Conquest Inevitable...Joshua 11 & 12

So, needless to say the service on August 2, 2009 at Grace Church was really moving, unless you don't go to our church. I'm not exactly sure if that was the Cook's last Sunday here...if they were leaving early today or next Wednessday...I think it was today. I also think that we won't have another worship leader like Steve Cook. Ever. Of course, if you know God, he can turn that all around. Well, I'm just going to delve right in here...so read the text:



These are more than just military battles, and even though they are physical, they can still teach us about Spiritual Battles against and resisting sin. You might be a New Testament believer or doer, (You hopefully know what I mean) However, the Old Testament can still teach us vital information about spiritual battles. Romans 15: 4: "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." What is Paul really getting at? He is exactly meaning that we do not really partake in Old Testament rituals and things like that, BUT we can still take information and have learning from these books like Joshua, Psalms, Proverbs, Job, so forth and so on. When Wayne Brooks read this verse, here is how I interpreted it: Whatever was written in former days (Days of Joshua and Moses and Isaiah) is for our building up and instruction. So, He was preparing the way from the beginning of the bible. If these books were not important, God would not have put them in the Bible, why? Because it would take valuable space and time to read something that shouldn't be there. However, it is there, we need to study and learn from it just as much as Romans, Timothy, Hebrews, James (One of my favorites), so forth and so on.

Joshua did not win all of these battles by his military experience, but by his trust in the Lord. Therefore, we can pull this Spiritual lesson from this text: God never loses, so we want him on our side by obedience, faith, and by crying out to the Lord in times of trouble. If you've read Joshua before, remember the story in chapter 9? How the Gibeonites were spared because they surrendered? This is the way I look at it: Joshua and his army is God's judgement, and you are either the Gibeonites or the kings who resisted. Which are you? Do you surrender to God's purpose like the Gibeonites, or do you resist him? We should be like the Gibeonites, who cried for mercy. Like I said, God never fails: So why resist? It's a useless standing. Even though the enemy is greater than you, he is not greater than God. And we see this: The Lord's enemies tried to save themselves from this only real true God, but could they? Did they?

No. The Lord is All Powerful, even though the foes numbered like the grains of sand on the beach.