Introduction
Let me begin with a discipleship question: how will you follow Jesus in prayer and dependence on God this week?
Main Points
In this lesson shaped by Calvary Boise's teaching on JOSHUA: Victory is Coming, Christ invites us to receive truth with humility, practice repentance, and walk in faithful obedience.
Faith and Obedience
We are studying the Book of Joshua we have been for the last a couple months and we are now entering into a new. Part of the story of the book of Joshua which is to now study and hopefully learn from so that we can experience the.
- Victory that is found in the book of Joshua book of Joshua is about God fulfilling his promise to give his people the promised.
- Land and part of the fulfillment of that promise is that they would be conquerors of the land to overthrow the inhabitants of the.
- Land that God has given to them and that requires them to trust God for the victory of their lives and this is one.
- Of the great things that it's we get to learn in the Christian walk is how to experience spiritual breakthrough how to have victory.
In our lives and ultimately how to experience victory in the generation that we're a part of because this story is not meant to. Be simply experienced on a personal level but what does it mean for the people of God to see him do miracles to bring.
Faith and Obedience
You have for our lives our church the victory that you have for this generation to be part of the fulfillment of your promise. To allow your truth to endure from generation to generation and we pray that we would see in new ways you do mighty miracles.
- In our generation Lord we trust that you are on the move we trust that you're still alive we trust that you're still doing.
- Things to be seen as wondrous for anyone who would follow you into the battles of this world Lord so we give you this.
- Time we pray that you would speak in Jesus name Amen I'm gonna read the first part of this in the in the first.
- Five verses really set the stage for the story that you may have heard and then we'll get right into what I hope to.
Draw out of this for our lives it says in verse 1 now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel. None went out and none came in and the Lord said to Joshua see I have given Jericho into your hands it's King and.
Faith and Obedience
Sometimes feel that is given as a commandment of these people that can be an encouragement is this before the victory comes before they. See the walls fall down of this highly secured city and they're able to walk right in to take the city they're told to. March and to walk around the city and to do it not once not twice but six times and then on the seventh day. To do it seven times and this reminds me of my own life in so many ways when I feel like I am marching. And going nowhere when I feel like I'm listening to the Lord I'm trying to live out the Word of God I'm trying to. Do what is called on my life to lead and to do well for this church and my family and sometimes it feels like. I'm walking in circles and I know I'm not alone in that because just given the course of your life whether you feel that. Now just wait you will feel at times the redundancy of life and it happens outside of church just as much as it happens. In because we have setup and we live in a society that does well to set routines and to live by them Monday through. Friday you work and then you rest and then you get up and you do it all again and you throw some entertainment in. There and sometimes you look back on your week or your month in your year and you think I'm walking but I'm going nowhere. I'm moving and I'm doing things with my life but I don't see progress and that can be somewhat frustrating I look at this. And I say okay the obedience is to trust that progress happens in the March even though the marches in a circle the Christian. Life sometimes feels like you're marching in a circle even what we're doing right now I feel it every week because I preach and. Then on Sunday I rest and then on Monday I get up to start studying again and then I preach again and we do. It all again we sing our songs we listened to our sermon you go to work and you try to live out the Christian. Life and sometimes if you're like me you look back and you think what just happened I've been I've been listening to sermons and. I'm desiring to grow and I feel the weekly monthly yearly.
Faith and Obedience
Grind I look back and I think am I really growing am I really going anywhere is Christianity really seeing fruit in my life. Is following Jesus really taking me anywhere specific other than heaven and what I want to look at this morning is the reasons that. I think we have to believe that progress is being made and the reasons that I want to encourage all of us not to. Stop when you feel the circle of life because in the circle that we experience in this story there is victory there's victory and. Faithfully following the commands of God there's victory in continually marching even before you see the victory there's things that have to happen for. All of us in trusting God because the alternative is just as scary the alternative is that we only feel inspired or encouraged or. Hearts of worship when we have the actual response of the power of the Spirit in our lives I mean we only prayer if. Prayers are answered immediately that doesn't always happen we only read the word when the word is directly applied to that day that doesn't. Always happen we only do ministry when we're seeing people get saved and we're counting it by baptisms and growth of a church but. Sometimes there are seasons where none of that can happen and what the Lord is saying is continue to March victory is on the. Way and as I studied this what I realized is the way that I make sense of this is through praying through that the. Prayers that come out of this is I'm reading this and hoping that we can look at the story of Jericho that so many. Of you have heard throughout your Christian experience and just in studying this it might feel redundant and I want to pray through this. So that we can see God do something brand-new if we continue if we don't give up if we trust that listening to the. Sermon and spending time in the word in our personal life and continually praying without always seeing the answer to the prayers will in. Fact give us victory if we don't give up and we keep trusting that victory is on the way so I've really at times. I'll give you guys application points or things to remember the sermon by I'm asking you to pray with me this morning I've got. Three prayers that I'm drawing out of this that makes sense.
Faith and Obedience
Of the text for me and I'm asking you to join with me in that three prayers that I hope will bring focus to. Our lives three prayers that I hope will encourage us to keep trusting God in the circles of life and three prayers that I. Hope will also give us hope for what God is doing not just in your personal life or this very small corner of the. Kingdom of God but in a generational work and this time for such a time as this the first prayer is this can we. Pray to see what God sees and the reason I say that is because there are two perspectives that can be had when you. Study the walls of Jericho when you study the city of Jericho there are two predominant perspectives and one of them is hopeful and. One of them is hopeless look at what it says in verse one it says this now Jericho was securely shut up because of. The children of Israel nobody was going in or out the walls of Jericho are famously very secure it's accounted for us in the. History of this text that they're so secure that it is completely on lockdown nobody's walking in or out they've closed the border they're. Ready for an attack they've gotten word that the children of Israel are now on their side of the banks of the Jordan and. They have secured their wall and the perspective that can seem daunting in fact we know that the walls of Jericho were intimidating because. The generation before the generation of Joshua looked at this city and they said no way the walls are secure and the Warriors are. Strong and the chariots are made of iron and there's no reason for us to even attempt it because we'll die and we will. Not be able to take Jericho and yet what does God see in verse 2 it says this and the Lord said to Joshua. See I have given you Jericho this is a reminder that we see throughout the study in the Book of Joshua that God sees. And acts differently than we would his strategies are not always our strategies in fact very rarely do we initially see with our own. Eyes what God sees and very rarely do we plan and strategize the way that God does remember the accounts that we've already experienced. In the ways that God sees something totally different and then a.
Faith and Obedience
Calls for the people to trust what he sees rather than them all throughout our study already remember when they were approaching the banks. Of the Jordan River still in the wilderness and the river it says was raging it was at its highest point and it was. At that time that God said cross the river and it was confusing to the people of Israel no doubt because if you were. Thinking about crossing with an entire generation of people an entire nation now of Israel and all the people that needed to go through. It is not the most strategic time to cross at the highest point of the river and yet God says this is when you. Cross when the river is highest and by a miracle of God he stops the water and they walk across on dry land and. He is glorified and the people are satisfied and trusting God and then what happens as they cross in a miraculous way the kings. Of this of the promised land are looking and saying wow these people belong to a mighty God and they're faint-hearted and they're weak. And they're against the ropes and they're nervous and they don't want anything to do with God's people and at that time our strategy. In our logic would say well take the ground keep marching don't stop and what do we find in our study from worship before. Warfare is that God requires the people to sharpen the edge of the knife not for the enemy but for themselves and the first. Order of business in the promised land is to get circumcised to actually weaken their forces and allow the enemy forces to strengthen and. They take time to celebrate the passover feast because God was doing something that was totally different than what we would have done based. On our sight and now we have another example now the walls of Jericho are before them and it says nobody's going in or. Out totally secure and God says look I want you to see what I see that city already belongs to you I have given. You the city and one of the prayers that I have for my life and this church as I lead us into new victories. For this generation is that we begin to see what God sees because it can be a daunting task and when we look at. Our lives and we think about the redundancy that so often feels.
Faith and Obedience
Like the church age that we belong to we wonder what's it all for another sermon another worship set another Easter celebration another Christmas. Another hope and desire to see God move and revival and more prayer and more waiting and what we need to say is God. Sees our generation differently than we do sometimes and he sees your life differently than uses that do sometimes and aren't you glad that. We walk by faith and not by sight this is a reminder that your site and my site and the people of Joshua's day. They couldn't see what God saw they didn't know exactly what God was up to but they are living by faith and not by. Sight this is a lesson that I had to learn just last fall I reminder and I share that my own experience so that. You can be reminded that what you see is not always what you are going to get and it's not always going to line. Up with the plans that match your sight my wife and I this last fall for the first time in a long time really. Sat down to try to do some family planning what are we doing with the with our kids they're getting older and we got. To think about school and we've got to think about our house and how we're gonna organize our rooms and on the topic of. Kids we should also start thinking about if we're done having them and my first vote cast was I'm feeling pretty good with three. I like having three kids that seems like I've done my part to be fruitful and multiply three seems to be satisfying that command. And my wife was feeling pretty good about the idea of not being pregnant for a while because she seems to be pregnant every. Other year and so we talked and we thought yeah let's really put that on pause two years three years and then maybe in. Three years we can adopt or we can talk about having another baby once our kids are a little bit older we can start. Getting free babysitting from them and they won't even realize we're ripping them off and then what happens that night turned into the next. Day and my wife said she was feeling a little bit off just a little bit off and she says hey why don't you. Run to the dollar store and that's just a lifepro.
We return to the opening teaching: discipleship is not just information, it is transformation through faith and obedience to Jesus. If we receive His Word and walk it out, He will shape us into people who endure and bear fruit.
Lord Jesus, help me hear Your Word, obey it with faith, and grow as Your disciple. Amen.
Conclusion
We return to the opening teaching: discipleship is not just information, it is transformation through faith and obedience to Jesus. If we receive His Word and walk it out, He will shape us into people who endure and bear fruit.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, help me hear Your Word, obey it with faith, and grow as Your disciple. Amen.