Communion Challenge:
I have this quote/question to stir us from, “God Chasers” today:
“We think we know where God lives. We think we know what He likes, and are sure we know what He dislikes. We have studied God’s Word and His old love letters to the churches so much that some of us claim to know all about God. But now people like you and me around the world are beginning to hear a voice to them with persistent but piercing repetition in the stillness of the night:
“I’m not asking you how much you know about me. I want to ask you, ‘Do you really know me? Do you really want Me?”
…Listen, my friend, God doesn’t care about your music, your midget steeples, and your flesh-impressive buildings. Your church carpet doesn’t impress Him-He carpets the fields. God doesn’t really care about anything you can do for Him; He only cares about your answer to one question: “Do you want Me?”
(Tenney, God Chasers - chapter 1)
Communion Scriptures:
Isa. 40:31: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength…”
2 Chronicles 7:14: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
Truth: You cannot live in the presence of God without a heart of repentance. You cannot experience the Holy Spirit and His presence without a repentant heart. You cannot partake of the Spirit of the Lord without a genuine repentant heart to God.
1 Corinthians 11:27, 28: 27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
Reflection/repentance time: We are going to take time this morning to wait on God and to get our hearts right with Him before we take communion.
Series: BC Justice League
Opening thoughts to the series - “BC justice league” – God’s biblical super heroes before Christ.
Over the last few weeks we have been sharing the power of the story! We have been looking at how a person’s life can make a difference in the eternal realm of God.
http://www.whatsyourstoryonline.com/: Quote: Stories are powerful. Stories give meaning to who we are and how we became who we are. Stories help us understand how life happens, and they give value to our experiences. Some of the most powerful testimonies to Christian faith come not from lists of accepted doctrinal beliefs (though they’re important) nor from recitations of biblical principles (also important), but from the enlivened re-telling of how God has acted, overtly or covertly, in each of our lives.
Sermon: Joshua’s Story
Thesis: Joshua’s life reminds us that success in life depends on obedience to God’s Word and a desire in your life to become a God Chaser.
Key Scriptures:
Joshua 1:6-9:
6“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.
7Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.
8Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
9Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 24:14-15:
14“Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
15But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
The book of Joshua means - The Lord saves or the Lord delivers.
Huffman states, “Joshua, is one of the most fascinating books of the Bible because…at one level, it relates the story of an ancient Hebrew leader and the people whom God called to lead into the Promised Land. At another level, it’s a personal story. It’s the story of promise and the great expectations that God has for us. It’s as if God takes on the qualities of the perceptive coach, teacher, or pastor who becomes excited about what we can become if we use the gifts He’s given to us. The study of this book helps us see ourselves in this light. It makes us question whether or not we are living up to our potential and God’s promise” (page 23, 24).
Key point of the message: Joshua’s Story tells us three things about this super hero of the faith:
Thesis: He was fearless in the face of opposition, he always pleased God, and He was 100% committed to loving God his whole life even when it was unpopular.
I. He was fearless
a. God told him not to fear but be courageous
i. Illustration: Most people are afraid of the unknown. Those things we have never seen or experienced can seem overwhelming. On the old maps, back before the world was understood in modern terms, cartographers, map makers, would put down what they knew, but at the edges of the map, beyond which they had no knowledge or understanding, they would often write, "Beyond here, there be dragons." Ed Rowell, in his sermon "Mary—A Song of Trust," PreachingToday.com
ii. Definitions of courage:
1. Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened. —Billy Graham
2. "Courage is fear that has said its prayers."—General George Patton, as heard from Chaplain George Metcalf
3. "Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway." —Actor John Wayne (1907–1979)
b. Lessons from the Exodus about courage to face the unknown, the enemies of your soul and spirit:
i. In his book Exodus and Revolution, Michael Walzer shares three lessons we can all learn from the Exodus event of the Old Testament: What the Exodus … taught:
1. first, that wherever you live, it is probably Egypt.
2. Second, that there is a better place, a world more attractive, a promised land.
3. And third, that "the way to the land is through the wilderness."
a. Michael Walzer, Exodus and Revolution (Basic Books, 1986), p. 149; quoted in the "Reflections" section of Christianity Today magazine (September 2008), p. 82
c. We must break through Our fears to serve Christ:
i. Gary Haugen, the founder of International Justice Mission, a Christian organization that frees people trapped in sex trafficking, describes God’s calling to start IJM.
1. I vividly remember when I finally had to make a decision to abandon my career at the U.S. Department of Justice to become the first employee of a not-for-profit organization that didn’t yet actually exist called International Justice Mission. I had worked for three years with friends on the idea of IJM and was very excited, in theory, about this dream of following Jesus in the work of justice in the world. But then I had to actually act. I had to walk into the Department of Justice and turn in my badge …. I tried to be very brave and very safe. That is to say, I walked in and asked my bosses for a yearlong leave of absence …. My bosses politely declined.I was suddenly feeling very nervous …. What was I really afraid of? As I thought about it, I feared humiliation. If my little justice ministry idea didn’t work, no one was going to die. If IJM turned out to be a bad idea and collapsed, my kids weren’t going to starve. We’d probably just have to live with my parents for a while until I could find another job, but with my education, odds are I would soon find a job. The fact is, I would be terribly embarrassed. Having told everybody about my great idea, they would know that it was a bad idea or that I was a bad leader. Either way, it would be humiliating. So there it was. My boundary of fear. I sensed God inviting me to an extraordinary adventure of service, but deep inside I was afraid of looking like a fool and a loser. This was actually very helpful to see, because it helped me get past it. When I am [older], do I really want to look back and say, Yeah, I sensed that God was calling me to lead a movement to bring rescue to people who desperately need an advocate in the world, but I was afraid of getting embarrassed and so I never even tried?…Fear is normal, even among the earnest and devout, and it can be overcome. But first we must see the opportunity it provides—a revelation that only comes as we step to the precipice of action. Gary Haugen, Just Courage (InterVarsity Press, 2008), pp. 129-130
d. Joshua had God’s promise of victory : Joshua knew that as long as he followed the teachings and the direction of the Lord then he needed to not fear. Why because God said you do this and I will do the rest!
i. Lucado thoughts: Max Lucado says, "Fear is the perceived loss of control, I will try to control it, control others, control something, and that leads to nothing but anxiety." He adds, "Fear-filled people are not great witnesses and testimonies for Christ."
1. Fear is not of God and its driven out by love!
e. Illustration: On Being Reactors, Not Actors – we need to be courageous like actors not reactors of fear or stage fright: In our lives in the world, the temptation is always to go where the world takes us, to drift with whatever current happens to be running strongest. When good things happen, we rise to heaven; when bad things happen, we descend to hell. … I know this to be true of no one as well as I know it to be true of myself. I know how just the weather can affect my whole state of mind for good or ill, how just getting stuck in a traffic jam can ruin an afternoon that in every other way is so beautiful that it dazzles the heart. We are in constant danger of being not actors in the drama of our own lives but reactors.—Frederick Buechner, U.S. writer and preacher (1926 —) Frederick Buechner, The Longing for Home: Recollections and Reflections, p. 109; submitted by David Schleusener, Cary, North Carolina
T.S. – We need to be like Joshua and be fearless and courageous but to keep the victories coming we have please God.
II. Joshua pleased God and so should we!
a. Do you want to stay fearless and continue to be courageous then please God – if you choose not to please God then you a reason to be in fear.
i. Joshua followed the Words of God and the Law given to Moses.
ii. He listened to the voice of God and as result became a great hero of the faith.
b. What does it mean to please God, how do you please God?
i. Pleasing God:
1. The first step in pleasing God is you have to be intentional about it!
a. You have to make the decision to do so. It does not just happen by random chance it’s a choice. Yes, you heard me right pleasing God is a choice!
b. Ask yourself “Do I want to please God?” If you answer is yes - then be intentional about it?
i. If you answered yourself; “I don’t want to please God?”
1. Then come down after the message today so I can pray for your sanity!
ii. Personal Illustration: My prayer the one night by the bed.
c. Reality check: You can only please God if you have a personal relationship with Him.
i. What is coming our way tomorrow - what will happen, tornado, earthquake, flood, hurricane, fire, financial collapse, war, terrorist attack, famine, and or drought?
1. All questions we can ask ourselves. The truth is troubles and fear are on the increase all around us. There is only one way that we can know the answers to these and all questions. That way is by pressing into a personal relationship with God. To do that requires commitment, focus, determination, perseverance, and absolute obedience. As we grow in our relationship, we discover that many of our ideas and beliefs were wrong, and we have to let them go. We learn that believing God is very real; very now; very active. We do not believe in a book of stories, but in an active, living God. Much of what we have been taught is simply traditions and imaginings of men, and God is not in it (from http://lovestthoume.com/FeedMySheep/PleaseGod.html).
2. The second thought on - How do we please him?
a. The verse quoted above in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews states it as plainly and simply as it can be stated: And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)
i. A good step in pleasing God is asking the Lord what He wants you to do for His kingdom?
b. This chapter in Hebrews is full of examples of men and women who pleased God through their faith.
i. Our series this summer was filled with examples of men and women who pleased God with their lives that why they are in the battle.
ii. Last week I shared a list or risk takers, faith walkers but the list goes on and on of men and women who pleased God, “who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, in order that they might obtain a better resurrection, and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment” (vv. 33-36).
iii. And there was a price they paid for their faithfulness. “They were stoned, they were sawn into, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword . . .” (v. 37).
iv. The writer of Hebrews tells us what was common of them was they, “All died in faith, without receiving the promises . . .” (v. 13). “And all these having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect” (vv. 39-40).
c. Amazing is it not that this thing called faith a willingness to push back the fear and be courageous for the Kingdom of God – pleases God!
3. Pleasing God is also done by doing what the Bible says to do.
a. When we follow the divine mandates of the God type life as spelled out for us in the Bible we please God
b. The Bible tells us that we please God by living right - 1 Cor. 13:1-7:
i. 1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,£ but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5It is not rude, it is not self–seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
ii. Poor Garbage Man Sets an Example for a Rich Businessman : The city of Cairo has its own unique version of poverty called Garbage City …. Each morning at dawn some seven thousand garbage collectors on horse-carts leave for Cairo, where they collect the garbage left behind by the city’s seven million citizens. After their day’s work they return to Garbage City, bringing the trash back to their homes, sorting out what’s useful …. In Muslim countries there are certain religious restrictions on sifting through refuse, so the inhabitants of Garbage City are either nonreligious or from some Christian heritage …. These are the poorest of the poor—outcasts among outcasts. In 1972, a young Egyptian businessman lost his wristwatch, valued at roughly $11,000. As you can imagine, it would have been unthinkable to have a valuable timepiece returned by a member of Garbage City. Yet an old garbage man dressed in rags, [found the man’s name on the watch] and returned it, saying, "My Christ told me to be honest until death." Because of the garbage man’s act of obedience, the Egyptian businessman later told a reporter, "I didn’t know Christ at the time, but I told [the garbage man] that I saw Christ in him. I told [him], ’Because of what you have done and your great example, I will worship the Christ you are worshiping." The [businessman], true to his word, studied the Bible and grew in his faith. Soon he and his wife began ministering to Egypt’s physically and spiritually poor. In 1978, he was ordained by the Coptic Orthodox Church and now leads [a church that meets] outside Garbage City. Rick James, A Million Ways to Die (David C. Cook,), pp. 14-15; Source: Men of Integrity, "Garbage City"ay/
c. The Bible tells us that we please God by being right within our hearts:
i. Matthew 22:37-40:
1. 37Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
ii. Man Ministers with No Arms or Legs: Thousands are coming to hear him preach. His ministry has gone global. He has a new book coming out. That’s quite a résumé for a boy without any arms or legs! Nick Vujicic, a 25-year-old Australian, was born without limbs. Vujicic’s parents, devout Christians who planted a church in Australia 11 months before Nick was born, found it hard to understand how God could use their son’s loss for good. But he has. Reading in Sunday school about being made in the image of God seemed like a cruel joke to Nick. He seesawed between despair and begging God to grow arms and legs for him. He contemplated suicide the year he turned 8. When he was 15, though, one story in the Bible answered one of his toughest questions."When I read the story of the blind man … Jesus said he was born so that the work of God could be revealed through him," Vujicic said. "That gave me peace. I said, ’Lord, here I am. Use me. Mold me. Make me the man you want me to be.’" Vujicic learned to write using the two toes on a partial foot that protrudes from his body. He also learned how to throw tennis balls, answer the phone, walk, and swim. He invented new ways to shave and brush his own teeth. He even earned double degrees in accounting and financial planning by age 21. He has since become a motivational speaker to Christian congregations in over 12 countries, and he has ministered to over two million people face to face. He also oversees Life Without Limbs, an organization for the physically disabled. No Arms, No Legs, No Worries, his first book, is scheduled for release in 2009. Van Morris, Mount Washington, Kentucky; source: Ruth Schenk, "No Arms, No Legs, No Worries: Man Uses Disabilities to Reach the Masses," The Southeast Outlook (11-29-07)
d. The Bible tells us that we please God by having the right focus in life:
i. Psalm 141:8: 8But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD; in you I take refuge—do not give me over to death.
1. What are your eyes focused on?
ii. 2 Corinthians 4:18: 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
1. My eyes are fixed on eternity – not the here and now!
iii. Hebrews 12:2: 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
1. We need to fix our eyes on Jesus!
e. Why we need to focus? Researchers Find that Multitaskers Perform Poorly: So you think you can multitask? Texting while driving? No problem. Watching television and reading the Bible? No problem. Checking your email while listening to a spouse, a child, or a friend? No problem. In reality, however, according to a team of researchers at Stanford University, multi-tasking causes big problems. A Stanford University news service article announced the study this way: "Attention, multitaskers (if you can pay attention, that is): Your brain may be in trouble." The researchers originally set out to discover what gave multitaskers their special focus; instead, they were surprised to discover that in many ways multitasking impairs performance. So while many people think they’re effective at juggling multiple tasks, they’re actually pretty lousy at it.For instance, heavy multitaskers are suckers for distraction and for irrelevancy. According to one of the researchers, "Everything distracts them." Multitaskers were also more unorganized in their ability to keep and retrieve information. They were even worse at the main thing that defines multitasking: switching from one task to the next. Heavy multitaskers underperformed in almost every area of the study.The article based on the study concluded with this advice: "By doing less, you might accomplish more. Stanford News Service, "Media multitaskers pay mental price, Stanford study shows," (8-24-09)
c. Joshua’s goal was to be pleasing in his life to God.
i. He would stand strong even when others fell away, in fear, or sin, and he would fight the battles for God.
ii. Joshua made the commitment to please God!
iii. Joshua would do the hard things for God, he listened, he obeyed and God blessed Joshua.
T.S. – Joshua pleased God throughout his life and he also remained faithful to the end of his life.
III. Joshua was absolutely committed to God no matter what! And so should we!
a. Joshua would never waver in the midst of the wilderness experience.
i. He had faith in God when others did not, he never became one of the complainers, or one who attacked God or his leadership.
ii. He never blamed God! Even though he wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.
iii. He would not waver in battle as He led the people to take the Promised Land.
iv. He did things in battle that seemed a little crazy, like Jericho but he trusted God completely and God used him to fulfill a divine promise to Israel.
b. Joshua followed Gods instructions and won the battles, he cried out to God when things went wrong, but he never abandoned God to do things his way.
i. He would not waver even when the rest of society would fall away from the Lord’s Word.
ii. His famous phrase at the end of his life:
1. Joshua 24:14-15: 14“Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. . . 15But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
Conclusion:
We all need to take responsibility for our lives:
“God has given everyone unique responsibilities, and we will be most satisfied when we fulfill them.” Andy Stanley
The BC Justice League Heroes spoken of this summer all where risk takers who left impressions on our minds and spirits as inspiring examples of fearlessness in the face of ridicule, harassment, deprivation, and even death for the spread of the Kingdom of God.
These risk takers/faith walkers/ God pleasers changed their future and our life for the better. How about you? Do you want to take a risk for Him? I dare you! Take a risk for Him step out in faith now and get your name written into the journals of Heaven!
Don’t waste your life!
