Being a soldier for the Word of God. Part 9.
Joshua the Soldier.
Joshua the Soldier.
PLEASE READ FIRST
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Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!
Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).
1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]
If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to have faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life:
John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]
Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.
John 3:14-18 says: "14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV
Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:
Study to show yourself approved to God!
Grace Bible Church
Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries
The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is Wednesday, Friday and Sunday mornings
God’s Word is Wednesday, Friday and Sunday mornings
STUDY TITLE:
Being a soldier for the Word of God. Part 10.
Joshua the Soldier.
OPTION: If you would prefer to go directly to the Grace Bible Church website to read this study message, all verse reference links are active there (but not hover active) and Enlarged Text is also an available option – right click the above link then left click “Open Link in New Window” or “New Tab”
Terms & Abbreviations used:
PPOG = Predesigned Plan of God
Human Good = Evil + Good Deeds while not in fellowship with God
OSN = Old Sin Nature
TLJC = The Lord Jesus Christ
SSE = Spiritual Self Esteem
PVTD = Positive Volition Towards Doctrine
+H - The Happiness of God
NVTD = Negative Volition Towards Doctrine
Doctrine = Bible Truth
Human Good = Evil + Good Deeds while not in fellowship with God
OSN = Old Sin Nature
TLJC = The Lord Jesus Christ
SSE = Spiritual Self Esteem
PVTD = Positive Volition Towards Doctrine
+H - The Happiness of God
NVTD = Negative Volition Towards Doctrine
Doctrine = Bible Truth
BEGIN BIBLE STUDY
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotes and references
are from the NASB – New American Standard Bible
Being a soldier for the Word of God. Part 10.
Joshua the Soldier.
Similarities of being a soldier and the Art of War. Joshua the Soldier.
What we have seen in our study of men like Joshua, David and Gideon is a strong reliance on two major weapons, faith and the Word of God. In the Church-age have two major power options at work, doctrine resident in the soul and filling of the Holy Spirit.
Along with a personal sense of destiny, a personal love for God the Father and you have the majority of the weapons these and other Biblical heroes utilized. Weapons of our warfare all come from doctrinal principles we gain by being obedient to the teaching of truth.
Filling of Holy Spirit, Faith Rest, Personal Sense of Destiny, Personal love for God, Bible doctrine resident in the soul are lethal weapons of war for the Christian Soldier. One major problem believers have is the lack of a lasting commitment and dedication to go the distance. This all revolves around faith. It will be faith that determines the distance you go in the Angelic warfare. If your faith is strong toward any object/person you have a sense of commitment to it…and boldness is one result.
Boldness in battle is born from faith in a cause greater than self. Those soldiers that have died overseas for this country were committed and had faith in one another…Faith that their training would prevail, faith that the unit was strong enough to endure, and most importantly…faith in the fellow soldiers or their brothers in arms.
When our faith is in the cosmic system or unreliable people we are foolish. We are weak minded no matter how strong a front we may put on. Our faith can only be as strong as the object we put it upon. If it is in flawed creatures, if it is uncertain outcomes, then we have built a house on the weak foundation.
HAB 2:4, Behold as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.
This is reference to God being active within the soul of a person.
This was OT so we know the Holy Spirit was not within them, so no mention of the spirit in this verse, but God would influence the thinking and soul structure of mankind in ancient times. God has always been working in and around the lives of human and angelic population since He created us. But the proud, arrogant person has no comfort with God, no guidance from God the Holy Spirit. That’s what this scripture in Habakkuk is pointing out.
It is not God ever lacking in giving us faith or that God has a problem with faith…grace and faith flow from God with abundance, if we are willing to accept it and have the capacity for it.
PSA 146:6, Who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them; Who keeps faith forever?
God created faith. You know what God has a monopoly on grace and faith…He has a monopoly on virtue love…
You want some of it? It’s free, just a little effort and positive attitude on your part!
How powerful is faith?
It wipes away all sin, it gives courage to the meek! Faith is a weapon of spiritual warfare.
What does Jesus Christ think about faith?
MAR 2:5, And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven.
LUK 5:20, Seeing their faith, He said, friend, your sins are forgiven.
Faith is like the grenade launcher in your arsenal…better than just bullets!
It is through the positive thought of faith that saves us, not works, not anything that would cause us to boast.
LUK 7:50, And He said to the woman, your faith has saved you; go in peace.
ROM 4:13, For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.
Every soldier we have seen in our study who went AWOL, from Gideon’s crew, through David brothers, right up until this study on Joshua and the Exodus generation have at least one thing in common: Lack of faith.
We all have had times in our lives when God has touched us concerning a rescue mission. He has been the anchor for many of us during difficult family problems. He has been the hero who pushed you away from the oncoming train wreck in your life. He has been the healing hand during illness in your life. He has been the intervention you needed during personal struggles in your life.
We are sometimes just like that Exodus generation who were stiff necked and stubborn. Each person needs to evaluate themselves. How we responded is all about our own volition. But I venture to say that God has come through even when we were faithless.
2TI 2:13, If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
This connotes the born again believers because the Trinity is dwelling within us. Faith is a muscle…if it is not exercised it will get flabby and useless.
What did God tell Joshua concerning His plan to take Jericho?
Don’t look left, don’t look right…Be courageous and strong (3 times).
You can’t be on the fence or lukewarm within your MA concerning warfare.
REV 3:15-16, I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.
This really states that it’s easy to have a cold unbelieving person to deal with because with one simple thought they can become born again and saved. And with someone who is hot, meaning truly interested and committed to the word of God it’s easy to use them in God’s plan.
But that person who is born again and saved and on the fence struggling between the cosmic system and the PPOG it is disgusting to God. This is using an Anthropopathism because God does not get disgusted. But this scripture shows God utterly sickened over the lukewarm believer. Disgust is not a human characteristic God would have, but ask yourselves why is He inspiring John to write it here? This shows God truly becoming ill over the fact that His children are indifferent toward Him. That is a serious matter. This is a situation we choose for ourselves.
Looking back upon the thousands that scattered from Gideon, and especially the ones who were brought to the water and drank carelessly. To looking at the soldiers afraid of Goliath, to King Saul and David’s brothers, right up Joshua and the spies and many in the Exodus generation. It all points to lukewarm believers or worse cosmic believers.
Before Satan began spouting off the five I wills, he probably had several hundred years of negative thoughts floating around in his soul. Eventually the negative thoughts bring you to a place of lukewarm feelings and lukewarm thoughts toward your heavenly Father. It happens on jobs and in relationships, lukewarm thoughts occur long before the lips begin to spit venom out. Once the lips start operating in the negative it is already in motion, the action is on the way!
Lack of faith and negative mental attitude toward truth bring on the graphic description by God in REV 3:16. In fact in almost every set of circumstances we have studied concerning David, Gideon and now Joshua we see examples of believers who became lukewarm at some point. I’m not talking about falling down once and awhile, or stepping away from the plan of God for a few weeks, but peeling away from truth so far that it eventually causes them to become AWOL.
Your negativity toward truth, toward authority or toward anything in life began with some thought of discontent. I’m not happy with this person, this place or what God has given me. Implacability will set into your soul after a long period of time with this mental attitude.
2CO 10:5, We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
What we realize is the world and Satan’s schemes are more appealing to some believers than their relationship with God. You once put your faith in the Cross of Jesus Christ and in fact you got eternal security because of it, now you go back to the filth, the lie. You go back to the one who truly hates God the Father, who betrayed Jesus Christ as His personal bodyguard and the one who attacks the Holy Spirit consistently.
The cosmic system seems overwhelming as far as weapons and schemes pitted against believers, like giants against a tiny foe. But God’s arsenal doesn’t need to be piled sky high or appear bigger or better than anyone else’s. In fact His battle plan and the men who He used to implement it appeared less than any others around them. Our weapons are not fleshly! The warfare isn’t in the flesh; we find no power or victory in flesh. 2Cor 10:4-5.
We have got to get our eyes off self…eyes off the flesh of others and be more in tune to a cosmic system operating around us in the supernatural realm. Paul was dealing with backsliding believers who were implacable about doctrinal teaching. They didn’t find anything in his style of teaching that suited them…his face to face was too meager or his voice too squeaky. They thought his letters were strong but his presence was weak. So what Paul gets into is really the mental attitude needed to move forward in the PPOG.
2CO 10:4-5, for weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
The weapons that are not of the flesh refer to any form of flesh, meaning designed by human hands or held in human hands, so they are supernatural divine in nature. In fact the Greek noun here for destruction is a feminine noun Kathairesis. This word is only used a few times in N.T. Each time it is used it is receiving action from Divine authority. It speaks on demolition that only the Lord can do through a believer.
What is the common thread we saw with all the Biblical hero’s we have been looking at? Faith during times of adversity…mental stability because of that strong faith. Faith that turns average, weak men into courageous, warriors in the face of giants. Faith that stabilizes the mind, because the object of that faith is deeply entrenched into their soul structure. Gideon, David and Joshua had personal, intimate relationships with God. They took the doctrinal lessons and words of truth and digested them deep within their soul structure, so it became part of their norms and standards, who and what they are,
When problems arose and challenges stood out in the valley ahead of them, God went out first, because He was designated to take control and solve the issue in eternity past. They recognized their position in God’s plan, they realized His way, His path, His words were the only road to victory. A teenage Shepherd, a poor farm boy and a slave from Egypt took on the armies of the Kingdom of Darkness. 1Cor 1:27 the weak will shame the strong.
Why we always think that we are not capable of doing what a farm boy or slave or shepherd did in the O.T. is beyond me, but I know we all look at these guys as supernatural and they were but only because of the doctrine they applied. Because of the faith that they had. The opposite of faith is fear, they are polar opposite!
1CO 1:27-29, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong. and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29 so that no man may boast before God.
When you realize that God is not going to let you get the credit and its all on Him to supply what you need. You simply remain positive, you run the race and compete to the best of your ability. You have that intimate relationship with God…you realize that with grace and freedom comes responsibility and accountability but ultimately it will be God who brings the victory to you, not you bringing the victory to God!
The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.
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