Joshua: Soldier's Manual Lesson 6

                                     A Spirit-led walk

Hi friends. In our last three lessons we have been looking at the spiritual weapons God had armed Joshua and his army with in order to fulfill their mission of driving out the Canaanites and possessing the land. So far we have talked about strength and courage. In our last blog we talked about the importance of possessing a dependent spirit. Today I want to look at our forth weapon: a Spirit-led walk. 

Reading through the book of Joshua it is plain to see that Joshua was a man wholly submitted to God. His walk was the road of obedience and because of it God led his life. A Spirit-led walk is a powerful weapon against the enemy. 

To really bring this out I want to look at two stories back-to-back so we can catch the impact. 

First of all, in Exodus 32 God called Moses up to Mt. Sinai to receive the Law. While Moses was on the mountain with God something happened down below. 

Exodus 32:1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down they gathered themselves unto Aaron and said, "Up, make us gods to go before us, for we don't know where this man Moses is."

So the people made Aaron their new leader. They had grown restless in waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain. Their patience was exhausted and now they elected Aaron in his place. 

To be honest with you, it's all about their flesh. We want milk and honey! We want milk and honey! 

Yet, here is what I want us to understand: because Aaron feared the people he was about to lead them into powerless places; a place where they had no strength to stand before their enemies; a place where they had no power to take possession of God's promises. 

                                                                                            

Exodus 32:2-4 And Aaron said to them, "Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, sons and daughters, and bring them to me." And all the people broke off the golden earrings in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it a molten calf: and they said, "These be your gods, O Israel, which brought you out of the land of Egypt." 

So under Aaron's ministry the Israelis made a molten calf. Under his leadership they made an Egyptian idol. What I really want us to see is that this is what the people wanted to begin with. You see, the molten calf was something the people could bear up on their shoulders and point in any direction they wanted. It had no life or power in it so they could point this molten calf in the direction of their own desires and say, "Lead us." In other words, instead of desiring to be under "the Moses-ministry," a man who was being led by the Spirit, they wanted to be under "the Aaron-ministry," a man who would lead them according to the desires of their own heart.

And can I humbly say this defines the hearts of so many people sitting in church. 

"God, I know what I want to do with my life, and I know what I want in life. I have my personal agendas and desires and I am looking to you to lead me into these things, empowering me to fulfill these ambitions." These type of people will always find an "Aaron-leader," someone who will never speak to them about the crucified-life, but will always minister to the desires of their own heart. 

And here is the misfortune: going back to our story, the people wanted to take this molten calf, place it on their shoulders and point it in the direction of their own desires. However, the only problem with that is there is no power in it. Following the molten calf, they never would have driven out the Canaanites. Following this Egyptian idol, they would have never received the strength to conquer their enemies and possess the promises of God. In fact, they would have ended up in slavery again, not to the Egyptians but to the Canaanites. 

Now let's look at the second story. 

Joshua 3:9-17 And Joshua said to the children of Israel, "Come and hear the words of the Lord. Hereby you shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites: behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord passes before you into Jordan. It shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the Priests that bear the ark of the Lord, rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon a heap...And it came to pass, when the people left their tents to pass over Jordan, when those that carried the ark dipped their feet into the water, that the waters divided. And the people passed over the Jordan. And the Priests that carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan. 

So after camping out at the Jordan river for a few days, Joshua then instructs the people take their eyes off the river and place them on the ark. If you remember, in our last lesson the Israelis were camped at the Jordan, transfixed on the violent waters that had overflown its banks. How are we possibly going to wade through that?! But here in chapter three Joshua tells them, "You've been looking at these impassible waters long enough. It is time to take your eyes off the river and put them on the ark. When you see the ark begin to move, follow after it." 

And this is exactly what they did. They glued their eyes to the ark and followed after it. God was teaching them an important truth, "Your victories have nothing to do with how strong or weak you are, it has everything to do with where your eyes are fixed. Fix your eyes on me and you will overcome every obstacle that stands before you." 

So they fastened their eyes on the ark and followed after it, and we know what the ark represents, the presence of God in the midst of His people. In fixing their eyes upon the ark and following after it, it is a picture of the Israeli people humbly following the leading of God in their lives. 

For us today, this is a picture of a Christian whose life is submitted to the Lord and being led by the Spirit. My heart is humbly submitted to the Lord and He is directing my path. My life is given to His will and direction for my life, and He is guiding my steps according to His plan for my life. 

 

Here is something important I want us to recognize: when Joshua and the Priests stepped into the Jordan river with the ark, the waters were cut off and the people passed over on dry ground. 

Here is my question: When the Israeli people stepped into the Jordan river, what were they really stepping into? The miraculous. The supernatural. They were stepping into that realm of seeing God do the impossible, not just once, but over and over again. Following the Lord, they would see God topple down invincible walls, conquer giants, and defeat armies that outnumber them 10 to 1. They would see God perform miracles and give them more and more ground. 

God wants to perform the supernatural in and through us as well. He wants to do the miraculous in our lives, marriages, children, ministries and callings. As we humbly seek His will, He wants us to experience the power of a Spirit-led life. 

I once heard an alumni from Summit International say, "There is a cost to following Christ, but the goodness of God so outweighs the cost." How true! To follow Christ means seeking His will above my own. It means forsaking my own paths in life and seeking the path He has laid out for my life. There will be losses and crosses along the way, but oh how worth it when it means experiencing the power of a Spirit-led walk.