WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.000 If you have guilt in your life, that's your problem, my God. 2 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:09.600 But I have things I'm struggling with. You don't know. Thank you. I don't need to know. 3 00:00:09.600 --> 00:00:14.160 I don't want to know. But God knows. And if you're looking at Jesus, 4 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:19.680 God in the Spirit still cannot find sin in you. You are forgiven. You are made right. 5 00:00:19.680 --> 00:00:24.960 But sometimes I don't act like it. When you start believing right, you'll start acting right. 6 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:30.080 Welcome to the City Light Church podcast. Thanks for joining us today, 7 00:00:30.080 --> 00:00:34.960 as we look into God's Word and discover the hope and truth that He has for us. 8 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:41.360 If you want to connect with City Light Church, feel free to visit us at citylightnyc.com, 9 00:00:41.360 --> 00:00:49.280 that citylightnyc.com. Pastor Boyan Jansik and his team believe that the power of the Holy Spirit 10 00:00:49.360 --> 00:00:54.400 is already working in our hearts and minds. As you listen to today's teaching, 11 00:00:54.400 --> 00:00:59.120 remember that you are deeply loved by God, that you are surrounded by His grace, 12 00:00:59.760 --> 00:01:02.480 and that He has a real hope and a future for you. 13 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:23.760 After the age of six, they can't nap during the day, but you put them in a car, 14 00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:28.640 and the insomnia is cured instantly. The moment they're in a car, they're asleep, 15 00:01:29.280 --> 00:01:33.600 and so I'm having this nice three hour ride with my wife, and we just begin talking about the 16 00:01:33.600 --> 00:01:39.760 New Year, talking about 2025, and I notice as soon as we start talking about it, 17 00:01:39.760 --> 00:01:44.400 the anointing begins to fill the car. There's a wind, there's a freshness, 18 00:01:45.360 --> 00:01:49.840 there's the divine, the touch of God, we're just, I don't know how else to explain it, there's 19 00:01:49.840 --> 00:01:55.520 just life. It's not like we're just talking, the car is pulsating now with the life of God, 20 00:01:55.520 --> 00:02:01.360 and we can tell God is getting in on the conversation. About 30 seconds in, I just say these words, 21 00:02:01.360 --> 00:02:06.080 I say as I'm trying to describe to Emily what I'm seeing, I say, we're entering into the book of 22 00:02:06.080 --> 00:02:12.080 Joshua. There's a Joshua anointing coming upon us, and by us, I mean our church, I really 23 00:02:12.080 --> 00:02:16.720 believe it's for the whole body of Christ. It's a unique season that the body of Christ all over 24 00:02:16.720 --> 00:02:22.640 the world is entering into. I don't have authority as a local pastor to prophesy over the entirety of 25 00:02:22.640 --> 00:02:27.840 the body of Christ, but I do have authority over the local church that God has entrusted to me, 26 00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:34.480 and it is the book of Joshua. The book of Joshua is a good book. It's a fun book. 27 00:02:35.680 --> 00:02:41.040 I used to always love reading that book, still do, but in the beginning, when I was like 28 00:02:41.040 --> 00:02:47.360 on my third read, I'm like, Lord, why do I love this book so much? And then it just crystallized 29 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:53.120 for me. Oh, because it's a book of victories, non-stop victories. There's a couple of times they 30 00:02:53.120 --> 00:02:57.440 slip up, but for the most part, they're going from glory to glory, they're taking land, 31 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:02.160 they're receiving the promises, and it's a book of victory. And if you read the first five books, 32 00:03:02.160 --> 00:03:07.440 God reveals His love, He reveals His character, but He can't get a little bit discouraging. 33 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:13.040 Have you ever thought that? I'm only sharing this because I want to set you free if you've 34 00:03:13.040 --> 00:03:19.840 thought that. If you've ever been in a particular set of chapters, say an Exodus or in Deuteronomy, 35 00:03:19.840 --> 00:03:24.640 and the people keep messing things up for themselves, they keep resisting God's goodness, 36 00:03:24.640 --> 00:03:28.720 they're rebellious, they're stiff-necked, they won't do what they're told, so consequently, 37 00:03:28.720 --> 00:03:34.240 they're always reaping the results of their own cursed behavior. It gets a little discouraging. 38 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:38.880 You're like, oh, these poor people, and why can't they get their act together? And it can be 39 00:03:38.880 --> 00:03:42.960 kind of emotionally even trying. Is that just me? Am I just from the Balkans and very emotional? 40 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:45.040 You're looking at me kind of stoically and cold today. 41 00:03:50.720 --> 00:03:53.200 Closest if you get chilly. I just need a little freshness. 42 00:03:56.160 --> 00:04:00.640 Pastor Moe just looked at me. It's so funny. In his short sleeve shirt, 43 00:04:01.200 --> 00:04:05.600 well, I have triple layers. I'm like an 80s villain from the ski lodge wearing this. 44 00:04:08.800 --> 00:04:12.320 Joshua, on the other hand, is a book of victories. 45 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:25.520 And that's what I sense is coming upon us, a grace and an anointing where we will come into our own 46 00:04:25.520 --> 00:04:32.240 promised land where things we've been praying about for too long are going to come and be made 47 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:37.680 manifest. It is going to be a year of winning. This is what I tell my wife. It is not going to be 48 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:44.960 defeat. It is going to be a year of victory. Winning so much winning. God is going to make you win. 49 00:04:44.960 --> 00:04:49.280 You're going to get tired of winning. You're going to say, oh, Lord, it's too much winning. 50 00:04:49.280 --> 00:04:53.760 Can you just like ease up on the winning? And God's going to say, no, just like in the book of 51 00:04:53.760 --> 00:04:58.480 Joshua, I'm going to make you super win. You're going to be having so much winning. 52 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:06.400 Thank you, Lord. So I want to take you through the book of Joshua, not the entire book, but through 53 00:05:06.400 --> 00:05:10.960 several key things that happen. There's dozens of amazing stories where you can learn about how God 54 00:05:10.960 --> 00:05:15.680 operates and how he works with his people. I want to take you through several main ones, but let's 55 00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:27.280 begin in Joshua chapter 1 verses 1 through 3. Thank you, Jesus. After the death of Moses, 56 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:33.600 so as you remember, Moses was God's leader and he brought the children of Israel out of Egypt 57 00:05:34.400 --> 00:05:39.680 and he led them through the wilderness. That journey should have taken about 11 days. 58 00:05:40.640 --> 00:05:45.600 It took 40 years. See what I mean by discouraging and depressing. I mean, that's depressing. 59 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:52.720 Look at him, 40 years. Like if I was blindfolded, I would have made it faster than 40 years if it 60 00:05:52.720 --> 00:06:00.160 only took 11 days. But God had confounded them and God kept them from entering in because their 61 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:06.000 attitude was terrible and their heart wasn't right. But finally, they make it through Moses is dead. 62 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:13.760 That whole generation is dead. And this is how this amazing book of victory starts off. Very 63 00:06:13.760 --> 00:06:19.760 unceremoniously. Here's this amazing figure, Moses, and here's what's said about him. After the 64 00:06:19.760 --> 00:06:24.240 death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, he came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of 65 00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:32.640 none. Moses' assistant saying, Moses, my servant is dead. Now that's how you begin a book by saying 66 00:06:32.640 --> 00:06:42.480 by to the past, amen. Would we enter into this flow state? There is a flow state for 2025. 67 00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:49.040 I'm telling you, I saw it in the spirit. I can taste it. I've partaken of it already. A flow 68 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:56.480 state of victory after victory after victory after victory after victory. There are years. Listen, 69 00:06:56.560 --> 00:07:05.040 there are years. There are days. There are weeks, there are months. There are some days where 70 00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:10.720 nothing happens. There are some months where it seems like days happen, but it's months. And then 71 00:07:10.720 --> 00:07:16.720 I'm telling you, there'll be some days where years happen in the days. World of sediments like 10 72 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:22.800 years worth of work, 10 years worth of believing, 10 years worth of progress. The Lord condenses it, 73 00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:29.600 boom, and puts it in one year. That's what's up ahead for us in 2025. But in order to receive that 74 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:36.880 number one, you got to realize Moses is dead, which for us means 2024 is dead. The past is the past 75 00:07:36.880 --> 00:07:44.720 that lasts. It's in our rearview mirror church. So say goodbye to the things you've received in 2024 76 00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:51.040 and the things you didn't receive, the successes and the failures. Say goodbye to 2024 and set your 77 00:07:51.040 --> 00:08:00.880 sights on the promised land that God is giving you in 2025. Amen. Moses, my servant, is dead. Now 78 00:08:00.880 --> 00:08:09.200 therefore arise, go over this Jordan. So they need to cross the Jordan River to enter in this land 79 00:08:09.200 --> 00:08:15.280 that God had promised them. This land is a land of plenty, a land flowing in milk and honey. 80 00:08:15.280 --> 00:08:23.760 It's a land of rest. It's a physical land that's pointing to a spiritual land, a spiritual place 81 00:08:23.760 --> 00:08:32.960 under the new covenant. We have a promised land. It's in Christ. Can I describe for you some of the 82 00:08:32.960 --> 00:08:38.720 characteristics of the promised land? The promised land is a place of peace, peace with your maker 83 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:45.200 through the shed blood of Jesus. It's a place of rest. You're no longer striving to try to 84 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:49.600 please him. You know that you can rest in the finished work of the cross. You're already 85 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:57.760 pleasing to him again because of the blood of Jesus. And it's also a place of Shalom. Shalom. 86 00:09:00.240 --> 00:09:04.720 Where we just translate as peace in the English, oh, it just means peace. And we throw around the 87 00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:11.040 word peace, peace, peace. Give me a piece of cookie. But Shalom is deeper than that. It means 88 00:09:11.040 --> 00:09:17.120 nothing missing, nothing lacking, nothing broken. That is the promised land that God wants every 89 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:22.400 Christian to live in. Our life is not supposed to look like hell. For some Christians, that's a 90 00:09:22.400 --> 00:09:28.800 revelation. Really? I thought it was supposed to be miserable and then one day in the sweet 91 00:09:28.800 --> 00:09:34.960 by and by. No. It's supposed to reflect heaven right now. It shouldn't resemble hell. It should 92 00:09:34.960 --> 00:09:40.080 resemble heaven. There should be nothing missing, nothing lacking, nothing broken. Your cup should 93 00:09:40.080 --> 00:09:48.560 be overflowing. When you're fed, you'll take up 12 basket fulls of leftovers. Amen. Oh, 2025 is 94 00:09:48.560 --> 00:09:57.040 going to be awesome. Hallelujah. Verse three. He's given him instructions. He's got a face 95 00:09:57.040 --> 00:10:06.800 as first obstacle. It's the Jordan River. Verse three. Every place that the soul of your foot will 96 00:10:06.800 --> 00:10:14.160 tread upon. I have given you as I said to Moses. I just want you to see the heart of God. And you 97 00:10:14.160 --> 00:10:18.880 can appropriate this for yourself. Look, you can look at 2025 one or two ways. You're at a fork in 98 00:10:18.880 --> 00:10:27.120 the road. You could look at it with terror, daunting, nervous, maybe with a case variety. You know 99 00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:32.560 whatever, you know, whatever the Lord wills. No, but hear the heart of God. He's, this isn't just for 100 00:10:32.560 --> 00:10:40.720 Joshua. He's showing how he works with his people. He's saying, every place you go, I've given it to 101 00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:45.280 you now. Have that mind and have that confidence. Listen, this is going to take a boldness in God's 102 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:51.520 people. The things of God must be seized. And Satan doesn't just lay over and say come right in 103 00:10:51.520 --> 00:10:57.040 and take whatever you'd like. Remember to possess the land means to dispossess it of its current 104 00:10:57.040 --> 00:11:01.280 occupants. He gave him the land, but there were giants in that land. There were different enemy 105 00:11:01.280 --> 00:11:06.960 groups in that land. And so even though he gave it to them, they had to boldly go and appropriate 106 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:14.640 his promises by faith. Hallelujah. Boldness is coming in here. Some people are waking up. If you 107 00:11:14.640 --> 00:11:23.520 only knew, I got a taste of it. Just like in that moment, God wants you in 2025 to almost be 108 00:11:23.520 --> 00:11:30.000 embarrassed of his goodness. Well, he overdid it in the most embarrassing way in my life. 109 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:34.080 Somebody come and slap me on the cheek just so that I know that I'm not dreaming. 110 00:11:35.040 --> 00:11:46.880 Hallelujah. Joshua chapter 3. The first obstacle is this Jordan river. It's not a babbling brook. 111 00:11:48.080 --> 00:11:54.720 It's not a stream. It's a mighty river that floods several times a year. And this was the time of 112 00:11:54.720 --> 00:12:03.360 flooding. And there was several million Jews marching. And at the front of this parade, 113 00:12:04.320 --> 00:12:09.680 were priests carrying the most precious object that the Hebrews had, the Ark of the Covenant, 114 00:12:09.680 --> 00:12:14.640 where the presence of God was. And they were carrying it on the poles and they got specific 115 00:12:14.640 --> 00:12:20.160 instructions to send the Ark of the Covenant first across the Jordan River. Now I want you to pay 116 00:12:20.160 --> 00:12:25.040 attention to this story because I found more often than not. This is how God will work miracles 117 00:12:25.040 --> 00:12:39.680 in your life. Joshua 3 and verse 9. So Joshua said to the children of Israel, come here and hear 118 00:12:39.680 --> 00:12:45.760 the words of the Lord your God. And Joshua said, by this, you shall know that the living God is 119 00:12:45.760 --> 00:12:52.320 among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites 120 00:12:52.320 --> 00:12:57.440 and the Hivites and the Parasites and the Gurgishites and the Amorites and the Mosquito bites. 121 00:12:58.640 --> 00:13:04.320 Behold the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the 122 00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:11.840 Jordan. Now therefore take for yourselves 12 men from the tribes of Israel one man from every tribe 123 00:13:12.560 --> 00:13:20.000 and it shall come to pass as soon as the souls of the feet of the priests who bear the Ark of the Lord. 124 00:13:21.200 --> 00:13:27.200 The Lord of all the earth shall rest in the waters of the Jordan that the waters of the Jordan 125 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:36.320 shall be cut off. So when will the waters of the Jordan be cut off? When the priests who are holding 126 00:13:36.400 --> 00:13:43.600 the Ark of the Covenant when their feet touch the water? I don't like that. I like my water to be cut 127 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:53.120 off a good mile out. And so do you. Can you imagine the most sacred thing they're carrying? The 128 00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:58.480 thing that wars were fought over. The Ark of the Covenant and there's millions of them walking 129 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:04.080 but at the front are the priests and the waters overflowing. You can almost hear the priest going 130 00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:09.040 so we're just supposed to keep walking. Yeah. What did Joshua say? The Lord told him when he said 131 00:14:09.040 --> 00:14:13.040 that when we touch the water holding the Ark that that's when the water will be stopped up. 132 00:14:14.160 --> 00:14:20.560 Okay if the Lord do it like 10 yards out? Five yards? And it specifically says when their feet 133 00:14:20.560 --> 00:14:25.520 landed in the water that's when the water will be cut off. This is how I'm telling you nine out of 134 00:14:25.520 --> 00:14:33.440 10 times the Lord does it. You have to step out by faith. 2025 is going to be a year where our 135 00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:39.680 radical obedience and listening to what even seems like the strange instructions of the Lord 136 00:14:39.680 --> 00:14:46.480 will be monumental. Vital, very important. This is how I've seen him do everything that he's done 137 00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:54.080 in my life that's worth noting. When I think about how we ended up here. This, which we only use 138 00:14:54.080 --> 00:15:00.800 once or twice a year now, this Queens church started in 2009 but city lights started in Manhattan 139 00:15:00.800 --> 00:15:08.080 in 2002. And in 2009, I just started feeling a stirring. You need to start a second location 140 00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:14.240 in Queens. In Queens. Did I have it planned out? No. Some pastors. This is how I want to go to 141 00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:19.520 pastors lunchens anymore. They like to talk about the one-year plan and the five-year plan. I'm like 142 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:25.600 at first I felt guilty. Should I have a five? I mean I have it generally but they have it all 143 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:29.760 written out and not one of them do I know where their five-year plan worked out. Their five-year plan 144 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:35.120 six months in that had to redo it over and over again. No, I don't have a five-year plan. 145 00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:40.640 My five-year plan is I'm holding on tightly to his hand. I have a vision and I'm holding tightly 146 00:15:40.640 --> 00:15:44.400 to his hand. He's going to work it out. Well, how will you pay for this? How will you do this? How 147 00:15:44.400 --> 00:15:49.040 will you do that? I don't know. I'm going to take one step. When my foot lands in the water, 148 00:15:49.040 --> 00:15:54.480 the miracle will happen and then he will provide. Amen. You got to take a step of faith. 149 00:15:54.960 --> 00:16:00.400 A major victory. My wife and I, a year and a half ago, I shared. We bought a house in Long Island. 150 00:16:00.400 --> 00:16:04.800 I don't think I really shared. I shared it at the victories but I didn't confide in you because 151 00:16:04.800 --> 00:16:11.680 you're not my therapist. Those first couple of months after I signed all the papers, they were 152 00:16:11.680 --> 00:16:19.600 terrifying. They were terrifying. I took out a huge mortgage and we were debt-free. I kept 153 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:24.960 saying for our whole marriage we've been debt-free. Now I have this huge mortgage and I was supposed 154 00:16:24.960 --> 00:16:29.920 to rent out my Brooklyn place. It flooded again. I couldn't rent it out. Then what I thought was 155 00:16:29.920 --> 00:16:35.600 going to be my taxes which were already high, they adjusted because I just bought the house for more 156 00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:43.520 money. My taxes, I'll just give you real numbers because I know you like that. My taxes for the house 157 00:16:43.520 --> 00:16:52.400 is 34,000 a year. In fact, my taxes for the house is how much my salary, my annual salary was 158 00:16:52.400 --> 00:17:00.480 by year five at city light after I'd gotten a raise. It was 36,000 a year. So I was a little nervous. 159 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:07.280 It was daunting. I had the thoughts of, Lord, did you really lead me out or was it just my own pride 160 00:17:07.360 --> 00:17:14.560 and my own lust and my own? I would scribble. You know I was serious because I'm serious math I do 161 00:17:14.560 --> 00:17:21.440 on the phone, but serious math I get the pad out and I want to see the writings, I want to do 162 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:28.160 and I would just swallow hard and go, how is this going to happen? And all I would sense when the 163 00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:34.160 Lord was, I'll make it happen. Your job is not to worry. Don't worry. I'll see you through. So this 164 00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:40.880 nervousness was really September, September of, not this September of 24, but September of 23. 165 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:46.400 In the next six months, he worked it out. That mortgage, he paid it off. 166 00:17:47.840 --> 00:17:53.920 The tax, in fact, with the taxes, he gave me a word. He said this, you will not even ever consider it. 167 00:17:55.520 --> 00:17:59.920 And I just, he said, the level I'm taking, this shouldn't be even, this should be like an afterthought, 168 00:17:59.920 --> 00:18:06.240 like you buy some eggs and milk at the grocery store. And he spoke and I thought, but you believe 169 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:10.800 and you take a step. And when he meets you there, you take another step and he meets you again, 170 00:18:10.800 --> 00:18:16.240 take another step. And that's what the miracle happens. Amen. So 2025, we're entering into our 171 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:26.720 Promised Land. We're crossing the Jordan. We're taking steps of faith, verse 14. So it was when the 172 00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:31.520 people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan with the priests bearing the arc of 173 00:18:31.520 --> 00:18:38.240 the covenant before the people. And as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan and the feet 174 00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:43.360 of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water, you got to dip your feet. 175 00:18:45.520 --> 00:18:51.040 You got to dip your feet. Some people are stuck. They never dip their feet. Your feet stink. 176 00:18:51.520 --> 00:19:00.000 You didn't dip them. There's so many people that are waiting for all the conditions to be met. 177 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:06.480 Secretly, I would like that. Hey, let me just say that secretly because walking, walking by faith 178 00:19:08.080 --> 00:19:14.000 is lovely. It's the best time you'll ever have. It's invigorating. It's when I feel most alive. 179 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:21.120 And also it's terrifying. And I've been walking by faith. Really, since I got saved, but really, 180 00:19:21.120 --> 00:19:25.280 since the church, church is a work of faith. So you're walking by faith. And it kind of feels, 181 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:29.920 if you take your eyes off of Jesus even for a second, it kind of feels like you're hydroplaning. 182 00:19:29.920 --> 00:19:34.800 You ever hydroplane in a car down Florida, you get that a lot. We're actually not touching the road, 183 00:19:34.800 --> 00:19:38.880 but you're kind of a millimeter off the road on water and you've got no control. That's how it 184 00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:46.800 feels sometimes. And secretly, I just wish the Lord, can you make it easy sometime? We've just 185 00:19:46.800 --> 00:19:53.280 been nice to not always feel like I'm bungee jumping every day, after day, after day. 186 00:19:55.280 --> 00:19:59.680 And so I thought, I'm just confessing my sin to you right now. So I said, 187 00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:05.760 so I said, Lord, it would be really nice to know where their investments and all. If everything 188 00:20:05.760 --> 00:20:10.400 could come in, we don't have to have a building campaign. There's no really, you know, I'm using 189 00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:17.680 all the words other than to say, I just like not to believe you. And the Lord's increasing us, 190 00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:23.120 but I know how he is. I know Jehovah Sneaky by this time, he's going to still make it so that we 191 00:20:23.120 --> 00:20:27.600 have to take a step of faith. No matter how he does it, it's not going to, there's no such thing. 192 00:20:28.560 --> 00:20:36.640 The Bible in fact says, whatever is not a faith is sin. Who wants that thing? Who wants some kind of 193 00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:40.880 work in the natural that anybody could have done in the natural? No, it's going to be with the 194 00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:46.880 waft of the supernatural goodness of God all over it. All right. And as those who bore the ark 195 00:20:46.880 --> 00:20:51.520 came to the Jordan and the feet of the priest who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water, 196 00:20:52.240 --> 00:20:56.000 for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest, 197 00:20:57.600 --> 00:21:05.520 that the waters which came down from upstream stood still and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, 198 00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:12.880 the city that is besides Zaretin. So the waters that went down into the sea of the Arabah, 199 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:18.080 the salt sea failed and were cut off and the people crossed over opposite Jericho, 200 00:21:18.640 --> 00:21:25.120 then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the 201 00:21:25.120 --> 00:21:32.080 midst of the Jordan and all Israel crossed over on dry ground until all the people, a couple of 202 00:21:32.080 --> 00:21:38.960 a million of them had crossed completely over the Jordan. You're going to be in prayer. You're 203 00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:43.520 going to commit yourselves to 21 days of prayer and fasting. You're going to stop tripping your 204 00:21:43.520 --> 00:21:50.560 own self up with cheap little scarcity minded things in your mind. You're going to let the Lord 205 00:21:50.560 --> 00:21:54.960 blow the lid off. Okay. You're with me so far. You're going to cry out to him. You're going to take 206 00:21:54.960 --> 00:22:00.960 his hand and you can say, Lord, I see your heart. I see your will. You're the God of more than enough. 207 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:06.960 You're the God of plenty. Take me by the hand and get me across the Jordan in Jesus name. I'm 208 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:18.800 going into the promised land. Hallelujah. 2025. Hallelujah. And if you know, listen, I know there's 209 00:22:18.800 --> 00:22:24.640 some ministries the year and the new year is like half their ministry in September already. They 210 00:22:24.640 --> 00:22:30.800 got, you know, 2019 and they find a scripture or something verse 19 and every, you know what I 211 00:22:30.800 --> 00:22:36.960 mean? I've never been like that. I've always actually kind of scoffed at that. It's horoscopy 212 00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:41.600 to me. It's like, you know, like what the Lord is doing in China is not the same as what he's 213 00:22:41.600 --> 00:22:45.680 doing in America. And the word you just gave seems uniquely American to me yet you're declaring 214 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:52.480 it over the whole body of Christ. Like, it sounds nonsensical. Never felt it this year. It's not 215 00:22:52.560 --> 00:23:00.800 that I feel it. I can taste it. I can smell it. Something has changed. It's a new day. It's a new 216 00:23:00.800 --> 00:23:07.520 dawn. Things have shifted. I hear the gears and the spirit turning. It's going to be awesome. 217 00:23:08.240 --> 00:23:13.600 All we have to do is like what they did in the book of Joshua, which is just get with the program 218 00:23:13.600 --> 00:23:18.320 and not get in their own way. If you're freezing by now, because I felt that you can close that 219 00:23:18.320 --> 00:23:24.480 at any time. Thank you. That's the name of the game. Get out of your way. Get out of God's way 220 00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:31.200 and do whatever he tells you to do. It's going to be a good year. Hallelujah. All right, we're in Joshua 221 00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:40.560 chapter 5. These are lessons from the book of Joshua on how to get into a flow state of victory. 222 00:23:43.760 --> 00:23:47.040 I've had victories, great victories from the Lord. I remember once talking to him about it, 223 00:23:47.040 --> 00:23:52.400 like Lord, you send a wave. Awesome. And then six months. Kind of like nothing's happening. 224 00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:56.720 Then you send another wave. Lord, what are you teaching me? And I remember one time. He said, 225 00:23:56.720 --> 00:24:02.400 I'm teaching you not to make your own waves in between my waves. Learn how to be content in between 226 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:10.640 my waves. But 2025 is not going to be like that. Remember when you were a kid? I remember being 227 00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:15.840 a kid at Jones Beach. That is a cruel beach to send kids to. I remember because I'm used to the 228 00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:20.880 Balkans, the Adriatic. It's basically a giant lake. There's no waves. As a kid, I was like, I can swim 229 00:24:20.880 --> 00:24:25.120 already and you run out and boom, a wave comes. All right, when you go, another one comes, 230 00:24:25.120 --> 00:24:28.320 and as soon as you boom, another one comes, next thing you don't have to 10 waves, you're like, 231 00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:38.160 that's what 2025 is going to be like wave upon wave upon wave upon wave. Hallelujah. 232 00:24:38.560 --> 00:24:50.320 Joshua 5 and verse 2. At the same time, excuse me at that time, the Lord said to Joshua, 233 00:24:51.520 --> 00:24:58.960 make flint knives for yourself and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time. 234 00:25:01.120 --> 00:25:06.800 It's not that the same men were getting circumcised for the second time. That would be very strange 235 00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:13.600 and impossible. It's just that this is the second call it mass circumcision. 236 00:25:15.520 --> 00:25:20.720 I have to chuckle because this is really awkward to read. And we haven't even begun to get to the 237 00:25:20.720 --> 00:25:26.880 awkward part. So I've learned just if there's a pool of awkwardness, just jump right in there, 238 00:25:26.880 --> 00:25:36.000 just cannonball right in there. So Joshua made flint knives, not surgical scalples, sharp stones. 239 00:25:37.600 --> 00:25:43.600 So Joshua made flint knives for himself and circumcised the son of Israel at the hill of the four 240 00:25:43.600 --> 00:25:49.200 skins. Can you imagine living there back then? Where's your house? I can't find it on Google Maps. 241 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:53.120 It's right across the street from the hill of the four skins. You just got to look for the giant hill. 242 00:25:53.840 --> 00:26:02.480 I'm right over. This is why people don't read the Old Testament. 243 00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:09.760 And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them. All the people who came out of Egypt who were 244 00:26:09.760 --> 00:26:15.760 males, all the men of war had died in the wilderness on the way, and they had come out of Egypt. 245 00:26:15.760 --> 00:26:21.760 For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness, 246 00:26:21.760 --> 00:26:25.760 in other words, all the men that were with Joshua, they never got circumcised. Now circumcision 247 00:26:25.760 --> 00:26:30.480 is important because that's the sign of your covenant with God back in the Old Testament. 248 00:26:30.880 --> 00:26:37.600 When David ran at Goliath, he pointed out, hey, you're on circumcised. Who is this non-covenant? 249 00:26:37.600 --> 00:26:42.080 Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? 250 00:26:42.080 --> 00:26:48.080 Under the new covenant Paul talks about circumcision. The whole gospel is contained in circumcision. 251 00:26:48.080 --> 00:26:53.360 There's blood that's shed and there's a casting off of the flesh. And back then it was physical 252 00:26:53.360 --> 00:26:59.040 today. It's that sin nature that's been cast off of us, the flesh. And we're according to the 253 00:26:59.120 --> 00:27:04.560 New Testament how Paul teaches, we have an inward circumcision of the heart. But either way, 254 00:27:04.560 --> 00:27:11.040 it represents our covenant with God. All right, so right now they weren't circumcised. They had no 255 00:27:11.040 --> 00:27:18.080 covenant. Verse 6, for the children of Israel walked 40 years in the wilderness till all the people 256 00:27:18.080 --> 00:27:23.600 who were men of war who came out of Egypt were consumed because they did not obey the voice of 257 00:27:23.680 --> 00:27:29.440 the Lord to whom the Lord swore that he would not show them the land which the Lord had sworn to 258 00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:37.360 their fathers that he would give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. Then Joshua circumcised 259 00:27:37.360 --> 00:27:43.520 their sons whom he raised up in their place for they were uncircumcised because they had not 260 00:27:43.520 --> 00:27:49.760 been circumcised on the way. So it was when they had finished circumcised, if I have to say circumcised 261 00:27:49.760 --> 00:27:57.600 one more time. When they had finished circumcising all the people that they stayed in their places in 262 00:27:57.600 --> 00:28:09.840 the camp till they were healed. I just imagine what that camp sounded like. Where's whaling camp? 263 00:28:09.840 --> 00:28:14.240 Oh, it's right over there. Hold up for three days mending. 264 00:28:14.400 --> 00:28:20.720 Then the Lord said, and this is this, hey, you wondering what's all this about? This is what it's 265 00:28:20.720 --> 00:28:29.600 about, all right? Then the Lord said to Joshua, today, this day, I have rolled away the reproach of 266 00:28:29.600 --> 00:28:36.160 Egypt from you. Why is this so important? Because they're about to possess the land. They're about to 267 00:28:36.160 --> 00:28:43.520 get into that flow state of victory after victory after victory. And what is imperative to happen 268 00:28:43.520 --> 00:28:52.160 before you can actually realize that is shame, guilt, condemnation has to be rolled away. 269 00:28:52.880 --> 00:28:57.680 You see these Hebrews, they had shame. They had shame from Egypt. They had shame from older 270 00:28:57.680 --> 00:29:01.600 mistakes and blundering in the wilderness. And they weren't in covenant with God because they 271 00:29:01.600 --> 00:29:07.840 didn't have physical circumcision. They had to get circumcised. Picture giant boulder that prevents 272 00:29:07.840 --> 00:29:14.400 them from moving into their destiny called shame. And because the covenant was evoked, 273 00:29:15.120 --> 00:29:21.600 God said, ah, because of the covenant, I'm rolling this boulder away. I'm rolling away the 274 00:29:21.600 --> 00:29:28.880 reproach of Israel. How much more under the glorious new covenant where physical circumcision 275 00:29:28.880 --> 00:29:35.120 matters not. But saying yes to Jesus and having a circumcision of the heart being born again, 276 00:29:35.120 --> 00:29:41.200 now guilt is gone. Are you listening, Christian? Hey, if you have guilt in your life that's your 277 00:29:41.200 --> 00:29:47.280 problem, that God is there. But I have things I'm struggling with. You don't know. Thank you. I don't 278 00:29:47.280 --> 00:29:52.560 need to know. I don't want to know. But God knows. And if you're looking at Jesus, 279 00:29:54.240 --> 00:30:00.960 if your eyes are on Jesus, God in the spirit still cannot find sin in you. You are forgiven. You are 280 00:30:01.040 --> 00:30:06.800 made right. But sometimes I don't act like it. When you start believing right, you'll start acting 281 00:30:06.800 --> 00:30:11.120 right. The reason you're not acting right is because you're not believing right. You keep believing 282 00:30:11.120 --> 00:30:16.080 God's against you. God's mad at you. God's angry with you. You feel wild. You keep wallowing 283 00:30:16.960 --> 00:30:22.240 in condemnation in guilt. You go to sleep hearing negative. Your self-talk stinks. 284 00:30:23.600 --> 00:30:28.480 It's really Satan and it's masquerading as your own voice. And you can't stand your own self 285 00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:32.800 because you've been listening to that voice so often. Listen to what the word says about you. 286 00:30:32.800 --> 00:30:38.720 It says you are holy and without blame before him in love. It says you are accepted in the 287 00:30:38.720 --> 00:30:46.640 beloved. Hey, eventually. Yeah. When we get rolling in 2025 and things start popping for you, 288 00:30:46.640 --> 00:30:52.320 eventually you're going to have to answer this question. Why do you deserve this? Satan will ask 289 00:30:52.800 --> 00:30:58.400 some of your friends may ask it. You may even ask it. When the Lord outdid himself in 2024 for us, 290 00:30:58.400 --> 00:31:04.400 I had actually driving her. Why? Why did he? He's given me stuff. I didn't really frankly even 291 00:31:04.400 --> 00:31:09.840 believe him for. He just outdid himself. And you can get insecure. Lord, why are you doing this? 292 00:31:09.840 --> 00:31:15.040 Why do I deserve this? And then you listen for the divine response. It's really not about you. 293 00:31:15.920 --> 00:31:20.880 It's about me. And this is just how good I am and how big I am. And you deserve this because 294 00:31:20.880 --> 00:31:25.920 you're worthy because the blood of Jesus has made you worthy. Not worthy in and of yourself, 295 00:31:25.920 --> 00:31:32.800 but thanks to the blood, the shame is rolled away and you're now a good target. A good bullseye 296 00:31:32.800 --> 00:31:44.320 that God can shoot his arrow of blessings into. Hallelujah. Let's go forward just a couple of verses 297 00:31:44.320 --> 00:31:54.720 to Joshua 513. Number one, 2025 is a year of stepping out in faith. When your feet touch the water. 298 00:31:57.920 --> 00:32:10.080 Hallelujah. You know, I shared about this new car that I ordered. You know how that happened? 299 00:32:10.080 --> 00:32:19.040 It happened spontaneously on our anniversary day, on the way to the restaurant. I wasn't planning on that. 300 00:32:19.040 --> 00:32:25.120 And I said, hey, I'm just going to pull in here. Let's look at these cars. 301 00:32:25.120 --> 00:32:33.840 And we pulled in there. It was quiet. There was nobody there. I said, do you like this? I'm showing you. 302 00:32:34.800 --> 00:32:40.480 I said, I kind of like it too. I said, let's just sit down. One thing turned into another. 303 00:32:41.280 --> 00:32:46.240 And then just by faith, I said, yeah, order that thing. How much do you need down? 304 00:32:47.040 --> 00:32:50.960 It's not all together how it's going to come through. I mean, it'll be able to. It's not, 305 00:32:50.960 --> 00:32:55.200 I don't want to present it as this generous, but it's not, it's not set. It's not convenient. 306 00:32:55.920 --> 00:33:02.080 It's when you take a step of faith that it comes through. Now listen, I have to say this. Don't go 307 00:33:02.080 --> 00:33:09.440 doing stupid stuff and saying it's God. Please. I had to work up, you know how I worked up to this 308 00:33:09.440 --> 00:33:15.120 level by getting a lot of things wrong too. And then you learn from your mistakes. Amen. 309 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:22.160 Believe God for a soda first. Yeah. Then you know, I want to believe for a car. Do you have 310 00:33:22.160 --> 00:33:29.120 skateboard faith? Believe God for a skateboard. Work your way up to a 12 speed. Then believe God 311 00:33:29.120 --> 00:33:35.840 for a jalopy. Then from that, expound your faith, expand it, and work up to a place. So you don't, 312 00:33:35.840 --> 00:33:39.280 you know, come and cause your life and go, no, I was trying to walk by faith and 313 00:33:41.120 --> 00:33:44.560 that's maybe a whole separate message. Amen. 314 00:33:48.080 --> 00:33:55.200 And it came to pass. Less than number one was walking out of faith over the Jordan. 315 00:33:55.840 --> 00:34:01.920 Two was shame and guilt and condemnation have to be rolled away. That happens when you remember the 316 00:34:01.920 --> 00:34:07.920 covenant there to remember it in a very impractical way. You remember just by looking at the cross 317 00:34:07.920 --> 00:34:14.320 of going, thank you Jesus, the blood is upon my life. Three is you got to have a God encounter. 318 00:34:16.320 --> 00:34:24.080 God encounters are available to every believer. You are not supposed to have a cerebral 319 00:34:24.080 --> 00:34:32.560 relationship with the Lord. If our relationship with the Lord was just purely intellectual, 320 00:34:33.360 --> 00:34:38.000 some people, they're wired that way, not a lot of people, but some, they're wired that way, 321 00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:40.400 and that's fine for them. I can't do that. 322 00:34:46.640 --> 00:34:52.160 I want to know him. I want to experience him, especially when the Bible says I can know him, 323 00:34:52.160 --> 00:34:58.160 and I can experience him. I want to feel his touch, I want to experience his power. And that's 324 00:34:58.160 --> 00:35:06.800 available to you. Joshua before he entered the Promised Land, he had to have an encounter with 325 00:35:06.800 --> 00:35:11.680 God. And that's what you see happening here in Joshua chapter five. Jesus appeared to him 326 00:35:12.480 --> 00:35:19.200 in a pre-incarnate fashion, what's known as a theophanie. Jesus appeared to him as the commander 327 00:35:19.280 --> 00:35:24.880 of the armies of the Lord. And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho that he lifted his eyes 328 00:35:24.880 --> 00:35:32.240 and looked and behold, a man stood opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua 329 00:35:32.240 --> 00:35:39.520 went to him and said to him, are you for us or for our adversaries? So he said no, but as commander 330 00:35:39.520 --> 00:35:47.360 of the army of the Lord, I have now come. What an answer. So many people in a politically divided 331 00:35:48.160 --> 00:35:53.120 time. They want to know, are you on this team or on that team? And here's what the Lord says, 332 00:35:53.120 --> 00:36:00.000 I'm on my own team. You come on my team. I don't come on your team with your silly little minutia 333 00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:06.000 that's going on down there. I have a purpose. I have a plan and it's in your best interest to come 334 00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:15.040 along with me. Amen. So he said no, but as commander of the army of the Lord, I have now come 335 00:36:15.120 --> 00:36:21.280 and Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, what does my Lord say to 336 00:36:21.280 --> 00:36:26.160 his servant? So he's having a God encounter and he has a good question, what is the word for me? 337 00:36:26.160 --> 00:36:31.920 What would you say to me? And here's the divine response. Then the commander of the Lord's army 338 00:36:31.920 --> 00:36:41.520 said to Joshua, take your standal off your foot for the place where you stand as holy and Joshua 339 00:36:41.760 --> 00:36:50.560 did so. That's it. That's his God encounter. What was the lesson learned? Submission. 340 00:36:51.680 --> 00:36:59.600 Instant obedience and submission. Here God revealed himself when he came. He came and Joshua 341 00:36:59.600 --> 00:37:09.200 five as the commander of the armies of heaven. I denied SWOT in the Hebrew, the Lord of Suboeth, 342 00:37:10.160 --> 00:37:16.800 the heavenly host. And if you saw heavenly host, your brain would explode. They talk about the 343 00:37:16.800 --> 00:37:21.600 heavenly host coming when Jesus was born and then you see the paintings and it's a bunch of fat 344 00:37:21.600 --> 00:37:30.320 babies and diapers playing harps. That's not the heavenly host. Suboeth, the armies of heaven, 345 00:37:31.840 --> 00:37:38.240 a terrible thing to see. And Jesus appears as the commander of these armies. And this is all he 346 00:37:38.320 --> 00:37:44.640 wants. Submission. It's a word that many of us allergic to today. Don't want to submit to anybody, 347 00:37:44.640 --> 00:37:52.080 submit to anything. But Joshua had to submit. And in 2025, if you want to experience the best year 348 00:37:52.080 --> 00:37:59.840 of your life, you got to take your shoes off your feet. Get on your knees and submit. And have a 349 00:37:59.840 --> 00:38:04.480 heart attitude that says, Lord, I know that if you're not Lord of all, you're not Lord at all. 350 00:38:05.200 --> 00:38:13.040 This is not a year to be messing around. Surrender. You can't just receive him as savior and not as 351 00:38:13.040 --> 00:38:20.320 Lord. It's Lord and savior. That means your life now belongs to him. And you'll follow him. 352 00:38:20.320 --> 00:38:29.120 You won't do things contrary to his word. Hallelujah. And then finally, Joshua 6. 353 00:38:29.440 --> 00:38:39.360 There's about 50 great stories in the Book of Joshua. Some really great ones. 354 00:38:42.800 --> 00:38:48.480 I chose these three. But I encourage you to dig in the Book of Joshua. Joshua yourself. 355 00:38:50.320 --> 00:38:56.080 The Lord will speak to you through it. Joshua 6 verses 1 through 5. Now Jericho was 356 00:38:56.080 --> 00:39:05.440 securely shut up. So he made it past. Jordan River. The people were circumcised. The shame 357 00:39:05.440 --> 00:39:10.960 was rolled away. He got his God encounter. And now he has to possess the land, which means 358 00:39:10.960 --> 00:39:16.720 this possess the current occupants. He, the nations that were unwilling to repent and turn to the 359 00:39:16.720 --> 00:39:36.480 living God. I'm going to pause on that for a second. I feel like this might minister to a couple 360 00:39:36.480 --> 00:39:46.560 of people. In the Old Testament, you see a lot of death. You see a lot of destruction. You see a 361 00:39:46.560 --> 00:39:54.720 lot of people and people groups died. And now that we've been so wokified, you might read that, 362 00:39:55.360 --> 00:40:00.560 I mean, it bothered me before. But now that the culture is so wokified, you can just be 363 00:40:00.560 --> 00:40:06.000 absolutely horrified by what appears to be God's will in the Old Testament, like the destruction of 364 00:40:06.000 --> 00:40:11.680 other nations. And it's fair and legitimate that we bring that up, that we discuss that. I didn't 365 00:40:11.680 --> 00:40:18.560 plan on it, but I just felt it right now. And it's part of what God's answer was to Joshua. He said, 366 00:40:18.560 --> 00:40:28.240 I'm not on your side. And I'm not on their side. I'm on my own side. And God had only one desire, 367 00:40:29.200 --> 00:40:37.040 one desire to protect that seed that was spoken of in Genesis, to protect that seed throughout 368 00:40:37.040 --> 00:40:42.800 the generations so that Messiah can come in and rescue this fallen world. That was his only 369 00:40:42.800 --> 00:40:49.840 desire. Everything you see him doing is allowed for that to happen. And it's in the context of a fallen 370 00:40:49.840 --> 00:40:58.080 corrupt world. So God now has to use fallen man in the context of a fallen and corrupt 371 00:40:58.880 --> 00:41:04.240 post-Garden of Eden world to bring his holy purposes in. And that can be very messy and very 372 00:41:04.240 --> 00:41:09.840 ugly. Are you getting it? So it's not necessarily that God's will. I mean, God could have sent 373 00:41:09.840 --> 00:41:13.600 him to Jericho. And if it'll work, he would have said, listen, I want you to go pick flowers, 374 00:41:13.600 --> 00:41:17.840 make sure that the brightest flowers and the freshest flowers and present them with these flowers, 375 00:41:17.840 --> 00:41:22.640 they'll be happy to move out and allow you in. But that wouldn't have worked. So he has to work 376 00:41:22.640 --> 00:41:29.600 in the context of a fallen world to bring about his very holy and eternal purposes. Amen? All right. 377 00:41:31.200 --> 00:41:34.720 I didn't see anything, but there could have been several people. This could be a major hang-up 378 00:41:34.720 --> 00:41:39.680 for people. In the spirit, I saw a woman clutch her pearls, so I had to address that. 379 00:41:39.920 --> 00:41:48.560 Where are we? Oh, we're seeing Jericho get demolished. 380 00:41:51.600 --> 00:41:56.480 You shall march around the city. First three, I've given Jericho into your hand. You shall march 381 00:41:56.480 --> 00:42:02.320 around the city. All you men of war, you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do 382 00:42:02.320 --> 00:42:08.160 six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of ram's horns before the ark. But the 383 00:42:08.160 --> 00:42:14.800 seventh day you shall march around the city seven times. And the priests shall blow the trumpets. 384 00:42:15.520 --> 00:42:21.120 It shall come to pass when they make a long blast with the ram's horn. They were charismatic. 385 00:42:22.880 --> 00:42:30.160 With shofar's. And when you hear the sound of the trumpet and all the people shall shout with a 386 00:42:30.160 --> 00:42:36.800 great shout, then the wall of the city will fall down flat and the people shall go up every man 387 00:42:36.800 --> 00:42:42.880 straight before him. Now fast forward just a couple of verses to verse 10. Now Joshua had 388 00:42:42.880 --> 00:42:48.960 commanded the people saying, you shall not shout or make any noise with your voice. Imagine that. 389 00:42:48.960 --> 00:42:54.880 They had to walk around Jericho for six days. No one was allowed to say a word. It had to be 390 00:42:54.880 --> 00:43:02.160 total silence. I believe God did that so that they wouldn't jeopardize the mission and curse the 391 00:43:02.160 --> 00:43:07.680 mission with the words of their own mouth. Words are very important. The Bible says death and life 392 00:43:07.680 --> 00:43:12.720 are in the power of the tongue. And they that love it will lead the fruit thereof. You just know 393 00:43:12.720 --> 00:43:16.960 there would have been four or five complainers in that group going, oh I really miss Moses. I don't 394 00:43:16.960 --> 00:43:22.240 like Joshua. Moses was better, right? You know when someone's like that, when they're rebellious, 395 00:43:22.240 --> 00:43:28.000 they're the ultimate evangelists. They want they got to recruit and add more team rebellion. 396 00:43:28.080 --> 00:43:32.640 Right? Don't you feel like Moses was better and Joshua was saying walk around and why do we 397 00:43:32.640 --> 00:43:37.520 got a walk around? What? They're going to blow ramps horns and the walls will fall down. That's 398 00:43:37.520 --> 00:43:41.280 never going to work. And they would curse the whole thing with the words of them up. So the divine 399 00:43:41.280 --> 00:43:48.640 instruction was, can't say a word. Can't say a word for six days. By the way, these walls, 400 00:43:48.640 --> 00:43:53.360 when I first heard about the walls of Jericho coming down, maybe it's because I was a teenager, 401 00:43:53.360 --> 00:43:58.880 maybe I was influenced by something I saw, but I picture them in cartoon form. Like a wall, 402 00:43:58.880 --> 00:44:05.040 you too, right? No, you picture like one brick deep, just the wall, and then it comes down. 403 00:44:06.480 --> 00:44:10.480 But the walls of it, city walls, we've been to Dubrovnik and Croatia. 404 00:44:11.680 --> 00:44:16.480 City walls are very, very wide. Look at the Great Wall of China. Archaeologists will tell you that 405 00:44:16.480 --> 00:44:22.320 the Jericho walls were so wide that you can run multiple chariots around them at the same time. 406 00:44:22.320 --> 00:44:27.360 This is the kind of walls we're talking about. And God gives very strange instructions. 407 00:44:27.360 --> 00:44:32.720 Walk around. Once a day for the first six days, then on the seven day, walk around seven times, 408 00:44:32.720 --> 00:44:40.640 then blow a trumpet and shout with the shout of triumph. And then the walls will come down. 409 00:44:41.200 --> 00:44:47.280 Now in life, we're usually saying, God, make the walls come down, then I'll shout. People come 410 00:44:47.280 --> 00:44:55.600 in to church. They come in upset. They come in sad. They cross their arms. They don't even care 411 00:44:55.600 --> 00:44:59.120 that they're not entering into worship because their hard attitude is, Lord, when you do something 412 00:44:59.120 --> 00:45:03.520 in my life where I feel like it's enough that I should worship you, then I'll worship you. That's 413 00:45:03.520 --> 00:45:07.920 really what they're conveying to the Lord. And the whole Bible is upside down in this way. 414 00:45:07.920 --> 00:45:14.400 It's saying you rejoice first. You shout with the voice of triumph first. Then the wall will come down. 415 00:45:14.400 --> 00:45:18.240 You can't be hiding in a corner saying, make the wall come down. Why don't you? Then I'll shout. 416 00:45:20.720 --> 00:45:25.120 Amen or owe me. Both. Hallelujah. 417 00:45:30.320 --> 00:45:36.560 16 through 17 worship team, you can come on up. And the seventh time it happens, when the priests 418 00:45:36.560 --> 00:45:42.800 blew the trumpets, the Joshua said to the people, shout, for the Lord has given you the city. 419 00:45:42.800 --> 00:45:48.320 Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction. It's an all who are in it. 420 00:45:48.320 --> 00:45:56.240 Only Rahab, the harlot shall live. She and all, all who are with her in the house because she 421 00:45:56.240 --> 00:46:03.920 hid the messengers that were sent. God is doing a Joshua thing in 2025. Can you say amen? 422 00:46:05.680 --> 00:46:10.640 I hope these lessons bless you. Know this, that no battle is wasted by God. 423 00:46:13.760 --> 00:46:21.040 And even in this battle, when the walls came down, some archaeologists say that the fashion in 424 00:46:21.040 --> 00:46:26.960 which they came down was to act as a rampart, as a bridge, basically giving even easier access 425 00:46:26.960 --> 00:46:31.920 for the children of Israel now to run in and take Jericho. So what used to be your hindrance, 426 00:46:31.920 --> 00:46:36.560 what used to be your problem when the Lord deals with it, falls down, and now it acts as your 427 00:46:36.560 --> 00:46:43.680 express route into the place you wanted to get to all along. Hallelujah. A couple of other things, 428 00:46:43.680 --> 00:46:49.280 note this, two more things. One, the community was united, that's the only reason this worked. 429 00:46:49.280 --> 00:46:55.680 We as a church have never before been as united as we are now. I feel it. Like never before. 430 00:46:55.680 --> 00:47:00.400 There is love in this place. In fact, we should get even stoner that if somebody disturbs that 431 00:47:00.400 --> 00:47:05.360 piece, disturbs that love. Usually have a three strike minimum. We might have to bring that down 432 00:47:05.360 --> 00:47:11.120 to two strikes because I am jealous for this sweetness that there is so much love and camaraderie 433 00:47:11.120 --> 00:47:16.480 and wearing one accord. This is where miracles happen. And another thing I want you to see is there's 434 00:47:16.480 --> 00:47:30.080 Rahab, the harlot. It seems like such a harsh word, right? She let some spies in previously. When 435 00:47:30.080 --> 00:47:35.680 destruction came upon Jericho, look who was spared. Rahab, the harlot. In fact, Jesus has a 436 00:47:35.680 --> 00:47:41.120 connection to her in his lineage. And she mentioned in Hebrews 11 in the great hall of faith. 437 00:47:41.840 --> 00:47:47.440 But I just want you to know that when destruction came upon this city, look at God's heart. 438 00:47:49.040 --> 00:47:54.480 He preserved Rahab, the harlot. In fact, she said, hey, what should I do? When you come 439 00:47:54.480 --> 00:47:59.760 destroying, when you come destroying this whole city, how will you know not to destroy my house? 440 00:48:00.400 --> 00:48:04.560 And they said, one, just tie a little scarlet cord outside your window. We'll know not to hit 441 00:48:04.560 --> 00:48:11.120 that home. What do you think that scarlet cord represents? Blood of Jesus. So just know this. 442 00:48:11.120 --> 00:48:15.280 And you see this. This is just one example. You see this throughout the scriptures. Though we live 443 00:48:15.280 --> 00:48:22.400 in New York City. And just when I get to like my, when I'm in my family planning multi-generational 444 00:48:22.400 --> 00:48:29.120 state of mind, I wonder about, you know, living in New York City. When there's 40 drones going 445 00:48:29.120 --> 00:48:34.240 up and down to Hudson River, and they're saying could be nuclear material or, and then I'm just 446 00:48:34.240 --> 00:48:41.680 reminding you that whenever destruction comes upon a place, God's people are spared. When I see 447 00:48:41.680 --> 00:48:48.240 the blood, I will pass to over you. When I see that scarlet cord, that's why it mentions Rahab, 448 00:48:48.320 --> 00:48:54.160 the harlot, to be a prostitute was considered to be the bottom rung of society. And God is saying 449 00:48:54.160 --> 00:49:01.920 even the bottom rung. When that scarlet cord is applied, destruction will pass over. Let's all 450 00:49:01.920 --> 00:49:13.440 stand. Hallelujah. Lift your hands. In the name of Jesus, say this with me, Lord, 2025, 451 00:49:13.440 --> 00:49:25.360 is my year. I will live in a constant state of victorious flow. It's going to be my best fear yet. 452 00:49:26.480 --> 00:49:34.080 You are with me and you are my waymaker. I believe and I receive. Amen. 453 00:49:34.720 --> 00:49:39.520 This is the City Light Church podcast. If you've missed any part of today's message, 454 00:49:39.520 --> 00:49:44.000 or if you would like to find out more about Pastor Boyan Jansik in City Light Church, 455 00:49:44.000 --> 00:49:53.520 visit us at citylightnyc.com. That's citylightnyc.com. Feel free to visit us online or in person anytime. 456 00:49:53.520 --> 00:49:58.480 We would love to connect with you. We pray that you have been encouraged today, 457 00:49:58.480 --> 00:50:03.680 that you have been reminded how much God loves you, and that you are surrounded by grace. 458 00:50:04.400 --> 00:50:08.960 Thank you for listening. Make sure that you subscribe to City Light Church podcast wherever 459 00:50:08.960 --> 00:50:15.120 you find your favorite podcasts worldwide.