Overcoming Overwhelming Odds
A)Some Lose Sleep- they toss & turn all night long !!!! Some people resort to watching TV Veg tune out Distracted
B) What Should we do ?
This Chapter gives us some neat insights into What to do in the Mist of
Overcoming Circumstances
1) How to be Overcomers
instead of being Overcome Read whole Chapter
C) Now In our text we read that
Joshua is faced with an opponent that was seemingly INNUMERABLE and INVINCIBLE
1) V.4 We are told that the army coming against
Israel was like the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude,w/ horses
& chariots .
Now Imagine Joshua coming up on a ridge & looking down on
the incoming army & it looks like the sand of the Beach
A)Imagine the temptation to just feel completely
over whelmed like there is no way in the world that we can defeat them
B) But In
the face of such tremendous odds, the Lord ENCOURAGED His servant Joshua.
1) This Chapter lays out for us
4 Key Principles for Overcoming
overwhelming odds
c) 1.) We need to have the Right
PERSPECTIVE
2.) We need to believe in God's PROMISE
3.) Put our Faith
into PRACTICE
4.) Rest in The
PEACE that RESULTS
1st
Having the Right PERSPECTIVE is crucial
A)As Joshua looks at this situation it is obvious
that is first reaction was one of FEAR Because in v. 6 the Lord tells him
dont be afraid
B) This encourages me that although Joshua is
this man of Faith In Ch. 10 He speaks to the Sun Stand still
1)
But
He is still a man Subject to fear & Discouragement Here is the case
C) I
have found often in the Christian life Pray seek the Lord for
something get an answer Peace you step out Next day peace is gone
1) Happened to me Monday leadership got together
week & a ½ Fasting and praying came together - what is the Lord saying Unity/ peace
D) Tues morning I woke up No peace completely overwhelmed turned to
the word God was quit to speak Peace back
1) But we go thru those times where our faith can
falter Discouragement can set in
In
fact one of Satan's best tools is discouragement./Once discouragement sets in,
you begin to lose hope & confidence in God.
A)From that point you are open to walk away from the
Lord & do anything.
B) Even Seen people
overwhelmed by discouragement quit the ministry / some who even have
given up on the Lord -
C) Now: Satan loves to do 2 things as a means of
discouragement
1)
1st
Get our eyes OFF of the Lord and onto our problem /
2)
The
2nd way Satan tries to get us discouraged is by getting us to
Measure
the problem against our strength and resources
D) That is exactly what is happening here w/ Joshua
He looks at this army and right away He is thinking No way
1) Listen We can be discouraged when we measure the
battle against ourselves...... We NEED to have a right
PERSPECTIVE/ Factor in God
A)Ps. 118:8 It
is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
B)The very next verse is interesting: Ps.
118:9 It is better to trust in the LORD
than to put confidence in princes.
1) History proves God to be
true
ILLUSTRATION: The king of Italy and the
king of Bohemia promised John Huss safe transport and safe custody. They broke
their promises, and Huss was martyred. Thomas Wentworth carried a document
signed by King Charles I which read: "Upon
the word of a king you shall not suffer in life, honour, or fortune." Shortly
afterwards, however, his death warrant was signed by the same monarch. "Put
not your trust in princes" were Wentworth's last
words. It IS better to trust in the Lord than
in anyone or anything else.
C) If Satan can get you to put your confidence in
man, he KNOWS that you will be discouraged and soon defeated.
That is why the Lord
was so quick to ENCOURAGE Joshua by getting
him to see where his confidence needed to be.
A)In the natural, there was plenty of reason for
Joshua to be afraid BECAUSE OF THEM
B)But the Lord told Him that He DID NOT have to be
afraid -
6 But the LORD
said to Joshua,"Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow about this
time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel. You shall hamstring their
horses [Cripple
them by cutting their Hamstrings] and burn their chariots with fire."
C)The Point was The battle was not going to FOUGHT
nor WON on the basis of Joshua's
strength.
1)
The
battle would be FOUGHT for them by the Lord and WON for them by the Lord.
D) Now there
would have been some who would argue why
- destroy the horses & the Chariots
we can use those things WHY this command?
Psalm 20:7-8 Some [trust]
in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our
God. They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.
Isa. 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, And rely on horses, Who trust
in chariots because they are many, And in horsemen because they are very
strong, But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, Nor seek the LORD!
The
temptation would have been for Israel to start
trusting in modern military techniques
A)God says: "BURN
the technologies and trust Me"
Jer 17:5-8 5 Thus says the LORD:
"Cursed is the man who trusts in
man And makes flesh his strength,
Whose heart departs from the LORD. 6 For he shall be like a shrub in the
desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places
in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.
7 "Blessed
is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. 8 For he shall be like a tree planted by
the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
B) Trust in the man / trust in the Arm of the Flesh
be like a shrub in the desert No beauty
barely hanging on Life marked by Parchedness
C) But He who
trust in the Lord whose Hope is in the Lord will be like a tree which that
is planted by the river roots drawing nourishment
1)
Whose leave shall be green Not anxious in the year of drought Nor
cease from yielding fruit
D)That is what I want to be as a Man / as a Church
Hard times could be coming Trust in the Lord not
cease from yielding fruit
Listen Jesus DOES
NOT want you to be DISCOURAGED as you face the Overwhelming Odds .
A)He wants you to KNOW that HE WILL fight for you - Don't be discourage BECAUSE OF THEM
B)Who would
that be in your life?/ What would
that be in your life?
THEY might
be bigger than you or any human help available to you.
1) But they ARE NOT bigger than the Lord.
C) Maintain right
PERSPECTIVE- It is the Lord who PROMISES to fight for you.
NOTE: Because they listened to the Lord and kept things in
perspective, by verse 21 they had even conquered the ANAKIM. V.21-22
A)The ANAKIM were Israel's worst nightmare.
B) These were the guys that 10 of the 12 spies sent
by Moses were totally freaked out over We are
like Grasshoppers in Comparison to them -
1) and as a result They voted against Israel going
up into the land.
C) But this time around it is a different story As they began to LISTEN to the Word of God
and measure their adversaries against the Lord,
1) God actually brought
them to a place of victory over their greatest fear.
D) We too can overcome our greatest fears when we
have the Right perspective Eyes are on the Lord / Everything seen in light of
who He is
Lets consider the second Principle
in our text, which is God's PROMISE of victory
A)
Verse 6 for tomorrow about this time will I deliver them up
B) Here we see God PROMISES deliverance for His
people and it WILL come at an appointed time.
C)No matter what your trial is God has an appointed
TOMORROW for you in which He will accomplish that which He promises.
D) In 2 Chronicles Ch. 20 During the time that
Jehosphat was king in Judah another great Army was coming against them
1)
When
King Jehosphat first hears of this impending attack His First reaction was
one of Fear
But
instead of allowing himself to be overcome by fear he seeks the Lord called
for the people to pray & to fast { God answered
the Lord said to the People
dont be afraid of by dismayed because of this great Multitude - for the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow
go down against them..... You
shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, & stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD
with you,
Believe in the
LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
A)There is always a TOMMORROW IN Gods Economy &
Time Table
1)Things might look Bleak to you But He says just
wait until Tomorrow
B) Jesus told His disciples to WAIT in Jerusalem for
the promise of the H.S. & that NOT MANY DAYS HENCE they would be baptized
w/ the H.S.
1)
Which
was what they needed to be empowered to serve / Empowered to reach the World
C) Their Tomorrow came on the day of Pentecost
Spirit fell & they were FOREVER CHANGED so was the world turned upside
down !!!
D) You might be sitting there today thinking that
your situation looks bleak it looks very Perplexing
1) But the Lord would say to you today Just HANG
IN THERE your Tomorrow is Coming !!!!
Now the next Principle to note is that the Israelites had
to put their faith into PRACTICE RD v . 7-8
VERSES 7-8 So Joshua came, and all the people
of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly; and they fell
upon them. And the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them,
and chased them
.. throughout the region - until they left them none
remaining.
A)Here we see that God gives the battle but
they had to step out & fight.
STORY: A discouraged minister once
dreamed that he was standing on the top of a great granite rock, trying to
break it with a pickaxe. Hour after hour he worked with no result. At last he
said: "It is useless, I will stop".
Suddenly a man stood by him and asked: " Were you not allotted this task? and if so, why
are you going to abandon it?" "My work is in vain: I
can't even make a dent in this granite." was the minister's
reply. Then the stranger solemnly replied: "That
is nothing to you: your duty is to pick whether the rock yields or not. The
work is yours, the results are in other hands, work on."
In his dream the minister saw himself setting out
anew on his labor and at his first blow the rock flew into hundreds of pieces.
B) Satan wants you to get your eye on the greatness
of the rock and in so doing bring your faith to a grinding halt.
1)"Nothings happening... You're getting nowhere so
quit"
C)But God says: "I
didn't ask you to be concerned with the results... I asked you to TRUST me and DO what I set before you"
1) Their going to battle was the proving of their
faith in God.- It was a LIVING faith!!
It was a faith that WORKED!!
1) God
told them to look AT HIM and NOT the enemy
E) God told them that tomorrow at this time they would win the battle
1) In FAITH they OBEYED
4th Principle we see the PEACE that RESULTS
VERSE 23 So Joshua took the whole land,
according to all that the LORD said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an
inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And THE LAND RESTED
FROM WAR
A)Now one of the things that we have noted in our
study of the book of Joshua is that the book is a Picture of the Christian life
1)
Life of Resting in the Finished work of
Christ for our Salvation
.nothing we need to do to earn our salvation Jesus brings us in
B) It is also a Picture of the Spirit filled life A
life of resting in the Continual work of the HS in our hearts to bring us into
the fullness of God !!!
1) This is an Active Rest of Yielding to the Leading of the HS in our lives
C) Their Joshua had conquered the land for them and gave it to them as an inheritance.
1)Now it was up to each individual tribe and each
individual family within each tribe and each individual man and woman to
partake of what was won for them and given to them.
Our Joshua..... Jesus Christ.... has taken the whole land.
A)All that is required of us is that we is that we
should take our share
of the victory of the cross./ Now walk in the Spirit
B) We must actively receive ALL that God has for Us
there is NO reason for any of us to live as a spiritual pauper. Redpath
As you approach God on the basis of these things you
can be sure that tomorrow
at this time God will give
the victory to you