Victory in Obedience vs. Defeat in Jumping the Gun

    God gave specific instructions about how to encompass and take Jericho.

 Take a look at another graphic by Debbie Jackson at biblefunforkids.com. 

*REMEMBER WHO OUR ENEMY IS* 

“Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”.                 -Ephesians 6:11-12 (KJV)

It is NOT people! It is Satan and his forces, and it is spiritual.

 Redemption to Sanctification

 

Judgment:  Exodus 14:13 & 30; 

Redemption – Galatians 4:3-5; Galatians 3:13; Exodus 12; Exodus 6:6; Exodus 15:13; 

Sanctification (consecrate, or set apart for a purpose, by purification) Spiritual battle requires spiritual preparation. Romans 8; John 17:13-21; Exodus 13

Power: (authority, strength) Mark 3:15; Mark 6:7; Luke 4:32; Luke 5:17; Luke 10:19; Acts 1:8;

 

The Red Sea = judgment; the children of Israel were allowed passage, the Egyptians were destroyed. The angel of God moved from in front of the Israelites to the back of them along with the guiding cloud to put a barrier between them and the Egyptians. The Egyptians could only see darkness, but that same “cloud” provided light for the Israelites while they crossed THROUGH the Red Sea. Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon asserts that this angel is a theophanic angel, that is a manifestation of God in the Bible that is tangle to the human senses. God put HIMSELF between the Israelites and the Egyptians. Judgment.

 

The Rod = redemption; Moses held out his rod and his hand over the water and it was parted to make a way out of bondage for the Israelites.

 

Redeem- to redeem by payment of a price to recover from the power of another, to ransom, buy off

 

This is also illustrated in the Passover. The Israelites were slaves that God bought back.

 

Crossing Jordan = sanctification; the Israelites were God’s chosen people, chosen to inhabit His land. They were called by Joshua to purify themselves, turn their minds toward the things ahead, not looking at or thinking about anything except watching the Ark and waiting for God’s instructions. Today we must fix our minds on the Holy Spirit, deliberately set ourselves apart for the purposes God, always listening for the next instructions and not worrying about anything else.

 

Promised Land = power; We reach this level of power by being obedient to the Lord. We can no longer treat the church as a business and a business model to be reproduced. We’ve spent too many years looking for a 5-step program or the right events, the right campaigns trying to replicate what’s going on down the road and not enough time seeking the Lord and what HE wants. God often throws out logic. He wants to do miracles. He wants to do the supernatural. He wants US to work in the supernatural.  Stop working in the natural, start working in the spiritual realm where the REAL battle is. If every victory, every success, every positive outcome can be explained by a good idea, a good business model, the way things have always been done, then God does not get the glory, and GOD WILL RECEIVE HIS GLORY. 

Moses is Dead

The following are brief notes on the book of Joshua.

Chapter 1: MOSES IS DEAD

    Moses represents wilderness wandering. Joshua represents Christ, leading us from merely provision to the promise of power through the Holy Spirit.

“Behold, I give unto you power (authority) to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”     -Luke 10:19 (KJV)

“And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endured with power from on high.”     -Luke 24:49 (KJV)

“But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”     -Acts 1:8 (KJV)

TODAY:  It is time to stop living in the past and move on to what God has promised for us. The Promised Land does NOT have to be heaven. It can be the next level of spiritual maturity which takes on the enemy of souls head on to further the Kingdom of God.

“….I am come that they may have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth life for the sheep.”     -John 10:10-11 (KJV)

(speaking of Christ) “Concerning this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull and sluggish in [your spiritual] hearing and disinclined to listen.  For though by this time you ought to be teachers [because of the time you have had to learn these truths], you actually need someone to teach you again the elementary principles of God’s word [from the beginning], and you have come to be continually in need of milk, not solid food.  For everyone who lives on milk is [doctrinally inexperienced and]unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a spiritual infant.  But solid food is for the [spiritually] mature whose senses are trained by practice to distinguish between what is morally good and what is evil.  Therefore let us get past the elementary stage in the teachings about Christ, advancing on to maturity and perfection and spiritual completeness…” - Hebrews 5:11-6:1

CHAPTER 2: GOD WENT BEFORE THEM

    The people of Jericho were afraid because of what they had heard about the Lord which in turn caused Rahab to seek mercy from the spies and God.

CHAPTER 3: CROSSING JORDAN

    The Ark went first, out front, so this massive group of people could see it and follow exactly where to walk.  There’s a call for sanctification, or consecration. The banks of the river were overflowing which would seem like a bad time to be crossing, but through the miraculous damming of the waters, God was glorified.

“……(and when the kings) heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we (they) were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more because of the children of Israel.”    -Joshua 5:1

TODAY: We MUST be following the presence of the Lord, not man. We must examine ourselves and set ourselves apart for Holy use to see the miracles God will do.

CHAPTER 4: A MEMORIAL, NOT AN ALTAR

    12 stones were left in the river bed by Joshua and 12 stones were left on the bank by 12 representatives - one from each tribe.  These were to be memorials, as in a place of remembrance, not the place to stay and worship.

MOVE ON!!

TODAY: Tell your children what God has done. Testify of the miracles, but don’t stay there never moving on to what else the Lord has for you.  You cannot live in the past (the old ways) and expect change or maturity. 

CHAPTER 5: PREPARATION

    Circumcision re-instituted. Passover celebrated. The captain of the Lord’s host appears.

Passover: salvation by the blood of the lamb
circumcision:  sanctification, setting yourself apart for holy use (“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” - 1 Corinthians 3:16)
manna to corn: milk to meat (spiritual maturity)
Captain of the host:  Revelation of Christ

TODAY: We must separate ourselves from this world! We must continue on from the elementary doctrines! We must seek a revelation of Jesus Christ!

 

Consumerism in the Institutional Church Part 2

    Do you spend all your time complaining about what your church does or does not look like? Take a hard look at the priorities. Do YOUR preferences or the preferences of your congregation supersede the instructions of God, the furthering of the kingdom of God, the move of the Holy Spirit, and ultimately the harvesting of souls? Are you so focused on music, special songs, taking up an offering, having a full band, wearing dresses and suits, dressing casually, using certain curriculum, holding revivals, etc. that you’ve completely taken the leading of the Holy Spirit out of your gatherings? Is there a specific way YOU think church should “go” and anything that doesn’t fit that mold is wrong in your eyes? 

 Consumerism in the Institutional Church

        Before we get too far into this, let’s clarify some of the words in the title. 

consumerism: the propensity to consume and keep consuming (from investopedia.com); within the context of the podcast-the idea that the church has become a business-like entity with the sole purpose of providing “goods” to its congregants and likewise the congregants have become consumers in that they are looking to gain something by attending

institutional church: the organized, structured, membership-oriented congregations (our definition) This is in contrast to the Body of Christ which is all believers and followers of Christ. 

        The 3 Types of Consumer-Minded Churches

1. Large Discount Store or Shopping Mall

    This your “mega” churches with dozens of ministries to fit the attendees desires. These dozens of ministries and departments all have pastors, leaders, and workers in each one. Think managers, assistant managers, and cashiers. The shelves are stocked with several different options so you can choose exactly what YOU are looking for. Congregants can pick and choose what they want to be a part of and it is hardly noticed if they don’t show up for a few weeks or months.  The variety store churches want to make sure they offer something for everyone to be more enticing to the general public.

2. Dollar Stores

    These businesses are there to be a convenient stop for shoppers who only need the essentials. This is like your mid-range churches who would like more “business” but also know they rely on their regulars. There’s a few extra programs, but only if there’s demand for it. 

3. Small Local Specialty Shop

    This would be like a small country or rural church, or possibly just one with a small amount of members. In the shopping world, this would be a boutique that only offers one type of product. Locals are the regulars. The owners are perfectly happy to only serve the people they know and get along with. Churches in this category will typically be very introverted and only desire to serve those that are in their “circle.”

    Bottom line: The Church, the Body of Christ, the Ekklesia was sent OUT by Christ. He commanded his disciples to go out and spread the Gospel, not sit in the four walls of a building or organization and hope to bring people in with great marketing tools and enticing “products and/or services” or to only invite our friends to our exclusive club. When we gather as believers it should be as Jesus instructed Peter saying, “Feed my sheep.” Feeding the sheep is further described by Paul when writing to the Ephesians: “….he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers: for the perfecting (complete furnishing, equipping) of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying (building up) of the body of Christ.” Much like building a physical body, building the body of Christ will be challenging and not a patty-cake, once a week, comfortable task. Well-fed sheep reproduce. Reproduction is NOT taking sheep from another field. Reproduction = multiplication.

Conclusion

    Looking back at the story of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, the institutional church has been wandering for far too long. We have become somewhat comfortable here, settling in to the routine of “having church.” God wants more for us. We’ve been delivered from sin (Egypt), but let’s not stop there. The Promised Land is just over the Jordan. 

The Promised Land of life more abundant. 

The Promised Land of victory over the enemy of our souls. 

The Promised Land of furthering the Kingdom of God. 

 Welcome to our blog! 

We started this podcast to share some of the insights and revelations the Holy Spirit has been imparting to us. Our discussions are straight from daily conversations between us and we wanted to include you!

A little about us: We have been married for 21 years and have 5 children. We both grew up in church and have served in many capacities including pastor, teacher, and worship leader. While entering into a new season of our life, we have been re-examining the church and the body of Christ. Neither of us take this podcast or blog lightly. This is not a hobby. This is not a stab at becoming popular, making money, or anything else. This endeavor is our avenue to share what the Lord has been telling us. But we want everyone to study the scripture for themselves.

“….they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” -Acts 17:11 KJV

-Ryan & Amanda-