No Limits

They were out of ideas… and out of options. The friendly clan of animals were cornered and their enemies had ganged up on them!

Enemy one - the homeowner. She was the head of the home owners association and she had no interest in sharing the community with nature’s creatures.

Enemy two - the exterminator. He was doing his best to remove the “pest” problem from the neighborhood.

Enemy three - the bear. He had a problem with the raccoon and he wasn’t going home until he had secured his revenge.

Three enemies ganging up to take down a common foe. What were the animals to do? They gave their hyperactive friend, Hammy the squirrel, an energy drink. That drink enabled Hammy to move so fast that it appeared that TIME STOOD STILL!

This type of idea has been used in many films since this movie. The idea is that the character is moving so fast, the rest of the world appears to be frozen in time.

This gave the band of animals the edge they needed to overcome the alliance of foes against them.

Oh pastor, it’s a children’s movie full of talking animals and ridiculous plots! It’s so far fetched… no one would ever believe anything like this could ever happen!

Time… is a tricky thing. And it is something scientists have been trying to figure out for a long time.

Movies have imagined moving forward and backward in time… and even what it might look like if time slowed down or even stopped.

But Joshua… Joshua need not imagine what such a thing might look like. In fact… Joshua and the Israelites experienced a similar situation in their journey into the new normal God had for them… minus the talking animals and energy drinks.

The kings of the area had taken notice of what the Israelites were capable of doing. They also realized that Gibeon had made a treaty with Israel. With the defeat of Ai, these kings were worried about what might happen to them… so they formed an alliance.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend” may have been their thought. They thought they could overwhelm the power and might of the Israelites. What they did not realize was… their power and might… was found in the Lord.

The enemy alliance first attacked Gibeon… the people who tricked the Israelites into making a treaty with them. When Joshua got word that Gibeon had been attacked, they moved to assist them.

Not only did they successfully defend Gibeon, they were able to run the enemy off… and in their pursuit of them… something remarkable happened. Joshua 10:12-13

Joshua 10:12–13 NIV

12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” 13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.

TIME STOOD STILL. Not because the Israelites were moving extremely fast or because someone had figured out the secret behind time travel… but because Joshua asked God to do the impossible… and God DID THE IMPOSSIBLE! And I love how the next verse describes it!

Joshua 10:14 NIV

14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!

The alliance that had formed against the Israelites was a force to be reckoned with. It was impossible odds to overcome by human standards. And in the midst of the attack, Joshua asks God for something that almost seems… comical! Who would think to ask God to cause the sun and moon to stand still?

I would maybe ask God for bigger weapons, stronger muscles, impenetrable armor, or for some angelic warriors. But Joshua asked God to stop time.

What would cause someone to make such an audacious request? What kind of person would make such an audacious request? Someone who fully trusted God AND someone who had witnessed God do the impossible.

What Joshua did… was not an expression of arrogance, pride, or extreme self-confidence. Joshua knew God and in His knowledge of God… Joshua knew God is without limits. THERE IS NOTHING OUR GOD CANNOT DO!

The enemy had done everything they knew to do in their attempt to overtake the Israelites and Gibeon. But God was truly with the people of Israel.

The entire battle was nothing less than an opportunity for the power of God to be displayed. In fact, God was all over this!

When the Israelites marched to Gibeon to assist, God said to them in Joshua 10:8

Joshua 10:8 NIV

8 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”

As the enemy fled and before time stood still, God moved powerfully on behalf of the Israelites.

Joshua 10:9–11 NIV

9 After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. 10 The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

With God… there are no limits. There is NOTHING our God cannot do! He is able to do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine, He can do the impossible, He can literally make the sun and moon stand still!

Joshua and the Israelites were walking in the will of God… they were moving into the new normal… the promised land… that God had given them. They were trusting God with every step they took.

Their journey had not been easy… and they certainly had learned some hard lessons along the way.

But Joshua had grown in his faith and he had to come a point where there was nothing he would not ask God for and nothing he would not believe his God could do! And THAT RIGHT THERE IS THE BEST NEW NORMAL ANY BELIEVER COULD POSSIBLY FIND THEMSELVES IN!!!

Let that sink in a bit… imagine what life might look like if EVERY BELIEVER lived with that kind of faith!

It’s not a genie in the bottle kind of faith...

It’s not a rub the Bible, make a wish and God gives you whatever you want.

It’s a “I’m going to follow and trust in God’s will no matter what” kind of faith.

It’s knowing that if God is in it… it is ALREADY done kind of faith.

And church… it’s an understanding that God is STILL doing incredible miracles today! Look at the words found in 1 John 5:14-15

1 John 5:14–15 NIV

14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Joshua had this confidence… it was tried… it was true. And I want us to see how we can have that same kind of confidence today as well.

First: Ask According to His Will.

Knowing the will of God can be a tricky thing… or at least it can be with all the distractions we face in this world.

When Joshua received news that the Gibeonites were under attack… he could have done a lot of things differently.

Remember… these guys tricked the Israelites into making a treaty with them. And the Israelites failed to seek God’s direction before signing the treaty. They made an oath… an oath they know would have to keep.

This could have been an opportunity for Israel to turn their backs on Gibeon for playing the people. But in all reality, they would have been turning their back on God. How so? Because the oath they made with Gibeon… was more than just shaking hands.

Joshua 9:19–20 NIV

19 but all the leaders answered, “We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. 20 This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that God’s wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them.”

It was God’s will for the people of Israel to remain faithful to the oath they made. The Gibeonites may have tricked the Israelites… but the Israelites gave them their word.

There are some things in life that we do not need to ask or discern whether or not if it is God’s will. For instance, If it’s in the Word, it’s in His Will.

I don’t have to ask God if it is right or wrong for me to tithe.

I don’t have to ask God if it is right or wrong for me to sin.

I don’t have to ask God if it is right or wrong for me to love others.

I don’t have to ask God if it is right or wrong to worship Jesus.

I don’t have to ask God if it is right or wrong to be active in church.

I don’t have to ask God if it is right or wrong to share His gospel.

Joshua did not have to ask God if it was right or wrong to uphold the oath they made with the Gibeonites. Yes they were tricked and now the oath was being tried… it was time for the Israelites to make good on the treaty.

The Word of God reveals the Will of God. The Spirit of God helps us in applying the Word of God to our lives.

The reason the Word of God can serve as the foundation of our lives is because it doesn’t change… it doesn’t shift… it is strong and secure.

When Joshua asked God for a miracle… that miracle was in line with what Joshua KNEW God would have him do.

The confidence that Joshua had in asking God to make time stand still came from knowing that he and the Israelites were following His will.

And when we ask according to His will… the Lord hears and moves on our request. When Joshua asked for the sun to stand still… he fully expected for the sun to stand still… not because of personal arrogance… but because of his faith and assurance in God!

Church… we need to understand the importance of asking according to the will of God. But we also need to know the importance of acting in accordance to His will after we have asked according to His will.

Second: Act According to His Will.

The sun and the moon indeed stopped and time stood still. This was not an opportunity for the Israelites to kick back and to do as they pleased. It was time for them to do what they came to do… honor the oath. Chase down the enemy.

The Israelites ACTED in accordance to what they had asked. They acted on the will of the Lord.

Imagine asking God for something remarkable… like the walls of Jericho coming down. And when those walls come down, sitting back and being like… “yeah… I’ll tackle that in a few days when I have more time.”

Imagine how easy it would have been for Joshua to sit back and say, “Yeah… we’ll gather up a few troops when it’s more convenient for me to go assist the Gibeonites.”

Battles rarely come when it is convenient. Battles almost always happen when we least expect it.

Such is why it is so important that we as believers remain battle ready ALL THE TIME. This means:

We study His Word daily. We need to know the plan of God!

We pray to God daily. We need to talk to God and spend time in His presence.

We worship the Lord daily. We need to place God above ANYTHING and EVERYTHING else going on in our lives.

These are simple things we can do to help keep ourselves ready for the battles that may come.

And when they come, we must be resolved to ASK and ACT according to His will.

What good does it do for believers to go to spiritual battle… and then act out in our flesh? The battle would be lost before it ever began!

It is God’s will for believers to live out God’s Word no matter how difficult the battle ahead might be.

Our actions must be in line with the One we claim to believe in!

And… our belief must move us to act.

Joshua acted as God opened the doors of opportunity. God had already done most of the fighting for them.

Joshua 10:11 NIV

11 As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

None of this would have happened had Joshua and the people of God had stayed behind sitting on their backsides hoping something would change!

Their faith in God was not passive, but active.

The Lord was truly fighting for Israel! And… the Lord is fighting for you today as well!

God took care of our greatest need when He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross.

It was a battle we could not win on our own. It was a fight we would lose. It was a price too big for our resources.

But God acted on our need and sent His Son because of His love for us. What Jesus did for us was acting on the will His Father had for Him.

Jesus knew what was coming… but NOTHING could sway Him from moving away from doing what God had called Him to do.

Our salvation is possible today because God took action. Our forgiveness is possible today because Jesus took action.

This what thought to be impossible… until God moved on our behalf.

What impossible things situations are you facing that you need God to move on today?

Have you asked according to His will?

Have you acted according to His will?

Closing/Communion

There are some fundamental parts of our walk with Jesus that we know are a part of His plan for our lives. We don’t have to ask… we know because if it’s in His Word, it’s n His will.

The new normal I hope we all experience is where our faith has grown to a point where there was nothing we would not ask God for and nothing we would not believe our God can do!

This new normal is not a location or physical destination… it is that confidence… that assurance… that the Lord desires for ALL of His followers to have.

It is NOT a confidence in ourselves or our circumstance. It is a confidence in what our God is able to do despite our circumstance.

Joshua’s success over the alliance his enemies had formed came not from a better military strategy or stronger weapons… it came from a tried and tested faith in God.

What kind of audacious things do you need God to do in your life? Is your faith up to the challenge of asking… and believing… God for the impossible?

Are you asking God according to His will?

Are you acting according to God’s will?

Maybe you don’t need God to make the sun stand still… but maybe you need God to do something that has never been seen before.

And maybe the thing that is holding you back from asking… is your limited mind and understanding. Our knowledge of the natural often keeps us from seeking the power of the supernatural.

God can and will do things that go beyond the limits of the natural. Science cannot explain what God did for Joshua.... other than GOD DID IT!

And God is going to do it for you as well. We just have to get out from the old way of thinking and into the new normal that realizes GOD CAN DO ALL THINGS!

And the proof of that statement, can be seen in what Jesus did for us on the cross.

ONLY GOD could do what had to be done. And He did it for us. He did it according to His plan. He did it according to our need.

Joshua moved on the needs of the Gibeonites. God moved on the need for all sinners. He truly is the God of the impossible.

I want us to realize that as we receive communion… and then we are going to pray for the impossible after we have remembered the impossible that Jesus overcame on the cross.

SERVE COMMUNION

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NIV

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Pray for the bread and cup.

God made a way where there seemed to be no way. He did it before… He will do it again.

If you have a need, it’s time to ask and act in faith according to His will regarding that need.

Lift up that need to God in prayer. And give Him praise… for He is going move in power in this moment!