<TITLE>03. Par 11-14</TITLE>L-11 But however, among the group there was a great warrior among them. His name was Joshua, which means "Jehovah-Saviour," and Joshua went ahead of the group. Went over, crossed Jordan, went over into the promised land, and brought back the evidence that the land was there, and the fruit was beautiful. Two men packed a bunch of grapes. They could taste of the fruit before they even got there, knowing that it was a evidence that the land was good. God had not lied to them. The prophet had not lied to them. The land was there, and they was right on the border of it.
They crossed over into the land. They was given different parts, their tribes. And then they raised their--their families, raised their crops. They lived in peace. They were a nation. They were a people. But finally, old age caught up with them, and they died. The little grounds became specked with graveyards on the hillside. With tear strained eyes they walked up over the grave of the saintedest of them, as they buried their loved ones.

L-12 Then one day, there came another great Warrior. He was the Warrior of all of them: Jehovah manifested in flesh, Jesus Christ, His Son. He came down, and He told them that there was a land far beyond this land. There was a land where men didn't die no more. And He said, "There is life after death." And He taught it for three and a half years.
And then one day He came to Kadesh-barnea, where He stood the judgment for us all: the judgment seat of God, where God poured out upon Him the iniquity, and the penalty for our iniquity, the wrath of God upon Him. And He bore in His body our sins, and He crossed the river that we call Jordan, death.
But on Easter morning, like Joshua, He come back with the evidence. Man lived again after death. They thought it was a spirit. He said, "Feel me. A spirit doesn't have flesh and bones like I have." Said, "You have something to eat?" And they gave Him fish and bread, and He eat it. Then He said, "I'm going to give you the earnest of this land. But wait up there at Jerusalem until you get the down payment."

L-13 So they went up there and waited, and the earnest was sent back of that land. And today we can enjoy that. We are now, reckoned ourselves dead and buried with Him in baptism. We are raised with Him, spiritually speaking, we are now tonight setting in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, raised up with Him.
We are now in the body of Christ. I Corinthians 12, "By one Spirit we're all baptized into one body." By what? That's the earnest of our inheritance. We already got the down payment on it, that we know we've passed from death unto Life. We look back and see where we once were and where we are now. There's sin in the world down there, and we've raised above it, setting with Him, our King, in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. What an evidence.
And not even death itself... When a great warrior, Paul, come to face it, he screamed, "Oh, death, where is your sting? Or grave, where is your victory? But thanks be to God Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." I better stop that. I'd be preaching.

L-14 I was at a convention not long ago and I heard a colored lady give a testimony. Sounds rather rude. You excuse me, please, for the rudeness of it. But it seems to fit right now. She raised up to give a testimony. She says (and if there's any colored people near, I don't mean to make this expression rudely.), she says, "Well, I's wants to thank the Lord." She said, "I... for being here." She said, "I--I know that I's not what I ought to be." And she said, "Then I know again, I'm not what I want to be." But she said, "One thing I do know: I'm not what I used to be." So I think that's right.
That's one thing we can tell with this evidence. We're not what we used to be. There it is down there, below us. And we have risen in Christ, setting in heavenly places in Christ Jesus with the evidence of Eternal Life, by receiving the Holy Spirit, as He promised at the day of Pentecost we would receive it.


<A HREF="P4">Next Page</A>