The Captain of the Lords Army- Joshua 5: 13-15

In chapter 5 Joshua was approaching Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua asked him, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" The man replied, "Neither, but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come." Joshua fell face down to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for my servant?" The commander replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

So what was Joshua doing approaching Jericho?
He was surveying the situation and preparing his attack. He was planning how he would go about overtaking the city.....
What happened next?
Joshua was confronted by the Commander of the Lord's army. When Joshua asked him who he was and if he was on his side or the side of his enemies, the Commander replied, I am the commander of the army of the LORD."
When Joshua heard this he fell to the ground in reverence and asked him, "What does the Lord command from me?"
So whose battle was this really? Was it Joshua's battle or was it the LORDS!?
Clearly we see that the battle belonged to the Lord.
Joshua, like you or me, was taking the battle into his own hands. The captain of the Lords army had to set him straight and remind him that the Lord was the one fighting this battle.
How many times in our own lives do we try to plan out how we are going to overcome a battle? Sure we ask God for help but we already have a plan of attack in our heads. What we see here from Joshua is the same thing. He was going about planning his attack and course of action without surrendering it over to the Lord.
Once he had the encounter with the captain of the Lord's army, he realised his mistake and fell to the ground in reverence and asked him what the Lord wanted him to do. Then he took off his sandals as a sign of respect and submission to the Lord.
When we face a battle or a trial what is the first thing we do? Do we right away try to figure out why and then come up with a plan of attack? Or do we look past the battle to the Lord?
What we must do is first recognise who the battle really belongs too, submit and surrender it over to the Lord and then ask him what he wants us to do.
This passage has shown me that I must look past the battle or trial at hand, look up and see the Captain of the Lord of Hosts and remove my sandals (surrender).
As a soldier in the Lord's army there is one thing we can always remember to do.......
Ephesians 6: 10-18.... Be ready- PUT ON THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD!!

Lets also look at this passage in light of the Gospel.........
As fallen depraved man we face a battle against sin and God's wrath.
Due to our sinful nature we are all lawbreakers and separated from a Holy God.
For example, we have all lied, coveted, looked with lust and broke many others of God's Holy Laws. By doing so, we will stand guilty before a Holy God, in lies our battle.
Now many times when one comes to realize they are facing a battle against sin, they try to get right with God on their own. They say things like, "Man I got to get right and go back to church." or I" have to get my sins together before I can get with God."
In thinking that, we are trying to fight this battle against sin on our own which is impossible. We can't "get right" because we are already guilty.
The Good news is, the battle against sin belongs to the Lord and has already been won! We can't fight this battle, Christ already did 2000 years ago...
God, became a man Jesus Christ. Lived a perfect life and kept all of God's laws. He then willing went to the cross to take the penalty for our sins. Then on the 3rd day He rose again, defeating death! He defeated sin and God's wrath was fulfilled on His Son.
So, what do we need to do in response?
Same thing as Joshua......
-Look past what we can do to fight this battle
-See ourselves standing before a Holy God
-Fall in reverence
-Surrender completely to Him
The battle against sin belongs to Jesus Christ, He deserves all the Glory. We can't get right or defeat sin on our own. We can only surrender to Him and put our trust in what he did for us on the cross. We broke God's laws but Jesus paid our fine in His life's blood. If we repent (turn from sin) and put our trust in Jesus Christ. Our sins will be forgiven and God will grant us eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our LORD. Romans 6;23
The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel! Mark 3:15