Evening Sermon

November 25, 2007

A MORTAL WOUND

Text

One of the OT passages most frequently quoted in the NT is Psalm 110, which describes the triumph of God's son Jesus Christ. God the Father said to his son: Ps.110:1 "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."

Then David adds his comments, also speaking to Jesus Christ: Ps. 110:2 "The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! 3 Your people shall be volunteers In the day of Your power; In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth. 4 The LORD has sworn And will not relent, "You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek." 5 The Lord is at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath. 6 He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill the places with dead bodies, He shall execute the heads of many countries. 7 He shall drink of the brook by the wayside; Therefore He shall lift up the head."

Catch the triumph of those words. The enemies of Jesus Christ will become a footstool for his feet. Jesus Christ will crush kings on the day of his wrath, he will crush the rulers of the whole earth. And he shall rule in the midst of his enemies.

But we have a problem today. We don't see the reality of those verses on a day to day basis. Sometimes it seems that Jesus Christ is not ruling in the midst of his enemies. Sometimes it seems that his enemies are not becoming a footstool for his feet. In fact, sometimes it seems that just the opposite is true.

The writer of Hebrews struggles with this. After a direct quote from Ps.110, Hebrews 2:8 says this: "You have put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him."

How true! So what do we often see in our day to day life?

Hebr. 2:9 "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. 10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings."

The glory and honor which we see upon Jesus Christ now is his suffering. Amazingly, he was made perfect through suffering. Thus the reality of our lives is this-we don't see everyone and everything in subjection to Jesus. In fact, today we see lots of people and lots of things in direct opposition to him.

But despite what we see in the world today, our text this evening teaches us what is reality. That reality can be visualized by seeing what Joshua did to those five kings who had gathered together in a conspiracy. What did he do? v.24

That is a picture of absolute victory and total subjection. And with that picture of victory in our minds, lets look first of all at,

I. OUR FIGHT AGAINST OUR ENEMIES. I want this story to apply to our lives, not just be an OT Bible story with a moral. When we look at Joshua and his enemies, let's think about our lives and our enemies. Let me emphasize one caution, though, something I have mentioned in previous weeks. Our enemies are not flesh and blood. I'm not suggesting we take up arms and kill all non-Christian people. The enemies against whom we fight are not people.

Eph. 6:12 "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."

I want to keep the images of warfare, but I want you to realize that I am talking about spiritual warfare. And, just like Joshua,

A. We must fight diligently. Joshua was a good fighter. And he was a good leader. He got a good break, too. He found out where those five kings were hiding. v.17

But he knew his priorities. He didn't stop to enjoy his good fortune. He didn't deal with those five kings right away. At that point, he knew he still needed to fight. So, v.18

His instructions were to keep on fighting. v.19-21

Not just defensive fighting, but aggressive pursuit and attack. If your enemies are retreating, then chase after them and nail them from behind. That was his strategy. Thus like Joshua fighting his enemies, we must fight diligently. And,

B. We must fight to the finish. Joshua's strategy was to allow no survivors. v.20, 28

Illus: One thing that has always amused me is professional wrestling. I know it is all hype, I know that it is staged and fake. It's a show. But the hype is so powerful. When I was younger, I remember a couple of times getting caught up in the excitement of it. I remember one match that was basically described as a death match. The wrestlers were chained together. And the match wouldn't end with a simple pinning to the mats. It ended only when one man was physically unconscious, or worse. It was a duel unto death.

Sadly, earlier in the history of our country, that is exactly how disagreements were settled. It was honorable to defend yourself in a duel. And in a duel, there is one winner and one dead man. Nothing in between. A fight to the finish.

That seems gruesome and even barbaric by today's standards. But keep in mind, this description in Joshua 10 is a picture of spiritual warfare. And we need to deal with our spiritual enemies with the same diligence as Joshua dealt with his enemies. We need to fight to the end, leaving no survivors.

For us, it is a matter of life and death. We need to do battle against "the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

The battle against satan is a battle of life and death. You cannot allow satan to keep any survivors, because those survivors will constantly torment you. You have to put to death whatever belongs to your sinful desires, you must put to death all immorality and wickedness. In that battle, we must allow no survivors.

The words of "Onward Christian Soldiers" are so appropriate. They describe true, spiritual warfare. "Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before. Christ, the royal master, leads against the foe, forward into battle, see, his banners go. Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before."

That is a battle song. That is our battle song. And it is a battle to an ultimate victory, for "at the sign of triumph, Satan's host doth flee; on then, Christian soldiers, on to victory. Hell's foundations quiver at the shout of praise; brothers, lift your voices, loud your anthems raise."

Make no mistake about it. As Christians we have a fight on our hand. We live in the midst of a war. But the encouragement of these verses in Joshua 10 is how they show us,

II. OUR VICTORY OVER OUR ENEMIES. Joshua was a good leader, and one of his qualities of leadership is realizing that his people, especially his leaders, needed signs of encouragement. They needed something visual, something they could experience with their senses.

And so he didn't immediately kill those five captured kings. Rather, he let his generals take part in a ceremony intended to visually demonstrate their victory. In those days, it was a common ceremony, a victory celebration, if you will. v.24

The neck is the symbol of pride and strength. A yoke placed on the neck of an animal controls all the strength of that animal. And a foot placed upon the neck is certainly a well understood symbol of subjection, a perfect picture of our victory over our enemies. It is a picture proving to us that,

A. Our enemies will face absolute defeat. Get some more details about these five kings. v.16-18 v.22-24

I want you to have this encouragement. Our enemies will face absolute defeat. And God has given us that encouragement right from the beginning.

Gen. 3:14 So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."

The seed of the serpent certainly struck the heel of the seed of the woman. Jesus Christ was bruised, in fact, his life was taken from him. Physically, he was killed. But it was not a mortal wound. Satan wounds the heel. Jesus Christ, the seed of the woman, crushes the head of Satan.

Think about it. What is the difference between a bruising injury to your heel and a crushing injury to your head? Obvious difference. One is a mortal wound. That is the promised defeat of Satan, and all the spiritual forces of evil that are loyal to him.

That victory was begun upon the cross, or more specifically, with the resurrection. Jesus has already disarmed his enemies, taken away their power.

Col. 2:15 "Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it."

And this triumph will be fully accomplished in the future, as we read in the images of the book of Revelation,

Rev. 12:9 "So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."

Also,

Rev. 14:14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, "Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." 16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. 17 Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe." 19 So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses' bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs."

Still further,

Rev. 19:11 "Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."

Why are those terrible descriptions given to us in the word of God? For the same reason as this picture in Joshua of his leaders standing with their feet on the necks of those defeated kings. Our enemies, lead by Satan himself, will face absolute defeat. And God's people will have a part in that final victory!

When Jesus Christ returns, he will return with his people! Rom. 16:20 "And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen."

He's talking to us. What a glorious promise!

That is the lesson of OT warfare. That is the lesson of the total destruction which the Lord commanded Israel to bring upon the nations in Canaan. Despite the fact that we don't see it perfectly today, our enemies will face absolute defeat. The god of peace will soon crush Satan under our feet! And that also means that,

B. Our enemies will face eternal condemnation. This is not just a military victory for Joshua. This is an eternal condemnation declared by God himself. v.26-27

The kings were hung on a tree. Don't get the idea of hanging as it has been done in recent generations. There was not a hangman nor a noose. Actually, the hanging was done after they were killed. Literally, it means that they were impaled upon the tree, or nailed up on the tree as a display. The corpses were hung upon a tree like we might hang a picture upon a wall.

Why is that? To demonstrate that they were cursed by God.

Deut. 21:22 "If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 "his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God."

Nailing an executed criminal upon a tree demonstrated that they were cursed and condemned by God. And they had to be taken down before nightfall so that their bodies wouldn't defile or desecrate the land. You can't get much more cursed than that.

God has condemned his enemies to an eternal condemnation.

That truth is what gives us an understanding of the work of Jesus Christ upon the cross. Jesus didn't die on the cross because he needed to give us an example of what love really is. No, he was hung upon the cross to demonstrate that he endured God's curse and condemnation. He didn't deserve it, though. He endured that condemnation as a substitute, a substitute for me. And for you. He came to us, while we were still his enemies, and he made us his children. He saved us from being his enemies, and Jesus now calls us his brothers.

That is the gospel, the gospel you must believe and accept if you will be saved. Jesus endured that curse. He endured God's wrath and God's holy justice.

And that work has been finished. Never again will Jesus endure that humiliation of suffering. He is now the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And when he returns, he will return in absolute triumph, demonstrating a victory that he has actually already won.

All of that from this simple verse, v.24b

But actually, I haven't even reached the real purpose of my sermon yet this morning. I don't think we have yet identified the reason why God included this account in the holy scriptures. We haven't yet reached the real climax of this text. I believe that is found in, v.25

A description of,

III. OUR CONFIDENCE IN FACING OUR ENEMIES. I think that the whole purpose of this story is to build confidence and courage. And we need that encouragement, because spiritual battles are certainly raging even in our midst today.

Satan would love to tear down the church. Satan would love for us to be ineffective in ministry. He would love for us to be silent and still. He would love for us to have little or no impact upon our community. He would love to make our lives a mess, and cause us great trouble.

And sometimes, that is exactly what seems to be happening. And so we need confidence.

Again, let me emphasize, our spiritual battles are not against people. They are against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. The evidence of those battles surfaces in our lives in many different ways. Above anything else, we need confidence.

"Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane, but the church of Jesus constant will remain; gates of hell can never against that church prevail, we have Christ's own promise, and that cannot fail."

A. Confidence removes fear. v.25

How many times have you seen that in this book?

So, are things going on around you that you can't explain? Are you discouraged or struggling to resist temptation? Are you confused about what is God's will? Wondering what to do? Are you troubled? Concerned? Or even sick or in danger?

Don't be afraid. Don't be dismayed. You can have confidence in God, who wins an absolute and final victory over our enemies. And,

B. Confidence produces active courage. v.25

Illus: It has been said of the Union Gen. George McClellan, that he was afraid to move his army. He was afraid of his enemy, despite having many more troops. He was afraid of any risk of defeat. And for months during the early stages of the Civil War, he sat still, drilling and training his men, afraid even to pursue a fleeing army. In doing that, he squandered many opportunities for victory, and was later replaced as commander. It was said very truthfully, "McClellan has the slows."

In our war, we can't have the slows. We can't be afraid to move and afraid to engage the enemy in battle. But we can keep fighting for God, because we know exactly what God will do to his enemies. We can confidently do battle against those spiritual forces of evil. We can have an active courage.

And the front lines of that battle? Our prayers. When there are spiritual battles, the spiritual weapon of prayer is your best weapon.

James 5:16 "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."

In Mark 9 we read of Jesus being requested to heal a young boy possessed by an evil spirit. This was Jesus' response,

Mark 9:23 Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!" 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead." 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" 29 So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."

Fasting included as an emphasis and intensification of prayer. The point is that spiritual battles require spiritual weapons. Including diligent and devoted prayer.

In each of our lives, there is warfare. And if you are well prepared, you can have great confidence, a confidence that removes fear and produces active courage.

Eph. 6:17 "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints."

My friends, you are in a war.

Rom. 16:20 "And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen."

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