DEEPER PART 3 deeper in our walk of faith.

G4411 πίστις pistis, n. [243] [√ 4412]. faith, faithfulness, belief, trust, with an implication that actions based on that trust may follow; “the faith” often refers to the Christian system of belief and lifestyle:– faith (225), faithfulness (4), believing (2), belief (1), believe (1), believe (1 [+2400]), believers. 

• People say, “I have my faith in God!” 

• What they actually mean is: “I believe there is a God.” But that’s pretty much the extent of it. 

• The devil believes in God, so that’s not a strong position of standing for a Christian. 

• Growing in our faith is about stepping out and trusting God to come through. 

• Going deeper in our faith will only happen as we get to know the Lord better. 

Galatians 2:19-20 (NIV) 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” 

• Paul said I can live by faith, because he knew that the Son of God loved him. 

• That was the same revelation that John had. (The one who Jesus loved as he always referred to himself). 

• Maybe he needed to constantly remind himself of the fact. 

• Some of us need to do that every day until it sinks in. 

• Get up in the morning and say, I am the one who Jesus loves. 

• Everything he did flowed out from that position or posture. 

• God’s Grace (undeserved favour) and enabling power to do what God had called him to do. 

• To be a minister to the Gentile world, (which is ironic considering Pharisees hated the gentiles). 

• Probably where Jesus’ words rang true to Paul. 

• Love your enemies  

That’s why we focused on going deeper in our relationship with the Lord. 

1. To abide in his presence. 

2. To go deeper in his word. (Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God) 

3. It’s only when we know our God and his character, that enables us to step out in faith.  

Faith is not meant to be a passive position, but a powerful pursuit of His purpose. 

James 2:14-17 (NLT) 14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? 17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. 

James 2:21-22 (NLT) 21 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. 

Hebrews 11:1-3 (NKJV) 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 

3 By 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. 

• There has to be substance to your faith. 

• All through chapter 11, it talks about the great people of faith and what they were able to do for God. 

In Hebrews 11:30 It mentions an incredible account of faith but doesn’t mention the person’s name, but we know that person is Joshua. 

JOSHUA: was a man of great faith: 

• It starts with Moses leading the Hebrew people out of Egypt and they crossed the through the Red Sea into the wilderness. 

• Moses sent out the 12 spies into the promised land and they came back with a report of a land flowing with milk and honey but then said there were giants in the land. 

• Joshua and Caleb said we can take the land; they are like bread to us. (KJV) 

• We know because of their unbelief, they would stay in the wilderness (40 years) until that whole generation would pass away, except for Joshua and Caleb. 

Joshua 1:1-5 (NLT) The LORD’s Charge to Joshua 

1 After the death of Moses the LORD’s servant, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. 3 I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you—4 from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’ 5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. 

• The Jordan river was in flood at the time that Joshua was to cross it. 

• Why didn’t God lead them through the Jordan in a drought? It would have been easier. 

• The flood was an opportunity for them to grow deeper in their faith in God and also Joshua. 

• Crossing the Jordan River sounds like another account in the Scriptures? 

• Moses going through the Red Sea. 

• That was the miracle that God used to show the people that He was with Moses and from that point the people looked to him as their leader. 

• That was the story that was told over and over again to the generations in the wilderness. 

• They always looked back to that miracle in the past. 

• Talked about it all the time. 

But God didn’t want them to stay living in the past, He had a land that flowed with milk and honey that he had promised to his children. 

• There were battles ahead and victories to be won before they could receive their inheritance. 

The flooded Jordan River was God’s way of turning their eyes from the past and showing them that he was still the God of miracles… (If you have faith) 

God said, “As I was with Moses, so will I be with you.” 

• We know by the account in the book of Joshua that the priests carrying the ark entered the flooded water and the water backed up to a town called Adam. 

• Could you imagine what the people of that town thought. 

• Had someone built a dam up the river because they were getting flooded in Adam. 

There were around a million people in the wilderness, and they all had children, so there could have been as many as 3-4 million people crossing the Jordan. 

Sometimes in life, the flood can be overwhelming and looks like an impossible thing to get through. 

• But God is saying today, remember the victories of the past. 

• Don’t let the flood look like a failure but see it as an opportunity for faith to arise in your heart. 

• If God has got you through in the past, He will do it again. 

• Remember there were only 2 people that had walked though water before. 

• Joshua and Caleb. 

• Not only was God going to use that experience in their lives to cause faith to arise, but in the midst of the flood he was going to raise up a leader in Joshua. 

Just as I was with Joshua, so I will be with you. 

He took Moses through the Red Sea and the people looked to him to lead and now God was doing the exact same thing with Joshua. 

• Why? 

• God was looking for faith in the flood. 

• Someone here is going through a tough time right now and wondering if you are going to get through it. 

• I believe that the word today is let faith arise in the flood and see what God will do. 

• Not only will he get you through, but he will lead you to many victories ahead. 

The flood is not an obstacle but an opportunity for your faith to grow deeper in God. 

• The deeper the flood the greater the victory. 

5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. 

• God told Joshua to get a man from each of the 12 tribes of Israel to pick up a rock from the dry river bed and stack them up on one another as a memorial for the generations to come. 

• Why did God tell him to do that? 

• So that faith will arise in the next generations!!! 

• And that they would know they serve a miracle working God. 

• That the day of miracles didn’t end at the crossing of the Red Sea. 

• We have so many believers today that would say the day of miracles is over. 

• It finished with the book of acts and the apostles. 

As soon as they had picked up the rocks from the riverbed, the priests stepped out of the river and the Jordan began to flow like a river in flood. 

God established Joshua’s leadership as he had done with Moses through the parting of the water. 

• Crossing the Jordan was the start of Joshua’s leadership journey. 

Joshua 4:14 (NIV) 14 That day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they stood in awe of him all the days of his life, just as they had stood in awe of Moses. 

SOMETIMES THE FLOOD MAKES A WAY FOR YOUR FUTURE. 

• Joshua as the leader of the Israelites was about to take on a challenge like no one had ever faced before. 

• God was building his faith to be able to not only enter the promised land, but to conquer it. 

Joshua was about to face a challenge that no one had ever attempted. 

• His next task was to take on a city that had the latest in military defence that had never been seen before. 

• It was a city surrounded by a wall thick enough to live in. 

• No one in history had ever seen a city like this before no matter attempted to conquer it. 

• It would have been an imposing sight to behold. 

• A city locked up tight because they had heard of how God had come through for the Israelites in the Red Sea and the Jordan. 

• They had also heard stories about other victories the God had given them. 

• The people and the guards were on high alert ready for action should they come under attack. 

The Fall of Jericho: Joshua 5:13 - 6:2 (NIV)  

13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” 14 “Neither”, he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” 15 The commander of the LORD'S army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.6:1 Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. 

2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 

• What!!!....... “All I see is a huge city with a massive wall around it.” 

• There is not one person standing at the gates of the city wanting to surrender to them at this stage. 

• “See, I have delivered it to you.” 

• Past tense: done and dusted according to God.  

• Not only the city but the King and all its fighting men. 

• He would have been looking at the guards on the walls and they didn’t look like they were going to go willingly. 

Alright God, What’s the battle plan? 

• Are we building ladders to climb up over the walls at night and take them by surprise? 

• Flaming arrows over the walls to set the city alight? 

• Battering ram for the barred doors? 

• What’s the battle plan here?  

• What do you want us to do? 

Joshua 6:3-8 (NIV) 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.” 

6 So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the LORD and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.” 7 And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the LORD.” 

8 When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the LORD went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the LORD'S covenant followed them. 

I want you to picture this scene now: 

• Here is Joshua with a few million people and an army of 40,000 men looking at a city in the distance surrounded by a wall thick enough to live in and they ask, “What is the plan of attack?” 

• Here the thing…. God told me that the soldiers and I followed by the priests with the ark of the covenant are to walk around the wall once a day for 6 days and the priests are to blow the trumpets made of ram’s horns. 

• And then what??? 

• On the seventh day we are to walk around the city 7 times and then blow the trumpets and shout very loud and the walls will fall down. 

• THAT’S IT!!! 

• “What, the wall is just going to fall down?” 

• That doesn’t make any sense at all. 

Who has found that to be the case sometimes? 

• You are facing a certain challenge in your life and God tells you to do something and it doesn’t look like it will do anything to fix the situation? 

Sometimes things look worse before they get better or opposite to what you think should happen. 

• So, it was with the parting of the Red Sea. 

• So, it was with then parting of the Jordan in flood time. 

• And now God was wanting the people to trust him even though it looked impossible. 

2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV) 7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 

Joshua and the army of the Lord as well as the few million Israelites were camped out near Jericho. 

• Looking at this imposing city surrounded by a massive wall. 

• A city that was on high alert as they knew they had crossed the Jordan, so they were close by. 

God said, “I have given you the city!!!” 

• There was no sign that they could see that backed up that statement and on the contrary the city was more fortified than normal. 

Picture the scene: 

Day one:  

• Joshua and his 40,000 soldiers followed by the priests with the ark following behind blowing the rams horns. 

• Starting to walk around the walls of that city not making a sound except for the trumpets. 

• The guys on top of the wall were thinking…. What are doing? 

• Probably throwing stuff down on them as they walked around and making fun of them. 

• But Joshua and his men continued to circle the city and do what God had told them to do. 

Day two:  

• Joshua gets up from bed and rallies the army and the priests together to set off around the city again. 

• Trumpets blowing, men quiet just circling the city again. 

• Soldiers on top of the wall yelling down at them and even more prepared with things to throw down on them.  

• They probably didn’t walk right next to the wall to avoid the missiles being thrown at them. 

Day three: C’mon men get up and get in formation and let’s walk around Jericho again. 

Day four: the same again. 

Day five: the same again,  

• although the priests had sore throats from blowing the rams horns for 5 days in a row. 

Day six: the same:  

• The soldiers were walking around the wall thinking that tomorrow this wall is supposed to fall down, but there isn’t even a single crack in the wall, and we are now walking around it for the sixth time. 

• Surly there must be a sign or something happening as we walk around.  

• Looking to see if there was at least a stone that had come loose or fallen out of the wall…. But nothing at all. 

• Feeling as if God was doing nothing at all.  

• Even feeling discouraged. 

• Song: Even when I don’t see it you’re working, even when I don’t feel it you’re working. 

Sometime there is not a sign that God is working in the midst of your situation but all he is asking you to do is trust him and continue to walk in the way he has instructed to walk, and you could just be a few laps from seeing a miracle. 

They could have given up on the 6th day because nothing had happened: 

• But they continued to walk and not speak right up until the sixth lap on the 7th day. 

• I was thinking, why did God tell them not to speak when they were going around the wall? 

• Probably they would have started to speak negatively, and doubt and that negativity would have spread to others. 

Even on the 7th lap there was still no sign of God’s hand at work but they continued to walk trusting in God. 

• By this time the people on the wall would have been ridiculing them. 

• Calling them names or yelling insulting at them. 

• What are you doing?...... you’ve walked around the wall for 7 days and nothing is happening. 

• Just give up… would have been the voice of the enemy. 

Sometimes when you are facing your biggest challenges in life the enemy is shouting at you and saying, “JUST GIVE UP!!!” 

• But what the enemy fails to realise is that God has already given you the victory and as long as you continue to walk the way he told you, you will see it come to pass. 

My encouragement this morning is this: don’t give up. 

• Stay faithful to the word that God has given you and just keep walking by faith as you will see his hand at work. 

• Some of you are just a day away from a victory. 

• Others are just a lap away from seeing an answer. 

• And others a just a few steps and a shout of praise away from a breakthrough. 

It could be a situation you are facing or a personal breakthrough in an area in your life. 

• Healing, deliverance, breaking of bondages or strongholds in your life. 

Philippians 1:4-6 (NIV) 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 

Joshua 6:20 (NIV) 20 When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city. 

Romans 8:31-32 (NIV) More Than Conquerors 31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 

Romans 8:37-39 (NIV) 

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.