Hey:
On October 8,1918 Sergeant Alvin C. York single handedly capture 132 German soldiers which earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor. Definitely, he was a hero to be honored. In this battle he displayed courage and selflessness that is required of heroes.
Today’s society doesn’t know truly what a hero is. We found out a little bit about heroes during the World Trade Center Bombing.
But in Sergeant York’s case, the reason that he was a hero in many peoples mind was not the way he carried himself during the battle but how he lived his life.
Listen to a quote that he made in his diary of his experience in World War II,
On July 1st, 1918 he wrote:
I carried a Testament with me. I have the Testament I carried with me
during all my fighting at home now. I read it through five times during my stay in the army. I read it everywhere. I read it in dugouts, in fox holes, and on the front line. It was my rock to cling to. It and my diary. I didn’t do any cursing, no, not even in the front line. I cut all of that out long ago, at the time I was saved.
Sergeant York lived his life in Humble, Submissive, Obedience to the Lord.
A hero is someone who does much more than just an amazing thing. A hero is someone who reflects heroism in his life. A hero is someone who does heroic things because his character demands it.
You:
What kind of person are you? Are you trying to figure out a way to do something great on your own terms, or are trying to be a great person on God’s terms.
Look:
This morning we see what makes Joshua the hero that the Bible illustrates. It is not the battles that he has won—God won those—but it is the character of Humble, submissive obedience that make Joshua stand above others as a hero.
Do:
What kind of person do you want to be? What kind of change will take place in your character this morning?
Look with me at Joshua 5:13-15.
Passage
Joshua 5:13-15
13As Joshua approached the city of Jericho; he looked up and saw a man facing him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you friend or foe?”
14“Neither one,” he replied. “I am commander of the LORD’s army.”
At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?”
15The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for this is holy ground.” And Joshua did as he was told.
Prayer
Background:
The passage we look at this morning is in my opinion the most intriguing passage of the entire book of Joshua.
We see Joshua standing all-alone. I believe that Joshua was in deep thought. We see here that he was looking down. He definitely had a lot on his mind. He was not only as the leader of his people but also a military leader preparing for battle.
Over the last ten or fifteen years, through the news media we have been able to look closer than ever before at the lives of military leaders. We listen to their briefings and watch them lead their soldiers and we have begun to the pressures that are placed on military leaders preparing for battle.
This is where we see Joshua. He is looking down. Which, of course, is what many of us do what we are thinking and solving problems. In fact, while this text does not say this, Joshua very well could have been looking over the battlefield in preparation for his next task.
Then he looks up. Joshua sees a man with his sword drawn.
The man is ready for battle. But the question remains, with whom?
So Joshua approaches the man and asks, “Are you friend or foe?”
What does this say about Joshua? This shows that Joshua was bold and courageous. It also shows that he is very focused on the task ahead. Joshua doesn’t resort to small talk; he goes straight to the point. His question suggests that if the man is not a friend, he should prepare to be captured or killed.
But listen to the man’s answer:
14“Neither one,” he replied. “I am commander of the LORD’s army.”
The man says “neither one.”
We find out that the man is God, or, more specifically, Christ.
But you would expect Christ, speaking to the leader of the Jewish people, to say that he was a friend. He says he is neither.
In our culture today, we have gotten to comfortable with God. In fact, we have truly become flippant with the Almighty Creator of the World. So many of our Christian books today approach God and Jesus as a warm and fuzzy friend. And while he does display friendship to us, and that is only by His grace, He remains God.
The best way I can think of to describe this is by describing parents. Many parents today are trying to be friends to their kids. Some of this is out of ignorance. So this is of guilt. All of it leads to the degrading the society that we are experiencing now.
Parents are called to be parents, not friends. There’s a big difference between the two. Friends have a hard time telling other friends no. Friends take too much in consideration the friendship itself and the duration that friendship.
But parents are called to guide their children in the way they should go. At times this requires a friendly relationship. But another times it may require a firm hand and response.
And the same is true with God. He is not our friend but our God.
The man also says “I am commander of the LORD’s army.”
The text shows that this man was Christ. Look with me at Joshua’s reaction:
At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence.
No angel would have allowed Joshua to worship him. Because angels point attention to God’s glory. We also see in chapter six first two, that “The Lord told Joshua”. It was God talking to Joshua.
And God was in human shape, as Matthew Henry says. God in human form or shape represents Jesus, therefore Joshua was talking to Christ.
Let’s look, now, at the qualities of Joshua.
Joshua was Humble.
V14b
14“Neither one,” he replied. “I am commander of the LORD’s army.”
At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence
In humility Joshua bows immediately when he discovers who he is speaking to.
J.I. Packer shows how Paul expresses his humility. Paul says
I am the least of the apostles. 1 Corinthians 15:9
I am the very least of all the saints. Ephesians 3:8
I am the foremost of sinners. 1 Timothy 1:15
(James Packer, Your Father Loves You, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986.)
And Joshua expresses all of this through the simple act of falling on his face before God.
Each of us need to learn the habit of bowing to the savior. We need to learn how humble ourselves before the Father.
I Peter 5:6 says
6So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and in his good time he will honor you.
What that takes is a realization of where our strength truly comes from. This is not false humility or feeling sorry for yourself. Rather, it is keeping the perspective that what skills that you have or a gift from God.
It begins by first understanding that God created you. And in being created by God, God has given you every breath and every skill.
Then humility requires an understanding that are very nature is sinful. And this sin is in rebellion against God.
This sin also sends us to death and hell. And that we cannot save ourselves. But Jesus Christ died in our place, took our sin upon himself, and offers the gift of salvation.
In humility we realize that we cannot even save ourselves. But we must trust in God.
And we trust in God we bow down before him.
But Joshua’s character is more than humble it is submissive.
V14c
At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?”
Joshua asked for the Lord’s will and He opened himself up to what the Lord wanted for his life.
Jesus teaches us to be submissive in the Lord’s Prayer. He teaches us to pray, in Matthew 6:10 “Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.”
We are to submit to his leadership in everyway.
Lamentations 3:25-27 teaches us.
25The LORD is wonderfully good to those who wait for him and seek him. 26So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the LORD. 27And it is good for the young to submit to the yoke of his discipline.
Submission is letting someone else’s will lead your own. The Bible says about marriage “Submit one to another.” That means each should serve each other humbly ad putting the other first. And more specifically the Bible says, “Wives submit to your husbands.” This is not a doormat posture for the woman but a fulfillment of what God designed at the creation of the world.
We are to submit to the leadership of the Lord. Putting Him first and His desires first before our own.
And Joshua show us how to do that by asking, “What do you want your servant to do?”
We see that Joshua was humble and submissive but he is also obedient.
Joshua doesn’t just say things to make those around him think that he is spiritual.
Many of us have learned how to do that. But he put his word to action.
V15
15The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for this is holy ground.” And Joshua did as he was told.
Joshua did what He was told.
The more I see the simple things in the Bible the more I realize how tough they probably were at that moment.
We have such a hard time obeying the commandment given to us. We sometimes trivialize the Ten Commandments, and then we don’t follow them.
But Joshua did what He was told.
This was the moment that He was being commissioned. God had already chosen Him to be the leader. The people were following Him, but how did He know that He would the next Moses?
He met with God.
Do you remember the first time Moses met with God? It was at the burning bush. This was when God told Moses to enter the promise land.
Moses then knew that He was God’s man for the job.
Do you remember what God said to Moses when he met with God? “Take off your shoes, for this is holy ground.”
Now, it is Joshua’s turn. Joshua was going to complete the task of Moses.
But he must be obedient.
And we must be obedient in our lives. Obedience means simply doing what you are told.
Many times I have been asked and God’s will for our lives. People ask, “How can I know what God wants me to do?” “How do I know if I am doing what He wants?”
And I respond with an answer that causes frustration because it is not in depth enough.
But do you want to know what God’s will is for your life? I will tell you.
1. Read your Bible.
2. Pray.
3. Obey it.
The point is, we already know what God’s will for our life is.
And that is to Glorify Him with all of ourselves.
The problem is doing it.
The are some of the specifics that we may need to find out along the way, but if you believe that God can stop the Jordan river from flowing, then you can trust him with your next job.
The problem is obedience.
And finding God’s will for your life as well as building hero is to commit your life to Christ.
