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Speaker 1: Let us pray, and it shall come to pass. As

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Speaker 1: soon as the souls of the feet of the priests

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Speaker 1: that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of

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Speaker 1: all the Earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan,

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Speaker 1: that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off

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Speaker 1: from the waters that come down from above, and they

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Speaker 1: shall stand upon a heap Joshua three thirteen, Dear God,

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Speaker 1: as the sun greets my face, to day, I realize

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Speaker 1: that hope fills the sky like Joshua and the children

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Speaker 1: of Israel, I declare that to day is the day

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Speaker 1: I will cross over into my promised land. Regardless of

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Speaker 1: the obstacles in front of me. I can feel the

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Speaker 1: spirit of God with me. As I place your presence

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Speaker 1: before me. Lord, the mighty waters of obstacles must part

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Speaker 1: and make way for me to cross over into my

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Speaker 1: promised land. As my feet touched the grounds of my promise,

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Speaker 1: I will set up touchstones that remind me of all

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Speaker 1: the miracles you have done on my behalf. My war

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Speaker 1: cry of victory will be heard all over the world

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Speaker 1: as you elevate my life to be a symbol of

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Speaker 1: your love and power to those who believe. I declare

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Speaker 1: that I am strong and courageous by decree that I

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Speaker 1: am unmoved, as I prepare to fight and take what

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Speaker 1: belongs to me and my family. The time is now.

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Speaker 1: My moment of expansion and victory has come in Jesus name. Amen.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for praying with us today. Continue your time

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Speaker 1: with God by listening to today's Bible story brought to

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Speaker 1: you by Bible in a Year dot.

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Speaker 2: Com Crossing the Jordan. In our last story, we learned

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Speaker 2: about Joshua's spies infiltrating the city of Jericho. The spies

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Speaker 2: were eventually discovered, but then saved by a prostitute named Rahab.

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Speaker 2: She informed the spies of Israel that all of Jericho

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Speaker 2: was terrified of Israel and that they all knew the

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Speaker 2: Lord would give Israel the land filled with hope. The

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Speaker 2: spies returned with good news. Now we learn about the

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Speaker 2: people of Israel venturing forward into new beginnings. God's mighty

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Speaker 2: hand would be shown once again, inspired by the Book

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Speaker 2: of Joshua.

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Speaker 3: Hi, I'm pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the

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Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. In our previous episode, God

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Speaker 3: reaffirmed his promise in presence to Joshua and charged him

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Speaker 3: to be courageous. Joshua prepared the people to cross over

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Speaker 3: into the Promised Land, but first he sent spies to

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Speaker 3: scout the city of Jericho. There we met a prostitute

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Speaker 3: by the name of Rehab, who told the men that

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Speaker 3: the whole city was terrified of Israel, and more importantly,

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Speaker 3: of their God. She also protected the spies from Jericho's king,

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Speaker 3: and as a result, gained grace in God's eyes, favor

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Speaker 3: that would reverberate through the millennia through her own bloodline. Today,

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Speaker 3: will join the Israelites as they prepare to brave the

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Speaker 3: raging river Jordan before them. It is a crossing that

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Speaker 3: would be impossible were it not for the Most High God,

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Speaker 3: who goes with his people, and in this reading we'll

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Speaker 3: see his power reveal once again to the wonder of Israel.

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Speaker 3: Let's listen now to today's story.

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Speaker 2: Hope filled the skies as the sun rose above the

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Speaker 2: mountain range. A newness of life and vitality could be

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Speaker 2: felt among the camp. Smiles and laughter could be heard

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Speaker 2: from miles. Home had become a distant thought to the

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Speaker 2: people of Israel. They had grown up wandering the wilderness.

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Speaker 2: Their parents were the ones who came out of Egypt

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Speaker 2: and experienced the mighty acts of God. Now they were

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Speaker 2: the ones to inherit all the Lord had promised them.

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Speaker 2: Joshua led the people out of shitting and they traveled

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Speaker 2: to the coast of the Jordan River. The river was

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Speaker 2: raging before them. Deep rushing waters boomed and shook the earth.

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Speaker 2: The Jordan was truly treacherous, yet Joshua and the leaders

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Speaker 2: of Israel looked at it with smiles on their faces.

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Speaker 2: They faced the rapids with a quiet confidence. If Israel

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Speaker 2: knew anything, it was that the water was no obstacle

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Speaker 2: for God. After three days, Joshua and the officers of

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Speaker 2: Israel led the people down to the water to camp.

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Speaker 2: They scanned the river and spoke amongst themselves, as if

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Speaker 2: analyzing where they would build a bridge. Instead, they turned

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Speaker 2: to the people and commanded, the Ark of the Covenant

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Speaker 2: shall go before us. Wherever it goes, you shall go also,

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Speaker 2: but keep your distance and do not come near it.

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Speaker 2: How they would cross the river was still a mystery

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Speaker 2: to the people, but they were excited. Nonetheless, Joshua began

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Speaker 2: climbing a rock nearby to speak to the people. He

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Speaker 2: stood up high with the waters at his back so

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Speaker 2: all the people could see him. Joshua was not like Moses.

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Speaker 2: Moses was a shepherd and carried his staff. Joshua was

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Speaker 2: a soldier and his sword never left his side. Josh

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Speaker 2: Suhua's strength as a warrior and leader captured the people's attention.

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Speaker 2: Joshua raised his voice towards the children of Israel. With

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Speaker 2: a booming voice carried by the waters, Joshua yelled, prepare yourselves,

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Speaker 2: for tomorrow you will behold the wonders of God. The

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Speaker 2: people cheered, and Joshua nodded to the priests to go

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Speaker 2: fetch the ark of the Covenant. It was time to

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Speaker 2: put the wilderness behind them. Joshua could feel the spirit

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Speaker 2: of God giving him confidence to lead. God spoke to him, saying,

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Speaker 2: today the people will know that I am with you

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Speaker 2: as I was with Moses. Joshua nodded and led the

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Speaker 2: people to stand at the shoreline of the river. They

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Speaker 2: stood still, watching the waters rage before them. All were silent, waiting,

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Speaker 2: and the only sounds were that of the flowing ris.

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Speaker 2: Moments passed, and Joshua stood tall once again for all

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Speaker 2: to hear him, and say, here you shall truly know

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Speaker 2: the living God is with us. And as Joshua was speaking,

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Speaker 2: the priests, carrying the ark of the Covenant, came from

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Speaker 2: among the people. They parted to keep their distance and

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Speaker 2: watched as the priests walked towards the banks of the river. Slowly,

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Speaker 2: the priests began to walk into the water. As their

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Speaker 2: feet sank into the river, the waters began to spill

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Speaker 2: apart before them. With each step, the water moved, mist

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Speaker 2: flew into the air as the Jordan bowed before the

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Speaker 2: mighty hand of God. As the red seas once parted,

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Speaker 2: the Jordan divided to make way for freed captives. The

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Speaker 2: people were still silent in awe of the majesty unfolding

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Speaker 2: before them. The wind from the waters blew their hair

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Speaker 2: back and tears filled their eyes. It was the most

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Speaker 2: beautiful moment they had ever seen. The priests walked forward,

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Speaker 2: carrying the written promises of God on their shoulders. The

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Speaker 2: priests strode proudly, and their hearts welled up within them.

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Speaker 2: One by one, the nation of Israel crossed the Jordan

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Speaker 2: into the promised lad The priests stood in the midst

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Speaker 2: of the waters on dry ground. The people crossed to

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Speaker 2: the other side safely. God instructed every leader from each

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Speaker 2: of the twelve tribes of Israel to carry a stone

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Speaker 2: from one side to the other. They would build a

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Speaker 2: memorial to him and his faithfulness. So each man did

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Speaker 2: according to what God had said. The priests exited the waters,

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Speaker 2: and the river went back to its place, And there

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Speaker 2: in the midst of all the people, Joshua built a

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Speaker 2: memorial out of the twelve stones. This served as a

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Speaker 2: reminder to all those who would ever question or forget

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Speaker 2: the power of God. They gazed upon it, and God

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Speaker 2: spoke to them through Joshua, saying, when your children ask

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Speaker 2: of these stones, their fathers shall tell them that the

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Speaker 2: Lord dried up the water of the Jordan, as he

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Speaker 2: did the Red Sea. These stones serve as a mausoleum

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Speaker 2: to the entire earth, that the Lord is mighty and

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Speaker 2: to be feared for all eternity. The crowd cheered and worshiped,

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Speaker 2: their hearts filled with gladness. This was truly a victory

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Speaker 2: unlike any other. All was well, Yet the struggle had

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Speaker 2: just begun. Miles away. Word of this miracle spread like

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Speaker 2: wild fire. The people dwelling in the land of Canaan

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Speaker 2: caught word of the mighty acts of God. They trembled

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Speaker 2: and fear gripped their minds and hearts. They knew the

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Speaker 2: inevitable end God would give Israel their land, Yet some

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Speaker 2: would not go quietly. They were preparing for war. All

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Speaker 2: the men of Israel, who were not already circumcised, cut

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Speaker 2: themselves before God. They remembered the Covenant of Abraham and

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Speaker 2: sought to identify themselves as the promised people of God.

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Speaker 2: Though bloody and painful, it was an act of devotion.

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Speaker 2: The people celebrated Passover, and shouts of joy and laughter

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Speaker 2: echoed across the valley, reaching the ears of their enemies.

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Speaker 2: Danger was near and war was coming.

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Speaker 3: We opened today's story where the crowd of people filled

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Speaker 3: with hope and anticipation. This generation of the Israelites has

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Speaker 3: known no other home but the wilderness, no way of

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Speaker 3: life but that of a no man. But now at last,

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Speaker 3: God's promise to his people was coming to fulfillment. They

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Speaker 3: were going to receive their long awaited home, the promised land.

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Speaker 3: So it was moving time. But as they approached the

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Speaker 3: raging river, it was clear to them that there would

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Speaker 3: be no human way to pass through. There was no

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Speaker 3: boat to take them over. There was no way across.

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Speaker 3: Israel had faced impassable waters before. Only this time did

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Speaker 3: you notice what was different. The only rumbling was that

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Speaker 3: of waters rushing by, not a fearful people who turned

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Speaker 3: on their leader and questioned God's ability to save them.

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Speaker 3: They did trust in God, after all. What was a

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Speaker 3: raging river to the one who parted the seas. God

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Speaker 3: tells Joshua that he's about to show the people just

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Speaker 3: how mighty he is. It will give the people confidence

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Speaker 3: not only in God, but in the leader Joshua, whom

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Speaker 3: God had chosen. When Moses faced the Red Sea, God

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Speaker 3: went as a cloud of smoke and pillar of fire.

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Speaker 3: But now the physical symbol of God's presence was the

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Speaker 3: ark of the Covenant. This holiness of symbols was not

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Speaker 3: to be touched. Only the Levite priest could carry it.

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Speaker 3: It was yet another reminder that God was with them,

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Speaker 3: but not fully approachable by the people. One day, this

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Speaker 3: would all change, as God himself came to dwell among

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Speaker 3: men in the person of his son Jesus. That day

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Speaker 3: had not yet come, so the people were told to

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Speaker 3: keep their distance, but to keep a watchful eye. God

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Speaker 3: was about to show them his power. Listen to how

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Speaker 3: Joshua three point seventeen recounts what happens next. Now, the

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Speaker 3: priest bearing the ark of the Covenant of the Lord

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Speaker 3: stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan,

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Speaker 3: and all Israel was passing over on dry ground. Until

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Speaker 3: all the nation finished passing over the Jordan, the people

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Speaker 3: walked right across on dry ground into the promised Land,

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Speaker 3: a great miracle. Time and again we see this in

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Speaker 3: God's word. What appears to be impossible to human minds

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Speaker 3: as a co pomplished with a word or just a

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Speaker 3: step of faith, when God is on the move. Whatever

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Speaker 3: it is you may be facing today, whatever river that

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Speaker 3: seems uncrossable, or obstacle that seems impassable, if God is

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Speaker 3: calling you to do it, then obey him and take

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Speaker 3: that first step and cross over in the miracle working

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Speaker 3: power of God. As the leaders of each tribe crossed,

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Speaker 3: they carried with him a stone, according to God's command,

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Speaker 3: from one side of the river to the other. And

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Speaker 3: when they were safely on the other side, they built

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Speaker 3: a memorial with these stones. This would be a perpetual

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Speaker 3: reminder for generations to come of God's great might. And

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Speaker 3: faithfulness to his people. The Israelites further showed their devotion

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Speaker 3: to their God as the men in camp, who were

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Speaker 3: not yet circumcised, cut off their foreskins in remembrance of

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Speaker 3: the covenant with Abraham. The people then observed passover, remembering

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Speaker 3: God's deliverance of them from Egypt the night when this

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Speaker 3: whole journey began. All seem well, but there were still

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Speaker 3: battles to fight, and we're going to learn about these

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Speaker 3: battles the next time. Dear God, thank you for today's passage,

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Speaker 3: which reminds us that there is no obstacle that you

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Speaker 3: cannot overcome. Help us, Old God to take steps of

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Speaker 3: faith and trust you in going through what you lead

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Speaker 3: us through. In Jesus' name. Amen, thank you for listening

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Speaker 3: to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm pastor Jack

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Speaker 3: Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download Theprey dot Com app and

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Speaker 3: make prayer a priority in your life. If you enjoyed

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Speaker 3: this podcast, share it with someone you know, someone you love,

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Speaker 3: because by sharing this podcast, you can make a big

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Speaker 3: difference in someone's life. In Jesus' name, And if you

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Speaker 3: want more resources on how to tap into God's life,

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Speaker 3: God's power, God's strength. For successful Christian living, be sure

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Speaker 3: to visit Jack Graham dot org. God bless you