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Joshua: Conquering for God
Hello, I'm Connie Jeffery, and I'm Lonnie Melashenko.
CONNIE: Lonnie, we're continuing to work our way through
the Old Testament book by book, and today we come to the book of Joshua.
You've titled your message "Conquering for God." Is it true
that this book presents a different picture of God than most people think
of?
LONNIE: Well, we're fond of quoting texts like 1 John
4:8 that tell us "God is love," yet in Joshua we encounter God
dressed as a man of war, with His sword unsheathed--in His hand--ready
to strike!
CONNIE: That's not a particularly comforting picture
of God, is it?
LONNIE: Well, maybe not, to people living in a peaceful
land. But what if you're at war? Then a picture of God as your defender--armed
to the teeth--might be the most comforting picture you could hope to see!
LONNIE: Well, Connie, recently I spoke with a young
man who has a fantastic story of God's deliverance and leading him to
what he calls the promised land.
CONNIE: That's right. Paul Goldheart is the man--he's
a great musician by the way, and we'll be hearing some of his music later,
but right now let's listen to his story:
LONNIE: Paul Goldheart, welcome to our broadcast.
PAUL: Thank You.
LONNIE: On the traveling microphone today all the way
to Pennsylvania. Paul you have a thrilling story of having left your country,
which was what?
PAUL: Romania.
LONNIE: Romania, and you came over to the Promised
Land, and you've got this name now, Paul Goldheart, that wasn't your original
name was it?
PAUL: Teleam Parvo, my father was a Jewish man, he
was a doctor, his name was Goldman, and at the citizenship I was in a
camp in Yugoslavia waiting to come here, and all Americans are gold hearts.
LONNIE: We have gold hearts.
PAUL: Yes, and as a Christian where God's law is in
my heart, and I love Him. The enclosure where the law was, was a golden
enclosure, and I said what if I have a gold heart?
LONNIE: And there it was. Now you were raised in Romania.
What was your background as far a Christianity is concerned?
PAUL: I was raised in a Christian Orthodox family.
My mother was very pious. She always taught me about the Lord Jesus. Dad
was a good man, and I was at the church at Easter time, and I remember
when I spoke to my father, "Will you take me to Golgotha, to see
the Lord Jesus?" My plan was to rescue Him from the Roman soldiers.
LONNIE: You thought He was just over the hill, and
you'd help save Jesus.
PAUL: Yes.
LONNIE: Now you were a little shepherd boy watching
sheep, and working out there in the fields with sheep, correct?
PAUL: Yes, there were 300 sheep, I had the job in the
summer breaks, and then I learned to play the pan flute for them.
LONNIE: Let's pause on that for a moment, don't want
to run by the panpipe, or pan flute has been made very popular by a gentleman
by the name of Zamfir, and here you were out there, you'd never heard
of him probably, but you started making your own pan flutes.
PAUL: Yes.
LONNIE: What was the impact on your own flocks when
you started to create those?
PAUL: The sound, the natural sound that was projected
out of the instrument, soothed them, and they came close to me and they
lay down and closed their eyes, and fell asleep near me, and I was amazed
by this.
LONNIE: They were scared of strangers, but they would
come and follow you.
PAUL: Yes, Yes!
LONNIE: Now zero in a little bit on learning to play
the panpipe there. Zamfir in fact has even talked about your skills. He's
heard about you, and in fact heard your particular renditions.
PAUL: Yes, I met him in 1978 in September I believe.
Before that I was winning two gold medals in Mecina Italy, and Romania.
LONNIE: And it was actually those gold medals that
helped you get out of Romania and escape and travel, wasn't it?
PAUL: Yes, I was free of the country. It was a very
strict exiting of the country, but I love my country, and I love the people,
and I could talk to people, and I met Zafir after that and he corrected
me, because I learned some wrong things, but he corrected me, and he admired
my playing, and I was already a promise for everybody, but I didn't feel
peace in my heart at all.
LONNIE: You were kind of depressed and unhappy.
PAUL: Yes.
LONNIE: What did you discover?
PAUL: I discovered a Bible in my house and I was approaching
this with fear and I said Lord please speak to me, I believe your word,
and I opened the Bible, and the first verse I read was like a striking
blow to me, it said, "What shall profit a man if he wins the whole
world, but he loses his own soul?"
LONNIE: Now you had some amazing stories you'll have
to tell another time, about crossing the border, how you became a teacher
then and so forth, temptations in the army, and they came to arrest you,
but coming to America was sort of coming to the Promised Land, wasn't
it? What happend?
PAUL: Yes, after the army I was applying for an exit
visa because in the army I refused to work on Sabbath, and they put me
in a cold and told me, "Your country is America, not Romania anymore
because you infected the country with your Christianity. I prayed to the
Lord and I knew that was His will for me to leave, and I escaped the country,
it was in August of 1987, I came to the border of Yugoslavia and at that
point, the guard dogs heard me, they sensed me there.
LONNIE: So they were barking, they were really disturbed,
they knew something was out there.
PAUL: Yes, they came running now close to me where
I was, I was in a vineyard. And at that moment a hand was squeezing my
arm from above below the shoulder, and a pleasant voice told, "The
angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear God, and rescues them."
LONNIE: And then God did something wonderful after
that with the wind that was blowing.
PAUL: The wind moved my scent away, and they stopped
running, and I heard the dogs yelping and the soldier told them, "Catch
him after." And the dogs were like, "Woof, Woof!!" And
they didn't know where I was, they were very confused, and after they
departed the wind stopped and there was no breeze afterward. Even before
this there was no breeze, and I was scared because of the silence now.
LONNIE: Paul, the walls of Jericho were falling down
and allowing you to escape. You were coming to the Promised Land.
PAUL: Yes. For me, coming to America was a Promised
Land in which we enter by faith.
LONNIE: And God is going to use your testimony.
PAUL: Thank you. I feel very blessed to be here, and
my prayer is that God will use me here for His glory, and I want to tell
you, no matter how big the obstacles are before us, no matter how they
appear before us. Like Joshua, we can conquer the Promised Land, and we
are almost there.
LONNIE: Thank you Paul Goldheart for sharing your story.
PAUL: Thank you.
CONNIE: Wow! What a story of God's leading.
LONNIE: And the wonderful thing about Paul is that
he wants everything he does to give glory to God. He's told me that his
countryman and fellow pan-flutist, Zamfir, doesn't understand his dedication
at all, but Paul remains firm in his devotion to bringing glory to God.
CONNIE: The music we're about to hear is part of his
testimony. The title of the songs are "The Lord is My Shepherd,"
and "My Peace is Strong Indeed."
"The Lord is My Shepherd/ My Peace is Strong Indeed", Paul Goldheart,
from Fascination Panflute 2 CD, Track 12
CONNIE: That beautiful music came from the pan flute of Paul Goldheart.
LONNIE: He has several CDs available.
CONNIE: And as usual, you can find out more about the
musicians heard on our broadcast by visiting our website at www.vop.com.
Today as we look at the book of Joshua, we'd like to offer you a book
that does a great job of helping us understand what's going on in our
world in the battle between good and evil. The book, titled Watching the
War, was written by a very creative fellow who we hear on the program
every once in a while--David Smith.
LONNIE: That's right, he's the producer of our daily
broadcast.
CONNIE: And David has put the whole biblical theme
of the conflict between God and Satan into story form. If you enjoy a
good story written with a good purpose, you'll like this book. And it's
yours, free for the asking. You can call 1-800-872-0055 right now and
ask for it. I'll be giving you an address to write to later in the program,
but right now you can request Watching the War by calling 1-800-872-0055.
CONNIE: Lonnie, as we consider the book of Joshua, and the picture of
God as warrior, a story comes to mind that helps me to understand the
different roles God and His angels have to take in response to people's
needs here on earth. The story's told in a book you and Tim Crosby put
together a few years ago.
LONNIE: That's right, Connie. The book's called In
the Presence of Angels, and one of the most dramatic stories in the whole
book is an amazing account of angels who appeared--not just with swords
in their hands, but with FLAMING swords--to defend a group of praying
people. Here's the story--I'm reading from the book In the Presence of
Angels:
"It happened in 1956 during the Mau Mau uprisings in East Africa.
… A band of roving Mau Maus came to the village of Lauri, surrounded it,
and killed every one of the three hundred inhabitants, including women
and children.
"Not more than three miles away was the Rift Valley School, a private
boarding school for children of missionaries. Immediately upon leaving
the carnage of Lauri, the Mau Maus came with spears, bows and arrows,
clubs, and torches to the school.
"Of course, you can imagine the fear of the children along with their
instructors housed in the boarding school. Word had already reached them
about the destruction of Lauri. Since flight seemed impossible, the faculty
united in fervent prayer.
"Out of the darkness of the night, lighted torches were seen coming
toward the school. Soon there was a complete ring of terrorists about
the school, cutting off all avenues of escape. Shouting and curses could
be heard.
"The Man Mans began to advance on the school, tightening the circle,
shouting louder, coming closer. All of a sudden, when they got close enough
to throw a spear, they stopped. They began to retreat and soon were running
into the jungle.
[Later, the raiding party was captured by the army and brought to trial.
In the courtroom] "the judge … questioned the leader: ‘On this particular
night, did you kill the inhabitants of Lauri?"
" ‘Yes.'
" ‘Was it your intent to do the same at the school in Rift Valley?'
" ‘Yes.'
" ‘Well, then,' asked the judge, ‘why did you not complete the mission?
Why didn't you attack the school?'
"The leader of the Mau Maus said: ‘We were on our way to attack and
destroy all the people and school, but as we came closer, all of a sudden,
between us and the school there were many huge men, dressed in white with
flaming swords, and we became afraid and ran to hide!' "
Needless to say, the people whose lives were spared at that school have
always believed that God sent angels to stand in the path of that raiding
party that was coming to kill them.
CONNIE: Stories like that serve as great reminders
of God's care--of His many ways of answering prayers. Our God is a powerful
God, and usually that power is exercised in drawing people to His love.
But there are times when He shows His power in different ways, as Lonnie
points out in today's message, "Joshua: Conquering for God."
SERMON
LONNIE: The ancient warrior stood, looking across the dusty plain, facing
his next obstacle: The fortified city called Jericho.
Now, you've probably heard that "Joshua fit the battle of Jericho
. . . and the walls came a tumbling down," but as the old man stood
that day, gazing at that city and its solid stone walls, he had never
heard that song. He had only heard the command of the Lord to take the
city as the first step in carving out a homeland for his people.
Joshua first appears in the Bible nearly 40 years before this, as the
commander of the army that defended Israel from the Amalekites at Rephidim
[REF uh dim]. Maybe you remember the story found in Exodus 17 of Moses
watching a battle and holding up his hands--when he held them up, Joshua
and the Israelite army would be victorious, but when Moses grew tired
and put his hands down, the Amalekites would start winning. So Aaron and
Hur helped hold up Moses' hands, and Israel won the battle.
Joshua had been involved in other battles along the way--but always in
a defensive posture. He had never been called upon to attack a fortified
city before. He had captured some cities belonging to the Amorite king
Sihon, but only after Sihon had attacked and Joshua had defeated his army
outside the city.
Now, looking at the walls of Jericho, Joshua faced a major obstacle to
fulfilling the mission God had given him.
But remember: Joshua was an optimist, not a pessimist. He'd been in Canaan
before, as one of the 12 spies Moses sent to check out the territory.
He and Caleb were the only ones who came back with an optimistic report:
"With God's help, we can do it! We can conquer this land!" they
said.
Now, forty years later, Joshua has to "put his money where his mouth
is"--to move forward in faith to conquer the land.
He's heard good reports from the spies he sent ahead to check out the
territory: the people living there are terrified. The stories they've
heard about the miracles that happened in Egypt have literally put the
fear of God into them.
But still, conquering a fortified city is no walk in the park. After all,
Jericho's army is inside waiting with arrows, spears, stones, and jars
of boiling oil to pour on any army that gets too close to the walls.
And so the old warrior stood, gazing at the walls shimmering in the heat
rising from floor of the Jordan Valley.
And that's when God showed up. All his life, Joshua had fought the battles
of God, walking by faith not sight.
And now God rewards him by putting in a personal appearance. The story
is found in Joshua 5:13:
"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?' " (NIV).
It is God the warrior that Joshua meets. Because he has been given a mission
to fulfill: to carve out a place for God's people to live.
Today much of the world is at peace and we seldom picture God with a sword
in His hand. We prefer to focus on the love of God and the kindness of
Jesus--and that IS our main focus here at Voice of Prophecy. We're fond
of reminding our listeners that God loves them, that He is gracious toward
them, that He wants to be our friend.
But love isn't all satiny pillows and "butterfly kisses." Sometimes
it has to take a firm stand in the conflict between right and wrong, good
and evil.
This isn't just an Old Testament picture. Even Revelation, the last book
of the New Testament, pictures Jesus coming to earth with a sharp sword
coming out of His mouth!
There comes a day when a God of love must go to battle, for He cannot
let evil go on forever.
And so in Joshua we find God with His sword in hand--preparing to do battle
against those who will not accept His righteous rule. He strengthens Joshua's
resolve to move forward--to go ahead with the difficult task of conquering
the land.
And as Joshua bows down--falling right on his face in the dust of the
place he is to conquer--God gives him a battle plan: "Just march
around that city. March around the walls--just out of arrow-shot. Do it
over and over again, and then let Me take care of the walls. Let Me knock
down the obstacles that stand in your way."
We sing that "Joshua fit the battle of Jericho," but the real
truth is that God fought that battle for the people. God knocked the walls
down, not Joshua.
From Jericho, Joshua and his troops went on to fight more battles--losing
only one. And that defeat was caused by unfaithfulness among the troops.
Under God's leadership, Joshua and the troops established a place where
God's people could live worship, free from outside influences and pressures
to follow other gods.
The image of God we find in Joshua is the image of a Man with sword in
hand, ready to give His people a place to live in security and freedom.
God has revealed Himself in different ways in different times. When Shakespeare
wrote that "all the world's a stage," he wasn't far from the
truth. When the great story of all the events of earth's history is finally
summed up, we'll be able to look back over it all and see that God didn't
miss a single thing. He tried every way imaginable to win people to Himself.
Satan won't be able to accuse Him of not trying hard enough! For He's
been willing to do whatever it would take to establish people in righteousness.
In an age of war and conquest, He made Himself known as the most powerful
God of all.
But then, later, He came to earth again and walked the same ground as
Joshua. But this time, He came as a reconciler, not a warrior. He came
to unite all people's hearts in love to Him and to one another. He came
to win the promised land not by combat, but by compassion. He came to
die, not to kill.
In each case He was at war--war for men's and women's hearts. For there
is a war going on, and our God is willing to go to battle for us. At one
time with hand outstretched, bearing a sword. At another time with hands
outstretched, hanging from a cross.
In either case He is our God, and He'll do what it takes to win--to win
our hearts to Him. For that is what the battle is really about: Winning
hearts and saving souls.
And our part in the battle? Our part is the same as Joshua's: to surrender
to God and walk with Him by faith.
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