NAVIGATING THE NEW YEAR
Overcoming the Obstacles
Bette Nesmith had a good secretarial job in a Dallas bank when she ran across a problem that interested her. Her thought was, there must be a better way to correct typewriter errors? Having had some art experience, she knew that artists who worked in oils just painted over their errors. So she began to think that maybe that would work for her too. So she concocted a fluid to paint over her typing errors.
Before long, all the secretaries in her building were using what she then called "MistakeOut." She attempted to sell the product idea to marketing agencies and various companies (including IBM), but they all turned her down.
However, secretaries continued to like her product, so Bette Nesmith’s kitchen became her first manufacturing facility and she started selling it on her own.
When she eventually sold the enterprise, the tiny white bottles were earning $3.5 million annually on sales of $38 million. The buyer was the Gillette Company and the sale price was $47.5 million.
Success stories like this one are as numerous as the stars in the sky or the sands in the sea, and it seems that every one involves overcoming obstacles in order to reach the goal. In Bette Nesmith’s story, the obstacle she had to overcome was the fact that no one believed in her product ... no one that is, but her and a few office secretaries in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Yet Bette Nesmith did not let that stop her from accomplishing what she had set out to do.
Last week we began a new message series titled "Navigating the New Year." In last week’s message I mentioned some things that you and I needed to do if we were going to get our voyage off to the right start. Many of you responded to the invitation, and after having prayed, you no doubt got up from your knees with a new resolve to do something great for God.
If I were to venture a guess, I would guess that some of you made it through the last six days with relative ease. For the most part it was smooth sailing and no real storms to speak of. But for the greater part of you, you had no sooner gotten up from praying when you realized that between you and godly greatness, there was an obstacle, of some kind, that you were going to have to overcome ... a barrier, if you will, that you were going to have to break through. Such was the case with Joshua and the group of Israelites that God had given him to lead.
Last week we read how God miraculously led His children across the swelling Jordan and into the Promised Land on the 10th day of the 1st month. Finally, after 40 years of wondering in the wilderness, there they were, camped in the land that God had promised them, a land flowing with milk and honey.
However, it didn’t take these new inhabitants of Canaan long to discover that standing between them and all that God had promised, was an obstacle in the form of a city. That city was called Jericho.
Read Joshua 6:1-16, 20
Jericho was a city of:
Antiquity
It is believed by many, that Jericho is perhaps the oldest city in the world.
Iniquity
The Canaanites, who inhabited Jericho, were a very sinful people. From the occult, to idolatry, to the sacrifice of their own babies in the fire, the Canaanites were a vile people. Every act of unimaginable depravity and horror existed within the walls of Jericho.
Enormity
Jericho was not a large city in terms of land dimensions. It only covered about 8 acres. But it was a city surrounded by two enormous walls, 15 feet apart. Each wall was lined with soldiers and watchmen stood at every gate.
Because of its heavy fortification, Jericho presented itself to the children of Israel as a city of:
Impossibility
There was no way, humanly speaking, that Joshua and his followers were going to break through the walls of Jericho and overcome its inhabitants. This great city was the first formidable foe that stood between the people of God and the promises of God.
Like the Israelites of old, many of us find ourselves staring at an obstacle of some kind that stands between us and the spiritual goals we have set for ourselves for the new year. Like ancient Jericho, that obstacle threatens to thwart any and all efforts to obtain God’s best in the year 2001, and it must be met head on and overcome before any significant progress can be made.
If you’re like me, you don’t mind obstacles unless they get in the way. Standing in your way may be some Unresolved family problem, or maybe some Unpaid debt, or an Unhappy marriage, or an Unhealthy relationship, or an Unholy life. Whatever the case may be, we must overcome these obstacles just as the children of Israel overcame Jericho. AND HOW WAS THAT you ask?
Hebrews 11:30
John said in his first epistle (1 John 5:4), "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."
I submit to you that FAITH IS THE VICTORY! As someone has said, "Faith is the link that connects our nothingness to God’s Almightiness."
There are three things I want us to consider concerning victorious faith.
I. VICTORIOUS FAITH COMMENCES WITH CAPITULATION
When we last saw Joshua he was face down on the ground, bowing in humble submission before the Lord. Look at it again.
Joshua 5:13-15
If we are going to possess a victorious faith that will enable us to overcome the obstacles of this new year, we must be willing to surrender ourselves completely to the Lord. We must be willing to fall prostrate at His feet, surrendering our:
A. Future
1. Allow me to point out once more the Lord’s response to Joshua’s question. When asked whose side He was on, the Lord said, "Nay." As I mentioned in the last message, His response told Joshua that He had not come to takes sides, but to TAKE OVER!
2. To successfully navigate the new year and to overcome the obstacles that threaten to sink us, we must allow the Lord to TAKE OVER!
3. We must be willing to surrender all control of our life, including our plans for the future, to the Lord. We must be willing to say, "Not my will, but Thine be done!"
4. In essence that’s what Joshua was doing. He knew that success was sure to be the result if the "captain of the host of the Lord" was leading the way.
5. Who better to pilot the ship of our life through the treacherous and unchartered waters of the year 2001 than the "captain of our salvation?"
6. A victorious faith will lead us to surrender our future.
B. Focus
1. Before seeing the Lord, Joshua’s eyes were focused on the obstacle.
2. Verse 13 says that Joshua was "by Jericho", meaning that he was on a reconnaissance mission more or less. As his eyes focused on the dual-walled city of Jericho, his mind was at work formulating a plan, developing a strategy, devising a method whereby he could lead his people to victory.
3. But suddenly his focus changed as he saw standing before him the pre-incarnate Christ. Suddenly he became for God-conscious than he was problem-conscious.
4. In our attempt to overcome the obstacles that confront us, we must learn to become more God-conscious. That is, we must learn to look to the One who Paul calls "the Author and Finisher of our faith" in Hebrews 12:2.
5. If all we do is focus on our problems then we will most surely fail in our progress.
6. We must learn to glance at our problems and gaze on the Lord.
7. Focusing on the Lord will not make our problems go away, but the more we worship Him and the greater He becomes in our lives, the less intimidating our problems become.
8. What did the songwriter say?
Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face.
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.
9. Joshua was no doubt a different man once he surrendered both his future and his focus to Omnipotent Commander-in-Chief.
II. VICTORIOUS FAITH CONTINUES WITH CONSIDERATION
If our faith is to become a victorious faith, we must consider:
A. The Impossibility
1. This goes back to what I just said. In order for us to be willing to surrender ourselves to the Lord, we must be made to see the impossibility of being spiritual overcomers without Him.
2. Jesus was certainly right when He said in John 15:5, "...for without me ye can do nothing."
B. Our Responsibility
Our responsibility when it comes to victorious faith and navigating the new year is threefold:
1. We must Walk
a. Can you imagine the response that Joshua must have gotten the next day as he stood before the nation of Israel and said, "OK, here’s what we’re going to do."?
(1) Form a line (Soldiers; 7 priests with trumpets; Ark of the Covenant; "Rereward" or rear guard of soldiers)
(2) March around the city one time a day for six days ... nobody says a word.
(3) March around seven times on the seventh day. On the seventh time around on the seventh day, we’re all going to shout and the walls are going to come tumbling down.
(4) "Oh, I get it Joshua. The Canaanites are going to laugh themselves to death." What a stupid plan.
b. I’m sure there were those in the army of Israel who did not understand the plan that Joshua presented to them. But had they waited until they understood to do anything, chances are they would have died having never conquered Jericho and having never experienced God’s best.
c. When it come to navigating the new year and overcoming the obstacles, we may not always understand God’s leading.
d. We may find ourselves questioning the Lord. "Lord, you want me to what? You want me to:
(1) Tithe? Don’t you know that I can’t afford to tithe?"
(2) Stay in this marriage? Don’t you know that it’s never going to work?"
(3) Quit? Lord I can’t make it without that. I’ve got to have that for my nerves?"
(4) Start doing what? I don’t have any talent. I don’t have any gifts. There’s no way I can do that."
ILLUSTRATION: As I was preparing this message, I read a story about Walter P. Chrysler. At the time he was a master mechanic on a railroad. He was 35 years old and he bought his first automobile with borrowed money. It was a $5,000.00, four-door Locomobile. The car was delivered to his hometown in Iowa and then towed to a barn at the Chrysler home.
The story said that Mr. Chrysler studied that car for three months before he ever attempted to drive it. Using the instruction manual, he took the vehicle apart, spread the pieces out on newspapers and made sketches; then he put it back together.
His theory was, he had to understand it before he could drive it.
e. I say to you that it is not for us to understand, but to undertake.
f. God was ready to do His part, but Joshua and the others had to first of all do theirs.
g. Many of the obstacles that stand in our way are of our own making. God expects us to do something about those first, before He is willing to perform anything supernatural in our lives.
2. We must Wait
a. "Bro. Prater, I thought you said we were supposed to walk. Now you say we’re supposed to wait. Make up your mind."
b. We are to wait while we walk. That is, we are to walk obediently before the Lord and wait for Him to work in His own time.
c. Don’t you know those who walked around the city of Jericho day after day got tired. Don’t you know that they got impatient. But had they acted too soon, it could have spelled doom for them and those around them.
d. Listen to these words of the Lord found in Isaiah 28:16, "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste."
e. Isaiah 30:18, "And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him."
f. Have you ever wondered to yourself, "Why doesn’t the Lord do something? Why doesn’t He act? Why is He waiting?" He waits, my friend, for:
(1) Our Good - "And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you..." The Lord waits sometimes because He wants us to have the best.
(2) His Glory - "...and therefore will he be exalted..."
g. "Well, Bro. Prater, what happens if I’m overtaken while I’m waiting?" WON’T HAPPEN!
(1) Notice verses 4 & 9. By putting those two verses together we see that there were soldiers in front and soldiers, called the "rereward", in back.
(2) Isaiah 52:12
(3) If we’re walking in faith and waiting in faith, we’ve God before us and God behind us and nothing is going to overtake us.
(4) However, if we run ahead of the Lord we have no guarantee as to what the consequences might be.
3. We must not Waver
Victorious faith is strong faith. The strength of Israel’s faith is seen in:
a. Joshua’s Tone
(1) Joshua 6:16
(2) Notice Joshua said, "the LORD hath given you the city", not "shall give you the city."
(3) How could Joshua say it was done when it hadn’t been done? Because he had an unwavering faith in the Word of God.
(4) Joshua 6:2
(5) There it is again ... "HATH" not "shall."
(6) What was Joshua doing in verse 16? He was making good on God’s promise! He was speaking a "word of faith" if you will.
(7) By "speaking a word of faith" I don’t mean that Joshua just dreamed something up and then believed God for it. You can’t just believe God for something and make it so. You can only believe God for something that is already in His heart and mind.
(8) God had already said plainly that Jericho belonged to Joshua and his army. Joshua was simply believing what God had said, which is what faith is all about.
(9) Watch this!
(10) Hebrews 13:5-6
"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."
(11) Do you see it? HE HATH SAID ... SO THAT WE MAY BOLDLY SAY!
(12) Now, let’s apply this to the obstacles we face.
Obstacle = Guilt of the past
God’s Word = "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)
Obstacle = Finances
God’s Word = "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33)
"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)
Obstacle = Lost
God’s Word = "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
b. Priest’s Trumpets
(1) The Jews used two different kinds of trumpets, those made of silver and those made of ram’s horns.
(2) The silver trumpets were used primarily to assemble the camp, to sound the signal to break camp, and during times of war.
(3) The ram’s horn trumpet was used primarily during times of celebration. (4) The Israelites were so convinced that God was going to do something great that they did not sound the war trumpet, they sounded the trumpet of celebration. They were celebrating the victory before it ever came to pass. THAT’S A VICTORIOUS FAITH! THAT IS A FAITH THAT DOES NOT WAVER!
III. VICTORIOUS FAITH CLIMAXES WITH CELEBRATION
With a victorious faith, we can celebrate the:
A. Destruction of our Enemies
1. By exercising victorious faith, Joshua and those under his command overcame a very formidable foe in the city of Jericho and its inhabitants.
2. By the same token, we too can be overcomers rather than being overcome, by exhibiting the same kind of faith.
B. Depth of our Victory
1. The Lord used the word "utterly destroyed" to describe the depth of Israel’s victory.
2. We do not have to give in to one single challenge or be intimidated by one single obstacle in the course of this year if we will but follow Joshua’s example of victorious faith.
CLOSING: Some people have numerous obstacles to overcome. Take for example this man:
When he was seven years old, his family was forced out of their home on a legal technicality, and he had to work to help support them.
At age nine, his mother died.
At 22, he lost his job as a store clerk.
He wanted to go to law school, but his education wasn’t good enough.
At 23, he went into debt to become a partner in a small store.
At 26, his business partner died, leaving him a huge debt that took years to repay.
At 28, after courting a girl for four years, he asked her to marry him. She said no.
At 37, on his third try, he was elected to Congress, but two years later, he failed to be reelected.
At 41, his four-year-old son died.
At 45, he ran for the Senate and lost.
At 47, he failed as the vice-presidential candidate.
At 49, he ran for the Senate again, and lost.
At 51, he was elected president of the United States.
His name was Abraham Lincoln.
Other folks may only have one or two obstacles standing in their way. Regardless of the obstacles, be they many or few, great or small, a victorious faith can overcome them all.
Doubt sees the obstacles; faith sees the way.
Doubt sees the darkest night; faith sees the day.
Doubt dreads to take a step; faith soars on high;
Doubt questions, "Who believes?" Faith answers, "I."
Do you believe?
