Joshua: The God Who Fights for Us

An important perspective shift from pastor Jamie Greer what is it that you keep hidden in your tent because you feel like you can't trust God with it because Lordship is one of those words. That's gotta be total if it has any meaning at all in order for Jesus to be Lord at all in your life. He's gotta be Lord of the home to be a part of your life becomes to take the whole thing like the Bible teaching ministry after author and theologian JD Greer. As always, I'm your host Molly, but a batch military strategy for to be very clear up friends surrendering is a bad thing when you're looking to win a battle and means that you failed or given up in the fight is over.

You are the losing side. Let's talk in spiritual terms.

Now Surinder is actually the best decision for opaque you actually win today pastor Jenny describes what it means to submit yourself completely to God's will and direction. We are learning how to give up control. As we look at the story of Joshua in the battle of Jericho.

Esther Katie titled this message the guy who fights for its part of our series called the whole story.

Let's dive right in. One of my favorite 1980s movies is Hoosiers for what it is worth, I think that when we get to heaven we will see that Western culture reached its goal in the late 1980s Chicago REO speed wagon run DMC Whitney Houston Chuck Norris Bon Jovi 1.0 Top Gun the Empire strikes back. The Indiana Jones trilogy. Come on y'all. I know that not everyone agrees with me about assessment but that's just because you're not fully filled with the spirit, yet these things are spiritually discerned. Hoosiers came out 1986 was 1/8 grade we watched Hoosiers literally every year before my basketball team went into the tournament in the movie, which is based on a true story you have this little backwoods high school basketball scene in Indiana that overcomes incredible odds and makes it all the way to the Indiana state championship where they played the school that is like 10 times bigger than they are in this humongous auditorium. Indiana University's auditorium, which is like 100 times bigger than anything they've ever played them before. Jean Hackman, who plays the coach walks the team into the arena of the day before the game and he can just sense how overwhelmed these little country boys are and how big this really isn't so can't sensing their fear. He gets out a tape measure, he measures the member distance between the rim of the floor 10 feet distance between the rim of the foul shot live 15 feet and his point is, it's the same it's the same as our little Jim Botkin and where we came from. He said look at the basics of the same. The arena is different but the basics are the same in the way that you're going to win this game is not much change… Can be doing the basics. The way that you've always done that is the exact same point that is being made in the opening scenes of the book of Joshua God's people are about to go into an entirely new arena but the basics of what it means to walk with God. Never change, but in change in that day and they haven't changed in our day either in your life you're going to go to multiple seasons new season for some of you one now. How many years became a student maybe for some of you. It's getting married or having kids for other subunits. Building a career.

The arenas change, but none of the basics ever do sometimes when you go into a new arena you feel like the fear of the pressures and will swallow you up, you start saying God will have what it takes to succeed in this God and are really going to be able to make it in this season of God in a sense, takes out a tape measure and he says all right you see this. This is when the rim of the floor the same. It's just the basics of what brought you here is what to take you on the book of Joshua opens up like best, Joshua chapter 1 verse one after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of nun, which you have any parents of this meant that his dad's name was none.

He said to him, Moses my servant is dead now therefore arise, go over this Jordan you and all this people into the land that I'm giving to them to the people of Israel.

Joshua had been one of the 12 spies for 40 years. Prior to this of been sent and misfiled the land is 12 spies, two of them came back and said the Giants in this place are big but God is bigger. The other 10 came back and said the Giants are big and they would crush us and there's no way we can do this to spies who gave the courageous report were Joshua and Caleb that we remember the other 10 spies.

We don't remember them at all. Joshua and Caleb.

We do remember because of the courage verse three God told Joshua everyplace of a soldier foot will tread upon I given you.

Just like a promise to Moses no man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Why is your awesome notes to because just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will never leave you or forsake you. You and overconfidence comes from your life. It's not navelgazing with minutes looking at the God who walks with you everywhere that he send you rights over 70 you will be strong and courageous.

Be careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you not turn from it to the right hand or to the left that you have good success. Wherever you go you got obey because I'm the one that's fighting this battle and so your job is to walk with me in obedience, hand in hand to know your Bible Joshua five flip over there for chapters there to your right Joshua 5.shopper verse 13 Joshua's first major challenge in taking away as Jericho is not an easy challenge because Jericho is the most fortified city in the world at the time, it's walls, historians say were so thick you could ride to chariots across them side-by-side with smells like a double lane highway seen here in Joshua 5 Takes Pl. on the eve of the Battle of Jericho. Now as you can imagine Joshua's pretty nervous war is imminent. This is Joshua's first true moment of leadership.

So understandably, Joshua was having a little trouble sleeping, so he goes out late at night, take a walk to calm his nerves. Verse 13 when Joshua was by Jericho. Now the way that's written in Hebrew indicates that Joshua had snuck right up to the walls of Jericho literally says in Hebrew.

When he was at Jericho when he was at Jericho, he lifted up his eyes look up all no man will stand before him with his drawn sword in his Joshua went to him and said to him you ferocity for our adversaries first.

Can we acknowledge Joshua is a man's man. I mean you right by the enemy wall in the middle of the night by himself and he encounters a strange man in the dark when his sword drawn a lesser man like me would've hightailed it out of there but not Joshua. Joshua was right over to them and challenges the guy to a fight now and the strange man said no, no. Joshua even asked him how yes/no questions no means you're asking the wrong question, no, but I am the commander of the Army, the Lord now I have come as the question is not Joshua. Am I on your side question is are you on my side are not common is the Lieut. I'm coming as the general Joshua fell on his face of the earth and worship and study and what is my Lord and Savior was servant the command of the Lord's army said to Joshua, take off your sandals from your feet for the place where you are standing is holy. Joshua did so not real quick. Who is it exactly that Joshua is standing in front of you might say well is maybe it's an angel, but it can be an angel because this is a Joshua worship this man and whoever it was didn't stop them. Any other time in Scripture. The sum of its outdoorsman. Angel like a Revelation chapter 22, the apostle John calls on his face and is worshiping an angel named Luo Jackman to get up because God can be met both of us to be. Do not worship God alone. This guy didn't stop Joshua. He's not like oh don't do that. He says thank you for worshiping me in a place where your standing is holy and is only one person who can make ground only. This is God himself is what theologians call a Christof and me, Christof, and he just a fancy word that means a pre-nativity appearance of Jesus Christ before he was born in a manger and what he demanded.

Man is what he demands now and that is complete and total surrender because he's telling them. Listen, this is not a battle that your fight for me with my help. This is a battle that I'm going to fight for you. You gotta make sure you get the order right. Chapter 6 verse one now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel went out. None came in. The Lord said to Joshua Seelig that I've given Jericho in your hand with its king as mighty men of valor, God proceeds to give Joshua instructions on how to take Jericho but the instructions are really odd and God tells them I don't want to fight ownership with the ark of the covenant which houses my presence in front of you. I don't want you to march around the city in silence. One time each day for six days and on the seventh day. I want you to march around seven times in silence. The seventh time even shout and I'll take care of the rest. Do not lose sight of how bizarre this is.

These are real people write this, they're not different than you and me there all amped up for a bite Joshua's edge and approve himself imagine that this happened in a football game regular football team. The curses on offense.

I don't want to run a plate to hold hands and sing away in a manger or are don't dictation waterfalls or something ridiculous like that.

How hard must this have been for Joshua. He wants to prove himself. But God says no fighting. I'll do the fighting. Then God says verse 18, but you keep yourself in the things about a destruction all silver, gold, and every vessel bronze neither over the lower they shovel back into the treasury. The Lord now that's an important detail which will come back to later will they do as instructed. Verse 20 and assumes the people on the seventh day of the circle. Seven times and heard the sound of the trumpet that shot a great shout wall fell down flat and then they devoted all in the city to destruction. Both men and women, young and old ox and sheep and donkeys with the edge of the sword, now required. One thing I want to deal with before we move on.

This is not the main point of this of the message is a little tangential, but I know that a lot of you have this question.

Were you been asked this question so we did just a moment to deal with it.

How do we dismiss it. Was this a divinely ordered genocide. How can we say this is God's word when it says stuff like this Richard Dawkins, the cranky British atheist because of passages like this one says and I quote the God of the Old Testament is a petty, unjust, unforgiving control freak, vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser, a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal philosophical, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully. If nothing else, that sentence proves that Richard Dawkins owns a thesaurus, which is how he read that sentence a few things to consider when you approach this question. The first one is the word authority.

The rightness or wrongness of certain actions is based solely on whose authority, stand by for example if you start writing checks on behalf of your company that can be wrong or right based on whether or not you have the authority I EEG. There's one way you can do it where it's perfectly fine if you don't have the authority, then you go to jail when it comes to issues of life and death. No one on earth has that kind of authority.

God does and no one can take that authority to themselves. God gave it for a special season to Israel with very clear instructions never again to be repeated. In fact, after this period of the conquest. Israel is directly forbidden to ever do this again in Deuteronomy 4239. Israel was not even allowed to keep a standing army, like the other nations there. Also in the stories you notice that God does most of the fighting. He's the one that knocks the walls over these, one that sends hailstones from heaven, and a few chapters up wipe out another enemy. Why because he didn't want this sitting on the shoulders of Israel. This is his work, not bears.

The second word. Remember first was authority site court's judgment.

This was about judgment on Canaan. God said very clearly that the Canaanites would be judged because of their evil both Scripture and history tell us the Canaanites were some of the cruelest most oppressive societies ever walk the face of the earth. Deuteronomy 12 tells us that it was common for families to sacrifice one of their children up to two years old in the flames as a way of getting prosperity for themselves and I know these people seem really far removed from us, but would you feel differently if this was done, for example, Isis, or if this were done to the Nazi party in the 1940s.

This was all about judgment. In fact, in one place, God told Israel that there was a certain part of the land that they couldn't have yet because the people who lived there weren't wicked enough yet wasn't about a wooden about genocide was about judgment. Thirdly, this is got nothing to do with race.

There's two ways that we know that first way is a God spared eight Rahab Mr. whittle it down to get into cheese, a Jericho woman just because she repents and believes in the implication is that he would've spared anybody in Jericho who repented and believe everybody in Jericho knew who Israel was new about Israel's God. She was the only one that responded that way there's the other reason we know it's not about race God told Israel repeatedly in Deuteronomy that these exact same things and worse would happen to them if they committed the idolatry and wickedness of the Canaanites now. Lastly, you say well what about the innocent people. If nobody else the kids could not of been that much at fault. I've explained before that we all recognize even today there is a communal dimension to our sin.

In other words, if if a man cheats on his wife, his kids end up suffering for that decision, even though they were directly involved. God says he will never ultimately hold the innocent accountable for the sins of the guilty. It's just that from his perspective. Eternity will more than make up for whatever suffering any of us go through here on earth. All people eventually die, so in a sense, when the innocent get caught up in things like this. It's like God is just collecting them early in any suffering or deprivation. The experience here will more than be made out for eternity is what happens here in the 70 or 80 years that we live is just a drop in the bucket compared to what's going on up there to see. That's how you approach a question like that now is what you like.

When we tell funny stories again. Are you come right back in every chapter 7 verse one for the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things for Aiken, of the tribe of Judah took some of the devoted things never told not to touch those things with the children hit him in his tent.

Mangalore burned against the people of Israel. Now Joshua has no knowledge of this. Joshua sent out spies from Jericho to the next city AI, which is the city ever never turned and said to him, this is such a little town in the converted Jericho. It's nothing but is just like to know is like this is nothing, we just let two or 3000 people will bear and attack a off of people there a few 3000 men went out but they fled before the men of AI in the hearts of the people melted in the king's water so the people are distraught like what happened, why is the power God left us so Joshua gets on his face before God and God reveals to him what Aiken had done in that they got a get out that sin before God's presence and his power will come back on them. Notice how God describes what Aiken did. It's really important to understand everything was going on in the story.

Chapter 7 verse one says that Aiken broke faith in God. In other words, he violated Israel's posture of trust or faith in God.

Now think about that for a minute to the it it it looks to me like Aiken, just a little greedy but you just want a little bit bigger piece of the pie am MMS what happened but God says that what Aiken did literally is broke. His faith relationship to God. In doing so. In other words, Aiken quit depending on God to fight the battle and meet his needs. Personally and to fill his life with meaning and happiness.

So in this one little area. He took things back into his own control. He says I don't trust God to give me enough I don't trust God to provide for me swings one little area, take matters back in my hands and I'm going to the high bee stings in my tent. From these stories I want us to focus on three postures that God had the people reassume as they went into this new arena on the promise land. All these are so foundational. Each one is literally a matter of life or death for you for you to succeed with God in any area of your life. These three postures you must reassume in every arena there is number one surrender number one surrender the man who appears to Joshua and chapter 5 makes clear that he comes not as a Lieut. to assist Joshua.

He comes as a general command Joshua, here's my question for you. How do you see God in your life. How do you relate to God in your life that's appointed I make a lot because most of us tend to relate to God like he is our faithful Lieut. somebody who can influence us, guide us when we call on them comfort us, take care of us. Help us through tough times. Most of all, escort us to a safe place after death so that we don't have to be afraid. I reason I will do a graveyard. When religious graveyards to regular graveyard and I noticed how every single doing so every single one has something on it about a Bible verse about God, about the Angels everything a person assume the guy was on their side when they died. No statistically always people to not live for God's wishes that they assume the God Lieut. that pay when you know dies in a rush to my side and take care of everything was in God wants to do all those things in your life. He wants to bless you.

He wants to take care of you, but it comes in your life. First, as the Lord has a first name calling, evil Lord Jesus Christ, you can have the Jesus part of Christ part of them.

If you don't think it was Lord you invited me over to your house for dinner and I knock on the door and you open the door. You see, it's me and you like, and JD stay out Greer.

I wouldn't want to do right might well motivate animal Greer. You can't give you a loving Jesus helpful Jesus I want, save me that you have in Jesus I want, Lord Jesus, I want commanding Jesus. I don't want holy Jesus that you and your not get any of Jesus. We can divide them up like he's a salad bar taken apart you one little part.

You don't listen the greatest threat. The greatest threat to true authentic faith in your life you live in the South.

You need to hear this, the greatest threat to true up any faith in your life is religion and religion is always characterized by partial obedience. That's what you see with Aiken. It's not like Aiken switch sides is not like he's on a workable Canaanite frequent believing in God he just broke his faith in God feeling like in that one little area. He needed to take back control from God to guarantee his happiness and security, and I'm sure I'm sure he said let's really hurt anybody who describes her all the stuff anyway. I didn't hurt anybody right Aiken's actions were evil, not because of what they did directly to other people. They were evil because of what they reveal about his confidence in God coming times you use that same line of reasoning to justify some area of disobedience in your life was really hurt anybody when he said none of it without people maybe sent to do with the statement and mix about your relationship with God. So let me ask you this what is this Aiken kind of compromise look like in your life.

Here's another way to ask it in what areas do you feel like you can't fully trust God's ways and so you take that matters in your own hands is a certain habit you feel like you just can't be without that habit and be happy and fulfill you really hurt anybody switch to stay secret things hidden in your tent but you won't really deal with given it up you will do a given it all because because you feel like you need it or maybe a maybe EA shows up in how you approach relationships offer many people. I see this spring up all around how they approach dating and marriage.

That is the one area one area where they won't let God have his way. I know people who cannot surrender their sexuality to God or cannot do things on God's timetable I see with people who say God I will not submit to you about whether or not I should get divorced because I need to be happy in this situation, and I know best. You might as well say call me Aiken. Maybe it shows up in how you think about your children under many people for whom this is the one area that they will not let God have free reign in maybe is maybe today maybe it's your future plans.once she was a part of my life I see high school coaches.

It is all done I want to be part of my life.

I want you to bless me what you take care me 20 assume your well as long as your wills on the direction I wanted to go and I want you to bless you and want you to go with me but this is where I'm going in the future. This is what I need for many people. What will they do with their money God and so many people that this is what they hide in their tent. If not that they're stingy they just don't feel like they can trust God enough that part of their life, their finances to fully turn it over to him and just obey him. What is it that you keep hidden in your tent because you feel like you can't trust God with it because Lordship is one of those words. That's gotta be total if it has any meaning at all in order for Jesus to be Lord at all in your life. He's gotta be Lord of all income to be a part of your life becomes to take the whole thing over and the good news Joshua. Joshua is he's got plans far beyond what you have are traits. CS Lewis of the coming of Jesus. I live in his old rickety house.

This is totally phone part you know with all of our pipes are leaking in the Torah makes weird noises and roots caving in and the carpets moly or whatever. Jesus comes in and immediately Jesus goes to work on fixing up the house and you're so excited about it because he's your patch on the roof and he's he's a taken a mold on the walls of these here fixing the pipes would then always in Jesus tears on the wall you like and what is you draw the wall but then you notice the ship lie behind the wall you like a school committee revs up the carpet and you're like oh that under the shack carpet.

There was a slight hardwood floor in your get all excited but Manny just totally knocks out an entire section of the house.

Lewis said you're like what's happening what is going on record CS Lewis. The explanation is that he's building quite a different house. The one you were expecting so he launches out a new wing over here puts on an extra floor up there. He starts running up towers he starts making courtyards you thought you were being made into a decent little cottage but he is building a palace, and he intends to come and live in a palace himself. God had a better plan for Joshua but it started surrender God's got a better plan for you and it starts with total surrender on your part as well.

Your struggle to trust God when you fail to surrender to the challenge today from Pastor Jeannie Greer you're listening to some it might. We're committed to bringing you gospel centered Bible teaching without finances getting in the way that that's only possible when we all work together to keep this ministry funded when you give will say thanks by sending you a new book by Pastor JD title just ask impacts common questions about prayer and it'll give you competent and how he spent time with time comes with our thanks when you donate today at the suggested level of $25 or more per class just fixing time 5226 552 20 easier to get in your class the resources online website is Jeannie Greer.com. If you don't get receive our newsletter by the website ministry at the peak of our new resources castigating Street sign up today Greer.com Molly Witt event rate celebrating with your church family and will see next consonant my 80 rear Greer ministry