WALKING WITH GOD BY FAITH, PART 2
We trust today’s message encouraged and guided you in your journey of following Jesus. These notes are meant to help you remember and reflect on the message, help you go deeper into study on the subject, or be used for a sermon group discussion.
Sermon Title: WALKING WITH GOD BY FAITH, PART 2
Main Scripture: Joshua 6 and 7
If you’re going through this discussion with a community group this week, consider taking the time to read the provided scripture to catch everyone up!
Summary:
Joshua and the story of God’s conquest of Jericho is a strong lesson about God’s guidance and the Israelites’ need to obey. Obedience leads to success, but sin entered when Achan took some of the devoted things and hid them in his tent. Joshua, without consulting with the Lord, went to the city of Ai and was soundly defeated. God was able to reveal the sin to Joshua, and once eliminated, they went and conquered Ai with God’s help. The lesson for us is one of obedience to God’s direction, the power of sin to dilute God’s presence, and the importance of purifying ourselves in order to have a pure, holy walk with God every day.
Notes:
Joshua 6:1-7 – The Lord’s Instructions
Joshua 6:8-16 – The People Obeyed
Joshua 6:20-21
Fun Facts
In the Bible, the number 7 often symbolizes completeness or perfection:
7 Priests
7 Trumpets (Ram’s Horns)
7 Days
7 Times Around the Wall on the 7th Day
Trumpets were used in connection with Israel’s solemn feasts to proclaim the presence of God.
Numbers 10:10 – “The trumpets will remind your God of His covenant with you. I am the Lord your God.”
Rams Horns – Shofar – capable of a variety of tones but cannot play a tune. Used primarily for signals in worship or warfare.
Jericho was 8 – 9 acres around. Required 30 minutes to an hour to march around the city. Foundation reaching up to 50’. Walls 10’ – 25’ wide. Perhaps 30’ high.
This was not a military conquest as much as a religious one.
No human weapons were used – God led the way instead to bring the walls down.
Joshua 6:17-19 – Joshua Echoed God’s Command for the People
Takeaway #1
God’s Word is not a power trip for Him.
It is a guide for holiness, health, and a way for us to prosper and be with Him.
Obeying it brings success and joy.
WHY?
He knows more than we do! He sees everything. He has a plan for our lives that is greater than anything we can think or imagine.
Think of allowing a 7-year-old to run your household. They will make choices from a limited perspective. They will not have the knowledge and maturity to run their life. You would be tempted to intervene because you know better.
We are children of God, and our Father knows best! Obeying God is like a child surrendering to a parent’s maturity, knowledge, experience, and position of authority.
EXAMPLES:
Anger
Ephesians 4:26 – “In your anger do not sin, Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry and do not give the devil a foothold.”
Ephesians 4:31-32 – “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
James 1:19-20 – “…Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”
Marriage
Ephesians 5:22 – “Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord.”
Ephesians 5:25 – “Husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her…”
Ephesians 5:33 – “However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”
Relationships
1 John 3:11 – “This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.”
Romans 12:10 – “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
Romans 12:13 – “Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”
Romans 12:21 – “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Finances
Malachi 3:10 – “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”
2 Corinthians 9:6-7 – “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
Joshua 7:2-5 – Joshua’s Presumption
Joshua 7:1 – The Reason for Failure
Joshua 7:6-9 – Joshua’s Reaction – Typical of God’s Children
Joshua 7:10-12 – The Lord’s Response
Joshua 8:1-2 – It Was Always God’s Will
Takeaway #2
Doing things our way and presuming God’s will can lead us to defeat, failure, and disappointment.
Presume – to take for granted, assume or suppose.
We are too quick to go our own way. We are like sheep.
Proverbs 12:15 – “The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.”
Proverbs 14:12 – “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end, it leads to death.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
Joshua should have consulted God first, and He would have given him the direction and time for the battle. It is the safest place for us to be – in God’s hands.
How do we best combat this?
Know the Word
Know the Spirit’s voice and movement
Get godly counsel
Takeaway #3
Obeying God’s commands wholeheartedly involves connecting to Him every day.
Knowing Him is to know His movement in our conscience and knowing His character so as to not think we know Him or His will based on our own perceptions.
If we attempt to obey without connection, we are following God through our flesh. It becomes an obligation as opposed to obedience. It is like what Jesus said to the Pharisees, “You worship me with your lips, but your heart is far from me.” (Mark 7:6) True obedience comes from our walk with Him.
You want to
Your priority is to consider Him
We don’t question, we act…out of our relationship with Him.
Don’t try to do this on your own:
Romans 7:7-8 – “What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.”
Colossians 2:20-23 – “Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: ‘Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!’? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings.”
Takeaway #4
Purification, holiness, setting ourselves apart, and consecration are not idle commands to do if we feel like it. They are only designed to bring us to a closer walk with God.
God wants us to eliminate anything that hinders us from full communion with Him.
Open and outright sin, distractions, attitudes, anger, unforgiveness, disobedience, activities and behaviors that take our attention from Him (idols), misplace priorities, gossip, unfaithfulness in marriage, addictions, etc.
WHY?
Sin affects us – as a nation, as a church, as a family, and inside of us
He wants us free not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because He loves us, He wants to be with us, He wants to bless us, He wants His will to be done in us, and He wants eternity for us.
1 Peter 1:15-16 – “But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written, ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”
Romans 12:1 – “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship.”
1 Corinthians 6:12 – “Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.”
Hebrews 12:1 – “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles…”
Do we truly understand what Jesus did for us?
He lived a life without sin – for us
He died on the cross, shedding His blood – for us
He gave us the Holy Spirit to walk with us – for us
He works through the conscience to convict us of sin – for us
He is an example of how we are to live our lives and walk with Him.
Discussion:
What can I do to enhance my walk with God?
What do I do that separates me from God and hinder me from full communion with Him?
How can I make confession of sin and cleansing from sin an everyday activity?
Do I hear the Holy Spirit convicting me of sin when I do it or has it been so second nature that God doesn’t matter in that issue?
What do I need to throw off that so easily entangles me and causes me to drift away from God?
The most important decision you will ever make!
Are you ready to experience salvation and be transformed? We encourage you to process this decision with a strong believer and when you’re ready say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I acknowledge and admit I have sinned. I see my need for Jesus Christ. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I believe I am forgiven and cleansed of my sin by His death. I also believe I have eternal life because of His resurrection from the dead. I repent, I turn away from my old ways and I choose to live my life to worship you and follow Jesus, amen!
We would love to know if you made the decision to accept this wonderful gift from God. Let us know here.
Pray Together
We hoped you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!
