The International Ice Hockey Federation recently picked it as the #1 hockey story of the century. The “Miracle On Ice,” as it became known, was a 1980 Olympic medal-round match between the top-ranked Soviet Union and a group of amateur and college players from the U.S. No one thought the Americans had a chance. After all, the Soviets had won every hockey gold medal except for one in the previous six Olympic games. And besides, the Soviets had already routed this American team 10-3 in a pre-Olympic exhibition game. But against all odds the Americans beat the Soviets and went on to win the gold medal. Their victory against the Soviets seemed nothing short of a miracle.
Have you ever faced odds like the ones the 1980 U.S. olympic hockey team did? Your life might not seem as dramatic but you do face a great foe. You’re up against a powerful spiritual being whose sole goal is to drag you down to hell with him. This spiritual being, Satan, overcame the sinless Adam and Eve. If they fell to him, what chance do we, born sinners, have? In our Faith Factor sermon today we’re going to learn that we do have the faith to fight and overcome Satan.
In our first sermon in this series we learned how God gave Joshua faith to face the challenges of being the new leader of the Israelites. We see this faith active early in our text when Joshua stepped out to take a peek at Jericho, the first city the Israelites were to attack and conquer in their quest to possess the Promised Land. As Joshua was making his way to Jericho he suddenly came face to face with a man holding a sword. What Joshua did next demontrates his God-given courage. Instead of staggering back and taking cover behind a tree, Joshua stepped forward to meet the man and ask: “Are you for us or for our enemies?” (Joshua 5:13) The answer Joshua received was astonishing. “‘Neither…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?’” (Joshua 5:14)
Who exactly was this person? He couldn’t have been an angel because he accepted Joshua’s worship and told Joshua to take his sandals off because he was on holy ground. This was the same thing God had said to Moses at the burning bush. And while this person was clearly divine, he distinguishes himself from the Lord, saying that he was the commander of the Lord’s army. Yes, it seems that Joshua had come face to face with God’s Son before he was born Jesus!
It’s probably not that surprising to us that God’s Son makes an appearance before the battle of Jericho. What is harder to understand is what he meant when he said that he was neither on the side of the Israelites or on Jericho’s side. Hadn’t God brought the Israelites out of Egypt and promised to give them the land of Canaan as their very own? What did he mean that he wasn’t on Joshua’s side? Joshua’s response solves the mystery. He fell face down to the ground and said: “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” (Joshua 5:14b) Joshua quickly remembered his place in the grand scheme of things. God may have made him the leader of the Israelites but Joshua was still God’s servant. As such Joshua had no business demanding to know whether or not God was on board with his agenda. Instead, Joshua’s agenda was to be in line with God’s!
Oh how like Joshua we are. We plan where we’re going to go to school, what we’re going to study, where we’re going to live, by when we’re going to retire, with whom we’re going to retire but then when things don’t go as planned we say: “God, what gives? I thought you loved me? If so, get on board with my program!” The New Testament writer James calls such an attitude, arrogant. He wrote, “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil” (James 4:13-16).
Friends, if you want to face life with confidence, hit the ground like Joshua did in humble recognition of who you are. You are the Lord’s servant, not his master. Don’t presume to know what is best for you. Only God knows that. So make sure that your life is in line with his agenda. Ask yourself: “Am I gunning for that promotion so I can be a benefit to more people, or is it so I’ll have more money and power to enjoy for myself? Am I toiling to become a successful musician, artist, or author so I will be famous, or so that God’s name may be hallowed in all I create? Am I working hard on my Sunday School and Mum & Me plans so people will marvel at my creativity, or so that God’s little lambs will be fed the nourishing food of his Word?” Every talent you possess has been given to you by God to be used for his glory. You are standing on holy ground. Take off the shoes of arrogance and pride and get down on your knees to present your “successes” to God as victories of his grace.
I wish I could have been there when Joshua received his marching orders. What did this veteran general think when God told him to march around the city with the Ark of the Covenant while seven priests blew on ram’s horns? They were to do this once for six days straight and then on the seventh day they were to march around the city seven times. On the seventh time around, the priests were to give a long loud blow on the horns and then the soldiers were to shout. At this, promised God, the walls of Jericho would come tumbling down so that every man could rush straight in and attack the city.
It must have been intimidating at first for the inhabitants of Jericho to have the Israelites march around their city in silence except for the shrieks escaping the ram’s horns. But after a few days of this I can’t help but think that they started to jeer. I mean really, was this the best the Israelites could do? Were these the same people who had defeated kings Sihon and Og to the east of them? Why, they were nothing more than a bunch of crackpots!
God’s strategy, however, wasn’t so strange when you realize what his aims were. God was not just intent on destroying the walls of Jericho; he was determined to build up the faith of the Israelites. When all was said and done the Israelites could not take credit for the victory. It wasn’t Joshua who fought the battle of Jericho (as the spiritual goes); it was the Lord! And no, the Lord doesn’t need conventional power to prevail. He does things his way in his time.
We began this sermon by reminding ourselves that we are up against a powerful foe in Satan. He seeks to drag us to hell with him. What chance do we have against such a determined adversary? We have no chance against him. But for us fights the valiant one, as Luther said in his famous hymn. The commander of the Lord’s army, God’s Son, put on our uniform and took his place on the front lines. He turned away Satan’s temptations and then gave his life on the cross like a soldier jumping on a grenade to save those around him. But the cross didn’t mark Jesus’ end. He did death in when he came back to life on Easter Sunday. Satan can no longer accuse us of being damned sinners God could never love. We are damned sinners, every one of us, but God does love us. Jesus is proof of that. And so although we may be in enemy territory right now since we’re not in heaven, the war has been won. We are victorious. God made the similar point with Joshua when he said before the battle: “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands” (Joshua 6:2). In the same way God deals with us on the basis of reality, not pious wishes. He promises that your sins are forgiven, not might be forgiven only if you…
It’s also worth keeping in mind that God has equipped us to battle Satan so that others might enjoy the blessings of faith we do. And how is it that we do battle with Satan? We’re not given any stun guns to wield or magical amulets to wear. We’re given the message of Jesus, his life, the cross, and an empty tomb. It’s such a simple message that a three year old can tell it. In our science-filled, technological world you wouldn’t think that the account about a Jewish carpenter who was put to death 2,000 years ago is really going to make that much difference. But it is this truth through which the Holy Spirit goes to work on the Devil’s fortress causing it to crumble from around unbelievers. “Just share Jesus?” It does sound about as silly as marching around a fortress and expecting the walls to fall, doesn’t it? But have faith. Trust God’s promise, as did Joshua and see the amazing victories God will win.
American hockey fans continue to marvel over the “Miracle On Ice.” They’ve even made a couple of movies about that game. Perhaps we would do well to spend more time marvelling at the victory, which against all odds, we have won. We should be spending an eternity in hell with Satan for our arrogance of treating God as our servant and expecting him to step in line with our agenda. But Jesus snatched us from that future and gave us a different one. He paid for these sins and now has sent the Holy Spirit into our hearts so that we believe what he did for us. With this faith fight Satan – not just his attacks on you but also the attacks he levels against those around you. Fight him with God’s Word and watch his walls come tumbling down. Amen.
