(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

All right, Joshua chapter three. So there's basically this is it. So the after 40 years wandering around in the wilderness, the children of Israel are finally crossing over the Jordan that happens in Joshua chapter three. So it's a short chapter in the Bible, you know, one significant event happens here. So what I'm going to do this evening is I'm just going to we're going to preach quickly through just verse by verse. And I'll point out some interesting things here and there in the verses as we go through and then I'll give a larger application at the end of the sermon. So of course, here they are, they're getting ready to pass over and of course, God performs this great miracle as they they cross over the Jordan to get ready to go and take the promise land look down at verse number one, and the Bible says, and Joshua rose early in the morning, and they removed from Shittim and came to Jordan, and he and all the children of Israel lodged there before they passed over turn to Proverbs chapter 20. So I mean, just just a little note here is that Joshua we learned about who the man Joshua was in Joshua chapter one, we kind of just looked at his personality, who he was, what he had done in his life up to this point before he took over leadership of the children of Israel. And I just find it interesting that in Joshua chapter one, it says Joshua rose early in the morning. First of all, you know, especially for a man, you know, you know, Joshua was a man that knew how to get things done. He was a man that would accomplish a lot of things in his life. And he rose early in the morning. The Bible says look at Proverbs chapter 20. In verse number 13, the Bible says, Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty, open nine eyes, and now shall be satisfied with bread. So just let me just throw this out as a side note. You know, if you are someone that wants to accomplish something in your life, love not sleep. Joshua didn't love sleep. Look, everybody, every single person has that feeling in the morning where they want to just keep sleeping. Every single person has that you say I'm a morning person. Well, that doesn't matter. What that means is that you just are really good at you know, getting yourself past that initial feeling of not wanting to wake up, but everybody has it. It's just some people, you know, sleep till eight or nine or 10 or whatever it is every single day. But Joshua, we all know the kind of man Joshua was. God chose him to lead the children of Israel and he rose early in the morning. So you should be rising early in the morning. Even the virtuous woman was, you know, she was working while it was yet dark, the Bible says. Well, it was yet night. Look at the second verse of Joshua chapter three. That's just a side note. Joshua got up early in the morning. He's a man that knew how to get things done. Look at verse number two, and it came to pass after three days that the officers went through the host. That means, you know, the people, the army, the host, and they commanded the people, saying, When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God and the priests, the Levites bearing it, then you shall remove from your place and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it. About 2000 cubits by measure. A cubit is about 18 inches. Come not near unto it, or a foot and a half, I guess, if you want to look at it that way, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way heretofore. He basically says, Follow the ark at a distance. Okay, so when it comes to the ark, you want to, you know, also want to follow the rules. Okay, remember somebody touched it who wasn't a Levite before they were carrying it in David's time in the future, not the way they were supposed to, and God actually struck the man dead. So you want to follow the rules when it comes to the ark. And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you. So I mean, this must have been an incredibly exciting time for the people here. They're about to go over, it's been 40 years in the making, they messed up, you know, 38, 40 years ago, and now they finally get to cross over the Jordan River. Look at verse number six. And Joshua spake unto the priest saying, Take up the ark of the covenant and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. So God is going to perform a miracle here is the first thing. And you know, God is showing, you know, God, one of the reasons that God is going to perform this miracle he says right here is to show that he is with Joshua and the people just like he was with Moses and the people. Okay, so it's, it's kind of a witness that, you know, God is with this thing, you know, God is going with you. So God's going to do this miracle, he's not just going to have them for the river, you know, and get across the river, you know, how, you know, normal people would cross a river, he's going to actually perform a great miracle to show that he's with them. It's not enough that he's just saying that he's with them. He's going to show that he's with them. Okay, look at verse number eight. And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant saying when you're come to the brink of the water Jordan, he shall stand in the Jordan. And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, come hither and hear the words of the Lord your God. And Joshua said, hereby you shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail, drive out before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites. So he's saying that, you know, that God's going to show you that he's he's with you. That's what God's doing. He's going to show the people that he is with them, and that he will fulfill his promise of, you know, driving out all these people. And you say, well, you know, why is why does God have to say this so many times? You know, why does God have to say this and then show this miracle? Well, I mean, we'll get to that in a few minutes. But you know, you got to try to put yourself in the mindset of these people that were about to enter into this, you know, it was a foreign land to them. Yes, it was the promised land. But what there was people living there. I mean, there was cities there that needed to be conquered. I mean, there was people that were living there, nations that were living there listed here, all these people, and they didn't want to leave. So I mean, that is a situation that they're heading into. And God is just giving them reassurance after reassurance. And then he's going to do this great miracle to actually show them that hey, I'm here. I'm here. Okay. Verse 11. Behold, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth passes over before you into Jordan. Now therefore, take you 12 men out of the tribes of Israel out of every tribe of man. And it shall come to pass as soon as the souls of the feet of the priests that bear the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above, and they shall stand upon and keep. Okay, now look, it didn't the Jordan River here, it didn't it. It didn't just dry up. Okay, it didn't just dry up. The Bible says that, so the Jordan River, just for your information, you have the, you know, it's this river that connects these two big lakes, is what it looks like. It connects the Sea of Galilee, and it connects the Dead Sea, or as the Bible calls it, the Salt Sea, here in a few chapters. But it's this, you have the Sea of Galilee and then you have this river that connects the two. And look, it didn't just stop flowing, it all just, it came up into a wall, this massive lake of wall of standing water. It says it shall stand upon and heap. You know, there's all this kind of apologetics, I guess you could call it, where people are trying to figure out, like, how maybe God did things, where they're trying to figure out, you know, like, you know, he parted the Red Sea because they found a land bridge where the water was only like two feet deep. And if a long, you know, a strong wind came in from a certain direction and, you know, did this weird vortex thing that could possibly dry up that two foot, I mean, or God just parted the sea. I mean, I don't really understand that it's, you kind of have to wonder if people believe the Bible when they're kind of coming up with these types of things. Because look, did not God create the entire earth? Did not God create the universe and the stars and the heavens? I mean, did not God do this in six days? I mean, he can't part water. I mean, come on, what, you know, literally, it says here, it says, you know, there wasn't a wind that came and blew it just, it just just walled up. It just walled up. I mean, it was clearly a miracle. Look at verse 14. And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people. And as they bear the ark that came under the Jordan, the feet of the priests that bear the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, for Jordan overflowed all his banks at the time of harvest. So I mean, this is showing you that the Jordan River was probably a little bit different than the Jordan River today. I remember when I saw, I remember when I saw, you know, I've obviously never been to the Middle East in this area. But when I saw the Beyond Jordan movie, I was really surprised. I mean, you know, you're there is this little stream of water. And then you will look at it on a satellite view. And sure enough, it's not a big river. You know, when I was thinking about it, you know, I'm thinking about like, you know, when I think of rivers, I think of like the Missouri River in in North Dakota, it's like half a mile wide, you know, and or the Yellowstone River, these massive rivers that I'm used to. But that's the type of river that this appeared to be it was overflowing its banks. This was a big flowing river at this point. So I mean, to stop all this water must have been quite a scene. Look at verse 16. And the waters which came down from above from the Sea of Galilee, above stood and rose upon and heap very far from the city Adam, that is besides Zaratan. So it's saying that, look, this heap was just it pushed all the way back into these two cities. And they're kind of around the Jordan River Valley, that is besides Zaratan and those that came down towards the Sea of the Plain, even the salt sea, that's the Dead Sea failed and were cut off. So the flow into the Dead Sea was completely cut off. And the people passed over right against Jericho. I mean, man, you know, you thought the people of Jericho were scared before. I mean, look at after this whole scene. They must have been terrified. Look at verse 17. And the priests that bear so it wasn't just a wind, you know, they were walking through, you know, the mud and the priests that bear the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan. And all the Israelites passed over on dry ground until all the people were passed clean over Jordan. So you know what I think about when I read verse 17 is here's what I think about. Just imagine like all the fishing lures that they could find. You know what I'm saying, brother Francisco? I mean, the rivers dried up. No, I'm just kidding. But that actually happened in North Dakota. They actually cut off the Missouri River with the dam for a certain period of time. And they cut the complete river off. And that's what people did. They went out and they just went and started picking up fish lures. But anyway, I'm sure that wasn't the case here. But look, the people of Jericho must have been terrified here. Because I mean, not only did they know that this big hundreds of thousands of people of this army was coming across that that God was already with, and they already heard about all the other miracles, the parting of the Red Sea here, they're right at their doorstep, and God literally stops the river and they walk across on dry ground. And here they come. So let me just give you some thoughts on this miracle. And you know why God did this, and some application that we can kind of look at it today. So here we are, we're across the Jordan River. Here they are across the Jordan River. I want you to think about this for a minute. Think about you know, being the children of Israel, the the river was overflowing its banks was this huge river. God cuts the river off, and they all walk across. And now they are on the other side of the river. And Jericho is right there, not only Jericho, but all of their enemies that they must conquer at this point. I mean, here they are, they it was a great thing. God dried up the river. But guess what? Guess what happened after God dried up the river. The river started flowing again. So the river started flowing again. And here they are on the other side. And now the river is is back, there's actually a river behind me. But the river's back, it's flowing, it's overflowing its banks, probably more so than before. It's this huge, massive river at their back. Look, there's not really any going back at this point. I mean, there's not really any turning back. At this point, God prepared the way in front of them. But he made it difficult, yay impossible to go back, look back at verse number 15, where the Bible says for the Jordan overflowed all its bank, his banks at the time of harvest. It's also interesting to note, it's also interesting to note that all these people at this point, the children of Israel at this point, they were completely gung-ho. They were completely, let's go. We're with you, Joshua. God's with you, Joshua. Let's go. Look, go back to Numbers 14, though. Go back to Numbers 14. You have to remember who these people are. You have to remember who these people are. Numbers chapter 14. The reason that they were in the wilderness for 38 years or 40 years is because of the fact that when God sent the 12 spies in, the 12 spies came back and the vast majority 10 of those spies said, we can't do it. We're all going to die if we go across like God says we should go across. And so God punished them. He punished them for their lack of faith. Look at verse 29 of Numbers chapter 14. The Bible says, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness and all that were numbered of you according to your whole number from 20 years old and upward which have murmured against me. Doubtless ye shall not come into the land concerning which I swear to make you dwell with therein, save Caleb the son of Jephthah and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones which he said should be prey, them will I bring in. They shall know the land which ye have despised. These were the kids that were reading about here. We're reading about the kids that walked across the dry Jordan River. These were the kids of Numbers chapter 14. These were the children. These were the children. They remember this event. They remember this event of Numbers chapter 14 of doubting God of their parents and their grandparents, doubting the Lord and the Lord having this fiery indignation against them and punishing them with this wandering in the wilderness for decades. But now these kids are grown up. Now these kids are grown up and they are not making the same mistake that their parents did. So look, it's very clear that they weren't supposed to go back. There wasn't really a way for these people to go back, for these kids, now adults, to go back. But let me just apply this to you this evening. You know, we're not supposed to look back. We're not supposed to look back and we're not supposed to go halfway. Turn to Genesis chapter 19. Look, I want to prove to you tonight that the Christian life is not designed for it. The Christian life is not designed for either going halfway or looking back on where you came from. The Christian life is not designed for it. Look at Genesis chapter 19. Lot moved his family, you know, towards Sodom and eventually was living in Sodom. He was living there to the point where God had to send two angels to get him out of there. He had to go in and rescue Lot and his wife and his daughters. Look at verse number 17. And it came to pass when they had brought them forth abroad that he said, escape. Now this is the angel talking to Lot and his family, that he said, escape for thy life, look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain, escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. He's giving Lot direction here. He's telling them, he's like, hey, don't stay in the plain. He's like, escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed. But look what he says before he tells him where to go. He says, don't look behind you. He says, don't look back. Don't look back towards Sodom. Look at verse 26. But his wife looked back from behind him and she became a pillar of salt. So, you know, she looked back and God killed her for it. I mean, well, here's what's interesting. Here's what's interesting. Look at verse 27. Look at verse 27. The Bible says, and Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord. And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the plain and beheld and lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. And then Abraham was turned to salt. No, Abraham wasn't turned to salt. So his wife, Lot's wife looks back at Sodom and she's killed. Abraham looks at Sodom as it's being destroyed. He's looking from another place. So look, these people that say, oh, she, she, she shouldn't, she just, you know, shouldn't have looked at Sodom. God didn't want, you know, anyone to see what was happening. That's not true. Abraham looked and he saw what was happening. He saw that it was being destroyed. Look, looking upon it, looking upon it wasn't the issue. Many people have this wrong. The reason, the reason that she was killed is because she was from there. It's because she lived there and she was looking back. Looking back can make you want to go back. Did you know that? Don't look back. That's the lesson from Genesis 19 and Lot's wife is don't look back from where you came from. Abraham wasn't from there. No big deal. He's just witnessing God's judgment. But she was from there and looking back can make you want to go back. Look, these angels are like, we came all this way to save you. God's like, I sent these angels all this way to save you and you're going to look back, which could make you want to go back. You know, I mean, and don't tell me that there wasn't some yearning in her as she looked back. Look, she still had family back there. But God wasn't having any part of it. Don't, look, that's the lesson on Lot's wife. You say, why would God put that in the Bible? It seems obscure, doesn't it? It's not obscure at all. It's not obscure at all. Don't look back because it'll make you want to go back. That is the lesson of Lot's wife and that's why it's in the Bible. Abraham looked back. Abraham looked at the city. No big deal. Let's talk about this. Let's talk about actually going back. Actually going back. Turn to Matthew chapter 12. Look, the gospel, the gospel is funny in this sense. The gospel is, you know, funny in the sense that, you know, it's not really, it's not really something to dabble in. It's not really something to just, you know, get saved and then, you know, go back to your normal life. No, that's not really what the Bible teaches at all. I mean, that's not how it's going to work for you at all. Look at Matthew chapter 12 and verse number 43. Look what the Bible says. When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out and when he has come, he findeth an empty, swept and garnished. Then goeth he and take it himself with seven other spirits more wicked than himself and they enter in and dwell there and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be unto this wicked generation. Turn to Hebrews chapter 10. It's interesting that it uses the term dry places there. But look, it's talking about how, you know, somebody gets right and then they go back to where they came from and they're worse and they're worse than they were in the first place, is what this is talking about. Look at Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. Look at verse 23, just for our sake. We'll look at Hebrews 10 verse 23, just for our sake. Hebrews 10 23. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful that promised. And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together or the manner of some is, but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching. Verse 26. For if we sin willfully, if we go back after we've received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. Look, if you go back to where you came from, there's no more sacrifice. Jesus isn't going to die again for you. Okay, that's what the Bible is saying here. But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses's law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. Of how much more sore punishment, suppose ye that he be thought worthy who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God and hath counted the blood of the Covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing and hath done to spite unto the Spirit of grace. Look, he's talking, he's making a comparison here. He's saying somebody that despised the law of God under Moses was killed. Well, it doesn't say the person wasn't saved. It says somebody that just knew what the law was and just didn't follow it. They were just killed under the law of Moses. It says for you though, for you though, because I mean, look, nobody's enforcing Moses's law around here. He's like, of how much sore punishment, suppose ye have been thought worthy. Look, for you, you know what you're doing? You're trotting underfoot the Son of God, is what the Bible says. Wherewith he was sanctified. Look, this person is saved, is who this is talking about. Verse 29, he's sanctified. Look, the Bible is saying that this is what's going to happen to a saved person that just disregards God's law. Look, knowing the law and rejecting it is despising the law. Verse 28, and he's in for sore punishment, the Bible says. I mean, trotting underfoot the Son of God. Look, that's the problem with this church right here. I mean, it's kind of like the name for the church is in here, but the problem for this church is right here too. Because here's the thing, you come to church here, you now know. I mean, you now know what the Bible says. You're going to know what the Bible says in all these areas. You can't claim ignorance. You can't be like, officer, I didn't see the sign. Because we're showing you the sign. Every single Bible study and sermon is about showing you the signs. Look, you know what the Bible teaches in every area. Because we preach the Bible in every area. All these areas. Look, all these areas are rivers. Are rivers for you. Once you know, once you cross that river, it's going to be difficult if you go back. But look, people do it all the time. People do it all the time. And here's what's really depressing. Here's what's really depressing. It's just seeing people like, go back and forth. Back and forth. When they haven't really, they haven't really even stepped onto dry land in the first place. They haven't even really gotten to the other side. And they just keep going back and forth. Back and forth. And look, I mean, step one is to step out of the river onto the other side, folks. That's step one. I mean, try the dry land first. I mean, just try it. At least attempt to walk on dry ground on the other side. I mean, look, you get saved, God parts the water. God clears the way. I mean, but these people, they get to the edge, the river starts flowing again, and then they go back in the river, and they start swimming in circles. I mean, you're just like, what in the world? I mean, it sounds tiring. And you see people that do this, you know people that do this, and it is tiring. Imagine what the people on the shores on the other side are thinking. They're on the shore, they're sold out, they've crossed the river, they're ready to go fight. Because look, it's not just crossing the river, there's battles over there that need to be fought. You know what you need for battles? Bodies. People. Help. You know, I mean, you got these sold out people on the other side of the river, and they're looking at all these people swimming circles in the river, and they're just like, what in the world? Why are they in the middle of the river? I don't know. I don't know. Don't they know how to get over here? They just keep swimming in circles. They're going this way, then they're going this way. Oh, they almost made it. Oh, they went back again. What? Why don't they just cross? Why don't they just cross the river? I mean, why did they go in the river in the first place if they're not going to cross the river? I mean, even Jesus knew this. Turn to Revelation chapter 3. Turn to Revelation. I mean, what a joke. You're like, what in the world? I mean, even Jesus. Look, Jesus said, this isn't some analogy I'm making up. Jesus said, just get across the river, or don't go in. You're like, don't go in the river at all? No, don't go in. If you're going to go in the river and swim in circles, Jesus is like, please, just stay on the other side. I'm not talking about salvation. But Jesus is just like, just don't even, just don't go in the river and swim in circles. I mean, why would you, what sense does that make? Look at Revelation chapter 3. Look at verse 14. Revelation 3.14. The Bible says unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, these things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. That's Jesus. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would that were, I would, or would thou work cold or hot? These people are in the middle of the river right here. These people aren't on the the bank on the east side. And they're not trying to get over to the west side. They're just like, they're in the middle of the river, and they're swimming in circles. He says, though, thou, so then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Look, I totally get this verse. This is so true right here. Wait, look, because when you're all in on something, and you see people dabbling their toes in the water, and then they fall in, and they, you know, they start flopping around in there, and then it looks like they're swimming, and then they turn, and then they start going the other way, and you just, I mean, look, it's confusing. It's confusing. And look, it's embarrassing. Jesus is like, this is embarrassing. He's like, it's embarrassing. Just stay on the east side. It's like, just please stay over there. We got this. He's like, I wish, he didn't say, I wish you were hot. He said, I wish you were cold or hot, then whatever it is that you think you're doing, spinning in circles. Jesus is just like, just stay cold, and then the people that are hot will just do what they're supposed to do. I mean, I mean, that's why he said, he didn't say, oh, that makes me uncomfortable, or I wish you wouldn't do it. He's like, I'll spew you out of my mouth. I mean, some pretty strong language there. Look, I mean, why do you think we've gained more people from other churches in the area? You ever think about that? I'll tell you why right now, because there's some rivers to cross. That's why. I mean, you start talking about things that we preach about like a lot, right, like things like separation. Look, that's something that you actually have to do. I mean, that's a river that you have to cross. You start talking about things like, you know, protecting your kids from the world, and teaching your kids the Bible, and how that is just never going to work with the public school system. And that's why we push homeschooling. And that, you know, that's just something, look, if you care about your kids, and you care about not just throwing them to the wolves, you're just going to have to homeschool. Well, that's a river right there. That's a river. To some people, that is a river that's overflowing the banks, and they're like, how am I going to get across that thing? And they can't even imagine, you know, crossing a river like that. That's why. That's why. Soul winning. Look, soul winning is work. Soul winning is work. You know, nobody in this church probably thinks of it this way, but soul winning to somebody who has never gone out there and knocked doors is a terrifying thought. I mean, do you remember the first time that you got out of your car or whatever, and you're like, I'm actually going to go knock on these people's door and ask them if I can show them the Bible? I mean, it's a terrifying thought when you're not into it, and you're not used to doing it. Look, that's a river that people need to cross. Look, this isn't a church that we're, I'm not, look, I'm not trying to get people to this church by like, look, we're fun, okay? We're fun. We do a lot of fun stuff, but I don't want to get people to this church that way. I don't want to like, you know, leave a candy trail to try to get people. No. I want to build this church the right way. I want to get, I want to show people these rivers and show people how to, look, God will part the waters. There's no problem. There's no problem with that, but look, there's rivers, and look, all these things, when you cross these rivers, there's fights on the other side. That's another thing. When you start, when you start practicing these things in your life and separating and doing the things that the Bible, I mean, look, what, not just sitting up here and, you know, listening to some, you know, moron in a, in a hoodie, you know, talking about, you know, spread love, not germs. I mean, what in the world? I mean, that's what, but when you actually start preaching the Bible and showing people that, hey, it is possible to follow the Bible even in this wicked world that we have today. It's possible to raise a biblical family even in this world that we have today. That's the power of God on your life, but if you do it the right way, but look, here's the thing. I mean, that's intimidating to people. That's how I want to build the church, though. That's how God wants to build the church. You don't bring a bunch of people in here, hey, you know, you know, it's super fun, church, and then, you know, maybe we'll get them saved or whatever. No, we're gonna build it with, that's why I don't really care about the building too much. I know we need a building and we're gonna try to find, you know, some different options and all, some of you are helping with that and I'm thankful, but ultimately, you know, who cares? Ultimately, oh, you know, if we go to a nicer part of town, look, I want people coming here because of what's preached and what we're learning and what we're teaching and, and what we're practicing here. Not, not because, you know, we're in a nice part of town. I mean, look, you know, all these things, by the way, will bring trouble to you. When the, when the children of Israel, they cross the river, they had trouble on the other side, but look, the Lord's gonna be fighting with you. So, I mean, here's the thing. People will be mad that you cross the river. People will be offended that you cross the river, but look, I mean, I never cared too much about that. Why? Because the stakes were too high. That's why. I knew it was at risk. I knew it was at risk and as I got older, look, see, I was paying attention. See, I was paying attention and I was watching the results of those around me and, and I didn't want those results. I didn't want those results and ultimately what drove me here was, you know, that just, it all, it all seems easy to just stay on the other side of the river sometimes. You know that? You know, to just, to just never really, to never really cross the river. Look, it's really hard to get in. Look, it's really, I'm, do you understand the two different things I'm talking about? To get in the river and swim in circles, I'll never understand that. But it's really easy. It's a really easy short-term solution to just never just even get in the river on a lot of these things. You just stay on your side. That's why, that's why a lot of people would just never come to church here because they just don't want to get in that river. But you know what? It's the worst path. It's the worst path with the most disastrous results and, and those people that would not dip their toes in the water, that would not cross that river, that would not, they wouldn't even walk across the dry ground when God parts the waters for them. Those people, they will pay a heavy price. And I guarantee you, saved people that do that will look back in 20 years and they will be like, oh man, I didn't know the price was this heavy. I guarantee it. And look, ultimately for the people swimming in circles, ultimately at some point it'll be too late to cross because there will be, there will be consequences there too. At any rate, I mean even James 1-8 comes to mind, a double minded man is unstable in all his ways. It makes no sense to be in the river. It makes no sense to be in there and to stay there. If you're gonna get wet, just get in there, just get going and get across. Double minded, double mindedness is just ugly all around folks. It's basically, you know, get in the river, cross the river, and you know, the children of Israel were basically at that point, they were in a fight or die situation. And this is really what it comes down to. You know, ask yourself, I mean, are you in the river? You know, how's your Christian life going? You know, how's your Christian life going? How's your family? Are there areas that you just won't cross? Just remember, I mean, look, God parts the waters for you. God parts the waters for you, but the waters will rush back in. They're not gonna just stay parted forever. You can't just sit there and like, you know, walk around as the big wall of water standing there, walk around, should I cross, should I not cross? These people walk straight across. God parted the waters. Look, God parting the waters is you knowing what to do. Okay? That's God parting the waters for you. God parting the waters is you hearing a Bible study, you reading the Bible, you hearing preaching, and just saying, I know what to do in this area of my life. I said that to my wife one time. Be like, man, you know, in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way, I was like, you know, it almost seems easier to not know what we know now, but we can't not know what we know now. Neither can you. Knowing what to do is the waters being put up and standing around you, but just walking around in circles, those waters aren't gonna stay up there forever. Those waters will rush back in. The children of Israel, they were not going back. They remembered. They remembered Numbers 14. They remembered their parents. But look, you don't have this example. You don't have this example, but the results of going back or even looking back will be the same. They'll be just as disastrous. Look, this is why on Sunday mornings, so Sunday evenings we usually do some kind of series, you know, to try to, you know, explore some area. You know, Sunday mornings I really kind of focus, I'm gonna give up my secrets here, but I really try to focus a lot on things that are happening in the world. You say, why? Why? I try to point out, you know, a lot of things that are really messed up. I got some good ones coming up, by the way. There's a lot. Look, I was off today, and I read the news for about an hour today, and I haven't done that in a long time. Man, it's messed up. It's messed up out there. But that's why I preach on Sunday mornings. I try to point out how messed up this world is, because look, that's what's on the east side. That's what you're going back to. You know, I preach on convergence of everything, you know, the perversion out there. Look, that's what's on the other side. That's what you're going to look back at. The complete abandonment of God out there. I mean, that's what's back there. The status quo is back there. It's not a small thing. It's not a small thing. The more rivers you can completely cross, folks, in your Christian life, the more you can mitigate the danger of all this. Did you know that? I mean, I don't know what more I have to say. If you're sitting here saying that, like, that, you know, this seems like a theme this year. Oh, you got it. Thanks for paying attention if you thought that. It's on purpose. Ultimately, look, looking back will cause you doubts. Looking back will cause you doubts. You say, you know, look, ultimately what convinced me to sell out? You say, what does that mean, sell out? Let's talk about that for a second. Let me give you that definition. What does that mean to just sell out for the Lord? What does it mean to, because, I mean, I think some people maybe think that, oh yeah, you know, I'm doing pretty good, you know, and all this. Here's what it means to sell out. Here's what it means. You know, you're three to thrive. You're sold out. You're soul winning. You're sold out. Look, we aren't missing church in my family. We plan our lives around church. You say you run the place. I know, but even before, in Sacramento, we didn't miss church because we're sold out. We planned our lives around church. Why? Because I'm insane and think that if I miss church, I'll go to hell. No, because I want my kids to grow up that way. Because I want my kids to know that. I want my kids, I mean, do you see a pattern here where he's saying the next generation, the next generation, the next generation, again and again and again, from Joshua to Moses to, it's everywhere in the Old Testament. It's all about the next generation. That's why you sell out. Look, I sold out for personal reasons, but ultimately I want my kids to sell out. And look, that's what convinced me to sell out. That's what convinced me because there was no other solution for my kids. That's what convinced me. What else is sold out? Responding to preaching. Here's a funny one. Here's a funny one. I was a YouTube guy before I moved to a church. I mean, we went to church, but I was a YouTube, listening to YouTube preaching all the time. You know what I didn't do though? You know what I didn't do? I didn't just go like, tons of people do this. I didn't do this. You know what I did? Look, if you can take a sermon to the face, you're sold out. What am I saying? I'm saying you can take a sermon to the face, something that applies to you. And you can say, that's me. I need to fix that. That's somebody that sold out that can do that. But I loved sermons like that. I went and I listened to sermons and I'd be like, oh man, I knew that. I knew that was wrong. I knew I needed to be fixing that. And I, you know, because many times I just, I made so many excuses in my life about all this and just take a sermon to the face and there's no getting around it. You're like, yeah, it's right there in the Bible. And what the stuff on sin and all these things, look, those are, I mean, there's no getting around those. You know, you take, you know, some people need a sermon, like a chair to the face. It should be a bumper sticker. I'm pretty sure it is in some way, shape or form. But look, that's being sold out. That's being sold out. But what convinced me was because there was no other solution. Look, there was, I could have stayed on the other side of the river. I'd have been very happy over there. I'd have been successful over there. I'd have done nothing with my life. I'd have been successful in the world over there. But I lost everything. Does it make sense? That's what's at stake. That's what's at stake. And that's what convinced me. There's no other solution. Look, the only path to success for them was on the other side of the river. And look, fighting. Fighting. Because if you get on the other side, there's fighting. That's what we're going to do. God clears the way and you head across the river and look, get your head turned in the right direction and get out of the water. And then there's a fight in front of us. And then there's a fight in front of us. Because look, we're not promised this beautiful, you know, there's division that's going to come from that. That's our fight. Going out and struggling to wrestle souls out of the grasps of this messed up philosophy that we live in and all these messed up religions that have come out of the Catholic Church or the Reformation or whatever. Look, that's a fight. That's a fight. And on the other side of the river, if you're in that fight, and you're pushing towards that fight, you know what? Cleaning up in front of the church is a fight. These things are fights. I mean, cleaning the church is a fight. You know, fixing things is a fight. The Christian life is a fight. But I love it. It's such a, I mean, it's the right way. And you know what? You know why I love it? You know why you'll love it too? If you just get your tail across the river and get moving, you'll love it because God's fighting with you. And you can tell that he is. And this is coming from a guy that when he was in his 20s would hear friends of mine talk about, oh, well, the Lord led me in this direction. I would sit there. I wasn't saved, but I would sit there and be like, yeah, does God talk to you? This is me. Now I'm telling you that you get across the river and you start moving in the Bible direction and you can feel God fighting with you. You go and you start making big moves in your life for the Lord and you could feel God with you there. I've never seen God, you know, move in my life before, you know, but you got to move first. That's the problem. You got to get across the river because look, there's a big fight in front of us. There's a big fight in front of us and we're going to fight it here. I mean, look, we're going to have fun. We'll go fishing and hiking and do all this stuff, but really what we're doing is we're fighting. That's our goal here. We're fighting for people's souls. We're fighting to grow this ministry. We're fighting for people's families in this church. We're fighting for the next generation in this church. We're fighting to teach these kids the Bible when 99% of the people out there in this world are trying to teach them something that's the opposite and we're going to win that fight here, but it's not going to come by just sitting back doing nothing and just having fun and having a picnic. No, that's why people won't come here, but look, they're going to pay. They're going to pay, but we're going to fight here. We're crossing that river and look, it's really obvious when you're like five miles from the river and somebody else is over in the river going, oh, which way? That's why it's so obvious. Just sell out and get across the river and let's go. I mean, that's where we're headed. Look, that's where we're headed in the next year. Let's bow our heads. you