Keys to Victory
Pastor Paddick Van Zyl
05-10-2020
Sermon Outline
Scripture Reference
Joshua chapter 6:1 to 8:27
Key verse :
2 And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. (Joshua 6:2 NKJV)
Theme
How to ensure we live a victorious life in Christ
Introduction
When faced with a challenge or problem in life, what do we do? Do we ask God’s advice? Do we try and figure it out by ourselves?
Sermon message
In Joshua chapter 6 and 7, we find several principles that, when adhered to, will ensure a life of overcoming victory. Let’s look at these in detail:
One : The Promise
2 And the LORD said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. (Joshua 6:2 NKJV)
It was a done deal. God made the promise of victory to Joshua. See also chapter 8, verses 1-2. Yet, they had to take it by faith.
Two : The Instruction
God gave Joshua very specific instructions for victory – keep quiet and march around the city each day. This made no sense to the people. But it ensured that they would rely totally on God for deliverance and victory. Sometimes God will instruct us to do something that does not make sense. What will we do? Obey or do it our way?
3 You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. 4 And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.” (Joshua 6: 3-5 NKJV)
10 Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout.” (Joshua 6:10 NKJV)
There was a reason why they had to keep quite – often, we have faith in our heart but our words cancel our faith when we talk doubt.
They were also instructed not to take anything from the enemy except the specifics that God told them to via Joshua since the enemy was in rebellion against God.
18 And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. 19 But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are [b]consecrated to the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.” (Joshua 6:18-19 NKJV)
They were to destroy everything because the greatest sin of the Canaanites was spiritual (Deuteronomy 18:9-14)
Three : The Action
12 And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13 Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. 14 And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days. (Joshua 6:12-14 NKJV)
15 But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. 16 And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city! 17 Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. (Joshua 6: 15-17 NKJV)
Four : Deliverance
25 And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father’s household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. (Joshua 6:25 NKJV)
Rahab chose to trust in the God of Israel and she and her household was saved. God is faithful to deliver those who put their faith and trust in Him.
Five : Consequences of disobedience
There are always consequences when we disobey:
But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed[b] things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the Lord burned against the children of Israel. (Joshua 7:1 NKJV)
6 Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “Alas, Lord God, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all—to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan! 8 O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its [f]back before its enemies? 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?”
10 So the Lord said to Joshua: “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? 11 Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the [g]accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. 12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you. (Joshua 7:6-12 NKJV)
“The defeat at Ai showed that what mattered was not the strength of the opponent, but the help of God. Without God’s help, all would be lost.” 1
Six : Consequences of obedience
22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver under it. 23 And they took them from the midst of the tent, brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the Lord. 24 Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? The Lord will trouble you this day.” So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.
26 Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger. (Joshua 6: 22- 26 NKJV)
“God’s provision is for us to live a life of increasing victory. But He will not make defeat impossible, taking away our ability to choose good or evil. He always makes it possible for us not to sin; here, Israel sinned, but they didn’t have to.” 2
Now the Lord said to Joshua: “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. 2 And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its cattle you shall take as booty for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it.” (Joshua 8:1-2 NKJV)
27 Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as booty for themselves, according to the word of the Lord which He had commanded Joshua. 28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it a heap forever, a desolation to this day. (Joshua 8:27 NKJV)
Closing:
When God gives us an instruction to obey, we need to obey or we will surely face defeat. Joshua is a great example of what it is to trust the word of the Lord, to obey the word of the Lord and to follow instruction. Achan on the other hand, is a prime example of what happens when we disobey God’s instructions. Disobedience leads to defeat and sin leads to death. Obedience leads to life and victory. Sin opens the door for the enemy to wreak havoc in our lives. We may think that we hide our sins very well but it will be exposed sooner or later. Faith keeps the enemy out. Faith keeps us humble and dependent on God who has given us the victory already through Jesus Christ.
Amen.
End Notes:
1-2 Guzik David : Enduring Word, Commentary on Joshua https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/joshua-7/
