Hebrews 11:30-31 — Don McClure

Faith in the Battle of Jericho

The children of Israel and learning here in the great battle of coming into the promised land and of taking the city of Jericho this unbelievable Awesome city the history has told us. I don't know if you've ever seen in the Discovery Channel on TV and things they've actually done some very very interesting Things about the city of Jericho and how the the city was built in the huge walls You know of it and on how that they had determined that there was at one point There's some you know huge earthquake or some disaster that happened in a day where literally this city was destroyed.

It didn't decay over a period of time. It came down all at once and They believe humanly it was just you know Some form of an earthquake which it probably well was in some form where God just simply shook it and took it down.

But here the children of Israel though God using the issues of life and using this city We oftentimes God puts in front of us Jericho's all the time not to destroy us not to discourage us not to defeat us not To bring us into any dismay.

But to actually encourage us to bring us to a place that we come to a greater Realization literally of how great God is. We'll never know how great God is until we have these issues in our life until we need God to do a work and that's how our faith grows as a Christian.

Somebody once said that faith has never seen an impossible situation Just an impossible God and I suppose how true that is. That is essentially what faith is really all about it is learning not to look at the situations.

But at the God who prevails over all of the situations of life. Because faith essentially as we'll look at this morning is coming Ultimately to a place where our faith God wants to bring every one of us In our faith as to where we come to a place where we trust completely in God's Word an unconditional Unargumentative confidence in what he says in that anything that God said we take it strictly on the basis of the simple fact that God Has said it that if God says something it is immediately true God cannot lie the Bible says and whatever God says is absolutely Eternally wonderfully gloriously True and that when we just realized simply if God has said it that makes it the most awesome force that there is in all The world but at the same time when we have God saying something.

We also live in a world where we all have our own feelings. We all have our own thoughts. We all have our own intuitions our own instincts our own attitudes our own, you know Kind of general inclinations on one side that the human aspect the unbelieving part.

That's what every one of us have that Every day when you get up every situation you look at you have well, I think I feel I wonder well I'm inclined you know to look at it this way and we have a Human set in way of evaluating virtually all of life and then over here on the other side of equations God speaks and God to our life and to our situations and he simply says this is who I am this is what I want you to do and by faith what a Christian is doing is realizing I Realize I have these attitudes these feelings these inclinations these instincts that are humanly within me.

But I also realize I am on a journey in my life to her one day I wake up in heaven in God's presence and I totally completely trust in him and he is Everything to me and that's the journey that I'm going from.

I am going from this place Into this new dimension and in this new place of an absolute trust and so faith is something that is on this journey. It is learning essentially to obey God. It is coming to a place that essentially that that faith knows.

It absolutely knows in and of itself. God cannot lie. He cannot make a mistake. God has no apologies. He never looks back and says oops I forgot or I know I said but I slipped you never ever. He have that sense anywhere about God whatsoever.

He cannot be defeated. God cannot be destroyed. He cannot be surpassed. There is no power like him. And so when God says something and he says that it is now fixed. It is done and God is ultimately he wants to bring everyone as to a place to our that just isn't a theory or a Theology.

It's essentially a theocracy that we now live in. It is a place where our life is governed by it. A Theology is maybe something you mentally believe but a theocracy is a place to where you live where he is truly King if he says It and he wants it and he lays it out that I am learning to absolutely do it.

And I am realizing that this is right in the face of all of the other struggles and difficulties and human Unbelief that I have that says but God if I do this. What about this and if I do whatever it is?

That's gonna open me up to this or that or how can this happen or God what you are saying? It is utterly impossible and that's it precisely what God did with the children of Israel over and over and over again He brought them into a place where everything humanly would say, you know.

You throw down a rod and it's gonna become a serpent. Don't think so you stretch out a rod over a river and that it's going to open up. Don't think so you know you lift up a rod into the air and ask God to give you a victory over your enemies and He will.

I don't think so. But God is somebody essentially this is precisely What he is wanting to do within our lives and within the children of Israel lives. He's gonna bring him into a Canaan and the very first thing they're gonna really encounter is this city of Jericho.

Unbelievably huge city. We'll look at that a little bit in a few moments. But everything humanly is gonna say how can we ever even begin to get to it? It's impossible. And God smiles and he says no. With God nothing is impossible.

I am with you. Oh, yeah, right and these are the struggles that we all have all the time in our lives of learning to where we Theoretically know that I assume we are all sitting here because theologically we believe these things.

But I want to know today if the issue is not so much theologically what I believe but it's theocratically what I believe. Do I am I resting in those things? Am I trusting in those things? Am I depending upon those things?

Am I putting my life right in a place where those things are true? And I'm going to live it out in actual human experience within my life. That's a theocracy. That's to where I'm really looking in saying God.

I'm not just simply suggesting or believing or subscribing. You know, we have these old songs that we love to sing, you know, like, you know. Standing on the promises I cannot fail. But I think so often we ought to change the verses as Christians sometimes and just sing sitting in the premises.

You know, I I hope I don't fail. Well sitting in the premises doesn't do you any good in Your home or your marriage raising your children or dealing with the issues of life? Until it comes to where I'm truly standing on the promises.

Trusting God Beyond Human Instincts

So often, you know, we're like Christians. We're like the old story of the mountain climber who you know out there one day going along and all of a sudden he loses His grip and he slips as he kind of edges down a hill, you know, do you know out over a cliff there next to you?

No, he's dangling and there's a thousand foot drop and There he is nowhere to go and he's hanging on for dear life and he needs some assistance. You need some help. He can't get up and as he's just dangling there He begins to cry out for anybody up above that could possibly hear and after he cries and cries out He hears a voice that says I'm here.

I hear you. I'm God. Trust me. Oh, he just rejoices ecstatic of all the ones who could possibly have heard him in response and he's heard God he says, oh. This is wonderful. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you God, you know, and so what do you want me to do and the Lord says?

Let go and I'll catch you. He hangs there for a few moments and he says is there anybody else up there? Well, so often that's we're ones that the thought of who God is we can cry out and we believe he's there.

And yet at the same time in our human ways were oftentimes while we're doing that. We're also saying is there anybody else? Up there rather than just him and here in this wonderful chapter in this wonderful verse I think that we we learned some things that we'll be looking at within it how to exercise faith in the real battles of our lives.

What as I said earlier, where's your Jericho today? What is your Jericho today? What is it that you would look at that just seems to you bigger-than-life impenetrable. Impossible to overcome something there that just stares at you and just the mere presence of it almost mocks you.

Laughs at you ridicules you what makes you just feel absolutely hopeless as a Christian reduced to nothing. Well, here's some things that I want to suggest to you that are just essentially all about the children of Israel.

And what they had to learn for this one verse there in verse 30 this by faith the walls of Jericho fell down. After they were compassed about for seven days. The first thing I want to mention here is that I believe that learning.

And that God wants us to be learning to exercise. You know faith in the battles of life and in so learning to do it where we really look and say I want to I want to truly live by faith. That one of the things in order to when you realize if I'm gonna take my Jericho whatever it is.

There's got to be something where I look at it and rather than all of the instincts all the opinions all of the ways That I try to do it. Let's see how many battering rams. Am I gonna need to try to get through the wall?

How big a ladder is the way I need to get over to what size a cannon, you know? Am I gonna need to try to break through the thing? But rather than I realize nope, not all the human ways of trying to do this God I want to open up my life to a whole new dimension of faith and of trust and of dependence upon you.

That is something there that God wanted the children of Israel to really do here you see 40 years earlier they had gone into the land 12 spies and 12 spies when they went in you perhaps remember this story when they came in earlier to check out God had promised them.

Here's the land of Canaan flowing with milk and honey. It's all yours. I'm gonna give you a wonderful life and they're off and they're running in there so thrilled. They're almost like just a brand new babe in Christ this new Christian.

God loves me. He's gonna bless me. He's gonna take care of me life is so wonderful. Remember those days. But so often just like the children of Israel as they neared, you know. This wonderful life that they had laid out milk and honey and blessed in victory.

Houses you didn't build wells. You didn't dig all of yours and vineyards. You didn't plant Cities you didn't build all these things God says I'm gonna give it to you and they say oh, this is so wonderful but then Just before they went in to get it.

They sent in 12 spies. They will let's go check out and see this wonderful land we've got and how we're gonna kind of go take it and they're all and there's all excited and they go in and 10 of the 12 can spies come back and says wow it is something there's milk and there's honey and there's grapes and there's You know fruit and there's nuts and there's stuff like you just wow, it's so glorious.

It's so wonderful. It is so beautiful. It's so gorgeous in there, but there's one problem. There's Giants in the land Giants, we can't take the Giants. We're like grasshoppers. They said we're like grasshoppers and these Giants will just Squashous we don't have any chance at all.

And the people all of a sudden they're saying wait a minute. No two of the twelve Joshua and Caleb said no. No, yes, all that's true. All of that is true. But You got to realize we also saw the Lord and he told us everything is gonna be fine and they said yeah, right.

Sure, and immediately what happened their own inclinations their own instincts their own feeling their own idea of battering rams. How many you know bladders they'll need and how they can take it took over and as soon as that took over Unbelief came with it and they said we can't do it.

It's wonderful and as joyous and as full and as rich as this life that God seems to want for us can be we Cannot see how we ourselves can personally take it and one of the first things that ever has to really happen.

And so they just sat there for 40 years. They all died miserable lives. They spent 40 years murmuring chiding against God chiding against Moses striving with one another murmuring back and forth all around a dust bowl of a desert in the wilderness and They're you know, no good for God.

No good for man. No good for themselves no good for anything and there they spent the 40 years of their lives or you just kind of look and say whatever went wrong and. The thing was is that they never came to a place.

Well, first of all God's Word became central. They didn't do that. But when they came into the land when this new generation now comes in we're told in Joshua chapter 1 you might turn to it. Because I'm gonna read a few verses out of here.

Joshua 1 1. It says now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord. It came to pass that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun Moses his minister saying Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise go over this Jordan thou and all of this people under the land that I do give them even to their children of Israel.

Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon that have I given unto you as I said to Moses from the wilderness of this Lebanon even into the great river the river Euphrates all the land of the Hittites and of the great Sea-towards the going down of the sun shall be your coast.

There should not be any man able to stand before thee all the days of thy life as I was with Moses. So I will be with thee. I will not fail thee nor forsake thee. Be strong and of good courage. For unto this people thou shall divide for an inheritance the land which I swore unto their fathers to give them.

Only be thou strong and very courageous that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is of the law which Moses my servant Commanded thee turn not from it to the right hand or to the left that thou mayest prosper whether so ever thou goest.

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth. But I shall meditate there in day and night that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein for. Then thou shall make thy way prosperous and then thou shall have good success.

God said to Moses He said you Moses, you know, I need they they never had the land. You know why they just dreamed of milk and honey. You know why they just talked about it and why they sang about it and why they wondered about it.

But they never tasted a grape. You want to know why? Joshua was simply because they did not follow my word. I told them and They didn't do it and he says if you want to prosper if you want to have that place, you know.

We're in your life where the blessings come. He says I want you to take my word and he says and don't you turn to it from the right or the left? Don't turn away from it. Don't mess with it. What I say.

I mean what I mean. I say it's simple. It is clear just do it and you know the simplest thing to me so often in the Christian life. It's just deciding in a sense. It's not a hard decision. It may be hard by faith to really begin to enact it when you haven't done it, you know.

Experientially before I can tell you I believe it gets easier and easier all the time because anything else is more ridiculous with time. And you realize there is nothing so true with time as God's Word, but initially I know so when you step out.

You know to trust him and wondering is his word true and then you begin to find it is and then again and again. It is it is but ultimately when you just simply look if God says something in his word do it and One of the things that was so different with this new generation that had this great victory that the other generation didn't know.

It's interesting. It begins. There's his Moses. My servant is dead now that's I mean that's Moses was a nice fellow and it's not like they're happy about it, but it is something we're over. He says to him twice it after the death of Moses is every God says Moses My servant is dead and he tells them now he said essentially as you go through these next eight verses God says Joshua the exact same place that Moses had in the hearts and the lives of the people.

Now my word is to have they followed Moses. Moses said we're going this way. They went this way. Moses lifted up the rod. They did what he said, but he wanted him here. He wanted him there and wherever he led they followed Moses followed Moses followed Moses.

He says Moses is dead. But my word isn't and he said I now want you to take my word and put it exactly where Moses once was. So often the interesting thing about this is we so easily follow human beings.

We so easily, you know pick up a human, you know, somebody's book and just read it about marriage. What did you know and we read it about this we read it about that or we go to church and somebody tells us do.

This is all I'm gonna go do that. In meantime, I think God sits there and says, you know, I've got they have my word. They've got it every day. Why don't they get up and just read the thing and whatever it says do it just simply do it.

Novel idea for a lot of people but it's the amazing thing. Is that when somebody does that when they finally look at God's Word and just simply what God's Word tells them to do. He tells Joshua. He said I want you to meditate in this word day and night the book of Psalms David begins the wonderful book of Psalms by said blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly nor standeth in the way of sinners nor sit at that the feet of the scornful but his delight shall be in the law The Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night and he says and he shall be like a tree planted by rivers Of water it'll bring forth fruit in his season.

His leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever He does shall prosper. The person that begins to realize the magnificence of God's Word they take God's Word and Whatever it says they find themselves just simply I'm going to meditate in a day and night and whatever it says I am going to do it.

God’s Word for Marriage, Family, and Daily Battles

Could you imagine how many battles do you have right now? How many Jericho's you around if there's just something and maybe your marriage? Maybe your children. Are you looking through the word and saying God?

What does your word say about marriage? What does it say? What does it say about me as a husband? What does it say about me as a wife? What does it say about me as a parent? What does it say about me and whatever it is, give me the directions and whatever you tell me to do.

I'm not gonna say well, wait a minute my natural inclination here is Yeah, you want me to love this woman as you love the church. She'll walk all over me. That's my inclination. Maybe The Lord says well you kind of walk all over me, but I still love you.

I win you. You're worth it. Whatever. It may be the human reasoning may not fit as you may think of it. But there's something there and when somebody begins to do whatever it is that God's Word says to do.

When it says wife submit your husband submit to him. Have you seen the idiot, you know? Or whatever else that we may, you know may do but when there's somebody that just says my natural Inclination is to protect myself or to do this or to do that.

Not just simply God. That's is a ridiculous. It's just dropping open my hands with a thousand foot drop and thinking you'll catch me. And that's exactly to me the glorious journey that God wants to take every child of his on through their life.

To where I am coming to a place that his word says something I let go of all all my muscles. Holding on, you know trying to hold into the cleft of the rock and trying to squeeze in there. So I don't drop and die and it isn't till finally I just let everything go and say God your word.

I am going to follow your word and this was something when somebody realizes this. Realizes the place of the Word of God within our lives and then we simply do what it says. How important that is and God won the children of Israel.

He's gonna tell them to do some things that seem utterly ridiculous. Look, I want you to walk around a city every day for seven days. What how in the world what military journal have you read this from God?

You know sort of a thing but the amazing thing you see God just simply looking saying I want you to obey me. I want you to trust me all day every day while you're walking and when they're learning this when I learned the place of the word a second lesson they had to learn before the walls were to come down is.

They had to learn and they had to realize that God's blessings are a gift. The simplest things that God's blessings are a gift. Joshua Chapter 5 if you're still back there in Joshua 1 turn on over to gesture Joshua chapter 5 and look at verse 13.

God’s Blessings Are Given as Gifts

For it says and it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho here. They are there now. Joshua isn't by Jericho. There he is. He's looking over the city probably thinking about his battle strategy. How am I gonna take the city?

How many battering rams am I gonna need to try to break through this thing? You know, how many how high of ladders are you need? How are we gonna have this victory God? You told us we've got to go take Jericho.

There it is in front of us. I believe you I trust you and now He's probably doubt they're trying to work some sort of a battle strategy it says it came to pass that when Joshua was by Jericho that he lifted up his eyes and he looked and behold there stood a man over him against him with his sword drawn in his hand and Joshua went unto him and he said out there for us our adversaries.

Here Joshua probably again tense nervous sweating. The burden of you know. The the world upon his shoulder the children of Israel are now following him listening to him and he now is. They're about to lead them into something.

That's the most incredible battle of all of their lives ever even dreamed up. They're heading that right now for Jericho. He doesn't have a plan yet on how it's gonna happen. And there he is looking at the city and all of a sudden there a man appears before him with a sword drawn in his hand.

Of all things he probably jumps back startled at the force of her adversary. Whose side do you want? Who you with and then as he hears this voice he says neither. But as captain of the host of the Lord of men I'll come before you.

Simply what he's saying there when he says his captain of the host of the Lord. He says I just happen to be commander-in-chief. Of all the armed forces of heaven and earth the host of God. All of the powers of heaven and earth.

I'm the commander and There is he looked at him. He says Joshua so often right now today. Maybe you're all you're sitting there wondering, you know, where the Lord Lord are you for us or against us? Whose side are you on?

Will you help us? Are you gonna come through? Get on my side, please in the meantime the Lord says no, I'm sorry I don't take sides just mine the issue Joshua's am I on your side or not? The issue is Joshua.

Are you on my side? Are you surrendered to me? Are you given to me? Do you trust me in Joshua, you know finds himself there? It says this is a mine outcome and Joshua fell on his face to the earth ended worship and he said unto him What sayeth my Lord to a servant all the key when you want Jericho?

When you truly want the battles in your life the issues of your home the issues of your relationships the issues of your healthier Finances or whatever it is these huge battles in life that we're so often inclined.

I've got to get my forces together. I've got to get my team together. I've got a you know, she strategized this in that meantime I believe they're the Lord. He just stands in one day. You know you mean time as you're doing all this now Lord.

Here's our plan. You got to join our team. This is a good team. You want to be worth the winning team. God join us meantime. There's a strange eerie feeling God I don't know whose side you're really on yet.

But when there's something here Joshua realizes he just fell on his face and he says what do you want me to do? There's somebody that's going to win. There's somebody there when you lose your own agenda and you don't have to win.

You don't have to lose to truly be a winner. You just have to submit you've got to come to that place where God your word whatever it says I want it and I also realize that whatever it is. It's gonna come from a blessing from you.

It tells us then as it says that the captain of the Lord and he simply speaks there to Joshua and he says loose thy shoe Verse 15 off thy foot for the place. We're on that stand. This is holy. He'd God just the Lord tells him he says Joshua take off your shoe worship me.

That's the battle of life. Surrender to me there chapter 6 verse 1. It says now Jericho was straightly shut up because of the children of Israel. None went out and none came in and the Lord said unto Joshua See I have given unto thine hand Jericho.

Can you imagine there the Lord now? Here's Jericho with all of it and now the Lord just pointing at it standing and he says take a look to Joshua. It's a gift. I am giving it to you. I'm going to give you the blessings of life.

It isn't gonna be something that is gonna come there because you've earned it. It isn't gonna come because of your sweat. It isn't gonna come because of your energy your effort your genius your capacity the blessings of life are a gift of God.

The true things that are wonderful that are glorious the eternal. They they aren't because you're clever or the timing was right or you were quick to the punch or you understood or you were smarter. You were stronger.

You had more stamina than somebody else. That's what the world always wants to sell the persistent one the one there with all of the fight, you know within them wins you know and the all of these different things as.

If it's just something there and all God wanted to do is look and say you trust me I will give you as a gift the blessings of life and you know I don't know about you, but I look at you go and I look at the blessings of life that he's given me.

Unbelievable blessings. I mean I look at you know, I look at my parents. I look at my brothers my sisters my nieces my nephews my cousins. I look at the family. That's unbelievable. I look at my my wife.

I look at my children. I look at my grandchildren. I realized I didn't do. How did you earn that? How do you one day wake up and whatever blessings that there are that are just all around you and you realize God you are So unbelievably wonderful.

When I look at the relationships of life, I look at the people in the body of Christ. I look at people all over the planet in many ways since glorious wonderful Relationships and to sit there and just realize I am so rich.

And yet at the same time to think well I I earned it I did it I Somehow or another did anything and you realize the things that are like a wonderful life. God just gave them to you. He just gave them to you.

I Look at my wife. He'll really 37 years here in a couple months and I mean every almost daily people come up to me and said how did you get such a wonderful wife? She is so awesome and they go on and on about it.

Frankly. I'm tired of it. But anyway, I mean they're always in because I want to take some I want to take credit for it somehow or another. And I used to try to take credit. I would actually used to tell people I say I'd tell him I'll tell you something you should have met her when I did she was a mess.

But after 20 years with me, she's really turned into a really wonderful woman. Nobody's bought into that yet nobody said wow, you're something you know and Everybody anybody knows or just realize a fella.

This is a most uncredible gift and you had nothing to do with it and it is in spite of you you know not because of you and Believe me. We know her and we know you and she is a gift. Nothing earned there, buddy.

But I mean how many things in life that we have that we realize God this in the greatest blessings of life God just gives them to you and Here with Jericho God says if you think you can fight for that and earn that and do something that you can take that on Your own have at it.

But it'll destroy you in the process or you can do it my way and trust me bow before me. Believe my word do what my word says. And I'll give it to you as a gift and then lastly another great lesson that when you want to take a city is it realized that they have that they come through a humble faith a Very humble sort of a faith by faith.

It says in verse 30 the walls of Jericho fell down after they were compassed about for seven days. They got to realize these walls of Jericho. They were massive structures. Historians, you know and be an archaeologist, you know I've gone back and gone through this city and looked at it and realized that these walls of this city.

They were so huge. They're so high in places. There was absolutely no way anybody could even get through a wall with any, you know Technology at that time or that they could scale these walls and they were so high and so powerful that at the top of these Walls in some places they could ride several chariots Side by side.

I mean these were not just you know, like a you know A wall that we think of a wall today. These things were so thick and then at the very height of it up sometimes 60 80 and a hundred feet high. Unbelievable walls, but at the top of it Chariots could ride and here he's looking, you know the as they're looking at a city like this and here it's just that you know One of their first obstacles if they ever really want to take Canaan in a human perspective I mean how impossible as this is for a bunch of a bunch of slaves a bunch of people just kind of brought out of Slavery wandering in the wilderness no warfare equipment.

No strategy. No military genius about him and Here they are is that they're looking at this thing and they're realizing, you know, how in the world can they take this? Way back in Deuteronomy when the children of Israel first went into the land and they report came back and that they how Boy, there's great blessing and it's wonderful, but we're like grasshoppers.

They felt that way and they looked at them their Giants in the land and they were big. But there was never an argument ever about that it once for one moment as far as Moses or God were concerned Moses himself.

He told the children of Israel the very beginning of their journey. It says in Deuteronomy 4 37 and 38 Moses said to them and because he loved thy fathers here He just looked at him. He says and because he loved thy fathers.

He brought thee out of Egypt with his mighty power. To drive out nations before thee greater and mighty than thou art to give thee their land for an inheritance as it is this day God told that you hear Moses.

He says by the way, I want you to realize I Love your fathers. I've just got this thing for you. I Just love you. Don't try to figure it out. I can't figure it out myself. You know, I don't know if he didn't say that.

That's my opinion. But anyway, we're God basically just said I love you. I'm taken to you. I love your fathers. They've made promises to me and I'm keeping them. They care what their fathers cared about is their children.

God take care of my children. And so I'm looking says, okay, I will I love you and I love them and so because I love your fathers I've given this land. I want to bless your life. I want to do wonderful things for you.

I'm going to do wonderful things for you and I want to give you a land and he says in which I am well aware. That it is now inhabited by forces that are greater or greater and mightier than thou art. You're no match for them you will never take them on your own.

You'll never have it. But that's but Moses also looked there and he already knew very well. That's the whole thing that life is all about. Anyway, the greatest blessings of life are a gift of God not her.