God would put us in this place.

We came on a missions trip here to help this church plant two years ago, and little did I have any clue what God was going to do.

And so Pastor Danny has mentored me, and I've seen a shepherd's heart for people that is so refreshing.

And he talks and kind of jokes a lot from this pulpit saying that he just wants to preach and study God's word and visit people.

But he does.

You think that means it's that's just a little thing, two tasks.

But I've never seen anybody visit people and study God's word like the man of God that stands before this pulpit does.

And so I'm thankful for him.

We can clap for our pastor.

And so I take this as an honor to be in this place, and I followed him from afar for years as he would come and preach, and uh he was just kind of a hero to me, so I'm thankful this morning.

But in Joshua chapter 10, the concept, pray it forward.

Joshua 10 · chapter mention

The concept was discovered by Benjamin Franklin in a letter to a man named Benjamin Webb in April 25th, 1784.

He said, I do not pretend to give such a deed, I only lend it to you.

When you meet with another honest man in a similar distress, you must pay me by lending the sum back to him, and joining him to discharge the debt by like operation.

When he shall be able and shall meet with another opportunity, I hope this may go through many, many hands until the progress is stopped.

In the year 2000, the movie Pay It Forward was released, and it was based on this premise that a school teacher challenges his students to change the world by paying forward three people, with the rule being that you have to do something for a person that they could not do for themselves.

And so, as this young man embarks on this journey, he finds a homeless man in the movie and they offer him a home.

You see another scene where somebody is in a car wreck and a CEO offers the man in a car wreck his jaguar, and so on goes the paying it forward with the hope that people will continue to share meals, knowledge, and love.

Well, I want you to understand this morning, this concept was not Hollywood's concept, nor was it Benjamin Franklin's concept.

It's always been God's concept to pay it forward.

And this morning I want you to introduce you to the idea of praying it forward.

And so in Joshua chapter 10, I want you to look there in verses 1 through 5.

Joshua 10 · chapter mention

Let me pray again.

Lord, bless the reading of your word, I pray.

Lord, your word changes hearts and lives, and God, it says it's a discerner of our hearts and minds.

So, God, let your word, please, Lord, do its work this morning.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

In Joshua chapter 10, it says this.

Joshua 10 · chapter mention

Now it came to pass when Adonized, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had taken Ai and had utterly destroyed it, as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king.

And how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them, that they feared greatly because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty.

Therefore Anizadek, king of Jerusalem, sent to Hoam, king of Hebron, Piram, king of Jarmuth, Japha, king of Lachis, and Daber, king of Eglon, saying, Come up to me and help me, that we may attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.

Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king, all the kings gathered together, made armies, and camped before Gibeon, and made war against it.

And so, as we begin this, first thing I want you to see this morning is that there are times of distress.

As we look at Joshua chapter 10, the times of distress are coming.

Joshua 10 · chapter mention

The Bible tells us that we live in this world, and because we live in this world, there will be tribulation.

And times of distress, church, are coming if they're not here.

And in times of distress, we need to be reminded of a couple of things.

Number one, our enemies are activated by fear.

And if you need to know what enemies we have in this world that we face, we face three basic enemies.

We face Satan, father of lies, a deceiver.

We face the world, which is represented by flesh and temptation, and we face our own flesh.

And so we face three enemies.

And those enemies are activated by fear.

In this scripture, we see that Adonizadic is activated by fear.

Satan, this morning, church, I'd like to submit to you, is afraid.

Satan is afraid.

There are three things that I want to tell you about that our enemy fears.

He fears, number one, God's word.

Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, and three different times Jesus spoke back to Satan.

It is written.

It is written.

It is written.

When he was tempted, he said, It is written.

And he fears the word of God.

He doesn't just fear the word of God, he fears wisdom in the word of God.

In James chapter 1, it says this to us that we should be doers of the word, not just hearers.

James 1 · chapter mention

I don't believe Satan fears the word of God being in front of you.

He fears the word of God being acted out of you.

And so being doers of the word, not just hearers of it, and it says, deceiving your own self.

We deceive ourselves if we just hearers only.

If we just come to church and hear it, but don't apply it.

And so wisdom in the word of God is something that fears.

The mature in the word of God, Hebrews chapter 5 says, strong meat of the word belongs to the mature believer.

Hebrews 5 · chapter mention

Don't you think in Joshua chapter 1, if you got time, you can turn back there.

Joshua 1 · chapter mention

Let me give you this verse that Joshua was given.

It says, This book of the law, Joshua chapter 1, verse 8, shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.

Joshua 1:8

That's not just hearing.

For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success.

And so Joshua was a mature believer.

Joshua was someone who was in the Word of God.

And remember, the enemy is activated by fear.

He fears the word of God.

He fears God's presence.

He fears God's presence.

And how is God's presence activated in our life?

It's through our prayer life.

The enemy does not like you praying.

The enemy has not liked this church praying.

And the enemy will act based on our prayers, and the enemy does not like the presence of God being felt.

It's kind of like we've got Pastor Danny and Pastor Sylvester, usually one of the two pastors I go out visiting with.

And Sylvester has this crazy fear of dogs.

I've never seen anything like it.

I've seen people with fear of dogs, but not like this.

And so we went to this one house, and now the background there, Sylvester's a man of war, was in hand-to-hand combat, okay, a soldier, big man, okay, strong, much larger than me.

And so we're walking up to this house, and we get close to the door, and Sylvester hears, he sees a dog, didn't hear it, sees a dog.

And the next thing I knew, Sylvester was on my back, literally in the air on my back, almost, and I'm like, what just happened?

He's just a dog.

What do I do?

What do I do?

What do I do?

I'm like, I don't know, but get off me.

Like, get up the steps.

And so the presence of that dog did something.

Now, a few days ago, Pastor Danny told me he went out, and there's a man by the name of Wade who uh has just joined the church, and uh Wade Faulkner, we were going out to his home, he was going out to his home, and he said he went out to this house, and they he has a large German shepherd-like dog.

And Pastor Danny is not afraid of dogs.

He goes up to dogs, he pets them, you know, he's that dog person, takes his dog along with him on the visits.

And so anyway, we he he gets up to this house and he told me, he said, No, I'm not really afraid of dogs.

He said, but this dog came out and it showed its teeth.

It didn't bark, it showed its teeth and started growling at me.

And he said, That dog was gonna bite me.

He said, So I ran back, jumped in my car.

But when I went, I went back out to that house, we got invited fishing, and I heard about the dog, and I got my kids with me.

I'm like, I'm I'm really not gonna encounter this dog.

And so, uh, and I'm not really afraid of dogs, but I'm not ready to walk up and let one do something to me.

And so I texted Wade, we are here.

And so I expected that meant to him, come on outside before I come to your door.

And soon enough, Wade came out.

But listen, when he came outside, I had no fear of that dog.

Because the master was there.

I had no fear of that dog doing anything to me.

When the master was here, I saw that dog.

I mean, he's a big dog.

He didn't do nothing when the master said, put his tail between his legs and went the other way.

My little kids, I didn't fear for my little kids.

They were touching them, they were playing.

I didn't have any fears because his master was there.

I want you to understand Satan has no precedence over our God.

And I want you to understand, when God's in the house, Satan is afraid.

And when you're in prayer to our Lord, Satan does not like that.

He doesn't like the master's presence.

He fears his presence.

He also fears God's work.

I want you to turn over a scripture at the end of your Bible, Revelations chapter 12.

Revelation 12 · chapter mention

He fears God's work.

Look at what the scripture says.

I want to read verses 11 and 12.

Well, let's go back up to verse number 10.

Revelations chapter 12, verses 10 through 12.

Revelation 12:10–12

It says, Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now salvation and strength in the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ have come.

For the accuser of our brethren who accused them before our God, day and night, day and night, has been cast down.

And listen to this, verse 11.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the power of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to death.

Therefore, rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them, woe to the inhabitants of the earth and sea.

For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows, listen to this, that he has short time.

You see, he fears God's work.

Look at what it says about what he's doing.

He's out and he's accusing day and night.

He's trying to bring distress.

There's going to be times of distress in this life.

And he wants you to stumble.

He wants to make you slip up.

And he's going after you day and night.

But verse 11 says, He's overcome by your testimony.

He fears God's work.

He can't do anything to your testimony.

The Bible says, let the redeemed of the Lord say so.

Share your story.

Tell that co-worker.

He can't fight it.

He can't fight the testimony of what God's doing.

You can't argue a changed life.

The deceiver can't argue to God a changed life.

And when somebody tries to argue to you about your changed life, they can't.

You can talk apologetics, you can talk about the Bible, but when you share your testimony, you are the authority on your testimony.

Somebody can't argue you down from what you believe and what God has happened and the proof of a changed life.

The power of his work he's afraid of.

And why?

Verse 12 says, because he knows his time is little.

He knows he just has a little time.

Have you ever had to get a project done?

And you started to look at the clock and time was ticking away.

Anybody here ever been in college?

Had a paper?

Started a, you know, you know what happened, 2 o'clock in the morning, and you got Mountain Dewing pizza and you're ready to start?

And you see the clock ticking away?

I had my last week of college, I think it was my junior year, and I had a reading that got the best of me.

Okay.

My teacher said, if you at the end of the semester, you're gonna have to write, you're gonna have to sign your name that you read this book.

He wasn't in my room, he wasn't checking, but it got to the best of me.

And he said, it will drop you a letter grade if you sign that you did not read this reading.

So there I was at like one in the morning, and I'm like, man, I could just sign it.

I could just sign.

And time was ticking away.

So I started a 300-page book at one in the morning and stayed up till I got it finished because I'm like, I gotta sign this thing.

But time was ticking.

Man, it was scary.

I'm like, I'm not gonna get this done.

I still had to study.

I'm gonna be up taking finals with no sleep.

But when time is ticking, and Satan, let me tell you, time is ticking, and his time's about to be done, and he is afraid.

There's gonna be times of distress, but the enemy activates by fear.

You see, Satan's afraid, but also the world, sinners are afraid.

Why would a sinner be afraid?

In John chapter 3, verse 20, there's this verse.

John 3:20

It says, Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light.

For fear their deeds will be exposed.

Because they're doing wrong things.

Why are sinners afraid?

Because they're doing wrong things.

When I was in seventh grade, I went to a Christian school and I was suspended from my Christian school in seventh grade.

Now it was attached to my church, which my parents were involved with.

My dad was in bus ministry, and so this was a big deal in my house.

I got suspended.

And the principal, while while it was going on, you know, it was like this uh NCIS investigation of what happened.

He brings me into his office, he sits me down, and he starts grilling me on what happened.

Well, I had taken a off-color joke into school that I got my hands on to, and I started passing around my class.

This really happened.

Uh they took it around, some people were laughing.

My teacher took it, read it, laughed at it, and then pulled me up to his desk and sent me to the office.

And so I'm down there and I'm like sweating.

And um he starts preaching at me.

It's an investigation, but he starts preaching at me.

And he says, Where did you find this?

I'm like, uh, I found it in the locker room.

He's like, that is not true.

These locker rooms are cleaned every day.

There's no way this was just sitting around in the locker room.

He's like, Do you want do you have Jesus in your heart?

He starts, and I'm like, Yes.

He said, Do you know that light and darkness cannot commune?

You can't be speaking this evening.

You're telling me lies, and I'm like, you're right.

It's a lie.

And he's just grilling me, and I'm like, I found it at home.

This was just sitting around at your home.

And I'm like, yes.

He says, Where in your home?

And I'm like, I found it on the ground outside.

No, you didn't.

And I'm like, oh, I said, I found it in the junk drawer.

In the junk drawer of the rights household.

And I'm like, yes, he was.

I can't believe this.

I'm like, this is the truth.

This is really true.

And so brought my mom and dad in, and they have a meeting, and you know, I got suspended from school, and for three days I chopped wood and chopped wood and chopped.

It was the worst thing.

But when I was in that office, I was afraid.

When I was in that office because of the evil works, I was afraid to be exposed.

I didn't want to tell the truth.

I was afraid.

And it says, everyone who does evil hates the light.

Sinners are afraid.

They're afraid because of punishment.

Choices bring consequences.

Proverbs says this verse.

And if you think about it, it says, the wicked flee when no one pursues.

The wicked run because that conscience, that mind is always trying and thinking something's up.

Those people are thinking, the wicked flee when no one's coming after them.

What it says about the righteous.

The righteous are bold as a lion.

I can sleep at night with a clear conscience.

But the wicked flee when no one pursues.

It's their works, it's that punishment.

Well, look at Adonizadek.

Why is he fearing?

Why is he running?

Why has he been activated by fear?

He calls for this coalition in verses 1 through 5.

And it says in verse 2 that he fears greatly.

He's fearing what's to come.

And if you look at it and you go back and study who they are, these are sinful men that were idol worshippers.

He's fearing what's to come because of the sin in their life.

And so he calls these men together.

And if you see further, we'll get to it.

But at the end of the chapter, he and the four other kings are found hiding in a cave while the battle is going down.

He's afraid.

He's afraid.

Sinners are afraid.

The enemy is activated by fear.

The enemy is activated by fear, and the enemy also assembles for a fight.

So he calls together these men, he gathers them together for this coalition.

And I want you to understand, sometime, as there's times of distress, distress assembles from every side.

Distress in our life can assemble from every side.

2 Corinthians 4 8 says this, though.

We are pressed on every side, yet not crushed.

We are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted but not abandoned.

We are struck down but not destroyed.

It says at the end of that passage that for this momentary affliction, it's but a moment.

But what it's working in us is for a greater weight of glory.

And so distress is going to happen, and enemies are going to semble, and sometimes in life it feels like it's coming from every angle.

Maybe you got down about your finances.

There's some folks that have been praying in this church about job opportunities.

And maybe you feel like, man, that's coming at me.

Or maybe in your house things just, you know what happens.

The dishwasher goes, the dryer's messed up, the car got a flat tire, the roof has a leak.

You feel like, man, it's just coming from every angle.

And we've been dealing with and praying in this church for some serious physical illnesses.

And it's just beating on your door.

Maybe this morning you've got that prodigal child.

And it feels like, man, I did what the Bible said.

I tried to train up a child in the way he should go.

And this is still happening.

Why is this coming from all angles at me?

And this February is probably one of the hardest months in my family's life.

And some of y'all were affected by some of these things, but I lost my great-grandmother the first week of February.

And the next week or week and a half, my wife's father-in-law, or it'd be my father-in-law's stepfather-in-law, passed away.

He had a long bout with ALS.

And then we come back from three weeks of funerals.

We went to two funerals for that one.

We come back and we got the news, you know, the ongoing news about Granny Wilson.

And the next week after that, we had her funeral.

And it seemed like this March, I have never had more pediatric visits in our whole life with our kids.

We're just like every couple of days we're there, and it feels like every side, every angle.

And I heard this verse and I got thinking about it.

We're pressed.

We have been pressed, but we're not abandoned.

Satan, we're not crushed.

We might be persecuted, but we've never, never been abandoned.

And my God, it says, never leaves or forsakes me.

He's Jehovah's Nisi, the Bible says, my banner.

Bible uses words like He covers me, He's my rock, He's my shield, He's my strength, He's my fortress, He's my refuge, He's my deliverer, He's my help, He's the bread of life, and He's the living water.

Water.

He is all I need.

He's the lion and my lamb.

Listen, distresses are going to come and the enemy's going to assemble sometimes, it seems like, from every angle.

But it doesn't mean that we're crushed.

In 1763, Todd Maguire gave me a book while I was on one of the funeral runs.

I got this book and I'm like, I'm never going to get to read this 600, whatever.

He gave me an encyclopedia.

But I'm going to take it.

And I got into it and I got hooked.

The book's called 1776, but it talks about the Revolutionary War.

And from 1763, people look at that one day, from 1763 to 1787 was when our Constitution was signed.

The American Revolution took place.

Let me tell you a little synopsis.

The British Army was the best trained, best equipped, and most professional army in the world at that time.

The Royal Navy at that time was the best in its class and the undisputed ruler of the high seas.

Not only that, but they retained the loyalty of at least one-third of the people that were living in North America in the colonies.

And by contrast, the American colonists were in economic and political disarray.

The states were not unified.

The national government was largely not being used.

Our currency was worthless.

The American army at that time was poorly supplied, and they were insufficiently trained at first.

That changed.

And inconsistently paid.

So how did the enemy lose?

Three things, this man gave a synopsis of.

Three things that said how the enemy lost.

Number one, they didn't have the size to occupy all of the United States.

They just didn't have the massive amount needed to cover the territory.

And number two, we had home field advantage.

They didn't have the supply that we could get to.

Now we had poor supplies, but we could get to them.

They had to go back to their motherland.

And then the last thing I love, it says they didn't have the U.S.

spirit.

They did not have the spirit.

They didn't have the size, the supply, or the spirit.

Let me tell you something.

The enemy that is facing us has great treachery, has tactics and many devices, and there are fiery darts.

But the enemy simply is not big enough to occupy your space.

The enemy is not omnipotent, not omniscient, not omnipresent.

The enemy is fighting a fight, but you have a God.

The scripture says that's greater.

Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.

He can't complete with your supply.

He can't complete with the Holy Spirit, the spirit that you're given.

He's fighting our battles, and the enemy is running, but he's running in an empty, crushed, defeated fight.

Listen.

I want you to turn to two people right next to you.

I want you to high-five them and say this.

We got size, we got supply, and we got spirit.

We got size, supply, and spirit.

The devil, all he got is schemes.

We got size, supply, and spirit.

He's got schemes.

Listen, the enemy is active and will assemble.

The distressful time is a certainty.

We live in this world.

But what do you do?

When the distress comes, there's a time of decision.

And that's number two here, the times of decision.

Look at verse 6 through 8.

And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, saying, Do not forsake your servants.

Come up to us quickly, save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the mountains have gathered together against us.

So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he and all the mighty people of war, and all the mighty men of valor.

And the Lord said to Joshua, Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand, not a man of them shall stand before you.

So there's a time when your distress is going to come, and then there's going to be a moment of decision, a time of decision.

And decisions are determined by two things: the commitment you have and the character you have.

You see, Joshua was a man of character and commitment.

And Joshua in this moment wanted to execute.

He made a decision.

Execution is accomplished by commitment.

And in that decision, it will determine who you are.

And so what is commitment?

I thought about, first we need to identify what commitment is not.

You see, today when you're married, you take a commitment, you take a vowel, and it says, till death do us part.

But I think in our culture it's kind of become, till death do us part, or till it's disagreeable, or till I get fed up, or till I get tired of it, or till something else comes along my way that I think might be exciting.

That's not a commitment, church.

Friendship commitments have changed.

The world's changing.

You used to be able just to come by at 7 o'clock, drop by somebody's house.

And it wasn't about inconvenience or not inconvenience.

You probably get something to eat.

Just drop by your friend's house.

And now, I mean, you've got to have the floors waxed, you've got to be vacuuming fans, you got to be, I mean, everything got to be done so you can allow somebody the honor to step onto your beautiful floors so they'll think you're amazing.

Right?

Friendship commitment has changed.

Listen.

Drop by your friend's house.

Just do it, please.

Just drop.

What's commitment?

Our work commitment.

Man.

Christian ought to outwork everyone.

That ought to be one thing said of a Christian.

Man, they are outworking everyone.

Man, they work hard.

They'll put in long hours.

They'll do the tasks that nobody else wants.

Christian ought to be hard workers.

When I went to Tennessee Temple University, all the students on my campus, if they went to put in a job application, they were getting a job.

And not all of them were good, but because the majority of them were known as hard workers, we could all get a job.

I didn't put in job application before a couple days.

Had two jobs in college like that.

Because we were known to have the character, the commitment to work hard.

Christians ought to work hard and ought to love to work.

Work is a gift from God.

That's right.

What about the church?

Execution is accomplished by commitment.

You see, there's been this terminology in the church that's kind of come across.

We have faithful people, and then we have faithful to hit and miss people.

That's what we do.

We have faith.

They're faithful.

They are faithful to hit, and they will be here once a month or twice.

They're faithful, but they are faithful to miss.

They are real faithful.

They're going to be here and they're going to miss.

And so we're coming in a time, and I'm trying to understand it as I've moved into a different culture and into a different area, that if you have wealth, you should go on lots of family vacations, and it should always include Sunday.

And if you're a good person, you need to take your kid to go do sports tournaments and be away.

And that's how you should spend your.

Listen, it's not a bad thing.

It's not like Christians are out doing evil things being tempted.

They're out doing good things, but there's good things and there's best things.

And I fear that the commitment level of the church today is going by the wayside because of the lake.

They're going by the wayside because of the tournament.

We don't, we're not committed like we used to.

There's a story about a man named Eric Liddell.

Some of y'all, anybody heard the name Eric Liddell before?

Eric Liddell, based on the movie, you've probably seen Chariots of Fire.

Eric Liddell was a Scottish runner, and he could run like lightning.

Well, Eric Liddell was best in the hundred meters.

And Eric Liddell perfected that, and they knew at the Olympics were coming that for the first time ever, the Scottish people were going to get to take a gold medal home for that 100-meter race.

And Eric Liddell was ready.

And guess what happened?

He found out, this is what he's famous for.

He found out, now Eric Liddell was a passionate Christian, and everybody around him knew that.

He found out that that Olympic game, the 100 meter, was going to be raced on Sunday.

And Eric Liddell refused.

His 100-meter race was going to be raced on Sunday.

He refused.

He said, I'm not.

That's the Lord's Day.

And they tried to talk him into it.

Well, what if we scheduled the timing later in the day?

He said, No.

I'm not budging on the Lord's Day.

It's the Lord's Day.

I don't care if I'm the best in the world at running this race.

I'm not going to miss the best of the world's meeting for me.

And so he would not run that race.

And in fact, what happened, what's great about this story, his commitment, he decided to start practicing some other races.

Well, as it would happen, the 100-meter race is way different from a 400-meter race.

The way that you train, the way that you're and so in a short amount of time, he started training instead for the 400-meter because it was going to be run during the week.

And Eric Liddell brought home unexpectedly a gold medal for winning the 400-meter race because his commitment.

God allowed him that.

God honored that.

Listen, Scripture says this better is one day as a doorkeeper in the house of God than anywhere else.

Than thousands elsewhere, Scripture said.

Better is one day to hold that door than to be a CEO of a business.

Better is one day to hold that door and hand out a bulletin than to be on any vacation.

Better is one day in God's house.

What is your commitment, church?

You see, Joshua was a person of great commitment.

He wasn't going to be budged.

The Greek word for commitment is this per authike.

Per authike, and it means a deposit of trust.

God has given you a deposit of trust.

What is our deposit of trust?

A quality of being dedicated to a cause.

A missionary society wrote to David Livingstone.

Have you found a good road where you are?

If so, we want to know how to send other men to join you.

Livingstone wrote back, If you have men who will come only if they know there is a good road, I don't want them.

I want men who will come if there is no road at all.

Commitment.

It's a deposit of trust.

You see, we're called as Christians to commitment.

The Great Commandment is all about commitment.

It says that we are to love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength.

Luke 14 says, if you do not pick up your cross and follow me, you can't be my disciple.

That's commitment.

There's no duality.

Duality in Christ.

He is a mono- God, one God who requires allegiance to just him.

Have you been committed to him?

Have you been committed to him in your prayer life?

You see, Joshua was committed to him.

And Joshua had made a commitment to protect Gibeon.

And we're going to talk a minute about why that's important here.

But he had a time of decision in verses 6 through 8 that he had to make to his commitment.

And distress is coming, I'm telling you, it's coming.

And it may be coming from all corners.

And in those moments of distress, you're going to have a moment of decision.

And your commitment is going to define that.

But not just your commitment.

Execution is also affirmed by your character.

Now I want you to go back to chapter 9.

We need to define who Gibeon is and why Joshua is trying to come to with this commitment as these five kings are gathering together to fight Gibeon.

Why is Joshua on the side of Gibeon?

Look back at chapter 9, verses 4 through 7.

Or start in verse 3.

But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they worked craftily, and went and pretended to be ambassadors, and they took old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and mended, old and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments on themselves, and all the bread of their provisions was dry and moldy.

And they went to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal, and they said to him, and to the men of Israel, We have come from a far country.

Now therefore, make a covenant with us.

Then the men of Israel said to the Hivites, Perhaps you dwell among us, so how can we make a covenant with you?

But they said to Joshua, We are your servants, and Joshua said to them, Who are you, and where do you come from?

So they said to him, From a very far country, your servants have come, because of this, in the name of the Lord your God, for we have heard of his fame and all that he did in Egypt.

Now look down to verse twenty-two through twenty-four.

So Joshua makes this covenant with them.

Then Joshua called for them, and he spoke to them.

He finds out after he makes this covenant with him, he calls to them and says, Why have you deceived us, saying we are from very far when you dwell near us?

Now therefore you are cursed, and none of you shall be freed from being slaves, woodcutters, and water carriers for the house of my God.

So they answered Joshua and said, Because your servants were clearly told that the Lord your God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the ha inhabitants of the land, we were very much afraid and have done this thing.

And so Joshua was had by Gibeon.

These Gibeonites come and they put on this disguise and they asked to make a covenant.

They say they're from a far country, and Joshua was commanded to destroy everything that was nearby.

And Joshua had really been deceived and made this covenant.

Now, what he didn't do in that scripture that you look for, it doesn't say that, and Joshua took time to seek the Lord.

And Joshua took time to pray.

And so, in this moment of decision, as Gibeon in chapter 10 comes to him and asks for him to honor his commitment, humanly speaking, this would have been a good time to just let the coalition have war at him.

It'd have been, let those five kings go ahead and destroy Gibeon.

They weren't coming after Joshua in that moment, they were coming after Gibeon.

So, humanly speaking, you've been deceived by someone.

Go ahead and let them be wiped out, right?

But not Joshua.

You see, he gave his word, and that meant something.

And Gibeon, further, if you look into it, Gibeon was a part of the Canaanites, and a covenant was forbid in the old law.

And so they made this covenant, but then what happens after you've made a mistake, you have an opportunity.

Go back on your word.

Let's talk about that character.

What is my character?

The Greek word for character is dokime, dokime, which is, listen to this, the process or result of trial.

Let me say that again.

Your character, dokime.

The process or result of a trial.

That's your character, the proving time.

And so when the enemy questions your character, what do we do?

And listen, you're going to have times of distress, you're going to have moments of decision in life, and your character is going to reveal some things.

Now, at this moment, Joshua could have given him up, let him go.

He gave his word, he could have let them be had.

Well, listen, Joshua had that character.

What's your character?

As a Christian, let me tell you what the scripture says.

John 1.12 says, To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

That's who your identity is.

You're a child of God.

Romans 6 says, We know that our old self was crucified with him, so the body ruled by sin might be done away with.

We shall no longer be a slave to sin.

That's our character when we come to Christ.

And 1 Corinthians 12 says that the body, we are the body of Christ, we're his hands and feet.

That's the character that we're supposed to display.

1 Corinthians 6 says, Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?

This is the character of who we are.

And should be the basis of our decision.

And if you're lost today, if you've not received Christ, you're a being without spiritual purpose.

You're a peaceless being, a restless being, unfulfilled.

And if you're without Christ today in your identity, you have a destiny in a real place called hell.

Your character, if you're lost, is based on the world's morality.

And the world says it's survival of the fittest, it's get mine, it's do me.

Right?

It's rise to the top, eat or be eaten.

That's not popular, but it's truth.

If you lost today, a person of character always in verse 7 honors their word.

In order to honor your word, you have to lay down desires.

And you see, this was an opportunity for Joshua to lay down his desires.

I am been on a 10-year journey of laying down my desires.

It's called parenting.

Y'all seen these things before?

Okay.

I I saw one for the first time and I thought, alright, that's cool.

Look at that.

Wow, back and forth it goes.

Very cool.

Six bucks, that's pretty good, six bucks, okay.

I saw one.

And my kids wanted them, and they were talking about them, and so my kids got one.

And then my kids were like, I need another one.

So I'm like, you know, that's six bucks.

That's 12 bucks, that's 18 bucks.

So we got another one.

And guess what that one did?

It does the same thing in a different color.

Awesome.

And so then we needed another one.

I bet we have about 14 of these things sitting around.

And guess what they all do?

They do this.

Fidgets be spinning.

It's awesome.

Look at that.

Rest of the message just gonna sit there.

Some of y'all, you won't listen to a word I say.

I have not, with my children, I have not paid for a movie in a long time that I wanted to see.

I have paid for some good naps at the movie theater.

I have been laying down desires, and I didn't know anything about that.

I thought, you know, that I was like a pretty giving person before I had children.

I thought like that I really wasn't selfish.

And then I had children and found out, oh my soul, they really want all this?

And they they see me just sitting down, and that's when they're gonna ask me for a drink.

You've got to learn how to get that milk out the fridge and pour it on your mind.

I don't care if you got little baby fingers.

You get strong.

I am sitting.

I just popped a reclining thing out, right?

Laying down desires means it's not about you.

A person of character honors their word.

It's not about you.

You see, Joshua in this situation could have said, annihilate them, get rid of them.

They deceived me, I was wronged.

But he honored his word.

And listen, Romans 8.28 says something about that.

God honored it.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, they're called according to his purposes.

God honored it.

And the secret in what God did is in verse 8.

Listen.

Verse 8 it says, And the Lord said to Joshua, Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand.

Not a man of them shall stand before you.

And so God said, the secret there is the promise that God gives.

God gives this insight, and it tells us, listen, for God to give that insight, I bet Joshua sought the Lord.

He sought the Lord in prayer, and God said, Don't be afraid.

I'm handing them right over to you.

Not a one of them can resist you.

Not a one of them is gonna resist your attack.

And so, when times of distress encamp you and you have a moment of decision that you make based on your character and your commitment, be ready for number three, times of the divine.

Distress is coming.

When you make your decisions based on the character and commitment of a Christian, be ready for times of divine.

Look down at verses seven through fourteen.

We just read verse eight.

We'll go to nine.

It says, Joshua therefore came upon them suddenly, having marched all night from Gilgal.

So the Lord routed them before Israel, killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them along the road that goes to Beth Oron, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Macedon.

And it happened as they fled before Israel and were on the descent of Beth Horon, that the Lord cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azica, and they died.

There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword.

Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Son, stand still over Gibeon, and moon in the valley of Ajon.

So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped till the people had revenge upon their enemies.

Is this not written in the book of Jashu?

So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.

And there has been no day like it, before or after, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel.

Times of divine evidence here is authenticated by the providence of God.

Look at some of these.

Look at what happens.

There's a couple of different things that are miraculous.

The providence of God explains it.

And it says that he came down and marched down from Gilgal, that he marched down overnight.

Now in Joshua 9, we don't have time to go back and forth, but Joshua 9.17 says that this was a three-day journey.

This 22 or so mile march was supposed to be a three-day journey, and they made it overnight.

Then in verse 10, we see the slaughter.

So the Lord routed them before Israel, and they killed them with a great slaughter.

God gave them the slaughter.

In verse 11, the hand of God shows up in verse 11, and it says, He strikes down large hailstones upon them.

Hailstones so much that kills them more than happened in the battle.

Right?

And so God sends these hailstones to battle before them.

There's other scripture where Joshua's fighting, and it says, God send the swarm before him.

And God has fought.

Now Joshua, remember, has seen the hand of God.

And so when it came to this time, he called on the Lord and he knew he could see the supernatural.

And so he called down this hailstorm.

And then in verse 12 and 13, he cries out to God and asks him to make the sun stand still so that the battle can be finished.

He said, I need more light in this battle so that it can be finished.

And so he cries out to God to make the sun stand still.

Talk about a long day at the office.

Right?

Ever come home and say, What a long day.

It was just as long as yesterday, right?

Same amount of hours.

This was a different day.

The sun stood still on this day.

And there's evidence authenticated by the providence of God, but there's also evidence appealed to through prayer.

Look at verse 14 again.

It says, and there has been no day like that before or after it that the Lord heeded the voice of a man.

For the Lord fought for Israel.

Evidence appealed through by prayer.

You see, this was the big miracle.

These other things were miraculous.

But God heeded the voice of a man.

God listened to what a man cried out and made it happen.

You see, God delights in the asking.

He delights in that.

Joshua spoke to the Lord and asked him to make this happen, and God delights in that.

In James 4, 2, it says that we have not because we ask not.

And John Piper, a pastor, says, prayer causes things.

Prayer causes things.

And that scripture says, you have not because you ask not.

It doesn't mean you would have it anyway, even if you didn't ask because I'm God and I have a plan.

It doesn't mean the opposite of what it says.

It says, you have not because you ask not.

Prayer causes things that happen that wouldn't happen if you didn't pray.

Take a moment and let that sing in.

We have a great responsibility in this lifetime that we're given, that the Bible causes a vapor.

If prayer causes the creator of all things to activate things to happen, and we don't take part in that prayer, we're missing the blessing of being a part of the supernatural, the divine.

Prayer causes things to happen that would not happen if you did not pray.

Parents today, don't you want good for your children?

Don't you want your child to have a good future mate?

Don't you want them to have a character?

Your prayer causes things to happen.

Business owners, don't you want success at your business?

Your prayer causes things to happen.

That wouldn't happen if you didn't prayer.

Students, don't you want to understand what you're studying?

Don't you want favor?

Prayer causes things.

Church, don't we want to see an awakening of God?

Don't we want to see it for ourselves, for our children, for our grandchildren, where they can say a community on fire for the Lord once again?

Prayer causes things to happen.

Don't you want to see unity in this church?

Don't you want to see your marriage last a lifetime?

Prayer causes things.

Don't you want to see that relationship be reconciled?

Prayer causes things.

Don't you want to live victorious over sin and temptation?

Prayer causes things.

I want you to look to the person next to you and say, prayer causes things.

I want you to say, my prayer causes things.

And I want you to look back at them and say, you should pray more.

Need to be people of prayer.

Prayer causes things.

You see, God delights in it.

He delights in the asking.

He delights in his will.

John 15, 7 says, If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you can ask anything of me, and it will be done.

But it's a verse more about his will.

You see, Joshua was close to God, and he was filled with the Holy Spirit of God, and he prayed the will of God.

And the will of God that day that he prayed was that he would get to see a supernatural act of God, that the Son would stand still.

Says there's not been a day before it or a day like it.

Don't you want to see the supernatural church?

Don't you get tired of just getting by?

You want to pray for healing and really believe it?

Or just pray as a list.

I'll go through my list.

Prayer causes things, but you got to be committed in belief in prayer.

See, God delights in the desire of your prayers.

In verse 14, there's not been another day like it that the Lord heeded such a big request.

He could have asked a lot of things.

God, take out these enemies with more hailstones.

He said, make the sun stand still.

Why?

So people could say that and remember it says, it talks about another book, the book of Jashua is a book of writings that was written.

It was written down in a book.

He said, make the sun stand still so people can look back and say, that day was the day that God moved and did something miraculous.

Don't you want that, church?

Listen, if the size of your vision or the way that you're dreaming for your life isn't scary, it might be insulting to God.

If the size of your vision, you think that person in my family just is never going to get saved, that's insulting.

You think that person can't be healed?

That is insulting to God.

Listen, Jesus gave his life on a cross, suffering horrendous torture, so that you could go boldly to the throne of grace.

And so that act, if you look at it and you have a small vision and say this can't happen, your belief is so minute.

Your prayer needs to be audacious.

It needs to be scary.

The prayers we pray need to be appropriate to the sacrifice that gives us bold access.

Big prayers, belief in our prayers.

It's like this church.

The vision that God gave David Wilson, the man sitting at Brook Hills in a church service, that God would ignite in him a use of his stewardship in the buildings he's given him.

And that God would call a businessman to plant a church in a building.

And this building used to be much smaller, and God has done a work and continue to do a work.

But he put a big, scary vision in a man's heart.

And he wasn't a pastor, right?

He was just a businessman who thought, God's telling me to build a church.

And we need some more businessmen who God gets a hold of their heart and they start doing God things.

And he calls on a 58-year-old, not a spring chicken, right?

He really is a healthy 63 now.

But that doesn't make sense in the field that we work in, right?

As a 58-year-old, they say you're supposed to start, you know, vacations and retiring, but to start a baby church from nothing has to take big, audacious vision.

Four people sat in this room and they came together and said, God can bless this thing if we'll go after it, and we can see the divine.

But they had to pray some big prayers.

Dr.

Adrian Rogers said this: we have no right to be believed as Christians if we can be explained.

Say it again.

We have no right to be believed if we can be explained.

To have the activity of the divine, we have to be able to say, I can't explain how this happened.

I didn't do it.

It was as if something greater overtook me and overcame it and overwhelmed it.

1 John 16, 33 says, In this world you will have tribulation, but be of great cheer.

I have overcome the world.

It says, whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world.

And the victory that we see in that is with faith.

The Bible says that we live by faith and not by faith.

It can't make sense of it.

It's not about what we see, it's about what we don't see.

It's not about all the things that we see.

The Bible says that the thousands.

Look at the end of the chapter as we f wrap up what happened.

Joshua chapter ten, verse twenty-four and twenty-five.

It says, So it was when they brought out first the the the kings gathered together and hid in a cave after the war was about over.

In verse 24, it says, So it was when they brought out those kings to Joshua that Joshua called for all the men of Israel.

And he said to the captains of the men of war who went with him, Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings.

And they drew near and put their feet on their necks.

Listen to what Joshua said.

Do not be afraid.

By the way, Joshua heard that a lot from the Lord in chapter 1.

He said, Be courageous, do not be afraid, I'll be with you.

Be courageous, do not be afraid, I will be with you.

Be courage.

He said it four times to him.

And now Joshua is saying it to these men, because you know it's been rehearsed in his ears.

Do not be afraid nor dismayed.

Be strong and of good courage, for thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you shall fight.

Listen to that.

If you'll delight in the Lord, you'll see the power of the divine.

If you'll pray some real prayers to him, he says, Every enemy, everything that comes to you from all four corners, every place it's coming from, you're going to be like the king with your foot on the neck of that enemy.

And it can't, it can't, it can't have fight with you.

It can't stand against your God.

You see, victory comes in that.

And I want to take you back.

My premise to pray it forward comes from this.

In Exodus chapter 17, verse 14, Moses, Joshua's mentor, was told this write this in a book and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua.

Exodus 17:14

You see, Joshua went with Moses up on the mountainside 40 days and nights.

And when Israel was making idols, it was Joshua that came and told Moses.

You see, Moses craved to see his people reach the promised land, but he never did get to see it.

His people were on the brink, despite all the evidence, they simply refused to believe God was able to do the impossible.

They'd seen it, but they still didn't believe it.

They saw what God did, and they still didn't go to him in prayer and pray to him.

And his people's lack of character kept them from the promised land.

They missed out because they didn't want to get uncomfortable in their faith.

They wanted a different kind of food.

They wanted something more comfortable.

And I'm afraid it's church today.

That's what we're looking for.

We want the divine, but we want it mixed with a big side of comfort.

Give me some comfort, Pastor Rick, and then I go all in.

If I can go all in with my hammock involved, I'll go all in.

If I can go all in with some naps involved, I'll go all in.

If I can go all in with a great retirement, then I'll go all in.

As long as it has some perks.

People lacked character.

But it didn't stop Moses.

You see, he invested right where he was, and he prayed it forward to a young man, Joshua.

So, church, today, maybe you don't get to see the promised land or the awakening, but I want to challenge you to pray it forward.

I just have to believe that we're going to see one more coming together of a people group that would awaken for God.

And it's overwhelming if you listen to the doom and gloom of people about the world being so evil.

But if I could echo Moses and him preaching down to Joshua, my people, we are full of God.

And so today, will you pray it forward?

Will you commit with me in prayer to set a chain of events that will happen, that will set forth a strain of spiritual work in motion that will cause the impossible to happen, that will cause the earth to stop spinning on its axis, that we will see the sun stand still, that a generation will fall back on its face for God.

But it has to start with me.

And it has to start with you.

Then your church.

Then your house.

Today we commit and pray for.

You see, the first prayer God hears is a sinner's prayer.

This morning, Scripture says, if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus died on a cross, that he was buried and rose for you, that you can be saved.

Have you prayed that prayer this morning?

If you have not, the Bible says in Romans 6.23, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

So we can believe and be saved this morning.

And so this morning, if you've never entered into a relationship with Jesus Christ, you can do so by praying a prayer like this.

Pastor Daniel says each week it's a sinner's prayer.

Heads bowed, eyes closed, you can say this, dear Lord.

I know that I'm a sinner.

I'm repenting of my sins.

I'm sorry.

I believe that Jesus died on the cross, that he was buried, and that he rose again for me.

I want to commit my life, my will, all that I am to you this morning.

With heads bowed and eyes close to be any in the crowd this morning that would uplift their hand and say, I just prayed that prayer and I accepted Jesus as my Savior.

Just raise your hand now.

In it all, I just prayed that prayer and I accepted Jesus.

I made him my Lord.

Second part of the invitation is this.

Distress is here, or it's coming.

There's some people in here going through some really heavy things.

And I know as a church, as we set forth this year to begin in prayer, some battles have come.

And some of you it feels like it's coming from all sides.

Whether it be sickness, a family member, finances are taking a hit, maybe you're here, you've got that product, whatever it is.

That the stress is here and the decision time is on its way.

The question is, do you want to see the divine?

Do you really desire to see the divine for yourself, for your home?

If you're here today and you say, Pastor Rick, I need an act of the divine.

I'm just honest, I need an act of the divine.

I need healing.

I need healing in my home.

My marriage, it's a mess.

I need healing.

I need God's strength.

I need God to intervene.

I need to see an act of the divine.

Thanks again for tuning into this week's message.

We pray that your life has been changed.

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Send us an email at office at the church at CW.com.

We hope you have a wonderful day, and again, God bless you.