Play Oceans Video
That song is called Oceans and it’s by HIllsong United. You’ve probably heard it on the radio.
The bridge goes:
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
I read an article recently titled, “Stop Singing Oceans.” It was about that song. And basically what the author of the article was saying was, “You don’t mean it, You don’t want that kind of faith. You don’t actually want to go where your trust is without borders. You don’t want to go deeper than your feet could ever wander. It’s too uncomfortable, too risky, too dangerous, too wild. You might feel good singing it on a Sunday morning but by the time Monday comes around, it’s going to be too hard for you.”
Yet isn’t this exactly the way that you and I ought to be living? Isn’t that exactly what our faith should look like? The author of that article doesn’t think you should be singing those lines because he doesn’t think you could mean it but I know you better… I believe wholeheartedly that we as a church, and as individuals, could say these words and mean it.
Pastor and author Steve Furtick put it this way, “If the size of your vision for your life isn’t intimidating to you, there’s a good chance it’s insulting to God.”
Joshua was a man whose vision for his life had to be intimidating for him, it would’ve been intimidating for any of us. And I’m sure God knew it because over and over again God reminded Joshua – be strong and courageous.
Joshua is so intriguing to me, he’s mentioned in Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1 Kings, 1 Chronicles, Nehemiah, and even Acts, and Hebrews.
Perhaps the most memorable eventin Joshua’s life is found in Joshua 10:9-15 (TWO SLIDES)
9After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise.10The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.11As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.
12On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
13So the sun stood still,
and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself on[b] its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar.
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.14There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!
15Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.
Joshua, prays to God, saying “Sun Stand Still.” - that’s outrageous.
What’s happening here is that Joshua and the Israelites are in the promised land which is Canaan and currently, it’s enemy territory. God has called Joshua to drive out Israel’s enemies and inhabit the land. It sounds like a scary proposition but the first time Joshua came into this land was 40 years ago as a spy. And him and his friend Caleb saw it, and were so excited for the land that God had promised to them. And they saw all it had to offer and they couldn’t wait to get back and tell the Israelites all about it. Finally, when they get back to report to Moses and the Israelites about the land they saw… 10 other spies who had gone to look at the land also, came back and said, “it’ll be too difficult… the people of the land are like giants, we’re like grasshoppers in their eyes, there’s no way that we can overtake them.”
As a result of The Israelites lack of faith and trust in God’s promise… they’re forced to wander the desert for forty years. Until everyone from that generation dies except for Joshua and Caleb. Can you imagine what those 40 years of desert wandering would’ve been like for Joshua? He had been in the promised land! He saw it and he saw how good it was and he wanted to go back but no one else did except for Caleb. He was punished for the sins of others.
Now, he gets his chance again and there’s no way he’s going to let it slip by.
So, word spreads, and this city called Gibeon finds out that God has given the land to Joshua and the Israelites and they say, Okay Joshua… we’ll be subject to you and we’ll work for you and we’ll be your allies. And Joshua agrees. There’s more to that story by the way – you can look it up when you get home if you want.
But the Amorite Kings, who also live in the Promised Land, hear about this deal the people of Gibeon have made with the Israelites and they decide to kill all of the Gibeonites. Gibeon sends word to Joshua and Joshua and the Israelites march all through the night to kill the Amorites and save Gibeon.
They get there before noon and start fighting, around noon the Amorites realize how much they’re losing and they begin to flee. They can’t wait for sun down because when the sun sets, fighting usually stops because it’s just too difficult to do in the dark, and their nightmarish day will be over. Joshua on the other hand isn’t okay with this – he wants total victory.
So he says, Sun Stand still over Gibeon.
He could’ve prayed for more hail – that God would finish the job. He could’ve prayed for more speed – that God would help them do as much as they could with the time they had left. He could’ve prayed that God would slow down the fleeing Amorites. He could’ve prayed and said God, may we get a good night’s rest… thank you for this day’s victory, give us strength tomorrow. But he prays the most audacious prayer one could possibly think of and he says “Sun, stand still.”
The skeptic in us has all kinds of questions
-Did God stop the earth on its axis? Wouldn’t that have global catastrophic consequences or was part of the miracle also that God sustained the earth perfectly during this time? Did God create some sort of substitute sun? Was this a local or global event? Maybe God just tinkered with the property of light refraction? Maybe God sped the Israelites up and it felt as if they had been fighting for a day and a half. Maybe God just slowed the earth down… maybe it didn’t grind to a halt but just slowed down.
I don’t know. My faith is simple here – I trust that it happened and that it was miraculous.
I think the best question that we could possibly ask is not – How did God do this but rather, how can we do this? How can we pray Sun Stand Still prayers? How do we pray – an impossible for human but possible God sort of prayer?
There’s 4 principles from the text that help shape our understanding of Sun Stand Still prayers. I know that sounds like a formula and it is kind of like a formula. But one of the things that I love most about this passage is that we know prayers aren’t based on formulas. We know it’s not about getting the words right like a harry potter spell or putting in the right number and letter on a vending machine in order to make sure we get flaming hot Cheetos instead of a bag of raisins.
Right? Joshua says, “Sun stand still.” It stands in the face of name it and claim it theology that says “if you go out there and say everything exactly right and describe exactly what you want in exact detail than God will give it to you.” God doesn’t respond to Joshua by saying, “No problem, the sun is already standing still Joshua.” Instead, he understands what Joshua is trying to say – what Joshua wants – and he answers the prayer. So these are 4 very helpful guidelines.
WHAT IS A SUN STAND STILL PRAYER?
1.)It’s Audacious
Audacious is a great word, Steve Furtick describes it this way, in his book Sun Stand Still
Audacious faith makes regular people behave with boldness or daring, especially with confident disregard for personal comfort or conventional thought.
What makes a prayer Audacious is that it’s humanly impossible. No one but God could make the Sun stand still. God, help me to do my homework tonight. –Not exactly an impossible thing for you to accomplish on your own.
According to an angel who visits Mary to tell of her of her pregnancy, “Nothing is impossible with God.” Luke 1:37
When a man asks Jesus, “If you can, heal my son.” Jesus responds by saying? If you can? Everything is possible for one who believes (Mark 9:23)
When Jesus is teaching the disciples how to pray he says, “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.” (Mark 11:23)
Audacious prayer is prayer that dares to ask for the impossible.
Time and time again in Joshua, God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous. Joshua 1:6, Joshua 1:7, Joshua 1:9, Joshua 1:18, Joshua 10:25. Be Strong and Courageous.
Not only are Audacious prayers – humanly impossible but they’re also brave. They’re strong and courageous.
One of the reasons Joshua prays for the sun to stand still is because God has been telling him again and again and again. Be strong and courageous. “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strongandcourageous. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.”
If you’re going to pray an audacious prayer than It’s got to be a prayer that requires you to have courage.
Why do we need courage to pray Sun Stand Still prayers? Because God doesn’t always answer. Or… we’re not always right about what God wants.
Harry Bisping came to my office the other day for a trustee meeting… Sometimes I like to pretend that I’m a trustee so every once in a while, when they’re feeling gracious, they include me in their meetings. And Harry asked me what I was doing and I told him that I was preparing for this sermon. Then I began to explain to Harry that I liked preaching. And what I liked most about preaching was that I know that God wants to speak to his church – and because he wants to speak to his church and because I ask him to speak through me for a Sunday morning message – and tell me what He wants me to say… then I can be confident that I get to hear from God. I can be confident that when I pray and receive something in prayer – I can assume that perhaps this is what God has for me.
Steve Furtick calls this the perhaps paradox.
He gets it from 1 Samuel 14:6.
It reads,
Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, "Come, let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few."
See it? Let’s go risk our lives wandering in to an enemy outpost… just the two of us. Perhaps the LORD will show up. Nothing can stop God.
The very confident… Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving. And the not so confident… perhaps God will join us.
It’s true right? It’s easy for us to go… Yeah God can move a mountain. Yeah God can heal cancer. Yeah God can cure blindness. Yeah God can find me a job. Yeah God can save my friend’s soul. Yeah God can return my stolen property.
But it’s hard to know whether or not He will! That’s where audaciousness steps in. That’s where we’re supposed to be strong and courageous. Because we’re never 100% sure. Usually, it’s more like we’re only given what feels like 55% sureness. Don’t ever wait until you’re 100% sure though because it will never come. Let perhaps be enough for you.
2.)It’s Specific
Hopefully you’ve heard this before. If you want to see results than you have to have specific prayers. God bless me today. God just be with me today. This is the one I’m guilty of saying all the time: God help me to honor and serve you today. How can you know that God answered your prayers if you haven’t prayed for anything specifically?
I’ll give you an example of a specific prayer.
It’s not a Sun Stand Still Prayer because it didn’t require me to be brave but it was specific. Ruby and I took one of our cars in to get an alignment because it was pulling to the right. When we went to pick it up – it cost what an alignment normally costs. Way too much money. And they showed us the report and told us they couldn’t align some part because it wasn’t adjustable but if I wanted to they could order a part and install it and calibrate it. No thanks. So I drove the car home and it still pulled to the right just as badly as it had before. I called them immediately and told them the problem wasn’t fixed. They told me I could order that part and have them install it. I asked them why they did the alignment in the first place if they knew they weren’t going to be able to fix it. Why charge me for something they knew wouldn’t fix the problem? She said she was sorry and offered to order the part so that they could install it. I explained to them that spending more money at their shop was the last thing I wanted to do. She apologized. End of conversation.
Ruby and I got home and we prayed together and I said, God… if you think it’s right – give us justice with that car shop. I don’t want anything bad to happen to them but I would like our money back. If you want them to have it though, then we’re fine with that too. Our money is your money.
A few days later the shop called me back and offered me a 100% refund.
Specific prayers are the most rewarding, most refreshing, most soul nurturing thing that you can do. I don’t know if that’s true… but man it sure feels like it when you pray for something specific and God gives it to you.
They can also be terrifying.
I was doing an outdoor wedding a few weeks ago and it was pouring down rain 10 minutes before the ceremony is supposed to start. I’m walking around reassuring people that if God’s alright with it raining… than we can be alright with it raining. The mother of the bride walks up to me and says the one thing that I hope no one says. Pastor, will you pray for it to stop raining? Of course, I say yes and we gather the people standing around us and have a prayer and we ask God to stop the rain. Why was it scary? Because it’s so specific and yet there’s no promise to hold on to. You can’t pray, “God… Jesus was at an outdoor wedding once and He told his disciples… if it ever rains during an outdoor wedding, ask God for the rain to stop and lo it shall cease.” It never happens. If God wants it to rain during your wedding – It’s gonna rain during your wedding. But I also knew that God loved this bride and that He could be glorified and that others could see Him at work so we prayed. I was like 55% sure he would perhaps answer that prayer. But perhaps was good enough for me. It stopped raining long enough to get the mothers seated, to do the bridesmaids procession, and the bridal march. And once every one was under the tent, it began raining again.
Miracle? I don’t know. But it was definitely a specific prayer.
Sun, Stand Still over Gibeon
That’s a specific prayer.
Sun Stand Still Prayers are audacious enough to be specific.
3.)It’s God Reliant
A Sun Stand Still Prayer is Reliant. It relies on His Word, His Will, and His Power. In Joshua 1:7-9 God says,
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.8Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.9Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
God tells Joshua to be careful to obey the law, to not deviate from it, to keep it on his lips, to meditate on it day and night. Why does God want Joshua to know His Word? Because He wants him to know His will. Time and Time again God will remind Joshua that God is with Him and will give his enemies over to him and that wherever he plants his foot, that land will be his. With promises like that, it gets easier and easier to see why Joshua was so audacious.