“Battle Strategy” 1 – Joshua 7

The people are obedient. God blesses. Then what? Satan attacks, right? The people are obedient. God blesses. Satan attacks. It’s a cycle all through the Old Testament and into the New Testament and into our lives as individuals and as a church. We have seen it in the life of our church from day one and we have definitely seen it since we have started preparing for battle like we have the past few months. God wants us to be prepared for the battle we all have against Satan and his spiritual forces and since we as a church have made a conscious effort to do that, he has attacked and attacked in some ways none of us saw coming. He is very clever and very powerful. He has been doing this for thousands of years. He is more powerful than we are. He is smarter and stronger and will stop at nothing to kill us or at least tempt us to sin and there is nothing you can do to stop him…on your own.

Now, that is a bummer of a way to start a message, isn’t it? The good news, though, is that we can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us (Phil. 4:13). Greater is He that is in the us than He who is in the world (1 John 4:4). I’ve read the back of the book and we win. The war is won…but we still have to fight this battle.

While practicing auto-rotations during a military night training exercise, a Huey Cobra messes up and lands on its tail rotor. The landing is so hard it breaks off the tail boom. However, the chopper fortunately remains upright on its skids, sliding down the runway, doing 360s. As the Cobra slides past the tower, trailing a brilliant shower of sparks, this radio exchange takes place: Tower: "Sir, what assistance do you need?" Cobra: "I don't know, Tower, we ain't done crashin' yet." https://unijokes.com/military-jokes/6/

My dear family and fellow warriors, our battle is not over and in fact, it is probably going to get worse before it gets better. We ain't done crashin' yet. We have had successes and we have had failures but the hard part is yet to come in this life unless the Father sends the Son to rapture us all and that could very well happen at any moment. But until it does, we need to be ready to do battle against a slippery, scheming serpent who wants nothing more than to kill you and this church dead. We have come a long way in preparing for this battle, haven’t we? We went through Boot Camp, Combat Training and Specialty School and in our last part of preparation, we are going to Battle Strategy Training. Here we will see some of the ways our enemy has attacked in the past so we can be prepared for similar attacks in the future. In the great military strategy book by Sun Tzu entitled “The Art of War” he says the first thing to do is to know your enemy. It’s why football teams study films of their opponents and why countries spy on other countries. Battle Strategy Training will help us to know our enemy, Satan, and how he works.

We are doing all that we can do and should do to prepare for this battle but if our great General, Jesus, was to bodily come to our church and inspect the troops as generals sometimes do, I think He would have just a few words of encouragement for us before we go out. I believe Jesus would encourage us with just three words. He would simply say, “I got this.” Do you know why I say that? Because God tells us all through scripture that very thing (although in better grammar). In 2 Chronicles 20 it says, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's.” No that is not written to us specifically, but we can see a pattern if we keep reading. Zechariah 4 says, “Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” In 1 Samuel 17, a young punk kid looks up at a giant warrior from Gath and says, “And that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.” Again in 2 Chronicles, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.”

On a pretty big day in the history of the Hebrews, we read this: “And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” I don’t want to stop. I could read these all day long: “The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name.” That’s Exodus 15:3. How about a New Testament verse? 2 Corinthians 10:4 says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.” (That’s a good one for Freedom Force, Debi.) Alright, and the big kahuna of all scripture showing what we have to do in this battle is John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Whoever believes. That’s all you have to do. Be still and know that He is God. He is fighting this battle for you from the position of a King who has already won the war.

Our text for the day is in Joshua chapter 7 but if you were to go to Joshua 4, you would see the Hebrews crossing the flooded Jordan River into the Promised Land. God provided a way where there was no way and they walked over on dry ground and all they had to do was walk through and believe. Then in chapter six there is the craziest story about their first real battle at a place called Jericho. Do you remember what happened? God provided a way and all they had to do was walk around and blow some horns, right? Easy peasy! Then in chapter seven we see their next enemy to defeat is a little farming community called Ai. Ai was set high up on a plateau but there were only a couple of thousand people and the Hebrews were in the millions and so the spies who had checked them out advised Joshua to just send a few thousand men and they shouldn’t have any problem. So that’s what they did,

Don’t you know those Israeli soldiers left camp smiling and strutting? They were so confident. They couldn’t lose. They had God on their side. “Honey, I’ll be home in a little while. Just gotta go kill a few pesky Ai’ers. No big deal. NBD. Lol. #GodsGotThis.” Right? Let’s read Joshua 7:4-5 to see what happened. “So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, 5who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.”

Now, imagine being in Joshua’s place. He had some big shoes to fill when Moses died and the people didn’t really know if they could trust him to lead their country like they did with Moses. But the trip across the Jordan and the Battle of Jericho had given them the assurance that Joshua was God’s man for the job. Now this. What could have happened? Well, God tells them what happened in verse 11. Again, just three words. God says, “Israel has sinned.” Israel has sinned. Wow! This must be some sin, huh? This must be something really big and bad and nasty.  Probably worshipping another golden calf or something, I bet. Probably has something to do with homosexuality or abortion or corruption in government, don’t you think? Let’s keep reading and find out. Verse 11 again. “Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.”

If you went back to Joshua 6:18-19 the Lord tells them what to do when they take these cities. “But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it. 19All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the LORD and must go into his treasury." So, here is the story in a nutshell. It’s a lot of verses to read so I’ll give you the Readers Digest version. When they destroyed the city of Jericho, they killed everybody; men, women, kids, sheep, goats, cows, lions and tigers and bears, oh my, except Rahab the prostitute but you know that story. That’s what they were supposed to do. The problem was, one guy by the name of Achan took some of the stuff for himself and buried it in the dirt under his tent. Nobody will ever know, right?

When I was a kid, we lived in Joshua, Texas and the family across the street from us had a swimming pool. We loved to swim in that pool but I was too young to swim there if no adult was around. They had a son about my age that I hung out with a lot and one hot summer day, he said we should go swimming. He knew neither one of us was supposed to swim without an adult but we came up with a plan.  I would wear one of his swimsuits and when we were done we would just dry our hair with a hair dryer and put the suits in the dryer. Nobody will ever know. It was genius. So, we did just that. We swam and had a good time. No problem. Dried the suits and the hair and I went home. I promise this is the truth. I’m not in the door of our house good and my mom asks, “Have you been swimming over at Jon’s house?”

Don’t you hate that feeling when you know you’re busted? I tried to lie about it but not for long. I knew she knew. I found out later that the only way she knew was because it was the only time I had come in from playing and was clean. I was clean on the outside but not the inside. 2 Chronicles 16 says that the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth. Mama’s eyes aren’t far behind either. But the Lord saw what Achan had done and the whole nation of Israel was punished for it. God said, “Israel has sinned.” He didn’t say “Achan has sinned.” Have you ever noticed that, as it says in Numbers 32, your sins will find you out and that when they do, your sins affect not just you, but the people you love the most?

Let’s continue reading a little bit more in Joshua 7, starting with verse 19. Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me." 20Achan replied, "It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath." 22So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. 23They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the LORD. 24Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. 25Joshua said, "Why have you brought this trouble on us? The LORD will bring trouble on you today." Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. 26Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his fierce anger. Therefore, that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.

Anybody else read that and think, “Wow. That’s harsh”? They didn’t just kill Achan. They killed, on authority from God, Achan and his whole family and even his animals and then burned them with all their stuff. Now, one of the commentaries I read on this made a big to-do about coveting being the sin Achan had committed and that God judges coveting very harshly. I think they get that because you know how that commandment reads. In Exodus chapter 20, verse 17 God says, “Thou shalt not covet because I really, really dislike it when you covet.”  Right? Isn’t that how it reads? No. God hates all sin and He’s not going to put up with it. He hated it back then and He still hates it today. Yes, coveting leads to all kinds of other sins. It is the basis of theft, lying, idolatry, hatred and more and sometimes the consequences of coveting are worse than other sins but in regard to both eternal consequences and salvation, all sins are the same. Every sin will lead to eternal condemnation (Romans 6:23). All sin, no matter how “small,” is against an infinite and eternal God, and is therefore worthy of an infinite and eternal penalty. Further, there is no sin too “big” that God cannot forgive it. Jesus died to pay the penalty for sin (1 John 2:2). Jesus died for all of our sins (2 Corinthians 5:21). Are all sins equal to God? Yes and no. In severity? No. In penalty? Yes. In forgivability? Yes. (https://www.gotquestions.org/sins-equal.html)

What I want us to learn from all this is that all we have to do to win our daily battles against Satan is to be obedient to what God tells us to do. He will fight these battles for us. Scripture is clear on that but we just have to stay well clear of sin and we have it made. We can be content in any situation just like Paul said he was in Philippians 4:12– if we are right with God. You’ve heard me say several times through our preparation for battle that sin is the worst thing that can happen to you and I know some of you think that’s a bit extreme, right? “He has to say that. He’s a preacher. Preachers are always a bit dramatic.” Or maybe you think this passage in Joshua is just how Old Testament God worked but He has obviously loosened up lately in His old age.

Well, what about Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5? They lied and God stopped their hearts where they stood. In Ephesians chapter 5 there is a fascinating passage. It says, “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Now, aren’t you glad for God’s love. That’s what we like to read in the New Testament, right? But if you keep reading, it says, “3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.

We don’t like to think of God’s wrath but Paul says you can expect it even for foolish talk or coarse joking. Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin IS death, not WAS death. It still is. God still takes sin as seriously as ever. You may not fall over dead the next time you tell a dirty joke but your relationship with God dies until you repent and ask forgiveness. You’re not under His protection and provision like you are when you are right with Him.  So, the first thing we all have to learn in Battle Strategy Training is that if we are going to win the battles against Satan, all we have to do is not sin, stay right with God, putting on all our armor every day and then stand and let God fight the battle. Let Him deal with the consequences. Just expect that you are not going to see how it could possibly work out but just put up your shield of faith over your face and say, “Lord, I can’t see how this is going to work out but I trust you. I’m going to be obedient no matter what happens and I am going to make you look good in the process. Amen.”

Dr. B.J. Miller once said, "It is a great deal easier to do that which God gives us to do, no matter how hard it is, than to face the consequences of not doing it."

How about you? Are you doing what you know God wants you to do? Are you still struggling with that same old sin? What if that sin – your sin – was the one thing hindering the ministry of this church? Achan’s sin cost the lives of thirty-six men and the rout of an entire nation. God still hates sin the same amount as He always has. Let’s pray right now that God will show all of us where we are falling short.

Let’s all pray the prayer that David prayed in Psalm 139.

Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

Specialty School 3 – Romans 12:3-8

I have a story about when I was in second or third grade and Valentine’s Day was coming up. Our teacher had us to make these little envelope-like things that we taped to the side of our desk to hold Valentine’s Day cards. She encouraged us to decorate these little envelopes with hearts and things and when we were done we could bring cards or make cards for all the other kids in class.

So, everybody did that and everybody started getting cards in their envelopes. The problem was that all the popular kids got lots of cards but the dorky kid…wasn’t getting any cards. I was not the most popular kid in class but I wasn’t the dorkiest either and so I got my share of cards but that poor little boy would come in every day and check his envelope and it was always empty.

You know how little kids are. We were all comparing our cards but this kid didn’t have any and Valentine’s Day was coming right up. I don’t remember the exact situation but the teacher called him away from his desk for a while for something and while he was gone, the little girl next to me saw that that boy’s envelope was empty and she started going around the class asking everybody to make a card for this kid. Not everybody did it but most did and when that boy got back to his desk, he looked in his envelope and you have never seen such a big smile.

He's a new man. He went from being a depressed little dork eating glue to a very happy little dork eating glue. No, seriously, he was changed and he was so grateful. I remember he looked at me later on and with the most grateful and sincere look on his face, said quietly, “Thank you!” I don’t think he ever knew the grace that little girl had shown him but getting those little gifts changed him.

Do you ever feel like that little boy? Maybe you don’t think you have any gifts – spiritual gifts. You look around and you see people who obviously have gifts; great gifts; easy-to-see gifts; powerful and God-honoring gifts but you…not so much. What if I were to tell you that you DO have at least one spiritual gift and probably more than one? What would you say? Your response should be, “Back it up with scripture, big boy.” Right?

Turn first to 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and I want to read a couple of verses. This is not our main text for the day but to make sure we all know that everybody is given a gift, let’s start with verse 4 where Paul says, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.”

Paul then lists some of the gifts that God gives and goes on to say in verse 11, “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” Also, if you read all the scriptures in context that talk about gifts, Paul never mentions anything about people who don’t have any gifts. He never makes any exceptions. There are no mentions of people that are in the body of Christ, the church, who have no gifts.

He says in several places that every true believer is part of this body and everybody has spiritual gifts. Now, I know and you may have seen in your own life that, as Job said, God gives and God takes away. A gift that you used to have, you may not have any longer. Part of that is growing up. Part of that is growing old. It’s just a part of life that in some seasons of our lives we may have some gifts but oftentimes those gifts change as we get older. It doesn’t mean that God has taken away all your gifts.

There are also some gifts that nobody has anymore. Paul tells us in I Corinthians 13:8 that some gifts will cease. God gives for a time and then takes away and that’s alright. But what about you? As we continue through our preparation for battle with Satan and all of his forces, we have all been through Boot Camp where we learned the basics. We have learned how to put on our armor in Combat Training and now we have shifted to see what our individual responsibilities are in this battle.

Just like in the military, we all have different jobs. We are all interested in different things, are gifted in different areas but we all have the same goal and are supported by the same base camp, which is the church. So, let’s look one more time at Romans 12, specifically verses 3-8 to see what Paul says about these gifts and these jobs that God gives us for our battle.

Romans 12:3-8 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Have you ever really thought about what parts of the body are involved in walking? Just to simply move from point A to point B requires a lot more than just your legs. First the brain has to give the command and then muscles all over the body go to work, from your shoulders down to your toes. Your arms start to swing. Your heart beats a little faster. Your inner ear gives you the equilibrium you need to not fall over. Your eyes are scanning for obstacles. Your hips, your calves, your elbows and knees all spring into action.

Some of us don’t spring quite like we used to but my point is that just to do the most simple and basic task requires a lot of parts to work and they have to work in harmony with the other parts of the body. Now, what is the most basic thing that our church does? What is the most simplistic thing that we have to do to be considered a church? We have to meet together.

That is the most basic sign of life for a church. That is the brain function and blood flow of the body of Christ. Paul makes the point that none of us should think more highly of ourselves than we ought. We can’t all be the brain or the heart or the pretty face. We talked about that a couple of weeks ago. But we also can’t dismiss our importance to the church either.

Just a few years ago (2008), Orthodox Church officials in Russia discovered that one of their church buildings had disappeared. Poof—gone! The 200-year-old building northeast of Moscow had not been used for a decade. Then the Orthodox Church started growing. So they decided to reopen the old church building, and that's when they discovered it wasn't there.

After an investigation, they determined that villagers from a nearby town had taken the bricks from the building and sold them to a businessman for one ruble (about 4 cents) each. The building didn’t come down in one fell swoop. No. Instead, lots of people, over a period of years, had chiseled out the bricks one-by-one until there was no church building left.

Sad to say, that’s what’s happening to some of our churches right here in the United States of America. They are not being felled in one fatal stroke. Rather, lots of believers, who are the “living stones” of a church, one-by-one, are choosing not to get involved, and each decision means one less living stone. Eventually, the church is chiseled away, and its witness is completely gone from the community. Please, don’t you do the same. Don’t underestimate yourself and so remove yourself. You ARE important to the life and ministry of this church.  (C. Phillip Green 11/29/17)

Paul encourages us in verse 3 to have sober judgment of ourselves. Don’t think more highly than you should but don’t discount your worth either. Remember that the gifts you have are not your own nor do you belong to yourself but, as Paul says in verse 5, each member belongs to all the others.

I have to tell you that my original plan was to go through this list and the other lists and spend time on every gift that is mentioned in the Bible but I just never had any peace about that for some reason. I realized that Paul never made a complete and comprehensive list of gifts, nor did anyone else. He gave us some good samples of gifts and how to use them but Paul was not making the point that he knew all the gifts. His point was that we all have gifts and we should use them for the edification of the church – the church whose mission it is to make disciples.

Last Sunday I made an appeal for folks to come to Freedom Force here at church on Tuesday nights. It’s a Bible study with the goal of helping people overcome addiction but is really for anybody and everybody. Well, Brian and Belinda have the gift of showing up. Do you know why I say that is their gift or one of their gifts? Kristin called me the next day and said she had such a good time the night before and she was really blessed because since the Amermans showed up, it gave her the encouragement she needed to say a few things that she needed to say and to receive some knowledge that she didn’t have before.

Because the Amermans showed up, Kristin and the church were edified. She was built up and was helped on her path of being a disciple. That’s exactly what gifts do. That’s how and why they are used. I can’t believe Paul never mentioned anything about showing up as being a gift. It is so important.

What about the gift of prayer? I hear people all the time say they just can’t do anything. All they can do is pray. Well, that’s like saying, “All I can do is squeeze the trigger on this giant cannon that has the ability to blow the enemy out of the water. That’s all I can do…” Well then do that! That is the most powerful and effective weapon we have in our arsenal to defeat Satan.

“Oh, I just wish there was something I could do or some way I could help my children or my grandchildren. I just feel so helpless over here and all I can do is pray for them.” Yes, all you can do is harness the most powerful and wonderful gift God has ever given and if God has taken away some of your other gifts, I promise He has left you with the most powerful gift of all.

Every morning when you wake up you put on your armor. You get ready to fight the powers of evil in the heavenly realm as it says in Ephesians 6 and then you exercise your gift of prayer. Do you want to build up this church? Pray for our ability to spread the Gospel and make disciples as we minister to the poor, the addicted and the incarcerated.

I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you a thousand dollars if you will pray for me. Okay, I would give you a thousand dollars if I had it but pray for my wisdom and my purity and I will forever be in your debt. There is nothing you can do for me that would help me more.

How about the gift of encouragement? Who doesn’t need someone to get them off to the side and say, “You are doing so well! Keep it up. Good job. I know this is hard but you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you”?

Ooh! Ooh! I know! Here’s the scenario. Are you listening? Show up for church. It doesn’t matter if it’s Sunday morning, Sunday night, Tuesday night or Thursday night and you get somebody off to the side and you encourage them by telling them that you have been praying that God would intercede in the circumstances of their life for their sake and the sake of the Kingdom.

Do you know what you just did? You just pulled a trifecta of gifts. See it? You showed up. You prayed and you encouraged. Boom! Eat that, Satan! Oh, wait. I forgot. You don’t have any gifts, right? Or it’s too hard to use the gifts you have. Or you don’t know what your gift is. Yes, keep making excuses. That’s fine. You just sit in your little fox hole safe and sound and don’t move.

But know this. Jesus said He will build His church. (Matt. 16:18) It is His responsibility to build it as He sees fit, but He gives us gifts so that we can be the tools He uses to build it. Now, if you are too scared or too lazy or too selfish to even show up, pray or encourage then God will use somebody else but you will miss out on His blessings of obedience and you will have to deal with the consequences of disobedience.

Yes, I said disobedience because all three of these examples that I gave today – showing up, prayer and encouragement – are all commanded in scripture. In fact, we are commanded to use any of our gifts for the edification of the church but these three are so important and have individual commands to do each one. Hebrews 10:25 gets two of them in one sentence. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encourage one another.

Then 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to pray without ceasing and we know that no matter who wrote it, whether it is Paul or Peter or Luke or Jude – it doesn’t matter who – it is scripture and it is a command. If we don’t obey a command, it is sin.

I want to tell you something that is based on scripture but comes from my heart. When we started this preparation for battle way back in January with Boot Camp, I told you it wasn’t going to be easy. It’s hard because we have Satan’s playbook and he is ticked off. I have seen you prepare for the battle and I see you putting on your armor so that you can keep from having the worst to happen to you, which is sin.

But because you have done all of this, I believe that Satan has had to resort to different strategies to get you out of the battle. Because you didn’t give in to sin, you have been attacked physically and financially and in other ways. It has happened too much around here not to notice the sickness, the hurts and other issues that have threatened to keep you away from the body and away from opportunities to use your gifts and be obedient.

My dear family, please see these attacks for what they are. Satan can’t stand this church and if God will not allow him to destroy the church then he will try to get the members of this church to destroy it and themselves…brick by brick. I know you can’t be here for everything every time the doors open. I can’t even be here all the time and I live here. And if you are sick with a cold or the flu or something, PLEASE stay home.

But the next time that you hear opportunity knocking on your door to make a little extra money on Sunday or take off for the lake or the golf course or just stay home and catch up on your sleep, remember that it is Satan knocking on that door wanting more than anything for you to fall for his tricks and lies that will keep you out of this place.

I say all the time that you need the church and the church needs you. Remember that the church is not a building. When I say that the church needs you, I mean the people here need you. We need your gifts, talents and abilities even if they are just showing up, praying and encouraging. Those are huge!

I believe the greatest problem this church has is a lack of respect for the Lord’s day. We are commanded to use our gifts to edify the church but we can’t be obedient if we aren’t here. In the military, if you go AWOL – Away Without Leave – they dock your pay at minimum. We can’t do that but if you aren’t using your gifts, talents and abilities to edify the church then I fully believe God will dock your blessings.

I know, for most of you, I’m preaching to the choir. I so appreciate how you use your gifts around here. I see you encouraging and praying for each other. I see how you love on even the weirdest of us. I see how you use your gift of mowing, your gift of cleaning, your gift of hugging, your gift of texting and your gift of giving rides.

If you have never officially joined this church, maybe you want to walk the aisle and do that today. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 6:2 that today is the day of salvation. Maybe you have never asked Jesus to be Lord of your life and asked Him to forgive you of your sins and then turned away from those sins in repentance. Maybe you just need prayer. We have several that will be down front using their gifts of prayer for you today. Do that right now as the music plays.

“Specialty School” 2 – John 13:1-17

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvytQXlOP9E (Video showing Marine Drill Instructors screaming at recruits) For those of you who have endured such torture, you have my sincerest appreciation and gratitude. I don’t know how I would handle that. When you watch these videos some of the recruits will actually start crying and then some others start to laugh and from what I have seen, neither is a good option.

Do you know why Drill Instructors scream at recruits? Sure, some of them may just be angry and sadistic and want to scream but I don’t think that is the main reason. Also, while screaming is motivational, motivation is temporary and the DI ultimately wants to inspire instead of motivate. Inspiration lasts but motivation fades. I learned that from talking to some Marine recruiters.

There are actually several reasons why the DI screams. They want to induce the panic and fog that combat brings so that when these marines are in combat they are somewhat accustomed to it. They scream to get the undivided attention of the recruit. They scream to be heard. They scream to be clear, encourage and discipline. But the main reason they scream is because they want the recruit to be just like them.

The Drill Instructor is the epitome of the Marine Corps. You will never see a fat, out of shape, undisciplined DI and they want the recruit to be the same motivated, capable warrior that they are. The DI is highly trained to be a DI but a lot of what they know…they learned from their own DI when they were recruits. There is a template for what Marines should look like, sound like and act like because they know that a Marine that looks, acts and sounds like this will be an effective soldier.

For us as warriors in the battle against the rulers, powers and authorities of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Eph. 6:12) our Drill Instructor, thankfully, doesn’t scream. In fact, He does just the opposite. He speaks in a still, small voice most of the time. Sometimes it seems so quiet that I wish He would speak up just a little so I could know it was Him but instead, most of the time, I have to just get closer to Him so I can hear Him.

While God speaks to us in a different tone of voice than a Marine Drill Instructor, He speaks to us for the same basic reason. He wants us to be just like Him. Romans 8:29 says God wants us to be conformed to the image of his Son. There is a template and His name is Jesus. He is the ultimate warrior and we should look, sound and act like Him.

In our effort to prepare for battle we have so far learned the basics in Boot Camp. We have intensely trained for combat in Combat School where we learned how to keep from sin and being taken out of the battle. Now we are looking at the gifts, talents and abilities that we all have as we have started Specialty School. We learned last week that we all have some God-given gift, talent or ability that we are to use, not just for ourselves, but for the edification or building-up of the church.

I realize that we have been doing this for five months now and we are not done yet. I know some of you (ahem, Lois) wish we would cool it with the battle focus and look again at the love stories about Jesus in the Bible. I believe those are her exact words. 😊 Well, this week is a perfect compromise between the two and a much-needed example of how to use our gifts, talents and abilities as we edify the church; as we prepare for battle, but do it in a way that looks, sounds and acts like Jesus.

So, turn, if you would please, to John chapter 13 where we see Jesus modeling the love He is known for to the first recruits, His disciples. Now, I will just tell you from the beginning that the purpose of the message is to encourage you to use your gifts, talents and abilities for the building up of the church and to do it in love. And most of you are sitting there thinking that you already do that. You are the most loving church and you as individuals know how important it is and you have heard or read this story a thousand times and so you may be tempted to nod off or space out. It’s obviously too late for some of you. But I want you to consider what was going on in the mind of Jesus.

As Jesus is preparing to wash the feet of the disciples, He already knows His time on this earth is short. He is not far from being crucified and His disciples are arguing over who is going to be the greatest in His Kingdom. Most of the people don’t believe He is the Christ. Some are already plotting to kill Him and one of His disciples is about to deny Him and another is about to turn Him in to the authorities for thirty pieces of silver. But the focus of Jesus was on showing love. Let’s read about it in John 13:1-17.

It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he showed them the full extent of His love. 2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” 10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. 12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

As I often do in preparing a message to preach, I read the text over and over, then I read some commentaries and then I read other sermons by some of my favorite preachers. W.A. Criswell is usually first, as he was this week. Criswell was pastor of FBC Dallas for 50 years and I love to read his sermons. He said this about this passage: “And beginning at the thirteenth chapter we enter, really, the Holy of Holies of the New Testament.  In these concluding chapters of John, chapters 14, 15, 16, 17, through the remainder to 21, there have been more tears dropped on these pages than on any pages in human literature.  There have been more broken hearts who have sought strength and comfort from these words than from any other words spoken by human lips. It begins with this passage.”

This is a powerful passage that tells a powerful story about the most powerful of all men. It is powerful because we know the power of Jesus and yet this shows His humility and love. Look again at the end of verse 1. Depending on your translation, it may say Jesus loved them to the end or He showed them His love or something similar. My translation says Jesus showed them the full extent of His love. It doesn’t say He showed them the full extent of His power. That’s what I would have done if I were Jesus.

If I were Jesus, verse 3 would read Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal and called down a legion of angels to bring Him His golden crown; the crown He left in Heaven; that royal diadem that we sing about. Bring my royal robes and then with His left hand He sweeps away the doubting masses and with His right He decapitates the mocking Pharisees. He then damned Judas to Hell for even thinking what he was thinking, and the temple shook and with fire and lightning bolts the whole world knew He was God!

But that’s not how it reads. It says Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal…and washed their feet; a task so lowly and menial that most slaves didn’t even have to do it.

But think about it. It needed to be done. Their feet were dusty and dirty and normally the host or the owner of the house would have water and a bowl there so they could do it themselves if there wasn’t a slave to do it. But there was no one there to do it and the disciples were obviously too proud to do such a lowly thing even for themselves, much less the others. I mean, they were important people. They were close friends with Jesus. They were kind of a big deal, right?

After resigning his pastorate to go lead another church, a pastor was approached by an endearing older member of the congregation. She wept over the pastor’s decision to leave and said, “Things will never be the same.” The minister tried to console her by saying, “Don’t worry, I’m confident you will get a new pastor who is better than me.” She continued to sob and replied, “That’s what the last three pastors have said, but they just keep getting worse.” Source: Unknown

She was evidently another one of those folks who think their gift is keeping the pastor in line. Don’t you know that pastor wanted to tell that woman off? Don’t you know he knew she needed to be taken down a notch or two and he was the guy to do it? That sure could have been what Jesus was thinking. Here He was, literally the King of the universe, God Himself in human form, protecting and providing for these men’s every need for three years and all they seem to care about is what’s in it for them. He can’t even get His feet washed.

But instead of lecturing them about what they should do or griping about it and getting mad because He wasn’t getting what He was due, Jesus just quietly gets the water and a towel and lovingly washes the disciples’ feet; all of them; even Judas. Think about that.

It’s really easy to use your gifts, talents and abilities when people are watching and appreciative. When everybody sees you making a sacrifice and doing it well and they are telling you what a good job you are doing, that’s a good feeling. That’s when it’s easiest to do. But what about when nobody is around to see or – even worse – what about when you have to serve somebody you don’t think deserves it? Or they don’t appreciate your effort?

Imagine Jesus being on His knees on the hard floor and looking up into the narrow, hateful eyes of Judas, knowing full well that Judas was about to turn Him over to the rulers to be killed for a few measly bucks. Yet Jesus lovingly washed the feet of Judas just like He washed the feet of the others; the others who would betray Him, question Him, deny they knew Him and in the end, at the worst possible time, desert Him.

Isn’t that just like Jesus? Isn’t that what He still does for all of us even today? We ignore Him, deny Him, question Him and even disobey Him and then when we come back to Him in repentance, He loves on us and comforts us and restores us, not just our feet but all of us. He restores us back to where we were, completely forgives and forgets our sin and makes us clean again…and He wants us to be just like Him.

He’s not going to scream at you. He is speaking to you, even right now in that quiet voice of His, wanting you to come back and fellowship with Him and use your gifts, talents and abilities to edify the church, even if that ability is just to wash somebody’s feet or comb their hair. Maybe they need a ride or need some groceries. Maybe you are just the right person to mail a short letter to someone on the jail ministry list and encourage them with something that has encouraged you.

Do they deserve it? Probably not. Do any of us? Will anybody know what you did? Will you get an award or some great recognition for doing it? Probably not; at least not in this life. But I do want to point something out to you in this passage that we read but you may have missed. Go back to verse 17, the last verse we read. Jesus said, “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” Do you know what that word “blessed” means? It means “happy”. The King James Version uses that word, “happy”.

Do you see that? The secret to happiness is service to others. Some of you have figured that out already. When you are bummed out and it seems like nothing is going your way and your world is falling apart, you have some choices. You can try what some women call “retail therapy” which actually can lead to more problems if you aren’t careful.

You can self-medicate. Gee, what could possibly go wrong there? You can gripe and complain. You can ball up in the fetal position and cry or…or…you could go do something nice for somebody else. You can use your gifts, talents and abilities to serve somebody else, doing your best and doing it in the name of Jesus and doing it even for those who don’t deserve it or may not appreciate it and unless Jesus is a liar, you will be blessed – happy – if you do them.

Let me close with this. In verse 6 Jesus comes to Peter. Simon said, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” All of us are unclean.  We are sinners [Romans 3:23], and we need to be cleansed.  We need to be washed.  We need to be redeemed.  We need to be born into the family.  We need to be adopted into the preciousness of the forgiveness and love of our Savior.  Outside of the cleansing, we are unfit and unworthy and unacceptable.

 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” 10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. What did He mean by that?

Well, let me translate it a little more accurately.  "He that has been through the bath," that’s it exactly, that’s an exact translation. He that has been through the bath does not need to be washed again.  He is clean except his feet.  And his feet must be washed again, and again, and again.  Now the imagery is very plain.  The Roman bath, when a man took a bath he was clean, all over.  But when he walked from the bath his feet became soiled, and he had to wash his feet.

So the Lord says that when we’re saved, when we’re cleansed, we’re always and forever saved and cleansed.  We don’t need to be bathed again and again and again. We don’t need to be saved over and over again.  We are saved.  We go through the bath, just one time.  But day by day, as we walk through the hours of the day, our feet become soiled, and every day we must go to Jesus and ask the dear Lord to forgive us the sins and the shortcomings of that day.  We are clean having been through the bath, but our feet are soiled as we walk through the succeeding days, and every day we come to the blessed Jesus and say, "Lord, wash my feet.  Forgive me this day my sins."  That’s what it is to be a child of God, a follower of the Lamb, belong to the household of Jesus, and to trust in Him.  To be cleansed, to be forgiven, to be saved, and to offer to God an humble life of service, and every day confessing to Him our sins and asking forgiveness in His dear name. https://www.wacriswell.com/sermons/1971/the-sublimity-of-jesus-2/

Do that right now as we pray.