Sermon Tone Analysis

! A Sermon for all the Oddballs

!! INTRODUCTION:

For a Christians to desire to go all the way with God, to be fully surrendered, he is identified by the world as an oddball.

When a normal person lives in a world full of oddballs he begins to think he is odd.

God calls you to complete your Journey with Him.

He want’s you to go all the way so He can fulfill His promises through you.

THIS STORY REMINDS US THAT GUIDANCE FROM GOD IS A FUNDAMENTAL ISSUE FOR ALL BELIEVERS.

The Bible teaches us that God does have a will for us.

!! What does "going all the way" with God entail?

!!! CATCHING A CLEAR VISION OF HOW GOD WANTS TO USE YOU AND THEN MOVING FORWARD FOR GOD.

Most people fail in their journey with God because they don’t have a clear understanding of how God wants to use them, or what God’s plan for their life is.

The tribes of Gad, Reuben, and the half tribe Manasseh THOUGHT GOD’S PLAN for their lives WAS COMFORT AND ACCOMMODATION.

"...the land the LORD subdued before the people of Israel — are suitable for livestock, and your servants have livestock.

If we have found favor in your eyes," they said, "let this land be given to your servants as our possession.

Do not make us cross the Jordan."

Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, "Shall your countrymen go to war while you sit here?"

Num 32:3-7 NIV

The 2 1/2 tribes wanted to enjoy the "good life".

It seems that they did not cross Jordan because they did not want to endanger themselves or risk the comfort of what they had.

The tribes of Gad, Reuben, and the half tribe of Manasseh were willing to stay on the wilderness side of the Jordan River.

The wilderness experience depicts believers who live in unbelief and disobedience and don’t enter into the rest and riches of their spiritual inheritance.

Like the two and a half tribe of Israel, do you come to a crisis place, but refuse to obey the Lord and His claims for your life?

They were delivered out of Egypt, but Egypt was still in their hearts.

The wilderness march was an experience of delay, defeat, and death.

But their experience in Canaan was to be one of life, power, and victory.

Like the two and one half tribes of Israel, do you want God’s blessings but desire to stay in your old life of sin?

"It’s ok to look back as long as you use it to help you leap forward."

God wanted the entire nation of Israel to cross over into Canaan.

Canaan represents the Christian life as it ought to be: gaining victory through conflict, faith and obedience, spiritual riches and rest.

It’s a life of faith, trusting Jesus Christ, our Joshua, the Captain of our Salvation (Heb.

2:10).

The victorious life isn’t a once-for-all triumph that ends our problems.

The victorious life, as pictured by Israel in the Book of Joshua, is a series of conflicts and victories as we defeat one enemy after another and claim more of our inheritance for the glory of God.

Life is a string of difficulties, and how we tackle each one determines the quality of our life.

"The cross is the key (to victory).

If I lose the key I fumble.

The universe will not open to me.

But with the key in my hand I hold its secrets."

E. Stanly Jones

WHEN CHRISTIANS ARE BLESSED BY GOD, THEY ARE VULNERABLE TO BECOMING LESS DEPENDENT ON THE SPIRIT OF GOD.

SPIRITUAL VICTORIES CAN PROMPT SATAN TO ATTACK.

An old time preacher used to say that the victorious Christian life was a series of new beginnings.

!!! FOCUSING ON GOD.

Everyone will come to a place in their life when they will have to decide whether or not they are going to cross their own personal Jordan River.

They will have to decide whether they are going to move forward or if they are going to quit moving in their journey.

When you move forward for God you’re going to come under tremendous spiritual attack.

That’s why you need to keep your focus on God and His Word.

"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth: meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.

Then you will be prosperous and successful."

Joshua 1:8

Why is it important to focus on the God and His Word?

Because Israel’s strength and courage would come from meditating on the Word of God, believing it’s promises, and obeying it’s precepts.

That’s also where your strength and courage will come from.

It is important to focus on God and His Word so God can bless you.

When God blesses his children He is glorified.

When the two spies entered the fortified walls of Jericho, Rahab told them, We heard of what God was doing through you and "our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you."

Joshua 2:11

When you are totally focued on God and his will, people will take notice that God is doing something through you.

The problem with the 2 ½ tribes that stayed on the east side of Jordan is that they failed to understand God’s ultimate purpose.

THEY THOUGHT THEIR END WAS TO HAVE COMFORT AND SECURITY.

That was not God’s ultimate goal for them.

God’s ultimate goal for them was that He wanted to bless them.

He wanted for them to experience conflict so they would glory Him when He gave them the victory.

Prosperity and peace are the wonderful results God’s blessings in our lives.

But as we experience victory over conflict and as we focus on God, He is then given the credit for the victory and thus glorified by the conquest.

Focusing on God through conflict also draws us closer to Him and develops a deeper relationship and dependence on Him.

!!!

That As we Focus on Him DISTRACTIONS THAT DRAW US AWAY FROM FOLLOWING HIM ARE LESS COMMON.

Ten of the spies that originally went over to Canaan looked at God through difficulties.

They were distracted by their surroundings.

While Joshua and Caleb looked at the difficulties through what they knew about God.

They refused to be distracted and diverted from God’s ultimate plan.

(see Numbers 13)

God told Israel..."Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go." Joshua 1:7 In other words, God was telling them, don’t get distracted on your journey.

Don’t quit and don’t take a detour!

Are you easily distracted on your journey with God.

Do you find yourself on a spiritual roller coaster?

If you do, you are most likely being distracted by the things of this world just like the 2 ½ tribes who refused to reside in Canaan.

They were distracted from the way God was leading them.

Are you easily distracted from God’s ways and his guidance in you life?

!!! MAKING DECISIONS BASED ON FAITH IN GOD AND NOT BASED ON WHAT IS MOST APPEALING TO YOU.

"the land the LORD subdued before the people of Israel — are suitable for livestock, and your servants have livestock.

If we have found favor in your eyes," they said, "let this land be given to your servants as our possession.

Do not make us cross the Jordan."

Num 32:4-5 NIV

The 2 ½ tribes based their decision to settle east of the Jordan purely by sight and what appeared best to them.

They did not consider how their decision would affect their brother and sister believers who were willing to obey God and cross over the Jordan.

When we do what we want, the way we want, we are actually hurting our fellow believers.

We hurt them by being selfish.

We hurt them by rebelling against God’s guidance in our lives.

We hurt fellow believers by resisting the Spirit’s leading.

We hurt them by discouraging them to advance in their own personal spiritual walk with God.

Moses said, "why do you discourage the Israelites from going over in the land the Lord has given them?" (V.

7) Moses cursed them and said, by doing this thing you will cause them to stumble in their faith."

(V.

14,15)

Moses compared these 2 ½ tribes to the ten spies who refused to follow God wholeheartedly and enter into Canaan Land.

It seems that these 2 ½ tribes had no vision from God part from their own wants and desires.

They became very self-absorbed instead of God-absorbed.

We must die to self and come alive in Christ.

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!! ILLUSTRATION

{{@Cue Share an illustraion about dying to self-interest.

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We have all heard the "Good New!"..."Bad News!" aphorisms.