VISION + FAITH + ACTION = VICTORY

VIDEO LINKS TO THIS MESSAGE

VICTORY - PART ONE

VICTORY - PART TWO

VICTORY - PART THREE

Vision+Faith+Action=Victory

Joshua 6:1-20

by Pastor Mark Taylor

“I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”

 Philippians 4:13

In the life of an individual, a church, a family, or an organization, God has a purpose and plan. But Success does not “just happen”.  There are many places in God’s Word where we are given formulas for success and victory in every area of our lives.  The recorded event of the fall of Jericho is one of those victories that seemed “impossible” until God showed up.  Vision+Faith+Action=Victory.  This is the formula that God has used over and over again with His people.

Jericho was a fortified city. There were two walls that surrounded the entire city, and each wall was posted with armed guards. The outer wall was six feet thick, and the inner was  twelve feet thick. As far as mere man was concerned the walls were impossible to break through. But, with God all things are possible! The walls fell flat before the children of God.

God told Joshua:  “Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be confused: for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9).  There is probably a great wall separating you from something you want to accomplish in your life.  If it is God’s will for you to succeed in your vision, these words are for you.  The first step is to make sure we have prayed and asked if our vision is God’s vision for us.  Our prayer should be: “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven.” (Matthew 6:10).  We need to pray as our Lord Jesus prayed:  “...not as I will, but as you will”  (Matthew 26:29).

The children of God, under the leadership of Joshua, are about to enter the land of promise. By faith, they were to cross the swelling Jordan River by following the ark of God as it was carried by the priests. God had already told them that the land was theirs for the taking, and that their possession of the land was limited only by their vision to obtain it.

Jericho was a strong city which had closed its walls and gates to the people of Israel. Jericho must have looked to Joshua like an “impossible” enemy.  God promised, however, “I have given into your hand, Jericho, its king, and the mighty men of valor.” (Vs 2).  When faced with an overwhelming task such as overcoming a city’s walls without firing a single offensive weapon; it is imperative that we trust the one directing us for his knowledge of the victory already won  Getting  the right vision involves prayer, worship, and waiting.  

The orders were, to say the least, unusual.  Walk around the city for six days, blow horns, shout and march all seemed to be militarily crazy. Almost a mockery of traditional military attack plans. But then again, if this were a normal attack then how could God get the glory? The command was to go around the city six times; six being the number of man.  The seventh day was to be the day of victory; seven being the number of God and the number of completion.  

The marching and preparation are symbolic of prayer and meditation before doing as the Lord has directed.  Prayer is our communication/conversation with God. : “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask any thing according to His will, He hears us, and if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.”  (I John 5:14-15).   Prayer is communicating to God that we trust him and are truly seeking His will

After we have our vision clear and in line with God’s will, we must have faith.  “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Joshua received a command from God. He was given a vision. He responded in faith.

 “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were walked around for seven days” (Hebrews 11:30).   Not by force, firepower, finances, or fighting...but by FAITH.

There is no doubt but that there are walls of obstacles that rise up before us.  It is not up to us to devise the plan of how it will all happen. It is simply up to us to lay hold of God’s vision for His will in our lives….to have faith that God will provide every means to do whatever He leads us to do…and then to respond in faith.  Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man’s power ends.  Faith is the belief in God’s ability to accomplish the impossible. Our Lord said: “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  (Matthew 19:26).  A flawed vision is one in which we expect to have everything easy, and fail to realize it takes work to bring the vision to pass, even one given and orchestrated by God.

There is no such thing as a online course for swimming. If you want to swim you must get in the pool. Faith requires getting wet. And God can’t steer a parked car!.  He requires you to start the engine and get behind the wheel.  If you want to see God work in your life, you must take action.  “Faith, if it does not have works, is dead, being alone...” (James 2:17).

Vision+Faith+Action=Victory.  This is the formula that God has used over and over again with His people.

There are many blessings which are ours. There are blessings which God has given us in Christ.  They are there for the taking, but blessings which will only be enjoyed when we begin to wage war and conquer the Jerichos of our life.   The Children of Israel had to conquer Jericho before the land could be possessed and the blessings enjoyed. And we too as Christians have to wage war against and overcome those Jerichos of personal sin which stand in the way of our entering into a fuller and deeper and richer experience of the Blessings of our inheritance in Christ.  The Christian life is a life of conflict with the world, the flesh, and the devil.  We are meant to be waging war against the enemies of our soul.  Sin and unbelief will block our way from going on into the deeper experiences of spiritual blessing.

Let us all get a vision, live by faith, and take action as we walk with the Lord Jesus Christ each day.  We will then rejoice as we enter our promised land called Heaven and hear our Savior’s Words:  “Well done, good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many.  Enter into the joy of your Lord.” (Matthew 25:21).

BE ANGRY AND SIN NOT

Video Links To This Message

BE ANGRY AND SIN NOT - PART ONE
BE ANGRY AND SIN NOT - PART TWO
BE ANGRY AND SIN NOT - PART THREE
BE ANGRY AND SIN NOT - PART FOUR

“BE ANGRY, AND SIN NOT”

by Pastor Mark Taylor

Sunday Morning - July 29, 2012

“Be angry and sin not...do not give the devil a foothold”

Ephesians 4:26,28

Our God has feelings just like we do.  He is an emotional creator that made us in His image.  He grieves, loves, and rejoices.  There are even things that make Him angry.  “You alone are to be feared.  Who can stand before you when you are angry?”  (Psalm 76:7).  God has anger and since we are created in His image, He has created us with the emotion of anger.  The difference is that God’s anger is justified and is a righteous anger.  He does not just “lose His temper” and lash out against us or the world.  He is angry at sin.  It is His way of telling us something is wrong, and we need to get it right.

Anger is common for all of us.  But it can destroy us and hurt those around us unless it is vented in a positive and Godly way.

It is also true that “God is Love”.  “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God, and every one that loves is born of God, and knows God.  He that does not love, does not know God: for God is love.”  (I John 4:7-8).  There is no contradiction in God being love and having anger.  God’s anger is consistent with His goodness and love.  Because God is righteous and holy too, He desires for you and I to live a holy life.  “He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: Be holy, because I am holy.” (I Peter 1:15-16).

When something is wrong with our bodies, the brain sends messages to our body in the form of pain.  When your anger is out of control, you are in pain.  Your uncontrolled temper makes others fear you, and makes you feel guilty and lonely.  Unhealthy anger destroys the ability to enjoy life.  It robs us of peace and causes regret, guilt, same, and fractured relationships.

Our anger comes from many sources.  The chances are that adult children of angry parents will themselves demonstrate anger in hurtful ways.  And even worse, it becomes a cycle in which the next generation of children will have an angry spirit deep within them.  There is no “quick fix” to bring us to the goal where we can “be angry and sin not”.  It is a process with our Lord Jesus helping us each step of the way.

The point of this message is to give us all some strategies to overcome explosive anger that hurts us and others.

The first thing we must all do is to take personal responsibility for our unhealthy anger.  If others have confronted you and told you that you have an anger problem, maybe they are right.   You may have been raised in an abusive environment and no doubt it has had an effect on you.  But now you must say that this is my problem, and I am going to have to deal with it.  There is a song that states:  “it is not my brother, not my sister, not my father, not my mother, but it is me O Lord, standing in the need of prayer.”

Secondly, be willing to do something about it.  Life is about choices.  Anger is a learned conscious choice that can become a bad habit.  Habits are formed by repetition over a long period of time.  Anger eruptions are learned habits too.  They have been formed and developed over many years.  

Make a choice to change and with the help of God’s redeeming grace, counseling, study, a support group, or even medical treatment if needed, you can “be angry and sin not”.  Explosive anger didn’t develop over night and it is going to take some time to replace it with better responses.  We either take control of anger or it will take control over us.  Fire under control is useful, but fire out of control destroys everything in its path. “He that is quickly made angry will act foolishly.”  (Proverbs 14:17).

Our Lord certainly controlled His anger when threatened and criticized again and again by the Pharisees.  Our Lord is a model for living.  When He could convince them of their sins, He calmly and assertively told them what He thought about their sinful lives.  When   He could not make them see God’s point of view, He knew when to walk away.  If someone is trying to attack your self-worth or something you dearly believe in, you can state your position in a calm, respectful manner like Jesus did, or simply make a statement that you do not wish to discuss the matter any longer.

Another strategy to help you overcome anger that is hurtful to you and others, is to avoid being around people who are angry people.  “Make no friendship with an angry person;  and do not go with a furious person; because you may learn his ways, and cause pain to your soul.” (Proverbs 22:24).

Probably the best strategy to use in controlling your anger is to replace it with God’s love.  I think this is part of what our Lord meant when He said:  “Bur I say unto you...whosoever shall hit you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matthew 5:39).  As a child of God and as a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, you do not always have to have the “last word”.  You do not always have to get your way.  And you do not have to get even.  All of these things will lead you to sin.  God’s Word also tells us: “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21).  When you find yourself becoming angry with someone, try to change the conversation or move the situation in a different direction so the other person is not hurt by your anger.  Avoid talking about subjects that you know will anger the other person and in turn make you angry at their response to you.  Sometimes it is best not to talk about politics, religion, or social issues with people who have opposite views from what you have.

God wants you to be happy and healthy.  Anger can cause you to loose both.  Ask the Holy Spirit today to begin working in your heart to change the way you respond to things that make you angry.  God is full of mercy and we should be also.  “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.  They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

(Thanks to Rev. Dan White for allowing me to use many of his thoughts and words in this sermon)

SATAN'S WARFARE AGAINST CHRISTIANS VIDEO LINKS

John 10:10 states that Satan's Mission is to destroy the children of God.  Below are the video links to a message I have recently preached and posted on our site.  This message will give you practical ways to ask the Lord Jesus to protect you from these attacks.

"The thief (Satan) comes for no other reason but to steal, kill, and destroy: I am come that you may have life, and that you might have it more abundantly."  ( John 10:10)

SATAN'SWARFARE AGAINST CHRISTIANS - PART ONE

SATAN'S WARFARE AGAINST CHRISTIANS - PART TWO

SATAN'S WARFARE AGAINST CHRISTIANS - PART THREE