July 23, 2025 • 25 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Don't let your fear of people, circumstances, situations overrule your
fear of God.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Doctor Tony Heavens says, progress comes when we push past
our own paralysis.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Keep going in spite of the resistance, in spite of
the opposition, because there is an enemy out there who
wants to keep you from what God has.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless Biblical teachings
from the archives of doctor Tony Evans. Sometimes it feels
safer to hold on to the past than to step
into the unknown, but God calls us to move forward
into the future He's prepared. Today, Doctor Evans takes us
to the Book of Joshua, where Israel stands on the
(00:45):
edge of the Promised Land after forty years in the wilderness.
Let's listen as he explains that while God's promises are
certain even for us, stepping into them takes courage, obedience,
and faith.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Israel is getting ready to go into the promised Land.
That getting ready to enter into that which they have
waited forty years for. It came about after the death
of Moses, the servant of the Lord, that the Lord
spoke to Joshua, the son of None moses servants, saying,
(01:23):
so Moses has died. It's time to move on. Moses
was a great leader, But Moses is yesterday. One generation
shall sing your praises to the next. There is this baton,
this transfer that is to occur, that our children should
(01:45):
build on us. Moses is gone. One of the worst
things you can do is living yesterday. Now you should
appreciate the good things and yesterday. You should learn from
the bad things of yesterday. But you can't live there.
(02:05):
And so now, Joshua, you gotta go on. You just
can't think about where you are. It's now time to
move Moses, my servant is dead verse two cents. Now, therefore,
arise across the Jordan, you and the people, and take
the land which I am giving them. When he tells
them to move forward, he tells them to seize what
(02:28):
God has already promised to seize their spiritual inheritance. Look
at verses three or four. Every place on which the
soul of your foot treads, I have given it to you,
just as I spoke to Moses. From the wilderness of
this Lebanon, even to the great river. Okay, watch this,
every place I said, I have given it it's already
(02:51):
been granted. You just don't have it. You haven't gone
to get it. God's promises for you as for them,
are guaranteed, but they're not automatic. So that brings in
God's sovereign provision and our human responsibility. Every place on
which you put your foot, God gives what we must take.
(03:14):
So yes, God wants us to pray, but he also
wants us to do based on what we're praying for,
if it is within our capacity to do. Some things
you can't do because there's no capacity to do it.
But he says, I've given it, but you got to
go get it. He comes in verse five. No one
(03:35):
will be able to stand before you all the days
of your life. Just as I've been with Moses, I
will be with you. Notice what he said in verse six,
be strong and courageous, verse seven, only be strong and courageous,
verse nine, be strong and courageous. He even says at
the end of verse eighteen, be strong and courageous. Why
(04:00):
why does he tell them to be strong and courageous
Because there will be resistance when they cross over to
the land for them claiming their inheritance. Because in the
land where Hittites Jebsides, Canaanites, Emirites, there were the enemies
(04:22):
of God in the land. So there is going to
be resistance to your claiming what God has for you. Now,
I know we live in a name and claimant world
where people just claim anything, and that's not what we're
talking about.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
You can't.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
You can't claim what God does not give, but you
can claim what He does give, which are his promises.
But to do that you must be strong and courageous.
In other words, don't let your fear of people, circumstances,
situations overrule your fear of God. We give people too
(05:07):
much credit. We even idolize people. You say, I don't
idolize people. If they trump God, they're you idol. If
you believe a person or people more than God than you,
they've just become your idol. He says, no, no, no, no, no,
You are to focus on me, not on people. The
(05:34):
enemy wants to deny you. Satan wants to deny you
what God has for you, and therefore he resists you. See,
here's the question you must ask, Am I in God's will?
Right now? That's the question. Once you answer that question
clearly as clearly as you can to the best of
(05:55):
my knowledge. And God, I'm willing for you to change me.
But to the best of my knowledge, I am living, walking,
and operating in your will. That is, in obedience to
your revealed word. I am doing that to the best
of my knowledge. Once you can say that, be strong
and courageous, keep going in spite of the resistance, in
(06:19):
spite of the opposition, because there is an enemy out
there who wants to keep you from what God has
And so he tells them. And I love the way
that says, no man will be able to stand before you.
In other words, I will not allow men to overrule me.
(06:45):
See when you see this changes everything. This changes. This
change is being threatened, It changes being bullied, it changes
being overrun. It builds confidence to know that when you're
opingraating in his way, men do not have the last word.
(07:06):
So you be strong and courageous. The question is am
I in the place God wants me? And then if
you're walking like I want you to walk, he says
you be strong and courageous because no man will make
the final decision. They're going to come against you, but
(07:27):
they will not be the final arbiter of how things
will work out. Then he says, stay tethered, Stay tethered
tied tightly to my word. Verse seven. Want to be
strong and courageous, Be careful to do according to all
(07:51):
the law which Moses, my servant commanded. You do not
turn from it to the right or the left, so
that you may have success wherever you go. This book
of the law, this book of the law shall not
depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it
day and night, so that you may be careful to
(08:15):
do according to all that is written in it. For
then you will make your way prosperous, and you will
have success. Notice the word success, How do you successfully
claim your inheritance, that is, reach your destiny? How does
(08:37):
that become successful? Well, let me define success, because we
live in a world where success is how much money
you have, how much power you wield, what position do
you hold. Success is usually define in terms of those
(08:57):
three major categories popularity, power, prosperity, position. All of those
speak to a person sensing that they have success or
people looking at people that they have success. Biblical success
(09:17):
is when you have fulfilled your purpose. You are successful.
When you have fulfilled your purpose, you can have all
of the categories of the world and be a failure
because you've not fulfilled your purpose while you're here Acts
(09:40):
thirteen thirty six, And David fulfilled the purpose of God
and his generation, and he fell asleep. As success is
when it's time for you to go to sleep, die
and go to heaven. When you get to that time,
and you can look back, like paul AND's secon Timothy
(10:00):
chapter four, and say I thought a good fight, I
kept the faith, I finished my course. Now there's laid
up for me a crown of righteousness, that success, that success.
Those other things are trinkets. They are trinkets. Nothing wrong
(10:23):
with them. Is nothing wrong with prosperity or having money,
or having position. I mean, in and of itself, there's
nothing wrong with it. But don't let that alone make
you think or make other people think of you. You
are successful when you have fulfilled your purpose, when you
(10:45):
are doing what you know God wants you to do.
For where you are right now, you are on your
way to success.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Doctor Evans will return in a moment with a look
at why staying focused on God's purpose can be so
easy to forget. First, though, I want to let you
know that what we've been listening to. Today is the
first message in a powerful teaching series from doctor Evans
on the Book of Joshua. It's a study about moving
forward in faith, trusting God's timing, and stepping into the
(11:15):
promises He's prepared for us. In this eye opening series,
you'll discover what it means to conquer obstacles, claim spiritual victories,
and live with confidence not in your own strength, but
in God's power and provision. We are offering the entire
audio series on digital download as well as on either
CD or USB flash drive as our thank you gift
(11:38):
when you support Tony's ministry with a financial contribution and
if we hear from you right away, we'll also include
something extra, The Kingdom Family Devotional, a fifty two week
resource that makes it easy to grow in faith as
a family. Each week highlights a key spiritual topic with
daily insights and action steps for every member of the family,
(12:01):
simple enough for kids to follow, but meaningful enough to
inspire adults. This special double offer will only be available
for a limited time, so visit us today at Tonyevans
dot org or call us dayre Night at one eight
hundred eight hundred thirty two twenty two to make your request.
Doctor Evans will return with more of today's lesson right
(12:24):
after this.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Hey, ladies, it's time to gather your friends, small group,
or all the women of your church for a soul fulfilling,
faith awakening time with the Lord. Join us virtually for
the Desperate for Jesus Conference this July twenty fifth and
twenty sixth. Get ready to worship and hear powerful teaching
from Crystal Hurst, Priscilla Shire and their special guests. Don't
miss this chance to be refreshed as you grow spiritually.
(12:47):
Hurry over to dfjconference dot com to register for the
live simulcast. That's dfjconference dot com.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
You know, I know as a pastor, I know that
if I came to U on Wednesday, then I said,
give me a rundown on my sermon last Sunday. Now
this is just three days. Most would be stuttering a
little bit, would be struggling a little bit because well,
you were talking something about eternity. It'd be something vague
(13:17):
away out there, you know, because it's easy to lose.
It's easy to lose, I mean just within all the
things that come across our mind. It's easy for the
word of God to get lost because it's not saved.
Meditation is designed to save it. And then he says,
I want you to serve it verse eight. Be careful
(13:40):
to do according to all that is written in it.
All this is design to drive the word deep down
in your soul, my soul. Serve it, operate on it.
So you're speaking it, you're saving it, you're serving it.
He tells him, don't turn to the left or the right,
(14:01):
meaning don't deviate from it. So when human opinion deviates
from divine revelation, then you've gone to the right or
the left. And it's easy to do because there's so
many opinions. Look at how many times a day you
(14:24):
use the two words I think, because everybody's got a
thought and there's so much to have a thought about.
And Lord, don't look at television because there's a billion
different opinions. So the question is how do you sort
through all of that? Well, when it comes to your destiny,
(14:47):
your inheritance, he says, you better listen to me. Obeying
God and listening to his feelings and thoughts on a
matter can be quite challenging because he's often, Lord, you
understand how I meanness weird. He's getting ready to tell Joshua,
(15:12):
march around the wall once a day for six days,
seven times on the seventh day, and the walls are
gonna come down. What kind of military strategy is that?
The question is do you want the walls to come down?
That's the question. If Joshua, we'll get to that. If
(15:35):
Joshua were to use his human opinion, he'd be losing
to Jericho. Because as we always say, as God says
in Isaiah fifty five, my ways are not your ways,
and my thoughts are not your thoughts. I don't roll
like you roll. You know, on a lot of things.
God is going to be different than you. His approach
(15:59):
will be different. And so when your thoughts conflict with
or contradict him, you turn to the right or to
the left, you know, because if you're just a little
out of alignment, it can take you in a whole
different direction. Here's how this works. His objective word the
(16:23):
book is what you read in the book. The book
of the law, shall not the proper your mouth. The
objective word, what he says, opens the door to his
subjective guidance. God's objective word, what he says opens up
the door for his subjective guidance. In other words, his
(16:48):
word does not talk about every single thing you're going
to deal with in life in specifics. His word doesn't
tell you which job to take out of a number
of job offers, doesn't tell you whether you should relocate
to this city or that city. You can't go to
a verse to find that out. There are millions of
(17:09):
decisions to be made in life that you will not
find specific direction on the Bible. Okay, the Bible. The
Bible covers principles and precepts and all. Okay, it doesn't
give you all those details. But in the issues of life,
you need guidance on the thing that you're facing that
the Bible doesn't talk about directly. But when you follow
(17:33):
what God says objectively that as you operate and by
this principle that He gives, even though that principle doesn't
directly talk about your specific issue, you now open up
the door for His subjective movement in your life, guidance,
bringing new thoughts or new people to give you, say
(17:53):
something to you you didn't think before, give you a concept.
I mean he now that opens up the door. As
I say, using fotball again in football. You've got the
NFL rules. These are the rules that the game is
played by. These are the rules. They are non adjustable,
they're non negotiable. Those are the fixed rules. Okay, But
(18:15):
then every team has their playbook. There's an NFL rule book,
but then there's a team playbook, and that the playbooks
on every team is different. They have different playbooks because
they're different teams with different people leading them. While the
rules don't change, the plays do change. Sometimes you call audible,
sometimes you call plays on the spot that you hadn't
(18:36):
planned the call. But all of the plays in the
playbook must operate within the rules in the rule book.
The Bible is the rule book. The Holy Spirit gives
the playbook. So it's the Holy Spirit's job to kind
of lead you and openness door and close this doing.
Give you an id here, bring a person into your life,
the guide. You're there. He negotiates the different plays as
(18:57):
you move along, as long as you operate on the
field to play the rule book. So there was nowhere
in the Five Books of Moses that were told Joshua
how to defeat Jericho. He couldn't go to Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus numbers and Deuteronomy to find out how to defeat Jericho.
(19:21):
There's nothing in there, but because he was operating by
the rule book, God could give him the specific Jericho plan.
God told Martha, and Mary told Mary move the stone.
She wanted to have a discussion about mortuary science. He'd
been dead four days. He stinks, She said, you can't hear.
(19:44):
I didn't ask you how long you been dead. I
know how long you been dead. I'm the one who
delayed coming to you. I know he long been dead. Yeah,
I know. Rick and mortars has set in. Okay, and
you know the cells have begun to collapse. I got
all that. Now you're gonna move the stone and we're
gonna keep discussing biology. She finally moved the stone. Now
she got a miracle. So she would have never gotten
(20:07):
a miracle if she wanted to keep having a long
conversations about stone moving and about what happens when you die.
So a lot of times we block the subjective move
of God to move us to our destiny because we're
arguing with the Book of the Law. He says, accept
the Book of the Law and let me guide you.
(20:28):
And Joshua commanded the officials of the people, saying, pass
to the midst of the camp. And he commanded the people, saying,
prepare provisions for yourself, or within three days you're going
to cross the Jordan. Let's get ready to rumba. Let's
get ready to go. So God talked to Joshua. Now
Joshua was talking to the people, and he says, it's
(20:49):
time to go. He tells the tribes that had already
received their inheritance, the Reubenites verse twelve, the Gedites, and
the half tribe of Banasa, even though you've already received
on the east side of the Jordan, you are to
leave your family. Then you are to come and at
the end of verse fourteen, and all you valid warriors,
(21:10):
and you shall help them, help your brothers. Just because
you got yours don't mean you don't help other folks
get theirs. So he's challenging them not to be selfish
because they had already received their inheritance, but to join
in so that everybody was able to get what God
had for them. Until the Lord gives your brothers rest.
(21:30):
Rest was the enjoyment of your destiny. That's rest. The
New Testament in Hebrews chapter six talks about rest. Rest
when you get to enjoy the goodness of God in
your life, what God has been doing, and then you
shall return to your own land and possess what Moses,
you know, had given you. He comes to the end
(21:53):
and the people answered josh were saying, all that you
have committed us, we will do. And wherever you go go,
wherever you send us, we will go. Over Sixteen says
since seventeen jes As we obey Moses and all things,
so we will obey you. Only may the Lord, your
God be with you as he was with Moses, he says,
(22:16):
because we will follow you, only the Lord's got to
be leading you. Okay, You honor leaders. You follow leaders
to a point, not to a fault. When a leader
leads God, you leave the leader. When a leader leads God.
Your ultimate commitment is to the Lord. Now, God uses people,
(22:41):
he says, I was with Moses. I'm gonna be with
Joshua till God uses people. Leaders can blow it and
if they don't repent, Bible says in one Timothy five,
then you're not to follow them. So but you are
if they're following the Lord. So Joshua that the people's
focus must be on the Lord. So they affirmed our
(23:04):
support trust God to give success fulfilling his purpose.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Doctor Tony Evans encouraging us to keep our eyes on
the Lord above all else and to trust Him for
success as we step into the promises He's prepared for us. Now,
before we go, I wanted to mention that today's message
is called Preparing to enter God's Promise. It's part of
doctor Evans impactful series on the Book of Joshua, a
(23:34):
study that will help you discover how to overcome obstacles
and step confidently into the victories God has planned for you.
Don't forget. When you make a donation to support Tony's ministry,
we'll say thanks by sending you the complete audio series
on Joshua, along with the Kingdom Family devotional I mentioned earlier.
Learn how to grow closer to God and closer as
(23:55):
a family day by day. Get all the details and
make your request online at Tonyevans dot org. That's Tonyevans
dot org, or let one of our team members help
you when you call one eight hundred eight hundred thirty
two twenty two. That number again, one eight hundred eight
hundred three two two two. When your GPS keeps recalculating
(24:20):
it's a sign you've missed a turn or maybe several
next time. Dodgor Evans continues his study of Joshua as
he unpacks what it means to move from wandering to
winning and now, our obedience and courage can open the
door to God's promises. Be sure to join us.
Don't let your fear of people, circumstances, situations overrule your
fear of God.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Doctor Tony Heavens says, progress comes when we push past
our own paralysis.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Keep going in spite of the resistance, in spite of
the opposition, because there is an enemy out there who
wants to keep you from what God has.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless Biblical teachings
from the archives of doctor Tony Evans. Sometimes it feels
safer to hold on to the past than to step
into the unknown, but God calls us to move forward
into the future He's prepared. Today, Doctor Evans takes us
to the Book of Joshua, where Israel stands on the
(00:45):
edge of the Promised Land after forty years in the wilderness.
Let's listen as he explains that while God's promises are
certain even for us, stepping into them takes courage, obedience,
and faith.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Israel is getting ready to go into the promised Land.
That getting ready to enter into that which they have
waited forty years for. It came about after the death
of Moses, the servant of the Lord, that the Lord
spoke to Joshua, the son of None moses servants, saying,
(01:23):
so Moses has died. It's time to move on. Moses
was a great leader, But Moses is yesterday. One generation
shall sing your praises to the next. There is this baton,
this transfer that is to occur, that our children should
(01:45):
build on us. Moses is gone. One of the worst
things you can do is living yesterday. Now you should
appreciate the good things and yesterday. You should learn from
the bad things of yesterday. But you can't live there.
(02:05):
And so now, Joshua, you gotta go on. You just
can't think about where you are. It's now time to
move Moses, my servant is dead verse two cents. Now, therefore,
arise across the Jordan, you and the people, and take
the land which I am giving them. When he tells
them to move forward, he tells them to seize what
(02:28):
God has already promised to seize their spiritual inheritance. Look
at verses three or four. Every place on which the
soul of your foot treads, I have given it to you,
just as I spoke to Moses. From the wilderness of
this Lebanon, even to the great river. Okay, watch this,
every place I said, I have given it it's already
(02:51):
been granted. You just don't have it. You haven't gone
to get it. God's promises for you as for them,
are guaranteed, but they're not automatic. So that brings in
God's sovereign provision and our human responsibility. Every place on
which you put your foot, God gives what we must take.
(03:14):
So yes, God wants us to pray, but he also
wants us to do based on what we're praying for,
if it is within our capacity to do. Some things
you can't do because there's no capacity to do it.
But he says, I've given it, but you got to
go get it. He comes in verse five. No one
(03:35):
will be able to stand before you all the days
of your life. Just as I've been with Moses, I
will be with you. Notice what he said in verse six,
be strong and courageous, verse seven, only be strong and courageous,
verse nine, be strong and courageous. He even says at
the end of verse eighteen, be strong and courageous. Why
(04:00):
why does he tell them to be strong and courageous
Because there will be resistance when they cross over to
the land for them claiming their inheritance. Because in the
land where Hittites Jebsides, Canaanites, Emirites, there were the enemies
(04:22):
of God in the land. So there is going to
be resistance to your claiming what God has for you. Now,
I know we live in a name and claimant world
where people just claim anything, and that's not what we're
talking about.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
You can't.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
You can't claim what God does not give, but you
can claim what He does give, which are his promises.
But to do that you must be strong and courageous.
In other words, don't let your fear of people, circumstances,
situations overrule your fear of God. We give people too
(05:07):
much credit. We even idolize people. You say, I don't
idolize people. If they trump God, they're you idol. If
you believe a person or people more than God than you,
they've just become your idol. He says, no, no, no, no, no,
You are to focus on me, not on people. The
(05:34):
enemy wants to deny you. Satan wants to deny you
what God has for you, and therefore he resists you. See,
here's the question you must ask, Am I in God's will?
Right now? That's the question. Once you answer that question
clearly as clearly as you can to the best of
(05:55):
my knowledge. And God, I'm willing for you to change me.
But to the best of my knowledge, I am living, walking,
and operating in your will. That is, in obedience to
your revealed word. I am doing that to the best
of my knowledge. Once you can say that, be strong
and courageous, keep going in spite of the resistance, in
(06:19):
spite of the opposition, because there is an enemy out
there who wants to keep you from what God has
And so he tells them. And I love the way
that says, no man will be able to stand before you.
In other words, I will not allow men to overrule me.
(06:45):
See when you see this changes everything. This changes. This
change is being threatened, It changes being bullied, it changes
being overrun. It builds confidence to know that when you're
opingraating in his way, men do not have the last word.
(07:06):
So you be strong and courageous. The question is am
I in the place God wants me? And then if
you're walking like I want you to walk, he says
you be strong and courageous because no man will make
the final decision. They're going to come against you, but
(07:27):
they will not be the final arbiter of how things
will work out. Then he says, stay tethered, Stay tethered
tied tightly to my word. Verse seven. Want to be
strong and courageous, Be careful to do according to all
(07:51):
the law which Moses, my servant commanded. You do not
turn from it to the right or the left, so
that you may have success wherever you go. This book
of the law, this book of the law shall not
depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it
day and night, so that you may be careful to
(08:15):
do according to all that is written in it. For
then you will make your way prosperous, and you will
have success. Notice the word success, How do you successfully
claim your inheritance, that is, reach your destiny? How does
(08:37):
that become successful? Well, let me define success, because we
live in a world where success is how much money
you have, how much power you wield, what position do
you hold. Success is usually define in terms of those
(08:57):
three major categories popularity, power, prosperity, position. All of those
speak to a person sensing that they have success or
people looking at people that they have success. Biblical success
(09:17):
is when you have fulfilled your purpose. You are successful.
When you have fulfilled your purpose, you can have all
of the categories of the world and be a failure
because you've not fulfilled your purpose while you're here Acts
(09:40):
thirteen thirty six, And David fulfilled the purpose of God
and his generation, and he fell asleep. As success is
when it's time for you to go to sleep, die
and go to heaven. When you get to that time,
and you can look back, like paul AND's secon Timothy
(10:00):
chapter four, and say I thought a good fight, I
kept the faith, I finished my course. Now there's laid
up for me a crown of righteousness, that success, that success.
Those other things are trinkets. They are trinkets. Nothing wrong
(10:23):
with them. Is nothing wrong with prosperity or having money,
or having position. I mean, in and of itself, there's
nothing wrong with it. But don't let that alone make
you think or make other people think of you. You
are successful when you have fulfilled your purpose, when you
(10:45):
are doing what you know God wants you to do.
For where you are right now, you are on your
way to success.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Doctor Evans will return in a moment with a look
at why staying focused on God's purpose can be so
easy to forget. First, though, I want to let you
know that what we've been listening to. Today is the
first message in a powerful teaching series from doctor Evans
on the Book of Joshua. It's a study about moving
forward in faith, trusting God's timing, and stepping into the
(11:15):
promises He's prepared for us. In this eye opening series,
you'll discover what it means to conquer obstacles, claim spiritual victories,
and live with confidence not in your own strength, but
in God's power and provision. We are offering the entire
audio series on digital download as well as on either
CD or USB flash drive as our thank you gift
(11:38):
when you support Tony's ministry with a financial contribution and
if we hear from you right away, we'll also include
something extra, The Kingdom Family Devotional, a fifty two week
resource that makes it easy to grow in faith as
a family. Each week highlights a key spiritual topic with
daily insights and action steps for every member of the family,
(12:01):
simple enough for kids to follow, but meaningful enough to
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hundred eight hundred thirty two twenty two to make your request.
Doctor Evans will return with more of today's lesson right
(12:24):
after this.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Hey, ladies, it's time to gather your friends, small group,
or all the women of your church for a soul fulfilling,
faith awakening time with the Lord. Join us virtually for
the Desperate for Jesus Conference this July twenty fifth and
twenty sixth. Get ready to worship and hear powerful teaching
from Crystal Hurst, Priscilla Shire and their special guests. Don't
miss this chance to be refreshed as you grow spiritually.
(12:47):
Hurry over to dfjconference dot com to register for the
live simulcast. That's dfjconference dot com.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
You know, I know as a pastor, I know that
if I came to U on Wednesday, then I said,
give me a rundown on my sermon last Sunday. Now
this is just three days. Most would be stuttering a
little bit, would be struggling a little bit because well,
you were talking something about eternity. It'd be something vague
(13:17):
away out there, you know, because it's easy to lose.
It's easy to lose, I mean just within all the
things that come across our mind. It's easy for the
word of God to get lost because it's not saved.
Meditation is designed to save it. And then he says,
I want you to serve it verse eight. Be careful
(13:40):
to do according to all that is written in it.
All this is design to drive the word deep down
in your soul, my soul. Serve it, operate on it.
So you're speaking it, you're saving it, you're serving it.
He tells him, don't turn to the left or the right,
(14:01):
meaning don't deviate from it. So when human opinion deviates
from divine revelation, then you've gone to the right or
the left. And it's easy to do because there's so
many opinions. Look at how many times a day you
(14:24):
use the two words I think, because everybody's got a
thought and there's so much to have a thought about.
And Lord, don't look at television because there's a billion
different opinions. So the question is how do you sort
through all of that? Well, when it comes to your destiny,
(14:47):
your inheritance, he says, you better listen to me. Obeying
God and listening to his feelings and thoughts on a
matter can be quite challenging because he's often, Lord, you
understand how I meanness weird. He's getting ready to tell Joshua,
(15:12):
march around the wall once a day for six days,
seven times on the seventh day, and the walls are
gonna come down. What kind of military strategy is that?
The question is do you want the walls to come down?
That's the question. If Joshua, we'll get to that. If
(15:35):
Joshua were to use his human opinion, he'd be losing
to Jericho. Because as we always say, as God says
in Isaiah fifty five, my ways are not your ways,
and my thoughts are not your thoughts. I don't roll
like you roll. You know, on a lot of things.
God is going to be different than you. His approach
(15:59):
will be different. And so when your thoughts conflict with
or contradict him, you turn to the right or to
the left, you know, because if you're just a little
out of alignment, it can take you in a whole
different direction. Here's how this works. His objective word the
(16:23):
book is what you read in the book. The book
of the law, shall not the proper your mouth. The
objective word, what he says, opens the door to his
subjective guidance. God's objective word, what he says opens up
the door for his subjective guidance. In other words, his
(16:48):
word does not talk about every single thing you're going
to deal with in life in specifics. His word doesn't
tell you which job to take out of a number
of job offers, doesn't tell you whether you should relocate
to this city or that city. You can't go to
a verse to find that out. There are millions of
(17:09):
decisions to be made in life that you will not
find specific direction on the Bible. Okay, the Bible. The
Bible covers principles and precepts and all. Okay, it doesn't
give you all those details. But in the issues of life,
you need guidance on the thing that you're facing that
the Bible doesn't talk about directly. But when you follow
(17:33):
what God says objectively that as you operate and by
this principle that He gives, even though that principle doesn't
directly talk about your specific issue, you now open up
the door for His subjective movement in your life, guidance,
bringing new thoughts or new people to give you, say
(17:53):
something to you you didn't think before, give you a concept.
I mean he now that opens up the door. As
I say, using fotball again in football. You've got the
NFL rules. These are the rules that the game is
played by. These are the rules. They are non adjustable,
they're non negotiable. Those are the fixed rules. Okay, But
(18:15):
then every team has their playbook. There's an NFL rule book,
but then there's a team playbook, and that the playbooks
on every team is different. They have different playbooks because
they're different teams with different people leading them. While the
rules don't change, the plays do change. Sometimes you call audible,
sometimes you call plays on the spot that you hadn't
(18:36):
planned the call. But all of the plays in the
playbook must operate within the rules in the rule book.
The Bible is the rule book. The Holy Spirit gives
the playbook. So it's the Holy Spirit's job to kind
of lead you and openness door and close this doing.
Give you an id here, bring a person into your life,
the guide. You're there. He negotiates the different plays as
(18:57):
you move along, as long as you operate on the
field to play the rule book. So there was nowhere
in the Five Books of Moses that were told Joshua
how to defeat Jericho. He couldn't go to Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus numbers and Deuteronomy to find out how to defeat Jericho.
(19:21):
There's nothing in there, but because he was operating by
the rule book, God could give him the specific Jericho plan.
God told Martha, and Mary told Mary move the stone.
She wanted to have a discussion about mortuary science. He'd
been dead four days. He stinks, She said, you can't hear.
(19:44):
I didn't ask you how long you been dead. I
know how long you been dead. I'm the one who
delayed coming to you. I know he long been dead. Yeah,
I know. Rick and mortars has set in. Okay, and
you know the cells have begun to collapse. I got
all that. Now you're gonna move the stone and we're
gonna keep discussing biology. She finally moved the stone. Now
she got a miracle. So she would have never gotten
(20:07):
a miracle if she wanted to keep having a long
conversations about stone moving and about what happens when you die.
So a lot of times we block the subjective move
of God to move us to our destiny because we're
arguing with the Book of the Law. He says, accept
the Book of the Law and let me guide you.
(20:28):
And Joshua commanded the officials of the people, saying, pass
to the midst of the camp. And he commanded the people, saying,
prepare provisions for yourself, or within three days you're going
to cross the Jordan. Let's get ready to rumba. Let's
get ready to go. So God talked to Joshua. Now
Joshua was talking to the people, and he says, it's
(20:49):
time to go. He tells the tribes that had already
received their inheritance, the Reubenites verse twelve, the Gedites, and
the half tribe of Banasa, even though you've already received
on the east side of the Jordan, you are to
leave your family. Then you are to come and at
the end of verse fourteen, and all you valid warriors,
(21:10):
and you shall help them, help your brothers. Just because
you got yours don't mean you don't help other folks
get theirs. So he's challenging them not to be selfish
because they had already received their inheritance, but to join
in so that everybody was able to get what God
had for them. Until the Lord gives your brothers rest.
(21:30):
Rest was the enjoyment of your destiny. That's rest. The
New Testament in Hebrews chapter six talks about rest. Rest
when you get to enjoy the goodness of God in
your life, what God has been doing, and then you
shall return to your own land and possess what Moses,
you know, had given you. He comes to the end
(21:53):
and the people answered josh were saying, all that you
have committed us, we will do. And wherever you go go,
wherever you send us, we will go. Over Sixteen says
since seventeen jes As we obey Moses and all things,
so we will obey you. Only may the Lord, your
God be with you as he was with Moses, he says,
(22:16):
because we will follow you, only the Lord's got to
be leading you. Okay, You honor leaders. You follow leaders
to a point, not to a fault. When a leader
leads God, you leave the leader. When a leader leads God.
Your ultimate commitment is to the Lord. Now, God uses people,
(22:41):
he says, I was with Moses. I'm gonna be with
Joshua till God uses people. Leaders can blow it and
if they don't repent, Bible says in one Timothy five,
then you're not to follow them. So but you are
if they're following the Lord. So Joshua that the people's
focus must be on the Lord. So they affirmed our
(23:04):
support trust God to give success fulfilling his purpose.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Doctor Tony Evans encouraging us to keep our eyes on
the Lord above all else and to trust Him for
success as we step into the promises He's prepared for us. Now,
before we go, I wanted to mention that today's message
is called Preparing to enter God's Promise. It's part of
doctor Evans impactful series on the Book of Joshua, a
(23:34):
study that will help you discover how to overcome obstacles
and step confidently into the victories God has planned for you.
Don't forget. When you make a donation to support Tony's ministry,
we'll say thanks by sending you the complete audio series
on Joshua, along with the Kingdom Family devotional I mentioned earlier.
Learn how to grow closer to God and closer as
(23:55):
a family day by day. Get all the details and
make your request online at Tonyevans dot org. That's Tonyevans
dot org, or let one of our team members help
you when you call one eight hundred eight hundred thirty
two twenty two. That number again, one eight hundred eight
hundred three two two two. When your GPS keeps recalculating
(24:20):
it's a sign you've missed a turn or maybe several
next time. Dodgor Evans continues his study of Joshua as
he unpacks what it means to move from wandering to
winning and now, our obedience and courage can open the
door to God's promises. Be sure to join us.
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