Victory is One Prayer Away

Danny Woody

Journey with Joshua • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

Joshua 8:1–8

Assurance

Victory

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Transcript

Please scroll or turn with me in your Bibles to Joshua Chapter 8. We will begin reading in Verse 1 of Chapter 8.

Joshua 8:1–7 KJV 1900

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: 2 And 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: lay thee an ambush for the city behind it. 3 So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valour, 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.

Introduction

Last week we talked about Lessons Learned From Defeat as we reviewed the Blunders of a Believer. The main take away from that message is that we fail to reach our fullest potential before the Lord because we have sin which we refuse to deal with & sometime refuse to even acknowledge. When that sin rests comfortably within our hearts, minds, & actions we are not as usable by God.

However, this morning we will look at the hope that is available for the one who falls short. We will look at the choice that each & everyone of us have when we find ourselves with sin in our lives. The title of the message this morning is, “Victory is One Prayer Away.”

God’s Arrangement

Joshua 8:1–3 KJV 1900

The 1st Point I have for you this morning is that we need to trust in God’s Arrangements - in God’s Arrangements. There are times when we are down in the dumps about the things that happen in our life. Now I am not talking about the storms of life this morning & I am not talking about the trials we go through. What I am talking about is how we can become discouraged from worshipping & serving the Lord. Sometimes the world distracts us, sometimes we do not feel qualified, sometimes we think that God can not use us because of our sin. Yes, we did say last week that sin does make you less usable by God. Which is why we want to do everything within we can to stay on that straight & narrow path.

But as we read God’s Word we see time & time again where God uses implausible circumstances with at questionable backgrounds, lifestyles, & skill sets to carry out His plans. Consider just a few:

God used Noah who was a drunk.

He used an man far up in age in Abraham to be the father of many children as the sands on the seashore or stars in the sky.

God used Moses who stuttered incessantly & who had a temper. One so explosive in fact that he shattered the first set of the 10 Commandments in a fit of rage & was also a murderer.

He used David who stayed at home instead of going into battle & who slept with another man’s wife, then murdered him to cover it up.

God used Rahab who was a prostitute.

He used Samson in spite of him falling into sin and lusting after Delilah.

God used Jonah who literally ran the opposite way from where God was calling him.

He used a small boy’s lunch to feed thousands of people.

God used Peter even though he had a temper & even denied Christ multiple times.

He used Paul a man who was known as someone who persecuted Followers of Jesus Christ.

But what we need to understand is despite our imperfections, past mistakes, or even present sinfulness, if we confess before God & turn from it that God can & will use you. He has a plan & has made arrangements but we must submit to those arrangements in order to maximize our worship & service to Him. We serve a God of hope, but we must want that hope. We must want that calling. If you faithfully Follow Jesus know that despite setbacks, side steps, fall downs, or break downs that God has arrangements - God has plans for you just as He did for that list I just mentioned!

When speaking to Jeremiah while he was in the court of the prison God’s Word tells us,

Jeremiah 33:2–3 KJV 1900

2 Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is his name; 3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

But you will not see those great things if you do not seek Him. You will not see those mighty things if you wallow in your defeat. If you become consumed by the things that have gone wrong. People miss the calling of God when they are more focused on trying to make something happen themselves instead of relying on God to bring it to pass. Trust in God’s arrangements. Have confidence in his plan.

Some years back God placed it on my heart to coordinate an event here at Grace that would be geared toward youth in our community. So, I was trying to figure out what to do & decided on getting some of the inflatable slides & a gladiator joust, we had a few animals that you could see & popcorn, cotton candy & snow cones.

Well the budget for this event was blown to pieces just from renting the inflatables. We talked about what to do for the popcorn, cotton candy, & drinks because the only way we were going to be able to have that was to sell the items. Well the whole purpose for this event was to give youth in the community something to do that was safe, free, & hopefully give us the opportunity to share the Gospel. So, I went to God & said you placed this on my heart Lord but I really do not want to charge people for food & drinks. Please show me a way that we will not have to go this route.

I called and got the cost of how much it would take to buy the vendor out so that they would give the stuff away for free. John called me within a couple of hours & said Danny there is a member of the church that would like to help out with the food. If you will give me the number I will relay the message & they may be able to off set some of the cost. That day a member of this church walked up to me, didn’t say anything - just smiled, & handed over the money that would cover providing the food & drinks for free.

You may say Danny that seems a bit uncomplicated situation well understand this, I did not want to invite members of our community to the church & then charge them for refreshments. So I went to the Lord & I trusted that He would arrange this so everything would work out - guess what He did through a fellow believer.

God made arrangements for the Children of Israel to dwell in the Promised Land. No defeat & shortcoming of a human being was going to stop God’s plan from happening if His people would be obedient to Him. Understand this morning that no matter how bleak a situation may look, no matter how much you feel like giving up, no matter how far it seems as if the task at hand is out of reach, no matter how unlikely of a candidate you feel you may be to be used by God you must never forget that God has a plan & it is up to us to follow it.

God’s Assistance

Joshua 8:4–7 KJV 1900

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.

The 2nd Point we can get from the 1st 8 verses in Joshua Chapter 8 is that we can count on God’s Assistance. Joshua, with God’s blessing, assumed that the army of AI would act just as they had in Chapter 7. You see the last time they went to Battle with AI the Israelites fled in fear. However, it was that mistake that was made, that defeat that Israel experienced, that created a strategy for victory.

1 Corinthians 1:25–27 KJV 1900

25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

God takes what this world would call weakness & use it to His advantage. God takes what this world would call unworthy & uses it for the advancement of His Kingdom. Like having a baby boy from a family with limited resources, born in a stable, be the savior of the world. You see the fleeing Israelites no doubt would have been perceived as cowardice, unprepared, & lacking strength in the eyes of the army of AI & I would venture to guess in some of their own minds. But now God was going to use that perception as a way to accomplish the task at hand. You see this morning no matter what your perception is of others, no matter how much you feel like you or those around you have fallen short, understand God can turn that into an advantage even into a strength.

Isaiah 40:29 KJV 1900

29 He giveth power to the faint; And to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

God will come to the rescue, He will aid you in your endeavors, as long as what you are doing lines up with His will & His calling on your life. You must trust in Him. When we try to figure everything out ourselves it is easy to become pessimistic, derisive, or even lose sight & hope in your desired outcome. I am going to tell you that this morning I had already had it laid out that we were going to be looking at the later half of Joshua Chapter 8. But Chrystal, Sister Carrie, & I were talking yesterday afternoon and I shared with them that I did not know how to change the outcome of a situation or get to the desired result. That comment I made became a splinter in my mind & when the kids went to bed last night & I sat down to look at Joshua Chapter 8 one more time these scriptures hit me like a ton of bricks.

As a Follower of Jesus Christ it is not my place to rely on my wisdom, my abilities, or my understanding to work through a situation. It is my position to go to the Lord & say God I do not know what to do with this & I trust that you will aid me in it.

I believe I have shared this with you before but I will share it with you again because it ties in to this thought. In the early 90’s there was this man in England who was in need of surgery on his bladder. The only problem was that he had this paramount phobia for doctors & hospitals. So he does what no rational person would do & attempts the surgery himself. Unfortunately, his homemade procedure resulted in a infection that claimed his life. He died when a routine operation would have solved the problem. He did not trust doctors which caused him to take matters into his own hands. There are many who do not fully trust in God so they take matters into their own hands and they end up wreaking havoc on themselves in the process.

It does not matter what you are faced with this morning, rather you are in the valley or on the mountain top, you must never neglect dependency on Jesus. Jesus said,

John 15:4–5 KJV 1900

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.

God will assist us but we have to get out of the way. We can do nothing of substance or value without Him.

God’s Assurance

Joshua 8:1 KJV 1900

Joshua 8:8 KJV 1900

8 And it shall be, when ye have taken the city, that ye shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the Lord shall ye do. See, I have commanded you.

The 3rd point this morning is that we need to trust in God’s Assurance. In verse 1 of Joshua Chapter 8 notice that the Lord said I have given into thy hand. Some translations render that I have delivered into thy hand. This was not a hypothetical statement. This was not a maybe this will happen statement. This was a promise, a guarantee, an attestation that God will deliver.

Despite what had happened in their previous battle God declared that they would be victorious. There was no reason to have doubt or fear because of their previous mess up. God said “Fear not” & “neither be thou dismayed” which is reminiscent of Joshua’s original charge we read in Chapter 1.

Joshua 1:9 KJV 1900

9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

We should never walk around defeated despite the things that happen & when we feel as if we have no control. When we remain faithful yet it seems as if nothing goes right. When we do everything we can to focus on God yet troubling things occur around us. God directions to Joshua started with the promise, with the assurance of victory. This morning if you are a Follower of Christ you are not guaranteed a life without struggle, a life without pain, a life without heartache, a life without sickness, a life without problems, but you are promised, you are assured of victory.

Former President of Emmaus Bible College William MacDonald once said, “Victory in the Christian life is not the absence of conflict but the presence and protection of God in the midst of conflict.” Discouragement comes so easy yet if you are a Follower of Jesus, discouragement is only temporary.

I love history and if you ever look at the events surrounding the troops under George Washington’s command at Valley Forge you get a clear picture of a group of people who are demoralized. You see George Washington has approximately 12,000 troops left to battle the British Army. It is late December and the winter temperatures is not showing any mercy. Washington’s troops do not have the proper uniforms to fight the cold & they are literally starving to death. It would appear that the aspirations of this new United States of America would be conquered by the winter & the British. But in the midst of Washington’s men is someone named Baron Von Steuben. He is instrumental in preparing the army to fight the British despite the cold temperatures & disadvantages. He motivates them to push forward & reinvigorates the spirit of Washington’s men. They end up victorious in Saratoga then in Yorktown.

You see it is easy for us to be devastated by temporary setbacks & defeats. But often times those setbacks & defeats serve as a reminder or even the catalyst for us to get on our knees and realign ourselves with God.

Jeremiah 29:11 KJV 1900

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

We have to trust in God’s Assurance. All we have to do is claim it!

Conclusion:

This morning there are people in our congregation that are facing what seems like times of variability & even precariousness. You may be in a season of life where it seems as if there is a lack of consistency or things may seem uncertain. But you must never forget that God has made arrangements for you. He will aid & assist you with every aspect if you submit to His will. You have assurance that the plan He has for you will be carried out. I pray this morning that Victory in Jesus did not stop at the point of salvation for you. Rather I hope that you claim daily victory by Following Christ in every circumstance. Victory is only one prayer away.