Respond to Sunday, July 21, 2019
“The God Who Fights for You” Joshua 10 | Pastor Rickey Primrose
Truth: God is loyal to fight for those who follow Him by faith. Even though God is fighting for Israel, we do not find Israel acting as passive spectators in Joshua. God is fighting on their behalf but they still have a responsibility to engage in the fight. God fights their enemies not without them, but through them.
Response: In what ways has God shown his loyalty to you? In what ways is he fighting through you? Praise God in your prayers this week for Christ who fought for you by suffering God’s hail-throwing wrath that you deserve.
Truth: We trust God’s promises. Israel was outnumbered here. On paper, they would be defeated. God tells them, “I have given them into your hands.” It was a promise of God. Israel’s first responsibility in this fight was to trust the promise of God. God would fight for them, but they had to trust His promise.
Response: List some of the biblical promises of God this week. Do you believe the promises of God? Confess to God the areas in your life in which you are not trusting His promises. Reaffirm your trust in His promises.
Truth: We obey God’s instructions. Previously Israel failed to obey God’s instructions so God did not fight for them at Ai. Now they are keeping their covenant with Gibeon and devoting the nations to destruction. They are obeying God’s instructions so God is fighting for them. We see the power of God in Joshua but we also see the responsibility for God’s people to obey Him.
Response: We often want God’s power and victory in our lives while at the same time living in disobedience to His word. It doesn’t work that way. In what areas of your life are you living in disobedience today? Repent of failing to obey His word.
Truth: We call upon God’s power. The author of this text is not really surprised by the fact that God stopped the sun from setting—He’s God, this is what God does. The author is surprised by the fact that God “heeded the voice of a man.” We have a responsibility to call upon God’s power in prayer as we fight against sin and Satan.
Response: Are you fervently calling upon the Lord in prayer? Do you pray through the war? Calling upon God’s power in prayer for the fight you are in right now. Call upon his intervention in your life.
Family Response
Truth: Prayer is frequently used by people to tell God about the things they’ve already decided to do, to ask God to do things we really think are going to happen anyway, or to ask God for help in ways we don’t actually expect Him to help. But Joshua asked God to do something that Joshua could never do, and then Joshua acted in expectation that God would actually do it (Joshua 10:12-13). As a result, God gets glory for being a hearer (10:14a) and a doer (10:14b).
Response: What do the contents and expectations of your family prayers teach your children about your view of God and your view of prayer? If I’m not careful, my sons could learn that prayer is primarily a useful tool for a good night’s rest and that God is only powerful enough to provide the food we eat and safe travel. Don’t get me wrong, God does provide rest and food and safety, but His desire is for so much more. It takes care and it takes understanding, but our children need to be invited into prayer that asks God to do the impossible, to imagine with the expectation of His miraculous response. As a result, our children like Joshua and the Israelites learn that God is a hearer and a doer supremely worthy of our glory and praise.
Prepare for Sunday, July 28, 2019
Pray for the Church
- Leaders in worship: Pastor Rickey Primrose, Brandon Ramey & the Worship Music Ministry.
- God will meet with us through His word and by His Spirit, lead us to worship Christ and grow in Christ-likeness.
- God will help us to be a church of zeal and hope, passionate about ministry and confident in His promises.
- God will make us more passionate about and obedient to His mission of leading people to trust and follow Christ.
Prepare for the Message
“The Fight for Rest” Joshua 11-12 | Pastor Rickey Primrose
This week we will be looking at Joshua chapters 11-12 with a sermon titled, “The Fight for Rest.” Read all of Joshua chapters 11 and 12 this week. A key verse in this section is Joshua 11:23 where it indicates that the “land had rest from war.” How is this the focus in these two chapters? How is Joshua portrayed as fighting for Israel’s rest? Are there specific ways he fought for Israel’s rest? How does Joshua point to Jesus in this regard? How does Jesus fight for our rest? What do we learn of God’s character from these chapters? What glimpses of the gospel do we find in these chapters? How can you apply this story to your life today?
Music for Sunday
Every Praise