Pray-Be-See Week 2: Prayer And Humility

Posted on July 8, 2019 by bibleteacherorg

Romans 12:9-18 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. 10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another; 11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; 12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; 13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. 14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. 15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. 16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. 17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

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Photo by Tom Hermans on Unsplash

I love Oreo® cookies. I love to eat them with milk. I’m not allowed to eat them anymore – the worst part of being diabetic – but nothing stops me from thinking about them. I don’t know what a serving size of Oreo® cookies is, but to me a serving size is one sleeve! The thing I love is the chocolate cookie, but that white center is what makes each Oreo® a double chocolate blessing. Without the white center the two cookies can’t hold together. If you look at our text today the center of the text is PRAYER – being prayerful or filled with prayer. If a Church is going to accomplish that which God commands of it, then that Church must be filled with SERIOUS PRAYING PEOPLE.

How often do you pray? A poll conducted by George Barna showed that many people, if they pray, pray less that seven minutes a week.

If you only spoke to your significant other seven minutes a week then how long would you be a couple? The word “prayer” or “pray” is over 500 times used in God’s Word. Other words that are used to describe “prayer” are:

Petitions
Intercession
Call upon
Seek
Intercede

The Bible begins with creation speaking with God, and ends with the Creator speaking to His children. That is what prayer is – communication with God.

When We Pray We Are To Do So Humbly

Pastor John Newton (August 4, 1725 to December 21, 1807) was at one time the Captain of slave ships. While in that horrid profession he met the Lord Jesus Christ and was saved by Grace. After resigning from the slave trade he went on to pastor an English Anglican Church. His most famous song is the wonderful Amazing Grace, ofttimes sung by Christians the world around. Newton wrote:

“If two angels were to receive at the same moment a commission from God, one to go down and rule earth’s grandest empire, the other to go and sweep the streets of its meanest village, it would be a matter of entire indifference to each which service fell to his lot, the post of ruler or the post of scavenger; for the joy of the angels lies only in obedience to God’s will, and with equal joy they would lift a Lazarus in his rags to Abraham’s bosom, or be a chariot of fire to carry an Elijah home.”

God cannot use the human who thinks he or she is “God”. When we pray, God looks at our hearts. God told the Prophet:

1 Samuel 16:7 … the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

God always looks at our hearts. When He looks at your heart what does He see when you pray? Does He see a heart that adores Him, or heart that just uses Him? The prideful prayer is the prayer that God will not hear. Our text tells us:

Let love be without dissimulation

“Dissimulation” is the Greek ἀνυπόκριτος anypókritos, (pronounced an-oo-pok’-ree-tos) which means “Without disguise. Without hypocrisy.” The Pharisees were fond of using religious methods in order to puff up their ego. Jesus said of these hypocrites:

Matthew 6:5 … when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

God knows what is in your heart when you pray. All pride should be confessed before God before entering the prayer closet. You need to humble yourself, and let God sense that humility. Pride causes disharmony between the Child of God and his Father.

Leonard Bernstein, the late conductor of the New York Philharmonic orchestra was asked what was the most difficult instrument to play. Without hesitation he replied, “The second fiddle! I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who can play the second fiddle with enthusiasm—that’s a problem. And if we have no second fiddle, we have no harmony.”

When we as God’s Children pray we are to despise the evil, but cling to the good. Many who pray begin their prayers with “Lord, I want”. Such people are like the out of control child in the toy aisle at Walt-Mart. “I want, I want, I want”. God does not honor such prayers, for they do neither us nor anyone else any good. Our text says:

vvs 10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love;
in honor PREFERRING one another;

The word “Preferring” is the Greek προηγέομαι proēgéomai, (pronounced pro-ay-geh’-om-ahee) which means “to go before and show the way. To lead others forward, as a point man leads a platoon or squad through dangerous territory”. We are not to put ourselves first in order to puff ourselves up. No Beloved, but we are to do as the point man does, risking life and limb in order to lead others on a safe journey. Our prayers should lead others to humble service to Christ. Our prayers should lead others to kindness, to love. We are told in another text:

Ephesians 4:2-3 (KJV) With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; {3} Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

We are to lift one another up in prayer and in service. These are the prayers that God hears and endorses as from His heart.

E.M. Bounds wrote: “Humility does not have its eyes on self, but rather on God and others. It is poor in spirit, meek in behavior, lowly in heart. “With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love.”

When Jesus wanted to show a poor example of a praying person, who did He use? You would think Jesus would use the drunkard, the drug abuser, the thief, the adulterer. No, not at all. Who was a poor example of prayer? The Pharisee!

Luke 18:10-14 (KJV) “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. {11} The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. {12} I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. {13} And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. {14} I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

I love the way that the King James relates this parable. The Pharisee prayed thus WITH HIMSELF. It is as if the man was praying but our Father was no where to be found. God will not hear the prideful, self exalting prayer of the self righteous. The Pharisee who assumed God was there was sadly mistaken. But the Publican, the Lord said, “would not even look up to Heaven”. His prayer was very simple: God be merciful to me, for I am a sinner. God hears the prayer spoken humbly. God said in Isaiah 57:15 “I am with him who is humble, lowly in spirit” (my paraphrase). Twice in the Scripture two writers say the same thing

James 4:6 (KJV) But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

1 Peter 5:5 (KJV) Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace unto the humble.

E.M. Bounds writes: “That which brings the praying soul near to God is humility of heart. That which gives wings to prayer is lowliness of mind. That which gives ready access to the throne of grace is self-depreciation. Pride, self-esteem, and self-praise effectually shut the door of prayer. He who would come to God must approach Him with self hid from his eyes. He must not be puffed-up with self-conceit, nor be possessed with an over-estimate of his virtues and good works.”

Our Lord Jesus lowered Himself in this life, and because He did so the Father always heard His prayers. When Jesus stood at the tomb of His good friend Lazarus He prayed:

John 11:41-43 “… Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. 42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. 43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

When Jesus cried out “Lazarus, come forth!” it was not out of pride or arrogance that He prayed. In the scheme of the Trinity Jesus is to follow the Father’s lead. This He did with no diminishing of His glory. God is God because God knows His Being, His Function, His Position. Our Lord humbled Himself even unto the death of the Cross (Philippians 2:8). The Father always heard the Son because the Son willingly and naturally humbled Himself.

It is the Old Sin Nature in our beings that makes us want to lift ourselves up, to buck against God, to make ourselves “gods”. The seed of this evil tree was planted in our hearts in the Garden of Eden by the serpent:

Genesis 3:5 … God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil …

As humans we have chased this illusion of “being gods” as a dog chases a car – hoping to catch it but not having a clue as to what to do IF we catch it. Jesus Who is ever eternal God in human form did not find it necessary to seek to be God (Philippians 2:6-7). He settled into His humanity as God intends man to settle. Jesus is the Second Adam Who takes us back to the Garden.

The Prayer Warrior Is The Surrendered Warrior

Romans 12:11-12 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; 12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing INSTANT in prayer;

The word translated “Instant” is the Greek προσκαρτερέω proskarteréō, (pronounced pros-kar-ter-eh’-o) which means “to be devoted to, earnest in, diligent to do, to adhere closely to”. In our society the word “instant” is used for cheap imitations that assemble quickly. “Instant grits” or “Instant oatmeal” do not require cooking. Just add hot water, then gag it down. This is not what this word means. It means that our prayers should be deliberate, attended to, focused on.

If we want our business to succeed, we do it for God.
We serve the Lord.
If we want to endure trials, we patiently pray.
No matter what life brings we rejoice.
Why? Because God is there, and is not silent.
God is with me. How do I know? I pray!

Even when I fail I do not despair because of prayer. The Apostle said “I am the chiefest of sinners – but Christ died for me” (1 Timothy 1:15). As someone once wrote:

“Let the world their virtue boast,
Their works of righteousness;
I, a wretch undone and lost,
Am freely saved by grace;
Other tide I disclaim,
This, only this, is all my plea,
I the chief of sinners am,
But Jesus died for me.”

On Judgment Day Jesus warns us all: Many shall say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. [Matthew 7:22-23]

What keeps us all from falling into the pit of pride that others have tripped into? Is it not prayer? Humble prayer?

Job (42:6) said: “I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

When the Jews heard that they were going to be destroyed by the king how did they respond? In Esther 4:3 we read:

“There was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes”

When Daniel – that Great Prophet – went to the Lord in prayer, how did he pray?

Daniel 9:3 … I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

This prayer brought Gabriel from Heaven to speak to Daniel face to face. God honors humble prayer. The Lord honored Abraham praying:

Genesis 18:27 (KJV) … Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes …

God honored Solomon’s prayer. What did that grand old Saint pray for? He prayed that God would enable him to do what God wanted him to do. He prayed:

1 Kings 3:5, 7-9 (KJV) In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. .. {7} And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. {8} And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. {9} Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

Let our prayers be filled with our decrease and God’s increase. As John the Baptist declared, “Christ must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:27-30).

“O that now I might decrease!
O that all I am might cease!
Let me into nothing fall!
Let my Lord be all in all.”

Only in letting Christ be all and in all can we be blessed. “Be not wise in your own conceits”.

Scientist George Washington Carver was first and foremost a Christ follower. He developed hundreds of useful products from the lowly peanut. When he was a young man he went to God in prayer and asked the Almighty to “tell me the mystery of the universe”. God answered, “This knowledge is reserved for me alone”. So George prayed, “God, tell me the mystery of the peanut”. I was told that the Lord answered, “Well, George, that’s more nearly your size.” And God told him. Let us seek the face of God in prayer! May God touch your hearts with His Word!

Posted in prayer, Praying Like Jesus Series, Sermons Preached | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Prayer – Be – See Part 2: A Study For Our Church Growth

Posted on July 8, 2019 by bibleteacherorg

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Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Romans 12:9-18 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. 10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; 11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; 12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; 13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. 14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. 15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. 16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. 17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

How often do you pray? A poll conducted by George Barna showed that many people, if they pray, pray less that seven minutes a week. If you only spoke to your significant other seven minutes a week then how long would you be a couple? Just the word “prayer” or “pray” is over 500 times used in God’s Word. Other words that are used to describe “prayer” are:

Petitions
Intercession
Call upon
Seek
Intercede

The Bible begins with creation speaking with God, and ends with the Creator speaking to His children. That is what prayer is – communication with God.

When We Pray We Are To Do So Humbly

Pastor John Newton (August 4, 1725 to December 21, 1807) was at one time the Captain of slave ships. While in that horrid profession he met the Lord Jesus Christ and was saved by Grace. After resigning from the slave trade he went on to pastor an English Anglican Church. His most famous song is the wonderful Amazing Grace, ofttimes sung by Christians the world around. Newton wrote:

“If two angels were to receive at the same moment a commission from God, one to go down and rule earth’s grandest empire, the other to go and sweep the streets of its meanest village, it would be a matter of entire indifference to each which service fell to his lot, the post of ruler or the post of scavenger; for the joy of the angels lies only in obedience to God’s will, and with equal joy they would lift a Lazarus in his rags to Abraham’s bosom, or be a chariot of fire to carry an Elijah home.”

God cannot use the human who thinks he or she is “God”. When we pray, God looks at our hearts. God told the Prophet:

1 Samuel 16:7 … the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

God always looks at our hearts. When He looks at your heart what does He see when you pray? Does He see a heart that adores Him, or heart that just uses Him? The prideful prayer is the prayer that God will not hear. Our text tells us:

Let love be without dissimulation

“Dissimulation” is the Greek ἀνυπόκριτος anypókritos, (pronounced an-oo-pok’-ree-tos) which means “Without disguise. Without hypocrisy.” The Pharisees were fond of using religious methods in order to puff up their ego. Jesus said of these hypocrites:

Matthew 6:5 … when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

God knows what is in your heart when you pray. All pride should be confessed before God before entering the prayer closet. You need to humble yourself, and let God sense that humility. Pride causes disharmony between the Child of God and his Father.

Leonard Bernstein, the late conductor of the New York Philharmonic orchestra was asked what was the most difficult instrument to play. Without hesitation he replied, “The second fiddle! I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who can play the second fiddle with enthusiasm—that’s a problem. And if we have no second fiddle, we have no harmony.”

When we as God’s Children pray we are to despise the evil, but cling to the good. Many who pray begin their prayers with “Lord, I want”. Such people are like the out of control child in the toy aisle at Wal-Mart. “I want, I want, I want”. God does not honor such prayers, for they do neither us nor anyone else any good. Our text says:

vvs 10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love;
in honour preferring one another;

The word “Preferring” is the Greek προηγέομαι proēgéomai, (pronounced pro-ay-geh’-om-ahee) which means “to go before and show the way. To lead others forward, as a point man leads a platoon or squad through dangerous territory”. We are not to put ourselves first in order to puff ourselves up. No Beloved, but we are to do as the point man does, risking life and limb in order to lead others on a safe journey. Our prayers should lead others to humble service to Christ. Our prayers should lead others to kindness, to love. We are told in another text:

Ephesians 4:2-3 (KJV) With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; {3} Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

We are to lift one another up in prayer and in service. These are the prayers that God hears and endorses as from His heart.

E.M. Bounds wrote:

“Humility does not have its eyes on self, but rather on God and others. It is poor in spirit, meek in behavior, lowly in heart. “With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love.”

When Jesus wanted to show a poor example of a praying person, who did He use? You would think Jesus would use the drunkard, the drug abuser, the thief, the adulterer. No, not at all. Who was a poor example of prayer?

The Pharisee!

Luke 18:10-14 (KJV) “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. {11} The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. {12} I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. {13} And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. {14} I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

I love the way that the King James relates this parable. The Pharisee prayed thus WITH HIMSELF. It is as if the man was praying but our Father was no where to be found. God will not hear the prideful, self exalting prayer of the self righteous. The Pharisee who assumed God was there was sadly mistaken. But the Publican, the Lord said, “would not even look up to Heaven”. His prayer was very simple: God be merciful to me, for I am a sinner. God hears the prayer spoken humbly. God said in Isaiah 57:15 “I am with him who is humble, lowly in spirit” (my paraphrase). Twice in the Scripture two writers say the same thing

James 4:6 (KJV) But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

1 Peter 5:5 (KJV) Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace unto the humble.

E.M. Bounds writes:

“That which brings the praying soul near to God is humility of heart. That which gives wings to prayer is lowliness of mind. That which gives ready access to the throne of grace is self-depreciation. Pride, self-esteem, and self-praise effectually shut the door of prayer. He who would come to God must approach Him with self hid from his eyes. He must not be puffed-up with self-conceit, nor be possessed with an over-estimate of his virtues and good works.”

Our Lord Jesus lowered Himself in this life, and because He did so the Father always heard His prayers. When Jesus stood at the tomb of His good friend Lazarus He prayed:

John 11:41-43 “… Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. 42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. 43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

When Jesus cried out “Lazarus, come forth!” it was not out of pride or arrogance that He prayed. The Father always heard the Son because the Son always humbled Himself in the Father’s Presence. Though Father and Son are co-equal and co-eternal – for has not the Father said (in Hebrews 1:8):

“Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever”

The Son is of reality and being eternal God. Yet in the scheme of the Trinity He is to follow the Father’s lead. This He did with no diminishing of His glory. God is God because God knows His Being, His Function, His Position. Our Lord humbled Himself even unto the death of the Cross (Philippians 2:8). The Father always heard the Son because the Son willingly and naturally humbled Himself.

It is the Old Sin Nature in our beings that makes us want to lift ourselves up, to buck against God, to make ourselves “gods”. The seed of this evil tree was planted in our hearts in the Garden of Eden by the serpent:

Genesis 3:5 … God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil …

As humans we have chased this illusion of “being gods” as a dog chases a car – hoping to catch it but not having a clue as to what to do IF we catch it. Jesus Who is ever eternal God in human form did not find it necessary to seek to be God (Philippians 2:6-7). He settled into His humanity as God intends man to settle. Jesus is the Second Adam Who takes us back to the Garden.

The Prayer Warrior Is The Surrendered Warrior

Romans 12:11-12 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; 12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

The word translated “Instant” is the Greek προσκαρτερέω proskarteréō, (pronounced pros-kar-ter-eh’-o) which means “to be devoted to, earnest in, diligent to do, to adhere closely to”. In our society the word “instant” is used for cheap imitations that assemble quickly. “Instant grits” or “Instant oatmeal” do not require cooking. Just add hot water, then gag it down. This is not what this word means. It means that our prayers should be deliberate, attended to, focused on.

If we want our business to succeed, we do it for God.
We serve the Lord.
If we want to endure trials, we patiently pray.
No matter what life brings we rejoice.
Why? Because God is there, and is not silent.
God is with me. How do I know? I pray!

Even when I fail I do not despair because of prayer. The Apostle said “I am the chiefest of sinners – but Christ died for me” (1 Timothy 1:15). As someone once wrote:

“Let the world their virtue boast,
Their works of righteousness;
I, a wretch undone and lost,
Am freely saved by grace;
Other tide I disclaim,
This, only this, is all my plea,
I the chief of sinners am,
But Jesus died for me.”

The “Me Too” Movement brought many famous and well funded men to their knees. Comedian Bill Cosby is now serving a life sentence for evils that he did while on the summit of popularity. Bill Hybels, the founder and leader of Willow Creek Church, left his pulpit in shame for abuse of power. It is amazing how many famous men are falling under the glare of judgment because of evils they did while hiding behind a wall of apparent righteousness. There are many who do this and get away with it. But Judgment is coming. Our Christ shall prevail. On Judgment Day Jesus warns us all:

Many shall say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. [Matthew 7:22-23]

What keeps us all from falling into the same pit of pride that these great men tripped into? Is it not prayer? Humble prayer? The Old Testament saint prayed in dust and ashes. Did not Job (42:6) say:

“I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

When the Jews heard that they were going to be destroyed by the king how did they respond? In Esther 4:3 we read:

“There was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes”

When Daniel – that Great Prophet – went to the Lord in prayer, how did he pray?

Daniel 9:3 … I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

It was this prayer (I hope you will read it. I have not time to cover it now, but it is excellent!) that brought Gabriel from Heaven to speak to him face to face. God honors humble prayer. The Lord honored Abraham praying:

Genesis 18:27 (KJV) … Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes …

God honored Solomon’s prayer. What did that grand old Saint pray for? He prayed that God would enable him to do what God wanted him to do. He prayed:

1 Kings 3:5, 7-9 (KJV) In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. .. {7} And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. {8} And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. {9} Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

E.M. Bounds writes:

“The pride of doing sends its poison all through our praying. The same pride of being infects all our prayers, no matter how well-worded they may be. It was this lack of humility, this self-applauding, this self-exaltation, which kept the most religious man of Christ’s day from being accepted of God. And the same thing will keep us in this day from being accepted of Him.”

Let our prayers be filled with our decrease and His increase. As John the Baptist declared, “Christ must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:27-30).

“O that now I might decrease!
O that all I am might cease!
Let me into nothing fall!
Let my Lord be all in all.”

Only in letting Christ be all and in all can we be blessed. “Be not wise in your own conceits”.

Scientist George Washington Carver was first and foremost a Christ follower. He developed hundreds of useful products from the lowly peanut. When he was a young man he went to God in prayer and asked the Almighty to “tell me the mystery of the universe”. God answered, “This knowledge is reserved for me alone”. So George prayed, “God, tell me the mystery of the peanut”. I was told that the Lord answered, “Well, George, that’s more nearly your size.” And God told him. Let us seek the face of God in prayer! May God touch your hearts with His Word!

Posted in prayer, Praying Like Jesus Series, Sermons Preached | Tagged | Leave a comment

How Big Is Your God?

Posted on July 7, 2019 by bibleteacherorg

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Photo by Jessy Paston on Unsplash

Joshua 11:4-6, 23 And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many. 5 And when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel. 6 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire. … 23 So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.

How big is your God?

The God of the Scripture is bigger than anything or anyone in this universe. I need to continually remind myself of this. And you do, too. I often find myself wanting to despair, to back off, to quit. Then the Lord reminds me. I am to do my part and trust Him. He tells me:

Galatians 6:7-9 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Oh Beloved, you must DO. You must SOW.
You must SOW the right SEED.

What you sow – the seed you plant – shall eventually bring forth a harvest. If you sow evil, you will harvest evil. If you sow good, you will reap good. Many years may pass before you see the harvest. But you should continue faithfully doing good. As we are told, let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

In Joshua Chapter 11 we see the last battle fought for the Promised Land. The Book of Joshua can be divided into two parts. The first part – chapters 1-12 – cover the first 7 years of Joshua’s military campaign to take Canaan. The first 10 chapters of the Book cover a period of less than one year. Israel quickly took the land and Joshua suffered only one defeat – the first battle at Ai – because of the sin of Achan’s family. After God’s people came together in one accord and in one purpose …

God’s People Are Called To CONTINUED
Unity Of Purpose And Service

Did you know God calls us to BE IN ONE ACCORD?
In ONE ACCORD with Him, and in ONE ACCORD with one another?

1 Corinthians 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be NO DIVISIONS among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

As a retired Airman I can assure you it is impossible to defeat the enemy if you are not in one accord both vertically (Godward) as well as horizontally (manward).

America lost in Vietnam because the military was in disharmony with it’s leadership. God’s people MUST be in harmony with GOD and with ONE ANOTHER.

God calls US to serve Him.
Let US not be weary in well doing.
For in due season WE shall reap.

The only blot on Joshua’s impeccable record of victory was at Ai, and that was not his fault, but the fault of Achan and his family. Oh, how many times has ONE FAMILY destroyed a Church? I know of churches right now – some that I tried my best to pastor – who never understood the principle of unity. Some of these churches cannot find a pastor, and won’t be able to find a pastor until they come into one accord. Others have shut their doors. Oh, how disharmony destroys a people! One of the tiniest hymns in the Hebrew hymnbook – only three verses long – says:

Psalm 133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; 3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

Unity with God and unity with one another – it is here that the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore . Most people miss the point of heaven. Heaven is a place where there is no sickness, sadness, or pain. Heaven is a place where death is banished, and life is good and eternal. Why is that? Because:

Revelation 22:3 … there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him

Jesus shall dwell with His people, and we shall be His people, and God Himself will be with us, and be our God (Revelation 21:3). The Lord shall wipe away all tears from our eyes, and there shall be no more pain (Revelation 21:4). Why? Because we as God’s people will be in ONE ACCORD in God’s ultimate Promised Land. Oh Beloved, that day is coming. That blessed day is coming. But it is not yet.

As we come to Chapters 11 & 12 of this blessed Book we might think that these chapters are but as short a time as Chapters 1 through 10 were. Remember I told you the first 10 chapters of the Book cover a period of less than one year. These last two chapters however cover around 6 years of battle. We are told:

Joshua 11:18 … Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.

Joshua did not see a win come quickly. Now God promised Joshua a win.

Joshua, your job is YOUR job.
My job is My job, saith the Lord!

Joshua 1:3-7 … Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. 5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. 7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest.

When God made His promise to Joshua the Lord said “as I promised Moses, so I promise you”.Question

If God made the same promise to MOSES,
Why is JOSHUA and not MOSES going into Canaan?

God told Joshua “as I was with MOSES, so I will be with YOU. I WILL NOT fail thee or forsake thee”. So why in the world is JOSHUA now leading Israel into this final battle and not Moses? Very simply:

Moses failed to stay in harmony with God.
Moses parted from God’s Word.
The Leader or Church that departs from God’s Word
need not expect the blessings of God.

There is a little church not far from us, a church the Lord loves as much as He loves us. I’ve been at Riverview now going into my 7th year. This little church not far from us has gone through three pastors since I’ve been here. Why? Beloved, when Joshua went into the Promised Land God repeatedly warned him to keep his eyes upward. God loved Moses. See it:

Joshua 1:13 … Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you …

Joshua 3:7 … as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.

Joshua 4:10 … according to all that Moses commanded Joshua …

Joshua 8:31 … As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel ..

Joshua 9:24 … the LORD thy God commanded his servant Moses …

Joshua 11:15 … As the LORD commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua …

Joshua 12:6 … Them did Moses the servant of the LORD and the children of Israel smite: and Moses the servant of the LORD …

This is just a few instances where we see Moses mentioned in the Book of Joshua. In many of the occurrences where Moses name is he is called “Moses, the servant of the Lord”. FIFTY EIGHT TIMES in the Book of Joshua the Lord mentions “Moses, the servant of the Lord”. I was reading something a fellow Christian and children’s book author Steve Hart wrote the other day that is so significant. He told his three year old son August to put his shoes away before going to bed. When checked later he found that his son had put his little shoes inside of his daddy’s shoes. This is such a graphic illustration as to what is going on in the Book of Joshua. For forty years Moses daily walked in God’s footsteps. Before he went to bed at night Moses took off his shoes and put them in God’s shoes. For forty years. Then one day Moses – Moses the servant of the Lord – forgot to put his feet in the footprints of God. Imagine if you would having a small child with you, and hearing the account of Moses – mentioned FIFTY EIGHT times in this Book. Now imagine that child saying,

Daddy – Momma – where is Moses?
Why isn’t Moses leading us now?
If God loves Moses
why is Joshua NOW leading us?

Beloved, it is because Moses stepped away from God. Moses put his shoes in the wrong place.

God promises to give victory, to bless His children, to give us the Promised Land. But this promise of blessing is conditional to our obedience. Though Moses failed God and lost the blessing he did not lose the eternal promise of salvation. Salvation is a gift from God. It is always a gift from God. But blessing is CONDITIONAL on obedience.

We sing:     “When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
what a glory He spreads on our way!
When we do His good will, He abides with us still,
and with all who will TRUST and OBEY.
TRUST AND OBEY, for there’s no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to TRUST AND OBEY.”

Oh Beloved, strive to finish well. Keep your feet in God’s footprints during the day. When you go to bed at night, take off your shoes and put them in your Heavenly Father’s shoes. Be not weary in well doing. Reject sin – confess it quickly – and stay in His Word!

God’s People Are Called To FOCUSED
Purpose And Service To God ALONE

Joshua 11:4-5 And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many. 5 And when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.

God’s people often lose the Presence of God when they – like Moses – depart from His Word. But another reason we lose the Presence of God is when we focus on the enemy and not on the Lord.

The darkness does not relent. In Joshua chapter 6 the walls of Jericho – a fortified city – fall when God’s people are focused upon the Lord. I preached this sermon a few weeks ago and will not preach it again. Then we came to Joshua chapter 10 when Joshua prayed for a long day, saying:

Joshua 10:12 Then spake Joshua to the Lord… Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.

God caused the sun not to set nor the moon to rise until Joshua defeated the enemy. After all this you would think that the enemy would just back off and leave the land. Yet this was not the case. The Bible says:

Joshua 11:1-3 … And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard those things, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, 2 And to the kings that were on the north of the mountains, and of the plains south of Chinneroth, and in the valley, and in the borders of Dor on the west, 3 And to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, and to the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh.

Hazor was the leading city in northern Canaan, and Jabin was it’s king. The name “Jabin” (Hebrew יָבִין Yâbîyn, {pronounced yaw-bene}) is not a name but a title. The “Jabin” was like the “Governor” or “Pharaoh”. He was the exalted ruler of this huge city. Hazor had around 40,000 people – and most of the walled cities of Northern Canaan had populations of 200 people per acre of land. Israel came into the Promised Land and within a year destroyed all the enemies that they came against. Jabin heard of this destruction. Rather than repent and vacate the premises he became the tip of the spear, calling the other walled cities into a united army against Israel! How big was this army? No one really knows, but the Bible tells us:

Joshua 11:4 … they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.

If you have ever been to the seashore or the beach you know you cannot count the number of grains of sand on that shore. Dr. W.A. Criswell – a pastor whom I have long admired who is now with the Lord – said in his sermon “The Final Victory”:

“(The first century Romano-Jewish historian) Josephus says that that army had 300,000 foot soldiers, that they had 100,000 cavalry, and that they had 20,000 iron chariots. Josephus said that what terrified Israel was the iron chariots. They had never faced them before. And Josephus says that the prospect of warring against thousands of chariots terrified Israel. For the great historian says that when the chariots were driven by the warriors into the rank of the opposing soldiers and the men in the chariots had such wonderful opportunity to throw their javelins, and to shoot their arrows, and to cut down with their sword; he said the affect of the driving of chariots furiously into the ranks of an opposing army was devastating in the extreme. And I can think of that for myself. Just imagine you with a sword in your hand, or a spear, or a javelin, or a dart, or a bow and an arrow and there is driving toward you furiously great horses with iron chariots. And in the chariots, in the car several soldiers and they themselves at a height and at an advantage and driving on you furiously, throwing their spears, and javelins, and darts and letting go of their arrows. Well, it was a thing like that that Israel faced; a tremendous, a tremendous foe.”

If you are doing God’s work God’s way there will always be resistance – furious resistance – but trust God, focus on Him, and keep on going!

The opposition to Israel was as the sand that is upon the sea shore . Where have we heard this before? Did not God tell Abraham – that grand old father of faith on the day he offered up his son Isaac to the Lord:

Genesis 22:16-18 … because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son {Isaac}: 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed My voice.

Joshua and Israel were confronted with as the sand that is upon the sea shore – but didn’t God promise them in Abraham that they would be victorious? Didn’t God promise:

Joshua 11:6 … Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel …

Israel can focus on the enemy or Israel can focus on the promise of the God Who is always faithful to Himself. God cannot lie. Man can, but God cannot. God has promised to be with you, dear believer. Are your eyes on God or on the enemy? What else did Israel face? We read:

Joshua 11:21 … at that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakims …

Who were the Anakim? They were a nation of giants that the first generation of Israel were afraid of. Israel refused to enter the Promised Land because of these giants, saying:

Deuteronomy 1:28 … The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.

Because Israel heard a bad report by ten of the spies who entered the Promised Land, they refused to obey God. God caused all of Israel to wander for 40 years until that unbelieving generation died off. What was Joshua’s attitude against the Anakims?

The Anakims were just somebody
else that God will defeat.

Beloved, our God is faithful. God was faithful when the first generation of Israel stood at the Jordan and God is faithful now. God told Joshua (11:6) Be not afraid because of them . God tells us who are His:

2 Timothy 1:7 … God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Hebrews 13:6 … The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

How big is YOUR God? Do you trust in chariots and horses, or do your trust in God (Psalm 20:7)? Do you believe you are more than a conquerer through Him (Romans 8:37)?

Jesus Christ came from Heaven to earth to save you. He gave His life so that you can enter His family. He rose again so that you can live in victory. God is greater than the giants that face you. God is greater than the overwhelming odds against you. Look unto Him and trust Him. Have an OVERCOMING faith. Has not our Lord told us:

1 John 5:4 {whosoever} is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

In Christ we are overcomers. In Christ we are able. Apart from Him we can do nothing. But in Him we can do all things. Give yourself fully to God this day. If you do not know Him as Lord and Savior, call upon Jesus and trust Him. You will be saved. Whosoever. Whosoever. Whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life! Praise Him. Praise Him.

May God lead you to victory and power for living in Him. Amen and Amen!

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Prayer – Be – See Part 1: A Study For Our Church Prayer Growth

Posted on July 5, 2019 by bibleteacherorg

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Photo by David Sarkisov on Unsplash

We live in a super-connected world. People connect to one another through electronic mobile devices. While home with our children on vacation we discovered that stores are now offering home delivery of goods. We are fast moving into a world where there is absolutely little to no human interaction. We were not created to be this way. God made us social creatures. We need to interact with one another.

We especially need to interact with our Creator. Interaction with the Creator cannot be done with mobile devices or social media. We interact with God personally, one on one, in prayer.

It is impossible to over emphasize the importance of daily, moment by moment, interactive prayer with God.
Prayer is how we enter the Christian way of life.

Though some may dispute this, I believe that without prayer there can be no Christian. I was amazed to visit a Baptist Church’s website the other day and see where its Pastor claimed prayer was unnecessary for salvation. This is a frequent error preached in this day of what John MacArthur calls “Easy Believism”. Salvation is indeed a free gift from God – but it is a gift that must be asked for. There is no merit in asking … but the Scripture makes this very clear. You must approach God in prayer to be saved. Let’s focus on a very familiar passage in Romans:

Romans 10:8-14 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

The Spoken Gospel Must Be Received By Prayer

Our text states “The word is nigh thee”. That which is translated “WORD” is the Greek ῥῆμα rhēma, (pronounced hray’-mah) which means “an utterance. That which is spoken by the mouth”. The Apostles preached with their mouths the “word of faith which we preach”. The Gospel message was spoken to all who would hear. It was not hidden, but uttered with the mouth so that it was plainly understood.

The GOSPEL MUST BE SPOKEN, it cannot be assumed.
The spoken Gospel MUST BE RECEIVED or there is no effect.

What ῥῆμα rhēma or uttered word did the Apostles speak? The Gospel spoken was “nigh thee” or near to every person. It was not given to a select few, but to all who would hear. The Apostles suffered great persecution for sharing the Gospel. Easy believism says to “just live a good life and encourage others to imitate the same, and we will all go to Heaven”. This is blasphemy. This is not the ῥῆμα rhēma or uttered word – “word of faith which we preach”.

The word “preach” is the Greek κηρύσσω kērýssō, (pronounced kay-roos’-so) which means “to publicly or loudly proclaim as a herald or public crier”. In the days before modern mobile technology news was spread was via public herald or the town crier. This is what κηρύσσω kērýssō references.

The message of the Gospel was not hidden,
but clearly and vocally presented.

People knew what the Gospel was. What is the Gospel? The Apostle is now clear. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus”. The word translated “confess” is the Greek ὁμολογέω homologéō, (pronounced hom-ol-og-eh’-o) which means “to say the same thing about”. God the Father and God the Spirit has declared that Jesus is Lord. When the Gospel is shared God enables the listener to say the same thing about Jesus that God Himself says. The Scripture says:

1 Corinthians 12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

Philippians 2:9-11 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus is Lord!

In the ancient Roman world you were expected to say Caesar is Lord, out loud and for all to hear. It was required of the citizen just as Heil Hitler was expected of the Nazi. To fail to acknowledge Caesar as Lord would be to be marked as a traitor to the Roman state. The Christian was the person who – at risk to life and limb – would refuse to acknowledge Caesar as Lord and who instead would declare Jesus is Lord. Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords. The Gospel requires the outward confession – an agreement with both Father and Spirit – that Jesus is Lord.

The Gospel also requires an inward belief that goes with the outward confession. “Believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead”. The Christian INTERNALLY believes that Christ died for him and rose again, making atonement for our sins. The Christian OUTWARDLY professes Christ as Lord of all. Not just Lord of others, but Lord of our lives. He is Lord. The INternal and the EXternal are in agreement with the Christ follower.

No Human Designed “Sinner’s Prayer” Is Necessary

There is no set “sinners prayer” that any Christian need say, but an inward belief and an outward profession. There is, though, a prayer made to the Lord Jesus. We know this because the Apostle summarized what he said with “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”. Salvation comes when the sinner calls upon the name of the Lord. When the sinner repents and comes to Christ as Lord and Savior salvation is secured.

Romans 10:13-14 For Whosoever shall CALL upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they CALL on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

Salvation comes to the sinner when that sinner
“calls upon the name of the Lord”.

The word translated “call” is the Greek ἐπικαλέομαι epikaléomai, (pronounced ep-ee-kal-eh’-om-ahee), which means “to cry out to, to call to” and by extension to pray.

  • When Stephen was martyred for professing Christ the Scripture says that he epikaléomai – “cried out to God, saying, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit’ ” (Acts 7:59).

  • When the Apostle Paul was giving his testimony in Jerusalem before the Pharisees he testified that the day he was saved that the disciple Ananias came to him and shared the Gospel, saying “arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, CALLING on the name of the Lord …(Acts 22:16). Again we see the use of epikaléomai.

  • The same Apostle Paul wrote the Church at Corinth: “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place CALL upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:2). Again we see the use of epikaléomai.

A person does not become a Child of God by osmosis, but by crying out to Christ as Lord and Savior. God creates the Christian in response to that believer’s cry of faith. Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. No one is saved apart from the spoken Gospel, or apart from the confession of Christ in prayer.

We Return To The Garden By Prayer

God designed us to walk and talk with Him. When you read the Genesis account of creation it was “In the cool of the evening Adam and Eve heard the Lord God walking around in the garden” (Genesis 3:8, my paraphrase). We are led to believe from the context that God normally walked in the Garden with Adam and Eve, talking to them – that is, until sin caused a breach in our fellowship. We were made to walk and talk with God, just as surely as we were made to breath oxygen.

We were made to be in a living, breathing, moment by moment relationship with our Creator!

Salvation is not just a ticket to Heaven, but an entrance into the Family of God. Salvation is more than “Friending” God on Facebook. Salvation is much more that “Tweeting” on Twitter. Salvation is a moment by moment relationship with the God Who is, and Who loves you. Our love relationship with God requires communication, and communication is PRAYER.

If there is no relationship with God as Father, there is no communication, no prayer. Jesus told the religious crowd:

John 8:42-47 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. 43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. 46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? 47 He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

There is no point of communication between Christ and those who do not recognize Him as Lord. Those who are of God hears God’s words – the words that Christ speaks. The unbeliever cannot do that. The believer however CAN. Jesus said:

John 10:26-29 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

Those who are Christ’s by faith both HEAR and FOLLOW Christ. Jesus Himself HEARS those who are His. And those who are His have and hold eternal life – because Christ will not let us go.

Pastor E.M. Bounds – a great man of prayer who wrote 9 books on prayer – said that:

“Prayer has to do with the entire man. Prayer takes in man in his whole being, mind, soul and body. It takes the whole man to pray, and prayer affects the entire man in its gracious results. As the whole nature of man enters into prayer, so also all that belongs to man is the beneficiary of prayer. All of man receives benefits in prayer. The whole man must be given to God in praying. The largest results in praying come to him who gives himself, all of himself, all that belongs to himself, to God. This is the secret of full consecration, and this is a condition of successful praying, and the sort of praying which brings the largest fruits.”

God saves us through prayer. Christ Himself wants us to grow in Him through prayer. The first question every convert to Christ has to ask of himself is,

Do I know that I am saved?
If yes, then HOW do I know this?

Assured Of Salvation, Assured God Hears

The Scripture says in John 20:31 “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name”. The Bible does not want you to have a hope so salvation, but a know so salvation. Is God in your life? Are you a child of the King? If you are not certain, then it has an impact on your prayers. The Bible says:

James 1:6-8 (KJV) … let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. {7} For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. {8} A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

James 4:8 (KJV) Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

What hinders prayers? A double mind. Where is your mind focused? If you are a child of the King then act as a child of the King. Know that He is yours, and you are His. If there is sin in your life then reject it. Throw it from your home as you would an unwelcome visitor or a pest. When I pray it is particularly important that my focus be on my Lord and Savior. Prayer – effective prayer – effects the whole person. We as Christians must not have a divided allegiance. In prayer we see the direction of our God, not our own satisfaction. As E.M. Bounds said in his book “The Essentials of Prayer”:

“Holiness is wholeness, and so God wants holy men, men whole-hearted and true, for His service.”

What is Biblical holiness? Holiness is not being “holier than thou” – that’s self righteousness. Holiness, the Greek hagiasmos {pronounced hag-ee-as-mos’}, means to be “set apart for God’s use”. This word, often translated “sanctify” (hagiazo), refers to devoting or setting yourself apart to God.

To pray effectively prior to prayer each believer should examine themselves for unconfessed sin, and then confess that sin to God (1 John 1:8-10). God will not hear the prayers of a believer out of fellowship. What does the Scripture say?

Proverbs 15:29 (KJV) The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.

Hebrews 12:14 (KJV) Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

The word “see” is the Greek optanomai {pronounced op-tan’-om-ahee}, which means “to behold, to look at”. Our souls are to be right with God our Savior prior to prayer.

How You Pray Reveals The Posture Of Your Soul

How did the Old and New Testament Saints pray? How did they position themselves for prayer? Let’s look at the Word of God.

  • Abraham fell upon his face before God.

Genesis 17:3-5 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham;

  • Moses prayed with his hands outstretched to God.

Exodus 9:29 … As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the Lord; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the Lord’s.

  • The Prophet Daniel kneeled upon his knees three times a day in prayer. King Solomon also knelt in prayer, raising his hands toward Heaven.

Daniel 6:10 (KJV) … Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.”

2 Chronicles 6:13 (KJV) … Solomon had made a brazen scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven“

  • Our Lord Jesus often looked up into Heaven as He prayed, though in Gethsemane He fell on His face as Abraham did.

Matthew 26:39 (KJV) {Jesus} went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Mark 6:41 … And when {Jesus} had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.

John 11:41 … And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

Regardless as to posture in prayer the body will take the form most suited to the soul. Prayer should always be made in a humble posture. When we pray we are speaking to our Lord and God. We are not speaking to an equal, but to the Divine. We are speaking to a Friend – for we have a Friend in God – but He is Lord.

E.M. Bounds writes:

“As praying is asking for something definite of God, so, beforehand, the thought arises—“What shall I ask for at this hour?” All vain and evil and frivolous thoughts are eliminated, and the mind is given over entirely to God, thinking of Him, of what is needed, and what has been received in the past. By every token, prayer, in taking hold of the entire man, does not leave out the mind. The very first step in prayer is a mental one. The disciples took that first step when they said unto Jesus at one time, “Lord, teach us to pray.” We must be taught through the intellect, and just in so far as the intellect is given up to God in prayer, will we be able to learn well and readily the lesson of prayer.”

Prayer Is Best When Our Heart Is Committed To God

When Israel was to enter the Promised Land the Lord told His people:

Deuteronomy 6:4-7 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: 5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Jesus was asked the question one day “What is the first commandment of all the commandments” (Mark 12:28). Jesus quoted this same text. That which God wants of us more than all else is our hearts devoted to Him. This is true also of our prayers. Those who were most used of God while in this life knew that to love God was the most important thing we can do. The Psalmist said:

Psalm 119:2, 10 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart… 10 With my whole heart have I sought Thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.

The intent of all prayer is not to get more STUFF from God. The intent of prayer is to get MORE OF GOD. The Lord is our Portion and our Strength. If your love is divided then your prayers will be divided. E.M. Bounds wrote:

“… the entire man without reservation must love God. So it takes the same entire man to do the praying which God requires of men. All the powers of man must be engaged in it. God cannot tolerate a divided heart in the love He requires of men, neither can He bear with a divided man in praying.”

God knows our hearts. He knows what our intents are, regardless as to what we say. As someone once wrote:

“’Tis not enough to bend the knee,
And words of prayer to say;
The heart must with the lips agree,
Or else we do not pray.”

Posted in Praying Like Jesus Series, Sermons Preached | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Best Day Ever

Posted on June 30, 2019 by bibleteacherorg

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Photo by Thomas Dils on Unsplash

Joshua 10:9-14 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee. 9 Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night. 10 And the Lord discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah. 11 And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword. 12 Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. 13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. 14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel.

Humans often say the wrong thing. God never says the wrong thing, but we do. One of the most quoted statements I have heard related to the life of Evangelist Dwight L. Moody. Moody was THE Billy Graham before there was a Billy Graham. The story as I heard it was that Dwight L. Moody and some friends gathered together in a hay field to pray. His friend Henry Varley reportedly said:

“The world has yet to see what God can do with and for and through and in a man who is fully and wholly
consecrated to Him”

The story is sometimes embellished with other details. In Paul Gericke’s book Crucial Experiences In The Life of D.L. Moody a conversation between Evangelist Varley and the yet unknown Moody is told:

“During the afternoon of the day of conference Mr. Moody asked me to join him in the vestry of the Baptist Church. We were alone, and he recalled the night’s meeting at Willow Park and our converse the following morning. “Do you remember your words?” {Moody} said. I replied, “I well remember our interview, but I do not recall any special utterance.” {Moody continued} “Don’t you remember saying, ‘Moody, the world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to him?’ ” {Varley replied} “Not the actual sentence,” … “Ah,” said Mr. Moody, “those were the words sent to my soul, through you, from the Living God. As I crossed the wide Atlantic, the boards of the deck of the vessel were engraved with them, and when I reached Chicago, the very paving stones seemed marked with ‘Moody, the world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to him.’ Under the power of those words I have come back to England, and I felt that I must not let more time pass until I let you know how God had used your words to my inmost soul.”

I believe God spoke to Moody that day. But it is NOT true that the “world has never seen what God will do with a man fully consecrated to Him”. How do I know? Because Joshua was a man fully consecrated to God. Enoch was a man fully consecrated to God, but we know little of his life. But Joshua – oh Joshua!

Joshua Loved The Lord. Do You Love The Lord?

Joshua lived for the Lord. Joshua did not walk the aisle at Church, get baptized, then forget about God save for the occasional Easter or Christmas service. Joshua did not slide God into a drawer until he needed the Lord.

No Beloved, Joshua loved the Lord. His life was fully dedicated and consecrated to God. It was because of this great love that Joshua never lost a battle other than that bad incident at Ai. Had Joshua listened to God before attacking Ai he would have never lost that battle. But Joshua had the same problem that we all have. He is a man subject to failure. Only one man ever walked the face of this earth and NEVER failed God, and that was the god-Man Jesus Christ. All others have failed at times. But Joshua – now Joshua, he came close to Christ in his faithfulness to God. He focused on God. He loved the LORD.

If You Love The Lord, Think And Pray Before You Act

We all make mistakes. One of the big mistakes that Joshua’s generals made was to make a truce with the city of Gibeon. Too often today that which is supposed to be the Church of Christ makes truces with Gibeon. We too often tolerate sin and worldliness. We too often depart from the Word of God and dress things up the way that we want them. What is our Commission from God? Is it not the same that Israel had? Did not Jesus say:

Matthew 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

In the entirety of this Great Commission there is no word “truce” or “surrender” or “compromise”.

The Commission Christ has given us – and that He gave Israel – was GO. Represent God. Teach what God said. Do what God said. Never did the Lord – either Old or New Testament – say “Go and compromise with the world”. Beloved, how can Light compromise with darkness? How can evil and good abide in the same house? We are not Taoists that believe in YIN and YANG, the blending of light and dark. Jesus said:

“You are the Light of the world, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. Let your light SHINE before men that they may see your good works, and GLORIFY your FATHER which is in Heaven! (Matthew 5:14-16, my paraphrase)”.

Oh, how shall we compromise? When we compromise the Commission we put ourselves and others at risk of damnation and hell fire. It is a FEARFUL thing to fall into the hands of the LIVING GOD (Hebrews 10:31).

The princes of Israel compromise with the city of Gibeon. They made a truce with the unconverted. This has often happened among the Methodists, the Presbyterians, the Baptists, the Pentecostals, and various other so called “denominations” and “non-denominations” of organized religion. Joshua did not want to compromise with Gibeon. Yet the leaders of Israel did so, making a truce where no truce should be made.

Joshua is obligated because of the bad decision of others. Gibeonites are now the allies of Israel, for the princes and bishops of the Church have made an allegiance. When you make an allegiance with the darkness, be prepared to have to go to battle. We read:

Joshua 10:1-2 Now it came to pass, when Adonizedec king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them; 2 That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty.

The world – that fallen world – saw the compromise that God’s Church made with the unconverted. When certain denominations went with the flow and let darkness be called “light” the evil grew. Rather than repenting and being saved the unconverted became MORE BOLD in their sin. Now they attack and call those who once were their friends.

Five kings – lead by Adonizedec king of Jerusalem – decided to attack Gibeon. Gibeon made a truce with Israel, and Gibeon was in a place that Israel could occupy can strategically destroy the other cities. So Adonizedec contacts Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon. His plan is simple. “Let’s destroy Gibeon before Joshua and Israel can occupy it!”

Five Is The Number Of Grace

There is a beautiful picture here if you would see it. In the Bible FIVE is the number of GRACE. I do not believe it is a coincidence that there are five kings attacking Gibeon.

God gave us FIVE senses we neither earn nor deserve.
FIVE is reported 318 times in Scripture.
There are FIVE mysteries:
The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, Creation and Redemption.
Jesus Christ has FIVE wounds that held Him to the Cross.
There are FIVE sections in Psalms,
FIVE Books of the Law.
Israel brought FIVE offerings to God:
The Burnt, Sin, Trespass, Grain and the Peace Offerings.
David killed Goliath with one of FIVE stones.
The Church is founded on FIVE Books,
The FOUR Gospels and the Book of Acts makes FIVE.
FIVE is the number of Grace!

These FIVE Kings band together to attack Gibeon. Beloved, trials often come to lead us to God and His Grace. The Scripture says in James 1:2-3 “Brothers and sisters in Christ, be JOYFUL when you fall into various TRIALS {my paraphrase}”. Our response to God is “Trials Lord? Why should I be joyful when trials come?” Because, Beloved, trials are an opportunity for God to show you who you really are.

Gibeon is tried. Gibeon is tried.
Where does Gibeon look for it’s salvation?

Does Gibeon hear the Words of God, “Look unto Me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 45:22)? No. No. When the unbeliever is in a bad way do they go to the ATHEIST or the CULTIST or even to the BLATANT SINNER among them? No! When the unbeliever is in a bad way they look for someone who is EMPOWERED.

Gibeon knew that Israel under Joshua crossed the Jordan as if on dry land. Gibeon knew that Israel under Joshua destroyed Jericho. Gibeon knew that Israel under Joshua destroyed Ai. Israel under Joshua was being blessed. They were undefeated while they followed God. So Gibeon sends messengers to Joshua saying…

Joshua 10:6 …. Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us.

Joshua cannot save anyone – but God can! Beloved, salvation is of the Lord (Psalm 3:8; 62:1). God has His Church on the earth to be HIS hands and feet, HIS agents, HIS ambassadors. The lost of Gibeon are crying out to the Old Testament Church. Save us, Joshua! All the Kings of the Amorites – fierce mountain men – are gathered together in one accord to kill us. Save us, Joshua!

We cannot save the world – but Jesus can. When the unbeliever cries out for help will we show them JESUS?

What does Joshua do? Does he sit back and say, “Well, these people are NOT believers. They tricked their way into an alliance with us. We owe them nothing!” Oh Beloved,

You are God’s Light.
You are God’s creation.
You are God’s creature.
You are God’s Kingdom.
You are God’s Church.

The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that ALL should come to REPENTANCE (2 Peter 3:9). That unbelieving friend that is in the hospital, did YOU, dear Christ follower, share Jesus with them? Or did you BEMOAN the fact that they are ill, looking hopeless and helpless. Shame, shame, shame on the Christian who will not trust God. Joshua made no excuses. He did not linger. What does the Bible say? IMMEDIATELY …

Joshua 10:7 … Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor.

Joshua ascended. Joshua looked up and went because God spoke to his heart. The Lord told Joshua:

Joshua 10:8 … Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee.

Joshua “waited on the Lord, and was of good courage – and God strengthened his heart” {my paraphrase} (Psalm 27:14). When you are doing God’s work God’s way then God never leaves you nor forsakes you (Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5). Joshua begins to move, and with him all of Israel. I am told that this trek was around 25 miles one way. Joshua and the children of Israel began to walk toward Gibeon.

Joshua “went up from Gilgal ALL NIGHT” (Joshua 10:9).

As day turned to night the city of Gibeon, surrounded by five kingdoms, began to despair. They didn’t know that Joshua IMMEDIATELY set out to save them. I can imagine those warriors standing guard on the outer walls. Far below them was a mass of people, like sand of the sea. The five kingdoms were not worried. Oh no, they were many. The five kingdom army bedded down for the night. The campfires dimmed. Thousands of men in full weaponized gear rested for the slaughter for the next day.

The guards on the walls of Gibeon look out in despair. Gibeon means “on a hill”. Gibeon is on a hill, but there are five kingdoms from the MOUNTAINS. They are far superior. One guard looks at the other. “I think I see movement, coming this way.” The other guard says “It is just our messengers returning from Israel. We have no hope!” And then the sound of thunder. Thousands of marching feet rock the earth. The Bible says:

Joshua 10:9-10 … Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night. 10 And the Lord discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah.

The armies of darkness awaken to confusion and the power of God’s people. Their armor forgotten, the minions of evil run into the night. Some nearly escape. But the Bible says:

Joshua 10:11 And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.

God will be glorified! God will be glorified! No one can say it was Joshua’s prowess that won this battle. Absolutely not. God was in it. That is why it was won. “I can do ALL THINGS through Christ Jesus Who strengthens me”! (Philippians 4:13). God begins to hurl great hailstones down from Heaven, big enough to kill the enemy. God destroys the darkness. God destroys the darkness.

The Best Day Ever Because Light Shines On

But the sun begins to set. And here is where the wonder of our text is. We are told:

Joshua 10:12 Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.

Unbelievers have a field day with this verse. I have heard them say:

“Doesn’t your God know that the Sun doesn’t move?
Is He that ignorant?”

Well Beloved, God does know that the sun stands still, and that the earth and the moon rotate around it. Yet even knowing this truth today our most educated meteorologists speak of “Sunrise” and “Sunset”. To our perspective the sun seems to rise and set. The Bible says

“… from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the Lord’s Name is to be praised” Psalm 113:3.

Judges 14:18 “… before the sun went down”.

From our perspective the sun seems to rise and set. God gave us the ability to grow in knowledge and to know that the sun does stay still, but we rotate around it. God knows the truth.

But WE are feeble. To Joshua the sun appeared to rise and to set. So Joshua asked God to still the sun and the moon, to keep light upon the earth so that he could finish the job. Beloved, I see two great truths in this:

  1. We do not always understand the mystery of creation. But God does. God knows all the stars by name (Psalm 147:4). We know little. Even with our NASA and the HUBBLE telescope, we still know very little. If an asteroid hit this earth the size of, say, Maryland, an itty bitty state, that asteroid would destroy all life on this planet. It would be as scientists call it “An Extinction Level Event” or ELE. Why don’t asteroids hit us? Why life on our planet, and no one else? We don’t know. We just can’t know all things – but God can.
  2. We do not always in our ignorance ask the right prayer of God. Joshua had no idea that the sun didn’t move. But he asked God to take care of it.

Beloved, I do not know how God can be Triune. I do not know how it was possible for God to become man. I do not truly understand how God saved my soul, changing me from a lost and dark person into one of His Beloved Children. I do not understand how God can love a sinner like me. I do not understand why God does kill me – you – all of us where we are right now. I don’t understand. But God does. God does. Some of you smartalecks in the audience smirk and poke one another when I speak of Christ and his Cross. I do not understand why God does not blast you into hell this very moment. I do not understand why God doesn’t kill the blasphemer. Why does God tolerate the idiotic groups like Freedom From Religion and abortion sponsoring people? Joshua didn’t understand. I don’t understand. Joshua just prayed what he did know. Joshua prayed for a LONG DAY so he could finish God’s work. And God heard him.

Joshua 10:13-14 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. 14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel.

The best day ever is the day you learn to live your life with God. The best day ever is when we hear Jesus, and race to His loving arms. If God can make a long day, God can fix that which ails you. Oh Beloved, look unto Jesus. Do not allow the whispers on the devil and of the world to keep you from God’s loving embrace.

A judgment day is coming. The Bible declares:

Hebrews 9:27-28 … it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

The five kings thought their judgment would never come. It did. Do not think your judgment day will never come. It will. Today is the day to look upward. Today is the day to ask Christ to touch your life, to save you, to cast down your enemies. Today. Not tomorrow, but today. Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation. May God speak to your hearts this very day.

Posted in Joshua, Sermons Preached | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Nature Of Evil

Posted on June 30, 2019 by bibleteacherorg

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When we read our Bibles – particularly when we read the Old Testament – we often wonder if the text has anything to do with us who are believers in Christ in this Church Age. In Joshua God’s Old Testament Church was going into Canaan to conquer that land. God commissioned Israel to do his will. Canaan was a land nearly totally devoid of God. I say “nearly totally” because God did save Rahab and her family at Jericho. Other than Rahab and her loved ones we have seen none others who were even slightly interested in the Lord God Almighty.

God gave a specific commission to Joshua as Israel’s new leader:

Joshua 1:2-4 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.

Take Possession Of Your Possession

This Book has to do with Israel. God’s commission to Joshua was “go in and seize the land”. Israel was to take possession of their possession. Those who were in the land were squatters. God in His infinite mercy allowed the Canaanites to occupy the land for many years. God reached out to them just as He reached out to father Abraham.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

The Scripture declares “God so loved the world” (John 3:16). God tried reaching the Canaanites. They rejected Him, so God gave the land to Abraham and his descendants. That is what the Book of Joshua is about. It is about God’s people claiming the land for God.

“Joshua” is about God’s people changing the social landscape, taking and making God’s Kingdom come while casting out the forces of darkness!

So how does this Book apply to us? The Bible says:

1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Every part of the Scripture is written to God’s people. No part suddenly became obsolete because of the Cross and the Empty Tomb. God is, and has always been. And God has always had a people that He loved and redeemed through Christ Jesus. The Old Church looked forward, believing in the Coming Redeemer. The New Church looks backward, believing in the Redeemer Who has come, Jesus Christ.

Darkness Hates Light

Joshua’s commission was to take the land, to spread the Light of God and cast out the darkness. Our commission in this Church Age is to do the same thing. We are to bring in God’s Kingdom. Jesus prayed before He headed toward Calvary:

John 17:14-15 I have given {Your Children} thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil {one}.

God never changes. Every good gift comes from our God, the God Who never varies nor changes (James 1:17). Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). The enemy never changes, either. The devil leads the forces of evil into expanding the darkness of his kingdom.

John 1:5 .. the Light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. The world – led by satanic forces – does not comprehend the Light of God. So the forces of evil and their General old Lucifer attacks the forces of God in one of two ways:

  1. Evil attacks light by direct confrontation. We read:

Joshua 9:1-2 And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof; 2 That they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord.

Six different types of people gathered together do do battle with Joshua and God’s Israel. The Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites were people that had warred with one another in times passed. Each group worshiped different idols, and had different customs. Yet they banded together to destroy God’s Forces. The Bible says:

they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel,
with one accord

Evil – though varied – comes to fight with the light of God “in one accord”. Evil is in one accord because it has one general, old satan, called “the devil” or Lucifer. We are told in Scripture:

1 John 5:19 .. we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.

The whole world – every bit of it – is a follower of the Wicked One. There are varying degrees of evil. Certainly not everyone is a murderer, nor an adulterer, nor a person in the bondage of homosexuality or heterosexual illicit sin. Just as Joshua confronted Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites – all different with different heritages and cultures – the Church of Christ today confronts varying degrees of darkness. Those who are in the bondage of darkness shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. The Scripture declares in Revelation 22:15; 1 Corinthians 6:9–10; Galatians 5:19–21 and Ephesians 5🕔:5 …

“{My Paraphrase} Outside of Heaven are unbelievers, spiritual mediums, sexually immoral people like adulterers and homosexuals, murderers, worshipers of false gods, thieves, greedy people, drunkards, those who swindle or fight with others, and all who love darkness and despise light.”

The Bible is adamant that (1 John 3:8) “he that committeth sin is of the devil”. Yes, we all sin. But the Christ follower is the person who realizes that:

… for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8, continued).

Evil realizes that it can make no compromise with the Light that is God. This is why evil binds together in one accord. The intention of evil is to resist God and resist God’s Light. “They gathered themselves TOGETHER to FIGHT with Joshua and with Israel, IN ONE ACCORD”.

  1. Evil attacks light by Direct Infiltration

Though the devil is not adverse to direct confrontation with the King of Heaven, he has discovered that the best way to destroy the Light of God is to infiltrate the family of God. In the early Church the devil tried martyring the leaders of the Christian community. Stephen the deacon and evangelist was martyred by Saul of Tarsus and others (Acts 22:20). The site All About Following Jesus.org notes:

“James the son of Zebedee was beheaded in approximately 44 A.D. Philip was crucified in 54 A.D. Matthew was killed with a halberd, an ax-like weapon, in 60 A.D. James, who is thought to be the brother of Jesus, was beaten to death, Matthias was beheaded, Andrew was crucified, Mark was torn to pieces, and Peter was crucified upside down. Jude, Bartholomew, and Thomas were also martyred. Paul suffered martyrdom in Rome where he was beheaded. Other early apostles Luke, Barnabas, Timothy, and Simon were also killed for the sake of Christ.”

The devil has discovered over time that direct confrontation often backfires.

So the devil tries infiltration. This is what he did with the Gibeonites:

Joshua 9:3-5 And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, 4 They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; 5 And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy.

The Gibeonites were a group of people descended from the Hivites and Amorites. If you remember the Hivites and Amorites were a people who directly confronted Israel and the Lord. The Gibeonites were a group of Amorites who did NOT want to do direct battle with Israel. Why? Because they saw the power of God. “They heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai. Though Ai battled and won with Israel during their first attack, God led Israel back to Ai and victory. The Gibeonites knew that – as long as Israel listened to God – that they could be destroyed. So what did the Gibeonites do?

They used deception. They went to Joshua’s camp in the midst of Israel with no weapons whatsoever. They loaded their donkeys down with worn out sacks and old wineskins that had been mended. The Gibeonites put patched sandals on their feet, and wore old clothes. They paid attention to detail. Even their food was dry, old, and moldy. The Gibeonites looked like a delegation that had traveled for a long time. The Bible says:

Joshua 9:6 And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us.

This is how evil infiltrates the Light of God. The Gibeonites presented themselves as a peace loving people who lived far away from the areas that Joshua and Israel would be attacking. They in essence said, “We are not Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, or Jebusites. We come from a far land. We will never be any trouble to you. We want to make a peace treaty with you.”

In short, the Gibeonites tricked Joshua and all Israel.

Joshua 9:7-13 And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you? 8 And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye? 9 And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the Lord thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt, 10 And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth. 11 Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us. 12 This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is moldy: 13 And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.

Flattery And Misdirection Confuse Us

Notice how the Gibeonites ingratiated themselves to Joshua and Israel. “We are your servants”. A loving person always speaks the truth in love and rejoices in the truth – not in evil (1 Corinthians 13:6). The God indwelt Christian loves truth. Our Master Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). Jesus was never mean spirited – but He never buttered up or flattered people. When Jesus was attacked by the Pharisees how did they start the attack?

Mark 12:14-15 … when {The Pharisees} were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? 15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But {Jesus}, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it.

The Gibeonites came to Israel ingratiating themselves. “We are your servants”. We mean no harm. You will never be effected by our presence. How often has the Church of God been infiltrated? How many times have we compromised with darkness, only to find us weakened because of it. Evil does not compromise! The Bible says:

John 3:17-21 … God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on {Jesus} is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Those who wish to become members of God’s family will come to Jesus Christ and be saved. But those who do not wish to do so – who revel in their sins and in the darkness – will not come to the light. The Gibeonites tricked Israel:

Joshua 9:14 {Israel} asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord.

Just as Joshua did when he attacked Ai the first time and was defeated, now Israel makes a treaty with these Gibeonites without discussing this with God. It was after the treaty was made that …

Joshua 9:16-18 … it came to pass at the end of three days after {Israel} had made a league with {the Gibeonites}, that they heard that they were their neighbors, and that they dwelt among them. 17 And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim. 18 And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes.

Israel was given a commission to take all of the land for the glory of God. But now Israel was in a bad way. The princes of the twelve tribes of Israel had all “sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them. This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them.” (Joshua 9:19-20). Israel made an oath in the name of God that they would not attack these people. Jesus tells us:

Matthew 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

Israel should have never forsworn a treaty in the Name of God without FIRST consulting God. Beloved, you cannot compromise with evil. Light and dark do not mix, and never will.

We Are God’s Representatives

After Israel was tricked into making peace with the darkness Joshua – bless his heart – asked the Gibeonites:

Joshua 9:22 … Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us?

You might as well ask “why is green, green?” Darkness will always seek to make light into darkness. I heard an old story one time that I want to share. A scorpion came to the edge of a river and wanted to cross it. Seeing that he couldn’t he cried out to a duck floating nearby. “Mr Duck, will you give me a ride across this river?” Mr. Duck replied, “Do I look crazy? Why would I let a scorpion on my back? You’ll sting and kill me!” The scorpion said “Oh Mr. Duck, I promise not to sting you. In fact, if you’ll let me ride across this river on your back I’ll show you where some tasty nuts are hidden on the other side.” Mr Duck said, “It’s a deal!”. He allowed the scorpion to get on his back. Once they had reached the other side he asked the scorpion, “Where are those nuts you promised me”? The scorpion stung the duck in his head, and as Mr. Duck lay dying he asked “Why didn’t you keep your word to me?” The scorpion said, “You knew what I was when you let me get on your back. You’re the nut! And you deserve what you got!”.

Let’s not be nuts, but Ambassadors of Christ. Beloved, let us share Christ as God has said. Let us love others. But let us never compromise nor allow evil to infiltrate Christ’s Church. Jesus Christ died to be Lord and Savior of His Church. Hear Him! Love Him! Glory to God!

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Lord, Teach Us To Pray: Part 2

Posted on June 20, 2019 by bibleteacherorg

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Photo by Jack Sharp on Unsplash

Luke 11:1-4 And it came to pass, that, as {Jesus} was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. 2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

When you are actually HUNGRY for the Presence of God … then you will learn how to pray!

The disciples came to Jesus seeking instruction on how to pray. Our Lord gave His children a pattern of prayer. Last time we discussed prayer we said that effective prayer:

  • Occurs only when we are in fellowship with one another. “Our Father”.
  • Occurs only when we are saved by faith in Christ. “Father”.
  • Is addressed to the “Father” in the name of the Son, and in the power of the Spirit.
  • Always glorifies God. “Hallowed be Thy Name”.
  • Exalts God’s will. “Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done”.
  • Comes from a forgiving, kind heart. “Forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us”.

Jesus often prayed so that others could see and hear Him. But there are five other truths that we discover in how our Lord prayed.

Jesus Prayed Alone

Luke 5:15-16 15 But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. 16 And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.

Our Jesus is Eternal God made perfect Man. He is the Word Who was with God, and was God (John 1:1-3). But Jesus is also Man. Though many came to Him for help as He walked this earth, Jesus was ever mindful that as Human He had limitations. Our Jesus often withdrew to pray – to seek the Father’s Will and the Spirit’s empowerment. The Bible says:

Matthew 14:22-23 And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. 23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.

Jesus did not rush His alone time with the Father. As you can see He prayed from afternoon until evening. There were other times that Jesus prayed all night long, forsaking sleep in order to dwell in the Father’s Presence. When He was attacked by the Pharisees for healing a cripple man on the Sabbath the Bible says:

Luke 6:11-12 And {the Pharisees} were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus. 12 And it came to pass in those days, that {Jesus} went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

Oh that we would ALL follow the example of Christ when attacked by our enemies.

Too often when attacked we perch like emotional vultures on the branch of the tree called “vengeance”, watching until we can pounce on them like they pounced on us.

Jesus exemplified “turn the other cheek” (Matthew 5:38-40). Rather than respond in human anger Jesus purposely sought the silence of the prayer closet. I am sure He prayed for His enemies, just as He asked us to do. “Pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

Mark 1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, {Jesus} went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

Jesus prayed at various time, but always started His day with prayer.

Jesus Prayed Publicly

Many of Jesus’ prayers are recorded in the Gospel, which tells us that our Lord prayed publicly as well as privately. Jesus always prayed before a meal. When Jesus rose from the grave He appeared to a couple of disciples walking on the Emmaus Road. As Jesus walked with them they did not know Who He was. The Bible says that He told these grieving disciples:

Luke 24:25-27 O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Once they reached Emmaus these disciples invited Jesus to dine with them. The Bible says:

Luke 24:30-31 And it came to pass, as {Jesus} sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

These disciples were well acquainted with Jesus’ “blessings” on the table before He ate. The Bible commands us to pray for our food. Why? Because when we thank God for our food we are acknowledging that God is our Provider. We are giving glory to our Savior and Lord (Romans 11:36) for His provision. We are told in:

1 Timothy 4:4-5 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: 5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

God told His Israel before they went into Canaan:

Deuteronomy 8:7-11 For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; 8 A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; 9 A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass. 10 When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. 11 Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God ..

Some bless their food before eating – others afterward. Just be sure you don’t forget to bless the food by recognizing the Gracious God Who gave it.

Jesus Prayed For Others

Before Jesus was arrested and tried by the Pharisees our Lord prayed for His Church. He said:

John 17:9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

The Bible tells us in Romans 8:34:

“It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”

Jesus prayed for others on the earth while He was on earth. Now that He is in glory Jesus makes intercession for us. He prays for us. He prays for His children. We are never far from His thoughts and prayers. Would that we could do the same for our loving Lord!

Let us make a commitment to one another and to our God that we will make prayer a priority. Billy Graham said:

“God loves us, and He wants us to bring every concern we have to Him in prayer. You can’t offend Him by saying something wrong; He loves you, and He welcomes your simplest prayer! One reason Jesus Christ died for us is so we could be cleansed of our sins and approach God in prayer (Hebrews 4:16).”

Posted in Luke, prayer, Praying Like Jesus Series, Sermons Preached | Tagged | Leave a comment

Where Do You Build Your Altar?

Posted on June 16, 2019 by bibleteacherorg

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 Joshua 8:30 Then Joshua built an altar unto the Lord God of Israel in mount Ebal ..

John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Where Do You Build Your “Altar”?

An “Altar” is a place where you worship your God. An “Altar” is a place of surrender – not where God surrenders, but where WE surrender. Where do you build your “Altar”?

In Joshua Chapter 7 we saw the defeat of Israel at a place called Ai (עַי ʻAy, pronounced ah’ee). We saw Joshua on his face, torn clothing, his ministry of leadership in tatters. He was begging the Lord for an answer as to why he and Israel was defeated at Ai. Joshua actually blamed the Lord for the defeat.

Joshua 7:7 … Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!

Why did God’s people fail at Ai? They triumphed at Jericho, but were soundly beaten at Ai. As a matter of fact,

The defeat at Ai would be the ONLY battle
God’s people would lose!

Why did they lose? Because Israel had unconfessed sin among them.

Achan took a cursed thing from Jericho.
Joshua listened to people rather than God.
Everyone UNDERESTIMATED the enemy, and
OVERESTIMATED their own power.

They built their altars in the wrong place!

Where Is Your Altar Built?

When Israel was defeated at Ai – the only defeat recorded in the Book of Joshua – it was because of OVERESTIMATION of their power and UNDERESTIMATION of the enemy. Joshua sent spies to Ai, who came back and told him:

Joshua 7:3 … Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.

Israel took the much larger and much more fortified Jericho without the loss of even one life. If WE can storm Jericho and take it with no loss IMAGINE what we can do at Ai. Beloved, when it becomes more about US than it is about the LORD then it is not long before we are chased about by the lost.

Never UNDERestimate the power of the enemy!
Never UNDERestimate the power of the devil!
Never OVERestimate your own abilities!
We have no power outside of Christ our Lord.

We are told over and over in Scripture that we MUST rely on the power of God our Savior. Jesus told us:

John 15:3-5 … Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

We have no power apart from God our Savior. The day that I was saved – the day that ANYONE is saved – is the day that we understood this basic principle. Before I was saved I worried about what others would say. I judged myself by myself and by others around me. But the day that I came to Christ I stopped worrying about what other people thought. I stopped worrying about peer pressure. I walked that aisle. I didn’t care who saw me, or what they thought of me. I just knew that I was a sinner, doomed to hellfire for all eternity. I knew that I was lost. But I wanted to be saved. I came surrendering my all to Jesus.

If you are saved by faith in Christ, you did exactly the same thing. But over time we forget. We forget that the Bible does not say:

I can do ALL THINGS, but
Philippians 4:13 I can do ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST
which strengtheneth me.

Apart from God our Savior we are nothing – we must not forget this. When Israel went against Ai the first time they took only 3000 warriors with them – and it was an epic FAIL. Sin was in the camp. God’s people overestimated themselves and underestimated the enemy – and people died because of it. What did God tell Israel?

Joshua 8:1-2 the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take ALL the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land: 2 And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king …

God’s people consecrated themselves. They confessed their sins before God. They were honest with their Lord. They put away the cursed thing, and relied totally on the Lord. God said “take ALL the people”. It will take ALL. It will take ALL who are committed to the cause of Christ. We must ALL work together, trusting in the Lord.

Let GOD do the leading, and WE the following.

When Jesus was on the face of this earth how did He battle satan and the forces of evil?

Jesus said “it is written”.
People do not like “it is written”.
Today everyone prefers “I think” over “it is written”.

We have great technology. We have advanced in technology to where hospitals and doctors can extend life beyond whatever it used to be. We have computerized things like “Alexa” that turns on and off our lights, our radios, our things. We have search engines and a world wide internet. We are covered up with knowledge. Human knowledge. People walk around staring at their phones, tapping on screens. We know so much. Yet we know so little. We desperately need God.

There are two very misunderstood passages in the Scripture. They are:

Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

Many of the prosperity preachers we see on television quote the Proverbs text and talk about God making you visionary. These texts have nothing to do with that.

These texts tell us the importance of knowing
and applying the Word of God.

When Joshua went to Jericho following the Word of God exactly that mighty city fell. But when Joshua and the children of Israel followed their own word rather than God’s Word they suffered great defeat.

God’s people are destroyed when they lack the Word of God. Those who are visionless are those who do not hear
and do the Word of God.

Hearing God’s direction and doing what God said – hearing His promise – things would be different the next time Israel went to Ai. Listening to God and His direction Joshua did things differently this time. We read:

Joshua 8:3-7 So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valor, and sent them away by night. 4 And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready: 5 And I, and all the people that are with me, will approach unto the city: and it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them, 6 (For they will come out after us) till we have drawn them from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: therefore we will flee before them. 7 Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand.

When the word of man was in control about 3000 were taken to Ai – and were chased away. But now – listening to God – Joshua does things differently. He sent 30,000 men out by night to hide behind the city – on the non-gated side. Joshua and his troops would storm Ai like they did before. This time, however, when the troops of Ai came out to attack, Joshua and his force would cut tail and run.

Joshua 8:15-19 … And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness. 16 And all the people that were in Ai were called together to pursue after them: and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city. 17 And there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel, that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel. 18 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Stretch out the spear that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thine hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear that he had in his hand toward the city. 19 And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand: and they entered into the city, and took it, and hasted and set the city on fire.

Oh Beloved, when God is in control His people are triumphant! When God’s people hear and do God’s Word, it is THEN the blessings of God come upon us.

Are Your Possessions Your Altar?

When Israel went to take Jericho God told them to take nothing from the city. If it was not taken into God’s treasury, then it was to be destroyed by fire. Achan took something from Jericho, and brought a curse upon the people. God told Israel:

Joshua 7:13 … There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.

Israel was to take NOTHING from Jericho. However, when they attacked Ai God said:

Joshua 8:2 .. thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves …

Why could God’s people take the goods from Ai but not from Jericho? Because the Word of the Lord said so. There is a very plain lesson in this for us all to see. The things that we have are a blessing that God has given us. Everything we have belongs to God. We ourselves belong to God. God spoke through the Prophet Ezekiel saying:

Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

Ezekiel 18:20-24 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. 21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. 22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. 23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? 24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

Everything I have and everything
I hold is but temporal.
My only Permanent Possession is God My Father.

Psalm 119:57-64 Thou art my portion, O Lord: I have said that I would keep thy words. 58 I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.

Joshua and Israel did according to God’s Word – and were blessed to take Ai without the loss of even one life.

  • Oh Beloved, do not make an idol of your possessions.
  • Oh my Beloved, do not make an idol of your children, your wife, your husband, your kin.
  • Oh my Beloved, make your altar upon the Word of God.
  • Oh my Beloved, do not worship THINGS, for THINGS cannot save you.

A rich young ruler came to Jesus in Mark 10:17 asking “what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” Jesus told that young man “sell what you have, give the money to the poor, take up your Cross and follow Me” (Mark 10:21). That young man went away sorrowful because possessions were his god. He loved not Jesus, but STUFF. You cannot enter Heaven through that narrow door carrying stuff in your arms (Matthew 7:13-14). Think about it.

When Zacchaeus was saved Jesus did not tell him to “sell all you have, give it to the poor, and follow Me”. Why? Because when Zacchaeus was saved he said in

Luke 19:8 … Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

Jesus was to Zacchaeus “Lord”. Zacchaeus was no longer worshiping at the altar of STUFF, but worshiped God and the Jesus Who saved him.

Jesus never told Joseph of Arimathaea to “sell all he had, give it to the poor, and follow Me”. Why? Because Joseph did not have an altar built of STUFF. Joseph loved the Lord Jesus. He proved it by going to get Jesus’ body from the Cross on the day our Master died (John 19:38-42).

If you put STUFF up as an altar you will not be blessed of God. If you make your FAMILY first place in front of God you will not be blessed. Joshua never failed again because he made God’s Word first. Not just at Ai, but everywhere he went.

Joshua Built An Altar

Joshua 8:30 … Then Joshua built an altar unto the Lord God of Israel in mount Ebal,

The battle over, Joshua builds an altar “unto the Lord God”. The altar was built according to the Word of the Lord:

Joshua 8:31 … as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings.

“As it is written”. The altar is built the way that God said build it. Joshua obeyed the Word of God. He did what God said do. God spoke through Moses before that great man died and passed on leadership to Joshua:

Deuteronomy 27:4-8 … it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaister them with plaister. 5 And there shalt thou build an altar unto the Lord thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them. 6 Thou shalt build the altar of the Lord thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the Lord thy God: 7 And thou shalt offer peace offerings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before the Lord thy God. 8 And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.

In Deuteronomy 27:10-13 God said that after the altar was built of unhewn stone that some of the people were to stand on mount Gerizim to bless the people, and the rest were to stand upon mount Ebal to curse. I do not have time to go into detail on this right now. But the “blessings and cursings” are found in Deuteronomy 27-28. What God was having the people do in a very graphic way was to show that they would be blessed when they followed God, but cursed when they disobeyed God. These two mountains would illustrate:

You get a MOUNTAIN OF BLESSING (Gerizim) when you obey God.
You get a MOUNTAIN OF CURSING (Ebal) when you disobey God.

Joshua built an altar. Where did he build the altar? Joshua built the altar on Mount Ebal – the mountain of cursing. Cursed be the one who disobeys the Word of God (Deuteronomy 11:26-28). Cursed be the person who disobeys the Law of God. Cursed be the person who is not perfect in his or her walk before God. When we break God’s Law we fall under the curse of God. How then are we to be blessed of God?

Look where the altar is built.
It is built on Mount Ebal.
The altar is built on the Mountain of our curse.
The Cross is built on Calvary!

Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal – the mountain of cursing – because that is where we needed that altar. Jesus Christ died on Calvary. Jesus Christ took the judgment for my sins and for yours. The Scripture declares:

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 … we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21 For {God} hath made {Christ} to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

The curse was on Ebal – the curse was on Calvary. It is in the loving mercy of God that Christ’s Blood was shed for us. Jesus “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3). When Joshua built that altar on Ebal it had none of the cunning work of man’s hand. The altar was of natural, uncut stone. Man found rock and carried it to that place. We do nothing to earn or deserve our salvation. The animal slain on that altar was an innocent, just as Jesus was innocent. The Blood spilled on that altar was like that of Christ’s. His Blood was shed for me, and shed for you. He is our “peace offering”. Because of that Altar on Calvary – Ebal –

Hebrews 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Oh Blessed Father, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for sending Him to die for us. Our sins, like mountains, stood between us and You. But You have given Christ to us to redeem us. In Christ we have redemption through His Blood, even the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:14). In Christ we have a Savior Who came that we might have life, life more abundantly (John 10:10). How often have we fallen short of bringing glory to You? How often have we taken the cursed thing to our breast, hiding it from You rather than repenting. Oh Lord, we deserve judgment. Oh Father, we deserve death and damnation. But thank You, dear Jesus, that You took what WE deserve upon Yourself. Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable Gift (2 Corinthians 9:15).

If you have made a commitment to follow Jesus this day, while we stand to sing our invitation will you come forward and grab my hand? I will pray with you. If you would like to join the fellowship of this Church you must give your heart to Christ, and commit to follow Him in baptism if you have not already done so. Come, stand by me. I will pray with you, and for you. Give your all to Jesus this very day. Do not waste His glorious sacrifice – He gave Himself for you all! May God touch your heart by His Word.

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Blessing Requires A Covenant Relationship

Posted on June 10, 2019 by bibleteacherorg

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Joshua 6:16-19 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city. 17 And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. 18 And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. 19 But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.

Joshua 7:1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.

This morning I told you …
Blessing requires a covenant relationship with God.
Here’s something we learn tonight …

The Wages Of Sin Always Brings Death.

Israel had marched around Jericho just as God commanded. Once a day for six days Israel followed the Ark of the Covenant SILENTLY, keeping their mouths shut. There was no murmuring – only obedience. In ancient warfare cities like Jericho were taken one of two ways: (1) Siege Engines and battering rams took down gates, then the invading forces lost many warriors as they breached the city’s defenses. (2) If no loss of life was wanted cities were under siege, surrounded until the citizens starved and surrendered. God’s plan to take Jericho seemed odd. No one had ever marched AROUND a city to destroy it. Yet this is what God commanded.

Day by day the people of God marched – once per day – around Jericho. Then on the seventh day:

Joshua 6:15-16 … they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times. 16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city.

The walls came tumbling down. Israel went into Jericho and killed all the residents except for Rahab and her family (Joshua 6:17). God told the people “do not take the accursed thing, lest you make yourselves accursed … and make the camp of Israel a curse” (Joshua 6:18).

Our text starts with …

Joshua 7:1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, … took of the accursed thing:

Who Was Achan?

Who was Achan? Was he an absolute unbeliever, a person who loved to sin? The Bible tells us much about Achan in this verse. His name is Achan – which means a “troublemaker”. How odd to name someone that!

Joshua 7:1 … Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah …

Achan is of the tribe of Judah. Judah is the ruling tribe. Both King David as well as King Jesus come from Judah. In the Book of Chronicles Achan is called by a different name …

1 Chronicles 2:7 And the sons of Carmi; Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the thing accursed.

The Strong’s Concordance states that Achar is an alternate spelling for Achan.

Achan’s name spells TROUBLE!

Achan’s father, grandfather, and great grandfather have lived under the lash of the Pharaoh. Achan’s great grandfather and grandfather saw the

rise of Moses
the parting of the Red Sea
the Pillars of Cloud and Fire
the Blood of the Lamb on the homes
the curse and death of the firstborn Egyptian

Achan survived Egypt when he should have died. Achan has enjoyed the grace and mercy of God. He ate that bread of God from Heaven, and was fed quail in the wilderness by God. Achan has drunk deeply of water from the Rock that was Christ. Oh, how blessed Achan was.

Jesus said in Luke 12:48 … he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

God gave Achan very much. Achan also had great sorrow.

Achan buried his parents and grandparents because of sin.
Achan was circumcised with the other believing men at Gilgal.
Achan saw the walls of Jericho fall. He had no excuse.
Achan helped put the city to the torch.

Hebrews 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God.

The Lord shall judge His people (Hebrews 10:30). God gave Israel Grace not so that she could abuse Him, but so that she could be blessed. But Achan – blessed beyond measure by God – mocked His grace.

Achan took the cursed thing.

What Was The Cursed Thing?

The Cursed Thing Was A Forbidden Thing We’ve discussed Achan. Let’s now look at the cursed thing. What was it? The cursed thing was everything in Jericho. All of the people except for Rahab and her family were accursed. All of the items in the city were accursed. If you remember, Jericho was a “moon” of Canaan, which made it a “moon” that reflected all the evils of idolatry. God wanted Israel to have nothing to do with the things of Jericho. The Bible tells us that:

Joshua 6:24 {Israel} burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord.

The Cursed Thing Was A Hidden Thing Joshua thought that all of Jericho was destroyed except for the metal items that were to be given to the Tabernacle of God. What Joshua DIDN’T know was that Achan took of the accursed thing and hid it in the midst of his family home. The Bible tells us:

“Behold, ye have sinned against the LORD; and be sure
Your Sin shall find you out!” (Numbers 32:23)

Unaware of Achan’s sin “Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east of Bethel” (Joshua 7:2). The name of the city עַי ʻAy, (pronounced ah’ee) means “a heap of ruins”. Israel went to a fortified city called “Jericho” which means “the moon”. As God worked through them Israel took that fortified city without the loss of even ONE life. Now Israel is headed to “a heap of ruins”. After defeating Jericho, everyone was confident that Ai would live up to its name before days end. In fact, Joshua was so confident of victory that he presumed on God. We read:

Joshua 7:3 {the spies of Israel} returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.

The Cursed Thing Led To A Presumptive Thing What the spies told Joshua was “this is such an easy win … let’s just take two or three thousand with us, go up, and attack Ai.” What Joshua SHOULD HAVE said was “Let’s ask God”.

Leaders – LEAD
LEAD by LEADING God’s People To God!

When Israel defeated Jericho the LORD was in charge. The LORD told Joshua what to do. But now the SPIES and NOT the LORD are telling Joshua what to do.

Rather than Assume, or Presume,
Better to ASK GOD.

Joshua is listening to the spies rather than to God, a very foolish act. What has God told Joshua to do? Absolutely nothing. God has not spoken about Ai. Joshua has not consulted God. Joshua presumed upon God. He sent 3000 warriors to battle Ai. The results? “They fled before the men of Ai” (Joshua 7:4).

Joshua 7:5 And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.

Israel was shamed. The Church fell flat on it’s face. God’s people got off lightly – Israel only lost 36 men. But Israel was shamed because 3000 Israelites could not stand to lose to what appeared to be a numerically inferior force. “The hearts of the people became as water”.

Who’s Fault Is It Anyway?

Joshua did something that we often do when we presume on God and are hurt by our presumption. Joshua blamed God.

Joshua 7:7-9 7 And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan! 8 O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies! 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?

God was not at fault for Joshua’s presumption. Beloved, God is not at fault when WE do the wrong thing. Joshua should have sought the Lord in prayer before sending forces to Ai. The Lord told Joshua:

Joshua 7:10-11 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee UP; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? 11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.

I want you to notice God did not say “Achan has sinned” but “Israel has sinned”. Sin brings a curse on those around you. Sin brought defeat into Israel. Israel is God’s representative on the earth, just as today the Church is Christ’s representative on the earth. Joshua sinned by presumption. Achan sinned by stealing. God told His people to repent – and recommit to a covenant relationship with Him.

Joshua, GET UP!
Israel, GET UP!
Everybody, let’s LOOK UP!

Joshua 7:13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.

Israel was called to “sanctify or set apart themselves”, to get their hearts right with God. They were to confess their sins. Joshua should get his eyes back on God. The people should get their eyes back on God. The people were told to execute the transgressor of the Law:

Joshua 7:15 And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.

It was the next day as the children of Israel – by families – rededicated themselves to God, that Achan’s sin was found out. Sin can be hid in the midst of sin. But once Israel got right with God Achan’s sin stood out like a sore thumb. Joshua went to Achan and told him …

Joshua 7:19-20 … Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me. 20 And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done …

God Punishes Sin Even Among His People

Joshua 7:24-26 And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.

As we read these words we are shocked in our modern sensibilities. In America today we would have put Achan in jail for about 7 years, gave him a cable tv, and three meals a day. Then we would have paroled him. What did God have Joshua do? Achan and his family, with all that he had, was destroyed. We think this harsh. But let us remember that thirty six innocent people died because of Achan’s sin. Israel was made liable to destruction because Achan and his family hid sin in their hearts. We fool ourselves when we think that sin only hurts us. Sin hurts us all. The Spirit of God is hindered when sin is in the heart, buried in the tent. Sin’s effects spread. The Apostle said:

Galatians 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

Many young girls started down a wrong road because their mothers allowed them to dress indiscreetly. Many young boys find hidden pornography and are scarred for life. Sin hidden and unconfessed to God becomes out of control. It has a ripple effect that touches others, changing them, perverting what it touches.

Today’s Church says “Well, that was then, and this is NOW. God doesn’t kill people who sin in the New Testament.” No? Do you remember the case of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 who lied to God, and lost their lives because of it. Confess sin to God. Repent. Turn from it.

Note how sin creeps in. Achan said:

Joshua 7:21 When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.

This is how sin brings destruction into the life.

Achan SAW the forbidden.
Achan COVETED the forbidden.
Achan TOOK the forbidden.
Achan HID the forbidden.

James 1:14-16 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.

What is sin’s solution? Don’t look at it – make a covenant with your eyes (Job 31:1). Jesus said:

Matthew 5:28 … whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Had Achan controlled his EYES, he and his family would not have died. We have no power with God while sin is in our lives. Let us do as God ha said and:

1 John 1:7-9 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Let us walk “in the light” of God, refusing satan’s horrid gifts. If we sin against God let us not bury it, but confess our sins. We have a Mediator Who loves us, and gave Himself for us. Let us not normalize sin, but REPENT of sin. Remember also the lesson we learn from Achan. After Achan was punished, and sin repented of:

Joshua 8:1 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land:

Keep your eyes on the Lord. May God touch your hearts with His Word.

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The Walls Come Tumbling Down

Posted on June 9, 2019 by bibleteacherorg

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Joshua 6:1-2 Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. 2 And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Psalm 46:10-11 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Israel has crossed the flooded Jordan, God parting the waters and making it dry land. Israel has gone to Gilgal – a town called Rolling Wheel – and has honored God by setting up a monument to God’s glory there. Israel has honored God with their lives and with their bodies. They are now in a proper Covenant relationship with God.

You Are Saved By Faith, But Blessing
Requires A Covenant Relationship With God!

In a proper Covenant relationship Israel heads to Jericho. Jericho. The Encyclopedia Britannica notes that Jericho is “one of the earliest continuous settlements in the world, dating perhaps from about 9000 BC.” The name “Jericho” (יְרִיחוֹ Yᵉrîychôw, [pronounced yer-ee-kho’]; or יְרֵחוֹ Yᵉrêchôw; or variation (1 Kings 16:34) יְרִיחֹה Yᵉrîychôh) means “it’s moon” or as the Arabs call it “city of the moon”. That is very illustrative of what Jericho was. Think for a moment about the earth’s MOON.

The Moon reflects the light of the Sun.
The Moon has no light of it’s own.
The Moon is unfriendly to life.
The Moon is a dead place.
No life was discovered there when
Apollo 11 landed there July 20, 1969.

There is no life in Jericho. There is PHYSICAL life, but no SPIRITUAL life. Jericho , like the Moon of earth, was Canaan’s “Moon”. All the was evil and dead was reflect – like dark light – from Canaan to Jericho. The Canaanites practiced child sacrifice, and like the Moon Jericho more than likely reflected this practice. The Canaanites worshiped many gods and goddesses, including Asherah and Ba’al as well as Dagon – over 35 different idols. Jericho reflected this. Since Jericho was an ancient and well established city, with fortified double walls all around it’s perimeter. Someone – probably an unfaithful Israelite – had told Jericho that that they were coming. I have often heard that “it is not the amount of water OUTSIDE the ship that will drown those on it, but the water INSIDE the ship”.

What Did God’s People SEE?

Joshua 6:1 Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.

Matthew Henry in his commentary says: “.. it did shut up itself, being strongly fortified both by art and nature, and it was shut up by the obstinacy and resolution of the inhabitants, who agreed never to surrender nor so much as sound a parley; none went out as deserters or to treat of peace, nor were any admitted in to offer peace.” The city was a fortress. It was absolutely impossible at this point for anyone – no matter how strong – to get inside this city.

Earlier I said there was no spiritual life in Jericho.
That’s not entirely true.
There was RAHAB.

God the Holy Spirit reached out and brought life to a tiny part of Jericho in the home of Rahab the Harlot. God through His people had promised to save Rahab and her family (Joshua 2:18, 21; Hebrews 11:31; James 2:24-25). God couldn’t just destroy Jericho like He did Sodom and Gomorrah. The Lord will not destroy the innocent with the guilty (Genesis 18:23-25).

Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

God had angels take Lot and his family out of Sodom before He destroyed it. But Jericho is shut up. It is sealed off. None can enter, and none are allowed to leave. The gates are shut, and NO ONE can come in. But God tells Joshua:

Joshua 6:2 …The LORD said unto Joshua: See …

I love what God told Joshua. I LOVE this text! In the original language the word LORD is YHWH or YAHWEH. The word JOSHUA literally means YAHWEH SAVES. So we read:

YAHWEH said unto YAHWEH SAVES:
“SEE”

The Eternal God – Yahweh, our Creator and Savior – His first word is “SEE” – רָאָה râʼâh, (pronounced raw-aw’) – “Behold – look – consider this”. What God is telling His servant Joshua is “Don’t look at the fortified walls. Don’t look at the huge locked gates. Don’t look at the Archers and mighty men of valor who have guarded this city for years. Don’t look at the impossibility of this. LOOK AT ME. HEAR WHAT I AM SAYING. CONSIDER MY WORDS.

Oh Beloved, if we would seek God and hear His Word, how we would be blessed on the earth. Yet many of us – believer and unbeliever alike – put a wall around our hearts of unbelief. We look at the wrong thing. We consider the obstacle before us and are defeated in our hearts before we ever start. The Bible tells us that:

2 Corinthians 5:7 … we walk by faith, not by sight!

  • Jesus told the Apostle “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:29).
  • While the Apostle Peter had His eyes on Jesus he could walk on water (Matthew 14:28):

“Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water.”

Jesus said “Come” and Peter come out of the boat, and walked on the water to go to Jesus (Matthew 14:29). But then Peter looked at the wind and the waves. Peter probably heard a “faithful friend” call out from the boat, “Peter have you lost your MIND? People don’t walk on water!”. Oh, how terrible the discouragers are who cry out from the safety of the boat! Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and started to sink. But at least Peter had the sense to cry out “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:30). And Jesus saved him!

  • What do YOU see, dear Church? What do YOU see, dear Israel? What do YOU see, dear America? God said “See”. So not see the walls. Do not see the impossibilities. See this. With God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

SEE THE PROMISE Not The PROBLEM

Joshua 6:2 …The LORD said unto Joshua: See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.

God tells Joshua “I have given”. Beloved, that is PAST TENSE. Not “I WILL give”, but “I HAVE given”. God has promised this land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God has promised Joshua the land. He has said “everywhere you step will be yours”.

Faith is not a full bank account.
Faith is not knowing every detail as to how I will do it.
Faith looks UP, not AROUND.

Hebrews 11:1 … faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith is when you hear God’s Word and believe what HE SAYS – not what the circumstances are saying.

  • FEAR says “Jericho is shut up. It is fortified. It has it’s own water supply, and enough food on hand to last over a year. Jericho cannot be beaten by human power.”
  • But FAITH says “God can. God can open those gates. God can shut off the water supply. God can take away the food. God can tear down those walls. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down these walls! God can save Rahab. God can!” The Bible says:

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please God: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Faith Does God’s Work God’s Way

God told Joshua that the city was already his. But then God tells Joshua:

Joshua 6:3-5 And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. 4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. 5 And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.

God expects His people to do what He says. God expects His people to WORK! Every believer in Israel had a job to do for the Lord.

Thus shalt thou do six days

The work that God’s people are to do is to obey God DAILY. Too many who profess Christ as Savior are on what I call the welfare rolls of Heaven. God does not call a person to serve but once in a while. He calls His people to DAILY service. Israel was to walk around the city walls of Jericho DAILY and in one accord. God did not exempt ANYONE from service. “All ye men of war”. Every able bodied person was to walk. The priests were to walk, carrying the Ark of the Covenant – an Old Testament picture of Christ – on their shoulders. This was a UNIFIED group of believers. Some of you think that your entire calling of God is to SIT and SOAK in a pew, hearing the message preached. The Bible knows nothing of this type of faith. The Scripture says:

Colossians 1:10 … {you} walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Ephesians 4:1-2 … walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

We who are Christ’s walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh (Galatians 5:16).
We who are God’s walk in love, as Christ loved us (Ephesians 5:2).

 All must walk around Jericho. All must serve God – together. All. All. When Jesus fed the 5000, did He use only one of the fish – or ALL? Did He use a little of the bread – or ALL? God uses all of His people together to do His will His way. We are all called to be responsible citizens of His Kingdom. We are all called to service.

One of the most beautiful countries I was ever stationed in while in service to our nation was Germany. Germany is a beautiful place. It is made more beautiful by the fact that the Germans will not allow litter in their country. I have seen store keepers sweep out their stores, then sweep the sidewalk as well as the road in front of their stores. The German people love and are proud of their country. When driving on their highways I never saw garbage strewn about as I do on American roads. Why? Because the German people are TOGETHER in correcting litterbugs. If you are caught by even a citizen tossing out a cigarette butt, you would find yourselves chastised by the citizens who saw you.

If every Christian would fulfill his or her calling for Christ then what a difference this would make. In the days of Nehemiah God’s people each put their hand to the plow. Nehemiah 3:28 says “Each one repaired the section immediately across from his own house”. God does not expect one person to do it all, but each believer to pitch in and do their part. We are each called to work for the glory of God and do our part. You cannot expect to be blessed if you do not follow God’s Word.

We Must Be Driven By “It Is Written”?

Joshua 6:6-11 And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord. 7 And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the Lord. 8 And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns passed on before the Lord, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. 9 And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rearward came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. 10 And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout. 11 So the ark of the Lord compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.

Joshua had the people do exactly as God directed. The Bible tells us:

Psalm 27:14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

Psalm 62:1, 5 Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. 5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

To “wait on the Lord” does not mean to do NOTHING. It means to heed God, to seek his face, then to let HIS WORD drive you.

Joshua told Israel exactly what God told him to say. He aligned the people as God said. Joshua LISTENED to God then did EXACTLY what God said. But Joshua added one requirement that was not in God’s instructions. Did you catch it? Joshua told the people:

Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout

Did you catch that? What Joshua told the people was “You are ALL to stay in a state of silence. You will not say ONE SINGLE WORD until the day I tell you to shout. THEN and only then YOU WILL SHOUT!” Why do you think Joshua did this? I’ll tell you why.

  • The man of God or woman of God knows that the only way you can serve God is to HUSH. To BE STILL. To WAIT on God. To WAIT for His Voice. In our world today we are terribly impatient. We think we know it all. In fact, we are certain of that. But Beloved, we do not know it all. We know very little, but God knows ALL THINGS. God says:

I know the end from the beginning … Isaiah 46:10

God knows. We do not. If Joshua had let the people talk two things would have happened. First, you cannot hear God while you are talking. He will not speak to you unless you get still and quiet and know that HE and HE alone is God.

  • We are as humans notoriously IMPATIENT. Israel would have done well to walk around Jericho the first day. Perhaps they would do well on the second day. But around the fifth day unbelief would have spoken. Someone would have said to someone else:

We’re walking around this stupid city everyday!
What are we doing? Nothing!
What is John doing? Nothing!
Where did James go? He’s helping John. We’re doing NOTHING!
Not one rock has moved. Not one stone has turned.
We look STUPID doing this!

The murmuring would have grown. Like leaven in dough the unbelief would have spread. Perhaps some would have broken ranks. As the muttering grew by the seventh day the few Israelites left probably would not have marched around the city seven times. They may have compassed it only 4 times on the 7th day. I’m sure there would have been a few who – like children in music class – would have tooted their horns EVERY DAY and not just on the 7th circuit of the 7th day. What would have happened had Israel NOT done as God said?

The walls would NOT have fallen!

The Bible tells us to not be weary in well doing, for in DUE SEASON we shall reap, if we do not faint (Galatians 6:9). We must do God’s work God’s way. It is not the FASTEST runner who wins the race, but the runner who stays on the course and finishes well. C. H. Spurgeon put it this way:

“Faith is not a fool. Faith does not shut her eyes to difficulty and then run head foremost into a brick wall. Never! Faith sees the difficulty, surveys it all, and then she says ‘BY MY GOD I WILL LEAP OVER A WALL!’”

Faith waits on God. It listens to Him, and then does as He says. Faith is not embarrassed by doing what God asks. God never asks us to do a foolish or wrong thing. Faith does not try and help God out. I imagine someone would say “Why didn’t God give them a rope ladder, and an iron hook, and let them climb over the wall?” Do you know why? Because then YOU would be glorified and not God. God will do what He says He will do. Let us heed Him. Let us “be still, and know that He is God”. Let us be like Mary who sat at the feet of Jesus listening while Martha ran about with busy work. Jesus told Martha:

Mary has chosen that good part that cannot
be taken away from her. (Luke 10:42)

Joshua listened when God spoke, and relayed what God told him to the people. And praise God, the people listened. The Scripture says:

Joshua 6:15-17 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times. 16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city. 17 And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. … 20 So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. 21 And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. 22 But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlot’s house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her.

God did what God said He would do. God always will. God destroyed the city. God saved Rahab and her family. Israel triumphed because our God is so faithful. Let us be faithful in following Him. May the Lord draw us all close to Him in obedient service. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

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