The Obstacle Is Not the End

welcome to Journey Church if we've not had the privilege to meet my name is Pastor Keith and I've been gone for three months but I'm back and I'm excited to be back thank you for the warm welcome I want to make sure on behalf of my wife Kara and I we just want to thank Journey Church we want to thank the elders we want to thank the incredible staff under the leadership of Pastor David while we were gone what an incredible team and I want to thank all of you my wife and I are so grateful for you we're grateful because we're in a better place today than we were three months ago and we're just so honored and excited that we get to be a part of what God's doing and we really are believing the best God's put a new fire in our hearts not just for the church but for our own family and our own lives as well so I hope you came here today to receive something from God

you may not know exactly what that means but we came here to meet with God and God wants to deposit a word in your life so is anybody ready to hear the word of God today we're starting a new series today called Victory everyone shout victory victory sometimes you got to make a fist and then pump it when you say let's say it together here we go Victory I believe that God Made You for victory in fact we all want Victory but the problem is to get Victory you got to go through a battle and some of us want Victory without the battle and when we're in the battle we're faced with obstacles we're faced with an obstacle that's stopping us from getting Victory and in the moment that obstacle feels so great that it feels like it could just be the end or if you're like me you've been through one obstacle and you think you overcame that you live in

Victory only to find out there's another obstacle there's something stopping you from getting to where God wants you to go and to today we're going to start this series called Victory because I believe what God's done in my heart is to remind me of who he is that The Battle Belongs to the Lord that all we've got to do is look back in scripture look back in history and see that the the Bible is really clear we're going to go through some troubles we're going to go through some trials or as Jesus says some tribulations but we ought not be surprised by these things rather we should live in Victory it was Jesus that said these words in John 16 Verse 33 Jesus said I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace everyone shout peace peace

Jesus and the scriptures is described as the prince of peace and we learn here that Jesus wants us to have peace but then he says this in the world you will not you might now some people will but you will have tribulation but Jesus continues and says but take heart the phrase here in the original language is have courage take heart Jesus says I have overcome the world Jesus promised us that whatever you go through in your life he is greater and not only is he greater than whatever

you're going through you can have peace for what you're going through you're going to go through something call it what you will it depends what translation you have in this world you will have trouble in this world you will have tribulations James chapter 1 says you should consider it Joy when you go through trials you're going to have them you can call them problems you can call it pain you can call it a hurdle or a hiccup or a hang up you can call it whatever you will you will have it in your life and it will be an obstacle from that very thing that God wants for your life it could be flooding water it can be an enemy it can be a wound that someone caused in your life it can be a wall that seems to be stopping you

from the promise of God every one of us have obstacles have you thought about this every one of us children teenagers adults every one of us I mean we really enter the world with obstacles sometimes it even starts in the womb I came out of the womb with my umbilical cord wrapped around my neck I wasn't breathing that's an obstacle they had to get me going but every baby faces obstacles I mean think about this babies come out of the womb and right away you've got language barriers communication issues we've been talking to babies like they understand us they don't understand us that's an obstacle it takes years we

just love it parents when you have a baby when you they finally say mama you know you're like why I think they said Mama they really didn't say it they're trying to let you know they're hungry we have obstacles after that we have transportation issues when you're a child I mean you just think about this you come into the world you can't go anywhere without someone helping you and then you think you start to grow into this thing you learn to talk you learn to walk you learn to overcome these obstacles only to find out there are a lot more obstacles you haven't even hit pimples yet puberty that's an obstacle just feels like it's the end right there I'm pretty convinced and I could be wrong but it seems to me that the older you get the greater the obstacles and sometimes those obstacles can be

discouraging you can feel defeated or in the case of where I was feeling in my life you feel deflated and you think maybe maybe this is it but the title of today's sermon is the obstacle is not the end the obstacle is not the end would you just say that with me the obstacle is not the end this is so important that you see this because there will be there will come a moment in your life where you actually think the obstacle is the end of your story but it's not the end there's a real enemy of your soul the scriptures are clear the enemy is the devil and he is a liar how many you know the devil is a liar he's spoken to you there's an entire Army around the devil that's trying to speak lies into your life and those around you and the devil wants you to to think that you're

defeated the devil wants you to think that it's over the devil wants you to think that somehow that you're not good enough that this is the end of your story that that giant is too great for you to be or to overcome the devil wants you to think that the storm is the end the devil wants you to say this wall is here to stop you the devil wants you to think that whatever happened to you in your life whether you are hurt or whether it was something that was said to you or you were violated that somehow that is your story but I'm here to tell you the devil is a liar I'm here to tell you that you have hope there is hope for everyone let's tell your neighbor this hope for you there's hope for you can't tell stranger I don't care who to tell you're going to help me preach today if you're watching online you could just say I have hope you could type that right now hope for everyone you're going to help me Preach Today

whether you like it or not there is hope and we have to declare this we have to believe this we have to say it out loud because those obstacles are real the devil is real and he's here to discourage you the devil wants you to live by what you can see so if things are bad you believe it's bad if you're feeling lonely you think you're alone you have lustful thoughts you've got to act on the lustful thoughts but the Bible teaches us not to live by what the devil wants you to do the Bible teaches us for we walk by faith and not by sight so even if I don't feel it even even I'm not sure it's there I can still believe it because faith is the Assurance of things hoped for I don't

have it but I know it's true I may feel alone but I'm not alone because God is with me Jesus promised he will never leave me nor will he forsake me so I start living differently in my life but without the power of the Holy Spirit you're just living by what you can see God himself is spirit and when the spirit is in you wherever the spirit of the Lord is there's freedom God wants us to live differently he wants you to know that the obstacles in your life are not the end in fact this is the key to overcoming your obstacles The Battle Belongs to the Lord in Deuteronomy 20 verse 4 we read for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your

enemies to give you the victory now I've got good news for you today God is eternal and he does not change he's still good he's still with you and he's still giving Victory today it can be hard to live in that victory it can be hard to live in that place of understanding that God is with you and you're going to get through this there will come a moment in your life where you're going to question who God is and what's going to happen next in fact often this happens in our lives when you go through one obstacle it's not just one there are Myriad because how many you know when it rains it pours just just tell your neighbors raining is pouring just say it right now come as raining is pouring but this old man's

not snoring so we're gonna see God what do we do what do we do when life gets tough do you give up do you throw in the towel do you just try to start over well I'm going to give you five points Five Points sermon a day so you can write these down the top put the title The obstacle is what not the I'm going to give you five points so you know where I'm at so you don't think we're gonna be here until two or three I promise you'll be out of here by one all right Five Points of this sermon Five Points you you write these down here here's Point number one to know the obstacle is not the end God always gives a promise God always gives a promise this is so important because somewhere you're going to be looking for a promise and I don't want you to look in the wrong place God always gives a promise and the promise is not in a horoscope

it's not in a psychic it's not in some sign as you're driving down the street and say God Just Give Me A Sign the promise is his word every single time in this book this is the Bible it is different than any other book on the planet we do not worship the Bible but we worship the god of the Bible and God has given us his living and active word that he speaks through and he wants you to know who he is and he's done it through a promise and God's never broken a promise he never has and he never will God always gives a promise and the promise is in his word so you've got to believe today that God's given me a promise sometimes we think it's for someone else sometimes you think the preacher has a promise someone told me this week can you pray for me you have a direct line to Heaven that's a lie of

the devil I've got the exact same access to God that you have so don't you believe that somehow I've gotten a promise that that you can't get you've got the same Promises of God's word that I have the person behind you and next to you so somewhere you start believing that God's given me a promise and if you're not in this book The Devil loves it if you would just leave this book on a shelf somewhere that it would get Dusty or it would just it would it would just sit somewhere where you don't even know where it is we'll pick up your phone and download the Bible app you could take the Bible with you wherever you go the scriptures say that God's word is a weapon it's a sword you want to fight against the enemy you've got to know the word you've got to know what God's promise is because at some point you're going to be faced with an obstacle and you're going to believe you're not going to get through it

but the promise of God is that he's greater what did Jesus say take heart I have overcome the world so whatever you're faced with I know it's too big for you that's because God has given you a chance to trust in him because he's greater so if you feel like it's too big that's okay God is greater if you think you got this it will not require faith God is greater all we've got to do is look back in history and see that the Lord has worked and Myriad of different ways he allows his people to go through obstacles so they can trust in him so that God will do the miraculous one great example you three to see through the scriptures are the Israelites who are rescued from slavery and they go on a journey to Freedom they go from Egypt to the promised land it's a familiar story you read this in the

scriptures in the first five books of the Bible God would raise up a leader named Moses to deliver his people and they would go from generation after generation Century after Century of being slaves of thinking one way and sometimes it's time to stop and say enough is enough I'm going to stop the generational curses I'm going to stop the oppression I am not a Slave God has given you a promise and on this journey From Slavery to Freedom they're faced with obstacle after obstacle you might just think that God delivered them that they're going to just get through this but how many know God delivers you one time and then you forget what he did last time God Gets You Through a Red Sea only to face another obstacle and then you think that God's abandoned you or left you alone or that God's not even God and on

this journey they're they're on this journey from Egypt From Slavery to Freedom and Moses sends 12 Spies into this Promised Land 12. everyone shout 12. 12 Spies that number's an important number it's metaphoric it's a picture it represents everyone the fullness 12 Spies to go in and when they come back they give a report of what they experience this is found in numbers 13. let me just read a section of the scriptures numbers 13 starting with verse 25. at the end of 40 days they the 12 returns from spying out the lamb they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of puran at Kadesh they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land everyone shout fruit fruit

is important you're made for fruit you know you want fruit you want to see fruit relationally you want to see fruit emotionally you want to see fruit financially come on you're made for fruit not just that you're actually made for Spiritual fruit those is a picture here so they bring back some fruit with them and this this is what they do next verse 27 they told him we came to the land which you sent us it flows with milk and honey this place is like Disneyland on Red Bull and this is its fruit this is like Costco on steroids I mean there's so much here it is so big however verse 28 says some translations say but

however the people who dwell in the land are strong and the cities are fortified and very large and besides we saw the descendants of anarch there oh and the amalekites dwell in the land of negeb and the Hittites and the jebusites and the amorites dwell in the Hill Country oh and the Canaanites dwell by the Sea and along the Jordan if I could just paraphrase this that land that God promised it's already occupied I think we got a mistaken translation of the promise of God I know God promised it but it's not mine someone else got it it does look really good and yes I really do want that fruit but I'm not going to get it because those guys are much greater than I am it's easy to read a story of old and not immerse yourself in that story but today

the enemy has occupied that which is not rightfully his and I mean that with all sincerity and it's spiritual and there's going to come a time where I'm going to look a little wacky for saying something like this but the enemy has occupied Central Oregon the state of Oregon the Pacific Northwest and the West Coast way too long and we we've just come to a place and said this is how it is just this is just what it is we just gotta allow these things this is what it is all those pawn shops this is just normal we might as well just become like everybody which which might as well live like everybody or we can do an abortion this long this is just it's just an option of life this is It's just just the way it is there's just the way things which way

things work there's already people there there's already people there the enemies occupy this is an obstacle to the very promise of God they start delivering this awful this world's terrible you just want to hear that message today you just turn on the news it's everywhere it's occupied it's occupied stock market inflation interest rate it's occupied it's occupied it's not going to get better it's not going to get better it's not those storms just going to get bigger so it's occupied it's occupied look at verse 30 but Caleb thank God for the calebs and joshuas of the world two of The Twelve Caleb and Joshua but Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said let us go up at once an occupy it for we are well able to overcome it if we could just summarize the sermon in

one word what would we say Victory it's ours not later not some of their day not a better day not one day not when we're more prepared not when we're bigger not when we're stronger not when we're older not for the Next Generation right now let's go get it that is ours he preaches this message it's a great message the only guy shouting amen is Joshua the very next verse then the men 10 of the 12 then the men the majority then the men who had gone up with him said we are not able to go up against the people for they are stronger than we are so they brought to the people of Israel a bad report so many bad reports today a bad report

of the land that they had spied out saying listen the land through which that we've gone to spy out is a land that devours its inhabitants and all the people that we saw in in it are of great height meaning they're Giants and there we saw the Nephilim the sons of anak these are the greatest Giants that have ever lived who come from Nephilim and we seem to ourselves like grasshoppers and so we seemed to them 12 go into the land to check out this promise the promised land but it's occupied by the enemy the enemy wants to keep you right where you are the enemy wants you to come to church today and leave the same the enemy wants you to stay right where you are financially relationally

spiritually as long as you don't move and change and receive God's promise the enemy wins and I've come here to tell you that the promise is still true here's Point number two there will always be there are obstacles to the promise if you receive it easy it really wasn't that great of a promise there are obstacles to the promise there are obstacles to the promise there are obstacles to the promise I've jokingly shared with some of you that I don't always like to do weddings because it's hard for me when a couple gets up front and they share those vows I am with you till death do us part

through sickness you're not going to be with them when they start calling you names they start doing things you don't like you're not going to be with them but all of a sudden the enemy gets in inside your mirror sometimes it's tough for me when when we look really beautiful and young we have no clue the obstacles ahead but I am convinced that the ones that go through it and I'm talking about hell and back sometimes it's infidelity sometimes it's pornography sometimes it's gambling sometimes it's something when you go through it it is literal hell it hurts but you get through that obstacle that promise you made on your wedding day is a much bigger promise but when you've never been through it before it's actually really hard to understand what you're saying I'm not saying you can't say it because you

should say it and you should believe it but sometimes you got to follow someone who's been through it and we look around the world when you see people hurting you just got to know this isn't the end of the story there's always an obstacle to every single promise there will always be bad people out there there will always be evil and if you're wondering if God is good why would he let us go through obstacles that's found in Genesis chapter 3. it's an entirely different sermon but it's really simple there's the curse of sin and because of sin we will have obstacles but I've got great news for you God has provided an overcomer of sin he's provided a solution for sin so that we don't have to live in the obstacle we can start living in Victory

I love how Caleb says in verse 30 of numbers 13 says for we are well able to overcome it there's this promise that I know what's big but God is able to overcome we're going to get through this obstacle we're going to get through this enemy we've got to receive what God promised but 10 others said go to verse 33 10 others said here's the problem compared Our Lives to other people's lives you know comparison will kill you you compare my life to your life I'm just a grasshopper it seems like we're just grasshoppers do you know where the biggest battle in your life is seemed to seem to say it's in your mind the Bible instructs us from the

beginning to the very end you need to think about what you think about because if you're not thinking about the things of God you're thinking about the things of the enemy and that's hard to grasp without the the revelation of God given this to you Paul wrote it like this to the Romans in a world that's filled with with competing thoughts he says do not be conformed to this world I know the majority says don't do this I know the majority looks like this do not the Bible says do not be conformed to this world but rather here's what we should do be transformed how by being a holy huddle by looking religious by by being holier than thou by following all no no be transformed by the renewing of your mind that's the biggest battle in your life it's in your mind be transformed by the renewed then

you're going to figure out what God has planned for your life here's why by by the testing that you may discern what is the will of God what is good acceptable and perfect here's why your mind is being transformed by God's word it's actually our mission at Journey Church is that we wouldn't stay the same we would lead people on a journey of transformation in Jesus know this it's a journey it's a journey some of us aren't happy where we are I mean some of us just want to arrive anybody else want to arrive I just want to arrive I'm like tired of this this journey of transformation can I just arrive and be who God wants me that won't happen until you're in glory and so enough of the pity parties I'm not where I want to be I'm not where I want to be I'm not where I want to that's called a pity party ain't nobody want to go to your pity party nobody it's time to reshift that pity party this is a progress party

I know I'm not where I'm supposed to be but I'm a lot closer than where I used to be I'm a completely different person than who I was 20 years ago I know I want to be somewhere else but but it's time for us to celebrate you want to join with me I'm on a journey be who God wants me to be so this brings me to point number three and this one's most important to actually sing this in a falsetto voice all right this is important Point number three is this Don't Stop Believing seriously there's going to come a point where you're really discouraged Don't Stop Believing we we didn't need journey to tell us that we we need Caleb and Joshua we need just

just a minority today to rise up and say no no no that promise is ours I know the majority seems like it's right I know the majority manipulates the whole but the reality is if we do not believe in God's promise we will miss God's promise those ten that said we can't do it never made it into the Promised Land with an entire generation see if you don't believe the promise you'll never receive the Promised Land so this is really important that we start to understand wait if I don't trust in God I'm going to trust in myself in the words of Dr Phil how's that going for you

you will miss the promise that I know it it sounds so easy but this is war Ephesians 6 says we're not battling against other people I know it feels like we're battling against other people that's exactly what the enemy wants you to think that you're battling with someone else this is not a war with someone else this is a war with the devil and a legion of armies and we've got a God that's greater you're never meant to live intimidated you're never meant to live in fear you're never meant to be stuck you're never meant to to go small you're never meant to go back the devil wants you to think that you're not smart enough you're not good enough that you're ugly the devil wants you to think that you'll never become who God wants you to be but the devil is a liar you're

to live by faith you're gonna live like Joshua and Caleb and step into this promise in the Book of Joshua it's the sixth book of the Bible if you want to turn there for just a moment you'll you'll see this story of victory that God fulfills the promise and in Joshua chapter 1 the the words are sobering when we read this after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord what a great title to be given the servant of the Lord the Lord God said to Joshua the son of none Moses's assistant that title is not nearly as sexy the assistant but the Lord even speaks to assistance all you have to do is be faithful all you have to do is be loyal to the Lord all you have to do is trust the Lord and you might seem small right now but God's

going to speak to you the Lord said to Joshua verse 2 Moses my servant is dead now therefore arise go over this Jordan you and all this people into the land that I'm giving to them to the people of Israel every place that the soul of your foot will tread upon I have given you just as I promised to Moses now why did the Lord have to tell Joshua that his mentor Moses is dead Joshua knew this he already grieved this but God needed to make sure it was abundantly clear Moses is dead Solomon the wisest man that's ever lived said something super simple there's a time for everything there's a season for all times there's a

time to be planted there's a time to uproot there's a time to be born there's a time to die Moses is dead meaning what's going to happen will look nothing like what happened there's going to be a new leader God's going to do new Miracles there's going to be a new fulfillment of this promise but so many times we go back to what's familiar oh I've heard it before my old Pastor used to well I'm not your old pastor my old church used to we're not your old church my old way if you're new to church it does not just in your church world if you're new to church it'll be your old ways you'll want to go back to your angry ways you want to go back to the bottle you want to go back to the things that are familiar trust me this this is a Not A New Concept this has been happening

for for many millennia when God delivered the Israelites from Egypt I mean it was incredible the entire Army of Egypt gets swallowed up in the Red Sea how awesome is that they got to see it they sang about it but it wasn't until the next Sunday that Moses goes up to hear from the word of the Lord and they're like hey we're kind of bored but look what everybody else is doing hey give me your earrings give me your earrings give me your earrings and take all that gold they melted it down made a cow and said let's get naked and party they start worshiping a cow don't think you're any different it just takes a moment to say I'm kind of bored with this thing I'm not sure what God's doing and we start looking around what other people are doing it's a really curious thing that we start looking back on what God's telling

Moses is listen I'm going to fulfill my promise but it's going to be new and where you go you're going to get what I promise in your faithness and you're not only going to get to see it you're going to get to experience now Joshua and Caleb they're in in an old age and they're going to see God do a completely new thing and I'm here to tell you today God's going to do a new thing in your life we have to remember that what God did before he can do again but it will never look the same that's the creativity of the Creator I know you've seen the miracle in someone else's life but I'm here to tell you your Miracle will look nothing like their Miracle nothing quit coveting quit being jealous quit thinking that somehow that what God did in someone else's life will look like that he's so much bigger and better than that God gave me a word several years ago and he continually reminds me over and over

it's a prophetic word that I believe God is fulfilling in my life right now it's out of Isaiah 43 Verse 18 and 19 and these are God's word to his people remember not the former things nor consider the things of old someone needs to hear that today don't keep going back behold God says in verse 19 behold I am doing a new thing now it Springs forth do you not perceive it I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert do you hear it do you see it do you not perceive it that what God's going to do he has not done it before so we can look back and we can study history but we've got to know that what God's going to do will be very different

than what he did before see the one thing that will get you more than your mind is your past your past will trip you up do you know why we all need counseling our past and we all need it the holy spirit's our true counselor our paracletus our Advocate that needs to come alongside with us but really we all need it because somewhere your mama was dysfunctional and that dysfunction is working his way through you come on someone shout amen you sit next to your mama and it's awkward I know somewhere your daddy didn't didn't live like your heavenly father should have lived somewhere some of your dad abandoned you or did something you somewhere in your life in your past it's tripping up your present so that you're not living in the future promise of the destiny that God has for you I'll let your therapist work that out

but it's true it's true your past will stop you from living in the promise of today which brings me to point number four and some of you are wondering when's he going to get to Point number four here's Point number four put your past in the trash it's time to stop living in who you used to be it's time to quit living who your family was it's time to start living and who God says you are who he is and what Jesus has done for you you see you cannot be born a Christian you've got to be born again which means at some point you make the decision in your life to say I'm choosing to surrender my all to God but the devil wants you to keep going

back to the past this is who you are this is who you are you're poor you'll always be poor this is who you'll never get out of this no let God Be The Miracle working God and show you that it's all his you start trusting him with your finances and you're going to start seeing it you think I've been divorced a few times this is it I'm just destined to live like this no you're not destined to live like this you're a child of God you start living like this he loves you you are the bride of Christ you start living pure and righteous and holy you are beautiful God has never stopped loving you oh you think I was violated this is who I am why would God let me be hurt like this that violation was real and our God Is A Healer he's a restorer he's a redeemer and he will never ever ever stop until one day you're in glory and you will see that with the intent enemy intended for evil God will use for good Paul knew this he was in prison he

writes from prison he says man I know that this I'm not stuck I'm not going to stay where I am he says in Philippians 3 verse 13 Brothers I do not consider that I've made it my own here's what he's saying I've seen God work but here's one thing I am going to do in my life forgetting what lies behind and straining towards what lies ahead I press on Paul says toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus do you know what that's called a promise you've been given a prize the prize of eternal life you've been given a prize of a Salvation you've been given the prize of the great Victor of all time Jesus Christ go for Jesus go for Jesus you leave that past in the

trash you got to quit thinking we're slaves we're never going to make it in the Promised Land where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom so God instructs Joshua he has to give him promises because how many know we need promises he instructs Joshua look at verse 5 of chapter one of Joshua no man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life you have all authority every day of your life you wake up his mercies are new God is for you just as I was with Moses so I will be with you I will not leave you or forsake you Jesus gave the same promise because the same God of Joshua's Our God be strong and courageous for you shall call this cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to the fathers to give to them he never breaks the promise only be strong and very courageous being

careful to do according to all the law that Moses the servant commanded you do not turn to it from the right hand or to the left that you may have good success wherever you go this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate on it day and night it should be in your mind that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it for then you will be prosperous then you will have good success have I not commanded you be strong and courageous do not be frightened do not be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go I'll tell you today if the Lord instructs you in something that means you're going to need it he did not tell Joshua be strong and

courageous three times because it would be an easy Journey you're going to be faced with obstacle after obstacle and just because you overcome one obstacle does not mean that you won't face another obstacle so I'm telling you today the promise be strong and courageous I'm telling you that promise will be fulfilled I'm telling you today that you're not going to do this alone let the battle belong to the Lord is that giant greater than you yes David knew he couldn't defeat Goliath on his own he just knew that the Lord his God could defeat the giant he did not need to wear someone else's armor he did not need to do what someone else did in fact if David did what the majority did he would have coward and never stepped up and fought Goliath all God needs you to do is use what you have if it's a stone

use a stone oh if it's a gift of preaching use your preaching if it's a gift of making coffee make coffee if it's a gift of teaching you teach for the glory of God whatever God has allowed you to do you use it for his glory if you're a kid you be the best kid you could be for the glory of God if you're in your latter years of your life you don't settle down and say we're empty nesters and we're retired you do it for the glory of God you start serving other people's kids you start praying over them I'm believing out of Journey Church today God's raising up new leaders we have a next president of the United States we have the next great evangelists the next great preachers will come out of this church this is not kids ministry this is the church that Jesus is building and if you believe it you start living in it this is what we're going to do and there's a great crisis today that the church is not

believing the promise of God's word we're trying to debate like the rest of the world's debating turn off Fox News turn off CNN you go to the gospel the good news and you get into this world and God's going to teach us how to live our lives we do not need to debate like the world God will take the foolish things and he's going to shame the wise this is a completely different fight we don't need to call the news and tell them what we're doing the word's gonna get out what God's doing we are the ministers not a paid preacher you are the minister so we need to get into God's word so we believe his promise do you notice how many times God told Joshua be strong greatest be strong greatest be strong crazy this is a promise there's fulfillment three times God completely

made it whole the whole promise of God's word if you're not receiving God's word you're receiving another word sometimes we don't want to receive that because we're stubborn but those other words will come in many different forms so three months ago I went on sabbatical and we said we got to change some things in our family and I set a rule in our family here's the rule you may not get on any screen I don't care what screen it is any screen until you read the word of God so I bought each of my kids a Bible and I put their name on their Bible so they would know who their Bible is so they wouldn't fight over whose Bible is whose Bible they each got their own big Study Bible is even thicker than this there's a huge fat I mean these things are like 50 pounds these kids have to carry this with them wherever they go and I said listen you're not getting any screen time

until you read at least a chapter a day it could be more but at least a chapter a day you think that'd be really easy right sometimes you think that they've got to climb up to the tallest mountain in the planet before they get into screen time you think how's that how does that work I'll tell you how it works as a dad I pay for their cell phones so we put software on there I got the circle app on there they cannot go onto Instagram or any other app without me rewarding them I have to go on there and do it I have to go give them permission unless you think that the pastor's family's got it all easy some of you paint this picture what a pastor's family is I'm even more messed up than you so my family's got to work hard to grow in our faith as well and we did this day in and day out so much so that the the kids got in the

habit of some sometimes they wouldn't start the day with the word you didn't start your day with the word that means you can't start with the screen so halfway through the day texting Dad hey dad here's what I read here's the application for my life here's what God did in the story and the cinnamon and then a minute or two later Matt please have time on Insta they knew they knew that they can't even ask for permission to be on social media until it's there I'll tell you as a father you could just let these things happen the way they are but it's a lot harder to start setting rules than to just let things happen you start getting into their Instagram into their Snapchat and start digging a little deeper into their DMS and see the language they actually use with their friends

that starts to sting a little bit some of you all be saying like oh wait a second they should have their privacy we live in America and that's a violation of a parental right you know some of the old school ones around the kids will be like don't you're not touching my social that's my social media that's mine well I tell you as long as you're in my house there's nothing that's yours and I I got to be really clear here no no hear me out here because kids I need you to hear this I'm just a child of God that means everything in my life has complete access to God and if I'm going to put this into practice with the Lord and say Lord you can have access to everything all my screen time is yours if I'm looking at something I shouldn't be looking at that means my wife could see it my kids could see it and the church could see it so listen I don't want to play a hypocrite before you be like I'm a dad that's got

it all figured out no I'm a guy that just wants to follow Jesus and get into that Promised Land and when I was faced with obstacles I actually thought this this might be the end that's because I wasn't listening to the promise of God's word I have never met a man that said you know what fantasy football has made my marriage so much better I'll tell you this though I talked to many men that think that I play Fantasy Football and I don't so don't even ask me which players I wish players like I understand there's a football and you got to make it and dunk it and get it in or home run or something I understand that but listen listen some men get so excited to talk about football they forgot their first love I'm not talking about their wives I'm talking about Jesus

I've never met a kid that says I spend so much time on Instagram watching reels I just want to change the world for good amen has gone spend so much time looking at what the rest of the world's doing trying to sell me that I just want I just want to go listen what we need is the promise of God's word more than ever we need his promise and it's time for us to see the obstacle is not the end so here's Joshua I know I got to wrap this up here's Joshua he hears This Promise of God and the first thing he's faced with is a flooded River if you've never been faced with a flooded River here's how it works the Jordan River normally is not that big of a river which means you could Wade through it to get to the other side but on this occasion when Josh was leading it was flooded how many all know that

for the rest of the world they get to Wade through that problem but by the time you get it it's flooded do you know what I'm talking I'm talking about like the moment you step into something it's much bigger so he gets to the waters and here's what he does he realized this too big if we go into the flooded water I'm going to be swept away and you're going to swept away and we're all going to die we can't do this so here's what Joshua says to them chapter 3 verse 5. Joshua said to the people consecrate yourselves for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you consecrate means to set yourself apart it could also be translated sanctify it's time for some of us to sanctify Our Lives it's time for us to consecrate Our Lives to set our lives apart I need you to see this that you can't keep living like the world do not conform to the it's time to consecrate yourself set yourself apart start the day off with the word of God you go get

on your knees and you keep praying until you have that arthritis healed you keep praying until there's that breakthrough you keep praying even though that obstacle just seems to get bigger that means God's about to do something consecrate yourself well here's what God would do the priest would have to step into the water for the water to stop that's not how it works with Moses Moses did all the work well sometimes God's going to ask his people to step up and do the work they got through that River they made a memorial with stones to remember what God has done the next chapter Joshua is faced with a great Commander he wonders who is this guy this guy must lead a great Army and Joshua asked this Commander whose side are you on you on my side of the enemy side when I want to show you what the commander says to him in Joshua chapter 4 verse 14 no but I am a commander of

the army of the Lord this was Jesus by the way no I have come Jesus is eternal he's coming Joshua fell on his face to the Earth and worshiped him and said to him what does my Lord say to his servant this is this is so important you need to know this God's not on your side or even on your exercise okay they didn't hit the people over here let me tell you listen carefully listen listen God is Not on the Republican side or the Democratic side wait or the independent side I know we want him to be we want him to be on our side he's not God's not on America's side or Africa side or Europe's here's what God wants you to do

to be on his side I know the scriptures say if God is for us who can be against us you cannot command God to do anything you submit your life to him and then you watch him win you don't go in and say God we're going to win this battle I'll tell you how you're going to do it I've done that too many times and realized God is God and I am not so what did Joshua do this leads to our fifth and final point this could be the most important one if you're new to church this is what you're made to do you worship with all your heart you worship with all your heart and if you forgot what this message was about we're talking about battles we're talking about obstacles you Worship in spite of the obstacle you don't stop worshiping because of the obstacle you worship with all your heart you surrender it all you lay down your life so that you could receive the light that

God has for you the promise that you know what if I'm going to live and live for Jesus but even if I die that's again I get to be with Jesus you worship with all your heart you quit carrying what anybody else thinks about you you know what the enemy is going to try to bring into your life your past if you can't get with your past he's going to go to your mind so we got to remember today the promises of God Joshua gets through the river meets with Jesus keeps going and what's the first thing he sees in the promised land Jericho surrounded by a wall but look what he did with the water but do you know that God's not going to do the same thing with the wall that he did with the water see when you're faced with the wall of Jericho you've got to know this it will look very different than it was with The

Waters at the Jordan some of us want to look back and say okay how do I step into this you can't step into a big wall sometimes you just got to walk around it and worship walk around it and obey God Walk around it and abide in his word sometimes you got to do exactly what God tells you to do even though it doesn't make any sense God when's the last time you had somebody walk around a wall one day each day for six days on Seventh day seven times when's the last time I've never done it before I'm doing a new thing remember not the former thing yeah you can remember I got you through it but don't think I'm going to do it the same way here's why Psalm 149 4 says for the Lord takes pleasure in his people he adorns The Humble with salvation you find your identity in God he's going to get you through this and he's going

to give you salvation he's going to give you salvation you see that word salvation is so so important let me just point out in case you can't see it see that word salvation if you've got a Bible I turn to this verse Circle that word that word salvation in the Hebrew looks like this let me just show you the Hebrew word just just so we could practice our Hebrew let's all say this word together in English salvation that's the Hebrew word let me just phonetically spell it out for you so that you begin to understand the Hebrew which is what the psalm was written and these were songs songs of Victory the the word is Yeshua Yeshua it's actually the same name of the leader that took over after Moses his name was Yeshua which is Joshua Yeshua Yeshua is such an important name Yeshua it literally means salvation

in the NIV if I could just read this verse into NIV it actually puts it this way for the Lord takes the lightness people he crowns The Humble With Victory because Yeshua translated into English it means victory salvation help it means that God Did It For Me Yeshua I couldn't do it he did it Yeshua now the name Joshua means salvation and Joshua would lead the people of Salvation into the promised land but he was just a glimpse of a greater Yeshua see the name Yeshua if you were to translate it into Greek which Jesus was born at a Greco-Roman time is Jesus Yeshua in Greek is Jesus

he's the greater Joshua the greater savior salvation he is our Victor he is Victory you want to overcome the obstacle it starts with Jesus and it ends with Jesus but you've got to remember the obstacle is not the end so here's my last scripture for you it all points back to Jesus first John chapter 5 verse three through five for this is the love of God you want to know love quit living like the world instead that we keep his Commandments and the commandments of Jesus they're not burdensome for everyone who's been born of God overcomes the world now we know why we overcome the world right take heart Jesus says I have overcome the world you don't have to do this but when you have Jesus you overcome the world how by our faith who is it that overcomes the world

except the one who believes that Jesus is the son of God my friends we have to start worshiping through the battles we have to start worshiping through the obstacles we need to start believing God's promise for our lives and I realize today that not everyone has completely surrendered their life to Jesus you've tried on your own I want to give you a great invitation to stop doing it on your own today I want to give you an invitation to the greatest relationship of all time ever in history that is a living relationship with the Living God named Jesus Christ hope has a name and is Jesus he made you he loves you and you're meant for a relationship with him I want to pray with you today but you're going to have to get bold you maybe showed up to church not knowing

what to expect and in just a moment I want to know who I'm praying with I can't save you but Jesus can and I'll pray with you and in fact anyone that's ever given their life to Jesus will all pray out loud together but in just a moment I just ask you and you're going to slip up your hand and say I want that relationship with Jesus I want to be saved I want to be born again I want to I want to follow Jesus this is the beginning of the greatest relationship of all time you get the power of God himself Jesus said you get the Holy Spirit you get God himself the Holy Spirit he lives in you he lives with you he is for you he will anoint you with his power so right where you are just close your eyes even if you're watching online I want you to take this serious most serious thing you could do is Surrender Your Life to Jesus Christ right where you are

today if you want to follow Jesus today would you just throw up your hand and say that's that's me Pastor I want to see you praise God praise God praise God yes yes you're never too old you're never too young praise God praise God no matter what you've done he's forgiven you he loves you right where you are if your heart is pumping real fast that means the Lord is telling you this is the day praise God I want you to know you're seeing you're loved by God Right Where You Are right where you are in your position God loves you so much he loves you I want to pray some simple phrases so that we could just be in unison with prayer you can put your hands down [Music] let's pray these words out loud because saying them out loud sometimes help you believe what you're saying let's all pray this if you've ever accepted Jesus

to be your salvation pray these words Lord Jesus I give you my life forgive me of my sins I Surrender my all I worship you thank you for Grace thank you for eternal life you have my life in Jesus name amen and