{"id":763,"date":"2021-01-25T00:27:22","date_gmt":"2021-01-25T00:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/?p=763"},"modified":"2021-01-25T02:30:16","modified_gmt":"2021-01-25T02:30:16","slug":"day-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/day-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Theme: Seeking God for Direction <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

(Based on Joshua and the Battle of Jericho)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Monday, January 25 – Day 1<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

HEART TO RECEIVE<\/strong><\/em>: Josh 5:13-15 – (Session 1)<\/em><\/p>\n

The \u201cattack\u201d on Jericho was designed by God. One day shortly after the first Passover in 40 years, Joshua was out on the western perimeter of the camp, looking at Jericho\u2019s high thick walls. <\/em>He may have been\u00a0trying\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>to come up with\u00a0a scheme\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>to bring those walls down, but while doing so his\u00a0eyes caught sight\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>of a\u00a0Stranger<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0\u201cA man stood opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Withou<\/strong>t\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>the least bit of\u00a0fear, <\/strong><\/em>Joshua stepped\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>toward him asking,\u00a0\u201cAre you for\u00a0us\u00a0<\/strong>or for our adversaries?\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Stranger\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>replied,\u00a0\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0\u201cBut as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the ground and worshiped, saying to the Stranger \u201cWhat does my Lord say to his servant?\u00a0<\/em>This is what is required of us as we set out on this path to seek the Lord for direction.<\/p>\n

The Captain\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>of the Lord\u2019s army, a typification of the Son of God<\/em><\/strong>, gave to Joshua\u00a0His will\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>to bring down the walls of Jericho. It\u00a0involved everyone\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>in the camp of Israel.\u00a0Four priests\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>were to carry the Ark of the Covenant covered by its heavy protective tapestries.\u00a0Seven <\/em><\/strong>additional priests\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>were to blow trumpets made out of ram\u2019s horns.\u00a0The armies of Israel\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>were to precede the priests, probably marching in proper rank and file according to their tribes. And\u00a0at the rear\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>were all\u00a0the rest\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>of Israel from the old men, to the ladies and children. The group at the rear were\u00a0probably not\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>in any\u00a0order<\/em><\/strong>, and they\u00a0stretched away\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>from the city many hundreds of yards.<\/p>\n

Joshua was told that\u00a0every day\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>for\u00a0six days<\/em><\/strong>, the nation was to\u00a0circle\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>the\u00a0city.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 He may have asked, or the Lord may have told him it would be\u00a0all right to rotate the priests <\/em><\/p>\n

every day. That ark with all its gold was probably\u00a0extremely heavy<\/em><\/strong>. He was told that the\u00a0people\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>were to be\u00a0totally silent<\/em><\/strong>; they were not to chat, to gossip, to slander the Canaanites, or even sing the songs of Zion. Victory was assured but before it could manifest before their eyes, they needed to obey the Lord\u2019s directions given through His anointed servant and their leader.<\/p>\n

THIS\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>was\u00a0Jehovah\u2019s plan of attack<\/em><\/strong>, and\u00a0Joshua was wise enough\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>to follow it to the letter.\u00a0We seek God\u2019s face this week for His direction on the way forward for CCEM. He has already declared this to be the Year of New Beginnings & Explosive Growth<\/strong>. We must seek Him for direction on how we get from here to there.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PROGRESSIVE REVELATION: <\/strong>Josh. 6:1-11 (<\/strong>Session 2)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our Lord showed Joshua\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>His will regarding Jericho. He\u00a0didn\u2019t call for a war council<\/em><\/strong>, inviting the High Priest and the leaders of the twelve tribes.\u00a0God gave to Joshua a vision\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>of a great victory; He didn\u2019t give it to anyone else.\u00a0Certainly, others\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>in Israel had\u00a0hopes\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>and even expectations\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>about the fall of Jericho.\u00a0But no one knew HOW<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0it would be accomplished.<\/p>\n

Perhaps\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>he told his good friend\u00a0Caleb<\/em><\/strong>, and maybe the\u00a0High Priest\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>knew, but it is questionable whether they, or anyone else were told about the seven days<\/em> and the disintegration of the mighty walls of Jericho.\u00a0The only hint\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>to the people that the victory might\u00a0not fall on the first day slipped\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>from Joshua\u2019s lips in the initial instructions in\u00a0verse 10<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0\u201cNeither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the\u00a0day\u00a0<\/strong>I bid you shout.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Assuming\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>the nation\u00a0didn\u2019t<\/em><\/strong> know\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>the particulars,\u00a0on day 1\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>the people took their places, and upon command the soldiers stepped out, followed by the priests, until everyone was participating. There may have been\u00a0Israelites expecting the two armies to meet\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>in battle along the wall, but it didn\u2019t happen. There may have been others who\u00a0imagined cracks forming\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>in the wall, then spreading apart until their warriors could go rushing in. There may have others who\u00a0pictured the city gates opening\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>to reveal Canaanites under a white flag of truce, seeking peace. Maybe some calculating mind decided that all\u00a0the stomping of Hebrew feet\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>would topple the walls. But there was\u00a0nothing <\/em><\/strong>of the kind. There was\u00a0nothing at all\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>on that\u00a0first day.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

On the\u00a0second day\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Joshua\u00a0again ordered\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>the High Priest to arrange his priests and the generals to arrange their troops.\u00a0And again, Israel obeyed\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>the Lord through Joshua, but again by the end of the day the\u00a0walls did not <\/em><\/strong>fall.\u00a0The same took place on days 3, 4, 5, and 6.\u00a0God\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>had\u00a0ordained a plan\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>which he\u00a0shared\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>with the pastor of Israel, but to no other.\u00a0It took time;\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>it took a week, for the\u00a0will of God to become obvious to the rest\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>of the congregation, and many didn\u2019t get it at<\/em><\/strong> all<\/em><\/strong> until it was done.<\/p>\n

This is the\u00a0way God usually works\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u2013 God initially makes His will known\u00a0to one man.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0The vision of Israel\u2019s captivity in Egypt was given\u00a0only to Joseph\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u2013 not to his father, his mother, or his older brothers. And\u00a0not one of them believed\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Joseph\u2019s report \u2013 at least not initially. It took a\u00a0lifetime of spiritual growth\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>in those brothers before they would admit to the revelation of God.<\/p>\n

This is still God\u2019s method<\/em><\/strong>. He may\u00a0lay a burden<\/em><\/strong>, a\u00a0vision<\/em><\/strong>, a\u00a0plan\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>upon the\u00a0Joshua <\/em><\/strong>of His church, telling him to get started. The Lord\u00a0doesn\u2019t call a business meeting<\/em><\/strong> or send a\u00a0group vision\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>like some\u00a0magical text\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>to all the members, sharing the details of the Lord\u2019s special will.\u00a0He meets His chosen leader\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>and gives to that man His will, telling him to\u00a0put it into motion.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>It was\u00a0not until six days had passed <\/em><\/strong>before Israel saw the plan,\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>but Joshua had done so from the beginning. Those were seven days of progressive revelation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

We are on Day 1 of a 7-day Fast but that does not mean God will show us the path forward in 7 days. It may take 7 weeks, 7 months or longer but one thing is certain if we seek the Lord, He will reveal His plan in His time. We too will have progressive revelation. This is not only applicable for CCEM as a church but for each of us as individuals. Can God trust us to rely on Him and to follow His plan to the letter when it is revealed?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Theme: Seeking God for Direction (Based on Joshua and the Battle of Jericho) Monday, January 25 – Day 1\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 HEART TO RECEIVE: Josh 5:13-15 – (Session 1) The \u201cattack\u201d on Jericho was designed by God. One day shortly after the first Passover in 40 years, Joshua was out on the western perimeter of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":764,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=763"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":765,"href":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763\/revisions\/765"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cornerstonecem.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}