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?