Jun. 05, 2022

“STANDING ON THE PROMISES OF GOD”

“PRINCIPLES OF WARFARE”

JOSHUA 10:28-30

Psalm 140:1-2 “Blessed be the Lord my Rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle— 2My lovingkindness and my fortress, My high tower and my deliverer, My shield and the One in whom I take refuge, Who subdues my people under me.”

Psalm 18:34 “He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.”

Learning to wage warfare:

Judges 3:1-4

We need to understand the principles of warfare in order to effectively engage in the spiritual battle. 

Joshua 10:28-30

Four Basic Principles of Spiritual Warfare:

1.   Know Your Weapon

vs.28 “and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword.”

vs.30 “… he struck it and all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword.”

vs.32 “..and struck it and all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword”

vs.35 “They took it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; all the people who were in it he utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish.”

vs.37 “And they took it and struck it with the edge of the sword..”

vs.39 “they struck them with the edge of the sword and utterly destroyed all the people who were in it.”

We as followers of Jesus Christ have been issued a weapon and that is the sword- The Word of God!

Ephesians 6:12-17

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Psalm 149:6 “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand.”

Jeremiah 48:10 “Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord deceitfully, And cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood.”

Use the Sword- others need the Word of God in their lives.

Three places the Word of God needs to be in our lives at all times:

*Word Of God Ought To Be In Our Hands:

Psalm 149:6 “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand.”

*Word Of God Needs To Be Always In Your Mouth:

Joshua 1:8

*Word Of God Needs To Be Always In Your Heart:

Psalm 119:11

What is your plan to use your weapon?

1 John 2:16 “For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.”

Romans 10:17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

How is your personal walk with God? Do you have to be spoon fed or can you feed yourself?

2.   Build Upon Past Victories

Joshua 10:25 “Then Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; be strong and of good courage, for thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.” 

Joshua 10:28 “On that day Joshua took Makkedah, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword. He utterly destroyed them—all the people who were in it. He let none remain. He also did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.”

He learned from the last battle to help in this battle, He built on past victories.

Joshua 10:30 “And the Lord also delivered it and its king into the hand of Israel; he struck it and all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword. He let none remain in it, but did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.”

Joshua 10:32,35,37,39- Joshua built upon past victories.

So what are you learning from your victories?

Joshua 10:32 “And the Lord delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, who took it on the second day, and struck it and all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword, according to all that he had done to Libnah.”

1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

3.   Utterly Destroy The Sins In Your Life.

Vs.28,35,37,39,40- “utterly destroyed”

We need to completely eradicate the sin that is in our lives.

Principle: Whatever is in your life that doesn’t need to be there, let’s deal with it and deal with it completely.

Romans 6:11-13

Galatians 5:16-18

When sin enters our lives, we deal with it right then and get rid of it and don’t allow it to build up.

1 John 1:9

4.   Keep Close To Your Base Of Operations

Joshua 10:43 “Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.”

Joshua 4:19 “Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.”

Israel’s base of operations, a place to prepare for battle.

Do you have a base this morning? And if not, set up one today.

Maybe you don’t know Christ as your Savior? Settle this today.