Overcoming Your Obstacles by Faith

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were compassed about 7 days. Hebrews 11:30

God had promised the children of Israel a land that flowed with milk and honey> But between them and the fulfilment of God’s promise was mighty Jericho. Jericho was a great city. It seemed as though it was impregnable and unconquerable. It seemed as though it said to Joshua and to the children of Israel, Stay out and stay away from the fulfilment of God’s promises. We see an obstacle between the people of God and the promises of God. In our lives too, the devil will see to it that there is some great obstacle that looms large and impossible between us and the plan of God and the will of God for our lives. I don’t know what your Jericho is. I don’t know whether it is some family problem or some financial problem. I don’t know whether it is an unhappy marriage, an unholy life or an unhealthy body, I don’t know whether it’s some unfulfilled dreams or unrecognized potentiality, but I know that you face problems.
Faith is the link that binds our nothingness to His almightiness. It is faith that gets the job done. So from Hebrews 11:30 let us go backward in the Old Testament to Joshua, chapter 5 and 6. Let me show you 5 steps in overcoming obstacles by faith.

1. CAPTAIN OF FAITH(Joshua 5:13-15)
   The people of Israel have just crossed over Jordan and they’re ready to capture the promised land. But Jericho, mighty Jericho, is there. While Joshua is looking at his problem, suddenly something happens. There is somebody there near him. Joshua looks at him and asks about his identity. He answers, “I’m the captain of the Lord’s host”. It was the pre-incarnate Christ! It was the Lord Jesus Christ. And Joshua is coming face to face with the Lord Jesus and when Joshua sees this, he puts down his sword, he falls in the dust, and he worships his Lord. Here Joshua is worshiping the Lord. And this is where his faith starts to grow and this is where his faith starts to build. It always grows; it always builds as we worship the Lord. Dear brothers and sisters, we need to become God-conscious rather than problem-conscious.
   Now we have a lot of people who are problem-conscious. They see the problem. They see the Jericho. Well, you need to take your eyes off Jericho and put them on Jesus. Learn that. You see here is the way of faith. Don’t dwell on your problems. Dwell on your Lord. Be looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith (Heb. 12:1). Catch a vision of Him. Worship Him. Bow before Him and you’ll find your faith growing.
2. COMPLIANCE OF FAITH(Joshua 6:1-5)
   The next thing I want you to notice is the compliance of faith. Once Joshua met the captain of the host, He gave him some instructions in Joshua 6:1-5. Here was God’s plan for victory and it was a strange plan. Now remember Joshua is a general and a military man and what kind of a strategy was this? God doesn’t tell him to dig any trenches or tunnels. God doesn’t tell him to throw up any battlements and earthworks. God doesn’t tell him to build some ladders to scale the walls. God doesn’t tell him to destroy it with bombs. God tells him to do something that is very strange and silly. Just begin to walk around the walls, around and around and around.
   To the human eye, it didn’t make sense. That’s no way to take a city, just marching, marching, marching, going around in circles. You see, why did they do it? Why did God tell them to do this? I think for one thing, just to test and to prove their obedience. When God says something, it’s not our job to understand. It is our job to undertake. Just do what He says to do. Don’t try to understand everything God says. Live by faith whether it makes sense or not (Hab. 2:4). Now, dearly beloved, the compliance of faith is full, prompt, glad, unreserved, and unquestioned obedience.
3. CONTINUANCE OF FAITH(Joshua 6:10-15)
   Not only the captain of our faith, who is Jesus; the compliance of our faith, which must be obedience, for “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:20); but, the continuance of our faith. I want you to notice, in Joshua 6: 10-15, they continued-they continued. What a test of their faith it was. I mean, to them it looked like all they were doing was going around in circles day after day. I can imagine someone is saying, now wait a minute. I’m getting tired of this. We did it once, it didn’t work. We did it twice, it didn’t work. We’ve done it 6 days, it hasn’t worked. Here’s the 7th day, we’ve been around 6 times on the 7th day and nothing has happened yet. I’m tired. I quit. Oh, dear friend, had they done that the walls would still be standing perhaps.
   God was teaching them a great lesson. The lesson of patience, the lesson of waiting on the Lord. Now when you wait upon the Lord, you’re not wasting time. How hard it must have been for them. Just simply to obey in silence and wait upon the Lord. But you know the Bible says in Isaiah 28:16, “he who believes shall not make haste.” When you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the sure foundation, when you put your faith in Him, dear friend you can afford to wait. Blessed are those who wait for Him (Isa. 30:18). They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength (Isa. 40:31). Some of you reading this are just about ready to quit. I want to tell you – Have faith in God. Don’t give up. Don’t let up. Keep your faith in God. Faith is marked by endurance and by not quitting. Victory is on the way!
4. CONFESSION OF FAITH(Joshua 6: 16)
   Next I want you to notice the confession of faith. Now the city hadn’t fallen yet and yet Joshua said, The Lord has given it to you. (Josh. 6:16). Let me show you why Joshua said what he said. He wasn’t being presumptuous. Go back and look at verse 2: “And the Lord said to Joshua, See, I have given into your hand Jericho” (Joshua 6:2). Now, why could Joshua say that? Well, he could say it because God had already said it. You know what faith is? Faith is just you saying what God has already said. It is just you confessing what God has already said. It is taking God at His word.
   Look at a wonderful verse in Hebrews 13:5 and learn one of the greatest spiritual principles in all of the Bible. This will keep you going when nothing else will. Hebrews 13, beginning in verse 5: “Let your conversation…”—that means “manner of living”—”Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as you have: for he has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” Now, just underscore this phrase, “he has said.” Just mark it; just put a line under it: “He has said.” Now, go down to verse 6: “So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper” (Hebrews 13:5-6). Now, let me say. Take a part out of each of those verses. “He has said… so that we may boldly say.” Do you see it? Do you see it? That’s what faith is. Faith is boldly saying what God has already said. “He has said… so that we may boldly say.”
   
   5. CONQUEST OF FAITH(Joshua 6: 20)
   Finally notice the conquest of faith. Look at Joshua 6:20, “When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city.” Dearly beloved, your Jericho will fall, if you will follow God’s formula. The walls of obstacles and opposition will crumble, and enemies will be vanquished—glory to God for the victory!
   What kind of walled city are you facing right now? Does it appear to be unconquerable? Do the walls look too high and do they appear too thick? Does it seem that victory is absolutely impossible in your case? You can overcome by faith in God and in his Word! God bless you!!

By My Spirit

Zechariah 4:6

The world-renowned evangelist Dr. Billy Graham once beautifully said, ‘you need the Lord Jesus for your eternal life and the Holy Spirit for your internal life.’ Every believer in Jesus Christ needs to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18). It is impossible to live victoriously and serve the Lord effectively without relying on the Holy Spirit’s power. The divine standard that God has set for Christian living and service is so high that it is impossible to reach that standard without the enabling ministry of the Holy Spirit. Human ability and human genius are quite inadequate. It is “not my might nor by power; but by my Spirit,” says the Lord Almighty (Zechariah 4:6)! Let us see briefly the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

1. He is the SECRET of the Christian’s victory
   The Christian life should not be one of failure but a life of victory and triumph. The One who lives this life out in us is the Holy Spirit, so that we are able, through His empowering to be victorious over sin, self and Satan. The Bible says, `live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature (Gal. 5:16). Days are becoming more and more difficult to live holy. But God has made full provision for a victorious life in giving us His Spirit. Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 8 brings the ministry of the Holy Spirit to believers into clear focus. Prior to this chapter, the Holy Spirit is mentioned only one other time in the entire epistle (Romans 5:5). But here in chapter 8, he is referred to nearly 19 times. Paul says that the Holy Spirit frees us, enables us, revives us, leads us, bears witness for us, intercedes for us and makes us more than conquerors (8:2, 4, 11, 13-15, 26, 37).He transforms us more and more like Jesus (2 Cor. 3:18). By His Spirit, we have victory!
2. He is the SPRING of the Christian’s joy
   The Holy Spirit brings joy unspeakable. He is called the oil of joy, the oil of gladness (Isaiah 61:3; Psalms 45:7; 1 Peter 1:8). He turns our mourning into dancing. He lives within us to make us joyful, happy, radiant people. One of the fruit of the Spirit is joy (Galatians 5:22). The disciples were filled with joy in the midst of adverse circumstances because of their walk in the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:41; 13:52; 16:25). The Holy Spirit comes in to lubricate your spiritual life, to make this life interesting and exciting. The Christian life will become a frustrating religion without the Holy Spirit. Paul writes, ‘The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking…but it is joy in the Holy Spirit’ (Romans 14:17)!By His Spirit, we have great joy!
3. He is the SOURCE of the Christian’s knowledge
   Jesus said, `the Holy Spirit will teach you all things’ (John 14: 26). The Holy Spirit is the best teacher of the bible because he is the author (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Tim. 3:16). The Holy Spirit teaches us all that we need to know concerning our walk and our work, what we are and what we are to do (John 16:13). This does not mean we don’t need people and study materials. The Holy Spirit will turn all information into inspiration. When we study the Bible with the help of the Spirit, He will open your eyes to get a grasp of His Word (Neh. 9:20,30). He will illuminate our minds to understand the difficult passages of the Scriptures (Eph. 1:17, 18). He will quicken our understanding and give revelations from the Word of God. He will teach us comparing the spiritual things with the spiritual (1 Cor. 2:13; 1 John 2:27). How wonderful to have the divine Teacher instructing and guiding us into the truth, in order to please the Lord.By His Spirit, we have deep understanding of God’s Word!
4. He is SUCCOURER of the Christian’s Faith
   The Bible says that we are to live by faith (Romans 1:17; Hebrews 11:6). Therefore the Devil attacks our faith (Luke 22:31-32). We are subject to many trials and temptations, overwhelmed by sorrow (John 16:33), but the Holy Spirit is within us to succour us at such times.The Holy Spirit is called a Helper (John 14:26). One of His primary helps is in the area of prayer, because we are all weak in it. We do not know at times what to and how to pray for. In those times, the Holy Spirit not only helps is in our prayer but also intercedes for us and through us (Rom. 8:26, 27). Apostle Peter who faltered in his faith and failed in his prayer life (Matthew 26:40; 69-74) became a mighty man of faith and prayer after receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 3:1, 6). By His Spirit, we become mighty in faith and prayer!
5. He is the STRENGTH of the Christian’s Service and Ministry
   We are all saved to serve, but Christian service is impossible in our own strength. In Old Testament times God called people to serve Him, giving them special anointing of the Holy Spirit to make them effective in service. Bezalel was filled with the Spirit of God and so he became an extraordinarily skilled craftsman (Exo. 35:30, 35). Daniel and Joseph prospered in the strange lands which were hostile to their holy convictions because the excellent Spirit of God was upon them (Dan. 5:11; 6:3; Gen. 49:23-25; 41:38). Yes, when you are filled with the Spirit, you will be able to do your work exceptionally and extraordinarily well. A spirit-filled doctor will treat better, a Spirit-filled engineer will build better, a Spirit-filled teacher will teach better and a Spirit-filled student will study better! When a person is filled with the Spirit of God, even his seniors and superiors will come to him for counsel and guidance (Gen. 41:37-40).
   The Lord Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit when He began His public ministry (Luke 3:21-22; 4:18). The last recorded words of Jesus before His ascension was the promise of the Spirit’s power for global evangelization (Acts 1:8). About the early Christians we read, `they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God boldly’ (Acts 4:31). The Spirit-filled believers are powerful means in the hands of God to convince and convict the sinners (Acts 2:36, 37). The Holy Spirit gives us the courage, charisma and charismata (spiritual gifts- 1 Cor. 12: 7-11) to witness for Him. He empowers us to emancipate those who are under the bondage of sin, sickness and Satan (Acts 10:38). Hegives us strength and power to accomplish God’s purpose in our lives. By His Spirit, we shall do valiantly (Psalm 60:12; 108:13)!