Unprecedented Faith
“Creating an Environment of Faith”
Joshua 23:1-11
Watch on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LofvjY-O7h8
As we begin our new series on “Unprecedented Faith,” I think it’s wise to set the stage for creating an environment where our faith can grow and mature as we move forward into the promises of God, and into His vision.
To pursue the presence of God in these times the world calls “unprecedented,” it’s vital that we create an environment of faith in both our lives and the church. The key is remembering that we cannot pursue God’s presence where God’s presence doesn’t reside. So we need to create an environment that welcomes God.
Now, please understand, not only does it take faith to enter into God’s presence, as the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 2:8, “By grace you have been saved through faith,” but it also takes faith to remain there.
The Bible tells us
By faith, Abraham was declared righteous, and by faith, not only are we saved, but we are also sanctified and justified.
By faith, we extinguish Satan’s fiery darts, are delivered from the mouth of lions, and overcome the world.
By faith, healing takes place, nothing is impossible, and it’s by our faith that God is pleased.
Therefore, it’s by faith that we’re to live our lives, and it’s by faith that we draw near to God.
But conversely, our lack of faith displeases God and prevents Him from moving mightily in our lives (Matthew 13:58; Mark 6:5-6). It was a lack of faith that prevented the Jewish people from entering the Promised Land on the first go-around.
And, this environment of faith is evident in what the writer of Hebrews says, “‘Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.’ But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.” (Hebrews 10:38-39 NKJV)
The writer of Hebrews quotes the Lord through the prophet Habakkuk, warning us not to be like that first generation of Jews who began by faith but fell away. Even though God promised them the land of Canaan, they never set foot in it and instead died in the wilderness because of their lack of faith.
This is why it’s so important that we create an environment of faith.
Now, faith is more than merely saying we believe in God. The Bible says that even the demons believe, yet they tremble in fear because they’re not saved (James 2:19).
Also, faith that doesn’t act upon what it says it believes is a dead faith (James 2:16). Real faith is when our hearts draw near to God and receive His promises and act accordingly.
Earlier in his letter, the writer of Hebrews speaks about this group of Israelites who didn’t enter.
“For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” (Hebrews 4:2 NKJV)
They clearly heard and understood what God had promised, but their hearts didn’t receive it by faith because they didn’t create within their hearts and lives an environment in which faith could grow and be nurtured.
We can know everything the Bible says, and about His promises, but it must find an atmosphere where its power can be released. It’s this environment of faith that’s missing, which is why some are falling back into the world and their old way of life. They never created an environment of faith in their lives or homes.
This faith environment is revealed in Joshua’s parting words to the next generation that had made it in. Twenty years had passed since they entered the Land, and Joshua is still speaking about God’s faithfulness, saying that not one of God’s promises has failed (Joshua 23:14).
By faith, Joshua drew near to God and remained there. And the reason is because he created that environment of faith. In a way, Joshua is our first case study in Unprecedented Faith, but we won’t look at his life today so much as what he taught the people based on it.
“Now it came to pass, a long time after the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua was old, advanced in age. And Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers, and said to them: "I am old, advanced in age.” (Joshua 23:1-2)
What the people were about to hear, and what we’re about to look at, is sound advice from a leader who has lived through it all and is now passing down the secret of creating an environment where faith can grow and mature.
The first step in creating an environment of faith is to remember God’s past intervention.
Remember God’s Past Intervention (Joshua 23:3)
“You have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the Lord your God is He who has fought for you.” (Joshua 23:3 NKJV)
Joshua is telling them to look back and think about all God has done.
Joshua remembered his former life as a slave in Egypt and how God, through many mighty miracles, delivered them from their bondage.
Joshua remembered the manna from heaven, the water gushing from the rock, and how God’s presence went with them in the pillar of cloud and fire.
Joshua also remembered the people’s rebellion of unbelief and how God prohibited them from entering the Promised Land the first time.
And Joshua remembered how God parted the Jordan River, how He brought down the walls of Jericho, and the many victories that came because of their obedience.
If we want to create an environment of faith to stay in the presence of God, we need to remember how God has intervened in our own lives, both the good and the bad.
The writer of Hebrews urges us to remember our suffering.
“But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings.” (Hebrews 10:32 NKJV)
The key word here is “endured.” That is, they got through it. We’re not to remember so much the suffering as we are to remember the Lord’s gracious and merciful hand that got us through. This helps create that faith environment.
We’re also to remember God’s promises.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James 1:17 NKJV)
What are the gifts and promises that God has given? We need to remember that God keeps His promises, and not one of them fails, as Joshua points out.
“Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.” (Joshua 21:45 NKJV)
And the blessing is that when, by faith, we trust in God’s promises, then He’ll release in us His supernatural grace.
“(There have) been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2 Peter 1:4 NKJV)
God’s grace flows through faith in His promises. Our problem is that we have become so preoccupied with the problems that we forget about God’s blessings, promises, and all He has already given and done for us.
This is because we take God for granted. It’s a shame that we can cheer wildly for our favorite sports teams, yet remain silent in our praise to God.
Do we have something to thank God for? Our present might stink, but if we remember what God has done, that is our starting point. Give Him praise. Open your heart and mouth and express your gratitude.
Therefore, to cultivate that environment of faith, we need to remember what God has promised and accomplished, and let our praise ring out, because we can never have faith for the future until we look back and thank God for our past.
This leads to the second aspect of how to create an environment of faith.
Anticipate God’s Future Intervention (Joshua 23:4-5)
“See, I have divided to you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from the Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, as far as the Great Sea westward and the Lord your God will expel them from before you and drive them out of your sight. So you shall possess their land, as the Lord your God promised you.” (Joshua 23:4-5 NKJV)
Joshua could have spent his later years content with what he accomplished, but he didn’t. Instead, we see Joshua still invoking God’s promises.
Even though they were living in the land, they hadn’t yet fully conquered it. They hadn’t yet occupied the promise. They had grown complacent and comfortable. They had all they wanted or needed, so why fight and inconvenience themselves any further?
If we’re honest, there’s still a lot in our own lives that remains to be conquered. Things that are not the way God wants them to be. So we have to create that environment for faith by rooting out the enemy and all that hinders our coming into God’s presence, and then by anticipating God’s future promises.
It’s what the writer of Hebrews tells us. He said, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1 NKJV)
God wants to revive and bless us with His promises, and He does so by intervening to destroy those things that hinder and paralyze our faith. God wants to intervene in a mighty way by faith in our future with Him.
Faith believes God’s promises even though we haven’t yet seen them, but we’re certain of their outcome. Faith believes God’s word and God’s promises, and we live our lives by them.
The writer of Hebrews describes faith this way: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1 NKJV)
Therefore, to create an environment of faith, we must possess a spirit of anticipation and expectation, a belief that God will keep His promises and do something incredible through them. It’s about anticipating God’s future intervention.
The final aspect in creating this environment for faith is
Allow God’s Present Intervention (Joshua 23:6-11)
“Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, and lest you go among these nations, these who remain among you. You shall not make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them; you shall not serve them nor bow down to them, but you shall hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day. For the Lord has driven out from before you great and strong nations; but as for you, no one has been able to stand against you to this day. One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you. Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God.” (Joshua 23:6-11 NKJV)
To allow God to intervene in the present, Joshua highlights three things.
Obey God
“Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left.” (Joshua 23:6 NKJV)
Obedience was a central theme throughout Joshua’s life. At the very beginning, before they even entered the Promised Land, the Lord encouraged Joshua to obey His word.
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8 NKJV)
Obedience to God’s word needs to be central to everything we do. God places a premium on our obedience, allowing it to strengthen our faith and bring blessings to our lives. However, we have difficulty obeying God’s word because it confronts our sins and our desire to live according to our own set of rules.
Obedience also runs contrary to our culture of independence, so there’s a battle between our self-centered rebellion and God-centered obedience. To allow God to intervene in our present, we must obey His word.
Be Holy
Holy means to be separate. To create an environment of faith, we need to separate ourselves from sin and this world.
“And lest you go among these nations, these who remain among you. You shall not make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them; you shall not serve them nor bow down to them.” (Joshua 23:7 NKJV)
Joshua was telling the people not to have anything to do with the other nations or with those who still lived among them and served these other gods. Such separation is not biased or racially motivated. These people served foreign gods and practiced things that directly contradicted God’s word.
Today, God is calling for the same sort of separation. Even though we live in the world, the world is not supposed to live in us. The Apostle John tells us not to love the world or anything connected to it, because if we do, it’s a strong indicator that the love of God may not be within us.
The Apostle John said, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15 NKJV)
Making worldly alliances removes us from God’s presence. It spiritually depletes us and leaves us weak. Wrong conversations, inappropriate relationships, and a fascination with questionable things and practices all lower our shield of faith, allowing Satan to rip us off.
However, whenever we speak of separation, people grow uncomfortable, thinking it smacks of fanaticism. But a separated Christian, one who lives in the presence of God, loves God and wants nothing less than to live uprightly in His presence.
Therefore, willingly, not reluctantly or grudgingly, we must give up all that is not of God or questionable before Him.
The Apostle James says, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4 NKJV)
Now, the Great Commandment speaks to our need to love God with the whole of our being, and then we are to love others with that same love to show God how much we love Him. So we don’t become separatists, but instead we are to share with others the love of God, or, as I have stated in the past, it’s our need to be missionary.
And to be missionary is to be among the people, being a part of their lives to share the love of Jesus. But at the same time, we aren’t to allow the ways of the world to infiltrate our lives, because when it does, we’ve lost our witness
And so, to allow God to intervene in our present, we must obey His word and be a holy people.
And lastly, to help facilitate God’s present intervention is to follow God.
Follow God
“Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God.” (Joshua 23:11 NKJV)
Our failure to obey God’s word and maintain those standards of separation can be traced back to our inability to fully follow God, that is, to have a heart fully in love with Him.
Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15 NKJV)
Conclusion
Therefore, let’s not be like that generation that failed to enter the Promised Land because of unbelief. Let’s not miss the opportunity God has set before us.
With sincere hearts, let’s draw near to God by faith, completely trusting in Him, and let’s hold fast to what we profess as true, knowing that the Lord who has promised is faithful to complete it.
And so, to create this environment of faith, we must
Remember God’s Past Intervention
Anticipate God’s Future Intervention, and
Allow God’s Present Intervention by obeying God’s word, being a holy people, and following Jesus as fully devoted disciples.
Therefore, to create that environment of faith, it all begins and ends with Jesus, as the writer of Hebrews says we need to look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
And so, as we start to create this environment of faith and move forward upon this journey of faith, let’s do so without any fear, in other words, let’s replace whatever doubts and fears we may have with faith in God and His promises.
