Coming Back From Failure
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Good evening, it is good to be inthe house of the Lord tonight good to see everyone.
(Let’s Pray)
We have all experience hardships, setbacks, and failures. There hasn’t been a time in my life when I can look back and think where a week has gone by where I made come kind of mistake, or had something happen that I really didn’t want to happen. I fail constantly, but I am learning more through the power of the Holy spirit how to walk in victory. Nevertheless I still fail, this morning we talked about running to something other than our true helper to meet our needs. We learned from psalm 121 that our help comes from the Lord and the Lord alone. So we need to stop running to empty wells that can never deliver what our hearts crave the most.
So how do we come back, how can we come back from failure? As a church, as an individual, as a family?
This is the question I pray the Lord helps us answer through the second part of tonight.
The Failure
The Failure
We learned last week that this great army and this great leader failed miserably. They had stepped out in great faith and dependence upon God when they crossed the Jordan River, they had also shown how much they trusted in God to deliver them against the great city of Jericho. But then last week in a dramatic turn of events they thought they had everything under control and they got whipped by the small insignifigant city of AI. HOW MANY OF YOU KNOW YOUR GREATEST OFTEN COME IMMEDIATELY AFTER YOUR GREATEST VICTORIES. It never ceases to amaze me how when we have the greatest successes Satan or our flesh get in the way and we forget the Lord and then fall flat on our faces dont we?
That is exactly what happened to Joshua...
Without first consulting the Lord Joshua sends men to spy out the town of AI. According to their report this fight should present no problem since the city is small and there was only a few men in it. (3)
They said man this is a peice of cake dont even burden the whole army just send 3,000 men down there and we will handle the rest. So these soldiers ride down into this small city to take on these few men and they are run out of town by this small little insignificant city called AI. What was the difference, between their great voctory over the city of Jericho and their embarrasing defeat in the town of AI?
When faced with the greater enemy they had no choice but to rely on the Lord to deliver them, but when faced with a problem they thought they could handle on their own, they were whipped. LISTEN ITS ALWAYS THE LITTLE BATTLES THAT CAUSE THE GREATEST DEFEATS. ITS ALWAYS THE LITTLE FOXES THAT SPOIL THE FEILD.
So to when you and I are faced with an obstacle that we think we can manage we try in our own strength to overcome it, and it always leads us into failure spiritually, emotionally, and even relationally. However when we are faced with the great obstacles we display the greatest faith, because we know we need the Lord to help us overcome it.
DO YOU KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ALABAMA AND CLEMSON?
ONE CAME READY TO PLAY THE OTHER DID NOT
In this Christian life you are either ready for a spiritual battle or you are not plain and simple.
Joshua and HIs army came into AI not relying on the Lord, not relying on His help, they got comfortable and they failed.
P.Q. HOW COULD JOSHUA AND HIS ARMY COME BACK FROM SUCH AN EMBARASSING DEFEAT?
Crying out in repentance
Crying out in repentance
Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.
Joshua 7:
When a group of Gods people has fallen in defeat or experienced any kind of failure on any level the answer is always prayer. It is always repentence, remember this God never uses anyone greatly unless He wounds hims deeply. Brokenness is essential to the power of God resting on you. This is what true repentence looks like Joshua is broken as a leader and leads his other leaders in repentence as well.
They went into a time of mourning this is what it means when it reads they put dust on their heads. It was symbolic of we can get no lower, than we are right now. We are hurting and we are broken and the thing that matters the most is that we dont want to fall into the hands of angry God, Lord we want to be on your side, we want to be used by you, we dont want you to remove your hand of blessing from our lives. Which they had seen happen as the Lord allowed their forefathers to wander and never make it into the promised land.
Cultivate a forgetful spirit
Cultivate a forgetful spirit
What do i mean by this they had fallen, they were embarrassed they were afraid that everyone else was going to find out about this and they did not want to drag the name of Jesus through the mud. It is here God shows us a great principle when it comes to failure we have to cultivate a forgetful spirit.
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
Do you know what Paul says right here? I have not apprehended it, taken hold of what?
Paul is basically saying I am not as holy as I want to be I havent arrived yet, there are still things I need to learn, still things I need to let go of, still things I need to get better at. Paul in essence is saying I fail often BUT ONE THING I DO.... Tell us Paul what do you do....
FORGETTING THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE BEHIND ME I REACH FORWARD TO THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE AHEAD.
So many times when we fail we grovel in the guilt of it. We are so dejected when we fall and stumble that we cant get over it but in essence that is exactly what God tells Joshua to do GET OVER IT!
Joshua
The Lord then said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why are you on the ground?
“Oh, Lord God,” Joshua said, “why did You ever bring these people across the Jordan to hand us over to the Amorites for our destruction? If only we had been content to remain on the other side of the Jordan!
Joshua 7:
Israel has sinned. They have violated My covenant that I appointed for them. They have taken some of what was set apart. They have stolen, deceived, and put the things with their own belongings.
This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from you what is set apart.
You cannot stand with God and hold hands with sin.
You cannot have God and other selfmade idols at the same time.
UNLESS YOU REMOVE FROM YOU WHAT IS SET APART.
He is saying YOU CANT DO ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR FAILURE BUT YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR FUTURE!
YOU CAN REMOVE THESE THINGS FROM AMONG YOU AND GET MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION ONCE AGAIN.
Consecrate Yourselves
Consecrate Yourselves
What does Consecrate mean?
Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon 6942 קָדַשׁ
to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be sanctified, be separate. 1A (Qal). 1A1 to be set apart, be consecrated. 1A2 to be hallowed. 1A3 consecrated, tabooed. 1B (Niphal). 1B1 to show oneself sacred or majestic. 1B2 to be honoured, be treated as sacred. 1B3 to be holy. 1C (Piel). 1C1 to set apart as sacred, consecrate, dedicate. 1C2 to observe as holy, keep sacred. 1C3 to honour as sacred, hallow.
There is a song called different by Micah Tyler these are the lyrics to his songs.
“I wanna be different, I wanna be changed
So that all of me is gone
and all that remins is a fire so bright
the whole world can see that there’s something different in me.”
This is the essence of the Christian life, when I live a consecrated life there are some things I just cant do anymore, there are some places I just cant go anymore, there are some things that are nonnegotioable for me because I am setting myself apart and the Lord has set me apart for His use to be a clean vessel and that is my life goal to be used by the ONE WHO CREATED ME!
This is not a one time decision but a daily decision we make continually, will i strive to be used of the Lord today or will I not?
CHOOSE YOU THIS DAY WHOM YOU SHALL SERVE? AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE WE SHALL SERVE THE LORD!
“Go and consecrate the people. Tell them to consecrate themselves for tomorrow, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There are things that are set apart among you, Israel. You will not be able to stand against your enemies until you remove what is set apart.
Joshua 7:13
This life is a spiritual battle nonstop and if we want to be able to stand against our adversary the devil and his host of fallen angels who seek to destroy our lives we have to be consecrated.
Are you consecrated and ready to be used by God?
Or has the world crept in and begun to squeeze you into its mold?
Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship.
Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
The age we live in wants to squeeze us into its mold but we are not to be of the worlds molds its mindsets, its way of thinking but instead we are to have a transformed mind, we are to have the mind of Christ and that only comes as wer take in the word of God and allow it to change how we think.
So once you failed:
Cry out in repentence
Cultivate a forgetful spirit
Consecrate yourself once again to the Lord alone..... Let’s see what happens
The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Take the whole military force with you and go attack Ai. Look, I have handed over to you the king of Ai, his people, city, and land.
You go back where you failed and you fight again! I am now giving it over into your hand!
Treat Ai and its king as you did Jericho and its king; you may plunder its spoil and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.”
We get Gods help when we get Gods heart....
We get Gods heart by giving God our heart and our lives to be used as He sees fit.
So Joshua and the whole military force set out to attack Ai. Joshua selected 30,000 fighting men and sent them out at night.
Joshua
He commanded them: “Pay attention. Lie in ambush behind the city, not too far from it, and all of you be ready.
Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. When they come out against us as they did the first time, we will flee from them.
They will come after us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing from us as before.’ While we are fleeing from them,
you are to come out of your ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God has handed it over to you.
After taking the city, set it on fire. Follow the Lord’s command—see that you do as I have ordered you.”
Gods hand of blessing only rests as we obey His specific instructions.
So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the ambush site and waited between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But he spent that night with the troops.
Joshua started early the next morning and mobilized them. Then he and the elders of Israel led the troops up to Ai.
All those who were with him went up and approached the city, arriving opposite Ai, and camped to the north of it, with a valley between them and the city.
Now Joshua had taken about 5,000 men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city.
The military force was stationed in this way: the main camp to the north of the city and its rear guard to the west of the city. And that night Joshua went into the valley.
When the king of Ai saw the Israelites, the men of the city hurried and went out early in the morning so that he and all his people could engage Israel in battle at a suitable place facing the Arabah. But he did not know there was an ambush waiting for him behind the city.
Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten back by them and fled toward the wilderness.
Then all the troops of Ai were summoned to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were drawn away from the city.
Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel, leaving the city exposed while they pursued Israel.
Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Hold out the sword in your hand toward Ai, for I will hand the city over to you.” So Joshua held out his sword toward it.
When he held out his hand, the men in ambush rose quickly from their position. They ran, entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire.
The men of Ai turned and looked back, and smoke from the city was rising to the sky! They could not escape in any direction, and the troops who had fled to the wilderness now became the pursuers.
When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that smoke was rising from it, they turned back and struck down the men of Ai.
Then men in ambush came out of the city against them, and the men of Ai were trapped between the Israelite forces, some on one side and some on the other. They struck them down until no survivor or fugitive remained,
but they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
When Israel had finished killing everyone living in Ai who had pursued them into the open country, and when every last one of them had fallen by the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it down with the sword.
The total of those who fell that day, both men and women, was 12,000—all the people of Ai.
Joshua did not draw back his hand that was holding the sword until all the inhabitants of Ai were completely destroyed.
What this pictures here is the battle for us against our enemy strongholds, that seek to ruin the reputation of God through defeating us and causing us to look foolish in front of others God desires for us to boldly follow Him with no fear or trepedation.
This only happens when we select specific strongholds and put on the whole armor of god, and attack with vengence the things waging war for our hearts and seeking to destroy the glory of God in our lives.
total anniahalation of sin, this is what god is after.
So then, brothers, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, for if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Romans
PUT TO DEATH THE DEEDS OF THE BODY
This is an all out declaration of war on the sin that dwells within you much in the same way the Israelites sought to totally eradicate enemies that stood in their way of obtaining the promises that god had made for them.
WE MUST SEEK TO ANIHALATE ANYTHING THAT SEEKS TO HINDER WHAT GOD IS TRYING TO DO IN AND THROUGH OUR LIVES FOR HIS GLORY.
there is only one difference
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
We must fight for the glory of the Lord in our lives. But we dont battle against flesh and blood but spiritually we fight against the devil and his demons and all of their schemes.
This is a way of life, this is what god comands of us.
Israel plundered only the cattle and spoil of that city for themselves, according to the Lord’s command that He had given Joshua.
Joshua
Joshua burned Ai and left it a permanent ruin, desolate to this day.
Joshua 8:
He hung the body of the king of Ai on a tree until evening, and at sunset Joshua commanded that they take his body down from the tree. They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and put a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day.
This is how serious the Lord is with the enemies of His people. We should be no different, instead of just trying to make it through the day to glorify God we should instead seek to mortify Satan.
He should dread the thought of us being awake because we have the Lord living within us and we are making an intentional plan of attack against him.
IN short when you fail
Cry out in repentence
Cultivate a forgetful spirit
Consecrate yourself
Freedom from the thing that scares you the most is what you gain in return, and then God sets you back on track and your journey with Him can continue.
(Let’s pray)
