 Well tonight, we're continuing our study here in the book of Joshua. We're almost at the conclusion of our study We only have one more chapter to do and I plan on closing the book of Joshua next week And then we'll embark on another study in a different book, but tonight. We're looking at Joshua chapter 23 and We're looking really at a history lesson Because that's what you're gonna see here as we go through Joshua chapter 23 He's going to rehearse for the children of Israel some very basic things that as we look at together We can learn from he's going to say some things to them That by way of application will help us to live our lives as Christians here in the 21st century And so what we have is a reminder from history We have a history lesson in which he's going to be Communicating to them some things that they already know with an Exertation for them to put into practice those things that they've already been taught and those things that they remember so let's begin reading here in Joshua chapter 23 at verse 1 and I'll read to verse Verse 8 and we'll get into our city Joshua chapter 23 beginning at verse 1 reading to verse 8 Now it came to pass a long time after the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies roundabout That Joshua was old advanced in age and Joshua called for all Israel for their elders for the heads for their judges and for their officers and said to them I'm old advanced in age You have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you For the Lord your God is he who has fought for you See I have divided to you by lot these nations that remain To be an inheritance for your tribes From the Jordan with all the nations that I have cut off as far as the great sea westward and The Lord your God will expel them from before you and drive them out of your sight So you shall possess their land as the Lord your God has promised you Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left and Lest you go among these nations these who remain among you You shall not make mention of the name of their gods or cause anyone to swear by them You shall not serve them nor bow down to them But you shall hold fast to the Lord your God as you have done to this day Now as we've been looking at Joshua remember with me that Joshua has divided up the land the land of promise amongst the tribes and He has found a place for himself to settle and it's mentioned in chapter 19 verses 49 through 51 Where that place was and so he has found a place to settle and he's been living peacefully now and has done So for a number of years Now a great amount of time has passed as we enter into chapter 23 a great amount of time has passed from the initial entrance into the land We know that as we've studied through Joshua It took some time for them to conquer the land and it also took some time for them to begin to settle within it and so It's been estimated that when he distributed the land amongst the children of Israel that he made it been around 95 years old We know that according to chapter 24 verse 29 at the time of this riding. He's a hundred and ten years old And so he's lived a long life Which is why he's going to make reference to the fact that he's an older man now and he's he's nearing the close of his life and Because he's nearing the close of his life He feels led to gather the leaders of the nation of Israel. He's going to have a final meeting with them So his life is nearing its end and he's compelled to give them a final and a heartfelt exhortation Now you can sum up what he's going to say and we're going to look at this in some detail in a moment and find some practical Application but the final thing he has to say can be summed up in this Remain faithful to God. That's basically what he's going to say. That's the best advice he can give at his age Remain faithful to God Remain faithful to God's word and remember the things that God has done in the past because remembering the things that God has done in the past and Remaining faithful to his word is going to be the guarantee that God will remain amongst you and working on your behalf And so his exhortation is very simple. It's very basic a simple reminder what God has done and an exhortation to remain faithful to him to remain close to him and To follow him So what he's doing is he's giving them a final exhortation If you will he's giving to them a final piece of advice Advice that comes from the mouth of an experienced old man a man who has remained faithful to the Lord a man who has seen who has seen God's faithfulness to him and Because he's remained faithful to God and because he has experienced the faithfulness of God That gives to him the ability to be one who communicates advice to other people He's nearing the close of his life But he has the ability because he's lived consistently for the Lord He has the ability to communicate to them an exhortation that they ought to listen to because he's proven By the kind of life that he's lived That what he is saying to them would be effective to them because it's been effective in his own life Now when we look at our own world today, we live in a world with no shortage of people who love to give advice We live in an advice-giving world There's no doubt about it a nation that is filled with so-called experts who can at the drop of the hat Give to you the advice that they think you need we hear these advice givers on talk radio. We we Read their magazines There are professional counselors. We have afternoon TV programs filled with people who want to tell you how to live You know people as famous as Oprah and Alan you don't even need to give their last names really You have dr. Phil and dr. Drew you have so many different people who are out there as advice givers Who are telling people you ought to read this book you ought to have this diet you out of vacation in this place You ought to drive this car You ought to do these things you know it and I know it the afternoon TV talk shows are filled with advice givers Or when you leave today all you need to do is go and go to a.m.. Radio And they have a whole lot of people in there wanting to talk sharing their advice with you. That's just the way it is You can get on the net and the net is filled with sites that offer advice and information All you need to do is type in your question. What should I do about my gray hair? And then for you know it you just open up page after page after page of people who are going to tell you Exactly how to do that and they'll give you advice about everything that that you could possibly even question They give you advice about things you've never even thought about. I mean it's filled with advice Or go on Facebook. So many people are on Facebook and you'll see people who are giving advice all the time on their page Well, you need to do this and you need to do that We're living in a in an era of advice and so we have people who are wanting to distribute their wisdom to their friends so The bottom line is is you can find advice in many places Now Solomon who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes Said in Ecclesiastes chapter 12 verse 12 Further my son be admonished by these of Making many books there is no end and much study is weird some to the flesh He's saying there are so many books out there that you can read with so much advice and so many things that people want you to know So experts on life abound the question has to be asked. How do you determine who you're going to listen to? How do you determine who you're going to listen to? Who's going to be the primary advice giver in your life now? Joshua was a hundred and ten years old and He's exhorting the people and he's advising them. How do you find somebody who is going to give to you? Expert advice concerning life One of the best things you can do is look for those who have faithfully followed the Lord over a lifetime look for somebody who has a lifetime kind of Devotion that you can look at and you can say this person here has obviously Been doing the things that are being blessed by God and therefore I'm going to listen to them When we have men's conferences as we had recently I Like to it. I like to have some of the younger men come and share with us You know John Randall who's not really a young man, but a younger man David Zamora for example and others who are younger men. I like that because I enjoy their exuberance I enjoy their fire that they have and and they give great studies And I love these men and the ones that I've had for a conference Isn't the younger men that I brought up here in this pulpit and turned them loose on you are great guys And I love them to pieces But I have had a habit for the last 17 years of bringing Pastor Chuck to come and share with us as the first speaker Pastor Chuck is turning 86 years old and in a few days 86 years old now somebody to say why do you have that old man up there talking? Well, you need to put it into perspective the first time I heard Pastor Chuck speak. He was 43 years old and I was 20 and I looked at this old man Who was 43 and I thought with it myself What does he have to say to a younger man? And so I began learning early in my life to listen to the men who've gone before you to listen to the one Who's gone before you has the experience has the knowledge who's followed God? Because they're the ones that I need to follow and listen. They're the ones. I need to seek advice from They're the ones who who have a knowledge of the things that I need to know So how do we how do we find the person to to listen to if we are looking for counsel? Well, again, we look for those who have faithfully followed the Lord over a lifetime in Psalm 71 verses 17 and 18 It reads oh God you have taught me from my youth and to this day. I declare your wondrous works Now also when I am old and gray-headed. Oh God do not forsake me Until I declare your strength to this generation your power to everyone who's to come When I've grown old and gray-headed that's kind of hard to grow gray-headed today because you can just well if you hate that gray What do you do you wash it away, right? You can always I mean these commercials where these guys are in a bar trying to pick up a younger girl And she doesn't even look at him. So he goes into the bathroom and dabs this stuff on his face comes out He's a check magnet automatically, right? Amazing Amazing still ugly, but at least his hair is not gray We don't want to grow older We don't want to admit That we're growing older and unfortunately for us for those of us who are growing older and Instead of becoming the leaders that we should should be instead of taking life's Experiences and wanting to communicate to those who would be hungry to hear sometimes we try to be young and Act just like the younger crowd and lose the ability to communicate to them because we lose their respect What we need to do is we need to act our age Because I believe that that the generation that is younger than ours those who would belong to my generation The generation that belongs to my children's generation and grandchildren's generation are not looking for buddies They're looking for mentors. They're looking for examples They're looking for people who can demonstrate with their life that the things that God says are true And and they actually impact and when putting to practice They're a blessing and you can be a blessing. So I encourage all of you who are growing older, but don't admit it I'm encouraging you To just grow in the Lord and be willing and ready to share your wisdom wisdom often follows Experience like it says in Job 12 verse 12 wisdom is with aged men and with length of days understanding So it's important for us who are growing older in the Lord to be willing to mentor others and to give advice and exhortation It is also important for us to be careful whom we allow to influence our life by their advice You need to be wise when you select somebody to speak into your life Like it says in Psalm 1 verses 1 and 2 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly nor stands in the path of sinners Nor sits in the seat of the scornful But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law he meditates day and night So blessed is the man who doesn't walk in the counsel of the ungodly The the new living translation says it like this all the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked Or stand around with sinners or join in with mockers But they delight in the law of the Lord meditating on it day and night Those who do not follow the advice of the wicked and so the Lord has called us to follow the exhortation and advice of those who are walking in his ways and so advice should be sought from those who have Approven life and they should it should be sought from those who have a genuine concern for you You see there are people who are willing to give you advice You may be contemplating doing something and you go to somebody and ask for advice and and they don't love you They don't have a concern for you. And so they're not going to really give to you the best advice that is possible Sometimes they'll give you advice that is poor. It's an advice. It's advice that that they they they think is valuable for you But in reality is going to be harmful to you And so advice ought to be sought from the ones who have a proven life and have a love for you in Romans 15 verse 14 Paul said it like this. He said now. I myself am confident concerning you my brethren That you also are full of goodness filled with all knowledge able also to admonish one another so goodness and knowledge and a willingness to encourage others Makes for a good counselor Now they should always have a desire to advise you to follow the proper path They should always be the individual who directs you to the Lord By his word. I have a picture. I'm going to show you. I believe we have it. I'm not sure I had asked if it could be put up And I don't know if they have it ready or not. Yeah, I just wanted to point this out to you That's my mom who went home to be with the Lord about three weeks ago. This is a Short time before she went home to be with the Lord I want you to see what I'm doing because it's a picture of the advice. I'm giving you right now in my right hand What do I have I? Have a Bible you you can Put the picture off. No, I have a Bible I have a Bible that I carry in my back pocket I've told you before one of my friends said always carry your sword and and he lifted up his Bible He said you because the Bible is called the sword of the spirit and then he said to me Look at David if you can't carry your sword and he pulled out his pocket Bible He said then carry your switchblade so I always so I always carry this with me wherever I go I've always got a Bible on me. I've got a Bible in my heart because I've memorized scripture But I carry a Bible in my pocket so I can pull it out and give advice and counsel from it That's what the Lord has called us to do You ought to listen to the one who has the Bible ready to give you God's advice and not simply their opinion I am telling you that is exceptionally important to understand Because when you have a situation that you want your footsteps directed properly You don't want to go to somebody who doesn't have an understanding of the ways of the Lord You don't want to go to somebody who doesn't love you and have a concern for you And you don't want to go to somebody who's not going to direct your your your steps in the proper path Ecclesiastes once again chapter 12 verses 13 and 14 Says let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter Fear God keep his commandments for this is man's all For God will bring every work into judgment including every secret thing whether good or evil This is the conclusion fear God and keep his commandments His word is what directs us its word is what directs our footsteps And so Joshua is beginning to advise them and he's doing so by reminding them of the Lord's faithfulness to them Over the years. That's how he begins and he gives to them a brief history lesson calling on them to remember He's stirring their memory. He's reminding them of what the Lord has done And and that's a common practice by the way in scripture for people to draw your attention to what God has done in the past It's something that is important. You see it in the writings of paul in philippians chapter 3 verse 1 When he says finally my brethren rejoice in the Lord For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it's safe I'm reminding you. I'm writing the same things to you so that you know these things I want to rehearse these things to you so that they're embedded within you It's like second peter chapter 1 verse 13 where the apostle peter wrote Yes, I think it right as long as i'm in this tent to stir you up by reminding you Or jude verse 17, but you beloved remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our lord jesus christ And so what joshua is doing is he's reminding them He's reminding them of the history. He's giving them a history lesson And he's reminding them of how god has been in the past and Encouraging them to remain faithful to him so that god can continue moving on their behalf So he's old according to verses 1 and 2 He's advanced in age He calls the leaders of the nation that they might meet with him And he begins to remind them As a matter of fact he begins by reminding them first and foremost i'm old That's what he says in the opening statement Well proverbs 16 31 says a silver haired head is a crown of glory if it's found in the way of righteousness And he's saying i'm old and i'm experienced And i have something to communicate to you You see i've guided you in times of war And i've guided you in times of peace And now i want to guide you into your future And so in doing so verse 3 he says to them You have seen all that the lord your god has done To all these nations because of you for the lord your god is he who has fought for you And so he begins by saying you remember god's goodness towards you You remember god's protection You remember his deliverance It is wise to consider god's steady presence on our behalf And it's wise for us to remember how faithful he's been to us And the past victories that we've had in him It's wise for us to meditate on the works that god has done and perform because Those things that he's done in the past he can continue to do in our present And the things that he is doing in our present We'll prepare us for the things he wants to do in our future And so there are times in your life that you may have to look back and remind yourself Has god ever forsaken you has god ever left you behind has god ever done harm to you Has god ever intentionally hurt you has he ever done something that has caused you so much pain And the bottom line is no he has actually seen us through all of those times He's never left us. He's never forsaken us. He never abandoned us He always was there to protect and be with us. And so it's wise to remember the things that god has done in the past You see they had fought to take possession of this land, but he's reminded them listen Yes, god was with you as you fought But it is god who gave you the victory So even though you participated in the battles Remember who is the one who gave you the ability to win and remember who is the actual one who won and fought that battle on your behalf Like it says in psalm 44 1 through 3. We have heard with our ears. Oh god. Our fathers have told us The deeds you did in their days in days of old You drove out the nations with your hand, but them you planted You afflicted the peoples and cast them out For they did not gain possession of the land by their own own sword Nor did their own arms save them, but it was your right hand Your arm and the light of your countenance because you favored them And so the victories they had came because of god The blessings that I have and the blessings that you have Are not earned and deserved They're graciously given to you And when we understand that well, we'll serve him with humility and thankfulness So he's reminding them god has done this. He said the lord your god is he who has fought for you Verse 4 c I have divided to you by lot these nations that remain To be an inheritance for your tribes from the jordan with all the nations that I have cut off as far as the great sea westward And the lord your god will expel them from before you and drive them out of your sight So you shall possess their land as the lord your god has promised you So they have nations that are remaining And the conquest is being is is gradual They're in the process of settling But god is promising to continue expelling their enemies And though there were nations that still remained israel remains separate from them And that's what god has called them to do remain separate So he goes on in verse 6 and says therefore be very courageous To keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of moses Lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left And lest you go among these nations These who remain among you you shall not make mention of the name of their gods nor cause anyone to swear by them You shall not serve them nor bow down to them But you shall hold fast to the lord your god as you have done to this day And so what's going to safeguard them what is going to make the total conquest of this land possible Notice how he begins by saying you need to be very courageous be exceedingly courageous You need to live out your faith You need to be people of faith is what he's saying You need to trust god with all of your heart And you need to obey him You need to consistently remember the things that he's done in the past because there are still things to do in the future And as god has been with you in the past So he will be with you in your future And he says be very careful to not be turned out Of the right path do not be turned out of the proper path remain faithful to god and avoid the temptation to abandon him For other gods You see god's word will protect you From doing such a thing as you obey him In deuteronomy 28 14 it says so you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day To the right or to the left to go after other gods to serve them So don't be turned aside from the right path verse 7. He said don't even make mention of the name of their gods Let them be totally forgotten Let them be as if they had never had their names mentioned in this land May it be that they will be like those that have never ever even been heard of now. Why is that so important? Well, because if you remember those gods You may become curious about those gods When you become curious about those gods you may begin to investigate those gods as you begin to investigate those gods You may be tempted to follow those gods By remembering them you're going to give an open door for them That you might be drawn away tempted And even led to worship them Be careful You may begin to swear to them As if they're the judges of your motives and your actions You may begin to serve them in the religious rites that the pagans practice You may bow down to them as your creator and preserver And then what you'll end up doing is giving your worship to idols instead of the true god And so what you're supposed to do is detach yourself completely and finally 100% From those things forsake those things have nothing to do with those things don't even mention those things And pursue the lord with all of your heart, you know as as I read the bible and I've been reading it for a while now As I read the bible I never find any indication from the old to the new testament anywhere That god ever says to me, you know, I'd like you to follow me half-heartedly I never see that have you ever seen a verse where Jesus says if you're going to follow me That's cool. Follow me on a couple days out of the week, but the rest of the week is yours All I'm asking is just a little bit. I've never seen that You when he when he calls his apostles He calls them to leave everything behind and follow him The call of the disciple is for a person to to change the direction of their life So that they instead of pursuing the things that took him away from god The call of the disciple is to turn them around so they'll pursue the things that are of god And so you find that through scripture Pick up your cross daily. Jesus said deny yourself pick up your cross daily and follow me And so you never see an indication in in scripture that god has called me to partial Worship of him. It's always complete and he's even gone so far as to say no man can serve two masters You're going to worship one or you'll worship the other, but you can't worship both of them So what we have to do is as christians is we have to make a determination that i'm going to follow god Now some people see that is so heavy that it scares them. They're they're afraid to do that But I I discovered a long time ago that that I cannot be a hundred percent committed To to two things I have to be a hundred percent committed to one And i'm a hundred percent committed or should be to my faith in christ and my following of my god That's what i'm supposed to do and then everything else follows after that I used to teach a bible study here in uh inchino back in 1975 At a house that's right up just up the street from here off of uh About two blocks up off of east end and um Philadelphia It's a rock. It's it's a house that's made out of rock. It's not a rock house It's a house that's made out of rock And and if you go by it you can see the rock house that I used to minister in And uh, I had a a man who was there at that time. I was 25 years old I had a man who was coming to the bible study at that time his name was charlie and um charlie had just committed himself to the lord and uh And he started coming to the bible study there and and grew in in that ministry under me for for a while Then I hadn't seen him for some time And then I was teaching here as the pastor of this church. So years had passed and And and charlie came to visit us and he came and spoke to me one day and he said, you know David he said when you would teach because I was taking him to the gospel of mark He said when you would teach and you read the scriptures that said love god with all of your heart all your soul all your strength He said when you would when you read those scriptures and you exhorted us to love god like that Now remember I was 25 years old at that time And I was already saying we have to love god like that because that's what the word says He said what I heard you say that He said I I could not grab hold of that. He said I just I couldn't buy into that He said I was christian. I wanted to follow the lord, but that sounded so demanding especially when you said To love god with all of your heart more than you love anything else And he said and I would argue with you in my mind about that And I would say I can't because I have children. How can I love god more than I love my my son or my daughter How can I do that? He said and I would feel so bad within me because the bible says to love god with all that's within you And yet he said I loved my kids so much and this is what he told me I'll never forget. He said and then I realized after following the lord for a while That my source of love for my children really sprang forth from the love I had for my god And the more that I grew to love my god He said the more I learned to love my children And the more love that god poured into my heart in my relationship to him More love I was able to give to my son and my daughter And he said it took years for me to finally realize what had transpired As I was becoming more devoted to my god it didn't take me away from my family It made me a better man in my family Because the love that I started to have for god began to pour over into the love that I have for my kids He said so now I understand what you were trying to say And that's what the word would say you see if you love the lord god with all your heart Which no human being really has ever been able to do that Even the one who was commanded by god to pen those words Moses himself didn't love god with all of his heart because he didn't even make it into the promised land And as I've shared with you before men like david who god himself speaking of david said This is one who's who's his heart is completely after me And yet even david himself Could not claim to have loved god with all of his heart because when you mentioned the name david King david There's always another name that's associated with his name, and that's the name bathsheba and so even david who couldn't go outside and And just watch the sheep without looking at the stars and thinking of how great god is Even david could never make the claim that he loved god with all of his heart So I understand that because of the limitations of my flesh of our flesh That there will still always be An awareness of my own weakness and frailty and my capability Of of really understanding that to the depth that god would have me to understand it and yet at the same time I know that if you pursue the lord on a daily basis and you say god today I want to seek you more than I did even yesterday That you begin to mature in the things of the lord you begin to grow in the things of god And it's more of god and less of the world through a lifetime And that's how maturity occurs in your life by simply seeking him on a daily basis By pursuing him and by holding fast to him Now instead of clinging to and holding fast to false religion He says in verse 8 you shall hold fast to the lord your god As you have done to this day They're to hold fast to the lord. How do you do that? Well, it begins by holding fast to his word in deuteronomy 13 4 We read you shall walk after the lord your god and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice And you shall serve him and hold fast to him We saw in joshua 22 verse 5 But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which most is the servant of the lord commanded you To love the lord your god to walk in all his ways To keep his commandments hold fast to him serve him with all your heart with all your soul We see paul in second timothy 113 equine that when he says hold fast the pattern of sound words Which you've heard for me in faith and love which are in christ jesus You hold fast to the lord as you hold fast to his word Because god god's word reveals god to us and therefore we cling to the one who's been revealed And so by holding fast to the lord and holding fast to his word Well, that will make it possible for them to be in the midst of evil but not be part of it Because there are still there are still tribes that and peoples that have yet to be Taking care of they're still there. They're living amongst the evil Well, even as christians live in the midst of those who do not believe We can still remain separate We're in this world. There's no doubt about it. God hasn't pulled us out of it We're in this world, but we don't have to be of it It doesn't have to dictate the way that we think it doesn't have to establish our morals It doesn't have to establish our our ethics. It doesn't have to establish those kinds of things in our life We can actually be livers Those who live in this world not livers as in your body, but those who live in this world We can be those who live in this world without having to be those who are letting the world conform us into its image When jesus was praying in john 17 verses 14 and 15 he said i've given them your word And the world has hated them because they are not of the world Just as i am not of the world I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one Don't remove them from the world because they're salt because they're light because they have work to do because they're Going out there as a rescue crew to to to give the word to save people and draw them out I'm not saying to to pull them out of the world. I'm saying keep them in that world And so what god would have us to do is to cling to him daily Now he says in verse nine For the lord has driven out from before you great and strong nations, but ask for you No one has been able to stand against you to this day One man of you shall chase a thousand for the lord your god is he who fights for you as He promised you therefore take diligent heed to yourselves that you love The lord your god that you love The lord your god God is with you god fights for you god gives you victory Love him Love him when you love the lord When you love the lord Well, you can do all things through christ because he strengthens you I'm wrestling with telling you something Obviously you see me sitting up there and saying what's the matter? Did he lose his voice and then somebody says my prayers have been answered? No, I haven't lost my voice I'm just wrestling as to whether I can share this with you whether it's understandable When I was 20 and I gave my heart to the lord I've shared with you how God Radically transformed my life I've shared with you how that Some of you have been around for a while you've heard this forgive me for repeating myself and I'm going to make a point in a second How that I didn't know how to love people I didn't know what love is some of you have heard me say that before and you've never really understood exactly What I'm trying to say so I'm going to try and explain something right now to you and it's difficult to say this but I have the freedom now to be able to I've shared with you how when I grew up That it came from a certain background But I've never shared with you that my mom when I was a little boy For many years was an abusive mom That my mom abused her children that there were times That I heard the words I hate you much more than I ever ever heard. I love you And one of my memories is when I was about nine years old my mom throwing me on the ground and kicking me And I hate you because I had opened a door To look at some Christmas gifts That we had received because the year before we didn't have any money to get gifts And that year we actually got some gifts and my brother Frank and I were very excited And we looked in just to see just to look at the packages because the year before we hadn't received them And my mom discovered that we had looked and my mom used to get very angry and She threw me on the ground and was kicking me in the ribs and screaming. I hate you My mom was not a real nice woman. I didn't know how to love Because When the people that you love the most treat you like that You don't know what that word really means now. I'm not speaking ill of my mama Everybody in this church knows how deeply I love my mom. I'm just telling you the truth So for me Love what is that? Women you can't trust them That's the fact. That's why I grew up. You can't trust them. They hurt you And so I didn't have good relations because I didn't know What a woman's love really was because when the word love is used It could be associated with all kinds of craziness So At 15s when I finally said I've had it. I'm checking out And that's when I began the alcohol. That's when I began the drugs That's when I said I don't care how you feel about anything. I'm not doing this anymore. I'm not taking this anymore It's a lot of story that I can tell you about that But when I got to be 20 And I'd gone through all the garbage and the nonsense and I'd Ruined relationships and I didn't know how to care for people and I didn't know how to love And I didn't know how to even say it and I was afraid to use that word That's when Jesus saved me And when Jesus saved me I brought this love of God Home to a family that didn't know what love was And I brought my mom to faith in Jesus christ when I was 20 And from that point on my mom's life began to change because mama needed to know what love was to you see I understand some things through experience That I have never been able to communicate to you I've never been able to open up because I didn't want to do and do not want to do my mom a disservice by By causing her name and reputation To be sully amongst you because you have known those of you have known my mom have known her as a woman who loves the lord I have always seen my mom as a woman transformed by the power of god That's what happens when you cling to him That's what happens when you say god. I can't take it anymore. I don't want any more of this life I don't want to be this way anymore I need your help god forgive me because of the bitterness and the anger the hurt and resentment Because of all of those things that were in my personal life Because of the the betrayals and the hurts that that our whole family had endured But god has said to us that that that we can be in this world, but we don't have to be of it I don't have to use the world's model of relationship. I don't have to use the world's model of love I don't have to use the world's model of forgiveness and reconciliation I brought the gospel to my mom And I shared you need jesus christ And I brought the gospel to my dad And I said daddy you need the lord And I saw god transform my parents My dad was a man who never said the words. I love you. My dad didn't say those words to us My dad was a man who didn't show affection at all until he got saved And when my dad got saved some of you had the joy of knowing my dad He was the most sweet and the most tender man That you'd ever meet My dad was a kind and loving man That was the gospel power to transform a life Because my daddy never showed affection to me At the age of three or four I went to kiss my dad good night and he pushed me away Stuck his hand out and said men don't kiss men shake hands My dad never showed affection to me until after well He was when I was 17 he showed me it once he said I love you when I was 17 He just wasn't cut from that cloth When I got saved I brought a gospel of transformation to the family And my mom who was abusive and angry My mom changed because she finally came into connection with the one who transforms lives That's why you'll there have been many times When I in this pulpit have begun to weep And you haven't known why It's because I'm remembering Of the transformation that God has done in me and my family and his goodness And I can sometimes remember the things that were not so good And then I compare them with where they are they're at now That's why I could stand up last week and I could eulogize my mom as a gracious loving caring woman Because she became that through the gospel of jesus christ It's the clinging to it that changes you You see and that's what god has called us to do We can live in the midst of this evil world, but god has called us to cling tightly to him We can live in the midst of a world that rejects him, but god can transform us And that's what he's saying. He's saying it's the lord who fights for you Even as he prays but take heed to yourselves love the lord your god That's what changes everything guys. It's learning to love the lord And letting him love you and receiving his love and then giving his love to other people Now he says in verse 12 Or else if indeed you do go back and cling to the remnant of these nations These that remain among you and make marriages with them And go into them and they do you know for certain that the lord your god will no longer drive out these Nations from before you but they shall be snares and traps to you and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes Until you perish from this good land, which the lord your god has given you behold this day I am going the way of all the earth And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls That not one thing has failed of all the good things which the lord your god spoke concerning you All have come to pass for you and not one word of them has failed Therefore it shall come to pass that as all the good things have come upon you, which the lord your god promised you So the lord will bring upon you all harmful things until he's destroyed you from this good land Which the lord your god has given you when you have transgressed the covenant of the lord your god Which he commanded you and have gone and served other gods and bowed down to them Then the anger of the lord will burn against you and you shall perish quickly from the good land Which he has given you so he closes with an encouragement and a warning You see outside of their failure at ai israel had moved from victory to victory by just simply trusting in the lord The lord had fought on their side and he had given them victory and he is now giving them rest The bible tells us in romans 8 31 what then shall we say to these things of god is for us who can be against us The psalmist in psalm 44 verses 4 and 5 said you are my king. Oh god command victories for jacob Through you we will push down our enemies through your name. We will trample those who rise up against us So the lord has given you victory against these great and strong nations cling to him But if you don't verse 12 and 13 if you go back, well, what's going to happen? Well, you're going to end up Being judged it's interesting how in verses 12 and 13. He speaks concerning inter marriage Notice how he says in verse 12 Or else if indeed you do go back and cling to the remnant of these nations These that remain among you and make marriages with them and go into them And they to you know for certain that the lord your god will no longer drive out these nations from before you They're going to be traps and scourges. They're going to be Things that are harmful to you, but it's interesting how he's saying be careful that you do not inter marry with unbelievers I can't tell you how many christian people who claim to love the lord Um Have gone out and gotten married to those who don't know the lord at all You see there's no other relationship as intimate On earth as intimate as marriage So nothing is more certain to draw a person away than for them to Fall in love with and marry an unbeliever as a matter of fact When somebody has approached me and has said to me that they want to marry And the person that they want to marry doesn't know the lord There's hardly anything I can think of that more clearly Exposes their lack of faith in christ than that decision When you speak to somebody and I have to tell you I've done it more than once Over the years who will come up and say i'm going to get married I can remember one conversation in particular with a young lady years ago now Who spoke to me and I said You know what the word of god says concerning this this man that you want to marry is not a believer And she says yes, I know And I said you know what god's word says concerning that She said yes, I do And I spoke to her with with with the heart of a father for a young woman And I said to her you know that this is not the man that your father prayed for you to marry And you know that on your wedding day It's going to break your father's heart that you're marrying a guy who doesn't love jesus christ You know that She said yes And a while later she got married to the guy And that if there's anything that reveals your heart More than that. I don't know what is Possible to reveal it even more the one you choose to marry demonstrates your faith in christ The bible says be you not unequally yoked together with unbelievers asked the question What is this light having common with darkness? What is the devil having common with jesus? and so This is this new testament forbidding Believers from intermarrying is not just a new testament, but it's an old testament And there's hardly anything that is more In is is more sure to help you to walk away from god Then for you to be hooked up with get married to somebody who doesn't know the lord in in first kings chapter 11 versus 1 Through 3 it reads King Solomon loved many foreign women As well as the daughters of pharaoh women of the moabites ammonites Edomite sydonians and hithites from the nations of whom the lord had said to the children of israel You shall not intermarry with them nor are they with you surely they will turn your hearts After their gods salomon clung to these in love He had 700 wives princesses and 300 concubines And his wives turned away his heart That's what happens Now he's saying in verse 13 if you do intermarry you're going to lose my protection god's protection will be Moved and it's going to bring great pain to you And then he finally says this I'm going the way of all the earth. I'm about to die You've seen and you've experienced god's faithful keeping of his promises These are experiences that you cannot deny So continue trusting him and continue keeping his word And then he basically closes in verse 16 with not only a warning But also a prediction He says when you have transgressed the covenant of the lord to god Which he commanded you and have gone and served other gods and bowed down to them Then the anger of the lord will burn against you. You shall perish quickly from the good land which he has given you They'd already been told what would happen if they turned away from the lord But in spite of god's faithfulness They eventually did turn away And they did go into captivity in 722 Before christ the assyrians came And took the 10 northern tribes into captivity And then in 605 The babelonians came And three different campaigns against israel until they removed the majority Of the people of judah the southern tribes Till they removed them and then the land became barren for those 70 years as they were in babelonian captivity God's word was fulfilled God said if you Fail to keep my word. I will judge you If you remain faithful to my word, I will bless you So this was not only a warning But it was also a prediction a prediction or a prophecy That was fulfilled Not that long afterwards when the assyrians came and the babelonians came So god's word has promises and god's word has warnings We need to receive both Not only the promises which are so wonderful But also to walk in the warnings Which were surely will surely come to pass because god's word is sure and so he's saying to them You need to understand this remain faithful to god But i'm telling you what is going to happen in your future You will turn away from him. You will be judged as for us. Let's remain faithful to god