Who's in Charge Here | Joshua 5:13-15 | Pastor Diego Mesa

All right, Praise God.

You know, pretty much every day I juice unless I'm

traveling on the road, and then I take my green

powder with me, and then every blue moon I may

drink a cold press juice. So people always ask what

do I juice every day? It's pretty much the same.

In my juice recipe.

It consists of salery, parsley, cilanthro, kale, cucumber, lemon, garlic,

and ginger.

That's what's in my green juice.

You could put a slice of apple in there to

sweeten it if you need to, but I don't need

it to be sweet. But some people can't tolerate the

bitterness of that, so a little little chunk of apple

goes a long way. So that's my recipe that I've

been doing for fifteen years. So I've been doing that

for fifteen years, because like the parsley and the celanthro

detoxifies the liver and the kidney, and so each one

of those vegetables that God has created, He's created it

for a purpose, and so each one of them has

its health benefits, like the garlic is for the heart,

you know, like vampires that don't like garlic because they

don't heart.

But it's true. It's true.

It's God's creation, and we perish for lack of knowledge.

How many of you know there's no benefit to pizza.

Fried chicken.

Let me know what I'm getting into your lane zoo

nutritional value. It's a comfort food. All it does is

fill your stomach up, but it does not feed the

cells of your body. And I'm going to shut down

now before you get mad at me and say I

didn't come to hear a lecture on nutrition. Where's the

preaching of God's word? Father, Thank you for the next

few moments that we have. God, you want us to

live a long life, and you want us to live

a life of quality, and so part of that is

not only stewarding our faith in our spirit, it is

also stewarding this body that you've given us, because.

We only have one body, and you want.

Us to maximize that body to be a blessing, to

live a long life and to fulfill the vision on

our lives and to do ministry. And because of that, God,

we need your strength and your health. So now bless

us with the time and your word, Oh God, unfold

to us. The mysteries of your word. Will give you

praise and honor in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Okay, nobody's mad at me, right, because you have to

love me.

You don't have to like me, but you do have

to love me.

So the Bible say, you can't go to heaven if

you don't love me, just me, you can't. You know,

you have to love everyone or you're ain't.

Going to heaven.

Anyways, that's another message, and we'll leave that for another time.

We're going to stand up for the reading of God's word.

We're in the Book of Joshua, and we're just going

to read two verses and they are going to be

epic verse that have four points that we're going to

draw from today that we'll read it from Joshua five

and verse number thirteen, and it reads like this. And

it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho. Your

translation may say near Jericho, that he lifted up his

eyes and he looked, and behold a man stood opposite

of him with his drawn his sword drawn in his hand.

And Joshua the warrior went to him and said to him,

are you for us? Are you for our adversaries? And

he said no. Your Bible may say neither. But as

the commander of the army of the Lord, I have

now come. And Joshua, when he heard that this warrior,

this conquer this champion, he fell on his face to

the earth and worshiped this man and said to him,

what does my Lord say to his servant? Then the

commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, take your

sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand

is holy. And Joshua did so you may be seated.

I just simply want to talk to you a little

bit about who's in charge subtitle this.

Who's in charge?

Who's in charge of your life, who's in charge of

your marriage, who's in charge of your money, who's in

charge of your kids, who's in charge of your career?

Who's in charge? The challenge for us is when we.

Come to faith, is relinquishing charge of our life into

the hands of God. And you and I will fail

as Christians to live out our faith as long as

we are in control and do not relinquish.

Control to God.

Because the idea there is that we think we're better

than God when we don't relinquish control.

We think we could make call.

Better shots than him, make better decisions than him, and

in this text is God manifesting himself, basically saying, Joshua,

you're all that in a bag of chips. You got

a resume, you got a reputation, you won bad.

You know what. But I'm the commander of the Lord's army.

And when he heard that boom, just like that song says,

you're either gonna do it now or you're gonna do

it in the future. But every knee will bow and

every tongue will confess when they see the mightiness, the powerfulness,

the glory and the awesomeness of the King.

Of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

You know, this weekend, me and Lovely Cindy were in

San Diego and there's this road that we go down there.

It's a central road.

It's called Friar's Road, and for the last two years

three years, it's been under construction and virtually been closed.

And I have to do a detour and the detour

is literally like three miles.

It's not like a couple of blocks, It's a three

mile diversion dtour around to get And so as I

was doing this unconsciously that I, you know, have done

for three years and as many times as we go

down to San Diego, Cindy said, it's open. Now go straight,

and so I turned and went the detour and I said, no, it's.

Not open, it's closed, and then I went. We did.

We did the same thing the next day and I

looked at I said, oh my god, it's open. See,

I'm so used to being in control. I couldn't relinquish

control because I have experience, I have expertise.

It's hard to yield.

So this weekend I did another Ironman triathlon in Ocean Side.

And as we were, uh, you know, going there to

get the stuff and to set up and you know,

put my bike in place and all that, we had

to find a parking spot. So there wasn't the giant

parking spots. You're it's ocean side and there's just you're

parking on the streets, and you're gonna use a meter, okay,

And it's every man for himself, as you know, three

thousand people are there trying to do the same thing.

So we're driving up and down street, you know what

I'm talking about, looking for a parking spot, and so

Cindy ses one and she says, there's one park there,

And I said, no, I think I could get us closer.

How may've ever done that? I think I can better

that one. I think I could better that one. To

make a long story short, we lost that one and

I had to park further away from where I wanted

to all because I think that I'm in charge or

it's hard for me to relinquish control and charge. And

that's what this story is all about. Is God is saying,

you're near Jericho, and it's gonna be the greatest opportunity

in your life.

It'll be the greatest obstacle in your life.

It's the gateway to the promises of God, and I

want you to accomplish this thing. This is gonna be

a great acquisition in your portfolio. Come on, business people,

listen to me. You're near Jericho, and he said, I

know how to put this into your portfolio.

Here.

It's gonna be a great acquisition. But you've got to

recognize you're not in control. Let me be in control

and follow my directions and follow my leadership. So when

you're challenged and confronted like Joshua was by the commander

of the army, with all your wisdom, authority, expertise, and experience,

how will you respond and react to that when you

are challenged to do something differently than you don't want

to do or normally do. He's being confronted, he's being challenged,

And the nature of the flesh is I don't want

no one to tell me nothing. I don't want no

one to confront me. I don't want no one to

challenge me. But the great sign of great leadership in

Christian faith is that when you yield to that. In

the late teen nineteen nineties, late nineteen eighties, I had

a personal friend. He's gone home to be with the Lord,

very very well known preacher in your neck of the words,

and I used to call him Papa, and Papa was

in He was telling me the story. Papa was in

a hotel with probably one of the top two. If

I'm gonna yield, not one, may maybe another one tell

him evangelist of the nineteen eighties. If I said his name,

everyone would know who I am, who he is. Papa

said that the Lord had shared with him that he

was to knock on his hotel room, knowing he was

in that hotel. He knew he was in the hotel,

and they met in the lobby and they had talked

and confront him and challenge him that he was living

an ungodly life and unless he repent, there would be

public exposure. He knocked on the door, he told me,

and I confronted him. Repent before the Lord exposes it.

He said, I don't want to know what you're talking about.

I deny it. That's not me.

And within the next few weeks it rocked the whole world,

the Kingdom of God, and it went publicized on what

was happening behind closed doors. All that is what I'm

talking about, is that when you and I are challenged

and confronted, will we relinquish control and submit.

To the authority of God.

And I'll describe in a few moments what that may

look like just a little bit.

More so, here's your first point.

When you're nearing Jericho and close to Jericho, and near

your Jericho, which is your place of conquest, the entrance

to the Promised Land, the biggest obstacles and opportunities in

your life, make sure that you and I are spending

time with God because an encounter is going to take place.

This is not a public encounter. His military forces are

not with Joshua, the children of Israel are not with Joshua.

And there comes a time when you don't need a crowd.

God don't need a crowd to be intimate with you.

He wants to be alone with you, all by yourself.

And you got to recognize when you are about ready

to enter the biggest opportunity and obstacle in your life,

you better make time to be with God. When you're

nearing your jericho, you better make it a priority that

I've got to spend time with God because.

At that time, God is going to reveal himself.

He's going to give directions, and he's going to give

specific orders.

What am I talking about.

I'm talking about that when you are not just simply

before man, you are now before God. I'm not talking

about your public time. I'm talking about your private time.

I am not.

Talking about your professional.

Time that you put in.

I'm talking about your personal time that you put into

the presence of Lord. Whether you call it your devotions,

your prayer time, your word time, your worship, your therapy,

your appointment, your medications, or whether you call it.

Your pit stop.

Make sure that you're not so busy trying to conquer

your jericho in this world that you are not spending

time with God.

God trying to stop you. Slow down. Let's not conquer

this right away.

Me and you got to have a relationship and an

encounter right now. So whatever you call it, I don't

know if you're in an auto racne or a Formula

five hundred, but you ain't gonna make it through that

race if you just keep bypassing your pit stops. You

need your tire change, buddy, You need to be refilled.

We need to adjust some things that might be clanging

or resisted, not that are through the wind or making noises.

And that's why you and I every.

Day, based upon the busyness of this world, the adversary

that's coming against you, your trouble and what you're going through,

you better make time for pit stops or before you

know it, your engine's gonna blow up and you aren't

gonna finish the race.

It's a non negotiable.

It is absolutely essential that God begins to show us

that you and I need to make pit stops.

Point is this, Joshua. I love this.

Joshua went to him, He approached him, and he presented

himself to him.

This is this.

Warrior and conqueror that was Moses's servant that led the

armies of Israel. He's a professional military guy. He's a

professional law enforcement guy. He's professional. There's nothing amateur about him.

So when he looks.

At a threat, he doesn't know who that threat is yet,

because that threat has.

Not introduced himself to him yet.

He only sees another warrior in front of him with

his gun out, his knife out, his switchblade out, he

got his bandana on, he's got his colors on. What's up,

homie ge and he walks toward him. I want you

to see I don't want to dramatize, but I want

you to see who he is the leadership ability with

him right now. He is fearless, he is unintimidated, he

is unthreatened.

He is courageous. He's brave.

I love Joshua in his person another week and cowardly

and fearful about him.

It's who he is.

And God loves that in us, not the timid, the shy,

the weak.

He's got.

He loves the personality of this individual that you know what,

you're coming against my home, You're coming against my family,

You're coming against you know my mind. And I'm not

gonna just sit here and let you do that. Enemy.

I'm not gonna just sit there and lay down and

play dead over this thing. He does what's in him.

He rises up at this time with everything that's within him.

How he carries himself, just how he carries himself. Before Covid,

we did our last trip, and we'll go back as

soon as it's we feel safe to go back to Israel.

But we went there right before Covid and our Shalom partners,

any Shalom partners in here, okay, that was our tag word.

If you went with us, we said we would always

address each other as Shalom as that would be our group.

So we were the Shalom group. And I don't you

guys would have to remind me. I was trying to

remember the story, but I think it was when we

were coming back and we were going through customs and

we had to declare some of the souvenirs, and so

they're like, there's fifty fifty of us or whatever standing

in this long line that everyone has to stand in, okay,

and we're all we're all, we're all just in line,

and we're talking to each other, and then there's this

guy who tries to just come and cut in front

of us.

Dare you remember that? You remember that? Yeah?

Right?

I mean, and he just like we've and like everyone's

looking at each other saying, you're gonna something, What are

you gonna do? Like that?

The next thing I know, my mom she's going over

there and she's going like this, pushing him out. And

I had to grab my mom and said, Mom, come on,

get out of the way. Let somebody like Big Darius

take care of it, or Little Curtis take care.

Of it or somebody. But that's that persona in you.

I ain't gonna take no bull from nobody.

And that's the way you gotta be. I know what you.

I know you know that in the flesh. I'm not

talking about in the flesh. I'm talking about in the spirit,

in the spirit of faith. Do you know how to

do that in the flesh? But do you know how

to do that in the spirit? Or were you more

tougher before you got saved than after you got saved?

And so I love how Joshua simply reacts this. So

stay with me. I'm gonna break it down like this.

So how and where does this stance come from? Are

you born with it? Or are you taught it and

learn it and develop it. Well, if you're talking about

in the flesh, you're probably born with it. If we're

talking about in the spirit, you have to develop it.

You have to learn it, you have to learn it.

So I want you to recognize, how is this learned

that I could have boldness and bravery and courageousness and

be fearless when the adversary, when sickness, disease, poverty, a

heartache comes my way. Where does this stance come from.

It's not something you're born with. It's something that's learned

and developed how by getting into the will of God,

by getting into the word of God, by getting into the.

Ways of God.

When you are in the will of God, there's a

boldness about you.

When you're in the.

Ways of God, there's a confidence about you. When you

do the works of God, there is an assurance about you.

If you are if you don't do the will of God,

you don't know the will of God, you don't manifest

the works of God, you're not obeying the word of God,

then you're gonna be threatened by everything that comes your way.

So I'm just trying to tell you.

The more in the will of God you are, the

more confident and bolder and braver you will be against

the adversaries that come your way. It's said there are

two ways to find God. You either run toward him

or you run from him. I was playing golf with

my pastor friends two weeks ago and we were about

it was backed up a little bit, so there was

a group ahead of us, so we had to talk

a little bit as we were waiting to tee off,

and we notice this one little square. And sometimes you

golfers know what I'm talking about. They like to eat

your food and the snacks in the golf cart, so

so you have to show them away. These little guys

can be a little aggressive, you know, and.

That's their home.

They're used to golfers coming, and so they'll come and

raid your little golf cart and take your lunch.

So eat your lunch if you let them.

Am I telling you that your pestic goarfer you They will,

And so what you do is you just got to

get out of here, get out of here, and they

go away. We went get out of here, and the

squirrel just looked at us, so.

Get out of here, and he rose up like the

what the heck?

And so we literally got next to him and went

like that, and he ran around and the next thing

you know, we're just talking and there he is right

there again.

This went on for about five minutes.

This little demon squirrel was possessed.

He was not intimidated by us. We were literally getting.

Rocks and throwing him at him. He was dodging up,

and then he'd show himself again. This literal guy was

from South Central I think, or at least East.

LA or something. But man, I've never seen.

A squirrel like that in my life, and I think.

That that's what God gives us.

We are unintimidated by the rocks that are thrown in us,

the persecution that comes our way, the adversities that come

our way, when you know that you're in the will

of God, walking in the word of God, and clearly

walking in the ways of God.

The third point is this. I love this one too.

Joshua asked him, PASSI, Kenny, I was thinking about you

when I thought about this point. Joshua asked him, are

you for us or are you four our adversary? We

live in a world that wants us to take sides.

We live in a world that wants us to take

our side. I want you to take my side. We

live in a world where where people are challenging us

to choose sides. Are you for the bad guys? Or are

you for the good guys? Are you for the wrong guys?

Or for you're the right guy. I've never heard anyone

stand up and say I'm the bad guy.

Choose me.

Everyone thinks they're the good guy. But we live in

a world where we have two camps, and every camp

wants us to choose side. Are you are you red

or your blue? Because if you're blue, we're not for you.

I We're red.

If you're red, we're the Dems, We're the Repubs. Choose sides.

Come on, this is what we're doing. We're looking at

anybody that comes in front of us that we think

as a threat. And we're like Joshua and said, who

are you for? You for my political party? Or you're

against me? Are you for my ethnic city? Are you

against me? Are you for my cause? Or are you

against me? Are you for my ex husband?

Are you for me? Are you for my ex boss?

Are you for me? What did God say? Neither?

Ooh you mean God's not for me.

No, he's not. You're not for you.

You gotta I got your attention. Don't assume he's for you. Well,

my team is gonna win. Well, what about pasor Kinney's team?

So what are we gonna pray at each other out

and see whose prayer? God loves Mary? How many of

you we are silly Christians all the time? My team

is gonna win. Well, there's Christians on both team. Both

teams are praying, Both Christians are praying for the team

to win.

Whose side are you on? God said neither.

Basically he's saying, I'm on my side.

I'm on my side.

So I just love how this plays out because he's

so defined when he says neither and no.

God is for God.

Now, if you're obeying the word and we're back to

you're in the ways of God and the works of God,

then God's on your side. But don't assume that just

because you're a Christian, God is for you, Because if

you're not in the will of God and you're not

manifesting the works of God, and you're not in the

ways of God, then God is not for me. He's

only for his word, his ways, and his will, not

necessarily because you're a Christian to have a fish on

your on yours on your on your car, and a

beautiful fourteen care across around your neck your bosom, because

I've seen a lot of bosom wearing crosses a lot,

and they don't act like Christians.

Look at somebody is I don't think he's talking about you.

Sorry about that.

Bosoms could be men and women, So you don't know

what I meant. God, I want you to be on

my side. That's what we say all the time, God, Taser,

I want you to pray for me. I'm going into

court tomorrow. How many times have we heard that I

have to pray let the will of the Lord be done.

I know you want me to pray that you'll get

the kids, and you'll get the alimony, and you'll get

a favorable judgment.

I don't know whose side it's the will of the Lord.

I know you don't like me right now, just kind

of like, Oh, I thought God was always up with

me for me.

Psalms nineteen. This has always been.

A monumental scripture for me. It's how I govern and

interpret things. Your keep back your servant, also from presumptuous sins.

I could be so presumptuous, you could be so presumptuous.

And David said, God, keep me from presumptuous sins. For

presuming I'm right when I could be wrong, pursuing pursuing

presumption that I am making the right decision when I

could be making the wrong decision, in presumption that this is.

Going to be the outcome when it won't be the outcome.

So I just want you to recognize what this is saying,

and I want to give it to you this way.

Don't assume God is for you. Make sure that God

is with you. Here's all you're going to do it.

Here's how you could do it. When he said, Noah,

neither I am the command I am the commander.

The question is who's on my side?

God is saying, who's on my agenda, who's on my plans?

Who's living out my manner? Is what he would be asking.

Now you're gonna see a little.

Bit of a template of what that would look like. Now,

don't assume God is for you. Make sure God is

with you. This is what he does.

He falls on his face. That's humility. Humility.

You've got to walk in a level of humility, free

from arrogance and pride. He removes his sandals. There's a

surrendering that is taking place. He worships. That's an acknowledgment

and a respect and an honor he gives to God.

He calls himself a servant. That means he's gonna follow

his orders, his direction. There's followship. Where you lead, I

will follow. He says, it's holy place. I'm gonna have

an encounter with God. I want to transformation experience.

I should not.

Be resembling who I was before Christ in my mannerisms

or in my lifestyle. And then I've never had a

transformation or a visitation or an encounter with God. Now,

some things take a little bit of time, but there

should be fruit. Even if it's the little blade that's

coming out or one little seed that's coming out. We're

happy for that. I mean, I plan a guard. I'm

going out there every day. As long as I see

a blade, I'm happy. I'm happy with that blade. Ain't

no fruit yet. That's gonna come three four months down

the road, but I'm happy with the blade right now.

And if you've just been saved a couple of weeks,

a couple of months, you at least got a blade

coming out, but you've been saying ten years and we

don't see no blade.

And then last he did.

So was obedience, was absolute obedience. That is what Joshua did.

That's the lifestyle that he depicted when he met this

superior commander that was in his life because he wanted

to make sure that he was on God's side. And

if you do those things, God will always be on

your side. By last point, Joshua understood that he was

being outranked. I don't care if you're a major. I

don't care if you're a colonel. I don't care if

you're a general. I don't care what you've accomplished. I

don't care who you know. I don't care your titles,

your reputation.

I don't care how much money you make. You're outranked

by God.

And no matter how bad to the bone, Joshua was

with his resume and reputation when he saw that man

with a drawn sword. And that's the christology of Christ.

Big word, the incarnate Christ, that is Jesus now being

manifested in the Old Testament to receive worship because it's

God visiting Joshua it's not an angel.

It is the chrysophony, which is the big word, theological word.

Which is Jesus, manifested in the Old Testament, the incarnate Christ.

And when he saw this Jesus, the Trinity of the

secret Trinity in God with his sh I'm being out

rank here, I'm a pretty bad boy, but sh So

here's what it looked like when when he's being outranked.

Joshua was the commander of Israel. Joshua was the commander

of Israel. He met the commander of the army of God.

He was an individual that led, He was an individual

that encounter had a relationship with man. Now he's having

a relationship with God. He had a sword, but now

it's Jesus drawing his sword. So he was through through

these timpleates. He was being out ranked across the board.

He was absolutely being outranked. So basically, what that's telling

me is that he was under authority at that point.

He came under authority. He came under authority to who

much is given, much is required. That's authority. To be

an authority, you must be under authority. Statements to be

in charge, I must be charged. And the words of

Uncle Ben to Peter Parker. He tells me, with much

power comes much responsibility. My question to you is who

do you report to? Who do you check in with?

Who advises you? Who do you listen to? And who

pools your coattail? And there's amazing to me how many

Christians are not accountable to anybody and not under authority.

And that's what Joshua's teaching us.

So, no matter how bad to the bone you are

and mystifying you are and great that you are, who

says no to you and.

You will listen? Or are you gonna throw your title around?

I'm Joshua in charge of the Lord's army, but it

shows me he's under authority. He's always there's always someone

that will outrank you. So let me give you a

few examples. We just came out of our serious secret

wounds and silent cries, didn't we? We did, and our

in our second week we were to do secret runs

and silent cries as it relates to daddy issues and family.

So our team got together, our creative.

Team, and all our preachers from Alameda to Pomona to

here got together and they were asking me about the

original When I did it, thirty one years ago, as

you know, what did you preach on? And I said,

I preached on Tamar when I got to this part

of the series thirty one years ago. So the team

put together the outline of Tamar. But what I didn't

tell them was I preached on Tamar, the daughter of

David that Amnen his brother had raped the sister and Absalom,

the full brother, wanted vengeance. They thought it was Tamar Judah.

So I already had the outline. It was done weeks

in advance. I was in Gomo, and then the team said, oh,

we interpreted your Tamar to be day to be a

Judas Tamar, not David's Tamar. So I call my authority figure,

which is Pastor Adam. Listen to me, Listen to me.

I was once in authority, but now I am under authority.

I have a resume that is bigger than Pastor Adam.

I have experienced bigger than Adam.

I could go on and on, but I am now

under authority. He is the lead shepherd of this church

and I am a staff pastor.

So I call him and I say, can I preach

on David Tamar? He says, no, Dad, you need to

preach on Judah Tamar because the other pastors are preaching

on Judah Tamar. And I said, oh my God, ouch,

nobody tells the kid. No, I could be so hyper

spiritual right now. God told me, God, Good, give me

a break. I'm under authority. I want to be part

of a team. I want to be a blessing. God

gave it to me. If you don't know the difference,

you think I preached on Judah.

Tamar thirty one years I preach on you to Taymar

thirty one years ago, I preached on David Taymark.

But I'm under authority, and Pastor Kenny can testify because

Pessor Kenny don't lie.

He'll shame anybody.

And have I been under authority since this transit, Yes,

I am. I do not throw titles around, I do

not control them. I don't tell nobody what to do.

Nobody comes to me because you have to be under authority.

I was under authority of a pastor that went home

to be.

With the Lord, Jim Cobray.

God honored me in this church because I was under authority.

And sometimes I have to yield to the authority that

He's told me. One time this church was blowing up massively.

A network called TBN wanted me to come and host

and be this and be that, and started venturing down

that road John and my pastor, my mentor and said, diego,

you better watch yourself. Now, you better watch yours. Here

you get you're you're getting too big for your breeches. Now,

getting too big for your breeches. Now you ain't nobody. Now,

don't get caught up just because you're got all those

people coming and doing all those services and running all

that kind of uh uh this and this and that.

You stay humble.

Now maybe you don't need to be doing that, and

we shut it all down.

I'm under a Do you know how popular that would

have been? You know what an eagle stroke that would

have been master blast pastor d on TV. But I'm

under authority. But I'm under authority.

And I just see the beautiful account of ability that

Joshua had in this story and how he was completely

under authority. And so I just want to challenge you today,

who will you check in? Who will you listen to

pull your coat tail? Because you'll never inherit the Promised Land,

You'll never be the conqueror that God wants you to do.

You'll never have the opportunities and you'll never succeed. You'll

just be always in a stuckmo always in a battle,

always in a battle, always in a battle with drama.

I end with this story.

In World War Two, our president was Harry Truman. We

had a five star general by the name of Douglas MacArthur.

This was during the time of the Korean Acquisition and

war that was going on, and Harry Truman said, we

need to cease.

Fire and not going to North Korea. Do not go

into North Korea.

But Douglas got his ego and his pride and he

went outside of his authority. He had disobeyed orders. And

I want no matter he was a five star general,

how many of you hear what I'm talking about, there

was somebody above him that outranked him, that was called

the president, and the president decommissioned.

Him and retired him.

And I want you to recognize that General MacArthur was

humbled that day when he was decommissioned by our president.

I want you to recognize, no matter.

Who we are, let's make sure that we walk humbly.

Let's stay under authority, and let's remain accountable to the

word of God, to the ways of God, and to

the word of God. And sometimes that even means the

people that God has placed an authority in our lives.

They are not there to control our lives, but are

there to protect our lives. Father, I thank you for

the message today, and I pray it resonates in the

hearts of every single one of us. God, and I

just thank you in Jesus' name that Joshua set's a

great example God to us, O God, of how to

yield and submit to your authority and how to follow you.

Though it's hard sometimes God, because we lean on our

own experiences, in our own expertise.

O God, but maybe we walk humbly before you God.

May we recognize who is standing in front of us,

stopping us right now, Joshua said, I'm being stopped by

Almighty God. I recognize who he is. There's some of

us that don't even recognize that God is stopping us

and talking to us.

May we be discerning.

To recognize when God stops us. In Jesus' name, Amen,

we're getting ready to leave this church. Thank you for

coming to midweek service. But I want to just challenge you.

We're going to leave this church together matter moment. We're

saying this last, this beautiful song again that refer to

why wait, worship and bow your need of God?

The Bible says this today is the day of salvation. Today. Basically,

he's saying.

Right now, at this moment is the day of salvation.

Don't postpone it, don't delay, don't wait. And it's amazing

to me how many people recognize their sinners or recognize

their need for Christ or repentance, but they say this,

not now, not now, so they wait. The problem was waiting?

Is you assuming that you're going to have an opportunity,

But the reality is is you come to the Lord

just as you are. Why would you wait to get saved?

Why would you wait to go to heaven? Why would

you wait.

To accept God's forgiveness? What are you waiting for?

Get you out of the way trying to figure it

out and just yield to God and don't wait no longer. Today, today,

right now is the day of salvation. And I need

you to recognize in this story, recognize you're being outranked

by God and you're having an encounter with God right now,

and you need to yield and submit to him right now.

Don't wait any longer. There's nothing to wait for it. Well,

I'm gonna wait till I get right. Well, when is

that going to happen? I'm gonna wait too bad? Clean

up my life with me. If you could have done it,

you would.

Have already done it. I'm gonna wait to change my life.

It would have already happened. You come to Christ just

as you are.

All the stories in the Bible are people that came

to Christ just as they were. He didn't condemn them,

he didn't judge them. He received them as they repented.

He forgave them. And that'll be your story.

Or you say, without shadow of a doubt, I'm a Christian,

but I'm really not serving the Lord as I should.

I'm kind of living a compromising life. I got Jesus

in one pocket, but I also got the world and

the other hip pocket. I just want to rededicate my

life to the Lord. Or everything's going great. I love

the Lord. I'm born again, but I'm not feel with

the Holy Spirit. I want everything that God has for me.

When I count to three, I'm gonna ask you to

raise your hand as high as I'm raising my hand.

You're not raising it for me. You're raising it for

the one that died on the crossmar beating and naked.

For you.

It'll be the best decision you've ever made. I promise

you you'll have a good night's sleep tonight because the weight

of sin, guilt, compromise, condemnation.

And shame will be uplifted off of you. One two,

one two three.

Wherever you are, raise your hand, nice and tall. Raise

your hand. I want to leave us in a prayer.

We'll say this prayer together. Say, Dear Lord Jesus, you.

Know everything about my life.

You know my blood type, my driver's license, my social security.

I can't fool you God.

But who I am and all that I am I

bring before you.

Now.

I recognize I have a great need in my life,

the need for salvation, the need for forgiveness, and the

need for your love.

So today I ask.

You, in front of all these people, to be my

lord and savior. As I invite you, as I invite

you into my heart now.

In Jesus' name.

Amen, Let's thank God for them right now. Pastor Gabe,

can you come up forward now and give us some

final instructions.

If you said that prayer, we have some resources for you.

You're gonna go to grow dot faith And that's just

gonna be a book that you can download written by

our founding pastor, Pastor Diego just prese that amazing message.

It just outlines what do you do now now that

I've accepted Jesus and I am a believer in him,

I want to follow him? How do I live this

life out? And that's what that book outlines for you.

Are you glad you came to church tonight. There's a

power for it.

I heard.

I hope you heard something from God tonight. You know,

let's all stand together. I'm gonna pray for us and

then we can all.

Leave this place together.

God, we thank you so much for bringing us to

church tonight.

Lord.

We pray that whatever we got tonight, that we would

keep it with us for the rest of our lives. God,

that it wouldn't just be in this moment and stay

in this service, but it continue throughout the rest of

our lives.

God.

We pray for traveling mercies for everyone as they're going

to their different destinations. Lord, and we also just pray

for this upcoming Easter God, we pray that souls are Lord.

We pray that more people come to you than ever before. God,

that lives are just miraculously and transformed this year. God,

we thank you and we praise you in your name.

We pray Amen, Amen. We hope to see you this

Palm Sunday, This Palm Sunday,