Faith Is the Victory
1 John 5:4-5 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Hebrews 11:1-3 Now faith is the substance (the basis) of things hoped for, the evidence (the proof ) of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
Faith is one of the most crucial terms in the entire Bible – it denotes the trust one has in another – but it also conveys the idea of the trustworthiness or reliability of someone. Faith is not a passive resignation to life like fate; rather, it is a confidence that God will fulfill His promises and as a result causes people to act upon those commands that lead to the promises. Faith means both to believe and to be faithful to the belief.
In this verse two characteristics of faith are given: It is the means by which people gain a good report – It is the means by which believers are able to understand the realm of God’s Kingdom.
Hebrews 11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.
The walls of Jericho fell down—God had promised that the walls of Jericho should fall down, if they followed His instructions - they believed, did as they were commanded, and the promise was fulfilled.
PRINCIPLES OF FAITH
Joshua 6:1-5 Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. 2And the LORD said to Joshua: "See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. 3You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. 4And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him."
When Joshua succeeded Moses God told him, Joshua 1:7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.
We cannot enjoy victory when we do not believe and do what God tells us. Faith means obedience. We cannot say we truly believe if we refuse to obey. Faith without works is dead; it is the devil’s faith.
James 2:14-24 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble! 20But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God. 24You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
Faith trusts in the living and true God and in his promises. Faith obeys God’s commands exactly, immediately, and with great delight - people with this kind of faith shall experience victory.
God told Joshua to be strong and courageous and be careful to do everything he was commanded. Before God’s people the walls of Jericho must collapse, for this was the promise of God himself. Nothing can stand before God. If you are living a defeated life, then listen to the word of God, believe it, and you shall be delivered. It is the destiny of the church to be triumphant.
“Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites” - Joshua faced a problem: How could this fortified city with its great walls be defeated? - we can come up with various strategies from our carnal minds. We can consult generals who may tell us, “You could bring a ladder to climb up the wall, or build a ramp up to the top of the wall. Or you could use battering rams to put a hole in the wall, or dig a tunnel underneath the wall and get into the city that way. Or you could always try starving the people to death with a long siege, or use subterfuge to get inside.” But we are commanded, Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not onto your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight”. We are not to solve problems by relying on our own understanding. We must look to God, for He alone is the way. God communicates with his people and will tell them what to do.
What is the way of the Lord? Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” How many times have we listened to our own counsel, or sought counsel from others, but not from God? The way of God seems foolish to the natural man. But to us who believe, it is the power of God unto salvation.
What was God’s command to Joshua? “March around the city for seven days when the wall collapses, the people should go up straight into the city from every direction.” So we see no ladder, no battering rams, no tunnel, no siege, and no subterfuge—just walking around the city. It sounds like nonsense, but it was the word of the Lord. And when we believe it and act upon it in every detail, we shall have complete victory.
• It is God who gives the victory
- “The Lord said to Joshua, ‘See. . . .’” In other words, look at it with the eyes of faith!” The Lord continued, “I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and it’s fighting men.” What does this mean? - we are called to fight, but it is God who gives the victory: “I have given it to you. That is my promise; hold on to it.”
• Exact obedience is required
- “March around the city once for six days.” As we said, this would only take about thirty minutes a day. Then he said, “March around the city seven times on the seventh day.” We must never try to manipulate, negotiate, delay, or deny the word of God. Faith is obedience to God’s commands in all their fullness.
• We must have patience
- We may want to ask, “Lord, I know you can defeat Jericho in an instant. You created the whole universe by just speaking. Why, then, do you take seven days to conquer Jericho?” God tests our faith. We cannot tell him how he should do things; he tells us what to do, and we are asked to believe and obey. Then we will enjoy the victory that he achieves in our behalf. We have to be patient. God promised that Abraham would have children, but it was twenty-five years before Isaac was born. We are by nature impatient, but God wants us to trust patiently as we wait for him to act.
• God demands order
- We cannot simply march in any manner we want God tells us exactly how we must do it. First, the armed men with swords in their hands are to go; then, seven priests continually blowing the jubilee trumpets. The idea here is that they are announcing the coming of the king. Next comes the ark, carried on the shoulders of the priests, and finally the rear guard, who again are armed with swords. That is the order established by God, and if we change it, God will be displeased, and there will be no victory. When we reject divine government, we shall not see victory.
• Do not speak words that cause unbelief and doubt
- God told the people that they should not speak; there should be absolute silence as they marched around Jericho. One of the most difficult things for us to do is to keep our mouths shut. James tells us of the impossibility of disciplining the tongue; only the Spirit of God can do it - here these people were told, “You cannot speak even one word.” Can you imagine thousands upon thousands of people walking and not speaking one word? Such discipline comes from the fear of the Lord.
• Confess with boldness
- on the seventh day, when they had completed the seventh trip around the city, the priests were to give a long blast on the trumpets as a signal. Joshua would also give a signal, at which time all the people together were to give a great shout there is a time to be silent and a time to shout. This is the shout of victory, as we read in Numbers 23:21 “No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel. The Lord their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them.” But we find another shout in 1 Samuel 4. At that time Israel was not living in obedience to the Lord, so they had been defeated by the Philistines. So the priests brought the ark into the camp and everyone gave a great shout, but nothing happened. The point is, we can make all the noise we want, but it means nothing unless we are moving in obedience to God’s order.
• Give God the Glory
- Do not take what is God’s the people were given specific instruction about the plunder: “All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.” Jericho is the firstfruit of the cities of Canaan, so it belongs to the Lord. God gives a clear warning: Do not steal what is the Lord’s.
• Don’t let the enemy steal the fruit
- God gives explicit instructions: “Kill everything that breathes in the city of Jericho, then burn the whole city.” If you let the enemy live he will come back to steal the fruit.
Before they crossed the Jordan, all the Israelites agreed to be obedient to the Lord. The divine demand had been given: “You must do everything that I tell you. Do not turn to the right or to the left.” in Joshua 1:16-18 we read their response: “Then they answered Joshua, ‘Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and be courageous!’” This is theocracy. God governs his people, and they say to him, “We will obey.”
Where there is faith, there is order and organization. Faith results in unity, not in autonomy, rebellion, disagreement, or negotiation. 1 Samuel 15:22 “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” We will never see victory until we operate on the basis of faith expressed in obedience to God.
Though the Lord revealed everything to Joshua, it appears that Joshua told the people only what they needed to know for each day. This was a test of their faith, but faith is the victory. They believed and obeyed the word that came to them daily. Then they went back to the camp, having circled the city once in the prescribed order, in the presence of the ark. Notice, the ark is emphasized; it is spoken of nine times in this chapter. That speaks about the central importance of the presence of God.
On the seventh day everyone got up very early. It seems the people still did not know what would happen in the end. They were to circle seven times, and at the trumpet blast and at the command of Joshua, give a great shout. They had been told, “the Lord has given you the city,” but they did not know how it was going to happen. This too was a trial of faith and patience. These people had been directed to circle the city a total of thirteen times in seven days. Each time they circled, nothing happened. The walls stood there, mocking them and challenging them to come in. This happened the first day, the second day, the third day, and so on. They marched the eleventh time, the twelfth time—nothing happened. But still they believed. Then, at the right time, at the proper signal, with great discipline, on the thirteenth circling, they shouted. And what happened? To their amazement, the walls collapsed
Faith is the victory! God said it, we believe it, and that settles it. No matter what the scientists and the psychologists and the philosophers say, we believe what God has spoken. So these people did not become weary. They trusted God, knowing that he who dried up the mighty Jordan was mighty to conquer Jericho.
Faith Is the Victory
- What, then, should we do? March on with God. Pray earnestly and study God’s word. Live by faith, obeying his commands implicitly. The city of man shall fall, but the city of God shall stand forever.
2 Corinthians 10:4 tells us, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” We are not going up against a fortress, but against human minds that are shut tight, refusing to open. But Paul says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (v. 5).
