God Is Not On Your Side!

God Is Not On Your Side!

Joshua 5:13–15 CSB

13 When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua approached him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” 14 “Neither,” he replied. “I have now come as commander of the Lord’s army.” Then Joshua bowed with his face to the ground in homage and asked him, “What does my lord want to say to his servant?” 15 The commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did that.

Introduction:

My perspective on when the cowboys lost. and How i viewed life. Couldn’t function think etc.

This can seam like I totally disagree with the series our Pastor is on, and that’s far from the truth. This may come off wrong because of our tainted perspective. The text in context shares with us they are the right people, at the right place and in the right position, now making sure they have the right perspective. The wrong perspective you can totally miss your blessing. While being at the right place in the right position. How you SEE it is important. One may look at life bringing you down to your knees as the worst thing in life. Another make look at it as the best thing in life.

God is fixing the way His children view Him. Based on how you view God will determine if you wander or win. The people God is using now are the kids of the wanders. Because God refuse to use those who have the wrong viewpoint of Him. God uses the Faithful not the Faithless. The faithless will put the Giants over God. The faithless call themselves Grasshoppers in Gods grip. God is now giving the kids a chance to see God how he wants to be seen. He wants the right view while keeping the standard. I have Jericho ready for you, but I have to get you ready for Jericho. God had them circumcised to remember the convenant he set with Abraham.

How many times have you forgotten God when He remembered you? God remembered your court date, God remembered your marriage etc.

When we encounter God we come with a man-centric and self-centered point of view rather than a God centered one. Because we start from the perspective of ourselves as the center of all things we draw distinctions that suit our own needs and desires different from those Gods. This causes us to have wrong assumptions that lead us to ask the wrong questions of God. Are you on our/my side or are you against us? We have our own agenda that we submit to God, or anyone else, that they will either agree with or conform to. We have no problem drawing lines in the sand and we dare God and others to be on the “wrong” side which is always the opposite of the side we’re on. We always know what we’re for or against, and we know where other’s stand, but we rarely try to understand what God is “for”. (THE ELECTION) God is for our president nah God is for and with our president. Truth is God is with NEITHER!! You cant put God in a box that puts Him in a position to submit to our agenda.

What are the wrong questions you ask God? What box are you trying to put God in?

Joshua, and us, can’t put God in a box, He defines his own terms in his reply.

And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.”

God is NOT on Your Side

This is difficult and terrifying thought for us to consider. How could God not be on my side? God is not on man’s side, He’s on HIS side. This is an important distinction. When we have been walking with Christ for an extended period of time it can be easy to be comfortable with the idea that God is on our side, or there is something good about us, because he freed us from the slavery of sin, and sustained and delivered us from various wildernesses in our lives. We take verses like Rom 8:31 that say, If God is for us, who can be against us?, to assume that whatever path we choose to take, God is our co-pilot who will both follow and bless us. We forget the “IF” part of the verse. God is “for us/with us” as much as our lives are conformed to His will. He is the commander of the Lord’s army, not our private mercenary that saves us when we want to be rescued and serves us when we want to conquer. When God has done amazing things in our lives we begin to act like we have blank check of His grace to continue to use for blessing and favor without regard for if we are seeking His will or our own. We forget we are in his debt, he is not in ours.

If anyone had cause to assume God is on their side it’s Joshua and Israel. They who had visible and tangible evidence/experiences to point to that God unquestionably on “their” side and yet God doesn’t say “Joshua, I am on the side of Israel because of her great righteousness and I oppose Jericho because of her wickedness. Let me charge in to battle with you to ensure your victory and then you can live however you see fit.” In Jesus response he is making it clear that He is not there to follow Joshua or guarantee victory for Israel.  If Joshua and Israel wants to join and remain on the victorious side they will need to enlist in the Lord’s Army and submit to the orders of General Jesus.

How can I change my Self Centered view of God and Christianity. How can I divorce the mindset of what can I get out of God to a Christ centered view of What can God get out of me. Thats cool but why you keep saying God? The text cleary says Angel of the Lord.

OK, 1st of all, who is this that Joshua encounters? Well, a few clues: 1: he’s called the commander of the Lord; 2: Joshua worships this guy without being rebuked, which you’re not allowed to do to an angel; 3: He’s referred to as “the Lord” in the next chapter (6:2).● This is what theologians call a “theophany,” or an Old Testament, pre-nativity appearance of God in human form. This is Jesus.You’re getting a glimpse of Jesus before he shows up in a manger in Bethlehem. Several key things about our relationship to him.There has always been just one way to follow Jesus, and relate to him, whether Old Testament or new, and this is it. 4 things—these are so important.Jesus invites us …

To Surrender

● He doesn’t come as someone to get onto our side; he comes as one to whom we surrender.

● A lot of us, at some point, realize that God needs to be a part of our lives. We certainly don’t want him to be our adversary. We need him in our family; we need him because things in life are overwhelming us; or when we die we don’t want to go to hell.

● So when we come to God we want to know, “How much do I have to do, and what do I have to do, to get you on my side?” Our questions are things like, “How much do I have to give you? How much do I have to go to church? How well do I have to keep the commandments?”

● This is a completely wrong way of approaching Jesus for two reasons.

1. You can never bargain your way into salvation. You can never do enough. The gospel is that you could never be good enough to earn God’s love. It was something Jesus did for you by living a perfect life, the life you should have lived, and then dying on a cross, the death you should have died, in your place.

2. Jesus is the Commander of the Universe. He’s not someone to get on your side; he’s someone to whom you surrender.

● “The only deal God is willing to make with you is his gift-righteousness for your absolute surrender.”

● So here is my question: How do you approach God? Not, are you doing enough to get him on your side, gotten him as a fighter in your army, but have you enlisted yourself as a soldier in his?

● I think we see this all the time in politics. Everybody wants to enlist God on their side. And there is certainly a place for discussing which positions best represent a biblical approach to the issues … but Jesus has his own mission, and it’s not embodied in either of the political platforms.

● Jesus’ mission was to save sinners and make disciples and build his church. The most important question is not, “Is God on your side, but have you joined up with his mission, his agenda?”

Greear, J. D. (2017). Surrender: Joshua 5. In J. D. Greear Sermon Archive (Jos 5). The Summit Church.

To Follow -

● God is going to be the one doing the fighting in this battle. He doesn’t need Joshua to fight the battle for him; he is going to use Joshua in the battle, but that’s fundamentally different.

○ What he is going to tell Joshua to do, in fact, would be very strange. To walk around the walls of Jericho 7 times and then yell and blow trumpets and God would knock the walls down.

○ Now, truthfully, God didn’t need Joshua to shout to knock the walls down. Right? He could have done that part all by himself. But he chose to use Joshua.

● This is very important point. At no point does God tell us to go do fight the battle for him. He invites us to follow him as he fights the battle through us.

○ We see this again in Acts 1, after Jesus gives the “Great Commission” to the disciples, which was to “go into all the world and preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations,” do you remember the first thing he told them to do? Go and wait. Wait for promise of the Holy Spirit. You know some of the disciples were type-A and were like, “Wait? We’ve got to get the gospel to every nation. We can’t delay, not even a second! We’ve got to get a conference organized. Peter, why don’t you put together a preaching tour? John, you write a book.”

○ But Jesus said to wait. Why? Because he wanted them to understand that they wouldn’t build the church for him; he would it through them. Did Jesus say, “You will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it?” No. He said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”

● This makes such a huge difference in how you approach the mission of God.

○ The question is not, “How do we accomplish the mission and save the world?” I’ve told you that question leads to constant guilt, feeling overwhelmed, and eventual paralysis. I know, I’ve lived there most of my life.

○ The question is simply, “What has the Holy Spirit given me to do?” What gifts has he given to me? What is he leading me to do with them? Our job is just to follow and obey.

● I’ve been trying to push you to this over the last several weeks. Are you listening to the Holy Spirit in how he guides you?

○ The Holy Spirit shows up in 59 places in the book of Acts. In 36 of those he is speaking, guiding them and leading them in mission, speaking through them. Question: Is he speaking you and guiding you in ministry? If not, are you walking with the Holy Spirit?

○ Listen, I understand that there are some unique things happening in the book of Acts, but I am NOT one of those who believe we have a fundamentally different relationship to the Holy Spirit than what we see in those early Christians.

○ They were led by him in the mission; they depended on him; they were sensitive to him and they followed him.

● Let me give you a few examples:

○ Peter has a vision/dream. Then someone knocks on the door. Acts 11:12, “And the Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them.” (The NKJV says “without doubting.”)

○ In Acts 16:6, Luke is recounting how the gospel was spreading through Europe. Acts 16:6, “And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. [7] And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.” Didn’t allow them to do what? Not look at porn? Not curse or tell a lie? No, he forbade them to preach the gospel in a certain area. You see how they are simply following the Holy Spirit?

● My question: Do you follow the Spirit of God?

○ Parents, do you follow him in your parenting? Do you think you’re going to be able to raise your kids without the HS? Really?

■ My mom.

○ Do you get up every day and say, “Holy Spirit, show me where you want to use me today and who you want to use me with. Put words in my mouth to encourage others; to warn others; to tell them about Jesus.”

○ For this series, I’ve asked you, “Are you following him in giving?” Listen: Just about every impulse I have in my heart to give, I try to obey. You say, “What if it’s not the Holy Spirit, but the devil?” I’m not sure what is on the official list of things Satan prompts you to do, but I’m pretty sure sacrificial giving is not on that list. So I assume it’s God and I give it. Have you listened to the Holy Spirit for what you to give?

■ In this series, I’ve had so many people tell me what the Holy Spirit was leading them to give. The other night we our high school students had a service in which they went all-in.

■ One student has 2 jobs. She has committed to giving 10% from both jobs AND she said the Holy Spirit was leading her to give half of the money that she makes in tips at her second job, and she’s doing it JOYFULLY.

■ Another student, in reflecting on how he could be all in with his time and his treasure, said that the Holy Spirit helped him realize he spent too much time playing PS3, so he’s going to sell it and give the money to All-In.

● Now, a couple words of caution, I feel duty bound to say this any time I talk about listening to the Holy Spirit.

○ First, the Spirit of God never leads you to contrary to the Word of God. He’s not going to ever lead you to leave your husband, or have an affair, or you teenagers can never come home and say, “God has led me to have sex with my girlfriend or told me it was ok to smoke marijuana.”

○ Second, notice that the Apostles weren’t waiting on the Spirit to tell them to preach the gospel or get involved in the mission. Jesus has already told us to do that. The Holy Spirit is guiding them as they do it. It’s kind of like riding a bike. You start pedaling and then you steer. You start obeying, and the Holy Spirit will guide you as do it.

○ I point this out because we have a lot of people sitting around waiting on God to tell them do something he’s already told us to do. I can assure you that if you are not actively in ministry, using your spiritual gifts, telling other people about Jesus, making disciples, pouring yourself out in the church, and giving sacrificially, you are not walking with the Holy Spirit.

○ Start to pedal and then he’ll guide you. The Holy Spirit only steers moving ships.

Greear, J. D. (2017). Surrender: Joshua 5. In J. D. Greear Sermon Archive (Jos 5). The Summit Church.

To Worship -

● When Joshua sees Jesus he immediately hits the deck; he verbalizes his surrender; and then he takes off his shoes—an Old Testament sign of deep respect for something holy.

● That’s God’s first and primary agenda for us: worship. Why?

○ He doesn’t need us. Remember what happens in this story. God knocks down the walls.

● What he is after is our hearts.

○ You worship whatever you put ultimate value on. Whatever you feel like you have to have for life and security.

○ For many of you, that thing is money. So you fall on your face and cling to it and surrender to do what it says and show the utmost respect for it.

● Jesus wants you to replace money with him. Where you see him as ultimate.

○ Matthew 6

● Jesus wants to be our primary source of significance and security. Where we look at money and we say, “God, I don’t need all this for beauty and significance in my life because you are my beauty and significance. I don’t need to spend all my money filling my life with pleasures because YOU are my pleasure. I don’t need to save it all for my security because you are my security.”

● So he commands us to give. Not, as we’ve said, to get the money out of our pockets, but the idols out of our hearts. Generosity is not about our money (he doesn’t need that); it’s about the idols of our hearts (we need that).

● Generosity is not something he wants from us but something he wants for us.

● So to that end I’ve given you a few questions to consider about your giving:

○ What does what you do with your money show that you most love?

○ What does what you do with your money show that you most trust in? (These are questions not about what God needs, but the idols of your heart—who or what your real God is. Has money replaced God as your primary source of security and delight?)

○ What does what you do with your money reveal about what kingdom you are serving?

○ What statement does your giving to God make about his value to you?

● Jesus is such a better God than money. God never loses value; he never enters a recession or dips below 10,000; and he’s not dependent on who sits in the Oval Office.

● Listen: our giving problems are always worship problems. I guarantee you: If you don’t give generously, it’s because money is more of a source of pleasure or security to you than Jesus.

● Worshipping Jesus is the way to joyful, cheerful giving. You’re my treasure; you’re my trust. I can obey you in giving, whatever you say, because I don’t need money for either of these things. Or, you could say it like this: “In you, Christ, I can give up all that I have, because in Christ, I have all that I need.”

● Maybe the reason your heart has been moved in this series to joyful generosity is that you’ve never really been saved by Jesus. You’ve been religious, grown up in church, but Jesus has never changed your heart so that you see him as your God and your King and your soul’s delight, and what you most need is not to beat yourself up about giving, but to be saved and have your heart changed by Jesus.

To Win - Jesus invites us to Win. This is the winning formula to your Jericho walls.

● When Joshua encounters Jesus, he has his sword raised. The raised sword of Jesus means he is ready to fight. Friends, Jesus has never raised his sword and lost a battle.

● In Matthew 28:18–20 when Jesus says, “All authority is given to me in heaven and in earth, therefore go …” essentially he is raising his sword again. Victory is assured. The Great Commission begins with the Great Announcement of victory.

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 28

18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

● Great sacrifices for the Great Commission come from great confidence that Jesus will do what he said he would. That his mighty sword is raised. That sword is on your side. God is own His Side… and He invites you to Join His side.

Timothy Wright would ask the question if he was here.... Where do you stand? Who’s on the Lord side.

Close:What can God get out of you. Can he get a yes? out of you. Can he get a commiment out of you.