TITLE: How to Recognize God’s voice
TEXT; Joshua 1
THEME: spiritual victory, the promises of God, Joshua, spiritual warfare
P.S. The voice we listen to will determine the direction we will walk. If we listen to our emotions we will remain in the spiritual desert. If we listen to the whispers of the enemy we will by intimidated. If we listen to voices of our critics, we will be distracted. Only if we regularly hear the voice of God will we have the courage to do God’s will and overcome the grasshopper complex.
In times of war it is absolutely imperative to have clear lines of communication. A faulty communication system can spell disaster for a unit going into battle. Proper two-way communication inspires courage, gives guidance and unifies the attack.(Lutzer, Grasshopper complex p.34).
ILLUSTRATION: From the magazine of the Naval Institute, Proceedings, Stephen Covey captured a great truth on the importance of communication
.
While on manoeuvres, a battleship lookout noted a light in the dark, foggy night. After noting the light’s coordinates, the captain recognized his ship was on a collision course with that other vessel.
"Signal the ship: We are on a collision course, advise you change course 20 degrees."
The return signal came, "Advisable for you to change course 20 degrees."
The captain said, "Send, I’m a captain, change course 20 degrees."
"I’m a seaman second class," came the reply. "You had better change course 20 degrees."
By this time the captain was furious. He yelled, "Send, I’m a battleship. Change course 20 degrees."
The reply..."I’m a lighthouse. Your call"
(The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey, 1989, pgs. 32-33)
The Bible says that we are in a spiritual battle that can only be fought with spiritual weapons. In order to know the strategy of the battle plan we must be in constant communication with our, Commander in Chief
One of the great truths of the Bible that gives us encouragement during confusing times is that we can both know and understand the voice of God. Our relationship with Him is a two-way communication where we can express our love, desires and fears to Him, and He will reciprocate with His love, assurance, guidance and will for our lives.
There are many Christians today who are trying to fight their spiritual battles with their communications system in disrepair. They are not in daily contact with the Lord in prayer, and therefore suffer from spiritual fatigue. They are , in effect, fighting on their own without direction andconfidence.
P.S. The voice we listen to will determine the direction we will walk. If we listen to our emotions we will remain in the spiritual desert. If we listen to the whispers of the enemy we will by intimidated. If we listen to voices of our critics, we will be distracted. Only if we regularly hear the voice of God will we have the courage to do God’s will and overcome the grasshopper complex.
Lets consider the three commands that God gives to Joshua:
1. LET GO OF THE PAST:
The Book of Joshua begins with the statement, “Moses my servant is dead, now go...”. With Moses dead, Israel was still short of its goal...The Promised land. The option was open to them, they had learned to survive in the wilderness 40 years, so why go on?
It wasn’t God’s will for them to remain in the wilderness. He had better things in store for them. He had more for them than just the desert life of frustration. God needed a person who would take the people forward! Joshua was His man. Joshua was not content to just sit around with the present comforts. He wanted to do something significant for the Lord
ILLUSTRATION: In attempting to recruit john Sculley, the 38-year old President of Pepsi-cola, Steve Jobbs, Founder of Apple Computer, issued a tremendous challenge to Sculley. He asked, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?”
.They had a choice. They could exist with things as they were or follow God’s commands and accomplish great things for him. This begs the question, ‘Are we satisfied with living on someone elses experiences with God? Are we content to just make ‘sugar water’ for the rest of our lives, or do we wish to so something that will have eternal consequences?
Sooner or later we will have to face a similar choice. Will we press onward toward spiritual victory in the promised land of God’s provision?
If you are content today to just exist and survive, then you need to be aware of the consequences of your choice. If you choose to just exist in your Christian life then you will also experience the flustrations that plagued Israel for 40 years of wilderness wandering:(Question: why is it important to choose the desert or Canaan?)
Rick Warren (Rick Warren, Ministry Tol-Box, Issue #38) has suggested six myths that people give for wanting to grow further in faith. I have applied these myths to walking in the fulness of the Spirit, and have added one myth of my own:
1. Spiritual growth (walking in the Spirit) is automatic once you are saved.
2. Spiritual growth (walking in the Spirit) is mystical and only for a select few.
3. Spiritual maturity (walking in the Spirit) can occur instantly if just have the right key.
4. Spiritual maturity (walking in the Spirit) is measured by what you know.
5. Spiritual growth (walking in the spirit) is a personal and private matter.
6. All you need is Bible study to grow (walk in the Spirit)
7. (Mine) Spiritual growth (walking in the Spirit) is measured by your talents and giftings.)
It is hard to understnd why anyone would want to remain in one place spiritually. But it is a choice. If
you are wondering whre you are, then place a check-mark beside these characteristics of living in the spiritual wilderness:
Restlessness: In the desert, Israel had no secure home. They never knew from one day till the next where they would lay their head. The Christian who opts for the desert life will be restless in body, mind and spirit. No restful Christians are to be found in the desert.
Discontent: Murmuring and complaining against God and His chosen leadership was epidemic. No matter what God provided it was never enough. The Christian living in the desert will be preoccupied with his own troubles and little strength to fight spiritual battles. There are no contented Christians in the desert.
Fruitlessness: Israel fought and won a few battles in the desert, but they did not gain any advantage or territory over their enemies. The battles fought by the Christian in the desert are most likely to be characterised by rebellion rather than victory and conquest. There are no fruitful Christians in the desert.
Negativity: There was little positive or negative about the people in the desert. Christians in the desert are characterized by what they ‘don’t do. They don’t smoke, drink, dance etc. But there is little else that is distinctive about their lives. Their lives are notable for what they abstain from rather than for what they achieve. There are few positive Christians in the desert.
Vacillation: It was no problem getting Israel out of Egypt. The challenge was getting Egypt out of the Israelites. Their life in the desert was like a roller coaster ride. If things went well, they were a great people of confident faith. When things went against them, they whined for the leeks and onions of Egypt. The Christian in the wilderness is like the person who was turned down for a position in his company. The man had the qualifications, experience to be promoted to a management position. However, his supervisor said, ‘He is like a thermometer. He goes up and down with the weather. “
There are no stable Christians in the desert.
(Oswald Saunders; Promised Land Living)p.31
God has so much more for the Christian. God wanted them to move forward into a land flowing with milk and honey and not just be satisfied with spiritual survival in the desert. Some would argue, “But it is safe in the desert.”
ILLS: A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are for. James S.Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1988)130
Too many Christians are shackled by the regrets of the past. They are trying to run the Christian race by running backward. Other Christians are distracted by the successes of the past. Both are a hindrance from achieving Gods best. Paul said it this way,
this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind...(Phil.3:13)
The choice is ours. God is looking for the man or woman or young person, who has the conviction to move forward, and then watch God move. Let go of the past, and press on toward the promise!
2. LAY HOLD OF HIS PROMISE
What exactly do we mean by the promise of God? Is it wealth, health and power? Is it always beingin constant spiritual bliss? What is the promise God has for the believer. To answer this question we need to identify what Canaan was to the people of God. It was their inheritance. The promise given to Abraham in Genesis. And his descendants.
To you I give this land.”
Some have interpreted the promise as only for Israel. It was fulfilled when Joshua entered the land and led Israel to conquer it. Others have interpreted Canaan as being heaven. After travelling this old world, God has a place prepared for us after we leave this old world.
The land of Canaan is also a picture of the Spirit-filled life. The life that God intended for every Christian to live. There are no exceptions to this. The Spirit filled life is not just for certain advanced saints, but is provided by God for everyone of His people. Beginning in chapter one, we have a marvellously descriptive picture of it:
Moses my servant is dead now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving them...
The land is given to the people of Israel, just as the life in Christ is available to you absolutely without effort on our part. In the third verse notice that although the land has been given, it needs to be possessed. Title to it is the gift of God; possession of it is result of an obedient walk.
Every place that the sole of your feet will tread upon I have given to you, as I said to Moses...
The idea is, you can have all that you will take. You can have every bit of the spiritual life that you want. You will never get any more. God will never give you more that you are ready to take. So if you are not satisfied with the degree of your real experience of victory, it is because you haven’t really wanted any more. You can have all that you want.
Then the land is described as abundant and far reaching. A land in which you will find all you need, in every area of life. A land flowing with milk and honey(3:8)
From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the Great River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the Sun shall be your territory.
But we find that it is also a land of both conflict and victory.
No man shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life, as I was with Moses So I will be with you. I will never leave you or forsake you.
One of the first things we learn in coming into this place of walking in the Spirit is that although it is a place of conflict, every conflict can have victory.; God said,Be strong and of good courage; for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and courageous.
Did you notice that God put the promise in the past tense? “ I Have given it to you as I said to Moses.
ILLS: A little boy came to the Washington monument and noticed a guard standing by it.
‘I want to buy it.’
‘How much do you have?’ asked the guard.
“Thirty-five cents’ replied the boy.
You need to understand three things’ the guard explained.
First, thirty-five cents is not enough to purchase the monument, in fact thirty five million dollars is not enough. Second, the Washington Monument is not for sale. And third, if you are an American citizen, you already own it.’
How often we ask God for blessings that are already ours in Christ. Paul wrote,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places with Christ.(Eph.1:3)
The secret to walking in the blessing of the Spirit, is simple obedience to His Written word. An obedient heart brings the empowering Spirit. That is life in the land.
3. LIVE IN HIS PRESENCE
The secret of living in the land includes both a promise and a presence. Why do you suppose Joshua needed to be reminded by the Lord three times to be strong and courageous? Obviously his track record in the wilderness, gave evidence that he was a man of confident faith in God. Why then did he need to be encouraged not to be afraid?
Joshua was Moses servant, not his second in command. When Moses was considering a successor, Joshua did not even come to mind. Caleb perhaps. Maybe one of his sons. But Joshua? He was a soldier and a general, but he was mostly a servant. An errand boy. An Joshua was content to be just that.
No one was more grieved at Moses passing then Joshua. When the call for Joshua to succeed Moses, his heart must have skipped a beat.” What me?
Be strong means that he felt weak. Be of good courage means that he was frightened. Be not dismayed means that he seriously considered whether he had the ‘right stuff’ to accomplish the call.
This is an encouragement to us all. Who does not feel weak, frightened and dismayed at the thought of serving god. How often do we use the excuse, I am nothing. I don’t have any talent. I am too weak to do anything.”
Yet that is exactly who God chooses to use. Weak vessel like you and me. Listen to what Paul says in 2 Cor.4:7
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
The treasure is the Holy Spirit and the gospel of Christ. The earthen vessels are you and me. God has chosen to use weak, worthless, common clay pots like us to empower with His Spirt. This is in order that He would receive the glory not you and me. So God says be of Good courage.
God does not ask Joshua to do something without the promise of being there to stand right with him. This is still true today. God will not ask you to do anything without also being there to enable you to do it!
ILLUSTR: 5 year old Johnny was in the kitchen as his mother made supper. She asked him to go into the pantry and get her a can of tomato soup, but he didn’’t want to go alone. "It’’s dark in there and I’’m scared." She asked again and he persisted. Finally she said, "It’’s OK-Jesus will be in there with you." Johnny walked hesitantly to the door and slowly opened it. He peeked inside, saw it was dark, and started to leave when all at once an idea came, and he said, "Jesus, if you’’re in there, would you hand me that can of tomato soup
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God will never waver in his promise to be with us. Jesus issued this same statement in Matthew 28:20 ‘and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surly I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
One tribe of native Americans had a unique practice for training young braves. On the night of a boy’’s thirteenth birthday, he was placed in a dense forest to spend the entire night alone. Until then he had never been away from the security of his family and tribe. But on this night he was blindfolded and taken miles away. When he took off the blindfold, he was in the middle of thick woods. By himself. All night long.
Every time a twig snapped, he probably visualized a wild animal ready to pounce. Every time an animal howled, he imagined a wolf leaping out of the darkness. Every time the wind blew, he wondered what more sinister sound it masked. No doubt it was a terrifying night for many.
After what seemed like an eternity, the first rays of sunlight entered the interior of the forest. Looking around, the boy saw flowers, trees, and the outline of the path. Then, to his utter astonishment, he beheld the figure of a man standing just a few feet away, armed with a bow and arrow. It was the boy’’s father. He had been there all night long.
Citation: Leonard Sweet, SoulSalsa (Zondervan, 2000), pp. 23-24.
The God who calls us will always be there beside us. This is God’s commitment to us! God demonstrated this truth to Moses, Joshua and he will do the same for you too!
CONCLUSION:
The bible likens the Christian walk to a battle field. In fact, Paul says, that we are in a spiritual war. As wise soldiers, we need to arm ourselves appropriately. However, all the armour in the world will be impotent if the communication line between the soldier and commander in chief are in disarray.
It is imperative that we listen to the right voice. There is the voice of the enemy (Satan), who roars like a lion, seeking whom he may devour. His voice is loud, intimidating and paralysing. If we listen to him, them we will be frozen in our tracks and not move anywhere
Then there is the voice of the inhabitants of the land. The world that does not want the light of the Gospel to expose its sin. If we listen to their voice, then we will become distracted from the mission God has called us too.
Then there is the voice of the critics in our own camp. These are beliefs, who may have tried to go forward, but for one reason or another experienced failure. Their attitude is, if they could not enter in, then no one else can. If we listen to their voice, then we will become equally discouraged and be tempted to turn back from the conflict.
That leaves one final voice. It is a strong yet comforting voice. A challenging but not overbearing voice. It is a firm but loving voice. It is God’s voice. He is telling us as He told Joshua to have courage. Do not be discouraged and be strong. God will always be with us! With God we will be invincible. We will never be without His presence. And we will never fail when we walk in obedience to His voice.
