You Want Me to do What? (Part 11)

There is only one way that you can know what your heavenly father's life and that's in his word that is only one manifestation of what your heavenly father is like and that is his son the Lord Jesus Christ. That is only one source from which you can understand and how to relate to your heavenly father and that's the Bible and so you'll understand in Joshua chapter 20 there you see a glimpse of the character of your heavenly father. This is leading the way with Dr. Michael you sent it with sad how we often consider the Old Testament is kind of antique collection of historical events not relevant to today rather than seeing how God uses his word to empower you in life right now today the life of Joshua like that continues to reveal a lot about the forgiving heart of our heavenly father you'll see that today as Dr. Michael Yousef brings a message about the cities of refuge. Please do remember that leading the way is listener supported made possible by your prayers and your financial gaps you can learn more about how Dr. Yousef is passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth around the world@ltw.org or when you call us at 866-626-4356. Let's listen together now, as Dr. Michael Yousef begins there could not have heard me for very long without making references to my early childhood I boyhood and the fact that the was quite the mischievous little fellow, and for my mischievous deeds. I received a little bit more than my fair just reward for my father. My father believed in one form of justice whose mercy was only administered on few occasions at the insistence of my mother and so you can understand my ardent desire that whenever I got into mischief. I wanted to run as far away from my father as possible, especially if you saw me know if he had not seen me, you can understand.

Also, my ardent desire to try to beg, bribe, and pleased with my siblings not to tell them. Suffice it to say that at the age of 11, I change schools without telling my father and find out the hard way. I was what you would call full of initiatives since I was little fellow I really was. That's the nice way to put it.

But the point I'm trying to make is beyond this is that I didn't have a boyhood friend and mob friend got into some trouble. Not as much from the arms as I did, but he got into some of the trouble with me and the what used to really confuse me and has confused me for a long time is that when I got into trouble. I ran away as far as I could for my father, but 100 trouble. He ran to his father understand. It was very confusing to me. Then I committed my life to Christ and I began to develop intimacy with my heavenly father and I began to know my heavenly father and I realized that my friend had a relationship and develop that relationship with his earthly father. That is more akin to what my relationship and our relationship with our heavenly father ought to be and should be. I wanted to listen very carefully. Now that I have been in the ministry and have seen and talked to countless number of people I have come to the conclusion that there are basically two types of people. There are those who will like me when I was a boy whenever they get into sin and rebellion against God whenever they come under conviction. They run away from God.

And then there are those who have lunch that whenever they get into sin and rebellion. They immediately run and ask for forgiveness and repent of their sins, they run to the heavenly father said how come what you see, it all depends on your view of your heavenly father if you view the heavenly father to be arbitrary and to be vindictive and to be angry and in response to my faults. If you view of your heavenly father is the one who just cannot wait for you to come to him and asked for forgiveness and he'll let you have it and therefore you will foolishly run away from him, or do you see your heavenly father is a God of mercy, and the God of grace and the God who is full of compassion longs for you and for me to come to him in repentance and seeking his forgiveness. It all depends, but is a problem, listen to me very carefully. There are many people who equate their relationship with their heavenly father based on the relationship with the earthly fathers. Mistake.

Big mistake. Listen to me whether your earthly father was gentle or harsh weather. Your earthly father is kinda not whether your earthly father strong or weak.

Whether your earthly father is merciful or not. Whatever you relationship with your earthly father. Whether it is good or bad. Do not equate that relationship with heavenly father. There is only one way that you can know what your heavenly father's life and that's in his word that is only one manifestation of what your heavenly father is like and that is his son the Lord Jesus Christ. There is only one source from which you can understand and how to relate to your heavenly father and that's the Bible and so you understand in Joshua chapter 20 there you see a glimpse of the character of your heavenly father, a glimpse of the merciful heavenly father turned to it with me if you haven't already. Joshua chapter 20 we saw how God supernaturally provided for his people. We saw how God supernaturally crossed them over the revolt of impossibility we saw how supernaturally the imperishable walls of Jericho crumbled before them.

We saw how God compassionately help them deal with sin and repent and turn to him. We saw how supernaturally God gave them victory over the powerful enemies. We saw how God divided the land of promise between them we saw how he rebuked them when there was slack and not claiming the inheritance that he provided for them in here in chapter 20 God instructs them to exercise justice to exercise mercy and to exercise compassion how by building six cities of refuge. This is not a new idea that God said hey by the way, now you divided the land among you now start building six cities of refuge. No known or this was actually given to them back in the book of Exodus, God told Moses to establish cities of refuge, rinsing, wine, and the significance of that in a minute and Exodus chapter 21 and then it was detailed of what to do in the book of Numbers chapter 35 in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 19 and so his a question. Why would God stress the importance of building these cities of refuge four times in the Scripture four times the answer because God wanted to stress the sanctity of human life God wanted to impress upon them the value that they must place on every life God wanted to emphasize the seriousness of taking another's life even if it is by accident. Let me give you the background very quickly so you can track with me.

The law required life for life when somebody deliberately take someone's life. That life must be lost. Emphasize the value of life. But then the problem came. If you get two guys out in the forest and there were cottonwoods and then all of a sudden enacts fleeing from one's hand. The other guy and he died was the answer them. Well according to the law of God, this person who is unintentionally committed.

Manslaughter should not die, but the danger of courses you get the next of kin in the brother or uncle or somebody says I don't care intentional and unintentional.

I'm gonna kill.

I am going to take revenge and I have the law on my side. And so God the God of justice, the God of mercy, the God of compassion, the God of grace told Joshua to build six cities throughout the land of Israel, three on each side of the river Jordan. What is the purpose what purpose with these cities serve their words to be cities in which a man who committed on intentional manslaughter would run and find refuge. But that's not all. The road to these cities of refuge must be in excellent condition. But that's not all.

The cross roads to these cities of refuge must be well signposted and well marked, but that's not all. The direction to the cities of refuge must be very clear and signs that says refuge refuge refuge but does not all there were runners along the road who were posted in order to guide the fugitive to the city of refuge to the nearest one. There were there. These runners would help the fugitive to run through the gates of the city of refuge.

These runners were there to guide the person into the right place. These runners were to point to the direction the city of refuge.

These runners were support that person along the way until he reaches the city of refuge and then when the fugitive arrives presumably breathless without wasting a word. He will present his case to the city elders who formed the court of the city of refuge, and the court will make a provisional decision, a snap decision to give him an asylum until the time for a proper trial is set and if the man's layer is acquitted of premeditated murder. Then he must live inside the city of refuge until the high priest had died after the death of the high priest, that person goes back to his home goes back to his city inspectors community and he function as a citizen is a weatherman of Michael. I understood all of that I understood everything you said except the business about the high priest dying.

Why is this man be set free.

Only at the death of the high priest listen carefully. It's because the high priest's death is the only ransom for the manslaughter charge the death of the high priest was the only redemption for the guilty charge the death of the high priest was the only appointment for that man sin, the death of the high priest was the only satisfaction to the justice system. Now if you haven't got the picture. By now you will in a minute if you haven't began to shout inside of you. I hope you going to shout outside of you when you get the picture cleared for you. Listen carefully you and I are the guilty ones we born with guilt we born with sin when the sin of Adam, and therefore the word guilty was written all over us. We were guilty of breaking the law of God.

We were guilty of living for self were guilty of ignoring and snubbing a holy and righteous God. We were guilty of insubordination and disobedience to the living God the Creator God and the Redeemer, God whether we did this out of knowledge or out of ignorance, it makes no difference whether we did this deliberately or not it makes no difference.

The courts of heaven has convened and said guilty as charged. Your former soon your alienating yourself you born and urinated from the father and the courts of heaven declared us all guilty. Not one of us that was born that was not born guilty all but been some run along the road some run along the road. He told us where to find the city of refuge. Some run along the road told us that we can find a place of refuge that we can find relief from guilt that we can find escape from the grip of sin that we can find escape from the judgment of sin that we can be those forerunner those runners have told us where the city of refugees. They told us who the city of refuge is and now after we come to the city of refuge, we come to receive atonement receive forgiveness and receive restoration and healing. When we come to the city of refuge was set free, not only from Saturn, but the wages of sin and read my blog for a man in the sea because the great high priest died on the cross for us where therefore become redeemed and now you may runners now. We are the ones who would point the way to the city of refuge where those who help others to find escape from death and from judgment and from the wrath to come where the runners will help others to find escape from eternal death, because that is the call of God upon us. And when the repentant sinner comes in and discovers that the great high priest.

Not just any high priest. But the great high priest died on the cross for them that by the death of the great high priest that they have been set free by the death of the great high priest.

He satisfy the claims of the courts of heaven and on our behalf that by the death of the great high priest. The ransom was paid for every repentant individual regardless of his age, regardless of his color, regardless of his background and her background regardless of where they come from that the death of the high priest that great high priest was the only provision that God gave us for pardon and restoration and reconciliation with him that by the death of the great high priest. We have been set free from sin and condemnation of sin and the wages of sin and counsel soon and the death of the great high priest we been given eternal life in the new life in Christ, a member once a man is he that is why the psalmist and some 46 verse one he looks forward through the eyes of faith and he sees Christ coming into the world. He says God is our refuge and strength, and a very present help in time of trouble and that is why the apostle Paul can look back at the cross of Jesus Christ and the resurrection from his death, and in Romans chapter 8 verse one could say therefore therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And that is why the right of the epistle to the Hebrews he speaks to us in chapter 6, verse 18 it says having fled for refuge and laying hold of the hope set before us.

No one no one who is in Christ Jesus, who have taken his or her refuge in Jesus and the shed blood of the great high priest should ever be afraid of the judgment to come, that you notice I did not say nobody in the church or member of the church should be afraid of the judgment to come.

Then I didn't say that I do not say no one who belongs to a denomination or a membership of a local church should not be afraid of the judgment to come. I didn't say that I only said those who took refuge where in Jesus, they should not serve the judgment of God until they come and take refuge in Jesus.

And if you've never done that you can do that today. You can do that today. In fact, I can tell you on the authority of the word God, that those who are in the church but have never taken refuge in the shed blood of Jesus Christ should be afraid. The most why because I got to be judge more severely than those who have never heard him rot in this one. The church is not the church is not is not is not a city of refuge. I know some people teach that. But the church is not the city of refuge. The church is a signpost that is pointing the way saying go to the city of refuge Jesus. The church is a big sign that says that everyone who would walk through its doors flew through Christ take refuge in Christ time to Christ repentant, Christ turned to him, for he alone can give you refuge from sin and the policy and only when you flee to Jesus the great high priest who died and rose again. When you find forgiveness and relief from guilt and sin.

When you have peace in the midst of trouble times when you have power over sin.

What you have hope and ending what you have eternal life with him forever.

And so, my beloved friends.

The question is this. Which direction do run when you're convicted of sin do you do what I did as a boy and run away from your heavenly father. Stay away from the church. Stay away from fellowship. Stay away from others. Stay away from anybody to bring on the conviction, or would you run to him. He would welcome you with open arms.

You run away from him would run into him.

He is your only refuge. He is the great high priest who not only die but he rose again. Let me speak to those of you who have known Jesus for many years, but you've been sitting on your hands, you receive salvation receive forgiveness but then you look around and you see people are so desperate that desperate to find the city of refuge and instead of you being a runner. You stayed silent you know where forgiveness restoration on healing is, but you never point away. So let me ask you, will you become a signpost pointing people to the only one who can give them refuge.

Are you a runner along the way or have you abandoned your post, please God, that you would never rest until you answer that question between you and God. Lord make now signpost that leads other to the city of refuge is only one who's a refuge in his name is Jesus. You see, Satan loves to keep you down in your sin and your addiction. He loves to convince you that those chains cannot be broken.

But I'm here to tell you the word of God says otherwise that when you run to the city of refuge when you run the Jesus Christ. He will set you free your listening to leading the way with Dr. Michael you sent listen to deaths and many other messages from Dr. Yousef and LTW.org through the leading the way and by using your smart home speaker.

Each time I hear about the life of Joshua inmates is me because of his passionate faith in his faithfulness, God used him to lead the wandering nation of Israel into the land of promise, they might ask Joshua's life. Help me with my family or to be more diligent in my job or to expand the impact I have in my local church will Joshua's light has a lot to say, because God may be asking you to lead your family leave your friends into impacting the culture around you every message on leading the way, has ingredients of Bible teaching and discipleship. They can help you lead a spirit filled life.

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The 20s and 30s in this local church hits topics related to life and culture to engage in conversations with people who can speak to the actions you can learn more about it and LTW.org/candid LTW.org/candid, but there's music that tells me we are running out of time to plan to join Dr. Michael get Time passionately proclaimed uncompromising truth.

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