Preschooler Denny came to class one morning bubbling with excitement about having played tee ball. “We won our game,” he said.
“Did you get any hits?” his teacher asked.
“Yes,” he answered. “And I got some scratches, too.” (Dorothy Hsu, Columbus, Ohio, “Kids of the Kingdom,” Christian Reader; www.PreachingToday.com)
I love that little boy’s attitude. He’s excited about the win despite the hits and scratches along the way.
As you know, life is full of “hits and scratches,” so how do you get past them to the win? How do you win the victory despite the obstacles? How do you turn opposition into an opportunity to overcome the enemy in your own life? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Joshua 10, Joshua 10, where we see how Joshua overcame his enemies.
Joshua 10:1-5 As soon as Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, he feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were warriors. So Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, “Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon. For it has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel.” Then the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered their forces and went up with all their armies and encamped against Gibeon and made war against it. (ESV)
Up until now, Joshua has fought his enemies one by one – first Jericho, then Ai, then Gibeon. Now, his enemies are ganging up on him. Five kings, led by the king of Jerusalem just five miles south of Gibeon, form an alliance to attack Gibeon. It’s an ominous situation, but God is going to use it to bring about a great victory for Joshua and the Israelites.
You see, if Joshua can win the victory here, he would break the back of enemy forces in the entire southern region of the Promised Land, instead of just picking them off one-by-one. However, the Gibeonites are in a panic!
Joshua 10:6-8 And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, saying, “Do not relax your hand from your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country are gathered against us.” So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. Not a man of them shall stand before you.” (ESV)
God promised to give Joshua a great victory!
Joshua 10:9 So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. (ESV)
That’s a 25-mile march up steep and difficult terrain.
Joshua 10:10-11 And the LORD threw them into a panic before Israel, who struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. And as they fled before Israel, while they were going down the ascent of Beth-horon, the LORD threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword. (ESV)
The Lord was fighting for Israel, but Joshua had to move forward with confidence in God’s Word. You see, even though God was fighting for Israel, there would be no victory if Joshua didn’t advance against the enemy.
So when God promised him the victory, Joshua didn’t hesitate to proceed with confidence. He marched his army 25 miles through treacherous mountain passes and attacked right away. It threw the enemy into a panic especially when God threw large hailstones down upon them.
Do you want to win the victory over the enemy in your life? Then do the same thing Joshua did. Don’t shrink back from the challenge ahead. Instead…
PROCEED WITH CONFIDENCE IN GOD’S WORD.
Move forward believing what God has promised you! Advance against the evil one in your own life, trusting God to keep His pledge to you. You see…
God’s Word is very clear to everyone who submits to Him. James 4 says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:6-7). The devil himself cannot stand against those who obey God, much less any lesser forces of evil. So no matter the opposition, don’t shrink back in fear any longer. Instead, proceed with confidence in God’s Word and watch Him fight for you!
Last March (2018), the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team needed a goalie in their game against the Winnipeg Jets. Their regular goalie, Anton Fosburg, was injured in the 3rd period, so they called on their rookie goalie, Collin Delia, to substitute. Then he too was injured, and the Blackhawks were out of goalies. So they called a fan out of the stands into emergency goalie service.
That fan was Scott Foster, a 36-year-old accountant, who hadn't played a hockey game against serious competition in over a decade. He had been a goalie for Western Michigan University, so the Blackhawks had designated him as an “emergency goalie.” Hockey teams don’t expect their “emergency goalies” to ever play in the game. It’s just an honor they bestow on some that gives the honoree free food in the press box. However, last March, the Blackhawks emergency goalie, Scott Foster, literally walked down from the stands, put on his gear, and took to the ice.
Foster said, “The initial shock happened when I had to dress and then I think you just kind of black out after that.” Then he added, “I don't think I heard anything other than ‘Put your helmet on.’”
As Foster took the ice, he stopped all seven shots attempted. He earned the team belt (an honor reserved for the game's best player), and he set social media ablaze with tweets and posts from fans and analysts who could not believe he had never played professionally before.
Foster said, “This is something that no one can ever take away from me. It's something that I can go home and tell my kids.” (ESPN News Services, “NHL stunner: A 36-year-old accountant who has never played pro stars in Blackhawks win,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3-30-18; www.PreachingToday.com)
You never know when God is going to call you to fight the enemy. But when He does, don’t sit on your backside, waiting for something to happen, no! Get into the game! Put on your gear, get into the arena, and watch God fight for you no matter what obstacles you face.
In his book David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell documents the lives of many successful leaders and entrepreneurs who succeed not in spite of challenges and suffering in life but because of them. He calls this phenomenon “the advantage of disadvantage.” Gladwell cites a study from City University of London that notes that a third of highly successful entrepreneurs are dyslexic (people like Richard Branson and Charles Schwab). Sharon Thompson-Schill, another researcher, recalls speaking at a prominent university donors' meeting filled with successful business people. There, she asked how many of them had been diagnosed with a learning disorder, and half of the hands went up.
Gladwell suggests that there are two possible explanations. One is that this remarkable group of people triumphed IN SPITE OF their disability. In other words, they are so smart, nothing could stop them, not even a lifetime of struggle with reading. The second explanation is even more intriguing. They succeeded, in part, not IN SPITE OF THEIR disorder, but BECAUSE OF it. In other words, they learned something in their struggle that proved to be of enormous advantage. (Mark Clark, The Problem of God, Zondervan, 2017, pages 120-121; www.PreachingToday.com)
So many believers feel like their particular struggle puts them at a disadvantage. However, the opposite is true when you depend on the Lord. He uses that very struggle to enormous advantage. So if you want to win the victory over the enemy in your life, don’t shrink back in fear from the challenge ahead. Instead, proceed with confidence in God’s Word. Then…
PRAY WITH CONFIDENCE IN GOD’S WILL.
Boldly ask God to do whatever is necessary to accomplish what He wants you to do in your fight against the enemy. Dare to request even impossible things from God if that’s what you need to overcome the evil in your own life. That’s what Joshua did.
Joshua 10:12 At that time Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” (ESV)
God had told Joshua in verse 8 that “not a man of them shall stand before you.” But Joshua needed more time to make that happen. If night came, the enemy would escape under cover of darkness, the victory would be incomplete, and Joshua would not be able to accomplish God’s revealed will. So he dares to ask that time stand still, that the earth stop its rotation, that he might accomplish what God told him to do. Joshua asks God for the impossible, and God does it for him!
Joshua 10:13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. (ESV)
The Book of Jashar is a collection of Hebrew poems, honoring Israel’s leaders. It’s a matter of history! God delayed the sunset for a whole day!
Joshua 10:14-15 There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD heeded the voice of a man, for the LORD fought for Israel. So Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal. (ESV)
God did what Joshua asked Him to do and fought for Israel! Joshua dared to request the impossible from God, and God did it!
And that’s what you must do if you want to win the victory over the enemy in your life. Like Joshua, pray with confidence in God’s will. Dare to ask for the impossible if that’s what you need to accomplish what God has told you to do.
The Bible says, “This is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15).
When you ask for God’s will to be done in your life, you can be sure God will do it!! And just exactly what is God’s will? Well, here the Bible is very clear. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 says, “This is the will of God, your sanctification,” your holiness, your being set apart from sin unto God.
God wants you to have complete victory over sin in your life, so ask Him to give it to you even if it seems impossible. Ask Him for whatever it takes to set you apart from sin. Then watch as God fights for you against the forces of evil in your own life.
Retired U.S. Marine Corps General Charles Krulak recounted a critical event in the Gulf War of 1991:
The prevailing winds in the Gulf area blow from northeast to southwest.
If you attack from the southwest, your enemy can release biological weapons into the air, and the chemicals will blow right into your face. It was a tremendous concern for the military in the southwestern desert and a grave prayer concern for many, both overseas and back home.
On February 21, 1991, American forces began an attack from the southwest at four in the morning. Only three hours before, the prevailing winds had shifted from southwest to northeast, exactly 180 degrees from the direction the prevailing winds normally blow.
The winds blew in that direction for four days, the four days of the duration of the war. Within thirty minutes of the surrender, the winds shifted back. (Marine General Charles Krulak, in a message given in Wheaton, Illinois, Leadership journal; www.Preaching Today.com)
That is the unbelievable power of prayer. So don’t be afraid to ask God for the impossible in your life if that’s what it takes to accomplish God’s will.
Proceed with confidence in God’s Word. Pray with confidence in God’s Will. Then…
PREVAIL WITH CONFIDENCE IN GOD’S MIGHT.
Persevere with certainty as you depend on the Lord’s power. Persist in the fight until God gives you complete victory over the enemy.
That’s what Joshua did. The rest of the chapter goes on to tell how Joshua overcame one enemy after another until he had conquered the entire southern region of the Promised Land. Skip down to verse 42, which summarizes Joshua’s conquest.
Joshua 10:42 And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel. (ESV)
Joshua prevailed, not because of his own ingenuity, no! Joshua prevailed, because God fought for Israel.
My dear friends, God fights for you, as well. So like Joshua, keep on going until you have conquered every enemy. Prevail with confidence in God’s might. Ephesians 6:10 says, “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”
You see, God has already conquered the enemy on the cross! Colossians 2 says that on the cross, “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame” (Colossians 2:15). And Hebrews 2 says that God became one of us so “that through death he might destroy – literally, so that he might render powerless – the one who has the power of death, that is the devil and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Hebrews 2:14-15).
God fought for you on the cross, disarming the forces of evil and delivering you from slavery to sin. So persist in the fight until you have conquered every enemy!
Sherwood Pictures and the Kendrick Brothers have produced some great movies over the years. They include Fireproof (2008), Courageous (2011), and War Room (2015), all of which have been very popular.
One of their earlier films, Facing the Giants, was also very popular. It’s about Grant Taylor, who is the head coach at Shiloh Christian Academy, and has yet to post a winning record in his six-year tenure. After his seventh season begins with a three-game losing streak, the players' fathers start making noise about replacing him with one of the other coaches. That’s when Grant rededicates himself to God and decides to praise God, no matter what the result. He also urges each one of his players to give the maximum effort and motivates them to believe they can win with God’s help. However, he needs one of his key seniors, Brock Kelly, to stop dragging the team down with his pessimism and take the lead.
Take a look at what happens as the players gather for practice (show The Death Crawl Scene from Facing the Giants).
One of the players asks, “So coach, how strong is Westview this year?”
Brock answers, “A lot stronger than we are.”
The coach asks, “You already written Friday night down as a loss, Brock?”
“Well, not if I knew we could beat 'em,” Brock responds.
The coach says, “Come here, Brock. You too, Jeremy.”
“What? Am I in trouble now?” asks Brock.
“Not yet,” answers the coach. “I want to see you do the death crawl again [a training exercise where Brock will crawl with a player on his back, without his knees touching the ground], except I want to see your absolute best.”
“What, you want me to go to the 30?” asks Brock.
“I think you can go to the 50.”
“The 50? I can go to the 50 if nobody's on my back.”
“I think you can do it with Jeremy on your back, but even if you can't, I want you to promise you're going to do your best.”
“All right,” Brock answers.
“One more thing,” Coach Taylor adds. “I want you to do it blindfolded.”
“Why?”
“'Cause I don't want you giving up at a certain point when you could go further.”
As Brock takes his position and Jeremy climbs on his back, the coach calls out: “All right, Brock, let's go. Keep your knees off the ground. Just your hands and feet. There you go, just a little bit left. Show me good effort. That a way, Brock, you keep comin'. There you go, it's a good start.”
Brock then asks, “Am I at the 20 yet?”
“Forget the 20. You give me your best. Now, don't stop, Brock. You've got more in you than that.”
As Brock slows to a stop, he utters, “I'm not done, I'm just restin' a second.”
The coach continues to yell encouragement until Brock cries out, “It hurts!”
“Don't quit on me,” the coach answers, “your very best—keep drivin'.”
“He's heavy,” Brock wheezes.
“I know he's heavy.”
“I'm about out of strength.”
“Then you negotiate with your body to find more strength,” Taylor yells, raising his volume to exhort his player, “but don't you give up on me, Brock. You're doin' good. Do not quit on me. It's all heart from here.”
By now the entire team is standing speechless, watching Brock continue on. The coach shouts: “:30 more steps…20 more…10 more…1 more,” until Brock finally collapses.
“It's got to be the 50,” Brock cries. “It's got to be the 50; I don't have any more.”
“Look, Brock,” says the coach, “you're in the end zone.” (Facing the Giants, Destination Films, 2006, directed by Alex Kendrick; chapter 12, 00:45:24 – 00:49-46; www.PreachingToday.com)
The coach knew that Brock had it in him, so he pushed Brock not to quit until he had crossed the end zone.
My dear friends, as believers in Christ, you have it in you too! You have God’s Holy Spirit dwelling within, and the Bible says, “Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). So do not stop until you have crossed the “end zone”, so to speak. Persist in God’s power until you have conquered every enemy.
Proceed with confidence in God’s Word. Pray with confidence in God’s Will. Then prevail with confidence in God’s might no matter how great the enemy. With God’s help, you cannot lose!
I like the way J. R. R. Tolkien once put it in a letter. He said: "No man can estimate what is really happening at the present. All we do know, and that to a large extent by direct experience, is that evil labors with vast power and perpetual success in vain: preparing always only the soil for unexpected good to sprout in.” (Chris Armstrong, “9/11, History, and the True Story”, Christian History Connection, 9-14-02; www.PreachingToday.com)
In God’s world, the enemy’s dirt is only the soil in which God grows good things. So put your confidence in the Lord and let Him grow His goodness in you no matter what the enemy throws in your face.
