A Convert in Canaan

Truly, Father, you are holy. Lord, as the angels in Your presence cry, "Holy, holy, holy," we come together with them tonight to exalt You. Just as Isaiah saw You lifted up and was undone in Your presence, I pray that our flesh would be undone in Your presence now. As we look into Your Word and take time to seek out the Scriptures, Father, may we see You in the pages as we consider this passage of Scripture tonight.

God, if we have anything in our lives that is holding us back from You tonight, as Psalm 139 says, I pray that You would search us. See if there be any wicked way in us, Lord, that might be keeping us from knowing You tonight, that might be keeping us from having fellowship with You and with our brothers and sisters. Lord, expose it to us now so that we can confess it to You and be cleansed.

Father, I thank You that You are here in our midst, and I pray that You would minister to us. As we have spent this last 45 minutes ministering to You in worship, what an awesome opportunity You have given us to sing praises to Your name. Lord, open our eyes that we would see You. In Jesus' name, Amen. You can be seated.

I was at the men's retreat today with Pat and all the other guys, and it is such a neat thing to see however many guys we have up there—50, 60, 70 guys—standing, clapping, and worshiping the Lord. Pretty much all of them were out of tune except for Matt, but it just sounded great. It felt really good to worship together in the presence of the Lord and in the presence of other believers.

What an awesome time it has been for me tonight to sit here and hear the voice of the body of Christ rise to God. How wonderful that is!

Tonight, we will look at Joshua chapter 2. This week has been one of those weeks where things get all mixed up. You know how it can be. I was coming back down from the retreat today, and I just started to get sick, so I don't feel real well. However, I know that the Lord wants to speak to us. As Paul said in the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 12, "When I am weak, then He is strong."

And so I'm just praying that the Lord would be strong tonight and that He would minister to us through this passage of Scripture. As we've been looking into this passage in Joshua, I think that this is a fitting book for the body of Christ here at Escondido. The Lord desires that each one of us would come in and draw near to Him, laying hold of the life that He desires for us. Paul said in Philippians chapter 3, "that I may lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of me." That is exactly what the Lord desires for every single one of us: that we would lay hold of that life, that life more abundantly, as we see what Jesus spoke of in John chapter 10, verse 10. He said that the thief comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy, but He has come that we might have life and that more abundantly.

It is truly God's desire that each one of us, as believers, would draw in closer to Him and experience that life. We are to lay hold of that life for which He has laid hold of us, for which He has captured us. If you're a believer tonight, you've been captured by the Lord, taken out of the world, out of Egypt, just like the children of Israel in our story. We know from 1 Corinthians chapter 10, and Pat is going to begin the book of 1 Corinthians tomorrow, that 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 11 says, "Now all of these things happened to them, they happened to the children of Israel as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world have come."

Today, while we were at the conference, at the retreat, Pastor Rob Hubbard from Calvary Chapel of Ramona was talking about how he really believes that we are in the last days. He reconfirmed all the different things that are going on in the world and reminded everybody of something I had forgotten: Iraq, the nation of Iraq, is not mentioned in prophecy. They are not there. So why aren't they there, this number one enemy of the nation of Israel? They are not in prophecy because the Lord is doing a work in these last days before He comes. We are living in the last days, and since we are living in the last days, we need to be thoroughly equipped for all the good works that Christ has called us to.

To be thoroughly equipped, we need to look at the examples, admonitions, and instructions that the Lord has left for us. The book of Joshua, as we've been going through, has shown us wonderful things that God was doing as He prepared His people. The children of Israel are right at the very border of the land of Israel, the land that was promised to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12. They are at the very border.

The only thing standing between the Israelites and the promised land that God had given to them was the Jordan River. The Lord had promised Joshua that he would go in and take the land, assuring him that no one would be able to stand before him all the days of his life. As God was with Moses, so He would also be with Joshua. They stood there, looking at the land right in front of them, this great promised possession that God had given to them. God was calling them to enter it.

However, as we come to chapter 2, there is a pause. Something had to take place first before they could enter the land. In fact, a couple of things needed to happen, but this is one of them. In Joshua chapter 2, verse 1, it says that Joshua, the son of Nun, sent out of Shittim, or out of the Acacia groves, two men to spy secretly, saying, "Go and view the land, even Jericho." They went and came into the house of a harlot named Rahab, and they lodged there.

Joshua sent these two spies secretly because he did not want anyone among the children of Israel to know that he was sending them out. Why is that? If you remember, some 38 years before, Moses had sent out 12 spies, and all of Israel knew that these spies were going into the land to search it. They were there for 40 days and 40 nights. When they returned, 10 of those spies gave a wicked report. They acknowledged that the land was beautiful and flowing with milk and honey, but they also reported that there were giants in the land. They felt like grasshoppers in their own eyes, believing that these giants would totally annihilate them. Consequently, the 10 spies said they could not go in.

However, there were two faithful men among the spies: Joshua and Caleb. The Lord declared that none of that generation would enter the promised land except for Joshua and Caleb because their hearts wholly followed after the Lord. Now, here we are, some 38 years later, standing on the very edge of the promised land. Joshua decided to send two spies into the land, and he most assuredly remembered what had happened 38 years ago when he was numbered among the 10 spies.

Many commentators and Bible teachers over the years have suggested that Joshua experienced a lapse of faith. He knew God had spoken to him in chapter 1, assuring him that He would be with him and would not leave or forsake him. God commanded him to be strong and of good courage, promising that He would be with him wherever he went. God had told him that no one would be able to stand before him all the days of his life. Yet, in chapter 2, it states that he sent out two spies secretly from the Acacia Grove.

A lot of Bible teachers have said that Joshua had a lapse of faith, but I don't believe so. I don't believe that Joshua had a lapse of faith here. You see, it says at the end of verse 1, as they came to Jericho, they came into the harlot's house named Rahab, and they lodged there. Why did he send these two spies out? Why did God direct Joshua to send the spies into the land? For the last two weeks, I've been thinking about that question. I've been going over it in my mind repeatedly. Why send these two spies in there? Early on, the spies came back with a wicked report. Why send them again? God has already told you to go into the land. What are you doing, Joshua?

As I thought about it, I wondered why these two spies were chosen. The Lord began to speak and minister to my heart that there was a lady in Canaan who needed the Lord, who was ripe for the picking. There was a lady in the town of Jericho, the first town that was to be captured, subdued, and destroyed. All of the inhabitants of that city of Jericho were to be destroyed. Yet, if you remember back to the story in Genesis, where Abraham met with God right before God went down to destroy the cities of Sodom, Abraham said, "Lord, if there be 50 righteous in the city, will you destroy the righteous with the wicked?" The Lord replied, "Abraham, if there are 50 righteous, I will not destroy it."

Abraham continued, "Well, what if there were 45 righteous? Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked if there are 45 righteous?" The Lord answered, "No, Abraham, I'll spare the city for 45." Abraham pressed on, "Well, Lord, how about 30?" The Lord said, "I'll spare it for 30." Abraham asked, "25?" The Lord replied, "Yeah, I'll spare it for 25." Then Abraham pleaded, "Lord, please don't be angry with me, but what about 15?" The Lord said, "I will spare the city for 15."

How many righteous people did God find in Sodom and Gomorrah? One righteous man. He delivered that righteous man named Lot and his two wicked daughters as well. You see, God is a gracious God, a merciful God. He must judge sin. Never forget that God must judge sin, for He is holy, just, and good, and He has given His law forth to the world. If we transgress the law, then we are worthy of judgment. There is only one way that we can escape the judgment we deserve, and that is through a divine work of God. What we see here in Joshua chapter 2 is truly a divine work of God.

Because, you see, in this small city called Jericho, there was one righteous woman, one righteous lady. As God looked down at this city of Jericho, He knew that He was going to destroy it. He knew that He was going to send His children, the children of Israel, into this land. He knew that He was going to tear down the walls and that they were to utterly annihilate all the inhabitants of Jericho.

Yet, as God looked down, He said, "There's one woman there who knows Me, who desires to know Me." She didn't know Him yet, but she had faith and she desired to know Him. Because of that, God stirred in the heart of Joshua to send two spies into the land. But notice, who was this person? It wasn't the king of the city of Jericho. It wasn't someone of good report. It wasn't someone whom everybody would say, "Yeah, that would be the righteous person in Jericho."

No, in fact, the person in Jericho who had this small belief, this small faith, was Rahab, and she was a harlot. She was a prostitute. Many teachers over the years, many commentators on Scripture, have tried to paint this in a different light and say, "Well, she wasn't really a harlot. She was an innkeeper," because the words are fairly similar. But if you look at the book of Hebrews, chapter 11, and the book of James, chapter 2, you find out that yes, Rahab was a prostitute. She was a harlot. She lived in the midst of a wicked city and had probably begun from a young age to go down the path of wickedness, the pagan lifestyle.

Yet, as God looked down upon this city, He saw a lady who was a harlot, who was a total pagan, and in her heart were the seeds of faith that would spring into her heart and bring her into eternal life. The Lord determined that He would send out these spies, these two men, to go into the land before the children of Israel and to search out the land. How wonderful it is that the Lord would leave the ninety-nine to go after the one, that He would go in to search out and seek after that one convert, the convert in Canaan.

So these spies were sent out, and they came to the house of this harlot named Rahab and lodged there. It was told to the king of Jericho, saying, "Behold, there came in hither tonight of the children of Israel to search out the country." The king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, "Bring forth the men that are come into thee and have entered into your house, for they are come to search out the country."

You see, the city of Jericho was at terror alert red. They were scared to death. As they sat there in Jericho, they could see, just seven miles off in the distance, beyond the Jordan River, a whole host of tents. Three million people were camped out on the other side of the Jordan River. They had heard the report that these people had totally and utterly destroyed the army of Egypt. They had crossed over the Red Sea on dry ground; the Red Sea parted, and these people came over on dry ground. They had just completely annihilated two kingdoms in the Moabite land on the other side of the Jordan. Truly, the little kingdom, the little city of Jericho was at terror alert red. They knew these people were coming. What were they going to do?

So, they had their eyes open. They were circumspect. Have you ever noticed that the enemy is very circumspect? The Bible says that he goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. The enemy is very crafty; he has his eyes open and his ears open, looking for little chinks in yours and my armor. He is searching for ways to get in.

Here, the king of Jericho heard that two men had come into the land of Jericho. These spies from the children of Israel had entered the city. The king himself went to the house of Rahab and said, "Bring these guys out. They've come just to search out the country."

The woman took the two men and hid them. She said, "There came men unto me, but I don't know where they came from or where they are. I do not know whence they were." It came to pass about the time of the shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out. She added, "Where the men went, I don't know. Pursue after them quickly, for you shall overtake them."

Well, this lady Rahab was crafty, as many pagan women are. She said, "I don't know where these guys are. They took off. Go after them; you'll catch them." She played on the confidence of the men, saying, "You'll get them. I know you will."

Every man has that inside of him. You know what, ladies? You know it so well. You just tell a guy that he can't do something, and it motivates him even more.

And he'll do it. Or you encourage him that, "You know what? I think you can do this." And that's exactly what she did. She said, "These guys, they came into me. I didn't know who they were. They went out when the gate was getting ready to shut, and they're gone. They're out in the wilderness. But go get them. You guys can catch them. I know you can."

And so, yeah, sure we can. But it says in verse 6 that she brought them up on the roof of the house and she hid them under the stalks of flax which she had laid in order upon the roof. Rahab the harlot lied. Again, there are lots of people who say she was justified in her lie; she was saving people's lives. But the Bible says, the Ten Commandments say, "You shall not bear false witness." Know for sure that God did not condone the sin of this woman, but He desired to forgive it. God never condones our sin, but He desires that we would come before Him, confess it, and receive His forgiveness.

There is no time that we're justified in lying, even if it is to save another person's life. We're not justified before God to bear false witness. He will forgive that, but we don't have some ticket here where we can lie. Well, Rahab did it. She lied, so I can too. She was righteous; God said she's righteous. She lied, so I can lie. Remember, Rahab's not a believer at this point in time. She's not counted with the family of God at this point in time. She's still alive. She's still a pagan. She still does pagan things.

And you know what? When you come to the Lord, when you first accept the Lord and begin to walk with Him, you do pagan things too. But if twenty years from now you're still doing pagan things, something's wrong. Because the Lord has come; He'll take us just as we are, but He does not want us to stay that way. God desires that we would be transformed and conformed into His image, as we sang that song tonight: "Lord, take my will, conform it to Yours." That's exactly what the Lord wants us to do.

So when you meet someone who's just begun to follow the Lord and maybe every now and again they drop a bad word here and there, know for sure that God's going to change that. He will change that. If you see things in your lives, little things that hang you up, little sins that so easily ensnare you, as you walk with the Lord and grow closer to Him, He'll remove those things. But you must walk closely with the Lord to follow hard after Him. And as you and I do that,

As we seek after the Lord, He begins to take those things out of our lives. Anyone in this room who has walked with the Lord for any amount of time knows that the more we walk with Him, the more we realize how much of a sinner we truly are. Remember Paul the Apostle? He said, "I am the chief of all sinners." Every single one of us in this room would probably argue with him and say, "No, I am." Why? Because as we walk with the Lord, the light of the Lord begins to shine upon our hearts and reveal those wicked things in our lives. We look at it and say, "Oh Lord, this is so grievous to me. I know it grieves You."

The Lord responds, "Yes, would you like me to take it?" What a gracious God we serve! He comes and takes us just as we are, but He doesn't leave us that way. Always remember that. God is changing us. God is sanctifying us. God is consecrating us. He is doing a work in our lives. Five years from now, we should not look spiritually the same way we do today. If we do, there's a problem. If there's no change in my heart, no change in my life, my speech, and my actions, then I would hope that one of you would come and say, "You know, there's something wrong here." I would then bring that before the Lord and give it to Him.

Now, consider this woman, Rahab. She lied when she said, "These guys, they came here. I don't know who they are, but they already left." In reality, she had hidden them in her room under the stalks of flax. The men pursued after them toward the Jordan and to the fords under the crossing. As soon as those who pursued them were gone out, they shut the gate.

In verse eight, it says, "Before they were laid down, she came up onto the roof to them and said, 'I know that the Lord has given you the land and that your terror'—there it is again, remember terror alert five, red in the land of Jericho—'has fallen upon us and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. We're scared to death because of you, because of this group of people that are just seven miles away. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt and what you did to the kings of the Amorites that were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.'

As soon as we had heard these things, verse eleven states, 'Our hearts did melt. Neither did there remain any more courage or strength in any man because of you. For the Lord, your God, He is the God in heaven above and on the earth beneath.' And so this woman...

Rahab goes to these two men and says, "We've heard about you. I've just saved your lives, but I've heard about you. You destroyed Egypt. You destroyed all the army of Egypt. You utterly annihilated and completely destroyed these two kingdoms over on the other side of the Jordan. We're scared to death of you. All of the men in our city, we don't have a clue how we can fight against you because your God is the God in heaven above and on earth beneath."

You see, the people in Jericho served all sorts of different gods, various little pagan images that they had carved out of their own hands. They were those who said to a rock, "You are my father," and to a tree, "You gave birth to me." Sadly, our nation has become just like the city of Jericho because there are professors in our nation who say to a rock, "You are my father." They look to evolution and say, "Well, I came from the goo. We came from animals." They look at a tree—think of Greenpeace. They tie themselves to trees and say to a tree, "You gave birth to me, oh Mother Nature." That's paganism. It's outright paganism, and it's no different than what the city of Jericho was doing. They bowed down to all kinds of earthly things.

Yet, this lady Rahab says, "Your God, the Lord your God." The amazing thing is that she knew His name—the name Yahweh, the name of God. She says, "The Lord your God. He is the God in heaven above. He's not just of the earth; He's not just of the things of this earth. He's over all the heavens and over the earth beneath."

Now therefore, I pray, she says in verse 12, "Swear unto me by the Lord, by that one who is over all things. Swear unto me by Him. Since I have showed you kindness, that you will also show kindness unto my father's house and give me a true token. That you will save alive my father and my mother and my brethren and my sisters and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death." She says, "I know that your God is the God of the universe. He's over all things. None of our little pagan images...

No rocks that we have could have parted the Red Sea. I know it. I've showed you kindness, and I pray that you would show my family kindness as well. That you'd save us alive, that you would deliver our lives from death, as stated in the end of verse 13. God has come to deliver our lives from death. The God of the universe, the one who created everything that we see, everything that we smell, everything that we taste and touch, and the things that we can't see—God created all of those things. He is the God who has come to deliver our lives from death.

Why? Because every single one of us has sinned. We've fallen short of the glory of God, and we should be condemned to hell because we've turned from God. Professing to be wise, we become as fools, changing the image of the incorruptible God into something that's made with man's hands. We deserve death. Yet, the God of the universe is the one who delivers our lives from death.

The men answered her, and notice what they say: "Our life for yours." Isn't that exactly what Jesus did for us? His life for ours. He gave His life for me and for you. Why? Because when He looked at us, He was moved with compassion. He saw you and me, and He saw that we were going down the wide path towards destruction. But He desired to have a relationship with us, and so He came to deliver our lives from death. He gave His life for ours.

These two men, these two spies, say to her, "Our life for yours, if you utter not this word, our business." It shall be when the Lord has given us the land. Notice their faith: when the Lord has given us the land, we will deal kindly and truly with you. They say, "Our lives for yours. If you don't declare our business, if you don't go out and tell all the people what we're doing here, if you don't reveal us." She already had risked her life to hide them.

So they say, "Our life for yours. When the Lord gives us this land, when we come into this place, we will deal kindly with you." Then she let them down, by a cord through the window into her house, which was upon the town wall.

And she dwelt upon the wall. The city of Jericho was a relatively large city for the area in Canaan. Excavationists have said that it had double walls. There was one big, thick wall, and inside of these walls were homes. That's how thick this wall was. Then there was a 15-foot space, followed by another thick wall. She lived on the outer wall and had a window that looked out. She lowered them down through that window because she dwelt upon the wall.

In verse 16, it says, "And she said unto them, 'Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you, and hide yourselves there three days until the pursuers be returned. And afterward, may you go your way.'" The men said unto her, "We will be blameless of this our oath, which thou hast made us to swear. Behold, when we come into the land, you shall bind this line, this scarlet thread in the window, which thou didst let us down by. And thou shalt bring thy father and thy mother and their brethren and all thy father's household unto thee."

It shall be, in verse 19, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be upon his own head, and we will be guiltless. Whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be upon us if any hand be upon him. If you utter this our business, then we will be quit of our oath. This oath will fall apart if you reveal our business, which we have made you swear to.

In verse 21, she said, "According unto your words, be it so." Basically, she said, "Amen. Amen to that, so be it." She sent them away, and they departed. She bound the scarlet line in the window. As she lowered them down the walls in that dark night, they said, "We're going to keep this oath if you don't tell anybody what's going on. If you take this red cord, this scarlet cord that you've let us down with, and you bind it in the window, you tie it in the window, and you bring your whole family into the house, they have to be in this house. If they go outside of this house, their blood will be upon their own head. But if they're in this house, and we do anything to them, our lives for yours, then we should be put to death."

Remember back in the book of Exodus.

Chapter 12 discusses the final plague, the tenth and final plague in Egypt. The Lord said to Moses, "Tell the children of Israel that each family is to take a lamb of the first year, the firstling. They are to bring it into their house on the tenth day of the month of Nisan. They are to keep it in their household and inspect it for four days. Then, on the fourteenth day, right at sunset, they are to slaughter that lamb. They are to take the blood of the lamb and put it on the doorpost and the lintels of their house. They are to stay inside their house; none of them are to go out because the destroyer is going to come through. If that blood is not upon the doorpost of your house, then the destroyer will come in, and your firstborn shall be taken. So that blood had to be upon the doorpost.

In much the same way, here are these two spies. They tell this lady that the red cord must be upon your window, upon your doorpost. If anybody is to be saved with you, they must be inside this house with you. But if they are out in the streets, their blood shall be upon their own head. The same is true for you and me today. If we are not in Christ, if we are not in the one who shed His blood for us, if we are not in Him, abiding in Him, the one whose blood is upon Himself, then we will have our blood upon our own hands when we stand before the Lord.

It is essential for you and me to abide in Christ. It was essential for this lady and her family to abide in that house. They were not to leave. If they went out into the streets, then they could be killed. But if they wanted to be saved alive, as she said, "Save us alive; I've showed you kindness, save us alive." If you are to be saved alive, you must be in this dwelling place. If you and I are to be saved alive and come into the kingdom of God, we must be in Christ. Apart from Christ, no flesh shall be justified before the Lord. There is no way that we will be able to stand before Him. We must be in Him. The blood of our Savior, the blood of our Lord, must be upon the doorpost of our hearts. Without that, we will perish. We must abide in Him.

I believe 100% in eternal security. As long as you abide in the Lord, you are eternally secure. I'm not going to begin to even consider what could happen if you walk away from the Lord. We see it in Scripture. Demas, the Bible talks of Demas and says...

Paul says that he's forsaken me for the love of the world. We never see Demas again. We see people in Scripture who turned away from the Lord after tasting of the heavenly gift. God knows who's saved and who's not. I don't want to walk close to the line. I don't want to be standing in the doorway of Rahab's house, kind of like one foot in, one foot out, tempting God. We're to abide in the Lord, to seek after Him, to be saved alive. He's saved us; He's brought us in. Let's stay as close to Him as we possibly can.

It always breaks my heart when I hear of people or when people come to me and say, "Is it okay for me to do this?" or "Can I walk the line in this area?" Why don't you ask how close you can get to the Lord? Why walk the line? What a bitter place to be. How sad to have just a little bit of the world and a little bit of the Lord and just be lukewarm. I don't want to be in that place.

These men told Rahab that if anyone in her family was to be saved, they needed to come in. What a huge step of faith for this lady! That means she had to go to her family members and say, "Listen, two spies came into my house, and they told me this place is going to be destroyed. If you want to be saved, you need to come in and stay in the house because this red scarlet cord that I've tied on my window is going to mean that we're going to be safe in here."

Probably some of her family members looked at her and said, "You're nuts. You're absolutely insane." She probably pleaded with them, "Please stay in here. They're coming, and they have given me a true token." The Lord has given us a true token. Remember in Ephesians, Paul says that the Holy Spirit is the seal of our inheritance. We have a true token, the Holy Spirit in our lives. He bears witness. The Spirit of God bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

We must have that spiritual witness in our lives. If you're a believer, you know exactly what that is. The Spirit of God has borne witness with your spirit that you're a child of God. But that means that you are in Christ. There's no other place to be. We must be in Christ, standing upon that solid rock. Everything else is shifting sand. You'll fall away if you begin to step outside of the door. It's a slippery place. Come inside. Stay inside. Don't tempt the Lord.

Rahab knew. She said, "You must come in. Stay here." They went, and in verse 22, they came to the mountain and abode there for three days until the pursuers had returned. The pursuers sought them throughout all the way and found them not. So the two men returned, descended from the mountain, passed over, and came to Joshua, the son of Nun. They told him all things that had befallen them. They said to Joshua, "Truly, the Lord has delivered into our hands all the land. For even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us."

What a totally different word than what we heard 40 years before when those ten spies said, "Yes, the land is beautiful and it's flowing with milk and honey, but there are giants in the land. We can't go in there. They'll kill us." These two spies came back and said, "God has delivered it into our hands. For even the inhabitants of the country, they faint. They're scared. The enemy is scared. The enemy's running scared."

The Bible says, Jesus said, that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. The Lord desires that we, in these last days, would receive the admonition, the instruction of Scripture, and that we would press forward and begin to take the ground of the enemy back. Because he's afraid. Many times, the children of Israel, as we will see, when they began to do battle, the enemy turned on their heels and ran away because they were afraid.

Our enemy, Satan, the accuser of the brethren, is pitiful. The Bible says in Revelation that when we behold him, when we look at him, we're going to say, "This is the one, this little nothing, who scared us so much for all those years." It's like a chihuahua. That's exactly what the enemy is. I heard John Corson recently, and it just cracked me up. He was on the radio a couple of weeks ago talking about how he used to go jogging. He would jog past this little chihuahua that would yip at him the whole time and keep barking until he ran by. He finally realized this dog thinks he's winning.

Because he sees me coming, I run by, and he barks at me. Then I run away. He thinks he's winning. Satan thinks he's winning. But he's done. He's done. Yes, he did bruise our Savior's heel, but our Savior bruised his head. He crushed his head. Praise the Lord for that.

We do not need to be afraid of this little pitiful chihuahua. Yes, he has power, but only so much as the Lord gives him. Read the book of Job and see what Satan did to Job, but only as the Lord said, "Yeah, go ahead." Nothing can come to you and your life without it first passing through the hands of God.

We need to storm the gates of hell because the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. How do we do that? Well, daily. Maybe as you're just spending time with a friend who doesn't know the Lord, ask them, "What do you think's going to happen when you die? Where are you going?"

"Oh, I'm a good person. I'll go to heaven." Are you sure about that? Why do you think that? "Well, God's a forgiving God. He'll overlook my sin." No, you've created your own God in your own image. That's not what the Bible says. The Lord desires that we would realize that we have the battle won. The land is ours.

There are converts in Canaan, and we need to go out as spies from this place. It doesn't mean we're secret agent Christians, walking around with our Bibles hidden in our briefcases. No, it means that we go out into enemy territory with the power of God, the word of God, and the command of God, knowing that He has already given us this land.

As we go from this place tonight, there's a mission field outside these doors. Many of you have a mission field in your own home—people in your own household who don't know the Lord. May it not continue that way. I pray that they would see the light of Christ in your life and be drawn to it. That they would see the miracles that have taken place in your life. That they would see that you've crossed over the Red Sea, that you're no longer in Egypt, and that you're no longer a part of the world.

And they would be filled with terror. But when we go out these doors, we enter a mission field. You don't have to go to Belize, the Philippines, or Scotland, or many other places to be in a mission field. You're here and now in this place that God has called you to. He's called me here as well.

There are converts in Canaan, and the Lord is waiting to call us home because there still may be just one more person here in Escondido. He's waiting to bring us into heaven, to bring us to that place that we long to be with Him in. Because there are still converts in Canaan, may we see it and realize that He's given us power. May we not stand down.

You can pray for me because I'm just as weak as the rest of you. Stand at the gas pump, and when the Lord stirs in your heart, talk to that person. Click. Oh, I've got to go. I didn't need a full tank. Let's get out of here. Oh, Lord, help me to see with Your eyes.

Let's pray. And, Lord, that day they said unto Joshua, "Truly, You've delivered this land into our hands." The inhabitants are afraid; their hearts have melted within them. Lord, the enemy is afraid; his heart is melting within him because the fires of hell are getting oh so close to him.

Lord, we thank You that You've called us, commanded us, and commissioned us. You've given us great power to do Your work. Lord, help us to follow after You. As You send us out as spies into this land, direct us to the right people. It's amazing to me that they just happened upon Rahab, Lord, the only person in that whole city who had a heart and a desire to know You, and You brought them to her.

And, Lord, You'll bring us to that person as well. God, show us who that person is in our own household.

Maybe in the job that we work at, Lord, equip us and enable us to do what You've called us to do. As we're ambassadors of Christ, Father, we thank You. It's in Your precious Son's name that we pray. Amen.

Let's stand and worship. Amen.