Joshua Chapter 8

Survey

 

Prov 24:16 For a righteous man may fall seven times but he gets up again,

A)One of the things that this verse teaches us is that the Righteous man / woman will fall at times

 

B) I am not Perfect – neither are you – And although God the Father sees us as being Perfect - - Sees us in Christ

1)   That is not what we are Practically – All in the Process of being under Construction { Sanctification -

 

C) But all of us from time to time in certain areas FALL – Flesh gets the best of us !!!    We do what we said that we wouldn’t

1)   Or what we wanted to do – intended to do – We don’t do !!! – Lack of Follow thru on the good intention or in response to the Lord

 

D) But what the writer of Proverbs is Declaring is – even though we may fall the Righteous man/ woman – doesn’t stay down – He gets back up

1)   The Righteous person Rebounds

 

Well in Joshua CH. 7 & 8 Tells us HOW TO GET BACK UP / Note tonight - / Ch. 7   We saw the Children of Israel fall Big time

A)Reasons: Self Confidence / don’t need to take everyone

    By Product of that - Lack of Prayer – Joshua forgot to Pray

 

B) Disobedience: Achan took of the Accursed thing /He broke the Cov.

 

C) Result: The Army was Defeated – Clocks Cleaned : And The People’s hearts melted like Water and Joshua – was Distraught

1) But then the Lord revealed the problem – Sin in the camp – And the Lord says to Joshua – You need to deal w/ the Problem – the sin

 

D) They do – Chapter 7 ends w/ them Stoning Achan & His Family

1)   They dealt w/ the Sin –

 

Now this is the first step in a righteous man Recovering – When he falls In order to get up{Continue to be Righteous} You have to deal w/ the Sin

A)Often times that is not what happens – a Person falls – when they fall they get dirty –

 

B) What happens is they might get up – they might start walking again – but the Problem is they are dirty { they have been tainted & they Know it

1)   As a result they just don’t feel clean – Because the dirt is still attached to them – and the Guilt that goes along w/ it

 

C) Sometimes when a person falls a weight gets attached to them –

1)   That weight might be the burden of their sin { that is like a ball and chain around their leg holding them back / holding them down

 

D) They might get up and try to walk or to run in the race – but because of the weight they stumble in Frustration in their Walks – No Victory

1)   Or they stumble into deeper sin – because of the temptation

 

E) The problem is they try to get up & walk again – before dealing w/ their Sin – Repenting of their sin

 

Well in Ch. 7 Israel  is down – they have suffered because of their sin

A)Now had they said – we can’t deal w/ Achan / he is too nice a guy – we are not going to kill him and his family

 

B) Or you know it is just one little Babylonian coat and a little gold & Silver  it is not that big a deal –

1)   They might have been able to muster up the strength w/ their whole army to Defeat little Ai – w/ only a few more casualties -

 

C) But it would catch up to them – for in Ch. 10 we will see – that they are going to come up against five kings – five cities at one time

1)   They would be doomed -  No if they were going to be Victorious in the long haul – they had to deal w/ the sin { 1st step in getting up !!!!

 

Now what we see in Chapter 8 is how God deals w/ the Condemnation and how God – brings restoration – so they can walk/ war again

A)Here in Ch. 8 God deals w/ the Condemnation / the Guilt & the fear !

    Josh 8:1-3{ Note 5 things that are the result of dealing w/ the Sin

 

1st NEW CONFIDENCE

 Now the LORD said to Joshua:"Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. 2 And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its cattle you shall take as booty for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it Josh 3 So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai; and Joshua chose thirty thousand mighty men of valor and sent them away by night.

 

B) Now notice God comes to them & says don’t be afraid or Dismayed – it is time to rise up and take the City

1)   But note this Exhortation and Instruction from God – comes only after the sin has been dealt w/ - Only Then God says – No need to fear

 

C) See sin Undealt with destroys the confidence that I can Have in God’s Presence being in my life –

1) As soon as the sin is dealt w/ the Lord says Don’t fear / nor be distraught rise up –{

 

He wants to work thru a clean vessel

A)God was telling them – I am w/ you / There is no need to Fear / He says the same thing to us –

 

B) Creator & Sustainer – says – Rob I am w/ you –

1) As a kid fear nothing as long as my dad was there – Nothing that is going to hurt me –  Dive off the side of the pool – stand in  batting cage

 

 

C) Whatever it was it didn’t matter – My dad is here – He has it under control – that is how God wants His kids to feel – Confident

1)   Are you a confident Christian ? – Do you really believe that God is w/ you – I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me

 

D) I will admit – there are so many times that I get frustrated / fearful and dismayed because – I forget that – God is w/ me

1)   Loves me / Loves my family / loves the Church – way more than I do so what am I worrying about

 

 

See Satan wants our defeats / failures to Cripple us – Crippled by Condemnation

A)When we have made a mistake / fallen sometimes we are scared to get up again / move forwards /

 

B)We look back & remember the mistakes that we made, and then we look ahead & wonder whether there’s any future for people who fail so foolishly.

1) The enemy likes to use our defeats to cripple us / we might know we are forgiven but we are reluctant to step out to be used again

 

C) Our tendency is to want to stay put & to stay comfortable / but that is so damaging to our walks !

1) Had Joshua stayed put / not seeking to advance and take Ai / he & Israel would grow stagnate & miss out on the blessing God had for them

 

(Alexander Whyte). No matter what mistakes we may make, the worst mistake of all is not to try again; for “the victorious Christian life is a series of new beginnings”

 

D) Satan wants to Cripple us w/ Fear – But God wants to free us up to Confidently step out in Faith

1)   SO God says I am w/ you – Be confident  the Victory is yours –

       And With the New Confidence Comes #2 New Blessings { Spoils

God says take the spoils -

Now God says the same thing to us – God desires to radically bless our lives

A) How many of us – Don’t believe that – we go into life – never expecting anything from the Lord –

 

B) As a husband – I love to bless my wife – Valentines day – a little thing

She was so blessed – I was so pleased

1)   Kids Birthdays – Eyes light up – I love to see that

 

C) God is the same way – Jesus told His Disciples not to fret about Provision – Father will take care of you – Good pleasure to give you the Kingdom

1)   God enjoys – Blessing your life !!! – Takes pleasure in it

 

D) He is that kind of Dad -

 

 

So the first response to dealing w/ their Sin is – Received the confidence of God’s Presence w/ them & the promise of Victory –

A)3rd  result is they received – New Direction – God gives them a new Battle Strategy – Ambush  { read v.4-13

 

B) Here we see that the  Lord is faithful to speak & here he gives Joshua new instructions about the Battle !    A new strategy

 

B)1st Notice in God Strategy they were to take all the soldiers V.1 –

     2nd They were to set up an Ambush

 

C) Teaches us - God is not only the God of new beginnings, but He’s also the God of infinite variety.

1) He changes His methods so we don’t start depending on our personal experience instead of on His divine promises.

 

D)The strategy God gave Joshua for taking Ai was almost opposite the strategy He used at Jericho.

The Jericho operation involved a week of marches that were carried on openly in the daylight.

A)The attack on Ai involved a covert night operation that prepared the way for the daylight assault.

 

B) The whole army was united at Jericho, but Joshua divided the army for the attack on Ai.

 

C) God performed a mighty miracle at Jericho when He caused the walls to fall down flat, but there was no such miracle at Ai.

1) Joshua & his men simply obeyed God’s instructions by setting an ambush & luring the people of Ai out of their city, & the Lord gave them the victory.

 

D) This is good for us to remember because it reminds us that we can’t put God in a box /

1) can’t predict how he is going to respond at a given time / situation

 

E) In fact  I think GOD changes his strategies on purpose so that we don't relax into depending on habit patterns, on history,

1) Or on our own personal experience. – See  He wants us to always be looking AT HIM, Depending ON HIM , Relying on his promises.

 

The 4th  thing  to note is Restoration resulted in a New Obedience

A) Israel was called upon to exercise faith in the Divine assurance for Success / They were to proceed w/ the utmost confidence in God

 

B) But they still were required to adhere to the Divine Strategy

1) It was not enough for them to belief in the Promise of God’s Presence –He was w/ them – It wasn’t enough for them to know the Strategy

 

C) It needed to be lived out – It needed to be put into Practice Not enough to belief – Belief needs to result in Action

1)   God’s assurances to His people are not designed to promote apathy or laziness – they are meant to stimulate & to encourage diligence

D)  Hope is not meant to discharge us from our obligation – but it is meant to inspire us into performing them

1) Faith that doesn’t result in Action is Dead Orthodoxy – A lot of Knowledge that never translates into Action { Remember when

 

E) So they were able to get up after they dealt w/ the sin – Resulted in a New Confidence in God’s promise / New Direction / New Action on their part

 

5th  thing to note is that God’s Strategy – resulted in a New Humility

A)See God’s strategy involved using their Previous Defeat – They were to flee – which would have been very embarrassing for them

 

B) No one wants to do that – No Lord we want to take the whole army this time – 30,000 plus guys and we are going to Flex our Muscles

1)   Baseball warm ups – you knew where it was going – What Range –

Pitcher – throw a couple hard ones at the back stop – FEAR

 

C) The last thing they would have wanted to do in their Flesh was to go run AWAY like Cowards

1)   – Basketball team – let them get up by 20 { But it wasn’t about them and their ideas – Their SURRENDER TO GOD’S PLAN – Humility !

 

D) But see the Lord Knows the Pride in mans heart – He knew the affect that would have on the King of Ai –

1)   It has been said that a Perceived area of Strength – can be a double weakness- where you leave yourself exposed

     2) Which is exactly what the King of Ai does !!! RD  V.14-29

 

Well this  was a brilliant strategy that the Lord had ordained & it was victorious !   

A)Now v 29  records that they raised up a huge pile of boulders at the gate of the city.

 

B)Noted That also happened after the first battle for Ai-but those stones were memories of failure, of the sin of Achan.

C) These stones are a memorial to the victory that God accomplished through his people.  STANDING STONES

1)   Reminders of defeats are normal – often it is the scars that we bear – or what we see in the faces of the people we have hurt thru our failure

 

D) But next to those reminders of defeat we need reminders of our Victory

 

So Ch. 8 We learn that it is possible to rebound after a defeat – that once the sin is dealt w/ repented of – Leads to a NEW CONFIDENCE

A)We learn that God is a God of New Beginnings – but also of New Strategies – New Direction

 

B) We learn that Faith –needs to be followed up w/ action – New Obedience - If my faith is not active – Dead orthodoxy

1)  W smith Greatest Danger to the Church

 

C) One of the Worst thing that can happen to us as a Church or an individual is when we become Crippled by fear of failure

1)Or Content to live on w/ past victories but never seeking the Lord for what He desires to do next ! Not be directed because we are so set in our ways

 

D) The bible tells us in 2 Chronicles 16:9    "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.

 

E) I believe the eyes of the Lord are running throughout Calvary Vista seeking those to whom He could show Himself strong on behalf of !

1)Hearts that desire to see Him work mightily in their lives in this church !

 

Sunday – V.30-35 Beautiful Picture of our Salvation – Way from Cursing into Blessing is thru the Cross of Christ & Surrender to the Risen Lord 

 

 

           

 

In closing I want to make some comments concerning the Strategy the Lord had them use & how it relates to our Calling / our War

A)As believers we are involved in a battle – w/ the World of Unbelievers – Our Mission is not to destroy them but to win them to Christ

 

B) Sometimes the tactic the Lord has us employ is like that of Jericho – you just March around the city & let them Watch you

1)   In time I will reveal my Power in your Life 

 

C) At other times it is like what we’ll see in Ch. 10 – A direct attack – You go talk to them – you bring them to Church – you challenge them

1)   You bring them to Billy Graham Crusade

 

D) But sometimes it is like – here in Ch.8- The Lord says Ambush them

1)   What do I mean by that – Ambush is a Surprise attack – it is meant to take them off Guard –

 

E) Well I think the Lord would say to us at times – Surprise them w/ Love

1)   Mow your neighbors lawn- Bring in their trash cans – Bake cookies

Thanks for being my neighbor – Watch kids – go on a date

 

F) Surprise them w/ Random acts of love and Kindness

1)   Sandy Adams – FREE GIFT WRAPPING 10,000 PRESNTS

 

 AMBUSH THEM W/ LOVE -  NAME OF JESUS

 

 

 

So Righteous man falls 7 times he gets up

A)The way to get up is to deal w/ the Sin – Repent

 

B) Some of you fallen – haven’t really gotten up

Haven’t dealt w/ the sin

1)   Attempting to walk – all dirty – Sin is weighing you down – REPENT TONIGHT

 

C) See it for what it is – God wants to bless you – Your Sin has broken the flow of blessing

 

Other here – Fell  2months ago – 3 yrs ago –

A)Living under the cloud of Condemnation – Crippled you – Fearful of Failure

 

B) God would say to you tonight Arise my Child – I am w/ you – New Confidence

1)   New Direction

2)   New Obedience

3)   New Humility – Has to be God

 

C) Pray for those tonight -