Children sing—“I’m in the Lord’s Army!”
Our children keep things exciting around here! We’re continuing what I hope is an exciting Bible study series, “The Great Adventure!” The Christian life ought to be a great adventure!
• If you’re bored in your Christian walk… its NOT God’s fault! I believe that he intends the Christian life to be fun, exciting… sometimes surprising and always challenging!
• He has always called his people to great adventures…
o Abraham, he told to “Saddle up your horses, you’ve got a trail to blaze!”
o Noah, was called to “Stand against the tide” of evil & decadence in his day…
o Moses, born into a life of slavery, raised in a life luxury, then lived the life of a fugitive… is called to “Step up to the plate” for God and to rescue his people from the oppressive Egyptian king…
o Today we’re going to take a look at Joshua… God calls him to “Sound the Battle Cry!” and recruits him for the Lord’s army (just like we just sang about.)
You remember where we left off last week with Moses… after God had rescued the children of Israel out of their Egyptian bondage… after an incredible adventure that included plagues, pursuits; & miracles… they found themselves questioning the wisdom of Moses leading them out into the wilderness to die.
• Because of their unfaithfulness… they find themselves wandering in the wilderness of Sinai for 40 years.
• The time isn’t a complete waste of time, however. Moses uses that time to raise up a successor… someone who will take his mantle of leadership for the next generation.
• It is the wise leader, by the way, who works himself out of a job by raising up others to replace him and even multiply him… people ready to take the baton and run with it.
• Joshua, son of Nun, is that man!
Joshua just sort of pops onto the scene suddenly in Ex. 17 with little introduction… almost as if he’s been there all along. Exodus 17:8-13
• Israel is about to square off against the Amalekites in battle… and Moses tells Joshua to choose some men and head off to battle! Moses stood with his hands held high in the air… and as long as he did, they were winning. But when Moses would drop his hands, the Amalekites would start winning. So, they took a rock and put it under Moses so he could sit and Aaron helped him keep his hands in the air… and eventually Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
• He and Moses were a wonderful team … a “dynamic duo”; in fact he’s referred to a number of times as Moses’ young “aid” and in Numbers 11:28 we find out he’s been Joshua’s right hand man “since youth.”
• In Deut. 31:1-8 he’s officially commissioned by Moses. Moses knew that the end was near from him… at 120 he probably figured he had more days behind him than ahead… but he seems content to pass the baton of leadership on to his young, protégé, Joshua. He’s happy that the leadership of Israel is in good hands.
• Though, I’m sure it had to have been hard on him… after all he had done for the people; stepping up to the plate to lead them when they desperately needed a leader. He had shepherded them through the wilderness and it certainly hadn’t been easy… especially in those uncertain, early days just out of Egypt! He had overseen the construction of the tabernacle, served as peacemaker, judge, friend, and counselor to the people. All this time they looked forward to the day when they would finally get to enter in to the land of promise… to NOT be the one to finally get to lead them across the Jordan and into the land… had to have been heartbreaking for Moses.
But that would be Joshua’s calling… that would be his great adventure! I love how God gives him his marching orders in the text I want us to focus on this morning… Joshua 1:1-11
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them-to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates - all the Hittite country - to the Great Sea on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 "Go through the camp and tell the people, ’Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.’" NIV
Notice how over & over there, God tells Joshua, “Be Strong & Courageous… do not be afraid!” followed by the constant reassurance… “I will be with you.”
• Why does God say that to him… over and over? He didn’t say that when he called Abraham or Noah or Moses (not in those words anyway.)
• Could it be that what he knew what he was calling Joshua to was going to be quite different from what he had called the others to?
• If you remember the story of Joshua… think about all that he would be called upon to do in the months and years to follow as the Israelites enter in to the Promised Land.
• I’m not sure what they expected as they wandered in the wilderness all those years waiting for the day when God would say, “All right! It’s time! Go on in!”
• They may have thought that they would get to just move right in. They would just drive up, start putting their things away and making themselves at home. They could just start getting settled… maybe a little redecorating here and there to make it their own… but by & large- already furnished! I’m not sure what they really anticipated…
But, the fulfillment of God’s promise wasn’t going to be that easy (what ever is?)
• God never intended to just hand the Promised Land over to them on a silver platter—that wouldn’t have taught them anything—they were going to have to TAKE the land!
• We forget sometimes that this land first promised to Abraham was previously occupied! This was the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites & Jebusites! (Ex. 3:8) These weren’t exactly the kind of people that were going to welcome Israel with open arms or a “welcome to the neighborhood” BBQ!
• I wonder what the Israelites expected them to do when they showed up with all their moving vans ready to move it? “Oh, you want our homes & cities… come’on in! Make yourselves at home!”
• No, if Israel wanted to move in… these folks were going to have something to say about it first!
So, what God was calling Joshua to was much more than simply leading a nation or serving as some kind of figure-head.
• It was going to mean more than just kissing babies and shaking hands.
• He was being called into service as a Commanding General… a military leader who would lead Israel into battle… into WAR!
• That may be a little difficult for us to get our 21st century Christian minds around… but God was leading Israel to war!
• It is a bit ironic that I chose this topic to preach on several weeks ago… not knowing what was going to be taking place with Israel this week!
I’m not sure what parallels could be drawn to the modern state of Israel today and the OT people of God in those days… but make no mistake: God was leading Israel into war!
• We see that in the first great battle after crossing the Jordan River into the land… the battle for Jericho.
• It begins with this curious incident in Josh 5…
13 Now 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 went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"
14 "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"
15 The commander of the LORD’s army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.
It then goes on to tell the story of probably the strangest way to start a military conquest that I’ve ever heard of!
Josh 6:1 Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in." NIV
• Am I the only one that thinks this is weird? It seems sort of silly to think about doesn’t it?
• It certainly doesn’t sound much like conventional warfare today, does it? Well, it wasn’t in that day, either!
• What was a marching band circling around the city of Jericho going to do? Don’t you just know that the folks inside the city were just shaking in their boots when they saw the army of Israel marching around the city with their trumpets? Ohhh!
• I doubt they understood the significance… the nature of this battle wasn’t anything like either of them had ever encountered!
• This wasn’t just a dispute over land… this was God’s Army… these were God’s People… and this was God’s Purpose! And so, Joshua was going to fight it God’s Way!
• When he did… the walls came tumbling down!
Joshua 6:20-21
20 When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city. 21 They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it-men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys. NIV
Joshua 6:24
24 Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the LORD’s house. NIV
Sounds harsh to our ears, doesn’t it? Sounds awful…. “militant” doesn’t it? Do we think about our faith in those terms?
• What a great adventure God called Joshua to!
• See, the story of Joshua is (at its heart) a “war story.”
• It is the story of the people of God going into battle against the people of the world. Where they were faithful to God, he granted them success in battle… VICTORY!
• When they forgot God… they would suffer humiliating defeat!
Joshua serves to remind us (even today) that there is a time when God calls his people to battle… to “Sound the Battle Cry!”
• … that there is a time for WAR!
Eccl 3:1-8
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. NIV
A time for WAR?
• Are we shocked by that? Isn’t our God a god of peace?
• Absolutely… but even with God, there is a time to for war.
• Folks, I believe that Christians today need to hear God’s call to “Sound the Battle Cry!”… that now is a time for war!
• Now, I’m not necessarily talking about the kind of war that you may be thinking of this morning… the kind of war that we witness on a daily basis on our television screens…
• I’m talking about the kind of war that you and I are engaged in every day whether we know it or not!
The Apostle Paul would write in Ephesians 6:10-18
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. NIV
• Christians, we are called to WAR… not with the people of the world, but with the spiritual forces of evil which seek to control our world… led by the devil himself!
• We are called to “Sound the Battle Cry!”
Do you think about your faith in those terms? We don’t do we?
• I’ve noticed a lot of churches adding to their signs and letterheads slogans like, “family of God” or “Community of believers”… all fine, biblical descriptions, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one call themselves the “Army of God.” Why not?
• Back in the days after WWIII much of our hymnody was filled with more military terminology… “Soldiers of Christ Arise”… “I’m a Hard Fighting Soldier”… these days we seem to be more comfortable with softer, more passive language.
• Maybe it goes back to how we picture God and Jesus in particular. What mental image of Jesus do you have? I know the one I had as a kid… a gentle, kind, soft character (blue eyes, brown hair, white skin)… sort of a “Mr. Rogers with a beard.”
• I don’t mean to suggest that he wasn’t kind or gentle, but look at some of the other images of Jesus found in Scripture!
o He’s described as the “Lion of Judah” in Rev. 5:5 (what’s a lion like? Anybody have one for a pet?)
o Rev. 19 pictures him riding on a white horse as Lord of hosts, a military leader.
o We would do well to remember Exodus 15:3 as well… “The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name.” NIV
• These aren’t the sissy images that I thought of when I thought of Jesus.
• These ARE much more like the images of the cowboys and action heroes that I wanted to be like when I was a boy… and I wonder why we don’t show our little boys these pictures as well? This is Jesus, too!
Folks, this morning, our Commander in Chief is calling on us to enlist… or to re-enlist in some cases… to “Sound the Battle Cry!”
• We are being called in to this war with all of our fire and gusto… to defeat our common enemy the devil… and to win this war for the souls of people!
• Its not the kind of war that we’re used to fighting… the weapons we fight with won’t be the weapons that the world uses… let’s not make the mistake and think that what we’re talking about here is the physical war that continues throughout our day… that is only the result of this spiritual warfare that is going on around each and every one of us every day, even right here in Fayetteville.
• We could talk all day about the weapons we’ll use… Paul mentions in Eph. 6…
o …the belt of truth… remember God’s instruction to Joshua? “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.”
o …the breastplate of righteousness… like Noah stood against the tide of evil in his day by being righteous & blameless.
o …the shield of faith… like Abraham who had no idea where he was going, but trusted in God and went anyway.
o …the helmet of salvation… isn’t there power in knowing that no matter what the devil throws at us, God has already acted decisively in Jesus Christ to save us just as he acted through Moses to deliver Israel.
o …and the sword of the Spirit… God’s Word is powerful and effective… it pierces the heart and revives the soul!
But I want to make sure that before we leave here today that you’re in the Lord’s Army! God is calling on you to suit up!
• Paul told Timothy (1 Tim 6:12)
12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.NIV
• Are you fighting the good fight? How’s your faith? Are you trusting in God for success & victory in your life over the battles you’ve got raging… or have you let your hands down?
• Have you made that good confession naming Jesus Christ as Commanding General of your life? Have you suited up and put him on in baptism?
• Or have you been AWOL? Do you need to come back to the Lord?
