THE VINEYARD OF JESUS CHRIST

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SERMON SERIES: MANIFESTATION OF GOD’S PROMISES

LESSON 3: WHEN THE SUN STOOD STILL
SCRIPTURE: Joshua 10:8-14
On 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.”
So, the sun stood still and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on a 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.
There 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!
INTRODUCTION
The most amazing miracle of all time, the day the sun stood still. God miraculously
provided twenty-four hours of light to aid Israel in destroying their enemy, the Amorites.
Humans try to explain the unexplainable. How did this impossible thing occur? A
variety of explanations have been given concerning this event.
Some suggest:
1. It is a “local miracle.” - God allowed light to remain in Gibeon, much like the
Hebrews had light even when the Egyptians were in the dark (Exodus 10:23).
However, the text seems to indicate an actual change of the earth’s rotation, since
it says the sun did not set.
2. It’s a figurative speech. - Others argue that the language of the passage is poetic
and therefore not to be taken literally. This view causes other problems. Primarily,
how is a reader to know that this event is figurative and not other events?
Applying figurative interpretations to difficult biblical passages does not truly
answer the difficulties.
3. It is an Eclipse. - An eclipse that gave the appearance of a long day in which the
sun did not set. Alternatively, some combination of an eclipse and refracted light
in the atmosphere could have made the day appear longer than normal. God timed
the event to miraculously coincide with Joshua’s prayer and moment of need.
The main weakness of this view is that an eclipse typically lasts for minutes
rather than hours.
The Best Explanation
God performed an astounding miracle, causing the sun to delay its “setting.” God
stopped the motion of the earth. There are objections to this explanation, based on the
physics of motion, but the God who created the world and established natural laws is
perfectly capable of compensating for any collateral complications. We may not have a
scientific explanation of how God performed this miracle, but He did.
 Joshua described the miracle just as we might describe it, from an earth-bound
perspective. From the perspective of someone standing on the earth, it does appear that the
sun moves. We ourselves commonly speak of “sunrise” and “sunset”; it is the way we express
ourselves.
While we may not fully understand how this “long day” occurred, a miracle does not
have to be scientifically proven, just accepted. Joshua prayed, and God supernaturally
provided the light necessary for Joshua’s army to win its battle.
The lengthened day was indeed unlike anything ever seen, but in Joshua’s mind the
greater miracle may just have been that God listened to him and answered such an amazing
prayer.
Job 37:5, “God thunders with his voice in marvelous ways; he does great things
beyond our understanding.”
SIMPLE STEPS FOR A BIG MIRACLE
1. ASK - Ask according to God's will & purpose – verse 8
Joshua's army had marched all night from Gilgal to Gibeon, a distance of
twenty miles, to do battle with their enemies. Joshua needed the battle time
prolonged because five strong kings had brought out their armies to fight his army in
the open country. Joshua had the enemy on the run, and he did not want them to get
back to their fortified cities. More time was needed for his troops to catch them. To
prevent their return more daylight was needed. Hence, he asked God to lengthen the
day.
James 4:2-3, “You do not receive cause you do not ask. You ask but do not
receive because you asked with wrong motives.”
1 John 5:14-15, “And this is the confidence that we have before him: that
whenever we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he
hears us in regard to whatever we ask, then we know that we have the requests that
we have asked from him.”
We should ask God for a miracle to accomplish Gods purpose. Why are you
afraid to ask a big and impossible thing from God? Do you feel its foolishness to ask
it? Anything you need to do your work in the Lord more effectively for God's glory do
not hesitate to ask. Ask now!
2. BELIEVE – verse 12.
Knowing his God, his Gods power, and his Gods promise, he called out to God
for help, and in the presence of all Israel, he commanded the "sun to stand still."
When you pray you need to believe. All is possible to those who believe. Those
who believe in Him will not be put to shame. - Romans 10:11, James 1:6-8
3. RECEIVE – verse 13-14
And this is the physical manifestation of Gods promise and His Power.
CONCLUSION
Joshua knew his God! He knew that God had promised and so as he asked in his prayer
and believed, the impossible thing happened.
Our God is awesome and mighty! There's nothing that He Cannot do. Start to have a
bigger faith in Him and see bigger miracles in your life. God bless us all!