I Have Now Come Lives Service | Sunday, April 2, 2023

Now the children of Israel camped at Gilgal... and they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight in the plains of Jericho. And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day. Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land... And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, "Are You for us or for our adversaries?" So He said, "No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." (Joshua 5:10–14)

When God leads you into the unworkable, He is not your good-luck charm—He is the Commander calling you to humble worship and persistent prayer.

A Mountainside in Saudi Arabia and the Unworkable Situation

Two Sundays ago, right about the time you were getting up in the morning, I was on the side of a mountain in Saudi Arabia called Jebel al-Lawz. You may be wondering what I was doing there—and I can assure you there were more than a few times I asked myself the same question as I hung onto the side of a mountain with no clear path. I was there with my friends Pastor David Guzik, Pastor Lance Ralston, and Pastor Chuck Musselwhite, all part of the board of Enduring Word Ministries.

The full answer to why I was there is a bigger story I'll share in the coming weeks and months. But the short answer, applicable to this Palm Sunday morning, is this: I found myself several times in what seemed to be an unworkable situation. Have you ever been in one of those moments where you ask, "What on earth am I doing here?"

The larger lesson I want us to consider is this: God often works us into the unworkable to work into us greater dependence and trust. If you've been a Christian for any length of time, you have seen this. There are situations that seem unworkable, and when you look back, you realize God actually led you there to teach you a lesson about dependence and trust in Him.

These unworkable circumstances often involve the people we know, the places we go, the possessions we have, or the positions we hold. They are the very places where God wants to teach us a great lesson—where we will call out to Him and see that He is faithful and good and answers our cry.

Israel's History of the Unworkable

This was true with the children of Israel. Immediately after they left Egypt, they found themselves in a totally unworkable situation by their own strength. They were trapped—the Red Sea in front of them, mountains on either side, Pi Hahiroth on one side and Migdol on the other, and the pursuing Egyptian army behind them. Yet when they cried out, God parted the Red Sea and they crossed over on dry ground.

That wasn't the only one. Soon after they lacked water, and God provided it miraculously. They lacked food, and God provided manna for forty years. In fact, you saw last week in Joshua 5 that the final meal of manna was given after they entered the Promised Land. For forty years God provided food and the ability to overcome their enemies.

These are the bigger stories of God working in unworkable situations. Many times that growth won't happen unless we are at the end of our rope, without the ability or strength to figure things out. It is when we call out to God that—point number two—God shows up in manifold and sometimes mysterious ways to fix the fixes we find ourselves in.

Sometimes God allows us to be in a fix to fix us. We try to fix the fix we're in, so He puts us in another fix to fix the fix we were in, so that He can ultimately do the fix He wants to do in us. You can deconstruct that later, but God is constantly leading us to a place of greater dependence and trust upon Him. Follow the stories of Abraham, David, and the children of Israel—it is in the moments of full stop, where there is nothing they can do, that God acts.

These Things Actually Happened

A big part of the reason I went on this trip, which hit me with full force at about 7,500 feet up that mountain, was to be reminded—and to remind you—that these things actually happened. Jebel al-Lawz is the most likely site of what the Bible calls Mount Sinai. The archaeological evidence aligns with this being the place where God met the children of Israel, with an altar site in the valley where the tabernacle probably stood.

We went to the site believed to be the Red Sea crossing in the Gulf of Aqaba. We went to the Split Rock, believed to be where Moses struck the rock and water came out in the desert. I saw it with my own eyes, and I was reminded: this is not just a story—this is history. The places, people, and situations actually happened.

That is such a good thing for us to remember, because it is guaranteed that in 2023 you will hit some impasses, some impossible situations. Maybe you already have. It is in those places that God wants to reveal the greatness of His power. I was reminded again that God makes good on His promises, that He is faithful and good. And I was reminded that God finds great joy in seeing us experience the fullness of His blessing. As parents, we love to see our children's joy increase—and our Father in heaven loves to do the very same thing.

Joshua Standing in the Plains of Jericho

Forty years after their exit from Egypt, Israel has finally come into the Promised Land. Pastor Garrett shared about them crossing the Jordan at flood stage on dry ground, taking up stones as a memorial. Pastor Jason shared last week about Gilgal, their place of recommitment, where they partook of the Passover, the manna ceased, and they tasted the fruit of the land for the first time. After all the twists and turns of the wilderness, Israel is in.

And you get this sense of "Okay—now what?" Look at Joshua 5:13: "And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho." The night before they left Egypt, the Passover was instituted. This week is the week of Passover; we didn't plan it that way, but God providentially brings us to these points in time. Now they've partaken of the Passover again and are in the land, and the day after, Joshua stands in the plains of Jericho.

From 1 Kings 6:1 we can actually pinpoint this in history: May 1st, 1406 BC—3,428 years ago—Joshua stood in the plains of Jericho. That is one of the awesome things we realize when we study the Scriptures.

An Unworkable Situation for the Leader

Why is Joshua there? He is the leader of this mass of people, and he must answer the question, "Now what?" Behind him are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, all looking to him. Before him is Jericho, the first of many fortified cities. You can visit the ruins today, just eight miles north of the Dead Sea at the lowest point on earth. Excavated at least three times in the last 110 years, the evidence confirms the biblical account perfectly—a great walled stronghold in the valley.

Put yourself in Joshua's sandals. He has no well-trained army, no armor or arms, no chariots, and they've never besieged a city. He has seen a few battles—he led Israel against the Amalekites forty years before—but here he stands before this great walled city, in an unworkable situation according to his own strength and strategy. And it is God who works us into the unworkable so that He might increase our trust and dependence upon Him.

"Are You for Us or for Our Adversaries?"

Joshua lifted his eyes and saw a Man standing opposite him with a sword drawn—that might be a problem. I love Joshua's tenacity: he went right up to Him and asked, "Are You for us or for our adversaries?" You're on enemy territory, you see a man in battle array with a sword, and Joshua simply walks up and asks, "Are You on our team or theirs?"

What does Joshua need at this moment? He needs people who know how to fight. So he's essentially asking, "Can I rely on You to be on our team, or do I have to fight You right now?" Look at the answer in verse 14: "No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come."

Two questions, one simple answer: "No." Neither. It's short, but it says so much: I am not part of your army, your battle plan, or your strategy.

God Is Not a Pawn in Your Game

Point number three: Beware of using God as a piece of your puzzle or a pawn in your game. Israel tried this. In 1 Samuel 4, when the Philistines came against them, they brought the Ark of the Covenant into battle like a good-luck charm—and they got spanked. It's as if God said, "I am not a toy to be trifled with. I am not your rabbit's foot. I am not just a part of your plan."

God brings us to unworkable situations so that our dependence and trust will increase, so that we will call out to Him. He does not want to be slotted in as point seventeen of our strategy—"maybe we should pray." That's not how this works.

A Christophany Before the Battle

If you've read carefully, you'll notice this Man's pronouns are capitalized. In the original Hebrew there is no such indication; the translators added it on purpose as a theological note. They are telling us there is something special about this individual. This is a theophany—more specifically a christophany—a visible manifestation of the invisible God. It is Jesus showing up before His Incarnation.

The Incarnation, when God became a man in Bethlehem, came some 1,400 years later. But Jesus is eternal; He pre-existed the Incarnation. There are various times in the Old Testament where He appears: the Angel of the LORD who met Hagar in Genesis 16; the third visitor with Abraham in Genesis 18; the one whose name is Wonderful who appeared to Gideon's parents. Jesus shows up at key moments in the lives of great men and women—and in our lives as well. When does He show up? In unworkable situations, when we have no hope in ourselves and finally call out to Him.

Humble Worship and Open Submission

So what do you do facing a huge walled city, in enemy territory, with no army, no arms, no plan? Joshua did the right thing. Verse 14: he "fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, 'What does my Lord say to His servant?'"

Point number four: The proper position in the presence of Christ is the place of humble worship and open submission. Joshua was the earthly leader of Israel, but he recognized his proper place. He bows in worship and asks, "What are Your marching orders for me? You are Lord; I am servant."

If you want to see God work mightily in your life, you must come to the point where you humbly worship and submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ. More than a few of us have done a not-so-great job of mapping out our own plans—maybe it's time to reframe it and ask, "What do You want me to do?"

Verse 15: "Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy." And Joshua did so. How do I know this is a christophany? Because Jesus is the image of the invisible God, and here He receives worship—and Joshua bows before Him.

The Walled Cities in Your Life

Let me bring this around for Palm Sunday. Have you ever been in an unworkable situation? Probably yes—and if not, you will be. It is there that God wants to increase your dependence and trust, where you humbly submit to His lordship and say, "What do You want me to do? I've fixed the fixes until I'm in a greater fix. You are the great Fixer."

Maybe you say, "Thank God, I'm not in a situation like that right now." Then let me remind you of a walled city in your life you may have given up on—a brother, a dad, a mom, a spouse, a child who has hardened their heart and put up fortifications against you and the Lord. You've prayed, shared, taken evangelism and apologetics classes, and to this point they remain a walled city, and you've said, "I don't know what to do."

I am more convinced than ever that God still moves. Even in the last 24 hours, I've seen people who were antagonistic to the gospel begin to fall. A crude comedian named Andrew Schultz shared on his podcast that he went to church and was crying within the first three minutes because he's in an unworkable situation. A guy who publicly stood against God—God is doing a work in his life right now.

"See, I Have Given Jericho into Your Hand"

The Proverbs say an offended brother is harder to win than a walled city. You have some of those people, and you've kind of given up. But look at Joshua 6:1: "Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. And the LORD said to Joshua: 'See! I have given Jericho into your hand.'"

Wait—what? It's shut up, and God says it's yours. It doesn't look like it. But "See, I have given it into your hand." Then comes the plan: march around the city once a day for six days. Seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day, march around seven times, the priests blow the trumpets, the people shout—and the wall falls down flat.

We're going to do what? March around the city, and the walls will fall down. Point number five: God's mighty acts are seen by those whose eyes are set upon Him in prayer and worship.

Don't Stop Praying for Your Jericho

We won't reach the resolution of chapter six for a couple of weeks—we have Easter next week—but every one of us has come to unworkable situations. Maybe it has to do with a person you love and pray for who is a walled, fortified city. We give up hope because we have no plan, no strategy, no ability. I want to suggest that God wants to increase your dependence and trust upon Him.

I want to share a story I heard from Leighton Flowers at a conference, which aligns perfectly with this Jericho scenario. Your theology drives your prayer life—what you believe about God changes the way you pray. If you believe the prayer of a righteous man avails much, you pray as if prayer changes things, as if you are impacting the present reality of those around you, because it matters.

The story is of a youth pastor who, on a Promotion Sunday, introduced a prayer target—an archery target on which students placed map pins with the initials of lost loved ones, praying them from the outer ring toward the bullseye as they heard the gospel and came to Christ. A new sixth-grader named Chucky Poole was the first to raise his hand: "Will y'all please pray for my dad? He's an atheist."

His father was Dr. Charles Poole, the town atheist who owned the local bank and fought to remove the nativity scene from public grounds. The youth pastor confessed he thought, "Son, no prayer in the world is going to help that man." But week after week, year after year, Chucky asked the same thing: "Pray for my dad."

Years passed. Chucky was now an eleventh-grader. On a Sunday night when the youth choir was leading worship, Dr. Charles Poole walked in and sat on the back pew. During the invitation, as the choir sang "Just As I Am," the youth pastor saw it in Chucky's tear-filled eyes—his father was walking the aisle and kneeling to receive Christ. Chucky hurdled the choir-loft rail and ran down the aisle to embrace his dad, the whole church rejoicing.

Later that night, locking up alone, the youth pastor saw a figure in the hallway standing before that old prayer target. It was Chucky. He reached up, grabbed the yellowed map pin with his dad's initials, wrote in his father's full name, looked up and said, "God, thank You for saving my daddy," and pressed the pin firmly into the bullseye. As he walked away, he said, "Yes." The youth pastor fell on his face in his office and wept—because it took a seventh-grade boy to remind him of the power of prayer and that God still saves souls.

I share that because every time I tell it, people come up and say, "I'm still praying for my dad. I'm still praying for my wife, my husband, my son, my daughter." Don't stop praying. Don't stop persisting. Don't stop loving them. Sometimes it's not beating them over the head with the Bible—sometimes it's showing them the unconditional love of a Savior, getting on your knees and weeping for them. God wants them saved as much as you do. Jesus died for them. Don't give up hope. Keep praying.

Write the Name and Pray

Every single one of us has at least one person in our life who is like a walled city, a Jericho—and God moves mightily by prayer when we trust in and depend upon Him. Maybe you've given up hope because the city looks too big and you figure there's no way you can get to them.

We did this about five years ago. I wrote my father-in-law's and mother-in-law's names on this target, and about six months later they came to the church for the first time. They've both come to the Lord since then and watch us online. God moves mightily by prayer. So write down a name—maybe one, maybe five—and come place it on this target, that we can pray together, because God wants to move mightily in their lives, and He wants you to see that He moves mightily when we call out to Him in prayer.

Closing Prayer

Father God, we pray that You would do a work—maybe this week, maybe six months from now, maybe a year from now; we don't know, but You can move mightily and powerfully. Every single one of us knows one, if not ten people, whom we've been praying for and maybe even given up on. God, we pray that You would move mightily and break down walls. The Scriptures teach us that prayer is a powerful weapon that tears down strongholds, so God, would You tear down the strongholds of the enemy and the fortifications our loved ones have put up around their own hearts, and draw them to Yourself. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.