Sermon Preached on July 22, 2012, edited by Steve Fountain.
When we read the accounts of battles in the Bible, it is easy for us to laud the person God is using instead of understanding that God provided the victory.
It was David's faith in God, not his ability to sling a stone, that slayed Goliath. Joshua didn't bring down the walls of Jericho. It was God. Our victories in spiritual and physical battles are only won by the Lord to accomplish his good will and pleasure. Yet, it is a truth that is easily forgotten in our hectic lives — and one we dare not forget.
Put yourselves in the place of Joshua. He's fresh off God stopping the Jordan River to allow the Israelites to cross.
And now God tells him in Joshua 6:2: “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor.”
The word “see” is startling. What was Joshua supposed to see? Before him was the double-walled city of Jericho that human hands couldn't topple. It is in siege mentality. No one goes in, no one goes out.
But God is telling Joshua to walk by faith, not by sight. So, God's people follow His instruction and circle the city in silence once a day for six days and seven times on the seventh day. Then, amid the sounding horns and the shouts of the previously silent people, God brings down the walls of Jericho and clears the way for the Israelites to destroy its people.
The faith that brought down the walls of Jericho is no different than the faith God expects us to live our lives with today.
That faith will sustain us today as we await our Lord Jesus Christ coming in clouds.
This faith was:
1) Silent (Joshua 6:10): Joshua commanded them to be silent. When we are physically silent, there are a million mental distractions. Each is seeks to overcome our resolve to wait upon the Lord. How many nights have we lain awake, solving the problems of the world? Silence before God is the lesson we all need to learn. It is easier to quote Psalm 46:10, than to live by it: “Be still and know that I am God.”
2) Obedient (Joshua 6:12-14): It was not enough for the children of Israel to say they believed God. They had to demonstrate it by circling the city. Today, lots of people say they have faith, yet refuse to take the steps of obedience that give evidence to saving faith. James wrote: “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:14-17).
3) Persevering (Joshua 6:15-21): It is not enough to have faith and obedience. We must also have perseverance. What if the Israelites had gotten bored and stopped marching on Day 5? We must realize that obedience that is not total is not real obedience; it is disobedience. Saving faith will cause you to persevere to the end — if your faith is resting in the finished work of Christ. The promise of God is real and lasting: “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5; Hebrews 13:5).
We do not know the day or the hour, but in the not too distant future, the hectic pace of this world is going to come to a crashing halt. If we will not be still, and continue to refuse to acknowledge that God is the King of kings, and Lord of Lords, the trumpets will blow just as the book of Revelation tells us. The first trumpet will sound for the collection of his saints before the great tribulation, but as the trumpets blow, this house of cards will collapse just like the walls of Jericho.
No comments:
Post a Comment