Get Up and Run the Race

Father, the universe does declare Your glory. God, as we go outside at any time to look up at the stars or to look at the trees around us, we know that You are incredibly awesome. You created all the things that are seen and even those things that are unseen. You created us to know You, to worship You. By Your word is how we know You. Tonight, as we look into Your word, I pray that You would help us to understand who You are just a little bit more. Lord, that we could be in that right relationship with You, the abundant life that Your Son spoke of. God, teach us by Your Spirit, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

You may be seated. Let's open our Bibles this evening to Joshua chapter 8. I believe absolutely that there is no such thing as a coincidence, and there is no coincidence at all that Rick shared that verse before the service this evening because that is definitely something that we're going to be talking about—running the race.

A couple of weeks ago, as we were in Joshua chapter 7, we saw that the children of Israel, in the running of the race, had committed a trespass. Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, had taken of the accursed things there in Jericho. Joshua, not knowing this, sent the children of Israel up to do battle against the city of Ai. The people went up; 3,000 soldiers went to this area of Ai, and they fled before the men of Ai. About 36 men were killed that day from the children of Israel.

Joshua and the elders of Israel fell on their faces before the Lord and cried out to God because of the slaughter that had happened. They wondered, "Lord, how come You've left us?" It is a sad situation that they didn't do that before the battle. Oftentimes, you and I make the mistake of not coming to the Lord before the battle. Joshua and the army of Israel lost those 36 people because they didn't seek the Lord. They made a mistake.

You and I make mistakes every single day. Every one of us in this room makes at least one mistake a day. In fact, if we make only one mistake in a day, we're probably doing pretty good because we're fallible; we fail. We mess up. Henry Ford said that a mistake is an opportunity to begin again more intelligently. A mistake is an opportunity to begin again.

But this time, with more intelligence and understanding, the children of Israel had made a mistake. Now, they were going to start over again in Joshua chapter 8. They came before the Lord and bowed before Him. The Lord had said in Joshua chapter 7 that there was sin in the camp, and before they could stand before their enemies, the sin needed to be taken care of. The Lord pointed it out; it was Achan. That sin was removed from Israel as Achan, his entire family, and all that he had were stoned and burned with fire. The children of Israel mounted upon them a heap of stones as a witness to the children of Israel of this failure, of this mistake.

We all make such mistakes. Even the greatest of leaders, like Joshua, was an awesome leader, a man filled with the Holy Spirit and led of God, yet he made a mistake because he didn't first inquire of the Lord. Throughout Scripture, when we see the leaders of God's people making mistakes, it's often because they did not inquire of the Lord or they weren't where they were supposed to be. I think of David. When the men of Israel went out to war, David, the king of Israel, stayed behind. He made an error that day because he didn't go where God had called him to be, and he didn't inquire of the Lord. He committed the sin of adultery, tried to cover it up, lied, and then committed murder to continue covering it up. The Lord let him run for seven months in his mistake, and finally, He called him on the carpet. David confessed and repented, and the joy of his salvation was restored. What an awesome thing it is to have the joy of your salvation restored!

The children of Israel presumed that they would have no problem in this battle against Ai. The sin of presumption is a great sin, and you and I commit this probably every day, at least every week. We either presume that we can handle something in our own strength—saying, "I can handle this. I've got it from here, Lord." Or we presume that, "Well, I'm a Christian, so God is going to help me in the midst of this." Throughout the Old Testament, the children of Israel presumed that because they were God's chosen people, they would win every battle and be a blessed nation. Yet, when they were taken out of Israel and brought down to Babylon, they began to cry out. They realized that they couldn't just claim to be God's chosen people and expect that by that alone, they would be strengthened in battle. We can't presume upon that fact because the Scripture says...

The prophet Isaiah said that your sin has removed you and has separated you from your God. When we sin, there's a separation that takes place. Until we come to the Lord and confess it, seeking that restoration, there remains a separation. There are times when we are aware of our sin, yet we continue to presume that God will help us. When things start to go bad and wrong, the Lord is calling out your name, saying, "Come, come back to me."

The first words of Jesus in His ministry were, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." The very next thing He began to say was, "Follow me." When we are in sin and experience that separation, the Lord is constantly calling our names, urging us to repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and to follow Him. In that still, small voice, the Lord calls.

The Lord was calling to the children of Israel to follow Him now. They had repented of their sin and turned from it; they had fallen down, but now the Lord was saying, "Get up, let's go." When we fail and fall, the Lord calls out to us, saying, "Repent." When we repent, He then says, "Come, follow me, let's go." The Lord was saying the very same thing to the children of Israel.

They had committed a trespass and presumed that they could take Ai because it was a small people, as reported by the spies that Joshua sent out. In Joshua chapter 7, verses 2 and 3, they said, "It's just a small people; just send about 2,000 or 3,000 of our troops up there. Don't burden the entire army with this." They presumed that since they had taken Jericho, they could surely take Ai, which was a much smaller place. They assumed that they had God's power and strength, believing that since He had brought them into the land of Israel, He would surely be with them. However, that sin had separated them from the Lord for that period of time, and it needed to be repented of, as we saw a couple of weeks ago in Joshua chapter 7.

When we presume, or when I presume, we arrogantly take a step in the wrong direction. We think, "I can handle this," or "I've got the strength of the Lord; let's go." That is what presumption is: a bold arrogance, thinking, "I can do this, no problem." It's like the child who is learning how to ride a bike. The father is right behind him, holding the seat. The child thinks they have it and finally says, "Just let go, let me go." Then they go and fall, crying out because they presumed they could do it in their own strength. They boldly and arrogantly think, "I've got it under control."

And how many of us have done that in our own Christian walks? I know I have. Early on in my Christian walk, I did so many arrogant things, thinking I had it under control. The Lord would send messengers to me, people who were older in the faith, and they would say, "Be careful what you're doing here. You're going to get in a trap." I would arrogantly and ignorantly respond, "I've got it under control, thanks."

You know what? I had to fall on my face to learn. How sad it is that I can't learn from the mistakes of others, and how often we want to go through it on our own. There are people along the way who are saying, "Stop, don't go that way," like the prophets to the children of Israel. Yet, arrogantly and ignorantly, they would walk in a certain direction, knowing that the Lord had said, "Don't go there." So many times, we do the same thing. Why? Because oftentimes, we need to fall down and skin our knee before we realize that we are not going in the right direction.

The children of Israel had fallen and skinned their knee because they presumed that, well, they had the strength of the Lord. They had taken out Jericho, so surely they could take this one out as well. I have mentioned the verse to you several times before in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, where we read in verse 11, "Now all these things happened unto them as examples, and they were written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come." The Scriptures, the Old Testament, were all written down for our admonition, our instruction. They are examples to us that we would learn from the mistakes of those who have gone before us.

In the very next verse, in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 12, it says, "All of this stuff in the Old Testament was written down that we would learn from it, so now take heed, when you think that you stand, lest you fall." The children of Israel thought they had it under control. They believed they could stand in the midst of this situation because it was just a small city. However, oftentimes, the smallest things are the hardest to overcome. The smallest areas of our lives that are influenced by the flesh, the sin nature, are often the hardest battles we face.

The greatest city, the greatest stronghold that Israel was to confront was Jericho. In chapter 6, they went against Jericho and simply walked around the city. That was all they did—walk. Yet, the walls of the city came down, and they witnessed a great demonstration of God's power and strength.

They began to think, "Well, we've got it under control." So many times, I do the very same thing. I see the Lord remove a great stronghold from my life, from my flesh. There’s this part of my flesh that begins to think, "Look what I did." We think, "Well, I can stand in the midst of this little thing," and then it's the little thing that comes and gets you. It's the small thing that takes you out. That's what happened to the children of Israel; they fell, and they fell hard.

But the Lord is so gracious. He is so long-suffering, and He comes to us constantly and says, "Come on, get up, run the race." Two things happen when you and I sin and fall down. When we mess up, two things begin to happen. The enemy comes in—the enemy who dangled the carrot in front of you in the first place to cause you to fall. When you fall, he comes in and begins to condemn you. You become discouraged and say, "Well, I don't want to go on anymore. I just can't do this. The Lord can't use a failure like me."

The first thing that happens when we fall and falter is that we become discouraged. We think, "I can't be used of the Lord. God cannot use me now." The second thing is that we often become fearful. We become fearful of, "Oh, how am I going to be able to do it from now on?" We fear, "I fell into this already. How am I ever going to be able to stand?" Our flesh is so weak to the temptations of the world, and yet oftentimes it is so strong in overcoming our spirit.

There are those times when we fall, and we think, "Oh man, I'm such a failure." You become discouraged, and the enemy comes in, saying, "How could you do that? You call yourself a Christian. The Lord doesn't want anything to do with you now." Then you become fearful, thinking, "I can't go before the Lord. I can't walk. I can't do this."

But you see, the Lord allows us to go through those failures because God wants our flesh to die. It's our flesh that exalts itself and says, "I can handle this." When we fall flat on our face, the Lord allows us to go through the pain of it so that our flesh will begin to die and realize that we can't do this. I find that in my heart, in me dwells no good thing, as Paul would say in Joshua chapter 7.

The Lord is teaching us humility, and it's painful. Humility is not fun; it's very painful. It hurts. Yet that's what the Lord desires because the Lord draws near to those who are humble, as the book of James tells us.

And the Lord is seeking after those who are broken and contrite. That's why, when David fell on his face before the Lord and repented in Psalm 51, the Lord came to him at that point because he was broken. He said, "Lord, you do not desire sacrifice, or else I would do it. You're not looking for burnt offerings, or else I'd bring that to you, Lord. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a broken and a contrite heart. These, O Lord, you do not despise."

You see, the Lord draws near to those who are broken and who are flat on their face. The Lord allows us to try and do it in our own strength for a period of time so that we'll fall and that we'll fall upon Him, saying, "Lord, please help me." The glorious Christian life is a life full of failures but also a life full of new beginnings. A life where, when you make a mistake, you get up.

I heard this poem several years ago, and it really ministered to me. It says:

They all lined up so full of hope, Each thought to win the race, Or tie for first, or if not that, At least take second place. And fathers watched from off the side, Each cheering for his son, And each young man hoped to show his dads That he would be the one.

The whistle blew, and off they went, Young hearts and hopes afire. To win, to be the hero there, Was each young man's desire. And one young man in particular, Whose dad was in the crowd, Was running in the lead and thought, "My dad will be so proud."

But as they sped down the field, Across a shallow dip, The young man that thought he'd win Lost his step and slipped. And trying hard to catch himself, His hands flew out in brace, And amid the laughter of the crowd, He fell flat on his face.

So down he fell, and with hope, He couldn't win. Not now. Embarrassed and sad, He only wished to disappear somehow. But as he fell, his dad stood up And showed his anxious face, Which to the young man so clearly said, "Get up and run the race."

He quickly rose; no damage done, Behind a bit, that's all, And ran with all his might and mind To make up for his fall. So anxious to restore himself, To catch up, to win. His mind went faster than his legs, And he slipped and fell again.

He wished then that he had quit before, With only one disgrace. "I'm a hopeless runner now; I shouldn't try to race." But in the laughing crowd, he searched And found his father's face. That steady look said again, "Get up and run the race."

So up he jumped and tried again, ten yards behind the last. If I'm going to gain those yards, I've got to move real fast. Exerting everything he had, he regained eight or ten, but trying so hard to catch the lead, he slipped and fell again. Defeated, he lay there silently, a tear dropped from his eye.

There's no sense in running anymore. Three strikes, I'm out; why try? The will to rise had disappeared, and all hope had fled away. So far behind, so error-prone, he thought, I won't go all the way. I've lost, so what's the use? I'll live in my disgrace.

But then he thought about it—about his dad, whom he would soon have to face. "Get up," an echo sounded loud. "Get up and take your place. You were not meant for failure here. Get up and run the race." With borrowed will, it urged him, "Get up; you haven't lost at all. For winning is no more than this: to rise each time you fall."

So up he rose to run once more, and with a new commitment, he resolved to win or lose that race, or at least he wouldn't quit. Three times he'd fallen, stumbling. Three times he'd risen again. Now he gave it all he had and ran as though he'd win. They cheered the winning runner as he crossed the line in first place—head high, proud, and happy. No falling, no failing, no disgrace.

But when the fallen young man crossed the line in last place, the crowd gave him a louder cheer for finishing the race. Even though he came in last, with his head bowed low and unproud, you would have thought he won the race to listen to the crowd. His dad said, "To me, you won."

"You rose each time you fell," his father said. And now, when things seem dark and hard and difficult to face, the memory of that strong young man helps me run this race. For all of life is like that race, with ups and downs and all. All you have to do to win is get up each time you fall.

You see, we fall. And Israel, as a nation, fell. The Lord would cry out, "Get up and run the race. Get up, let's go. Don't stay there wallowing in the mire, in the slough of despond, thinking I can't do it any longer." That place where the enemy loves to come and convict and condemn and say, "You're right, you can't."

Get up and run the race. Yes, you may be bruised.

You may be scarred. There may be other people in front of you. Yet the Lord cries out, "Get up and run the race. Let's go. It's time to go." Hebrews chapter 12 contains a powerful message that many of you know well. In verses 1 and 2, it says, "Wherefore, seeing we are also encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with patience or endurance the race that is set before us."

The Lord would say, "Get up and run the race." Lay aside those sins that so easily ensnare you. Lay aside that thing that tripped you up, that thing that so easily besets you. Lay it aside and run with patience the race that is set before you. You see, this Christian life, this Christian walk, is not a life that's a sprint. It's a long, steady pace. The Lord says, "Get up, run the race."

The writer of Hebrews goes on to say in chapter 12, verse 2, "Looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." The Lord calls out to us and says, "Get up, run the race, lay aside the sin that so easily ensnares you." Lay aside that thing that tripped you and get up.

Look at all of those who have gone before you, as the writer of Hebrews says in verse 1. "Seeing that we are encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses." All of those who have run the race before us—look at them. Yes, they fell, but they got up and they ran the race, and they ended well. The Lord desires that we not come in first place, but that we finish well.

There are many in our day and age who start well and look really good to the rest of the body of Christ. We might say, "Man, that person's got it going on." Yet years later, you hear that they fell by the wayside and didn't get up. The scripture tells us of one who comes to mind: his name was Demas. He was one who followed and was with Paul the Apostle. In the book of 1 Timothy, Paul says that Demas has forsaken him for the love of the world. He fell by the wayside, and we never read of Demas again. He never got back up.

At the end of your life, it's not whether or not you beat everybody else and got to the finish line first, but whether or not you cross the finish line and finish well. You may fall into the arms of the Lord Jesus Christ on that day, but you'll be there in His embrace.

And that's what the Lord is calling for us: to get up and run, laying aside those things that so easily ensnare us. Ai was a snare to the children of Israel in the beginning. We've looked at this before; this area of Ai means "heap of ruins" in Scripture. When we fall down, we have the potential to become a heap of ruins by the wayside. But the Lord would have us step up, stand up, and run. We should not wallow in the slew of despond or in the mire, crying out, "I'm injured, I can't do it anymore."

There are some, maybe in this room tonight, who are at that place where you've fallen down and skinned your knee, feeling like you just can't do it any longer. The Lord quietly says, "Get up, run the race. Look at me, look unto me. Stop looking at your circumstances. Stop looking at the skinned knee; get up."

The Lord said very much the same thing to Joshua back in our text in Joshua chapter 8. He said unto Joshua, "Fear not, neither be thou dismayed. Take all the people of war with thee and arise; go up to Ai." So far, as we've been going through the book of Joshua, we see a man, a leader of God, Joshua, who is fearful and doesn't quite know what to do. It says, "Moses, my servant, is dead. Now arise, go up."

Then here in Joshua chapter 8, the children of Israel had fallen down and skinned their knee. The Lord comes to Joshua and says, "Fear not, neither be dismayed. Arise and go up to Ai. Let's go. Get up. It's time to go." If you've fallen and skinned your knee, the Lord says to you and to me, "Get up." Just like He told Joshua in Joshua chapter 1, verse 2, where He says, "Arise and go over this Jordan."

Get up, especially in that time and place where you think, "I can't go any longer. I can't do it." The Lord says, "Come on, let's go. Get up. I'm right there beside you. Let's run the race together, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith." The Lord says, "Let's go. Get up and run the race."

So the Lord came to Joshua in Joshua chapter 8 and said, "Joshua, don't be afraid." You see, the first thing the Lord does when we're discouraged, when we're downcast...

He comes and encourages us, but He uses His Word. If you're in a place tonight of discouragement, feeling broken and bummed out, and you continue to be in that place, the primary reason is probably that you're not spending any time in the Word. The Lord uses His Word to encourage us. If tonight you're in a place of pure and utter discouragement, it's not the Lord; it's you. You have stayed your hand from the Word of the Lord. You have stayed your hand from the Word of God.

In the book of Joshua, the Lord says to him, "Fear not, neither be thou dismayed." The Lord is speaking the very same thing to you, but maybe you're not spending any time in the Word to hear His voice. God speaks to us through His Word. I don't know about you, but there have been times in my life when I've been in the midst of a hard situation, crying out to the Lord, "God, speak to me, please. Just give me a word, anything." Oftentimes, I hear that still small voice where the Lord says, "Why don't you go read the Bible?"

I respond, "Lord, I just want You to speak audibly to me. Just a yes or a no, just say it." And again, He says, "Why don't you go read the Word?" I insist, "No, Lord, I want You just to speak out loud. I know You can; just do it." The Lord so wants to encourage you and me, but so many times we say, "I'm not going to pick up the Word. I just can't do that right now. I don't feel like reading." Yet the Word of the Lord is right here before us, and so many times we feel discouraged and don't even want to open it.

Joshua came to the Lord feeling discouraged, and God said, "Joshua, fear not." The Lord comes and encourages him. In the book of Luke, chapter 12, the Lord says to you and me as well, "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32). "Fear not, little flock." That's what the Lord says to us when we're in that place of discouragement and depression. The Lord lovingly comes alongside you and says, "Let's go. Don't be afraid. Don't be dismayed. Don't be disillusioned. Don't be fearful. Let's go."

The Lord says to Joshua, "Take all of the people of war." His spies and counselors suggested that for the city of Ai, which is really small, he would only need two to three thousand people to go up there. However, the Lord comes back and says, "Take the entire army. Take all of the men of war with you. Arise and go up."

To Ai, I have given it into your hand. The Lord gives him encouragement, instruction, and a promise. The Lord comes and says, "Fear not. Don't be dismayed." He encourages him. Then the Lord gives instruction and says, "Now get the whole army and go up to Ai." He commands him to do so, saying, "See, I have given the whole land into your hand. The king of Ai, all his people, his city, and all the land—it's yours."

However, if Joshua had said, "No, I'm not going to do that," then the promise would not have been fulfilled. If he didn't receive the encouragement and the instruction that the Lord was giving him, then the promise would not have been appropriated and taken into his life. Many times in Scripture, we have promises given to us. In fact, there are various numbers out there; some people say there are 5,000 promises in Scripture from God to man, while others claim 6,000 or 7,000. I don't know the exact number, but I do know there are a lot of promises in the Bible.

Yet, with many of them, there is an instruction right before or after the promise. Do you want the Lord to guide your steps? How many of you would like the Lord to guide your steps? The Bible says, "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path." You may say, "I want the promise. I want God to direct my path," but are you willing to trust in Him completely and lean upon Him, rather than on your own understanding?

You see, the promise of Him directing your path comes only as you and I put ourselves completely upon Him. "Lord, I give up everything else." How many of you would like to have the desires of your heart fulfilled? Oh, absolutely! Come on, raise your hands. Don't lie. The Bible says in Psalm 37, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart."

You see, you desire God to fulfill that promise. I love that promise in Psalm 37:4, Lord, that You're going to give me the desires of my heart. Yet God says, "Yes, but you need to delight yourself in Me." That means you need to give everything over to Him, that He is all that you're seeking after. In the midst of that, the Lord looks down into my heart and yours, and He sees that tiny desire, and He says, "I want to fulfill that." Because that desire is His desire for you.

If you go through Scripture and look at all the different promises, underline those promises, but right next to them, take note of what the Lord is saying. In Deuteronomy,

Much of the law in Deuteronomy states that the Lord offers a blessing if you obey and a curse if you do not. Moses told the children of Israel, right around Deuteronomy chapter 30, "I set before you this day life or death, blessing or cursing; choose life that you might live." Now, every single one of us in this room desires to live, I believe. We desire to have that life more abundantly that is spoken of in John chapter 10. The Lord would say it's a choice. Are you going to choose to follow Me? Because there is where blessing is, and there is where life is found. Jesus said in John chapter 14, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." If you want life, it's found in Christ. That life more abundantly is only found in Him.

As Paul told the church at Colossae, in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. All the fullness—everything that you and I could ever desire or need—is found in Christ. It is a choice whether or not we will stand in Christ. The book of Ephesians so eloquently puts it: over and over again, the Lord says to be in Him, in Christ. Stand, being rooted and grounded in love. He is love. To be rooted and grounded in love is to be rooted and grounded in Him.

The Lord comes to Joshua when he is down, when the nation is bummed out, and He says, "Fear not, don't be dismayed." He encourages them, but then He instructs them to take the entire army and go up to Ai because He has given it into their hands. If Joshua had said no and stayed right where he was, the promise would not have been fulfilled. If I harden my heart and say, "I'm not going to do what You called me to do, Lord," then the promise will not be fulfilled in my life either. Does that mean I'm not saved? No. But it does mean that I am not living the abundant life here and now.

You see, this is eternal life: that you might know Him, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He sent (John 17:3). Eternal life began the second you said, "Lord, I desire to follow You." Is it abundant? I pray that you are living the most abundant life of anybody in the world. But know for sure, it's not found in riches, it's not found in pleasure, and it's not found in any other thing except for Christ. In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

So the Lord says, "Go up, take this place; I have given it into your hand." The king, the people, the land—everything. And you shall do, as verse 2 states, unto Ai.

And her king, as you did unto Jericho and her king. Only the spoil thereof and the cattle thereof shall you take as prey unto yourself. Lay thee in ambush for the city behind it.

And so the Lord says, this is what you're to do. You're to go up and lay in ambush on this city of Ai because I've given it into your hands. Everything that you take—all the spoil, all the cattle, all the gold, all the riches—yours; you guys get to take it.

Now remember back at Jericho, God said you're not to touch any of it. It's to be devoted unto the Lord completely. That was their tithe. The first fruits were given unto the Lord. Notice what happened to Achan when he held on to the first fruits that were God's. There's no blessing in that.

If you look around and see other people, you might think that person just seems to be blessed beyond belief, and I'm not. Maybe it's because you're holding back the first fruits of the Lord. Now, that's not only your 10% of your income; that's also the tithe of your life, your time, and who you are.

Tithing the first 10% of your income to the Lord is scriptural and needed. But what about your life? There are a lot of people in the world who figure, well, I gave my tithe. I gave my money. Now you guys do all the work. Yet the Lord God says, I want you. Not just your money; I want you.

It's very easy for us to become very religious and think, well, I signed the check. Here you go. You got my 10%. Now don't call me. Don't do anything. I don't want to serve at that Easter thing. I'll show up; I'll give my 10%. But I don't want to do anything. Don't give me a call in the middle of the week. Wednesday, maybe. Sunday, okay.

The Lord calls us to give of our lives. When we withhold that, we won't live in the sheer abundance that God has given to us. I know from experience because there are times when I hold back and I don't experience the blessing that the Lord has for me. It breaks my heart when I realize that, Lord, you had given me an opportunity to serve you and to receive a blessing from you, and I withheld my hand. I didn't want to do it.

Jericho was a tithe to the Lord, the first fruits of the land of Canaan, given unto God. But now Ai, God says, you guys can have.

It’s for you. Go up and take it. Lay an ambush to the city. Lay an ambush to the city behind it. And so Joshua, verse 3, arose. God said, “Joshua, arise. Go up to Ai.” What did he do? Immediate obedience. Joshua arose, and all the people of war went up against Ai. Joshua chose out 30,000 mighty men of valor and sent them away by night. He commanded them, saying, “Behold, you shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city. Go not very far from the city, but be you all ready.”

So Joshua says, “Let’s go. The Lord has spoken. He’s given us what we’re to do. He’s given us our marching orders. Let’s go.” He chose out 30,000 foot soldiers, 30,000 men, and they went up by night to lay siege to this city. They set up an ambush, and some of these soldiers went behind the city.

But notice what Joshua did. He arose, he chose some men, and he sent them. What did he command them? “Be ready.” Our Joshua, Jesus, has commanded us very much the same thing. He arose. He rose from the dead. He chose you and me to follow Him. He’s given us commandments and sent us out into the world, as Matthew chapter 28, verse 19 says. God has sent us. He’s commissioned us, and He’s told us to be ready. Be on watch because He’s coming in an hour that you know not.

You see, this Joshua is a picture of our Jesus. Notice what He did: He arose, He chose, He commanded, and He sent. He said, “Be ready.” That’s what the Lord has done with you and me as well. He rose from the dead, He chose us, He sent us, and He’s given us commands and commissions. But He says, “Be ready. Be watchful, for the day comes in an hour that you know not.”

The Lord is coming. We don’t know when, but the Bible does tell us that we’ll know the times and the seasons. From what we see scripturally and what we observe in our world, we believe that the time is soon. But so did Peter, 2,000 years ago. Until He comes, we’re to be ready and do what He’s called us to do. What has God called you to do? It’s only found in the Word of God. See, God’s will is...

Written for you and me, I know that in youth ministry, one of the big questions I heard from kids was, "What's God's will for my life?" It's found right here in the Word. As you begin to read the Word and put it into your life and practice, God begins to show you His specific will. He may say, "I want you to go be a missionary here," or "I want you to go talk with that person," or "I want you to be a counselor at camp." Some of you might think, "Gosh, I'd rather be a missionary to Africa than a counselor at a kid's camp."

In fact, I can say this because he's my good friend, but I remember Eric when we first went to camp. He was kind of scared to death. Recently, he had the opportunity to take Dave Todd with him to camp, and he got to see Dave Todd in the very same position, scared to death, asking, "What am I supposed to do? I don't know. Let's go. Let's serve."

But see, the Lord is calling every single one of us to follow and serve Him. In what capacity? I don't know. God knows, and He'll reveal it to you as you serve Him and follow Him. But Joshua, our Jesus, has chosen you. He has commissioned you. He has sent you, and He says, "Be ready." Be ready for what? Not just when He comes back, but be ready for whatever the Lord would say for you to do. If He calls out to you like He did with Dave, saying, "Dave, I want you to go over to Minsk with Richard," or maybe He would call out to you like He has to Gabby and Chris, saying, "I want you ladies to go over to Scotland."

You could be like many who say, "Well, I've got a great job." Let me tell you about Chris Blake; she's got a good job as a teacher and has been a teacher for a long time. She could say, "Lord, I have a great job. Why should I leave that?" Yet the Lord would say, "Come on, let's go. There are so many other things to be done." So the Lord would say, "Be ready. All of you, be ready."

In verse 5, Joshua says, "I and all the people that are with me will approach unto the city, and it shall come to pass when they come out against us as at the first time that we will flee before them." Remember when Joshua sent the men up to Ai back in chapter 7? They went to fight against Ai, and the men of Ai came out and started to beat the children of Israel. They turned and ran. Joshua says, "We're going to go up against the city, and when they come out to us, we're going to turn and run away." Notice his confidence in verse 6. He says, "For they will come out after us." Joshua knew that these men were not men of God; they were prideful Canaanites.

As soon as they saw the children of Israel, this great army that everybody was so afraid of running, Joshua knew they were going to come and chase them down. They would run after them, surely coming out after them until they had drawn them out of the city. For they will say, "They flee before us as at the first time. Therefore, we will flee before them."

Joshua was telling this group of guys who were going to be in ambush, behind the city, ready. He said, "Don't worry about it. When we turn and run away, don't be afraid like, 'Oh no, they're being beaten.' This is what we're going to do. We're going to run away from them to bring them out of the city so that when they're out of the city, you can go in."

So, they were to flee before them, and then they would rise up, as stated in verse 7, to ambush and seize upon the city, for the Lord your God delivers it into your hand. It shall be when you have taken the city that you shall set the city on fire, according to the commandment of the Lord. See, I have commanded you.

Joshua was a good leader because he commanded exactly what God commanded. God would tell Joshua, and Joshua would tell the people. That's what a priest is all about, and that is what a good leader is. If you're following anybody and they're not telling you what the Lord has to say, then they're not leading you in the right direction.

We can follow all kinds of vain things. Jesus even said that in the last days, many will come saying that they are the Christ, and there will be many who go after them. But if those teachers, if those people who are teaching you, if you ever go to a different church and they don't teach the Word of God and they're not telling you what God has said, you better not stay there. Don't stick around.

And if ever, and I don't think it will ever happen, but if ever this church comes to a point where you're not being given the Word of God, then leave and shake the dust from your feet. Pray for us that we turn.

Joshua was a good leader because God commanded him, and he commanded them. He said, "This is what God has said. You're to go into the city as soon as all the people flee out of it coming after us. You go in and you set the city on fire."

You know what? That's God's desire for Escondido—that we would go in and set the city on fire. It's prime; it's ready for our taking. What exactly does that mean? You may think, "Well, as you're lit on fire for Jesus and you begin to walk through the rest of this world, you'll set it on fire too."

And so, it's my prayer.

That you and I would be like those foxes. Remember in the Book of Judges when Samson took the fox? He took two foxes, tied their tails together, and put a torch in between them. They ran through all the fields of the Philistines and set it all on fire. You know what? That's exactly what the Lord would like to use us for. He would just set our lives ablaze with His fire, and we would go in and out through this city, and this place would just be set on fire. The smoke of it would rise up to the Lord.

So Joshua says, "You go in there and you shall set the city on fire." That's what God is calling us to as well. This place, San Diego County, would be just lit on fire for the Lord. But it only happens as it starts in your heart and in mine first. It's not just going to happen all of a sudden with fire from heaven. The Lord wants to set the fire in my heart and in yours first, and He's breathing upon those coals so that it will become white hot. Then He says, "Just go, walk through it." As you do, that fire spreads.

We live in a place where every year we have horrible brush fires, and you have seen on TV how quickly those fires spread. I remember several years ago when we had that Harmony Grove fire. My grandparents lived over in La Costa at the time. After school, I drove over to the edge of Harmony Grove and was watching the fire. When I was in high school, I really wanted to be a pyrotechnician. I wanted to blow stuff up, so I liked fire; I'll admit it. I don't think I know any guy who doesn't.

I went over there and was watching it, thinking, "Wow, cool." A few hours later, we got a call from my grandparents saying, "Hey, they're evacuating us; come help us get out of here." My mom and I looked at each other, wondering how the fire could be in La Costa when it was way over here. The Lord, it just travels so fast. When you're on fire for Jesus, that fire spreads so quickly to others. That's why I love hanging around with people who are just totally on fire.

I enjoy being with guys like Russ Romo or the Kents Heckles of the world. Some of you may not remember Kent Heckle, but he was always praising the Lord. He was on fire for Jesus, and it was an awesome thing to stand next to a person who's on fire because, you know what? It spreads. I love to hang around with new believers and anyone who's just on fire for the Lord.

I'll be honest; there are times when the coals in my heart die down and get really low. I have to call out to the Lord, "Please breathe upon me that new fire. That holy fire, Lord." And so Joshua told these men...

He said, "You'll ambush the city and set it on fire." Joshua, therefore, sent them forth, and they went to lie in ambush. He abode between Bethel and Ai on the west side of Ai. But Joshua lodged that night among the people.

Joshua rose up early in the morning and numbered the people. He went up, along with the elders of Israel, before the people of Ai. All the people, even the men of war that were with him, went up. They drew near and came before the city, pitching on the north side of Ai. There was a valley between them and Ai. He took about 5,000 men and set them to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ai on the west side of the city.

When they had set the people, even all the host that was on the north of the city and their layers in wait on the west side, Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley that was before them and Ai. It came to pass that the king of Ai saw it. They hastened and rose up early in the morning. The men of the city went out against Israel to battle, and he and all his people appointed themselves before the plain. However, he did not know that there were layers in wait and ambush against him behind the city.

Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them and fled by the way of the wilderness. All the people that were in Ai were called together to pursue after them. Joshua set up three groups. He placed one group on the backside of the city while he positioned another group of 3,000 people between Bethel and Ai. There was another city called Bethel, so if the men of Bethel tried to come up, they would get attacked as well.

Joshua and a group of people went down into the valley. The king of Ai saw this and gathered all his people to go after them. Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten and ran away into the wilderness. The people in Ai called together and pursued after them. Every single man in Ai jumped to it and ran out to go after them.

They thought, "All right, we have them on the run again. Let's go, let's get them. One last time, we'll take them out this time. There will be no more trouble from these Israelites." They had heard so many horrible things about them, how they struck the Egyptians, how they got rid of the Amorite kings in the wilderness, and how they crossed through the Red Sea and the Jordan River. They were the smallest city in Israel, and they believed they had the Israelites on the run a second time. They were arrogant and prideful.

They presumed that they had it going on, so they ran after Israel. The Lord used the weakness of these people to cause them to fall. They pursued and ran after them. In verse 17, it states that there was not a man left in Ai or Bethel. They all came out after him, except for those who did not pursue Israel. They left the city open and continued their chase after Israel.

The Lord said unto Joshua, "Stretch out your spear that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into thine hand." Joshua stretched out the spear that he had in his hand toward the city. Now, the thing I want you to notice here in verse 18 is how he was yielded to God. The Lord commanded him to stretch out his spear, which was his weapon in war, and he completely yielded it to the Lord. God said to stretch it out, and he did so.

I have to question myself: Am I yielded to the Lord like that? When the Lord says, "Miles, I want you to do this," do I respond, "All right, Lord, let's go. I'll do it"? Joshua was running, and all these people were running after him. Then the Lord said, "All right, now stop and stretch out the spear. Hold it up." That was the sign to the rest of the people in ambush.

It says in verse 19 that the ambush arose quickly out of their place and ran. As soon as Joshua had stretched out his hand, they entered into the city, took it, hastened, and set the city on fire. When the men of Ai looked behind them and saw the smoke of the city ascending up into heaven, they had no power to flee this way or that. The people who fled into the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers.

When Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned again and slew the men of Ai. The other men who were inside the city issued out against them. Thus, the men of Ai were in the midst of Israel, some on one side and some on the other. They smote them so that none remained or escaped.

The men of Ai were trapped between the city and the army that was with Joshua, along with the rest of the people who came and ambushed the city. They didn't know where to go, and they were slain without any escape. Some of you might wonder how it is possible that a loving God would allow His people to slay.

All these people and kill them all? You see, for over 400 years, God had given the people, the men and women of Canaan, chance after chance after chance to repent of their sin and turn to Him. It had finally come to pass, and it had finally come to the point where they had hardened their hearts so much that the Lord said, "You need to be removed. You're full of sin, you refuse to repent, and you're out of here."

The Lord is so long-suffering, so patient, so generous, and so kind. He gives us so much time to repent, and yet these people in the land of Canaan hardened their hearts. Now the Lord was using Israel, the nation of Israel, as His tool to rid the earth of these people, the people of Canaan. You may ask, how can our God allow this? Well, God is so loving that He didn't want that sin to spread to the rest of the world. So He cut it off.

It's just like a tumor. You might think, "I don't want to get rid of this little thing," but it's killing you. If you don't cut it off, you'll die. Or consider gangrene. You might say, "But I like my foot." Yes, but if you don't cut it off, it's going to kill you. The Lord looked at these men of Canaan and said, "If we don't cut this off, it's going to kill everybody else. It'll spread." Because He is loving, the Lord did this.

And because the Lord is loving, He allows us to go through pain so that we can get rid of that junk, the sin that so easily ensnares us, the sin that will kill us. They didn't allow anyone to escape; they killed all the men of Ai. In verse 23, the king of Ai was taken alive and brought to Joshua. It came to pass when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field and in the wilderness where they chased them. When they had all fallen by the edge of the sword until they were consumed, all the Israelites returned to Ai and smote it with the edge of the sword.

It was that day that all who fell, both men and women, were about 12,000, even all the men of Ai. Joshua did not draw back his hand with which he stretched out the spear until he had utterly destroyed the inhabitants of Ai. And you know what? I thank God and I praise God that our Joshua, Jesus, did not pull His hand back until He had completely destroyed the enemy of death. Joshua, on that day, did not take his hand back; he did not withhold it or draw it back until all of this cancer was destroyed, until it was taken out.

Only the cattle and the spoil of the city, Israel took for a prey unto themselves according to the word of the Lord, which God had commanded Joshua. The children of Israel slew all the men and women of Ai and took the goods, the possessions for themselves, as God had said they could.

Think of Achan, who, if he had only waited for just a couple of days, would have received all that he had wanted. Yet he didn't. Because of it, it was his downfall and his death, as he laid hold of that which wasn't his. I can think of many people who have laid hold of something too quickly. Yes, God desired for them to have it, but not yet. I can think of many people, maybe even in this room, whom the Lord had appointed to be married, but they couldn't wait. They wouldn't wait for His timing, and because of it, they bear the scars today. They have suffered because of it.

The Lord desires that we would wait for His perfect timing. But Achan wouldn't do that. If he had just waited another week or a few days, he would have received all the blessings he desired so very much. Yet he couldn't because his flesh was too strong. If we allow our flesh to be unbridled and too strong, it will leave a path of destruction in our lives and in the lives of others.

After they went to Ai, they received the entire spoil thereof. God gave it to them. Joshua burned Ai and made it a heap forever, even a desolation unto this day. The king of Ai was hanged on a tree until evening. As soon as the sun went down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcass down from the tree and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city. They raised thereupon a great heap of stones that remains there unto this day during the time that this book was written.

They hung the king of Ai, took his body down, and cast it at the entering of the gate, heaping upon him a big heap of stones. Remember just a couple of weeks ago, we looked at another heap of stones that they heaped upon Achan because of his sin. It was a memorial of their defeat, but now they raise up a memorial of their victory. After great defeats, oftentimes come great victories. But the same is true in the opposite as well. After great victories...

We're so susceptible and open to great defeat because we start to think, "I can stand and I've got it going on. Am I ready?" They rose up a big heap of stones atop Achan as a memorial of their defeat, but now they raise up this heap of stones atop the king of Ai as a memorial of their great victory.

In your life and in mine, there are going to be many heaps of stones. But what do those heaps of stones represent? Do they represent those times that we fell down and didn't get back up? Or are the heaps of stones memorials of God's great victories that He has brought about in my life or in yours? As you look back over your life from the day that you die to the day that you stand before the Lord, you're just going to see mounds of rocks all over the place. But what is the memorial of? You know, and God knows. It can be a great defeat or it can be a great victory.

Notice here that obedience was the key to success for the nation of Israel. Back in Joshua, chapter 1, the Lord told Joshua that if he followed the word of the Lord, if he followed and meditated upon it day and night, then he would make his way successful and have great success. He would be prosperous. When you and I take heed to the word of the Lord and seek to obey Him, yes, we will fall. Yes, we will fail. We will mess up. But we are seeking to follow Him and obey Him. It is at that point in time that we see the greatest success in our lives—not success monetarily, but spiritually, where the Lord pours out upon us.

They took down the king of Ai's body and heaped up a big mound of stones on top of him. They took this city that they thought was small and no big deal, believing they would be able to take it without any problem. Yet, it caused a defeat. However, when they obediently stepped up, followed the Lord, and listened to Him, asking, "Lord, what's Your plan?" God said, "All right, this is what you're to do." They took it.

The Lord is speaking to us, saying, "This is what you're to do. I want you to do this. Cut this off." As we looked at several weeks ago when we examined the fall of Jericho, what was right before them was what they took care of. The walls fell, and every man went straight before him into Jericho. Tonight, the Lord is saying...

What is right in front of you? Maybe you're bummed out because you fell. Perhaps you fell down. The Lord says, "Get up, ride in the race." You're discouraged, and yet the Lord looks at you and says, "Let's go."

But maybe tonight you're standing on the brink of a fall because you've said, "I've got it. Thanks, Lord. I'll take control from now on." The Lord would say, "Learn from these examples in Scripture. Take heed when you think you stand, lest you fall." May those things in our lives, those memorials, be stones of witness unto the Lord, that, Lord, great victories you've brought about. Thank you, and not a great defeat where we fell down.

Let's pray. God, I thank you for your Word. Lord, I praise you that you've given this to us so that we could know you. I ask that you would help us to receive this instruction tonight, the encouragement that you've given to us, and the instruction just as Joshua was given by you. Lord, you've given us great promises in your Word. Help us to follow you in the things that you've called us to. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.