When God Asks You To Do Something You Do Not Understand Series

Introduction: A man was quiet a bit overweight, he had tried several ways to lose the weight, but had no success. Finally he decided to visit his minister and ask him if he had any solutions to his weight problem. The minister said he had just the solution. The man was to go home and wait for a knock on his door at 6:00 a.m. the next morning

The man did not understand his minister’s instructions but he trusted him went home and waited for the next day.

Sure enough at 6:00 there was a shapely blond in a jogging suit, she said to the man, your minister said if you catch me you can marry me me, and she took off running, the man began to chase her, but because he was overweight he soon gave up the chase and returned home.

The next morning at 6:00 the door bell rang – same woman, Catch me you can marry me, off she went angina the man took off running, but the same result he gave up the chase. This went on for weeks, the man began to lose the weight and each day the man continued to get a little closer to his prize. Finally the day came when he was just inches away from her, before he gave up. He knew the next day he would catch her and she would be his, but he was concerned that after he caught her he might regain the weight he had lost, so he went back to visit his minister and shared his concern. The minister said no problem; he would take care of it. So the man went home and waited for 6:00 a.m. to arrive. Sure enough at 6:00 the door bell rang and he rushed to the door and there stood an overweight woman, she said preacher said if I catch you I can marry you!

It can be difficult to do things you sometimes do not understand.

• Your employer makes a request

• Your parents make a demand

• And your first response is WHY?

What happens when God asks us to do something you do not understand? In my office I have a book titled – THE HARD SAYINGS OF JESUS, in the book, the author, F.F. Bruce records for us 70 different hard sayings that are difficult to understand.

Sayings regarding…

• Turning the other cheek when you have been offended

• Following Jesus requires hating one’s spouse, parents and children and taking up a cross

• Our forgiveness of sins is in direct correlation with us forgiving others

• Plucking out your eye, cutting off your hand or Loving your enemies

All of these sayings can be difficult to understand – yet the Lord calls us to a higher standard.

1500 years before the Lords called his followers to a higher standard he asked the Children of Israel to do something they would not understand.

Again, God’s people were in a tight spot!

HOW DID THEY END UP IN A TIGHT SPOT?

BACKGROUND

The Children of Israel had left the bondage of Egypt and wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. This wandering was a punishment from God because the people were faithless when it came to entering the Promise Land. God told Moses the People of Israel would wander in the wilderness until the faithless generation died. At that point a new generation would enter the promise land. But before they could conquer the promise land, they had to conquer the city of Jericho.

The Battle of Jericho is one of the more famous Battles in the Bible. The account is found in the 6th Chapter of Joshua.

• It is a captivating story of how the people of god followed God’s plan as a result they had a great victory.

• Woven in the text are some eternal principles for us to learn when discovering we are in a tight spot.

NOTE FIRST

1. The Impossible task Before Israel

Read Text

Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in." Joshua 6:1-5

A. Chapter 6 begins with a startling fact…