Priorities and Prospering | Brandon Lindell

[Music] and we had a great day on sunday man new normal has just been absolutely fantastic and honestly both challenging and encouraging at the same time because you're like that's so cool that god wants to bring me into a place of blessing but yet so challenging to be like lord help my heart help my life to be where it needs to be so i can live there amen because you know what god wants to take us all there but there are things that we need to do things ways that we need to align ourselves with his purpose so his purpose is accomplished in our lives amen amen so our job as believers through this whole journey is to be like god am i aligned with what you are wanting to do because the question isn't whether god wants to bless you that's not the question the question is are you ready the question isn't whether god wants to bless you the question is can your life handle the blessing because god wants to bless but can you handle it so tonight i want to talk to you about kind of like continuing the story from what we talked about on sunday in joshua chapter seven and if you if you weren't able to be there or you or you know you haven't watched online i would encourage you to watch the message but uh we talked about the story where israel goes to ai and aiken was hiding stuff in his tent that he wasn't supposed to take from jericho and they'd sinned as a nation to the lord and so they faced the defeat at ai and it was a very um honestly convicting passage a very clear passage on the danger of allowing things in our life or coveting things in our life or or setting our eyes on the wrong things and how we need to set them on the right things so subsequently israel repents and then they defeat ai and we're going to pick up the story right there in joshua chapter 8 okay because i want to talk to you tonight about priorities and prospering now if you read the book of joshua you can't help but walk away with this fact okay joshua was constantly setting israel's eyes on the basics on the priorities on what was important and you get a sense of why he did that because at the beginning of the book as we talked about joshua was a little scared joshua was like hey i know god wants us to go into the promised land but i don't know how that's going to happen and so he goes back to what moses told him and he gets a word from the lord and that sets the trajectory of what they do as a nation and so joshua is kind of always coming back to that i want to read you joshua chapter one just to remind you this is the lord talking to joshua be strong and courageous for you shall cause this people to inherit the land i swore to their forefathers to give them only be very strong and courageous be careful to do according to all the law of moses my service commanded do not turn from it to the right or to the left that you may have good success wherever you go this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate on it day and night so you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success so that helps you understand as we come to joshua chapter eight what's in joshua's mind they've just come off a defeat and a victory they've just faced the pain of loss and the success of winning and it's in those moments whether you're feeling like you're a failure or you're feeling like you're a success that you still need to refocus because the power as a believer is in the basics the power is having your priorities constantly set in the right direction and joshua understands this i don't know if you remember but before this before they crossed the jordan joshua said consecrate yourselves for tomorrow god's going to do wonders among you then after they cross the jordan it's hey we're going to take a moment and remember what god has done we're going to set up these stones and we're going to worship the lord and then they renew the covenant and then they go after jericho and ai and look oh wow we're setting our priorities again joshua was like hey before we keep going we need to make sure our hearts are right and we have our focus in the right place if your life is lacking power if you're not living in blessing take a step back and look at your priorities [Music] and don't try to make it complicated it all comes down to the basics are is your heart set on the right things are you doing the things god has called you to do have you made a priority for the things that are important to god and so we're going to look at this quickly and then i want to take some time in the presence of the lord so i want to want you to notice what joshua called them to prioritize first of all they prioritize worship look at this and chapter 8 says at that time joshua built an altar at what time they just defeated ai built an altar of the lord the god of israel on mount ebal just as moses the sermon of the lord had commanded the people of israel as it is written in the book of the law of moses an altar of uncut stones upon which no man has willed in an iron tool so he's following to the letter what moses had told them to do and they offered on it burnt offerings to the lord and sacrificed peace offerings now i know as we read that we're like that's cool you know worship it's awesome love worship all right because we think when we read the bible nobody's in a hurry all right nobody has other things that they could be doing no nobody has other pressures on their life you know you could be like that's cool for them to worship but i got a lot going on right now you know and i'll make worship a priority you know when it's convenient to me and and you know we can think that but they are under that same pressure of life they they when they have the momentum that's a time to keep going that's not a time to stop and refocus that's the time to stay focused hello that's what they could think but joshua was like hey if we just keep going we might come under the understanding the false understanding that our success was something we did [Music] that oh we we just all of a sudden got good again uh joshua was like i think i remember just a second ago defeating jericho and then losing and i don't want that to happen again so we better set our priorities before we keep going and the first thing he does is he says i'm going to build an altar we're going to worship and we're going to do it the way the lord has called us to do it now i want to encourage you once again if you heard the message from a couple weeks ago biblical worship is in the bible okay so god didn't say hey worship me however you want to no he said sing a new song to the lord shout unto god with a voice of triumph shout unto god with a voice of praise raise your hands in the sanctuary and bless the lord i don't know about you but there's a biblical way to worship and when you do that there's power and i want you to notice when joshua does this he's all of a sudden there's you know sometimes when you walk through life and you haven't experienced the blessing of god god's gonna use that to help you understand why obedience is important but he'll also do this when you're obedient he's gonna bless you and i you can see this priority in joshua is he's like hey we're making an altar but we're doing it exactly you're gonna see this all through chapter eight this is like a moment where they're like hey we're going to follow what god says because i think it's better but i just want to encourage you if you're not experiencing breakthrough are you doing what god has asked you to do and is worship a priority in your life because worship like we talked about sunday it's a desire shaper you're like oh my desires are all out of whack or i just feel like i'm being pulled in all different directions are you worshiping well i can't worship right now because i'm my desires are out of whack and i'm being pulled in all different directions no you don't wait you get you worship and that shapes your desires in the psalms it says it like this we'll put it on the screen i have asked of the lord for one thing this is what i desired to live in the house of the lord all the days of my life so i can gaze upon the splendor of the lord a worshiper has a top priority and that's to be in god's presence the bible also says delight yourself in the lord and then he'll give you the desires of your heart so as we worship our desires and his desires become one and that's when the power comes in because heaven backs you up as your desires align with heaven's desires god may want to accomplish something very similar to what's in your heart but he may want to do it in a whole different way or he may want you to be in the right place but all that's going to come through a worship a posture of worship with obedience that says god it's not about me it's not about what my convenience is it's not about what my priorities are it's about you i'm going to take a moment whether you're on the back end of a success of failure and i'm going to give glory to the one who glory is due and i'm going to praise you and fix my eyes on you and god will work in power secondly you've got to prioritize the blessing of god look at this he says this then all the israelites foreigners and native born alike along with the elders officers and judges were divided into two groups one group stood in front of mount gerizim and the other in front of mount ebal each group faced the other and between them stood the levitical priests carrying the ark of the lord's covenant this was all done all done according to the commands that moses the servant of the lord had given them okay so once again we see that priority of like hey we're going to do this the right way now you might be like why are they standing on two mountains because moses told them to do that look at this they had previously given them for blessing the people so this is about blessing it's about reminding them about the blessings of god but watch this joshua then read to them all the blessings and the curses moses had written in the book of instruction so to give this some context moses had actually told them to do this when they got into the land the promised land the land of israel god was giving them moses said hey you need to go to these two mountains okay and you need to proclaim the blessing in the curses that are written in the law of moses now i want you to think about this in this way and as you read deuteronomy which we're going to look at in a moment it'll be clear to you but god wanted and wants at this moment his heart is to bless his people okay so the curses are in there to say hey if you don't honor me and you don't follow my instruction which is not my heart for you it's not going to go well for you so i'm giving you this as an instruction to say hey stop prioritize my blessing and you'll watch me work in your life it's really important especially if you're coming i just think it's such a great passage because success and failure is a fork in the road for a new season it's a moment where you're going to make a decision as you're successful am i going to honor the lord with what he's given me am i going to i'm going to pursue the blessing of god or am i just feeling like this is working out pretty well and i might make some great decisions and it will be great or i might go this way because that looks like the better place for me failure can do the same thing it's like man i don't feel good right now i don't feel like i have what i need i feel like i need to just find whatever works and it doesn't matter if that honors the lord it just matters if it looks good and you need to stop and say i don't care what i see because both success and failure can blind you so i'm going to look for the blessing of god i'm going to prioritize his blessing and that's why moses put this in there because he's like hey when you get in there you're going to need to be reminded of what it's all about and it and if you read deuteronomy it's pretty awesome because moses says some things that are just like you're like ow you know he says this hey just when you get in the promised land don't think it's because you're special that god brought you in there he brought you like like you did anything special okay god you they're god's special possession but it wasn't because they were something special do you see the difference god didn't call you because you're something special he called you because he loved you and said i'm gonna make you special so when you're in success you gotta remember that you're not something special you're something special you know what i mean you'll get it later be careful to obey all these commands i'm giving you show love to the lord your god by walking in his ways this is moses talking this is where this all comes from and holding tightly to him then okay so once again we're seeing this connection between priority and prospering then the lord will drive out all the nations ahead of you though they are much greater and stronger than you okay there's another one of those zingers you know it's like hey you're not that good of a fighter you're not you're not that great of an army all right so don't think that just honor the lord he'll take care of it it's great though they are much greater and stronger than you and you will take over their land look today i'm giving you the choice between blessing and a curse you will be blessed if you obey the commands of the lord your god that i'm giving you today but you will be cursed if you reject the commands of the lord your god and turn away from him and worship other gods you have not known before when the lord your god brings you into the land and helps you take possession of it you must pronounce the blessing at mount gerizim and the curse at mount ebal so that's when moses is giving this command and he's saying it because you're not the strong ones you're not the mighty ones you're the blessed ones and so you do well to say i'm going to prioritize that i want to live in the blessing of god and when i'm feeling strong i want to pursue the blessing of god and when i'm not feeling strong i want to pursue the blessing of god and when you do that when you make that a priority it honors the lord because you're recognizing that in the nature of god god wants to bless that's a wonderful thing that's what will get you into the altar that's what will say god i want to give that's what will say god i want to be a part of what you're doing god i want to be a builder of your church because when you recognize god's a god that blesses you recognize that when i'm on when i'm pursuing him he's going to pour out his blessing on my life and that's exciting and if you've ever watched somebody who doesn't really believe in the blessing of god which first of all is not biblical so i i this is not to be judgmental towards them but i want you to be careful because it can sound right it can sound pious it can sound better but it's not biblical and it's actually damaging to you if you believe that because you're not believing in what the god of the bible says who over and over again says i want to bless you and he's not blessing you for you so you can just sit back and you know you're you have a house in madagascar or wherever i just wanted to pick a place and you can drink something in madagascar out of a coconut that's not why god blesses you if you think about it just a material blessing you're thinking too small god blesses you so you can be a blessing so you have this sense of like oh i can give out because god will always bless me i can give out because god's always going to take care of me but you pursue the blessing of god that's why i just want to encourage you maybe you after sunday's message you said oh i'm going to step out i'm going to start giving i'm going to start tithing you can be confident that god sees that he he's going to honor that he cares about that but he is a god who blesses the enemy will always challenge the blessing of god because he wants you to think god is small he wants you to think god won't you think god doesn't care but god sees and god's a rewarder of those who earnestly seek him he's a rewarder of people who go after him and say god i believe that's who you are god you are good and you do good god you're a god of abundance and i believe you god will honor you but you have to pursue that blessing and how do you do that you do that through obedience by saying god i just want to be where you call me to be god i just want to do what you call me to do and god will honor that and he'll see that but you can do that out of a heart that says god i know as i do that you're going to bless me i know as i'm obedient to calling you you're going to answer i know as i'm obedient to give you're going to bless god i know as i'm obedient to serve or maybe go talk to that person god you're going to be right there with me and i want to be right wherever you are god because i want to be where your blessing is i want to live under the shower of heaven amen number three prioritize the word of god i find this almost comical joshua seems like a type a type guy and he's like i'm just gonna make sure you guys get this okay but just just watch how he does it joshua chapter 35. every word of every command that moses had ever given was read to the entire assembly of israel including the women and the children and the foreigners who lived among them i think that's awesome i think joshua was like hey we're going to take a moment and we're going to read every word of every command that moses ever gave because moses was a man who walked with god and god spoke to moses for this time for this place and we don't want to miss a single word because if we do we're going to miss out on what god wants to do and if you want to walk and you want to prosper and you want to experience god's blessing you want to live there then you have to prioritize his word [Music] honestly that's you read that i wonder how much priority you put on the word of god if you're like man i want to get every word of every command every scripture every encouragement every promise that god ever gave us because i want to get it in here because i know as i do that that's going to shape my life that's going to shape my prayers that's gonna shape my decisions i wanna have a priority on the word of god so i can prosper it makes me think back to joshua chapter one where he says he says this you can go to the second part of the verse you know what i want you to think about this book of the law i want you to meditate on it day and night so you can be careful to do all according that's written it then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success there is a grace that god has for you there is blessing that god has for you there is confidence that god has for you but it's going to come out of a priority on your life for his word to say god i want to know what you said because some of that is some of that is a tonal thing what i mean by tonal is you hear the way it's done you hear the way it said when you read the word god shapes it oh i know i'm supposed to do this i know this is what god wants me to do but the word of god comes along and says yeah that's what i want you to do but i'm going to shape it so it has a breath of heaven on it so as a tone of the holy spirit on it you know that can be how you talk to somebody or or how you know you can tell somebody about jesus but if you have the word of god in you you know it starts to flow out of you i was thinking that verse this week where jesus says i stand at the door and knock you know what's cool about that scripture jesus is standing at a door the king of heaven is standing at a door outside our heart and knocking the king of heaven is standing waiting for somebody to open a door but that's when the holy spirit speaks to you through a scripture and then you're not only sharing the word but you're getting the tone of heaven that there is a god who would serve you even when you're far from him because he wants you to know him and i'm telling you as you get in the word god's going to bring things alive to you and it won't be just you facing a situation or you going man i think this is how this is how you're supposed to do it no it's going to be like god speaks to you and says hey i'm moving you in this direction but it's empowered by his word but you have to prioritize his word it's not enough to know what to do you have to know how to do it with the grace of heaven on it and that comes from time in his word they know they're supposed to take the promised land they they have an idea of what moses said but they're going to go through every word of every command because joshua is saying this we don't want to miss anything of what god said because we need it we need him and all of this re-prioritizing sets them up for the victories god has given and they're going to get victory after victory after victory after victory because they said god it's about you god if you're our priority we just need to set our hearts on you all of this you know happened in would they build an altar all this happened when they said god we're going to take a moment oh yeah oh god we've got lots of things going on but god we're going to take a moment and we're going to re-center and the last sunday and this week you know god's moving in the church but he's calling some people to re-center to say you know what you need to come back to the basics you need to take a moment and say god is my heart in the right place is my life in the right place is worship about me lord is it about you [Music] god am i pursuing you am i pursuing your blessing am i pursuing your presence or am i pursuing a lot of other things because those things will choke what god wants to do in your life those desires can choke it out am i pursuing you god is my life about your word when's the last time i opened the scripture which when's the last time i sought you and if it's not don't make that like a make it like a god i want that and realign yourself and you watch how it sets you up to be able to receive the blessing god has for you because god has blessing for you god has things he wants to do god has fresh words he wants to give you are you ready for it and it's not going to be like some crazy thing it's going to be you coming back to the basics and saying god i just want to be where you are i want to do what you say i want my life to be about you and i know as i do that god you're going to do amazing things and you're going to bring victories in my life that i could have never had on my own today i really want to encourage you right now to order new normal on amazon or wherever books are sold you can pick up one for yourself a friend or a family member because god wants you to live in a land that's full of its promise and possibility and we believe this book will help you on your journey to a new normal we also have an amazing study guide available on amazon so you can go through the book with a small group your spouse or even friends at a coffee shop so you can get the most out of this amazing resource as you go throughout your day this is our prayer for you may the lord bless you and protect you may he smile on you and be gracious to you may he show you his favor and give you his peace god bless

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Id: 0DOxsLrlSkA

Length: 25min 41sec (1541 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 10 2021