Joshua In chapter number 20 And what I want to talk about this evening is initially from verse number six Let me read it again And he that's He manslayer the person who killed another innocently by accident. It's a picture of our unbelief of Jesus Christ. And we are to flee to him for refuge, to have a refuge and have a hope. He shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation of judgment to see if his gospel is really true and until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Now our high priest lives forever. He's able to make intercession or us always, then the slayer, at the death of the high priest, he may return to his own city and to his own house, as he no longer needs safety, and to the city from which he fled. Now, who and I are to flee unto our Lord Jesus Christ. This is not something that you chew bubble gum and then you walk up the aisle, you walk down the aisle to and to greet the preacher and you're laughing, you're giggling, it's a small thing, you're swapping your bubble gum from side to side, it has no meaning. This is something of desperation. Because when God saves sinners, He saves us from our sin. And it is horrible crimes that are against God. As we're in the book of Joshua chapter 20 and emphasizing verse 6, having fled for a refuge. He saves us from our sins, which are horrible crimes against God. He does not save a person who does not feel his sin and his deep conviction. The gospel of today is you come to Christ to get money. You come to Christ who get a better life here on earth, car, house, it can be wife, it can be children. If you come unto Christ, if I come unto Christ for these things only, primarily, I have not come unto Christ for real. Nobody has ever come unto Jesus Christ without confessing and knowing their own sins. Scripture says from Matthew 1 verse number 21, you shall call his name Jesus for he shall save his people, his people from their sins. He's not saving us from homelessness. He's not saving us from poverty. The apostle Paul, he was homeless, he said, and poor. He didn't have food to eat in some places. He had to work with his own hands to provide for himself. A gospel of a savior from poverty is a false gospel. It's a lying gospel. is what people with itching ears is they want to hear. Come to Jesus. He'll save you from poverty. He'll give you a family. He'll make your children prosperous. He'll give you money, he'll put it in the bank, and you will have car, et cetera. And this is why Nigeria is in the state it's in, because people have itching ears to hear false prophets tell them what they want to hear. And what they want to hear is he's gonna save me from this world and its troubles. But the troubles of the world are going to continue if you are a Christian. You may still be poor. And you say, well, that's not much of a sales pitch, but it is the truth. Christ doesn't save people from poverty. He saves them from poverty of spirit, to have nothing that they can give God, to having no righteousness in the sight of God. Your danger and my danger is not that we are poor. Hear me carefully. Your danger and my danger is not that we can't feed our children. If our children die, and they go to heaven, are they really in trouble? Are they really in danger? Not at all. But if they die and go to hell, that's the danger. God's going to punish us for our sins. And if you think that God is not going to punish us, you don't truly know God. He's promised it in his word. He put his son on a cross. Why? Why did Jesus have to die? Because God's hatred against sin must be satisfied. He must punish all of it. It must either be punished in Christ, or it must be punished on our own bodies in our own souls in hell forever. He rained down fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah. Was that the devil who did that or was that God? Who punished Sodom and Gomorrah? Was that the devil or was that God? If you ladies are understanding my English, is you hearing me? Ma'am, you hearing me? Okay. Who rained down that fire and that brimstone on Adam and Gomorrah? Was it the devil or was it God? It was God. Who rained down the flood in the days of Noah after 120 years of his patience while the ark was being built. He flooded them all and took them all a way into hell. Who did that? As you see, to die is not a horrible thing. To die and go to hell is the horrible. After death is the judgment. And if I pass through that judgment, through the blood of Christ into everlasting paradise, like Paul said, to die is gain. To live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if you and I pass through that judgment into hell and everlasting punishment, that's when death is severe. That's when it's something to be feared. The believer has no reason to fear death. It's gain, it's advantageous. But to die without Christ, is the worst thing in the world. Our problem is not that we are poor. Our problem is that we are sinners and the wrath of God is hot and he's going to punish it. That's why that man, Slayer, fled Did you see the language of scripture verse number six unto which you have fled? Fletch that means he ran as fast as he could and I want you to get the picture of the manslayer He killed somebody by accident And the book of Deuteronomy says he's out in the field he has a axe and he's hitting with the axe is the axe head hauls off and he hits his neighbor and his neighbor dies. Is he guilty? Oh, in the Old Testament. Yes, he was. It's called manslaughter. That's in the legal courts now in the West. There's a case. It's not homicide. It's not intentional. It's manslaughter. You kill somebody. And in the Old Testament, the uncle or the cousin, the avenger of blood would come down after you. And if he caught us outside of Christ, if he caught us outside of the city of refuge, I'm just, I ain't scared of nobody. It was an accident. So what? It happens. The vengeance of the manslayer, the vengeance of God is hot. after after sinners. Now, it talked about us doing it, him doing it, ignorantly, in unbelief. It's the book of 1 Timothy 1. I'm saying that we are all guilty more than imaginable, and God is gonna punish sin, all sin, and hell is hot. And it's eternal. And we flee unto Christ Jesus for a refuge. We don't just stroll down the aisle of the church. Hey, I'm coming to Jesus. No, is we come to him by faith in Christ with all of our heart immediately because I am scared of the wrath of God. I know it's hot. I know he's going to punish me. That's how you come to Christ. First Timothy 1 verse number 13 as as what's it say? Nice and loud I He's guilty. He's saying, I was before a blasphemer. I hated God and I didn't even know it. I was fighting God. You think it's innocent? that we preach a false doctrine, that we follow a false gospel, we're as guilty as Paul. That's not innocent. That's the murder of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the hatred of God. False religion is one of the evilest things on earth. It's worse than homosexuality. And the Lord Jesus said, it'll be more tolerable on Sodom and Gomorrah than you who heard the gospel and did not believe it. He said, I'm a blasphemer. I'm a persecutor. And I used to swarm on the other Christians and I would bring them into prison. And injurious, did you know what that word means, injurious? It means hateful and proud. I thought I was better than everybody else and God hates it. And you know what the man or the woman thinks who hates people? Because he's proud. I'm better than everybody else. That's a hatefulness in the sight of God and anytime I don't think myself as a sinner like anybody else. I'm a hateful person. And injurious means I'll hurt them and I don't. Who are you? I'm better than you anyway. I don't care about your feelings. I don't care how you feel or if you're hungry. He's an injurious person, hateful against his God and his neighbor. And the apostle Paul said, But I obtained mercy. Why? How? Why? I did it ignorantly and unbelief. What does this ignorant mean? Did he know that Jesus was the son of God? Did he obey him? Have you and I sinned in ignorance and in unbelief? All of our sin is in ignorance. If we admit it, Are you hearing me here? Okay. Hear me carefully. If we admit it, if I say, I'm the worst sinner that's ever lived. I've been sinning against the Son of God. I haven't acknowledged him as Lord in the church, in the house, and in my heart. I haven't obeyed him. I've been doing my own will. He says this, and I've been saying this. He says that you go here, I've been going here. He says act like this, that you love your neighbor, and I've been saying it's all about myself. Me, my family, and I. That's all that matters in this world. Me, my family, and I. If I admit my sin and say I'm ignorant, I'm wrong. He's the rightful Lord. He's the rightful master. He ought to be obeyed. He ought be owed everything. He's owed my life. My absolute obedience and allegiance to the Son of God. I'm an awful sinner and a blasphemer. Is he going to forgive me? If I admit my sins, is he going to forgive me? Forgive me if I admit them as sins that I don't have any excuse for other than I'm an ignorant sinner. I'm a fool. What if I say, Lord, it wasn't my fault. It's Adam's fault. It's my mom's fault. I had a bad parent. It's my neighbor's fault. It's the girl's fault. It's the principal's fault. It's the school's fault. It's the devil's fault. It's just this flesh, Lord. It isn't me. It's not my fault. What's going to happen unto me then? You're going to punish me. because you haven't fled for refuge. He set up a refuge for ignorant persons who sinned against God. And if I just admit my sin, just admit it and come clean with everything, I did it. I did it because I'm wrong. I'm an evil person by nature, by birth, by practice. I deserve to be in hell. If we admit our sins, is he going to forgive us? I want your engagement. I don't want you listening, but over here, I want you here. Give me your mind and your attention and give me your heart unto this gospel. Because this is no small thing. This is of immediate essence. The manslayer is hot on your tail. He's already heard. You killed my brother. I don't care if it was an accident. I'm coming to get you. That's the Old Testament law. And God's wrath is hot against sinners. At any time, he could drop us in at any time. He could stop our heartbeat with a touch. He could give me and you all the money in the world and cut off and take our soul. He could kill us at any time. He could come back at any moment. It's not just, Oh, I'm young. I'm only 16 years old. I got plenty of time. You could die tomorrow. And he could come back in the morning. Well, before I finished speaking, we're in danger. If we're outside of Christ Jesus, it's not a safe place. But if we come to Him as sinners and say, I'm hurtful, I'm injurious, I'm a blasphemer, I'm evil, I'm hateful, I deserve mercy only because you're merciful to sinners. No other reason, I have nothing to give you. I have no excuses. Is He gonna forgive us? And you see, that's our problem. is we make excuses. I'm not that bad. I didn't really do it. It's not that bad. And that's why we don't get mercy. But if we come clean and say, this is urgent. Open that door of mercy. Open the door. Let me in the city. I'm at the gate. Open the gate. I don't know where he is. Open the gate. I did it ignorantly in unbelief. Open the gate. He'll open the gate and show us mercy. And we need mercy more than our next breath. Oh, I'm not scared to die, but to die without God, is too terrifying to even contemplate. To even put my brain on that thought is too frightening. To die without God in Christ is to go to hell for all eternal. It's a horrible thing. Scary beyond comprehension. And we have people who aren't scared, Because all the pastors preach is Come to Jesus come to God and he'll give you money and you won't get sick and they know nothing about their sin and the wrath of God and they've never Come unto Jesus Christ whole churches whole denominations have never come unto God They've never seen their sin They've never confessed it in the sight of God They have no fear of God before their eyes. They do it and just think they can get away with it. I don't need a refuge. I'm all right. Let's go back please into the book of Joshua chapter 20. I am dead serious about this. I fled for a refuge. Have you? Have you fled for Jesus Christ to save you from sin, from the power of sin, the guilt of sin, the shame of sin? Against thee and thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. Let's start at verse number one. I'm a work down to first number six and I will be finished and I will Conclude but this is talking about the gospel Everything in the Old Testament everything in the Bible is talking about the gospel It's It's the same message Did you see our pastors take the Old Testament and talk about money and is a man was preaching at the reason that Job suffered is he didn't pay his tithe. Job was the most righteous man on earth before tithing ever was a commandment of God. He's older than Moses. is another man was preaching that Adam, he didn't pay his tithe in the garden. It is true that man disobeyed God, but it had nothing to do with tithe. It had to do with one word of God cannot be broken or it's sin and I'll send you all to hell. That's how holy God is. That's why we need a refuge. So chapter 20 verse number one is the Lord also spoke to Joshua saying speak to the children of Israel saying appoint for yourselves cities of refuge. How merciful God is. He gives us cities of refuge. He could have said, if you sin, you're on your own. If the angels sin, is there any mercy for the angels who fall? You have to let the other ones think and bring it in, understand it, have to chew on it. Is there any mercy for the angels who fall? When Adam sinned, was there mercy? God killed an animal. He made a sacrifice. He clothed them. He promised a Messiah would crush the head of the serpent. But when the devil sinned, when Satan sinned, was there mercy? Is there any mercy for the devil? None whatsoever. So we ought to count ourselves thankful that there is mercy. That there's an open door. There was only one ark, right? It only had one door. It only had one window at the top. I entered by the side of the Lord Jesus Christ, his wounds. He was slain for sinners. He was wounded for our transgression. And the only way to look, the only place to look is up. You see, mercy is from him. It's not from the preacher. It's not from yourself. It's not owed to you, but it is given freely to all who repent and come to Christ Jesus, who cast off their sins and who say, I am done with sin. What kind of sins? All of them. I give them all up. I give them all away. I'm following Christ Jesus. Help me follow you and obey. He will help that person and he will give him mercy. Appoint for yourselves cities of refuge of which I spoke to you through Moses. That the slayer who kills a person accidentally, they did it ignorantly and unbelieved just like Paul did or unintentionally, it's a picture, may flee there, may what? Hmm? Cat got your tongue? May flee there. What does it mean to Flee there. What does it mean? To put your trust in Jesus Christ right now. Not later. Not I'm gonna work it out. Not I'm gonna work for it. Not I'm going to be a better person, but I'm trusting in Jesus Christ right now and the blood he shed. I'm trusting in the mercy of God to make me a whole new life of holiness. I'm trusting in His mercy to bring me all the way through. I'm trusting Him to give me eternal life. And whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And to call on Him is to say, save me. When? Now. Now. That's the issue. That's where safety is. But there's no safety outside of Christ. There's no safety in any other place. They shall be for your refuge from the avenger of blood. That's God coming to execute you for your sins and send you off into hell forever. They'll save you. your confession of ignorance and trusting in the blood of Christ did God save the Apostle Paul Was he ignorant and unbelief Did he deserve to be saved? Was he a horrible but did he get saved even though he was a horrible sinner He was saved from the wrath of God and made holy Verse four, and when he flees, what is he doing? What's he doing? When he what? What's that mean to flee? What's it mean to flee? If a lion is after you, roar, you're just gonna stroll, I'm just a lion. What's wrong with you? I ain't got no concerns. If a murderer is after you. Did you ever watch scary movies? And the murder is coming. It's the monsters coming. You just kind of take a stroll. What's worse? Being eaten by a lion or the wrath of God. Which one are you more scared of? What's the most scary thing on earth? What's the scariest thing that you can imagine? The wrath of God is worse than that. Because it's forever. There's no getting out. It is hell eternal. Just keep going. I need a refuge. And I need to flee. Run, run, run. He flees to one of those cities and stands at the entrance of the gate of the city and declares his case. I did it ignorantly. Let me in. I'm ignorant. I was a fool. That's my right. I'm ignorant. Help me. I didn't know better. He declares his case. It's in the hearing of the elders of that city. Those who preach the gospel, they shall take him into the city. If you confess your sins, you are forgiven of your sins. If you're here for forgiveness and mercy upon the blood of Christ, you're welcome into the city of refuge. and shall give him a place that he may dwell among them. Let me just ask you, as to what kind of a place did he have here, you think? Did he have a plush place or a small place? And so was it a big place like a house or like a big mansion or like a little small corner in a closet? As to what kind of place do we get if we come unto God? What kind of place we get? If you come to Christ, what kind of a place does he give you? What's it like? What's it like to be forgiven? To have help with all of your sins. I can show Jesus any sin that's in my heart or my life and he'll help me. He'll forgive it. He'll cleanse it. I'll have communion with God. I get to walk with God. I get to obey him. I get the reward of heaven to come. I have hope. Do you know what kind of house it is? It's a big house. In my father's house, he said, I have many doors and plenty of room in paradise. There's good things in Jesus Christ. There's no reason to stay out. It's not like we're coming unto him and he's going to mistreat us and he's going to misuse us. No, no, no. He's going to be a good master. He's going to help us. He's going to be gracious. He's going to hold us accountable and forgive us of our sins. Make us holy in the process That's what he'll do Verse 5 then if the avenger of blood That's God Almighty If he pursues him They shall not deliver the slayer into his hand. As the Lord Jesus told Peter and them, whoever sins, you forgive, they are forgiven in heaven. Whoever believes the gospel that you preach, Peter, that true gospel, that confession of Christ, is safe in heaven too. Because he struck his neighbor Unintentionally, he did it in ignorance. He did it in unbelief, but he did not hate him beforehand Now me and you we hated Christ, but it's an illustration. It's a picture. It's a type And every part of it isn't going to stand But he's emphasizing a confession of sin of ignorance and Verse number six, and I'm done. And he shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation of judgment. Part of what it means to dwell in that city is to never go out. What do you do after you come to Christ? Anybody know? Mr. Daisy, you know, you stay in Christ. You flee to him for a refuge and you stay with him. You never get bored. And every time you get bored is you say, Lord Jesus, I'm bored of you. I'm tired of the gospel. and he will help you and save you from your sins. Because that's ignorance. Sweetness is in Christ. If you stay in Christ and the more that you follow him and pursue him with all of your heart, the more sweet it is and the more better. I found the secret. This same gospel of the blood and righteousness of Christ and the power of the spirit to obey and to do his will for all of our lives every day and every hour. That's the secret of anybody that's ever been happy in Christ Jesus. They abide in him. They stay with him. is I'm not over at the gate. Man, I wish I was outside. Let me just see. That's danger. No, I'm in the city with the elders. I'm rejoicing in my safety. I'm helpful around town. What do you want me to do? I'm happy to be here. I'm getting to know everybody. I'm talking unto them about the mercies of God. I'm being loving unto my neighbor. I'm enjoying the city of refuge. There is joy in Christ. It's not fake. It's a real joy that surpasses this world. King David said, you have made me rejoice more than when their barns are full and their harvest is plentiful. That man that gets rich, that gets money, that even wins the lottery, he's not as blessed and happy perpetually as that man is in Christ Jesus. You believe that? I didn't believe it, even as a believer, I had to experience it first. I had to taste it. But now that you do, be addicted to it. Stay there. Want that joy every day. Either be enjoying Christ or be asking Him to give you joy by obedience and faith. Either way. It's the only safety that's on planet Earth. Am I preaching the truth? Is it true? Am I saying what the scriptures say? You're going to believe it? No. Not later. There is nothing to give up but the wrath of God and sin. That's all you're giving up. It is dirt or diamonds. He's gonna give you life and it more abundantly. Gonna make you happier than you've ever been in your life on a continual basis through faith in Jesus Christ. By the power of the, there's a supernatural God who works joy inside the soul. Have you experienced? Are you experiencing its power? Are you living by faith in the Son of God unto the joy of your soul? That's safety in the city of refuge. That's our right. That's our inhabitants through the blood of Christ. He shall stay there until the death of the one who is the high priest in those days Now our high priest he never dies he ever lives to Is we're gonna have a quiz and in the class so if you have your Bible as to what chapter is it going to start is it nine and I'd be reading chapter 9 through chapter 15 and be getting ready because the quiz is not this Saturday. If it was up to me, it would just be a pop quiz because I want to know what you know. I don't want to know what you can study and forget. I want to know what you've learned already. But, but, but a day is he wants you to have a week of study and it's going to be tied into scholarship. It's not the whole thing, but it's, it's tied. It's in there. It's noticed not just being here, but learning the gospel and putting your trust in him. This is not a show. This is not an exercise in futility. This is a gospel that saves the soul and thrills it. And Romans 8 says, he ever lives to make intercession for us. He sits at the right hand of God and he's able to save us forevermore to anybody who trusts him. He can save you from start unto finish. He gives you everlasting. Can a person lose everlasting life? They can't lose God. That's why it's everlasting. If it wasn't everlasting, it would be temporary life. Probationary life. I give you life as long as you obey. Oh no. I give you everlasting life that makes you obey. I put my laws inside your heart. I write them on your heart. This is the gospel. This is the gospel. The only gospel. Not just a gospel. It's an American gospel and we have a knife. This is the only gospel in the earth. This is it. a savior from sins. Then the slayer, it's he may return and come to his own city of his own house and to the city From which he fled me and you are gonna stay in Christ until the day we die and we're gonna abide in Christ forever and we're gonna see his face and all of his Loveliness and his beauty and we're never going to die in our soul Because he ever lives to make intercession for us. Now, let me ask you this and I'll quit. What do you want? What do you want from God? This will let you know as to how are you hearing? Is it profitable? What do you want from God? Is it a forgiveness of sins? Is it a holy life is more important unto you than breath itself? More important than money, than scholarship, than school, than life on earth, than health. More important than anything. I want my sins taken care of. I want to be forgiven. I want to be accepted in the sight of God because I know you're coming back with wrath and I want to obey you with all my heart and be in communion with you and enjoy you my Savior. Is that what you want? Is he going to give it unto the person who asks? Everything else is vain. He's gonna give that. And as He gives us that, guess what? He can also give us the things of this world because we know how to use them. They're all for Him. If He gives me money, it's for Him. If He gives me health, If He gives me a wife and children, it's for Him. They're for Him. Everything in our life is for God. Oh, when you have a mind like that, is you have Christ and you have it all. And that's what Brother Jacob said. He said, you take Esau. I have everything. I've got the inhabitants. I got the promise. I've got God. You can have more money. I don't care. I've got God, my savior. That's the gospel.