Preparation Today for Victory Tomorrow
A quick read of Joshua 1 and 3 help us discover some principles for preparing today for tomorrow’s victory. We find at least four principles to live by:
1. Prepare for tomorrow’s victory by trusting the promises of God.
The promises of God are so precious, and they become even more real and more precious when we are walking through a tough time. Why can we trust the promises He has made?
Because God never breaks a single promise. We read in Number 23:19: God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
I have made promises that I have forgotten to keep. I’m human. I have made promises that I couldn’t deliver upon because of some life complication or unexpected circumstance beyond my control. I’m human. I’ve made promises out of emotion or determination to solve someone’s problem that I had no business making because I didn’t have the authority or resources to even make the promise in the first place, but in my humanness, in my desire to help, maybe even out of desperation, I made a promise that I couldn’t keep.
But God isn’t like me or you. He isn’t human. He is the very essence of righteousness, He is the epitome of authority, He is the example of truth and He only speaks what is true. Not only is His character impeccable and His ability unlimited, but His ways are consistent. He is always the same. He is unchanging. Our minds may change with our feelings. Our minds may change about someone or a situation because of new information we obtain. God knows the end from the beginning. He never regrets a decision because He never makes a bad one. We have to learn from our mistakes. God never makes one. He never makes a promise and then thinks to Himself, “I shouldn’t have said that.”
2. Prepare for tomorrow’s victory by obeying the Word of God.
What you do today determines where you will be tomorrow. Consistent obedience to the Word of God will take you to the place God desires and will give you godly success.
When David’s life was drawing to a close, he shared some parting words with his son, Solomon. They are recorded in 1 Chronicles 22:11-13 11 “Now, my son, the LORD be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the LORD your God, as he said you would. 12 May the LORD give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the LORD your God. 13 Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the LORD gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
Faithfulness to the Word of God will bring you the kind of success that will be a blessing to you and to others.
3. Prepare for tomorrow’s victory by following the presence of God.
The nation of Israel followed the Ark of the Covenant, the very presence of God. Do you remember what was inside the Ark of the Covenant? First there were the two tablets of stone upon which were written the Ten Commandments. They had been written by God Himself. Those commandments are a blueprint for our lives, and they are meant to be followed. As they followed the Ark they were following God’s written commands.
The second item was a miraculously preserved pot of manna, a type of bread that God had supplied for His people in their years in the wilderness. They were a reminder that God alone could satisfy.
The third item that they would be following as they followed the Ark of the Covenant was Aaron’s rod which budded. It was a reminder that God was a miracle-working God. It served to remind them that nothing was impossible with God.
So, to follow the Ark of the Covenant was to follow the Word of God, the Provision of God, and the Miraculous Power of God! The Presence of God contained all three elements, and all three enabled their success!
4. Prepare for tomorrow’s victory by consecrating yourself to God.
Consecration is the act of setting ourselves apart and committing ourselves exclusively to the Lord. Old Testament sacrifices were that which were set apart for God alone. When someone offered a sacrifice to God, it no longer belonged to them. It belonged to God. It was His for His use. It was His for His satisfaction. To consecrate ourselves to God means we give up control of our lives and surrender them completely to God. Where we used to live for our own satisfaction, we now live for His alone.
Salvation is step one. It is where we take Christ to be our Savior. Sanctification is step two. It is where we allow Christ to take us.
What happened next in the Israelite’s story was incredible. The priests carried the Ark of the Covenant into the Jordan River. It was at flood stage. Its waters were flowing. It didn’t seem prudent to walk into the middle of a flowing, flooded river. That didn’t seem to be the way to victory, but rather the way to sure death. How many of you know that sometimes, in order to have a God-sized victory in your life, you have got to get your feet wet? Anybody know what I am talking about this morning? Feet of faith are going to get wet from time to time. Feet of faith are going to get muddy from time to time. Feet of faith might get a few blisters because of the journey, but feet of faith that move at the command of the Lord will experience sure victory.
And when the priests got their toes in the water, a miracle occurred. The waters piled up in a heap and the whole nation of Israel crossed through the river bed on dry ground. Preparation prepared the way for a miracle! Does you need a miracle? Do you need an impossible situation made possible? Prepare for victory by trusting the promises of God, by obeying the Word of God, by following the Presence of God and by consecrating yourself to God alone!
