Pick the Right Side
Notes
Transcript
Intro
tell the basic story of Joshua and the story of Jericho
13 Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?”
14 He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?”
Background
Background
Explain the overall battle of Jericho
one of my favorite Sunday School Lessons
13 Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?”
Joshua is doing some personal scouting of Jericho . . . the first battle for the promised land . . . and I am sure that a big question in his mind is “How are we going to get past those tall and thick walls that surround the city?”
Then he sees a man: we have just read and discovered that this man is more than a man . . . probably best described as an angel, and not only an angel, but a high ranking angel.
Then we are given this small, but so important detail: the angel’s sword is drawn in his hand
drawn swords are for fighting and this indicates that before the physical battle for Jericho has begun, angels are already on site, fighting
our first lesson from Jericho . . .
It’s already done
i’m talking about your victory, you over coming, you making it through . . . it’s already done
it’s already done because God goes before us
while Joshua is at the scouting stage, the angel is at the fighting stage . . . . because that’s how God operates . . . .God goes before us
30 ‘The Lord your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes,
before you get there, God prepares the way before you
whatever you WILL deal with, the Lord is already on the case
whatever is down the road, the battle is ALREADY BEING FOUGHT and won on your behalf
so that means that whatever you are dealing with today, God has already dealt with it . . . it’s ALREADY done
your victory has already been prepared
your come up has already been set up
In the very next chapter, the Lord says it directly
2 The Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors.
before the first Israelite can raise a sword, the Lord is saying that it is already done.
so when we worry, we are actually worrying about things that have already been handled
when we are anxious, we are being anxious about problems that have already been taken care of . . . . because since God goes before us, it is already done
it’s like when you pay a bill online, and you hit that “submit” button . . . the website will often remind you that it may take a day before you can see that payment reflected in your account . . . so don’t worry your payment has been received
the payment has been made, you just can’t see it yet
the bill has been taken care of, it’s all good, but it hasn’t shown up yet
you just have to trust that it’s already done
in fact here is your confirmation number to comfort you
The same for us as God’s people, the problem has been taken care of, it’s all good, you just have to trust that it’s already done . . . .here is a confirmation number to comfort you Phil 4:19
19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
that’s why we say, “I don’t know what tomorrow hold, but I know who holds tomorrow”
be encouraged that God goes before us and it’s already done
(back to Joshua five, thirteen)
13 Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?”
Joshua doesn’t know who this man is at this point, but he sees that drawn sword and asks a good question, “are you for us or for our enemies”
14 He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?”
no . . in other words neither one
I am not on your side
I am not on your enemies side
I am a captain in the lord’s army - I am on the Lord’s side
Don’t forget that the Lord has a side
Most times we only think about our side
when I first got married, and my wife would tell me a story about something that happened at the job that upset her . . . I made the young husband mistake of trying to be objective . . . look at it from all sides
I quickly learned that she just wanted me to be on her side . . . when she vented, it was not the time for impartiality . . . this was the time to be on her side . . . . time for “Baby I can’t believe they said that . . . they ought to be ashamed of themselves . . . .the nerve of them”
if she truly wants objectivity, she will set it up with, “I really want to know what you think, I want you to be honest, based on what I have told you, do you see why that upset me?” . . . in those cases I will be objective, but even still I understand that she wants me to be on her side
but that’s how we are, our main focus tends to be our side . . . and we forget that the Lord has a side
so remember that in some situations, there is your side and then there’s the Lord’s side
in many situations (like this one), there is your side, your enemies side, and the Lord’s side
in marriages there is the husband’s side, the wife’s side, and the Lord’s side
at the job there is your side, the boss’ side (or your subordinate’s side), and the Lord side
in parenting there is the parent’s side, the child’s side, and the Lord’s side
with that understanding, let me ask you a question, “In your present situation, whose side are you on?”
be careful with your answer because too often we try to put the Lord on our side, “move over here, Lord” . . . and call it being on the Lord’s side
Lord just follow me and bless whatever I say
Lord follow me and bless whatever I do
Lord, come over here on my side, and bless whatever I plan
But we are supposed to pick his side and join him
Lord, I am following you
bless me as I say what you want me say
bless me as I do what you want me to do
bless me as I follow your plans
you know the scripture, “If God be for us, who can be against us?”
it would be good to explain it this way, if you are on God’s side, then who can be against you”
It would be really wise to pause and carefully what the Lord’s side is in each of you situation(s)
I can’t overemphasize this enough because we live in a culture where we push the thought that God is on everybody’s side
i’m human . . . God is on my side
I’m white . . . God is on my side
I’m black . . . . God is on my side
female, conservative, liberal
I’m sad, somebody did me wrong
we’re just passing out free “God is on your side” passes
now God loves everybody, but God is not on everybody’s side
in fact this scripture shows that God has his own side . . . so the truth is that God ain’t on nobody’s side
the main questions is “Are YOU going to join his side?”
How do you get on God’s side?
this verse says that Joshua bows down and says, “What has my lord to say to his servant”
then this captain of the Lord’s army gives Joshua instructions from the Lord
(chapter 6, walking around the walls stuff)
You get on God’s side by doing what God says
you obey what God tells you to do
you follow God’s instructions
so you don’t have to hope that you are on God’s side, do what he tells you to do and you will know you are on God side
always start with His Word that he has already given (that’s a lot right there)
and follow specific instructions he gives just to you
then you can say confidently, “In this situation, I am on the Lord’s side”
Put it all together
your victory is already assured - it’s already done . . . if you get on the Lord’s side
How do you get on the Lord’s side?
follow the Lord’s instructions
simple ones, complicated ones
regular sounding or spiritual sounding
as simple and regular sounding as God telling Joshua to mediate in the word day and night
as complicated and spiritual sounding as God’s instructions to Joshua about Jericho
March around the city once each day for six days with all the armed men
Have seven priests carry seven trumpets made from rams' horns in front of the ark of the Covenant
The Ark of the Covenant was to follow as they marched around the city
On the seventh day they were to march around the city seven times
The priests were to blow the trumpets during the procession
When the priests gave a long blast on the trumpets, all the people were to shout loudly
Illustration
God has the victory, your success, you overcoming, you making it . . . . on a certain path (turn one way) . . . and he tells you to follow that path
but we often follow our own path (turn the other way), turn down the roads we want to turn on because of pride, foolishness, temptation, being hard-headed, not having faith
and are surprised that we can’t find the victory
surprised I drove west towards California and didn’t end up in east in Florida
Joshua understands this, 40 years ago the people chose another path because of unbelief . . . and instead of conquering the promised land, ended up dying in the wilderness
that’s why he is so quick to bow down and say, “tell me what to do!”
“I want to be on the Lord’s side too”
It is not surprising that many years later, in his last speech to the people of Israel Joshua says, “choose ye this day whom you will serve . . . but as for me and my house . . . . ”
Choosing the Lord’s side is not easy
the victory might not come after one day
or seven days like in the case of Jericho
but the victory is on the path the Lord shows you
sometimes choosing to be on the Lord’s side goes against your human nature
Samuel wanted God to give Saul another chance . . . God told Samuel to quit crying over Saul . . . Samuel loved Saul like a son, but he had to go anoint David as the next King (at the risk of his life)
Even Jesus had to choose to be on the Lord’s side
in the garden, “Father take this cup away from me” . . . being on your side is going to cause some serious suffering . . . “come over to this side”
but God did not budge, and in the end, Jesus chose to be on the Father’s side
and it was a hard path, but it led to the victory that was already promised . . . rising on the third day
Present Day
Jeremiah’s money for college, very expensive college . . . already done
As a teenager, he could have rebelled, acted crazy, but he stayed on the path that God tells young people to do - obey your parents, respect elders, work hard, don’t give up, listen to advice, pray about it . . . all biblical stuff
and he ran right into the victory that God had already put there
he had to walk it for a while, but its here now
Recap
it’s already done
don’t get so caught up in ife that you forget that the Lord has a side
pick the Lord’s side by following his instructions
