INSPECTING Our CHURCH FIELD-II—Joshua 2:1-24
Attention:
Jim walking downtown/Man approaches him wearing dirty clothes & hobbling on crutches/Asks Jim for money/Jim complies giving $5 & says, ‘Cheer up it would be much worse if you were blind’/Man says, ‘Oh, believe me, I know, Last week when I was blind, all I kept getting was phony money!’
We may be surprised at what we find.
We may be surprised at what we find on the church field.
Need:
Joshua sent spies to determine what they would encounter in the promised land.
We can & should determine/examine what we will encounter on our church field.
What will we discover about those on our church field?
7 Discoveries in our own church field.
Last time we found that...
Examining our church field, we discover People given to...
1. SIN(:1)
2. FEAR(:2)
3. DESPERATION(:3, 7)
4. SIGHT(:8-11)
5—Examining our church field we discover...
People given to CONVICTION(:4-16)
Explanation:(:4-16) Surrender
:4—“Then the woman took the two men & hid them. So she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.”
:9—“& said to the men: “I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, & that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you.”
:11—““And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above & on earth beneath.”
:15—“Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall.”
—Witness(es) of God worth protecting(:4-7)
—Salvation of God worth protecting(:12-16)
Rahab’s hope of salvation rested upon the justice of the Lord God of Israel
Argumentation:
2Sam. 22:26-34— “With the pure You will show Yourself pure; And with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. You will save the humble people; But Your eyes are on the haughty, that You may bring them down.”
Ps. 51:17—“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken & a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.”
Js. 4:6-7—“..."God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil & he will flee from you.”
Job 42:5-6—“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust & ashes."
1Pet. 1:3-9—“Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible & undefiled & that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, & glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible & full of glory, receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls.”
Jn. 20:24-29—“Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, & put my finger into the print of the nails, & put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” And after eight days His disciples were again inside, & Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, & stood in the midst, & said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, & look at My hands; & reach your hand here, & put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered & said to Him, “My Lord & my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen & yet have believed.””
Jn. 10:19-27—“Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings[I am the Door & the Good Shepherd & has power to lay down His own life & take it up again]. And many of them said, “He has a demon & is mad. Why do you listen to Him?” Others said, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, & it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him & said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, & you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. “But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. “My sheep hear My voice, & I know them, & they follow Me.”
Mk. 9:17-21—“Then one of the crowd answered & said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, & becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.” He answered him & said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, & he fell on the ground & wallowed, foaming at the mouth. So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And often he has thrown him both into the fire & into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us & help us.” Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out & said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf & dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him & enter him no more!” Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, & came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand & lifted him up, & he arose.”
None of Noah’s family had to enter the ark. They chose to trust.
Illustration:
*My wife’s ‘chopping leaves’—Our house is surrounded by trees/The original builders cut a house-sized group of trees out of the woods & built the house there/Though they are beautiful, leaves are always a lot of work in the fall/We have very little grass but it takes about 45 min. to do our whole yard—unless you’re Millie!/She loves to use the lawn mower as a leaf chopper/For some reason known only to her, she will take our little 22” push-mower thru the woods chopping up & dispersing all the leaves/I’ve complained for years that ‘the woods look terrible’(& rightly so) every time she does it/Besides looking bad, it also exposes the red clay & prevents new soil from forming from the leaf decomposition, which is bad for the trees/It also makes our land prone to washing as we’re on a fairly steep hill/Well, lo & behold, she mowed only the lawn this time because she ran out of time/She left a nice border separating the lawn from the woods which looks very nice(even she admitted it!)/Only time will tell, but I believe her time restrictions led her to a new CONVICTION regarding our lawn-leaf controversy!
People in your/our community will do the same if we will only meet them with the Gospel of Christ.
Rancher’s dog Max/Constant companion/One day rancher calls Max & no response/Takes Max to vet...
Vet—‘Max is dead’
R—’Can’t be, check again doc’
Vet—‘Sure enough Max is dead’
R— ‘I still don’t believe it! Are you absolutely certain?’
Vet walks out & returns with huge tom-cat/Throws cat on Max/Rips Max to shreds/Max never flinches
R—‘Doc, you’er right, Max is dead’...How much do I owe you?’/
Vet—$525.
R—‘What for? He’s dead you couldn’t even help him!/
$50 for the emergency visit & $500 for the Cat Scan!
Rancher was Convicted & Surrendered his money.
People Convicted of the truth of the Gospel will Surrender their lives to Jesus.
Application:
?Any in your church field Given to CONVICTION?
?You given to CONVICTION?
?Of what are you convicted?
?Convicted of God’s power by His power in these people?
6—Examining our church field we discover...
People given to GRACE(:12-21)
Explanation:(:12-21)
:21— “And she said, "According to your words, so be it." So she sent them away, & they departed; & she tied the scarlet cord in the window.”
Mutual respect—NOT bargains with God
Rahab sacrificed trust in Jericho’s salvation(:4-6)
“Scarlet Cord”—Passover
—Applied principle of salvation by grace from the Passover!
Covenant(spies/Israelites) pictures God’s grace toward sinners(Rahab-harlot).
Scarlet Cord symbolizes sacrifice.
Hanging the cord pictures Rahab’s faith/trust/sacrifice.
The fate of Rahab & her family is entirely in the hands of the Israelite’s choice to deliver her!
Argumentation:
Jn. 1:11-13—“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Heb. 4:16—“Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy & may find grace to help in time of need.”
Eph. 2:5-7—“even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), & raised us up with Him, & seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
Eph. 4:7— “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.”
Rom. 3:24— “...being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”
Undeserving people must rely upon Grace!
Illustration:
College math course/Suppose many do poorly/Professor extends ranges for grading—Grades on curve/Wants the students to excel, knowing that it will all come together for them in the next few weeks/Given to GRACE.
If the professor had not graded on a curve, it be Justice!
Application:
?Any in your church field Given to GRACE?
?You given to GRACE?
God’s people have always lived by grace.
The Law was an act of grace.
7—Examining our church field we discover...
People given to VICTORY(:1a, 22-24)
Explanation:(:1a, 22-24)Poised for Victory
:1a—“Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho...”
:22—“They departed & went to the mountain, & stayed there three days until the pursuers returned. The pursuers sought them all along the way, but did not find them.”
:24—“And they said to Joshua, “Truly the LORD has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us.””
The Victorious—Spies themselves & thus Israelites—Christians
Victory is centered in God’s assurance & His leading us in it.
Argumentation:
Eph. 2:4-6— “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), & raised us up with Him, & seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus,...”
1Jn. 5:4—“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; & this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.”
1Cor. 15:56-57— “The sting of death is sin, & the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Rev. 12:10-11— “And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, & the power, & the kingdom of our God & the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day & night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb & because of the word of their testimony, & they did not love their life even to death.”
Judges 7:9-15—“It happened on the same night that the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. “But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, & you shall hear what they say; & afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men who were in the camp. Now the Midianites & Amalekites, all the people of the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; & their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude. And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, “I have had a dream: To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent & struck it so that it fell & overturned, & the tent collapsed.” Then his companion answered & said, “This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand God has delivered Midian & the whole camp.” And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream & its interpretation, that he worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel, & said, “Arise, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.””
Illustration:
Little leaguer playing outfield/Passerby asks how the game was going.
LL—‘Great! We’re behind 17-0!’
PB—‘Sounds to me like you ought to throw in the towel’
LL—‘Mister, you’re crazy, why we haven’t even gotten up to bat yet!’
Given to VICTORY
Application:
?Any in your church field Given to VICTORY?
?You given to Victory in Christ?...
...or just suppose it might happen?
?You see yourself/church as Victorious?
Our perception of Victory effects our walk!
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Panhandler’s hard times— ‘Last week when I was blind, all I kept getting was phony money!’
Action:
Examining our church field, we discover People given to...
5. CONVICTION(:4-16)
6. GRACE(:12-21)
7. VICTORY(:1a, 22-24)
1. SIN(:1)
2. FEAR(:2)
3. DESPERATION(:3, 7)
4. SIGHT(:8-11)
Presented 11/11/2012pm to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
CHILDREN’S— ‘Hidden Pleasures’
Hide candy
Have the children look for it.
Describe many ‘dead ends’ & disappointments.
BUT...eventually someone will find the candy!
That’s how it is when we tell people about Jesus. Many don’tcare. BUT...every once in a while we’ll share about Jesus & they will be saved!
Presented 11/28/am to:
Providence Baptist Church
975 Providence Rd.
Whigham, GA 31797
