Today's discussion centers on the essential lessons from the Book of Joshua, particularly focusing on how to fight and win in life's battles. I emphasize that the first step in overcoming challenges is recognizing that we are indeed in a spiritual battle. Throughout our conversation, we explore nine key lessons that guide us in this ongoing struggle, including the importance of foundational obedience, trusting God's preparation for victory, and the necessity of dealing with sin when it arises. We also highlight the significance of perseverance and finishing strong, regardless of age or circumstance. This episode aims to provide practical insights that encourage us to remain steadfast in our faith and actions as we navigate the complexities of our lives.

Takeaways:

1. The Christian life is described as a serious battle against evil forces that requires our full engagement.
2. Understanding that God's blessings often come with challenges is crucial for spiritual growth and maturity.
3. Successful battle plans in life must be based on the teachings and guidance found in God's word.
4. It is essential to maintain complete obedience to God, as neglecting this can lead to significant consequences in our lives.

Links referenced in this episode:

1. www.bible805.com

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Welcome to through the Bible in chronological order from Bible 805 and Yvon Prehn. This podcast is a somewhat unique and, I trust, a helpful historical and thematic commentary on the readings in the Bible.

It's not a verse by verse study, but one that I pray you'll find thoughtful and challenging.

New episodes are released each Wednesday and today our lesson is The Book of Joshua 9 Lessons on how to Fight and Win in the Battles of Life the first step to winning in the battles of life is to realize that you're in a battle. The Bible describes the Christian life in this way.

This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps a life or death fight to the finish against the devil and all his angels.

Take your share of suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, just as I do.

This is the Apostle Paul speaking, and as Christ's soldier, do not let yourself become tied up in worldly affairs, for then you cannot satisfy the one who's enlisted you in his army. These are passages from both Ephesians and second Timothy.

Now this is very different than many contemporary ideas of the Christian life today, but it's true. Now the Book of Joshua can help us.

Charles Spurgeon was one of the first ones, the great preacher to point this out, and this is what he said in his commentary on Joshua. A merely nominal profession is easy enough to make and to maintain after the manner of things.

But to be a Christian indeed through and through, to eat and drink and sleep eternal life, to live the life of God on earth, this is the work. This is the difficulty.

As soon as you're washed in Christ's blood and clothed in his righteousness, you must begin to hew your way through a lane of enemies right up to the eternal throne. Every foot of the way will be disrupted. Not an inch will Satan yield to you. You must continue daily to fight.

We don't like to always think about that, but I think his words are so true. Now these battles are actually part of the process of sanctification.

Sanctification is defined as being set apart for God's use as relating to the Christian life.

After we're justified or made right with God, after we trust Jesus to be our Savior, we then begin the journey of sanctification, where God intends for us to grow and become more and more like Jesus. This is a process that will not be complete in this life. This is what the battle consists of and it will continue through all of life.

Just as the experience of the Exodus was a picture of salvation from sin. The Book of Joshua is a picture of sanctification in both what to do and what not to do. So let's get into it. The Book of Joshua opens.

After 40 years of wandering, Israel finally gets to enter the promised land. Moses died just before going into the promised land and passed on the leadership to Joshua.

God was giving it to them, but they still had to fight for it. We can learn from what they did well and how they failed to help us in our battles.

Now our plan in this lesson is to go over nine lessons from the Book of Joshua on how to fight and win in the battles of life. Here's an overview of Lesson one. God's blessings often include challenges. Lesson two Successful battle plans must be founded on God's word.

Lesson 3 Trust that God goes before you to prepare for victory. Lesson 4 Make sure of your foundation in complete obedience. Lesson 5 Do things God's way, no matter what.

Lesson 6 if you disobey and sin, deal with it. Lesson 7 Don't trust appearances. Always seek God's will. Lesson 8. Quitting the battle too soon can have unimaginable negative consequences.

And number nine, Never let age or any other excuse cause you to drop out of the battle. Finish strong. Now let's go into more detail on each of these.

Lesson number one God's blessings often include challenges One of the most important things to learn in the Christian life is to not be surprised at troubles and challenges or to think we've had enough. The children of Israel had been delivered out of Egypt and wandered from for 40 years.

After all that, the new generation still had seven years of bloody battles ahead. When we face yet another challenge, we often ask why? Why do I have to go through this? I've been through so much already.

Well, the Bible gives us two reasons. One, to grow us to Christian maturity. In James 1:2 it says, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations.

In other words, trials of many kinds. Knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

But let patience have her perfect work, that you might be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. To understand how this relates to Christian maturity, we need to look at the real meaning of the word perfect, which is teleos in the Greek.

Now, it doesn't mean without sin that you won't be absolutely sinfully sinless. Excuse me? When you go through a certain amount of trials, telios, though, means complete in mental and moral character.

Brought to its end, finished, complete. The teleos, the end point of something, trials and challenges enable us to become spiritually perfect, to be mature in our faith and trust.

Rick Warren sums it up this way when he says, why doesn't God just take away all your problems? And he answers himself when he says, because God uses tough times to grow your character.

If you've never had any problems, your persistence, determination, diligence and patience would never have a chance to grow. God's work in our life during hard times makes having these character traits possible.

Be thankful that God cares enough to take you through the growing times. 2 He allows these things so that we can comfort others.

In Second Corinthians 13:5, it says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort which with we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so too through Christ, we share abundantly in comfort also.

Our sufferings aren't always just about us. People are watching, learning from what we go through, how we handle it, how we do when God gives us a trial.

Not only people, but we can't forget there's a spiritual audience. Also remember the story of Job. He had everything and Satan challenged God by saying, does Job serve God for nothing?

It's kind of a rather scary thought that we might lose what is precious to us or be tempted in some horrific way to show Satan and to ourselves and to others and whatever spiritual audiences that there might be, that no matter what, we will affirm that we serve a good God. Remember, Job never knew why he went through what he went through. We may be in a similar situation.

It isn't popular to say that God might allow horrid things and you'll never on this earth know why. But that is reality.

What an incredible witness that can be if you trust God no matter what, that you can shake your fist at the heavens and declare, I serve a good God. Think about it. When you're in a trial, big or little, what if you knew that all of heaven was watching, wouldn't you want God to say of you?

Look at my servant Ken or John, Mary or Beth, and they still trust me no matter how they suffered because of what you Satan caused. Whether we're aware of that or not, that reality is true. All of heaven is watching how you handle trials.

Do them in a way that God can be proud of you as his servant. Now to Help in that. Let's continue with our lesson. Lesson number two. Successful battle plans must be founded on God's word.

Joshua 1:7:9 says, Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.

Keep this book of the law always on your lips. Meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

We must know God's word to do what is right.

When we're confronted with challenges, there will always be human ways to get what we want that will seem easier, more appealing, but that will not result in the spiritual growth through the trial that will result if we do it according to God's way. To be able to respond to battles according to God's word, we need to know it.

We need to know God's word both the overall picture of what pleases God and what doesn't, as well as the specifics of what he wants us to do and not to do. This is especially important these days as there is a common a loss, excuse me, of common decency and morality in our culture and media.

We need to know God's word and his standards ahead of time so well that we don't have to stop and think when a trial comes. Should I do this? Shouldn't I do this?

To use an old analogy, the federal agents for counterfeit crimes don't focus their time studying all the varieties of counterfeit currency. They study to the most minute, detail the real thing. That way they can spot a counterfeit without hesitation.

You need to be able to do that in the spiritual world. Lesson number three. Trust that God goes before you to prepare you for the victory.

Remember, 40 years earlier, the spies were afraid of the people in the land. But when they came into the land, this is a great plot twist. They found out that the people were afraid of them. Remember the story of Jericho?

Joshua sends in spies. Rahab hides them before they leave.

She says, before the spies were down for the night, the woman came up on the roof and said, I know that God has given you the land. We're all afraid. Everyone in the country feels hopeless.

We heard how God dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you left Egypt, and what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan, Sion and Og, whom you put under a holy curse and destroyed. We heard about it and our hearts sank. We had all the wind knocked out of us. And all because of you. You and your God. Your God.

God of the heavens above and the earth below. For the last 40 years, the people of Canaan that they were afraid of had been trembling in fear because of them.

Application if God calls you to do something, he's prepared. Resources, your audience. Many things you won't see until you step out in faith. In addition, God often has people who are ready and willing to help.

As Mr. Rogers said, look for helpers. They may be unlikely ones that God will put in your path, perhaps for you to change their lives. Keep your eyes open.

People like Rahab, a prostitute who helped the spies and became an ancestor of Jesus, and a woman commended for her faith with the heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11. Lesson number four. Be sure of your foundational and complete obedience.

After the spies returned after visiting Jericho, before the entire nation could fight, all the males who had grown up since leaving Egypt needed to be circumcised. Circumcision was a sign given to Abraham that they were God's people, but they hadn't done it for 40 years.

They also celebrated Passover, remembering God's deliverance. Application on foundational obedience. Where are you in the foundational obedient things of your Christian life?

Have you accepted Jesus as your savior? Have you been baptized? Are you part of a body of believers as obedient? Are you as obedient as you can be to what you know to do?

You can't expect God's help in larger battles if you aren't obedient and in these foundational areas. Lesson number five. Do things God's way no matter what happens. The children of Israel were told to destroy everything in Jericho.

Achan, though, coveted some of the spoils, took them, hid them, and because of that sin, Israel lost in the next battle. We can't pick and choose how we obey God. Not only we alone, but others may suffer because of it.

Many people died, including Achan and his family, because he thought he could get away with disobeying God. When this happens. Lesson number six. If you disobey and sin, deal with it.

Joshua cried out to the Lord, oh Jehovah, why have you brought us over the Jordan river if you're going to let the Amorites kill us? Why aren't we content with what we had? Why didn't we stay on the other side? O Lord, what am I to do now that Israel has fled from your enemies?

For when the Canaanites and other nearby nations hear about it, they will surround us and attack us and wipe us out. And then what will happen to the honor of your great name? But the Lord said to Joshua, get up off your face.

Israel has sinned and disobeyed my commandment and has taken loot when I said it was not to be taken. They have not only taken it, they lied about it, and they've hidden it among their belongings. That is why the people of Israel are being defeated.

That is why your men are running from their enemies, for they are cursed. I will not stay with you any longer unless you completely rid yourselves of this sin.

God didn't want Joshua to wallow in regret, sadness, whatever he told him to deal with it. Application when things go badly, Pause, Pray. Ask God if any sin is involved. If you honestly don't know, sometimes we know.

But if you don't know, ask. Or if you're disappointed with yourself, your sin, your habits, whatever the issue, get up off your face.

Deal with it, no matter how hard it might be. In First John 1:9 it says if we confess our sins, he will forgive and cleanse. We must confess and then accept God's forgiveness.

Again, get up off your face and go on. We need to get back into the battle. Don't wallow or throw a pity party or think God can never use you again. That just compounds the sin.

Yes, you may have been quite horrible recently or in the past, but excessive wallowing can be an excuse, a reason to hide and not be part of the battle.

Two helpful quotes at this Alan Radpath said, no sin which we are capable of committing has ever taken God by surprise, for he knew we were just like that. And to CS Lewis this great quote I think if God forgives us, we must forgive ourselves.

Otherwise it is almost like setting ourselves up as a higher tribunal than Him. And remember, forgiveness isn't about us being worthy of his forgiveness. We aren't and we never will be, no matter what we do.

We just aren't worthy of it. God's people never have been and we will never be.

He used Moses after he murdered a man, Peter, after he denied Christ, Paul to build his church, after he tried his hardest to destroy it. It's not that we aren't as bad as any of them, or that any of us deserve forgiveness more than they did.

The point is that our God is eternally gracious and as merciful and as much the God of second chances as he has always been. So get up off your face and back into the battle. Lesson seven don't trust appearances. Always seek God's will.

The Gibeonite deception comes up in Joshua 9. The people who lived nearby pretended to be from far away and asked for peace, and the leaders of Israel granted it.

But they didn't pray about it first. They didn't ask God for discernment.

They were then obligated to fight for the Gibeonites and had continuing troubles because of them for generations to come. Application Always take time to seek God's will no matter what the pressure. There will almost always be a time pressure to do something too quickly.

To not wait in reality means you don't trust God. Sadly, there will also often be people who will pressure you to act too quickly. Act now. Don't do it always if things don't feel right.

If you don't have peace, no matter how good something looks, don't act on it until you know what God wants. Lesson number 8 quitting a battle too soon can have unimaginable negative consequences. They didn't drive out the Canaanites completely.

In passage after passage, they quit too soon.

He was from Gath. He was one of the descendants of these giants that they didn't take out. And think about it. That's still a problem today.

The Gaza Strip has been a source of continuous, intense, horrible conflict for centuries. And in the Middle east, even today there's battle after battle taking place there.

I have a picture on the slideshow of a destroyed school in Gaza and even our very recent what's going on in our world? Gaza is still a problem. And it goes all the way back to the children of Israel did not take care of business when they were supposed to do it.

Early on in the race he fell, badly wounding his knee. He dislocated and injured his shoulder. However, he continued running. He finished last.

The winner of the marathon, Mama Wakolde of Ethiopia, finished in 2 hours, 20 minutes and 26 seconds. A quarry finished quite a lot later, in 3 hours, 25 minutes and 27 seconds.

There were only a few people left in the stadium and the sun had set as he finally crossed the finish line. A cheer came from the small crowd.

When interviewed later and asked why he continued running, he said, my country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race. Application it's often near the end of a big project or a difficult trial that we want to quit.

It is that last 10% that's the hardest, the one more final draft, the last correction, the additional thing added to a ministry outreach. Waiting just a little bit longer. We're exhausted and tempted to think it's good enough. I'm tired.

But that is often the time to press through, press ahead and do the one more thing that needs to be done, to do all, all we know the Lord wants us to do to finish that particular task. What if. What if Jesus had lived his perfect life, healed and preached, but didn't go to the cross? He finished what he came to do.

He finished his race. We're also called to finish our race.

In Hebrews 12:1 and 2, it says, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before him. He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Speaking of Jesus, as this passage in Hebrews says, for the joy set before him, he endured. May we do the same? Lesson number nine. Never let age or any other excuse cause you to drop out of the battle. Finish strong.

Caleb was one of the spies who trusted God when they first came to the land. And now he's still ready to fight. This is 40 years later when he says, now, then, just as Lord promised, he's kept me alive for 45 years.

So here I am today, 85 years old. I'm still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out. I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then.

Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified.

But I, the Lord helping me, I said, I will drive them out, just as he said.

And it goes on to say, as this passage finishes up, Hebrew then belonged to Caleb ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.

And then it's really cute it has a little parenthetical comment here in the Bible where it says Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba after Arba, who was the greatest man among the Anakites. Now, did you. Did you get all that?

Caleb finished the battle when the others quit, but not only did he do that, he went for the city that the biggest and baddest giant lived in at the time, and he defeated him when he was 85 years old. Other Israelites ran away. They allowed the giants to live among them to their later pain and regret.

Caleb, though, continued to obey God in the same way he had as a young man. Application age, any age, is irrelevant to the eternal people called to serve God.

You're never too young to begin to do great things for God, never too busy in middle age, and never too old to do what God wants you to do in your dreams. Obedience and calling in the Kingdom of God. Now to review the nine lessons from the Book of Joshua.

Lesson Number one God's blessings often include challenges. Two Successful battle plans must be founded on God's word. Lesson 3 Trust that God goes before you to prepare for victory.

Lesson 4 Make sure of your foundational and complete obedience. Lesson 5 Do things God's way, no matter what. Lesson 6 If you disobey and sin, deal with it. Lesson 7 Don't trust appearances. Always seek God's will.

Lesson 8 Quitting a battle too soon can have unimaginable negative consequences. And Lesson nine Never let age or any other excuse cause you to drop out of the battle. Finish strong.

Some final words of encouragement from Matthew Henry we should not pray so much for the removal of an affliction as for wisdom to make right use of it. We only bear the cross for a while, but we shall bear the crown to eternity.

May we all be strong in our battles so that we can say, like Paul at the end of his life, I have fought the good fight. I finished the race. I kept the faith.

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearing. Remember these lessons from the Book of Joshua. Determine to finish strong and fight well the battles the Lord gives you. That's all for now.

For notes from this lesson, related resources and links to teaching materials, go www. Bible805.com in closing, I'm Yvonne Prynn, your fellow pilgrim, writer and teacher for Jesus, and I'd like to close with this benediction.

May you know the invitation of God to move from confusion to clarity, from wandering to rest, from loneliness to knowing you are loved, from turmoil to peace, from wherever you are on your spiritual journey to a growing knowledge of God's word and in your personal relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.