Sermon Transcript Tone Analysis

How is everyone this evening?

It's good to see everyone.

If you would take a Bibles and turn me to Joshua chapter 8, Joshua chapter.

Number 8. as we continue to work through our way through the Book of Joshua,

4 time, sake.

This evening, we're just going to read the first two verses, and then we'll discuss the rest of the versus as we go through our our lesson tonight.

Joshua chapter number 8, verse 1 says now the Lord said to Joshua do not be afraid nor be dismayed.

Take all the people of war with you and Rhys go up to a.

I see I've given into your hand, the king of AI is people his City.

And his land and you shall do to a.

I and it's King as you did to Jericho and its king, only its spoil and its cattle.

You shall take as Bounty for yourself.

Lay an ambush for the city behind it.

Let's pray together.

Father, I pray that as we look at this particular chapter tonight as it discusses and and goes over the destruction of this, the city, a father, I pray that we would see the spiritual applications of this.

I pray, God, that's the truth, is that are contained.

Father would would shape us and to mold us more like your son, the Lord, Jesus Christ.

And father I pray that you would help us Lord to have understanding of these things.

And Lord I pray for the children and youth downstairs and the teachers.

And father just bless, those are unable to be here due to sickness.

If all we do is ask you Lord again, to bless this time, we ask this in Jesus name.

Amen.

Of the very tiny town or tiny city of in Canaan called Ai.

And from all indications, this city here should have been an easy win for the nation of Israel, especially after they had such a great win in Jericho.

I mean, they just March right through and in the mighty walls of Jericho, the, my Fortress that was built around, Jericho came down and they were able to have a tremendous Victory.

However, as we found last week and chapter 7, Israel experienced a major defeat.

When they attacked this tiny little city of AI, And that in that battle is real lost.

36 soldiers.

And Israel was had to flee from the soldiers of AI.

Israel experiences to defeat for a couple of reasons.

Remember we discussed last week, how they?

First of all they failed to seek the Lord's will before they went into battle.

Know, where do you find in chapter 7 of a Joshua praying to the Lord know?

Where do you find the children of Israel seeking the Lord as they get ready to enter this battle with a? I and so we see that absence.

You also have the absence of the Ark of the Covenant was not with them in the battle.

And Ark of the Covenant was a symbol of the presence and power of God and they left that behind as they at were attacking a AI.

I'm so they were arrogant.

They were proud after their victory at Jericho.

They assume then they were Beyond defeat.

Well, they learned differently.

Another reason they suffered this defeat was because there was sin among them.

There was sin in the camp of Israel.

I when Israel face Jericho chapter 6, they were commanded to destroy the city but they were to take the wealth of the city.

Not for themselves, they were to take the wealth and dedicate it to the lore there.

Put it in the treasury of the Lord says, however, a man by the name of Aiken, take some of that well for himself, and he brought upon himself the wrath of God upon his family and even upon the nation of Israel, which is why Israel did not have a victory when they first thought an AI because there was sin in the camp.

I never forget several, several years ago.

I was preaching, I threw the book of Josh with his probably 15 years ago and I had just finished and I was preaching hard.

You know how you need to repent?

If you have sent in your life, God has got his eye upon you.

He knows you can't hide your sin, be sure your sins will find you out.

At the conclusion of the sermon, at the end of the service, asked everyone to stand as we were dismissed.

all the sudden in my prayer, I hear this world and this lady just saying

so, I ran To the Pew where she was at and her son, who is about 50 years old.

55 years old was laid out in the pew.

I bought God.

I just killed the man honest to goodness and so what did happen though, he had gotten up got up too fast and he had a blood sugar issues and he fainted but I'll never forget that.

Because I preached that sermon on Joshua chapter 7 about seeing in the camp and God can take you out.

Just a moment like that.

In this guy went out, I'll never forget that for sure.

but the cost of these two failures because they did not seek the Lord, Did not pray and because they have sent in the camp, they suffered a tragic defeat but the Lord use the defeat at AI to teach is real, the importance of Holiness, and he also was able to use their defeat at AI as a means of, teaching them of seeking them.

The importance of seeking, the Lord's will in every situation Use this defeat to teach them the danger of Pride, how that Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall at one of the most valuable lessons.

Israel learn was the true that they needed the Lord.

They needed his presence, he needed his power.

If they were going to defeat their enemies and walk in Victory, this is why Paul said.

When we look at this Old Testament, ancient story, we see.

What, what's the what's the big deal here?

What are we, what can we learn here?

And we can learn this.

That, we need the Lord, we to need his presence.

We need his power.

Saint Paul said, the Old Testament was written for our instruction, it was written for our admonition.

We don't need to unhitch ourselves from the Old Testament.

We need to learn from and there's a lot of great instruction for us.

Well one reason is because there is a sense in which we as Believers are a lot like Israel.

Are we not?

Because if you are child of God then you know something about battles right?

We do.

If you are a child of God, you know, something about battles.

You know that, we all have three very powerful enemies.

That must be overcome every day that you live.

We have the enemy of the world.

We have the enemy of The Flash and the devil.

They are out to destroy the child of God, but each of these enemies can be defeated if they are handled according to the will of God.

So, as we move through these versus, I want you to see that AI is a picture of one of our enemies that we face every single day.

Now, the word AI.

Means a heap of ruins.

AI is a picture of the flesh, as a picture of our flesh, and against the word, a, I means heap of ruins and that is a good way to describe our our sinful flesh are falling.

Human nature, Paul reminds us about the wickedness of the flesh fall said, and Romans 7 and verse 18, He said for I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwells no good thing.

That Paul was probably the best Christian That Ever Walked the face of this Earth.

And yet Paul is saying that hate in me in my flesh.

Dwells no good thing will.

That was true about the Apostle Paul.

How much more true is that in our lives?

So just like Israel, we often lose battles to our flesh but by God's grace and help we can learn how to defeat Rai are flesh and walk away with a victory in our lives.

So notice number one, the victory over AI is Promised Joshua 18:1.

Now, the Lord said to Joshua do not be afraid nor be dismayed.

Take all the people of war with you and arise.

Go up to a.

I see I have given into your hand, the king of AI, his people, his City and his land.

Now, in this verse, we see something about a warning warning, we see a word about our fuse me, I've worried about winning.