New Vision

Have you ever had the experience when either walking or driving, you see something that makes you stop and say, “wow… that’s truly amazing.”

I remember the first time seeing Mt. Rushmore. I remember the first time driving through the mountains as a family. I remember taking hikes to lakes that were hidden deep in the woods. I remember watching my bride walk up the aisle.

There are moments in life that we will never forget simply because of the awe we experienced when we first saw them.

This can be true in positive situations… and this can be true with negative situations as well.

Joshua and the Israelites were now within the promised land. God had brought them across the river and before moving too much further, God called them to complete obedience.

And now, it was time to advance. The problem was… something was standing in their way. This something wasn’t just any old obstacle… it was Jericho.

So what was the big deal concerning this city? This… was Jericho! A city that covered roughly eight acres but was built to be a fortress city.

This city was a place of refuge… it was built to withstand any attack. If an enemy was approaching, the people outside the city would come inside for protection.

It’s main source of protection was what? The walls that surrounded the city. Get this: the walls may have been as tall as 30 feet high and 20 feet thick!

But the walls were not the only assurance of the people hiding behind them. The people of Jericho also believed their gods would protect them from any aggressor outside the walls.

So imagine for a moment that you are Joshua. You have a nation of people following behind you and you are gazing upon a city like no other… a city that would have to be conquered in order for advancement to be a possibility.

I am sure this city was an amazing sight to behold! Similar to my awe at the sight of Pike’s Peak the first time I saw it!

But… I was there to enjoy the view… not move the mountain!

Joshua knew that Jericho would have to go. The capture of this city was key to Joshua’s military strategy.

It’s location was important true enough… but what it stood for was even more important. Remember, the people of Jericho believed their gods would protect them from any outside attack. So… how destructive to their morale would it be to see their most fortified city… be taken down?

It’s capture would send a message to the rest of the Canaanites that the God of Israel was superior to the so called gods (which were no gods at all) of the Canaanites.

But in this moment… Joshua looked with awe at the fortification of the city. I can only imagine as he looked at the city, he was amazed and maybe thought… “How in the world are we going to take that thing down?”

Not only was Joshua in awe of all this… but Jericho was aware of the presence of the Israelites. Joshua 6:1 tells us the city was tightly shut up. No one was allowed in or out. The gates were closed. The walls were doing their jobs.

Joshua could have thrown everything they had at those walls and barely make a dent. And that was part of the physiological effect those walls might have on a potential aggressor. The presence and the size of the walls might have been enough to make an aggressor think twice before attacking.

This morning, we are going to be talking about gaining New Vision. This morning, we are going to be talking about seeing things how God sees things.

There was nothing wrong with Joshua’s physical vision that day as he looked upon the walls of Jericho. He could see the fortification just fine.

God, however, in this moment, would help Joshua refocus his vision as he faced the impossible task of capturing a city that was built in a way that made it impossible to capture!

The New Normal God is leading us in is truly a land of promise… but it will often come with obstacles that cannot be overcome on our own abilities.

Similar to Joshua’s situation… overcoming these challenges is key to the overall plan… but how can we overcome when we are so overwhelmed at the mere sight of what lies ahead?

As we walk into the territory God has given us… there are a couple of things we MUST remember.

One… we are where we are because God brought us to where we are!

Our forward progress into the New Normal is because of God’s continual help and guidance.

Two… God will NOT abandon us midway through the journey. He is faithful to complete the good work He has begun in you.

Therefore… as we gaze upon what appears to be impossible… let’s make sure our focus does not become fixated upon what lies ahead, but rather on the One who will get us through!

Joshua saw a city that would be impossible to overcome.

God saw a victory that would glorify His name for generations to come.

So in this moment… God gives Joshua a reminder… a new vision to behold.

Joshua 5:13–15 NIV

13 Now 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 went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” 14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” 15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

Now… seeing a fortified city is one thing… but seeing the commander of the army of the Lord? I would imagine we would all have the same response Joshua had as he fell facedown to the ground!

So what was the point of this appearance? Why did God send His commander to encounter Joshua in this moment?

Joshua could see the walls… but he was struggling to see the victory.

In this moment, Joshua is made aware of something extremely important. Joshua is reminded of God’s unseen presence and His spiritual army that was prepared to fight alongside his faithful people!

Here’s the deal: most of the time we only evaluate what is in front of us… what we can see with our physical eyes. We only see what we CAN see… we only see what we can see in the natural. But church, the unseen realities of life are GREATER THAN realities!

When we are coming into the land God has for us, we need to learn how to see the world and our lives the way God sees them. We need to ask God for renewed spiritual vision.

Church, there is another way of seeing the world… a way that goes beyond our natural abilities. And we are going to talk about why this spiritual vision is so important as we continue forward in the New Normal God has for each one of us.

Spiritual Vision

First off, what is spiritual vision and how do we “gain” this ability?

Gaining Spiritual vision is NOT like looking through a special pair of glasses or asking God for a super-hero kind of power. Spiritual vision begins with something simple that we all know of… that something is faith. Faith in God is the KEY to having spiritual vision. That faith will position us to see the world as God sees it.

For instance, having faith in God moves us to be in His presence. Spiritual vision comes from being in the presence of God.

Have you ever had a plan or idea… and then you shared that plan or idea with someone… and then they begin to point out things you had not considered regarding that plan or idea?

This can work both in positive or negative directions but the point is, they offer a perspective of the situation you had not yet considered.

When we spend time in the presence of God, we open ourselves up to hear from God. We gain His perspective and wisdom regarding the matter.

Spending time in the presence of God means spending time in prayer and in His Word. His Word acts as a guide and prayer is a direct line of communication with God.

It also gives God the opportunity to align our hearts with His plan.

Joshua asked the man with the sword, “Are you for us, or against us?” And the answer given is amazing. He says, in my paraphrase, I’M WITH GOD.

This angel was NOT there to fulfill Joshua’s agenda or the agenda of Jericho. He was there to fulfill the plan of God.

When we spend time in God’s presence, it helps move us from what we want… to what God wants. Joshua’s perspective was COMPLETELY changed when the angel gave this answer! The priority of this individual was to serve God and to accomplish His purpose!

Spending time in God’s presence helps us eliminate our tunneled vision or biased perspective. It gives God the opportunity to open our eyes to see what He wants us to see.

Secondly, faith places God, first. Spiritual vision comes when we SUBMIT to God’s purpose.

I believe all of us in this room desire to know what God’s purpose is for our lives. I believe we desire to experience all that God has for us. But… with that desire must also come the willingness to SUBMIT to whatever it is God lays out before us.

After learning the identity of the man standing before him, Joshua asks him, “What does my Lord have for His servant?” Joshua’s faith positioned his heart to submit to the will of God.

Sometimes… the greatest battle is NOT overcoming the impossible task ahead of us… but is simply submitting ourselves to the ways and direction of God. Sometimes… the hardest part of the battle is giving God FULL control.

For Joshua, conquering Jericho became secondary to doing God’s will.

How many times has letting go of our will been the battle that lost us the war?

Failure to submit is a failure of faith. Period. It is saying “Greater is Me, not greater is He.” Submission can be a difficult thing… especially when we don’t have all the details. But God is not only worthy of our full submission, He is the KING of having all the details figured out!

What good is faith if there is no element of trust? RESIST the temptation to take control and trust the Lord!

God knows what He is doing!

Consider the work that Jesus did on the cross. Consider how that work looked to the rest of the world.

We sing the song, “This Changes Everything” and in the lyrics it says, “The day you gave Your life seemed the ending (or a failure) in our eyes… but the stone was rolled away as You walked out of that grave.”

My point? from the world’s perspective, when Jesus died on the cross… it looked as if He had lost the battle. It looked as if the world had got its way.

But church… it was the EXACT opposite! JESUS WON! But this victory came in a way the world could not see through natural eyes.

If we want to see a victory… we need to fully submit, by faith, to the purposes of God! It means we have to give up our need to control.

Some of the greatest victories in my life have come through what the world might call a loss. But in all reality, it was a gain only God could provide. And it only came about through total submission to God through faith.

Not only do we trust God to win our battles, but we also trust God to be the One who defines for us what winning looks like!

Third, faith leads us to believe… Spiritual vision is to believe what God says.

Joshua BELIEVED that capturing Jericho was impossible. But his faith in God allowed his belief to be shift in a different direction.

Joshua 6:2 NIV

2 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.

Joshua BELIEVED God. He trusted God to deliver the city into his hands.

I want you to consider something today: For every single problem you face, there is ALWAYS a promise. And when God makes a promise… HE ALWAYS KEEPS IT.

That promise may not make sense in the moment. That promise may sound outrageous in the beginning… but God ALWAYS makes good on His promises. And His promises have ways of turning mountains into molehills!

That is what happened in Joshua 6:2. God made a promise that seemed outrageous and and somewhat unbelievable!

That city was built to withstand attack… it was kind of like the Titanic… a ship that was declared by man to be unsinkable… by GOD! Boy did the world learn its lesson on that one!

That city was unbreakable… that city was undefeatable… that city could withstand attack after attack… but that city… would not hold up against a move of God!

What Joshua did in this moment was the one simple thing that sets heroes of faith apart from the rest. Are you ready for this? Here’s the secret church, the secret to seeing the extraordinary works of the Lord… the secret of seeing the impossible becoming possible… JOSHUA BELIEVED GOD!

To experience victory… Joshua knew that believing God was the key.

He needed to continue in his worship and he needed to continue in his obedience. For Joshua, worship and obedience were more important than winning.

And it must become more important to us as well. The desired outcome must come second to our worship and obedience of the Lord.

In believing God, Joshua placed the Lord in command. In believing God, FAITH became the strategy to overcome the obstacle.

Faith is the key to unlocking the spiritual vision we need. Faith is the key to seeing beyond the physical and trusting in what we cannot see.

It means that no matter the circumstance, our faith remains. It means whether we are on top of the mountain or in the valley, our faith remains. It means when it appears things are going wrong instead of right, our faith remains.

It means we spend time in His presence, we submit to His purpose, and we believe what He says. Only then we will be able to see as the Lord desires for us to see today.

This brings us to a question I want to ask us this morning?

Will We Walk on Water or Drown in the Storm?

Pastor, I see no mention of water or a storm in Joshua 6? Where did that question come from? It comes from a passage found in the New Testament… a passage that talks about something very important.

Faith has to be more than talk… it was to become our walk. James tells us that faith without action is dead. And I want us to review the kind o faith it takes to have the kind of spiritual vision God desires for us to have.

Matthew 14 reveals a story that differentiates faith talkers from water walkers.

Jesus and the disciples had just finished feeding five thousand people with five loaves and two fish. The disciples are sent out in a boat by Jesus, but Jesus stays behind.

The boat had made a considerable distance from the land and it was fighting waves and wind. Just before dawn, Jesus walks on the water to the disciples.

At first they are all afraid, but their fears gives way once Jesus is identified as the water walker.

But only one disciple does something that sets his faith apart from the others.

Matthew 14:28–29 NIV

28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

Now that takes faith! The wind is still blowing, the waves are still crashing, and Peter has enough faith to swing his legs over the side of the boat, and start walking! Peter wasn’t just a faith talker… he became a water walker!

The rest of the guys… they stayed in the boat! They missed out on this amazing opportunity to experience the power of God first hand!

But then… Peter began to struggle. And what was it that caused Peter to struggle? Look at it in the next verse.

Matthew 14:30–32 NIV

30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” 32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.

Peter took his eyes off Jesus and began to focus on the storm.

In the beginning, Peter had paid no attention to the wind and waves… he simply stepped out in faith.

The storm was still in motion as Peter took those first few steps! But the power of Jesus kept Peter safe from the wind and waves. It wasn’t until Peter SAW… his focus shifted... His eyes became fixated on the storm instead of the Savior… and then he began to sink.

But the moment he cried out to Jesus, he was saved from the situation at hand.

I realize that most of us today are not facing a fortified city or are trying to safely sail across a stormy lake. But we know what it feels like to see an unmovable object ahead… with no means of making it move.

We can either approach that mountain with our sleeves rolled up and with a shovel in hand… or we can approach it with faith the size of a mustard seed and say to that mountain, “MOVE” and watch the power of God go to work!

Joshua saw a city… and then he saw the commander. He was reminded that he was not in this battle alone. God was on the move. We need to remember that God is on the move! He is always doing something! The question is, what is God doing? We need a vision of a deeper reality than what is immediately visible right in front of us. Vision does not determine what we see with our eyes; vision determines how we see with our eyes.

How do you see the situation before you today?

Do you see 30 foot high walls that are 20 feet thick? Do you see wind and waves and a sea that is violent and raging?

Or do you see the presence of God moving on your behalf? Do you see the Savior standing above the waves calling you to come and walk through the storm.

What you see.... Will Determine Where You Go.

Joshua could have missed it. Joshua could have chosen not to believe and tried to go another way.

He would have missed out on one of the greatest miracles the world had ever seen. And… the Canaanites would have been more assured of the protection given them by their false Gods.

Peter almost missed it. He took his eyes off Jesus and became focused on the storm. But while he was sinking, he called out to Jesus to save him from drowning.

Maybe your vision has become cloudy… distorted for all that is going on in your world. Perhaps all you can see is what your eyes see in the natural. But let us never forget that our faith is not built on what is seen, but on what is not seen.

GOD IS MOVING. And perhaps the inability to see Him moving comes from a lack of… faith… a lack of believing. God wants to turn your faith around today. God wants to send you a message… much like He sent to Joshua. HE WILL DELIVER YOU. HE WILL GET YOU THROUGH. HE WILL BRING THE VICTORY. But your faith must be placed in Him. You must be willing to see things… how God sees them.

So faith must become more than talk… it must become the way in which we walk.

That happens through having a relationship with the Lord.

PRAYER - Salvation

That continues through active, living faith. Faith that moves us to His presence, moves us to submit to His purpose, and moves us to believe God.

The question isn’t whether or not God is on the move… the question is are we willing to be moved by God in faith? Is our faith strong enough to take the city? Is our faith strong enough to step out of the boat? Will we see God or the impossible obstacle ahead?

God, help us in our vision… to see what you desire for us to see in Jesus’ name!