Brown's Daily Word 4-2-08

Good Morning,
Praise the Lord for the way He has promised us that the greatest victory of all is having the presence of the Lord in our lives. The Bible declares that the battle belongs to the Lord. The captain of the host is Jesus. In in Joshua chapter 6, God says, “this is the moment you’ve all been waiting for!" In verse two, the Lord tells Joshua, “I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.” Notice that God does not say “I WILL deliver Jericho into your hands.” He says, “I HAVE DELIVERED Jericho into your hands! The battle is already won! The victory is already done! All you have to do is follow my instructions!”
Beginning in Joshua 6:3, God gives Joshua and the Israelites their marching orders. God says “Take the army and march around the city of Jericho once a day for the next six days. And seven times on the 7th day. Make sure the ark of the covenant goes with you, because it symbolizes my presence with the people.”
Verse five continues, “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."
Why did God tell them to march around the city for seven days?” It was to intimidate the men of Jericho. We already know from Joshua 2:9 that the people were scared of the Israelites, so when they saw them circling the city like a bunch of hungry sharks, it was certain to make them even more afraid! Furthermore, God was teaching the Israelites that the best way to do things is always God's way, even if it looks strange, is difficult to understand, or you don’t feel like doing it!
God commanded the people to march around the city for seven days, giving the people of Jericho seven more days to repent! Unfortunately, the people of Jericho never repented, nor had they remorse for their wicked ways. Verse 15 teaches us that the people got up early on the seventh day and marched around Jericho seven times, as the priests blew their trumpets. The only sound for seven days had been the marching of feet and the wailing of the trumpets. But, after the long march on the seventh day, Joshua gave the great command - the one that they had all been waiting for. He cried out, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!” Then the silence was broken, and all 600,000 members of the army shouted. The walls of Jericho came crashing down and the Israelites charged into the city. The silver, gold, and bronze that were pillaged from Jericho were put into the Lord’s treasury. Then they put the citizens of Jericho to the sword, just as God had instructed back in Deuteronomy 20.
Did all die in Jericho that day? No, there is victory and forgiveness for everyone who turns to God in faith. Look at Joshua 6:25, where it says that “Joshua spared Rahab, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she sided with the God of Israel!" James 2:25 says that Rahab was considered righteous for what she did, giving lodging to Joshua's spies and giving them a plan of escape.
God’s presence means victory and grace for all who obey Him. In Revelation 3, Jesus is present among the churches of western Turkey. In Revelation 3:10, Jesus speaks to the church at Philadelphia, saying, “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour trial that will come upon the whole world. I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God! I will write on you the name of my God and the name of the city of my God!” In other words, God’s presence with His people means victory!
But just a few verses later, in Revelation 3:17 Jesus speaks to the church of Laodicea as if to say, “You guys are in big trouble!" Jesus said, “You say, ’I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” In other words, the people of Laodicea were clueless. They didn't realize how much they needed the Lord or how desperately they needed to repent! God’s presence in our lives means victory, but there is a condition attached. We must obey Him in order to gain the victory.
God scored great victories in the lives of the Israelites, and in the lives of the first Christians. Today, let us ask God to grant victories in our lives. Maybe you need a big victory today. One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 21:30. It says “There is no wisdom, no insight, and no plan that can succeed against the Lord.” In other words, when we have God fighting for us, the devil doesn’t stand a chance. The devil wants us to feel like our best can never be good enough. He wants us to feel defeated, discouraged, and depressed. But no matter what the enemy tries to do, there is no wisdom, no insight, and no plan that can succeed against the Lord.
Life is a battlefield, but because of what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross, the battle is already won! The victory is already done! All of our sins are washed away in the blood of the Lamb! All we have to do is give our lives to the One who gave His life for us. God’s presence in our lives means victory for all who obey Him.
In Christ,
Brown



Dear friends,
Please make a note, the location of the concert has been changed from Boulevard UMC to Sarah Jane Memorial United Methodist Church. We are expecting close to 700 young people for the concert.


Please make a note of the following upcoming youth event.

On Friday, April 11 at 7:00 p.m. there will be a "Five 4 Five" concert. This concert will be held at Sarah Jane Memorial United Methodist Church, located at 308 Main St. Johnson City, NY. Five 4 Five is a national tour that features five bands in concert for just $5.



The bands are: DIZMAS, THE SEND, A DREAM TOO LATE, CHILDREN 18:3, AND CAYERIO.



The event is being sponsored by the Union Center, Boulevard, and Hawleyton United Methodist Churches, First Presbyterian Church of Endicott, and First Baptist Church of Owego.



Tickets are available at itickets.com or by calling 1-800-965-9324.

Tickets can be purchased from Arrowhead Christian Bookstore 607-798-1793

Union Center UMC—Pastor Brown, umcgospel@aol.com or by calling, 607-748-6329.

First Presbyterian Church—Jeremy Finn, JMFinn@hotmail.com or by calling 748-1544.

Hawleton United Methodist--Ray Haskell, wpuckey@stny.rr.com or by calling 669-4373.

First Baptist Church Owego--Rev Marlene Steenburg, mcsteenburg@aol.com or by calling 607-232-2302.

Boulevard United Methodist Church--Rev Tony, blvdumc@stny.rr.com or by calling 607-797-5675.

Sarah Jane Memorial United Methodist Church-Phone number is 797-3938