Joshua 9 Sermon Outline

After a week away from the pulpit, I'm always ready to get back again. We had a smaller than usual attendance on Sunday due to the terrible weather. I wanted to share an outline of a message I preached Sunday night at Riverside from Joshua 9:3-27. Israel wrongly made a peace pact with Gibeon. You can read the passage yourself, of course, but there are two important lessons in the passage that must be considered.

• You better guard against deception-What one writer calls the "Gibeonite ethic of expediency," or what I call just plain ol' dishonesty is rampant in our nation today. But the Bible is clear. You should guard against becoming a deceiver. When you deceive, you are no better than the devil. Remember Jacob, David, as well as Ananias and Sapphira. Also, you must guard against being deceived. The key verse here is v. 14--Joshua did not consult God in this matter. God is close by and always ready to be consulted [see James 1:5]. He has given you His Word, His Spirit, and godly counselors to enable you to make right decisions. You must not make decisions alone.
• You better learn to live faithfully in your mistakes-When Joshua and the elders found out they had been duped, they didn't turn around and destroy Gibeon. They had made a vow in the name of God and could not recant. [Note how important God took that vow in 2 Samuel 21:1]. In spite of pressure from the people, their integrity was more important to them than expediency. Let your yes be yes and your no be no [Matthew 5:37]. A Christian's word should be his/her bond.

How can you learn to live faithfully in mistakes?

• Learn contentment in your circumstance.
• Accept responsability
• Trust God to work good [Romans 8:28]
• Learn the lessons

I think these lessons are good ones for 2006 America!