
Today’s Scriptures
2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Deuteronomy 31:1-8; Joshua 1:2-9, 6:1-2
2 Corinthians 12:7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself!
8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.
9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Deuteronomy 31:1 So Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel.
2 And he said to them, “I am a hundred and twenty years old today; I am no longer able to come and go, and the Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross this Jordan.’
3 It is the Lord your God who will cross ahead of you; He will destroy these nations before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, just as the Lord has spoken.
4 The Lord will do to them just as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when He destroyed them.
5 The Lord will deliver them up before you, and you shall do to them according to all the commandments which I have commanded you.
6 Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.”
7 Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance.
8 The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
Joshua 1:2 “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel.
3 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.
4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory.
5 No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.
6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
7 Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.
8 This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 6:1 Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in. 2 The Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors.
Before God sends us into any battle, He has already
God doesn’t call us to
To advance in our own self confidence and self-sufficiency is like telling God to butt-out. I got this.
God does the
God’s power is
We will never truly believe God’s grace is
Our
Judges 6:14 The Lord looked at him and said, “Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?”
15 He said to Him, “O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.”
16 But the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man.”
Judges 7:7 The Lord said to Gideon, “I will deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the other people go, each man to his home.”
Judges 7:2 And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, lest Israel become boastful, saying, ‘My own power has delivered me.’
“The Lord had the strength and I had the weakness, so we teamed up! It was an unbeatable combination.” —Vance Havner
If we will trust and obey, everything God has called us to do is as good as done.
2. Discuss in a Life Group
DISCUSS:
In 2 Corinthians 12, why did Paul say God gave him the “thorn in the flesh?”
In the events of Joshua leading Israel to cross the Jordan and conquer Jericho, what key phrases stood out that we need to cling to as well?
It appears as though God calls us to battles that He has already won, so what actual “POWER” are we really exercising? Where does our “POWER” really emanate from?
Discuss how HUMILITY, COURAGE and TRUST fit into the equation of victorious Christian living.
Share some River Crossings, Jericho’s, or Midianites you may be facing right now.
3. Pray Together
Pray for each other and record any prayer requests here.