INSPECTING Our CHURCH FIELD-IV—Joshua 2:1-24
Attention:
Camouflage—Short Video TV ad begins with a scene of a pristine forested area.
Everything looks natural, peaceful...then you see movement...a completely camouflaged bow-hunter has been standing against a tree, blending in so completely that he is indistinguishable from the surrounding forest!
Our perception of a situation may be much different than the reality forund upon closer examination.
We may be surprised at what we find.
We may be surprised at what we find on the church field—around & even ‘in’ our church.
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?
8 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. PREVENTION(:2-3)
4. ALLIANCE(:4-7)
5. SIGHT& INSIGHT(:8-11)
6. CONVICTION(:12-16, :4, :9)
7—Examining our church field we discover...
People given to GRACE(:17-21)
Explanation:(:17-21)
:17—“So the men said to her: “We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear,
:18—“unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, & unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, & all your father’s household to your own home.”
Again the spies reiterated their “blamelessness” regarding the “oath” they had made with Rahab.
It appears that the men may have experienced some degree of constraint due to the clandestine nature of the circumstances. Perhaps they felt obligated to Rahab’s rescue in fear for their own lives.
Regardless, Rahab exhibited faith. The spies exhibited grace...Rahab’s faith exhibited the reception of grace!
The spies’ blamelessness(:17) was couched in Rahab’s seeing fit to tie the “line of scarlet cord” in the very “window” thru which they would escape. Rahab would comply(:21).
Likewise, the spies’ “blamelessness” & “guiltlessness” in regard to the salvation of Rahab’s family, would only be maintained if,they were all gathered within the confines of Rahab’s house during the looming attack.
Rahab was ‘forced’/compelled into action by her faith!
Likewise, Gen. chapters 6-8—None of Noah’s family—himself, his wife, his sons, or his daughters-in-law—had to enter the ark. They chose to trust & were saved!
“Blameless”—yqn naw-kee'—1) Clean, free from, exempt, clear, innocent; 2) Innocent.
“Oath”(See :20)—hewbv sheb-oo-aw'—1) Oath, curse. Strong—properly--Something sworn, i.e. An oath.
“Made”(See :20)—hwqt tik-vaw'—1) Cord; 2) Hope, expectation—2a) Hope, 2b) Ground of hope, 2c) Things hoped for, outcome. Strong—literally--A cord(as an attachment [compare 06961]); figuratively--Expectancy.
“Swear”(See :12, 20)—ebv shaw-bah'—
“Bind”(See :21)—rvq kaw-shar’—Qal Imperfect—1) To bind, tie, bind together, league together, conspire. Strong—a primitive root: To tie, physically(gird, confine, compact) or mentally (in love, league).
“Line”(See :17—“Made”; )—hwqt tik-vaw'—1) Cord; 2) Hope, expectation—2a) Hope, 2b) Ground of hope, 2c) Things hoped for, outcome. Strong—literally--A cord(as an attachment [compare hwq[A (measuring) cord(as if for binding)]]); figuratively--Expectancy.
“Scarlet”—ynv shaw-nee'—1) Scarlet, crimson—1a) properly--The insect 'coccus ilicis', the dried body of the female yielding coloring matter from which is made the dye used for cloth to color it scarlet or crimson. Strong—of uncertain derivation; Crimson, properly--The insect or its color, also stuff dyed with it.
“Cord”—jwx khoot—1) A thread, cord, line, string. Strong—from an unused root probably meaning to sew; A string; by implication--A measuring tape. Used 7X.
“Bring”—Poa aw-saf’—Qal Imperfect—1) To gather, receive, remove, gather in. Strong—a primitive root; To gather for any purpose; hence--To receive, take away, i.e. Remove (destroy, leave behind, put up, restore, etc.).
:19—“So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, & we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him.
Anyone of Rahab’s father’s household(:18) who left the confines of Rahab’s house to go “into the street” for any reason(defending the city, fear, etc. show unbelief) would be responsible for their own blood. No one else would be to blame. They were answerable to God.
This scenario reminds us of the original Passover(Ex. 12:3-7, 12, 22).
Ex. 12:3-7, 12, 22—“Speak[Moses & Aaron] to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him & his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood & put it on the two doorposts & on the lintel of the houses where they eat it.”.....“‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, & will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man & beast; & against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.”.....[Moses to the elders]“And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, & strike the lintel & the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning.”
Likewise any of God’s people are to remain within the confines of His grace in order to receive its manifold, far reaching, & full value/benefit. When we step out of that realm of God’s protective love we have effectively decided to venture out on our own, assuming we can thrive in our own strength. Such action breaks God’s heart.
“Goes outside”—auy yaw-tsaw’—Qal Imperfect—1) To go out, come out, exit, go forth. Strong—a primitive root; To go(causatively--Bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally & figuratively, direct & proximally.
“Doors”—tld deh'-leth—1) Door, gate. Strong—Something swinging, i.e. The valve of a door.
“Into the Street”—Uwx khoots—1) Outside, outward, street, the outside. Strong—from an unused root meaning to sever; properly--Separate by a wall, i.e. Outside, outdoors.
“Guiltless”(See :17—“Blameless”; :20—“Free”)—yqn naw-kee'—
:20—“And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear.”
See :14 & :17.
“Free”—(See :17—“Blameless”; :19—“Guiltless”)—yqn naw-kee'—
“Oath”(See :17)—hewbv sheb-oo-aw'—1) Oath, curse. Strong—properly--Something sworn, i.e. An oath.
:21—“Then she said, “According to your words, so be it.” And she sent them away, & they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window.”
It is important to maintain our “words” in Christ because our words are a testimony to our integrity, particularly as they relate to our relationship with God.
Mat. 5:37—“But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ & your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”
Mutual respect—NOT bargains with God
Rahab sacrificed trust in Jericho’s salvation(:4-6) political entities, kings, power brokers, men, empty promises, etc.
Ps. 33:16-22—“No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy, To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help & our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.”
Amos 2:14-15—“Therefore flight shall perish from the swift, The strong shall not strengthen his power, Nor shall the mighty deliver himself; He shall not stand who handles the bow, The swift of foot shall not escape, Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself.”
“Scarlet Cord”—A reminder of God’s grace...As in the Passover.
—Here is the applied principle of salvation by grace from the Passover...& thus ultimately thru Jesus! The blood of Jesus graciously frees!
Covenant(spies/Israelites) pictures God’s grace toward sinners(Rahab-harlot).
The 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! The spies left...were absent. God is likewise ‘absent’ from the believer’s sight, but we are not left without abundant evidence, promise, & assurance.
Jn. 1:18—“No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”
1Pet. 1:6-9—“In this[our eternal inheritance] 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.
Argumentation:
**Jn. 1:11-13—“He came to His own, & 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, [God]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;”
Jn. 9:39—And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, & that those who see may be made blind.”
*Undeserving people(“those who do not see”) must rely upon Grace!
‘Deserving’ ones(“those who see”)(& Scripture bears out that NO ONE is deserving(1Kgs. 8:36) must rely on their own ability to please God(which no one is able).
Illustration:
Suppose you are in the College of Science at your university/You are taking a course in organic chemistry/Suppose many do poorly/Professor extends ranges for grading—Grades on a curve...an average of the entire class’s real grades/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!
Clearing land/There is a particular plant or tree on that land that, rather than being cut down, pushed over, or dug out...you want to save/It is precious to you knowing it would properly adorn & add to your land/You mark it, set it apart by painting a ‘blaze’ on it or tying a marking ribbon around it to prevent its demise/People given to GRACE
Application:
?Any in your church field Given to GRACE?
?You given to GRACE?
God’s people have always lived by grace.
8—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.”
:23—“So the two men returned, descended from the mountain, & crossed over; & they came to Joshua the son of Nun, & told him all that had befallen them.”
The two spies returned to Israel on the eastern side of the Jordan River.
They related to Joshua the experience & results of their fact-finding mission.
“Befallen”—aum maw-tsaw’—Qal Participle Active—1) To find, attain to. Strong—a primitive root; properly--To come forth to, i.e. Appear or exist; transitively--To attain, i.e. Find or acquire; figuratively--To occur, meet or be present.
: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 spies declared to Joshua in no uncertain terms that the land was surely theirs by YHWH’s hand. Joshua & thus all the Israelites thus surely became aware that “all” the Canaanites were “fainthearted” as a result of their presence.
Joshua & all Israel were both made aware that due to YHWH’s working in them, they were untouchable & undefeatable.
Recall Israel’s original ‘attempt’ at entering the promised land.
Num. 13:25-33; 14:1-10, 19-25—And they returned from spying out the land after forty days. Now they departed & came back to Moses & Aaron & all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them & to all the congregation, & showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told him, & said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk & honey, & this is its fruit. Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified & very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, & the Amorites dwell in the mountains; & the Canaanites dwell by the sea & along the banks of the Jordan.” Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, & said, “Let us go up at once & take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, & all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); & we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, & so we were in their sight.”.....“So all the congregation lifted up their voices & cried, & the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses & Aaron, & the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives & children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader & return to Egypt.” Then Moses & Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. But Joshua the son of Nun & Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; & they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land & give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk & honey.’ Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, & the LORD is with us. Do not fear them.” And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel.”.....“Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.” Then the LORD said: “I have pardoned, according to your word; “but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD--“because all these men who have seen My glory & the signs which I did in Egypt & in the wilderness, & have put Me to the test now these ten times, & have not heeded My voice, they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him & has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, & his descendants shall inherit it. “Now the Amalekites & the Canaanites dwell in the valley; tomorrow turn & move out into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.”
The Victorious(the spies themselves & thus Israel & the Israelites) are victorious because of God’s/YHWH’s/Christ’s choice of us for/in His purposes.
Victory is centered in our assurance of God’s leading us in any endeavor.
1Jn. 3:22—“And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments & do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”
1Jn. 5:14-15—“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
Argumentation:
Judges 7:9-15—“It happened on the same night that the LORD said to him[Gideon], “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.””
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.”
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:
Camo video—perception may not be reality.
Action:
Examining our church field, we discover People given to...
7. GRACE(:12-21)
8. VICTORY(22-24, :1a)
1. SIN(:1)
2. FEAR(:2)
3. PREVENTION(:2-3)
4. ALLIANCE(:4-7)
5. SIGHT& INSIGHT(:8-11)
6. CONVICTION(:12-16, :4, :9)
Pts. 7-8 Presented 08/30/2015am to:
FBCCbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SE(A Ave.)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
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’t care. 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
