“The Lord’s Arrow of Victory”

1. Introduction
1. Recap last week: “Are you ready for a miracle?”
1. God wants to do amazing miracles among us this year and this decade.
2. But we must “get ready” for the miracles.
1. One: Miracles happen when we step out in faith.
1. Joshua 3:15-16 = “…as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing.”
2. Two: Miracles happen when we consecrate ourselves.
1. Joshua 3:5 = “Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.”
2. Four specific areas:
1. Consecrate our hearts
2. Consecrate our schedules
3. Consecrate our giving
4. Consecrate our evangelism
2. Transition =) This morning, I want to build on these themes from a slightly different angle…
1. Let’s turn to Deuteronomy 1…
2. Background
1. “Deuteronomy” = means "second law” because Moses repeats the law to the next generation of Israelites.
2. They’ve just been wandering in the desert for 40 years.
1. It’s the 11th month of the last year of their wanderings –one month from finally getting a 2nd chance to enter the Promised Land.
3. Deuteronomy 1:5-8 = “East of the Jordan in the territory of Moab, Moses began to expound this law, saying:

6 The LORD our God said to us at Horeb, "You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7 Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates. 8 See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.”

1. Two important lessons from this passage: (will form our sermon outline)
1. One: When God moves, we must follow!
2. Two: God gives, but we must take!
1. One: When God moves, we must follow
1. Vs. 6-7a = "You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7Break camp and advance…”
1. Our conversion
1. Mark 1:16-18 = “As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 18At once they left their nets and followed him.”
1. None of us planned this...
2. We are all simply responding to God’s initiative.
3. Q: Are you still responding to God’s call?
1. “Come follow me”
2. “and I will make you fisher’s of men”
2. Jesus’ example
1. John 4:4-38 = “Now he had to go through Samaria. 5So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
2.  7When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" 8(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
3.  9The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
4.  10Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."
5.  11"Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?"
6.  13Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
7.  15The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."
8.  16He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back."
9.  17"I have no husband," she replied.
10.    Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. 18The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."
11.  19"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."
12.  21Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
13.  25The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."
14.  26Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he."
15.  27Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, "What do you want?" or "Why are you talking with her?"
16.  28Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29"Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" 30They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
17.  31Meanwhile his disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat something."
18.  32But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."
19.  33Then his disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought him food?"
20.  34"My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37Thus the saying 'One sows and another reaps' is true. 38I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
2. M.P. = When God moves, we must follow.  It’s time to “break camp and advance”!
2. Two: God gives, but we must take
1. Deuteronomy 1:8a = “See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land…”
1. 2 Kings 13:14-19
1. “Now Elisha was suffering from the illness from which he died. Je-ho-ash king of Israel went down to see him and wept over him. "My father! My father!" he cried. "The chariots and horsemen of Israel!"

15 Elisha said, "Get a bow and some arrows," and he did so. 16 "Take the bow in your hands," he said to the king of Israel. When he had taken it, Elisha put his hands on the king's hands.
17 "Open the east window," he said, and he opened it. "Shoot!" Elisha said, and he shot. "The LORD's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!" Elisha declared. "You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek."
18 Then he said, "Take the arrows," and the king took them. Elisha told him, "Strike the ground." He struck it three times and stopped. 19 The man of God was angry with him and said, "You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”

1. Both Elisha and King Jehoash had faith.
1. But Elisha had more faith
2. Elisha = vs. 17 (“completely destroy the Arameans”)
3. King Jehoash = vs. 18b (“He struck it three times and stopped.”)
1. Matthew 9:27-30 = “As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"

28When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"
      "Yes, Lord," they replied.
29Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you"; 30and their sight was restored.”

1. Q: How do we know how much faith we have?
2. A: James 2:18 = “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.”
1. Refer to Hebrews 11 (faith leads to radical action)
1. By faith:
1. Noah built an ark
2. Abraham obeyed and went
3. Moses chose to be mistreated
4. The Israelites marched around the walls of Jericho for 7 days
5. Rahab welcomed the spies
6. Vs. 32-38 = “And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them.”
7. M.P. = Q: How much faith do we have?
1. Luke 18:8 = “…when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
2. My Vision for Tampa:
1. Double in 3 years (500 members)
1. Reach 1,000 some time this decade
2. Eventually expand into local groups all over Tampa.
1. A community church within 10-15 minutes of your home.
2. Our motto (on bulletin): “Small groups reaching a big world”.
3. Community Service (HOPE – international & local)
4. Turn USF into “a leadership factory”…
1. Here’s this year’s 3 Point Plan
1. One: Increase our zeal and outward focus
1. Romans 12:11 = “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”
1. It’s time for every member of this church to:
1. Give weekly contribution
1. 2 Corinthians 8:7 = “But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us —see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”
2. Be in a “personal bible study”
1. Jesus fed on his mission:
1. John 4:34 = “My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”
2. Two: Strengthen Infrastructure
1. It’s time for every member of this church to:
1. be in a discipling relationship
2. be an active part of a House Church (soon introduce Bible Talks…)
3. Three: Add Staff
1. One: JC & Shyla Smith
2. Two: Ron and Laurianne Conkling