King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
Date: Monday, March 29, 2021
Chapters: Joshua 22-24
Message: How Does The Christian Fall
Hello My Friend,
Whenever we learn of a faithful, strong in their faith, Christian falling into sin we often wonder how it was possible. Some will tell you that it is because they are not in the Word of God as they should be. Some will tell you they got burned out, or became wearing in their serving God. Some will blame the church and tell you that their judgment was clouded for lack of the proper spiritual food they needed to keep from temptation. Some will tell you that they were living in sin all along, but very good at disguising it. While any of these can be a factor, I believe that much of it has to do with the person having too much time on their hands. Let me tell you, God loves to give us rest, in fact, that is what He gave us the Sabbath for, but we must not become complacent. It is by becoming complacent that temptation even comes to our mind, [Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.]
It is not enough to pray, we must be on the constant lookout for those dangers that would weaken our spirit. God had given the Israelites rest from their conquest of Canaan, Joshua divided up the land among the nine and a half tribes that would dwell there, and now it was time for the other two and a half tribes to enjoy theirs. Before Joshua sent the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh home he gave them a warning.
[Joshua 22:2-6 And said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you: 3 Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God. 4 And now the LORD your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them: therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side Jordan. 5 But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. 6 So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents.]
[But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law,] [Diligent; Steady in application to business; constant in effort or exertion to accomplish what is undertaken; attentive; industrious; not idle or negligent;] There is a reason why God only gives us one day of rest, we get lazy. [Proverbs 12:24 The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.] When we get lazy that is when we actually start to lose the fear of God. We think that missing one church service will not hurt us, missing one Bible reading will not change us, not praying one day will not affect us, but the truth is, it does. One always turns into two, then four, and before you know it you, you find yourself under tribute to your sin. When the two and a half tribes headed home they decided to build an altar, one that was a reminder that they were God’s people too. When the others heard what they did, they actually were about to start a civil war.
[Joshua 22:12,16,18,21-22 And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them. 16 Thus saith the whole congregation of the LORD, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that ye have builded you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD? 18 But that ye must turn away this day from following the LORD? and it will be, seeing ye rebel to day against the LORD, that to morrow he will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel. 21 Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh answered, and said unto the heads of the thousands of Israel, 22 The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in transgression against the LORD, (save us not this day,)]
[he will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel.] While the congregation was okay with this, this would prove fatal as they would fall from God all together. In fact, they were the first of the tribes to get away from God, get their land sieged, and be scattered all over the world when He judged them, [II Kings 15:29]. If there is one thing that we need to understand, it is that while we are all responsible for our own sin, it does affect everyone else around us. When we are making decisions we need to think of two factors, what it would do to us as an individual in the future and what it will do to everyone else around us. And that first gut feeling, that is what we need to go with as it is the Holy Spirit talking, [Luke 21:14-15 Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: 15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.]
[Meditate; To dwell on any thing in thought; to contemplate; to study; to turn or revolve any subject in the mind;] There is only one thing that we need to meditate on and that is the Word of God, for that is what the Holy Spirit uses to give us that mouth of wisdom. Meditating on things is actually what causes us to make those bad decisions, yes, we need to stop and think about things before we do them, but we cannot overthink it, otherwise we end up making the wrong decision. Joshua was now one hundred and ten years old, he knew his time on earth was coming to an end, just as Moses spoke to the Israelites before he passed, he did the same.
[Joshua 23:1-3,6,12-13 And it came to pass a long time after that the LORD had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age. 2 And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said unto them, I am old and stricken in age: 3 And ye have seen all that the LORD your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the LORD your God is he that hath fought for you. 6 Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left; 12 Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you: 13 Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you.]
[Else if ye do in any wise go back,] And this is exactly how a strong Christian falls into sin, they go back into the world they escaped from, and turn away from God all together. I am a firm believer that if you are saved then Jesus catches you from falling away from Him all together. The truth is, we are all sinners, and we all mess up from time to time, sometimes really bad, but if we do sin and do not see that what we are doing is sin, then we have a problem, our foundation is not on Christ. Those who fall completely may not be saved, they may believe in Christ or were very good at mimicking themselves as a Christian, but they never truly accepted Christ as their Saviour. In the words of Jesus, their heart was of stone, [Matthew 13:20-21 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.]
Sin is not a respecter of persons, it will overtake anyone who is not grounded in Christ, and this could be a pastor, a teacher, or anyone serving in the church. It is our complete and utter faith in Christ that keeps us from going over the edge. We have a choice, God does not force our hand, we must decide if we are going to choose Christ, and worship God as He commands. This is exactly what Joshua tells the Israelites.
[Joshua 24:14–15,19-22 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. 15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. 19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 20 If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. 21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD. 22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.]
[Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God;] What Joshua is saying here is that if you are going to choose God, then you must serve Him alone, for He is holy. You cannot serve God and religion, you cannot serve God and mammon, you cannot serve God and idols, you must server or worship Him as He is. Choosing to worship Him any other way, is not worshiping the one and only living God, it worshiping a false god, and He will spit you out, unless you repent, [Revelation 3:15-16,19 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.]
[Ye are witnesses against yourselves] Do you realize that once we say we accept Christ as our Saviour we are being watched? We are watched by the church, we are watched by the world, we are watched by the jealous fools who want nothing more than to catch us doing something to ruin our testimony. Again, we are all sinners, and mess up from time to time, because after all, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak, [I Thessalonians 5:16-24 Rejoice evermore. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 19 Quench not the Spirit. 20 Despise not prophesyings. 21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 22 Abstain from all appearance of evil. 23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.]
There is a difference between someone who is saved and is not, and while our eyes may fall for their deception, they do not God’s. I think Joshua knew what was going to happen to them, because he warned them what would happen if they did not follow God as they said they would.
[Joshua 24:26-27,29,32 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. 27 And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God. 29 And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. 31 And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel. 32 And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.]
[lest ye deny your God.] The fallen deny God when they enjoy their sin and do not want to hear that what they are doing is sin. This goes back to the stony heart, it loves God as long as they are receiving the gifts that come by being around faithful Christians, it denies Him as soon as tribulation comes and does not want to repent of its sin, [Romans 1:29-32 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.]
[And the bones of Joseph,] In an interesting contrast, this was the very portion of land that Jacob had purchased from the Amorites, which he gave to his son Joseph. It was requested by Joseph before he died, to take his bones with them, [Genesis 50:24-26 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. 26 So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.].
Jesus Christ Magnified: [Joshua 23:3 And ye have seen all that the LORD your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the LORD your God is he that hath fought for you.]
Today’s Prayer: God, It is comforting to know that even if I mess up you will not disown me, but I do not want to be a child that just gets to receive Your inheritance because I am one of Yours. While I know it is only by Your grace that I am saved and that nothing I do earns my salvation, I am willing to be the witness that so many can find rest through their trials by showing them Your Son in me. Lord, Lead me and guide me, teach me and walk with me, keep my heart tender, my eyes on You, and help me to be reminded that You are my rest, and peace through all tribulation. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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