Introduction

• John 4:23-24 – God is a spirit. We are spirits also.
• Matthew 15:7-9 – There is such a thing as vain worship.

Focus on God – the object of our worship.

• Psalms 29:1-11
• Romans 1:21, 25, 28-31 – They did not honor God as they should. We will seek and serve something. If we don’t seek God, we will likely serve ourselves.
• Acts 17:22-28 – Paul was trying to focus them on the one true God.
• Revelation 5:11-14 – Scenes like this can help us think about God.
• Revelation 22:8-9 – “Worship God”

Develop gratitude for what God has done for us.

• Genesis 8:19-20 – Noah worshiped when he got off the ark.
• Genesis 12:2-8; 13:16-18 – Abraham worshiped out of thankfulness.
• Exodus 14:30-15:18 – Moses and the people sang in gratitude for God’s salvation.
• Psalms 51:12-15
• Colossians 3:15-17
• We should be tripping over ourselves to thank God for what He has done for us.
• Psalms 100:4

Good living goes hand-in-hand with good worship.

• Psalms 51:16-17
• We can’t live a sinful life and worship God appropriately.
• I Samuel 15:18-22 – Your life must match up with your worship.
• Micah 6:6-8
• God has always demanded sincere worship and a sincere life.
• Amos 5:23
• Malachi 1:10
• I Peter 3:7 – I can’t mistreat my wife and still worship acceptable.
• James 4:8 – “Cleanse your hands, you sinners.”

Joshua 15

Joshua 15:1-12 – Territory of Judah

• Joshua 15:8 – Jerusalem is on the border between Judah and Benjamin (called Jebus at this time). See Joshua 15:63; 18:28.

Joshua 15:13-19 – Caleb’s portion

• Joshua 15:14 – Caleb drove out the Anakim
• Joshua 15:17 – See Judges 3:9. Othniel would be the first judge of Israel.

Joshua 15:20-63 – List of Judah’s cities

• 112 cities are listed in total. Seven more cities are listed but not counted in this 112, perhaps because they are later reassigned to Simeon (Joshua 19:1-7). Jerusalem is also mentioned but not counted (Joshua 15:63).
• The city of Jerusalem: See Judges 19:10-12. Even at this time, foreigners occupied Jerusalem. In II Samuel 5:4-7, David finally conquered Jerusalem.
• Deuteronomy 6:10-12

Joshua 16

Joshua 16:1-10 – Territory of Ephraim

• Joshua 16:10 – Another pocket of resistance that was not conquered.

Joshua 17

Joshua 17:1-18 – Territory of Manasseh

• Joshua 17:3-4 – Daughters of Zelophehad. See Numbers 27:6-8; 36.

Joshua 18

Joshua 18:1-10 – Seven tribes remain

• Joshua 18:1 – The tabernacle was set up at Shiloh. See Exodus 25.
• Joshua 18:6 – God directs the process via casting of lots.

Joshua 18:11-28 – 1st lot: Territory of Benjamin and cities

Joshua 19

Joshua 19:1-9 – 2nd lot: Territory of Simeon and cities

Joshua 19:10-16 – 3rd lot: Territory of Zebulun and cities

Joshua 19:17-23 – 4th lot: Territory of Issachar and cities

• Judges 1:27-36 – The Amorites forced the people of Dan out. See Judges 18:1, 27-31. They instead took Laish, renamed it Dan, and started worshiping an idol.

Joshua 19:49-51 – Joshua’s inheritance

Joshua 20

Joshua 20:1-9 – 6 cities of refuge appointed

Joshua 21

Joshua 21:1-42 – Levites receive 48 cities

Joshua 21:43-45 – God has fulfilled the land promise

• God fulfilled His promises!
• Titus 2:11 – God made salvation available to all men, but we have to take it!
• Matthew 7:13-14

Introduction

• Why do we study only the Bible?

Who and what holds authority?

• Matthew 28:18-20
• The doctrine of apostolic succession?

Authority of elders

• Acts 20:28
• I Thessalonians 5:12-13
• There is no evidence of succession through.

Apostolic succession

• The continuation of church leaders from a church’s apostolic origin helped indicate that a church was continuing to teach the original doctrines that were taught by the apostles.
• Apostolic succession loses its purpose when a leader teaches or practices error.
• Designed to preserve church doctrine, not create new doctrine!

How did we get the Bible?

• How writings were evaluated
  • Was it written by an apostle or non-apostle?
  • Was it read aloud in weekly assemblies?
  • Is it consistent and contradiction-free?
  • Did it reinforce the consensus of belief?
  • Was it written during the apostolic age?
• Books that are not in the New Testament

How do we ensure Scripture is interpreted correctly?

• We have always had this problem.
  • II Timothy 4:3-4 – Men will turn to teachings that appealed to them.
  • Galatians 2:2-5 – Even apostles faced the issue of false doctrine.
• Only later did men change how the church was lead.

Takeaways

• All authority stems from God.
• God made scripture evident through the Holy Spirit rather than men with authority.
• Local church elders and our fellow Christians must work to stop false doctrine instead of a centralized authority.

Faith and prayer, continued

Prayer is a habit

• Make prayer a priority. Find time to pray alone. Find a private place to pray. Make it one-on-one.
  • Matthew 6:6
• Example: Daniel had a predetermined time and place to pray.
  • Daniel 6:10
• Jesus’ life was saturated with prayer.
  • Mark 1:35 – Christ made a specific time and a solitary place.
  • Luke 6:12 – Jesus prayed at pivotal points, again in a solitary place where He made time to pray.
  • Mark 14:32-34; Matthew 26:36-46; Luke 22:39-46; 23:34 – In the garden before His betrayal, against He found a place and time to pray.
• Is our life saturated with prayer? Do we pray always?
  • I Thessalonians 5:17
  • Luke 18:1
• Do we pray at pivotal moments in our life? Do we ask for guidance with decisions? Do we ask for help during our storms?
• Do we make prayer a priority?
• When we make the effort to establish the habit of prayer, our faith grows, and we begin to feel the instinct, the impulse to go to God in prayer. We feel a NEED to have a one-one-one relationship with God through faith and prayer.
• Note that in Luke 11:1, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray.

Prayer is a calibration

• The model prayer – Luke 11:2-4; Matthew 6:8-13

Introduction

• Genesis 2:16-17, 23 – Adam and Eve did not literally die the day they ate from the tree.
• II Timothy 3:12
• I Peter 3:14
• Luke 21:16-18 – The protection and deliverance were more real than the persecution.
• I John 4:2
• John 19:27 – Jesus acknowledged and respected physical reality.
• Luke 8:19-21

We must remember the greater reality of spiritual things.

• We must focus on the greater reality when a choice presents itself.

My perspective on prayer changes when I consider the greater reality.

• Service focuses on both lesser and greater realities.
• Matthew 25:36, 30
• Matthew 6:2, 5
• Colossians 4:12
• Prayer is no small thing!
• I Timothy 5:5
• James 5:16
• Isaiah 62:6-7

My perspective on my country changes when I consider the greater reality.

• Hebrews 11:13
• I Peter 1:17
• I Peter 2:11
• Ephesians 2:18-19
• We are strangers and aliens on earth, but not in heaven.

My perspective on my church changes when I consider the greater reality.

• Revelation 2:2, 6, 15, 19; 3:1, 17
• The greater reality is whether or not we can hold to truth.

My perspective on hope changes when I consider the greater reality.

• I Corinthians 15:53, 42-44
• My perspective on discipleship will change.
• I Corinthians 15:49
• I John 3:2
• John 1
• We should want to be like Jesus now so we can move toward Him.
• II Corinthians 5:1-7
• Our lives are like dreams compared to the greater reality.
• We must be careful to allow our physical life to make us doubt the greater reality.