Introduction
Now, take your Bibles and turn to Joshua. How did you know that? All right, chapter 17—Joshua chapter 17. We’re on a journey with Joshua, conquering Canaan, and Canaan pictures to us the fullness of the believer’s life, the victory that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Old Testament is God’s book of illustrations of New Testament truths and New Testament victory. The Bible says, “Now all these things happened unto them for examples” (1 Corinthians 10:11).
And, we begin reading now in Joshua 17, verse 12: “Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, but did not utterly drive them out. And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the LORD hath blessed me hitherto? And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee. And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Bethshean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel. And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people, and hast great power: thou shalt not have one lot only: but the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong” (Joshua 17:12–18).
Now, there are three persons who are sitting in your seat this morning. You say, “I wondered why it was so crowded.” There are three persons sitting in your seat this morning. First of all, there is the person you are at this moment, and then there is the person that you could be for evil. Now, no one, perhaps, realizes just how wicked he could be if he took his eyes off the Lord Jesus. Did you know that there is no sin of the flesh that you’re not capable of committing if you take your eyes off Jesus, even though you’re a Christian? Did you know that? You’d better learn that about you. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9); and, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh” (John 3:6), even though you’ve been born again. And, even though you have God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in you, if you cease to abide in Him, and you take your eyes off the Lord Jesus Christ, you would be amazed at the potentiality for evil that there is lurking within your heart.
I remember reading in the Bible, in the Old Testament, about a man it was prophesied of him that he would commit all kinds of atrocities—horrible things. And, that man said, “Am I a dog that I would do such a thing?” (2 Kings 8:13). And then, he did it—and then, he did it. There is that person who is capable of much evil who is sitting right in your seat.
And then also, many of us have not begun to imagine how that person who is sitting in our seats could be used for good. Oh, dear friend, the person you could be for God, the person you could be for righteousness, the love that you could show, the faith that you could manifest, the work that you could do, the things that you could achieve for Jesus Christ, you have little dreamt what you could be for God.
There are three persons sitting in your seat this morning. I want to talk about that third person, the person you could be. I want us to think today about “Maximum Living”—“Maximum Living.” And, that’s what we’ll call our message, reaching your potential, living to the capacity, as God wants us to live. So many of us are not maximum Christians, so many of us are not all we could be, all we ought to be, oh, bless God, all we will be, God grant it.
All right, these people of Manasseh are an illustration for us today of some who failed to reach their potential. There are some who fail to maximize their lives, and I want us to see why they failed, and learn a lesson.
I. The Problem of Partial Possession
There were three problems that these children of Manasseh had when they failed to
reach their potential. In the first place, their first failure was this: They failed to completely possess their possessions. It was the problem of partial possession. Have you got that? The problem of partial possession.
Look in verse 12: “Yet…”—just underscore the word yet—“Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land” (Joshua 17:12). They were keeping company with Canaanites, and God said, “Drive out the Canaanites.” Now, who are the Canaanites? To us, the Canaanites represent the power of Satan. Remember that the Canaanites were demon-worshipers and God said they were to be utterly driven out. They were to be dispossessed, so that God’s children could inherit the land. Now, remember the land speaks of the fullness that we have in Christ, the Canaanites speak of the power of Satan that keeps us sometimes from living to the maximum and fulfilling our potentiality.
You know, you’re always going to be in trouble if you keep company with Canaanites. I heard one time about a pastor who found an old drunk on the street and took him home, afraid he was going to get hurt. And, he took the drunk to the door of the apartment and said, “Now, I think you can make it from there.” And, the old drunk said, “Well, sir, if you don’t mind, I’d like for you to come in.” And, the pastor said, “Why?” He said, “I want my wife to see who I’ve been keeping company with.”
Well, some of us have been keeping company with Canaanites, and we have no business keeping company with Canaanites. And, what do I mean by Canaanites? I mean, sins that are in our lives that we ought to be victorious over, but we’re not victorious. Do you know what God’s plan for Manasseh was? It was complete victory. Did you know what God wants you to have? Complete victory. “Oh,” you say, “Adrian Rogers, victory is impossible.” Well, as long as you feel it is, it will be. But the Bible says, in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 57: “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
God’s plan for you is complete victory. You are to be living victoriously. Do you know what General Douglas MacArthur said, when he came back from Korea? And, by the way, I like Douglas MacArthur; I mean, he was one of my heroes, he really was. Douglas MacArthur said, “In war, there is no substitute for victory.” That’s from a general’s viewpoint. Now, you think about that: “In war, there is no substitute for victory.”
Ladies and gentlemen, we are in a war, and there must be no compromise, no substitute for victory. Oh, there is an alternative—that’s defeat; but there’s no substitute—there’s to be no backing up, no letting up—no substitute for victory over the world. We’re not here to make peace with the world, to get along with the world; we’re to overcome the world. And, a worldly Christian is a traitor to his Lord. Are you a worldly Christian?
I want to say there’s no substitute for victory over the flesh. We’re not here to condone the flesh; we’re here to crucify the flesh, and our flesh is not to be dictating to us. We’re to be living victoriously not over the world, but over the flesh; and not over the world and the flesh, but over the devil. The devil is like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8). You don’t sit down to a peace conference with a roaring lion. Either you get the lion or he gets you. We are not to sit down and peacefully coexist with Satan; we are to have complete victory. You are to be living in victory. In war, there is no substitute for victory—over the world, over the flesh, over the devil.
A. Canaanites They Failed to Drive Out
God’s plan for His people in the Book of Joshua was that they were to utterly drive out the Canaanites—completely. They were to be victorious, but they were not—they were not. They settled down and started to keep company with Canaanites. And, I want you to notice the two kinds of Canaanites they kept company with.
1. The Canaanites They Favored
First of all, there were the Canaanites that they favored. I want you to look, if you will, in verse 13. Are you watching? Joshua 17, verse 13: “Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, but did not utterly drive them out” (Joshua 17:13).
Now, when the Israelites got fairly strong, they said, “Well, there’s no reason to get rid of these particular Canaanites. Rather than driving them out, we’ll make slaves out of them. And, rather than getting rid of them, we’ll make them pay taxes. That is, we’ll use these Canaanites; we will be better off with them in the land.” And, there were the Canaanites they favored.
Do you have a Canaanite that you’re showing favor to? Is there some sin in your life that you think you’re better off with? Perhaps some companion that God has told you to get rid of? You know, the Bible says, “A companion of fools shall be destroyed” (Proverbs 13:20). Is there some questionable business practice?
You say, “Well, I think I’m strong enough; I can handle it.” Is there some habit that you think somehow enhances your life? Do you have some Canaanite that you’re favoring, that’s paying tribute to you, that you’ve made a slave of that sin? You say, “Well, ha, it hasn’t enslaved me. I’m pretty strong; I can take it or leave it.” Come to think of it, that’s all anybody can do, amen? You take it or leave it. I mean, what big deal! I noticed, though, that most of them who can take it or leave it, they always take it. You know, they say, “Well, I’ve got victory over this thing.” But, I wonder who really has victory over you. But, you think that you’re strong enough, that you can control certain Canaanites.
In Texas, I heard of a family who had a little lion cub that somehow they’d gotten, and they thought they would raise it as a pet, and they kept it in the apartment. But, one night they stepped across the hall to visit in the adjoining apartment, and when they stepped back in, they heard a strange noise in the nursery, and went in there and saw that that lion cub had eaten several fingers from the hand of their own little baby. Can you imagine such a thing? Can you imagine how they felt about that lion cub, having kept it there in the house as a pet, thinking it was something they could control?
I wonder, do you have some pet sin that’s going to rise up and devour something precious in your life? There were certain Canaanites that they favored, certain Canaanites they thought they could control. They said, “We’re strong; we’re waxen strong, and we’ll make these Canaanites pay tribute.”
2. The Canaanites They Feared
All right, there were the Canaanites they favored, and then there was another class of Canaanites—look in verse 16. These are the Canaanites they feared. “And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron” (Joshua 17:16).
Now, these are the ones they didn’t think they could drive out. They were in a mess, weren’t they? Here was a partial possession. They had not taken the land that God had given them to take; they had not possessed it because there some Canaanites they favored, and some Canaanites they feared, some sins they made peace with, and other sins they thought that they could not overcome at all. Is that the way you are? Are there certain things in your life you say, “I can handle that,” and so you don’t get rid of them; other things in your life you say, “I can’t handle that,” and so you don’t get rid of that either? There are just certain problems in your life, certain sins that “have chariots of iron.”
I want to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, if you’re a Christian, if you are filled with the Holy Spirit, if you are obeying the Word of God, there is no sin that should have dominion over you—not one, not one. There is no sin so strong, there is no temptation so terrible, there is no problem so powerful that the child of God cannot overcome in the power of the Holy Spirit. And, if there is, I might as well close my Bible and never preach again. You cannot say, “The devil made me do it.” He can’t make you do it—he can’t. The Bible says, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory…” (1 Corinthians 15:57). “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
And, the reason that many people are not living maximum lives, the reason that many people are not reaching their potential, there is the tragedy, the tragedy of partial possession. There are Canaanites that we fail to drive out: Canaanites that we favor, and Canaanites that we fear. God is wanting to give you victory over every sin.
Did you know that as you’re sitting here this morning you ought to be able to say, “I thank God there is no unconfessed, unrepented of sin in my life? Thank God there is absolutely no sin that is holding me in its grip. I thank God that Jesus Christ has set me free.” “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36). And, Jesus Christ did not come to save you in your sins; He came to save you from your sin.
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:1–2). I’m not talking about sinless perfection, but I am talking about a life of victory where God’s people are no longer slaves to sin—sins that they favor, and sins that they fear. Oh, the tragedy that some who are listening to me today, who name the name of Jesus, who have entered into Canaan, are still keeping company with Canaanites that should have been moved out a long time ago!
II. The Problem of Paralyzing Pride
Now, not only is there the tragedy of partial possession, but there’s also the tragedy of paralyzing pride. I want you to notice another thing that keeps people from reaching their potential. Look in verse 14: “And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people…”—“I am a great people, forasmuch as the Lord hath blessed me hitherto”
(Joshua 17:14). These same people who are unable to drive out the Canaanites, these same people who were unable to possess the lot that God had already given them, were now asking for more. They hadn’t even possessed what they had, but they were saying, “I am so great that I need a bigger place. I need a bigger lot. I need a bigger possession. Give me more. ‘I am a great people.’”
Now, folks, there’s one other thing that will keep us from living maximum lives, and it is paralyzing pride, pride where we think that we have arrived. You see, if you think that you’re what you ought to be, you never will be what you ought to be. The reason that the Apostle Paul was such a great Christian, he said, “not that I’ve already attained or were already perfect,” but Paul said, “I’m pressing on” (Philippians 3:12). I’m pressing on. There’s more, and I want it.
Are you satisfied with your life right now? Do you feel in a very real sense that you are all that you ought to be, and you’re wondering why God is not giving you more possessions? You’re wondering why God is not giving you bigger opportunities. You’re wondering why God is not pouring more blessings on you, because, after all, you’re pretty great, aren’t you? No wonder, no wonder we fail to live maximum lives. We’re paralyzed by pride. What a blighting, damning sin is pride, and what a deceptive sin is pride.
You know, there’s a benefit and a bliss to some other sins—at least the person who commits them knows that he’s committing them; at least the drunkard knows he’s a drunkard, the thief knows he’s a thief—but have you ever heard of a proud person who ever realized that he was a proud person?
Do you know how a proud person talks? He says, “Well, I’m pretty humble.” That’s right, he’s proud of his humility; he’s got high-class humility. Like that preacher who prepared a sermon on humility, but he hadn’t found a crowd big enough to preach it to. We’re pretty proud of our humility.
I heard about a man, they gave him a medal for humility and then took it away from him when he wore it. Humility is deceptive—it really is. We’re always thinking that we’re not proud. You know, like that Sunday School teacher who taught the Sunday School lesson about the publican and the Pharisee. And, you remember the publican and the Pharisee went to the temple to pray and the Pharisee stood and prayed with himself, the Bible says. Of course it was with himself—God wasn’t there. He prayed with himself, and said, “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are” (Luke 18:11); I tithe, I fast, I do this, and I do that.” And, he said, “I especially thank you that I’m not like this ole’ publican.”
Now, the publican was a tax gatherer, a tax collector, but the publican was over there in the corner, and Jesus said that he bowed his head, “but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13). Actually, the Greek says, “Be merciful to me, the sinner.” He thought he was the chief of all sinners: “God be merciful to me a sinner.” And, Jesus said, “This man went down to his house justified rather than the other…” (Luke 18:14). Two men went to church; one went home dignified, and one went home justified. Oh, there’ll be a lot of folks who go home dignified today because they’re too rotten proud to confess their need to the Lord and let the Lord justify them.
And, the Sunday School teacher taught this lesson, and she did a pretty good job until she got to the end. And, after she finished telling her boys and girls about the publican and the Pharisee, then she said, “And, boys and girls, aren’t we thankful we’re not like that ole’ Pharisee?”
You know, this thing of pride is a devilish thing, but I want to tell you something, friend. The Bible says, in the Book of 1 Peter chapter 5, verse 5, that “God resisteth the proud” (1 Peter 5:5). You know, I’ve been to some of our state conventions, and I hear some of our people get up, and they say, “Our great convention, our great program, our great…” I believe it makes God want to vomit. If there were ever a people that ought to be on their face, it’s us before Almighty God. “Oh, give me more—I’m a great people.” I want to tell you, we’re boasting and bragging about our greatness, and the world is caving in on our heads. God has said, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
Do you know where America needs to be right now? On her face before God. We need to be crying and squalling before God, and saying, “O God, have mercy upon us!” We don’t reach our maximum and we don’t live maximum lives, number one, because of partial possession—we’re keeping company with Canaanites; and, number two, because of paralyzing pride. And, I don’t think pride is ever more unseemly than when it raises it’s head out of the muck and mire of failure. Here they were, failing to possess their possessions on the one hand, and on the next hand saying, “What a great people I am!”
III. The Problem of Perverted Priorities
Now, the third reason that we fail to live maximum lives, the third reason that we fail to reach our potential, is not only because of partial possession, and not only because of paralyzing pride, but because of perverted priorities—perverted priorities. We get our priorities wrong.
You see, I want you to read now, beginning in verse 17: “And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people…”—I think there’s a very strong note of irony here, and almost sarcasm—“Thou art a great people, and hast great power: thou shalt not have one lot only:”—that is, there’s room for you to grow—“but the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down:”—now, what he means is, “I’ve already given you the mountain, and it’s a forest; and, you’re to clear the forest”—“and the outgoings of it shall be thine:”— that is, “The valley all around it shall be thine”—“for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong” (Joshua 17:17–18).
Now, God’s solution for these people who said, “This land is not big enough for me; I need bigger land; I need a greater opportunity because I’m a great people,” God said to them, “Before you ask for more, and before you get more territory, you get your priorities straight, and you take care of that which I have already given you.” God’s answer was very simple. They said, “I want more land. I want a bigger opportunity. I want more blessings. I want more, more, more.” And, God says, “You take care of what I’ve already given you, and, when you take care of what I’ve already given you—when you clear the forest, and when you drive out the giants and the Canaanites—then you’ll have more.”
You say, “Does that apply to us today?” Boy, how does it! You’d be surprised how many people are sitting here saying, “Oh, I want to know more of the Bible—I want to know more of the Bible. Teach me more of the Bible.” Do you know the reason I can’t teach some of you more of the Bible is because you’re not obeying a part of the Bible you already know. You want to understand God’s Word, you want God to open up your mind, and pour our of His treasure house of knowledge more of His Word to you, then you start obeying the part that you do know. “For to him that hath shall be given” (Matthew 25:29).
Somebody says, “Oh, I wish I had more money.” Do you know why you don’t have more money? Well, I’m not sure why all people don’t have more money, but I’ll tell you why some Christians don’t have more than they have: because they’ve got all God can trust them with right now.
“Oh,” you say, “I wish I had a million dollars.” What would you do with a million dollars? Oh, you say, “I’d do this; I’d do that.” I tell you, if you had a million dollars, you’d do with that million what you’re doing with that hundred dollars. Friend, if you’re not interested in missions, and if you are not faithful in tithing with a hundred dollars, you wouldn’t be, if you had a million dollars. The Bible says, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much” (Luke 16:10). And, the reason that we don’t have much is, many times, we’ve not been faithful with little. And, why should God give us more? Why should God give us more land? Why should God give us more territory?
We say, “O God, I want a bigger opportunity.” Some of you preacher boys who are here, you say, “I want a big church.” You be faithful where you are, and, when you’ve done what God’s called you to do in that church, maybe you’ll have a big church. But, I want to tell you, it’ll take another world to show where the big churches are anyway, and some of the biggest churches may be out there in the country. I want you to know that.
I want to say, ladies and gentlemen, that, if you want bigger opportunities and better opportunities, you’d better start clearing the forest where you are. You know, it’s amazing what people ask for. They want God to give them this. They wouldn’t know what to do with it, if God gave it to them. What would these people have done with more land, when they couldn’t take care of the land that God already given them? They’re like a dog chasing a truck—they wouldn’t know what to do with it, if they caught it. “O God, I want a bigger opportunity. God, give me more land.” We need to maximize what we have, to understand that right where we are there are opportunities—glorious opportunities, wonderful opportunities.
Some of you are wanting a better job. O God, I just hate my job. I want a bigger job, a better job. Well, let me tell you one clue to getting one: You go back to your job Monday morning and you do that job like it’s never been done before. You put everything you have into it. You say, “Oh, that ole’ two-legged rascal I work for.” Let me tell you something, friend: You’re not working for him; you’re working for Jesus Christ. And, the Bible says, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men” (Colossians 3:23); “not with eyeservice, as menpleasers” (Colossians 3:22).
You cut down the trees where you are, you drive out the giants where you are, you live to a maximum capacity with what God has already given you, and then God can be free to give you more. Are you maximizing the potential that God has given you? Are you living to capacity? If not, why not? The reason that some are not doing it is that we’re just plain lazy—sitting and wishing won’t change your fate. The Lord provides the fishing, but you must dig the bait. Now, God will give you a bigger opportunity, and God will increase your capacity, when you live up to the capacity that He’s already given you.
A. The Two-Fold Priority
As I close, I want us to notice two things that the Lord told them to do. Now, watch— we’re talking about getting our priorities right. Notice the two-fold priority.
1. Remove the Things that Clutter Our Lives
First of all, look in verse 18: “But the mountain shall be thine;”—now, he’d already given them this mountain—“for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down” (Joshua 17:18). The first thing He told them to do was to clear the forest, that’s the first thing; that is, chop down the trees.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with trees—that is, unless you want to build a house where they are standing; that is, unless you want to grow corn where they’re standing, or grow wheat where they’re standing, or put in a vineyard where they’re standing, or build a road where they’re standing, and then the trees have to come down. Trees are beautiful things; trees are harmless things; and, there is shade in the trees. But, you see, if the trees are cluttering the land, then you have no right to say, “There’s not enough room.” There’s plenty of room, if you cut down the trees.
And, you see, the first thing Joshua is saying to these people who wanted more was to, “Get the things that clutter your life out of your life. Get the things that clutter your life out of your life.” They needed to clear out the harmless things that cluttered their life. Have you done that? I’m not talking about the hurtful things, now. I’m talking about the harmless things. I’m talking about the trees. They just clutter your life.
You know, folks say, “Well, I just don’t have enough time.” That’s a lie. We have plenty of time. There’s enough time in every day to do gracefully everything God wants us to do. And, did you know that it’s an insult and a libel to God, when you say, “I don’t have time”?
Some of us say, “I don’t have time to read my Bible. Oh, I wish I were a preacher like Dr. Rogers. Then I could just study my Bible. Oh, I don’t have time to pray. I don’t have time to witness.” Friend, God gives everybody 24 hours a day, and you have enough time in every day to do gracefully everything God wants you to do. But, do you know the reason that some of us are not doing the things that God wants us to do? We have failed to clear out the things that clutter our lives. You see, it’s not that we need more time; we need to chop down some trees, and some of those trees may be football games, amen? Watch it—late night television, sitting around a table eating, maybe business, maybe church work.
Did you know that doing church work is not a substitute for your quiet time with God? And, some of us are so busy being good we don’t have time to be holy—did you know that?—being alone with Almighty God. There are things that clutter our lives, and the axe needs to be laid to the root of the tree, and we need to clear the woods. Don’t say you can’t do it; don’t say that you need a bigger opportunity; don’t say that you need more room and more time. God has given you plenty of all that you need.
2. Remove the Things that Corrupt Our Lives
Number one, we need to remove the things that clutter our lives; then, number two, we need to remove the things that corrupt our lives. Now, go on and look in verse 18: “But the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites” (Joshua 17:18). And, there you have the two types of things that keep us from being all we ought to be: the things that clutter our lives, and the things that corrupt our lives.
The Canaanites—the Canaanites that we favor, and the Canaanites that we fear— are to be driven out of our lives. And, you say, “But, hasn’t God gotten it backwards? Don’t you think that first of all, Brother Rogers, that we ought to drive out the Canaanites, and then clean up the woods?” That’s not the way Joshua told it. As a matter of fact, folks, before you get ready to do a battle, you’d better clear off a spot to fight from. There might be a Canaanite in those trees.
You know, it’ll be a great day in our lives when we learn that worship comes before warfare. You know, it’s far more important for you to get the things out of your life that clutter your life so that you can just spend some time with God, learning what God wants you to know, storing up, getting yourself strong, getting yourself fortified, establishing a beachhead, and then, and only then, can you go out and drive out the Canaanites, the Canaanites that corrupt our lives.
Conclusion
Don’t you want to be a maximum Christian? Don’t you want to live to your full potential? Wouldn’t you like to be all that you could be? Well, friend, don’t be like the children of Manasseh, children who fail to possess their possessions. And, they had the tragedy of a partial possession, the tragedy, on top of that, of a paralyzing pride, and, on top of that, perverted priorities, wanting more before they’d taken care of what they already had. Let’s bow in prayer.
