Joshua 5:13-6:27

"The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so."

{Joshua 5:15} (NIV) 

Moses had to take his sandals off for the burning bush. Joshua has to remove his for a man with a sword. This commander of the LORD’s army is more than an angel. He is a manifestation of God Himself. 

What an amazing God Joshua serves! God Himself comes with instructions for victory. The message is that God will deliver the enemies into the hands of God’s people. God Himself will bring their stronghold down, and will make the enemies helpless before God’s people. 

God’s people are required to OBEY exactly the instructions given, and then all they need is the will to swing a sword and to put to death man, woman, child and animals. 1 Samuel 15 records that Saul didn’t have this will when it came to the Amalekites. God’s people in this age of grace, (which is the day of salvation for all who call on Name of the Lord) are called to a different battle then Joshua and Saul. Our battlefield is within ourselves. The enemy is our own sin, and the Lord Jesus has taken away the protection of the enemy, and made them helpless before us. 

O Lord I pray, may we have the will this day, to kill the sin that is within. May we not cling to the fattened calves of sin that we treasure for ourselves, may we kill them all! Work in our hearts and will O Lord, give us the love for you and the hatred for sin that we need to cleanse our lives this day!

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2 Kings 6:8-23

"And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." 

{2 Kings 6:17} (NIV) 

I am like that servant of Elisha. I can’t see spiritual beings around me. I am oblivious to them. I work in the kingdom of the Lord Jesus, preaching His gospel, engaged in spiritual work, and yet I have no ability to see the spirit world. There have been times when I think that I sense evil spirits. My hair stands up, goose bumps come over my skin and fear grips me. There have been many times when I sense the presence of the blessed Holy Spirit, as He comforts me, works in me and in the people who attend services. But I can’t see the spirit world. Sometimes I think, “that is good John, you don’t want that kind of sight, you don’t need it and it would be another burden”. But in a situation like this, where fear grips us, then this sight would be a real blessing. 

The spirit world is real and there are angels who are around us; this is biblical. Just read Hebrews 1:14 and Luke 16:22! Friend, I can’t tell you that this prayer of Elisha will be answered for you, and that you will be given the ability to see the spirit world with your physical eyes. But I think of the prayer that we sing at church, “Lord open the eyes of my heart.” I think to myself, just open those eyes Lord, just allow my heart to have the faith to believe that all around me, right at this moment are angels, sent for me, to minister to me and then to take me to be with my Lord.

God is so good to us!

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Revelation 4,5

"Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”

{Revelation 5:13} (NIV) 

What is our reaction to the revelation of God on His throne and the Lion who is a Lamb? Do we worship? Do we sing? Do we pray and bless our Lord who died for us? Friend, if these two chapters of the Bible don’t cause us to worship, then we have a serious spiritual problem. 

Verse 13 is pretty clear that ALL creatures will worship, presumably at some future time, for we know that all creatures do not worship Him now. What stops us from worshipping God? What stops us from drawing near to Him with a sincere heart, full of adoration and thanksgiving? What makes us respond to a powerful passage like the one before us, with a yawn and an “Oh well, so what?” on our lips? 

Friend, the Israelites were set free for the purpose of worship. (Ex 12:31) God sought us out and set us free for the purpose of worship. (Jn 4:23) May we worship Him today! Don’t let discouragement stop you. Don’t let busyness stop you. Don’t let a lack of a feeling of closeness to God stop you. Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you. (James 4:8)

Come, now is the time to worship

Come, now is the time to give your heart

Come, just as you are to worship

Come, just as you are before your God

Come

One day ev'ry tongue will confess You are God

One day ev'ry knee will bow

Still the greatest treause remains for those,

Who gladly choose you now

{Come Now Is the Time to Worship, Brian Doerksen, 1998}

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Revelation 5

(Artwork by Jason Engle. © Crossroads Gaming LLC) 
"Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth."

{Revelation 5:6} (NIV)

 

John hears that the Lion has triumphed and he turns to see a Lamb! Not a healthy Lamb even, but a Lamb that looks like it had been killed. In this revelation we have the hardest truth for Christians to understand. Our triumph comes through suffering; our triumph comes through death. Our Lord Jesus is the Lion of Judah who triumphed and who is worthy because our Lord Jesus is the Lamb who was slain! 

Triumphant living, according to the world, is victory over our enemies, victory over disease, and victory over death. Triumphant living according to the Word of God and the testimony of our Lord, is putting our trust in God as we walk through whatever He has laid before us. This is what Job tells us in 13:15; this is what Daniel did in the lion’s den (Dan. 6:23). It is what the Pharisees mocked Jesus for doing on the cross (Matt 27:43). It is what David declared emphatically in Psalm 23. 

What does it mean to you and I this morning that our Lord, the One who is greater than us, triumphed through suffering? I trust that it encourages us, and causes us to fix our eyes on Him, the Author and Perfector of our faith. 

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Genesis 49

"Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

{Revelation 5:5} (NIV 1984) 

Oh how we need a vision of our God on His throne! When we read through the letters to the churches of Revelation, we can become discouraged at the sinfulness of Christians, and the general state of local churches. John’s vision, starting in chapter 4, is wonderful and refreshing as we get to look into heaven and see God on His throne; the One who created everything and who rules all creation. 

As the vision continues, John’s gaze focuses on this scroll; this wonderful and strange book, which contains the revelation of God’s dealings with all mankind. No one is found in heaven or earth that is worthy to open it, and therefore there is no hope for mankind.  John weeps and weeps over the hopeless state of mankind, until he hears that the Lion of Judah, the Root of David has triumphed. This Lion of Judah is a warrior and a ruler. 

David was of Judah and was a mighty warrior and a mighty ruler, who slew tens of thousands, and who built Israel into a true kingdom. But David in all of his might was only a shadow of the true Lion! The true Lion of Judah is building His kingdom, His church and no one is able to stop Him. 

Friend, are you part of His kingdom, His church? Then be encouraged this day, that your King is a Lion. Satan may be like a roaring lion, but the Lord Jesus Christ is the Lion!

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Colossians 1

"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

{Colossians 1:13,14} (NIV 1984) 

Have you ever tried to pray the prayer that Paul prayed in verses 9 thru 12? Perhaps for a loved one, or a spiritual child, or a missionary; to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, wisdom and understanding from the Spirit, living a worthy life, bearing fruit, growing, strengthened, enduring, patient and joyfully thankful. What an amazing prayer! What a picture of a beautiful Christian life. 

What gives Paul the confidence to pray a prayer like that and KNOW that God will answer it? Paul understood that a person who is a Christian, a person who has been ‘saved’, is a person who has been rescued and ‘transferred’ from one kingdom to another. Sin has no power over the Christian except the power we give it. Satan has no power over a Christian except for the power we give him. We can live this beautiful, glorious Christian life. We can live it today! God has paid the debt we could not pay, He has forgiven our sins through the sacrifice of His Son, and brought us into His glorious kingdom, so let us pray for others and ourselves that we would live in this glorious freedom! What a world our world would be if we lived like this!

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Colossians 2:6-23

"He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow."

{Colossians 2:19} (NIV 1984)

We know that being separated from our head means we are dead. One of the most terrible aspects of the French Revolution was their love for the guillotine. Paul doesn’t take his metaphor that far. He does not describe us as losing our Head, but simply losing connection with the Lord. He takes us back to the concept of being “rooted” in Christ. Our connection (our root) is pinched off and the Life that flows to us from Christ is unable to get to us. 

Furthermore, Paul doesn’t describe us as being dead, but as in a state of non-growth. He makes the point again as he did in 1 Corinthians 3:7, that growth comes from God, and if we have lost our connection to God we won’t grow. This is so important for each of us who confess Jesus as Lord. Is there growth in my faith, in me as a Christian? 

In our lives we have cycles. Our bodies grow and shrink and grow again, our bank accounts grow and shrink and then shrink again, but in our spiritual life we should be able to mark steady growth in our faith walk with God. Proverbs 4:18 describes it as the first gleam of dawn shining ever brighter till the full light of day. Judgmentalism, legalism, and pride are all signs that we have lost connection and have stopped growing. 

Friend, may we this day check the root. May we ask the Spirit of Light to show us our sin that we may confess and repent and see our connection restored. 

Search me Oh God, and know my heart this day. Forgive me Father and restore me this day.

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