2021-04-18

Charles Billingsley

 When people reach the top and don’t find fulfillment, it causes a great amount of distress, discouragement, and despair.

 

This has happened in the lives of so many millions.  The illustrations are available by the thousands.  Take just a few celebrity stories that all ended in premature deaths of suicide or drug overdose.  Consider the desperate lives of:

 

Michael Jackson

Whitney Houston

Robin Williams

 

the list goes on and on….almost all of them at the height of their careers…and yet there’s still an emptiness…a longing inside.

 

And the list of lottery winners…same way.

 

As we dive in the first thing I notice in reading this book is how many songs have been written from Ecclesiastes.  It’s because this book asks the questions:

 

Why am I here?

What is the meaning of life?

Why do certain things happen in our lives?

 

There is one word and one phrase that you need to understand in Ecclesiastes in order to fully grasp this book. But if you learn this one word and one phrase, this book will mean so much more to you.

 

Hebrew Word:  Hevel  – used 38 times in this book.

  (ESV)

1:1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

² Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,

vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

 

Hevel means – “Vanity” or “Meaningless” or “Futile” which is what you probably see in your Bible translation.   But the most accurate meaning is ‘smoke or vapor, or breath’

 

We first see this word in Genesis 4:2.

^{Genesis 4:2} And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel (Hevel) was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.

It means  – passing, short-lived.  Like a breath.  A vapor.  smoke.

 

And the repetition of the word here in this passage is the Hebrew expression of driving home the point with emphasis.  That’s why I love The Message translation of this:

 

(MSG)

1. 2 Smoke, nothing but smoke. [That’s what the Quester says.]

There’s nothing to anything—it’s all smoke.

 

It is important to understand that the word hevel does not suggest the absence of meaning. Solomon is not saying that everything in our lives is meaningless.  Rather, he is saying that there is a distortion or a mysterious obstruction of meaning to our lives under the sun. Life, therefore, is an enigma…a bewilderment that we won’t always understand.  And it’s like a vapor in that it is here today and gone tomorrow.

 

James 4:14 – yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

 

Our human nature compels us to discover a meaning for our lives.  We are born with this emptiness in our hearts.  Yet the instant we think we have grasped it, it disintegrates like smoke in our hands.  It is because of this that so many find themselves void of any hope.

 

1:1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

² Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,

vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

³ What does man gain by all the toil

at which he toils under the sun?

 

Phrase:  Under the sun  – Hebraism – A Hebrew figure of speech.  But before we dive into the meaning of this phrase, let’s look at where it came from.

 

Genesis 2:5

When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, ⁶ and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground

⁷ then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

In the first days, mankind was living hundreds of years because of the absence of disease AND because there were no harmful rays of the sun.  The earth was in a constant greenhouse effect – and a mist was watering the whole face of the ground.  It didn’t rain for 1656 years!

 

Then, because of man’s sin, God determines to destroy the earth with a flood.  And he does this by opening the heavens to rain.

 

Then the flood – Gen. 7:11 “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.”

– God opened up the heavens and God determined at that time that mankind would live 120 years or less.

 

The phrase under the sun refers all the way back to when mankind began to work under the harmful rays of the sun – from the re-beginning of mankind at the time of Noah and the end of the flood.  Mankind became much more vulnerable and frail after the flood.

 

When Solomon writes this phrase “ under the sun”  he is referring to everything that happens in this life as mortal, finite beings. It is life from a totally humanistic viewpoint…void of God or an eternal perspective.   – used 28 times in this book

 

Solomon goes on three searches to understand the point of man’s existence on this earth.

 

1. The intellectual search –  The cultivation of the mind. (1:12-18)

He tries education…and finds it doesn’t give his life the meaning he craves.

“I’ll find purpose through greater understanding.”

¹² I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³ And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. ¹⁴ I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.

 

18 For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases in sorrow.

 

Education is good…but one thing I’ve learned is that the more i know and understand…the less I realize I really know and understand.  And even from the wisest man who ever lived…Solomon…he comes to the conclusion that even though education is a good thing…it is not the end all. You can be the smartest man alive and still be empty.   Something was still missing…..

 

2. The hedonistic search – The pleasure of the body. (2:1-3)

 

“I’ll find meaning by doing what feels good.”

 

He’s going to Party!!!! Whatever he can do that brings pleasure…

1 I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity. ² I said of laughter, “It is mad,” and of pleasure, “What use is it?” ³ I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life.

And when all the partying is over, when he sobered up, or when he came down from the high, or after another night with one of his many women…he found there was still something missing….

1. The personal works search – an exploration of the soul.

“I’ll find meaning in what I accomplish.”

If education won’t do it, and pleasure won’t do it, then I’m going to put all my energy into my work.

 

Ecclesiastes 2:4-11

 

⁴ I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. ⁵ I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. ⁶ I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. ⁷ I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. ⁸ I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the sons of man.

¹¹ Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

So he tries everything…to learn all he can, the experience all he can, and to accomplish all he can…and he still comes up empty.

 

Solomon then reaches three conclusions at the end of these searches.

Conclusion #1 – We all die

 

 You’ll find it in Eccl. 2:12-17

 

1. The same fate in this life awaits everyone, wise and fool alike.  We’re all going to die.  And shortly after, life moves on.  We are mortal beings.  We don’t know what each day will bring forth.  But one thing is for sure…100% of all people who live….will end up dying.

Hebrews 9:27 – It is appointed unto man once to die….and then the judgement.

 

¹⁶ For of the wise as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise dies just like the fool! ¹⁷ So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.

 

Conclusion #2 – Someone gets your stuff

 

You’ll find it in Ecclesiastes 2:18-23

The benefits of this life’s works are inherited by those who never had to work for them.

¹⁸ I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, ¹⁹ and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. ²⁰ So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, ²¹ because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.

 

Conclusion #3 – But it’s all in God’s hands

2:24-25

²⁴ There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, ²⁵ for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?

 

New Living Translation 

²⁴ So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. ²⁵ For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him?

 

So there is a time for all of this….

Ecclesiastes 3:1

3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

 

Reminds me of a song – by the Byrds…with the same lyrics…

^3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

God has placed an emptiness in our souls on purpose.  That longing you feel in your spirit…is not for more money or pleasure…it’s for God.  He put it there.  And He has intentionally trapped us in this dimension of time and space for the sole purpose of your soul’s fulfillment.  He made you with this hole in your…and it can only be filled by Him.

We are all born with this void in our soul.

And we are tempted to try anything to fill it.

 

And we begin to ask ourselves Is that all there is?

 

There are two things that last forever…the soul of mankind, and the word of God.

 

You are going to last forever.  But it’s a matter of where your soul will go.

 

When you go to the eye doctor, they have you look at an eye chart. And in order to determine what prescription you need for your glasses, they will have you look through a series of lenses until you are able to see clearly.

 

When we look through the lens of our own wisdom, our own perspective and our own motives, life remains blurry…

 

It’s only when we see through the lens of God’s perspective that we obtain the right focus or prescription to our lives in light of eternity.   And the reason for our existence becomes more clear.

 

(bring screens into focus here)

 

And we begin to see that it’s not about what we do under the sun…but instead what the Son of God has done for us.

 

But when you live your life in the son….this life is just the beginning of a glorious eternity.

 

This life is the short one!  But it’s incredibly important that we answer the issue of eternity now…because what we do with God in this life will determine where our souls spend eternity in the next life.

 

12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”

 

^{Solomon’s great conclusion}

^12:13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

It’s that simple.  To fear – means a healthy respect for…to honor God.

(Col. 3:1-3)

3 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

 

 

Can i give you one more song lyric?

 

I stand amazed in the presence

Of Jesus the Nazarene,

And wonder how he could love me,

A sinner, condemned, unclean.

 

He took my sins and my sorrows,

He made them his very own;

He bore the burden to Calvary,

And suffered and died alone.

 

How marvelous! How wonderful!

And my song shall ever be:

How marvelous! How wonderful

Is my Savior’s love for me!

 

When with the ransomed in glory

His face I at last shall see,

‘Twill be my joy through the ages

To sing of his love for me.

 

How marvelous! How wonderful!

And my song shall ever be:

How marvelous! How wonderful

Is my Savior’s love for me!

 

2021-03-21

Charles Billingsley

 

Introduction

His name was William Borden – everybody called him Bill.  He was heir to the Borden silver mining fortune in Chicago.

Graduated high school at 16 years old, and was given a gift from his parents…a trip around the world.  During this trip, his heart was so moved by the plight of so many in poverty  and the sheer amount of hurting people in the world, that he felt an overwhelming sense of calling to become a missionary.  He wrote home and told his family…which was met with a negative response….that he would be wasting his life and his inheritance.  His response….two words in the back of his Bible….

“No reserves.”

He would enter Yale University that fall…and quickly became a spiritual giant on that campus…leading hundreds of his friends to Christ and starting Bible study groups that, by his senior year, involved over 80% of the entire student body!

He was offered many well-paying jobs when he graduated, but still felt this intense calling to missions….in China.

When he graduated, he wrote two more words in the back of his Bible…..

“No retreats”

William Borden went on to Seminary at Princeton in New Jersey. When he finished his studies at Princeton, he sailed for China. He was hoping to work with Muslims, so he stopped first in Egypt to study Arabic. But while there, he contracted spinal meningitis. Within a month, 25-year-old William Borden was dead.

When the news of William Borden’s death was cabled back to the U.S., the story was carried by nearly every American newspaper.

The author of his biography wrote this… “A wave of sorrow went round the world . . . Borden not only gave (away) his wealth, but himself, in a way so joyous and natural that it (seemed) a privilege rather than a sacrifice.”

Was Borden’s untimely death a waste? Not in God’s perspective, or his.  As the story has it, prior to his death, Borden had written two more words in the back of his Bible. Underneath the words “No reserves” and “No retreats,” he had written:

“No regrets.” 

Today we are going to be studying the story of two men who lived their lives like this…Ezra and Nehemiah.  But because we have such a short amount of time…we are going to spend most all our time in Nehemiah.

Background:

Timeline

605 BC Nebachadnezzer comes to power

587 BC – Babylonians destroy Jerusalem and it’s walls, gates and temple and take Jewish people captive.  Took the cream of the crop young people to Babylon.

539 BC – Persia overthrows Babylonian kingdom.  Cyrus becomes king.

536 BC – Ezra 1-6 – Cyrus allows a remnant of Jews to return to rebuild the temple and the city – Zerubbabel – but gentiles and rebels hindered the work and greatly delayed it, so the work took 20 years to finish.  (Ezra 1-6) – but the gates and the walls were not repaired.

485 – Xerxes comes to power

478 – Esther becomes queen – these events happen between

Ezra 6 and 7.

465 – Xerxes dies

458 BC – Ezra 7 – Ezra goes to Jerusalem – teaches the law

Two prevalent themes exist in both of these books:

1. The need to rebuild a structure of the city.
2. The need to rebuild the lives of the people.

 

A. The Brokenness of Nehemiah 

The Problem 

1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.

Now it happened 

Nehemiah was in the Right place at the Right Time  – He has position, power, and proximity.   When God wants to accomplish a work He will put His people in the right places at the right time.

in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, 

It’s late 446 BC. Hebrew month of Chislev runs from Mid – November – mid December on our calendar.  So King Artaxerxes was at his winter palace in Susa – the capital city of the Persian Empire.

It was just an ordinary day that would turn out to be a turning point for Nehemiah.

² that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. ³ And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”

⁴ As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

 

Here we see the brokenness of Nehemiah for his people.  He wept for his people  – His heart was broken not just because the city was in ruins, but also because of the sin of his people.  He fasted and prayed.   Then he waited on the Lord.

How long has it been since any of us wept over our nation?  our neighbors?  our loved ones who don’t know Christ?  Do we fast and pray for them?  I’ve been so convicted this week as I’ve written this message to, instead of complaining about our leaders or the incredibly shockingly fast moral decline of our nation…to instead pray…and weep, and fast for our nation and our neighborhoods.

What walls need to be rebuilt in your life?

Walls of conviction?

Proverbs 4:23 (NLT) – Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

Walls of relationships?

Walls of boundaries?

 

But Nehemiah went to God first.   As should we.

So we see his brokenness.

 

B. The Boldness of Nehemiah

“For I was the king’s cupbearer.”

Nehemiah was not a priest like Ezra.  He held a secular job – he was a Cupbearer  – a position of great power and influence. Like chief of staff.  He had very close proximity to the king.  Therefore, he had the ear of the King. He also was the last line of defense for the King.  He tasted the King’s wine.  It was a lofty, highly trusted, but high risk position. So he might have very well been the most trusted person in the king’s court.  The king trusted Nehemiah with his life.  – and he was a Jewish captive.

2:1 And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. ² Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.”

So I became dreadfully afraid, ³ and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?”

⁴ Then the king said to me, “What do you request?”  

5And I said to the king, if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”

⁶ Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him),  

 “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

 

C.  The Vision of Nehemiah

⁷ Furthermore I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, ⁸ and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.

 

You may not feel adequate for the task or that you have enough education or that you have enough experience, but sometimes you just have to step out and start walking.

Anyone who accomplishes anything of significance will deal with failure along the way.

We learn more from our failures than we do our successes.

There’s no such thing as an overnight success.

Let vision and purpose be what drives you.

The bridge between vision and accomplishment is discipline.  

So develop the disciplines along the way that will keep you on task.

And Fear of failure should never enter the equation.

People are usually driven by one of two things: Fear or Vision   Fear will paralyze you.  Vision will energize you.  Fear will make you a coward.  Vision will make you courageous.

 

Nehemiah didn’t know what he was doing.  But he knew he had to do something.  So Nehemiah trusted God to lead him and to show him what to do and how to do it.

So he set out on the 1000 mile journey from Susa to Jerusalem.

 

⁹ Then I went to the governors in the region beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. ¹⁰ When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel.

¹¹ So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days. ¹² Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me, except the one on which I rode. 

 

¹⁷ Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.” ¹⁸ And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me.

So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this good work.

¹⁹ But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?”

²⁰ So I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem.”

 

God has a plan and a purpose for all of us.  Seek His will, wait on His answer, and then go do it.

What is your vision for your life?  Where do you find yourself where God can use you right now?

 

If you have a God-given vision – it will probably be God-sized.  Which means it’s going to require God to intervene.

God is able to do it without you.  But He chooses to do it with you.  

When you have a God-given vision:  

1. stop, fast, pray and work.  Prayer has to come before action. God will equip you and God will prepare the way.  We need God to help us.  But God won’t do it without us.  Seek the Lord’s wisdom and seek the Lord’s timing.  “Pray like it depends on God. Work like it depends on God.”
2. Get ready to face opposition  – it takes grit.  it takes tenacity.  it takes determination.  It takes discipline . You will encounter enemies.

 

In chapters 4-6 – you see at least 9 different ways the enemy used to try to stop what work on the walls…trouble from the inside and the outside.

And somehow ….through all the obstacles and attacks, Nehemiah led his people to finish the wall in just 52 days!!

So how did he handle all this?

 

3. God-given vision cannot be accomplished alone– Each one had a job to do to repair their section of the wall. (chapter 3)

They had unity of purpose.

And it is the same today in the church.  We all have different gifts, and together, we can accomplish the work of the church.

 

Rom. 12:4-6 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them:

 

Nobody is too important to serve.

 

Neh. 4:6 So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

 

It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you have unity of purpose and you don’t care who gets the credit. You cannot do this alone.

4. Stay focused on the task at hand

Nehemiah prayed like it depended on God…he asked the Lord to handle it.  And then he worked like it depended on him….with a shovel in one hand and a sword in the other.

 Neh. 4:8-9 and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion. 9Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.

 

We are in a supernatural battle everyday! But we need to remember..the battle belongs to the Lord..and the battle begins on our knees before the Lord.  Trouble is sure to come.  Stay focused on the task.

And by the way….Jesus endured all the things on that list of opposition, as well.   But he stayed focused on the task at hand…to seek and to save the lost!  In fact,  the very things he endured by others, was the very reason He came in the first place….to rescue us from our sin!!

 

Isaiah 53:3

He is despised and rejected by men,

A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

⁴ Surely He has borne our griefs

And carried our sorrows;

Yet we esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten by God, and afflicted.

⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;

We have turned, every one, to his own way;

And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

 

If God wants it, He will make a way.  And one thing He wants, is unbroken fellowship with HIs children.

That’s why when they finish building the walls, Nehemiah and Ezra the priest call them to a time of consecration and worship and celebration.

 

Maybe it’s time to live with:

NO REGRETS!

 

William Wilberforce

 

–  Born into the home of a wealthy family.  Came to know Christ while traveling through Europe with a brilliant politician friend who also had a solid Christian worldview.  Was then discipled by John Newton – a former slave trader who had radically been saved – wrote Amazing Grace.

 

We don’t need to fear failure.   What we must fear the most – is succeeding in things that don’t matter. 

William Wilberforce would “never rest” until he had done all he could do.

“Let it not be said that I was silent when they needed me.” 

~ William Wilberforce

 

 

What Wall is it that God wants you to build?

 

When God leads you to do something:

1. Stop, Fast, Pray and Work
2. Get ready to face opposition 
3. Remember you can’t do it alone
4. Stay focused on the task at hand.  

 

One of my favorite moments in this book:

6:1 Now it happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it (though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates), 

2 that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono.” But they thought to do me harm. 

3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?” 

 

When your enemies want you to meet them in a valley called Ono…your answer should be “Oh No!”

 

 Mark 15:29-30 (CSB)

29Those who passed by were yelling insult at him, shaking their heads, and saying, “Ha! The one who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save yourself by coming down from the cross! ”

 

If not you….then who?  If not now….then when?   Love People.  Love God.  And together…we will build the Kingdom of God.  May the vision God has given us….end in Victory….and bring glory to His holy name.

 

No reserves! 

No retreats! 

No regrets!

 

2021-03-07

Pastor Jonathan Falwell

 

2 Kings 22:1-2 Josiah was eight years old when he became king and reigned 31 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. ² He did what was right in the Lord’s sight and walked in all the ways of his ancestor David; he did not turn to the right or the left.

 

From about 1025 BC to 586 BC, Israel was ruled by the kings. Starting with Saul and ending with Zedekiah in Judah and Hoshea in Israel. Judah was taken into captivity by the Babylonians and Israel by the Assyrians. This was a dark period in the time of Israel as most of the kings were evil men who led Israel astray.

 

Israel’s Monarchy

United Israel – 4 Kings (Saul, Ishbosheth, David, Solomon)

Divided Kingdom (Rehoboam ignored the advice of his father’s generation and went his own way)

Judah – 20 kings (14 evil, 6 good – Joash and Amaziah started off right but veered away)

Israel – 19 kings (all evil)

 

Josiah became king at 8 years old after his father, Amon, died. The legacy that Amon and his father, Manasseh, left was one of absolute evil. Josiah had no reason to do right, but Josiah was determined to change things. At 16, 2 Chronicles 34:3 says he began to seek out the God of David. At 18, he sought to restore the temple and sent his people to start the process.

 

1. A Spiritual Reboot

2 Kings 22:10-13 Then Shaphan the court secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book,” and Shaphan read it in the presence of the king. ¹¹ When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes. ¹² Then he commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the court secretary, and the king’s servant Asaiah: ¹³ “Go and inquire of the Lord for me, the people, and all Judah about the instruction in this book that has been found. For great is the Lord’s wrath that is kindled against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this book in order to do everything written about us.”

• Josiah began a spiritual journey that started in repentance
• After hearing God’s Word, he acted by seeking out God’s plan
• This was a spiritual “reboot” that the nation desperately needed but it started in the heart of one

2. A Spiritual Refocus

2 Kings 23:1-3 So the king sent messengers, and they gathered all the elders of Jerusalem and Judah to him. ² Then the king went to the Lord’s temple with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the prophets—all the people from the youngest to the oldest. As they listened, he read all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the Lord’s temple. ³ Next, the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant in the presence of the Lord to follow the Lord and to keep His commands, His decrees, and His statutes with all his mind and with all his heart, and to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book; all the people agreed to the covenant.

• God’s Word always brings change
• Josiah read the words to all who had gathered and led the people to refocus their hearts to the things of God and His covenant with them
• We live in a season of promise from God as well. He has promised so much to us all, yet like Israel, many times we’ve abandoned His Word and His ways

 

“The Word of God is like a lion. You don’t have to defend a lion. All you have to do is let the lion loose, and the lion will defend itself.”[1] – Charles Spurgeon

[1] https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/8561226-the-word-of-god-is-like-a-lion-you-don-t

3. A Spiritual Renewal

2 Kings 23:25 Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his mind and with all his heart and with all his strength according to all the law of Moses, and no one like him arose after him.

• It’s interesting that it was noted there had been no king like Josiah before and none after him. This includes David – “man after God’s own heart”
• How can this be true? Because Josiah is remembered as the one fulfilled the commands of Deut. 6:5 and Matt. 22:39

Deut 6:5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

 

Matt. 22:39 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the greatest and most important command. ³⁹ The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself

 

• The world today is in desperate need of leaders who will determine in their hearts to LOVE HIM with everything, and LOVE PEOPLE in order to point them to God
• That’s what Josiah did, he led his country back to God

 

2021-02-28

Pastor Jonathan Falwell

2 Samuel 21:1-14 (CSB) During David’s reign there was a famine for three successive years, so David inquired of the Lord. The Lord answered, “It is because of the blood shed by Saul and his family when he killed the Gibeonites.”  ² The Gibeonites were not Israelites but rather a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but Saul had tried to kill them in his zeal for the Israelites and Judah. So David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. ³ He asked the Gibeonites, “What should I do for you? How can I make atonement so that you will bring a blessing on the Lord’s inheritance?”  ⁴ The Gibeonites said to him, “We are not asking for money from Saul or his family, and we cannot put anyone to death in Israel.” “Whatever you say, I will do for you,” he said. ⁵ They replied to the king, “As for the man who annihilated us and plotted to destroy us so we would not exist within the whole territory of Israel, ⁶ let seven of his male descendants be handed over to us so we may hang them in the presence of the Lord at Gibeah of Saul, the Lord’s chosen.” The king answered, “I will hand them over.” ⁷ David spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because of the oath of the Lord that was between David and Jonathan, Saul’s son. ⁸ But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, who were the two sons whom Rizpah daughter of Aiah had borne to Saul, and the five sons whom Merab daughter of Saul had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite ⁹ and handed them over to the Gibeonites. They hanged them on the hill in the presence of the Lord; the seven of them died together. They were executed in the first days of the harvest at the beginning of the barley harvest. ¹⁰ Rizpah, Aiah’s daughter, took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on the rock from the beginning of the harvest until the rain poured down from heaven on the bodies. She kept the birds of the sky from them by day and the wild animals by night. ¹¹ When it was reported to David what Saul’s concubine Rizpah, daughter of Aiah, had done, ¹² he went and got the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the leaders of Jabesh-gilead. They had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan where the Philistines had hung the bodies the day the Philistines killed Saul at Gilboa. ¹³ David had the bones brought from there. They gathered up the bones of Saul’s family who had been hung ¹⁴ and buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan at Zela in the land of Benjamin in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish. They did everything the king commanded. After this, God answered prayer for the land.

 

1. Go To The Source

Vs 1 During David’s reign there was a famine for three successive years, so David inquired of the Lord. The Lord answered, “It is because of the blood shed by Saul and his family when he killed the Gibeonites.”

• David knew that there must be some sin in the land because of the famine so he sought the face of God on the matter
• The Gibeonites were a people that had made a covenant with Joshua (Joshua 9)
• Saul had broken this covenant by killing the Gibeonites in order to rid the land of non-Israelites
• In Numbers 35, God promised the land would be “polluted” if Israel acted improperly

 

2. Act When He Speaks

Vs 2b So David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. ³ He asked the Gibeonites, “What should I do for you? How can I make atonement so that you will bring a blessing on the Lord’s inheritance?”

• As soon as David heard the word of God, he acted
• David didn’t shy away from approaching those who had been wronged
• He showed genuine repentance and a genuine heart for restoration
• But even in seeking restoration, David was not willing to compromise on his own commitments or beliefs

Vs 7 David spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul’s son Jonathan, because of the oath of the Lord that was between David and Jonathan, Saul’s son.

 

3. Be People of Peace

Vss 11-14 When it was reported to David what Saul’s concubine Rizpah, daughter of Aiah, had done, ¹² he went and got the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the leaders of Jabesh-gilead. They had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan where the Philistines had hung the bodies the day the Philistines killed Saul at Gilboa. ¹³ David had the bones brought from there. They gathered up the bones of Saul’s family who had been hung ¹⁴ and buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan at Zela in the land of Benjamin in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish. They did everything the king commanded. After this, God answered prayer for the land.

• David could have considered his work done once he handed over the family of Saul
• He could have made the family suffer as a result of the wrongdoing of Saul
• But he recognized making things right with others means making things right with everyone
• This is when God blessed David, and Israel, again

 

Application:

• There will be moments of silence and suffering in our lives and we will truly wonder what’s gone wrong
• In those moments, don’t seek to blame, criticize or be discouraged
• Instead, seek the face of God and His Word and wisdom
• Then act on His truths
• This all starts when in communion with God

 

2021-02-14

Charles Billingsley

Have you ever faced a situation or a crisis that seemed impossible to overcome?  Or have you ever stared at a problem that you just didn’t have the answer for or the ability to figure out?

It’s 1407 BC

Moses has just died.

Joshua is now the clear and chosen leader of Israel.  I imagine he was overwhelmed and probably full of anxiety and fear.

The weight of an entire nation is on his shoulders now.

He was originally names Hoshea, but at some point Moses changed his name to Joshua, which means YAHWEH Saves!  There are so many correlations between the Joshua of the old Testament, and Jesus our Savior.  In fact, Jesus is the greek form of the Hebrew name, Joshua.  And just like God used Joshua to bring his people into a promised Kingdom through physical warfare, Jesus would come to earth as God’s only begotten son to usher in a new Kingdom through Spiritual warfare….Ephesians 6:12 – For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  And of course, just like Joshua experiences victory on the battlefield so that the people of Israel would have a home in the promised land, Jesus conquered sin, death, hell and the grave so we would have a home in heaven one day.

This book is the transition book that tells us the story of the Children of Israel moving from the wilderness to the promised land.

What was promised to Abraham over 440 years earlier is now being possessed by Joshua and a new generation.

The people have been in the wilderness for 40 years!

So in the book of Joshua we see that God has commissioned him with a two fold task.

1. To drive out the inhabitants of Canaan – this promised land.

2. To divide the land between the 12 tribes of Israel.

 

Joshua overview

Chapters 1-5 – Joshua and the people enter the land

Chapters 6-12 – Joshua conquers the land- starting with Jericho, moving upwards through the center, then the south and then the north.

Chapters 13-21 – Joshua divides the land among the 12 tribes

Chapters 22-24 – The children of Israel begin to function as a nation.

Joshua 1 – God commissions Joshua and gives him the command to take the promised Land

If there were a song that sums up the book of Joshua, it would be Great is Thy Faithfulness.

So as we look briefly at a few specific moments here in Joshua, we are going to talk about some important life lessons that we can draw from this book.  I believe there are dozens, but we only have time for a few.  So let’s look at it from two perspectives.  What we can expect from God, and What God expects from us.

What you can expect from God:

1. God always has a plan: 

Joshua 1:2 NKJV  – “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. ³ Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. ⁴ From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. ⁵ No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.

God’s plans are always perfect and they come with a guarantee…He is with us!   Nothing surprises God.  Nothing just occurs to God.  He is sovereign and He is always in control, and He always has a plan for your life and mine.  The issue is not whether or not God has a plan, it is whether or not we are going to follow it!   This is what happened with the children of Israel.  What was supposed to be an 11 day journey from Egypt to the promised land took 40 years!  Why? Because of the disobedience and sin of the people!  But it was NOT because God didn’t have a plan.

He made it so clear to them. But even in their disobedience, He still provided for them.

in fact,  Every day there was miracles.

Follow the pillar of cloud by day. Follow the pillar of fire by night.  If those move, you move.

Then there was the manna!  Every day.  Just enough.  It lasted for that day only.  Gave them the nourishment they needed in the desert!  They didn’t have to hunt, plant, grow, harvest….nothing.  It was waiting on the ground for them each morning.  Of course, everyday eating the same food must have gotten a little old.  And they complained non-stop about it.  They had to get creative…

bamanna bread for breakfast?

manna-cotti for dinner?

toast a little manna bread with some manna cheese on there…maybe add a little manna-aise?

I don’t know…but the fact is…it was there.  everyday.  And they survived.

It was an everyday miracle.  But the people got so used to it, they didn’t even think about it anymore.  So they become presumptuous and ungrateful.

You know can become the same way. We need to remember, that each and every day is a miracle in so many ways.   Just think about it.

 

Right this very moment, your heart is pumping about 1.5 gallons of blood through your body at about 100,000 beats per day.  Every minute it beats, it is pumping 5-6 quarts of blood through your blood vessels keeping you alive. And there are over 100,000 miles worth of blood vessels in your body…enough to circle the earth 4 times!!!

You have a DNA construct that is different than anybody else in the entire world that has ever been or ever will be!  You are totally unique.

All the while you are sitting here on planet earth that is being heated by a blazing ball of fire known as the sun. It is beaming light and heat to us from 93 millions away.  It takes the light 8.3 minutes to reach us… and we are just far away enough to where we don’t fry, and just close enough to where we don’t freeze.  All this while we are traveling through space at a speed of  67,000 mph around that sun.  While at the same time, spinning on an axis at the rate of 1,037 mph at the equator.  All of this is happening right now.  And you’re not in the middle of a miracle?   Come on!!!  We are in the middle of multiple miracles a day!

So the children of Israel have witnessed miracle after miracle. God has shown them time and time again that He has a plan for them.  All they have to do is believe and follow His commands.

Sin always disrupts God’s plan for your life. Run from sin and follow God’s plan.

In Numbers 13, God told Moses to send into the promised land 12 spies..one from each tribe.  But when they returned after 40 days, only two gave a good report.  The other ten were scared to death and in turn freaked all the people out.  As a result, God punished them for their lack of faith. One year for every day they were gone spying on the land. (Numbers 14)   Further more, God told them only two people from the entire population…over 2,000,000 would actually live to see the promised land….Joshua and Caleb..the two spies that gave the positive report.

^{Sin and disobedience disrupted God’s plan for the Israelites.  And it will disrupt God’s plan for your life, as well.}  

But one thing you can always expect from God…He has a plan.

2. God uses people you may never expect.  (Rahab)

Are there any people who have entered your life in an unexpected way and God ended up using them big time to bless you?  or speak wisdom into you?   I have a very long list of those individuals.  And ultimately, it’s these kinds of relationships that will cause you to one day look back and be able to connect the dots along your journey and help you see the faithful hand of God working and weaving His perfect will for your life.

In Joshua 2, Joshua sends out two spies to check out Jericho before they attacked it.  He’s doing a reconnaissance mission to see what all they can expect when they encounter the first major obstacle to taking the promised land.

And in the process, these spies meet someone who ends up helping them.

This “chance” encounter with Rahab, we will see, had eternal significance for all of us.

Joshua 2:1 Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.”

So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there.

Now for these two spies to “lodge” there actually made a lot of sense.  No, there weren’t there for promiscuous reasons…they went there because it would have been a place frequented by foreigners and so they would not easily be noticed.

So Rahab takes them in and hides them once she knows who they are.

Very likely was thrown into the profession at a very young age.  Canaanite culture.

² And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country.”

³ So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.”

⁴ Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. ⁵ And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.” ⁶ (But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.) ⁷ Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.

Did she lie?  yes.  And God, in no way condones lying.  Rahab lied in this case, but all we have here is God recording that fact that she lied.  She’s a pagan.  She’s got no problem with doing bad things.

Has no concept or knowledge of the laws of God at this point. So yes, she lies and it does save these two spies…but it doesn’t mean that lying is ok.  God could have easily saved the spies in some other way.  But this is what happened, there is a record of her doing so, and it turns out that it was a “very present help in time of trouble.”   But you won’t find anywhere in scripture that God says its ok to lie.  This is just what she did.

Rahab  does do wrong when she falsely declares that the messengers were gone.  But there is a perfect will of God and then there is a permissive will of God.   On the whole, it was the perfect will of God that the spies should be delivered, but he did not approve of saving their life by falsehood.

But the Bible mentions Rahab several more times in the New Testament , and we discover that she becomes a very key figure in the history of the world.  And each time she is mentioned, she is called a harlot.  But she is commended for her faith.

How would you like to be so known for your past sins and everybody attaches it to your name?   There’s goes Larry the liar.  Or there goes Martha the Murderer.  Oh here’s Theodore the thief.

She believed in the God of Israel. And God honored the cry of her heart.  By faith she believed and she became a pillar of faith.  She had a pagan name.  Lived in a pagan land.  Had pagan parents.  She was a gentile.   And now….because of her faith….She is an example to all us. And she even makes the hall of faith in Hebrews!

Hebrews 11:30 – By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. ³¹ By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.

James 2:25   Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?

²⁶ For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

And God used this unexpected lady of the night to save the spies and bless them in an unexpected way.

And in return, she asks them to bless her by saving her family when the time comes for them to take the city.

¹² Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token, ¹³ and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.”

²¹ Then she said, “According to your words, so be it.” And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window.

²² They departed and went to the mountain, and stayed there three days until the pursuers returned. The pursuers sought them all along the way, but did not find them. ²³ So the two men returned, descended from the mountain, and crossed over; and they came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all that had befallen them. ²⁴ And they said to Joshua, “Truly the Lord has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us.”

Remember in your journey, that sometimes God will bring people into your life that you never could have imagined or expected…and He will use them to speak truth into your life, be a blessing to your life, and who knows…maybe even save your life.  Every encounter really does matter.  And don’t forget, God very likely wants to use you in that way in someone else’s life, as well.  

3. God uses ways that you would never expect  

Joshua 3 – They cross the Jordan river – just like the Red Sea, God parts the waters.  New generation, new miracle, new place.

this time God said put your feet in the water, and then it divided.

Joshua 4 – The stones of remembrance

Joshua 5 – consecration before the Lord, massive circumcision, they observe the passover, then the eat from the land and God stops the manna because they were now in a land where they could gather their own food.   Joshua encounters the Commander of the army of the Lord.  (Christafani)

Joshua 6:1 Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.

It’s not a huge city, but it’s an incredibly fortified city.  Only about 1200 people lived there, but thousands more had made their way there to find refuge from the Israelite army.

Joshua had an army of 40,000.

How could they break through these walls?

they couldn’t starve them out.  Harvest had just taken place.  There was fresh water springs inside the city, so they had plenty of food and water.  No one came in, and no one left.

Jericho:  Canaan’s most fortified city. Very intimidating and powerful city.  Highly strategic location.  Impregnable walls.

Three major digs of jericho sight.  And most scholars, for many years…almost 100 years, believed that the story of Jericho was made up.  Not historically accurate.  But all that was proven wrong, and now because of technology and more recent discoveries, the Bible has once again proven itself to be absolutely true and accurate to the smallest of details.

Kathleen Kenyon’s famous dig concluded that Jericho had been destroyed around 1550 BC by the Egyptians…many years prior to Joshua.

She also discovered  that the city had been burned.

However, a new archeological analysis of all the date reveals that the destruction of Jericho actually took place somewhere around 1400 BC…exactly the time of Joshua’s crossing into the land of Canaan.

The walls were a combinations of a 15 foot stacked stone retaining wall with another mud brick wall on top of the retaining wall that was 6 feet thick and 20-26 feet high.    And then above that about 15 feet further in, was another wall that loomed another 30-40 feet.

There were houses built between the walls in some places, which is where Rahab’s house would have been.

 

Digs found jars of grain – still full

water supply had not been cut off

Only 9 acres big…so it was only about a 30 minute walk around the city.

You can imagine how they must have felt looking at these massive walls…and yet see what the Lord says:

² And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. ³ You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. ⁴ And 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. ⁵ It 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.”

So then Joshua tells the people what the Lord has told him.

This is NOT your normal battle plan.  Not what you would expect!

Then they get ready to do it, and Joshua tells the people this:

¹⁰ Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout.”

Maybe Joshua told them this because he was sick and tired of hearing their complaints for 40 years and somehow he knew that after just a day or two they’d be complaining about this different sort of warfare.

So he tells them to just hush!

So they have complete silence.

They have their shofars

And They have the Ark of the covenant.

THE ARK contained 3 ITEMS

THE VESSEL OF MANNA

THE BUDDING STICK

THE BROKEN TABLETS

ALL THREE ITEMS REPRESENTED MAJOR FAILURES OF THE PEOPLE OF THE ISRAEL.   BUT THE TOP OF THE BOX WAS COVERED BY THE MERCY SEAT.

All of the failures of Israel under the Mercy Seat of God – and the Ark represented the presence of God.  So while they carried around the ark – they were carrying reminders of their failures….that had been forgiven by the mercies of God and that were covered by the grace of God .   And His presence was ALWAYS WITH THEM.  Their failures, God’s provision and God’s presence.

The Ark was an ever present reminder of the children of Israel’s desperate need for God’s presence and God’s mercy!!

And that’s exactly what the cross represents for you and me!!!

So as you walk around this city or your home…you may walk with the ever constant reminders of your past failures…but don’t forget that as a child of God , those past failures are under the seat of His mercy and that you are constantly in His presence!!!!!

And so on the first day….they got up early and they go around the city.  And they are back home within the hour.

And they do this again…for 6 days straight.

Every trip around the city…the walls weren’t getting weaker, but their faith was getting stronger.

¹⁵ But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. ¹⁶ And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city! ¹⁷ Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.

²⁰ So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

Walls crumbled from the top forming a natural ramp into the city

Archeological evidence supporting all this

²² But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, “Go into the harlot’s house, and from there bring out the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her.” ²³ And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel.

^{Wait….if the walls all fell, how did Rahab’s house stay in tact?}  

in another dig in 1907 by a german party, they discovered one portion of the north end of the wall still in tact. And there were houses connected to the wall!   this is where Rahab would have lived!

²⁴ But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. ²⁵ And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her  father’s household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

Scarlet Chord – 

      Reminds us of the scarlet blood of the lamb – passover

scarlet chord hung from the window is what saved her and her entire family.

Do you see?  There is a scarlet cord that runs throughout scripture and ends at the cross of Christ!

And it is the scarlet blood of Jesus that saves our soul.

Can you imagine what Rahab must have been feeling those six days they marched around the city walls.  I would bet she had the whole family in there from day one not knowing God’s plan for the battle.  And then on that 7th day when the walls began to crumble…by faith she stayed put and trusted the word of the spies and trusted in the God of Israel.

And then the shout of the warriors and those walls began to crumble

you can just imagine the intensity of the moment.  But she held onto the hope of the scarlet cord in that window and because of that she was saved.

And isn’t is just like God to place a prostitute in the middle of such a momentous occasion for the nation of Israel?  oh but wait….there’s more……..Rahab ends up settling into a new life and eventually starts a family of her own when she married a prince of the tribe of Judah named Salmon.   It is believed by many that Salmon was one of the two spies that saved her and her family!!  And in a perfect Valentine’s love story…they end up getting married!

1 chronicles 2:51 – Salmon was the Father of Bethlehem. He built the city where the Savior was born!!   Rahab was a huge part of building the city of Bethlehem!!

And we then see, in Matthew Chapter 1, that she would actually end up being the great great grandmother of King David, and even more importantly, in the lineage of the very son of God…Jesus.

Matthew 1:5-6 (CSB)

5 Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab,

Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth,

Obed fathered Jesse,

6 and Jesse fathered King David.

What is a prostitute doing in the list of the genealogy of Christ??   Same thing that Abraham the liar, Jacob the thief, Judah the fornicator, Tamar the deceiver and David the adulterer are doing…just being everyday sinners that God chose to use in miraculous and powerful ways.   And if he can use these people…don’t you think He might be able to use you??  Yes He can!!!  And maybe He has strategically placed you around a Rahab or two who desperately needs to hear the good news of Jesus in their life!  Maybe you are the Scarlet Cord of the redeeming power of the gospel to them!  in other words…you are the only Jesus they may ever see.

There is a scarlet cord that runs throughout history…..it’s a cord of redemption.  Its the cord of grace.  And that scarlet cord

is the blood of Jesus! It was his blood and his sacrifice that gives us the hope that we have in our hearts.

When the walls are crumbling around you…hold on to the scarlet cord.

 

When you are overcome with fear or facing what seems like an insurmountable problem….hold on to that scarlet cord

when you are alone and afraid and darkness is all around you….hold on to that scarlet cord…it is the hope of Jesus!

God has a plan!

God uses unexpected people!

God uses unexpected ways!

And one more thing you can expect from God….

4. The battle is already won – 

^{Joshua 1:5} No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or abandon you.

John 16: 33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

What God expects from you:

1. Be Strong and Courageous

They have no weapons of war.  They are armed with a shofar, the Ark of the Covenant, and their voices.  And they are walking around the city, totally exposed to arrows and flying objects and attack.   Take possession of the city, because it was part of His plan…and they knew it.  It was His Blessing to them. But they had to be strong and Courageous…not weak and consumed by fear.

Three times in Joshua 1, God tells him to be Strong and Courageous.

“The God of Christianity is not comfort or security…it is freedom. And Freedom is often found in the most uncomfortable and insecure places.   Jesus did not come from heaven to earth to die on a cross and rise again from the dead to make us comfortable and secure.  He came to make us dangerous to the kingdom of darkness so that we can go in and possess the promises that He has for us.”  – Christine Caine

God was making the people of Israel dangerous for His glory.  So dangerous that the enemies “melted before them.”

Please remember this!  You have nothing to fear.  You are in the Lord’s army.  You are on the winning side.  There is no power, no person, and no principality that can overcome you because you are an overcomer under the blood of the Lamb!  And times may be difficult and times may be inconvenient, but never ever forget… If God be for us, who can be against us!?

Be Strong and Courageous for God is on your side.  You have nothing and no one to fear.

2. Stay Faithful to His Word

^Joshua1:7 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 ^[a]prosper wherever you go. ⁸ This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” – Stay faithful to His word!

 

3. Stay in the Battle

This is a marathon, not a sprint.  Your Christian life should be marked by what Eugene Peterson calls  a “long obedience in the same direction.”

“The circumstances you are asking God to change may be the very circumstances He is using to change you.”   – Batterson

Don’t flee. Don’t falter.  Stand strong.  And don’t doubt.

“Don’t waste your walls” – Let whatever it is you are facing grow your faith.  Every long lap around that situation is making you stronger, building your testimony.  What is God trying to teach you in this battle?

One thing is for sure.  Every person in this room and every person watching this is facing some sort of battle that the rest of us don’t know anything about.  To you I say, Be strong and courageous, stay faithful, stay in this battle…..and know that God is with you.  Never doubt that.

the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

“Doubt dies unborn if it’s never spoken.” – Caine

We breed doubt and insecurity with our negative words.  did you know that over 80% of our thoughts are negative? No wonder over half of the population is dealing with depression.    Stop spewing doubt over your world with negative thoughts and words.

End the fear.  End the doubt.  End the negativity.

We are ALL flawed, but we can ALSO all be faithful.  Make sure you get up every morning, put the armor of the Lord on (Ephesians 6) and jump head first into the Battle.   You are in the Lord’s army…and He wants to use you to impact your family and this community for His glory!

Stay in the Battle…can you imagine if the Israelites would have gotten discouraged and quit circling the city after the 6th day?  They would have missed out on all God planned for them!  So don’t quit….never never quit!!

4. Trust and Obey   

You could sum up the entire instruction of the Bible  in those two words:  Trust and Obey.

“Work like it depends on you, and pray like it depends on God.” – Batterson

Trust God’s plan

Obey HIs word.

Leave the results to Him

And remember…..The Battle is already won!

You can count on it.  You can expect this from God.  What did he tell Joshua?

1:3 “Every place that the soul of your foot will tread upon I HAVE given you. 

6:2 “See, I have given Jericho into your hand…. 

And when you get to the end of your journey, my prayer is that we will all be like Joshua, who at 110 years old finished strong.  He stayed faithful.  He stayed in the battle until his last breath.  And He was able to declare until life itself left his lungs:

^{Joshua 24:15 “}as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!”

When you get to the end of yourself you will find that you are just at the beginning of who God is.  We worship the God of the impossible.

Where there is no way, He will make a way!

So when it seems there is no way around the wall or over the wall or under the wall….trust the God of the impossible.  He will make a way!

The Battle Belongs to the Lord!

2021-02-07

Pastor Jonathan Falwell

Deut 11:1 (CSB) “Therefore, love the Lord your God and always keep His mandate and His statutes, ordinances, and commands.”

 

1. Walking with God is better than any other option

Deut 11:13-15 (CSB) If you carefully obey my commands I am giving you today, to love the Lord your God and worship Him with all your heart and all your soul, ¹⁴ I will provide rain for your land in the proper time, the autumn and spring rains, and you will harvest your grain, new wine, and oil. ¹⁵ I will provide grass in your fields for your livestock. You will eat and be satisfied.

 

2. Not walking with God has devastating consequences

Deut 11:16-17 (CSB) Be careful that you are not enticed to turn aside, worship, and bow down to other gods. ¹⁷ Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you. He will close the sky, and there will be no rain; the land will not yield its produce, and you will perish quickly from the good land the Lord is giving you.

 

3. Hold His truths close and tell others

Deut 11:18-21 (CSB) Imprint these words of mine on your hearts and minds, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol on your foreheads. ¹⁹ Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ²⁰ Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, ²¹ so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, your days and those of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your fathers.

 

4. The bottom line is clear – be a follower of Jesus Christ

Deut 11:22-24 For if you carefully observe every one of these commands I am giving you to follow—to love the Lord your God, walk in all His ways, and remain faithful to Him— ²³ the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will drive out nations greater and stronger than you are. ²⁴ Every place the sole of your foot treads will be yours.

 

 

2021-01-17 

Pastor Jonathan Falwell

 

Exodus 3:1-4  Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ² Then the Angel of the Lordappeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush. As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. ³ So Moses thought: I must go over and look at this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up? ⁴ When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!” “Here I am,” he answered.

 

Exodus 3:9-12 The Israelites’ cry for help has come to Me, and I have also seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. ¹⁰ Therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead My people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” ¹¹ But Moses asked God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” ¹² He answered, “I will certainly be with you, and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship God at this mountain.”

 

Exodus 4:1 Then Moses answered, “What if they won’t believe me and will not obey me but say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

 

Exodus 4:10-13 But Moses replied to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent—either in the past or recently or since You have been speaking to Your servant —because I am slow and hesitant in speech.” ¹¹ Yahweh said to him, “Who made the human mouth? Who makes him mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh? ¹² Now go! I will help you speak and I will teach you what to say.” ¹³ Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”

 

1. Never ignore God’s call

Vs 3:4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!” “Here I am,” he answered.

• Fear could have kept Moses away from the presence of God
• This fear could have led Moses to miss out on God’s calling and plan for his life

2. Never question God’s call

Vss 3:10-11 Therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead My people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” ¹¹ But Moses asked God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

 

Vs 4:1 Then Moses answered, “What if they won’t believe me and will not obey me but say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

• The “what ifs” in life will always lead us to question God’s plan
• This is a specific tactic of the enemy to keep us from trusting God
• Moses answered in verse 4, “Here I am,” but when he heard the scope of God’s call he questioned the wisdom of God in calling him
• God will never call you to something in which He doesn’t also equip to you fulfill that call successfully

3. Never doubt God’s power

Vs 3:12a He answered, “I will certainly be with you…”

• Throughout this “burning bush” encounter, God continually assured Moses His power was all that was needed
• And yet, Moses continued to doubt His own ability, God’s call and ultimately, God’s power to make it happen
• In our lives, doubting that God can equip us to fulfill His call has been the one thing that has kept many people from ever accomplishing great things for Him
• Until you accept that you can “do all things through Christ who strengthens me”, you will never make an impact for Him

4. Always trust God’s heart

Vss 3:16-17a “Go and assemble the elders of Israel and say to them: Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I have paid close attention to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt. ¹⁷ And I have promised you that I will bring you up from the misery of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites…

• God made it clear that He never forgot Israel in the midst of their problems and despair
• Certainly at times there were moments where Israel wondered where God was, but His timing was always right

 

 

 

2020-12-27

Pastor Jonathan Falwell

Philippians 3:7-14 (CSB) But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. ⁸ More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ —the righteousness from God based on faith. ¹⁰ My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, ¹¹ assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead. ¹² Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, ¹⁴ I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.

 

1. The things I thought mattered don’t matter at all

Vs 7 But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ.

• This is not to say the things or accomplishments of this world have no value, just that we must see them as they really are
• The value of earthy possessions and accomplishments is found in how we use them for the Kingdom

 

2. Our ultimate goal is to know Him

Vs 8 More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ

• The purpose of our lives must be focused on Christ and His daily impact in our lives
• So often, we allow everything else to take priority in our lives rather than our devotion to Him

 

Vs 10 My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death

 

3. Knowing Him requires commitment

Vs 12 Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus.

• This is a daily commitment and takes work
• Because of Christ’s gift from the cross, we should make it our heart’s desire to grow in our faith
• Becoming spiritually mature never happens by accident

 

4. Letting go of yesterday, focusing on tomorrow

Vs 13-14 Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, ¹⁴ I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.

• There’s never been a more important statement for the church
• We must let go of yesterday regardless of what’s there
• One of the greatest threats to the success of the church is allowing the pain and failures of yesterday to determine the level of commitment for tomorrow
• What’s your daily pursuit?