WEBVTT - Reputation Rehab

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our

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<v Speaker 2>podcast and I wanted to thank you for joining us today.

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<v Speaker 2>Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope

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<v Speaker 2>it gives your perspective to see God is moving.

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<v Speaker 1>In your life. Enjoy the message.

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<v Speaker 2>Are you excited for the Word of God today? I

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<v Speaker 2>sure am grateful to preach and share this with you.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you worship team. If you want to look at

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<v Speaker 2>Joshua chapter two today with me for a moment, very

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<v Speaker 2>interesting story in scripture. Those of you at our Uptown

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<v Speaker 2>location and our Melbourne campus, you heard me share from

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<v Speaker 2>this scripture.

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<v Speaker 1>Right.

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<v Speaker 2>You heard me share from the scripture at our Vision

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<v Speaker 2>nights over the last few weeks. And I want to

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<v Speaker 2>share this with the church today and it's a subject

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<v Speaker 2>that I think will be relevant for each of us.

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<v Speaker 2>And I pray that you'll hear this personally for yourself.

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<v Speaker 2>By the way, what an awesome advantage it is when

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<v Speaker 2>everyone in the church is leaned in to hear the

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<v Speaker 2>word of God. I was telling one of the people

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<v Speaker 2>who helps me on the weekend how exhausting it is

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<v Speaker 2>when preaching feels like mixed martial arts, you know, And

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<v Speaker 2>I don't want to be like Connor McGregor up here.

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<v Speaker 2>And it's not like that, you know, it's not.

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<v Speaker 1>Even a performance. When we do this, God speaks.

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<v Speaker 2>And when everybody comes with that attitude and that perspective,

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<v Speaker 2>we realize that it is our responsibility to receive the

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<v Speaker 2>word of God. And we don't put all this pressure

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<v Speaker 2>on some guy with a microphone as if somehow I

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<v Speaker 2>could fix your life.

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<v Speaker 1>I can't.

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<v Speaker 2>My opinion is empty. But God's word is powerful. And

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<v Speaker 2>so when you bring that expectation to the Word of God,

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<v Speaker 2>it really makes it dynamic and explosive. So all that

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<v Speaker 2>just to say, look at your name and say wake up,

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<v Speaker 2>pay attention. I know you're ready. Joshua Chapter two, verse one,

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<v Speaker 2>then Joshua's Son of None secretly sh secretly. You don't

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<v Speaker 2>have to tell everybody everything you're doing secretly. You don't

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<v Speaker 2>have to post every time you pray on Instagram. You

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<v Speaker 2>don't have to put a coffee mug post for every devotion.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, I'm talking about the coffee mug and the

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<v Speaker 2>Bible and spread open and then you highlight a few

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<v Speaker 2>extra verses before you take the picture make it look

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<v Speaker 2>like then Joshua's son of none, sh don't tell everybody,

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<v Speaker 2>but just secretly sent two spies from Shiitem. And that's

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<v Speaker 2>a long eye when you pronounce shi them. You want

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<v Speaker 2>to be careful when you pronounce shyt them if you

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<v Speaker 2>ever preach from Joshua, chapter two, verse one, Go look

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<v Speaker 2>over the land, he said, especially Jericho. Notice he didn't

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<v Speaker 2>tell them to look at every city, because you can

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<v Speaker 2>get overwhelmed if you think about all the battles you

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<v Speaker 2>have to fight.

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<v Speaker 1>This is just the first one, the next one.

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<v Speaker 2>And when we get so focused on everything that we

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<v Speaker 2>have to overcome, it SAPs our strength and we can't

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<v Speaker 2>take our next step because we're thinking fourteen steps ahead.

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<v Speaker 2>And you can wreck looking at your GPS instead of

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<v Speaker 2>keeping your eyes on the next turn. Okay, So they

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<v Speaker 2>went and entered the house of a prostitute ooh named

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<v Speaker 2>Rahab and stayed there. Why there there was nothing else

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<v Speaker 2>available on Airbnb, so they.

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<v Speaker 1>Stayed in the house of a prostitute named Rahab.

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<v Speaker 2>King of Jericho was told, look, some of these relights

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<v Speaker 2>have come here tonight to spy out the land. So

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<v Speaker 2>the King of Jericho sent this message to Rehab bring

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<v Speaker 2>out the men who came to you and entered your house,

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<v Speaker 2>as they have come to spy out the whole land.

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<v Speaker 2>But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>if there's one thing that Rahab's profession has taught.

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<v Speaker 1>Her, it is discretion.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm saying she might not have lived the most holy life.

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<v Speaker 2>The Bible says she was a prostitute, but she knew

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<v Speaker 2>how to hide men.

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<v Speaker 1>And so I point that out to let you know.

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<v Speaker 2>God is going to use everything, even the stuff that

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<v Speaker 2>you're not proud of, if you offer it to him.

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<v Speaker 2>He'll use even the things that you want to hide.

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<v Speaker 2>And Rahab hid the men because that's something she knew

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<v Speaker 2>how to do. I won't say any more about that,

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<v Speaker 2>because y'all are looking at me so angelic. She said, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>the men came to me, but I did not know

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<v Speaker 2>where they had come from.

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<v Speaker 1>At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate,

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<v Speaker 1>they left.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't know which way they went by the way.

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<v Speaker 2>All of this is a lie. This is a lie.

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<v Speaker 2>So we got a lying prostitute that God uses to

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<v Speaker 2>fulfill his purpose and demonstrate his glory in the earth.

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<v Speaker 1>Put that in your theological pipe. And to that vape.

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<v Speaker 2>That so she's lying and she's hiding the men, and

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<v Speaker 2>then she uses misdirection. TuS can go after them quickly.

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<v Speaker 2>You may catch up with them parentheses. But she had

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<v Speaker 2>taken them up to the roof and hidden them under

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<v Speaker 2>the stalks of flax she'd laid out on the roof.

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<v Speaker 2>This was not her first time hiding a man in

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<v Speaker 2>her house. So the men set out in pursuit of

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<v Speaker 2>the spies on the road that leads to the fords

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<v Speaker 2>of the Jordan, And as soon as the pursuers had

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<v Speaker 2>gone out.

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<v Speaker 1>The gate was shut.

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<v Speaker 2>Before the spies laid down for the night, she went

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<v Speaker 2>up on the roof and said to them, I know

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<v Speaker 2>that the.

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<v Speaker 1>Lord has given you this land, and that.

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<v Speaker 2>A great fear of you has fallen on us, so

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<v Speaker 2>that all who live in this kind of tree are

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<v Speaker 2>melting in fear because of you. These are the same

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<v Speaker 2>enemies that the Israelites were so afraid of forty years

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<v Speaker 2>earlier that they wouldn't go in. But what they were

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<v Speaker 2>running from was actually afraid of them. You realize sometimes

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<v Speaker 2>you're running from a defeated foe. You realize sometimes you're

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<v Speaker 2>running from stuff God has already dealt with if you

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<v Speaker 2>would move forward. And so she says, we've heard about

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<v Speaker 2>you firstin we've heard how the Lord dried up the

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<v Speaker 2>water of the Red Sea.

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<v Speaker 1>That was four decades ago, they're still talking about it.

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<v Speaker 2>We heard how the Lord dried up the water the

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<v Speaker 2>Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt,

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<v Speaker 2>and what you did to Sion in Augu, the two

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<v Speaker 2>kings of the Emirites east of the Jordan, whom you

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<v Speaker 2>completely destroyed. And when we heard of it, our hearts

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<v Speaker 2>melted in fear, and everyone's courage failed because of you.

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<v Speaker 1>For the Lord, your.

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<v Speaker 2>God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.

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<v Speaker 2>So turn to the person next to you and tell

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<v Speaker 2>them what Rehab told. The spies say, you got a reputation.

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<v Speaker 2>The title of this message is reputation Rehab. You didn't

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<v Speaker 2>just come to church today, You came.

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<v Speaker 1>To reputation Rehab.

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<v Speaker 2>How many realized that everything people called you is not

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<v Speaker 2>something you should respond to at this stage in your life.

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<v Speaker 2>You got to move past some things and see yourself

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<v Speaker 2>in a new light. At least that's what God told

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<v Speaker 2>Joshua when he stated him as the new leader of

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<v Speaker 2>Israel after Moses left. He said, it's a new day,

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<v Speaker 2>and you are the leader I have chosen and appointed

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<v Speaker 2>to lead these people into the land that I promised

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<v Speaker 2>their ancestors. And God in Joshua Chapter one reminds Joshua

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<v Speaker 2>of his reputation, not the reputation of Joshua, the reputation

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<v Speaker 2>of Jehovah.

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<v Speaker 1>He said, I am the God.

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<v Speaker 2>Who spoke to the forefathers of this faith tradition, which

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<v Speaker 2>you are a continuation of. But it didn't start with you.

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<v Speaker 2>God says, I have a reputation. And when you face

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<v Speaker 2>the resistance, when you go into this new land that

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<v Speaker 2>I've called you to conquer, I want you to remember

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<v Speaker 2>my reputation.

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<v Speaker 1>God said, I have a.

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<v Speaker 2>Reputation of picking people out that are obscure and unknown

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<v Speaker 2>and using them to accomplish my purpose in the earth.

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<v Speaker 1>I have a reputation.

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<v Speaker 2>I have a reputation for calling men like Abraham and

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<v Speaker 2>taking him from her of the Chaldeans. And even though

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<v Speaker 2>he's too old to have babies and there's no prescriptions

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<v Speaker 2>available to help him pro create, I have a reputation

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<v Speaker 2>for doing what cannot be done in the flesh. For

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<v Speaker 2>it's not by might nor by power. But by my spirit,

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<v Speaker 2>says the Lord.

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<v Speaker 1>I have a.

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<v Speaker 2>Reputation, and sometimes we need to be reminded of God's reputation.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, we need to be reminded every once in

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<v Speaker 2>a while that the wind and.

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<v Speaker 1>The waves know who he is. They know that voice.

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<v Speaker 2>To you, my sheep, know my voice. I'm the one

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<v Speaker 2>who dried up the red Sea. I just want you

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<v Speaker 2>to remember my reputation. That's why I mentioned Bible stories

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<v Speaker 2>in church, like Daniel and the Lions den because the

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<v Speaker 2>lions knew that when God speaks, their mouths had to

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<v Speaker 2>stay shut. They knew that voice, they knew that voice.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm encouraged to know that God's reputation is the basis

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<v Speaker 2>of my faith, not mine, not mine. I think it's

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<v Speaker 2>really funny sometimes how much time we spend trying to

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<v Speaker 2>build our reputation with people whose opinions don't ultimately matter.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, when I first started the church, a well

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<v Speaker 2>meaning minister gave me a piece of advice. He said,

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<v Speaker 2>protect your reputation. You only get one. I wish that

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<v Speaker 2>were that's true, you know, I wish you could protect

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<v Speaker 2>your reputation and that if you always did the right thing,

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<v Speaker 2>people would always say the right things about you. The

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<v Speaker 2>fact is we live in a world that doesn't know

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<v Speaker 2>the difference between a rumor and a reputation anymore, and

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<v Speaker 2>to spend all of your energy trying to protect your reputation.

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<v Speaker 2>The Lord really spoke to me and dealt with me

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<v Speaker 2>the first time that I would defend myself against people

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<v Speaker 2>who were critical of my ministry. And you know, you

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<v Speaker 2>can spend so much time trying to protect your reputation,

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<v Speaker 2>which is really ego wanting people to have a certain

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<v Speaker 2>image of you, that you start preaching to the people

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<v Speaker 2>who don't like you, and you're angry at people who

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<v Speaker 2>are smiling at you because you're not really talking to them.

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<v Speaker 2>It happened to me early in ministry, and the Lord

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<v Speaker 2>spoke to me.

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<v Speaker 1>He spoke to me very specifically.

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<v Speaker 2>He said, why don't you worry about protecting your integrity

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<v Speaker 2>and let me protect your reputation. When you stop to

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<v Speaker 2>think about it, even the premise that you only have

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<v Speaker 2>one reputation is faulty. I mean, really, you have as

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<v Speaker 2>many reputations as you have relationships in that room.

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<v Speaker 1>What I mean is some people at work think.

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<v Speaker 2>You're quiet because you are around them, because you don't

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<v Speaker 2>trust them or like them, or have anything to say

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<v Speaker 2>to them. But if we ask your family like I

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<v Speaker 2>will never forget when our middle child, Graham, first went

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<v Speaker 2>to school and the teacher emailed us how he talked

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<v Speaker 2>too much in class, and it was so funny because

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<v Speaker 2>we could not get him to talk at home.

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<v Speaker 1>He was so quiet at home.

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<v Speaker 2>And the teacher said, he will not shut up in class.

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<v Speaker 2>He's a wonderful child, but could you just talk to

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<v Speaker 2>him about talking out of.

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<v Speaker 1>Turn in class? I said, well, could you talk to

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<v Speaker 1>him about talking intern at home? Because we can't get

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<v Speaker 1>him to say anything. And now he's.

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<v Speaker 2>Eleven and he talks all the time. But I remember

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<v Speaker 2>thinking how strange it was that he could be known

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<v Speaker 2>as the talkative kid in class. But maybe the birth

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<v Speaker 2>order or something at home. Maybe we won't shut up

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<v Speaker 2>long enough to give him a chance at home. And

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<v Speaker 2>you know, it's really true, because sometimes we only get

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<v Speaker 2>to know church you.

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<v Speaker 1>I wonder how big is the gap.

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<v Speaker 2>Between your reality and your reputation, because it's never been

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<v Speaker 2>easier to develop a virtual reputation. You know, where I

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<v Speaker 2>see people online and in their profile it says life coach,

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<v Speaker 2>and they're thirteen I don't understand.

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<v Speaker 1>How you're going to coach me, and you've never been

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<v Speaker 1>on the field.

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<v Speaker 2>It says public figure, and you got a private account

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<v Speaker 2>with twelve followers.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't understand it, but I do because we are

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<v Speaker 2>living in a world that wants to watch this. Reputation

0:13:06.920 --> 0:13:11.679
<v Speaker 2>without repetition, and a true reputation is not built by

0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:14.280
<v Speaker 2>what you occasionally do or wish that you were, or

0:13:14.280 --> 0:13:15.320
<v Speaker 2>want people to see you as.

0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:18.920
<v Speaker 1>It's not something that you project or perfect.

0:13:19.800 --> 0:13:27.360
<v Speaker 2>Your real reputation comes from relationship and repetition, and relationship

0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:30.760
<v Speaker 2>and repetition. And I had to come to the point

0:13:30.800 --> 0:13:34.640
<v Speaker 2>where I realized it is not what people who don't

0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:37.280
<v Speaker 2>know me think about me, or what I can convince

0:13:37.360 --> 0:13:41.600
<v Speaker 2>them of that brings me peace in my heart and.

0:13:41.480 --> 0:13:42.480
<v Speaker 1>Fulfills my calling.

0:13:43.960 --> 0:13:48.199
<v Speaker 2>I want to focus my life on developing a reputation

0:13:49.000 --> 0:13:55.360
<v Speaker 2>that is based on repetition and relationship, that I would

0:13:55.400 --> 0:13:58.520
<v Speaker 2>do the right thing over and over and over and

0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:01.120
<v Speaker 2>over and over again, and when I don't, I'll apologize

0:14:01.120 --> 0:14:03.400
<v Speaker 2>and I'll get back on and do it over and

0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:06.520
<v Speaker 2>over and over. Isn't that how God built his reputation

0:14:06.600 --> 0:14:07.199
<v Speaker 2>in your life?

0:14:07.240 --> 0:14:08.760
<v Speaker 1>Because he helped.

0:14:08.480 --> 0:14:11.560
<v Speaker 2>You over and over and over and over again, and

0:14:11.600 --> 0:14:14.319
<v Speaker 2>he gave you mercy over and over and over and

0:14:14.360 --> 0:14:17.240
<v Speaker 2>over again. And he made ways over and over and

0:14:17.280 --> 0:14:20.080
<v Speaker 2>over and over again. And he heard your cry over

0:14:20.200 --> 0:14:22.720
<v Speaker 2>and over and over again. And he forgave you for

0:14:22.840 --> 0:14:26.520
<v Speaker 2>that same sin that you committed over and over and

0:14:26.560 --> 0:14:29.400
<v Speaker 2>over again. But when you needed grace, you found it

0:14:29.440 --> 0:14:32.440
<v Speaker 2>over and over and over again. And he woke you

0:14:32.600 --> 0:14:35.720
<v Speaker 2>up over and over and over again. And he lets

0:14:35.720 --> 0:14:38.880
<v Speaker 2>you see another day over and over and over again.

0:14:39.280 --> 0:14:42.800
<v Speaker 2>So I will praise Him over and over and over again.

0:14:43.200 --> 0:14:46.600
<v Speaker 2>Because God has a reputation with me. I know him

0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:52.320
<v Speaker 2>as faithful. And watch this. I don't let anybody else

0:14:52.400 --> 0:14:56.640
<v Speaker 2>build my belief about who God is. I don't need

0:14:56.680 --> 0:14:59.960
<v Speaker 2>to believe somebody else's report about God.

0:15:00.640 --> 0:15:01.360
<v Speaker 1>I have a.

0:15:01.280 --> 0:15:06.080
<v Speaker 2>Personal relationship with Him, and God's reputation with me is

0:15:06.200 --> 0:15:09.040
<v Speaker 2>based on his faithfulness in my life.

0:15:09.680 --> 0:15:12.040
<v Speaker 1>I don't go off of what I heard about. I

0:15:12.080 --> 0:15:12.920
<v Speaker 1>go off what I know.

0:15:14.280 --> 0:15:18.240
<v Speaker 2>Don't ever let somebody else misrepresent God and run you

0:15:18.320 --> 0:15:19.240
<v Speaker 2>away from church.

0:15:20.800 --> 0:15:26.840
<v Speaker 1>You ought to know God for yourself. It's a it's

0:15:26.880 --> 0:15:27.840
<v Speaker 1>a relational thing.

0:15:28.760 --> 0:15:30.560
<v Speaker 2>So we're losing that, and we're so quick to tear

0:15:30.560 --> 0:15:33.440
<v Speaker 2>people down, and God forgive us for all the times

0:15:33.480 --> 0:15:36.320
<v Speaker 2>where we've believed a report about someone that we didn't

0:15:36.320 --> 0:15:39.680
<v Speaker 2>even know. In a day where it is so easy

0:15:39.720 --> 0:15:44.920
<v Speaker 2>to project a false reputation and so easy to destroy

0:15:45.360 --> 0:15:50.440
<v Speaker 2>a reputation, you can destroy your own reputation with two

0:15:50.560 --> 0:15:51.800
<v Speaker 2>hundred and eighty characters.

0:15:53.120 --> 0:15:54.640
<v Speaker 1>Am I right?

0:15:55.760 --> 0:15:57.520
<v Speaker 2>I don't call names from this pulpit, but you know

0:15:57.560 --> 0:16:02.440
<v Speaker 2>what I'm talking about. And yet we stand between the

0:16:02.480 --> 0:16:05.040
<v Speaker 2>reality of who we are and kind of who we

0:16:05.080 --> 0:16:05.760
<v Speaker 2>think we need to be.

0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:08.000
<v Speaker 1>And into that gap.

0:16:09.600 --> 0:16:14.120
<v Speaker 2>God speaks and it's the most amazing thing. I can't

0:16:14.160 --> 0:16:17.040
<v Speaker 2>get over this, and it doesn't seem like a smart strategy,

0:16:17.880 --> 0:16:22.720
<v Speaker 2>but God chooses over and over again. The faithful God

0:16:24.120 --> 0:16:26.600
<v Speaker 2>entrusts his reputation.

0:16:27.680 --> 0:16:31.600
<v Speaker 1>To faithless people.

0:16:31.520 --> 0:16:36.640
<v Speaker 2>And so for forty years the Israelites will wander in

0:16:36.640 --> 0:16:40.560
<v Speaker 2>the wilderness because they believed a bad report, even though

0:16:40.600 --> 0:16:41.880
<v Speaker 2>they had a history with God.

0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:44.560
<v Speaker 1>Now Joshua does something interesting.

0:16:44.840 --> 0:16:47.240
<v Speaker 2>After he calls the people together and tells them prepare

0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:50.120
<v Speaker 2>and consecrate yourselves for what God is going to do,

0:16:50.560 --> 0:16:53.440
<v Speaker 2>and reminds them of what God has already done. He

0:16:53.560 --> 0:16:59.480
<v Speaker 2>sends back to verse one, two spies, two Spies, instead

0:16:59.480 --> 0:17:03.680
<v Speaker 2>of twelve. When Moses got ready to check out Canaan

0:17:03.720 --> 0:17:07.880
<v Speaker 2>four decades ago, he sent twelve spies and ten came

0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:11.640
<v Speaker 2>back with a fear report. So it's almost as if

0:17:11.760 --> 0:17:15.800
<v Speaker 2>Joshua has learned from that exploit, being one of the

0:17:15.800 --> 0:17:18.639
<v Speaker 2>two spies who said, if God is with us, we

0:17:18.720 --> 0:17:22.000
<v Speaker 2>can't fail, and he made up his mind this time.

0:17:22.119 --> 0:17:25.879
<v Speaker 2>I only need to, somebody shout, I only need to

0:17:27.320 --> 0:17:28.879
<v Speaker 2>look at the person on either side of you and

0:17:28.920 --> 0:17:29.720
<v Speaker 2>tell both of them I.

0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:34.280
<v Speaker 1>Only need to. I don't need too many opinions in

0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:35.520
<v Speaker 1>this stage of my life.

0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:39.440
<v Speaker 2>I'm out of middle school now, and I can't live

0:17:39.480 --> 0:17:43.000
<v Speaker 2>by what everybody else thinks or does not anymore. I

0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:46.119
<v Speaker 2>only need too, somebody say, I only need to. And

0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:48.840
<v Speaker 2>I read in my Bible that surely goodness and mercy

0:17:49.920 --> 0:17:50.800
<v Speaker 2>will follow.

0:17:50.560 --> 0:17:52.520
<v Speaker 1>Me all the days of my life.

0:17:53.080 --> 0:17:55.200
<v Speaker 2>So I got goodness and I got mercy.

0:17:55.800 --> 0:17:57.040
<v Speaker 1>I only need to say it again.

0:17:57.080 --> 0:18:00.720
<v Speaker 2>I only need to, and I can't afford to consult

0:18:00.800 --> 0:18:04.680
<v Speaker 2>everybody's opinion and every cable news channel. I got goodness

0:18:04.680 --> 0:18:07.640
<v Speaker 2>and I got mercy. I don't need Fox, I don't

0:18:07.640 --> 0:18:11.320
<v Speaker 2>need CNN, I don't need Twitter, I don't need Facebook.

0:18:11.359 --> 0:18:15.200
<v Speaker 2>I don't need Instagram. I don't need my past to consult.

0:18:15.240 --> 0:18:17.639
<v Speaker 2>I don't need to consult too many people. You know,

0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:20.000
<v Speaker 2>we start calling people and asking them for advice. You

0:18:20.040 --> 0:18:22.679
<v Speaker 2>really don't want advice anymore after you've called the third person.

0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:30.639
<v Speaker 2>You want affirmation and attention. I have a shortcut now

0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:33.800
<v Speaker 2>as a pastor. When people say I'd like your advice

0:18:33.880 --> 0:18:40.040
<v Speaker 2>on whatever they say next, I don't respond to I

0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:47.439
<v Speaker 2>say what do you want, because I'll just say what

0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:51.440
<v Speaker 2>you want to hear and save you the time from

0:18:51.520 --> 0:18:55.640
<v Speaker 2>calling the next person and the next person until somebody

0:18:55.680 --> 0:18:59.720
<v Speaker 2>will finally tell you what you want to hear. Because

0:18:59.760 --> 0:19:03.600
<v Speaker 2>a lot of us, maybe not you, maybe somebody. You know,

0:19:05.480 --> 0:19:10.240
<v Speaker 2>a lot of us live our whole life consulting opinions.

0:19:11.840 --> 0:19:15.520
<v Speaker 2>And when you get too many opinions, it really crowds

0:19:15.560 --> 0:19:18.199
<v Speaker 2>out the voice of God. And you know what's funny

0:19:18.200 --> 0:19:22.560
<v Speaker 2>about people. You got to be so careful because people

0:19:22.720 --> 0:19:25.680
<v Speaker 2>will a lot of times and situations will a lot

0:19:25.680 --> 0:19:29.879
<v Speaker 2>of times feel they will categorize stuff. Look, the Bible

0:19:29.960 --> 0:19:34.119
<v Speaker 2>says they went into Jericho and entered the house of

0:19:34.160 --> 0:19:39.040
<v Speaker 2>a prostitute named Rahab. Why would you go into the

0:19:39.080 --> 0:19:43.520
<v Speaker 2>house of a prostitute in order to discern the promise

0:19:43.600 --> 0:19:46.760
<v Speaker 2>of God. Let me tell you a little secret. God

0:19:46.880 --> 0:19:52.520
<v Speaker 2>uses who he wants to use. I'm losing amens by

0:19:52.560 --> 0:19:57.639
<v Speaker 2>the minute. You must be from out of town. God

0:19:57.800 --> 0:19:59.240
<v Speaker 2>uses who he wants to use.

0:19:59.440 --> 0:19:59.840
<v Speaker 1>And so.

0:20:01.359 --> 0:20:06.159
<v Speaker 2>Isn't it fascinating that the God, who has a spotless reputation,

0:20:06.920 --> 0:20:10.400
<v Speaker 2>when he gets ready to bring his people into the promise,

0:20:11.400 --> 0:20:16.919
<v Speaker 2>uses a woman with a reputation, not a reputation like

0:20:17.000 --> 0:20:21.200
<v Speaker 2>we think God can use, not a reputation of perfection.

0:20:21.760 --> 0:20:26.879
<v Speaker 2>But God uses someone with a reputation. And furthermore, someone

0:20:26.920 --> 0:20:32.720
<v Speaker 2>who the spies would consider an enemy. Technically, Rehab was

0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:37.840
<v Speaker 2>an enemy of Israel, and yet God used their.

0:20:37.840 --> 0:20:48.399
<v Speaker 1>Enemy to show them who they were. She said, I

0:20:48.440 --> 0:20:48.919
<v Speaker 1>know who.

0:20:48.800 --> 0:20:52.320
<v Speaker 2>You are, and I know that God has given you

0:20:52.359 --> 0:20:59.240
<v Speaker 2>the victory. Is it possible that your enemy knows more.

0:21:01.320 --> 0:21:02.720
<v Speaker 1>About who you are than you do?

0:21:04.880 --> 0:21:08.280
<v Speaker 2>And is that why he's been fighting you like he's

0:21:08.320 --> 0:21:09.040
<v Speaker 2>been fighting you.

0:21:10.760 --> 0:21:12.440
<v Speaker 1>It's just a question, saints.

0:21:13.480 --> 0:21:17.480
<v Speaker 2>Is it possible, just a little bit possible, that the

0:21:17.720 --> 0:21:22.159
<v Speaker 2>trial that you're going through is actually a testament to

0:21:22.280 --> 0:21:24.199
<v Speaker 2>the power that lives within you.

0:21:25.480 --> 0:21:30.439
<v Speaker 1>The devil doesn't waste bullets if he's leaving you alone.

0:21:30.520 --> 0:21:42.719
<v Speaker 1>He knows you aren't anything worth fighting against. God used

0:21:42.840 --> 0:21:46.880
<v Speaker 1>their enemy to show them who they were God.

0:21:49.359 --> 0:21:53.480
<v Speaker 2>God used their struggle to confirm his word.

0:21:56.400 --> 0:22:00.000
<v Speaker 1>It's crazy, how I said, Now let me teach you.

0:22:02.320 --> 0:22:03.920
<v Speaker 1>It's crazy how we have set.

0:22:03.800 --> 0:22:06.160
<v Speaker 2>Up a false expectation that the proof of God's favor

0:22:06.200 --> 0:22:12.679
<v Speaker 2>in our life will always be that our fights will

0:22:12.720 --> 0:22:22.439
<v Speaker 2>decrease and our comfort will increase. But when God was

0:22:22.480 --> 0:22:27.399
<v Speaker 2>revealing himself in the Book of Job, the devil was

0:22:27.440 --> 0:22:33.560
<v Speaker 2>going all through the earth trying to look for somebody

0:22:33.600 --> 0:22:40.000
<v Speaker 2>he could tamper with. And when the devil presented himself

0:22:40.040 --> 0:22:43.360
<v Speaker 2>before the throne with the angels, because the enemy can't

0:22:43.400 --> 0:22:49.199
<v Speaker 2>do anything without God's permission, I'm afraid in a lot

0:22:49.240 --> 0:22:52.480
<v Speaker 2>of our churches we've given the devil a reputation that

0:22:52.560 --> 0:22:54.040
<v Speaker 2>he is an equal power with God.

0:22:54.119 --> 0:22:56.119
<v Speaker 1>He's not. He's not.

0:22:57.840 --> 0:23:01.280
<v Speaker 2>And God asked a quest question to Satan. He said,

0:23:01.480 --> 0:23:04.920
<v Speaker 2>have you considered my servant job? Have you thought about

0:23:05.000 --> 0:23:09.159
<v Speaker 2>picking on him? Because he's my guy? Now, whatever you

0:23:09.240 --> 0:23:11.160
<v Speaker 2>have to do to get on that list where God

0:23:11.200 --> 0:23:13.960
<v Speaker 2>tells the devil he can mess with you, I don't

0:23:13.960 --> 0:23:17.280
<v Speaker 2>want to be that holy. I want to find that

0:23:17.480 --> 0:23:19.240
<v Speaker 2>mark a.

0:23:23.200 --> 0:23:29.680
<v Speaker 1>Slipping of men. But God said, have at his stuff.

0:23:29.680 --> 0:23:32.840
<v Speaker 2>You can touch him, his family, you can't touch him.

0:23:33.080 --> 0:23:34.720
<v Speaker 1>And when the devil came back and said, I.

0:23:34.720 --> 0:23:37.320
<v Speaker 2>Tried it and you were right, he didn't curse you.

0:23:37.840 --> 0:23:41.520
<v Speaker 2>But if you let me hurt him, it's one thing

0:23:41.600 --> 0:23:43.200
<v Speaker 2>for everything around him.

0:23:43.000 --> 0:23:43.760
<v Speaker 1>To be affected.

0:23:44.119 --> 0:23:47.159
<v Speaker 2>But if you let me hurt his body, he'll curse you.

0:23:48.000 --> 0:23:50.560
<v Speaker 2>And God said, you can do it, but you can't

0:23:50.640 --> 0:23:55.520
<v Speaker 2>kill him. And after that period of testing had been completed,

0:23:56.320 --> 0:23:58.160
<v Speaker 2>after Job survived all.

0:23:58.000 --> 0:23:58.520
<v Speaker 1>Of the rounds.

0:23:58.560 --> 0:24:01.680
<v Speaker 2>Now, this means he lost not only his income, not

0:24:01.720 --> 0:24:05.480
<v Speaker 2>only his business, not only his belongings, but his children.

0:24:06.119 --> 0:24:09.359
<v Speaker 2>And the only person who stayed alive with Job was

0:24:09.400 --> 0:24:13.320
<v Speaker 2>his wife.

0:24:14.080 --> 0:24:15.640
<v Speaker 1>And if you read about her.

0:24:16.560 --> 0:24:18.679
<v Speaker 2>He'd probably praying God would go ahead and wipe her

0:24:18.720 --> 0:24:21.320
<v Speaker 2>out too, because she wasn't a very good wife. She said,

0:24:21.320 --> 0:24:23.679
<v Speaker 2>go ahead and curse God and die. Let's get it

0:24:23.720 --> 0:24:25.919
<v Speaker 2>over with. You're really gonna put up with this and

0:24:25.960 --> 0:24:29.840
<v Speaker 2>still serve God. But Job would not charge God with wrongdoing.

0:24:30.280 --> 0:24:32.560
<v Speaker 2>And yes, at the end of God's at the end

0:24:32.600 --> 0:24:36.640
<v Speaker 2>of Job's life, he was doubly blessed. But I don't

0:24:36.640 --> 0:24:38.760
<v Speaker 2>think the point of the book of Job is that Job.

0:24:38.560 --> 0:24:39.879
<v Speaker 1>Got double for his trouble.

0:24:39.920 --> 0:24:42.520
<v Speaker 2>That's nice for a bumper sticker, but he still lost

0:24:42.560 --> 0:24:43.200
<v Speaker 2>his children.

0:24:43.520 --> 0:24:44.360
<v Speaker 1>What's the point.

0:24:44.560 --> 0:24:48.200
<v Speaker 2>The point is that the devil didn't mention Job's name.

0:24:48.240 --> 0:24:48.760
<v Speaker 1>God did.

0:24:50.920 --> 0:24:56.119
<v Speaker 2>Job had a reputation with Heaven, and Heaven knew about Job.

0:24:56.520 --> 0:25:00.959
<v Speaker 2>He can be trusted with trouble. He won't break beneath

0:25:01.040 --> 0:25:02.000
<v Speaker 2>the weight of a burden.

0:25:03.160 --> 0:25:04.840
<v Speaker 1>Heaven knows about you.

0:25:04.840 --> 0:25:11.600
<v Speaker 2>You can raise those ADHD kids, those abcd fghijk.

0:25:10.600 --> 0:25:11.800
<v Speaker 1>Elemento pea kids.

0:25:12.160 --> 0:25:14.800
<v Speaker 2>God knew he could give you the whole alphabet and

0:25:14.840 --> 0:25:17.919
<v Speaker 2>you wouldn't kill him. God knew he could trust you

0:25:18.000 --> 0:25:21.240
<v Speaker 2>with sorrow. God knew he could trust you with trial

0:25:21.440 --> 0:25:22.400
<v Speaker 2>and with tribulation.

0:25:22.840 --> 0:25:28.640
<v Speaker 1>He knew that about you. And if the devil isn't

0:25:28.680 --> 0:25:30.840
<v Speaker 1>messing with you, maybe he doesn't even know you're here.

0:25:35.720 --> 0:25:37.399
<v Speaker 2>Like one time in the Book of Acts, these seven

0:25:37.560 --> 0:25:41.960
<v Speaker 2>sons of a Jewish priest, they saw Paul laying hands.

0:25:41.720 --> 0:25:46.920
<v Speaker 1>On people and they were like, oh, that's cool. Huh.

0:25:47.080 --> 0:25:48.520
<v Speaker 1>Maybe we say what he says, we can do what

0:25:48.560 --> 0:25:50.680
<v Speaker 1>he does, and maybe we can make money off of it.

0:25:51.320 --> 0:25:57.159
<v Speaker 1>All right, in the name of Jesus, come out. And

0:25:57.200 --> 0:26:00.040
<v Speaker 1>when they said it.

0:25:59.040 --> 0:26:06.160
<v Speaker 2>The demons for and said, I heard you say Jesus,

0:26:07.400 --> 0:26:12.679
<v Speaker 2>and we know him. I heard you say Paul, and

0:26:12.720 --> 0:26:17.560
<v Speaker 2>we know him. We hate him. We're an assignment against him.

0:26:18.440 --> 0:26:23.040
<v Speaker 2>We send snakes to bite him. We put Paul through shipwrecks.

0:26:23.560 --> 0:26:26.480
<v Speaker 2>We stir up people and create contentions so that stones

0:26:26.520 --> 0:26:27.280
<v Speaker 2>are thrown at Paul.

0:26:28.000 --> 0:26:32.280
<v Speaker 1>We've heard of Jesus, We've heard of Paul. But who

0:26:32.280 --> 0:26:32.480
<v Speaker 1>are you?

0:26:36.160 --> 0:26:37.800
<v Speaker 2>Look at somebody next to you and say it in

0:26:37.960 --> 0:26:40.160
<v Speaker 2>that falsetto voice like I said it, like prince, say

0:26:40.320 --> 0:26:45.520
<v Speaker 2>who are you? Who are you? Who are you?

0:26:50.600 --> 0:26:51.520
<v Speaker 1>I'm concerned.

0:26:52.400 --> 0:26:56.600
<v Speaker 2>I'm concerned that a lot of times we are convinced

0:26:57.480 --> 0:27:02.000
<v Speaker 2>that our trouble is an indication of the absence of

0:27:02.080 --> 0:27:07.720
<v Speaker 2>God's resence, when more times than not, in the scripture

0:27:07.800 --> 0:27:13.840
<v Speaker 2>you can find that trouble accompanies God's presence. He is

0:27:13.920 --> 0:27:17.200
<v Speaker 2>an ever present help in the time of trouble.

0:27:17.680 --> 0:27:30.199
<v Speaker 1>So if you're in trouble, you're in God. Who are you?

0:27:31.880 --> 0:27:33.640
<v Speaker 1>Who are you? The Devil's looking at some of y'all,

0:27:33.680 --> 0:27:36.320
<v Speaker 1>Who are you? I don't even have to I don't

0:27:36.359 --> 0:27:37.960
<v Speaker 1>even have to mess with your life. You're doing a

0:27:37.960 --> 0:27:42.040
<v Speaker 1>good job by yourself. Who are you? Who are you?

0:27:43.480 --> 0:27:54.320
<v Speaker 1>I'll get paid to argue, would you no, So they.

0:27:55.080 --> 0:28:00.000
<v Speaker 2>Go to the house of Rehab the prostitute, and y'all

0:28:00.160 --> 0:28:04.480
<v Speaker 2>probably would not preach about a prostitute if she were

0:28:04.480 --> 0:28:09.399
<v Speaker 2>only mentioned in Joshua chapter two, because I would figure

0:28:09.960 --> 0:28:15.199
<v Speaker 2>that's the Old Testament. But a funny thing happened in

0:28:15.240 --> 0:28:15.800
<v Speaker 2>the Book.

0:28:15.600 --> 0:28:17.720
<v Speaker 1>Of Matthew.

0:28:18.600 --> 0:28:23.720
<v Speaker 2>When the writer started listening the genealogy of Jesus and

0:28:23.840 --> 0:28:26.919
<v Speaker 2>all of the generations that he came through. It's like

0:28:27.080 --> 0:28:31.800
<v Speaker 2>fourteen generations and then fourteen more, and then fourteen more.

0:28:32.640 --> 0:28:35.560
<v Speaker 2>And this is the stuff that we skip over sometimes

0:28:35.600 --> 0:28:38.840
<v Speaker 2>when we're reading the Christmas story because it's all these

0:28:38.920 --> 0:28:42.840
<v Speaker 2>names that we don't recognize, and so and so begot so,

0:28:42.960 --> 0:28:45.800
<v Speaker 2>and so begot so, and so begot so and so.

0:28:45.880 --> 0:28:47.360
<v Speaker 1>And really, all I want to do is get to

0:28:47.480 --> 0:28:49.320
<v Speaker 1>verse eighteen. Then came Jesus.

0:28:50.040 --> 0:28:51.960
<v Speaker 2>But some of the stuff you skip is some of

0:28:52.000 --> 0:28:55.400
<v Speaker 2>the places where God speaks. I said, some of the

0:28:55.440 --> 0:28:59.160
<v Speaker 2>stuff you skip is some of the stuff God speaks through.

0:28:59.200 --> 0:29:01.760
<v Speaker 2>And Matthew said in Matthew one, verse five, I feel

0:29:01.800 --> 0:29:05.960
<v Speaker 2>like preach him Salmon the father of Boas, whose mother

0:29:06.200 --> 0:29:11.280
<v Speaker 2>was Rayhab, whose mother was Rehab. Now to get to

0:29:11.440 --> 0:29:14.880
<v Speaker 2>Jesus in the genealogy, you got to go through Rehab,

0:29:14.960 --> 0:29:19.800
<v Speaker 2>the prostitute. God works through who he wants to work through,

0:29:20.560 --> 0:29:24.400
<v Speaker 2>and all things work together for the good of Him

0:29:24.400 --> 0:29:29.360
<v Speaker 2>that loved the Lord whose mother was Rayhab. Stop being

0:29:29.480 --> 0:29:33.480
<v Speaker 2>so stuck up. Stop categorizing people and casting them out

0:29:33.800 --> 0:29:35.200
<v Speaker 2>like you don't have issues.

0:29:41.040 --> 0:29:43.200
<v Speaker 1>You ought to be glad to see Rahab's name in there.

0:29:44.240 --> 0:29:45.040
<v Speaker 1>Hope for me too.

0:29:46.440 --> 0:29:49.960
<v Speaker 2>If Rahab made it, maybe I can by faith shout

0:29:49.960 --> 0:29:53.440
<v Speaker 2>it out by faith by faith. So then you get

0:29:53.480 --> 0:29:57.720
<v Speaker 2>to Hebrews eleven, and not just once, but for the

0:29:57.760 --> 0:30:02.200
<v Speaker 2>second time. In the New Testament, Rehab gets an honorable

0:30:02.280 --> 0:30:06.640
<v Speaker 2>mention in the Hall of Faith where they're inducting all

0:30:06.680 --> 0:30:12.160
<v Speaker 2>of the Sunday School heroes. All of the classic events

0:30:12.240 --> 0:30:15.560
<v Speaker 2>on which redemptive history hinged are mentioned in.

0:30:15.560 --> 0:30:19.000
<v Speaker 1>Hebrews chapter eleven. By Faith twenty nine.

0:30:19.720 --> 0:30:23.080
<v Speaker 2>The people passed through the Red Sea on dry land,

0:30:23.800 --> 0:30:25.640
<v Speaker 2>but when the Egyptians tried to.

0:30:25.560 --> 0:30:27.560
<v Speaker 1>Do so, they were drowned. Side note.

0:30:27.840 --> 0:30:30.160
<v Speaker 2>God doesn't bring you into deep waters to kill you.

0:30:30.640 --> 0:30:33.280
<v Speaker 2>He brings you into deep water to drown your enemies.

0:30:33.560 --> 0:30:37.400
<v Speaker 2>He knows they can't swim, and in deep waters that's

0:30:37.440 --> 0:30:40.280
<v Speaker 2>where you deal with your doubts, and in deep waters,

0:30:40.320 --> 0:30:42.680
<v Speaker 2>that's where you come face to face with your dysfunction

0:30:43.080 --> 0:30:45.520
<v Speaker 2>and have to lean and rely on the grace of God.

0:30:45.960 --> 0:30:49.480
<v Speaker 2>So the Egyptians drowned by faith. The walls of Jericho

0:30:49.560 --> 0:30:52.960
<v Speaker 2>fell not because they fought so well, but because the

0:30:53.000 --> 0:30:55.240
<v Speaker 2>faith that they had enabled them to do what made

0:30:55.320 --> 0:30:58.520
<v Speaker 2>no sense naturally. And by faith, the walls of Jericho

0:30:58.600 --> 0:31:02.360
<v Speaker 2>fell after the army had marched around them for seven days.

0:31:02.680 --> 0:31:09.120
<v Speaker 2>And here comes Reyhab, by faith, the prostitute Rayhab, because

0:31:09.160 --> 0:31:11.960
<v Speaker 2>she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who

0:31:11.960 --> 0:31:16.360
<v Speaker 2>are disobedient. And what more shall I say? I don't

0:31:16.400 --> 0:31:23.920
<v Speaker 2>have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jefta, David, Samuel,

0:31:24.400 --> 0:31:25.120
<v Speaker 2>the prophets.

0:31:25.680 --> 0:31:28.320
<v Speaker 1>You mean you don't have time to talk about David.

0:31:28.600 --> 0:31:32.160
<v Speaker 2>The greatest king that Israel ever knew, a man after

0:31:32.240 --> 0:31:34.840
<v Speaker 2>God's own heart, But you had time.

0:31:34.640 --> 0:31:35.680
<v Speaker 1>To mention Rayhab.

0:31:36.840 --> 0:31:40.440
<v Speaker 2>God says, I don't look at people based on your

0:31:40.560 --> 0:31:44.680
<v Speaker 2>standard of importance. I don't look at people based on

0:31:44.840 --> 0:31:50.120
<v Speaker 2>your standard of significance. God doesn't check your followers to

0:31:50.160 --> 0:31:52.200
<v Speaker 2>see how much favor he gives you.

0:31:53.080 --> 0:31:54.640
<v Speaker 1>God is looking at your faith.

0:31:59.480 --> 0:32:03.200
<v Speaker 2>And then James jumps in and for a third time,

0:32:03.680 --> 0:32:08.320
<v Speaker 2>this Harlot is mentioned alongside the heroes of scripture.

0:32:09.400 --> 0:32:12.000
<v Speaker 1>Hero Harlot, Harlot hero.

0:32:12.680 --> 0:32:16.240
<v Speaker 2>And now I can't tell the difference because God calls

0:32:16.280 --> 0:32:19.920
<v Speaker 2>someone that I call a Harlot a hero, and.

0:32:19.880 --> 0:32:21.480
<v Speaker 1>I know you don't like it, and.

0:32:21.440 --> 0:32:23.520
<v Speaker 2>I know it doesn't go down easy, and I know

0:32:23.560 --> 0:32:25.680
<v Speaker 2>we can't eat it with vanilla wafers and put it

0:32:25.720 --> 0:32:27.160
<v Speaker 2>on a flannel graph because.

0:32:26.960 --> 0:32:28.200
<v Speaker 1>The story of Rahab is r.

0:32:28.240 --> 0:32:30.320
<v Speaker 2>Rated and it doesn't teach very well.

0:32:30.120 --> 0:32:30.760
<v Speaker 1>In the kids.

0:32:33.600 --> 0:32:36.480
<v Speaker 2>But James said, in the same way till twenty five,

0:32:36.680 --> 0:32:41.160
<v Speaker 2>in the same way, was not even Rayhab the prostitute

0:32:41.960 --> 0:32:45.240
<v Speaker 2>considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging

0:32:45.320 --> 0:32:47.400
<v Speaker 2>to the spies and sent them off in a different direction.

0:32:49.200 --> 0:32:55.240
<v Speaker 2>And keep calling her that Rahab the prostitute, keep labeling her.

0:32:57.800 --> 0:32:58.400
<v Speaker 1>It's crazy.

0:32:58.400 --> 0:33:12.440
<v Speaker 2>God didn't change her before he used her. You know

0:33:12.480 --> 0:33:14.840
<v Speaker 2>how we think God can't use me because I currently

0:33:14.880 --> 0:33:19.240
<v Speaker 2>struggle with It's not like she was a prostitute and

0:33:19.280 --> 0:33:20.480
<v Speaker 2>then she became a prophet.

0:33:21.040 --> 0:33:22.760
<v Speaker 1>She was still a prostitute.

0:33:23.320 --> 0:33:26.680
<v Speaker 2>This doesn't excuse bad behavior, but it helps me to

0:33:26.680 --> 0:33:29.120
<v Speaker 2>see that the love of God is not the reward

0:33:29.200 --> 0:33:32.640
<v Speaker 2>for change. It is the resource by which I am changed.

0:33:34.240 --> 0:33:37.920
<v Speaker 2>That revelation of the love of God is so powerful.

0:33:39.680 --> 0:33:41.719
<v Speaker 2>And you know, I was telling you my son Graham,

0:33:42.160 --> 0:33:44.840
<v Speaker 2>he talks a lot more now and he actually says

0:33:44.880 --> 0:33:46.080
<v Speaker 2>some really funny stuff.

0:33:47.080 --> 0:33:49.479
<v Speaker 1>I'm praying that he will not become a stand up comic.

0:33:51.240 --> 0:33:54.680
<v Speaker 2>I'm praying that you know, he'll well, I'm not praying

0:33:54.680 --> 0:33:55.160
<v Speaker 2>that he'll.

0:33:54.960 --> 0:33:56.240
<v Speaker 1>Be a preacher either. I really don't.

0:33:56.360 --> 0:33:58.560
<v Speaker 2>I really don't care if my kids take on this

0:33:58.640 --> 0:34:01.080
<v Speaker 2>profession or not like that. I might even tell him,

0:34:01.240 --> 0:34:03.440
<v Speaker 2>you know, do something else if you can, because you

0:34:03.760 --> 0:34:06.320
<v Speaker 2>got to be called to do this. But all my

0:34:06.440 --> 0:34:08.400
<v Speaker 2>kids have heard so many sermons. They come up with

0:34:08.480 --> 0:34:11.560
<v Speaker 2>funny little questions about the Bible that I never thought

0:34:11.560 --> 0:34:14.320
<v Speaker 2>of before, but just from a child's mind is so funny.

0:34:14.719 --> 0:34:15.839
<v Speaker 1>And Graham asked me the.

0:34:15.760 --> 0:34:19.360
<v Speaker 2>Other day, he said, I hear people say all the

0:34:19.440 --> 0:34:22.680
<v Speaker 2>time when I get to Heaven, I want to see Jesus.

0:34:23.520 --> 0:34:25.239
<v Speaker 2>And he said, but have you ever thought about how

0:34:25.280 --> 0:34:30.319
<v Speaker 2>long the line is going to be? And we had

0:34:30.360 --> 0:34:32.600
<v Speaker 2>just been to Disneyland, so he had that in his mind,

0:34:32.680 --> 0:34:37.000
<v Speaker 2>like the you know, and he said, it's going to

0:34:37.040 --> 0:34:39.440
<v Speaker 2>be a long line to see Jesus. I wonder if

0:34:39.480 --> 0:34:42.080
<v Speaker 2>you could get somebody to hold your place in line

0:34:42.120 --> 0:34:44.759
<v Speaker 2>to see Jesus and then go see some of the

0:34:44.760 --> 0:34:51.040
<v Speaker 2>other characters in the Bible. So I kind of played

0:34:51.040 --> 0:34:54.279
<v Speaker 2>it out, and I was thinking, you know, you probably could.

0:34:54.320 --> 0:34:57.080
<v Speaker 2>There are probably some characters in the Bible that no

0:34:57.120 --> 0:34:59.080
<v Speaker 2>one will want a selfie with, and you could probably

0:34:59.080 --> 0:35:02.680
<v Speaker 2>just walk right up to him, like Jonah, who wants

0:35:02.719 --> 0:35:06.920
<v Speaker 2>to meet Jonah. He's the most dysfunctional, discouraging prophet in

0:35:06.960 --> 0:35:09.480
<v Speaker 2>the Bible. He preached and God sent a revival, and

0:35:09.480 --> 0:35:11.759
<v Speaker 2>he went outside and wanted to die.

0:35:12.400 --> 0:35:13.480
<v Speaker 1>So Jonah's available.

0:35:13.480 --> 0:35:15.200
<v Speaker 2>You could go see Jonah for a few minutes, a

0:35:15.200 --> 0:35:17.319
<v Speaker 2>few hundred years while you wait to see Jesus, you know,

0:35:17.640 --> 0:35:20.759
<v Speaker 2>eternities long, and then you could probably go see You

0:35:20.800 --> 0:35:27.279
<v Speaker 2>could probably go see Bartholomew. Apostle Paul might be unavailable,

0:35:27.800 --> 0:35:30.480
<v Speaker 2>and John the disciple who Jesus loved. He might he

0:35:30.560 --> 0:35:33.800
<v Speaker 2>might have a little wait list, but you can probably

0:35:33.800 --> 0:35:43.200
<v Speaker 2>see Bartholomew. Jewish legend says that Rahab was one of

0:35:43.239 --> 0:35:45.040
<v Speaker 2>the most four beautiful women.

0:35:44.800 --> 0:35:49.320
<v Speaker 1>Who ever lived. I don't know if that's true, but maybe.

0:35:49.080 --> 0:35:51.319
<v Speaker 2>You want to see for yourself, you know, get to heaven.

0:35:53.280 --> 0:35:57.920
<v Speaker 2>There's Samson. Walk over to the front desk. There's Peter,

0:36:00.040 --> 0:36:05.759
<v Speaker 2>got his iPad and uh, you say, hey, I'm in

0:36:05.800 --> 0:36:08.480
<v Speaker 2>line to see Jesus. I'm number fifteen million, nine hundred

0:36:08.480 --> 0:36:10.680
<v Speaker 2>and seventy three, two hundred and twenty three.

0:36:11.320 --> 0:36:14.680
<v Speaker 1>While I'm waiting. That was kind of stranger class. Could

0:36:14.680 --> 0:36:19.040
<v Speaker 1>I see ah? I see Rahab the prostitute.

0:36:21.120 --> 0:36:23.759
<v Speaker 2>You know feeders loud, Rayab the prostitute.

0:36:23.800 --> 0:36:35.759
<v Speaker 1>Let me check sounds bad man, Keep it down. Oh,

0:36:35.800 --> 0:36:37.120
<v Speaker 1>I'm sorry.

0:36:38.360 --> 0:36:43.680
<v Speaker 2>We do have a rehab up here, But you said

0:36:43.719 --> 0:36:47.440
<v Speaker 2>Rehab the prostitute.

0:36:47.960 --> 0:36:58.120
<v Speaker 1>There's nobody here by that name because up here we

0:36:58.200 --> 0:37:00.360
<v Speaker 1>don't call people what they want her.

0:37:03.160 --> 0:37:08.600
<v Speaker 2>We don't call people what they did. We don't call

0:37:08.680 --> 0:37:13.759
<v Speaker 2>people what they were labeled. Up here, she doesn't go

0:37:13.880 --> 0:37:18.239
<v Speaker 2>by that name. So you can see ray Have, but

0:37:18.400 --> 0:37:21.399
<v Speaker 2>make sure you call her by her new name. Up here,

0:37:21.800 --> 0:37:25.720
<v Speaker 2>we call her Rayhaf the righteous. There is a righteousness

0:37:26.680 --> 0:37:30.680
<v Speaker 2>that comes from God by faith. I said, there is

0:37:30.760 --> 0:37:34.480
<v Speaker 2>a righteousness that it's not of worse, so.

0:37:34.400 --> 0:37:35.760
<v Speaker 1>That no one can boast.

0:37:36.680 --> 0:37:39.239
<v Speaker 2>And I don't know about Sue, but I'm grateful for

0:37:39.400 --> 0:37:42.359
<v Speaker 2>the blood of Jesus that covered my pan.

0:37:44.040 --> 0:37:47.200
<v Speaker 3>I'm not what I did, and I'm not what I was,

0:37:47.719 --> 0:37:50.880
<v Speaker 3>and I'm not what I think, and I'm not where I'm.

0:37:50.719 --> 0:37:52.960
<v Speaker 1>Broken, and I'm not what they said.

0:37:53.400 --> 0:38:01.799
<v Speaker 3>I got a new name, I got a new name,

0:38:03.920 --> 0:38:05.359
<v Speaker 3>I got a new reputation.

0:38:06.120 --> 0:38:08.200
<v Speaker 1>I am a child of God.

0:38:09.000 --> 0:38:14.040
<v Speaker 2>I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, look

0:38:14.080 --> 0:38:15.600
<v Speaker 2>at somebody, say, don't call me that.

0:38:17.120 --> 0:38:18.359
<v Speaker 1>You don't know me like that.

0:38:18.640 --> 0:38:21.400
<v Speaker 2>Don't call me according to how you memorized me in

0:38:21.440 --> 0:38:27.160
<v Speaker 2>my past. God is doing a new thing in my life.

0:38:30.800 --> 0:38:33.719
<v Speaker 2>And when condemnation comes in, you know, to remind you

0:38:34.719 --> 0:38:37.319
<v Speaker 2>of all of those reasons that God can't use you.

0:38:37.760 --> 0:38:38.759
<v Speaker 1>Remember Rehab.

0:38:40.600 --> 0:38:45.480
<v Speaker 2>Remember Rehab who had nothing to offer except faith.

0:38:47.680 --> 0:38:49.799
<v Speaker 1>And God said even.

0:38:49.600 --> 0:39:01.600
<v Speaker 2>She was considered righteous. Because that's what church is. It's

0:39:01.640 --> 0:39:05.160
<v Speaker 2>a place for you to come and leave all of

0:39:05.200 --> 0:39:09.040
<v Speaker 2>the labels that you've accumulated in your life because of

0:39:09.080 --> 0:39:09.799
<v Speaker 2>your behaviors.

0:39:10.840 --> 0:39:12.160
<v Speaker 1>Oh yeah, some.

0:39:12.120 --> 0:39:15.040
<v Speaker 2>Of the stuff people said about you is facts.

0:39:16.320 --> 0:39:17.720
<v Speaker 1>It's not always that they were lying.

0:39:19.200 --> 0:39:23.200
<v Speaker 2>It's just that there is a greater truth that supersedes

0:39:24.520 --> 0:39:25.880
<v Speaker 2>whatever they can say about you.

0:39:26.080 --> 0:39:30.240
<v Speaker 1>And every weakness is potential strength.

0:39:31.800 --> 0:39:34.680
<v Speaker 2>But when I was writing this message, I made a

0:39:34.680 --> 0:39:38.360
<v Speaker 2>critical mistake. I was typing so fast in my phone,

0:39:38.360 --> 0:39:43.040
<v Speaker 2>I kept misspelling Rehab's name, and I kept spelling it

0:39:43.160 --> 0:39:48.480
<v Speaker 2>our eh Ab because I was writing fast, not because

0:39:48.520 --> 0:39:54.960
<v Speaker 2>my IQ is love. And after writing it down ten times,

0:39:55.000 --> 0:39:57.520
<v Speaker 2>I noticed I keep spelling it Rehab.

0:39:58.800 --> 0:40:00.960
<v Speaker 1>And God said, you got it right.

0:40:01.760 --> 0:40:03.799
<v Speaker 2>Because what I want you to tell the people when

0:40:03.800 --> 0:40:07.320
<v Speaker 2>you preach it is that I am in the business

0:40:08.320 --> 0:40:15.160
<v Speaker 2>of rehabilitating. In my title again on the screen, you

0:40:15.239 --> 0:40:19.839
<v Speaker 2>did not come to a religious service today. You came

0:40:19.880 --> 0:40:25.919
<v Speaker 2>to rehab. And the place it starts is not with

0:40:26.120 --> 0:40:28.520
<v Speaker 2>what others think of you. We spend so much time

0:40:28.560 --> 0:40:32.960
<v Speaker 2>on that, and we fail to realize that really the

0:40:33.000 --> 0:40:38.600
<v Speaker 2>issue is how you see you. The greatest place my

0:40:38.680 --> 0:40:42.360
<v Speaker 2>reputation needs repair is within myself, because I've let myself

0:40:42.440 --> 0:40:46.000
<v Speaker 2>down so many times, and I've made promises to myself

0:40:46.040 --> 0:40:46.920
<v Speaker 2>and others over.

0:40:46.800 --> 0:40:47.440
<v Speaker 1>And over again.

0:40:47.800 --> 0:40:50.120
<v Speaker 2>And I'm really going to have a better attitude this time,

0:40:50.360 --> 0:40:52.359
<v Speaker 2>and I'm really good at this time, and I'm really

0:40:52.360 --> 0:40:54.960
<v Speaker 2>going at this time. And some of you have developed

0:40:55.000 --> 0:40:59.200
<v Speaker 2>a reputation with yourself that does not reflect your reputation

0:40:59.280 --> 0:41:04.680
<v Speaker 2>with Heaven. God doesn't see you like that, and see

0:41:04.719 --> 0:41:09.160
<v Speaker 2>you like that and the gap between your reality and

0:41:09.200 --> 0:41:14.239
<v Speaker 2>your reputation with yourself could cost you the opportunity to

0:41:14.280 --> 0:41:17.400
<v Speaker 2>see God use you in the future. If if you

0:41:17.440 --> 0:41:22.000
<v Speaker 2>don't deal with that, it costs the spies. Ten of

0:41:22.000 --> 0:41:25.120
<v Speaker 2>the twelve said we can't go in. That's eighty three

0:41:25.239 --> 0:41:28.680
<v Speaker 2>points sixty sixty six sixty six percent of the people

0:41:28.719 --> 0:41:30.960
<v Speaker 2>that went into the land came back with the wrong report.

0:41:32.080 --> 0:41:34.480
<v Speaker 2>And I think eighty three point sixty sixty sixty sixty

0:41:34.560 --> 0:41:38.040
<v Speaker 2>six percent of stuff I tell myself is probably wrong

0:41:38.560 --> 0:41:42.759
<v Speaker 2>at least at least And if I don't deal with that,

0:41:43.719 --> 0:41:47.440
<v Speaker 2>I can have a new reality, a new nature. I

0:41:47.480 --> 0:41:50.960
<v Speaker 2>could be chosen by God, loved by God, accepted by God,

0:41:51.600 --> 0:41:54.080
<v Speaker 2>and He can even have an assignment for me. He

0:41:54.120 --> 0:41:56.839
<v Speaker 2>can even want to use my house to bring forth

0:41:56.880 --> 0:42:03.040
<v Speaker 2>the promise. If I don't see myself that way, I'll.

0:42:02.840 --> 0:42:03.800
<v Speaker 1>Be like those spies.

0:42:05.520 --> 0:42:08.040
<v Speaker 2>The reason they didn't go into the land wasn't how

0:42:08.040 --> 0:42:14.080
<v Speaker 2>they saw God, with how they saw themselves. And the

0:42:14.160 --> 0:42:17.040
<v Speaker 2>reason they saw themselves as small is because they had

0:42:17.080 --> 0:42:21.520
<v Speaker 2>spent four hundred and thirty years enslaved, and sometimes you.

0:42:21.560 --> 0:42:22.319
<v Speaker 1>Carry that with you.

0:42:22.560 --> 0:42:26.120
<v Speaker 2>The Bible actually says that before they could go into

0:42:26.239 --> 0:42:30.760
<v Speaker 2>the land God had to roll away the reproach of Egypt.

0:42:31.239 --> 0:42:35.120
<v Speaker 1>Their past, their shackles, their former condition.

0:42:36.680 --> 0:42:39.960
<v Speaker 2>And when you carry forward with you the reproach of

0:42:40.000 --> 0:42:42.719
<v Speaker 2>different things that you struggled with or currently struggle with,

0:42:42.760 --> 0:42:45.920
<v Speaker 2>it will always keep you from realizing your righteousness in Christ,

0:42:46.239 --> 0:42:50.239
<v Speaker 2>always always, and you.

0:42:50.200 --> 0:42:52.480
<v Speaker 1>See your life through the lens of self. It's very small.

0:42:52.920 --> 0:42:54.719
<v Speaker 2>That's what the spies came back and said they had

0:42:54.719 --> 0:42:58.120
<v Speaker 2>totally lost sight of God's reputation because they were so

0:42:58.200 --> 0:42:59.520
<v Speaker 2>concerned about their own.

0:43:01.000 --> 0:43:01.320
<v Speaker 1>Numbers.

0:43:01.360 --> 0:43:04.440
<v Speaker 2>Thirteen thirty three says that they gave the men of

0:43:04.440 --> 0:43:08.200
<v Speaker 2>God Moses this report. They said, we saw the Nephilim there.

0:43:09.480 --> 0:43:10.719
<v Speaker 1>The Nephelom were giants.

0:43:12.280 --> 0:43:14.920
<v Speaker 2>It might represent anything in your life that's too powerful

0:43:14.920 --> 0:43:18.600
<v Speaker 2>for you and your own strength. It might represent your fear,

0:43:18.719 --> 0:43:24.680
<v Speaker 2>your insecurity, that chronic thing keeps creeping into your life,

0:43:25.360 --> 0:43:26.080
<v Speaker 2>taking you down.

0:43:26.440 --> 0:43:26.720
<v Speaker 1>Thought.

0:43:26.719 --> 0:43:30.200
<v Speaker 2>Pattern doesn't have to be a physical giant or a

0:43:30.200 --> 0:43:33.200
<v Speaker 2>physical enemy. In fact, the Bible says, we wrestle not

0:43:33.239 --> 0:43:35.480
<v Speaker 2>against flesh and blood. There's a good chance that your

0:43:35.560 --> 0:43:37.759
<v Speaker 2>Nephilim has a different name.

0:43:39.840 --> 0:43:40.480
<v Speaker 1>And we saw the.

0:43:40.440 --> 0:43:45.240
<v Speaker 2>Giants, and we seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes.

0:43:47.360 --> 0:43:50.720
<v Speaker 1>Why were you comparing yourself to the giants?

0:43:50.800 --> 0:43:53.840
<v Speaker 2>You were supposed to be comparing your giants to your God.

0:43:54.719 --> 0:43:59.600
<v Speaker 1>But you lost sight of that, didn't you. And you

0:43:59.640 --> 0:44:02.160
<v Speaker 1>start thinking, what's.

0:44:01.920 --> 0:44:04.640
<v Speaker 2>Wrong with me is more powerful than what's right with God.

0:44:08.200 --> 0:44:11.319
<v Speaker 2>We look like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we

0:44:11.400 --> 0:44:14.960
<v Speaker 2>look the same to them. Because when you don't know

0:44:15.440 --> 0:44:17.160
<v Speaker 2>who you are, you depend on the rest of the

0:44:17.160 --> 0:44:21.399
<v Speaker 2>world to tell you. And now you're empty, and now

0:44:21.400 --> 0:44:26.120
<v Speaker 2>you're projecting, and now you're trying to perfect this reputation.

0:44:26.239 --> 0:44:29.799
<v Speaker 1>But God brought you here for rehabit. God brought you

0:44:29.880 --> 0:44:32.520
<v Speaker 1>here for a reminder of who he is.

0:44:34.360 --> 0:44:37.960
<v Speaker 2>The Lord, the Lord, slow to anger, abounding in love,

0:44:38.080 --> 0:44:40.480
<v Speaker 2>maintaining faithfulness to a thousand generations.

0:44:40.520 --> 0:44:42.719
<v Speaker 1>That's who he is. He has a reputation.

0:44:43.840 --> 0:44:47.600
<v Speaker 2>He's picked up people like you and like me at

0:44:47.640 --> 0:44:51.279
<v Speaker 2>our lowest point. He's picked up people like you and

0:44:51.320 --> 0:44:56.959
<v Speaker 2>me on our highest mountaintop. He specializes in imperfection. Would

0:44:56.960 --> 0:44:59.280
<v Speaker 2>you stand to your feet, no one leaving, no one moving.

0:45:00.480 --> 0:45:05.160
<v Speaker 2>I'd like to pray for you, please, If this word

0:45:05.200 --> 0:45:10.400
<v Speaker 2>has ministered to you today and there is a reproach

0:45:10.480 --> 0:45:13.680
<v Speaker 2>that you have been carrying forward into your future, that

0:45:13.719 --> 0:45:19.320
<v Speaker 2>needs to be rolled into your past. I would like

0:45:19.400 --> 0:45:23.080
<v Speaker 2>to pray for you today that God would remind you

0:45:23.960 --> 0:45:31.319
<v Speaker 2>of his reputation. He's never lost a battle, He's never

0:45:31.360 --> 0:45:37.160
<v Speaker 2>met a need that he couldn't meet. He never created

0:45:37.200 --> 0:45:40.920
<v Speaker 2>a life he did not intend to use. And so

0:45:40.960 --> 0:45:49.040
<v Speaker 2>we find hope today in this story of Rahab, that

0:45:49.120 --> 0:45:53.600
<v Speaker 2>God is rehabilitating our eyes, that we could see him

0:45:53.640 --> 0:45:54.360
<v Speaker 2>as he really is.

0:45:54.480 --> 0:45:54.760
<v Speaker 1>Father.

0:45:55.840 --> 0:46:00.960
<v Speaker 2>I pray that not one of your children but brush

0:46:01.040 --> 0:46:04.960
<v Speaker 2>this message off. I pray that it would not fall

0:46:05.000 --> 0:46:07.120
<v Speaker 2>on death fears, and I pray that our pride would

0:46:07.120 --> 0:46:10.359
<v Speaker 2>not keep us from receiving it, because probably we could think, well,

0:46:10.360 --> 0:46:15.359
<v Speaker 2>I'm not that bad, I'm not some prostitute. We all

0:46:15.400 --> 0:46:20.920
<v Speaker 2>have broken places, we all have many reasons why we

0:46:20.960 --> 0:46:26.680
<v Speaker 2>feel useless and unworthy, and yet you call us righteous

0:46:26.880 --> 0:46:28.360
<v Speaker 2>by faith.

0:46:29.920 --> 0:46:30.760
<v Speaker 1>Speak over your.

0:46:30.600 --> 0:46:36.360
<v Speaker 2>People today, Lord, in direct contradiction to every lie that

0:46:36.400 --> 0:46:39.239
<v Speaker 2>the enemy has planted in their mind, it is not so,

0:46:39.360 --> 0:46:43.160
<v Speaker 2>and it will not prevail. Whatever has been spoken over

0:46:43.200 --> 0:46:45.600
<v Speaker 2>their life by others or by themselves that does not

0:46:45.680 --> 0:46:48.560
<v Speaker 2>align with your word. We come against it now. In

0:46:48.600 --> 0:46:50.760
<v Speaker 2>the name that is above every name, the name of Jesus,

0:46:51.719 --> 0:46:54.040
<v Speaker 2>the name that is able to heal, saved, deliver, and

0:46:54.120 --> 0:46:56.759
<v Speaker 2>set free in the name of Jesus, the name that

0:46:56.840 --> 0:46:59.440
<v Speaker 2>is above every name, the name that is above every nephilum,

0:46:59.440 --> 0:47:01.840
<v Speaker 2>the name that is above every dysfunction, the name that

0:47:01.920 --> 0:47:03.239
<v Speaker 2>is above all shame and sin.

0:47:04.280 --> 0:47:05.200
<v Speaker 1>And we ask you that.

0:47:05.719 --> 0:47:11.480
<v Speaker 2>In this moment of worship, we would remember who you say.

0:47:12.360 --> 0:47:18.480
<v Speaker 1>We already are chosen, not forsaken.

0:47:19.960 --> 0:47:22.960
<v Speaker 4>I am who you say I am.

0:47:23.000 --> 0:47:27.959
<v Speaker 1>You are for me, not against me. I am who you.

0:47:27.960 --> 0:47:31.879
<v Speaker 4>Say I am, saying I am who you say I am.

0:47:32.239 --> 0:47:35.520
<v Speaker 4>Lift your hands to your father, say I am who

0:47:35.560 --> 0:47:40.160
<v Speaker 4>you say I am.

0:47:40.200 --> 0:47:41.319
<v Speaker 1>Thank you for joining us.

0:47:41.640 --> 0:47:44.080
<v Speaker 2>Special thanks to those of you who give generously to

0:47:44.160 --> 0:47:47.640
<v Speaker 2>this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible.

0:47:48.080 --> 0:47:50.640
<v Speaker 2>You can click the link in the description to give now,

0:47:51.160 --> 0:47:54.520
<v Speaker 2>or visit Elevation Church dot org slash podcast for more

0:47:54.520 --> 0:47:58.200
<v Speaker 2>information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe.

0:47:58.640 --> 0:47:59.920
<v Speaker 1>You can share it with your friends.

0:48:00.239 --> 0:48:02.520
<v Speaker 2>You can click the share button, take a screenshot and

0:48:02.560 --> 0:48:04.680
<v Speaker 2>share it on your social stories and tag us at

0:48:04.680 --> 0:48:05.560
<v Speaker 2>Elevation Church.

0:48:05.640 --> 0:48:07.359
<v Speaker 1>Thanks again for listening. God bless you