Plan

Joshua 6 / Dr. Marty Baker / January 24, 2010

Good morning and welcome to Stevens Creek Church. I hope that you have had a great weekend. I am glad to see you today. I want to welcome all those in our Grovetown Campus.
I would also like to welcome those watching on television, specifically those from the Upstate of South Carolina. Last week, the Abbeville newspaper printed a tribute that I had written about the passing of one of my mentors, Sandy Scott. My mother sent me a copy of the local newspaper, The Press and Banner. When my son, Samuel saw it he said, “Dad, are you famous there?” I laughed and thought only in the eyes of my mother.
I also want to welcome those watching online. Last month, we have had nearly 5,000 people watch our services from places as far away as Australia and Japan.
Today we are continuing our series, My Big Amazing Renovation Story. How many of you have ever been involved in a renovation project? I love renovation projects. There’s nothing more satisfying that seeing something old become new.
Over the last twenty years, I have had my share of building projects. If you have ever been involved in renovating a house or a church, you know that you need to be prepared for some challenges along the way.
Over the last couple of weeks, we have been talking about an Old Testament character named Joshua. He was the assistant to Moses for around forty years. When Moses died, Joshua stepped up and became the leader of the Children of Israel. God had given him the responsibility to lead this group of former slaves into a new land of freedom, the Promised Land.
In the midst of this great time of success came one of the biggest challenges of his life. There were seven larger and stronger nations already there. If he was going to fulfill God’s call on his life, he would have to overcome these obstacles first. He was only five miles into this new land when he met his first challenge … the city of Jericho.
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Few stories in the Bible are better known than the story of Joshua and the battle for Jericho. I, like many of you, have heard the story told many times. In fact, sometimes my find myself singing the song that I learned as a child: Joshua fit the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho; Joshua fit the battle of Jericho and the walls came tumbling down.
I wonder what it was like to be near Jericho in those days. Jericho was one of those cities that caught your attention. It was too large and too strong to ignore. It was built on a slope which made it virtually impenetrable. If you lived in Jericho in those days, you felt safe.
You were safe because you were protected by a massive system of walls that surrounded the city. You see, Jericho hadf two massive stone walls. The outer wall was 6 ft. thick and about 20 ft. high. The inner wall was about 12 ft. thick and was 30 ft. high. Between the walls was a guarded walkway.
These walls provided the citizens of Jericho with a level of security that few people in their day had ever seen. We pick up the story in Joshua 6.
Joshua 6:1-5
1 Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in."

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Today I believe that God wants to use this story to help you face some of the challenges that have come your way. Let’s take a closer look at this story. There are very practical lessons lodged in these verses. Specifically, I am going to give you four action steps that will help you work through some challenges this week.
When faced with a crisis, a challenge or a setback, the first step to solving the problem is to assess the situation.
1. Assess the Situation
What’s going on here? You have to take an honest look at the situation before you can adequately provide a solution to the problem. What’s reality?
When Joshua assessed the situation at Jericho and here’s what his discovered: Jericho had massive walls and it was totally impossible to bring down those walls. It was totally, absolutely, completely and utterly impossible. Jericho was a seemingly impossible obstacle that stood between them and all that God had promised.
What is standing between you and all that God has promised you? Assess the situation. What is the barrier between you and your Promised Land? What’s holding you back? What is totally, absolutely, completely and utterly impossible in your life?
In Joshua’s day, a smart man would look at the Walls of Jericho and say, “There’s no way. It cannot be done.” Yet we know the story. God’s people won a great victory that day. How did it happen?
Hebrews 11:30
30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.
Notice the words: “By faith.” The Children of Israel believed that if God had enough power to deliver them from slavery, split the Red Sea, provide for them in the wilderness and stop the waters of the Jordan River, then God had enough power to cause the walls of Jericho to fall. They assessed the situation and then they put their confidence in God. They trusted Him.
Where’s your faith? Don’t look at the size of your problem, look at the size of your God.
I talk about faith a lot here at The Creek. I believe that with faith we can work through any problem that comes our way. When you put your faith in God, nothing is impossible. But, having said that, if you look at this passage again you may see that there is more to this story than assessing the situation and having faith.
When you read the story, you will see that Joshua had a plan. He had a strategy in mind. If you are going to overcome your challenges, then you need a plan. Nothing happens until you develop a plan.
2. Develop a Plan
It can be funny to watch how different people develop their plans. Some will draw a plan out on a napkin; some people will type them out on a computer while others will develop it in their mind.
One of the funniest phone calls that I have ever received, came to me in January 2008. We were in the middle of expanding this facility, but we had not designed the entry way…the pedestrian walk, parking lot access and so forth. Jerry Ashmore, one of our Elders, called me up and said, “Marty, I’ve got it. The Lord woke me up at 4:00 AM with the design for the front of the church.” I said, “Okay, that’s great.” He said, “I want you to meet me at the church right now.” I said, “Jerry, it’s my Dad’s birthday and we are headed out of town.” We talked a little bit longer and I asked, “When do you envision getting started on it?” He said, “I’ve got my men headed over there right now.” It was 8:30AM. This design was only four hours. Here’s the point. When you know what to do and know when you are suppose to do it, there’s no need to wait.
Joshua had a plan. In Joshua 6, God instructed the Jews to do a number of unusual things before the miracle actually took place.
Joshua 6:3, March around the town once a day for six days.
Joshua 6:4, March with the Ark of the Covenant.
Joshua 6:4, Put seven priests in front of the Ark.
Joshua 6:5, On the seventh day march around Jericho seven times.
Joshua 6:5, Have the priests blow rams’ horns as they marched.
Joshua 6:5, On the seventh time around on the seventh day, have the people shout.
Joshua 6:5, When the people shout, the walls will come down. When the walls come down, enter the city and conquer it.
God gave Joshua a plan, a strategy that got the Children of Israel involved in the process. Here’s the point. God told them that the walls would fall down, but they still had to do the marching.
God wanted them involved in the process. God could have spoken and the walls of Jericho would have fallen, but that’s not how it works. It is God’s desire to involve you in what He is doing.
Too many people look at faith as a mindless exercise that you do while you wait on your circumstances to change. That’s not how it works. Faith is something you do.
James 2:17
17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Let’s bring it closer to home. What are you doing for your situation to change? What’s your plan? What’s your next step? Faith is not only someone you believe in; it is something you do.
For six days they marched around the city once and then returned to their camp. On the seventh day, they marched around the city of Jericho seven times. They did something. They marched.
Don’t sit there waiting for your ship to come in when you have never sent one out. You have to do something.
Ecclesiastes 11:1 (NLT)
Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you.
If you don’t send anything out, then nothing will come back. You must plant a seed in order to get a harvest. You must do something.
The Israelites marched around the city once for six days and on the seventh day, they marched around Jericho seven times. They did something.
Not only did they do something, but they were consistent in their approach. They were faithful to follow their plan every day until the challenge was conquered.
3. Be Consistent and follow through.
If you are going to conquer the challenges that life brings your way, then you have to be consistent. I meet too many people that are not consistent. They are wishy-washy. One day they are focused; the next day they are scattered. They are committed one day and compromised the next day.
You cannot overcome your obstacles when you are constantly changing your mind. Make a decision and stick to it. Be faithful. Be consistent.
You will never build a successful marriage if you are inconsistent in the way your treat one another. You made a decision that you loved your wife and after you made that decision you made a covenant before God. Now, it’s time to live it out. Do what you said that you were going to do…for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part.
What part of that vow do you not understand? You are to love your husband. You are to love your wife.
How are you demonstrating your love and commitment to your spouse? By staying out late, by spending too much money, by staying on the computer until you know that the other one is asleep.
If you are going to build a strong family that overcomes the challenges of life, then you must develop a consistent life.
Develop a plan; work the plan. That’s what Joshua did, but there is one thing that we need to make note of. You may have missed this.
Joshua 6:3-4
3March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark.
Last week we learned that the Ark of the Covenant represents the presence of God. What we see here is that God was in the middle of the battle plan. Remember that the Ark contained the Ten Commandments, the golden pot of manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded. The lid of the Ark was the golden Mercy Seat where the high priest would offer a sacrifice in the Holy of Holies, once a year, on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16).
The ark was not just another piece of religious furniture, like a table or a lampstand. The ark represented the very presence of God with his people. Putting the ark out front was like God saying, “God, I want you to lead this parade.”
I want you to be in charge.
Assess the situation, Develop a plan; Be consistent and follow through and finally…allow God to be God.
4. Allow God to be God
One person and God will make up a majority. When the Children of Israel put God first in this challenge, the battle was won. At that point, spears and armor did not matter.
Joshua 6:20-21
20 When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city. 21 They devoted the city to the LORD…
It’s God who made all the difference at Jericho. Those high walls were no match for the Almighty. The people of Jericho did not know it, but they were defeated before the walls ever fell. They lost the battle when God got involved.

1) God said he was going to give them the city.
This is what God said to Joshua before he gave him the plan: “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men” (Joshua 6:2). Note the past tense: “I have delivered.” Not “I will deliver.” God speaks of Jericho as having already been defeated. That’s a key point. God is saying, “It’s a done deal. Those walls are coming down. It’s just a matter of time.” Now that shouldn’t surprise anyone who believes in God. He can do things like that. He speaks and it is done.
In a real sense, the battle was over before it was started. God promised to deliver the city, and in due course he made good on his promise.
In the same way, God has victory in store for you.
When you make a decision to become a Christ follower, God opens the door to a new land of freedom for you. However, you need to realize that being a Christian is not easy. There are enemies that you have to face, but the good news is that Jesus has already won the battle.
Did you know that the name Joshua means “God saves” in Hebrew. In Greek it was shortened to “Jesus” or “Savior”.
Hebrews 11:30
30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.
But how will we face and conquer impossible challenges of our lives? Where do we find the faith?

Hebrews 12:2
We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
He starts it and he finishes it. He’s the Captain of our salvation. Just keep your eyes on him.