Untitled Sermon (5)

living free

English Standard Version Chapter 1

Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. 3 cEvery place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 dFrom the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. 5 eNo man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just fas I was with Moses, so gI will be with you. hI will not leave you or forsake you.

God Desire is that you walk in his intended freedom

For more than a generation Israel had walked and suffered due to sinful attitude, behavior and heart. They were left to live in a less than life. Less than what God had intended for them.

But Time had come to walk into the freedom he had promised. The land of freedom without the restraints of slavery.

As you read the next few chapters we see a jeckel and hyde Israeal .

When they enter they see the insurmountable walls of jericho and obey all that God asks for them to do and they experience great victory and freedom. The devout things to God and to destruction.

Then in Chpt 7 we see they underestimate the obstacle to their conquest to freedom

English Standard Version Chapter 7

Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.” 4 So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And cthey fled before the men of Ai, 5 and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people dmelted and became as water.

I want to ask you, are you feeling like you are living in a more than or less than life? A more than life is a life where you experience victory in areas not though possible. A less than life is where you experience defeat and your confidence in God wains. In Galations 5 We are told that Christ has set us free and to be careful not to put on the yoke or bondages of sin again.

God’s desire for you today is to walk in freedom, experience a life that is more than what you can experience on your own. Or do you find that you are experienceing a less than life. Often that less than life is when we experience life, circumstances where the gap between expectation and reality meets.

Joshua 1-7 reveals a story of Israel where they experience the tension where the more than that God intends meets the less than that they experience.

God promises Israel he will be with them and has given them the land… every place they set their feet. Victory and freedom, not easy but victory. The victory will be dependant upon their obedience to the plan. If they obey what God instructs for them for the battle. They will be victorious.

Then we see days later, Israel withholds from God obedience they experience defeat. They pur back on the yoke of disobedience and experienced failure. In fact their “hearts melt “ their confidence disappears. Confidence in God abilities & promises. Not because of God actions or changing promise but due to their disobedience. They withheld from battle their obedience, they became confident in their own abilities and believed they were due the spoils.

We see that they do and they are victorious. - We can have that same experience. challanges can crash down, obstacles overcome, Promises taken hold of..

I want to encourage you today church. Walk in a more than life, more than you can ever imagine but pressing into and obeying whatever God asks of you. Don’t withhold from God obey out of over-confidence or fear. When we do we experience internal defeat and erosion of our confidence. Walk in the freedom Christ has given

As I read through Joshua in just the first few chapters we see a jeckle and Hyde israel. They are excited about God’s promise and they walk in victory through obedience to what God has told them.

Then a few short days later they relax, and become over confident and they experience defeat and failure. In fact in 7:3-5 they experience a defeat and their hearts, confidence melt and become like water.

They had withheld their obedience from God and functioned in their faith in self

Are you

When you experience a set back in your freedom do