"DEFEAT, IS NOT NECESSARILY THE FINAL WORD"
TEXT: JOSHUA 7 & 8
INTRODUCTION
Every once in a while God’s people find themselves sliding down the dark corridor of defeat and failure. And when they do, some just keep on sliding down that dark shadowy passageway, and others, turn their defeat around and have a comeback.
Perhaps one of the greatest examples of comebacks in recent years has been the comeback of San Francisco Giant pitcher Dave Dravecky.
During his major league career Dave pitched in the All star game, in the national league championship series and in the World Series.
In 1988 doctors removed a cancerous growth in Dave’s pitching arm, he was left with little hope for a return to baseball. But doctors and trainers would watch in awe as God and a loving family gave him the courage and grace to mount one of the most amazing comebacks, the world of sports -- and an entire generation has ever witnessed.
On August 10th, 1989, a sell out crowd watched Dave breeze to a victory over the Cincinnati Reds, in his first major league game in over a year, Dave received in that game 12 standing ovations from the crowd.
Five days later his still mending arm was broken as he pitched to Tim Raines in the bottom of the sixth. In his own words Dave said, "my arm felt like I’d been hit with a meat axe."
When a second lump was discovered and the arm that had helped Dave Dravecky reach the pinnacle of baseball success was amputated to stem the tide of cancer, he refused to give up or lose heart. Once again his faith and God pulled him from defeat to victory as Dave has used the story of his comebacks to share the message of Jesus Christ.
The Israelites needed a comeback, and they needed it bad. Their heads were still spinning from their defeat and they could not figure out why it had happened. After all they were the favorites , they were the ones who were expected to win. They had just survived 40 years in the wilderness, they had just crossed the Jordan on dry ground as the hand of God parted the waters, they had just won a decisive victory over the powerful fortified city of Jericho.
They had gone 3 and 0 in the last few days and were confident that they were on a roll and that no one could stop them, especially the little city of Ai about 13 miles from Jericho. They sent up a few scouts/ a few spies to see what kind of opponent these people would be. The scouting report came back and said these guys are not going to be much of a problem, "they don’t have any big hitters, their defense is shaky, I think we can shut them out."
The Israelites went in thinking easy victory and before they knew it they found themselves running for their lives. God’s people found themselves suffering a devastating defeat at the hands of their enemies and they were not quite sure why, and they certainly didn’t find the taste of defeat, too palatable.
As God’s people today, as the church, live their lives for the Lord, as the church moves out and engages in battle against her enemies, she will not always find herself standing in the winners circle or holding the trophy. Sometimes, God’s people find themselves, devastated, defeated and running from the enemy. Many times not really knowing how this could happen. And as they newly defeated, hold their head down and reflect they ask themselves many questions, " The church was doing so well, we were winning so many victories, we looked unstoppable, we were the favorites, how could this happen, isn’t God on our side, how could we lose, we are back at where we started, or worse."
God’s people in our text found themselves in just this position; defeated, discouraged and hopeless.
As we study these chapters we will learn what we as God’s people need to do to turn our defeats around, we will learn how to make a Comeback.
I. WE MUST UNCOVER THE SOURCE OF DEFEAT
There were really three sources, three underlying causes to the Israelites defeat at Ai. And many times these same causes bring defeat to the church today.
A. PRIDE [7:2,3]
The Israelites were pumped after their victory. I mean who wouldn’t be, they had just defeated the city of Jericho. A strong and well fortified city. They had watched the huge massive walls (2 parallel walls, 12 ft apart, outer 6 ft. inner 12 ft.) come tumbling down at their shout.
The victory they had In Jericho tasted so sweet that they could not wait, for the next one. They were a lean, mean fighting machine and they were ready.
When they saw the city of Ai, they thought to themselves, "as big and tough as we are, this will be a piece of cake, it will be like a ride through the park, Joshua we only need to send about 3 thousand men to handle this, AND if they leave in the morning they’ll probably be home for lunch."
Well we all know, that they over estimated their own abilities, they became so caught up in the victory that thy forgot about God and thought thy had done it on their own.
Paul wrote in I Corinthians 10:12, "SO, IF YOU THINK YOU ARE STANDING FIRM, BE CAREFUL; THAT YOU DON’T FALL."
The Israelites are not the only ones who have a problem with pride, the church still does today. When a church begins to have success it is easy for her to believe that they are special and that the victories they have won are because of their own goodness and abilities. They begin to walk with their head held too high, and to develop a superior attitude. They forget that it is God, not them, who brings the increase. Many who were once great leaders in church have fallen, because they thought they were something special, and that they were the sole cause for the churches success.
This year we have seen a lot of good things happen at ETCC, but let’s remind ourselves of this truth, any victory that we have is God’s, and any increase we have experienced has come from him. It is certainly not because of how great we are -- but rather how great God is.
MANY TIMES THE SOURCE FOR DEFEAT STEMS FROM PRIDE, AND WHEN GOD’S PEOPLE ARE PRIDEFUL (IN THEM SELVES) THEY FORGET AND FEEL THEY DON’T NEED GOD. WHICH LEADS US TO OUR SECOND SOURCE OF DEFEAT.
B. PRAYERLESSNESS
If you notice I did not list any scripture verse for prayerlessness, the reason is, is because they did not pray, they did not seek God’s direction.
God had given them specific instructions for the battle of Jericho and Joshua and the Israelites followed those instructions to the letter, and were therefore victorious.
And now, we find them going off on their own, not bothering to inquire of the Lord. Their attitude had to one of the following, "We don’t need to ask God about this we can do it ourselves, OR they just forgot about God all together.
I don’t know for sure, but I really do believe if Joshua and the leaders would have sought the Lord’s guidance, if they would have humbled themselves and sought direction from God before they went to battle, I believe that God in some manner would have let them know, that there were things they needed to take care of before they went off to war. And this defeat could have been avoided.
How many times has the church gone out and done things for their own agenda and never once inquired of God, to see if it was his will for the church. How many decisions have been made, how many actions have been taken, without asking Our Savior and Our God direction.
How silly, how stupid, how insane, how illogical, absurd, irrational and unsound to engage the enemy in battle without keeping the lines of communication open between the troops and the commander and chief at head quarters. It is a recipe for defeat, it is prescription for disaster.
Let me say this, that many times the reason that the church, her people and her leaders do not really inquire of the Lord (o they may say a token Lord if it be your will, but they don’t really mean it) the reason is because they are afraid that God may not want them to go in the direction they desire, so they don’t ask, so that they can do what THEY want.
Many times we are defeated because we are prideful and we do not seek God’s guidance. And we therefore go out to battle not realizing that we have left God behind, and that HE is no longer fighting for us.
C. AND THE 3RD SOURCE IS BECAUSE OF DISOBEDIENCE/SIN [7:11,20,21]
In these verses we see the power that sin has in causing defeat for God’s people. There are 3 facts about sin that are worth noting here.
1. SIN CORRUPTS, THE INDIVIDUAL, THE FAMILY, THE CAMP.
The sin that Achan committed effected not only himself, but his family and they camp as a whole. When Israel went up against Ai they did not know that the anger of the Lord burned against them. Achan’s sin brought about the defeat of Israel.
This event in Joshua really points out the seriousness of sin. Sin is not only a cancer that can consume and destroy us individually, but it will also effect our family as well. And sin’s poison does not stop there, it spreads and contaminates the church as well. We in the church ARE the body of Christ, we are one body that is made up of many parts, as Paul says in I Corinthians 12, and the sickness of one part, the sin of one part will effect the whole.
We all need to realize and understand that our own individual sins have a serious effect on the church, they hurt the church, they can bring about defeat, our sin is not just our own business and our own life, when we are a member of the body of Christ, our individual sin puts the mission of the church in jeopardy.
2. SIN CAN NOT BE HIDDEN
I can just see Achan sneaking back to his tent from the battle of Jericho. He knew what he was doing was wrong, so he slithered around in the dark, making sure that no one saw him. Finally he made it to his tent dug a huge hole, buried the treasure and gave a huge sigh of relief. He had made it, no one saw him, his treasure was hidden, and no one would ever know. Or so Achan thought.
We can not hide our sin from God, God knows all and sees all. Adam and Eve tried to hide in the bushes, after they had sinned, when they heard God coming, but they were unsuccessful and so will we be. We can hide our sins from each other, but we can’t hide them from God, He can see right into our tent.
Here are just a few of the things God calls sin; and if we have any these buried in our tent we are in trouble; sexual immorality, impurity, idolatry, hatred, jealousy, envy, drunkenness, slanderers, liars, gossips, pride, greed, bitterness...etc We can’t hide from God, he knows who we really are, he knows what’s in our heart, he knows what we think, he knows the real motives for the things we do.
Sin is serious, it has serious consequences, the Bible says that wages of sin is death.
WHEN GOD’S PEOPLE SUFFER DEFEAT AS THEY BATTLE THEIR ENEMIES, IF THEY WANT TO TURN IT AROUND THEY HAVE TO UNCOVER THE SOURCE OF DEFEAT.
II. SECOND THEY MUST OVERCOME THE SORROW OF DEFEAT.
DEFEAT RESULTS IN AT LEAST 2 THINGS
Two things we must overcome, 2 things that if left uncorrected will lead to only more defeats.
A. FEAR [7:4,5]
It is never fun to lose. The Israelites went into battle with great confidence. But when the battle was over and their defeat was a reality the text says this about the Israelites; "THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE MELTED AND THEY BECAME LIKE WATER."
I’ve always enjoyed watching the Rocky movies. There is a scene in Rocky 3 that illustrates well how defeat and fear go together. Rocky was riding high, he was the heavyweight champ of the world. Then he met Clubber Lang (Mr T) and he suffered a painful humiliating defeat. And As he was training for a rematch his trainer Apollo Creed was getting frustrated, it was as though Rocky was not even trying. And after running on the beach and quitting before the finish line, Rocky admits to his wife that he is afraid, for the first time in his life he was afraid.
When God’s people suffer defeat, IT IS UNPLEASANT, MANY TIMES PAINFUL, and this will make them afraid to try again (so that they can avoid the pain). God’s people must overcome this fear, if they are ever going to turn their defeat around.
B. DISCOURAGEMENT [7:6-9]
JOSHUA WAS A DISCOURAGED MAN. And discouraged people, especially discouraged leaders, spell trouble for God’s people.
Joshua had been a faithful servant of God for over 40 years. And this defeat brought him incredible, unbearable agony. So there is Joshua, the great leader, his clothes ripped in sorrow, laying face down before the ark of God. And he was there for many hours, until evening, pouring out his heart before the Lord. He was doubting himself, doubting the people, thinking that should not even of tried, thinking that they should have stayed on the east of the Jordan.
When defeat comes we can easily let our discouragement turn into bitterness and inactivity. I’m not going to try anything ever again, it is no use, it won’t work, it costs too much, takes too much time, I don’t want to fail again, so I’ll just sit back and do nothing.
GOD’S PEOPLE MUST OVERCOME FEAR AND DISCOURAGEMENT, OR ELSE MORE AND MORE DEFEATS WILL COME ROLLING IN.
III. WE MUST ADMINISTER THE SOLUTION TO DEFEAT
As I said defeat is not fun, at times it is down right painful. And God understands, that after a devastating set back we need to go through a grieving process.
Joshua was on his face before God for several hours. Time well spent in prayer and inner examination. But Joshua was not to stay there in despair and hopelessness. God allowed Joshua some time to work through some things but then he said to Joshua, "STAND UP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING DOWN ON YOUR FACE?"
Joshua had been thrown for quite a loop with this defeat, but the time had come for Joshua to quit swimming around in his pool of misery and stand up and brush himself off, and get busy, and be a leader once again.
After we have suffered defeat, it is okay to feel bad, it is okay to feel discouraged, it is okay to pour out your heart before the Lord. But is not okay to stay chained in those dungeons of despair. After we have stood in God’s presence for a while through prayer, we need to, and we should be ready to, stand up brush ourselves off and get busy for the Lord.
WE NEED TO ADMINISTER THE SOLUTION TO DEFEAT.
A. THERE NEEDED TO BE A CONFESSION OF SIN [10-13,19-21]
Israel needed to confess that it was sin IN THE CAMP, AMONG THE PEOPLE, that caused the DEFEAT and Achan needed to confess his sin.
B. THERE NEEDS TO A PUNISHMENT FOR SIN [22-26]
Sin needs to be punished, the debt must be paid, and Achan and his family were punished for their sin.
C. THERE NEEDS TO BE A REDEDICATION TO GOD/HIS PLAN [CHAPTER 8]
In chapter 8 we find Joshua and the Israelites rededicating themselves to God and to God’s plan.
Israel followed God’s plan and won a resounding victory over the city of Ai. And after the victory Joshua built an altar to the Lord on Mount Ebal, to give honor to the one who brought home the victory, God (interestingly, scripture does not record them doing this after Jericho). And once they had built the altar, half the people stood and Mount Gerazim and half on Mount Ebal as the people renewed their commitment to God and to His Law.
We can see, that sin within the body of God’s people is serious, many times the church suffers defeat because of sins of pride, prayerlessness, and other sins, such as Achan’s.
And if the church wants to turn her defeat around, there must confession of, and punishment for, SIN.
And let us make note of this, the church is in far greater shape then the Israelites. Because of Jesus Christ, the church and the Christian need not fear punishment for sin, for as we read in Isaiah 53;
"SURELY HE TOOK UP OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED OUR SORROWS, ... BUT HE WAS PIERCED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS, HE WAS CRUSHED FOR OUR INIQUITIES; THE PUNISHMENT THAT BROUGHT US PEACE WAS UPON HIM, AND BY HIS WOUNDS WE WERE HEALED."
WHEN WE HAVE SINNED, TO RECEIVE FORGIVENESS WE HAVE TO CONFESS OUR SINS (AND THIS DOES NOT MEAN TO SIMPLY LIST OUR SINS, THE WORD LITERALLY MEANS TO SAY THE SAME THING, IN OTHER WORDS WE ARE TO AGREE WITH GOD THAT WHAT WE HAVE DONE IS IN FACT SIN, AND THAT WE WILL STRIVE TO NEVER DO IT AGAIN) AND WHEN AND ONLY WHEN, WE HAVE DONE THIS AS I JOHN 1:9 SAYS, WE ARE FORGIVEN, "IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS , HE (THAT IS GOD) IS FAITHFUL AND JUST AND WILL FORGIVE US OUR SINS AND PURIFY US FORM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS."
AND AFTER WE HAVE DEALT WITH THE SIN, THEN WE ARE READY TO STAND UP, BRUSH OURSELVES OFF AND RECOMMIT OUR LIVES TO JESUS CHRIST. REDEDICATE OURSELVES TO GOD AND TO HIS PLAN. AND THEN WE CAN CONFIDENTLY MARCH OUT INTO BATTLE, KNOWING THAT GOD IS GOING WITH US.
TO TURN OUR DEFEATS AROUND WE NEED TO :
UNCOVER THE SOURCE OF OUR DEFEAT
OVERCOME THE SORROW OF DEFEAT
AND ADMINISTER THE SOLUTION TO DEFEAT.
IN HEBREWS CHAPTER 12 THE HEBREW WRITER SAYS THAT WE ARE SURROUNDED BY A CROWD OF GREAT WITNESSES. AND I LIKE TO PICTURE IT THIS WHY.
WHEN WE AS INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIANS AND WHEN WE AS A CHURCH, SUFFER DEFEAT. WHEN WE FIND OURSELVES SLIDING DOWN THE DARK CORRIDOR OF DEFEAT AND FAILURE.
THAT GREAT CROWD WITNESSES IS PULLING FOR US, THEY HAVE FOUGHT THE GOOD FIGHT AND THEY WANT US TO MAKE IT AS WELL. THEY WANT TO SEE US GET BACK IN THE GAME.
AND WHEN WE FIND THE STRENGTH TO MAKE A COMEBACK, WHEN WE REACH DOWN DEEP INSIDE AND DEAL WITH THE ISSUES WE NEED TO CORRECT, WHEN WE HUMBLE OURSELVES BEFORE OUR GOD AND KING, AND SEEK HIS FORGIVENESS AND GUIDANCE.
THEN WE ARE READY TO STAND UP. AND WE BRUSH OURSELVES OFF, AND WE WALK BACK ON TO THE PLAYING FILED FOR GOD AGAIN, READY TO SERVE AND DO BATTLE FOR THE LORD.
AND THE CROWD OF WITNESSES IN THE STANDS, BEGINS TO CHEER AND THE CHEERING TURNS INTO A ROARING OVATION, AND THE SCOREBOARD FLASHES THE WORD’S WELCOME BACK STEVE ETCC
WELCOME BACK TO GOD’S TEAM.
