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Unleash Week 5: Who’s Side Are You On?

 

Joshua 5

13 When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua approached him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

14 “Neither,” he replied. “I have now come as commander of the Lord’s army.”

Then Joshua bowed with his face to the ground in homage and asked him, “What does my lord want to say to his servant?”

15 The commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did that.

 

Who’s Side are you on?

 

I’ll tell you who’s side we are on…

  • Our own side

I am on the side of things that get me…

  • What I want
  • Where I want
  • When I want

I’m on my side

  • If my side coincides with your side, then we are on the same side

 

This is a pretty popular question in our world

  • Sports
  • Politics

 

This is dangerous thinking because it naturally pits us against each other

  • Often over things that don’t really matter in the scope of eternity

 

Let’s look at our story from Joshua…

  • The people of Israel have crossed the Jordan River
  • Have set up camp on the edge of the Promised land
  • God has recently stopped providing mana (what is it)
  • They are now living off the new land

The walled city of Jericho now stands between then and the rest of the land

  • They are making battle preparations

 

One day near the city, Joshua sees a strange figure

  • A man dressed for battle with his sword drawn

This would mean only two things:

  • This person is about to fight for Joshua
  • Or fight against Joshua

 

Joshua is approx 80ish at this time

Joshua goes up to meet this guy

  • Joshua has no fear

 

Then asks him…

Who’s side are you on?

 

Now, before we go further, we need to know who this person is…

 

Who is this angel of the Lord?

We find an answer in Exodus

 

Exodus 23:20-21

20 “I am going to send an angel before you to protect you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. 21 Be attentive to him and listen to him. Do not defy him, because he will not forgive your acts of rebellion, for my name is in him.

 

This person is what has traditionally been called the “Pre-incarnate Christ

  • (Christ before He came in the flesh)

In the OT, there are recordings of Angels or messengers, but occasionally, someone called the “angel of the Lord”

  • The LOGOS. The literal WORD OF GOD

 

This person could:

  • Perform Miracles
  • Forgive Sins
  • See THE FATHER face to face
  • Command the Lord’s Army

 

Joshua Responds with two ways

  • Bowing in Worship
  • Taking of His shoes because it was a holy place

 

Because this person accepts worship, we can be sure it is a Pre-incarnate Jesus

Revelation 22:8-9

8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had shown them to me. 9 But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you, your brothers the prophets, and those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”

 

Angels refuse worship

  • But because this was Jesus before he took on flesh, he does because he is God

There are now 3 things that we can understand from this account

1: Jesus is and always has been worthy of worship

 

When you come to him, are you commanding or are you submitting?

 

John 1:14

14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son[i] from the Father, full of grace and truth.

 

John 8:12

12 Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”

 

2: Jesus Has Always Been Fighting For His People

 

He meets us where we are

  • He presents himself how we need to see him

 

Exodus 14:14

14 The Lord will fight for you, and you must be quiet.”

 

Deuteronomy 20:4

4 For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.’

 

Romans 8:31

31 What, then, are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

 

 

3: It’s Jesus or nothing

Joshua 5

13 When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua approached him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

14 “Neither,” he replied. “I have now come as commander of the Lord’s army.”

 

We can who’s side are you on to a lot of people, but you CANNOT with Jesus

  • He is not on your side or their side

 

He is on HIS SIDE

The side of HIS TRUTH

The Side of HIS GRACE

The Side of HIS PLAN

 

So many of us are coming to God just wanting a Co-Pilot

  • Someone to help you go on your own way
  • You still want to pilot the plan of your life

 

But when we encounter Jesus, we must make the decision to either:

  • Fight Against Him
  • Or Fight With Him

 

Satan would have you believe that you can ignore Him, and just do you

  • That is a lie…

 

Jesus must be reckoned with in the life of everyone
John 14:6

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

 

So instead of asking the questions, I want to ask you…

 

Who’s side are you on?

  • Are you on your own side?
  • Are you on the side of culture
  • On you on the side of Sin and destruction

 

Or are you on the side of Jesus

  • The Commander of the Lord’s Army
  • The Alpha and the Omega
  • The Begging and the end
  • The Prince of Peace
  • The King of Heaven
  • The Almighty one
  • The Author of Salvation
  • The Chief Cornerstone
  • The Firstborn over all Creation
  • The Hope of Glory
  • The King Eternal

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