1. Let’s get everyone involvedLast chapter only a portion of the Army got to fight, now everyone gets a chance.But notice, it is still God that does the winning
JOS 8:1 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land.
Notice to that it is in past tense. God has already done it. The army just has to go through the motions. Here we go again, the poor old army, they never get to have any credit.
2. Everything in this book is about God’s glory, never the armies. Yep, that is the idea. Here is a lesson for us. We want things for us. We are human, that is logical. Some of us want things for our kids or family, that is logical, probably not even selfish, some of us want things for our church, yeh that is honorable – but not biblical. This principle keeps coming up. It is all about God’s Glory.I have been reading a great book over the last week. It is called “The Crucifixion of Ministry.” By a bloke called Andrew Purves. It states that ministry is not about us it is about Jesus. He puts it this way – Our ministries are not redemptive. Our ministries cannot actually save anyone. Only Jesus can. We are not designed to be the Messiah, only Jesus can do that. Puts a different spin on what we do for God doesn’t it. We ARE made to glorify God, we participate with God as He does the work. An example – remember those arm bands with WWJD on it. What would Jesus do? Good question for evaluating an ethical situation. But it is really not the thrust of the bible’s understanding. The question we should be asking according to what is in the Bible is – What is Jesus doing here? Here is a scenario. You walk into a room full of people. Do you take Jesus with you – or is Jesus already there? What would Jesus do as a question only gives you the options to interpret how you should act. If Jesus is there already – what is Jesus doing? What is Jesus doing in these people’s lives? Will you react differently knowing Jesus is already doing something in their lives? I think this perspective leads us to glorify God in each situation. We are made to give God glory. It is as if our purpose in life is to give glory to God. Yep!!! Totally. But what does this glory word mean?The Hebrew word so translated, kabod, means the “weight” and therefore the “worth” of something–as we speak of someone whose word “carries weight.” The glory of God is the worthiness of God
Then our job is to tell of the worthiness of God. Worthiness for what? To be worshipped.We are to tell how great God is.Listen to theses few verses.
1CH 16:24 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
1CH 16:29 ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come before him; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.
1CO 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
1 Peter 1:7 These have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Give God credit for who He is.
Actually all God’s creatures are designed to glorify Him. How do they do that? I suppose trees be trees, and dogs be dogs and bark, babies be babies and cry – ever thought of that. Every time a baby cries in church – it just might be worshipping as best it knows how. Cattle is cattle and they worship by being cattle, sheep be sheep and they worship by that. Sure it isn’t conscious worship, have you ever thought of how flys worship???? By being flys BUT just for you this morning – A bunch of flys have gotten together to improve their worship. They don’t sing they buzz, actually flys usually do very little other than be pests but these flys have gotten creative and I present to you – Artistic Fly at worship.
That what the battle for the city of
Ai was about. Showing people about God.
Things that happen in our life are an opportunity to show God to people.
3. And in doing that use your head. Use what God has given you. Notice the tactics Joshua used. An ambush, pretend to run away, commonly called a retreat. Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from it. All of you be on the alert. 5 I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out against us, as they did before, we will flee from them. 6 They will pursue us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, `They are running away from us as they did before.’ So when we flee from them, 7 you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The LORD your God will give it into your hand.
Notice though, that the tactics actually give credit to God too. We don’t get credit for being clever little soldiers. After all God gave us the brains to use. The hard thing is to keep thinking this way.Most of us like to accumulate credit. I did this or I did that. It is very noticeable in the Triathlon Community. I can speak with knowledge here. Your credibility as a triathlete is based on the races you have done, and what the conditions were at the time. I did the McMasters beach Long course in 1992, you know the race with 6 foot surf, rain and 50 k an hour winds- see I’m a legend. Then someone betters you, they did Foster in 1999, rain and wind all day all 15 ½ hours of it. Or they had an accident but still finished, with blood dripping off everywhere or something. But hey, all these athletes had God make them able to do it. God gave them the bodies.
The same with education, God has given us the brains. Sure be proud of what we have achieved but hey the real credit goes to God – or it should. The amazing thing is that God has given us the abilities to do things and he allows us to be involved in His work. We work for God. And we work with God. Our responsibility is to use what God has given us. Use it wisely, use it shrewdly, use it with integrity.
The same for these guys fighting, fight hard but God was to get the credit.
4. When something good happens – thank God for it.Notice here that Joshua built an altar.
JOS 8:30 Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, 31 as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses–an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the LORD burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings.
Why? A symbol of what God had done. A way of saying thanks and giving credit to God. We don’t build altars these days because our lives are supposed to be the symbols of what Jesus has done. Here is the thing, Can people see God in what you do? Are we in fact an altar to Jesus? Wow, something to think about.
5.One last thing. – When all this was finished – Joshua read them God’s word.JOS 8:34 Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law–the blessings and the curses–just as it is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of
Israel, including the women and children, and the aliens who lived among them.
The whole thing. Aren’t you glad I don’t do that every time something good happens.
I remember when I worked for Youth For Christ, to raise money 10 of the young people read the New Testament straight through, took most of the weekend. But what an experience, it was a real high light for those kids, we actually recorded it as well, mistakes and funny pronunciation of names and all. It was unreal. Raised the necessary money as well as a great experience.Here is something that I have never thought of before. When God works – read His word. It happens in other parts of the bible as well, maybe it is a neglected concept or a missed concept from days gone by. Notice Joshua included everyone, the whole nation. No one is exempt, no one is left out, all hear – not all read – Joshua did that, but all heard God’s word.Psalm 107 says a couple of timesPS 107:8 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men,
Maybe we should all get together, take a week and read the bible, straight through. Perhaps, but what we definitely should do is give thanks to God for what He has done for us – publicly, regularly, openly.
So where have we come this passage.1. Get everyone involved2. It’s all for God’s glory3. Use your what God has given you. 4. Don’t forget to thank God5. Read ‘em God’s word – the Bible.
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