The Carpenter's Union

Great historic figures are remembered for great quotes Give me liberty or give me death . We have nothing to fear but fear itself . Ask not what your country can do for you. One small step for man ... As for me and my house...many of us know this by heart As a noted last time, when you come to iconic verses like this...STOP Read aloud 2 or 3 times and let it soak in. In today's study, we will let it soak in.

For those that feel old, weaker, and tired, well, those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength . If getting tired and you give up...bad decision. Instead, if getting tired wait on Him and you'll get it back...good decision In this final chapter, Joshua pivots from his exhortation to the leaders of Israel and now gives his final public address to all the people of Israel. And while his body is older and weaker, his words are far from weak. In this chapter we will find one of the most well known verses in the Bible... So let's dive in and discover.

God wants to use us all way to the end, not to retirement, both mentally and physically. My one grandfather tackled email late in life and my other grandfather insisted on mowing his lawn at the age of 90. They were great examples to me in staying active in mind and body. Today we will see how Joshua is still leading at the age of 110 years old. Let's dig in and hear what he had to say to the people of Israel.

You know, miscommunication can go both ways. Both parties have their own perceptions on the matter. Then we find ourselves saying something about it, it only leads to more perceptions on the matter and implied meanings. Ugh! Maybe we have experienced this in marriage, between our children or family members. Maybe at work. At any rate, there are always two sides to every story and usually both parties involved contribute to the confusion Today we will talk more about the 2.5 tribes and their contribution to this scenario that has been blown completely out of proportion. Let's get into the Word.

Ever try to do something for someone but it was misunderstood and they became upset with you? Misunderstanding can creep in…even for those living by the Spirit in the Kingdom God. The 9.5 living in the promised land, those living in the spirit filled life have misunderstood the intentions of their friends,. Ever happen to you? Of course it has. And when these situations occur, boy, does our enemy love it. The enemy is always trying to muddy the water and make things unclear. Confusing. Leading to misunderstanding and frustration. Even bringing us to the brink of doing battle. Satan's strategy has always been divide and conquer Upon closer examination, we can see a bit of a progression that these 9.5 tribes slipped into. Let look into this deeper

As noted in an earlier study, Jacob cursed 2 of his sons in Gen 49, Simeon and Levi Both cursed. Both prohibited a long lasting territory that would add to their legacy And one disappears. No definable territory And one is raised up to prominence with no definable territory. Why the difference? Well we'll see

In the spirit filled life it is more than just moving in. It is also taking on taking on responsibility Now this group of tribes that we discussed last time , those who have been dragging their feet, are finally getting their inheritance. Yeah! And as we briefly survey these tribes we will touch on some interesting facts about them. • Some tied to the fullfillment of prophecy • Some tied to practical application to us as Christians

Last time we left off with Joshua 17 where Joshua was giving great leadership advice. • If you think you are so good, then,Climb your own mnt. Chop your own wood. Drive out the strong pockets of resiste • But you are already great and you will.achieve what youbset out to accomplish. Well, his exhortation continues as he (like a father) scolds the leaders of 7 of the other tribes who have not stepped.up to get their land allotments. Interesting. Why were they Not stepping up to get their allotment. This makes no sense. They are living in the victorious life and eating of the fruit of the land. So why are they paralyzed now? Well, as we get into the Word today we will throw out a spiritual speculation, so lets get into it.

As a child, have you ever received tough love from mom and dad? In high school my senior year I did. As a parent, have you ever had to deal out tough love? It's not easy, but the hope was that lessons were learned and fruit would be produced later on in years to come. Well in the latter section of Joshua 17, Joshua has to give out the hard exhortation to the people of Manassah. but we will learn a method, a godly method, of.doing it that should revolutionize how we should be as leaders. So let's dig.in.

We have come across some serious hurdles in our attempt to validate Jesus as the rightful heir to the thrown of David Is Jesus a true seed (decendent) of David himself? According to scriptures, He needs to be. How is this remedied. And In a society that links inheritance rights through men (fathers), how can a virgin born man (the only one ever, mind you) meet those legal requirements? And how do these laws, associated with the daughters of Zelophihed, play into this? Let's find out.

Territories continue to be distributed. And as in prior teachings we will come across another intriguing sub-story. We left off with Manassah getting their allotment. And again we come across, yet, another little Easter egg. The daughters of Zelophehad. Many of us are familiar with the term 'precedent' with respect to laws. Laws examined and affirmed in courts of law. Well, we will learn about a little law (a little clause) inserted into the overarching laws that pertain to inheritance rights. Let's dive into it shall we

So the land distribution continues. But as you will soon see that inserted into these verses (which are a litany of verses filled with real estate language) will be little side stories that are running parallel to the bigger story of land allotment. These side stories are filled with insight and perspective. And, true to form, add continued value with respect to the consistent portrayal of typology regarding the Spirit filled life. So let's get into today's discussion shall we?

When we bought our new home and property we walked all over our plot of land. For any of you who own property, well, I am sure you did the same thing. Afterall, who doesn't walk their land to see their own boundaries It's so exciting... it was for us. But for anyone else, they could care less. Well these sections of scripture may seem tedious to us to read. But If you were in those tribes you would surely want to know what the boundries were, what the inheritance was and what the plan was. As we continue in Joshua chpt 14, we will continue to touch on these land distributions...These land allotments . And learn a little more about Caleb.

We have covered a lot in Joshua. Chapters 1 through 11. We have thoroughly established the basis of understanding that events in Joshua are meant to be examples to Christian living. Let'recap some of the key types/examples. Egypt is a type of the world. The Red Sea is a type of the baptism unto salvation . The Jordan River is a type of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Joshua is a type of Jesus . The Promised Land is a type of the abundant Spirit filled life in Christ. Now there is peace So what's next? Well they must address the pockets of resistance. And though Jesus has given us His victory we need to go and take care of those pockets of carnal resistance that still plagues us.

For the Spirit filled follower of Christ, we are more successful when following a plan, a strategy. Employing skills of administration. Administrative skills are a great servant but can be a miserable master How do you know where you stand with respect to administration? Well, where to you go first in the morning? To the "planner" on your cell phone or THE PLANNER in heaven. If you start your day on yours knees, then enemy cannot bring you to your knees. Admininistration and organization. Effective skills and strategies used by Joshua as he battled his enemies. Clearly he was not a "go with the flow" kind of guy. No, Joshua always seeked to have a plan. And not his plan but a plan given to him from above. So let's continue the conversation as we continue to study Joshua chapter 11, shall we?

Our enemies are persistent and relentless. They never cease from trying new tactics to intimidate and destroy us. As we continue in chapter 11 of Joshua, we will see two effective mechanisms of attack that the enemies of Joshua will use against him. Horses and chariots. So you are probably wondering by now, "what types or examples do these two items represent to the life of a Jesus follower?" Well, let's proceed further into the book of Joshua and find out, shall we?

Many of us have so much work to do. So much to accomplish, but, there is not enough time in the day to address. I have heard it stated that no amount of money could buy you an extra hour in a day. And this stresses people out. But for the Spirit filled Christian, we are convinced that the Lord orders our steps. That He never gives us more than what we can handle. It is He that elongates time for us to accomplish the tasks that are before us. Probably not by slowing the rotation of the earth, but, by freeing our time from worthless tasks to address that which needs our attention the MOST and for TODAY As we gain those daily victories, the Lord wants us to know that "we can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us"…Phil 4:13 And as we continue in Joshua 10 we will see how Joshua will drive this very point home to his commanders and the people of Israel.

We have learned that Satan, our enemy has many ways to come after us. The enemy attack methods: Intimidation Underestimation Direct attack on us Deceive us leading to compromise In todays episode we will see, yet another way he tries to attack us.   And that is through someone we care about (someone allied with us). What will be Joshua's response? How should you react as well

When I was a young boy, I discovered something about my parents. No matter what I said or did (that was sneaky), my parents always found out. Perhaps many of you can attest to similar experiences. Haha, I always thought it was a curse. Until I became a father myself. My wife and I always seem to find out what is happening with our kids. Sometimes it would appear to be complete happenstance. Then again, I am convinced that the Lord loves THEM too much to let them get away with behavior that is not glorifying of Him (or pleasing to their parents} One thing is true about TRUTH. The Truth always comes to the surface Speaking about truth coming to the surface, the Gibeonites are about to be caught for lying. Join us in learning more about what happens to these liars...the Gibeonites.

The Israelis have taken Jericho. They have taken AI. The. They conducted an important Bible study and the plot thickens. And now it appear that the other City states are beginning to make make alliances in an effort to stop the children of Isreal Your know, when we set out to serve the Lord, the enemy is furious about our decision. Scared for sure, but not happy. That is when he begins his attack. He starts disrupting our lives a little here and a little there. Then, if that does work, he turns up the heat and gangs up on us, trying to disrupt our lives across many aspects of our lives. And when that fails???? He resorts to another tactic that is very effective. So let's see how as we get into Joshua chapter 9.