Overcoming The Obstacles Series

Obstacle = Finances

God’s Word = "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33)

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)

Obstacle = Lost

God’s Word = "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

b. Priest’s Trumpets

(1) The Jews used two different kinds of trumpets, those made of silver and those made of ram’s horns.

(2) The silver trumpets were used primarily to assemble the camp, to sound the signal to break camp, and during times of war.

(3) The ram’s horn trumpet was used primarily during times of celebration. (4) The Israelites were so convinced that God was going to do something great that they did not sound the war trumpet, they sounded the trumpet of celebration. They were celebrating the victory before it ever came to pass. THAT’S A VICTORIOUS FAITH! THAT IS A FAITH THAT DOES NOT WAVER!

III. VICTORIOUS FAITH CLIMAXES WITH CELEBRATION

With a victorious faith, we can celebrate the:

A. Destruction of our Enemies

1. By exercising victorious faith, Joshua and those under his command overcame a very formidable foe in the city of Jericho and its inhabitants.

2. By the same token, we too can be overcomers rather than being overcome, by exhibiting the same kind of faith.

B. Depth of our Victory

1. The Lord used the word "utterly destroyed" to describe the depth of Israel’s victory.

2. We do not have to give in to one single challenge or be intimidated by one single obstacle in the course of this year if we will but follow Joshua’s example of victorious faith.

CLOSING: Some people have numerous obstacles to overcome. Take for example this man:

When he was seven years old, his family was forced out of their home on a legal technicality, and he had to work to help support them.

At age nine, his mother died.

At 22, he lost his job as a store clerk.

He wanted to go to law school, but his education wasn’t good enough.

At 23, he went into debt to become a partner in a small store.

At 26, his business partner died, leaving him a huge debt that took years to repay.

At 28, after courting a girl for four years, he asked her to marry him. She said no.

At 37, on his third try, he was elected to Congress, but two years later, he failed to be reelected.

At 41, his four-year-old son died.

At 45, he ran for the Senate and lost.

At 47, he failed as the vice-presidential candidate.

At 49, he ran for the Senate again, and lost.

At 51, he was elected president of the United States.

His name was Abraham Lincoln.

Other folks may only have one or two obstacles standing in their way. Regardless of the obstacles, be they many or few, great or small, a victorious faith can overcome them all.

Doubt sees the obstacles; faith sees the way.

Doubt sees the darkest night; faith sees the day.

Doubt dreads to take a step; faith soars on high;

Doubt questions, "Who believes?" Faith answers, "I."

Do you believe?