A Sermon Outline By BILL PRATER

FAITH IS THE VICTORY

Joshua 6:1-16, 20-21

Most of us are well acquainted with the story of Joshua and the walls of Jericho. At one time or another,
we've either sung about it, preached about it, or taught about it. If we've not done any of those things, we've
at least heard it sung about, preached about, or taught about.

There are so many lessons to be learned from this sixth chapter of Joshua, including the importance of
following the leader as he follows the Lord. But for this series of messages our focus is on overcoming the
enemies in our spiritual life on a daily basis, and learning how to have God's best.

Back in Joshua chapter 3 we learned about the Initial Challenge to Victory. If you will remember, I said that
the Jordan River represented that thing or those things that had to be confronted and dealt with if we hoped
to enter the land of spiritual blessing.

In this 6th chapter, the children of Israel, having confronted and crossed the Jordan, are now met with the
stronghold of the Canaanites, which is Jericho. Like the other cities that had to be overcome, Jericho
represents our daily struggle with sin. One thing that we must always keep in mind is that although we have
been freed from the power of sin, we have not been freed from the presence of sin. Victory over sin has to
do with its domination, not its temptation. As long as we are in this life, we will constantly struggle with
sin, and each of those sins will fall into one of three categories: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, or the pride
of life. John said in 1 John 2:15-16, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any
man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the
Father, but is of the world."

In their quest to gain what rightfully belonged to them, the Israelites were faced with one battle after another.
And by the same token, if we would have God's best, it will involve one struggle after another. In reality,
every morning we wake up, it's us against the world. That is, it is us against the lust of the flesh, the lust
of the eyes, and the pride of life. But there is good news, and it's found in John 16:33 where Jesus said,
"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have
tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." What did Jesus mean, "I have overcome
the world?" The word "overcome" means "to subdue, conquer, overcome, prevail, or get the victory." In
other words, Christ has already subdued, conquered, overcome, prevailed against and gotten the victory for
us over the world. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life are defeated enemies.
Defeated in the sense that they have no authority to dominate us. If we've been saved, sin no longer has the
right to dominate in our life. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we can "stand up" to sin and say "You
have no authority here anymore."

Now then, it's up to us to appropriate that victory into our everyday lives. It's up to us to take that truth from
the pages of the Bible and to make it real in our lives on a daily basis. It's up to us to take what we know
to be true theoretically and to make it true experientially. And how do we do that? We do it the same way
Joshua conquered Jericho.

Hebrews 11:30

The fall of Jericho was not the result of the Israelites walking around the city 13 times in 7 days. It wasn't
the result of the priests blowing the trumpets, or the people shouting. The fall of Jericho came about by
faith. All of these other things were the results of faith.

1 John 5:4-5

As we place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, that same faith enables us to be victorious over
the world. As our faith in Christ grows, we begin to understand that the world is the enemy of Christ and
therefore is our enemy as well. We begin to understand that Christ died to redeem us and rescue us from
the world. We begin to understand that through Christ's death, we too can die to the world. And as our faith
grows, we become less and less satisfied with this world and what it has to offer, knowing that in heaven
we have "a better and an enduring substance."

So truly it is by faith that we overcome the world. It takes a strong faith, and a strong faith comes from a
strong relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Israelites had strong faith. Let's notice seven things about their faith. Their faith was a faith that:

I. DARED

A. There are three degrees of faith:
1. There is a faith which Rests upon the truth of the gospel for salvation.
2. There is a faith that Relies upon God and His Word and believes that He will be true to what He has promised. For example, Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:12, "...for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."
3. Then there is a faith that Risks, which dares something for the Lord.

B. The Israelites demonstrated a faith that was willing to risk something for the Lord. As they
crossed the Jordan, they burned all their bridges behind them, so to speak. They were now in the
enemy's territory and there was nothing they could do but march on, trusting in the promises of
God.

C. Moses demonstrated a faith that was willing to risk something for the Lord when he confronted
Pharaoh and told him what God had said. David also exhibited this kind of faith when he confronted Goliath. Elijah proved that he was a man of daring faith when he challenged the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. We see it in Daniel when he dared to be thrown into the lion's den instead of complying with the edict of Babylon's king, and in the three Hebrew children when they refused to be intimidated by the fiery furnace.

D. One thing is for certain, God honors a faith that is willing to risk something for Him.
E. The victorious Christian is one who is willing to go beyond just believing in God and His Word
and is willing to take Him at His Word and begin living a consecrated life. The victorious Christian is one who is willing to place their faith in Christ and to burn all their bridges behind them, leaving no way to get back to the old way of life.

II. OBEYED

A. Joshua, the high priests, the armed men, and all of the people, carried out their directions to the
letter. They demonstrated complete obedience.

B. The victorious Christian is one whose faith leads him to be obedient to the Lord in all things.

C. Too many Christians waste time trying to figure out God's "concealed" will for their life, when
they should be spending time obeying His "revealed" will for their life. The Lord has revealed enough to us in His Word to keep us busy for a lifetime. We will never be obedient to the "concealed" will of God until we are obedient to the "revealed" will of God.

D. David said in Psalm 119:60, "I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments." That
is obedient faith. It is faith that does not question or look for the easy way out or look for an alternative to God's way, but simply obeys.

E. Israel's victory was dependent upon their willingness to obey, and by the same token, there will
be no victory in the life of the Christian without obedience.

III. WAS DISCIPLINED
A. Joshua 6:10

B. What Joshua commanded the children of Israel to do was a real test of discipline.

C. Listen to 2 Timothy 2:4, "No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."

D. It takes an extremely disciplined life to avoid being entangled in the things of the world.

E. The victorious Christian is one who learns to discipline his or her:
1. Mind
a. Philippians 4:8
b. 2 Corinthians 10:5
2. Body
a. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
b. 1 Corinthians 9:27
3. Tongue
a. James 3:6-8
b. Colossians 3:8-9
c. Ephesians 5:3-4
d. Ephesians 4:25, 29

IV. WAITED
A. The walls of Jericho did not fall the first day the Israelites marched around them, they marched around the walls for seven days. Even on the seventh day, it wasn't until the seventh time around that the walls came tumbling down.

B. Patience is not a virtue that many of us possess, yet it is of utmost importance if we are going to be victorious in our fight against the world, the flesh, and the devil.

C. As I said early on in these messages, there will some things in our life that we are able to get the victory over quickly. There will however, be other things that must be overcome in time.

D. God help us not to get discouraged and quit because we are not successful in our first few attempts at gaining the victory.
E. As Solomon said, "the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong." Our victory has to do with our being patient and steadfast.

V. TRUSTED
A. Verse 20
B. Notice that the people shouted while the walls were still standing. Their shout was one of faith, it was one of confidence in God, it was one that believed God would work mightily on their behalf.

C. Trusting the Lord involves an unshakeable belief that God will make good His Word; a steadfast reliance that He will reward those that seek Him diligently.

D. Though Abraham was about a hundred years old and his wife's womb was dead, when he received promise of a son he was "fully persuaded that what God had promised He was able also to perform" (Romans 4:21). Of Mary it is said, "Blessed is she which believed that there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord" (Luke 1:45). Paul told the rest of the men on the ship in Acts 27:25 to "be of good cheer, for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me."

E. Let me show you how convinced these Israelites were that God was going to do something great for them.
1. Verses 4, 13, 16
2. The Jews used two different kinds of trumpets, those made of silver and those made of ram's horns. The silver trumpets were used primarily to assemble the camp, to sound the signal to break camp, and during times of war. The ram's horn trumpet was used primarily during times of celebration. As a matter of fact, the Hebrew word for "ram's horn" is yowbel` which is the same word used for "jubilee."
3. The Israelites were so convinced that God was going to do something great that they did not sound the war trumpet, they sounded the trumpet of celebration. They were celebrating the victory before it ever came to pass. THAT'S A FAITH THAT TRUSTED.
F. When we get out of bed in the morning, it ought to be with the confidence that through the Lord, we can win the battles that we're going to face that day. The child of God who says "I just don't think I can make it, the temptation is too strong, the battle is too hard," is defeated before they even start.
G. We need a faith that trusts in the power of God.

VI. DENIED
A. Verses 19
B. The command here to consecrate all of the spoils of victory to the Lord, teaches us that real faith takes no credit for victories won.
C. Real faith speaks the language of the Psalmist when he said, "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake."
D. Listen to Habakkuk 2:4, "Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith."
E. The songwriter wrote and asks, How could I boast of anything that I've ever said or done?
How could I dare to claim as mine the victories God has won?

VII. TRIUMPHED
A. Verse 20
B. Again I'll say, that when we exercise faith, the world will neither enthral us nor intimidate us.
Because the more we look to the Lord, the less we look to the world. And the less we look to
the world, the more victorious we will be.

CLOSING: All of this talk about faith will have been for naught, if we do not see anew, the invincibility of
God's purpose for our life. He wants us to have victory, and He wants to act mightily on our behalf, but we
must be willing to obey Him implicitly. We must be willing to say with the hymn writer of old, "Take my
life and let it be, consecrated Lord to Thee." We must be willing to truthfully answer the question, "Is your
all on the altar of sacrifice laid?" We cannot expect God to do any more for us than we are willing to do for
Him.