Freedom Through Taking the Promised Land [Part 1]

Pastor, author and Bible teacher Alan Wright to be in Christ is to have a freedom that is much more than simply merely liberation from bondage to the darkness is to have a freedom that is characterized by being in air, the prettier the teaching today. In the series called unbleached is presented with an old church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program today to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. You can find out more about it and even receive a copy of your very own for your donation this month to Alan Wright ministry. So as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today's special offer@pastor.org find out more about it and make your request or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860 begin our website pastor Alan.org. More on this later in the program but now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan Wright okay are you ready for some good news to be antichrist is to have a freedom that is much more than simply merely liberation from bondage to the darkness. It is to have a freedom that is characterized by being in air in the promised land.

In other words, you see today is that to be free is not a move simply from okay I'm no longer stock in the same old bad habits or addictions or problems is much more biblically speaking, freedom is being a conqueror in the promised land.

We are learning about what it really means to be free and much of it. Beloved stands in contrast to what might be intuitive what we hear from the spirit of the age we are today going to turn to one of the most powerful and important pictures in this whole Bible is part of the memory of Israel as we think about not going to move out of Egypt into the promised land. So turn with me to Joshua chapter 1 Joshua chapter 1 we have seen in previous messages how God delivered the people out of their slavery via the blood of an innocent lamb so that the Passover story is about a people who came out bondage by the blood of the lamb. And that's our story figuratively, and Christ. Now we come to a time in which after a an unbelieving generation died off in the wilderness, the people are to be led into the promised land by Joshua Joshua chapter 1 verse one after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of nun, Moses is assistant Moses my servant is dead now therefore arise, go over this Jordan you and all this people into the land that I'm giving to them to the people of Israel every place of the sole of your foot will tread upon I given to you.

Just as I promised Moses from the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, the great sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life.

Just as I was with Moses, I will be with you. I will not leave you nor for sake.

Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give to them is cute when kids get a little confused about the pronunciation of big words and I remember when Abby was a little girl and she had honestly heard the common phrase of saying something just an optical illusion. But one day she got a little wrong and she said oh that's just an optical illusion is not how how to write about so much of life, from our perspective, the obstacle seems insurmountable, but from God's perspective that's only an illusion that people of God had been delivered from their slavery by the majestic and powerful grace of God. They came out of Egypt after hundreds of years of slavery and God took them through the wilderness and have them send in 12 spies into the promised land, and 10 other spies came back with a negative report they were afraid to move forward.

The obstacles seemed so great. The illusion was will be more free if we just don't go into the promised land. But what we do see today is that that was no freedom at all. The wilderness is not a place of freedom.

It might be a place of of movement, but you're not going anywhere, but will see is that freedom is not a simple move out of the oppression of the bondage into some sort of life of of inactivity, but instead freedom is is something that you experience in Christ in a dynamic way to cause you into the arena of life and the award-winning movie chariots of fire. My favorite scene, poignant scene where Eric belittles constant rival who is so often defeated by famous Olympian Harold Abrams has just run a race that he lost to little and he is seated in the bleachers after his loss and his mind just replaying over and over seeing Eric little go across the tape first and he is dejected and his girlfriend comes and sits next to him, trying to console them but is inconsolable and he says I lost. She said yes Harold, you lost, but to a good man and you can win next time he said Your Honor Stan, I lost and then he said if I can't win.

And I won't run when a memorable line. She responds. Harold, if you don't run you can't win if you're not engaged in the battles of the promised land. You not to take the territory theater Roosevelt set is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man is actually in the arena's face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly to heirs of comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming, but who does actually strive to do the deeds but it was great enthusiasm of the great devotions who spends himself in a worthy cause to it. Best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who it worse if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat is not sitting in the bleachers on the sideline where it is safe and easy that freedom reigns. But it is according to the picture of the Scripture something altogether more daring and risky and adventuresome then that the picture of what happens historically in the Old Testament, the New Testament says that it was a shadow so you see something like the Passover lamb whose blood was shed and the blood was put over the doorpost of Abraham. What the new says of the old is that those were real events, but they were God's way of painting up picture on the landscape of history that is a shadow of what is to come. In reality, in Jesus and his is honestly what makes the Bible such a remarkable book is that this this book that came through the pens and so many different writers in many different generations over so many centuries is woven together mystically and supernaturally by this ever continually confirmation of who Jesus is, is a fulfillment of what has happened in the old and so what we see is a drama in which the people of God are brought out by God in an amazing victory that salad will have more teaching moment from today's important series I will restore the fortunes of Jacob's times and have compassion on his dwellings. The city will be every time her parents will stand in its proper place. Timeless weights from general authority for the heart of God to restore way time cities would often be read out on top of the ruins of the former city city would stand higher with social walls and a greater perspective pastor might succeed in their willingness to help document build your life gloriously, yesterday's disappointments you need to get Alan Wright Ministries to listen to Pastor Alan's messages, and attractive. See through digital download as our way of saying thanks for your partnership, six 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor and dialect.

Today's teaching now continues here once again is 10 plagues against Egypt, the 10th of which of the death of the firstborn in Egypt, where, and finally the Pharaoh himself lets the people go in each of his come under the judgment of God. Remember this is a this is a tyrant and this was an oppressive nation that in enslaved oppressive, oppressed and enslaved and abused. The Hebrew people for hundreds of years, and God brought judgment against Egypt. They came out they were delivered not only by the Passover lamb but the Red Sea by a miracle. The parting of the seat that swallowed up Pharaoh's army. They had seen demonstrated the grace of God, the power of God the Majesty of God the holiness of God. The favor of God over and over and over, and God had them send 12 spies into Canaan to see the land that God had promised them a promise he made way back to Abraham and Isaac, and Jacob and the spies are supposed to go and bring back some of the sweet fruit, and show the people said their faith could be built to go take the land but instead here's what happened in Numbers chapter 13 when they came back to the spies in a negative report and this is what they said they told him we came to the land which you sent as it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong in the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendents of a knock there, the Amalekites dwell in the land of Meg ab, the Hittites, the Jebusites and Amorites dwell in the hill country and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the Jordan, the dishes all they could see were all of these imposing enemies verse 32 chapter 13 so they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they spied out, saying the land through which we are gone to spied out the land that devours its inhabitants know all the people that we saw in it a great height. We saw than if you sons of a knock comes from the fumes. The mythical race of giants and we seem to ourselves like grasshoppers so we seemed to them in the heart of the people melted like black only two people only to the spies.

Joshua and Caleb had any faith. They said we could take it to the people and listen to them what happened in Numbers 14 verse one all the congregation raise a loud cry and the people wept that night and all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. Metacognition said them. Would that we had died in the land of Egypt. Would that we had died in this wilderness. Why is the Lord bring us into this land to fall by the sword. Our wives are little ones will become prey, would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt and they said to one another, let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt. So in other words, they were free but they were clearly not free. You would say they were they been set free from their slavery, but they were not free in the they were in their minds so afraid of moving forward that they were just as much slaves to their fear as a been slaves in Egypt. So much so that in their minds they saw no difference between bad versus just going back to Egypt, and God was incensed at this astounding lack of faith. After all, they got it demonstrated to them and in fact the Lord was ready to strike him down with the plague but Moses interceded for them, and Moses reminded God of his precious promises about this land and that this people in God relented, but he said this this people. They're not going to the promised land.

And you know what judgment really is God giving you what you want.

You don't want God in the end I suppose guys is okay you can be separated from me and this gives that we don't want to go in Atlanta got it okay to stay here in the wilderness until this generation is over and so was that they wandered for 40 years. One day, one year for every day that they spied out the land and it presents for us.

Therefore, I think, a very powerful symbolic picture. It's help me over the years to think about what this is painting a portrait of rest in the Christian life. If you envision Egypt where there there was all this bondage and then the promised land where God wanted to take them what was in between is the wilderness and the people he made this huge mistake in their thinking.

They they presumed that the life of freedom was a move from slavery to a life of ease and therefore the thought of going and fighting on these battles in the promised land. Seem like that must not be the promise, but in God's plan. The movement from slavery to freedom is not a move from a life of suffering to a life of ease is a move from a life of suffering under the bonds of Egypt to life of conquest and Canaan on saying brothers and sisters, is the be free indeed. In Christ is not simply a move to escape from your old bad habits or addictions. It is to become an air and a co-heir with Christ who is more than a conqueror. By the grace of God. This is the freedom that God has for us. So Egypt was a place where they were actively abused her, wept, threaten, condemn in the promised land was going to be a place where they were going to struggle and fight and win so the wilderness was this in between place what they did essentially the will as I wandered around the same amount for sick wilderness could be in part, defined as just moving around, but not going anywhere is like the old the old idea that it is now been debunked what was thought that a goldfish had a memory of only three seconds for goldfish to swim around the same bowl all there is little toy treasure chest and their little plastic pirate ship and a bubbly thing. I used to think about those goldfish.

Although maybe it's a good thing. Their members only three seconds because I they swim around I go toy chest partnership bubbly thing about a time to get back around us like is all new to them. Toy chest partnership bubbly. They but unfortunately I studied up on this this week and they have discovered goldfish memories much longer than that. So sorry for because it is grounded to origin. Origin bubbly thing, nausea, hardship, bubbly thing, toy ship ship bubbly thing for 40 years.

The people I've seen that mountain didn't go anywhere is a picture of a people who get a word in Egypt anymore, but they were not free freedom was over in the promised land. If you couldn't envision this like I charting your mind like like a Egypt wilderness promised land. Here's the deal in each of its bondage to Pharaoh and wilderness, its bondage to fear, and in the promised land is freedom in Egypt it's over fresh and in the wilderness, it might be ease but in the promised land to adventure in Egypt.

It's a people who are defeated in the wilderness, a place of no battles of the promise as a place of battles and victories in Egypt. The people are owned in the wilderness. There is no ownership. No one owns Amedeo nothing in the promised land is a place for eight years of a great inheritance. So what this means 11 is the promised land you we sing about in the gospel songs you know when they will get the promised land with all that for most macros on top of the promised land is is a picture of heaven. The last study Joshua go no the promised land was, not a picture of heaven heaven place. We got no battles on the promised land is a place where there are lots of battles will what it what it means, therefore, is that when you are fighting in the promised land. It's not in order to acquire a land.

It is not in order to to to gain a land instead you find because it is your land. What I'm saying is that the spiritual flight is one that you get up and fight in the full armor of the God of God, not in order to somehow win your salvation or deliverance, but instead to stand and it. That's the command and Ephesian is to stand mixer victory that is been one for you and what is been given to you and now it is yours. So you take it because we do not rule over what we do not believe his hours to give you for lessons that I see from the Joshua and the promised land.

Imagery about what freedom really means versus this freedom comes not through earthly forms of security, but often freedom comes through letting go of what you always counted on for your secure. It's amazing how much freedom you find on the other side of letting go of something you counted on for your sense of security, says is such an interesting motivational speech that God gives to Joshua as Joshua is Galilee the people in the battle and so God comes to him to bring encouragement to him. As you can envision God is like the greatest coach in the world and he's he's coming to is his quarterback to get them ready for the big game and is the ultimate motivational speeches.

I really studied up on this PC. You know how does God motivate and what what God say to Joshua.

Remember this it Joshua is been there a tough time because he is using a transition time. Moses is is no longer there and Josh was going be a leader. Joshua is love Moses with all his heart. Joshua was Moses's assistant was a spiritual sign me. Joshua saw Moses all of the moments of glory and challenge Allen right in today's teaching freedom through taking the promised land.

Stick with the salad is back in the studio assuring a parting good news thought for the day in our series unleashed back in a moment I will restore the fortunes of Jacob times and have compassion on his dwellings. The city will be built on who remains powerless will stand in its proper place as timeless wakes from Jeremiah 30 for the heart of God to us the way. Time cities would often be read out on top of the ruins of the former city city would stand higher with social walls and a greater perspective pastor. Our night since the lab and the ruling skill discover how God can build your life gloriously out of yesterday's disappointments to get to Allen right ministries to listen to Pastor Alan's messages in an attractive city album through digital download as our way of saying thanks for your partnership. Call us at 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor and dialect of blessing your life, discover God's grace filled vision for your rights, free grace and encouragement.

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Pastor I got away you would Allen's good news thought for the day are parting thought. And as we put a bookmark here were talking about freedom through taking the promised land. The promised land. Imagery is one of the most important, obviously in the whole narrative of the Old Testament, and a lot of people think that the promised land is just a picture of heaven, but in actuality what we can see is that know the promised land is a place where there are battles to be fought, and your promised land is a battleground and so real freedom is not the place where you have no battles witnessing something different than that. That real freedom is a place where you do have to fight battles, but you do so in the confidence that God has given you the victory.

That's powerful thing. When you start understanding what real freedom is today's good news message listener supported production Allen right ministries