Lessons Learned Along the Way
Text: Joshua 8:1-29
Introduction
1. Illustration: In his book entitled Failing Forward John Maxwell shows the vicious cycle that sets up in our lives when we yield to a fear of failure:
Fear
Inactivity
Inexperience
Inability
To break that cycle of defeat we must commit ourselves to positive action. We must be willing to risk failure in order to succeed (Failing Forward by John Maxwell, page 38).
2. The question is not whether we will make mistakes, but will we learn from them and move on.
3. When we make mistakes we must:
a. Get over it and move on.
b. Remember what we have learned and don’t repeat it.
c. Maintain the momentum and not look back.
4. Read Joshua 8:1-29
Proposition: We must learn from our mistakes and let them make us better.
Transition: When we make a mistake we must get over it and...
I. Move On (1-2)
A. Do Not Be Afraid or Discouraged
1. It is human nature, once you have made a mistake, to draw into yourself and become afraid of doing anything.
2. The Lord understood that, so He told Joshua "Do not be afraid or discouraged."
a. The Lord had been angry with Israel because of Achan’s sin, and as a result, they were strongly defeated by Ai.
b. However, the situation had changed.
c. Yahweh’s words of encouragement to Joshua in 8:1 reinforce the statement of 7:26, that he was no longer angry with Israel.
d. Atonement had been made for the nation’s sin, and the task at hand was to get on with the conquest.—(New American Commentary)
3. The circumstances where once again what they before Achan’s sin, and God hand once again on Israel’s side.
a. Most of us realize that God forgives us of our sins, but we are not always ready to forgive ourselves.
b. Isaiah 43:25 "I—yes, I alone—am the one who blots out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.
c. If God is willing to forget about our sins, why aren’t we?
4. The Lord reassures Joshua that this time when they attack Ai things will be different. He says "Take the entire army and attack Ai, for I have given to you the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land."
a. It would be different because this time He had given Ai into their hands.
b. It would be different because this time they would do it the Lord’s way and not their own.
c. Notice that this time he takes considerably more men with him.
d. Doing things God’s way is always better than doing them our way.
5. Notice that the taking of Ai would not only depend on God’s involvement, but also careful planing (Woudstra, 135).
a. The Lord gives the victory, but it still requires us moving forward.
b. Moving forward requires us stepping out in faith and taking a risk.
c. Throughout the Bible, people of faith were always risk takers.
d. We need to lay aside our mistakes, take a risk, and move on.
B. Failing Forward
1. Illustration: "There is no doubt in my mind that there are many ways to be a winner, but there is really only one way to be a loser and that is to fail and not look beyond the failure." (Kyle Rote, Jr. quoted in Failing Forward by John Maxwell pp. 2-3)
2. There are few guarantees in life, but one of them is that we will make mistakes.
a. Rom. 3:23 For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
b. The problem isn’t making the mistake, the problem is dwelling on it.
c. The problem isn’t the mistake, the problem is letting the mistake paralyze you.
3. Don’t allow your mistakes hold you back.
a. Rom. 8:1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
b. If Jesus doesn’t condemn you, don’t condemn yourself.
c. Realize it, confess it, repent of it, and move on.
4. Don’t allow your mistakes to keep you out of the game.
a. Shake it off
b. Put it behind you
c. Tomorrow is a new day
Transition: The other thing we cannot do, however, is repeat our mistakes.
II. Remember What You Have Learned (3-17)
A. The Lord Will Give It To You
1. We see another key element here in verses 3-17 - Joshua and the Israelites learned from their mistake.
2. This fact is clearly demonstrated in verse 13, where it says "So Joshua and all the fighting men set out to attack Ai. Joshua chose 30,000 of his best warriors and sent them out at night..."
a. The first thing that they learned was not to be arrogant or overconfident.
b. Previously, they had taken only 3,000 men, but here they take all the fighting men, and 30,000 just for the ambush.
c. However, the most important thing that they learned was not to try and do it without the Lord’s help.
d. The plan of attack here was not something that Joshua came up with on his own, but it was given to him by the Lord with the assurance that this time He was with them.
3. Another way that we can see that they learned from their mistake was that they actually used it to their advantage.
4. Joshua tells them "Hide in ambush close behind the city and be ready for action. When our main army attacks, the men of Ai will come out to fight as they did before, and we will run away from them. We will let them chase us until they have all left the city. For they will say, `The Israelites are running away from us as they did before.’ Then you will jump up from your ambush and take possession of the city, for the LORD your God will give it to you."
a. They wanted the people of Ai that think that this was, in the words of Yogi Beara, "de ja vu all over again."
b. They wanted them to think that this was just like before and they were going to route the Israelites again.
c. However, what they didn’t know what that the Israelites had set up an ambush, and once they had lured the army into the open, the ambushers would go in and destroy the city.
d. They actually took their mistake from before and used it for their good.
5. Guess what? It worked like a charm. "There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel who did not chase after the Israelites, and the city was left wide open."
a. Instead of dwelling on their mistake, they allowed the Lord to use it for a blessing.
b. James 1:2 Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy.
c. This time they did things God’s way, and the result was victory.
B. Learn From Your Mistakes
1. Illustration: Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
Chapter 1. I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost. I am helpless. It isn’t my fault. It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter 2. I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again. I can’t believe I am in the same place, but it isn’t my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter 3. I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in. It’s a habit. My eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.
Chapter 4. I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.
Chapter 5. I walk down another street (Portia Nelson quoted in Failing Forward by John Maxwell p. 53).
2. It has been said that those who do not know history are destined to repeat it.
3. Making a mistake is not a problem as long as you don’t keep repeating it.
a. Making the same mistake over and over again is not a mistake - it’s a habit.
b. Prov. 26:11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
c. When God’s people sin habitually it makes God sick!
4. Continuing to commit the same sin is not repentance.
a. Rom. 6:2 Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?
b. When we sin and ask forgiveness, then go out and do it all over again is not repentance.
c. It is merely getting caught!
d. When Jesus told the woman caught in adultery that He did not condemn her he said "but go and sin no more!"
5. It is one thing to admit you’ve made a mistake, but it is quite another to learn from that mistake.
Transition: We must also...
III. Maintain Momentum (18-29)
A. Point Your Spear
1. Making the right plans and learning from our mistakes is only the beginning. We have to follow through.
2. The Lord commands Joshua "Point your spear toward Ai, for I will give you the city." Joshua did as he was commanded."
a. Joshua was to point his spear as an indication to begin the ambush.
b. The weapon itself was not going to win the victory; God was going to give it.—(New American Commentary)
c. However, it still required Joshua’s obedience to God’s command.
d. The Lord would supply the victory, but Joshua had to fight the battle.
3. This is reminiscent of Moses holding up his staff during the battle with the Amalekites in Exodus 17.
a. As long as his arms were up they would win, but as soon as he dropped them they would begin to lose.
b. God brought the victory, but Moses and Joshua had to do their part too.
c. "Just as the javelin was in Joshua’s hand, so the city to which it was extended was in Israel’s hand" (Boiling as quoted by Barnes, CBL, 89).
4. The victory over the city of Ai was total. Verse 22 says, "Then the Israelites who were inside the city came out and started killing the enemy from the rear. So the men of Ai were caught in a trap, and all of them died. Not a single person survived or escaped."
a. They did as God commanded them, and they finished strong.
b. The ambush worked to perfection, and the men of Ai were caught between the ambush force, which now came out of the city and attacked the Aiites, and the main force, which turned back and also attacked the Aiites.
c. The destruction was complete: there were neither survivors nor fugitives remaining—(New American Commentary)
B. Keep Moving
1. Illustration: In the 1992 Summer Olympics 400 meter semifinal, British runner Derek Redmond tore a hamstring and fell to the track. He struggled to his feet and began to hobble, determined to complete the race. His father ran from the stands to help him off the track, but the athlete refused to quit. He leaned on his father, and the two limped to the finish line together, to deafening applause.
2. We must maintain our momentum.
a. Don’t give up
b. Don’t give in
c. Don’t give out
3. We must finish strong.
a. Even when we make mistakes, we must get up, brush ourselves off, and keep moving forward.
b. Even when we get discouraged, we must continue the race.
c. Heb. 12:1-3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God’s throne in heaven. Think about all he endured when sinful people did such terrible things to him, so that you don’t become weary and give up.
4. We must not allow set backs to cause us to quit.
• We must admit our mistakes.
• We must learn from our mistakes
• However, we must not allow our mistakes to keep us down.
Transition: We can learn from our mistakes, but only if we keep trying.
Conclusion
1. How about you? Have you ever made a mistake?
2. What did you learn from it?
3. Are you letting that mistake make you better, or are you letting it make you bitter?
4. God understands mistakes, but He doesn’t understand quitting.
