The Thrill Of Victory

The Thrill of Victory (Joshua 4:1-3, 8, 10-11, 17-24) God can always bring victory God gives the victory (Zech. 4:6; 1 Cor. 15:57; 1 John 4:4; Rom. 8:37) He only requires one thing from us, that we trust in Him (1 John 5:4) God deserves the glory (Joshua 4:24; Rom. 4:20; 16:27; Jude 1:25) Each God-given victory can embolden us to take future steps in faith Living Exercising/Demonstrating faith strengthens/grows faith, develops confidence in God and a firm reliance on the certainty of God’s grace, counsel and enabling. (Matt. 7:7-11) God is faithful/trustworthy (Deut. 7:9; Isa. 49:7; 1 Cor. 1:9; 10:13; Heb. 10:23; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 Thess. 5:24; Titus 1:2; 2 Tim. 2:13; John 1:9) Faith means taking God at his Word (Rom. 10:17) Faith is not about ignoring/denying circumstances, it is about believing God anyway, in spite of circumstances! (Rom. 8:24) God has given to all people some measure of faith (Rom. 12:3) We are called to have “Child-like Faith” - A firm belief in the reliability of God and the truth of His word. Just as a child learns to implicitly trust its mother, so a young Christian relies on the Lord for its spiritual leading, feeding and protection (Mark 10:15) By faith, the Israelites stepped into the Jordan at flood stage, and God responded by allowing them to cross on dry land (Joshua 3:15-17) It is important to share what God has done in your life with others, including future generations, so that they might be encouraged/inspired to trust in God themselves. The purpose of the pile of stones is call to mind to all :"that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always reverence the LORD your God." (Joshua 4:24). Why is this “memorial” important? Because God’s people need sometime need something (or someone) to call to mind the record of the power and faithfulness of God in trying times. In addition, “passers-by” and later generations need to know who God is and what he can do! The stones are a tie to the past that give a reason to persevere the present and to have hope for the future. We can be “living stones” when we "declare the wonderful deeds of Him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." (1 Pe. 2:1-9)

Do you recall the victories given to you by the power of Our loving father? Have you shared the story of those victories with your children and others? Hearing about God’s faithfulness strengthens a believer’s faith (Rom. 10:17) The Bible is a record of God’s promises and his faithfulness in keeping those promises. Joshua wrote, "Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled (Joshua 21:45)." A few hundred years later King Solomon reminded his generation of the same thing when he said in 1 Kings 8:56, "Not one word has failed of all the good promises He gave..." Each generation has a responsibility to pass on what they have learned & experienced about God’s nature, works and kingdom (Ps. 71:16-18; 78:3-7; 145:4; 11-13; Deut. 6:7, 11:19; Isa. 38:19) Each of us individually also has a responsibility to speak about this (Ps. 96:3; 145:5; Isa. 12:4) We need to be careful not to limit what God can do in our own minds How big is your God? In the courts of Alexander the Great there was a philosopher who had outstanding ability but little money. He went to Alexander and asked for financial help and the emperor told him that he could go directly to the treasury and withdraw whatever amount he needed. When he requested from the treasurer an amount that would equal $50,000 toady, the treasurer refused - he would first have to verify that such a large amount had been authorized. When he went to Alexander with the request he was told, "Give him the money. This man has done me a great honor. By the largeness of the request he has shown that he understands both my wealth and my generosity." (Today in the Word, August, 91) Is anything impossible for the Lord? (Gen. 18:14) NO!!! (Job 42:2; Matt. 19:26; Luke 1:37; Eph. 3:20) Everything is possible for him who believes (Mark 9:23, 11:23, Matt. 17:20-21, 21:21, Luke 17:6, Jer. 32:17, Eph. 3:20) God is the source of all power (2 Sam. 22:33, 1 Chron. 29:11-12, 2 Chron. 20:6, Ps. 66:7, 147:5, Matt. 6:13, Rom. 13:1, 2 Cor. 4:7, 12:9, Jude 1:25) So God has the power to carry out his promises (Rom. 4:17 & 21, Eph. 6:10, Jer. 32:17)

But God’s power is only accessible by maintaining a relationship with Him, through prayer, in the name of Jesus (Mark 9:29, John 15:5, 2 Cor. 10:3-4)) Do you live your life as though you really believe in the promises of God? (Heb. 11:1, 6) How would your life be different if you really lived it as though you trusted in God’s promises? (John 14:12-14) Our unbelief frustrates God (Mark 9:19, 16:14, Matt. 14:31, 17:17, Luke 9:41, 24:25, Num. 14:11, John 4:48, 20:27, Heb. 11:6) Our unbelief is a roadblock to our achievement (Num. 20:12, 32:13) Conversely, truly believing can bring us prosperity (2 Chron. 20:20) Our unbelief causes to God withhold miracles (Matt. 13:58, James 1:6-8, Deut. 32:20) Conversely, acting on our faith can unlock miraculous things (Matt. 8:2-3, 9:20-22, 28-30, 15:21-28, 20:30-34, Isa. 50:2, Acts 6:8) Our unbelief can discourage others (Num. 13:31) In addition, non believers will zero in on the failures of believers to try and undermine faith in Jesus (Mark 9:14) So we need to watch how we walk (2 Cor. 6:3) Our unbelief leaves us open to Satan’s attack (Eph. 6:16, Matt. 26:42) Our unbelief leaves us anxious (Mark 4:36-40) Doubt comes from leaning upon our own understanding (Prov. 3:5) For example, Abraham tried to substitute Ishmael as his heir because he did not believe God could produce a son through he and Sarah in their old age. (Gen. 17:18)