21st Feb Sermon Discussion - “Victory before the Battle”

Introduction:
This year is the year of breakthroughs. FCBC will see miracles happening, healing taking place, families restored and cell multiplication. Yes we will. However, we need to do a very simple yet powerful thing – PRAY. When we pray, it will move God’s hands. There will be victory even before the battle starts. Isn’t that amazing? So are you ready to enter into the 40 days of prayer?

Bible verses: Joshua 5:1-12

2 Key Strategies to Have Victory before the Battle:

1. Circumcision – Establish your faithfulness
In Joshua 4, Joshua led the Israelites to cross the Jordan River on dry ground. This caused the Amorite Kings and all the Canaanite kings to lose their courage in facing the Israelites. This is seen in Joshua 5:1. Since the kings had lost their courage in facing the Israelites, Joshua could had brought his people to tear down Jericho immediately. However, he didn’t. He obeyed what God had commanded him to do. God asked him to circumcise his people.

In the Old Testament circumcision was an act by an Israelite family to remove the foreskin from the penis, the male sexual organ, shortly after a baby boy is born. It is believed that circumcision also brings health and hygiene benefits. Today, circumcision is still being practiced by both the Jews and Muslims.

The significance of circumcision is to cleanse by removing that which is unclean. In today’s context, there isn’t a need to undergo physical circumcision as the blood of Christ has already cleansed our sins i.e. our hearts are circumcised by His blood.

Activity 1: Sharing
i. The reason why the Israelites won the battle was because they had undergone circumcision. This shows that outer victory can only be won when there is inner victory. Examine your life. Go round and share what is one area of unfaithfulness the Lord convicted your heart about and you need his cleansing? (E.g. devotion life, late for church etc).

ii. Do you believe in the power of prayer ? When we pray, we move the hand of God. The breakthroughs that you have been waiting for, be it in your personal life or for your cell group, can be experienced only if we start to pray. On top of that, as we rise up to be a Joshua generation, the devil will attack us even more. In Ephesians 6: 12 ‘ For our struggle is not against the flesh and blood(man), but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’ Thus, it’s important to pray to fight against the devil.

iii. Today, are you willing to rise up to be a prayer warrior and be part of the 40 days of prayer and fasting? Are you willing to pray for Pastor Khong and his family too? He and his family need your prayer. Take out the 40 days prayer schedule. Go round and decide as a cell the slots you will come and pray e.g. 6am before going to school etc.

2. Celebrate God’s Victory – Empower your faith
Even before Joshua and the Israelites took over Jericho, they celebrated the Passover. The Passover is the Old Testament version of the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper we partake every month reminds us of what Jesus has done for us on the cross. The wafer represents His body, the grape juice, His blood. Jesus won for us the victory on the cross through His sacrifice. We can visualize our victory through the cross. The gate of faith is visualization – Seeing clearly and specifically by faith the results and outcome we want.

Activity 2: Pray
i. The 40 days of prayer and fasting will end just before Good Friday. This year, our cell believes that we can organize three Good Friday events to win our friends. Let’s now pray together for this to happen.

ii. Also in the 40 days of faith, everyone will lead a cell group. I want you to close your eyes and visualize yourself leading a cell group. How many members do you have? Can you see your members’ faces? It can be your friends, your family members. Put the Cross in the middle of your cell. Start praying for your new cell group.