The prime ingredient of a faith that pleases god

[WISDOM]

The Word says in Hebrews 11:6....."without FAITH it is IMPOSSIBLE to please GOD...."

The question that begs to be answered is "How do I know if I have the faith that pleases GOD?"  If you'll stay with me here, I believe we can find the answer to that question in the life of Joshua.  If you do a timeline you'll see that he was born approximately 1300 years before CHRIST, into Egyptian slavery.  His name means "JEHOVAH is Salvation".  

He witnessed the plagues in Egypt and the miraculous exodus.  After the death of Moses, Joshua (whose name also means "JESUS") led the Israelites into the Promised Land.  After crossing the Jordan River, the Israelites came to Jericho, where one of the most fascinating stories in the Bible took place.  Jericho is the longest continually inhabited city on earth.  Like many fortress cities of that day, it had walls that were wide enough to drive two chariots side-by-side, or about the width of a modern two-lane highway.

The massage walls were absolutely impregnable by the standards of Joshua's day.  The inhabitants knew the Israelites were about to attack, so....."Jericho was TIGHTLY shut up....No one went out and no one came in" (Joshua 6:1).

With the tremendous burden of leading GOD's people, Joshua walked out of the camp to view Jericho and to seek GOD's guidance.  There he participated in one of the most unusual events in the Bible.  "He looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in HIS hand.  Joshua went up to HIM and asked, 'Are YOU for us or for our enemies?" (verse 5:13)  Joshua received an astonishing answer in verses 5:14-15....."So HE said, No, but as COMMANDER of the Army of the LORD I have now come.  And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to HIM, What does my LORD say to HIS servant?  Then the COMMANDER of the LORD's Army said to Joshua, Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is HOLY.  And Joshua did so."

This is almost identical to what was said to Moses in the desert at the burning bush!  This is what is called a "theophany", a manifestation of the living GOD in visible form.  That the COMMANDER is GOD is verified a couple of verses later, where we read:  "then the LORD said to Joshua" ( 6:2).   Our FATHER's plan for Joshua must have seemed a little strange.  HE told Joshua to have his army march around Jericho, following priests blowing trumpets in front of the Ark of the Covenant ONCE a day for SIX days (6:3-4).  Instead of archers, ladders, catapults, and battering rams' horns.  INDEED, this would make Israel look foolish!

CHRIST often requires us to do things that seem foolish to the world; that is when we need courage, the PRIME INGREDIENT in a Faith that please HIM.  We look foolish to the world when we declare there is no such thing as "safe sex" outside of marriage.  We look foolish to the world when we take a biblical stand on moral issues.  We look foolish in the world's view when we tithe and go to church on Sunday.  It takes courage to look foolish to our peers and colleagues. (1 Corinthians 4:10)

The Israelites looked like fools for six long days as they marched around Jericho following priests making music on rams' horns in front of the Ark.  The inhabitants of Jericho undoubtedly stood on the wall mocking them, laughing their heads off, hooting and making jokes about their behavior.  They looked foolish and undoubtedly some of the Hebrews agreed.  That's why GOD told the Israelites through Joshua: "...do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout, Then SHOUT!" (6:10).  Our LORD did not want them talking to each other.  HE knows it only takes a few NEGATIVE people or COMPLAINERS to DISCOURAGE us.  That's why our FATHER gives us a VERY IMPORTANT warning to remember in 1 Corinthians 15:33!!!

If YOU want to have a faith that please HIM, STAY AWAY from negative, complaining people!  STAY AWAY from people who always see the problems RATHER THAN the possibilities.  Criticism is EXTREMELY contagious, and the Devil plants some "infected" people in EVERY church AND in EVERY spiritual endeavor (including these Christian Forums) to spread negativism.

Well, let me get back to what I was saying....on the seventh day the priests took their places before the Ark.  They were to march around Jericho SEVEN TIMES on the Seventh Day.  The orderly and silent Israelites marched around the Fortress City ONCE, following the Ark and the priests playing their rams' horn, and nothing happened.  The people of Jericho were STILL heckling them and making jokes about them.  They silently marched around a SECOND time, then a THIRD, a FOURTH, a FIFTH, and a SIXTH time....and nothing happened.

Finally, they marched around a SEVENTH time.  "When the trumpets sounded, the people SHOUTED, and the wall COLLAPSED; so EVERY man charged straight in, and they took the city" 6:20).  The wall collapsed, NOT because of Joshua, or the trumpets, or the loud shout of the people.  Hebrews 11:30 gives the answer...."BY FAITH the walls of Jericho fell down AFTER they were encircled for SEVEN days."  Like me, I'm sure many of you reading this realize that at times ALL of us face our "Jerichos" with impregnable walls.  Your "Jericho" may be a health problem, finances, a relationship, being a Christian witness at work/school/home.....or a habit YOU need to break.  Our FATHER's plan for our lives when we face our "Jerichos" is ALWAYS revealed in HIS Word.  

What I love about Joshua is that he ALWAYS followed GOD's instructions TO THE LETTER, even when they seemed foolish!  GOD told Joshua:  "BE CAREFUL to OBEY ALL the Law MY Servant Moses gave you; DO NOT turn from it to the right OR to the left, that YOU may be SUCCESSFUL WHEREVER you go" (Joshua 1:7).  Brothers/sisters....it IS NOT ENOUGH to know the Bible or even to memorize it.  We MUST follow it (James 1:22).  Let's suppose when it comes income tax time I realize I made some extra money that will require me to pay more taxes.  However, I have two children in college, and I bought a new car last month with sixty-month financing (!!!), so I just don't have the money to pay more taxes.

Besides, I am also behind on my tithe.  If I don't report the income, no one will ever know.  Furthermore, many of my friends, some of them Christians, brag about how they cheat on their taxes.  Nevertheless, I have to make a choice to have the courage and character to OBEY what JESUS commands (Mark 12:17).  This means if we do not pay the taxes we owe, we not only break the law, but we ALSO violate our FATHER's Word!  A faith that claims to please HIM obeys HIS Word when it seems not only ridiculous, BUT ALSO when it seems difficult.

Perhaps YOU have been following our FATHER's Word as best you can.  At the same time you have been walking around the wall of your "Jericho" waiting for the walls to fall down so you can get your finances in order, improve a relationship, get over a health problem, have a better work environment...or whatever.  You may have been waiting and praying so long that it seems foolish to continue.  If that is the case you need to read and remember our LORD's promise in Isaiah 30:18.

HE brings all of us to our "Jerichos".  If you are not facing a "Jericho" right now, you will.  GOD brings all of us there to see if we will join Joshua and the parade of fools.  When we come to our "Jerichos", we MUST remember that continuing, courageous OBEDIENCE is the main ingredient in a faith that pleases GOD!