DEUTERONOMY & JOSHUA

Tonight, we start our Mission's Conference and I'm excited about that.  I just know that God will bless us.  We pick up most of our guest this morning at the airport and one family will be driving in.  I picked up one of our speakers last night about 10:00pm at the airport.  So good to be with other great men of God. Today, I finished up Deuteronomy and got well into Joshua.  Here are a few thoughts that I had: 1) THE SONG OF MOSES- In Deut. 31:19, God said to Moses:  "Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel:"   Then in verse 21:  "... this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of their mouths of their seed:"   and in verse 22  "Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.".   Now, chapter 32:1-43, is the Song of Moses.    Revelation 15:3  "And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints." I guess they did remember it to sing it in the Book of Revelation....3,000 years later!!  Put a song in your heart... it might surprise you how long it will stay there. 2) DIVINE PREPARATIONS- In Joshua 2, we find an amazing discovery.  Rahab told the spies that when they heard about the Red Sea parting, and the two kings of the Amorites (Og and Sihon) being wiped out,...Joshua 2:11  "And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath."   Now, what she is talking about occurred 40 years earlier!  You see, while ten of the twelve spies were afraid to go into the land, God had so prepared it that the people of the land were scared to death of the Israelites and no courage remained in any man!  In verse 24, it says:  "for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us."    God had divinely prepared for the Israelites to enter Canaan, but they did not have the faith to do so.  For every step of Faith, God has prepared our feet to land on solid ground!  Go forward in faith!  3) THE GOOD AND THE BAD- Rahab the harlot, would marry someone from the tribe of Judah and be in the lineage of Jesus Christ!  Aachan would steal from Jericho and be stoned to death.  Aachan was from the tribe of Judah and Rahab would become a part of the tribe of Judah.  The bad (Rahab the harlot) became good (in the lineage of Christ); and the good (Aachan) became bad (stole and was stoned).  All from one tribe. 4) PRAY ABOUT IT- Israel did not pray about the situation with the Gibeonites and were deceived as a result of it.   Joshua 9:14  says:  "And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD."  They forgot to pray about it.  Hope we will not forget to do the same. 5) RIGHT MAN IN THE WRONG CROWD- Joshua 13:22  "Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them."  Balaam said in:  Numbers 22:18  "And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more."   Though he was hired by Balak to curse Israel, he blessed Israel three times as God commanded.  He only spoke what God told him to speak.  BUT... he was in the wrong company!!  When the Israelites conquered their enemies.... Balaam was killed as well because he was in the wrong crowd!  HEY Christian .... better mind the crowd you run with!  Stick in a good church and you will be in a good crowd. Well, so much for today.  Hope you have a blessed day!  Pastor Mike Mutchler