<TITLE>06. Par 50-64</TITLE>L-50 Now, the word paradox, as I have just been looking it up and be sure that--that I was right, the word paradox means, according to Webster, that it's "something incredible, but it's true." Now, you know, we've heard the old saying, that--that, "Truth is more" (what do they call that?) "more strange than fiction," truth is. Because, when the person tells the truth, sometimes it's very strange.

L-51   I know a friend of mine, that, up in Colorado. They had a survey on, going to have a survey on elk. And there were twenty-one head of elk in the herd. And my friend, when, had been back there hunting, and when the wardens come up. And they had paid a great price, the conservation had, for one of these snowmobiles, to go back and have an elk survey. He said, "You shouldn't have spent all that money. I can tell you how many elks back there." And they just laughed at him. Said, "How many?"

L-52 He said, "There is nineteen." Said, "There was twenty-one, and I killed two of them."

L-53 And the warden laughed at him. You're only allowed to kill one, you know. And he said, he said, "Yeah, I know you did."

L-54 "Well," said, "that's what I done. There was twenty-one elk, and I killed two."

L-55 And the warden just laughed and went on back. And that's what there was, nineteen elk. See?

L-56 He turned around to me, said, "You see, parson, just tell the truth, the people won't believe it." See, just tell the truth, so it certainly is more stranger than fiction.

L-57   Joshua here is a Book, actually, it's a Book of redemption, of the Old Testament. Joshua, we would have to consider it to be that, the Book of redemption. Because, it's, redemption has two parts. Redemption, anywhere, has two parts. That is, it's "out of" and "into." It takes two parts to make redemption, "out of," "into."

L-58 Moses represented the law which brought them out of Egypt, and, whereas, Joshua represented grace that took them into the promised land. Another way, was, the--the law and grace were two different aspects of God's command. Now, the law brought them out, Moses, and Joshua took them in.

L-59 It also represents something for our day. Now it represents, as they were in the journey, coming from--from Egypt into a promised land, so have we come out of a world of Egypt, chaos, on our road to a promised Land. "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it wasn't so, I would have told you," John 14. Coming "out of," going "into."

L-60   It's law that brings us to recognize we're wrong, but it's grace that forgives us. The law has no hope of--of redemption, because that... and to complete it. It has no grace in it, because law only points that you are a sinner, but grace tells you how to get out of it. Law is the policeman that put you in jail, but redemption is the One Who come paid your fine; and "out of," and "into," into grace.

L-61 The Ephesus. Now we find the same thing, the Old Testament, I think this Book of Joshua fits. A fitting word for it, would be, the Book of Ephesus of the Old Testament. The Book of Ephesians of the Old Testament, would be a good thing to title this Book of Joshua, because it's certainly fitting to this.

L-62   Now we find Joshua representing grace, or some propitiation, that it could not exist in the same time that law was in existence.

L-63 Neither does any message, that forwards the people on, ever coincide with a past message. It will not do it. That's where you have trouble today. Jesus said, "Does any person take a--a new piece of garment and put it into an old? Or put the new wine into old bottles? They perish. It bursts them open." They can't stand it.

L-64 And Joshua could not at all become into his ministry until after Moses was gone. So you see the very first verse here, "Moses My servant is dead; now arise and take this people to the promised land." Moses, representing the law, had served its time. It's, the law had served its time.


<A HREF="P7">Next Page</A>