Success sermon B
The Tests of Success – Sermon Series (Book of Joshua)
The Test of Submission – Joshua 5:13–15
13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, 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?” 14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord[e] have for his servant?” 15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
We continue today with the story of Joshua. This is all part of our Firm Foundations series. These are the Old Testament stories that are the foundation stones of our Christian faith. Last week we began talking about the tests of success. These are tests that come in our lives during the times that we are successful. We may have just come through a wilderness time, a difficult time in our lives, and now we enter a time that is easier. We enter a time of prosperity, health or peace. I remember how wonderful it felt when we paid off our car, our house, our credit cards, our student loans. And often when we do so, we breathe a sigh of relief. The treatment worked, I got the job, the crisis is passed. We think, the trial is over, I can relax. But the temptation in times of ease is to go back to normal, is to forget the God who carried you through the wilderness. There are a number of Biblical examples of this.
David (2 Samuel 11)
Anointed to be king as a youth, yet he was forced to flee from King Saul for years. Finally, after Saul died in battle, David was put on the throne. But there was civil war for years. But finally David reached a point of a settled peace and prosperity.
“At the time when kings go forth to battle… David tarried still at Jerusalem.”
After years of war and hardship, David experienced rest from his enemies. But in comfort, he let down his guard. Idleness led to temptation with Bathsheba—a reminder that success often tests our vigilance more than suffering does. He paid for this sin for the rest of his life.
King Solomon (1 Kings 10–11)
Solamon, David’s son became king, and for a few years he too had to establish his kingdom, put down enemies and threats, and unite the tribes under his leadership. The Bible tells us that Soloman’s reign became one of peace and prosperity. But, success was a test that Soloman failed.
“When Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods…” (1 Kings 11:4)
Solomon began humbly, asking God for wisdom. But prosperity, power, and peace became his downfall. His palace, wealth, and foreign alliances distracted him from wholehearted devotion to the Lord. His success became the soil of his spiritual decline.
And so, we began learning last time about the tests of success. Israel and Joshua had to agree with God’s definition of success. Throughout the narrative of the book of Joshua we find events that happened that tested Israel’s exclusive devotion and reliance on God.
The first test we looked at last week was the test of the definition of success. We have to begin with the same definition of success as God has. Many people in our world define success by their position or career, or their accumulated wealth, or their fame or influence. But God’s definition of a successful person is one who is His servant, He wanted Joshua to take up the mantel of Moses example of service, not strategy, intelligence, or charisma, daily led by His Spirit, He reminded Joshua that He would never leave or forsake him, responding to His Word and directions with actions. He repeated to Joshua 5 times, “Be Strong and courageous.”
The second test we considered last week was the test of faith in action. That test was described as the occasion when God commanded Joshua to tell the Children of Israel to follow the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant to the shore of the Jordan River. And this time, He promised that the waters would part in front of them, not when they placed a rod in the water, as the waters of the Red Sea had parted under Moses leadership, but the waters would part when they stepped into the water. This time they had to get their feet wet. They had to take action before they would see the miracle of God. We go through the same test as believers during times of success. God requires us to act in faith and obedience, before we know if our actions will bring us good or bad in life.
James 1:22 “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
James 2:17 “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”
Hebrews 11:8 – Abraham “By faith Abraham… obeyed… and he went out, not knowing whither he went.”
This week we are going to look at two more narratives from the book of Joshua, to see how God tested Israel during the days of conquest and success.
Prayer
The tests we will consider today are…
The Test of Submission – Joshua 5:13–15
Bending the knee before the Commander of the Lord’s army.
The Test of Obedience – Joshua 6:1–6
Following God’s strange instructions to bring down strongholds.
So, let’s jump into the Test of Submission
Times of success can be times of great temptation. Right on the heals of those is the test of submission. Let’s go back to our passage of Scripture.
13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, 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?”
So, this is where we are in the story of Israel’s entrance into the Promised land. They spent 40 years in the wilderness, and all of the disobedient generation had died in the wilderness. With the exception of Joshua and Caleb, nobody who had left Egypt 20 years or older, was still alive to enter the Promised land.
Numbers 14:29 In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me.
So, that means that except for Joshua and Caleb, the whole assembly of the Children of Israel is 60 or under. So, Moses has died about 30 days earlier, Joshua has been commissioned by God to lead the Children of Israel into this land that He is going to give them for a perpetual inheritance. Joshua was to lead them to the land, and into battle against the present inhabitants of the land. The book of Joshua is a chronicle of battles and war. They came to the bank of the Jordan river, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, by God’s command, stepped into the water. And the water suddenly surged away from them, going upstream for some 15 miles. And the movement of the water was so complete that the riverbed all the way across was dry. You may wonder why God cleared 15 miles of riverbed. Well, at this point in the story of Israel, their population would have been between 2.2 and 2.5 million people. This is a massive crossing. Needless to say, they did not cross single file. Can you imagine what the inhabitants of the land were thinking?
Somebody had to have witnessed it.
Joshua 3:16 “The waters… stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam…”
Adam and Zarethan were populated areas. The water stood in a wall upstream—visible to anyone near Adam or Zarethan.
Joshua 5:1 “When all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the west side of Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, …their heart melted.”
So, now that the crossing was over, they set up camp at a place they called Gilgal. It was 1 to 2 miles further inland from the Jordan, and 1 to 2 miles from Jericho, the first city they were to overthrow. And setting up for the encounter we just read, while they are camping there, Joshua goes out on a walk toward Jericho, maybe looking over the terrain before the battle, and while he is near Jericho, he encounters a man with his sword drawn. startling Obviously, this is a warrior, he has a sword, and it is drawn, but one that Joshua doesn’t recognize as one of his. But apparently, he also doesn’t look like a Canaanite warrior either. So, Joshua asks, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” Whose side are you on? Are we going to fight or shake hands. And this is what the man says...
14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord[e] have for his servant?” 15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
He says, I’m not on your side, I’m not on your enemy's side. I am on my own side. I don’t join you, you join me. I am the commander in chief. The victory would be God’s not Joshua’s the plan was God’s. It should be noted what this means regarding the battles. Many people look at these upcoming battles and tactics as the nation of Israel’s strategy or plan for conquering Canaan. No, this is God’s plan. This is God’s commander. The Children of Israel are just God’s instruments for exacting His judgment on Canaan. And so the first test for today in this period of success for Israel and Joshua, is are they willing to submit themselves to God’s command.
Joshua could have said, Hey, you need to join us. There’s an interesting parallel between this passage and an earlier one in the book of Exodus. Remember that Moses was tending the sheep of his father-in-law, when he came upon a bush that was burning, but didn’t burn up. He approached the bush and the angel of the Lord called out to him from the bush. God said, “take your sandals off of your feet, for the ground you are standing on is holy ground. He had an encounter with God there. Similar to Joshua’s encounter. And the symbolism is rich. Israel was the bush that was on fire, suffering, but not consumed because of God’s presence with them. At that time, God told Moses of His plan to send him into Egypt to liberate Israel from their suffering. Moses had to submit himself to God.
Now Joshua has a similar encounter, full of symbolism. Once again a messenger from God appears. But now he is not in a bush burning with fire. Now He has a drawn sword, symbolizing not the presence of God during their suffering- burning- presence. that God is going to lead the people into victory. Again, just like Moses, Joshua is told, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” Joshua submitted to God’s commander.
Especially in seasons of success, we struggle to continue being submissive to God’s plan. We begin to think that we caused our own success. We are like the parable Jesus told of the man whose grain harvest was so big, that he didn’t have enough space in his barns to store it. So, he decided to build bigger barns this is what he said. Luke 12:16–21
“Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.”
He said to himself, soul you have many goods laid up. Look what an empire you have built. look what you have accumulated. And it wasn’t bad that he was successful, it wasn’t bad that he built bigger barns. The evil was that he took credit for his own success, and presumed a prosperous future. and didn’t stop to thank God, or ask if God had a different plan for his wealth. We can get that way when we are on the winning team. And we often do what Joshua did. We ask God whose side He’s on.
We say, Lord, bless this strategy or endeavor that we have undertaken. Lord bless our church. bless my family. God don’t mess up my kingdom or my future plans.
The Test of Obedience – Joshua 6:1–6
Following God’s strange instructions to bring down strongholds.
6 Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. 2 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”
This was God’s battle plan.
Joshua and Israel had to submit to and bow before the Lord. Then they had to follow through with obedience. And it had to be obedience to the letter. So, after Joshua bows in submission, our story picks up with these continued instructions from the Captain of the Lord’s hosts to Joshua. And they are some strange instructions.
It says that the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of Israel. This is after the two spies had been able to enter and have their conversation with Rachab, we’ll get to that next time.
Jericho
Based on what archaeology suggests, there are 4 things we know about ancient Jericho. The site of ancient Jericho is well-known and has been excavated on several occasions. The first thing we notice is that the walls of ancient Jericho may have resembled a classic Canaanite double-fortification system built on a steep embankment. In terms of size and population, “If you took the population of a town like Sedgwick or Halstead and squeezed everyone into an area the size of eight football fields—with high walls all around—that would be ancient Jericho.” The walls.
Excavations at Tell es-Sultan by Kenyon, Garstang, and others reveal a massive lower retaining wall of stone, roughly twelve to fifteen feet high, topped with a mudbrick wall, with a steep slope rising above it to a second upper wall that crowned the city. Between these two walls were chambers and living spaces, which fits well with the biblical account of Rahab’s house being “in” the wall. Canaanite cities regularly employed casemate walls—parallel walls with interior chambers used for storage, guard posts, or even homes—alongside earthen ramparts and terraced embankments that made their outer defenses extremely difficult to assault. Their gate complexes featured shuttable gates, guards, and defensive towers, just as Jericho’s does in Joshua 2 and 6. Evidence also shows a sudden destruction layer in which the mudbrick walls collapsed outward, forming sloped piles of debris that could have created natural ramps—strikingly similar to the statement in Joshua 6:20 that the Israelites “went up into the city, every man straight before him.” Archaeologists also found a thick burn layer, consistent with Joshua 6:24 which records that the city was burned with fire.
The whole city is on lockdown. And so Joshua is getting his instructions about how they are to attack and conquer the city of Jericho. And so God gave instructions about how they were to go against the city. And the instructions were not normal. Most city conquest involved surrounding a city, stopping any traffic in or out of the walled city. preventing access to food and water, eventually trying to break down the gates or the wall. But God said that His plan was for Israel was to take a 30 to 60 minute walk around the city every day for 6 days, then on the 7th day to walk around it 7 times, blow their horns and shout, and the wall would fall down.
For six days the entire Israelite camp followed a steady, disciplined routine: each morning the armed men would break from their campsite at Gilgal and form their ranks, the seven priests would take up the rams’ horn trumpets, and the Ark of the Covenant would be lifted onto the shoulders of the Levitical priests. From there they would quietly process toward Jericho and march a single, solemn circuit around the city’s towering walls while the priests blew their trumpets and the rest of the people remained silent. When the lap was complete, the army and priests would turn away from the city, retrace their steps back across the plain, and return to their camp for the evening, repeating the same pattern every day for six days. Then, on the seventh day—after departing camp earlier than usual—they marched not once but seven times around Jericho, the priests continually sounding their trumpets. When the seventh circuit was completed and the long trumpet blast was given, Joshua commanded the people to shout, and at that moment the miraculous happened: the walls collapsed so completely that the army was able to go straight up into the city from every direction. Why did God tell them to do it this way? Basically God was saying “do nothing.”
Many commentators agree that God commanded Israel to march around Jericho in this unusual way to demonstrate beyond any doubt that the victory belonged entirely to Him and not to human strategy. By removing all ordinary military tactics, God ensured that no one could attribute the fall of the city to Israel’s strength, ingenuity, or battle skill. It was a testimony to Israel, but also to the world. The silent procession, the presence of the Ark, and the reliance on nothing but God’s word made it unmistakably clear that Jericho’s collapse was a divine act. As Keil and Delitzsch note, the method “excludes all human influence,” and Matthew Henry observes that God wanted Israel to know from the beginning that the conquest of Canaan was His gift, not the result of their own sword or expertise. To what have secular scholars attributed the fall of Jericho? The most widely accepted secular theory trying to explain the existing conditions of the Jericho site is that an earthquake caused the walls to fall outward. I have no problem with that, because God is in charge of His creation, and can use “natural” events as He sees fit.
A second major reason suggested by commentators is that this strange command tested and strengthened Israel’s faith through steady, repetitive obedience. They were required to walk around an intimidating, fortified city once a day for six days with no visible change—no cracking walls, no signs of progress, no immediate results—only the sound of the priests’ trumpets. This daily ritual demanded patience, perseverance, and trust in God’s word even when nothing seemed to be happening. Matthew Henry calls it “a trial of their faith and patience,” and Hebrews 11:30 affirms that the walls fell “by faith,” meaning Israel had to obey before they understood what God was doing. It was a training ground for learning to act on God's command even when the outcome was unseen.
And another aspect of their obedience was what they were to do once the walls fell down. Everything in the city was under the ban.
17 The city and all that is in it are to be devoted[a] to the Lord. 18 But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. 19 All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”
What was the ban?
Deuteronomy 20:10 When you march up to attack a city, (outside the Promised land) make its people an offer of peace. 11 If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you. 12 If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city.
16 However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. 17 Completely destroy[a] them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the Lord your God has commanded you. 18 Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God.
This part of complete obedience is hard for us to imagine, or justify. But as I said earlier, we have to remember that these are God’s instructions, God’s purposes. And He commands complete and thorough obedience- He is Sovereign over me and over life and death. One of the most difficult tests of times of prosperity and success is the test of complete obedience.
American top ten ways American “Christianity” teaches and practices contrary to Scripture.
Top 10 Ways American “Christianity” Contradicts Scripture
1. Turning the Gospel Into Self-Help and Personal Empowerment
American teaching: “God wants you to live your best life, fulfill your dreams, and achieve success.”
Scripture: The gospel calls us to die to ourselves (Luke 9:23), repent (Mark 1:15), and follow Christ in obedience.
Problem: Self-help replaces self-denial. Christianity becomes therapy, not discipleship.
2. Treating Jesus as Savior But Not as Lord
American teaching: “Just accept Jesus into your heart.”
Scripture: Jesus demands lordship—obedience, holiness, and repentance (Luke 6:46; 1 John 2:3–6).
Problem: Decisionism replaces discipleship.
False converts multiply.
3. Redefining Love as Affirmation Instead of Biblical Truth
American teaching: “Love means accepting people as they are.”
Scripture: Love “rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth” (1 Cor. 13:6).
Problem: Love is separated from holiness.
Sin is affirmed instead of confronted.
4. Worshiping Emotion, Experience, and Performance Over Reverence
American teaching: Worship = lights, fog machines, emotional manipulation.
Scripture: Worship must be reverent (Heb. 12:28), truth-driven (John 4:24), and God-centered, not consumer-centered.
Problem: People chase spiritual entertainment, not holiness.
5. Prioritizing Church Growth Over Discipleship
American teaching: “More numbers = God’s blessing.”
Scripture: Jesus emphasized making disciples (Matt. 28:19), not crowds.
Paul warned about people accumulating teachers who “tickle their ears” (2 Tim. 4:3).
Problem: Churches measure success by attendance, not spiritual maturity.
6. Reducing Sin to Mistakes or Brokenness Instead of Lawlessness
American teaching: “We all have struggles and imperfections…”
Scripture: Sin is rebellion, lawlessness, hostility toward God (1 John 3:4; Rom. 8:7).
Problem: If sin isn’t serious, the cross isn’t precious.
People are comforted in sin instead of called out of it.
7. Avoiding Church Discipline and Moral Accountability
American practice: "Who am I to judge?"
Scripture: Church discipline is commanded (Matt. 18:15–17; 1 Cor. 5:1–13).
Problem: Churches become spiritually toxic—sin spreads unchecked, leaders fall, scandals multiply.
8. Emphasizing Material Blessings Over Sacrifice and Holiness
American teaching: “God wants you to be financially blessed and prosperous.”
Scripture: Followers of Christ are called to:
9. Treating the Church as a Consumer Service Instead of a Body
American mindset: “Find a church that meets your needs.”
Scripture: We are a body, each member serving the others (1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4:11–16).
Problem: People “shop” for churches like products, not families.
Commitment, covenant, and community disappear.
10. Replacing Biblical Authority With Personal Preference and Cultural Pressure
American teaching: “I feel like God would…”
Scripture: “May God be true, but every man a liar” (Rom. 3:4).
All Scripture is inspired and authoritative (2 Tim. 3:16–17).
Problem: Feelings replace Scripture, culture replaces doctrine, and truth becomes negotiable.
BONUS (#11): Neglecting the Old Testament
American teaching: “We’re New Testament Christians.”
Scripture: Paul preached from the Old Testament (Acts 17:2), Jesus said Scripture “cannot be broken” (John 10:35), and the OT is still God’s Word (Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:1–12).
Problem: The church becomes shallow, Marcionite, and doctrinally unstable.