Willing

Over the past couple of days, I've noticed that Gateway College of Evangelism is starting their United Tour. I remember those tours: the worship, the fellowship, the fun... On one such tour, we sang the song "Willing" and it was one of my favorites. Here are the lyrics:

If His song will be sung

We must do the singing

If His prayer will be prayed

We must do the praying

And if His voice will be heard

We must do the speaking

It's not what we say

But what we are

That the world sees of Him

We must be real

If His love will be shown

We must do the loving

If His life be displayed

We must do the living

And if His hands must touch man

We must do the reaching

Here am I - send me - I will go

Willing to go

In spite of what I know

Willing to do

Because I love You

Willing to teach

So that all can be reached

Not my will, but Your will be done

From my lips, let praises be sung

You died on the cross

For me You gave Your life

The least I can do

For You is sacrifice

So today it must be preached

And Lord, I will do the preaching

Lord, Your strength, somebody needs

Please, help me reach them

Lord, Your work must be done

So Lord, until You come

Here am I, I'm willing

Here am I, I'm able

Here am I - send me - I will go

Even as I type these lyrics into this blog, I can hear the melody and harmony. I can even close my eyes and see the platforms we stood on when we sang this song.

Many songs are great. Few are memorable. This one is memorable. This song speaks in every line. Each phrase is yet another link connecting us to our purpose in Christ.

Are you willing to go in spite of what you know?

Are you willing to be His hands? His feet? His peace? His voice?

It's easy to pray for someone else to go and help someone... but what are you doing to help?

Jesus instructs us to pray for laborers to be sent into the harvest. We don't need to pray for a bigger harvest. We just need to become His laborers. The fields are white already to harvest!

Your neighborhoods, schools, communities, and jobs are full of people who need the Lord. Don't pray for God to send you to another field if you haven't proven yourself in the field you're in now. In other words, if you cannot teach a Bible study here, what makes you think you can teach one elsewhere? If you cannot love people here, what makes you think you can love them anywhere? Bloom where you are planted, and bring forth a harvest for the Lord.

Time is running out. Let us redeem the time and be willing to be all that we can be for the Lord and His kingdom. The church needs all hands on deck. Everyone has a place and purpose in the kingdom of God. Are you willing to fulfill yours?

No Promise Without the Precept

The text for our blog today is found in Joshua 11:15-23. Here we find Joshua being obedient to the Lord's command and conquering the inhabitants of Canaan. He aptly leads the people of God to possess the Promised Land. If you read the passage, you'll notice that there were some interesting names of people and places. Let's review them together...

1) Anakims:

The Anakims were descendants of Arba who was one of the sons of Heth. Heth is mentioned in Genesis 23:3 conversing with Abraham.

Seven years before the building of Zoar in Egypt, Arba built the city of Hebron, which was hence called Kirjatharba meaning, "the city of Arba."

The DNA of the Anakims was abnormal. They were giants. After Joshua removed them from the Promised Land, the only remaining Anakims dwelt in three cities of the Philistines: Ashdod, Gaza, and Gath.

These Anakims, especially those in Gath, became the ancestors to Goliath who fought against the armies of Israel and was defeated by David.

Anakim means, "a strangling chain or necklace; ornament."

The point of all this history is to draw the parallel to this principle - sin is a strangling chain! Just as Joshua had to remove the Anakims from the Promised Land, you and I must remove sin from our lives. Even the weights must be laid aside in order to run the race with patience that God has set before us.

Jesus said in Matthew 13:22 that the deceitfulness of riches choke the word. Here, Jesus was referring to the seed that had fallen among the thorns.

We must remove the strangling chains. If God has delivered you and set you free, then do not return to the bondage you were once in. Paul instructs us to stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage! (Galatians 5:1).

2) Hebron:

Arba built Hebron. Arba is the father of the Anakims. Hebron was located 22 miles south of Jerusalem and means, "seat of association; charmer; to join."

I'm sure you've heard the phrase, "guilty by association."

We must abstain from all appearances of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22).

Peter admonishes us to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul (1 Peter 2:11).

We must guard against associations with the world, for they who are a friend of the world are the enemy of God!

3) Anab:

Anab was a city south of Canaan that was inhabited by the Anakims, and it means, "fruit, grape; to bear fruit." Just as there is Fruit of the Spirit, there is also works of the flesh!

In creation, God commanded things to be created "after his kind" meaning that if you plant potatoes, you'll reap potatoes. If you plant roses, you'll reap roses. When a couple conceives, they do not give birth to monkey's nine months later! This disproves evolution, showing it to be a lie, but also proves another spiritual point...

A good tree does not bear bad fruit. Neither does a bad tree bear good fruit. (Luke 6:43-45). The reason is because of the root system? Ask yourself this question, am I bearing the fruit of the Spirit or the works of the flesh?

4) Remove Anakims from the Mountains:

If you go back to our original text, you'll see that Joshua "cut off" all the Anakims from these cities and then destroyed their cities as well. He also routed them from two mountain ranges. In Joshua 11:21, he removed them from the mountains of Judah and Israel.

Judah means "praise." In order for your praise to be perfected, you've got to remove the Anakim from your promised land!

Israel means "prince with God; ruling with God." If you want to rule with God, you've got to remove sin from your life!

Notice in our text what happened after the Anakim were routed from their cities and mountains, and their cities destroyed... "and the land had rest from war." (Joshua 11:23).

There will never be true peace or true rest UNTIL you've removed the strangling chains of sin that choke you. You cannot be a friend of the world and hope to remain the friend of God. It just will not work.

There is no promise without the precept!

Are you Ready for the Wonders?

Moses has died. In fact, for the past forty years, everyone over 20 has died in the wilderness. The only two over 20 to still be alive are Joshua and Caleb. Joshua is God's appointed and anointed leader now.

Joshua is a man of prayer. Earlier in his life, Joshua lingered in the tabernacle long after Moses had finished praying and talking with God. Could it be that Joshua knew that he needed to be spiritually prepared for this day.

In Joshua 3:1-5, we find Joshua setting the precedent for experiencing the wonders God has prepared for Israel. We can apply these principles and see God's wonders!

#1 Prayer!

Joshua rose early in the morning. Could this be his prayer time? I believe it could be. Prayer is vital to the life of the born-again Christian. Just as you cannot live without blood or water in your body, neither can you survive without prayer.

You cannot replace the purpose or power of prayer with programs or promotions and still experience the wonders!

Morton Bustard wrote in The Impassioned Soul, "The world is experiencing what is quite possibly the greatest move of God ever known to man. The birthing room for this Heaven-sent, hell-shaking, life-changing experience is the prayer room."

Prayer produces power and power produces the demonstration of the Spirit of God.

The elders of the previous generation would often say, "You need to pray through." Stop and think about those words - PRAY THROUGH - when you're faced with a situation that seems impossible, PRAY THROUGH the to the peace of God and experience the wonders!

#2 Perspective!

Joshua told Israel to "remove from your place." This phrase means in the Hebrew, "change the way you think."

Are you listening to the voice of the Shepherd, or are you listening to the voice of strangers?

"You cannot go with God and stay where you are." ~ Henry T. Blackaby

Are you surprised when God does come through, or are you surprised when He doesn't? Some people are amazed when the gifts of the Spirit operate, or people are healed, filled, or delivered. Often they say, "We had a divine interruption tonight." If God had to "interrupt" then He's not truly leading you or your church is He?

Instead, change your mind and expect God to do exactly what His word says! I'm amazed if the gifts of the Spirit DON'T operate. Change your perspective - remove from your place and go after God!

#3 Preparation!

Joshua rounds out his words to Israel by saying, "sanctify yourselves" which means "to dedicate; to prepare."

You've to got prepare yourself to receive what God wants to do. If you're going to pray for rain, be sure to plow your fields expecting the rain to come!

In reality, prayer helps us to change our perspective which in fact prepares us for the wonders.

Joshua proclaimed, "the Lord WILL do wonders among you!" It's not maybe. GOD WILL!

So, are you ready for the wonders?