Winning Season, Week 5: The Winning Principles

Tim Ross | September 4, 2022

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Tim: All right. I want you to go with me to the book of Joshua 10. Before we get there, Bible's up real quick. Let me do this real quick. I got to make some declarations, y'all have to get in your right frame of mind. If you got a real paper Bible, hold it up. If it's that big family Bible that used to cover your whole dining room table or that whole coffee table, that's your fault. Mine is 4.5 pounds. Lift it up real, real high, especially if you have on really good deodorant, real high. If you have it on your phone, put your phone up high. If you don't have a Bible on your phone or a real Bible, put your hand up in the air, but you don't have to wave it like you just don't care. Repeat after me. Today.

Congregation: Today.

Tim: Louder. Today-

Congregation: Today-

Tim: -the holy spirit-

Congregation: -the holy spirit-

Tim: -is going to speak to me-

Congregation: -is going to speak to me-

Tim: -about winning principles.

Congregation: -about winning principles.

Tim: After today-

Congregation: After today-

Tim: -I will know-

Congregation: -I will know-

Tim: -and fully understand-

Congregation: -and fully understand-

Tim: -that there are principles-

Congregation: -that there are principles-

Tim: -in the Bible-

Congregation: -in the Bible-

Tim: -that guarantee me-

Congregation: -that guarantee me-

Tim: -wins.

Congregation: -wins.

Tim: Ws.

Congregation: Ws.

Tim: Dubs.

Congregation: Dubs.

Tim: After today-

Congregation: After today-

Tim: -I will have no excuse-

Congregation: -I will have no excuse-

Tim: -not to know-

Congregation: -not to know-

Tim: -what these principles are-

Congregation: -what these principles are-

Tim: -because I'm about to win-

Congregation: -because I'm about to win-

Tim: -win-

Congregation: -win-

Tim: -win-

Congregation: -win-

Tim: -no matter what.

Congregation: -no matter what.

Tim: Let's go. Joshua 10. I'm going to read a lot of the Bible, I make no apologies for that. This is church. I have literally seen people at church apologize for reading scripture. That's foolish. That would be like going to a restaurant and the chef apologizing for cooking your food. This is church, you're supposed to read the Bible and make no qualms about reading a lot of it. That's how you get your weight up. This is not an apple a day keeps the devil away. Not a verse a day, you need chapters in your system. [growls] I feel this. Joshua 10, y'all got it?

Congregation: Yes.

Tim: Here's what it says, Adonizedek. I'm going read some names today that I want extra credit for. The fact that I can even name these people. Because I also know some people that get to words in the Bible and they just go blah blah blah and just move on. I'm like, "How lazy are you? Just read it. Pronounce it." My mama taught me that if you got a big word, break it down by syllable and just say it. Shout out to my mama with that beautiful hat on with her church mother. Mama is the clap, she don't care nothing about me being in denim. She's like, "I'm coming in my church mother outfit, is beautiful."

Joshua 10:1. Here's what it says. Adonizedek, King of Jerusalem, heard that Joshua had captured and completely destroyed Ai and its king, just as he had destroyed the town of Jericho and killed its king. He also learned that the Gibeonites had made peace with Israel and were now their allies. He and his people became very afraid when they heard all this because Gibeon was a large town, as large as the royal cities and larger than Ai, and the Gibeonite men were strong warriors.

King Adonizedek of Jerusalem sent messengers to several other kings: Hoham of Hebron, sounds good? Piram of Jarmuth, Japhia of Lachish, and Debir of Eglon. "Come and help me destroy Gibeon," he urged them, "For they have made peace with Joshua and the people of Israel." These five Amorite kings combined their armies for a united attack. They moved all their troops into place and attacked Gibeon. The men of Gibeon quickly sent messengers to Joshua at his camp in Gilgal. "Don’t abandon your servants now." they pleaded. "Come at once. Save us. Help us. For all the Amorite kings who live in the hill country have joined forces to attack us."

Joshua and his entire army, including his best warriors, left Gilgal and set out for Gibeon. "Do not be afraid of them," the LORD said to Joshua, "For I have given you victory over them. Not a single one of them will be able to stand up to you." Joshua traveled all night from Gilgal and took the Amorite armies by surprise. The LORD threw them into a panic, and the Israelites slaughtered great numbers of them at Gibeon. Then the Israelites chased the enemy along the road to Beth-horon, killing them all along the way to Azekah and Makkedah.

As the Amorites retreated down the road from Beth-Horon, the LORD destroyed them with a terrible hailstorm from heaven that continued until they reached Azekah. The hail killed more of the enemy than the Israelites killed with the sword. On the day the LORD gave the Israelites victory over the Amorites, Joshua prayed to the LORD in front of all the people of Israel. He said, "Let the sun stand still over Gibeon and the moon over the Valley of Aijalon." So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies.

Is this event not recorded in The Book of Jasher? The sun stayed in the middle of the sky, and it did not set as on a normal day. There has never been a day like this one before or since when the LORD answered such a prayer. Surely the LORD fought for Israel that day. Then Joshua and the Israelite army returned to the camp at Gilgal. During the battle, the five kings escaped and hid in a cave at Makkedah. Cowards.

Think about it. They the ones started the fight and then they went and hid in the cave. When Joshua heard that they had been found, he issued this command, "Cover the opening of the cave with large rocks and place guards at the entrance to keep the kings inside. The rest of you continue chasing the enemy and cut them down from the rear. Don’t give them a chance to get back to their towns, for the Lord your God has given you victory over them."

Joshua and the Israelite army continued the slaughter and completely crushed the enemy. They totally wiped out the five armies except for a tiny remnant that managed to reach their fortified towns. Shoot, we wanted all of them. Then the Israelites returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. After that, no one dared to speak even a word against Israel. Then Joshua said, "Remove the rocks covering the opening of the cave, and bring the five kings to me."

They brought the five kings out of the cave. The kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. When they brought them out, Joshua told the commanders of his army, "Come and put your feet on the kings’ necks." They did as they were told. "Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged," Joshua told his men. "Be strong and courageous, for the Lord is going to do this to all of your enemies."

Ooh, that's good. If you're taking notes on this message, two words, write this down. Winning principles. I want to talk to you about winning principles. Bow your heads, let's pray over the words. Shall we? Holy Spirit, help us to apply these principles. Amen. Tim, last week, talked about chapter number six of Joshua. How they were able to get into Jericho and how after overtaking Jericho, they were on their way to possessing everything that God had promised him.

What I love about Joshua and his military instincts is that his military instincts were subject and submitted to God's work. He knew that it wasn't going to be just by power. It wasn't going to be just by might, but it was going to be his partnership with God that was going to get him the victory every single time. For every single battle he went into, he never assumed that God wanted to do in the next battle what he did in the previous battle.

Congregation: Come on, sir.

Tim: Never get accustomed to the way God moves.

Congregation: Yes sir. Come on now.

Tim: Never take for granted the way God moves, because it could be that the next time he wants to do something, he might want to do it a completely different way. This is one of the things that I always was miffed about in charismatic circles that I grew up in Pentecostal charismatic circles is that they thought every single weekend had to end up here.

Congregation: All right. Up here.

Tim: As if God didn't have another expression that he might want to use to move his people administer to his people along the way. Walking around Jericho was the strategic thing God wanted them to do to defeat Jericho but when it came to Ai, they didn't even need to send all of the troops. After dealing with Achan in Chapter 7, they easily handled what was going on with Ai. When we get to eight and nine, Chapters 8 and 9, what you will find is that the Gibeonites didn't want none of that smoke. The Gibeonites saw what had happened to Jericho, they saw what happened to Ai.

Before the Israelites could even get there, they had waved the white flag, deceptively. They got some old bread that was moldy and got their old worn saddles and they jumped on some horses, and they went to meet Joshua and his elders. They asked, "Could we have a peace treaty? Could we make a covenant right now?" This was one of the only times in Joshua's entire leadership role where scripture says they did not consult the Lord.

Tim: They wound up going into covenant with some people they should not have been in covenant with because they didn't pray about it first. Let me pause and say, you should never go into any type of relationship without praying about it first.

Congregation: Amen.

Tim: Don't make a covenant without praying about it first. Don't buy that house without praying about it first. Don't buy that car without praying about it first. Don't go into that business deal without praying about it first, because you could wind up fighting enemies that you weren't supposed to, simply based on who you went into covenant with. Chapter 10, we read 25 verses. In those 25 verses, what we find is that five kings decided to assemble themselves as if they were some bootleg Middle Eastern Avengers.

They decided to assemble themselves against not Israel, the Gibeonites. Their issue wasn't even with the Israelites, they knew that the Israelites had God on their side, they were actually upset with the Gibeonites for making this peace treaty with Israel. When they went to attack Israel, what was the Gibeonites' problem actually became the Israelites' problem, because that's who they joined themselves in covenant to. I want to stitch this together for you because I want you to understand that some of us are fighting fights that were not even ours.

We're trying to get victories at this season of our life based on something that we didn't even have control over. Some of us are fighting generational curses that before we had a chance to vote we were already into. Some of us were born into systems that we're trying to overcome, but we didn't even have a vote in getting into it and now we have to figure out how and what the winning strategy is and what the principles are, that are going to give us victory.

The Gibeonites attack-- I'm sorry, the five kings attack the Gibeonites and them attacking the Gibeonites, the covenant that Israel has made with a Gibeonites automatically puts them in the fight but this is what I love, here's what I love. Joshua nor the elders complained about this. They didn't go into the fight talking about, "If we would have never went into covenant with you, we wouldn't even be in this fight. Can't believe we got to go through this. Had we not linked up with Judas won't even-- it is your fault we're in this war." No they just owned it. "My bad. We didn't pray."

Congregation: Yes.

[laughter]

Tim: We in a covenant right now that we shouldn't be in because we didn't pray. "My bad Lord, you forgive us?" He's like, "Absolutely go get them." He was like, "That's what I'm talking about."

[laughter]

Is what you got to know that you have the Lord on your side even when you make a mistake.

[applause]

If you just own the mistake, if you raise your hand and just say, "Father it was me. It ain't nobody else's fault but mine. I put myself in the situation." He goes, "I'm so glad that you owned your mistake, I am with you."

Congregation: Yes. Amen.

Tim: There are still some consequences but guess what? I'm with you. Even in the consequence, let's go get them. Them jokers went out to fight all five of the kings, and all five of the cities, all of them. They went out against them. Here's the thing, Joshua was a military leader, he caught them by surprise. There were some principles that I want to break down for you. Five principles that I want to break down for you because if you get these principles, it doesn't matter what you come up against, you're going to win.

Congregation: Yes.

Tim: I'm telling you, if you apply these principles, you're going to win. I'm going to say something I know. Oh, it's going to make some of y'all, your butt-cheeks going to tighten up.

[laughter]

I already know it when I thought it I already knew it, "Ooh." So many people would be like, "Huh."

[laughter]

Don't say that. Don't say that. Don't say that. Principles are different from covenant.

Congregation: Yes. What's that?

Tim: There are some things that you can apply as principles that you don't even need a covenant to see it come to pass.

Congregation: Yes. That's it.

Tim: May I submit to you tithing is a principle.

Congregation: It is.

Tim: It don't matter if you love Jesus Christo or not. If you apply the principle, you will see the result.

Congregation: Yes.

Tim: Multi-millionaires who are atheists, agnostics, and hard they're more deitists than they would ever be believers in Jesus Christ, they give away more than 10% of their income.

Congregation: Yes.

Tim: Which is why they give so much of their money and get more. Bill and Melinda Gates have given billions with a B, billions to charity and a foundation. Guess what? They still got more coming. You don't give a billion if you only have a billion. You give billions when you got more than billions. Why? Because it's a principle and you don't even need the covenant to see it established. What I have always been heartbroken by is that believers won't adopt the covenant but the sinners' will.

Congregation: Yes. It's hard yes.

Tim: That just makes no sense. If the principle will work without the covenant, how much more would you benefit if you do got the covenant? IJS. Point number one, please write this down. This is a principle you got to have in your life for the rest of your life. Remember what God said. I'm telling you these principles are not like earth-shattering like, "Oh my God, never thought about that before." You just need to know it and write it down to be able to go back and get it succinctly.

Point number one, remember what God said. Joshua 10:8, "Don't be afraid of them," The Lord said to them. The Lord said to Joshua, "For I have given you the victory over them, not a single one of them will be able to stand up against you." This is something that you have to know no matter what situation you face in your whole life. I don't have to be afraid in this situation, because God is with me. He's going to give me victory in this situation.

Now, if he said he's going to give you victory in this situation. This applies to any situation you can find yourself in. I've seen people go through certain aspects of their life where they have a lot of faith in one area, but then something else hits them that's completely antithetical to the stuff they're used to going through. They're like, "I don't understand I'm going nyi-nyi-nyi." I'm like, "You do know that the same God that brought you out of that will bring you out of this?" You have to remind yourself of that. I'm the type of person I need reminders. Anybody like me?

Congregation: Yes.

Tim: I wish I had the memory of an elephant. I don't. I need reminders. If it ain't on my calendar, it don't exist. I can look you dead in the eyeballs today and say we're going to meet on Wednesday at nine o'clock. If it ain't in my calendar. Guess what? I'm going to stand you up.

[laughter]

I'm not going to even try to do it. It's not even on purpose but if it's not on my calendar, it does not exist. I need a reminder. I need a notification bell. I need a, "Ding. Remember what you said on Sunday. You was going to meet with this person Wednesday at eight o'clock." "Oh, yes, I'm gone." But without that reminder, I can't keep everything in my head. Neither can we especially when it comes to the promises of God. We need reminders. God's going to bring me to this situation. I know he is. Joshua and his troops went out against five different cities at the same time being reminded that God is with me. Now, how do I know this is a reminder? In Joshua 1, when Moses dies and Joshua assumes leadership, it is God who tells Joshua, "Everywhere you go the same way I was with Moses, I'm going to be with you and everywhere you put your foot is going to be a place that you have victory." Now they get ready to come into this battle against five kings. Not one city, not one territory, five different territories at once.

Here's what God says, I want to remind you of something. Just here to give you a reminder. You're going to win. Same way you won in Jericho, you about to win. Same way you won Ai, you about to win. I actually just gave you a really, really good gift. Instead of you having to go fight five individual cities and mount up five different military attacks, I brought them all to you. All five at once. Thank you always for there's going to be some acceleration for some of us in this season where you're not just going to take one step, it's going to be like you took five steps and you're going to look back and wonder, "How did I get all the way over here?" and God says, "You're in a season of acceleration. There's some things that I'm going to do for you, and it's going to seem like it was a shortcut. It's not. I just grouped it all together and hand-delivered to you so you can get to the next."

Instead of one promotion there's going to be three and you're going to be like, "How did I--" Instead of one bump in the business sales there's going to be five bumps in the business sales. You're going to go from 2 employees to 12 employees. You're going to be wondering, "Why did I do that right there?" Point number two, please write this down. God will always assist me. Whoa, I'm a storyteller, and I'm having to discipline myself because I want to give you these principles. This is not about the story today. This is about the principles, so I got to be disciplined. Y'all pray for me.

Point number two, God will always assist me. Joshua 10:11 says this, "As the Amorites retreated down the road from Beth-Horon, the Lord destroyed them with a terrible hailstone from heaven that continued until they reached Azekah. The hail killed more of the enemy than the Israelites killed with the sword." Say this out loud, "The Lord will always assist me."

Congregation: The Lord will always assist me.

Tim: Say it with your chest. "The Lord will always assist me."

Congregation: The lord will always assist me.

Tim: If you really believe that, you walk different.

Congregation: Yes.

Tim: When you know you got God's assistance-- I'm not talking about your uncle that got a trust fund. I'm not talking about your friend that's going to give you the hook up. I'm not talking about the plug that you got at the Nike store. I'm talking about when you got God on your side and he's assisting you, you walk into situations with a different mindset. God said, "I need y'all to go fight." They went out there and started fighting against them jokers. Them dudes tried to retreat and God was like-- He's a spirit. I know he ain't up there with just a bag a hail like, "Yes."

My imagination. Can you imagine? You fighting, they run. You like, "Man, they running, I got to go catch them?" Why they are running away? God sends a hailstone that's just over them. You know how specific hail has to be to just be hitting you over there? It ain't hitting me, but you get rocked in the head. Not with pebble-like hailstorm. Not talking about everybody in here that loves storm season because you are a roofing contractor and every time a storm comes through, you're like, "Yes. We're going to eat." I'm talking about a hailstorm with hail big enough to kill people. We talking about softball size hail that why you running? They're not going to get me?

[laughter]

Can you imagine thinking you got to wait? They won't catch us here. Jokers is dead. Jokers is running out. "Did you stab him? Did he bleed out while he was running?" You were walking up to him like, "No. No, but he got an ugly bruise on his head. Think his skull is fractured." The Lord will always assist you. You don't have to worry about nothing. If God asked you to step into it, he's going to assist you. This is a principle. You will never go through anything where you don't have God's assistance.

Point number three. Please write this down. Repeat what God said. [laughs] Remember what he said? Repeat what he said. Joshua 10:24. When they brought them out, God told the commanders of his army, "Put your feet on the king's necks," and they did as they were told. Actually, I mean Joshua 10:19. I'm sorry. Joshua 10:19. Repeat what God said. This is what it says in 10:19. 10:19 says, "The rest of you continue chasing the enemy and cut them down from the rear. Don't give them a chance to get back to their towns for the Lord your God has given you victory over them."

Repeating what God said ensures that you get victory all the way through the end. Remembering what he said gets you started. I can go into this situation because God is with me. He's going to assist me. Repeating what God says ensures you go all the way through. I can't tell you how many people have started something with God and haven't finished it because somewhere along the way they stop repeating the narrative. You got to get up in the morning talking about, "I'm going to win today. I don't care what the enemy tries to throw it at me. I am going to win today."

Let me give you a different energy because every day you're not going to wake up like that. Sometime when you got to bed you're going to be like this, "I'm going to win today, I don't know how but I am going to win today. I don't even feel like fighting today but I ain't got no choice. I'm going to win today. Marriage still look terrible, I'm going to win today. Kids still ain't calling, I'm going to win today. No one has taken a bite on this application, I'm still going to win today. Lord, thank you that You assist me to get through the days that I don't even feel like getting through."

[applause]

You feel me on that?

Congregation: Yes.

Tim: Every day is not going to be like, "Yes." Most days are going to be mundane. Just get up in the morning, read your Bible. You're not reading your Bible like this, "Mm, oh, mm, yes. Oh, that's good. That's good." Sometimes you got to get up or read the Bible and be like, "Yes. Amen. Let's go to work." Let's get to this traffic on 6:35. Let's clock in on time. Let's do an honest 8.

[laughter]

I'm not teaching on character today, but some of us aren't giving an honest 8. You giving a sloppy five and a half. You got up from your workstation so much they don't even know if you work there no more. They're like, "She's a person that walks in the hallway. I don't know if they vet a job description here?" I know how to walk through hallways amazingly. I gracefully take breaks every two and a half minutes. I'm an engaging conversationalist. I know how to interrupt people from doing their job while I refuse to do mine. You should hire me. You should fire them.

Anyway, I didn't know I was going to say this, but I want you to write this down. You need to fall in love with the beauty of the mundane. I'm going to say it again. You need to fall in love with the beauty of the mundane. If every day has to be exciting to you, you will not be a good believer in Jesus. If every day has to be the most earth-shattering revelation of all time you're going to separate distance between you and God because the moment stuff starts to cool down, and it's just a regular day. Victory doesn't look like [screams] it just looks like, "I made it. Didn't curse nobody out today. I made it."

Congregation: [laughter]

Tim: "Did an honest eight today. I made it." "I didn't let the dark cloud of depression turn into a whole week of grief. I made it." "I let that last thing my husband said to me roll off. I didn't clap him back."

Congregation: [laughter]

Tim: I made it. "My wife brought up something petty again and I didn't even throw it back in her face. I made it." You better count all them victories. A victory is a victory y'all. They don't all look like [screams] some of them just look like, "Thank you, Lord. I made it through today." Why? Because I'm going to remind myself of what God said. I don't just remember what He said. I keep reminding myself of what He said. Point number four, please write this down. Get used to winning. [laughs] [screams] Listen. This one right here gets me. This is the one.

Joshua 10:24. When they brought them out, Joshua told the commanders of his army, "Come out, come and put your feet on the King's neck," and they did as they were told. I got to set the scene. These five cowards that started this fight was all in the cave, huddled up. [sighs] All their men dying, they're comfortable in a cave trying to let it all slide. You're the commander of your army. You're the general. You're the commander in chief, and you're out here like this while they all dying. Snuggled up in a cave, all five of them. They find out they were in a cave. They put rocks in front of the cave, wiped out the rest of their armies, then they came back for them.

I'm trying to keep my composure right here. After you get rid of all of the enemy's imps and all his minions and everything he's been throwing out against you, you got to go for the source. You can't just stop at the behavior, you got to go for the source. That's one of the things that I found out in therapy that blessed my whole life. I didn't go into therapy so I would stop looking at porn. I wanted the root of that joker. Tell me where the root of this problem is from because pornography is not the root, it's the fruit.

Congregation: Come on now, come on.

Tim: It's not the condition, it's the symptom. If you have a cold if I only hand you Kleenex, I'm not helping the root of your issue. Your issue is not the runny nose, that's the symptom of your issue. We got to stop the virus at the source.

Congregation: [applauding]

Tim: I started digging deep into my soul in places that were incredibly and excruciatingly painful until I found out that my core two traumas were abandonment and attachment issues. Once I found out that those were my core two traumas, those were the things that kept on triggering me to watch porn. If I only stopped that porn I would have never got to the abandonment and attachment. Once I got to the abandonment and attachment issues, guess what? I was so informed that when porn tried to come back, I'm like, "I know why you're here. You think I'm abandoned right now. When I'm abandoned, I feel lonely. When I feel lonely, I try to go for something that will medicate me and it's not you. I don't need you. I don't need you."

Congregation: [applauding]

Tim: I found out where the source of this was coming from, and we're going to go deal with this source. The five kings were the source of the attack. They went back, they removed the stones. Joshua was such a G. Joshua was a gangster. Ooh, I love him. He said, "Bring them kings out. Y'all lay down." What was they going to do at that point? They roll all the stones away from that cave, and it's maybe a couple thousand dudes outside. They come out.

Congregation: [laughter]

Tim: Lay down. All five of them lay down. Joshua, this is what I love about Joshua. He doesn't try to take the glory for himself. He wants to make sure that all his commanders start feeling what winning looks like on a daily basis. He said, "Put your feet on their necks. Take your foot, put it on this king's neck. Hold it there. I want you to feel what it feels like to have your enemy under your feet. I want you to get used to this feeling." That's why point number four is get used to it. I want you to get used to this feeling because this is not a feeling that is fleeting. This is not a one-time thing. I want you to get used to this feeling because every time we go to war, here's how it's going to end, with you having your foot on your enemys' neck.

Congregation: [applauding]

Tim: Whooo, that thing gets me. Every single time this thing gets me. Literally. He goes-- All of them come out. Can you imagine the commanders are like, "We have not [whispers] What you going to do now?"

Congregation: [laughter]

Tim: The feeling, you got to get used to what it feels like to win. When I do counseling sessions, sometimes the main thing I got to get past is someone's victim mentality. They've been rehearsing a victim's narrative for so long that when you introduce winning language, winning vernacular, they're like, "I mean, yes, but--" I'm just sitting there like, "Mmm. You have to get used to winning." You've taken so many losses that even when one win happens, you can't even celebrate it because you think the next is going to be a L. He said, "Get used to it. Put your foot on the neck. Get used to this. This is going to be you every single time. Every single season you are going to win."

They have their feet on their necks. They got in that condition, in that position long enough till they were like, "This is, yes. This feels good. Like the way this feels. We going to do this to every single person?" "Whoever we after next, the same thing going to happen. Next king, it don't matter." "Well, the Canaanites, they got a lot of them." "It don't even matter." "The Philistines, they got giants." "We don't even care." "Every single-- It don't matter who coming next, this is going to be the end result. Your foot is going to be on their neck."

Winning principle. In the same way, Joshua did this for his commanders, Yeshua does this for us. No matter what we go through, what did Paul say? "We are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus." Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. We needed one man to go to the cross, die, and get up for all of us, so we could be like, "We got up too." He steps on necks, we step on necks. You break curses, we break curses. You got a breakthrough, we get breakthroughs. He shares it with the ones that he's leading. He doesn't hold it all to himself.

Point number five, and we're done. It happens every time. Okay, Tim, concentrate. Joshua 10:25. "Don't ever be afraid of discourage," Joshua told his men. "Be strong and courageous for the Lord is going to do this to all of your enemies." It happens every time. I cannot tell you in the 26 years that I made a believer in Jesus Christ, I got saved in my parents' church, January 14th of 1996. By January 15th of 1996, I had no friends except for my parents, my PlayStation 1, and my Bible. Those were my friends.

I had a lot of friends. I had a lot of acquaintances. I was very, very popular in LA. I was rapping at the time. It was a good life. For a sinner, it was a good life. I gave my life to Jesus and all my homies stepped back from me. Not like, ugh, they were just like, "Man, we respect you. We respect your decision, but we're not making that same decision."

Congregation: Come on. Come on. Be transparent. Preach it.

Tim: You will go through a season when you wake a hard line for Jesus. You will go through a season where you're alone, but you will not be lonely. Two different things.

Congregation: [applauding]

Tim: You can be alone and not lonely. I went through that season. Obviously, God started giving me friends, all that stuff. That's not the point. The point is, last 26 years, every situation that has been wild and crazy, and I'm like, this is-- In the middle of it you're like, "God, what is happening?" At the end, it all ends the same way and it all ends with me saying them words right there, them four words. It happens every time, it happens every time, no matter how tumultuous the issue is in the end, God shows himself faithful and I go, "It happens every time."

Then when this becomes your refrain, the more you go through this, you may not get this in the first two years, but 26 years in, you start looking at trouble and you got to be careful. I want to talk to all my seasoned people in the room that have been through some stuff and you've been saved a long time and you got young people that you're mentoring and disciples. They're coming up. Don't dismiss the season they're in.

Congregation: True. Come on.

Tim: Hear me on this. This is valuable. Don't dismiss the season they're in, "Oh, you ain't going through nothing. God's going to bring you out. Don't do that to them. This is so real to them and remember how it was to you."

Congregation: Yes.

Tim: Before you can stack on them Ws up and know what this felt like on a regular basis, you know how you felt when you were just starting out and God stopped answering the phone. You remember what that felt like about 18 months in and you were like, "Everything, that honeymoon phase is over and the Lord's like, no, I'm not picking up. You going to go through this and you going to fall out of love with me and come back in and I'll get you back at the third revival."

[laughter]

It happens every time. Say it, "It happens every time." Again, it happens every time. One more time. It happens every time. This happens every single time. You do not have to worry. You do not have to fret. This happens every single time. These five principles will orient you to winning no matter what season you're going through. Recap, I want to know who took good notes. Point number one, what was it?

Congregation: Remember what God said.

Tim: What was it again? In unison?

Congregation: Remember what God said.

Tim: Good note takers. Point number two. What was it?

Congregation: God will always assist me.

Tim: That's what I'm talking about. Y'all good. Y'all take good notes. Point number three.

Congregation: Repeat what I say.

Tim: Repeat it, eat it and repeat it. Get a steady diet of this. This is why I'm not afraid to read you 27 chapters. Eat this book.

Congregation: Yes.

Tim: Malcolm Gladwell has good stuff in his book. He don't got God's stuff in his book. This is the only book that's breathing. This is the only book that's alive. This is the only book that when you open it, it opens you. This is the only book that when you read it, it reads you. It's the only book that the more you go to it, the more it comes to you. I can't tell you how many barber shops I've gone to, and they still got Ebty magazines from 1989, Jet magazines from 1992. Obviously, these are barbershops in the hood.

[laughter]

I can't tell you how many times I go to the Four Seasons and the Rob Report is still the same Rob Report from 2001, you can go back to that same magazine and open it up. Guess what? It's the same information and it's dead. There's no new life coming out of it. Whitney and Bobby are not together no more. I don't care what that cover says. Halle Berry's no longer married to David Justice. I don't care what was on this cover. That was a long time ago. Why? Because the moment they printed, the news is dead.

This is the only book that from the time it was printed up until now, every time you go back to it, the same verse got something new to you to say 10 years after you read it the first time. The Lord is my shepherd. He's different in the fall than it does in the spring, because you have something new that you've gone through and God's ready to speak to you through it again. Repeat it.

Congregation: Yes.

Tim: Eat it and repeat it. Point number four. What was it?

Congregation: Get used to winning.

Tim: Get used to winning. I'm telling you in the same way I just gave you that brief description of how God gave me victory over pornography. He can do the same for your situation too. Stop trying to attack the symptom and go after the root. I want the king in this situation, I'm tired of fighting his imps. I want the king in this situation. God tell me where the source of this issue is coming from, so I can speak to that and get this thing ended in my life. I'm ready to move on to something else. Not going to be going through this spiral the rest of my life. Point number five, give it to me.

Congregation: It happens every time.

Tim: It happens every time, yo. These are your principles. We done already shouted. Yay. I'm glad we shouted. We ran a lap. We shouted last week. Walls came down, but you need principles to sustain this victory. You can't go on a winning streak without principles. Thank you Holy Spirit. You can't go on a winning streak with hype. Hype won't give you a winning streak. Excitement won't give you a winning streak, an espresso will not give you a winning streak. It'll make you feel good, but it ain't a winning streak.

You need principles. How do we go on winning streak? How did we go 20, and oh? we kept doing the same thing every night. We played different teams that had different strategies, but our principles never changed. We knew why we tied up our shoes like this. We knew why we passed the ball like that. Why? We got sound principles. Tom Brady can still play when he's 42 years old. Not because he's the most athletic person on the field. That man has sound principles. That old man is backing up and getting rid of that ball before a hungry 330-pound person gets ready to jump at him. Why? He's seen it enough to know, "I know how to deal with this situation."

I'm done, bow your heads I pray for you, and we out. Jesus, thank you for these winning principles. Thank you, for the opportunity that you have given us in your presence to learn how to win against the enemy of our soul. God, I pray for somebody in this room that has never given their life to you for their hearts to be open to the fact that without Jesus Christ, we simply do not win. God, in this moment of reflection as we allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us, would you Holy Spirit, tell us what we need to do to win, not for our credit, but all for your glory in Jesus' name. Amen.