Month: April 2015

Banned 

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Joshua 7:13
“Get up, sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the Lord God of Israel: “ There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.”'”

The story of Ai is tragic. Thirty-six men lost their lives that day. Thirty six sons, brothers, fathers, husbands and friends, fell in battle. Their deaths had a devastating effect upon the people. Not only were they filled with the normal grief of losing loved ones, but this grief was compounded by the fact they had been sent by the Lord into Canaan, and now they had lost the battle and thirty-six lives. The ripples of this were so great, even Joshua, their heroic leader, wished they had never crossed the Jordan. This passage is filled with applications for us today. Not the least of which is, their failure in battle was due to failure in their private lives. That failure is twofold.

First, there was the sin of Joshua. When surveying Jericho he encountered the Lord and got his marching orders. Here he surveyed the land but neglected to seek the Lord. Had he sought God, the sin of Achan would have been exposed before the battle started, and lives would have been saved. It is clear from the text, God’s method for taking the city, was far different than the plan Joshua came up with on His own.

Second, there was the sin of Achan. Israel was commanded to dedicate all the spoil of Jericho to the Lord. This fits with the principle of the ‘firstfruit’ belonging to God. However, we find that one man, Achan by name, took some of what was under the ban, and hid it away in his tent. When confronted, Achan shares what happened. He said, “I saw, I coveted, I took and I hid” (Joshua 7:21). He ignored the warning of God, and placed himself in a position where the temptation became too great to resist. It was only a matter of time before he would fall.

We learn from this that personal sin impacts the whole congregation. No man is an island. Our personal decisions have an impact upon others, and upon the work of the Lord. Whenever a person chooses to devote himself more fully to the Lord, the Kingdom is strengthened, but whenever a person chooses to compromise, the whole congregation is effected.

The solution is simple. We cannot stand before our enemies until we remove the accursed things. If we want to have success in our walk, and service to the Lord, we must get the things out of our lives that do not belong. These things come out through confession and repentance.

Pastor Jim

 

Jesus Standing

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Acts 7:56 
“Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

Stephen’s story is a common one with an uncommon ending. All who have attempted to share the love of Christ with others have experienced the crowd turn on us. The very ones we have prayed for, and stepped out in faith to share with, have accused us of wrong doing, and lashed out against us. Unfortunately for Stephen, these men lashed out not only with words, but also with stones. Stephen was taken outside the city, as if he were a false prophet, and stoned to death. A martyr could be defined as one who lives for Christ, even if it means dying for Christ. Stephen is not the only martyr the church has ever seen, but he was the first.

As Stephen is facing his execution, he looks up, and for a moment the veil separating the eternal from the temporal is removed, and he is able to see the Throne of Grace. Something fascinating happens; Jesus, who sat down at the right hand of God after his ascension, is standing. We know that the work of salvation was completed on the cross, so He is standing for another purpose. That purpose was to honor the one who was honoring Him; to welcome Stephen into glory.

From earth’s perspective, Stephen failed. He attempted to share Christ with a group of people while only making them angry, and losing his life. From Heaven’s perspective, he receives the highest honor, as Jesus stands to welcome him home. It is my personal desire, that each of us will receive that welcome when we step into glory. That we, like Stephen, will choose to live, not for acceptance in this age, but in the one to come. You never know whose life you may impact. It was after Stephen’s death that Paul is first mentioned. It seems that this young man’s bold stand for Christ was one of the influencing events in winning Paul to Christ.

Let’s seek to live for Christ today, keeping our eyes on the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Pastor Jim

 

Victory

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Joshua 5:14
“So He said, ‘No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.’ And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, ‘What does my Lord say to His servant?’”

Jericho is one of the greatest military victories of all time. A group of relatively untempered wanderers, enters into a new land, defeats the most secure city in the area with loud shouts and ram’s horns. Never, in the history of warfare, have their tactics been repeated. No training camps have ever been set up, teaching soldiers how to play musical instruments, and expose themselves to their enemies day after day. That being said, there are spiritual principles that led to Israel’s success. These same principles will lead us to success in our walk with the Lord, and service for His Kingdom. Back in chapter five, three things guaranteed their victory.

First, upon entering the land, God required the men to be circumcised (Joshua 5:2). Circumcision is an operation on a very sensitive part of the body, with the purpose of removing the flesh. Circumcision was considered to be the sign of Israel’s covenant with the Lord. In the New Testament, the word ‘flesh’ is used to speak of our sinful desires. Before any real victory can be accomplished for the Lord, we must allow Him to cut away the flesh. Those things in our lives that are not pleasing to the Lord must go if we are going to live in victory.

Second, once they healed from their operation, they celebrated the Passover (Joshua 5:10). It was a reminder of God’s deliverance from Epypt, and points forward to the work of Christ on the cross. While celebrating, God stopped the manna that He had provided for the past forty years (5:12). Though I am sure the people had grown quite tired of manna, they had also grown accustomed to it. Every day they went outside their tents and their provision was there for the taking. Now, as they are about to embark on a military campaign, God stops their food source. Simply put, in order to be victorious they must learn to rely upon the Lord.

Finally, the wounds from the operation have healed, the manna ceased, Joshua begins to survey Jericho. As he stands back, observing the city, trying to determine the best approach, he encounters a Man with a sword drawn (Joshua 5:13). It is obvious from the text, this is more than a man; it is in fact, the Angel of the Lord, or Christ Himself. Joshua approaches, and asks the question all of us might have asked, “are you for us or against us.” The Lord’s answer is quite striking. He declares “No!” Jesus is making it clear, He is not there to help make Joshua a better Joshua, He is there to be Master and Commander. The secret to success in our walk with the Lord, comes down to allowing Jesus to have His rightful place as King of our lives. As long as we are fighting with Him for control or authority, we will find our Christian life frustrating and unsuccessful. It is high time we surrender all.

Pastor Jim

 

Seven Men

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Acts 6:3
“. . . seven men of good reputation . . .”

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Scripture does not follow the stories of all seven of these men, but we know that both Stephen and Philip were remarkable men. Stephen carries the honor of being the first martyr of the church. While martyrdom is not something we should aspire to, his testimony is one of a man who refused to shy away from the threats, and boldly declared the Gospel to his community. It seems very likely his life was influential in leading to Paul’s conversion. Philip was used to begin one of the great revivals of church history. It was through his life, the people of Samaria heard the Gospel and were saved. Later we read, he raised four daughters who followed and served the Lord.

Acts 6 records for us what these men were like. We are told they were men of good reputation, filled with the Holy Spirit, wisdom and faith. The text also alludes to how they became these men. We are told, the apostles gave themselves continually to the Word of God and prayer. Something happens to us when we get plugged into a healthy church, where the Bible is being taught. As the weeks pass, we begin to develop a desire for more of the Lord, and ultimately to serve the Lord. After one of the outreach events that our church was involved in, one of my kids made the observation that it was so cool to see people come to the church, get fed the Word, and over time start serving. He said it was almost as though they could not help it.

Make sure you get plugged into a healthy church! The more time you invest in your relationship with Jesus, the more you will become a person whose life impacts those around you, for the kingdom of God.

Pastor Jim

Old Testament:
Joshua 1- Secret To Success
Joshua 2- Story Of Redemption

 

Entering In

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Joshua 3:4
“. . . that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.”

Sometimes, our Christian life takes us down roads we have not traveled before. The Lord desires to take us to new heights in our relationship with Him, and to use us for the furtherance of His Kingdom. Joshua’s leadership, as he takes Israel across the Jordan, illustrates some very important principles on how to follow the Lord.

Joshua 3:5
“Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”

“Sanctify” means to set apart. It carries the idea of being set apart from sin, and to the Lord. Sanctification happens when a person recognizes they belong to God, and they surrender to His ways. Their sanctification involved faith. They were to give themselves to the Lord now, trusting He wanted to accomplish something, through them in the future. Often, we remain unprepared for the day of battle, because we neglect to set ourselves apart to the Lord today.

Joshua 3:16
“. . . the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam . . .”

Since the waters stopped a great distance north of the camp of Israel, it appeared that nothing happened when the priests put their feet in the Jordan . God promised the river would part, yet the waters seemed to remain unchanged. However, as time moved forward, they would see that God kept His promise. Many times, we fail to see what the Lord is doing until we keep moving forward, as He commands.

Joshua 4:10
“So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished… and the people hurried and crossed over.”

Hundreds of thousands of Israelites crossed the river that day. This process would have taken hours. Meanwhile, four men stood holding a large, heavy wooden box. The initial excitement of carrying the Ark, and watching the waters subside, would soon be replaced with pain, as their shoulders, arms and legs began to ache. As hour followed hour, these men continued to hold up the Ark. They would learn ministry is not as glamorous as it sometimes appears. Often, we fail to see results because we fail to be steadfast and immovable in the work of the Lord.

Joshua 4:20
“And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal.”

Their first act in the Promised Land, was to make a crude altar with the stones they removed from the Jordan. This altar was not designed for sacrifice, but as a simple reminder of what the Lord had done. Future victories would be ensured by remembering what God had done in the past. If God could part a river, what obstacle would be to much for the people of God. It is good to remember what the Lord has done for us, and how He has worked in our lives. The only danger is that we become people who live in the past. Take what God has done in the past as motivation for how He wants to work in your life today.

Pastor Jim

 

When We Obey

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Acts 5:32
“. . .the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Jesus promised, when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit, we will receive power to be witnesses for Christ. It seems to me, I am always in need of more power than I currently have. The longer I walk with the Lord, the bigger some of the battles become. I need a greater measure of His power to deny the flesh, as well as to effectively serve the Lord. I think it is a common experience for all Christians to feel powerless against the battle in front of them. That being said, there is a critical principle revealed in this verse. Peter declares that the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey.

Throughout Scripture, we find the people of God facing obstacles bigger than themselves. We read of Moses and the congregation of Israel being chased by the Egyptian army, where they are trapped by the Red Sea. We know of Joshua and the immense walls that surrounded the city of Jericho. Later, Scripture records how Gideon faced the armies of the Midianites, and David stood toe to toe with the Philistine giant. The New Testament is filled with its share of obstacles as well. We read of the man with the withered hand, blind Bartimeus, and the lame man at the Beautiful gate of the Temple. In each of these cases, God is calling people to do the impossible. In each case, they could have excused themselves because of a lack of power. I can almost hear the excuses I would have used. “Lord I can’t do that, I don’t have that kind of power, that water is too deep, the walls too high and the giant is too tall.”

The truth stated by Peter answers those objections. The Holy Spirit is given when we obey. If we are waiting for an overwhelming sense of power to build up in us before we do battle against the flesh, or go out in service of the Lord, we are going to wait forever. If we go out in obedient faith to the promises of God, we will find that the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey. All the strength you need for the battle at hand, will be given as you walk in obedient faith to the command of God. In that struggle you are facing with the flesh, trust today, that He will empower you as you choose to obey.

Pastor Jim

 

Story Of Redemption

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Joshua 2:12-13

“Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token, and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.”

 

The story of Rahab is a story of redemption. It is nothing short of a miracle. The Spirit opened Rahab’s eyes to understand that YHWH is the true and living God. This happened as a result of the Word of God reaching her ears long before the spies ever set foot in Jericho. For decades, her people had been hearing stories of a people whose God had parted the Red Sea and given them victory over Egyptian bondage. Now those same people were at her doorstep, and Rahab wanted to join the people and the God of Israel. She had come to realize,  salvation would be found in God alone, but she did not want to follow Him alone. In what is a beautiful example of intercessory prayer, Rahab pleads not only for herself but for her loved ones. 

 

“. . . spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, . . .”

 

This seems to be a relatively common phenomenon; when a person truly meets God, they are burdened with a desire for others to meet him as well. It was true of Paul, who wrote ,

 

Romans 10:1

“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.”

 

Perhaps Jesus was referring to this when he promised that we could exchange our burdens with His. He said we should take our heavy load and give it to Him, in exchange for his burden, which was much lighter (Matthew 11:28-30). That burden certainly includes a desire for others to come to know Him. One of the missing elements in the church today is people who are burdened with a desire for others to come to Christ and grow in Him. We seem to be consumed instead with a desire for personal prosperity and to maintain a political status quo. 

 

Perhaps it is time we look at the great judgment the world is under and begin to pray for those within our sphere of influence to come to Christ. Perhaps, it is even time to pray that our sphere of influence would widen, and that we might actively seek to meet people with the purpose of sharing the love of Christ with them. 

 

Keep in mind, that although time is running out, there remains plenty of space in heaven for all who will trust in Christ.

 

Pastor Jim 

  

 

 

 

 

Secret To Success 

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Joshua 1:5
“No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life…”

Have you ever wondered why some Christians seem to have great success in their personal lives? They seem to make better choices, commit less sin, and have more success in serving the Lord than others. I am not talking about one minister who has a larger church than another; but believers who walk more faithfully with the Lord, and live out their Christianity. I think the secret to successful Christianity is summed up in the instructions Joshua received after the death of Moses.

First, he was given a promise to cling to: “I will be with you and will not forsake you.” Essentially, Joshua must understand the secret to his success would not be his own strength or gifts. Understanding this, ensured he would never trust in himself, his ways or his deceptive emotions. Too many believers never quite come to the place where they stop trusting in themselves. When things become confusing, rather than clinging to the Lord and His Word, they run after whatever they think is best, only to pick up the pieces of the mess they have made. Step one to successful Christianity is learning we cannot trust ourselves.

Second, Joshua was instructed to keep the commandments found in the pages of God’s Word. The specific tasks Joshua was called upon to accomplish, was leading the people into the Promised Land. To accomplish this He must follow, explicitly, the directions from the Lord, no matter how difficult they may seem. To get into the land, they would follow God’s instruction, and part a river. Later, they would defeat Jericho with loud shouts and trumpets. Joshua must understand, to succeed in following the Lord, he must do things God’s way.

Third, Joshua had to learn, the only way to know the commandments of the Lord for daily living, was to be in the Word on a daily basis. He was commanded not to let the Word depart from his mouth, but to meditate upon it day and night (Joshua 1:8). Daily Bible reading ensures you have instruction for daily living. In addition to being fed spiritually, God has a way of speaking to our personal lives from the pages of His Word. The more you commit to getting to know your Bible, the more success you will find in living it out.

Pastor Jim

 

Resurrection From The Dead

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Acts 4:2 
“…..they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.”

The greatest tragedy in human history was the day Christ died. The true sinfulness of mankind was expressed as the world turned on Christ, as if to say, “We won’t have this man ruling over us.” In an attempt to rid the world of Him, they nailed Him to the cross and watched Him die. In contrast to the darkness of that hour, heaven’s great light shone forth as Jesus rose from the dead, gaining victory over death, hell, and sin. The Resurrection is heaven’s great triumph.  The resurrection, proves the claims of Christ. When asked for a sign Jesus declared,

“ An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Matthew 12:39-40

Essentially, He was saying, “In addition to fulfilled prophecy, the miracles I performed, and the lives I have changed, the only sign I will give you, is that I will rise again.” Death could not hold Him down, the grave could not keep Him in. The Son of God rose from the dead triumphantly, assuring us all, His promises are true.

But the Resurrection proves something else. Not only are we guaranteed Jesus is who He said He was, but we are guaranteed there is more to life than this temporal existence. Paul declared,

“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.”                1 Corinthians 15:20-22

The term “first-fruits” refers to the fruit on the tree that ripened first. When Israel gathered these fruits, they would celebrate, partly because they had a taste of the harvest, and partly because they knew a much greater harvest awaited them. The resurrection of Christ is like that. We celebrate that He conquered death and was raised in a glorified body, never to die again. We also rejoice in knowing, when this life comes to an end, as it will for each of us, we can be assured there is eternity.

One day, we will all breathe our last in these earthly tents. Those who have trusted Christ for salvation, will awaken in glory. The tent will be cast off, and replaced with a glorious body, designed never to wear out, but to last for all eternity. Rejoice today, as we look with anticipation to the great hope of the Resurrection.

Pastor Jim

 

Big Shoes

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Deuteronomy 34:9
“Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.”

I can remember times when my children would slip on a pair of my shoes and attempt to walk around the house. Their little feet were so small, and the shoes so large, that not only did they look ridiculous, but it made the simple task of walking from one side of the room to the next, almost impossible. Suffice it to say, attempting to fill someone else’s shoes is often a very difficult task. That concept would be greatly compounded as it relates to Joshua and Moses, of whom we are told, 

 

Deuteronomy 34:10-12

“But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, in all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land, and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel. “

 

I think it is important to keep in mind, God never intended for Joshua to fill the shoes of Moses. Instead, He wanted to do a new work and raise up a new leader. Moses had been uniquely trained and gifted for the ministry he was called to perform. His education in Egypt, coupled with his time in the wilderness, gave him a skill set that helped him effectively lead the people out of Egypt, and through the wilderness. While at the same time, he established the foundation for a new nation. Joshua, on the other hand, would be called to an entirely different area of ministry, and would need a whole new array of giftings. Joshua was called to lead the people into the land, drive out the enemy, and establish Israel in their new homeland. More than anything else, Joshua would need to be able to discern the voice of God, for a game plan for victory. The training for this took place years before when he chose to make the tent of meeting his home. Early on in the wilderness journey, we read that Joshua was the assistant of Moses, and he never left the tent of meeting. His training for leadership was found in meeting with the Lord,  learning to discern His voice, and follow His leading.  

 

As time moves forward, men and women of God will pass on. In their place, we will find vast ministry opportunities. Instead of lamenting the loss of a leader, we should be seeking, in every way possible, to become a person whom God can use to carry on the work of the Lord. Perhaps it is time to follow the example of Joshua and begin to set up a meeting place where you daily spend time God, and learn His Word, His ways, and his voice. 

 

Pastor Jim