Sunday June 09
The God of the Impossible
Joshua 6:1-27
1 Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in.
2 And the LORD said to Joshua: "See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.
3 You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days.
4 And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.
5 It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him."
Today is a very special day! First, it’s Sunday, the LORD’s day! We celebrate the event of the greatest impossibility in human history! The resurrection of Jesus Christ! On Friday, He had been crucified and was buried. But on the first day of the week, He arose from the grave victorious over sin, death, hell and the grave, never to die again. He ever lives to save us and make intercession for us!!!!! His resurrection is the greatest proof that God can do the impossible!
It is also a special day for Edith and me. Today will be my last Sunday to preach and to be the interim pastor of Friendly Community Baptist Church in Burgaw North Carolina. We have had the privilege to be a part of this wonderful fellowship of believers for the past two years! It has been a marvelous and wonderful experience. Souls have been saved, people have been baptized, families have joined the church, and we have experienced a genuine revival of God’s Holy Spirit taking control of the church! Our new pastor, Adam Kord, received an 100% vote of affirmation. He and his wife Julie will be here next Sunday to take the leadership and shepherd this flock of God’s people! It has been an awesome two years!!!!
Today is also very special for my family as we have the privilege of dedicating our preemie grandson, Luke, to the Lord. As soon as he was born at one and a half pounds in Roanoke Memorial Hospital two years ago this month, and not expected to live, this fellowship at Friendly Community took him in their hearts, (along with many, many others around the nation and world), and prayed fervently for him and his survival! He is a miracle baby! God did the impossible and today we will celebrate this, as his parents, Chris and Kimberly, present Luke to the Lord and we dedicate his life to the glory of God! He is a “special needs child” and we believe that God has a special purpose and plan for his life! Our God is Awesome!!!!!
In the last verses of Joshua 5, Joshua had an encounter with the Captain of his faith outside the walls of Jericho as he was doing reconnaissance. He was facing an impossible fortress he was tasked to conquer, and he desperately needed help! That is when God shows up! Joshua falls to his face and worships, takes off his shoes, and listens to God’s instructions as to how to go about conquering this great city.
In the first verses of Joshua 6, we have the specifics of those instructions. I can’t imagine what is going through Joshua’s mind as he hears them. They absolutely make no human sense! March around the walls once a day for six days, with the priest leading with trumpets and the ark, and with all the men of war and the rest of the people following them. And march in complete silence. No talking, no trumpet blowing. Then on the seventh day, do the same thing six times but on the seventh time, blow the trumpets and all the people shout with a great shout! God then promised that the wall of the city would fall flat!
Sounds crazy! But that was God’s instructions and Joshua simply obeyed by faith and shared them with the people! We must first understand that the Bible is not a book to be explained but a book to be obeyed! God's plan for the conquest of Jericho was seemingly foolish, but it worked. God's wisdom is far above ours (Isa. 55:8-9) and He delights in using people and plans that seem foolish to the world (1 Cor. 1:26-29). Whether it's Joshua with trumpets, Gideon with torches and pitchers (Judg. 7), or David with his sling (1 Sam. 17), God delights in using weakness and seeming foolishness to defeat His enemies and glorify His name.
When the angel told Mary that as a virgin she would conceive and give birth to the Christ child, and that her elderly cousin Elizebeth was also going to give birth to a son, he reminded her that “With God nothing is impossible” (Luke 1:37).
Today, you can trust the Lord to do the impossible in your life!
God bless!
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