LIVING STONES (4):
COMMITMENT VS COMPLACENT
JOSHUA 6-8
Take out notes and find Joshua chapter 6
We are in the 4th week of our “Living Stones” series
4 weeks ago, the SPT presented the church
with a 2 Phase Master Plan that would allow us to relocate
to the 18 acres of land we own just east of us
and build a facility and campus that would help us
meet the needs of our community and beyond
for generations to come
What we’ve asked you, as a church, to do
is to respond to the commitment card that we’ve given to you
and make a 3 year pledge in support of the campaign
As of last week, 36 families have prayerfully decided on a pledge,
written down their commitment and turned in their card.
While this has been happening
and for the remaining 3 weeks of our campaign,
my job is to give you truths, principles and tools
to both help you make a decision for your family
and keep the commitment that you’ve made
Then, on December 2nd, we’ll all come together
for a combined worship service
and celebrate all that God has done.
This morning, we’re going to talk about the word: COMMITMENT
What it is, what it requires, and what can happen
in our lives, our church, even country when it starts to fade
Now the first thing I want to do
is sort of put some definition to the term
because, unfortunately, in our culture right now,
there is a faulty understanding of what a commitment is.
I think you’d agree that traditionally, a commitment is
a promise, a pledge, a contract between 2 parties
that is based on trust and honor
and reflects upon the character of those who make it
Unfortunately, in our culture today,
here’s how commitment is basically understood:
A commitment is an agreement between two people
that should be kept UNTIL one or both of the parties
get a better offer OR . . . their interests change
Now tell me if I’m wrong about that
Can you see how different those two definitions are?
And can you see how dangerous that can be
to our relationships, our communities, and our nation?
Well, believe it or not, your understanding of a commitment
has incredible implications when it comes to
your relationship with God as well
As we talked about last week, your eternity
is determined by your relationship with God
and your relationship with God begins with
a lifelong COMMITMENT to Him
Not only that, but throughout our life on earth,
we’re going to need to know how to make and KEEP commitments
like the one we’ve been talking about during the LS campaign
And I’ll be honest with you: I don’t think
it’s MAKING commitments that we have a problem with. Do you?
If anything, we live in a culture that is OVER committed
Making commitments is not our problem
Our problem is KEEPING them
And that’s what I want to talk about today
Because one of the most dangerous traps
that a Christian or a church can fall into
is the slippery slide from commitment to complacency
In fact, I’m going to go out on a limb here
and suggest to you that by FAR the majority
of Christian churches in America today
have not only slipped into complacency,
they show no signs of the ability or even the desire to get out.
I think it’s a question that needs to be asked
by Oakdale Baptist Church
We have a strong history in this community
God has been at work here for a long time
But we’ve not always been all that God has called us to be
When I came to be the Pastor in 2005, I INSISTED
that we, as a church, would demonstrate a willingness
to make the necessary changes that would enable us to
GROW in our relationships with God and one another
And reach new people in our community and beyond
Changes like our style of worship
The name of our church
A renewed emphasis on children’s and youth ministry
Multiple worship services
An effective discipleship program
How many of you remember those changes being put into place
Now there were some difficult times, weren’t there?
Change is never easy
But the excitement of seeing God at work in our church
and being a part of something bigger than ourselves
made it a little easier to swallow
However, as I said before, the temptation
to slide from commitment to complacency is a big one
We start to get comfortable with where we are
We start to tire of the constant change
We start to look for the opportunity to rest up a little bit
We look up one day and nothing new
has been accomplished for the kingdom
Suddenly, a year has gone by,
and we’ve taken no new ground for God
Folks, that CANNOT continue, because In our relationship with God,
whether as an individual or as a church,
there is no such thing as a plateau
We are either moving forward or we’re moving backwards
We are either hot or cold
You are either for me or against me Jesus said
And so we must be on guard against complacency
That’s why, 2 years ago, I led the church
to purchase our new land and it’s why, today
we are in the midst of a capital fundraising campaign
We MUST be challenged to move forward
and avoid the complacency that so many
other churches have succumbed to
So, today we’re going to talk about commitment vs complacency
And we’re going to consider a story
that perfectly displays both sides of the issue
That story begins in Joshua chapter 6
I gave you a little bit of background a couple of weeks ago
when I told you that after Israel had been
led out of Egyptian bondage by Moses,
and after they had wandered in the wilderness for 40 years,
God was finally ready to allow them into the “promised land”
Joshua was now their leader and their first obstacle
was the city of Jericho, THE most heavily fortified city in the land
So God brings the Israelites to the doorstep of Jericho,
millions of them camped outside the city,
waiting for God to tell them what to do
We begin with Joshua 6:1,
1Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go out or in. 2 But the Lord said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors. 3 You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. 4 Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. 5 When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.” Joshua 6:1-5 (NLT)
Here’s the first thing I want you to write in your notes:
COMMITMENT Results From:
- DEPENDENCE on God
Do you see the Israelites’ dependence on God?
Here they sit, outside this heavily fortified city
They’re not even really an army, just a homeless mob of outcasts
And when God speaks to Joshua and basically says:
I want you to get your army together
and do the least military thing you can possibly do –
march around the city silently for a week,
and then on the last day, blow your horns and shout
and watch the walls come down –
They could have easily said: This is ridiculous!
They’re going to LAUGH us out of the country!
But they didn’t do that.
Instead, they displayed a strong dependence on God. V. 6
6 So Joshua called together the priests and said, “Take up the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, and assign seven priests to walk in front of it, each carrying a ram’s horn.” 7 Then he gave orders to the people: “March around the town, and the armed men will lead the way in front of the Ark of the Lord.” Joshua 6:6-7 (NLT)
Now to v. 15
15 On the seventh day the Israelites got up at dawn and marched around the town as they had done before. But this time they went around the town seven times. 16 The seventh time around, as the priests sounded the long blast on their horns, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the town! 17 Jericho and everything in it must be completely destroyed as an offering to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and the others in her house will be spared, for she protected our spies. 18 “Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. 19 Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the Lord and must be brought into his treasury. 20 When the people heard the sound of the rams’ horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it.” Joshua 6:15-20 (NLT)
Do you see that the Israelites displayed
FAITH in God?
I mean, as crazy as it may have sounded,
this whole march around the city thing, they did it!
They could have questioned God, but they DIDN’T
They could have doubted God, but they DIDN’T!
They had FAITH that He would do what He said he would do!
But that’s not all they did. . . V. 21
21 They completely destroyed everything in (Jericho) with their swords—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys. Joshua 6:21 (NLT)
Now, let me ask you a question:
Is there a difference between faith and obedience?
You better believe there is!
Faith is believing that He’ll do what He says He’ll do
Faith is believing not only that he’s been at work in the situation,
and that He WILL be at work in the situation
but that He is ALREADY at work in the situation
OBEDIENCE, on the other hand,
is PROVING that you believe it!
When the Israelites marched and shouted,
they displayed faith that God was who He said He was,
but when they destroyed EVERYTHING in the city
as God had told them to do they displayed their . . . .
OBEDIENCE to God?
Now let’s not skip past this to quickly
This is an important point
Here you are, a homeless mob with millions of mouths to feed
You’ve just overthrown a city and have many cities yet to overthrow
What is it that you are going to desperately need
that is just SITTING right there in front of you for the taking?
RESOURCES! Food and weapons and horses and wealth.
What would be the NATURAL response
after you’ve already taken over the city of Jericho?
To want to KEEP the stuff that comes with it! Right?
But the Israelites didn’t do that
God had commanded them to destroy EVERYTHING
that even hinted at the existence of Jericho
I don’t think there can be any doubt at all:
The Israelites STRONG commitment to God
was a result of their dependence ON God,
their faith IN God, and their obedience TO God! Vs. 24
24 Then (they) burned the town and everything in it. Only the things made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron were kept for the treasury of the Lord’s house. Joshua 6:24 (NLT)
Again, this is the exact opposite
of what should have come natural to them
They needed resources and they would have been
severely tempted by the wealth
Did you know that every army in this history of the world
has struggled to convince their soldiers
to continue being soldiers and not become plunderers instead?
It’s just what humans do!
But, you see, the Israelites had made a commitment:
We follow God and He provides for us!
And the result of that commitment was 2 beautiful things:
First, a SACRIFICE for God
That was the things made of silver, gold, bronze, and iron
And then BLESSING from God
V. 27 says . . .
27 “So the Lord was with Joshua, and his reputation spread throughout the land.” Joshua 6:27 (NLT
You see, not only did God bless the Israelites with victory at Jericho,
but He caused Joshua’s reputation as a military leader
to spread throughout the land!
Now would you agree with me:
That would be SUCH a great place to end the story!
Unfortunately, as I told you earlier,
there’s no plateau in our relationship with God
We’re either moving forward or backward
And it didn’t take long for Israel
to start moving backward towards COMPLACENCY
Let’s move on to Joshua chapter 7
Next up is the little town of Ai. Let’s start in v. 2
2 Joshua sent some of his men from Jericho to spy out the town of Ai, east of Bethel, near Beth-aven. 3 When they returned, they told Joshua, “There’s no need for all of us to go up there; it won’t take more than two or three thousand men to attack Ai. Since there are so few of them, don’t make all our people struggle to go up there.” Joshua 7:2-3
So here’s where complacency sets in
They’d been so faithful and so obedient in their dependence on God
God had provided for them and blessed them
I mean, you’d think they would want to just
KEEP doing the things that made this relationship work, right?
But that’s just not the way humans work
It seems like it wasn’t 5 seconds
before they were already acting with an
- OVERCONFIDENCE in self
And a - LACK of dependence on God
Let me ask you: When they destroyed Jericho,
how many people marched around the city? ALL OF THEM!!!
But, see, Ai is just a little backwater town compared to Jericho
Surely we don’t need to trouble ALL of Israel for this? V. 4
4 “So approximately 3,000 warriors were sent, but they were soundly defeated. The men of Ai 5 chased the Israelites from the town gate as far as the quarries, and they killed about thirty-six who were retreating down the slope. The Israelites were paralyzed with fear at this turn of events, and their courage melted away.” Joshua 7:4-5 (NLT)
Now I want you to notice a couple of things
that resulted from their complacency
First, they suddenly developed a – FAITHLESSNESS in God
Now, I don’t know how many men there were in Ai, it doesn’t say
But I do know how many Israelites there were – 3000.
V. 5says that they were “paralyzed with fear”
and that “their courage melted away”.
Now, if 3000 men were soundly defeated
and were paralyzed with fear and had their courage melted away,
wouldn’t you assume that it must have been a bloodbath? Right?
I mean, they must have just massacred the Israelites!
But look again at the first part of v. 5
“The men of Ai 5 chased the Israelites from the town gate as far as the quarries, and they killed about thirty-six who were retreating down the slope.” V. 5
Not exactly a massacre was it?
Now remember, this is the same army that beat Jericho
by marching in circles and shouting really loud!
But clearly, something had happened to their faith in God
Something also happened to their feelings toward God.
Now forgive me if I can’t help but chuckle about this
because, as a Pastor, I’ve dealt with this a lot in ministry.
It was the Israelites who disobeyed.
It was the Israelites who grew over confident
It was the Israelites who stopped depending on God.
But who do you think is going to get the blame for this defeat?
God, of course. V. 6
6 “Joshua and the elders of Israel tore their clothing in dismay, threw dust on their heads, and bowed face down to the ground before the Ark of the Lord until evening. 7 Then Joshua cried out, “Oh, Sovereign Lord, why did you bring us across the Jordan River if you are going to let the Amorites kill us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side! 8 Lord, what can I say now that Israel has fled from its enemies? 9 For when the Canaanites and all the other people living in the land hear about it, they will surround us and wipe our name off the face of the earth. And then what will happen to the honor of your great name?” Joshua 7:6-9 (NLT)
To quote a phrase you hear all the time at my house:
Oh Joshua, Joshua, Joshua!
Do you see what’s happening here?
Commitment has turned to complacency
Overconfidence in self and a lack of dependence on God
has resulted in – FAITHLESSNESS in God
and now – DISSILUSIONMENT with God
And it all happened so easily
Now, at this point, the Israelites have a choice to make
Do they keep sliding in the direction of complacency a
nd break their commitment to God, or do they
do the hardest thing for humans, for churches, for nations to do?
Take a step back, look in the mirror
and evaluate where they’ve gone wrong and how to fix it? V. 10
10 But the Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying on your face like this? 11 Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen some of the things that I commanded must be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them but have lied about it and hidden the things among their own belongings. 12 That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now Israel itself has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction. Vs 7:10-12
Remember when God told them to destroy everything in Jericho
except the precious metals that would be put in the Lord’s treasury?
Well, apparently, there was some confusion
about what the word “everything” meant.
Let me take you back to a verse I skipped a second ago
that explains what was going on. This is v. 1
1“But Israel violated the instructions about the things set apart for the Lord. A man named Achan had stolen some of these dedicated things, so the Lord was very angry with the Israelites.” V. 1
Now back to V. 16
16 Early the next morning Joshua brought the tribes of Israel before the Lord, and the tribe of Judah was singled out. 17 Then the clans of Judah came forward, and the clan of Zerah was singled out. Then the families of Zerah came forward, and the family of Zimri was singled out. 18 Every member of Zimri’s family was brought forward person by person, and Achan was singled out. 19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, by telling the truth. Make your confession and tell me what you have done. Don’t hide it from me.”
20 Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. 21 Among the plunder I saw a beautiful robe from Babylon, 200 silver coins, and a bar of gold weighing more than a pound. I wanted them so much that I took them. They are hidden in the ground beneath my tent, with the silver buried deeper than the rest.”
22 So Joshua sent some men to make a search. They ran to the tent and found the stolen goods hidden there, just as Achan had said, with the silver buried beneath the rest. 23 They took the things from the tent and brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites. Then they laid them on the ground in the presence of the Lord.
24 Then Joshua and all the Israelites took Achan, the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, daughters, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, tent, and everything he had, and they brought them to the valley of Achor. 25 Then Joshua said to Achan, “Why have you brought trouble on us? The Lord will now bring trouble on you.” And all the Israelites stoned Achan and his family and burned their bodies.
Now, I think you’d agree: That’s a pretty horrific account, isn’t it
But I’ll tell you what’s worse than what happened –
That it didn’t HAVE to happen
Israel didn’t HAVE to suffer defeat
36 Israelites didn’t have to be killed in battle
And Achan and his family and everything they owned
didn’t HAVE to be destroyed . . .
IF Israel had stayed true to their commitment to God
You see, the path from COMMITMENT to COMPLACENCY is a short one
It’s comes natural to us as humans
It comes natural to us as a church
And we need to understand that there are consequences for it
We must understand that once we’ve experienced
the blessings of commitment and obedience and faith,
we don’t get to just sit and soak up those blessings indefinitely!
We are either moving closer to God or further away!
We are either moving towards obedience or towards disobedience!
And the blessings will NOT continue
if our commitment turns to complacency!
Now, fortunately, THIS is not the end of the story either.
Let me show you what happened to bring the Israelites
from COMPLACENCY to RE-COMMITMENT
First, RE-COMMITMENT RESULTED From:
- CONFESSION and – REPENTANCE
I have to give him credit: When Achan was confronted by Joshua,
he confessed to the whole thing
And confession is a VERY important starting point for RE-COMMITMENT
BUT . . . Notice that it didn’t do away with the consequences, did it?
That’s something to keep in mind the next time
we get the bright idea of going ahead and sinning,
because “we know God will forgive us” when we ask Him to
See, forgiveness doesn’t always mean no consequences
And for Achan, the consequences
were about as severe as they could possibly be
Now, you may be thinking: Well, ok.
I see the confession, that’s obvious.
But where’s the repentance?
Well, think of it this way: What does repentance mean?
Remember that repentance does NOT mean
“I’m sorry for what I did”.
Biblical repentance is making a . . . commitment
to turn completely away from a sin,
to go in the exact opposite direction
and never come back to it.
OK, so where’s the repentance? Consider this:
When the Israelites took everything that Achan had hidden,
piled it up, stoned Achan and his family,
put them on the pile and lit the fire,
they were literally saying to God:
We see what we’ve done wrong,
we are turning away from that sin of disobedience,
we’re going in the exact opposite direction from this point forward,
AND . . . we are literally NEVER going back!
BECAUSE . . . We have removed the temptation to try to hold on to
the livestock or the silver or the robe or even Achan and his family.
Re-commitment resulted FROM Confession AND repentance
But that’s not all: Re-commitment also resulted IN something else:
Let me read the last v. of Chapter 7
26 They piled a great heap of stones over Achan, which remains to this day. That is why the place has been called the Valley of Trouble ever since. So the Lord was no longer angry. Joshua 7:26 (NLT)
IOW? - FORGIVENESS
Confession led to repentance and repentance led to forgiveness
Then, listen to the first verse of chapter 8
8 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take all your fighting men and attack Ai, for I have given you the king of Ai, his people, his town, and his land. 2 You will destroy them as you destroyed Jericho and its king. But this time you may keep the plunder and the livestock for yourselves. Joshua 8:1-2 (NLT)
What did sincere re-commitment to God result in? - BLESSING
Finally, v. 24
24 When the Israelite army finished chasing and killing all the men of Ai in the open fields, they went back and finished off everyone inside. 25 So the entire population of Ai, including men and women, was wiped out that day—12,000 in all . . . 27 Only the livestock and the treasures of the town were not destroyed, for the Israelites kept these as plunder for themselves, just as the Lord had commanded Joshua. Joshua 8:24-27 (NLT)
Now, let’s talk about how this applies to us
and how we apply this in our lives and in our church
True commitment results from dependence ON God,
obedience TO God, and faith IN God
True commitment results IN sacrifice for God
and blessing FROM God
I don’t think it’s too hard to figure out
how that applies to us as a church as we’re trying to
determine our commitment in the days ahead
But . . . we must also be aware that
even the strongest commitment can turn to complacency
when we get too comfortable with blessings,
become over confident in ourselves
and stop depending on God
So, the question is: Is our relationship with God
as an individual, as a church, as a nation right now,
defined by commitment or complacency?
If it’s commitment, we must be on guard against the enemy
If it’s complacency, we must respond with
confession and repentance that we might receive
forgiveness and blessing once more
I challenge you to look deep within yourself today for those answers
COMPLACENCY
Results From:
O______________________ in self
L__________ of dependence on God
Results In:
F____________________ in God
D______________________ with God
RE-COMMITMENT
Results From:
C__________________
R___________________
Results In:
F_____________________
B_____________________
