February 26, 2016

"And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given into your hand Jericho, with its king and mighty men of valor." Joshua 6:2

God has a Promised Land for you! He wants you to enjoy the Glory Days He called you out of Egypt to experience Canaan. When God led you out of Egypt He gave you everything you need to make into Canaan!

Just as the fierce, fearless and formidable fortress of Jericho stood in between the Israelites and their Glory Days you have your own stronghold that must be defeated if you are to enter into the joys of Canaan.

You are well aware of what your "Jericho" is but you may not be aware of how to overcome it. 

The story of Joshua and his defeat of Joshua provide valuable insights into how you can take down the stronghold standing in your way. Let's pull them from this Biblical account.

First, make sure you believe in God's power as Joshua did!

Notice that God didn't say, "You take this city," He said, "I have taken this city!"

God didn't say, "Fight FOR victory", God said, "Fight FROM victory!"

God didn't say go forth hoping to win, He told Joshua to go fight IN the hope that He had already assured the victory!

God did not say, "Go fight against your stronghold," He says, "Believe in my power to defeat it and tear it down!"

God said to Joshua and to you, "Trust in me and believe in what I have done for you and given to you when you were converted!"

• Did God forgive you?
• Did He put His Spirit in you?
• Did He make you a new creation?
• Did He renew your mind?
• Did He make you alive in Christ?
• Did He deliver you out of darkness?
• Did He make you His child/heir?
• Did He make you great and precious promises?

So, face it, the question is not, "Will you overcome your Jericho?" The question is, "When will you overcome it?"

When will you stop thinking in past terms and begin thinking and talking and walking like a child of God?

When will cease your negative self-labeling  and expect things to begin to change?

When will you stop living like a victim and begin living like a victor?

You are not destined for defeat Jesus defeated the enemy. You are not destined for depression or discouragement! 

Today's habits will not necessarily be tomorrow's habits!

Don't give place to the devil! Don't agree with his lies!

"The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance." Psalm 16:6

February 25, 2016

"And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given into your hand Jericho, with its king and mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark; and on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, the priests blowing the trumpets. And when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up every man straight before him." Joshua 6:2-5

God had brought His people OUT of Egypt and THROUGH the wilderness. Now He was ready to lead them IN to Canaan the Land of Promise. As soon as He brought them across the Jordan River the first thing they confronted was the impregnable fortress of Jericho. Jericho stood between the Israelites and the fulfillment of their God-given inheritance. Jericho had to fall. God promised Joshua He would deliver Jericho into his hand and gave him a plan to do it.

You have a Jericho standing between you and your Glory Days in Canaan. Your Jericho is that stronghold that stubbornly prevents you from enjoying God's presence and His power and from possessing what He promised as your inheritance. It won't be a city it will be something left over from your years in Egypt aggravated by the futility of the wilderness wanderings. It may be:

• Your anger
• Your guilt
• Your anxiety
• Your addiction
• Your negativity
• Your bitterness
• Your resentment
• Your critical spirit
• Your trust issues
• Your cynicism
• Your feelings of anxiety
• Your fear of rejection

Your Jericho is as real and foreboding to you as the real Jericho was to Joshua and his people. But the good news is the same God Who delivered Jericho into his hand is the same God Who can bring down your stronghold!

Do you believe that?

You may be thinking, "I want to believe that but I have tried to break down those walls for years but I haven't made a dent in them."

Let me point you to the promise God gave Joshua "See, I have given into your hand Jericho, with its king and mighty men of valor."

Just as God promised Joshua He would give him the Promised Land He will do the same for you.

Just as God had a plan for His people to attack Jericho and defeat it He has a plan for you to charge Jericho and bring it down!

Do you want to know what that plan is?

I will be preaching on it this Sunday and writing on it in this blog.

Are you curious to know the plan?

Read and reread Joshua 6 and it will become obvious to you!

In case it doesn't I plan to devote the next several days revealing three steps for destroying your Enemies in Canaan!

Stay tuned!

February 24, 2016

“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites.  I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will 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 nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. “Be 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. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; 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. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:1-9

The journey to the Promised Land has historical significance, biographical significance, geographical significance and theological significance. This story really matters!

Egypt is an illustration of the sinful life, the unregenerate life, the unconverted life where we are held captive by the bonds of sin and shame. You were born in Egypt but you cannot afford to die there. The only way out of Egypt was for God to send a deliverer who was greater than the Pharaoh. That deliverer was Moses, the one who God referred to as “the greatest prophet”.

In your spiritual Egypt you are a prisoner to sin and held against your will by guilt, shame and evil desires. Your only hope of escaping Egypt is through faith in Jesus, the “second Moses” sent by God to set His people free from sin and death.

Outside Egypt the wilderness awaits!

The wilderness was the 250 miles of desert and barren land that separated Egypt from Canaan. In the wilderness you weren’t in Egypt but you weren’t in the Promised Land either.

Spiritually speaking, the wilderness represents the carnal Christian life. You have been brought out of Egypt but Egypt has not been taken out of you. God has placed the Holy Spirit in your life but you have not yet displaced the selfish sinful nature.

Moses led God’s people OUT of Egypt to lead them INTO Canaan!

A future in Canaan was their dream and God’s desire for His people. It was to be a place of faithfulness, fruitfulness, and freedom. But before they enjoyed their peace in Canaan they had to defeat the Canaanites and destroy all their idols. Only when their victory was total and complete would they know the rest God called them to enjoy.

Canaan, in the spiritual analogy, represents the Spirit-Filled life. In Wesleyan terms it is called sanctification and leads to holy living. John Wesley referred to this Spirit-filled state as “perfect love”. As in Canaan, there must be a consecration, a cleansing of all idols and a surrender of all that stands in opposition to God’s will. Once the consecration is complete the Spirit of God can come in with His full presence and power to take possession of that life.

Like the journey from Egypt to Canaan spiritual growth is a journey, a progression, a process that begins in Egypt (salvation) and leads through the wilderness (carnal Christianity) and then into Canaan (Spirit-filled life).

Where are you on your spiritual journey?

Where should you be?

What is your plan to get there?

February 23, 2016

“When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle. Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.” After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert.  By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.” Exodus 13:17-22

So, Egypt symbolized the life of sin prior to conversion.

As the Hebrews were trapped in the bondage of slavery, we are captives to the bondage of our sinful nature.

Every day was marked by drudgery, cruelty and hopelessness in Egypt. Such is life under the bondage of sinfulness.

God sent Moses to deliver His people from the Pharaoh through supernatural plagues and the blood of a lamb. God also sent His Son, Jesus, to become the Lamb of God to deliver us from our Egypt by His blood shed on a cruel cross.

If you are still a captive in Egypt, I strongly urge you to trust Jesus as your Savior to deliver you from the power of sin and death. You don’t have to live in Egypt and you certainly don’t want to die there!

When Moses led God’s people out of Egypt he led them into the wilderness. They had to travel through the wilderness in order to get to Canaan. When in the wilderness they weren’t in Egypt but Egypt was still in them. The wilderness was designed to be a place of testing His people and His people learning to trust Him.

The wilderness was supposed to be a temporary address on their way to the Promised Land. However, they remained nomads for forty years when they failed to enter into Canaan.

Spiritually, the wilderness is a symbol of the carnal Christian life. When you are in the spiritual wilderness you have God’s Spirit active in your life but the selfish sinful nature or “the flesh” is also present. Those two natures constantly oppose each other creating a weak double-minded follower of Christ.

The Apostle Paul expressed it like this: “I don't do the good things I want to do. I keep on doing the evil things I don't want to do. I do what I don't want to do. But I am not really the one who is doing it. It is sin living in me. Here is the law I find working in me. When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. Deep inside me I find joy in God's law. But I see another law working in the parts of my body. It fights against the law of my mind. It makes me a prisoner of the law of sin. That law controls the parts of my body. What a terrible failure I am! Who will save me from this sin that brings death to my body? I give thanks to God. He will do it through Jesus Christ our Lord. So in my mind I am a slave to God's law. But in my sinful nature I am a slave to the law of sin.” Romans 7:19-25

What a miserable way to live! And yet it is where most Christians reside. Max Lucado sites a survey conducted by the REVEAL Research Project that polled Believers in over 1,000 churches world-wide seeking to discover how many of them self-identified as living in “Canaan” spiritually. Only 11% could confidently declare that they were experiencing their “Glory Days”. Do the math on that and you see that leaves 89% of those who populate churches living in the wilderness. They are out of Egypt but Egypt is still not out of them.

Are you an “11%’er” or an “89%”?

February 22, 2016

"Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."  Romans 12:17-21

The power of goodness is the power to be proactive.

By contrast, evil is reactive. And evil reacts with greater force than what was used against it causing an escalation of evil.

Overcoming evil requires you to determine in advance that no matter what evil is done against you you will not retaliate with evil.

There is no way you can win the battle with evil unless you predetermine to do so. If you are not proactive in your commitment to good, you will react to evil with evil.

Any person can be reactive. It is human nature. You don't have to be a spiritual giant to respond with to an evil act with anger and retaliation. That takes no moral or spiritual conviction.

But it does take the love and power of God to refrain from retaliating? It takes the presence of the Holy Spirit and His power to prevent you from retaliating against one who hurts you.

What is really gained by retaliating? Does it make you feel good? Is it wise? Is it advantageous? Is it helpful to any one?

What retaliation normally means is that "when you bring a knife, I bring a gun". I am going to hurt you more than you hurt me.

Paul says, "That sort of reaction takes no special power of ability. Pick someone out of the crown and he can retaliate. But you may have to stop a number of people to find one who refuses to return evil for evil.

When Jesus told His disciples to pray, "Deliver us from evil". This is what He had in mind. "Oh, Lord, keep me from saying or doing something that will dishonor you and make a bad situation worse."

How do you respond to hurtful or harmful acts committed against you?

Or will you try to overcome their evil with greater "shock and awe"?

Overcoming evil doesn't happen by mistake. Overcoming evil is a commitment that declares, "No matter how evil you decide to be toward me, I will respond with love."

Is that how you lived yesterday? Is that how you plan to live today?

February 21, 2016

"So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled." Joshua 21:43-45

The Bible lacks neither truth not drama in its presentation of the greatest story ever told! That story is still being written and you are on center stage!

From Genesis to Revelation the Holy Spirit inspired Scriptures combine history, biography and geography to provide the basis for a theology of God's perfect plan for redemption!

A perfect example is the story of the Exodus. God used Moses to lead the Hebrews from the slavery of Egypt to the hardships of the wilderness to the Promised Land of Canaan. Each of those very real geographic places have theological significance and spiritual symbolism.

Egypt is and was a very real place. For 400 years it was too real for God's people, a real horrible place of cruelty and bondage. Egypt build a very impressive empire on the backs of the hard-working Hebrews. For ten generations the Israelites worked from sunrise to sunset in the scorching desert sun with no relief and no hope. Whatever dreams they may have harbored in their heart died long before they did. They were powerless to deliver themselves from this miserable existence.

Egypt illustrates your life and my life prior to conversion. We were born into this world as slaves to sin. The power of the world and the flesh and the devil drove us to do, say and think destructive things. As we grew so did the bondage. We were lost in darkness, hopelessness and despair.

But as He did with Moses, God sent another Moses, a greater Moses to supernaturally deliver us from sin and bondage! Our new Deliverer is Jesus, the Son of God! He left the majesty of Heaven to become a servant and a slave by taking upon Himself the penalty and the bondage of our sins! When He died on the cross He took upon Himself the terrible curses associated with sin to throw open the Egyptian exit signs!

The power of sin died with Christ on the Cross and the power of death was broken three days later when He arose!

If you are living in Egypt this morning you do not have to stay there! There is a Deliverer, One greater than Moses, who has set you from free from the bondage and futility of sin! Call on Him! Confess your sin! Turn your back on Egypt and follow Him to freedom! Make this the day you put Egypt in your rear view mirror!

February 20, 2016

"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. “Be 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." Joshua 1:6-7

It was about 250 miles from Egypt to Canaan. Moses added to the distance by leading them around the territory of the Philistines.

But in reality, they were no further from their Canaan than you are from yours!

How so?

The real distance from Egypt to Canaan was eighteen inches. That's right, eighteen inches! That's the distance between your heart and your head! You must believe in your heart what you know in your head! You must commit to what you believe and believe what God says! 

Forty years earlier Moses had led God's people to the verge of Canaan but they failed to match their head with their heart and they doubted God. They missed crossing the Jordan and entering Canaan by just eighteen inches.

When the 10 spies returned from scouting out the spoils of Canaan they regaled the people of all the wonders they had discovered throughout the land. But, they said, "There are giants in the land and we look like grasshoppers in their eyes! It is a wonderful land but we can't defeat them."

So, when they said, "We can't take this land did they really mean, God can't take it?"

If that's what they meant they were a full eighteen inches from Canaan!

Perhaps they meant, "We can't believe God will use us to do this."

That is equally problematic. That's not just an eighteen inch problem it is also a nine inch problem - the space between their ears. 

In the final analysis, whether they missed Canaan by eighteen inches or by nine inches they still missed it and subjected themselves and two millions of other Israelites to return to four decades of wandering in the wilderness. Many of them would never make it back to Canaan because they would die in the desert.

The wilderness mindset keeps more people out of the Promised Land than just about anything else I know of. Canaan people call upon God to help them take "I CAN'T" out of their vocabulary.

How many things in your life have been destroyed or seriously damaged by the "I CAN'T" mindset:

• Your marriage, when you said, "I CAN'T forgive?"
• Your self-control when you said, "I CAN't resist?"
• Your career when you said, "I CAN'T do this job?"
• Your self-discipline when you said, "I CAN'T quit this habit?

The God Who brought you out of Egypt CAN bring you into Canaan if you can change your "I CANT'S" to "I CANS". 

Can you?

Will you?

Wouldn't it be a shame to miss Canaan by nine inches?