“WHAT ONE THING IS REQUIRED OF ALL PEOPLE WHO DESIRE TO LIVE A SATISFYING LIFE? THE ANSWER IS TO LIVE YOUR LIFE BY FAITH!”

 I’m Dennis Finnan, host and speaker on the World, the Word & You! Broadcast and in a moment we’ll talk about living by faith and what it means, especially to those who are called Christians …

…If anyone opens the Bible to the Old Testament Book of Joshua, they will find one of the most exciting accounts of human history, where a people and their leader faced some of the most challenging aspects of living life by what we call – FAITH!

Indeed, everyone alive has to live by this one commodity of life, for without it we would not venture out of bed in the morning to face whatever day lies before us. Yes, even if you are not a Christian you must LIVE BY FAITH. Don’t believe it? Well, you get up in the morning and enter the bathroom  -- men to shower, shave and dress, and women to cleanse and beautify yourself for the day ahead. Yes, it takes faith “right off the bat,” to believe that there will be hot but not scalding water when you enter the shower, and ladies the makeup or cleansing washes you apply to your face, you trust is not some skin absorbing acid.

Yes, it takes faith throughout the day that your vehicle of transportation will safely carry you to your destination; It takes faith to believe you will not be poisoned by the food you eat that others have prepared for you; It takes faith to cross the street at a green light, believing drivers will stop at their red light facing them; It takes faith to believe that an elevator will safely carry you up to your office or workplace, and so on. It takes faith that the machinery you operate will not fail and perhaps kill you! Indeed, all of life is in a sense  -- “lived by faith;” and, so it is also in the spiritual realm, to believe and order your life by faith in God and His Word. Now after a second moment of music, I’ll share with you specifically what it means to live by faith in trusting the God who created you, to fulfill His promises and give you a satisfying and blessed life. Don’t go away I’ll be right back with today’s message entitled LIVING BY FAITH…

… Our text for instruction in the Word of God, for life and living by faith, comes from the Old Testament Book of Joshua. Of all the books found there, I believe this one is the most encouraging and insightful when it comes to learning how to live by faith in God and His Word.

The book of Joshua records three important truths about the nation of Israel and their walk with God. First it described the dedication of the nation to loving and serving God (chaps. 1–5); then the defeat of the godless enemies of the Lord and His people (chaps. 6–12), and finally the victories of Israel ’s battle and the ensuing division of the land among the tribal families (chaps. 13–24). Yes, Joshua leads the nation of Israel from victory to victory as they follow the Lord and claim their promised inheritance of a new land for their new life and living before God. However, I feel the man named Joshua, is perhaps the most interesting part of the book. For his life of learning to trust God and live by faith inspires me to share this broadcast with you.

Scripture reveals that after Israel spent 40 years in the desert before being given the Promised Land by God and following Moses’ death, God raised up his understudy, a man named Joshua to be the new leader who would guide God’s people into their new homeland God was giving them. Now most people do not understand this account of war and slaughter that fills the pages of this Old Testament book. To understand it, and not come to a wrong conclusion, know this. The conquest of Canaan by Israel was not a land grabbing selfish aggression of the nation of Israel . Their war and conquest of the peoples of Canaan was God’s work and will as He appointed this nation to be His instrument of judgment against all the peoples who lived in the land of Canaan . The reason is they had turned away from God long ago, and were living in gross violation of His laws for life. God had warned them over and over again and promised that after 400 years of doing so, He would expel them from His land He sovereignly owned.  So then Israel was the “sword of justice,” appointed by God, to cast out of the land, all of God’s enemies.

So God calls Joshua to be a general and to lead the army of Israel in holy conquest. However, there were bigger issues involved in that conquest than the invasion and possession of a land—issues that touch our lives and our faith today.

That’s why we’re embarking on this short study, for the Book of Joshua is the book of new beginnings for the people of God, and many believers today need a new beginning. After forty years of wandering in the wilderness, Israel claimed their inheritance and enjoyed the blessings of the land that God had prepared for them. That’s the kind of life God wants us to experience today. Jesus Christ, our Joshua, wants to lead us in conquest of our life and living and to share with us all the treasures of His wonderful inheritance. Yes, God has “blessed us with all spiritual blessings” ( Eph. 1:3 ), but too often we Christian live like defeated beggars.

Now what can we learn in the next fifteen minutes from this fantastic book? Permit me to share with you one great lesson I’ll call – “living by faith.” That is a major theme of the book God wants all to learn of, who read it. So let’s begin…

First of all what is “faith?” Biblically faith is – “believing something or someone, and the acting upon it solely based on its or their promised performance to make it so, regardless of the lack of tangible evidence to the same.” Before Joshua entered the land of Canaan to conquer it, God gave him an important lesson for a life of blessing and God’s protection. God told Joshua these words,

Josh 1:8-9 ( NLT )  Study this Book of the Law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed. 9 I command you—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

God told Joshua that his life and the impending success of the nation he would lead,  would have to be based upon absolute obedience to the Bible’s teachings for life and living. If he would do this, God would bless his life, work, ministry and national efforts. To sum this up comes forth the single word – “faith!” Indeed, faith living was the key. Although Joshua and the people of God didn’t understand why God commanded them to do this or that, if they would have the faith to believe that God’s Word was written for their good and if they followed it, they would be on the road of a blessed and satisfying life. Friend that is still true today. Living by faith means we begin with trusting the Bible as the written revelation of God’s word, mind and heart for His creation, and trusting Him to be a good and loving God to all who follow Him and His Word. Well Joshua is our example.

Like Moses before him, Joshua received his orders from the Lord, and he obeyed them by faith. Faith is the key to the Christian life, and the only place we can find this and grow it is by learning the Word of God.

Rom 10:17 ( NIV )  Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

Warren Wiersbe a great expositor of the Word once said, “It has been well said that faith is not believing in spite of evidence but obeying in spite of consequence.” Perhaps the greatest of all books on faith is the Book of Hebrews in the New Testament, particularly chapter eleven. When you read Hebrews 11 , the great “faith chapter” of Scripture, you discover that the people mentioned there all did something in response to what they heard, because they believed God. Their faith wasn’t just a passive feeling; it was an active driving force. Because Abraham believed God, he left the Ur of the Cauldees, and headed for Canaan ; Because Moses believed God, he defied the gods of Egypt and led the Jews to freedom; Because Gideon believed God, he led a small band of Jews to defeat the huge Midianite army. Yes friends, “living faith” always leads to action!

James 2:26 ( NIV )  As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

So as Joshua enters the new land of Canaan to fight for possession of it, Joshua must be willing to believe God’s Word that comes to him and step out and obey it. Now the very first place to obey God’s Word for all of us is to know the story of man’s sin and God’s salvation He provided for us.

God’s Word is in fact a love letter from the God who created us. It’s the story of mankind turning away from God by our very first parents, Adam and Eve. All the children who were born from these first human beings likewise are sinners in thoughts, word and deed. Why? Because we inherited a sin nature that defies and detests having a God over us other than ourselves. Ever wonder why you inherently resist anyone tell you what to do? It’s your sinful rebellious nature, and when it comes to God ruling our lives we resist most fiercely. Yet the Bible tells us for all to live and enjoy life in eternity with God, we must ask God to remove that resistive nature’s power by creating in us a NEW nature that wants to love and obey God and His Word. This is called salvation and being saved. It only comes when we are willing, by faith, to trust God’s Word that tells us He saves us only through His Son Jesus Christ who died in our place paying for our sin penalty. Have you trusted God’s love revealed in His Word to tell you that if you surrender your fallen sinful will to God, and accept His Son Jesus Christ as your God and Savior, He will cleanse you of your sins and grant you a new heart and life to love and live for Him? That’s what true Christianity is all about, being saved from our sins and ourselves. That’s the first step of faith that comes to all who learn and study the Christian message of the Bible as to being saved from our sin through Christ ( Rom. 10:17 ).

But once we are saved and commissioned by God to live our lives before the watching world of other sinners, this also requires more faith from God. Joshua had to enter the land of Canaan where there were formidable enemies, that without God’s help would crush the little nation of Israel and kill them all! But Joshua believed God.

Josh 1:9 ( NIV )  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Thus we move from (1) SAVING FAITH, to (2) LIVING FAITH. We must now find and discover all that God says concerning how to live in ways pleasing to God that will bring us blessing and victory over sin in our lives. This is the whole purpose of studying and then stepping out to obey God’s Word. Joshua learned that victory only came as he followed the Commander and chief who led the armies of Israel – the Pre-incarnate Christ, or God the Son before He came to earth as Jesus Christ. Yes, in the Old Testament He was often described as the “angel of the Lord.” He was not an “angel” but as the word conveys, He was a messenger from the Godhead. Joshua learned to be obedient and to follow God’s Word regardless of the circumstances and consequences that said differently. Particularly, I recall the early battle of Jericho . Imagine telling the Israelites to march around the walls seven times silently and finally shouting, and told the heavy thick stone walls would just fall down. Well Joshua obeyed and led the people to do that and God honored that “living faith” with victory after victory. Let’s read an except from the account in the Bible,

Josh 6:4-7 ( NIV )  Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in." 6 So Joshua son of Nun … ordered the people, "Advance! March around the city, with the armed guard going ahead of the ark of the LORD."

I’m sure the soldiers up on the walls of Jericho laughed at these nutty Israelites. But what God was doing was calling them to simply obey Him regardless of what others thought, and how they felt too. Obedience to God’s Word bring blessing though for we further read,

Josh 6:20 ( NIV )  [On the seventh day] When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city.

This was the unusual and miraculous way God delivered Jericho to Israel . When they simply obeyed whatever God told them to do, regardless of what their own wisdom said, He delivered them and blessed them. Thus, living faith is in order for all who want God’s blessing in life.

Now for Christians today it has not changed. If you want a life of blessing, a real satisfying life, you must live it by faith in God and His Word. In fact, there is a formula of what God wants from our lives to gain it. There are living by and accomplishing four things God’s wants every believer and follower of Christ to do. Check yourself out to see if you are living by this faith and obedience? If not, change your ways and believe God and follow them, and be blessed. Here they are.

1. MAKE THE BIBLE THE CENTRAL FOCUS OF YOUR LIFE.
Yes, reading, and studying the Bible is the only way God will communicate with you. As you learn the commands and precepts, its examples and illustrations, God the Spirit speaks to God’s children and directs their lives. Are you engaged regularly in bible study? Join a bible study group, go to a church where the bible is taught and believed and you will be blessed.

2. BE SURE YOUR LIFE IS FILLED WITH REGULAR TIMES OF PRAYER.
When we read and study the Bible God speaks to us. Bu when we pray we speak to God. He wants all His children to talk regularly with Him too. Prayer is like breathing to the body, we cannot live without it. Every Christian needs times of individual prayer as well as corporate collective prayer. Attend Church prayer meetings, spend time alone with God early in the morning , during the day and late at night. Bathe your life in prayer and God will delight to answer your prayers and bless you too.

3. BE SURE YOU ARE A WORSHIPFUL CHRISTIAN.
This means you must take time out of the busyness of life to get together with others Christians to worship and praise God publicly. That’s what Sunday is all about. It’s a day given back to God as the Old Testament saints were once commanded to do every Sabbath. Rest from the daily labors, but give your day back to loving and serving God through times of praise and worship. Christian services provide this time for congregational singing, praying and studying God’s Word. God wants His children not to neglect this. So God writes in His Word in,
Heb 10:25 (NIV)  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

If you want your home, your heart and family to be blessed -- obey this command regularly!

4. BE SURE THAT YOU ARE ONE WHO SHARES YOUR FAITH WITH OTHERS

How important it is to understand that once you are saved and become a Christian, God wants you to help others find Him and His blessing too. This is why God makes us His ambassadors. We are to represent the kingdom of God to others. How important then it is that we make the Christian life attractive, by showing others what God has done for us, and telling them about it. Is your home life an example of heaven on earth? Is your marriage? Is your personal life? Are you a witnessing Christian? If not, you are not obedient to God’s Word and you yourself will miss many blessings God intends for you. The Bible says,

Mat 28:19-20 ( NIV )  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

So then, if you follow these very basic commands, God will work into your life the fullest of His earthly blessings and goodness. If you fail in any of these areas, begin today to make a fresh commitment to obey them and then watch God work.

Joshua had to learn to “live by faith” if he was to conquer the land of Canaan . Canaan does not represent heaven as some songwriter’s of the past imagined. Rather, it represents “the victorious Christian life here and now,” where we defeat all the enemies of our walk with God. You know friends, it is my prayer each week on this program that you learn how to defeat the enemies of God in your life and that you find Jesus Christ through saving faith, and begin embracing living faith for following that, God gives us “dying faith” to know that at the end of our lives He will be there to welcome us home and reward us further with eternal blessings beyond our comprehension. Oh may Jesus Christ be praised I your life and for and to the glory of God the Father, now and forevermore. Amen.

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·         Radio talk # 4006

·         Broadcast date: October 01, 2006

·         Speaker: Dennis L. Finnan, Commentator

·         Program: The World, the Word & You! Radio Broadcast

·         Address: P.O. Box 60033 Grand Junction, CO 81506

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The World, the Word & You! Broadcast is a non-denominational ministry based on the historic fundamental evangelical interpretation of the Scriptures. A copy of our doctrinal statement is available upon request. These weekly radio commentaries are not exhaustive studies of any particular subject due to the time limit of broadcasting. Actual broadcasts can be heard in selected areas around the nation, as funding provides. Dennis Finnan has been the speaker for over 24 years, and serves as General Director.

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