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0:00:03 – Speaker 1

Welcome to the Jamie Luce Podcast. I’m your host, Jamie Luce. Thank you for listening today. All of my blogs, social and YouTube links can be found on my website, jamieluce.com. If you enjoy this podcast, you can support it by liking, subscribing, getting notified and sharing this broadcast. Another way you can help is by rating and reviewing on Apple podcast. My hope and goal in every episode is to give you tools found in Scripture, either by teaching, discussions, testimonies or interviews that encourage and equip you as you navigate living a real Christian walk in a difficult world. I would love to hear from you Whether you have a comment, question or prayer request. You can email me at mail at jamieluce.com. If you’re watching on YouTube, drop me a comment. I’d love to partner with you on your journey of faith. If you’re listening today on any podcast platform, take a screenshot and tag me and I’ll post it to my Instagram story. And now join me for today’s episode. Welcome to the Jamie Luce Podcast. Thank you so much for joining me today. I wanted to bring to you some of what I would call help when you’re in the midst of the battle.

Spiritual warfare is real and we all face it. Some feel like they face it more than others, but there is always a direction, whether that be by principle, simply by truth and following God’s work. But I have noticed something as I have been reading through the life of Moses and saw something that struck me today, and I wanted to offer that to you as a tool. This, it won’t be your typical spiritual warfare study on things such as the armor of God and that kind of thing. This is from a different perspective and this is going to be from Old Testament versus the New Testament, not because it’s old or outdated. It’s simply what I see in the pattern of this passage, and it repeats itself, and when something repeats itself, we need to pay close attention. It’s really like when Joseph was interpreting the dreams of the butler and the baker and tells them what their dreams mean, and when it’s his turn to come out of the prison and share that same gift and that God has given him with Pharaoh, joseph makes this point to Pharaoh because Pharaoh had two dreams and Joseph tells him the two dreams are one and the reason that God had given him two dreams was to let him know that this has already been decided, it’s going to happen, and that it’s actually going to happen very soon. And so I just you know, I kind of look at things that way.

When I see something in scripture that just keeps pitting itself, I think you know I need to pay attention to this. This isn’t one of those things that it’s one thing and you just kind of forget it. This is something that we see happening in it. It repeats itself, it’s happening over and over and we can learn things from people’s mistakes, the mistake they made over and over. We noticed that in the life of Abraham, when he lied because of fear that he would die, he lied about Sarah being his wife, not just technically a sister. And we see that not only did Abraham repeat that twice, but then his son, isaac, did the exact same thing. So there was a repeating of sin, a repeating of mistakes and we’ve talked about that before where there are cycles. So we can understand the importance of seeing and recognizing things that repeat themselves. But today it’s just going to be slightly different, and it’s because I noticed that and recognize that.

And so if you want to go with me for scripture I want to look at is Exodus, chapter three, and this is verse five. And this is Moses after being raised. You know, moses has an interesting life, because all we know is that Joseph’s died and generations now have gone by. A new king is Pharaoh in Egypt and he no law looks favorably on Israel, who has multiplied and grown very strong. In fact, he’s now very afraid. The people’s Egypt are afraid of the Children of Israel for fear that because of their sheer size gave them the might that if they wanted to overthrow those in Egypt, and so, in order to combat this, they began to treat them as slaves and heavy burdens on them are very oppressive to them as people, and the slavery has begun. They’re now living in the slavery, the Christ up to God. And while they’re in this heavy slavery situation, the king takes it a step further and decides they’ll continue to grow powerful if they continue to grow. So how do we stop the growth while we kill all the male children? And he commands the midwives. He tells the midwives I want you to kill the baby boys as soon as they’re born. And scripture tells us that we had some really strong, awesome midwives at work here who said they’ve got more than they feared the king. Now, that’s something that’s some serious strength right there and I love that. But that in their convention, when Pharaoh came and questioned them about it, they gave them a story about how these Israelite women are so stout and strong that they can just birth those babies before a midwife can even get there. So they’re unable to kill these children.

And when Moses is born, he born to a Levite father and Levite mother, and so they’re of the tribe of tribe of Levi, which makes sense then subsequently, as the story of Moses unfolds, that it is the tribe of Levi where the priests then descend from and they. When he’s born, his mother looks on him and thinks that he’s a beautiful child and she’s not going to throw him into the river, because that was the second command that they their children then and just throw the boys into the Nile and drown them. And she doesn’t. She hides him for three months until it no longer possible to hide this child. He’s growing, he’s probably getting louder and it’s impossible to hide him. So she makes him a little look. If you think of the story of Noah, it’s the same thing. She pitched it, she protected it, she made him a little mini arch.

He puts him in that little basket and makes sure that he’s put into the river, where he will be seen by Pharaoh’s daughter, who’s down with all her group of women and those who serve her, and Moses’ sister Miriam, goes along river and watches what takes place. Well, moses is. There’s a basket noticed. Pharaoh’s daughter tells her servant to go to her bath of the water. They said it’s a baby. They know immediately this is one of the children, of Israel’s children, and the Miriam. The daughter goes over to her and says would you like me to find a nurse for him from the women in Israel? She says yes. So, because this is Moses’ sister, she goes and gets her mother and then she is commanded which? This tea is really amazing, and this is kind of a side note, little nugget for you to hold on to that Moses, in fear of God and love of her child, did not kill her child, made a way to protect her child, stand against the evil Demands that were being proclaimed.

And not only does she get to still raise child until a certain age, and not only does she get to nurse her child, she is now paid to do it. Pharaoh’s daughter doesn’t realize that Moses belongs to this woman and she pays her to take care of him until he’s grown. And then, because he’s now grown, he is now given to Pharaoh’s daughter as her son. So now we go from having his first education is of being a child of Israel, knowing who he was, being raised in his proper home. Now he is transferred from his home to Pharaoh’s home, to the palace, and he is trained in all the ways of Egypt, with the best education Egypt. So he’s he got quite the education. He has been raised a prince in Egypt, but his heart is still for the people that he know he actually belongs to. And because one day he sees an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite Moses who we realize later must have had an issue with anger because it was still his issue in the end of his life and just kind of coming out in anger. And when he does, he kills the Egyptian various. His body thinks nobody sees, and the very next day is two of his brethren fighting and goes to them and says why are you quarreling your brothers, why are you doing this? And they immediately retort back You’re going to kill us too, like you did the Egyptian. At that point Moses realizes I’m in trouble, because if this is known, pharaoh finds out. And of course Pharaoh does find out. He’s so angry he’s seeking to come after Moses. So Moses has to flee.

Moses flees Egypt and builds a life in Midian, where he is now serving the priest in Midian. He takes a wife of the daughter of Midian, the daughter of the priest of Midian, zipporah, and has two sons and live a whole different life. He’s literally walked away from his roots. He’s walked away from his. What he really did feel early on was his job to to deliver and bring help to his brethren in Egypt. He didn’t do that, but because of the circumstance and because of what he did, he felt completely disqualified and left not appreciated by either group, not appreciated by those who said who made you Lord and ruler over us, his brethren? On top of that, he says now he’s in trouble because he’s gonna. He’s got Pharaoh coming after him.

Well, enough years go by and that Pharaoh dies and God now is appearing to Moses in a burning bush. Okay, we are now having the burning bush experience and something is odd, something catches his attention. There’s a bush on fire, but yet it’s not really burning, and the scripture tells us that God appeared to him in that flame of fire. And so I’m not sure he sees him, but he’s. He doesn’t realize what he’s seeing at first and when he burns aside to see. That’s when God calls us name, when he pays enough attention and is curious enough about what is that and why is this happening. And in that moment of curiosity God speaks up and we come to this verse because God has something very important to tell Moses. He’s about to call him and commission him to his purpose, and there is an instruction that Moses has to hear before he can hear what God is calling him do. So there is an order to this new commissioning, okay. So I want you to hear this and hear it from that perspective and from that context.

So this is Exodus, chapter three, verse five, and it says then he said, he being God, do not come near me. So Moses is wanting to come near the bush to check it out. God speaks up, says do not come near me Interesting thing to say I’m I’m basically telling you I’m God, and don’t come close, because that changes later on. Don’t come close, don’t come near me. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. Now, that has always bothered me. If I’m going to be honest, I have read that a million times and that phrase has always nagged me because I didn’t have an understanding of what is the purpose of taking off your shoes other than how we know in a lot of cultures today that the shoe can represent dirtiness, filthiness. Okay, you take off your shoes and this is holy, so you aren’t going to defile what’s holy.

But I knew there had to be more to it than that, and it just always nagged me and so I did a little digging, little studying on this and what what the Lord could have been conveying, because there are several different opinions about this. It’s like anything else that you go to look, the commentaries are all from that person’s perspective and what they think that means, based off of what they’ve studied and know. And I kind of wanted to get into Hebrew a little bit and find out well, what is the Hebrew thought, because these were a Hebrew people. This was written in a Hebrew language, most of it. The Old Testament is mainly in Hebrew, though there there is some Aramaic and so I mean, but it’s the Hebrew language, so I wanted to see what that meant. And so there are differing opinions on this as well, because the same word is used in several different places. Sometimes a letter is dropped. You have to understand the Hebrew language, to know that a word can be the same even if the lettering is identical. And so this happens and it gives them another perspective when they’re seeing it.

But the shoes represent, symbolize several things, or can symbolize several things. Number one they symbolize taking possession of land. Now, this is going to be important, taking possession of land. Number two trampling and military is what it represents. So, defeating your opponent, the other defeating the other. Number three making the recipient your slave, interesting.

Number four throwing a shoe is known as an insult. If you’re old enough to know this, there’s a famous piece of video when George W Bush was president and he was overseas doing some type of press conference and someone in the audience I believe he was overseas, but someone in the audience all of a sudden throws a shoe at the president and that was seen as, as it should be, as an attack, and of course they immediately you know, bustled and hustled protected him. But that’s an insult. It’s an attack. And it’s an insult to throw your shoe. You’ve probably seen or heard, whether that be on television programs or just in jest, or in comics and those types of things, where someone sees a bug on the wall and they throw their shoe at it to crush it right. Or if they’re angry at what they’re seeing on the TV and they throw their shoe at the TV. We know throwing a shoe represents Number five.

Some think that the word here for shoes actually means the chain chains, how a chain is thrown at your feet or at ankles to trap them. Okay, so when what says do not come near, we have to look at the whole context to see what God is saying do not come near me, take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. God is establishing several things for Moses to understand immediately. I’m God and I am holy. I’m telling you that the grounds you’re on belongs to me and I sanctified it. It is holy ground. Therefore, even if you took every single one of these that I mentioned about what shoes symbolize, god is saying you don’t take possession of this land unless I give it. This is my land, this is holy land. You’re standing on holy ground. If this was a military type situation, god’s one who defeats, god is the one who wins, because you don’t have shoes on. Take your shoes off, I’m the victor always. Then, if this is about making the recipient of shoes a slave.

God is possibly using this to say the slavery in Egypt that you’ve witnessed. Those shoes are coming off. This slavery is going to end and I’m going to use you to do it. Take your shoes off. It could mean this you take these shoes off and establish holiness. Maybe you’re going to pick that shoe up and now use it against your enemy. Egypt is now your enemy. I’m getting ready to explain. You’re now going to battle and let me show you who your opponents.

And number five if this is a chain, it can represent two things. It can represent both that he’s taking this off, this chain off by these shoes taking this off because it’s meant to trap and also mean that the Lord is going to show how he’s going to trap. This could be a representation of the trap that will be set that God is setting for Pharaoh. God’s the one with the shoes and not Moses. It’s not done. Here’s the thing. It’s not done in our strength. There’s not going to be a territory taken. There’s not going to be a victory won. There’s not going to be freedom from slavery. That doesn’t come if it’s not from the Lord. God is going to take submission to the Holy One and to do it knowing he’s in charge, he’s the commander.

Okay, so maybe you can start to see where I’m going here when I say spiritual warfare. If we look at the land, the land, god is telling us that after he delivers the people out of Egypt, the sign there will be, a sign that this was God and he’s actually commissioned this whole thing. And he says the sign will be that you will come and worship me on this very mountain. The territory is God’s. He’s making a very clear statement this is my territory, this is Holy territory, and you’re going to worship me at this very mountain. So there’s a lot being said there in this one verse Do not come. Why can’t I come near? Because I have to take my shoes off first. I can’t come near God until I have removed.

What a piety I think I have. Whatever control I think I have, whatever position, I think I have all of these things. Whatever territory I think is mine, whatever, whatever tools I think are mine, whatever advantage I think that I have to come and I have laid that down and come, bear I bear myself, I come barefoot. It’s interesting to note, too, that there were many things that the priesthood then had to be done with bare feet, and I’m sure there’s more to this. I haven’t done the entire full study of bare feet, which I want to do, if I get all that I might do.

I wanted to give you context for this, for where we’re going today, and if you think about having to go in and take territory with bare feet, that seems, it seems like you would cause yourself unnecessary pain, that you would then be at a disadvantage. You can see the power of saying that I come to you, god, I approach you, I recognizing this is done your way, not mine. You’re in control, not me. There will be things about this that may cost me, but this is your way. I can’t do this on my own, in my own strength. I must do this God’s way, and if you are in a battle today, you first need to understand if you serve God. He’s holy. He expects us to draw near to him in a state of submission, that we are to come. Yes, we come boldly. I’m not discounting scripture. Yes, we come boldly, but in a submitted heart and a submitted attitude.

God is telling this group to follow him. In fact, I read it this morning. I should have marked it down, because I loved how he literally said follow me. And the same statement is what Jesus said follow me. Then Paul reiterates it and says follow me as I follow Christ. There is a following. God is our leader, god is the captain of the host and if I’m in a battle, he’s my leader and he’s going to the commands, he’s going to give the directives, he’s going to tell me the battle plan, how to do this, and I need to know he’s holy. I have to come to him in that position and I have to understand that all that is all the territory I’m hoping gain, all the victory that I’m hoping to gain, anything that I am trying to lay hold of will come because he owns it all. It all belongs to him. It’s his to give that.

I don’t have to fear the enemy in front of me. I don’t have to fear the taunting of an enemy in front of me. I don’t have to fear that Pharaoh’s chasing me down and wants me dead. I don’t have to fear that I’m not liked or appreciated by the people I’d like to save or help. I don’t have to fear that I don’t have the tools anymore. I’ve been gone a long time and I’m an outcast or I’m a criminal and I’ve got a past and I can’t use. God can’t choose me.

All of the things that we would think or that might plague our mind or our hearts, all of the disqualifications, we can see that none of that mattered to God, because it’s God’s doing, not ours. If I think that it’s my ability or my goodness or righteousness which is filthy rag before the Lord, it’s filthy, it’s not holy, it has no good purpose, it can do no good thing. I can’t be good apart from God. It is God who is good. So I have to understand that anything that I do, anything that I bring, is not the power to accomplish it. All of my power comes from whether it’s my ability or my lack of ability. I don’t get to do all by myself, with all of my insecurity. I don’t get to disqualify myself in pride or insecure, because it’s not me.

It is God who owns it all and God who commissions. It is God who gives. He’s saying this land, you’re going to come here and you’re going to serve me here, it’s because it’s his land. He gets to say that. But whatever God is doing, we do need to recognize it is God who is in control, and if he’s called you to it, he’s going to tell you how to do it and he’s going to bring the victory. Your job is obedience. Your spiritual warfare is obedience. Okay, so the shoes are removed. The significance is that God, who’s claimed the land as his own he owns it all will then, by his ownership and authority and power, give it to whom he desires. So now, with that backdrop, I want us to look at Deuteronomy 11, verse 24. And I’m going to read you just the first part, because that’s really what I want to show you is the repetitiveness of what God is explaining and what the significance is for the feet and the shoes taking territory. Okay, so Deuteronomy 11, verse 24, this is 24A Every place the soul of your foot shall tread will be yours. I had looked this up in. Let me see if I’ve got it loaded on my phone. I had looked this up and I loved all the different versions of it.

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Okay, so NIV only says your foot, every place where you set your foot, will be yours. If you look at the New Living Translation, same thing wherever you set foot. So we’re talking about the foot, but that doesn’t necessarily explain the shoe, right? So if we look at the ESV, it says every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. The sole of your foot, not your shoe, the sole of your foot. In the Borroian Standard Bible, every place where the soul of your foot treads will be yours, king James. Every place where on the souls of your feet shall tread shall be yours, new King James. Every place on which the soul of your face treads shall be yours new American Standard. Every place on which so much your incidence will be worthy of your feet, the right course shall be yours”. Every place on which the esoel of your foot treads shall be worthy, continues on. I think you get the picture.

This is so important because it is a representation of knowing that when we come before God and when he’s about to give to us the beginning instructions of whatever territory we need to take, whatever enemy we need to defeat, whatever land we need to occupy, what that is, he’s telling us that if you go in my command and if you go in my Holiness, you have removed your shoes. You go in my holiness, you walk after my holiness. If you do that, then you’re saying you are able to take the land that it’s yours. I’m giving it to you. The one who has authority, who owns it, says it’s not going to be your enemy. Who gives it to you? It’s me giving it to you, it’s me. We need to remember it all along, the Lord.

So, no matter who I’m fighting, what I’m fighting, what institution I’m standing against, no matter governments and peoples and systems and and, relationally, no matter what territory and things that that the enemy has tried to rob me or shackle me with or or done to Rob me in some way, to oppress me in some way, and I’m trying to break free from that, standing in faith, praying, believing God. I have to do that from the position of Tearing off my shoes, humbling myself before a holy God and receiving and obeying his instructions, because it is his to give me. It is his to give me. I Want us to look at Deuteronomy 7. So if we back up that, I’m 11. I want us to back up because there’s something, there’s a lot said here and I want you to see God’s heart for you, no matter what your face today. I want to hear this and see this, and I’ll bounce a little bit back and forth with this, but Deuteronomy 7, and I’m gonna read verses 1 4.

It says when the Lord, your God, brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession, fit and clears away Many nations before you the Hittites, the Gurgoshites, the Amorites, the Canites, the Parasites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than you, and when the Lord, your God, gives them over to you and you defeat them, then you must devote them to destruction. You shall make no Connit with them and show no Mercy to them. You shall not Intermarry with them, giving your sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me. There’s one of those following me from following me to serve other gods. So there are several things that I kind of want to handle here for you, because it is the Lord who brings you into the land. That’s what we just read.

It is the Lord who’s going to do it. He’s gonna bring you into the cheerleading that you’re fighting for, that you’re contending for. It’s God who’s gonna bring you into it, even though you’re fighting things that are better than, stronger than than you have more power than you. Okay, so don’t let that intimidate you. But God is saying you’re going to defend them. He’s declaring over you your victory. You’re going to defeat them, even though and Listen, folks this was seven different nations. This wasn’t just one thing, and we’ll get into a little bit more of that in a moment and you might be feeling like you’ve got all these battles and they’re happening kind of on every side.

So I want you to relate with with the scripture today. He says but you will defeat them and in that defeating of them, you need to understand that you have to devote yourself To the destruction of that enemy, whatever it is that you’re facing. It’s not good enough to knock Goliath down, you have to cut his head off. Okay, it’s not enough to knock him down, you got to kill him. It says you have to, in this victory, devote yourself to the destruction of that enemy. Show no mercy. The scripture says show no mercy To the enemy. None, saul made this mistake. That’s why David was in his place, king stall, because he did not destroy all. He did not. He showed mercy. He should not have. God said destroy it all.

And some of you? You’re actually at the point of gaining victory and you’ve seen some. You’ve seen some progress. You’ve seen some progress. You’ve seen some tree. Do not lighten up, do not stop fighting just because you’ve gained some ground. Okay, stay in the fight, do not turn loose of your sword, do not stop the fighting. You need to wait and you don’t finish that fight until that enemy is completely destroyed completely.

So one of the things I want you to see here is that God owns it and Is the one deeding it to Israel. So he’s saying you’re gonna win, you’re gonna go in, you’re gonna take all these lands and territories that I’m giving you. This is now when I read in Deuteronomy, I’m actually reading about them taking the territory. They’re already out of Egypt and they’re taking territory. Okay. So, just so that you understand where a story and this is God explaining this is land. All this is mine. I’m gonna, I’m indeed it to you. I’m gonna, I’m indeed it to you. As far as you’re gonna have to fight, there are enemies in the land, but I’m telling you ahead of time You’re gonna win. You’re gonna win, but you have to fight and you have to fight the way I tell you. You’ve got to obey me when I tell you what to do.

We see how they ran into an issue and they hear they win Jericho, but they’re defeated at ai. They didn’t follow God’s holy instructions. He had very specific holy instructions. You don’t get win it unless you’re doing it holy and in obedience to God.

Okay, number two we take the land by God giving to us under his conditions, which I was touching on holiness, he shows absolutely no mercy to unholiness, to take possession and keep possession of what belongs to God must be done so in In holiness. In holiness, in fact, ai’s problem was God said don’t touch that, because those are holy to me. It’s a cursed to you. So you might think something looks good, sounds good, feels good. You know God is saying no, that’s mine, it’s a blessing and it’s a, it’s an offering to me. But if you touch it it’s a curse to you. It’s a curse to you, so don’t touch it, holiness God. God might be giving somebody right now an instruction about how you’re supposed to do something and he’s telling you I don’t want you touching that thing. There’s something you might want, there’s something that may look good, and he says don’t go after that, don’t touch that, that’s not holy, I don’t want you involved with that. So that leads us into the third thing.

Do not keep connections with what is holy. Don’t make covenants with things that are unholy. Don’t put shackles on. Sandals are off. Remember that might represent pains. Don’t be shackling yourself to something. Don’t tie yourself to something that God is saying that’s unholy, that’s not for you. Because if you do, if you allow that to happen, you might think you’ve gotten a little bit of victory right here in the front, but it’s going to end up that you are turned away from following God. You will lose in the end. This will not be a victory. You retain. This, might be a short-term thing, but you will lose.

Holiness is imperative, and pying yourself to things that are holy, not unholy, matter the things you’re connected to, the things you involve yourself in, the things you take into your eye gate, your ear gates. What are you watching? What are you listening to? Be picky. God is a holy God. Do you want to grow in holiness? Do you want to grow in who God is and in his character and in the fruit of the Spirit? Then eat and feast on what is holy, good and righteous. Eat, start on that. Then we see that God reiterates this very same instruction to Joshua.

So let’s go to Joshua, chapter one, verse three. Joshua, chapter one, verse three every place that the soul of your blood will spread upon, I have given to you. Just as I promised to Moses. So God is. You know, joshua was really the one who served Moses. When Moses would go up to the mount and Joshua would go up to a certain point, wait on Moses. Joshua would go into the temple and he would just stay and hang out in the temple Even after Moses would leave. Joshua would stay and hang out at the temple, at the tabernacle, and so this was something that Joshua was familiar with. The presence of God understood watching this dynamic. And he is in show to take Moses’ place. God chose Joshua to take Moses’ place, so God is restructing Joshua with the same instructions he poses. It’s time to take territory, it’s time to win some battles and do some spiritual warfare. But you have to do the same. I commanded Moses. It’s where your feet go, take off your sandals. In fact, I didn’t look it up, I can’t even do that.

The angel of the Lord comes to tell Joshua Joshua is going to go out to a battle. He goes out and an angel of the Lord there fronting him and he says Joshua says to are you on our side or on our enemy’s side? And Joshua needs some correcting and we need to find this. How many times do I have said it? I have said it folks, I’ve said it on this podcast God’s on your side. I shouldn’t say that. That’s actually technically not correct. I need to be on God’s side. So the angel of the Lord tells Joshua neither. No, you need to be on God’s side. Are you on the side of God? Because I’m the one going to battle and I’m the one whose territory this is. Are you joining me? Are you doing with me?

So there is a reiteration and a reinstitution. When he met him, when the angel came to him, he told him take off your shoes. The ground you’re staying on is holy. He completely retells the same story. In fact, maybe I can find it real quick. I want you to understand the importance of this Because it is repeated. It is the repetition of what needs to happen. So here it is, joshua 515.

I’ll go ahead and read it out of the NASB, new American Standard. And the captain of the Lord’s army said to Joshua Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy. And Joshua did so. So we see the same thing. Folks, joshua’s commissioned Take off your shoes. This ground is holy. You’re going to go in and take this land, this territory. You need to do it in holiness, wherever your feet go. Now that you’ve removed this hindrance, now that you understand who’s all this belongs to, who’s to do this, now that you understand which side you’re on, not which side that God’s taking. You need to understand now that this is going to be won by the holies. This is holiness. This is a picture of spiritual warfare. How do we fight? Let’s go back I’d come back to this Go back to Deuteronomy 7.

This time we’re going to look at verses 22 to 24, because this is important. This is exactly what happened in Exodus 3, 19 to 22. Let’s do that first. Actually, let’s go there first. Let’s go to Exodus Hold my place here.

Exodus 3, 19 to 22. And this is how God is going to bring Moses and the children of Israel out Egypt. This is God speaking. But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it. After that he will let you go and I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. And when you go, you shall not go and praise God, but each woman shall ask of her neighbor and any woman who lives in her house for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. You shall put them on your son, on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians. He’s saying, basically, I’m going to send the plagues. This is going to happen one step at a time, one plague at a time. Okay, one mighty strike at a time, and on top of that don’t know mercy, I want you to plunder them on your way out. You’re going to gain total victory. So we’re seeing a repeat, right.

So now let’s go back to Deuteronomy, chapter 7. Let’s look at verses 22 to 24, because this is God’s instruction, again on what’s going to take place. These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly at the mountain, at the midst of the fire, the cloud and the thick darkness, with a loud voice, and he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. And as soon as you heard the voice out of the midst of the oh, what am I doing? I’m reading the. Is that the right one? All right, I’m reading the wrong chapter. I didn’t think that looked right and sounded right. Forgive me, let’s go. Chapter 7, verse 22. That was the right. The Lord, your God, will clear away these nations. Remember there was all these nations in front of them.

The Lord, your God, will clear away these nations for you, little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest wild beasts grow too numerous for you, but the Lord, your God, will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion until they are destroyed, and he will give their kings into your hand and you shall make their name perish from under heaven. No one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them all.

So what is God’s usual pattern? Do we have great victories? Yes, great battles are won and we see great victory. You look at how he started with Joshua. Jericho was a phenomenal victory, but there were still more territories and battles that needed to be taken and fought. If we look at this particular page, he’s saying I’m going to do this little by little, because if I don’t, if I do this one swoop, this will be too big for you. This whole thing will be just too big for you.

God knows what we can handle. He knows how much battle we are prepared to fight and take at a time that we are not able just to go in and win a battle, but to completely take a territory, not become by it, because there’s growth that has to take place. You know when the scripture tells us that we are to lengthen our cords and strengthen our state work, make our tit larger and bigger and our territory bigger. That’s work folks, anybody who have businesses. My husband and I own two companies and at any time that you’re going to go through growth, you have growing pains. You need more people, cost money, you need more equipment, you need, you know, more resources, whatever and it takes time to actually do that and do well. If you gain something too quickly and it’s too big for you and you are not prepared for that, you’re going to lose. Some of you’re not going to be able to retain all of that.

It takes skill and preparation to be able to handle growth, and so God says I’m going to give this to you little by little, because if I don’t, it’ll overtake you. So I want to encourage you, because some of you are fighting this and you’re like I, keep having to fight these battles. This is really important. Just because you’re still fighting doesn’t mean you aren’t winning. You fighting with your sandals off and fighting in holiness that God has called you to, you are, without doubt, gaining new territory and defeating your enemy, as well as walking in victory and receiving God’s blessing. So we need to stop and take the assessment and say, god, I give you glory for that first battle, I won that battle. If this is your first battle, you’re going to win it. But if you win some, you’re still fighting and you’re discouraged. Just know that each one, stop. Give God glory for that, give him all the praise for what he’s done.

Strengthen yourself and prepare to win the next battle. Don’t think that just because you’re having to fight battle after battle, that that means eventually you’re going to be and you don’t have the strength to do this and it’s just too much and I just can’t keep doing this. Yes, you can. Yes, you can. Greater is he who will in you and he that is in the world. You are mighty enough, big enough and able enough because you’re not going in your, you’re not going in your ability. You’re going in holiness and obedience to the one who does, the one who has it, the one who’s going to give you favor. You need the one who’s going to expose your enemy and bring confusion on your enemy and bring victory for you. In that situation, if you’re on God’s side, god always wins, always.

So stay in the fight. Don’t let discouragement derail you. Don’t look back and think that it was better back then or when or when I had this or that was happening. Don’t compromise and make hatchments and covenants to things and ties to things that are unholy. Stay in the fight. You are making headway and you are taking territory. Your enemy is not he’s banking that you’re going to be giving up or giving in, but greater is he who is in you. Look at that. 1st John 4,4. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. That’s your scripture today.

I just want to finish this by giving you this final encouragement If you recognize that you’re in fight, but you haven’t been fighting from a place of holiness and you haven’t done it by recognizing that it’s God’s fight you thought it was your fight or you recognize that you’ve had mercy when you should have shown nobody the enemy, there is always an answer and a victory in God, even if you’ve met it up. We all fail. He knows our frame, that we are but dust. God is not expecting you to win the battle. Without him you can’t. That’s why the instructions given Take off your shoes, recognize where you are, who I am and what I have the authority and power to do. There is none greater in our God At this point, if you need to repent, repent, just repent.

Say Lord, I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I have done this. In my own strength, I’ve been fighting what I thought was my own abilities, or I have been back way from fight because I thought I was disqualified and I thought that I couldn’t do it, and I’ve messed it up too much. And whatever the reason, if you have attached yourself to things, today’s the day, take your sandals off, take off the things that you have tied yourself to, that you shouldn’t be back to and should not be tied to, things that you should not be subject to. Remove those today.

Come before a holy God in a holy, true repentance, and say God, I’m not asking if you’re on my side, I’m not asking if you’re on the enemy side. All I care about is that I’m on your side. What do you want me to do? And let the Lord lead you. He will guide you to all truth. He will guide you. He will give you the battle plan. He will tell you the strategies. He’ll let you know what the enemies plan in and saying. He’ll give you tools that you need. He’ll bring right alliances. He’ll bring right methods. He’ll make broken places straight and bring mountains down. He will make the rocky places smooth for those feet of yours to take territory Wherever the soul of your foot shall tread. I am giving it to you Don’t back away from the fight. Don’t get discouraged in your failures or missteps or in your pride Repent. Come to the Lord and allow him to make it right today that you are able to pick up your sword and win your victory. Show no mercy in Jesus’ name. Take your territory, gain your victory. Don’t give up. You will win this fight. I hope that was encouraging to you.

I’m sure you know somebody who needs to hear this. I know the time we’re living in. It’s a discouraging time. I need to hear it too. Minister to my heart, we keep fighting. God is the victor. This is his fight, this is his battle. We’re just on his team. He always wins. Do me a favor today. Share this Subscribe if you haven’t subscribed, so you know whenever a new episode is made available. You can visit me at my website at jamieluce.com J-A-I-M-E-L-U-C-E. You can send me an email at mail at jamieluce.com. Love to hear from you, and you can make some comments here and I’ll respond back to you. Thanks so much for joining me today. It was a pleasure to be with you and we’ll see you next time. Bye.

0:54:41 – Speaker 2

Thank you for listening to the Jamie Loose podcast. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please rate and review the show on Apple or Spotify and subscribe wherever you listen. For more, visit jamieluce.com. That’s J-A-I-M-E-L-U-C-E. You’ll find a free chapter of her new book. You Don’t Need Money, you Just Need God and a fresh word from Jamie on the blog. See you next week.