The Faith Experiment Week 6

 

 

 Faith Experiment Week 6 Discussion Guide

 

 

Begin by sharing your favorite devotional from The Faith Experiment since you last met.

 

How you ever been really moved, kind of “all in” in your faith and had different expectations because of how your heart was in prayer?

 

How does it affect you when your heart might be moved around one thing, but God’s response might be for another thing or he respond’s in a different way?

 

Can the stirring of my heart impact the effectiveness of my faith through the stirring of God’s heart?

 

 

Bonus Reflections from the Biblical Text

 

Joshua 10:1-11

 

–       (vv. 1-5) Fear caused five kings to conceive an ill-fated plan to overwhelm Israel with sheer numbers. The Leader, Adoni–Zedek, had a worldview that prevented him from understanding that Israel’s victories were due to the Lord, not Joshua, and so from his frame of reference it was a matter of matching armies against armies.

–       Gibeon had the correct worldview. They made a treaty with Israel because they saw that it was God who was with Joshua (Joshua 9:10-11). So they called on Joshua to fulfill Israel’s obligation to help them (v. 6). Israel then rose to this test to fight five kingdoms at one time.

–       As always, God commanded Joshua not to fear (v. 8). Important to note that Joshua at this point DID NOT spend time regretting the treaty that he made with Gibeon which was forcing him to defend their city. (See Joshua 9:22-26). Ever ask yourself, “How did I get myself into this mess?” Well, Joshua did not do that in chapter 10 and instead of reflecting on regret, he prepared to take the enemy force head on.

–       Sometimes the journey into life’s battles can be as arduous as the battles themselves. Joshua took the enemy by surprise after a 22-mile tortuous, twisting, uphill all–night climb from Gilgal to Hebron. (vv 9-10)

–       (v. 11) God never told Joshua HOW he was going to help him. He helps in his own way and sometimes different than we may expect. God rained hailstones down on the enemy and that would have been all he would have done had not Joshua prayed the way he did in the following verses.

–    Moved hearts move the heart of God. (vv. 12-14) To keep his advantage over the fleeing army, Joshua asked God to stop the rotation of the planets so they could finish the battle.

 

–