Altars of Renewal

Intro

Last week: Altars of Obedience

Faith

Submission

Sacrifice

Two quotes I loved from last weeks sermon...

It’s one thing to declare love, its another to prove it

Sacrificial obedience reveals whether we can be trusted

Altars of Restoration

Setup the story of Joshua, briefly.

Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness

Moses has died

They are about to enter the promise land

God’s calls Joshua, and marks the next generation.

Joshua 1:1–9 (NKJV)

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: 2 “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

The Lord’s call to Joshua, His primary command was two fold...

Be strong and courageous

Do all according to the Book of the Law

Joshua 2-4 = preparation, crossing the Jordan.

Joshua 5 - the Lord marks the next generation

The old men had died//circumcision of all the young men

“I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt”

Israel kept Passover

Joshua 5:10–15 (NKJV)

10 Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho. 11 And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day. 12 Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.

This marks the new season of the people of Israel

13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?”

14 So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.”

And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”

15 Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.

The same words He spoke to Moses at the burning bush.

to Moses: a sign and a wonder, a representation of how He would lead Israel in that season

to Joshua: the commander of the Lord’s armies, how He would lead Israel in this new season

The Lord has pressed “reset” on the people of Israel - the reason He called Joshua to be obedient to the law of Moses, is because the last generation wasted 40 years due to disobedience. He was adamant about Joshua keeping the the words of the law.

The Story of Jericho

Joshua 6:1–5 (NKJV) The command on how to take the city

1 Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. 2 And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. 3 You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. 4 And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.”

Joshua was not going to mess this up, He commanded the army exactly as the Lord instructed

Joshua 6:15–21 (NKJV) The taking of the city, and utter destruction

15 But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. 16 And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city! 17 Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. 18 And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. 19 But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.”

The Lord was very clear, to...

1. Utterly destroy the entire city

2. Abstain from accursed things

3. Bring silver, gold, and vessels of bronze and iron into the treasury

20 So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. 21 And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

So much as Joshua knows, everything has gone perfectly to plan!

Achan’s Sin

Joshua 7:1 (NKJV) Achans sin

1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the Lord burned against the children of Israel.

It’s set up like a movie...

- Israel crosses the Jordan, its a new season, walking in the promises of God

- God appears and anoints the next leader and gives instruction

- They conquer their first city with overwhelming ease

- Secretly someone screws things up, and no one knows going into the next battle...

Ai Round 1

Directly following Jericho’s destruction and Achan’s secret sin...

Joshua sends spies to Ai, then sends a small group (3,000) to conquer Ai

The 3,000 men flea before the men of Ai, and 36 are killed

Joshua falls on his face before the Ark...

Joshua 7:6–9 (NKJV) Joshua’s Pity Party

6 Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, Lord God, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all—to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies? 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?”

Joshua throws a pity party - no wonder the Lord told him to be strong and courageous

I love the Lord’s response...

Joshua 7:10–13 (NKJV) The Lord’s Response to Joshua’s Pity Party

10 So the Lord said to Joshua: “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? 11 Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. 12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you.

PAUSE:

“Accursed things” = items deemed for utter destruction as a sacrifice unto the Lord

Israel’s possession of these items caused them to then be “doomed for destruction”

13 Get up, sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the Lord God of Israel: “There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.”

Joshua 7:19–26 (NKJV) Achan’s confession, and restitution

19 Now Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I beg you, give glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

20 And Achan answered Joshua and said, “Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I have done: 21 When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.”

22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver under it. 23 And they took them from the midst of the tent, brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the Lord. 24 Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? The Lord will trouble you this day.” So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.

26 Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor to this day.

Victory of Ai

Joshua 8:1–2 (NKJV)

1 Now the Lord said to Joshua: “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed;

We see again, be strong and courageous

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.

If Achan had only been obedient, he may have recieved something for himself this time around

Lay an ambush for the city behind it.”

Altar of Renewal

Joshua 8:30–35 (NKJV) Joshua restores the covenant

30 Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal, 31 as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. 32 And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. 33 Then all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the stranger as well as he who was born among them. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. 34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the strangers who were living among them.

What Can We Learn?

“The Covenant sets us apart as the people of God.”

Why did Joshua restore the covenant? He realized that walking in the ways of God, not departing from the word of God, is the only thing that sets us apart as people of God.

Look back at Joshua 7:10-12

Joshua 7:10–12 (NKJV) Achans sin doomed them

10 So the Lord said to Joshua: “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? 11 Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. 12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you.

God sets a precedent that apart from honoring His covenant with them, there is no differentiation between them and the gentiles.

He desires a people without mixture, set apart

A theme across the Bible, Old and New Testament alike, is the importance of honoring the word of God by walking in His ways.

Point 1: Walk in His Ways

To be the people of God, we must walk in the ways of God

1 Kings 8:60–61 (NKJV)

60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other. 61 Let your heart therefore be loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, as at this day.”

Jeremiah 7:23 (NKJV)

23 But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’

Ezekiel 11:20–21 (NKJV)

20 that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God.

Ezekiel 37:26–28 (NKJV)

26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 28 The nations also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” ’ ”

The Lord has always desired to make His home with His people

His covenant is hidden at the center of His presence (The tablets of the testimony in the Ark)

We are now the temple of the Holy Spirit - we must hide his word in our hearts

Achan’s sin manifested in him hiding abominations in his dwelling place

What are we hiding in our dwelling place? His word? Or accursed things?

To be people of God we must...

Point 2: Hide his Word

Hiding His word in our heart, keeps us walking in His ways

Psalm 119:9–16 (NKJV)

9 How can a young man cleanse his way?

By taking heed according to Your word.

10 With my whole heart I have sought You;

Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!

11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,

That I might not sin against You.

12 Blessed are You, O Lord!

Teach me Your statutes.

13 With my lips I have declared

All the judgments of Your mouth.

14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,

As much as in all riches.

15 I will meditate on Your precepts,

And contemplate Your ways.

16 I will delight myself in Your statutes;

I will not forget Your word.

Psalm 1:1–3 (NKJV)

1 Blessed is the man

Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor stands in the path of sinners,

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

3 He shall be like a tree

Planted by the rivers of water,

That brings forth its fruit in its season,

Whose leaf also shall not wither;

And whatever he does shall prosper.

Achan was able to walk in the way of God amidst the congregation, but when he was alone, and faced with temptation, he chose sin.

Landing the Plane

Under the New Covenant our sin has been paid for. His mercies are new every morning.

As we desire to be a people of God, lets ask the question “search and know me, reveal any wicked thing.”

Psalm 139:23–24 (NKJV)

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Try me, and know my anxieties;

24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,

And lead me in the way everlasting.

Two questions...

Am I walking in His ways?

What am I hiding?

We are being transformed into His likeness, walking out our salvation with fear and trembling before Him. Its a process.

Allow the kindness of the Lord to lead you to repentance.

As we repent we...

Point 3: Continually Build Altars of Restoration

Sign up again, declare the word over your life again, write it on your heart again, make a declaration of who you follow!

TRANSITION TO CAMPUS PASTORS