Fight From Victory Joshua 6-Part 1
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Introduction
Introduction
Warren Weirsbe writes,
“You are but a poor soldier of Christ if you think you can overcome without fighting, and suppose you can have the crown without the conflict.” Warren W. Wiersbe
Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Strong, “Be” Commentary Series (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 68.
No matter how we cut it the Christian life is full of challenges and battles.
As a Christian the enemy will be at the gates everyday; waging war against you and keeping you from believing the promises of God, keeping you from what the Lord has…wants for your life.
1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.
What this passage tells us it the the world, our flesh, and Satan are united against Jesus and by extension His people. The very idea of a single all powerful, all knowing God is being removed from everywhere. There is no doubt here; we used to say trying, but now we have groups who are successfully lobbying to remove God. Why…becasue the very idea of God and the very truth found in the Scriptures is counter cultural to a people who desire no accountability for actions of our life.
The Bible is scene after scene of God waging war agains sin and in-purity. Right here in Genesis chapter 3; the very beginning of the Bible; this is God declaration of war...
15 I will put hostility between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.
But this passage at the very end of the Scriptures is God’s declaration of victory...
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and with justice he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on his head. He had a name written that no one knows except himself. 13 He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. 14 The armies that were in heaven followed him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. 15 A sharp sword came from his mouth, so that he might strike the nations with it. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty. 16 And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
My friends if you are unwilling to fight for your faith in Jesus, then you are abandoning the cross you wear on a tee shirt, around your neck, hung on your wall. That cross that you claim to hold so dear in your life you must discard; if you are unwilling to fight for it. Because it was on the cross that Jesus won the victory. It is that cross; stained with blood and stained with our sin that we are called to bare; Jesus won the victory over Sin and over Satan on that cross.
13 And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses. 14 He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him.
My friend we fight a fight that is already won; but we must fight.
Today in Joshua 6 we see the Israelites walking into their part of that that story of God’s victory over Sin and Satan. Don’s miss the symbolic nature of the this battle. Israel claiming the land that God gave them; held by an unbelieving enemy of God. This is us; fighting an enemy everyday to claim what God has given us in Jesus. These chapter that lie ahead for us are like a reflection of our life, day after day fighting to claim a promise; fighting to claim the promises of God. The Israelites will face many trials and many challenges. Today we will study the 1st of many trial they will face and as they do lets think about how this narrative impacts our own life.
Turn with me this morning to Joshua chapter 6....that is Joshua chapter 6 beginning in verse 1.
Scripture:
Scripture:
1 Now Jericho was strongly fortified because of the Israelites—no one leaving or entering. 2 The Lord said to Joshua, “Look, I have handed Jericho, its king, and its best soldiers over to you. 3 March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry seven ram’s-horn trumpets in front of the ark. But on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the ram’s horns. 5 When there is a prolonged blast of the horn and you hear its sound, have all the troops give a mighty shout. Then the city wall will collapse, and the troops will advance, each man straight ahead.”
Prayer...
The victory we see to day gives us a picture of our own spiritual conflict and our victory; no matter what challenges you may be facing. This a 3 part message so settle into Joshua 6 for the next few weeks. The 1st principal I want to discuss is this...
Before the Trial-Remember we fight from victory.
Before the Trial-Remember we fight from victory.
As a Christian you stand in a position of victory. You stand there becasue Christ has already won the battle for you. Jesus defeated Satan in His 40 days in the wilderness and when He walked this earth, but ultimately Jesus won the victory on the cross; He won the victory in His resurrection; He won the victory as He intercedes for us to accomplish His will.
31 What, then, are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
Our God walks with you and is for you. He died for you; He gave up everything so you can live. He gave the ultimate sacrifice so you could have a life not separated from God but a life in communion with God. It is here that I want to begin to flesh out this passage and how the Lord uses His people to gain His glory.
There are many reasons for the victory of Joshua’s that we see in the passage. 1st is fear of the Lord.
Fear of the Lord
Fear of the Lord
Canaan had several cities all with Kings; some bigger than others. When they excavated Jericho they found walls 2 walls that ran parallel to each other spaced about 15’ apart.
Here is a picture of what Jericho looked like in ancient Israel.
Insert Picture / Explain Picture
It was walls such as this that convinced 10 of the 12 spies 40 years earlier that they could not claim the land God promised. But those Kings those rulers were scared, those people were scared becasue of what they heard God did. So when we say fear of the Lord here in this context; it is actual fear. Exodus explains well what God is doing here.
27 “I will cause the people ahead of you to feel terror and will throw into confusion all the nations you come to. I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you in retreat.
Today the world does not fear God like these folks did. Honestly we as the church do not give them much reason to. We provide worship that looks like the world. We attempt to cater to the world, we desire the approval of a nation, we measure the success of a church by the number of people are drawn in each Sunday like attendance to sporting event. We don’t really follow the commands of Scripture, we are part time in our participation with other believers, we value our connivence over our spiritual growth; we do not share the Gospel. We compromise our worship and our obedience in God; we allow the enemy to have control of us.
But this not so with Joshua and Gods’ nation. They made no compromises with their faith in God and no compromises with the enemy; they trusted God to give them the victory. They trusted, through the wilderness, through the Jordan, through the circumcision, through the crazy plan set before them today. They trusted fully, engaged fully, grew closer to God with every step, the were one in God. They had no fear except health fear of God. The believed in God to the point where they would even give their own life for His people and His glory. Because they were fighting a battle already won.
2nd they had the...
Promise of the Lord
Promise of the Lord
2 The Lord said to Joshua, “Look, I have handed Jericho, its king, and its best soldiers over to you.
God has already won…Christians who live in victory know the promises of God, then spend time with Him, they believe in them. They count on these promises and obey instruction. Those very promises produce faith, they count God and they count His promises and with the highest importance, they cannot ignore them or God, and they never underestimate the power he wields in their life.
17 So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.
Our power is from the message of Jesus Christ. Faith comes from hearing. Hearing the promise of God, hearing the joy of God’s sacrifice; hearing that He is here, that He provides the way; that He provides the path to a victory that He promised. A land where there is no pain, no fear, of love, and of worship.
Living in the victory of God’s promise is where we should long to be, because it is here where we find we are fighting from a victory already won.
Lastly they had the...
Instructions of the Lord
Instructions of the Lord
3 March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry seven ram’s-horn trumpets in front of the ark. But on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the ram’s horns. 5 When there is a prolonged blast of the horn and you hear its sound, have all the troops give a mighty shout. Then the city wall will collapse, and the troops will advance, each man straight ahead.”
The plan to take the city was not Joshua’s; it was all God. No challenge is too hard for God to handle, He fed thousands with a few loves and bread and few fish. God always know what to do; our job is to wait then obey. That does not mean do nothing; Waiting for some folk is just planting your butt in the ground and never doing anything. Why becasue you are not in the Word of God and you are not letting God lead you.
Henry Blackaby says a few things in his book Experiencing God.
“Anything of spiritual significance that happens in your life will be a result of God's activity in you...”
“We don't choose what we will do for God; He invites us to join Him where He wants to involve us.”
Even in the waiting God call us to do something. Let Him guide us; tell us what to do; then do it. Joshua is allowing God to lead…allowing God to move Him and a nation forward.
To a military guy this plan was foolish; walk around the city a bunch a times then shout....crazy talk. But he is allowing the spiritual activity in Him to guide his purpose and the plan laid before Him. He is not choosing to do this activity or that activity; he is just letting God lead him and by extension the people who follow.
It also speaks to the Israelites and they too are following in obedience to God’s plan. They are joining God in His work. Not all of them choose to be marching around the city. God gave them a mission…a task and He is inviting them to join Him and they are doing it. I mean think about all that is going on here.
7 priests, 7 trumpets, 7 days of marching, 7 laps around the city on the 7th day. #7 the greatest Bronco of all time…Just kidding.
In Biblical numerology 7 is completeness; 7 is embedded into the life of an Israelite. Sabath is the 7th day, Pentecost is 7 weeks from the Passover, the Sabbatical year is the 7th year; every 49 years is the Jubiliee 7x7, Three of Israel’s festivals fall in the 7th month; Trumpets, Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles. The root of the word 7 in Hebrew; is to be full…satisfied. God rested on the 7th day. 7 promises in Abrahams covenant…7 was sacred.
In closer study of the trumpets we see God had purpose in those also. Jews used 2 different trumpet; some were made of rams horns and others of silver. The rams horns were used for celebrations and the silver were used to signify something of great significance is happening. The 7 trumpets were not used to declare war, there was not a war. They announced the year of Jubiliee for Israel in the new land God gave them. The Rams horns blowing signified a celebration of what God had given them
This crazy; this crazy plant that that God has asked His people to join in... worked. Not the 1st time God’s plans worked when we thought…no way. God equipped David with a stone and sling, gave victory to Gideon with torches and pitchers full of water. God loves to give us victory in our weakness and sometimes what other people deem to be foolish God delights in. He delights becasue when it is God’s victory, He gets the credit and the win over the enemy, but for us the platform is us fighting from a victory.
Application:
Application:
Here is what I want to help you understand today.
God’s people fight from a place of victory; not for victory. We are not trying to win a war. Just as the battle of Jericho this is no war; it is Battle agains t the enemies of God to take what God has promised. The war is won. We can walk in triumph becasue of the what Jesus did on the cross. Because Jesus won the victory over the enemy.
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
In Jesus we are more than just Steven, Michelle, Ashley, Brian, Jennifer, or Dyanna. We are more than just employees for whatever companies we work for, we are more than that. We are conquerors whom God has called us to greater purpose and greater plan…His plan. We can look ahead thanking God for the work He called us too.
14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in Christ’s triumphal procession and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of him in every place.
God makes the way.
15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him.
We should be living as victors, not victims. We fight from victory not for victory becasue of Jesus. Three thoughts to meditate on today...
Are you fighting from a platform of defeat or from victory?
Are sitting back hoping for God’s movement in your life or are you engaging with Him and letting Him lead?
Are you compromising for the enemy today?
Are you for Jesus today?
If not here is your chance…Jesus is asking you to join in in His plan, He is asking you to be a part of His army…the only thing left now is will you answer...
Pray with me today.
2nd today we need to be reminded...
During the Trial: You Overcome by Faith
During the Trial: You Overcome by Faith
6 So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven ram’s horns in front of the ark of the Lord.” 7 He said to the troops, “Move forward, march around the city, and have the armed men go ahead of the ark of the Lord.”
8 After Joshua had spoken to the troops, seven priests carrying seven ram’s horns before the Lord moved forward and blew the trumpets; the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. 9 While the ram’s horns were blowing, the armed men went in front of the priests who blew the ram’s horns, and the rear guard went behind the ark. 10 But Joshua had commanded the troops, “Do not shout or let your voice be heard. Don’t let one word come out of your mouth until the time I say, ‘Shout!’ Then you are to shout.” 11 So the ark of the Lord was carried around the city, circling it once. They returned to the camp and spent the night there.
12 Joshua got up early the next morning. The priests took the ark of the Lord, 13 and the seven priests carrying seven ram’s horns marched in front of the ark of the Lord. While the ram’s horns were blowing, the armed men went in front of them, and the rear guard went behind the ark of the Lord. 14 On the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.
15 Early on the seventh day, they started at dawn and marched around the city seven times in the same way. That was the only day they marched around the city seven times. 16 After the seventh time, the priests blew the ram’s horns, and Joshua said to the troops, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city.
After Triumph: Remember to Obey and Give the Glory to God
After Triumph: Remember to Obey and Give the Glory to God
Israel’s conquest of this mighty city is an illustration of several practical spiritual truths: (1) It is faith that overcomes obstacles, Heb. 11:30 and 1 John 5:4; (2) The weapons we use are spiritual, 2 Cor. 10:4; (3) Christ is the victor and we can trust Him fully, John 16:33. Christians face many “Jerichos” in daily life, and often they are tempted to give up, as the spies did at Kadesh (Num. 13:28ff). But no wall is too high or too strong for the Lord. By faith we win the victory and claim the inheritance!
Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1993), Jos 6.
It was designed that this city, being the first-fruits of Canaan, should be entirely devoted to God, and that neither Joshua nor Israel should ever be one mite the richer for it, and yet it is here said to be given into their hand; for we must reckon that most our own which we have an opportunity of honouring God with and employing in his service.