Faith or Foolishness
Joshua chapter 6:15-20
Introduction-
Turn with me to Joshua 6:15-20.
The good news is, the Lord has allowed me to move out of Deuteronomy, the bad news it is only to the next book of Joshua. We continue to look at the exchange of leadership between Moses and Joshua. Moses has died Joshua is the leader of Israel. The nation is being blessed. They have seen some miraculous things and they get to the Jordan River. The promised land is across the river. (Over there) Anybody ever been there- you can see the promised land, you just cannot get there. God decides to redo the miracle of the Red Sea and put the ark of the Covenant and seven priest out front and as soon as they step in the river, the river banks up and they cross on dry land. After they cross and are headed for the promised land, they realize they have to take the sinful city of Jericho. Ever seen where you need to be and there is a big obstacle? Ever had some giants that kept you from getting there? Ever have large walls that seem like you could never scale? And God is telling you to move forward That is where the Israelites find themselves. Maybe that is where you are this morning- large obstacle, but God telling you to move forward and to trust Him.
Problem number 1 for Israel. Joshua is leading the people. 5:13- “Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked and saw a man standing in front of him with a sword drawn in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked “are you for us or for our enemies.” 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 the Lord have for his servant:
I want you to see this Write this down.
When God shows up, He does not take sides. He takes over Whatever side He is on is the winning side Where ever He is, is the right way He tells Joshua to remove his sandles because he is standing in the holy presence of God. Here is where it gets interesting. 6:2-15, 13 verses God begins to lay out the plan that God has for the nation of Israel to conquer and take the fortified city of Jericho. (Their giant, their next obstacle) He tells them. Armed men (army of God) not all 2 million Jews should walk with the ark of the covenant and seven priest with horned trumpets around the city of Jericho for 6 days. On the seventh day, they are to go around the city seven times, and on the seventh and final time, at the command of Joshua, the priest are to blow the trumpets one long time and then the people are to shout in unison- “For the Lord has given you the city.” Here is the text this morning, so we would not read a complete chapter.
Joshua chapter 6:15-20. Even if Jericho was only 5 miles round, that last day they would have walked 35 miles. They would have started early and ended late. They would have been tired and exhausted. Any take over of the city would have been a God thing
To the Canaanites- fortified in their city, watching out as 2 miliion are on a hillside and their army walking around the city silent for 6 days would of seemed kind of funny and unusual.
To the Army of God- to be ordered to walk around the city, no weapons, no attempt to scale the wall, no attempt to rush the gate, had to be a little strange and unusual.To Joshua- to hear what God commanded him to do had to be a little strange and unusual. The Canaanites were Israel’s giants. Walls of Jericho was the visible battle ground. God was there to teach Israel a lesson.
Those walls are not coming down by force- they are coming down by faith.
Those walls are not coming down by man’s ingenious plan, they are coming down by God’s plan.
The power of God has the ability and strength to bring to pass what ever He pleases.
God can do whatever He chooses to do, in whatever manner He chooses to do it by, because He is a Sovereign God and the ruler of the universe. He does not have to ask anybody’s permission first. Here is the main point Write it down.
It is better to trust God than rely on our foolishness.(repeat)
God is to wise to be foolish and too powerful to be weak.
We do some foolish things;
living in sin- calling it a “meaningful relationship”
killing unborn babies- right to choose
calling church people hypocrites- armchair quarterback of life without God.
Illustration-(Sermoncentral)
a 19 year old Ohio state student Robert Richetts, who got stitches in his head when he got his head struck by a Conrail train. He told police he was trying to see how close to the moving train he could place his head without getting hit. That is foolish No, that is stupid I can hear my oldest daughter saying, “hurts to be dumb”
Hebrews 11:30- “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were compassed seven days”
Not by force, but by faith
Scale the walls- get killed
beat down the gate- get killed.
Tunnel underneath- get killed
blow it up- not invented yet, just seeing if you were listening.
The battle is won by realizing who God is He doesn’t take sides. He takes over. Instead of trying to get God on our side. How about making sure you are on His side- the right side. The winning side. God’s methods work
1 Cor. 1:18
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, the intelligence of the intelligent, I will frustrate.”
(V25)
“For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength” Joshua falling face down to the commander of the Army of God, Jesus Christ, 1400 years before He came to Bethlehem. He says to Joshua, this is how you are going to take the city. This is how you are going to get rid of the giants in your life. Joshua’s only response is lying face down- “what message does my Lord have for his servant” The first observation Joshua made and it is the first one we have to make in the battle is in front of us, it should not be inside us. We need to square that away before we attempt to defeat the enemy.
Faith or foolishness? Back to the sermon title. Our faith in ourselves and what we can do can only take us so far. We will always fall short. The things most people put their faith in has no eternal value. I would rather put my faith in the things of God- what others call foolishness. Because, the foolish things of God means we have the strength of God working on our behalf.
17th chapter of Acts- The thinkers of Paul’s day gathered on Mars hill to try to figure everything out. To the Jews- Jesus was a stumbling block. Because He was not a warrior. To the Greeks- they thought wisdom was the answer. They produced thinkers- Socrates, Aristotle, Plato. But not a savior. God does not think like us. He tells us we need to be more like Him.
(Sermoncentral contribitor)
Reason says babies cannot be born of virgins.
Reason says God who is Spirit cannot come as flesh.
Reason tells us Almighty God would not let man nail Him to the cross.
Reason tells you that when a man dies, he cannot be resurrected back to life.
None of it makes sense- but God did it
Closing,
God brought down the walls of Jericho, that is a fact Jack And they stepped over the ruble of the wall and took the city...just like God said they would.
The wall that was to protect them, was their destruction. The only ones spared was Rehab the prostitute and her family.
Anyone want to disagree that God had a hand in the 33 miners getting out of the center of the Earth. I love some of the comments from the miners.
I have been with God and with the devil, and God has won
I seized the hand of God, it was the best hand.
Gomez, 63 years old and the oldest miner, stepped out of a breathing mask, “often something has to happen to you before you stop and think and understand that you only have one life. Then you think what you have to change. I have changed. I am a different man.
Stop trying to figure everything out- you don’t have all the answers, but God does.
God in His wisdom can help you today. You are not that smart- but He is
Altar Call
This sermon was gleaned out of reading and praying and gathering information from Sermoncentral contributors.
