Faith Over Jericho

Introduction

Last week we started our Joshua Series “Journey of Faith” where we are taking an 8 week dive into Joshua and the Israelites obtaining the Promised Land by faith in God’s power. We have so much to learn from the faith of Joshua and the Israelites. Their faith in God’s power met many obstacles that had to be overcome, and their first one and arguably their biggest one is what we are going to dive into today! Are the people of God going to move forward in faith despite the obstacles, or would they turn around and abandon what God was ready to give to them? Today we are going to learn something really valuable for our own lives and it’s this: all of us will arrive at different crossroads in our spiritual walk where we have to make the decision to follow God or do our own thing. God doesn’t place us on the planet without purpose. He has a divine design for each of us. But as we seek to follow His direction, difficulties WILL confront us. What are you going to do when obstacles get in your way? Will you follow God by faith? Or will you try to do what makes sense to you?

Everyone turn your Bible’s to Joshua 6.

Read Joshua 6:1-7

God’s plan doesn’t always line up with your plan. (v. 1-7)

How crazy is it that God told the Israelites to face their first massive test in taking the Promised Land by walking around the city of Jericho in silence for DAYS?! Doesn’t that sound crazy?! The smart thing for them to do would be to devise a plan to break down the walls, strategically catch them off guard in Jericho, or starve them out by not allowing them in or out until they surrender. Instead God tells Joshua to take the men of Israel around the city WITHOUT talking for seven days and then march around the city seven times on the last day!

Nobody had ever won a battle like this EVER. How did it make any sense to just walk around the city in silence? It doesn’t when it comes to the logic of man, but God had a bigger plan in place that would bring about great glory to Himself and would teach the Israelites once again that God had went before them, God had struck fear in the people of Jericho, God won the battle, and all they had to do was walk in faith as God led them.

Seek after God’s counsel, not your own

Before Joshua tried to make any sort of plan on his own to take over Jericho, what did he do? He spoke with God and listened to the Lord! What an example that we can learn from in Joshua! How many times do we walk into the Jericho’s of our own lives devising a plan of how we are going to face up this giant task or this terrible thing that lurks in front of us. We meet together, we wring our hands, we get anxiety and stress over the hugeness of this issue, we try to find ways around it, we try to avoid it all together, etc. but instead of doing all of that…Joshua spoke with the Lord.

Is spending time with God your first plan of action, or your last resort?

God wants obedient hearts (v. 8-21)

Read 6:8-21

God wants not just hearers of His Word but doers.

Joshua not only talked with God first to seek what he should do, but HE LISTENED and ACTED on what the Lord told him and the Israelites to do! Joshua didn’t completely understand the plan or why God was telling him to do this obscure plan, but Joshua TRUSTED the Lord and commanded the men to march as God told them to do.

Their obedience to God produced wonders. There was no questioning, discouragement, or negative spirit in the people of God as they walked around the city. They did exactly what Joshua had asked them to do as he was instructed by the Lord. They easily could’ve complained because of their lack of understanding why they were doing something that seemed so unrealistic, so counterproductive, so irritating. As they walked around the city every day, listening to the ridicule of the people on the city walls making fun of them for doing something that seemed so dumb. But they stayed quiet, they did as the Lord asked, and they continued to walk.

Obedience is bigger than the Outcome: Endurance MATTERS

The Israelites weren’t told by Joshua how many days or how many times they were going to have to walk around this city. So day after day they walked around this city and returned to their camp with no results. How disheartening could that have been for them! As they walked around this city in silence and as they contemplated how difficult it was going to be to win this battle it had to be really hard to see no results day after day as they walked. But this teaches us something really important…our obedience isn’t determined a success based off of the outcome.

Sprinkle of Application: Are you looking for immediate solutions or are you willing to wait to see the Lord’s faithfulness in your life? Too often we want immediate solutions and all our needs and wants met so we do not have to wait on the Lord and trust Him. We want to trust in our health, bank accounts, our reputation, our talents, education, abilities. We don’t want to trust the Lord alone. The reminder is this: The Lord often works slowly. We want immediate deliverance, but the Lord often tests our faith and in the process builds our character and our relationship with Him so we find the Lord to be what we REALLY needed.

God isn’t asking us to live within reason but by faith.

Many people today are priding themselves on living within reason, but God called His people to live by FAITH. Operating as people of faith means that we have to trust the Lord no matter what He asks us to do. It didn’t matter the taunts that were hurled down at them from the walls as they marched silently around Jericho, they were willing to look foolish and simply rest in the Lord. He was the source of their strength. Are you living on reason or reliance?

If we want to overcome our obstacles and testings, we must submit to God’s way by faith: “For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.” (Gal. 5:5)

Are we willing to look foolish to follow the Lord? That’s such a relevant question for all of you. Are you ready to seem stupid in front of your peers because following Jesus is idiotic in the eyes of those that don’t know Him. Are you ready to endure the ridicule to follow God? Do you feel that pressure now?

There is beauty and victory in God’s plans (v. 22-27)

Read 6:22-27

Hebrews 11:30 “By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.”

As they walked around the city, I’m sure what was going through their minds was an understanding of the impossibility of victory for them. As they got a good look at the fortifications they were up against, the warriors they would be up against if they got inside the walls, the size of the walls, the size of the city, the difficulty of winning had to be running through their head every single day as they continued to walk around the outside of the city.

God is faithful to His people and His Word. God cannot lie and is always completely faithful.

The promises to Rahab were kept-she and her family were delivered. God showed his grace and mercy, His love and plan of salvation too. Why do I say that? Well first turn to 1 Kings 16:34 “In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.” Then turn to Matthew 1:5. Look at the faithfulness of God. Look who is part of King David’s Lineage? Look who is part of King Jesus’ Lineage! God is so amazing in how He orchestrates everything. He keeps His promises.

Land the Plane

What is the definition of faith? Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” The biblical definition of faith is “trusting in something you cannot explicitly prove.”

Why is faith so important to overcoming obstacles? Because Joshua could believe what God told him to do, but the action of trusting God enough to do what He said is what brought the result of victory for the Israelites. Hebrews 11:6 says “without faith, it is impossible to please God.” Without faith, we cannot be saved. Without faith, the Christian life cannot be what God intends it to be.

Use the chair analogy: YOU can believe that God can overcome your obstacles through faith in Him. We must “sit in the chair” of the salvation that Jesus has provided. This is saving faith. The faith God requires of us for salvation is belief in what the Bible says about who Jesus is and what He accomplished AND fully trusting in Jesus for that salvation.

The biblical definition of faith does not apply only to salvation. It is just as applicable to the rest of the Christian life. We are to believe what the Bible says, and obey it. We have to believe the promises of God, and we are to live by them. We are to agree with the truth of God’s Word, and we are supposed to allow ourselves to be transformed by it.