Saturday, June 5, 2021

This Week's Sunday School Lesson, "The Taking Of The Promise Land", Joshua 10:1-15, 6/6/2013

 

TAKING THE PROMISE LAND

WHAT’S MIND IS MIND

 

Joshua 10:1-15

WHEN GOD WORKS WITH YOU,  PEOPLE HEAR OF HIS SUCCESSES

V:1 Now Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai and totally destroyed it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the people of Gibeon had made a treaty of peace with Israel and were living near them. 2 He and his people were very much alarmed at this, because Gibeon was an important city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were good fighters. 3 So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem appealed to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish and Debir king of Eglon. 4 "Come up and help me attack Gibeon," he said, "because it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites."

 

The promise land was full of none godly people who God allowed to occupy

The land until He brought the Israelites out of captivity. Since it was full of

Milk and honey someone had to work the land.

 

Joshua’s conquest was the beginning of taking the land from the inhabitants.

Naturally there would be a war to rid the ungodly people. It is the job of the

Christian to take back the freedom that God has planned for us.

 

The king of Jerusalem was named Adoni Zedek which means Lord Of Righteousness. He was everything but righteous. God restrained the wrath

Of the enemy and deprived them of their might.

 

A.    When people who oppose you and  see what God has done in your life, they Fear you or want to join in with you.

1.     The proud will seek coalitions to defeat you.

2.     The humble will join in with you.

B.     Gibeon heard of Israel’s defeat of Jericho  and Ali, and devised a

Deceptive plan and made a peace treaty with them.

1.     The king of Jerusalem joined in with four other kings to fight

Gibeon.

2.     Gibeon called on Israel to fight for them.

3.     Joshua honored his treaty with Gibeon.

4.     Good men keep their promises.

 

WHEN IN TROUBLE CALL ON THE LORD

V:5 Then the five kings of the Amorites — the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon — joined forces. They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it.

6 The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: "Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us."

V:7 So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. 8 The Lord said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you."

A.    Anytime you dedicate your work to the Lord, Satan becomes your

Enemy.

1.     You can expect forces influenced by Satan to come against you.

2.     You can also expect, God will come to your rescue.

3.     The battle is not yours, it is the Lord.

B.     When God send you on a mission, He knows what problems you will

Face and has already given you the victory.

1.     The trials we face serving God are designed to strengthen our faith.

2.     God has not given us the spirit of fear, but power, love and sound

Mind.

3.     There are two things we must do when serving the Lord

a.     Stay in tuned with Lord. Like waiting on a telephone call,

Expected to hear form the Lord.

b.     Show up with courage ready for battle.

c.      Don’t worry about what you don’t know, God has already

Settled the issue.

 

STAND AS GOD WORKS

V:9 After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. 10 The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great victory at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

A.    This text gives us good reasons why we should trust God with our problems.

1.     You can’t think or consider what God can do to your enemy.

2.     Joshua and his army made it to Gibeon after an all-night march.

3.     God confused the armies of 5 kings so Israel could destroy a

Good number of the them as they drove them up hill to

The  first Bethhorn city.

4.     Toward the second Bethhorn city was down a rocky valley.

God killed a large number of men with a hail storm.

5.     The remaining enemy was pursued and killed as

They race to their cities.

B.     Notice what God did to give Israel the victory.

a.     He put fear in the hearts of the five kings

With the victory at Jericho and Ali.

b.     He confused the armies of the five kings at Gibeon

c.      He killed many of the men of five kings with a hail storm.

d.     God causes the sun to stand still and not go down

During the nighttime, giving Israel 24 hours of

Continuous light.

C.     When God is on your side, who can stand against you.

 

GOD CONTROLS NATURE FOR YOU

V:12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:

 

"O sun, stand still over Gibeon,

O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon."

13 So the sun stood still,

and the moon stopped,

till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,

 

as it is written in the Book of Jashar.

 

The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a man. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!

A.    When God is for you, He is more than the whole world against you.

1.     God can control nature so it works in your favor and against

The enemy.

2.     The prayers of the righteous accomplish much.

3.     It was Joshua prayer that God heard and acted upon to

Control the sun to shine for an additional 12 hours.

B.     Every day when we wake is a day to be in prayer for God

To control the enemy.

1.     There is no way for us to know each day all that God is

Doing on our behalf.

2.     We should express gratitude for making it through another day.

YOUR SUCCESS IS IN GOD’S HANDS

V:15 Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

A.    With God on the side of Joshua, all of the armies of five kings

Were destroyed.

1.     According to the text, no Israelite lost his life in that battle.

2.     Every day is a day to praise God for victory.

B.     We should look at life as a march to victory.

1.     We may not be able to see who is battling against us,

But the enemy is always present.

2.     Ephesians 6:12

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

 

 

THANK GOD FOR BEING MY DEFENSE

 

Rev. M. Mitchell

Asst. Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church

5510 West Sam Houston Parkway North

Houston, Texas 77041

 

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