It's all about trust
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TRUST
TRUST
1 Now Jericho was strongly fortified because of the Israelites—no one leaving or entering.
Israel had been told by God they needed to go claim the promised land. And this was one of the first places to go and take. They had sent spies in to see what they were up against and Jericho had been on fill alert knowing that they were eventually coming so they fortified the city.
And this is where the first obstacle to trust comes into play.
I THINK MOST OF US ARE UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT IF GOD IS CALLING US TO DO SOMETHING THAT THERE WILL BE NO OBSTICLES. GOD WILL PAVE THE WAY. IT WILL BE EASY. THERE WILL BE NO OPPOSITION.
TWO THINGS CAN BE TRUE AT THE SAME TIME. GOD CAN PAVE THE WAY, BUT SOMETIMES HE CALLS US TO BE A PART OF PAVING THE WAY.
OPPOSITION DOES NOT EQUAL A MISUNDERSTOOD CALLING
The enemy will get in your head and have you believing that when things get tough it’s because you’ve misunderstood what God wanted you to do.
When work get’s hard its because you chose the wrong career
When marriage get’s hard it’s because you chose the wrong spouse
When raising kids get’s hard it’s because you were never supposed to be a parent
When temptation comes it’s because you’ve been heading the wrong direction
OPPOSITION SOMETIMES MEANS YOU’RE RIGHT WHERE GOD WANTS YOU TO BE
BECAUSE IT FORCES YOU INTO A SITUATION THAT ONLY GOD CAN CHANGE
GOD LIKES TO STACK THE ODDS AGAINST HIMSELF. HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED THIS?
Noah build an ARK
Abraham you’ll have a child when you’re 90
David you’ll kill Goliath with a sling and a stone
Daniel I’ll save you from the middle of a lions den not keep you from the lions den
Jesus will come into the world through a virgin
BECAUSE WHEN GOD DOES COME THROUGH IT’S EVEN CLEARER THAT IT WAS HIM NOT US.
2 The Lord said to Joshua, “Look, I have handed Jericho, its king, and its best soldiers over to you.
IF HE’S HANDED IT OVER… WHY ARE THE WALLS STILL UP?
We want the way to be paved if it’s God. We want it to be easy.
GOD IS SPEAKING IN THE PRESENT TENSE ABOUT SOMETHING THAT HASN’T HAPPENED YET AND IS GOING TO TAKE FAITH TO SEE HAPPEN. GOING TO TAKE TRUST.
SOMETIMES THE WAY GOD WANT’S TO DO IT, ISN’T THE WAY WE WOULD DO IT.
3 March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days.
4 Have seven priests carry seven ram’s-horn trumpets in front of the ark. But on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the rams’ horns.
5 When there is a prolonged blast of the horn and you hear its sound, have all the troops give a mighty shout. Then the city wall will collapse, and the troops will advance, each man straight ahead.”
Tell me how this makes sense?
Not fight. Not sneak in. Cause they sent spied before. Not TNT. Not get a huge army. No march around. Play some music. Do it 6 days in a row. And on day 7… It’ll look different. This time you’ll yell at the end. And then the walls will just fall down.
CHURCH PLANTING HAS BEEN THIS CONSTANT JOURNEY OF DOING THINGS THAT DON’T MAKE SENSE.
START A CHURCH DURING COVID
DO IT IN A CITY THAT ALREADY HAS A LOT OF CHURCHES
KEEP GOING EVEN AFTER YOUR LIFE GOES SIDEWAYS
THERE ARE CHURCH PLANTING NETWORKS THAT TRY TO MAKE AN INSTRUCTION MANUAL FOR WHAT GOD WANT’S TO DO.
And I want to be clear, I think it’s awesome to try and nail down instruction for how to guarantee success. We do it here.
Get in God’s word everyday
read proverbs everyday
Pray to God everyday
Make church a priority
We make blueprints all the time for it looks like to trust God. But sometimes we can want a plan that makes sense so bad, a detailed outline of DO THIS AND IT CANNOT FAIL so bad that we stop trusting God and we just really start trusting ourselves.
ONE NETWORK SAID “YOU NEED 500 ON DAY ONE IF YOU WANT TO SUCCEED”
ANOTHER SAID IT TO NOT START CHURCHES IN CITIES THAT WERE NOT GROWING
LAUNCH WITH SMALL GROUPS WEEK ONE
SOME EVEN GAVE AN EXACT NUMBER IN TITHE YOU NEEDED BY A CERTAIN DATE OR YOU SHOULD SHUT DOWN
AND I GET WHY THEY DO IT. THEY TRY TO GET TO SCIENCE WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE SURE A CHURCH SUCCEEDS AND DOESN’T FAIL
BUT WHAT IF GOD WANT’S TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT? BECAUSE ALL THE BEST THINGS IN THE BIBLE THAT GOD DID… DIDN’T MAKE SENSE. AND SHOULDN’T HAVE WORKED BY HUMAN UNDERSTANDING… BUT WE ARE READING ABOUT ONE TODAY.
8 After Joshua had spoken to the troops, seven priests carrying seven rams’ horns before the Lord moved forward and blew the rams’ horns; the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them.
9 While the rams’ horns were blowing, the armed men went in front of the priests who blew the rams’ horns, and the rear guard went behind the ark.
10 But Joshua had commanded the troops, “Do not shout or let your voice be heard. Don’t let one word come out of your mouth until the time I say, ‘Shout!’ Then you are to shout.”
11 So the ark of the Lord was carried around the city, circling it once. They returned to the camp and spent the night there.
12 Joshua got up early the next morning. The priests took the ark of the Lord,
13 and the seven priests carrying seven rams’ horns marched in front of the ark of the Lord. While the rams’ horns were blowing, the armed men went in front of them, and the rear guard went behind the ark of the Lord.
14 On the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.
NO VISIBLE PROGRESS DOES NOT EQUAL GOD’S NOT IN IT
WE LONG FOR SIGNS TO MAKE SURE WE ARE DOING THE RIGHT THING DO WE NOT?
I do blank… i see blank… so that means im doing the right thing
Im killing it at my job, i know because im seeing the numbers, people are telling me im doing a good job. So I can keep going
Im a great mom because im seeing my kids do blank
Im a great Christian becuase i’ve been doing blank and im seeing God do blank
BUT SOMETIMES GOD CALLS US TO MARCH AND THERES NO POSITIVE AFFIRMATION OR OUTWARD SIGN THAT WE ARE SUCCEEDING.
THINK ABOUT NOAH. ANYWHERE FROM 40 - 90 YEARS TO BUILD THE ARK. IT HAD NEVER RAINED BEFORE. HE KEPT GOING.
IF I COULD AT LEAST HAVE A FEW BRICKS FALL OUT I COULD KEEP GOING.
IF I COULD SEE ONE AB POP IN AT A TIME I WOULD KEEP WORKING OUT
WILL YOU KEEP FOLLOWING GOD AND KEEP DOING WHAT HE’S CALLED YOU TO DO EVEN WHEN PROGRESS SEEMS TO HAVE STOPPED?
THOSE PEOPLE ARE THE ONES WHO SEE GOD DO SOMETHING GREAT.
15 Early on the seventh day, they started at dawn and marched around the city seven times in the same way. That was the only day they marched around the city seven times.
16 After the seventh time, the priests blew the rams’ horns, and Joshua said to the troops, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city.
20 So the troops shouted, and the rams’ horns sounded. When they heard the blast of the trumpets, the troops gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed. The troops advanced into the city, each man straight ahead, and they captured the city.
LOOK WHAT GOD DID
IF WE ALL KNEW FROM THE BEGINNING THIS WOULD HAPPEN OF COURSE WE WOULD KEEP GOING. But God calls us sometimes to things that we don’t know the outcome yet. We just know He’s spoken, he’s called us, so we move forward.
THE STORY OF NEW PURPOSE CHURCH HAS BEEN A CRAZY ONE. AND IT’S ABSOLUTELY NOTHING LIKE I EXPECTED. BUT IT HASN’T BEEN ANYTHING OTHER THAN EXACTLY WHAT GOD EXPECTED.
MEETING AT ABC HAS BEEN A BLESSING
Very inexpensive
No set up / tear down
Blessing in a time of need
more secure
IT ALSO THOUGH HAS IT’S DRAWBACKS
Only available on Sundays
We have to leave immediately after the service
Not ours so we cannot improve the space
Hard to find not something people usually drive by
On the edge of murfreesboro not where most people live / work
No ability to expand / improve NPC Kids
WE NEED TO FIND A PLACE OF OUR OWN
IT’S TIME
AND THERE IS A SPECIFIC PLACE
WE ARE GOING TO STEP OUT IN FAITH ON WHAT GOD IS CALLING US TO DO
AND IT’S GOING TO BE A HUGE STEP OF FAITH AND BELIEVING FOR GOD TO PROVIDE FOR AND DO SOMETHING THAT WE CANNOT DO ON OUR OWN
IT’S GOING TO TAKE ALL OF US GOIGN ALL IN AND THEN SOME
NEXT WEEK WE ARE GOING TO GO THERE
13 When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua approached him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
14 “Neither,” he replied. “I have now come as commander of the Lord’s army.” Then Joshua bowed with his face to the ground in homage and asked him, “What does my lord want to say to his servant?”
15 The commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did that.