On Mission with Jesus: Luke 9:1-6

On Mission with Jesus
Luke 9:1-6

I have a confession to make. When my daughters get older and they are on their own, I don't want them to go to church. I know. You're shocked. "How can the preacher say he doesn't want his girls to go to church?" I really want more than that for them. I don't want them to just go to church. In fact, I never pray, "Lord, I pray when they get older that they go to church." I have never, ever prayed that for my daughters.

Here's what I have prayed: "Lord, I pray that they love you and love the gospel more than their own lives." That's more than just going to church. I don't want them to go to church. I want them to desire to reach the world for Christ. I want them to be willing to give their lives, to go to the ends of the earth with the good news of Jesus Christ. Some parents are afraid their kids will go on the mission field. I'm afraid they won't. I'm afraid they'll just go to church.

So here's what I pray. I say, "Lord, I want them to love you more than life, and I want them to be on mission for you." Christy and I don't teach them to just go to church. That's important, obviously, but it's not. Not in the way we understand it. I want them to see every aspect of their lives as a mission field. I want them to see every relationship they have, now and for this side of heaven, as an opportunity to reach someone with the gospel.

Therefore, I want my kids to build relationships with people who are not following Jesus Christ. Yes, I do. Now I don't want them to be influenced. I'm just like any other parent. But I do want them to have such a heart for lost people that they will build relationships with them. So what's important now is that the parents are on mission with Jesus. It's important that we build relationships with people who don't know Jesus so we can reach them with the gospel.

Let me tell you, it's really easy to do that when you have kids, because they get involved with soccer. They get involved with band. They get involved with a lot of things. All of those are opportunities to build relationships with people who do not know Christ Jesus. I'm thankful to God that God has used my wife's bus driving to build relationships.

We had a birthday party for Caroline in June, and it blessed my heart to see all of the people who were there. Except for one or two, they were there because they built a relationship with Caroline on the bus, and none of them go to church. That's what I want my kids to be. I want them to be on mission for Jesus. I don't want them to just go to church. I want them to be the church.

We're starting a new series called Sent. This whole idea of being on mission with Jesus, just so you know, wasn't something the Southern Baptist Convention just developed. It's really the biblical requirement of those who follow Jesus. Whether you know it or not… You may not be one who follows the statistics like I do. I do. I like to know what the church is doing today.

Let me tell you, there are churches that are dying. I would say "closing the door," but that would imply the building is the church. It's not the church. The people are the church. They're dying at a rapid pace. On the other side of that, there are churches being planted right now, and there are multisite campuses that are increasing and multiplying at a rapid pace. Believe it or not, I can count probably at least six church plants in the Bryant and Benton area that are happening right now.

Now the temptation… I know. We're human. "Oh my gosh, they're getting on our turf." Do you know what I've found out? That's a good thing. If we're not going to be the church, God is going to raise up people to be the church. That's why these churches are dying, because they're not being the church; they're going to church, and as you go to church, God is going to lift up laborers who may not be you. He can work around us.

God is not really concerned about our preferences. He's really not concerned whether we sing off the wall or from a hymnal. He's not as concerned about contemporary music or hymns as you are. In fact, I've never seen him weep over a church service, but I've seen him weep over people who were going to hell. He's weeping today, and he's raising up people who will not just go to church.

There are churches that are going to church and they're dying left and right, but guess what? God is lifting up people who want to be missional, who want to impact our culture and reach the lost community with the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's what this is all about. This is what Community Groups are all about. It's really being on mission with Jesus. We often say as Baptists, "We are people of the Book." Well, if we're people of the Book, let's live by it. Let's actually do what the Bible tells us to do. Let's actually do what Jesus has laid out for us.

So we're starting this series. It's called Sent, and it's called Sent for a reason. If you were to ask me to define what it means to be on mission with Jesus in one word, I would use that word. Sent. Here's why: it all begins with Jesus. Jesus said in Luke, chapter 4, verse 43, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose."

Jesus was sent to proclaim the kingdom of God, and now he sends out his people. He sends out the church. He says, "I send you out." Of course, Jesus became the good news of the kingdom of God, but now he says, "You're my disciples, and now I'm calling you. I am sending you out to proclaim the good news of the kingdom."

So as we begin in chapter 9… Chapter 9 gives us timeless principles. They are meant to be applied to the church throughout the ages. Though the times have changed, the principles do not change. What chapter 9 teaches us is if you follow Jesus, you will be on mission with Jesus. Look at the very first part of verse 1. This is Jesus. It says he called the Twelve together.

Obviously, if you know your Scriptures, the Twelve he's talking about are the twelve apostles. He is calling them not to follow him. This has already taken place. The call to take up their cross, the call to follow him and leave everything, has already happened. This is a call to mission. It's a call to action. It's a call to become fully functioning followers of Jesus Christ. But what precedes that is the call to follow.

Go back to chapter 5. We see Jesus calling some of his first disciples. It says in the first 11 verses of chapter 5 that Jesus is teaching the multitudes, and he asks Peter to get in his boat. They set out a bit from the shore, and Jesus continues to teach. Then Jesus looks to Peter and says, "I want you to go out into the deep waters, and I want you to throw your nets over." That's when Peter said, "Well, Rabbi, we've been fishing all night, but at your word I will do what you say."

We can't see it there, but here's what Peter is thinking: "Lord, you don't know what you're doing. You're not a fisherman. But I believe you. I'm going to trust you." They go out, and he throws his net over, and there's a miracle. That's when Peter realizes Jesus is more than a rabbi; he is Lord. Then Jesus says to him, "'Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.' And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him."

They started following Jesus, and then in chapter 6, Jesus actually appoints twelve of them to be apostles. It says in verse 12 of chapter 6, "In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve…" Which means there were more than just twelve there, but he chose twelve specific men to be his apostles.

Their names were (verse 14): "Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor." Jesus is calling these twelve together, and now he's going to send them out on mission.

Now there's an interesting truth here that when it comes to being on mission with Jesus… By the way, Jesus says, "If you're following me, I will make you…" What? That's why the first point. If you're following Jesus, you'll be on mission with Jesus. You see, you can't follow Jesus and not be on mission with Jesus. You can go to church and not be on mission with Jesus, but you can't be the church and not be on mission with Jesus. Do y'all understand that?

You can't follow Jesus and not be on mission with Jesus. But I want you to see here, as soon as he called them, notice he didn't immediately say, "Okay, go. You're on mission." There was this process of spiritual growth. They have now witnessed the power of Jesus. They have seen his miracles, and now Jesus is saying, "It's your turn."

There is a point in our spiritual lives where we begin to multiply ourselves. We actually become parents, and we actually begin to see people come to Christ. Then we actually mentor them in Christ, and then we send them out to multiply. This is what's happening. This is where many churches are dying, because most Christians are stuck in this area called a child, and they're not reproducing themselves. They're going to church, but they're not being the church.

He calls them, and he's going to send them out on mission. Now here's the truth. We want to think, "Well, that's the apostles. Of course. They're supposed to be on mission." But every Christian is called to be on mission with Jesus. You know that, right? If you don't, today you do. Every Christian, everyone who says, "I am going to follow Jesus…" If you are following Jesus, you will be on mission with Jesus.

That's what we see here. It says he called the Twelve together. Notice he didn't say, "I want you to hang out with me." No. "I'm calling you together because I'm eventually going to send you out. I want you to go out into the world, and I want you to go and tell people about the kingdom of God." Every Christian is called to be on mission with Jesus.

People who want to be the church will be on mission with Jesus. People who go to church… Well, it's very possible to go to church and not be on mission with Jesus. That's why I tell you I don't want my kids just to go to church. As a pastor, I know that's most of the problem with the church today. We have too many people going to church and not enough people being the church.

Now here's some good news. You think, "Well, I can't do that." Yes, you can, because Jesus equips every believer for the mission. Do you know that? He does it for the apostles. It says in verse 1, after he called them together he gave them power. He equipped them. He gave them everything they needed to do the ministry God had called them to. It says he gave them power and authority.

The Greek word dunamis where we get our word dynamite is the same word Luke uses in Acts, chapter 1, verse 8, when Jesus said, "But you will receive power from the Holy Spirit." It's not your power. It's not your ability. It's not your adequacy. It has nothing to do with you except your faith and obedience. It's all about the power of the Holy Spirit in your life.

"You will receive power. He will come upon you in a mighty and powerful way, and you will be my witnesses. In Jerusalem and in all of Judea, in all of Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, you will be my witnesses. I've given you everything you need. Not only that; I give you authority, which means you have the right to do it." Jesus says, "I've equipped you. I've given you power." He has given us all power.

That's why we have to also get past this mindset that it's the preacher's call to do all that. The staff is called to do all that. No, it's not. We are the body of Christ. Guess what? Every member is called to be on mission with Jesus, and Jesus equips every member of the body of Christ to do the work of the ministry. Can I get an amen? Yeah, it's the body of Christ. He equips us. He gives us the power we need.

I was talking with a church member last week. He's going to be teaching one of our Community Groups. When he was asked, he said, "I don't know if I'm adequate enough." Then he realized he doesn't have to be adequate. In fact, that's where God wants him, because it's not about him; it's about God giving him the power to work through him. See, the mission with Jesus is all about Jesus working through you.

So Jesus calls every Christian to be on mission with him. We're all called to be on mission with him. He equips every one of us, and when he equips us, he then sends us out. Jesus will never, ever send you to do something without giving you the ability to do it. Then he sends us out to proclaim the gospel. Verse 2. Here's their commission. He says, "I'm calling you. I'm equipping you, and now I am sending you out."

It says, "…and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal." It's interesting. Here he sends out 12, and then in chapter 10 he sends out 72, and then in Acts, chapter 2, you see them empowered and they go forth. Before, I believe God gave them power and authority for this specific mission and again for the one in chapter 10, but when the day of Pentecost came, they had that power at their disposal. All they had to do was surrender and trust and allow the Spirit of God to empower them. The same is true today. God sends us out with his power.

What I find here is a very interesting principle that we need to really grasp if we're going to understand what it means to be on mission with Jesus as a church. The Greek word sugkaleo is translated called together. Sun meaning together; kaleo, called. Here's what we learn from this, that he calls his disciples together. What we know about them, obviously, is in the Scriptures, but I believe they had opportunities to go home. I believe they had opportunities to get away from the Twelve for a while.

He calls them together. "I want y'all to gather around me." He doesn't say, "Good. This is the goal of life. I just want you to worship me." No. "I am calling you together. I'm calling you from all walks of life to gather together, and when you gather together in my name, then I send you forth into the world, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ."

Oftentimes we feel like this is the end goal. "Let's get people to go to church." No. Let's get the church to be sent out into the world to tell people about Jesus. He says he calls us together, and that's what he does here on Sunday mornings. Most of us think this is it, that what we do here is it. No, it's not. This is just where Jesus puts us all together and says, "Okay, here's the plan. Go. I'm sending you out. I'm sending you to your neighbors. I'm sending you to the people you work with. I'm sending you anywhere you occupy to be on mission with me."

He gives us a message, and the message is, "The kingdom of God is at hand." We've lost that in the church. We've lost this idea that when we leave here, every one of us who knows Jesus, who follows Jesus, in essence is taking the kingdom of God to a people who aren't in the kingdom of God, who need to know there's only one kingdom that lasts, and that is the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

When you're not on mission with Jesus, when you just go to church, you're expecting them to come here. There was a day in our culture when that worked, but times are changing. Those who aren't going to be on mission with Jesus are going to die, but those who catch the vision of the kingdom of God, who believe we have a responsibility, that we are sent out from this place to build relationships with people who need Jesus, are the ones who are going to make a difference.

If you follow Jesus, you'll be on mission with Jesus. Jesus gives a strategy for the mission. Listen to what he says in verse 3: "And he said to them, 'Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.'" There are three things Jesus gives as a strategy.

First of all, seek his kingdom first, not your comfort. Did you hear what he told them not to take? "Don't take anything for your journey, no staff or bag or bread or money, and do not have two tunics." By that, Jesus is saying, "I want you to go and proclaim the kingdom of God, and I want you to totally depend upon me. I don't want you to be so bogged down by your creaturely comforts that you allow that desire to be comfortable in your life to become first in your life and you fail to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ."

There's an element to being on mission with Jesus. It's called dying to self. Most of us, if we're honest, allow the creaturely comforts of living to get in our way with being on mission with Jesus. We don't allow ourselves to die to those comforts. Instead, those comforts become preeminent, and we put off being on mission with Jesus. What Jesus teaches us here is you seek first the kingdom. You make priority being on mission with Jesus. You seek the kingdom first, and all of these things will be added unto you.

The second thing he tells us to do is build relationships with people who do not know Christ. You take nothing for your journey, you trust him, you seek him, and then you go house to house, which means you have to build relationships with people who do not know Jesus, people who offend you. I know there are a lot out there, but we have to be willing to build those relationships with people who don't know Jesus, to take the kingdom of God to them.

Here's the third strategy. This is the good news. Leave the results up to God. You can't save anybody. All you can do is plant. All you can do is water. It's God who brings the harvest. That's what he's saying. Verse 5: "And wherever they do not receive you…" They're going to reject you. Christianity is not a popular message. They're going to reject you, but don't worry about that. They're rejecting Jesus.

"And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them." In other words, let God handle them. Leave the results in his hands, because you can't save anybody. There's nothing you can do to convince somebody to follow Jesus. It takes a work of the Spirit of God. Period. The Spirit of God working in their life, the Spirit of God working through your life. It's really not about you; it's about Jesus working through you.

Let me show you verse 6. It's personal, it's practical, and it's powerful. Look at verse 6: "And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere." First of all, it was personal. They had to decide, "Are we going to go out? Are we going to go and proclaim the good news? Are we going to be on mission with Jesus?"

Being on mission with Jesus is personal, because each one of us has a responsibility before Jesus. If we follow Jesus, we're to be on mission with Jesus, and it is a personal choice we have to make. That means we don't seek our own comfort; we seek his comfort first. It means we try to build relationships with people who do not know Jesus, and we leave the results up to God. It's personal. We have to decide, "Am I going to be used by God?"

It's practical, because he says, "I want you to go," and it says they departed and went through the villages, which means wherever they were going, they allowed that to become a mission field to work and to proclaim the kingdom of God. You don't have to go overseas to be on mission. You're on mission right now.

You're on mission when you leave this place today. You're on mission when you go to work tomorrow. You're on mission when you're eating at Cracker Barrel. You're on mission in your family. You're on mission at sports activities, sports games. You are on mission with Jesus. They were going and proclaiming as they went through all the villages.

It's personal (they had to decide), it's practical (it's just as you live your life), and it's powerful. Notice what happened. When they went out, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, it says people were healed. Lives were changed, and the change came because they were willing to leave Jesus and go out and be on mission with Jesus.

I'm here to tell you our community can change when we catch the vision of being on mission with Jesus. That's why we're doing Community Groups, because our groups need to be multiplied. If your life group hasn't multiplied in years, I'm sorry; something is wrong. We need to go out into the community and give people an opportunity to come to a place, and that becomes our front door to the church because we built the relationship and we can share Jesus with them.

I'm going to be leading a Community Group in an apartment complex. Let me tell you, there is a mission field. Ask any police officer in Bryant. They'll tell you most of their calls go to apartment complexes. I know Coach Marvel playing golf has seen a couple of domestic disputes in the apartments just playing golf. That's where they need Jesus. They're not coming here. That's why we have to go beyond going to church. That's why we have to be the church.

That's why we do what we're doing, because I believe that's what Jesus would do. I really do. I believe he would be hanging out in apartment complexes. I believe he would be hanging out at Starbucks. "Well, you know they don't like people who hold up traditional marriage." Well, all the more reason we need Jesus at Starbucks. If we're boycotting them that's probably a good sign we need to be building relationships with them.

I think he would be at Chick-fil-A. I think he would be in the community trying to tell people about the kingdom of God. That's why I don't want my girls just to go to church. I don't want the generation that comes behind me to get a false impression about what it means to be on mission with Jesus. I want them to understand that Jesus calls us together on Sunday mornings to send us out.

See, our goal isn't Sunday morning. Our goal is what we do in between Sundays. When we make that our goal, these gatherings we do on Sunday will grow. It's just natural. When you reach people where they are, then you bring them. That's the culture we live in. That's what it means to be on mission with Jesus.

We want to define that a little bit more over the next several weeks. What does it mean to be in community? What does it mean when Jesus says, "The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few"? What does it mean to us? This is one of the challenges I'm praying for. "Lord, make us a church that wants to be the church." It's a challenge. Of course, it all begins… If you're going to be the church, you have to be a part of the church.

I find it very interesting that Judas went on mission with Jesus. You can be a lost person and tell people about Jesus. I think it's important that we understand that to be the church, for me to be on mission with Jesus, I have to be a follower of Jesus. I have to give my life to Jesus. That means I understand I'm a sinner and I can't save myself, that Jesus died for my sins, and I turn to him and place my faith in his saving work and commit my life to him and follow him.

For some of you, being on mission with Jesus begins right there, giving your life to him and following him. For others of you, it begins right here. We have to get over that mentality of going to church. We have to allow God to make us people who are the church, who want to be on mission with Jesus. Let's bow our heads and our hearts before God.

In a moment we're going to sing a song of invitation. It's an invitation for you who do not know Christ to say, "I need Jesus. I want Jesus. I want to follow Jesus. I need to be saved from my sins." If that's you today, we're going to stand, and I'm going to invite you to walk forward and just grab me by the hand and say, "Pastor, I need Jesus."

But the invitation is to us as a church to really allow the Spirit of God and the teachings of Jesus to formulate our hearts and formulate our thinking and to help us, as a church, understand what it means to follow Christ. It means we're on mission with him. It means we make his kingdom priority, not our comfort. It means we build relationships with people who need to know Jesus Christ, and we leave the results up to God.

We plant and water but allow him to bring about the harvest. He is the Lord of the harvest, but what he needs are laborers. What he needs are people who claim to follow him to be on mission with him. He's inviting us, church. He's inviting you. He's inviting me to be the church. How will you respond this morning in your heart? How will you respond when you leave here this morning? Will you heed the voice of Jesus and go forth proclaiming the good news? How will you respond? Take some time to make that commitment to Lord Jesus right now.

Father, these decisions are being made by all of us, and I just pray that they glorify you. I pray that your Spirit moves in a mighty and powerful way. In Jesus' name, amen.

Press Through Your Challenges: Joshua 6:1-20

First Southern Baptist Church

Dr. Patrick Mead

Series: Forward

August 17, 2014

Press Through Your Challenges

Joshua 5:13-15; 6:1-10, 20; Hebrews 3:15

We're coming to our seventh and final sermon from our series called Forward. From this study, God has been speaking to us about the abundant life and how he calls us to move forward in our Christian experience to possess the abundance and fullness of our salvation that can only be experienced as we abide in Jesus Christ.

Now as we come to the sixth chapter, we are presented with yet another challenge that Joshua and the Israelites will have to face. Of course, the Promised Land is a challenge. The first challenge was crossing the Jordan River, and God got them across the river. Now they're across the river, and the next challenge is a big challenge. It is the city of Jericho. 

If you've been in church for just a minimal amount of time or if you've ever read through the Bible, most likely you've heard this story, the story of Joshua and the walls of Jericho. What these walls represent are the challenges we face in life. The walls of Jericho teach us a timeless truth. Whenever you move forward with God, you're going to face challenges. 

The abundant life is not a trouble-free life. The abundant life is not a life of comfort. Whenever you move forward with God, you're going to face challenges. You're going to have problems simply because you're moving forward with God. So what the city of Jericho represents, what the walls of Jericho represent for us is they serve as a type of the challenges we meet as we move forward with God. So a Jericho challenge is anything that opposes you moving forward with God. 

Now before we get into this passage, I think it's important that we identify some of those challenges. If you have your outline, I put a little area where you can write down some challenges you are facing right now. There are those challenges on a personal level. Maybe you have a challenge in your family. There are some family issues that are happening in your family, and there is a big challenge ahead of you.

Maybe your challenge is in your marriage or maybe with your children. Maybe the challenge is at work. Maybe you're looking for work, or maybe the challenge is trying to live out your Christian life and Christian experience in a workplace that is against you. It could be that you're trying to get over the challenge of grief because you have lost a loved one. 

It could be a financial challenge. Maybe there's a financial challenge standing before you. There's a wall before you, and you're wondering, "How am I going to get through this challenge?" It could very well be a loved one is unsaved. There are unsaved people in your life, and you want them to come to Christ. So these are just some of the things that could be challenges in your life personally.

Then, of course, we come to the church level. As we try to get out into the community, it's a challenge. Right now, if every church pastor in this area were honest, they would tell you most of their growth comes from transfer growth, Christians moving from one church to another. We sometimes get comfortable with that, especially if you're on the receiving end of it, right? 

The reality is while we're comfortable going from church to church and we're comfortable with transfer growth, here is the reality. The world is going to hell in a hand basket. If you haven't been watching the news, it's getting bigger. So that is a challenge in these communities groups. We're trying to get out there because they're not coming here. 

So it's a challenge to really change the mentality from going to church to being the church. So it's a challenge. We have a challenge called the North Campus. You can draw a circle around that challenge. We need to sell the North Campus. There are all kinds of challenges we have as a church that keep us from moving forward. Then the church as a whole, we need revival, amen? The church needs revival of God. 

If we will repent of our sins as a whole (I'm not just talking about our church; I'm talking about the church), we could turn the world upside down. I think a lot of problems we're complaining about are the direct result of a church that isn't on fire for Jesus. Then, of course, you have what is going on in our nation. We have what is going on around the world. I don't know about you, but there are all kinds of challenges, right? 

So I want you to identify those personal challenges because I believe God wants the walls to come down. I do, but how? How do we press through? How do we press through those challenges, whether they be personal, whether they be the church, or whether they be in our community? How do we do that? Well, God is going to show us through Joshua, the Israelites, and the city of Jericho.

Now let's begin the story in verse 1, chapter 6. It says, "Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel." In other words, they were terrified. They were scared of the people. They were scared of Israel. They just heard about what happened, and they saw how they went across the Jordan River. It was a miracle of God. It says, "None went out, and none came in."

So the good news is the people are scared. That's good news. The bad news is they have secured the city. Nobody is going in. Nobody is going out. That is an extremely large challenge for a group of people who really aren't trained in battle. They're not trained in battle. So humanly speaking, from a human perspective, there is an extreme challenge before the Israelites because this untrained people now think they're going to have to siege the city of Jericho. 

So how do you meet that challenge? Well, Joshua shows us how he deals with it. It actually takes place before verse 1. In the closing verses of chapter 5 (they actually belong to chapter 6), those verses are a transition. They transition us to the second half of the book, which basically has Israel, the people of God, and Joshua occupying the land through warfare. So they're going out into the Promised Land. They're battling because that is the abundant life. You battle. That is what you do. You battle and you conquer. You enjoy the fruit of the land.

Before they could move and occupy, remember if you were here a couple of weeks ago chapter 5. They had to pause. They couldn't just run for the city and attack it as soon as they got over. No, God had them stop because there was sin in the camp. That sin is there was a whole group, a whole generation of young men, sons of Israel, who had not been circumcised. So God said, "Let's pause for a moment. Let's deal with the sin, and then you can move forward." 

So they stopped. They dealt with the sin, and then they partook of the Passover. You can't be uncircumcised and observe the Passover. They observed the Passover, and it says as soon as they observed the Passover, that is when they started enjoying the fruit of the land. That is when they started enjoying the benefits of the land flowing with milk and honey, the abundant life.

So after they experienced the land, the fruit of the land, and the abundance of the land, it's then we find Joshua going out by himself. He is near Jericho. Most likely he is there as a good commander. He is going to go and strategize. "How are we going to take the city of Jericho? How are we going to do it?" It's the normal human response.

While he is there, all alone, he has a divine encounter. Now watch this. Verse 13: "When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, 'Are you for us, or for our adversaries?'" Now I want you to see how he answers. He doesn't say yes or no. He just basically says, "This is who I am."

It says then he said, "No. I'm not even going to go there. It's not an issue of who I'm for; it's an issue of who I'm with and what I'm about to do. "And he said, 'No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come.'" Notice this. Joshua at first thought he was a man. Notice the response after he identified himself as the commander of the army of the Lord. It says, "And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped…" In other words, he recognized this is not just any man; this is the commander of the army of the Lord.

Let me just say there is great discussion about the identity of the commander of the army of the Lord. We won't get into all that discussion. We'll just boil it down to what I believe it is. I believe it is the Angel of the Lord, and that means he is in the presence of Jehovah. Most likely he is in the presence of the second person of the trinity, the pre-incarnate Christ. Theologians call this a theophany. So he falls down on his face, and he begins to worship because he recognizes this is a divine encounter. 

Now this encounter is almost parallel to the encounters and the experiences Moses and Jacob had. You remember Moses had an encounter at the burning bush, right? Do you remember that? Yeah. If you know the story of Jacob, Jacob wrestled all night with an angel of the Lord, a man who we know is the Angel of the Lord. He would not let go of the Angel of the Lord until he got blessed. 

Then finally God blessed him and gave him a little limp to go and remind him, "You need to trust me. Stop taking things into your own hands." Well, this is what Joshua is having. He is having a divine encounter with God. The moment he recognizes this is none other than Jehovah himself, the Lord, he falls on his face, and he worships him. 

Now I want you to see something because here is what Joshua says in verse 14. He falls to his face. Remember, he is worshiping. Then he says, "What does my lord say to his servant?" "What do you want from me, Lord? What do you want?" Then God responds. "And the commander of the LORD's army said to Joshua, 'Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.'" Sound familiar? Yeah. That is what God said to Moses. "You are now on holy ground." 

Now the question is…Is it just where he is standing, or is he referring to the fact that he is near Jericho? Remember Jericho is the challenge, right? Jericho is the challenge. He is standing before Jericho. He has an encounter with God. All of a sudden, God says, "Oh, by the way, you are now standing on holy ground."

What is he talking about? The ground around him? I believe he is talking about not just the ground you're standing on, but your problem is now holy ground. Can I get an amen? Your problem, your challenge, your financial problem, your marriage problem, your health problem is now holy ground. 

Here's what he did. He was able to turn his challenge and his problem into an altar for worship, not a reason for worry. Did you notice that? He is on his face. He is worshiping. I believe the fact that he is on his face and worshiping is a direct result of what took place in chapter 5 because they paused long enough to deal with the sin in their lives.

Now they had an awareness of God and his presence. He was sensitive to the presence of God. Here he is. He is standing before the challenge. We don't know this. It's not in the text, but he could have very well been praying. All of a sudden he looks up, and there's the Lord. There's the Lord. He doesn't worry about the challenge. Instead, he lets that become his altar for worship. 

I want you to think about that. I want you to think about your challenge…that one, or the many…you just identified. Some of you are worried about that challenge. Why? Because we're human. We worry. If it wasn't a part of our nature, God would have never commanded us, "Do not be anxious." Why did he command us? Because naturally in our humanness we're going to worry, right? Instead, he falls on his face. He is worshiping the Lord.

Do you know what happens when you turn your challenge into an altar for worship? What happens is you, in essence, are aware of the presence of God. Now all of a sudden God is saying, "I'm with you. I know there's a challenge before you, Joshua. I know you're wondering how you're going to take the city, especially now that they have secured it. You have all these young guys who don't even know how to fight. You're wondering, 'How am I going to overcome this challenge?'"

By worshiping there, God is saying, "I am with you. I go before you. By the way, this isn't your battle. I am the commander of the Lord's army. I'm the one fighting for you. I'm the one going before you." The same God who is saying that to Joshua is saying that to you today, child of God. Do you believe it? Yeah. So do you want to know how you press through your challenges? You turn that challenge into an altar for worship, not a reason for worry. He is on his face. He is worshiping. 

You need to listen for God's voice while you worship. Here's what happens. As soon as he realizes it is the Angel of the Lord, the commander, that he is in the presence of God, he falls on his face. He worships. Then he asks this question, which is a very important question because it tells us he is ready to hear from God. "What does my lord say to his servant?" You have to prepare yourself to hear from God. Do you know that? How do you prepare yourself to hear from God? You worship. Hearing from God and worship go hand in hand. 

Many people want to hear from God without even coming and pausing and worshiping him. How many of you come here on Sunday mornings with the anticipation and this expectation that as I worship, God is going to speak to me? Do you come here with that expectation? You should if you come to worship. God speaks. We have a God who speaks. So you have to prepare yourself to hear from God. You do it through worship. 

So Joshua is worshiping. He is humbled. He simply says, "Lord, what do you want to say? Lord, what do you want me to hear?" By doing that, he is saying, "God, I'm under your authority. I want to hear from your Word. I want to do your will. What do you want me to hear, God?" That is what worship is. Do you know that? Worship is submission. Worship is raising your hands and saying, "I surrender." Worship is saying, "God, you are God and I'm not." That's what worship is, and that is what Joshua is doing. That's how you prepare yourself to hear from God.

Acts, chapter 13 is a great example of worship and prayer and God speaking to his church because in Acts, chapter 13, it says all the church leaders were worshiping and praying before God. As they were worshiping and praying, guess what? The Holy Spirit spoke. He speaks today, by the way. He is speaking now. As the Scripture says, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."

So they're worshiping. The Holy Spirit tells them, "Set Paul and Barnabas aside." What happens is they go on their first missionary trip. If it wasn't for them worshiping and listening to the Lord, listen. They went and they obeyed, and the whole world was changed because of that. Acts, chapter 13 and their obedience to the call to missions has brought the gospel to you and me.

Now as you prepare yourself to hear from God, that's when you begin to listen for God to speak a promise to your challenge. As he is worshiping, remember verses 13-15 are connected to chapter 6. So God already spoke to him the first time. He said, "By the way, you are on holy ground." Then he is going to give him a promise. Here's the promise.

Verse 2 of chapter 6: "And the LORD said to Joshua, 'See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor.'" Church, that is a promise. Can you look at it closely? What kind of promise is it? Can you tell me? What is the tense? Past tense. "I have given you the land." Not, "I will give you Jericho." That's important, don't you think? I think it's very important. It's a past-tense promise in which God says, "I have given it to you." 

Now of course they had to do their part. It's conditional on their obedience, but God says, "It's a done deal. Joshua, when you guys go forward, you're not fighting for victory." In fact, they're not even going to have to fight at all. "You're fighting from victory. I have already given you the victory." 

Let me tell you, church, in Christ we have the victory. We have the victory. So he gives him a promise: "I have given you Jericho." Let me tell you, God used Chad this morning to talk about the promises of God because the same God who gave Joshua a promise is the same God who will give you a promise. If you will pause and worship him and allow him to speak a promise to your situation, he will do it. He will do it.

However, you need to be very careful because when God gives a promise (and he will), how he decides to answer that promise and how you think he should answer that promise may be on two different spectrums, amen? I am sure that if Joshua was a praying man (and I believe he was), when he prayed, "Lord, give us the military strength. Give us the ability to rush that city. I want you to strengthen those guys so they can fight in battle," you can imagine what he was praying.

Here's what God does. Here's what God loves to do. He loves to do the absurd. Naaman had a problem with it, right? "What? You're telling me to dip seven times into the Jordan River? I'm not going to do it. That's unusual." God works that way. God may choose to give an absurd plan for your challenge, and that is what he does.

Listen to verse 3. He gave him a promise. "I have given you Jericho. Now here's what you have to do." "You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days." "So for six days, you march around the city, okay?" Verse 4: "Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets."

Now listen to verse 5. "And when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all of the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him." Now that's unusual. That's why I tell you they're not Baptists. The Baptists I know don't shout. I think we should. Now I'm a shouting Baptist, but God gave him an unusual plan. Humanly speaking and from a military standpoint, that is foolish. That is foolish. 

Not only that, but he says, "I want you to blow trumpets." The trumpets weren't the silver trumpets of warfare; they were the rams' horns, the shofar. They would blow those for celebration and worship. You say, "Well, that's an unusual plan." It sure is. It's an absurd plan, but it's a perfect plan. Here's why it's perfect. 

Did you notice the number seven? Yeah. "You need to march for seven days. On the seventh day, you march around the city seven times. You need to get seven priests with seven horns. Every day they are to be blowing the horns. When you get on that seventh day and you get around that seven times, then they're going to have a long blast. That is when they are to shout." 

At the center of it all, it's not Joshua. It's not the Israelites. It's not the priests. It's the ark of the covenant, because the ark of the covenant symbolized God's power and presence. Now here's why it's a perfect plan. 

First, this plan gives God all the glory. Amen? To go to war without even having to fight gives God all the glory. That is how God answers the prayers. That is how he answers our challenges. He does so in such a way that will give him the most glory.

Secondly, it's now going to strengthen the faith of the Israelites. Can you imagine if they obey (and they do), after marching and doing everything God said he would do and he supernaturally brings the walls down, I don't know about you, but I'm ready to take on anybody, amen? Yes. Wow. Look what God can do when you obey his voice. So God gave an unusual, absurd plan.

Some of you have a challenge, if not all of you. If you're like me, I often come with a perfect plan for God to follow. "God, here's how you should answer this. Boy, you would really get a lot of glory." What I find is God always answers in a way that will be for our good. You say, "Well, what is for our good?" Where we are able to demonstrate faith that pleases him. Where we are conformed more into the image of Christ. That's for our good. 

It's good that you become more like Jesus. It's not comfortable becoming more like Jesus, but it's good that you become more like Jesus. Amen? Being comfortable and becoming more like Jesus are not compatible. It's very painful, but what God does is he allows us to face these challenges. He will answer these challenges in a way that will strengthen our faith and conform us more into the image of Christ. Then he will answer that challenge in a way that gives him all the credit.

So listen. While you turn that challenge, while you turn that problem into an altar for worship, you listen. You listen for God to speak. He will speak. You listen. He'll give you a promise. He may give you several promises. Then you listen for those promises. You wait for him to unfold those promises in your life, but you also realize he may choose an absurd way to fulfill that plan. I've had a lot of plans fulfilled in a way I didn't want him to fulfill them, but it turned out for my good and for his glory.

Now you have your promise. Your challenge is before you. The next thing you do is you celebrate. You celebrate God's victory over your challenge with faith and obedience. They still had to do their part. They had to believe. When you have a true belief and a true faith, when you place your faith in a promise, it will move you to action. We call that obedience. 

So here's what happens. There's no question on the part of Joshua. That's why I believe I don't see any complaining going into the Promised Land because when you're living the abundant life, you're in the Spirit. You're open. You're willing to do whatever God wants to do. So when he gives him the plan and tells him, "Here's what is going to happen, and here's how you're going to do it," it's interesting. 

Moses was reluctant. "I can't speak. Can you send somebody else?" Not Joshua. Verse 6: "So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, 'Take up the ark of the covenant and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD.' And he said to the people, 'Go forward. March around the city and the let the armed men pass on before the ark of the LORD.'" No complaint from Joshua. Now you go to verse 8, and there is no complaint from the people. 

"And just as Joshua had commanded the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the LORD went forward, blowing the trumpets, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD following them. The armed men were walking before the priests who were blowing the trumpets, and the rear guard was walking after the ark, while the trumpets blew continually.

But Joshua commanded the people, 'You shall not shout or make your voice heard, neither shall any word go out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.'" So here's the picture. Nobody is complaining. They have the orders. "We're going to march around the city six times. The priests are going to blow the shofar each day. While you're walking those six days, don't shout. Don't say anything."

Here's what happens. When God moves us forward and he gives us a promise, God will oftentimes put us in a holding pattern. We have to wait. Now in a generation that likes instant gratification, I don't want to have to walk around six days, Lord. Can you hurry up this process? Can we slip it into the microwave and, boom, it's gone? It's done with? That is not how God works. 

Here's where many people will not have victory over a challenge or pass through the challenge because they don't like the idea that they're having to walk around the city for six days. They did. They walked around the city. It says they went around the first day and the second day, and they did exactly what God told them to do for six days straight.

Can you imagine the struggle the Israelites had? Now we don't see it on the pages of the Scriptures, but can you imagine about the third day? You're looking to the next guy going, "Do you ever feel like we're walking around in circles?" Do you ever feel like you're going nowhere while you're waiting for God? Well, God puts us in those patterns because he wants to strengthen our faith. They persevered. They did not give up. Why? Because while they were waiting, I guarantee you they clung to the promise of God.

I just read the classic book The Pilgrim's Progress for the second time in my lifetime. You need to read that if you haven't read it. Great book. The story is an allegory of the Christian life. A man by the name of Graceless is saved, and he becomes a Christian. Christian is making his journey to the celestial city. He ends up in a castle called the Doubting Castle, where Giant Despair runs the castle. 

So he and his companion, Faithful, are in the Doubting Castle. They can't get out. Giant Despair is beating them and beating them and beating them. He is going to beat them to death. Then finally, Christian takes this key out of his pocket, and it's the key of Promise. It's the key of Promise that opens up the door and enables him to get out of the Doubting Castle.

That's the same. When you're going around and around in circles and you're waiting for God to act, don't give up. You pull out the key of promise. You open up that door, and get out of that castle of doubt. You keep believing. You keep walking. If you have to go 12 weeks, if you have to go 12 years, do not stop believing the promises of God. They did not stop.

Not only that, but they worshiped. That horn, that shofar, was not for wartime. It was for celebration and worship. So when they were walking around the city, they were in essence declaring God and his goodness and his almightiness, and they were worshiping. While they worshiped, while they waited, they watched. 

Here's what happened. Look at verse 20. Now they've already gone around the seventh day. They've marched around seven times. Here's what happens. Verse 20: "So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown." The shout wasn't a shout of wartime; it was a shout of praise. "As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city."

I was reading through the Bible. God put me in Ezra, chapter 3 this past week. In Ezra, chapter 3, they're rebuilding the temple. They lay the foundation of the temple. It says in Ezra, chapter 3, after they laid the foundation of the rebuilt temple, the priests got out the horns. They blew the horns, and the people shouted. They were praising God for the finished work.

I believe when they shouted and praised God here in Joshua, chapter 6, they were praising God for the victory. They were praising God that now the walls had been pushed down. That is what the Hebrew suggests. It's almost as if God is pushing the walls down from the top. He flattens the walls for them. He flattens the challenge for them. 

You can imagine. The walls are tall. So all of a sudden, they shout. The walls are pushed down flat. Now they're walking up. They're on top of the city, and they're capturing the city. Not one time did they have to do any kind of military action. It was all based upon worship and praising God. So they captured the city. I believe the same God who flattened the walls of Jericho is the same God who can flatten the walls of your challenge. Do you believe that? 

So here's what I want to do. I want to challenge you. We're going to incorporate this into our worship service. You can use your outline this coming week, and I want you to start today. I made some little devotionals. Here's what I want you to do. You've identified your challenge. Now today, spend some time with the Lord. Let him begin to speak a promise to your situation. Let him speak that promise to your challenge. It may take a couple of days. It may be that you don't have a promise from this week. Don't give up.

Here's what you do. I want you to take that challenge you have or challenges we have on all levels. I want you to circle them for six days. Every day, go before the Lord and circle your challenge, okay? Then we're going to come back next Sunday, and we're going to come up front, those of you who take the challenge and those of you who want to see walls come down in your lives, walls come down in our communities, walls come down in the lives of other people. We're going to stand up front, and we're going to pray, because I believe God wants to do some great things. 

Will you take the challenge? I will, because I have some challenges. I want to see God bring the walls down. Some of you are here this morning, and the greatest challenge you have is the wall of sin that keeps you from having a relationship with the one true God. Guess what? Jesus has broken down that wall. Through his death, his burial, and his resurrection, you can have eternal life. You can have a relationship with God.

In a moment, we're going to have a song of invitation. I want to invite you. If that's you today, I want to invite you to come forward and just say, "Pastor, I need Jesus. I want the wall of sin in my life to be broken by the blood of Jesus Christ, and I want to have a personal relationship with God." Let's bow our heads and our hearts before God.

Father, we just praise you, God, that you're a God who puts challenges in our lives so you can do mighty miracles. There are challenges that are represented here today. There are Jericho challenges, God, that many by faith are going to put before you and just ask, God, that you bring those walls down. 

God, we pray that in the coming weeks and the coming months, we can have testimonies of how you brought the walls down in people's lives. God, we pray that you get all the glory. We pray for that man, that woman who is here this morning who doesn't know Christ. We pray that they would come this day and give their life to Jesus. In Jesus' name, amen. 

Let's sing. Let's worship. Let's stand, and then we'll conclude.