Thank you for sharing that and sharing testimony of God's faithfulness and goodness and kindness and boy is he ever gentle with us amen we were talking about that same thing just with a slightly different application in in Sunday school I was thinking about it this morning as well you know when I was I young boy coming up, playing and played ball and was committed to a team, one of the things that you were committed to was that you came to practice. And there were times, it was really not much more of a frustrating time when you had a team and you had an athlete that was good but didn't think they needed to be at practice. And then you put them on the football field and then the coach, because he's a good athlete, puts him out there but he hadn't been practicing with the rest of the team. And when you run a play and do something different, he was confused, didn't know what to do because he wasn't in the practice with everybody else. And that application is so vital for us. And how we talked about it this morning, I wrote a little bit about it, I didn't have time to share it earlier, was is that as a teacher, as a school teacher, A teacher holds their students accountable and responsible for the information they put out in a classroom, whether the student's there or whether they're absent. The student is still accountable for that information. And what they're accountable for is not only what they have heard, but they're accountable for what they could have heard. Are you with me? And God holds his people not only accountable for what we have heard and seen, but he holds us accountable what we could have heard and seen, but we chose to neglect and stay away from the classroom or the practice field of life. I'm gonna tell you, this is the practice. This is the classroom for us. And that's what we see as we've been looking through the book of Joshua, as we are in the particular specific places where God's making assignments for his people. He's given them the inheritance of their fathers and their land and where they're gonna live. And I wanna tell you, God made no apology for assigning a person to this place and to that particular land and each one had their specific allotment and God's the same today as he was then. And he's assigned every single one of us, every single believer to be part of a fellowship of people. There are no rogue independent believers out there that do things on their own. He always assigns them to a group of people. And if there's not a group of people, he's using that person on the mission field to start a group of people. Are you with me? That's just how God works. We all are held accountable because if I believe, do y'all believe God speaks today? And that he uses his people to speak to one another, that when we gather together, that when we open up the word of God, you're in Sunday school, you're sitting here today, you're fellowshiping one with another. God speaks through his people to his people to prepare them and equip them for his work. And if I neglect to be in the classroom, he's still gonna hold me accountable for what I could have heard had I chose to be obedient and be where he assigned me to be, amen? Now, just like any good teacher, any gracious teacher, when a student is not in the class for reasons that are beyond themselves, that teacher doesn't mind making sure that student gets the information. Other students don't mind passing on the information. But when a student is characteristically neglecting their responsibility of being in the class, that teacher shows very little mercy. It doesn't give them any extra. Those students don't want to tell them no more. And sometimes if you get so disconnected from the class, you start getting in a position where you're shameful to even ask what was taught that day or what was taught the last several classes. And I'll tell you, that's where a lot of people are in the church today. They're so disconnected from a body of believers that they are going to be held accountable for what they could have heard but chose not to be involved, but they don't even go and ask, what is God doing among our fellowship? What is he speaking to our people? What is he doing in the classroom and on the practice field so that we can accomplish his mission? They don't even ask that anymore, because they've gotten so far away. And you know what? God wants to use us to help reconnect them back, whether it be here or somewhere else, amen? because we are held accountable to help one another. And that's what we see as we read through the book of Joshua. Look at Joshua chapter 14. We're just gonna start here and we're gonna look at that idea that Karen even sang about, being conformed to the image of Christ and what God's objective in doing that and why he's doing that. But in chapter 14, we see something, and it goes back to, as she shared in song, that I'm so thankful for that day that he didn't throw the clay away. I'm so thankful for that day that he gave me a living, life-transforming word. And that's exactly what we find in chapter 14. Notice what verse number nine says. It's just a recount. This is what we find. Matter of fact, I'm just gonna read in verse number six. Let's just go from there. Verse six, chapter 14 of the book of Joshua. Then the children of Judah came to Joshua and Gilgal, and Caleb, Caleb, which means a prepared, aggressive hunter, a feisty hunter, is what his name literally means. It's a combination of a few words that means like a barking dog, a dog that is prepared to hunt. How many of y'all ever had dogs that were hunting dogs? And you prepare those dogs, whether it be a beagle or a hound or whatever it was. My brother and my dad had some dogs. We grew up with some bulldogs growing up all my life. And we had some German short-haired pointers at one time. But over the period of time after I was moved out and gone in the Navy, raising my own family, they started getting in the Catahoula Curves, Louisiana Catahoula Curves, the hog dogs. And them things, they prepare them, they train them, to get in and bay hogs in the swamp or wherever they do it. Them old dogs that get up on that hog and bill, that old hog will stand there, and the hog's a bad dude. That's a tank in the woods. A hog will hurt you. Are you with me? You just don't want to fool around with no hog. And I use these dogs, and them dogs will get them hogs bayed. And they'll get about as close as I am from bill. They snap him. They're not actually trying to bite him. They're barking at him. I mean, back and forth, back and forth, this close. And you prepare them for that. And they were right on that hog of Russell. And it's amazing how quick these dogs can respond and get back, because a hog responds like that. I mean, he is super quick on his feet when he makes a move. And them dogs will back up. Every once in a while, they'll trip up, and that old hog will get them with them tusks, and it'll split them wide open. My dad would take, he brings a stapler with him. He'll staple that dog up. And that dog will get right back at it. That old hog will cover them. A lot of times they'll put vests on them to keep them from the tufts getting them. Because I tell you, hogs are bad. You don't want to get a hold of them or him get a hold of you. Are you with me? He's mean. When them old hogs will get right up on them and you prepare them and they're snapping at them like this. And then you send another dog in and he's a catch dog. He'll come in and catch that hog on the back of the ear and he'll bring him down and pin him down and then they'll kill the hog to take him home and cook him. But they're feisty. They're prepared. They're hunters. And that's what Caleb's name means. A feisty, prepared hunter. And I want to tell you, he was a hunter. He was a feisty guy, wasn't he? Even at 85 years old. Notice what it says about him. It says, you know, this is verse six, the word which the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, concerning you and me at Kadesh Barnea. I was 40 years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land and brought back word to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless, everybody else, my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt. But I wholly followed the Lord my God. Simply saying, I entrusted my life to him and what he said and what he could do. I trusted God took and made impossible things possible. Verse nine, so Moses swore on that day saying, surely the land where your foot is trodden shall be your inheritance and your children's inheritance forever because you have wholly followed the Lord my God. Verse 10. And now behold, look at me, Moses. Look at me, Joshua. I, the Lord, has kept me alive, as he said, these 45 years. I'm 85 now. Ever since, from the time, since the day the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness, and now here I am this day, 85 years old. Notice what he says next, verse 11. As yet, I am as strong this day as I was that day when Moses sent me. Just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out, starting a war, and coming in, finishing a war. Now therefore, give me this mountain. of which the Lord spoke in that day. Now that's a word, amen? Not only was that a mountain, but that mountain had giants on it. Had people that were impossible to overtake without God doing something in you and for you. But see, he trusted God would take and do impossible things, making impossible things possible, and God does that. God makes impossible things possible for his people, and there are times when he makes possible things, impossible for the enemy to overthrow you. And that's important. Why? Because as they journey through this land thus far, we have seen and will continue to see that they're conquering people who they shouldn't be able to conquer. People who are meaner, people who are more feisty, people who are better equipped, people who outnumber them, people that know how to fight, people that had horses, and people that had chariots. That would be like a native people who didn't have anything but themselves and their own personal equipment that they could make trying to fight a group of people that had aircraft and helicopters and tanks and those types of things. That would be the comparison today. But that would be an impossible task. But when God fights for you, He makes that which is impossible possible for us to do. When God fights for you, He makes things possible. But when He fights against you, He makes that which is possible, impossible. You see, it was possible for the Amorite kings to overthrow Joshua and the people of Israel. They had everything they needed to defeat them. It was reachable, it was possible, it was more than probable, but God made it an impossible task for them when he fought for his people. And I've just gotta realize that, look, when God be for me, who in the world can be against me? Who can be against me? And when God be against us, who in the world can be for us? It's He who does these great and mighty things, and that is what He wants to do in you and me today. That it's impossible, as Karen brought, it's impossible to be perfect, Karen. Even though you have something in you that wants to be perfect. that wants to do it the best and wants to do it right, and we should do. Whatever we do, the scripture teaches us, in 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 31, whatever we do, in word or deed, we are to do all to the what? The glory of God, for the glory of God. So therefore, we wanna put all, Caleb didn't have hardly trust the Lord. The scripture says he wholly, he wholly trusted in the Lord. all that he had, he put all his stock in God, not in himself, but in the Lord, and he used that phrase, some translations use the word since, some use the word from, mine uses the word ever since, the King James, old King James, this is a new King James, old King James uses even since, even since the day God spoke to me, he's made me as strong as I was at 40, as I am now at 85. That's an impossible thing, isn't it? I was sharing these little things with Miss Boots the other day up at, they don't call it Silverleaf anymore, but at Silverleaf, y'all know where I'm talking about, where she's at, and we were talking about some of these things. I was sharing a little word with them, and she says, you know, God's doing that for me, Brother Nick. She said, I'm stronger today than I was in my 60s. I said, to God be the glory. Amen. She said, I was in bad shape in my 60s. I had bad hips, bad knees, bad everything. She said, I can't walk, but everywhere else is stronger today than it was then. I said, to God be the glory. To Him be the praise. Amen. ever since, and I think we need a few ever since moments. You got any of those? I mean, how many does it take, though? It only took Joshua one of hearing the word from the Lord. I wanna hear from him, because when I hear from him, what does God do when I hear from him, when he's teaching me? He's increasing my knowledge and understanding of who he is. And when I take in faith and apply what he teaches me in knowledge and understanding, he does something to my heart. And when it does something to my heart, it transforms and changes me, how I live and how I walk. And see, it's with our mind that we glorify God through the knowledge and understanding that he has given us, but it's with the heart that we treasure him. It's with the heart that we admire him. And he's created our mind and our heart and our mouths to bring him glory and praise. looking over in Revelation chapter four. Look in Revelation chapter four in verse number 11. We'll look at a couple passages of scripture that will see that God's created us to glorify him. Revelation four, matter of fact, if you're keeping up with our nesting with Jesus, we'll read another week in Joshua. Then we're gonna read the first chapter of 3 John, which is only one chapter in 3 John. And then we're gonna get into the book of Revelation and read through it for the rest of the month of August. But Revelation 4, beginning in verse number 11, notice why you were created, notice why. He created all things. The scripture says in verse 11, you, referring to the lamb, referring to the one who was slain, the one who gave his life for us, you are worthy, O Lord, to receive what? glory, and honor, and power, for you created all things. And by your will, for your pleasure, they exist and were created. You and the rest of this world were created for his pleasure, for his glory. And all God's people said? Everything. Matter of fact, go back to the Older Testament book of Isaiah. Look in Isaiah 43. Let's see what he says. Isaiah 43. Look in verse number, look in verse number seven. Not only were we created by God to bring him glory, the problem is, just in that creation, many of we were fallen. See, when God created Adam and Eve, he created them and he said everything he created was good. It was very good. It was the design that God created to give Him glory and adoration and honor and power. And when they failed, Josh, what happened with that, our image was distorted. It was corrupted. What God did then through Christ, He made us a new creation in Christ. restored us back to the position that Adam and Eve had in the garden prior to the fall, that we as his new creation could bring glory and honor and praise to his name. Amen. That's the power of the cross, the central, most important moment and message in time the centrality of Christ upon the cross where he made us new creatures so that we could be restored to this idea, what he's talking about. Notice what verse seven says of Isaiah 43. Everyone who is called by my name, whom I've created for what? My glory. I have formed him, yes, I have made him. You and I in Christ Jesus have been created for the glory of God. Our life is to exist to the glory of God. He says in verse number 10, we are his witnesses says the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen. I've chosen you that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after me. Not only did he form us in Christ, create us, but he's made us his witnesses that we may know, believe, and understand who he is. Because it's in knowing and understanding that when we believe with the heart, we are transformed into his likeness. And it's in his likeness that we display his glory in this world we live in. That's why it's so important to feed our mind with the revelation of God, the truth of God, because it's gonna have an effect upon our heart. Our minds are like a fuel tank on a car. It's the fuel. Our faith is like the fuel lines that supply the fuel to the engine, and our heart is like the engine. When that fuel is being fed to the heart, that engine revs up its RPMs, and it is moved. It is transformed. It is changed. and it begins to burn. It's like on a ship. When I was on that ship, what drove the ship I was on was big ballers. We had two major ballers on the ship, and that's where I worked. And those ballers was like the heart of the ship. If those ballers went down, that ship was dead in the water. It was dead in the water, nothing you could be doing. That ship was designed to sail the high seas. It wasn't designed to be pulled by tugboat. It wasn't designed to be pushed by tugboat. It was designed to cut through the waters and sail through the seas, and the only way that happens is that boiler room has to be fueled with a fire. And you see, how do you fuel it? You pump fuel to it, and it lights that fuel, heats that water up, and that water begins to turn to steam, and it pushes everything else, that generator and that screw, and it pushes that ship through the water. Our hearts are like the ballroom of a ship. And the more our mind, based on the truth of the Word of God, feeds our heart, the greater propelling work happens in the life of faith. And that's why we want to not just confess with our mouths that we know and do and say things to the Lord, We want that admiration, that treasure from the heart that moves us in faith to act in obedience. That things that come against us and resist it, we keep moving. Why? Because there's a treasure. There's an admiration, there's a passion burning in our heart that's being fed by our mind that is being fed by God by his revelation of who he is. And when that's happening, we are being transformed in his image and people see Jesus in our lives. Look in Isaiah 48. Look in 48. Look in verse number nine. Isaiah 48, nine, and there's gonna be a reason that he tells us why he had to defer his anger, and I'll show it to you in a moment. He says, for my name's sake, I will defer my anger, and for my praise, I will restrain it from you, so that I do not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver. I have tested you. in the furnace of affliction for my own sake. Yes, for my own sake I will do it. For how should my name be profaned and I will not give my glory to who? God ain't sharing his glory, amen. Now notice that, everything that we just read, God says what I'm gonna do in you and what I won't do to you and while I will do anything for you is so that you can bring glory and praise to my name. I deferred, I kept back my anger from you so that you would praise me. I kept back my wrath from you so that you could glorify me. If I cut you off, how could you glorify and praise me? No, I kept that back and you deserved it, but I didn't give it to you. I showed you grace so that my grace in you would bring praise to me. Boy, aren't you glad for grace, amen? Notice what was going on. Look in verse number one of this same chapter. Why was this happening? He says, hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and have come forth from the wellsprings of Judah, who swear, that is, the word swear comes from the word seven, means completeness, that you make a full, complete swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but notice the condition. You swear and make mention of the God of Israel, but you don't do it in truth or in righteousness. For they call themselves after the holy city, and they lean in their own understanding upon the God of Israel, but it's not in truth, and it's not in righteousness. Have you ever been there before? See, good motives can't replace a good word from God, amen? You can have all the right motives in the world, But if that motive is not rooted in the result of truth and righteousness, God knows and sees. And that's why He said, you're saying things, but your heart don't line up with it. You're leaning on me, but you're leaning on me to your own convenience and comfort and your own understanding, but it's not in truth and righteousness. You swear by my name, but it's not in truth and righteousness. In truth and authenticity and righteousness, you only claim it, me. Why? Because your heart is not being fueled with passion for me. It's based on what you wanna know and what you think, not what I've revealed who I am. I'm gonna tell you that, we've all been there before, amen? That's why we have to have our mind transformed. We're not putting faith in things that we understand our way, We put faith in the God in what he says, and we trust what he says. And when we trust what he says and obey what he says, not what we understand of what he says, we just trust what he says. It's in truth and righteousness, amen. So what we see here is a group of people for whom he's angry with, but he's gonna defer his anger. And he's not gonna cut them off even though their motives and their life is not in line with him even though they claim it. And folks, I wanna tell you, the love that I have for Jesus has to continually grow and be fed by knowledge. Go to the New Testament. First, excuse me, Philippians. I was gonna look in First Peter, Second Peter one, but go to Philippians chapter number one. Philippians chapter number one. We looked at just a couple weeks ago that God has a process. Remember Colossians when we would read that? That the only way that we are renewed and refreshed is through the knowledge of him who created us. And that we present our bodies to the Lord as living sacrifices so that we can be transformed by the renewing of our mind, that we may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God, Romans 12, one and two. Peter says it like this, that we've been given everything in life for life and godliness, and it comes through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue. Everything God does to grow us and to make us more like Jesus comes through a knowledge and understanding of Him. But that knowledge and understanding in Him is to be applied to where? Our heart. So that ballroom, our heart, that engine, can rev up its RPMs with passion that will compel us to live for His glory. It can't just stay right here in our mind. It has to be supplied to where? Our heart. Notice how Paul talks about this. Verse number nine, he says, in this I pray. That your love, you see, it's with the heart that we love. It's with the heart that we admire. It's with the heart that we have great affections. It's with the heart that we treasure God. And He created our heart, made us a new heart so that our treasure can bring glory to Him. But that your love may abound still more and more in what? knowledge and all discernment, to make wise judgment. Why does he want their love to increase more and more? Verse 10 tells us, so that you, we may approve the things that are excellent, that we may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of who? How does our love grow? Through knowledge and understanding. And when that fuel tank in our mind is full of knowledge and understanding of him, and faith supplies it to the heart, the RPMs of the heart rev up. And that love continues to grow in passion. And that treasure begins to manifest to other people, but not just that. We then have the capability to know the difference between what God chooses and doesn't choose. What God says and what he doesn't say. Because without that, we can't remain fruitful and blameless and walk in righteousness and bring glory to him as we walk through this earth. Our hearts, our love, our admiration, our treasure has to increase and expand through the revelation of him who called us to be conformed to his image. I'm just thankful that he doesn't throw the plate away. Amen. When I let the tank, just like any engine, if you cut the gas off to the engine, what is that engine gonna miss? It automatically is gonna cut off. It cannot operate in the way that it's been designed if you cut its fuel off. And you and I cannot operate in this world to bring glory to Jesus if we cut the fuel of knowledge and understanding off. Amen. Not just what we have heard and seen, But what we could have heard and seen, what we'll be accountable for and responsible for, are you with me? Oh man, God has so much assigned for us. I just need to be in position to receive it, amen? So that he can transform me into his image. And that will not happen apart from, as he tells us in Ephesians, You get out of that, your heart is, you're cutting the fuel off. Cutting the fuel off. I wanna tell you, I want my heart to rage with passion and admiration for Jesus, amen. I want it to. I want it to. I need it to if I'm gonna bring glory and honor to him. So I want you to think about that. Is our passion, lacking, our admiration decreasing, the treasure that we see in Christ and that what he's given us to do and fulfill and be and all, does that seem like it's not as valuable as it once was to me? Well, if that be the case, there's been a disconnect with the few. that's supplying to my heart and that disconnect is in faith. That I'm not taking what I know and applying it to my heart so that he can fuel me to bring glory to his name. And if my tank's empty, it's because I'm not subjecting myself to God's design. I'm not giving myself to hear from him, to see him, to know him, to trust him. what he says about himself. Because I'm letting other things fill my mind. And those things can't fuel your heart for Jesus. Only he supplies the fuel for the heart, amen? For the new heart. The old man is gonna be fed by this old world. But the new man receives its fuel from him. I want to tell you, he's got more than we can handle, amen? He can supply it whenever he wants to, but he won't if I'm not in a position to say, Lord, I'm here before you. Feed me, lead me, teach me. I want to know you and understand you. And I want to look like you. I want to be made like you. I'm at your mercy. Oh, you better get ready for the heart to go to pounding, amen? Because he's going to feed you. Faith is going to supply it. Other people are going to see it. And you're going to walk with Jesus in passion. And he'll be glorified in your life. Father, we thank you today. We pray that you help us now with these things that you put us in position that we would hear, as has already been mentioned, you better than anybody know how to humble us and lift us at the same time. And you teach us to humble ourselves. If we are not willing to humble ourselves, you'll humble us for us. So Lord, I pray today we would be humbled before you, hear from you, and that you would feed our love with your self. and that we would walk out of here today in victory and triumph of obedience. I've just trusted you and that you would put us in the game of bringing glory and honor and praise to your name. We love you, I praise you and I thank you. In Jesus' name, amen. ♪ He's so good to me All God's people said? Amen. He sure is. I tell you, if you have trouble singing that he's so good, and he's worthy, and he's praiseworthy, it's a good chance you might be having a big ol' pity party. Caleb, excuse me, Joshua, you're reading Joshua 7, he had a big ol' pity party. He cried, God told him to get off quit crying like a baby, get up off the ground. He questioned God about everything. He said, God, you should have let us be content by living on the other side. You didn't know what you was doing when you brought us over here. What's wrong with you? And he was just having one big old pity party. Remember, pity parties are from who? Pity parties are from the devil. From the devil. So we have trouble singing and praising and giving glory to God for his goodness. Because he didn't do that. He doubted him. He questioned him. Now God wasn't threatened by it, because you can't change who he is. He just will tell him in his discipline, just like he tells us, quit crying, get up, start walking in faith. That's what he told him. And that's what he'll tell you and me. Get up, quit crying, and start walking in faith. And you'll really see that if there's anybody to doubt, it's you, Joshua, not me. I'm good. and I'm faithful and I'm praiseworthy and I am who I am and I'll never change. You can trust me. Just do what I ask you to do and you won't, you can't help but bring me praise and glory. Amen. Amen.