Title: Christ is our Captain
Text: Joshua 5: 13-15
Date: October 25 & October 27, 2013
Place: Friday Night Fellowship; SGBC, New Jersey
You and I who are chosen, redeemed and regenerated by our triune
God, through Christ Jesus have been delivered from sin and death and enlisted
in Christ’s army. By his work of grace
in our hearts he has made each of us spiritual men of war. Christ is our Captain. We are his foot
soldiers.
Ours is a true holy war. The end purpose of this war is the conquering
of all Christ’s enemies. Those who are
enemies in their minds by wicked works, who God has chosen and Christ has
successfully redeemed by his blood, shall be quickened and given eternal life
through faith in Christ. And those
enemies who reject him, shall be made to bow and declare him Lord of lords and
King and kings then cast out into eternal darkness forever. Every enemy shall
be made his footstool.
The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. Our charge is simply this: believe on Christ,
love one another, and declare Christ’s person and mighty works. Our one weapon in this warfare is the gospel
of Christ and him crucified—through Christ our Captain this weapon is mighty to
the pulling down of strongholds—by the gospel trumpet, Christ made Jericho’s
walls fall flat. We are to preach his
gospel, baptize those he calls out and command them to do all things Christ has
commanded us. That is our single charge.
This is a warfare unlike any other. Our enemies are not merely men
but the wiles of the devil, principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of
this world, spiritual wickedness in high places. And we, the soldiers, have absolutely no
strength of ourselves for this warfare. Yet, it certain that we shall be
victorious. The reason victory is
certain is our subject: it is because Christ
is Our Captain
Joshua 5: 13: And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho,
that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over
against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and
said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? 14: And he said,
Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua
fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith
my lord unto his servant? 15: And the captain of the LORD’S host said unto
Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is
holy. And Joshua did so.
I.
FIRST, WE NEED TO BE WATCHFUL BECAUSE OUR ENEMY IS TOO MIGHTY FOR US—Joshua 5: 13: And it came to pass, when
Joshua was by Jericho;
After Christ made the whole
camp obedient, circumcised them, made them partake of Christ our Passover, while
his brethren were resting, Joshua, made his rounds in the night—watching. May God give us grace to be watchmen. Christ tells us to always be “watching.”
Christ’s pastors are watchmen
Habakkuk
2: 1: I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to
see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. 2:
And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon
tables, that he may run that readeth it. 3: For the vision is yet for an
appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait
for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
Every saint is to be watching.
1
Thessalonians 5: 5:
Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of
the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let
us watch and be sober…8:…putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for
an helmet, the hope of salvation.
Mark
14:38: Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is
ready, but the flesh is weak.
We need to be watchful because our enemy is great. Joshua drew
near to Jericho. Jericho was the first city Joshua and his
brethren would do battle against. Why? God
had one elect child in that whole city, named Rahab. She must be delivered out.
Every chosen child of God,
redeemed by the blood of Christ shall be called out of darkness into Christ’s
marvelous light—In Isaac SHALL thy seed BE CALLED. In the old world—he called
out Noah. In Ur he called out Abraham. In Sodom—he called out Lot. In Jericho—he
called out Rahab. God is not willing that any of his redeemed sheep shall
perish but that all should to come repentance—therefore count that the
longsuffering of our God is salvation.
But Jericho’s walls were
high and its gates were closed up tight to prevent attack from God’s people—Joshua 6: 1: Now Jericho was straitly shut
up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.
Be sure to get the picture: God’s
elect children who are not yet delivered are like Rahab, locked behind the
gates of hell. The people of Jericho
heard that the LORD delivered the children of Israel over Jordan but rather
than seek mercy from God, they shut up their gates tight in an attempt to keep
God out.
Dead sinners hear the
gospel, but instead of seeking God’s mercy, they shut up the gates of their
ears and the gates of their heart. Satan and the hosts of hell surround them
using family, friend and foe try to keep those gates shut. He speaks contrary to the gospel, speaks evil
of Christ’s preacher, turns them against his people, urges them to go to
another church, the “synagogue of Satan”—which claims to be Christ’s church. And the gates of hell are locked down tight
like Jericho’s were.
Picture Joshua astonished as
he gazes up at those mighty walls and at those locked gates. How would they ever gain a victory over such
a fortress? Brethren, our hearts ache
for our sons and daughters, for our friends and loved ones. How shall you and I
ever gain the victory?
Christ promises, “the gates
of hell shall not prevail against [his church.] (Mt 16: 18) If Christ has just
one of elect child held tight behind such gates, be assured, his church—with
his gospel—shall prevail to penetrate those gates—for Christ said, ‘All power
in heaven and earth is given unto me.’--“to fill all in all!” “He shall not
fail till he hath set judgment in the earth.”
II.
WE ARE SURE OF VICTORY BECAUSE WHERE CHRIST HAS ASSEMBLED HIS PEOPLE, CHRIST IS
PRESENT—Joshua 5: 13: [Joshua] lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him;
This Man is a pre-incarnate appearance of the GodMan, Mediator,
Christ Jesus. This man speaks in Joshua 6: 2: “And the LORD said.” This is
Jehovah-God in the form of a Man—the GodMan. It is obvious from the way Joshua
worshipped him and called him Lord and owned himself to be his servant—if this
would have been an angel he would have told Joshua not to worship him as the
angel said to John in the book of the Revelation. Again, it is obvious because
the ground on which Christ stood was holy by his presence. And it is obvious by his title, the Captain
of the Lord’s host.
Our Lord Jesus promises he
will be present where he has assembled his people just as he was with
Joshua—not in bodily form as Joshua saw, but he is with us. His churches are described as the seven
golden candlesticks and Christ is he,
Revelation
2: 1:..who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
When Christ sent forth his
church to preach the gospel he said,
Matthew
28: 20:…lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Christ in our midst was
Paul’s argument for how we ought to behave ourselves toward one another and in this
world in Philippians.
Philippians
2: 12: Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence
only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear
and trembling. 13: For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of
his good pleasure.
Brethren, Christ is
here! If we could see him standing here,
would we be flippant and careless OR fearful and reverent? When faith beholds
Christ’s presence, he makes us fearful and reverent—Joshua fell at his feet and
worshipped him.
Philippians
2: 14: Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
If
we could see Christ standing here, would we murmur about our life? When faith beholds
his presence, the holes in his hands, feet and side stops our complaining about
our suffering—“is there any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me,
wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger?” If we
could see him standing here, would we dispute with men as we teach the gospel
OR would we defer to Christ? Would we dispute with fellow brethren? When faith sees the Master at hand we trust
he is able to teach his child effectually and to make him stand.
Philippians
3: 15: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in
the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in
the world;
If we could see Christ
standing beside us in our day-to-day, would we be like the crooked world OR
shine as lights? When faith beholds him
at our right hand, his love constrains us.
Philippians
2: 16: Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ,
that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
If we could see Christ with
us, would we be fearful of the gates of hell OR would we be bold to hold forth the word of life? When faith beholds his presence, Christ is
our boldness to speak boldly of him.
Go back to our text and
notice this detail—Joshua 5: 13:…behold,
there stood a man over against him with
his sword drawn in his hand: The
word of God—the gospel we proclaim—is the only sword in this warfare.
Hebrews
4:12: For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
But the power is not of us,
the Power is of God, of Christ with his sword drawn in his hand.
Zechriah
4:6:…This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by
power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
We who believe, have
experienced his power so we faint not to wait on that power. Paul said, “AS we have received mercy, we
faint not;” (2 Cor 4: 1) How did Paul receive mercy?
2
Corinthians 4: 6: For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,
hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of
God in the face of Jesus Christ.
So as he received mercy by
that power so the same power made Paul
2
Corinthians 4: 1: faint not, 2: But…renounce the hidden things of dishonesty,
not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by
manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in
the sight of God….7: we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the
excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
The preaching of Christ
crucified is foolishness to them that perish but it is the Power of God unto
salvation unto us who are called—BECAUSE Christ is that Power to us who are
called.
1
Corinthians 1:24:…unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the
power of God, and the wisdom of God.
Brethren, have you
experienced the power of Christ with the sword in his hand? Then we know we
shall be given the victory in this holy war—over our own sinful flesh and all
our enemies—by the Lord Jesus Christ himself working in us both to will and to
do of his good pleasure. So we must feed upon his word ourselves that we be
strong for this warfare.
III. WE SHALL BE VICTORIOUS BECAUSE OF WHO CHRIST IS—v13: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto
him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain
of the host of the LORD am I now come.
How this was a relief to
Joshua in so many ways—and a relief to us.
First, Christ is not for our
adversaries but for YOU who are the Lord’s host. Believer, pause and let this sink in—CHRIST
is for YOU! Christ is present with you, Christ is for you, Christ is against your
adversaries.
Romans
8:31: What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us?
Secondly, Christ is come as
Captain over the LORD’s host. God has people that no man can number—a host.
God our Father elected each member of that host unto salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. We are HIS—THE LORD’S HOST.
God the Father entrusted his
host to Christ our Captain to save us—“as
captain of the host of the LORD is Christ now come.” Christ came, took our
flesh and took our place as the holy one under the law—fulfilling it and
establishing it in perfect obedience for each elect child. Christ came, took our sins and took our place
under the fierce anger of divine justice—justifying us from all our sins by his
death.
Now, Christ has come, filled
us with his Spirit making us one with him. He is our Head, we his body, the
fullness of him who filleth all in all.
This is a great mystery, but we are members of body of his flesh and of
his bones.
Hebrews
2: 10: For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things,
in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the CAPTAIN of their salvation
perfect through sufferings. 11: For both he that sanctifieth and they who are
sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them
brethren,
So now he is come in our
presence to finish the Father’s will.
And what is that will?
John
6: 39: And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he
hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last
day.
Brethren, has our Captain
failed in any one of these works he has already wrought for us? Neither shall
he fail to keep us. Other sheep he has that are lost. Neither shall he fail to use his people to
herald his gospel and call them out.
Another reason, this was
such a relief to Joshua is because Joshua did not have the burden of being the
Captain over this army. The government
was not on Joshua’s shoulders, it was on the shoulders of Joshua’s
Captain—Christ Jesus. The same word
translated “captain” is translated “prince” in Isaiah 9: 6.
Isaiah
9:6: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government
shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Brethren, how thankful I am
for this! You and I are called to be witnesses of Christ. But no man is the
captain—Christ only. The government is
not on my shoulder or yours—it on Christ’s shoulder. You don’t need a man to
counsel you—Christ is the only Counselor—go to him. You don’t need a man to
stand between you and God—you have Christ the Mediator and access to his throne
of grace personally—go to him. John was
given a vision of Christ as Captain which shows us why we shall be victorious
with Christ our Captain.
Revelations
19: 11: And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon
him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make
war. 12: His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns;
and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13: And he was
clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14: And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed
in fine linen, white and clean. 15: And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword,
that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of
iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty
God. 16: And he hath on his vesture and on his high a name written, KING OF
KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Now, let me end by asking
you this: what will a sinner do, when Christ our Captain enters his heart and
makes his presence known within?
Illustration:
Art, you were in the military. When the
commanding officer entered your presence what did you do?
IV.
WE SHALL BE VICTORIOUS BECAUSE CHRIST PREVAILS IN THE HEARTS OF HIS PEOPLE—Joshua 5: 14: And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship.
God chose to save through
the preaching of the gospel so that “no flesh should glory in his presence”. When
Christ our Captain makes his presence known—his power humbles his child to fall
on our face and cease glorying in ourselves.
Likewise, God chose to save through this one weapon that in his presence
“those who glory shall glory only in the Lord.” When Christ makes his prescence known his
child does just that.
This is why the gospel is
our only weapon in this warfare, why we preach Christ and him crucified, why we
do not craft our words, why we do not turn to other means. This is why we also
preach Christ to reprove, exhort, and rebuke. This is why we do not lord over
men and be masters over men to discipline them but instead preach Christ and
him crucified.
Because when Christ makes
his presence known he makes his child willing to obey—Joshua 5: 14:…and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
Illustration:
Art, the commanding officer tells you to clean your gun and shine your belt
buckle. A gun seems important so you clean your gun. But your belt buckle doesn’t seem all that
important so you don’t bother to shine it.
What will the commanding officer say?
Why? It is not a matter of what
seems more important or less important. Nor does it matter of what we think. It
is that he is the commanding officer and he commanded it.
So every word Christ our Captain commands is important—not because
we deem it as major or minor, simply because our Commander-in-chief commands
it.
1
John 3:23: And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of
his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
Mark
16: 15: And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel
to every creature. 16: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he
that believeth not shall be damned.
But when he makes his
presence known, he makes his child obey his commands—Joshua 5: 15 And the captain of
the LORD’S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the
place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
This is what the apostle
Paul meant when he said,
1
Corinthians 2: 5: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Application:
·
Believe on Christ—Christ is salvation.
·
Love your brethren—as Christ loved you.
·
Preach Christ and him crucified.
·
Do all in the strength of Christ. He is our only Strength, the
Captain of our salvation.
Ephesians
6: 10: Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his
might. 11: Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to
stand against the wiles of the devil…14: Stand therefore, having your loins
girt about with truth, [Christ] and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
[Christ] 15: And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; [Christ]
16: Above all, taking the shield of faith,[Christ] wherewith ye shall be able
to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17: And take the helmet of
salvation, [Christ] and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: [Christ]
18 Praying always with all prayer and
supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and
supplication for all saints; 19: And for me, that utterance may be given unto
me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20: For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as
I ought to speak.
We
shall be victorious because Christ is our Captain and he is in our midst.
Amen!