Sermon Manuscript

Winning the Holy War: Highlights of Joshua

No. 2: “What You Need When You Are Exhausted” (Josh. 1:10-18) 27 January 1991 • Dr. Doug McIntosh, Senior Pastor CORNERSTONE BIBLE CHURCH • 869 COLE DRIVE • LILBURN, GA 30047

Introduction: Goin’ Home One of the most poignant pictures, I think, in recent American history is the film of the railroad station at Warm Springs, Georgia, on an April morning in 1945. Franklin Roo- sevelt had died only a couple of days before and his coffin was on the train. As the loco- motive began to move the cars out of the station, an older man stood on the station plat- form, a longtime friend and employee of the Roosevelt family, with an accordion hanging from his neck and tears streaming from his eyes. He began to play that haunting melody, that plaintive section from the second movement of Dvorak’s New World Symphony that someone took and made into a popular song: “Goin’ Home.” Goin’ home. It evokes strong emotions, doesn’t it? It wasn’t just Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz who believed that there’s no place like home. We all have a fond place reserved in our hearts for the place that we think of as “home.” When Israel came up on the eastern shore of the River Jordan, the people were longing for home, too. But it was a home they had never seen. There were only two people in that entire vast congregation who had ever so much as glimpsed any significant acreage in the holy land. And it was time for the people to claim as their own the land that God had promised their ancestors as much as seven centuries before. Let’s look at what happened as recorded in Joshua 1:10-18.

Scripture: Joshua 1:10-18 10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11 “Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess.’” 12 And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh Joshua spoke, saying, 13 “Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, ‘The LORD your God is giving you rest and is giving you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jor- dan. But you shall pass before your brethren armed, all your mighty men of valor, and help them, 15 until the LORD has given your brethren rest, as He has given you, and they also have taken possession of the land which the LORD your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord’s servant gave you on this side of the Jordan toward the sunrise.” 16 And they answered Joshua, saying, “All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only the LORD your God be with you, as He was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your command and does not heed your words, in all that you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and of good courage.”

Priorities of the Christian Soldier Joshua and his countrymen are getting ready to go into battle, and when you are getting ready to fight, you tend to talk about important things. As we look at this passage, we find that Joshua insists that the soldier in the army of the Lord has two priorities, which we look at in reverse order. Priority #2: To enjoy life at home based on the promises of God Priority number two is to enjoy life at home based on the promises of God. The term Joshua uses here is “rest.” Now a little background is in order to help us understand this passage. When Israel came out of Egypt and began to move up the eastern side of the Dead Sea and the River Jor- dan, they were going through what is now the country of Jordan. But in those days, this area was occupied by a couple of Amorite ethnic groups led by warlike kings. When Israel requested permission to pass through their land on the way into Canaan, these kings not only refused, they determined to drive Israel away in battle. As a result, Israel defeated them.

Page 2 After the battle was over, the people of the tribe of Reuben, of the tribe of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh came to Moses and said, “We like it here east of the Jordan. The land is beautiful and fertile, and the Lord has given it to us through the defeat of these two kings. We don’t want land west of the Jordan. Let us stay here.” Moses consented with one provision. He insisted that the two and a half tribes fight with the rest of Israel until they gained their homeland, or, to use the terminology of Joshua, until “the Lord had given them rest.” To this the two and one half tribes agreed, and that is where we pick up the story in Joshua chapter one. But what was “rest”? For the Israelite Enjoying the land. For the Israelite of Joshua’s day, “rest” was settling down on the land without fear of oppression or invasion. It was having a way to earn a way to earn a living from the land that God had given. It was the fulfillment of the long-standing dreams of the Israelite people, who had been four hundred years in Egypt as slaves without a homeland. This term “rest” today has a different meaning to us, however. For the believer today, it means two things. For the believer today The rewards of the age to come. First—and this is the meaning we find in the book of He- brews—it means the rewards of the age to come. Believers are to be focused on the future just as the Israelites were to be focused on the land. Almost the last words of Jesus Christ in the Bible finds Him saying, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work” (Rev 22:12). The enjoyment of God right now. Second, “rest” today also means the contentment of spirit that comes from enjoying the Christian life right now. We are to live today as godly people in the light of our future, content that Jesus Christ has qualified us to share in the in- heritance Christ is setting aside for us. So “rest” for Israel was getting into the land and settling down—going home, so to speak. “Rest” for believers today is also settling down at home, enjoying the Christian life. Priority #1: To assist those who are still on the way home The first priority, however, for those people of the two and a half tribes was different. It was to assist those who were still on the way home. Notice what the text says in verse 13, “Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But you shall pass before your brethren armed, all your mighty men of valor, and help them.” Their home was all ready for them, but it was no time for rest, because for nine and a half tribes, their homeland still had to be taken. The two and a half tribes were the first soldiers over the river, even though their homeland was already taken. Just as in the days of Joshua there were people whose homeland was won and people who still needed to win it, so today the same situation exists. There are people who are basi-

Page 3 cally living the Christian life in a victorious way, like those two and a half tribes. And there are those whose victories are still to be won. Let me give you now what I believe the Bible teaches about the characteristics of the Christian soldier: first, of the soldier who is winning the fight, and then of the soldier who not only is winning his own fight, but like the two and a half tribes is able to help others win their battles. What happened in the holy land in those days is a metaphor for how the Christian life is supposed to be lived. The first task is to get to the level of what might be called the “resting” Christian. The resting Christian is one who is an asset to the church. He is winning the battle for his homeland. Then there is the Christian who is the warring Christian. He is a “mighty man of valor,” to use the phrase in the text, who leads others into the fight to win their homeland. Let’s look at them in turn.

Characteristics of the Christian Soldier Characteristics of the “Resting” Christian He doesn’t worry about his eternal destiny The resting Christian soldier isn’t worried about his claim to his homeland. He has already arrived. He does not worry about his eternal destiny, because he is resting content in the finished work of Jesus Christ. C. H. Spurgeon is quoted as saying that he was so sure of his salvation that he could grab a cornstalk and swing out over the fires of hell, look into the face of the devil, and sing, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!” That is not an exaggeration. When the storms of life, the winds of trouble, and the sea of discomfort and emotional agony seem to overwhelm, we can say with the songwriter, “Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness… We dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.” When you “wholly lean on Jesus name,” you are not being presumptuous to be confident of your salvation, you are taking God at His Word. There are a lot of people who act like Br’er Rabbit in the Uncle Remus tale. Br’er Rabbit was invited to dinner on the same evening at the same hour at Br’er Terrapin’s and Br’er Possum’s. There he stood hungrily at the crossroads...“Do I eat with Br’er Terrapin or do I eat with Br’er Possum?” First he ran down the road toward Br’er Possum’s. Then, changing his mind, he reversed himself and started towards Br’er Terrapin’s. Then he changed his mind again and started towards Br’er Possum’s. With the thought of two meals awaiting him, he ran back and forth, unable to make a decision until finally he missed dinner at both places. There are many persons who live their lives like Br’er Rabbit. One day they are resting, fully confident in the worth of the cross of Christ for them. The next they have fallen back into trusting their own performance. God calls on people to trust in Christ completely. One pastor gave what I believe to be one of the best descriptions I have heard. He said,

Page 4 “Genuine trust means this: if a person should stand before God’s judgment throne one day, and God should ask, ‘Why should I let you into My kingdom?’ and that person said, ‘Because Christ died for me. That’s what I’m trusting in—His merit, not my own,’ and then God said, ‘That’s not good enough,’ that person would have nothing else to offer.” God has given us the ability to choose what we trust in. But trust means that you trust— you don’t vacillate between your own works and Christ’s death. You are confident. You rest in Him. He knows that he needs a daily intake of God’s Word A second characteristic of the resting Christian is that he knows that he needs a daily intake of God’s Word. Mortimer Adler, in How to Read a Book, has observed that the one time people read for all they are worth is when they are in love and are reading a love letter. They read every word three ways. They read between the lines and in the margins. They read the whole in terms of the parts, and each part in terms of the whole. They grow sensitive to context and ambiguity, to insinuation and implication. They perceive the color of words, the order of phrases, and the weight of sentences. They may even take the punctuation into account. Then, if never before or after, they read carefully and in depth. Job said, “I have esteemed his words more than my essential food.” So should believers read the “love letter” that the Eternal Lover of our souls has given to us so that we may better know Him and his purposes. He knows that God’s resources are available to him through prayer The person who has only himself to trust in is in trouble. Life deals some bitter hands. Prayer gives access to God’s resources for the battle. Prayer is a dreadfully serious busi- ness. It isn’t a luxury or a game. Lucy in a “Peanuts” cartoon once told Charlie Brown that she had discovered that if she held her hands upside down she got the exact opposite of what she had prayed for. It doesn’t work that way. God’s resources are available, and you can rest in that regardless of how you hold your hands. A veteran cowboy was once asked by a city dwelling relative of his, “Jim, what did you learn in all your years on the plains herding cattle?” Jim thought for a moment and answered, “I learned to have great respect for the Hereford steer. On the great plains there are violent snowstorms when the temperatures plunge below zero and the snow is driven by high winds. Most varieties of cattle drift downwind and at a fence they pile up and many die. But it isn’t that way with the Herefords. They don’t drift downwind. Instead, they force themselves upwind and when they come to a fence or some other barrier they huddle together, shoulder to shoulder; they put their heads down and wait out the wind. And very few die from the elements.” “So,” said the old cowboy, “I have learned that if you put your trust in Jesus Christ, and walk every day in conscious dependence on Him, and stand up to your difficulties when they come along, they will break on you and you will not break under them.” Good observation, and a biblical one.

Page 5 He has settled the question of who has the final say in his life A resting Christian has also settled the question of who has the final say in his life. He has determined that in the war of the wills, Jesus Christ will always win. Not every Christian is comfortable with that. Some still fight the war of the wills. There are three reasons in particular why all people who are willing to trust Christ with their futures are not willing to obey Him in the present. People fear that Christ will ask them to do something they don’t want to do. The first one is that people fear that Christ will ask them to do something they don’t want to do. Of course He will. That is what lordship means. When Jesus Christ is called “Lord,” it isn’t just a cute title that happens to sound good in front of “Jesus Christ.” There is only one reason why anybody can be called Lord: because they will win any discussion about what the people under them are going to do. Lordship assumes a conflict between myself and Jesus Christ. But a resting Christian soldier has fought that battle and has concluded that he’ll be better off by allowing Christ the final decision-making authority. We think we know what is best for us. Then there are some of us who haven’t decided who’s in charge because we think we know what is best for us. John Bramlett could tell you that. John was once known as the “Meanest Man” in the National Football League. A free agent who became a starting linebacker for the Denver Broncos in 1965, Bramlett was runner-up to Joe Namath for rookie of the year honors. He played in two Pro Bowls and in 1970 was voted Most Valuable Player for the New England Patriots. Off the field, however, his life was a mess. His family never knew when he left home whether he would come home drunk, or call from a jail, or not even come home at all, because he was often involved in fights in bars. Nonetheless, John was sure he knew what was best for him. One day some visitors came by the Bramlett home. They wanted to talk to John Bramlett about Christ. The impact of that visit changed John’s life forever. Suddenly he turned from pursuing his own way to pursuing Christ’s. Today his life is a living testimony to the change Christ can make in the life of a believer. Perhaps Bramlett’s greatest testimony, however, is his son Don. Don still has a Christmas letter that he penned in an elementary school classroom many years ago. The subject was “All I Want For Christmas Is....” Here is what young Don Bramlett wrote: All I want for Christmas is for my family and me to have a very Merry Christmas like the other two Christmases we’ve had. My dad was out drinking and fighting three years ago and we were all worrying about him and wondering when he would come back. While opening our presents, we were so miserable through those years. Now we have a happy and merry Christmas after my daddy accepted Jesus in his heart and we have a lot to be thankful for. This is all I want for Christmas and I’ve got it.

Page 6 John Bramlett discovered that he didn’t know what was best for himself after all. We may think we know best about what to do, but we don’t. We are not sure that Christ has our best interests at heart. Then there is a third group who haven’t settled the question about who’s in charge because they are not sure that Christ has their best interest at heart. Now this is a very old and time-tested satanic strategem, one which goes back into the garden of Eden itself. Satan’s first telling point with Eve was when he suggested to her that God had closed off one tree in the garden because He was jealous of her, and because He didn’t want her to have the pleasure of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Unfortunately, although it’s very old and very illogical, it still has a lot of subscribers. Af- ter all, Christ has never given any evidence that He cares about us, has He? Doesn’t it seem realistic to say that someone who suffered death for your sake is someone you can trust to keep your best interests in front of Him? Characteristics of the Warring Christian He can help others settle the issue of their eternal destiny. The warring Christian can help other people put their trust in Christ and settle the issue of their eternal destiny. Whenever one person comes to rest in Christ, it’s because someone else has helped him see how this works. It’s awfully important who you spend your time with. Several years ago a social worker and police officers served a warrant at a dingy apart- ment in South Chicago. There they discovered on a filthy mattress a jumbled heap that was, in fact, a little boy. But he didn’t look much like a human being. He had fallen from a window, but his mother, fearing that she might be arrested for her neglect, never took the little fellow for medical attention. Somehow he had miraculously lived, but his body was horribly crippled. A social worker worked hard to secure surgical teams that began the slow process of cor- recting his deformities. Over the next few years dozens of surgeries were performed. The social worker watched as the little body began to be reshaped and he began to take the form a handsome young man. She said that she would never forget the first day he walked into her office without assistance. “I thought,” she said, “if I never do anything else in my life, this is the one accomplishment that I can always look back to.” She told this story at the National Conference of Christian Social Workers. She asked, “Do you know where this young man is today? Perhaps a lawyer? Or a surgeon? Perhaps a social worker?” No,” she continued, “He is in a federal penitentiary for a series of hideous crimes.” She concluded, “We were successful at teaching him how to walk, but we neglected to teach him where to walk, and whom to walk with.” The warring Christian is a good person to walk with.

Page 7 He can explain the basic truths of Christian faith to others The warring Christian can explain the basic truths of the Christian faith to others. He knows how to teach things like the attributes of God and the substitutionary atonement of Christ and the person and work of the Holy Spirit. He knows which truths in Scripture are not explicable The warring Christian also knows which truths in Scripture are not explicable, which is almost as important. He doesn’t claim to be able to unravel the mystery of the Trinity, or the complications of trying to separate divine sovereignty and human responsibility. He knows that there is a point at which you bow before what God has said without being able to explain all of it. He allows his convictions to cramp his lifestyle financially Then, the warring Christian allows his convictions to cramp his lifestyle financially. He knows that the gospel message answers a universal need, and that reaching the ends of the earth is a costly proposition. His heart is concerned for those who are currently beyond the reach of the message. He is willing to be misunderstood or disliked for Christ’s sake. The warring Christian is willing to be misunderstood or disliked for Christ’s sake. He likes the approval of people just like anyone else does. But he is so concerned with the opinion the Lord has of him that the high opinion of men he can take or leave. He knows that Christ suffered abuse for him, and it is unlikely that he will have to suffer anything like that. We tend to be terribly concerned to be liked today, but most of the people who have made their mark for Christ in the past haven’t been dreadfully concerned about being liked. Take John Wesley, the Methodist evangelist, for instance. Wesley was riding along a road one day on a preaching tour when it dawned on him that three whole days had passed in which he had suffered no persecution. Not a brick or an egg had been thrown at him for three days. He had a curious reaction to this, as he thought about it. He stopped his horse, and thought, “Can it be that I have sinned, and am out of God’s approval?” Slipping from his horse, Wesley went down on his knees and began asking God to show him where, if any, there had been a fault in his life. A rough fellow, on the other side of the hedge, hearing the prayer, looked across and recognized the preacher. “I’ll fix that Methodist preacher,” he said, picking up a brick and tossing it over at him. It missed its mark, and fell harmlessly beside John. Whereupon Wesley leaped to his feet joyfully exclaiming, “Thank God, it's all right. I still have His presence.” The only way you can have a reaction like that is if you are a warring Christian—you are in a struggle, and you are in it for keeps. God grant us to become first, Christians who have found their home, and then, warring ones to help others find theirs.

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Copyright © 1991 P. Douglas McIntosh. This data file/manuscript is the sole property of the copyright holder and may be copied only in its entirety for circulation freely without charge. All copies of this data file/manuscript must contain the above copyright notice. This data file/manuscript may not be copied in part (except for small quotations used with citation of source), edited, revised, copied for resale, or incorporated in any commercial publications, recordings, broadcasts, performances, displays, or other products offered for sale without the written permission of the copyright holder. Requests for permission should be made in writing and addressed to Dr. Doug McIntosh, Senior Pastor, Cornerstone Bible Church, 869 Cole Drive, Lil- burn, GA 30047.

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