Nothing Shall Be Able To Withstand You, by Pastor Samuel Obafaiye
Text: Joshua 1:1-6 – Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses servant, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
It is hard for any mortal to be able to step into Moses shoes.
There are 3 levels of ‘servants of God’ – those that call themselves, people call, God calls.
Moses had an impressive and intimidating track record. God called him His servant.
A man that was able to lead over 2 million people, including women, children and the elderlies through the desert over a 40 year period?
The thought of how one will feed such people? Give them drink? Clothing? Shelter from the elements? Cater for their health? Deal with any obstacles that may arise, is scary.
Especially as God called them ‘stiff necked people’?
How can one compare himself to Moses who converse with God as friends and not as Creator vs creature?
If such a man with this incredible record yet had great difficulty with the people, what will someone lesser than him will face?
These are few of the things that would be going on in Joshua’s mind.
So for over 30 days, the Israelites mourned for Moses after they’ve searched for him and couldn’t find him.
Except that God had to speak to Joshua personally, he wouldn’t have seen himself as a candidate to continue with Moses legacy. The words and the promises of God to Joshua gave him the impetus to accept the assignment and the courage needed to carry it out.
Amongst all the words God spoke to Joshua, one sentence stood out for me is.
Joshua 1:5 – There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail the, nor forsake thee.
As I read this verse again and again, I came to a conclusion that if this is the only word that God gave to me for the whole of my life, it’s enough. Four huge promises are embedded in the sentence.
This morning, God asked me to tell His church: “Nothing shall be able to withstand you”.
The word ‘withstand’ means, ‘to stand or hold out against; to resist or oppose, especially successfully. It could also mean, ‘to stop or obstruct the course of something’.
Nothing shall be able to stand against you.
Nothing shall be able to hold out against you.
Nothing shall resist or oppose you successfully.
Nothing shall stop or obstruct your course of movement in life.
When God says ‘nothing’, it could mean one or a combination of these four entities: spirits, persons, situations or circumstances.
– Spirits. They can cause hindrance for a believer.
In Daniel 10:12-13, the Prince of Persia tried to withstand the prayer of Daniel for freedom. It failed. Angel Michael was sent to deal with the spirit, so Angel Gabriel could assure Daniel.
You are in a long fasting regarding something, you have prayed, but you are still confused. God says He has answered. Freedom is coming!
In I Thes. 2:18, Satan himself tried to hinder the gospel work through Paul in Thessalonica. Satan failed. Paul was able to send Timothy to go and strengthen the work.
Every spirit assigned to withstand you shall fail. Whether they are thrones, dominions, powers, principalities, rulers of darkness or wicked spirits in the heavens, they have failed in Jesus name.
– Person(s). Physical enemies can cause hindrances to a believer’s advancement.
The bible tells us how Sanballat, Tobias, the Arabians, the Ashdodites and the Ammonites became objects of hindrance to Nehemiah as he was building the walls and gates of Jerusalem. The people however failed. The whole project was completed in 52 days!
Every physical enemy or group of enemies blocking your path of progress shall be handcuffed, silenced and disgraced by God.
That project you are working on shall be completed.
That business deal shall be signed and executed.
That baby will be born.
That child shall come to his/her senses.
That relationship will blossom again.
Your enemies will be put to shame in Jesus name.
– Situations. There are certain situations that a believer is born into that can affect his/her moving forward.
The children of Israel had been slaves for quite a long time in Egypt, they could not envisage moving forward any longer. The Egyptians were able to withstand them for years. The generation of Moses was born into slavery. That was all they knew. The thought of freedom would have been alien to them.
But one day, they walked free.
You are here, you have been born into a particular negative situation, you are walking free from that situation right now in Jesus name.
May God make a way of escape for you.
May God hearken to your cry and deliver you in Jesus name.
– Circumstance. In life, one’s situation can either change for positive or negative. Things that were not there before can suddenly happen. When it’s negative, it can make one’s advancement to be hindered.
Paul was going to Rome according to God’s word. Tempest and shipwreck tried to stop him; those first failed. After swimming to the shore of Miletus, he was gathering sticks to make fire to warm himself, when a poisonous viper bite him. Everyone that saw it thought the end has come for Paul, yet the viper failed. Paul got to Rome as God has said.
No matter how bad the circumstance that has risen against you; you will reach your destination. You will stand before the Caesars of your time. Not as a prisoner, but as God’s ambassador.
For Joshua to be very confident to lead the Israelites, God said He would be with him as He was with Moses. The question then is, how was God with Moses?
– God used Moses to do great signs and wonders, such as had never been before. So that people looked at Moses as an extraordinary being.
Deuteronomy 34:10-12 – And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, In all the signs and the wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.
God later wrought signs and wonders through Joshua as well: Jordan, Jericho, Ai, Valley of Aijalon, etc. May God wrought signs and wonders for you and through you in Jesus name.
– God always defended Moses. Against the mutiny of his elder brother and elder sister; against the coup planned by Korah, Datham, Abiram and 250 princes. Moses did not have to defend himself.
God later defended Joshua from the Gibeonites. Joshua was commanded by God to chase all the inhabitants of Canaan, but the Gibeonites tricked him. Rather than breaking his oath of peace to the Gibeonites and so bring a curse upon Israel, the Gibeonites were turned into their servants (Joshua 9:3-27).
If anyone had tricked you into something to your disadvantage, may God turn such people into hewers of wood for you and fetchers of waters for you in Jesus name.
They thought they were smarter than you, but they will become your servants.
– Moses was never stranded. Be it well before something is needed or at the last minute, there was always a way out. The same was with Joshua. He was never stranded. The city of Ai that proved a bit difficult was later subdued with funny objects.
In all your moves and undertakings, you will not be stranded.
You will not be cornered up.
You will not be pressed against the wall.
– Moses enjoyed a very close relationship with God. They spoke to each other. Joshua was able to enjoy the same privilege.
May you hear from God. May God hear from you. May that frequency not be cut off.
– The dealings of God with Moses were vivid to all.
Exodus 19:19
And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.
Joshua 4:14
On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.
May God demonstrate to all mankind that He is definitely with you. May Jehovah magnify you in the sight of all.
– God showed great mercies and compassion to Moses. When he died, Lucifer thought he could take Moses to Hell because of his error at the Waters of Meribah. But God did not allow it (Jude 1:9).
God also showed great mercies on Joshua. He was asked to chase out all the inhabitants of Canaan and divide the land for the Israelites, but at his death, he had not completed this assignment, in a way, he wasted that anointing (Jos. 13:1-5).
You are here, the Accuser of brethren constantly reminds you of a past error of yours. God says He has had mercy on you. He says, ‘Go and sin no more’.
You will not live a life of regret in Jesus name.
– Moses strength and vigour never failed. He was very agile.
Deuteronomy 34:7
And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.
The same goes for Joshua.
Joshua 24:29
And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old.
You are still young and you are always tired! May the anointing to reach 110 years come upon you. Your strength shall not fail.
Power that is stronger than stress, might that defy fainting, may God bestow upon you.
You will not run out of energy in Jesus name.
– God made Moses a god over his enemies.
Exodus 7:1 – And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
Same was for Joshua.
Joshua 12:24 – The king of Tirzah, one: all the kings thirty and one.
May God make you a god to your enemies. Those you used to be afraid of, may they now be fearful of you. May your enemies bow and do obeisance to you.
What must you do to see the result of this promise?
– Abide in the righteousness of Christ.
– Believe the promise is for you.
– Speak the promise upon yourself.
– Act out your believe. Put your belief and word into action.
Joshua 5:13-14 – And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
Angels size differ from ours, yet Joshua was able to confront him, because he was in right standing with God; he believed the promise of God; and he was acting on that belief.
Nothing shall be able to withstand you in Jesus name.
Prayers
Isaiah 54:14-17 – In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.
Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.
Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.
The sermon, Nothing Shall Be Able To Withstand You, by Pastor Samuel Obafaiye was delivered on August 27, 2017.