Taking the Land Together

9/21/1995

Can I mention one thing? I’ve been thinking about this last night. And the thought occurred to me again. And it is encouraging and freeing especially for me because it’s hard for me to see this sometimes. This really is, though there’s personal responsibility, it’s kinda like it’s a group project in a way. Because it is a Bride prepared, it’s a people God is after. It’s not, “My sins. Oh, I’m ashamed. I’ll tell you about them.” We are ashamed, we’re not proud of them. But it’s our privilege to be able to work with other people to see this stuff gone. There’s no image to protect. What are we even talking about? The only image we’re after is that the Bride of Christ would be spotless, pure, and holy. That has to happen. But that’s your wrestling, too. That’s what we get to do together. There’s a measure of freedom and peace that’s there if we view that thing correctly, if we’re really removed from the picture, if we really want what God wants, we really want Him to have His Bride, we really want. I’m kinda lost in the middle of it all. Yea, I have responsibility because I am me. I have more responsibility for my own sin to identify, no one to tap me on the shoulder for. I have some personal responsibility there. There’s the big picture. All we’re trying to do is make sure that the whole is prepared, the whole is pure, the whole is spotless. I’m not trying to beat anybody, I’m not trying to be better than anybody, I’m not trying to get there first. But that the whole would be spotless and beautiful. In the process of it my weakness is going to show, it’s going to have to show so that it can be gotten rid of.

If we can just accept that fact and rejoice in that rather than somehow begrudging or restraining, and hold back. “If I have to, I’ll tell you, but I’ll just as soon not.” Ya know, versus…I know Mike was talking about a freedom to be able to face Jesus. There’s a freedom and an eagerness to be able to even share these things.

It’s interesting that you mention that because I’ve been thinking a lot about this, as you’ll hear me say. But just about taking the land, that God is letting us take the land. And it is interesting because when I was reading through a lot of that, one of the first things they took was Jericho. And the way they took Jericho was they all had to obey God and march around the city together. And the whole thing collapsed as a result of the people of God moving out together and obeying Joshua. It was a together thing like you said. It wasn’t just Joshua. It took the whole body of believers to be taking Jericho. And likewise, right after that when Achan sinned, it only took one man to unravel them and they weren’t able to defeat the other country, the other nation.