I'm glad that Sean picked that
song, It Is Well With My Soul. I've been thinking about that
song last night and this morning. If what I heard last night was
true, and it is, then it's well with my soul. That's just too good to be true
if it wasn't for Christ our Savior. That's a blessing. Brother Marvin
Stonker, pastor of Katie Baptist Church, Preach for us, we're
so glad he and Glenda are here with us. Marvin, you preached
here many times, you just be right at home, come bring the
message God's given you for us. I consider this truly an honor
to be asked. And I do pray that the Lord bless
the service this morning. I need to hear it. I need to
hear this. I. I heard Brother Henry Mahan
say one time, he said, I got some notes. And I, I know they're
doctrinally sound. By the grace of God, I know that.
But if the Lord doesn't bless it. He said their words are just
words. I want you to take your Bibles
and turn with me to the book of Judges. Judges. Now, I'm going
to be between Judges and Joshua. They're both there together.
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges. And I want you
to just kind of stay right there. Let's look at a passage of scripture. I want to look at Judges chapter
2. I want to read verse 1. Judges
2, 1. And the angel of the Lord came
up from Gilgal to Bochem and said, I made you go up out of
Egypt and have brought you unto the land which I swear unto your
fathers And I said, I will never break my covenant with you. Now, this one verse of scripture
sets forth the glory and the majesty of what the Lord has
done for His people and what He's doing for us right now. and what he's promised, he'll
never do to us. This passage of scripture sets
forth to needy sinners some hope, because this passage of scripture
is for us today. Today. I know it was written,
you know, Everybody said, well that was back in the Old Testament.
But I'm going to tell you something. This is right now. Right now. And an angel of the Lord came
up from Gilgal to Bochum. Now it's a miracle of God's grace
that any of us are able to hear from heaven And this messenger
right here is none less than the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the angel of the covenant. And I know that because of what
he says. The angel of the Lord came up
from Gilgal to Bochum and said, now listen to what he said, I
made you go up out of Egypt. and have brought you into the
land, which I swear unto your fathers. And I said, I will never
break my covenant with you. Now, who could say that but the
Lord Jesus? No, no, no angel. If it was a
created angel, you know what he said? The Lord says, the Lord
said. But he said, I did this. I did this. Now, here's my question. Where are they? Where are they? Well, they're in Canaan. Now, just hold your place right
there. Turn back to Joshua 1, 1 and
2. Joshua 1, 1 and 2. Now, after the death of Moses, the
servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto
Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses, my servant,
is dead. Now therefore arise and go over
this Jordan, thou and all this people, unto the land which I
do give to them, even to the children of Israel. So now he's
instructed Joshua to lead the people in. Moses, picture of
the law, wasn't going to be bringing the people in. You know that.
The Lord told him when they murmured, the people murmured about not
having water, and the Lord instructed him, you take the rod, strike
the rock. Water will come out. People murmured
again. The Lord told him, speak to the
rock. Lord Jesus shed his blood one
time. You speak to the rock. Moses
rocked twice, and the Lord said, you're not taking me in picture.
The laws never brought us in to the rest. Never, never. But
here they are. He says, now, my servant Moses
is dead, and Joshua is going to bring the people in. And so
we're seeing here that he's going to be bringing them into the
promised land. Canaan, Canaan, a type of heaven,
type of rest. But I want us to look in just
a few minutes and just realize what Canaan also pictures for
us right now. Just a minute. What Canaan is
going to set forth. The Lord told back in Judges,
I'm going to say we'll be back and forth, but the Lord back
in Judges chapter 2, it says the angel came up from Gilgal
to Bochem, now Gilgal. You know a lot of times we read
these words and names and they're hard to pronounce and we just
read them and if we're not careful we just kind of pass over them
and we don't realize what's being said. They're in a place, he
said, they came up from Gilgal. Now, what is the significance
of Gilgal? Well, I want you to hold your
place but turn back to Joshua 5. Joshua chapter 5. And let's
look at verse 9. Joshua 5. The Lord said in Judges
2, he came up from Gilgal. Now, in Joshua 5 and verse 9,
and the Lord said unto Joshua, this day have I rolled away the
reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore, the name of the place
is called Gilgal. to this day. Now, Gilgal, it
means rolling, rolling, rolling. I've rolled off the reproach
of Egypt from you. Now, this rolling off of the
reproach, when the people were in Egypt, there was that reproach. It means to taunt, to disgrace,
to scorn, and that attitude that was set forth toward the people
of Israel back in Exodus. Exodus chapter 5. Now here's
what happened. The people of Israel, they're
in bondage. They're in Egypt. And here's
Egypt. Picture of sin, darkness, bondage. That's where they are. That's
where we all are. By nature, we're born in the
darkness, deadness of sin, dead, dead. And the Lord is going to
send a deliverer. So he's going to send Moses to
tell Pharaoh, let my people go. And so Exodus chapter 5 and verses
1 and 2, we find out the, here's the source of this reproach and
taunt and he's scorning. Moses goes and he tells Pharaoh,
just as the Lord told him, you go tell Pharaoh, let my people
go. And listen to what Moses, Moses, I mean, Pharaoh says when
Moses comes there, Exodus chapter five, verses one and two. Afterwards,
Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, thus saith the Lord
God of Israel, let my people go that they may hold a feast
unto me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, who is the
Lord that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not
the Lord, neither will I let them go. Let Israel go. I won't let them
go. That reproach, that taunt, this
is the attitude of this world toward God's people. Who's the
Lord? I'm not going to let them go.
That reproach, that just manifested itself time and time and time
again. The Lord just sent plagues and plagues. The Lord delivered
them out of Egypt. But that taunt, scorn, all that
reproach, it didn't stop. Turn over to Exodus 14. Now they've been delivered. They're going and they're going
as the Lord is directing them. Exodus chapter 14. Here's the
attitude, same attitude. Exodus 14, 1-4. And the Lord spake unto Moses.
Now they're out of Egypt. Speak unto the children of Israel,
that they turn and encamp before Pi-heiroth, between Migdal and
the sea, over against Baal-zaphon, before it shall ye encamp by
the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the children
of Israel, they are entangled in the land. The wilderness has
shut them in. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart,
that he shall follow after them. And I will be honored upon Pharaoh
and upon all his hosts, that the Egyptians may know that I
am the Lord, and they did so." Now here's the reproach. Here's the source of the reproach.
Who's the Lord? Who's the Lord that I should
obey Him? I'm Pharaoh. People go out, that reproach
continues. Setting forth, they rose down
for God to deliver his people into the land. Ah, the wilderness
got them shut in. Now we've got them exactly where
we want them. They were, if I looked at a map,
and it showed this place where they were, and they're right
on a point, and all the desert's behind them, And here's the Red
Sea. And they either get to go over
the Red Sea, which is full. It's the sea. Or the Egyptians
is coming behind them. The wilderness has got them shut
in. God can't go there for them. They're mine. They're mine. What
happened? Turn over to Exodus 14, verses
23 to 31. Exodus 14. 23 and the Egyptians pursued and
went in after them to the midst of the sea even all Pharaoh's
horses and chariots and horsemen came to pass it in the morning
watch the Lord looked and to the host of the Egyptians through
the pillar of fire of the cloud and troubled the host of the
Egyptians took off their chariot wheels that they drave them heavily
so that the Egyptians said let us flee from the face of Israel
and For the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians. And
the Lord said unto Moses, stretch out thine hand over the sea that
the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots
and their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his
hand over the sea and the sea returned to his strength when
the morning appeared and the Egyptians fled against it. And the Lord overthrew the Egyptians
in the midst of the sea and the waters returned and covered the
chariots, the horsemen, all the host of Pharaoh. that came into
the sea after them, there remained not so much as one of them. With all these taunting scorns,
well, 40 years, Israel walked in the desert. The Lord had delivered
them out from the hands of the Egyptians, and now They're coming
to a place where the Scripture says turn to Joshua 3, verse
14. They're coming now, Joshua 3,
verse 14. They're getting ready now to
go in to the land of promise. And they come to the Jordan River. Joshua 3, verse 11. Behold, the ark of the covenant
of the Lord of all the earth passes over before you into Jordan. Now, therefore, take you 12 men
out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe of man. It
shall come to pass as soon as the soles of the feet of the
priests shall bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the
earth shall rest in the waters of Jordan. that the waters of
Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from
above, and they shall stand upon and heap. And it came to pass,
when the people removed from their tents to pass over Jordan,
the priest bearing the ark of the covenant before the people,
and as they that bear the ark were come unto Jordan, and the
feet of the priest that bear the ark were dipped in the brim
of the water, for the Jordan overflowed with all its banks
all the time of harvest. that the waters which came down
from above stood and rose up upon a heap very far from the
city of Adam that is beside Zareton. And those that came down toward
the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed and were cut
off, and the people passed over Jordan right against Jericho. And the priests that bear the
ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the
midst of Jordan. All the Israelites passed over
on dry ground until all the people were passed Clean over. Now here
they are. The Lord's delivered them out. Moses told them, let my people
go. I'm not going to let them go. Who's the Lord? I'm not letting
them go. Plague after plague after plague. Didn't stop the
reproach. Pharaoh still hated them. We
got them hemmed in. Let's get them. God killed the
Egyptians. They went into the wilderness.
Stayed in the wilderness all these years. Now it's time to
go into the promised land. Now they've got to go over the
Jordan River. The priests, when they came, they bared the ark,
they put their foot against that water and just stood up. The
people walked across some dry ground, turned over to Joshua
5, 1. And it came to pass when all the
kings of the Amorites, which were in the side of Jordan, westward,
and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard
that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before
the children of Israel. until they were passed over that
their heart melted. Neither was their spirit in them
anymore because of the children of Israel. What's happened now?
God has delivered them. And all the taunts and all the
reproaches and all the things that were said, He'll never do
it. He'll never bring them over. They'll never make it. The scripture
says now in Joshua 5, In verse nine that we just read, and the
Lord says, unto Joshua, this day have I rolled away the reproach
of Egypt from off you. Wherefore, the name of that place
is called Gilgal to this day. Now friends, let me just say
that I told you, I said, this is where we are right here. This place, Gilgal, sets forth
that knowledge, that understanding. By faith, we believe this. We believe this. God's people
know we hear of the glorious deliverance of our God, and we
believe it. We believe that the reproach
of God's people was rolled away. Calvary He paid the debt. God Almighty, the Father, He
has made Him sin for us. He who knew no sin, we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. And all the taunts
and all the reproach and all the scorning and everything that's
been said against and still being said against God's people. God's
people know. We know. He's rolled it away. We know that. We're in Gilgal. But back in Judges chapter 2,
back in Judges chapter 2, and the angel of the Lord came up
from Gilgal, that place where God delivered people. They walked
on dry ground. Somebody said, you believe they
really walked on dry ground, Aaron? You believe it? What do
you think? Did God say they walked on dry ground? It was dry ground. Do we believe that He's put away
all of our reproaches? Do we believe that He's cast
our dead as far as the east is from the west? Bear, we believe
that. I believe that. We're in Gilgal. But the angel of the Lord came
up from Gilgal to Bochum. To Bochum. To Bochum. What it means is Weeping. How'd we get there? We'll just
turn back one page. It's Judges 1, 1 and 2. Judges 1. Now here we are. God's
people, without a doubt, we're in Gilgal. We're in Gilgal. We believe it by faith. Judges 1, 1 and 2. the death
of Joshua came to pass that the children of Israel asked the
Lord, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites
first to fight against them? And the Lord said, Judah shall
go up. Behold, I have delivered the
land into his hand. Oh, buddy, now we just we take
that verse of scripture right there. Whenever it was asked,
Who's going to deliver us? Judah. Judah. Hold your place
right here. Turn to Revelation 5. You know
where I'm going. Revelation 5. Who's going to go up? Revelation
5 verses 1 through 5. John is writing under the inspiration
of God's Spirit. He's exiled on the Isle of Patmos,
and he sees in a vision. Revelation 5, 1 and 5. And I
saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book
written within, and on the backside sealed with seven seals. And
I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy
to open the book? and to loose the seals thereof. I can tell you this, this book,
because if you read, go ahead and read all the rest of Revelation,
you're going to find out that this book right here, this sealed
book, this is the secret decrees of Almighty God in the salvation
of His people. How God brings it to pass. This
book, that is a book that's sealed. It's sealed. And the only way
it's going to be known is somebody can open it. Somebody's going
to have to tell us. How almighty God has been pleased
to deliver his people from themselves, from the bondage of sin. I saw
a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who's worthy, who's
worthy to open the book and to loose the seals there. And no
man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth was able
to open the book, neither to look there on, and I wept. Much
because no man was found worthy to open and read the book, neither
to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto
me, weep not. Behold, the lion of the tribe
of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book
and to loose the seven seals thereof." Back in Judges 1. After the death of Joshua, he
came to pass, the children of Israel asked the Lord, asked
the Lord. They asked the Lord. That's a
good one to ask. They asked the Lord, say, who
shall go up for us against the Canaanites? These Canaanites. All that opposes God's people. Sin, Satan, the world, like Egypt. Who's going to go up against
the Canaanites first to fight against them? And the Lord said,
Judah. Judah shall go up. Behold, I've
delivered the land into his hand. And they walked in that light. They began to walk in that light. Scripture says, Judges 1, 1,
3, Judah said unto Simeon his brother, come up with me into
my lot that we may fight against the Canaanites, and I likewise
will go with thee into thy lot. And Simeon went with him, and
Judah went up, and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites
into their hand. They slew of them, and Bezek
10,000 men, they found Adonai Bezek, in Bezek, and they fought
against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites,
and there was victory. Now here's the truth. They were
victorious. Not in themselves, obviously.
The Lord fighted. But we're more than conquerors
through Him. I can't do anything. You can't
do anything. But they believed Him. They believed
God. And the Lord had shown them the
faithfulness of His Word. And the Scripture says that these
victories were being wrought because the Lord had delivered
the land into their hands. But in the midst of the battles
that were being fought, something became evident. Something happened. Same chapter judges one. Look
at verse 22. The House of Joseph. They also
went up against Bethel and the Lord was with them. The House
of Joseph sent to describe to spy out Bethel. Now the name
of the city was Luz and the spies saw a man come forth out of the
city and they said unto him, show us, we pray thee, the entrance
into the city and we will show thee mercy. And when he showed
them the entrance of the city, they smoked the city with the
edge of the sword, but they let go of the man and all his family. And the man went into the land
of the Hittites and built a city and called the name thereof Luz,
which is the name thereof unto this day. And when the Lord had
first told him, I've delivered the land into your hand, it's
all yours. It's yours. Judah's going to lead you in.
And as they were going, they began to compromise. There were some stumblings. There was the scripture, look
at verse 27 of Judges 1. Neither did Manasseh drive out
the inhabitants of Beth Sheehan and her towns, nor Tayanak and
her towns. Look at verse 29, neither did
Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer. But the
Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. Neither did Zebulun drive
out the inhabitants of Kitron. 31, neither did Asher drive out
the inhabitants. Now, to know the significance
of what was happening here I want you now to go back and look at
Judges 2, where we started. Judges 2. And I want you to listen
to what the Lord told them after He said... He told them in verse
1. He said, I came up from Gilgal to Bolshim and I made you go
up and brought you into the land which I swear to your fathers.
I said, I'll never break my covenant with you. And listen to what
He says in verse 2. and ye shall make no league with the inhabitants
of this land. You shall throw down their altars,
but ye have not obeyed my voice. Why have you done this? Wherefore,
I also said, I will not drive them out from before you, but
they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their God shall be
a snare unto you. It came to pass when the angel
of the Lord spake these words, all the people of Israel that
the people lifted up their voice and they went. And they call
the name of that place, Bochum. And they sacrificed there unto
the Lord. You know why we observe the willingness
of the people. They went in there and they started.
They were obeying God. They did. But there was a problem. There was that that deviation
that was it. And while we observe the willingness,
and I said from the beginning that verse of scripture, this
is telling us where we are. There's not a there's not a believer
in this room this morning. That doesn't not a believer that
doesn't possess a heart of willingness, a longing after obedience to
Christ, every one of Every one of them, there's that longing. They're in Gilgal. And they know
that what the Lord has promised, He's done. Has He put away our
guilt? Yes, sir. We believe that. In
Gilgal. But I tell you where they are
too. They're in Bolshe. Because they see. Turn to Romans
7. Paul the Apostle was moved to
set forth this very truth. Romans 7, verse 18. Paul said, I know that in me,
that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. For to will is
present with me. It didn't give you. The will is present. But how
to perform that which is good, I find not. Verse 19, for the
good that I would I do not, but the evil which I would not, that
I do. Now if I do that I would not,
it's no more I that do it but sin that dwelleth in me. I find
then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with
me for I delight in the law of God after the inward man. But
I see another law in my members warning against the law of my
mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in
my members, O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from
the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ
our Lord. So then with the mind I myself
serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. The
Lord told His people. Don't make any league with inhabitants. Throw down their altars. But
why have you not obeyed? Because I see a law in me. The
war is against the law of my mind. He came to them, back in Judges
2. Came up from Gilgal. Came to
boach them. And he showed them what they'd
done. And they wept. They were grieved. Grieved. Judges 2.1. I made you go up
out of Egypt. I brought you into the land which
I swear into your fathers. Here we are. We're walking in
a land right now. And there's two men in us and
every believer is two of us. Two. Not one, two. There's two
men. That one man, he absolutely has
a heart for obedience. He's obedient. He wants it. And there's another man there
that's willing to compromise. Always, that's all he's going
to do. Has no heart. And that new man sees it, and
it grieves him. Oh, wretched man that I am. But listen to what the Lord said
in that last part. And I said, I'll never break my covenant
with you. I'll never break my covenant
with you. Beloved, we all know the Lord
made us go out of Egypt. We were made willing in the day
of his power, rescued, powerfully rescued by the power and grace
of God. If we were left to ourselves, we would have absolutely never
left Egypt. Man by nature loves the coziness
of darkness, rebellion against God. But God, who is rich in mercy,
For his great love, wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace
you're saved, and hath raised us up together and made us sit
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages
to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. When the Lord was pleased to
draw his people out, calling us out of darkness, delivering
us. Like that infant, Lord said, when Ezekiel chapter 16, when
I passed by and I saw the navel wasn't cut, wasn't salted. What
do you say? Live. Live. Called us out of darkness. Beloved,
we're dug out of the same pit. Every other man, woman ever born
into this world, but we're made to go up. I made you go up out
of Egypt. Free will won't do it. Baptism
won't do it. Walking the aisle won't do it.
The arm of the Lord has delivered us and revealed to us where we
are. In Him, Gilgal, I removed the
reproach. I did that. But while we're walking
through this world in Bolshevism and seeing the presence of sin
that's with us, it's there. We grieve over that. Every believer
does. There's not a believer that doesn't
want to serve the Lord. You said I can't do anything
but sin. I cannot do anything but sin.
But listen to what he said. I'll never break my covenant
with you. Never. I'll wrap this up. Turn to Psalm. Psalm 103. Psalm 103 verse 8. The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide, neither
will he keep his anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after
our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the
heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward
them that fear him. As far as the east is from the
west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Like
a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that
fear him. For he knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we
are dust." We're God's people. They're Gilgal. And they're invoking. But we
have his word. I'm not, I'm not, I'm not. I will never, never, never. Leave you to yourself. Never
forsake my covenant with you. I'm so thankful. 2nd Corinthians
110 concerning his mercy to us. Who delivered us so great a death
and doth deliver in whom we trust, that he will yet deliver us. It's where we are, Lord King. We live in this world, but the Lord said you're not
of it. John 17, 15 to 17, praying his
high priestly prayer. I pray not that thou shouldest
take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep
them from the evil. He swore. That's what he said. He said, I brought you. I made
you come out of Egypt. And I brought you into the land.
that I swore to your father, swear by no greater, and swore
by myself. I pray God bless this to our
heart. Give us some comfort and peace for his glory and our good. Amen. Marvin, that was so good. I can't hear that often enough.
The only message God will ever use to give life to that new
man is the gospel of Christ. And the only thing that will
comfort that new man, you can't tell me often enough, Christ
took my sin into his own body on the tree. He made it his sin
and he put it away. You got to keep reminding me
of that over and over and over again, because like you said,
all I do is sin. If God was like me, he'd cast me out. But he
won't do it. There's no reason for him to.
Christ put the sin of his people away. You can't tell me that
often enough. Get ready to start preaching.