(gentle music) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) (gentle music continues) - Good morning, church family.

Happy Lord's Day. I wanted to go ahead and read a passage in Psalm 92, reference this first song we're gonna sing, "It is Good to Praise the Lord." Psalm 92, one says, "It is good to give thanks to the Lord "and to sing praises to your name, O Most High, "to declare your loving kindness in the morning "and your faithfulness by night, "with a 10-stringed lute, with the harp, "with resounding music upon the lyre.

"For you, O Lord, have made me glad by what you have done. "I will sing for joy at the works of your hands." So as we sing this song, it is truly a joy, and it's good to praise the Lord. (gentle music) ♪ It is good to praise the Lord ♪ ♪ And it is good to gaze upon his majesty ♪ ♪ And to proclaim his love in the morning ♪ ♪ And his faithfulness at night ♪ ♪ Oh, it is good to worship and praise the Lord ♪ Sing it one more time, it is good.

♪ It is good to praise the Lord ♪ ♪ And it is good to gaze upon his majesty ♪ ♪ And to proclaim his love in the morning ♪ ♪ And his faithfulness at night ♪ ♪ Oh, it is good to worship and praise the Lord ♪ ♪ And to proclaim his love in the morning ♪ ♪ And his faithfulness at night ♪ ♪ Oh, it is good to worship and praise the Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, it is good to worship and praise ♪ ♪ Oh, it is good to worship and praise ♪ ♪ Oh, it is good to worship and praise the Lord ♪ ♪ And praise the Lord ♪ - Good morning, let me get to a few announcements before we get started.

First of all, I think today's the last day for the membership class that's been taking place. So a new session is gonna be starting in April. So if you know of someone who needs to be taking that class, April, I think it's the first week of April, they're gonna be starting.

So please contact either Pastor Nate or Pastor Mark, and they'll give you more information about that coming up. This week, we're gonna pick back up on our Bible study. So whether it's a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or home group, so that regular Bible study is gonna be starting for that.

And also our leadership is going on a leadership retreat that's starting today and we'll be back on Wednesday. So if anybody is thinking of coming to church before that, like we won't be here until Wednesday, just to give you a heads up. But we ask that you would keep us in your prayers.

We're not going far, but it is a leadership retreat so to take some time to discuss certain things. And so if you guys can keep us in your prayer for that. Okay, let's take some time to pray for the offering and we'll give you time to give the offering before we get started.

All right, let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the privilege that we have to come and worship you. Help us, Lord, to give you worship that you truly deserve. Open our eyes that we may see your glory in a greater light, Lord God, that we may be transformed from one form of glory to another.

We ask, Lord, that your grace would be sufficient and that our love for you may continue to increase as we learn more and more about who you are and your faithfulness to us. We ask, Lord, as we give our offering, may it be multiplied 30, 60, 100 fold, that more people may come to Christ, more people may hear the gospel.

And we ask, Lord God, that your glory may be magnified through it. We thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name we pray, amen. (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) Church family, let's all rise together. (soft piano music) ♪ All in the power of Jesus' name ♪ ♪ Let angels' prostrate fall ♪ ♪ Bring forth the royal diagon ♪ ♪ And crown him Lord of all ♪ ♪ Bring forth the royal diagon ♪ ♪ And crown him Lord of all ♪ ♪ He chosen, he chosen seed of Israel's race ♪ ♪ He ransomed from the fount ♪ ♪ Hail him who saves you by his grace ♪ ♪ And crown him Lord of all ♪ ♪ Hail him who saves you by his grace ♪ ♪ And crown him Lord of all ♪ ♪ Every kindred, every tribe on this terrestrial ball ♪ ♪ To him all majesty astride ♪ ♪ And crown him Lord of all ♪ ♪ To him all majesty astride ♪ ♪ And crown him Lord of all ♪ ♪ Oh that ♪ ♪ Oh that with yonder sacred throng ♪ ♪ We at his feet may fall ♪ ♪ We'll join the everlasting song ♪ ♪ And crown him Lord of all ♪ ♪ We'll join the everlasting song ♪ ♪ And crown him Lord of all ♪ ♪ Oh that ♪ ♪ And crown him Lord of all ♪ Amen.

♪ The grace of God has reached for me ♪ ♪ And pulled me from the raging sea ♪ ♪ And I am safe on this solid ground ♪ ♪ The Lord is my salvation ♪ ♪ I will not fear when darkness falls ♪ ♪ His strength will help me scale these walls ♪ ♪ I'll see the dawn of the rising sun ♪ ♪ The Lord is my salvation ♪ ♪ Who is like ♪ ♪ Who is like the Lord our God ♪ ♪ Strong to save, faithful in love ♪ ♪ My debt is paid and the victory won ♪ ♪ The Lord is my salvation ♪ ♪ My hope is hidden in the Lord ♪ ♪ He flouts each promise of his word ♪ ♪ When winter fades, I know spring will come ♪ ♪ The Lord is my salvation ♪ ♪ The waiting times, the waiting times of me ♪ ♪ When I know loss, when I am weak ♪ ♪ I know his grace will renew these days ♪ ♪ The Lord is my salvation ♪ ♪ Who is like the Lord our God ♪ ♪ Strong to save, faithful in love ♪ ♪ My debt is paid and the victory won ♪ ♪ The Lord is my salvation ♪ ♪ And when I reach the final day ♪ ♪ He will not leave me in the grave ♪ ♪ But I will rise, he will call me home ♪ ♪ The Lord is my salvation ♪ ♪ Who is like the Lord our God ♪ ♪ Strong to save, faithful in love ♪ ♪ My debt is paid and the victory won ♪ ♪ The Lord is my salvation ♪ ♪ Glory be to God the Father ♪ ♪ Glory be to God the Son ♪ ♪ Glory be to God the Spirit ♪ ♪ The Lord is our salvation ♪ ♪ Glory be to God the Father ♪ ♪ Glory be to God the Son ♪ ♪ Glory be to God the Spirit ♪ ♪ The Lord is our salvation ♪ ♪ The Lord is our salvation ♪ ♪ The Lord is our salvation ♪ You may be seated.

(gentle music) All right, if you can turn your Bibles with me to Hebrews chapter 11, verses 30 and 31. Okay, Hebrews chapter 11, verse 30 and 31. So we're going much faster, two verses today. So don't worry. Okay, chapter 30, chapter 11, verse 30 and 31. Reading out of the NASB.

By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith, Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient after she had welcomed the spies in peace. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we pray for greater insight, greater knowledge of Christ and what he has done, that all that we do may simply be a reasonable response to your great mercy.

Lord, as we continue to study your redemptive history and the examples that have gone before us, help us, Lord God, not to simply take it as knowledge, but the source of strength for application in our lives, to put our confidence and trust in you and you alone. So we pray for your grace and your Holy Spirit to lead and guide us through your word.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen. All right, so now we're jumping into the next great event that took place. 40 years have gone by since they've come out of Egypt, and so we're skipping literally from Exodus 14, 15, and we're just speeding through Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and then now we're at the event that takes place in Joshua.

And so, but before we jump into this text in verse 30 and 31, I wanted to remind us of how we got to chapter 11, so that we can understand this in the proper context, okay? So if you remember, the whole book of Hebrews is written to a group of people who have been drifting from their faith.

So they've been tempted, in the very beginning of their faith, they were celebrating their love for Christ, and they were fellowshipping with those who were being imprisoned, and so it was a very strong church, but at some point, maybe after 10, 20, 30 years, persecution was intensified, and so many of them started drifting back to their old life, to the Judaistic life, and so the remedy for that, for the author, is to remind them of the supremacy of Christ.

So we had chapter 10, 10 chapters, of talking about how Jesus Christ is better than everything that they value. He's better than the angels, better than Moses, better than the prophets, better than the priests, and he's a greater sacrifice. So that's what he's been talking about. He's been laying out Christology to demonstrate to them that this great salvation that we have in Christ, that if we neglect such a great salvation, how much more deserving of judgment would we have?

So we had 11 chapters, or 10 chapters of Christology. When we get to chapter 12 and chapter 13, it's the application of those 10 chapters. If we truly believe that Christ is supreme over everything else, then this is how we ought to live. So chapter 12 and chapter 13, there's a lot of imperatives teaching us instructions on what we ought to do.

Chapter 11 is right in the middle where he's transitioning from the indicatives to the imperatives, where he's teaching us, this is who Jesus is, and if he truly is supreme over everything that we value, then we ought to live this way. And so chapter 11 is, he's saying, but that gap is because of faith, by faith.

So everything that we've been talking about in chapter 11, that if you believe this, chapter one through 10, then you will do this. And here's some examples of some people who by faith have done this, by faith have done that. So it's important for us to recognize that I think every one of us have a tendency.

Some of us are more prone to action, and so we don't have a lot of patience for the theological aspect. We just wanna, teach me the basics and then tell me what to do. I wanna get to work. I wanna do something practical. So we kinda leave our theology at a kinda superficial or at a basic level, and then we wanna get to work.

Or we may have a tendency to be on the other end, where we're so into, like, we wanna know biblical theology, we wanna know all the systematic theology, we wanna know exegesis, and then when it comes to the application, we don't pay as much attention to that. Well, chapter 11 really is the core of our Christian faith, where it's not one or the other.

Both part is just as crucial. It's by faith, it's what we believe, not just the superficial, fundamental, Jesus loves you, died for you, was resurrected, so now let's get to work. By faith reminds us that everything that he says in 11 chapters, 10 chapters, is just as crucial as what we do, because that's the foundation, that's the motivation, that's the strength, that's the reason why we do what we do.

If you're running and doing something and you forget why you're doing that, eventually you're gonna get burned out. So it's by faith, faith is the fuel, the action that they took is because they had the right faith. So again, I wanted to revisit that before we jump into this, 'cause we wanna ask the question, what are we to learn from this?

And obviously we have the same theme that's kinda going through all of it is, that this is God's redemptive history, he's being faithful to his promise, and through the ups and downs of Israel's history, that God remains faithful throughout the whole thing. There's two questions that we wanna answer here.

First of it is in verse 30, when it says, "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down "after they had been encircled for seven days," how come Joshua's name is not mentioned here? I mean, he's the central figure in what's going on here. So up to this point, we've had, by faith, you know, by faith Abraham did this, by faith Jacob did this, by faith Isaac did this, by faith Joseph did this.

But when we come to the falling of the wall of Jericho, Joshua's the central figure in this, and his name is not mentioned. We get to verse 31, and it says, "By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish "along with those who were disobedient "after she had welcomed the spies in peace." Why is Rahab's name mentioned here, right?

This great event that takes place through Joshua, this man of faith, and his name is not mentioned, and the person that is highlighted in the conquering of Jericho is Rahab the harlot, right? Why is her name here? So the two questions, okay? Why is Joshua's name not here, and why is Rahab's name not here?

And again, whenever we do inductive Bible study, it's very important to ask a lot of questions, because if you don't ask questions, you won't know when you get the answer, okay? So people who ask a lot of questions are usually the ones who end up learning. If you come in and I have no questions, it just means even when something profound comes up, you're not really gonna catch it, 'cause you didn't really search, right?

And so again, you get in a habit when we are studying the scripture to ask a lot of questions. And so again, that's not the, what we're saying about Joshua's name and Rahab's name is not the central thing that we're gonna be talking about, but it is going to help us to see why it is written in this way, okay?

Before we get into it, I think we need to understand the background context behind, before they go into Jericho, what exactly happened, right? For 40 years, they come out, and that history of 40 years, there's a lot of things that happened during those 40 years. Remember, they got the law, they built the tabernacle, spies went and they came back and they were afraid, and as a result, they wandered in the desert for 40 years.

And so Moses was a leader during those 40 years, right? Reluctant leader, but he was a good leader. And, but right before they are about to face their biggest challenge, up to now, for 40 years, all they had to do was when God said to move, you move. God said to sit down, you sit down.

He said, you touch this, then you touch, God says, don't touch it, you don't touch it. He just had to do exactly what he had, he, God told him to do. But they were wandering in the desert. So it wasn't like there was some, you know, enemies waiting to ambush them every corner.

But this was the real test. The first time they needed to go against a fortified city, God takes Moses out, this great leader out, and he puts this inexperienced leader, Joshua, to lead this charge. So if you are a military commander, you say, well, that's a bad time to do this.

God didn't, in fact, when God removed Moses, like, again, to this day, I'm not exactly sure what Moses did, other than God says, you didn't show me as holy. So I've combed through that passage, I've heard sermons, read through commentaries, and to be honest, I don't really understand, other than he hit the rock.

And I've heard whole sermons and exposition about what that hitting the rock meant and why he shouldn't have done that. It's like, I'm not convinced. I don't know exactly what he did, but what God said was, whatever it was, he didn't present God the way God wanted to be presented.

He misrepresented God to Israel. And as a result of that, he couldn't get into the Promised Land. So Moses actually is begging God, like, please, look at that land filled with milk and honey. I've been waiting 40 years. I told you I didn't wanna do this, but here's the payoff, but he couldn't get in.

So there was no transitional time for Joshua to learn the trades and Moses to disciple him and raise him up as a leader. There was none of that. You switch him out, Joshua gets plugged in, and then they cross the Jordan River, and in order to get to the Promised Land, they face their biggest challenge.

Here's this fortified city, and in fact, this is how God describes to the nation of Israel who they're up against. Deuteronomy 9, one through seven. "Hear, O Israel, you are crossing over the Jordan today to go into a dispensation of nations greater and mightier than you." They're all greater and mightier than you, right?

It's a great pep talk. "Great cities fortified to heaven, a people great and tall, sons of Anakim, whom you know and of whom you have heard it said, who can stand before the sons of Anak?" I mean, I don't think God even needed to remind them. They knew what they were up against, but God made it sure that they understood, right?

You're going against a fortified city. They have a reputation of being great. They're bigger than you, right? They're taller than you. You know, the only thing I don't mention is they're better looking than you, right? It's almost kind of like he's deliberately trying to discourage them, and you have to remember the experienced adults among the Israelites, what happened to them?

They all died out, right? So not only do they have a young commanding leader who doesn't have experience, anybody who's older and more mature already died out. So it's all the kids from that generation, brand new, are going into the city, and then right before they go, God says, "They're better than you.

They're stronger than you." You know, and they've been wandering out in the desert. These guys aren't trained soldiers. All they know how to do is march. They know how to carry that box. They're good at carrying that box, right? God tells you to sit, you sit. He tells you to get up, you get up.

That's what they've been doing, basic training for 40 years. So it's kind of like getting a bunch of soldiers who've been doing basic training, and then the biggest battle, right? And then they give a brand new commander, it's like, "Go! By the way, they have better weapons than you." You know what I mean?

They have a reputation of this army. They've destroyed everybody else before you, right? Why is he saying that? Well, he says in verse three, Deuteronomy 9, three, "Know therefore today that it is the Lord your God who is crossing over before you as a consuming fire." In other words, if you're going in there with any kind of self-confidence, right, by human standards, they'll destroy you.

And that's why I want to let you know it is not you. I'm not sending you in. I'm going in. I just want you to follow me. "The Lord your God who is crossing over before you as a consuming fire, he will destroy them, and he will subdue them before you so that you may drive them out and destroy them quickly, just as the Lord has spoken to you." And then he goes on even further in verse four.

And I want you to see how many times he says to them, "Remember that it is not because of your righteousness that this is happening." Verse four, "Do not say in your heart when the Lord your God has driven them out before you because of my righteousness, the Lord has brought me to possess this land.

But it is because of the weakness of the nations that the Lord is possessing them before you. It is not your righteousness for your uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess this land. But it is because of the weakness of these nations, the Lord your God is driving them out before you in order to confirm the oath which the Lord spoke to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Know then it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God giving you this good land to possess for you are a stubborn people." You kind of get the idea that maybe God was concerned that they're gonna become proud, right? That they're gonna have such an easy time conquering this fortified city that at the end of that, they're gonna come out thinking like, "We must have done something right, right?

Maybe it's because all this marching strengthened their legs." You know, "It must have been something," he said. But he wanted to make sure. And the reason why he wanted to make sure is because our tendency to become proud when things go well. And that was their fault. When they were the strongest was when they were completely dependent upon God, right?

How could they have possibly thought that they came out of Egypt by their own strength? How can they have possibly thought they would have survived in the desert? The water and the food that they ate was miraculous food. Normal people would have just died within months with no food, no water.

God was providing for them. But just in case you forgot, I'm not sending you into this city to conquer them because I've done enough training and we have a bunch of trained people who are able to fight. And we strengthened you, we worked on your arms and your legs, we worked on strategy.

And so when we get over there, that we're gonna put all that to use. He said, "No, they're bigger than you, they're stronger than you, they're mightier than you. So make sure when you get over there that you realize I'm going over and you follow me. And just in case after it's done, it is not because of your righteousness.

Not only are they greater than you, you're not righteous." He goes even further than that, verse seven. "Remember, do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that you left the land of Egypt until you arrived at this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord." He says, if you have any confidence thinking like, oh, there are no 40 years, maybe that's, you know, we've been good and that's why God is giving us this land.

He said, "You forgot already what the 40 years was like?" Right? Remember the 40 years, right off, right before they even crossed the Red Sea, right? They started grumbling. "You brought us out here to kill us here, it would have been better to go to Egypt." They crossed to the other side and they get a little thirsty.

"You brought us out here where there's no water?" Then a little bit later, they get hungry. It's like, "Oh my gosh, you brought us out here with no food?" God gives them miraculous manna from heaven and it's like, "Oh my gosh, you brought us out here to eat the same bread over and over?" So God gives them quail and they eat the quail.

It's like, "Oh my gosh, the same thing over and over again?" If there's anything in 40 years, remember how many times you provoked the Lord. So just in case that you think that somehow you deserve this, it's not because of your righteousness, it's not because of your strength, it's not because they're weaker than you, it's because I'm going ahead.

He said, "Because the promise I made to your forefathers." He's being faithful to himself. The covenant that he has made, he is keeping it. He says again in Deuteronomy 7, 7-9, "The Lord did not set his love on you, nor chose you, because you were more in number than any of the people.

For you were the fewest of all the peoples, but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which he swore to the forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God, he is God, the faithful God who keeps his covenant and his loving kindness to the thousands generation and to those with those who love him and keep his commandments." You know, the mystery of our salvation isn't that somehow God has seen a diamond in the rough.

Every once in a while I hear somebody saying that. There's something in us that God saw that maybe even we didn't see, and therefore he chose, right? The diamond in the rough, and he polished us, and he made us his great people. Which means that the non-Christians were not worth saving because there was something special about us.

It's us that God saw. And he says, "No." The fundamental question is that he just chose to love us. It's not because of your righteousness. In fact, if you're honest with yourself, right? If you're honest with yourself, we're not even talking about before you became a Christian. We're talking about after you became a Christian.

Do you really think you've lived up to the calling of what God has given you? Don't answer that 'cause I don't wanna refute you, right? How many of you, including myself, after we've been a Christian, whether you've been a Christian a year, or 30 years, or 40 years, or 50 years, look back on those 30, 40, 50 years of our Christian life and say, "You know what?

"I know I was an unfaithful person, you know, "didn't know God, "but after I became a Christian, "majority of my life was lived in obedience. "Majority of my thoughts, my human relationships, "was faithful. "I lived up to the gospel that the Bible talks. "I've loved up to the calling that God has given me." Right?

How many of you can confidently say that? Right? My guess is if you're honest with yourself, you have memories year after year after year of struggling with certain sins, with anger, bitterness, maybe pride. All these things that we can think of, and we probably feel more unworthy today than we did when we first met Christ.

The fundamental questions of the gospel isn't, "Why did God punish the sinners?" That answer is pretty easy, right? Because they rebelled against him, he's God. Why wouldn't he punish them? If somebody irritates you, do you not punish them? Somebody slaps you, do you not slap them back, or at least that's your temptation, right?

So we know why rebellious people get punished. The question is, why did he love us? So when Jesus comes, I don't think the first question that we should be asking is, "Why did you create hell? "Why is there so much suffering in the world?" The answer is clear, because mankind, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

But the question that remains a mystery, and I'm not sure exactly if it's gonna make sense even after we die, when we meet Christ, is, "Why did you choose us? "Why were we chosen? "What did we do?" There really isn't a clear answer, other than the fact he said he chose you, and he chose to love you, and he's being faithful to his covenant promise.

See, he wanted Israel to make sure that they believe, because the moment we stray from that, and we begin to think to ourselves, that maybe I was bad before, but maybe if I'm good afterwards, and that's the difference between a good Christian and a bad Christian, or somebody who bears fruit, somebody who doesn't bear fruit, is somebody who works hard versus somebody who doesn't work hard.

Don't get me wrong, does the Bible tell us to pick up the cross? Yes. Does the Bible tell us to pick up the cross? Yes. Does the Bible tell us, like Paul said, I buffet my body and make it my slave, after I preach to others that I may be disqualified?

Yes. Does the Bible tell us to sacrifice? Yes. All those things are true, but the fundamental place where the gospel brings us, always, past, present, and future, is absolute helplessness before God. 'Cause our battle is not against flesh and blood. You can't get into a demonic wrestling match by working hard.

You can't change the Spirit's work by being smart, by being determined. Remember the Corinthians? There's a church that really was battling each other for righteousness. And so the church started splitting because they said, you know, in order to be really righteous and right with God, you need to have the right leader.

So some were saying, I follow Paul, some saying Paul, some saying Peter. And it was causing all kinds of divisions, and then Paul is trying to remind them, the division is coming because of your spiritual pride. That somehow, some of you think you're more righteous because you've stood in the right line.

Some of you think you're more righteous because you have the right training, or whatever it is that you think you are. And Paul comes in, and he says, "For consider your calling, brethren, "that there were not many wise according to the flesh." I want you to think about what he's saying here, okay?

In other words, you weren't wise. Not many were mighty. You weren't mighty. Not many were noble. You weren't noble. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world, in other words, you were foolish, to shame the wise. And God has chosen the weak things of the world, in other words, you are weak, to shame the things that are strong, and the base things of the world, the most fundamental.

In other words, you guys were low class. And despised, God has chosen the things that are not, so that he may nullify the things that are. So that no man may boast before God, but by his doing, you are in Christ Jesus. The whole rebellion of mankind is his pride.

Satan wanted to get the glory and worship that God had. Adam and Eve wanted to be like God. As soon as they had the opportunity, they built the Tower of Babel, because they wanted to get to God by their own strength. And God deliberately destroys them and scatters them.

And so the fundamental rebellion of mankind, is he wants to elevate himself near to God or above God. God says he comes, and the gospel message is, that he's coming to destroy what the world considers wise, what the world considers strong, what the world considers noble. And he's deliberately chosen the weak things, in order to dumbfound the wise.

So basically, what did he do? He flipped the table, and that's what he was trying to tell the disciples. They were like anybody else. They wanted to follow Jesus, and if they stay close to him enough, when the kingdom comes, am I gonna sit to the left or to the right?

And that's why he deliberately got on his knees, to serve his disciples. And to do the most menial task of washing their feet. And he said, those who are the servants in the kingdom of God, they are the greatest in the kingdom. He was taking the weakest things, and he was flipping the table over this sinful world, that's trying so hard to get on the top.

And that's why our salvation is described by, in Ephesians 2.8.9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, "that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, "not as a result of us, so that no one may boast." There is no boasting in the kingdom of God.

'Cause you didn't earn it. I didn't earn it, you didn't earn it. There is no boasting in the kingdom of God. A Christian who is boasting, doesn't know the gospel. He doesn't know Christ. Because he thinks somehow he did it. He thinks somehow he worked harder than other people.

He thinks somehow he achieved greater things. See, the whole point of this Jericho, before he goes in, he reminds Joshua and the rest of Israel, it is not you. This wall's gonna fall, but it has nothing to do with you. If anything, you deserve to be crushed. If this promise that God made was a conditional promise that God made to Abraham, it would've been done a long time ago.

You guys would've never made it out of Egypt. You would've never made it through the Red Sea. You would've never crossed the Jordan River, if it was you. That was the point that he was trying to make. He's trying to be faithful to his own covenant. Now, as fundamental as this is to our faith, it is so hard to shake.

It's so hard to shake. Because ever since we were born, we're taught to mature. And what does mature mean? To be independent, to take care of yourself, right? I remember when that thought really gripped me. I think I was a freshman or a sophomore in college, and I had a job out here in Irvine.

I was going to Biola, and somebody I knew was a manager of some restaurant over here, so I had to come here every day, five to one in the afternoon. And I remember working, and I just happened to be really sick that day, and there was nobody to replace me, so I came into work.

And I was just sweating, I had a fever, and I was a cashier, and I was feeling so bad, and I was thinking, I need a break. But there's no break, 'cause no one could take my place, and the boss who was there, he needed me to do my job, 'cause nobody else, he can't run the thing.

So I remember feeling so bad, and it got so bad in the middle, I went into the closet, and I threw up. And I was coughing, I was sweating, and as soon as I caught my breath, I had to go back out to work. And I was there for the rest of the day, probably about three, four hours, just sweating, and just barely making it.

And through that whole process of misery, I was thinking, this is life. That's what I was thinking, this is life. No one's gonna help you. Right? Your mom is not around, you're not a kid anymore. Grow up, Peter, this is life, right? Things get hard, suck it up. So that's been my theme of life since, suck it up.

Right, there's certain things that you can't change. Sometimes bad things happen, right? Sometimes you're sick and you have to go to work. Suck it up, right? So that's kind of like, I pride myself being, you know, suck it up, but it needs to get done, needs to get done, you know?

So I thought I was the suck it up king, and then I met my wife, and she's really the suck it up king. Yeah. But the reason why this is so hard is because the world values hard work, right? We talk about how many of our immigrant parents work two jobs and three jobs.

They work so hard to achieve what they, and we value that, we look up to that. When we raise our kids, right? Money doesn't grow off of trees, you bum. Get a job, right? Do your work, the harder you work, the more you can achieve. So everything that we do since we're children, we're taught to work hard, to move ahead, to get ahead.

Even as Christians, work hard to be disciplined, to memorize scripture, to pray longer, and study the Bible, all of these things. Again, none of these things in and of itself, innately, is wrong. But that is so hard to shake. Because when it comes to our spiritual life, it does so much damage.

Because the very get-go of our salvation is to come before God and recognize how helpless we are, and that's what brings us to repentance. Repentance isn't, you know what, I should've gotten an A, but I got a C, but I'm gonna try harder to get an A. That's not repentance.

Repentance that leads to salvation is recognizing that I can never bridge this gap. There is nothing I can do to bridge this gap between me and this holy God. And so I surrender. I repent not only of what I did, I repent of who I am. And you completely surrender everything to God, you're in charge now.

That's what begins our salvation. But at some point in our sanctification, we pick back up. I'm gonna work harder, I'm gonna be better. We make resolutions. And then when things don't turn out the way it does, we get frustrated, where's God? Again, don't get me wrong, right? Remember where chapter 11 is.

By faith, they did all of this. But the important part of this is by faith. By faith. Our strength to do anything is by faith. Not simply our determination, not simply because of our knowledge, not because of our experience, but because of our connection to God. And that's the point that he's trying to tell us.

Remember when Jesus shows up? Remember the zealots? The zealots were people who were willing to die to preserve Israel. So they were always ready to go. They had a knife carrying around, and if they get an opportunity, they're gonna knife somebody and create a revolution. So these guys, in their own way, were picking up the cross.

They were sacrificing, because they were willing to die for Israel. Jesus didn't come to them and say, "Good job. "Good job, zealots." He didn't see the Sadducees, who were very politically savvy. They're going to preserve Israel through having a great relationship with the Romans, and they use their intellect and their influence to be able to preserve Israel.

So they were politically trying to preserve the nation. Jesus didn't show up to the Sadducees and say, "Good job. "You guys are so savvy, "and because of you, Israel is being preserved." He didn't say to the Sadducees, who were trying so hard to keep the law. The Bible says, and Jesus says, they were proselytizing, they were praying, they were tithing.

As far as discipline is concerned, they were more disciplined than anybody else. And he didn't say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant, "because you tried harder than anybody else." That's not what he said. He said, "You pray, but you pray for other people to see. "You study the Bible so that you can show off.

"You're proselytizing, and you proselytize and convert them "and make them just as much, "twice as much the son of the devil than you. "You give, but you give so that other people "can recognize how generous you are. "Everything that you're doing, "you're doing for other people to see." He didn't say, "Good job." You know what, he was always amazed.

Whenever you see the term, "Jesus was amazed," do you know what follows after that? He was amazed by their faith. Whether they were rich or poor, whether they were strong or weak, what surprised Jesus was always their faith. What disappointment, when he was disappointed, he would say, "You of little faith." It was their faith.

It was what connected them to the holy God, because their power didn't come from them. Their righteousness didn't come from them. Their fruit didn't come from them. It's their faith. Whatever faith that they had is what connected them to this holy God that caused them to be fruitful. That's why he said, "If you wanna be fruitful, "work hard, wanna be fruitful, study hard.

"If you wanna be fruitful," he said, "Abide." Abide. Stay, stay, remain, remain. So our primary call as Christians is to abide in Christ, abide in Christ, to stay in Christ, to remain in Christ, to trust in Christ, to continue in Christ. That is our primary call. Anything else is human arrogance.

It's our effort to work hard to get ahead, to move ahead, to be better, stronger. It is when we are weak, he is strong. That's why the only instruction that God gives Joshua in Joshua 1, six through nine, he says, "To be strong and courageous. "For you shall give this people possession of the land "which I swore to their forefathers.

"Only be strong and courageous." Verse eight, "This book of the law "shall not depart from your mouth, "but you shall meditate on it day and night "so that you may be careful to do all that is written in it, "for then you will make your way prosperous "and then you will have success." And it said, the only instruction is, "Be strong and courageous, do exactly as I tell you." Don't turn from it to the left or to the right.

Whether it makes sense or doesn't make sense. And remember, the instruction God gave them was, when you get in there, remember that Ark of the Covenant, remember that box that I gave you, right? Get seven priests to walk ahead of the rest of you, and the distance was about 2,000 cubit.

2,000 cubit is about half a mile, a little bit more than half a mile, right? So seven priests, I mean, think about it. If you're going into battle, that's the worst thing to do. Like, all they're doing is marching, right? And my guess is, while they're marching, they're muslim, these guys are descendants of grumblers.

You know what I mean? My guess is somebody grumbling is like, "What are we doing? Didn't he say we're gonna conquer this land? How's this train? We're tired." Every day, carry the box, seven priests. And this is what they did for six days, right? I mean, this is going to conquer Jericho?

My guess is there was some grumbling in there, right? It's not recorded, but my guess is, right? Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, right? On the seventh day, this is the day that the Lord's gonna give you this. What should we do? Well, remember how you carry that box?

This time, do it seven times. Seven times. That's what they did. Exactly what God said. Don't turn from it to the left or to the right. They carried this box, seven priests, right? And it wasn't sharpen your sword, right? Go in there and flank. You go left, you go right, and then I'll be the command when I blow the trumpet, all you guys rise, none of that.

Just carry this box, right? Which, the covenant was representative of the presence of God in Israel. And it was to show the nation of Israel that the Lord is gonna give you this, not you. So you know what happens. They marched seven times. Can you imagine how tired they were after seven?

I know there were wanderers in the desert, but seven times around the city carrying this box. And then they stopped and they're like, oh my gosh, I'm so tired. Okay, and then blow the trumpet. They blow the trumpet, exactly as God said, and the wall comes tumbling down, and all they did was just walk in, right?

And exactly as God said, it wasn't you. It wasn't you. In fact, the primary sin of Israel was whenever they forgot that and they became proud, and that's when sin started coming into their camp. So the same lesson that God's been trying to teach them over and over again, it is not you.

Your strength does not come from you. Your might does not come from you. Your wisdom doesn't come from you. Your power, your fruit, it doesn't come from you. Abide in me, abide in me, abide in me, abide in me. Do not boast, do not boast, do not boast, do not boast.

It's like Joshua, when he was ready in Joshua 3, 5, he says, "Consecrate yourselves, "for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you." So Joshua knew, right? So that was the first question. Why is Joshua's name not there? Because Joshua was not the central figure. Whether his name was mentioned or it wasn't mentioned, it was not, that was not the point.

The point is what God was doing, right? But the second question, we're not gonna spend a lot of time on this one, then why is Rahab's name mentioned? In fact, it's not just Rahab, right? At some point in history, Rahab was a harlot. But because her name is written in the Bible, she will forever be known as Rahab the harlot.

Because that's how it was mentioned to us in Joshua, and that's how it's mentioned to us here. Why is the fact that she was a harlot described here? David is not described as David the murderer. Right? David is not described to us as David the adulterer, David the murderer, right?

God forgave David. But why is Rahab's name even on this list of, I mean, think about who's on this list, right? Abraham, right? Abraham's on it. Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joseph. I mean, think about the people on this list. And then we skip Joshua. And then Rahab the harlot, right?

Do you think when we get to heaven, we're gonna see Rahab's like, there's Rahab the harlot, right? And I don't, I hope not. But why is that emphasized here? Why is her name here when Joshua's name is not? And think about what exactly did Rahab do that was worth being on this list?

Well, only thing that we know is Joshua 2, 8 through 11, this is what Rahab says. The spies come to spy out the land and she basically protects them. But the reason why she protects them is what is mentioned in verse eight. Now, before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, this is the Israelites who are hiding, "I know that the Lord has given you the land "and that the terror of you has fallen on us "and that all the inhabitants of the land "have melted away before you." In other words, she was scared, right?

Before they even came, there was a reputation of the Israelites. And this is what she says. Verse 10, "For we have heard how the Lord "dried up the water of the Red Sea." Remember when that happened 40 years ago, right? "Dried up the water of the Red Sea before you "when you came out of Egypt." I said, wow, the Egyptians couldn't find them.

God delivered them from Egypt. They heard about that. And what you did to the two kings of Amorites and beyond the Jordan to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. "When we heard of it, our hearts melted "and no courage remained in any man "any longer because of you.

"For the Lord your God, he is God in heaven, "above and on the earth below." Think about this great faith that made it into the Hall of Fame, right? What was it that she did? Look at the way it's described. "By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish." Did not perish along with the other disobedient.

That was the claim to fame. She didn't die. That's why she's on this list of people, right? The cloud of witnesses that went there. "Rahab the harlot by faith did not perish "along with the others who were disobedient." She was trying to save herself 'cause she heard that here's this nation coming.

Clearly they're not powerful. "But there's something supernatural going on." And she believed it was their God. I mean, what kind of God do you serve that even the Egyptians can't bind you? And so the terror fell upon everybody else, but the difference with her is she decided to side with Israel.

She lies. No, they're not here, right? There's nothing necessarily noble about what she did other than she was trying to save her neck and she was trying to save her family, that's it. But the reason why she made it on this list is because by faith. It's because she believed.

She believed in the God of Israel more than whatever it is that she was holding on to. So the point of this isn't about Rahab, it's not about Joshua, it's not about Moses, it's not about Abraham. It's about by faith. That's why each of these passages start with by faith, by faith, by faith, by faith.

That even Rahab the harlot was preserved and even in her imperfect life, known as a harlot, because of faith, she made it into the Hall of Fame. There's going to be a lot of people in heaven, I believe, that we're gonna be surprised to see. You got there? How did you get up here?

I know your life, I know what you did. You're constantly struggling. Yeah, but I believed. There's gonna be some people up there that I think many of us are gonna be surprised. And then there's gonna be some people up there thinking like, how come he's not here? How come she's not here?

Because you and I have a tendency to measure everything by what we see. What did they achieve, what did they not achieve? What did they do, how much did they sacrifice? We measure everything by what we see. God measures our righteousness by our faith. God measures our production by our faith.

And so by faith, even somebody like a harlot made it onto this list of Hall of Fame. In fact, eventually she ends up marrying an Israelite. She becomes a great, great, great, great grandfather of King David, and then King David's a great, great, great, great, great grandfather of Jesus.

And so she made it onto this list. I don't know about you, but our God is amazing. I mean, it humbles us and lifts us up at the same time. It destroys our pride and fills us with hope all at the same time. Like, you're nothing, they'll kill you.

And then you're filled with confidence and courage at the same time. He destroys our pride because only when our pride is destroyed will he be lifted up. And let me finish with this. Remember the story of Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman. And those two stories are really meant to be read together because John is introducing the gospel and Nicodemus comes out because he's considered the most righteous man because he's on the Sanhedrin and he's a Pharisee among Pharisees, so he kept the law perfect.

So he comes, and remember, he's afraid of his reputation. He comes at night so that his friends wouldn't see. And he's conversing with Jesus like, how do I get to heaven? Jesus says, you must be born again. Born again? How does a man be born again? It's like, well, you can't.

That's the work of the Holy Spirit. So he tells this man who had a reputation of being holy, who's already made it to the top of the heap, all of that's not gonna help you at all, right? You have to be born again. The very next chapter, he meets a Samaritan woman.

We don't even know her name. She's not even mentioned by name, she's just Samaritan woman. By the Jews, who's considered half-breeds, right? They were compromisers. They weren't considered righteous. And Jesus actually pursues after her. She's come to the middle of the day, and she was probably considered a harlot among the Samaritans, and he talks to her, and he draws her out and says, the water that I give you will give you eternal life, and you won't be thirsty again.

And then she meets Christ, and she becomes the first evangelist to the Samaritans. The Samaritans come to Christ as a result of her. But if you read that two-story together, here's this man who's filled with pride, who's top of righteousness, according to Israel. He humbles him and says, you must be born again.

And then he chases after this woman who was living in sin, and then raises her up, to tell them that the gospel brings the mountains low and the valleys high, and the entrance into the kingdom is the same door. Whether you are high, whether you are significant, whether you are educated, whether you are talented, no matter how old you are, no matter how awful you think you are, no matter what your past is, no matter how much you've fallen, it is the same grace of God that brings us through the same door.

So the point of chapter 11 is by faith, by faith, by faith, by faith. It is not, it is not because of my faithfulness that our church has gotten here. It is not because of the faithfulness of a few of the leaders that our church got here. And I'm not saying that as a humble brag, 'cause I know myself better than you know me.

And God knows me much better than even I know myself. Whatever fruit that we are allowed to experience, God is pursuing his own glory. If there's anything that I have to work toward, it's to make sure that we don't touch that glory. It is man's arrogance to think that somehow, if we have the right smart people, disciplined people, trained people, good people, that we'll see good things.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. See, when we recognize that, we can be more patient with people who are struggling. We can be more patient with people who are not up to par. We can help them, we can assist them, but we can be more patient because we see ourselves in the same boat.

'Cause we're all saved by grace. We're all working to get to God. So whether you are Rahab, whether you are Joshua, by faith and by faith alone, we're gonna make it to heaven. I pray that this truth that Hebrews 11 keeps pounding over and over and over and over again would really transform our paradigm of how we look at our spiritual life and how we work toward honoring God.

Because what God has called us to show the world should look different than the world. In the world, you work hard, you make a lot of money, you become something successful, you become influential, then you become honored, then people follow you, then you are adored, that's the world. But the kingdom of God is completely different.

The kingdom of God challenges the principles of this world where he dumbfounds the world where people who are nothing, people who recognize that we have nothing, and yet this community glorifies and magnifies Christ. By faith, by faith, by faith, by faith. Let's take a few minutes to pray. Again, as we ask the, pray seem to come back up.

To take some time to reflect and think. All of us, to some degree or another, some of you are A students, spiritually, or maybe you think you are. Some of you are F students. You're like, oh my gosh, I keep struggling with the same thing over and over again.

Right? And many of us fall somewhere in between because all of our eyes are focused on ourselves. And that's the whole point, is to take our eyes off of ourselves and see God. Because if your hope is on yourself, look at God. You will lose all confidence, you will lose all hope.

And yet when we look at the cross, God restores all of it back. So let's take a step back and think, right? And to thank God that it is by faith and by faith alone. Let's take some time to pray as our worship people lead us. (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) Let's go ahead and rise together for a closing praise.

(soft piano music) Sing, "Oh Lord, my rock." ♪ Oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer ♪ ♪ Greatest treasure of my longing soul ♪ ♪ My God, like you there is no other ♪ ♪ True delight is found in you alone ♪ ♪ Your grace, a well too deep to fathom ♪ ♪ Your love exceeds the heavens' reach ♪ ♪ Your truth, a fount of perfect wisdom ♪ ♪ My highest good and my unending need ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer ♪ ♪ Strong defender of my weary heart ♪ ♪ My sword to fight the cruel deceiver ♪ ♪ And my shield against this hateful dark ♪ ♪ My song when enemies surround me ♪ ♪ My hope when tides of sorrow rise ♪ ♪ My joy when trials are abounding ♪ ♪ Your faithfulness, my refuge in the night ♪ (soft piano music) ♪ Oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer ♪ ♪ Gracious savior of my ruined life ♪ ♪ My guilt and cross laid on your shoulders ♪ ♪ In my place, you suffered, bled and died ♪ Sing, I, you rose ♪ You rose, the grave and death are conquered ♪ ♪ You broke my bonds of sin and shame ♪ ♪ You rose, you rose, the grave and death are conquered ♪ ♪ You broke my bonds of sin and shame ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer ♪ ♪ May all my days bring glory to your name ♪ ♪ May all my days bring glory to your name ♪ - Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for our salvation. Help us, Lord God, not to take for granted how we got here. That it is only by your grace, only by your love, help us, Lord God, to take our eyes off of ourselves, our tendency, Lord, to look for man for comfort and refuge.

I pray that you would help us, that you would not simply be a figure that we've imagined in our head, but that you would become more and more real to us each day, that our greatest longing is to see you face to face, to worship you, Father God, not from a distance, but to draw near to you, that our longing would be for your second coming.

And so we pray, Father God, that you would cause us, whether we have small faith or whether we have great faith, that through it, Lord, that we may have a greater vision of who you are. Open our eyes this week, Lord God, to your word. Open our eyes to see your glory in creation.

Open our eyes, Lord God, to see the greatness of the things that you've already given us, that our hearts may be filled with thankfulness, Lord God, to not to live day to day longing, Lord, for something to be fixed in our surrounding, but to give you glory for all the things that you've already given us.

So we pray, Father God, that as we celebrate your name, that we would live lives in such a way that the world may see that we are your followers, that we will be able to proclaim, Lord God, that Christ is the only hope of salvation. So help us wherever you send us, that we would be the aroma of Christ this week.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen. ♪ God sent his son ♪ ♪ They called him Jesus ♪ ♪ He came to the world ♪ ♪ Heal and forgive ♪ ♪ He lived and died ♪ ♪ To by my power now ♪ ♪ An empty grave is there to ♪ ♪ My Savior live ♪ ♪ Because he lives ♪ ♪ I can face tomorrow ♪ ♪ Because he lives ♪ ♪ All fear is gone ♪ ♪ Because I know ♪ ♪ He holds the future ♪ ♪ And life is worth the living ♪ ♪ Just because he lives ♪ - All right, thank you.

Have a great week. If we can have this side go out that way and this side go out this way. Thank you. (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft piano music) (soft music)