Thorough defeat..

Intro:

— We are in a series about living outside of our limits! One of the biggest themes in scriptures is living by faith!! God has so much for us as a church, as individuals. He wants to use us way past our fighting weight, so He can get the glory. He uses not the wise, not the witty. God uses regular people like you and me in profound ways, so HE CAN GET THE GLORY!

Setup:

— Today, we are in Joshua. We are going to be examining a component of the larger campaign that the Israelites were in to overthrow the occupants of the promised land. They were punching above their weight class. God was helping them in incredible ways over and over again. But in this episode, 5 kings had gathered their armies in war against them to try and limit their successful campaign. But God gave them the victory, He had the Sun stand still so they’d have the edge in battle!!

Joshua 10:16 These five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. 17 And it was told to Joshua, “The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” 18 And Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave and set men by it to guard them, 19 but do not stay there yourselves. Pursue your enemies; attack their rear guard. Do not let them enter their cities, for the LORD your God has given them into your hand.” 20 When Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them with a great blow until they were wiped out, and when the remnant that remained of them had entered into the fortified cities, 21 then all the people returned safe to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. Not a man moved his tongue against any of the people of Israel.

22 Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me from the cave.” 23 And they did so, and brought those five kings out to him from the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. 24 And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings.” Then they came near and put their feet on their necks. 25 And Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. For thus the LORD will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.”

Prayer

Story: Learning how to ride, the amount of air in your tires really makes an impact either way if you can “hook up” with the dirt.. Too much air you bounce around, too little you get pinch flats and I just found out you can slide around.. You want to figure it out so you can really get somewhere! Otherwise you can just get beat up on the trail, you aren’t owning the terrain. The terrain is owning you.

Transition: The Jews are learning how to own the promise. They have all this land to enjoy, but they need to conquer the dirt. They have every capacity to roll over the land, roll over every enemy. They are in this learning curve

Today, you have many promises in Christ. Some of us don’t even know the advanced tools and weaponry we posses so we can dispossess the darkness.. Maybe we’ve been flopping around, C’mon church! Today is the day to begin to “own the dirt” , get up and begin to walk begin to walk in victory and live in the promises that Jesus purchased for us on Calvary!

Text

1. they’re threatened (WHY?)

— The whole reason that this coalition is attacking them is because God had given the Jews victory over Ai and its king, over Jericho and its king.

— The Gibeonites deceptively but shrewdly made a pact with the Jews.. The bible says that all its men were warriors.

— This coalitions goal it seems was to take out a potential ally for the Jews.

— But the whole reason this massive fighting force comprised of 5 militaries gathers is because they are threatened by the Jews. They see what God has only begun to do, and they are hitting as hard and fast as they can.

— Can I tell you when God brings you into the family, when you are saved.. You start getting headway in your spiritual journey. You get breakthrough. Your anger begins to subside, your attitude towards your spouse changes.. You’ve been transformed!

— The enemy of your soul begins to see that you’ve been allied with God. He sees you and your family are a threat. Yeah, he might just try at these points of victory to assail your alliance with the King. His goal? Make you regret the day you made Jesus the commander of your soul.. Try and erase any gains you’ve made!!

— 1 Pet 4:12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

2. Grow in being a threat ( to darkness )7

— This comes down to leadership. We need to look at Joshua a little closer

— This wasn’t Joshua’s first rodeo!

— Scholars believe he was trained in the art of warfare in Egypt. He was a disciple of Moses. When Moses went up Mt. Sinai receive the 10 commandments, Joshua went along.. Couldn’t go all the way, but he didn’t stay down below where things devolved into craziness with Aaron making a golden calf to worship.

— Throughout Joshua was on the right side of things. He along with Caleb brought a good report of the land of promise when the 10 other spies had no faith..

— Joshua didn’t see obstacles he had the faith to see the opportunities:

Numbers 14:7-9“The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the LORD delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.”

— Most interesting to me about the life of Joshua is how he loved the presence of God.

— ++Exod 33:11 Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

— And he loved the Word of God. Throughout his leadership he was demonstrating his knowledge of what God had spoken to Moses and he charged his fellow Israelites to not depart from it from the left or the right..

— You want to be a threat to the evil one? Start small. Start where you are today. You won’t start out taking on 5 armies to the north. You start on your knees. You start in the presence of God. You start by being discipled.

— APPLICATION:

Jeremiah 12:5 “If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, Then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, How will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?

— Before we address 5 kings, how are we doing with the king of self? How are we ruthless with the king of doubt? How are we with the king of what other people think of us?

3. tread on your threats

— What gets me when I read this is the brutality of the Old Testament!

— Then I remember, talk about threats: these idol worshipping people needed to be pushed back so that God’s people could thrive in the land of promise and have a lessened chance of them being lured into idolatry..

— I also consider, that the events of the Old Testament serve as a type and a shadow of New Testament realities..

— The Old Testament enemies were people who followed other gods. People aren’t enemies,

— 2 Cor. 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

— Our war then is in the spiritual realm. And our war is in our own minds!! Our own imaginings and thought processes that we’ve held onto in some cases since childhood..

— Our war is neither with people of a political party. WE can clearly see the enemy working behind the scenes. Things like anti-semitism etc. It’s not hard to see that the prevailing winds of todays politics are on a collision course with the Christian life. But they aren’t our enemy. And the opposing political party can’t transform hearts or win ultimately, can’t defeat the spiritual forces at work.. Spiritual problems require spiritual solutions..

— And Joshua then is a type of Christ. He was human and flawed like you and I, but he is a type in that:

His name Yeshua (“Yahweh Is Salvation”) is the Hebrew equivalent of the name Jesus. In his role of triumphantly leading his people into their possessions.. He saved Rahab the prostitute, a social outcast in her own city, when she helped the Israelites overthrow Jericho.. Just like Jesus saves us from certain death/judgement that we deserve..

— We see Christ in this story as well.

— Perhaps you remember in the gospel of Luke Jesus sends out the 72, they come back rejoicing

Luke 10:17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

— Joshua sent out his army “19 but do not stay there yourselves. Pursue your enemies; attack their rear guard. Do not let them enter their cities, for the LORD your God has given them into your hand.”

— Joshua sent them with Faith. He sent them based on the promises and the word of God.

— LIKE JOSHUA, JESUS SENDS HIS OWN WITH AUTHORITY WITH POWER OVER DARKNESS

— Jesus conquered sin death darkness at the cross.

— When the kings went into the cave they were dead men walking..

— When Jesus went into the cave, He was dead but His enemies were dead men walking:

— When He rose from the grave it proved that He had defeated all of HIs and our enemies:

Rev. 1:17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

— When Joshua had the leaders put their feet on the necks of the kings it was a shadow of what Jesus did on the cross..

++Gen. 3:15  I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

— See, Jesus overcame the enemy on the cross and through HIS saving power invites us to join with Him in the victory.

++Rom. 16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

— Do you have this picture that you have AUTHORITY because of what God has done, and because of God’s word to go on the offense?

— Do you have this idea of OWNERSHIP in that though Jesus won the battle YOU put your feet on the enemies neck??

Col 2: 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

APPLICATION:

WORLD: Why do we still see the enemy working if Jesus completely disarmed the evil one at the cross? We won’t see the enemy fully put under Jesus’ feet until He returns. Though the work on the cross is complete, it will not be fully realized until He comes to rule and reign! So what does that mean for me as it relates to the world? We have the power and authority because of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is revealed in His people as individuals and as His body/church. So we see this in our own lives VICTORY, and as a movement VICTORY as we advance the message of the Gospel with the power of the Holy Spirit. As a pertinent example, the current political dynamics we are witnessing. There is clearly an anti-christ agenda, we see this with the LGBTQ movement etc. Remember people who vote differently aren’t the enemy. What do we do? Vote, sure. That’s important, but that won’t change hearts. Republican party can’t save America. It can help in some ways. But don’t conflate a party with the Kingdom of God. So, go to the voting booth. But more earnestly go to your prayer closet. Ask Jesus how you can share the Gospel with power and authority. He gives us the right words and approach (not arguing) to advance the Kingdom by sharing the Gospel with our loved ones. FIND, TELL, Bring. God will do deeper work inside a persons heart than a political party or outcome of a vote could ever bring..

Personal: Some of us have been held back for too long. We haven’t got much dirt under our tires. We see that God has given us so much in terms of promises. But no sooner we get some traction and we fall! If you’ve been pushed back, that means the enemy is threatened. If you are trying for headway in your purity, in your marriage, in your attitudes etc. It means the enemy puts the heat on when you try to move forward. Maybe in your healing or in your walk, you feel like you’ve plateaued it’s time to see that Joshua is truly a God that Saves. He wants to lead you in victory. He wants you to wield the Word. He wants you to be empowered by His Spirit to go and take the ground that He has already purchased for you. We ARE MORE THAN CONQUERERS IN CHRIST!