Next Is Now Week 7 - Believing God For Big Things
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Joshua 10:1-15 Christian Standard Bible
10 Now King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai and completely destroyed it, treating Ai and its king as he had Jericho and its king, and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living among them. 2 So Adoni-zedek and his people were greatly alarmed because Gibeon was a large city like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were warriors. 3 Therefore King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem sent word to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon, saying, 4 “Come up and help me. We will attack Gibeon, because they have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.” 5 So the five Amorite kings—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon—joined forces, advanced with all their armies, besieged Gibeon, and fought against it. 6 Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Don’t give up on your servants. Come quickly and save us! Help us, for all the Amorite kings living in the hill country have joined forces against us.” 7 So Joshua and all his troops, including all his best soldiers, came from Gilgal.
8 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for I have handed them over to you. Not one of them will be able to stand against you.” 9 So Joshua caught them by surprise, after marching all night from Gilgal. 10 The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel. He defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them through the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they fled before Israel, the Lord threw large hailstones on them from the sky along the descent of Beth-horon all the way to Azekah, and they died. More of them died from the hail than the Israelites killed with the sword. 12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the Lord in the presence of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” 13 And the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation took vengeance on its enemies. Isn’t this written in the Book of Jashar? So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed its setting almost a full day. 14 There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord listened to a man, because the Lord fought for Israel. 15 Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal.
Summary
Welcome back to Community Group. We are in week 7 of out Next Is Now series and today we will be in Joshua Chapter 10. Life is complicated and sometimes we find ourselves in weird situations. Have you ever had to help out someone who has wronged you? You struggle with what you should do until you realize that God has called you to walk in integrity and to honor Him in all that you do. Gibeon had deceived Joshua and the Israelite community. They found themselves in need of help from their enemies. Joshua had a choice to make, would he be vengeful? Or would he keep his integrity, his moral compass and do what was right in the site of the Lord. Let’s read our passage, Joshua chapter 10.
Our first point, Big Belief, is found in verses 6-8. However, the first 5 verses set the stage for what is about to happen. Gibeon is being attacked because of their treaty with Joshua and Israel. We also see that Joshua is now speaking to the Lord before he acts, and we see the Lord telling him what He should do.
Our second point is Burdened Battles. In verses 9-11 we see that this battle was not easy on the Israelites. They had to travel 25 miles overnight to surprise the enemy. The Lord gave the kings over to the nation of Israel, we know the Lord provided the victory, their accomplishment was simple obedience. At times we find ourselves marching into battle while still carrying our burdens. God provides the victory for us, but our integrity and obedience can determine if we see the victory. Even though Joshua was lied to he kept his word, his yes was yes. How we face and endure the battles now may play into the peace we experience in the next.
Our final point was Bold Prayers. In verses 12-15 the day was running out, so Joshua prayed and asked the Lord to hold the sun and the moon in their place so they could finish the battle. He did just that and they defeated the kings. Remember that bold prayers aligned with God’s will produce the right results. Prayers that don’t align with God’s will only reveal gaps in our character. The size of our faith is not as important as the object of our faith. Joshua’s prayer was connected to his desire to do that which God told him to do. Bold prayers flow from focused faith in the right object.
So, what is the object of your faith? If your faith is on anything other than Jesus, then it’s in the wrong place. Take some time and ask yourself. Do you have the correct faith to pray bold prayers so God can take you to your next?
Discussion
Have you ever had to help someone who has wronged you? Explain? Did you respond the way you wanted to respond, or the way the Lord wants you to respond?
Have you ever had a big belief moment, where God wanted you to do something that did not seem possible? Explain
Has God given you a victory simply by obeying Him? Share
What Bold Prayer can your CG pray with you?
Announcements
Continue to pray for our CG leaders.
Help us pray for new CGs to be formed.
We will be scheduling a CG Leaders meeting soon, more information coming soon!
Pastor Isauro Medina
Isauro.medina@bt.church
Cell: (956) 984-9380
