Well, we're up to Joshua 10, verse 6, but I do want to read it in context, so we're going to begin reading at verse 1. Joshua 10, verse 1. Now, it came to pass when Adonai Zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had taken Ai and had utterly destroyed it, as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king, and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them. that they feared greatly because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty. Therefore, Adonai Zedek, king of Jerusalem, sent to Hoham, king of Hebron, Pyram, king of Jarmuth, Japhia, king of Lachish, and Debir, king of Eglon, saying, come up to me and help me that we may attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel. Therefore, the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they and all their armies, and camped before Gibeon and made war against it. And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, saying, do not forsake your servants. Come up to us quickly. Save us and help us. For all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the mountains have gathered together against us. So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. And the Lord said to Joshua, do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand. Not a man of them shall stand before you. Amen. Father, we thank you for your word, and I pray that as we dig into each and every word, since you have commanded us to live by every word that's proceeded from your mouth, that you would quicken the word to our hearts. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, before I dive into these verses, let me give a little bit of review. In the last verses of chapter eight, we saw that God renewed covenant with Israel and with the Gentile strangers who were in their midst. Okay. He mentions those believing Gentile strangers two times. These believing strangers had abandoned their nations. had abandoned their gods, had embraced the God of Israel, and we saw evidence when we preached on that chapter that God opened His arms wide open to anyone who repented of their sins and believed in Him, whether they were Jew or Gentile. That's chapter 8, verses 30 through 35. Well, that means the Gibeonites really didn't need to go through their extravagant play-acting and their deception in chapter 9 in order to be saved. No, all they had to do was repent of their sins, put their faith in God, leave their nation, and covenant with God. But no, what they chose to do, they wanted to have their cake and eat it too. They wanted to be saved, but they also wanted to remain independent as an independent nation. And God says, no, you can't do that. True salvation comes with unconditional surrender. God declares war on the world and on all who identify with the world. And so the people were rightly upset with Joshua and the leaders when they let the Gibeonites live. They said, why did you even make this covenant with the Gibeonites? And we saw all of the reasons why God said, no, you still have to honor that covenant. It was made under false pretenses, but it was a covenant. You have to honor that, and it's actually a good thing. that they did because we saw that God used those strange, strange circumstances to take the Gibeonites from fake faith into genuine faith. And I'm not going to revisit all of the evidence that we went through that these Gibeonites did indeed have a genuine faith. A faith that shone brightly for hundreds of years, all the way up to the time of Nehemiah, so brightly that God actually changed their names from Gibeonites to Nephilim, which means devoted ones, right? And so, I never cease to be amazed and marvel at the ways that God uses strange providences to draw people to himself. I'm reading a book right now, halfway through, this Mormon, who the Lord, in the last two years that he's in the Mormon church, is drawing his heart to himself in strange and wonderful ways. And then he ends up starting to preach the true gospel, not yet realizing it's out of accord with the gospel of the Mormons and leading people to Christ. It's quite a cool story. But in any case, we saw last time that the moment people change sides from the devil to the Lord, all kinds of new things begin to happen to them. They immediately receive opposition from Satan and from the world. And we looked at the nature of that opposition in verses 1 through 5 last time. And just to remind you, 1 John says that we're not to marvel if the world hates you. If they hated Christ, they're going to hate you. Jesus said it's guaranteed that the world will hate you if you stand strong for Christ, if there's any antithesis in your life. And that's what these Gibeonites did. They actually had a chance to realign with Adonai Zedek, realizing, oh boy, these guys are ganging up on us. We could cave in in fear and go ahead and realign with them, but they didn't. Instead, they chose to fight with Israel and against the Gibeonites. And so it's just one of many evidences that they did indeed have faith. Anyway, the rest of this chapter shows other new things that happen to new believers. It shows the benefits of the body standing up for each other. It shows miracles from the hands of God, hosts of angels guarding their way, the joy of seeing God in their presence, and increasing victories. And there's other benefits that these new believers have. We're only going to look at one of those today. We're going to look at the benefits and the responsibilities of body life. There are some commentators who have pointed out that the change over the past four to five days, there's debate on the last two days, whether it was one or two days, but over the last four to five days, they've changed from not just being enemies of God, but fighting side by side with Israel. And they said that on itself is just a remarkable example of reconciliation. But a couple of these commentators pointed out that this is also a beautiful picture of body life. Now, they didn't develop that theme. What they just mentioned in passing, we're going to dig deeper into and tease apart each phrase. The first phrase is the men. It was the men of Gibeon who sent messengers to Joshua. Why does he say that? The word men here is not a slam on women, it's just acknowledging that these men were the leaders. Okay, it's indicating each part of the body plays its unique role, with women being honored with their own unique roles. And it also hints, I think, at the solidarity of the family. Their entrance into body life did not evaporate their leadership. Now, not all churches emphasize these kinds of distinctions, but I'm encouraged that there is a growing movement all across the world of this covenantalism, of the family not being dissolved once it enters into the church. It retains its integrity. We call it the family-integrated church movement. And not everybody obviously holds to that. In fact, some are reacting against it. I talked to a pastor here in town. in reaction against the family-integrated movement, he said, oh no, when a family comes through the doors of this church, they cease to be a family. We have direct authority over each one of those people in the family, something to that effect. And that's just plain not biblical. That's a radical individualism. We believe that the heads of the households have a primary responsibility to disciple the members of their household, okay? That's not the elder's primary responsibility. Now obviously it doesn't mean we can't talk to each and every person in the church, just even minister to them like John did in the second John. You know, he ministered to that single lady and her children. But we push men into their roles as leaders in the home and leaders in society. So we tend to disciple the men, they in turn disciple their families. It's kind of a division of labor. And by the way, this does not do away with individual responsibility. We don't emphasize the family so much that individual responsibility is lost. This past week, I read a very interesting article by Vishal Mangalwadi. where he was just outlining the differences between true biblical individualism that builds up the family and the church and culture, and he contrasted that with secular individualism that undermines each of those other three governments. And biblical individualism, he says, is where each individual takes responsibility for his or her own actions and embraces his or her role within the body of Christ. Secular individualism is where everything revolves around me as an individual. And it's all about me, even if my individualism comes into conflict with somebody else's individualism. And so he ended that essay saying this, the secularized individualism destroys not just family, church, and community, it hurts the individualist the most. And I agree, and I'm not going to get more into that topic, maybe said more than I needed to, but the main point is, The men are mentioned because they are the leaders. They're the ones that are going to be held accountable. They're the ones that are going to be fighting for this city. And body life does not dissolve the family or remove the authority of the heads of households. But then it mentions where these men were from. Gibeon. Just think about that. That's a remarkable thing. Two days earlier, one to two days earlier, the Israelites were ready to kill these Gibeonites for having deceived them into making this a covenant and false pretenses. Okay, they were angry, they were very upset, and now the same Israelites are willing to lay down their lives to defend these Gibeonites. I think it's a beautiful picture of what happens when enemies come to Christ. They are joined to Christ, and by being joined to Christ, they're joined to the body. They instantly become brothers and sisters in the Lord, overnight. And this means that a former Saul, who was an enemy of the church, can become a Paul with very significant ministry in the church. Now granted, only four or five days have gone by since the deception, only one or two days have gone by since they were last confronted, and so they didn't really have time to prove themselves, but they had at least shown that they would trust God and not trust their own might. Now you've got to remember that Gibeon was one of the greatest of the cities in Canaan. It was called a royal city. All of its men were mighty men, so if anybody could have trusted in their own might, it would have been Gibeon. Actually, it was a coalition of more than just one city. But they didn't trust their own might. They didn't trust in their city walls, and they rejected the possibility of realigning with Adonai Zedek. They were all in, and they appealed to the body. But the main point is they had come out of bondage to sin. They had messed up lives. They were spiritually babies with dirty diapers, guaranteed. But once saved, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. 1 Thessalonians admonishes us, uphold the weak, be patient with all. 1 Thessalonians 5.14. Paul told the elders of the church in Ephesus, I have shown you in every way by laboring like this that you must support the weak." Acts 20, verse 35. Now, let me try to illustrate why this is important within body life. In March of 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr., and he was hospitalized for several weeks. And even though Reagan was the nation's chief executive, you'd think he's the most important man in the United States. You know, while he's in the hospital, it didn't really affect the government at all. It continued to function just fine. But when the garbage collectors went on strike in Philadelphia, it created havoc. There was garbage everywhere. The stench in the city was unbearable. There was disease. And so you got three weeks of strike, and the garbage collectors completely ruined the city's whole process. So who's more important, the president of the United States or garbage collectors? Well, in a sense, it really is the wrong question to ask, isn't it? Paul asks a better question in 1 Corinthians 12, 15. He says, if the foot should say, because I am not the hand, I'm not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? Obviously, that would be a wrong inference. In verse 22, he said, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. So now that Christ has saved these Gibeonites, they were necessary to the body as a whole. And they later, as I've already demonstrated, proved to be much more loyal to Christ than the rest of Israel did in later history. The next phrase says, the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua. Now, Joshua was 16 1�2 miles east at Gilgal. He wouldn't have known that they were in trouble if they hadn't gone ahead and contacted them. And so I say on this point, new believers have the privilege and the duty of seeking help from the church. Don't assume others will notice. Ask. Now let me make two applications. Actually, I guess I already made the first one. You cannot assume that the church automatically knows that you have a need. If you've got a need that you cannot bear yourself, let the church know. The body cannot function without good communication. It would take a long time for them to walk 16 and a half miles away, and so they sent messengers to ask for help. So let's apply this to the concept of communication. we're kind of a spread out church. And those of you who live more than an hour away are gonna have to think up creative ways to stay connected and to stay accountable. And with technology like our Discord channel and emails and cell phones and Covenant Eyes and what are some of the other technologies we have, we're trying to make it as easy and convenient to have consistent communication and accountability within the body. But second, new believers should have the security of knowing that in Christ, they are new creatures and their horrible past is not an obstacle to them being a part of the church's body life. Okay, these Gibeonites were one of the groups of whom the scripture had said their cup of iniquity was full. They were up to their necks in their sin. And so it'd be very easy for them to kind of Be shy back away from the body because of shame of their past and thinking these guys are also perfect You know here I'm coming into the body and I can't do that and not only that Because of Israel's Judgmentalism one or two days earlier where they were almost ready to kill the Gibeonites, you know, it isn't easy for the Gibeonites to Think hey with attitudes like that. Maybe we don't want your help, right? But even though only one day, a maximum of two days, had passed since their last confrontation, the knowledge that these Gibeonites had abandoned their idols, had committed themselves to following the Lord, made all the difference in the world. All Israel risked their lives to protect the Gibeonites. That's body life. God erases the past when there is true repentance, and commits us to each other because we have a common Lord, a common Savior, a common knowledge that none of us deserve salvation. None of us. Now this does not mean that Joshua and the leaders are going to be naive about the need for caution. Remember, these Gibeonites were steeped in sin. And until the Gibeonites were counseled out of their sexual addictions, their habits of lying, drug addictions, other habitual character issues, there was probably going to be some, likely some accountability lines drawn and some cautions and some counseling that would need to take place, like Pastor Gary was talking about earlier. Acceptance does not mean naivete about the possibility of relapses. So just to give an example, if in the future there's some pedophile who repents of his sin, he comes to Christ, you can bet your bottom dollar we're going to have open communication with the whole church. There's going to be lines of accountability. But that does not mean they're not accepted. They're accepted in Christ as they're being counseled past their past life. And so to reiterate this point, new believers have the privilege and the duty of seeking help from the church. And by the way, accountability is one of those things that is a help. It's a blessing from the Lord for you guys to hold me accountable and for us to hold each other accountable. Now the next phrase hints at this connection to the whole body of Israel. It's not just the leaders who will help. It says, at the camp at Gilgal. I've already mentioned Gilgal was 16 and a half miles east of Gibeon. It was the home base for Israel during their whole southern campaign. So this was where the tabernacle was set up. This is where they did their worship. This is where they gathered. This is where a lot of accountability happened. This is where the Ark of the Covenant was carried, which God calls the throne room of God. So this is where the church gathered. And so the application and the outline is, new believers should not isolate themselves from the body. By the way, we've already demonstrated that the Gibeonites were going to be assimilated right into Israel, dwell among them. Actually, they were going to be workers at the tabernacle, right? And so that transition hadn't happened yet because only one or two days have gone by, they're kind of packing their bags, so to speak, in their cities. But they would be assimilated into Israel. And in much the same way, it is important that new believers spend time with other believers, seek their advice and help connect with other believers. And let me tell you that initially that can sometimes be awkward for people who have come out of a totally different lifestyle. They come to the church and it's like, wow, that's a different culture. Everything you do seems foreign to them, and so we need to help them to be able to be assimilated. But it's critical for spiritual safety that new believers not isolate themselves from the church. And by the way, it's not just new believers. I know some of you have a tendency to be loners. That's not a good thing. All, let me assure you, all isolated believers are vulnerable to the attacks of Satan and the world, and how much more so new believers. So I think what God put on Gary's heart to preach this morning and what I'm preaching on, it's important for us to really live this body life. Now the next phrase gives the first part of their message. Do not forsake your servants. Don't forsake us. The strong should not leave new believers to fend for themselves. And by the way, this is true of the broader church. When churches in other countries face persecution, loss of property, medical needs, tsunamis, other disasters, if we as a local congregation can help and other churches can help, that's a part of what it means. I mean, this is what Paul had Corinth do with Jerusalem. Jerusalem was undergoing incredible famine. Corinth was not. They were very wealthy, and they gladly gave these offerings. They spent a ton of money with Titus to help in the relief work. Well, that's an example of connecting with the broader body. But though these Gibeonites were asking for help, they had not forgotten, as Gary mentioned earlier, they had covenanted with the rest of Israel. And so they were going to serve as well. It was a case of mutual service. So they call themselves in the next phrase, your servants. Why is this attitude important? Well, it's because some people love to receive the service of others without ever lifting a finger to serve others themselves. This is called a user mentality. God does not approve of a user mentality. Users eventually become losers, okay? And every citizen in the kingdom, without exception, is called to serve. Even if you're an invalid in bed, unless you're unconscious, you can pray. When people come to visit you, you can encourage them, you can counsel them. Everyone in the body is called to serve. Galatians 5.13 says, do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love, serve one another. So you can have the same phraseology the Gibeonites did, say, hey, I'm your servant. I'm your fellow servant. We're called to serve one another. That's what God's grace produces. Healthy body life occurs when every member, including children, look for ways to be of service. By the way, I've been very encouraged to see the way, many ways that some of the children here have been looking for ways to serve others, serve each other. That's fantastic. It's obvious you parents have been instructing them out of, well, euthetically counseling them, right? Out of their selfish habits and into humble habits of service. That's great. Now, what kind of service did Israel engage in on behalf of these new believers? Well, it was hard work that involved sacrifice of time, sleep, energy, and convenience. Verse 6 goes on to say, come up to us quickly, save us, and help us. And next week, we're going to be looking at what that quickly was and what kind of help that they were involved in. But just very briefly, they left immediately. As soon as they heard the news about Gibeon coming under attack, And they traveled all that night, arriving in verse 9, just as dawn came about, totally surprising all of these followers of Adonai Zedek. Well, that meant they had been up all the previous day, all night, And then they're going to be fighting on an extra long day. And I say extra long because we're going to see that God stops the sun from going down for about a whole day, which means he adds an extra 12 hours to the day, 24 hours of light. So you add that all up and you've got 48 hours of sleep loss all the while they're engaged in heavy, heavy work. Have you ever been up working for 48 hours straight? I have. And it is exhausting. It is exhausting. And, um... It was an enormous sacrifice of sleep, time, and energy, and yet they engaged in it because true body life needed it. Without those sacrifices, a major portion of the body would have died. It was an emergency, and they took that emergency on wholeheartedly. And so I want to ask you, to what degree do you serve? How sacrificial are you in your service? To what degree do you serve rather than expecting others to do the heavy lifting? Do you practice diligently for the music team? What kind of excellence do you put into clean-up, set-up, tear-down? You know, do you excel in hospitalities? In what ways do you reach out? God sees those sacrifices as gifts of love to him. It's a part of body life. But there's one more thought in the last part of verse six. It says, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the mountains have gathered together against us. And actually two thoughts, but I spent an entire sermon dealing with why we shouldn't be surprised when we receive some kind of opposition from the world. In John 15, Jesus said this, if the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. But I do want to add one more thought from this clause. The way Joshua acted was to treat an attack against Gibeon as an attack against God and God's covenant, and therefore an attack against the whole body. We cannot just be preoccupied with Dominion Covenant Church, with our little church. We need to engage in spiritual battle on behalf of the body of Christ around the world. And that's the next point. Body life involves battle. And though it's rare to have to engage in actual physical fights, you know, against enemies, and there is a place for that. Even Jesus talked about that. We can apply verse 7 in other ways as well. Verse 7 says, so Joshua ascended from Gilgal. He and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. So Joshua was always prepared for war, as were his men of war. And interestingly, Peter and at least one other apostle were prepared to defend themselves. You know, just as a side note, according to the book of Hebrews, Israel fought their battles in this book by faith. But Hebrews also indicates that this whole book is symbolic of Jesus and New Covenant. God calls us to war. It's a spiritual battle that involves taking on principalities and powers and dominions of the invisible world, as well as protecting sheep from the physical agents of those demons. And you might wonder, well, why does God even allow the church to be attacked in the first place? If He loves us, why does He allow us to be attacked? And there could be any number of reasons. Discipline for our own sin could be one reason God allows us to be attacked. There could be other reasons like, you know, stretching our muscles so that we grow spiritually. And there could be other reasons. One possible reason is that these attacks can be used by God to test our faith. Gibeonites' faith was tested by this coalition of opponents. If they had just caved in and they had sued for peace without an Isaac, it would have demonstrated that their faith was a fake faith, right? A false faith. But they passed this test with flying colors, fighting side by side with Israel and proving their faith. And so I think sometimes God allows difficulties into our lives to test where we are at in terms of faith and character, other things. Does the pressure, when it comes on, make you grumpy? Okay, you failed a test. God wants us to approach these things differently than Mr. Grumpy. What about your faith? You just want to give up, then you failed that test. Your willingness to obey, your faithfulness, there may be other character issues. So we need to make sure that we pass those tests. Now there are typological lessons as well that we've hinted at in the past. Hebrews says the whole book was typological of Christ's kingdom. In fact, the name Jesus is just the Greek form of Joshua. And so if Jesus is leading us into battle, if we're following close behind him, if we're paying close attention to his instructions given in the Word, then we too can have victory. And we'll look at the incredible battle that they engaged in, perhaps next week. It was a battle that included hailstones that were just guided missiles. I think angels were throwing these hailstones around because they only hit the Canaanites, not a hailstone hit any Israelite. And it says the hailstones killed more Canaanites than the Israelite swords did. It's really a cool miracle. But the main application that I would make of this phrase is that if we are not engaged in spiritual warfare on behalf of our family, our church, the whole body of Christ, we are to some degree absent without leave. We're AWOL. God calls us to lift up the persecuted in other countries as well as our own. So warfare is not an option. But let's move on. Verse 8 shows that body life must revolve around the head. God and His Word. It says in the Lord, that's Yehoah, Many people believe that was the pre-incarnate Son of God. And the Lord said to Joshua, do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand. Not a man of them shall stand before you. So it was God who was leading them into battle, and their battles were being done on behalf of God. They didn't get involved in this battle because it's so fun to fight. No, it was wearying. It was exhausting to fight. They engaged in this body life, not because they preferred it, but first and foremost, because they loved God. They were loyal to God. And God says how we treat or fail to treat the body, we are treating or failing to treat God. At a meeting of the American Psychological Association, Two men, Jack Lipton and R. Scott Bouillon, presented their findings that were done of a study of 11 major symphonies. And they analyzed the huge differences that existed amongst the personalities of percussionists, woodwinds, strings, instruments, all of those things. And then they analyzed, they asked each person what they thought about the various people in the symphony. And some of these people's perceptions were way off, but some of them had very strong negative perceptions about other parts of that symphony. Oh yeah, those guys over there, they're hot-headed, they're arrogant, or whatever it might be. And these researchers were surprised. There were so many differences, they wondered, how can these people even be civil with each other, let alone play such beautiful music? And the report ended with this. Regardless of how those musicians view each other, they subordinate their feelings and biases to the leadership of the conductor. Under his guidance, they play beautiful music." And I thought, wow, that's such a beautiful, beautiful picture of how the body functions. Do we have differences in this church? Oh, yeah. There's lots of differences, but we can put those behind us because all of us have the same love for our Savior, loyalty to Him. We want to advance His kingdom. We want to serve Him. He is our head conductor. Here's how Paul worded it in Colossians. And He is the head of the body, the church, who was the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence, holding fast to the head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God." So if body life was just wrapped around the leaders, you know, the deacons and the elders, body life is going to fall apart. But when body life is wrapped around Christ and we have a deep loyalty to Christ and His Word, it's going to flourish despite the differences. Next, body life also involves being subject to the Word of God. How do we tangibly know what the head of the church is even saying? For Joshua, it was pretty easy. He was a mouthpiece for God. When God said, march, they marched. When God said, do not fear, they stuffed their anxieties. When he gave them promises, they believed the promises. So verse 8, it says, the Lord said to Joshua, do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand. Not a man of them shall stand before you. So it was very easy for them to hear from God. But I would say it's just as easy for us to hear from God today. We've got, actually, more written down than they had back then in the Scripture, and He's given us the same Holy Spirit that can lead us as we're studying the Scriptures and apply those Scriptures in unique ways. We've got what we need to lead us and to guide us. But let's look at the specifics here, at least two. The command, do not fear, is just as relevant today as it was back then. We might fear that if we forgive somebody for the umpteenth time, they're going to take advantage of us. But God calls us to trust Him to change people's hearts and not try to take that divine prerogative as our responsibility. We're just tools in His hand. We might fear that we won't know what to say if we go out witnessing. There aren't very many people from here who have gone out with Michael and Bill and some of those others. I'd really encourage everybody to at least try it a few times. And you might say, oh, but I'm just not a talker, you know, I might fear. Let me tell you something, even a bumbling witness is better than no witness. Right, Bill? It's better than no witness. Now, I may have told this story before. My memory is not the greatest, and I'll risk telling it again if that's the case. But my dad told me the story of a retarded man in Atlanta who really wanted to witness, but he didn't quite know how. I see a few nods out there. I must have told this story before. Okay, anyway, he was really scared to death about going out and witnessing, but he collected a bunch of tracts from his church, and he waited on the sidewalk, and he just couldn't get up the courage. But finally, he handed a tract to a businessman who was passing by and says, do you want to go to heaven? And the businessman just rudely brushed him aside and said, no. And without even thinking, the retarded man says, well, okay, well, go to hell then. Now, I don't recommend that kind of evangelistic method, but even when we blow it, God can use our words to lead people to Christ, and that's exactly what he did with this individual. For some reason, the businessman grabbed the track as he hurried on, But he could not get those words out of his head. They kept ringing in his head. Well, go to hell then. Well, go to hell then. Well, go to hell then. And he realized, I'm headed toward hell. So he read the tract, got converted, and there was the address of the church. It was a Baptist church in Atlanta. And he went to church and eventually told the pastor what had happened. Otherwise, we wouldn't have known what had happened there. But the point is, God is not limited by our limitations. Amen? He is not limited. Just get involved, however fearful and bumbling your testimony might be. Heed God's command. Do not be fearful. Trust His power to be sufficient for your weaknesses. And trust His promises. This was a phenomenal promise that was given to Joshua and through Joshua to Israel. For I have delivered them into your hand, not a man of them shall stand before you." And when we look at God's miraculous provision, is it next time? We'll probably have two more sermons in this. We'll see, this promise was fulfilled to Ati, 100%. But you know what? We have promises in the scripture that are just as amazing. Just as amazing. Take God at his word. When you're going through tough times, cling to God's many promises that he will go with you through the trouble. He will strengthen you. Promises like Isaiah 43 verse two. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And through the rivers they shall not overflow you. When you feel so guilty that you cannot forgive yourself, then confess your sins and claim Isaiah 118. Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. When you're sad, go to God with Isaiah 51, verse 1, which says, I, even I, am he who comforts you. I mean, there are hundreds of scriptures that can actually bear you up under any circumstances that you might have. And there are some books, actually, there are several books that have collected a lot of these promises together, if you're having a hard time finding them. Books like God's Everyday Promises or Mark Waters' book, Bible Promises Made Easy. And I want to give one more lesson and then we'll end. The phrase, before you, indicates that God was not promising victory without human effort. Okay, God expected them to fight. And as they fought by faith, He would bless their efforts miraculously. Inaction, we have seen over and over in the past. Inaction is treated by God as a lack of faith. and evidence of lack of faith. And without faith, it's impossible to please God. You're just not going to have him come through on your behalf. So never pit God's divine sovereignty against your own human responsibility. If you're going to gain victories in your life, it's only going to come through hard work. Okay, if something is worth doing, it's worth doing well. And there was sacrifice put into this effort, enormous sacrifice. And yes, God accompanied their sacrifices with amazing miracles that we'll look at in the future. But in the process, these men would have been dog tired. Dog-tired. And yet at the end of a long day, they would have had a sense of satisfaction and delight in knowing that God's power had been made manifest in them. And this is perhaps the most important lesson you can learn this morning. To daily experience God's presence and power in your day-to-day walk with Him. May it be so, Lord Jesus. Amen. Father, thank You for the reminders of even the historical sections of Your Word. And I pray that You would help us To follow the examples of the saints of old that we have sung about, that we have prayed about, that we've now preached on. And Father, that you would strengthen our faith and strengthen our resolve to serve you faithfully and to expend effort by faith on your behalf. And so, Father, bless us, your people, with your powerful presence, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.