Joshua 5-10 - Principles For Entering a New Season * God’s way of leading is through seasons. * Noun: A period of time associated with an activity. * In agriculture, the activity is “growth.” * In sports, the activity is football, basketball, etc. * Verb: * To give more flavor to food (make things taste good). * To treat so as to prepare it for use (make wood suitable for use as timber by adjusting its moisture content to that of the environment in which it will be used). * To make fit by experience (a seasoned veteran). * It was time for the Israelites to enter a new season where they would experience blessing like never before. * But they would have to fight in order to get it. * These fights taught them a lot, and “seasoned” them to handle the new opportunities that would be available in their new land. * We’re going to look at the first four battles and the principles they learned. * Before any fight, the first principle was: * Principle of the Past - Don’t rely on what worked in the past - allow God to change things for the present (no more manna). * Principle of Provision - Provision is made possible through work (not called to live in the miraculous). * Battle #1 - Jericho (Joshua 5-6) * Principle of Purity - Circumcise first - get rid of the junk in your life. * Principle of the Plan - Follow God’s plan (no matter how crazy). * Principle of the Priest - Let your “priest” take the lead. * Principle of Power - Worship precedes warfare. * Principle of Protection - If you do what’s right, God will protect (Rahab). * Principle of Piety - Giving God your first and best shows your devotion to Him. * Battle #2 - Ai (Joshua 7-8) * they only sent 3k men and 36 died * * Principle of Decision - Before you act, ASK! * Principle of Discernment - Your lack of discernment is pointing to something you need to get right. * Principle of Defeat - Sin renders you powerless in life (root it out). * Principle of Direction - Upon repentance, God will turn things around for your benefit (He’ll use your past failures for present victories - ambush). * Principle of Delayed Gratification - Good things come to those who wait (Achan). * Battle #3 - Gibeon (Joshua 9) * Gibeonites tricked Joshua * * * He failed the Principle of Decision “again.” He didn’t ask God. * Principle of Peace - You can’t make friends with those who are enemies of God. * Principle of Partiality - God’s justice doesn’t play favorites (Lev 19:15). * Principle of People - People will always complain, but good leaders want grumbling today rather than later. * Principle of the Pivot - Make your mistakes work for you (slaves) * Battle #4 - Five Kings (Joshua 10) * Principle of Fight - Enemies unite when you’re on God’s side (When you fight God’s battles, He joins forces with you). * Principle of Faithfulness - The miraculous follows faithfulness (hailstones & sun stood still). * Principle of Fatigue - When you’re tired, watch what God does (hailstones). * Principle of Fortification - The things that kill others won’t touch you (hailstones only hit the enemy). * Principle of Faith - Prayer of faith lines up w/God’s will (sun stood still). * Principle of Authority (Joshua 11:15) Joshua did everything Moses commanded, who did everything God commanded (he stayed under authority and therefore maintained power) * Result - They defeated 31 kings! (Joshua 12 - mentions Sihon and Og first!)
Joshua 5-10 (4/8/21)
Principles for Entering a New Season
April 8, 2021
Jeremiah 36:7 (4/24/24)
April 24, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Jeremiah 36:7
* A merciful mindset positions us for favor with God. * If one of my kids shows mercy to their brother or sister, it makes me want to reward them! * God feels the same toward us. * James 2:13 - “For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who is not merciful…” * Jesus shows us this with the woman caught in adultery. * They wanted judgment, but Jesus taught mercy. * But He didn’t lower the standard to show it - “Go and sin no more.” * Two OT prophets - Jonah and Jeremiah. * Jonah - got mad at God when He showed mercy to Ninevah. * He wanted justice for the people, not mercy. * God did not like that. * Jeremiah - he had to deliver a harsh message to the king who had imprisoned him. * Look how he responds as he asked his assistant Baruch to carry a message to the king: * vs 5-7 - ““I am restricted; I am not allowed to go to the Lord’s temple. 6 So you go to the house of the Lord on a day of fasting and read to the people from the scroll the words of the Lord that you wrote as I dictated. Read them to all the people of Judah who come in from their towns. 7 Perhaps they will bring their petition before the Lord and will each turn from their wicked ways, for the anger and wrath pronounced against this people by the Lord are great.” * Jeremiah shows us the power of a merciful disposition. * Jeremiah 51:8 - “Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken; wail for her! Take balm for her pain; perhaps she may be healed.” * We should want our enemies to experience the mercy of God. * Not because they deserve it, but because God showed us mercy when we didn’t deserve it. * This disposition will keep us from getting bitter an angry toward others. * And it will keep us from falling prey to James 2:13!!!!
1 Corinthians 4:15 (4/24/24)
April 24, 2024 • Benham Brothers • 1 Corinthians 4:15
* We are “watchmen” not “watchdogs.” * We don’t do the “latest news.” * Our mandate from God is to expose evil and help you stand strong. * We do that by helping you think through stuff. * Five observations from the Mark Driscoll saga. * 1) The Jezebel spirit is real - it thrives on three things: * Sexual Anarchy (LGBTQ+) * Child Sacrifice (Abortion) * Murderous Spirit (Cancel Culture) * 2) A fatherly mindset is the only way to deal with Jezebel. * 1 Cor 4:15 - “For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” * A pastor is a “father” - a dad doesn’t let the kids lead the home. * Pastors today are allowing creatives to take the lead. * Jehu was the one who was tasked to take out Jezebel - he was a “bad” dude. * 3) Etiquette should not be valued over purity. * Pastor Lindell should’ve addressed both issues. * 4) The consequences of private sin will affect you down the road, even after you’ve repented. * Mark’s personal sin caused him to shrink back. * 5) We have to “let the prophets speak” - because their words are hard. * Most prophets travel alone - often because they have “issues.”
Acts 13:49-50 (4/17/24)
April 17, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Acts 13:49–50
* God uses people to accomplish His will on the earth. * He uses both good and bad people. * Satan uses people to accomplish his will on the earth. * He uses both good and bad people. * Backstory - Jesus was off the scenes and now the growth of the church was the responsibility of the apostles. * Paul and Barnabas were preaching like crazy! * Jews and Gentiles were getting saved by the droves. * vs 49 - “The word of the Lord spread through the whole region.” * Through their witness the kingdom of heaven was advancing forcefully against the kingdom of hell. * Then something happened: * vs 50 - “But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.” * A “God-fearing” person who’s a “leader” is a Christian Influencer! * The Christian Influencers of the day were now on the wrong side of God’s Kingdom expansion! * We need to always remember the four spiritual players at work here. * Revelation 17 shows us: * Dragon - Satan himself. * Beast - Antichrist spirit (any idea that stands against God). * Babylon - (PEC) Political, Economic, Cultural system of the Beast. * The goal of Babylon is to turn people away from God. * Harlot - Religious system of Babylon that gives credence to the Beast. * The only way people will desire Satan’s way more than God’s way is if there is a religious system that legitimizes it. * That’s what happened here in Acts 13. * Satan needed good-hearted Godly people to buy into his lies and hinder God’s work. * Note - These influencers were first convinced by the “religious” leaders. * “…the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women…” * What are our pastors teaching us today? * How do we make sure we don’t get used by Satan? * 1) Wrap knowledge around our zeal. * These influencers certainly had a zeal for the Lord, but they didn’t have knowledge. * They needed a Biblical worldview to filter the lies being spoken into their ears. * We need to “study” Scripture to be intimately familiar with the truth. * We need to study it through the lense of a battle. * 2) Look and listen for the spirit behind what’s being said or done. * EX: Jesus with Peter. * EX: Stanley - teaching Christians to stay out of the “hot topic” issues. * “If you need an enemy to prop up your leadership, you’re not leading.” * People clapped - but the Bible is a book about God’s enemy. * 3) Ask God what He thinks. * Then pause and listen. * 4) Sit under leaders with a “Fatherly” spirit (and Motherly). * They’re willing to talk about all things. * They teach about boundaries.