The Christians Hour

Bob Russell: Welcome to the Christian's Hour. Thank you for joining us today. It's a pleasure to have you with us. The Christian's Hour is a ministry of Gospel Broadcasting Mission, where we proclaim the hope of Jesus Christ through radio and media all around the world. Have you ever felt the Lord prompting you to do something, but you just couldn't seem to find the courage to do it? Maybe it was a conversation you needed to have. Maybe someone you needed to reach out to. Maybe a step of faith you knew you needed to take, but fear kept getting in the way.

You know, sometimes fear has a way of distorting the truth. We begin to believing that because something didn't happen the way we hoped before, it wouldn't happen this time. Or we convince ourselves that the obstacle in front of us is simply too big. But Scripture reminds us that fear doesn't tell the truth. Today, as we continue our series on courage through the book of Joshua, Pastor Rick Astley of the Hills Church in Fort Worth, Texas, takes us to Joshua chapter 6 and the walls of Jericho. You know, Israel stood before a city they could not conquer by their own strength.

Yet, God had already given Joshua his promise and his instructions. Their calling was not to figure out how the walls would fall. Their calling was to trust God and faithfully obey what he had commanded. Sometimes God doesn't ask us to understand the outcome. He asks us to take the next step of obedience. So today, we're going to explore what happens when we recognize the lies of the enemy, refuse to let fear dictate our response, and choose instead to march in faithfulness and obedience because we trust the one who has called us. Join us now as we continue our journey through Joshua and discover what it means to have courage to march.

Here's Rick to share more.

Rick Atchley: To follow Jesus is to march with courage. And that's one reason why I've chosen the book of Joshua to be our template because the children of Israel were at the same place on the banks of the Jordan, seeing a land that had intimidated their parents. Because fear will keep you from going everywhere God wants you to go. And the question I have to ask is do we have the courage to possess all the God wants to give? And by the way, if you go back to chapter 1, God will say I'll give you everywhere you step your foot from the Great Sea all the way to the Euphrates River.

Which, by the way, it was much more territory than Israel ever actually possessed. And that's been the sad story of the people of God that so often they have settled for less than they actually could have claimed under God. And it's never because God is not faithful. But it's usually because the people of God are too fearful. And the irony is that the source of our fears is also afraid. So this week, we look at maybe the best known story in the book of Joshua, the story of the great fortress of Jericho with its mighty walls.

And here's how the story starts in chapter 1 or chapter 6 verse 1. Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. Notice because of the Israelites. This is more than just a security precaution. This is an anxiety reaction. Jericho is scared to death of the Israelites. In fact, chapter 5 verse 1 says that when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan, and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear.

And they have no longer had the courage to face the Israelites. Now in many ways, the story of Joshua is a metaphor for the story of God's people throughout time. You see, Joshua is the Hebrew word that in Greek is translated Jesus. The second Joshua is going to return with his armies. And he is going to reclaim for God the earth and all that God legitimately owns. And the people of God are going to reign all over the earth. And here's the thing. The enemy knows it. That's why God's enemies have a courage problem. Satan knows how the campaign of God is going to end.

The book of Revelation says he knows that his time is short. He knows his future is decided. Jesus prophesied this speaking to his disciples in Matthew 16. He said on this rock I'll build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Hell will not be able to put up walls and gates to prevent the mission of my church from accomplish all the eternal purposes God has. But here's what the enemy is going to do. What he's always done. He is a liar, and he's good at it. And so what he wants to do is to cause the people of God to think that when it comes to their future, there are certain places they cannot go because he has put up walls that they can't handle.

He has put up gates that are impenetrable. And so your life as a believer and our life as a church is dictated to by his gates and walls. That we cannot have the future we wish we could have because of what he has put up against us. I wonder if that's how Jericho seemed to the young nation of Israel. Remember they've buried all their parents in the wilderness. This is a young nation. And they don't know much about warfare. They had a couple of skirmishes out in the wilderness, but that was out in the plain and the open fields.

They have never seen anything like Jericho. They have never with their own eyes witnessed these huge, mighty, impenetrable walls. And their first reaction had to be what can we do? This is more than we can handle. You see, Jericho's going to be huge to the mission of God. Because in every war, there's typically a battle that determines the future of the war. In our own nation's history and our bloodiest war, that battle was called Gettysburg. Some of you have been to the field in Pennsylvania where literally the future of our nation was determined. And there was a significant moment in the Battle of Gettysburg that turned the tide.

You've probably never heard of of the battle or of the man. His name was Joshua Chamberlain. He wasn't a soldier. He was a school teacher and a theology student, but he wound up being colonel of an infantry regiment from Maine. And they had a position the Confederacy needed to take to give them superior position to win the battle. He was up against thousands of soldiers. He only had 300 men. The Confederates charged. They fought them back not one time, but five different times. Now he's down to 80 men. Reinforcements are not coming. They're down to one round of ammunition.

And logic would say give up, surrender, and give the enemy the superior position. Joshua Chamberlain told his 80 troops still alive, fasten your bayonets. We're going to charge. And they did charge and caught the Confederates so by surprise that in 5 minutes, 80 Union soldiers captured four thousand Confederate soldiers. And won the skirmish that won the battle, that won the war. Joshua does not fight a defensive battle in the whole book. Every single battle he is moving forward. Seven times in the chapter, God says march. And that's what we do. We march with courage. Because we know courage marches first from victory.

Notice I did not say for victory. Because God said, see, I have delivered Jericho into your hands. Now all Joshua could see was a fortress with huge walls. But by faith, he could see that the victory had been stated before the battle had even been started. And that was the message of walking behind the ark. That God is in front. That God is leading the way. And God has got this. Let me tell you something about God. God never barely wins. God never has to kick a field goal in overtime. God never has to hit a jumper as the buzzer goes off to win the game by one point.

God never barely wins. Now Satan wants you to think sometimes God loses. Satan wants us to think that there are places in the world and places in your life where he has put up a wall and there's nothing you can do about it. Satan is bluffing. The Bible says in Colossians chapter 2 that God stripped the spiritual rulers and powers of their authority. And with the cross, he won the victory and showed the world they were powerless. Let me ask you, shouldn't it change how you play the game if you know you can't lose? Now it's going to be hard for some of you to believe this when you look at this physique.

But I was not a star athlete. In fact, I didn't often get on the court. And if I did, I didn't play well if the game was close because I was afraid I would mess up and be the reason our team lost. But who are we kidding? I rarely got on the court when the game was close because the coach wanted to win. If the coach put me in the game, we were 50 points ahead. And I was awesome. Because I knew there were nothing I could do to cause us to lose. So give me that ball.

I'm going to shoot and play boldly. Because shouldn't it change how you play the game if you know you can't lose? The church of Jesus Christ should not be defined and it should not be confined by walls. There is no part of this globe where we cannot have an impact if we want to march there. And that's what we do. We march there from victory in obedience. Because what military advisor would suggest this strategy? Okay, get a bunch of preachers, get a praise band, march in full view of the enemy and in range of their arrows and don't say anything.

Who would do that? I'm sure some people are thinking priests don't belong in a battle. We don't need a bunch of trumpets. We need some machine guns. We're in full range of the enemy where we can be shot at, where we can hear their ridicule. Marching around is going to make us tire and sap our morale. This is not a good plan. But you see, God often breaks with our logic so that we will learn to trust his strength. Because get this, walls don't come down because of our sins. Walls come down because of our obedience.

Look at how the Hebrew writer describes this story. It was by faith that the walls of Jericho fell. Notice after the people had marched around them for 7 days. And this verse gives us a good definition of what faith is. Okay? Faith is not simply agreeing mentally with a set of propositions about God. Faith is not just understanding. Faith is undertaking. Faith is marching in the direction of your stated convictions. And let me give you an illustration from the marketplace. Most of you have been to a CVS pharmacy. And their CEO, Larry Merlo, made a decision several years ago that shocked the industry.

Their mission statement as a company is to help people on the path to better health. And so we asked the question, why are we selling tobacco products? If we exist to help people get healthier, why are we selling products that we know make people sicker? And so we took them out of the stores, and the industry was stunned because he was forfeiting two billion dollars in sales a year. But you see, courage and faith is not displayed by what you say you believe, but how you walk in the direction that is consistent with what you say you believe.

It's the young single woman who says, I will stay sexually pure until I am married in a culture that laughs at that conviction. Because a secular culture will often call foolishness what the people of God call fearlessness. It's the man on the business trip that says to his partners, I'm not going with the club with you because he doesn't believe women are objects to be stared at, but daughters of God to be honored. And he knows they will mock him behind his back, but he walks in courage consistent with his convictions. It's the young couple just out of college with school debt that can't even get into a house, but they decide they are going to tithe, and they're going to start their marriage putting God first in everything.

That's fearless. It's the teenage student that knows there's the kid at high school that always sits alone at lunch because they're socially awkward. And that student says, I am going to make that person my friend. That takes courage. I'm not saying it isn't scary. But our courage verse that I've repeated many times is Psalm 56. When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. I believe living foolishly in the eyes of the world actually winds up bringing God more glory when the victory comes. We don't let Jericho decide our future. We let Jehovah lead us into the future.

So we march from victory in obedience despite walls. And all over the world, the enemy has put up walls. And he has said the church can't go here, the church can't do that. And he's trying to assert the legitimacy of his sovereignty. It's a way of keeping the people of God out and keeping those who need God in. But his rule is illegitimate. And it should not be recognized. It should be challenged. And there's a part of the narrative of the Jericho story that we often do not read because it's not in chapter 6. It's actually the very end of chapter 5.

Look at it with me. Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went up to him and asked, are you for us or are you for our enemies? And he didn't get the answer he was expecting. Neither, he replied. But as commander of the army of the Lord, I have now come. And then Joshua fell face down to the ground and reverently asked him, what message does my Lord have for his servant? And the commander of the Lord's army replied, take off your sandals for this place where you are standing is holy.

And Joshua did so. Why something holy? Something's holy because it belongs to God. The angel was saying, Joshua, this land is God's land even before you get on it. And these nations are God's nations. He's not just the God of a nation or a piece of land. He's the God of all nations and all the earth. See, I want you to understand that that mission into Canaan wasn't just for a nation. It was for the nations. That's why the army marched around the city seven times to give anyone in Jericho who wanted a chance to repent and be a part of the people of God.

We march despite walls because God cares about the people trapped inside them. See, the end of the story is not when the walls come down. Now that's usually when we end the movie and stand up and clap, but that is not even the most important thing that happened in the chapter. Now it does say in verse 20 that the trumpet sounded, the army shouted, and the sound of the trumpet, the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed, and everyone charged straight in and they took the city. That's awesome. But keep reading. But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute with her family and all who belonged to her because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho.

And she lives among the Israelites to this day. Her name keeps showing up in the Bible even in the genealogy of Jesus. The most important part of the story is not that the walls came down. It's that people got saved. That's always been the mission. It is not about us. It's about those God is sending us to rescue. It's not about building buildings. It's about building disciples. That's what we do. Our buildings have always simply been a tool to help us accomplish the goal of reaching and rescuing people. I read an article I'll never forget by a man named Don Linscott.

He and his wife Connie were only able to have one child, a son Lance. And children are expensive. You pay the hospital, you pay the doctors, you buy the formula and the diapers, and they keep growing out of their clothes, and then they need to go get braces and eyeglasses, and they want music lessons, and they want to play Little League, and then they need car insurance, and maybe they go to college. And the Linscotts did all that for Lance. And at the age of 21, he tragically died. Don had the most amazing thought as he left the cemetery the day they buried him.

I'll never get to spend another dollar on my son. And it totally changed the way he felt about money. He said, you know something? Stagnation is cheap. Having worthy goals and dreams and aspirations, that takes sacrifice. And I'll never forget what he wrote in this article. He said, I will never go to a church that doesn't keep asking for money. Because death is cheap. But life is expensive. That is why we march. That's why walls can't stand in our way because God's armies, we see a will, not a wall. We're too motivated by grace to be intimidated by gates.

We're going to go where God sends to rescue those God loves because we know what his will is. Peter says in 2 Peter 3:9, the Lord's not slow in doing what he promised the way some understand slowness, but God is being patient with you. Why? Because he doesn't want anyone to be lost. He wants all people to change their hearts and lives. This is God's will that all should be rescued, that all should be saved, that all should have the opportunity to say yes to Jesus Christ. That's why we must be courageous. I love this mom who sent me an email.

Her daughter got up the courage to ask a friend to church, ask another friend to church. They both said yes. Her mother texted and said, I'm so proud of you. And her daughter texted back, this is how we be courageous. What does that mean for you? How do you be courageous? I do not want to finish my race timidly. I do not want to let any illegitimate wall keep me from the life God wants for me. Because walls still come down.

Guest (Male): Your love is made as fearless, fearless. In our darkest night, you're nearest, nearest. You're casting light to lead us, lead us. When we voice our need, you hear us, you hear us. You hear us. I am walking in the valley of the shadow. And darkness seems to know my name. Fear is whispering its lies all around me. Trying to bind me in my shame. But I have everything I need within my Savior. Who could ever ask for more? So no matter what is standing right before me, I will trust in you, my Lord. Your love is made as fearless, fearless.

In our darkest night, you're nearest, nearest. You're casting light to lead us, lead us. When we voice our need, you hear us, you hear us. Cuz your love is made as fearless, fearless. In our darkest night, you're nearest, nearest. You're casting light to lead us, lead us. When we voice our need, you hear us, you hear us. You hear us. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Your love is made as fearless, fearless. In our darkest night, you're nearest, nearest. You're casting light to lead us, lead us. When we voice our need, you hear us, you hear us. Cuz your love is made as fearless, fearless. In our darkest night, you're nearest, nearest. You're casting light to lead us, lead us. When we voice our need, you hear us, you hear us. You hear us. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.