A Sermon Outline By BILL PRATER

FAITH IS THE VICTORY

FROM DECEPTION TO DEVOTION

Joshua 9:24-27 (Don't Read)

In 2 Peter 1:20 we read, "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation." I take that verse to mean that the Scriptures are not a collection of the private thoughts and
opinions of men, but are the very words of God revealing both the will and the mind of God. And because
they are the very words of God, that means that God did not intend for men to interpret the Scriptures
according to their ideas and notions.

There can only be one correct interpretation of any given Scripture. That's not to say that there aren't
numerous attempts given to interpreting various Scriptures, but regardless of how varied the interpretations
may be, there is only one that is correct. On the other hand, there can be several applications of any given
Scripture. For example, the story of the prodigal son has been applied to both the lost coming to the Father
for salvation, and the backslider coming to the Father for restoration. The story of Isaac in Genesis 22 has
been used to depict Isaac as a type of Christ in his willingness to be offered, as well as depicting Isaac as a
type of the sinner who was saved because of the sacrifice of another. In this case it was the ram being
sacrificed in Isaac's stead.

At the outset of these messages I talked about the different views of Canaan and what the crossing of the
Jordan is used to represent. The most common thought associated with the crossing of Jordan and entering
the Promised Land is that of dieing and going to heaven. In this series of messages we have viewed the
crossing of Jordan and the conquering of the Promised Land as the Christian's willingness to overcome all
obstacles and possess what is rightfully his in Christ Jesus.

I said all that to say this, the relationship between the Iraelites and Gibeonites can be applied to more than
area of the Christian life. In the last message I used the fact that the Israelites made a league with the men
from Gibeon to represent the Christian making a league with the devil and making a compromise with sin.
The fact that the Israelites were forced to live with the Gibeonites for the rest of their lives represents the
fact that sometimes we are forced to live with the consequences of our sin for as long as we live. In this
message however, we are going to look at the Gibeonites and their coming to Joshua in a different light.

One thing about Joshua that we have not discussed to this point, is his name. Joshua's original name was
Oshea which means "salvation." But Moses changed it to Jehoshua in Numbers 13:16. Jehoshua is usually
abbreviated "Joshua." The new name means "Jehovah is salvation." To change the name, Moses simply
prefixed to the name Oshea the name Jeh, which is an abbreviated form of the name "Jehovah."

The significance of this name change is seen in the New Testament. In the Greek, the name "Joshua" is
changed to "Jesus." Both Acts 7:45 and Hebrews 4:8 speak of Joshua, using the Greek spelling of his name
which is "Jesus." So without doing any injustice to the Scriptures, we can say that the Joshua of the Old
Testament, in many ways is a type of Jesus in the New Testament. And it is that thought that I want us to
pursue for the most part of this message. And as we view Joshua as an Old Testament type of Christ, we
are going to view the Gibeonites' coming to Joshua as a picture of the lost sinner coming to Christ for
salvation. As we get into Joshua 10 we will see the struggles that the young Christian is met with and the
lessons that can be learned from those struggles.

There are four points to the message: Salvation Sought, Battles Fought, Lessons Taught, and Victories
Wrought.

I. SALVATION SOUGHT Joshua 9:24-27

A. The Gibeonites Needed Reconciliation v. 24
1. To reconcile is to change from enmity to friendship. The Gibeonites were the enemies of
Israel. They came to Joshua in hopes of being reconciled. Their desire was to make peace
between themselves and the Israelites.
2. As the Gibeonites sought to be reconciled with Joshua, the great need of every lost sinner
is to be reconciled to God through His Son Jesus Christ.
3. Ephesians 4:18
a. This verse describes everyone who has yet to be reconciled to God. They are "alienated from the life of God."
b. That is, they are without eternal life because they have not made peace with God.
4. Colossians 1:21-22
a. Paul is speaking here to saved people or people who had been reconciled to God
through their belief in and acceptance of the gospel message.
b. But before they were reconciled, Paul states plainly that they too were "alienated"
from God, just like those spoken of in Ephesians 4. He also refers to them as the
"enemies" of God.
5. Every person who has yet to be born again, can identify with these Gibeonites in that they
are the enemy of God.
6. These Gibeonites knew that the only hope they had of being saved was to make peace with
Joshua. And in the same manner, the only hope a lost person has of being saved and having
eternal life is to make peace with God through His Son, who is the only Saviour of the souls
of men.

B. The Gibeonites Displayed Capitulation v. 25
1. To capitulate is to surrender fully.
2. These Gibeonites literally cast themselves upon the mercy of Joshua.
3. God has never saved anybody who has come to Him in pride. Listen to the words of the
Psalmist in Psalm 34:18, "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and
saveth such as be of a contrite spirit." The word "contrite" means "crushed."
4. These men from Gibeon did not come to Joshua demanding that he do this or that. They
came humbly. They came surrendering themselves completely to him.
5. By the same token, that person who comes to the Lord, must come to Him on His terms.
They must come to Him with a crushed heart and a willingness to submit to Him as their
Lord and Saviour.

C. The Gibeonites Received Salvation v. 26
1. As a type of Jesus in the New Testament, what Joshua did to these Gibeonites pictures what
Jesus does to all of those who come to Him sincerely seeking to be saved, He delivers
them.
2. Jesus said in John 6:37, "...him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."
3. He said in 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that
all should come to repentance."
4. Had these Gibeonites not made their peace with Joshua, without a doubt they would have
been made to face the wrath of Joshua and the nation of Israel. The same holds true for
those who fail to make peace with God. The only thing they have to look forward to is a
time of "judgment and fiery indignation."
5. Praise The Lord for the opportunity that is ours to be saved from eternal damnation.

D. The Gibeonites Served in Appreciation v. 27
1. It didn't make any difference to the Gibeonites what they were asked to do, they did it
willingly, out of appreciation for the mercy that Joshua had shown to them.
2. The greatest thing that a young Christian can do is get involved in the Lord's work.
3. Someone once said, "We are pardoned from sin, but we are not excused from service."
4. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, "For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge,
that if one died for all, then were all dead:
And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves,
but unto him which died for them, and rose again."
5. At one time we were all dead in trespasses and sins. We were bound for an eternity in hell.
But Jesus went to Calvary to die for us. It's not too much to ask that we live for Him. As
a matter of fact, that person who is truly born again will have no problem serving Christ
out of appreciation for what He has done in their life.

II. BATTLES FOUGHT Joshua 10:1-5
Far from entering a life of peace and rest, the newborn child of God enters a battle when they get saved.
The enemy did not sit idly by and have nothing to say or do as a result of the Gibeonites making peace
with Israel, and by the same token, the devil is never happy when a soul comes to Christ.

A. The Concern Evidenced by the Enemy vs. 1-2
1. Not only had the king of Jerusalem lost a powerful ally, but he was also concerned about
what impact the Gibeonite's reconciliation would have upon the other enemies of Israel.
Would they too seek to be reconciled? Would they too leave the side of the king of
Jerusalem and become allied against him with Joshua and the others?
2. Whenever a person renounces their service to their old master, and breaks off their friendship with the world, and makes peace with God, giving themselves totally and completely to Him, they can rest assured that Satan is going to take notice of that.

B. The Concerted Efforts of the Enemy vs. 3-5
1. No sooner had the Gibeonites made their peace with Joshua than the king of Jerusalem
assembled his remaining allies and prepared to do battle against them.
2. It is important for the young Christian to understand that when they get saved, Satan is
going to attack them, and let us keep in mind, he doesn't work alone.
3. Ephesians 6:10-12
a. When Satan was cast out of heaven, a third of the angels were cast out with him.
b. Today he is in charge of an entire army of demon spirits that are constantly doing
his bidding as they come against God's people, doing everything they can to defeat
them.
4. At times, the enemies of God's people may appear to be overwhelming, especially to those
who are new converts. Satan may try to intimidate us by an impressive show of force, but
we have more fighting for us than the natural eye can see.
5. 2 Kings 6:14-17
6. When the enemy comes against us and seems to be too much for us to handle, we need to
learn to look, and with the eye of faith, see the army of the Lord that is willing to fight for
us.
7. John said, "greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."

III. LESSONS TAUGHT
When the battles of life come against the child of God, especially those who are still young in the Lord,
the question that generally arises is "Why, since I have made peace with God, does He allow me
to encounter so much opposition?" Among other things, these battles are intended to:

A. Help us Face Reality
1. Take note here of who was attacking the Gibeonites. It was the Amorites. The Amorites
had previously been the Gibeonite's friends.

2. Generally speaking, it doesn't take the new convert long to come to the realization
that far from congratulating him, or being ready to join him, those who he thought were his
friends will turn against him and become antagonistic, hoping to discourage and defeat him.
3. Listen to 1 Peter 4:3-4, "For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the
will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings,
banquetings, and abominable idolatries:
Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot,
speaking evil of you:"
4. The reality of the Christian life is perhaps seen best in John 15:18-21.

B. Test our Fidelity
1. The Lord may allow others to come against us in order to test us and see if we are going
to be true to Him as the Saviour of our souls.
2. The temptation to give up and turn back is so great early on in the new convert's life.
That's why they need to surround themselves with good, godly friends. They need to
surround themselves with those who will encourage them in their walk with the Lord.
3. Anyone who will try and lead you away from the Lord, is not your friend.

C. Prove God's Sufficiency
1. From time to time, the Lord will allow us to be faced with battles that are too large for us
to fight on our own. Don't make any mistake, those battles come our way by design.
2. It's when we are seemingly overwhelmed by the battles of life, that the Lord is able to show
forth His love, and His loyalty, and His power.

IV. VICTORIES WROUGHT
For fear of making the Christian life sound like a losing proposition, I want you to know that as long
as you stay with the Lord, you'll be the ultimate victor. It will not always be easy, but through Christ,
we can triumph over our enemies.

Three things occurred in this tenth chapter of Joshua that were key in gaining the victory over the
Amorites.

A. The Right Person was Petitioned vs. 6-7
The Gibeonites appealed to the right person for help when they appealed to Joshua. Joshua was
the best person for them to turn to because of his position. Because he was the leader, he was
the natural one to turn to. It was right to turn to Joshua because of his power. It was obvious that
he had the power of God on his side by what he had accomplished up to this point. And they
were wise in turning to Joshua because of his pity. Joshua had shown them pity once before in
sparing their lives, and there was not reason to believe he wouldn't do it again.

Spiritually this is a great illustration of the child of God turning to Jesus Christ during times of
need. Christ is the right one to turn to because of His:
1. Position
a. Christ is our leader. He is the one we follow, and it is to Him that we are to look for
help.
b. David could not have made it any more clear when he said, "I will lift up mine eyes
unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth."
2. Power
a. In Matthew 28:18, Jesus said, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."
Who better to turn to in times of trouble than the one who has "all power."

b. The Psalmist said:
(1) Psalm 5:11-12 - "But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them
ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy
name be joyful in thee.
For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him
as with a shield."
(2) Psalm 17:7 - "Show thy marvelous loving-kindness, O thou that savest by thy
right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against
them."
3. Pity
a. David said, "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that
fear him."
c. The writer of Hebrews said, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be
touched with the feeling of our infirmities..." The Lord knows the troubles and trials
that face the Christian, and therefore He is able to show pity as no one else can do.

B. The Right Principle was Practiced v. 42
As demonstrated by Joshua, the key to gaining victory is to destroy those things that stand in our
way. This is especially true for those who are yet young in the Lord. The surest way to keep
from being defeated by the things that had you bound before you were saved, is to get rid of those
things.
1. The Edict
a. God had told Joshua in Deuteronomy 20:16 to destroy everything that breathed, and
that's exactly what Joshua did.
b. In a similar way, we are told in Colossians 3:5 to put to death those things in our lives
that would hinder from having God's best. Paul said, "Mortify therefore your
members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection,
evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:"
c. We cannot afford to tolerate any evil in our lives if we hope to be victorious.
2. The Energy
1. As we talk about destroying those things in our lives that may keep us from having
God's best, it may appear to be an impossible task, but it is very much possible
because of what we read in verse 42.
2. Verse 42b
3. As Joshua and the men of Israel went out to battle against the enemy, they did so in
the power of the Lord. And because they put forth the effort to do battle, God gave
them the victory.
4. As long as we're willing to put forth an honest effort in our fight against sin, God will
give us the power we need to overcome.
3. The Extent
a. As we read in verse 40, Joshua destroyed everything "that breathed." In other words,
Joshua did not leave anything alive that could have risen up against him in the future.
b. In the earlier part of Joshua 10 we find that as the Israelites went out to battle against
the Amorites, that they "discomfited them" and "slew them with a great slaughter"
and "chased them." And as they were chasing them, the Lord rained down great
hailstones from heaven. And the Bible says, "they were more which died with the
hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword." The verses
following that, record another miracle. At Joshua's request, the Lord caused the sun
and the moon to stand still. Joshua 10:13 says, "So the sun stood still in the midst
of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day."

c. But in verses 15-27 we read the story about the five Amorite kings. It seems that
while their armies were being slaughtered by the Israelites, they chose to hide
themselves in a cave. Well, as the story goes, Joshua found out that they were in the
cave and so he had the cave sealed until the battle was finished. When the battle was
over, he sent for the five kings and he killed them.
d. To the extent that Joshua destroyed his enemies, we too need to destroy those things
that would interfere with our spiritual growth. Had Joshua left those five kings alive
in that cave, they would have had the opportunity to escape and to live another day
to rise up against the nation of Israel.
e. The point is this, we cannot afford to leave anything lurking in the deepest recesses
of our heart that can one day rise up against us to defeat us. Everything must be
brought before the Lord to be destroyed. Regardless of how much in love we may be
with any particular thing in our life, if it is a known hindrance to our spiritual
progress, it needs to be destroyed.

C. The Right Pattern was Prescribed v. 43
After doing battle with the enemy and having been victorious through the power of God, Joshua
and the children of Israel returned to Gilgal. This is significant because of what Gilgal meant
to the children of Israel. It was the place where:
1. Circumcision was Renewed - Purging the sin out of our lives
2. Communion was Revived - Fellowshipping with the Lord through prayer and Bible study
3. Captain was Revealed - Surrendering to the Lordship of Christ
Every day of our life ought to include a trip to Gilgal. Every day we ought to go to the Lord for
cleansing, we ought to spend time fellowshipping with Him, and we ought to surrender ourselves
to His plan for our lives.
The reason we ought to spend time at Gilgal everyday, is because it won't be long and the devil
will be back at again, waging war against us and trying to keep us from having God's best.
Joshua 11:1-5