Gospel

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In the 18th Chapter of the book by his name in the Bible,  Joshua issued a challenge in the third verse to the people of Israel that ought still to ring in the ears of the Church today, “How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the LORD your God has given you?”  The initial conquest of the land had been made, but the people were hesitant to occupy what had been given them.  The Hebrew word translated “neglect” is translated in a revealing way in two places in the Book of Proverbs.  Proverbs 18 v.9 says that one who is “slack” (same word that was translated “neglect”) in his work is “brother to a great destroyer (or “vandal”).”  We know who it is that comes to rob, kill and destroy, the devil himself who is a thief and a liar.   The one who is slack and neglectful at work is functioning like a brother and relative of the devil, not like a member of the Body of Christ!  Then again in Proverbs chapter 24 verse 10 we are told that the one who “faints” (same Hebrew word translated “neglect” and “slack’) in the day of adversity is one whose strength is small.
As the Body of Christ we have been given authority by the Lord Jesus Himself who was given all authority in heaven and earth by the Father to go with Him and make disciples of all nations,  and to bind the powers of darkness that would hinder us from fulfilling that task and releasing the wonders of God’s kingdom on earth.  The nations that Israel had not yet dispossessed because of its neglect represent the principalities and powers, and rulers of spiritual wickedness of present day that we have not been challenging and binding with our Christ-given authority!  How long will we as a church neglect doing this?  How long will we be slack in exercising this wonderful privilege we have been given of teaching the powers of darkness the manifold wisdom of God? (Ephesians 3 v.10).  How long will we faint and wring our hands over the mounting manifestations of evil in our communities and in our world without opposing them,  schooling them, and battling and disarming them through the blood of the cross and Christ’s resurrection power?
“May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations (think powers of darkness) ———-to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them.  This is the glory of all his saints.  Praise the LORD.” (Psalm 149, v6-9)
We didn’t write the sentence against these dark powers, GOD did!  But GOD has given US the privilege of carrying out the sentence against them, as He leads us by His Holy Spirit.  Notice that it says all saints have this glory.    I can’t help but think of David (2 Samuel 11, v1) in the spring at a time when kings go off to war,  sending someone else instead (Joab) and living long to deeply regret it.  It was then in his moments of passivity that he fell to the temptation with Bathsheba that led to the murder of her husband Uriah.  Like David we are most vulnerable in our times of passivity.   Though David was forgiven, the consequences of this virulent progression of sin dogged him and his family for the rest of their lives.  Surely our neglect, and slackness and faintness of failure to occupy the territory assigned us can be forgiven, but that isn’t enough consolation.  So we must begin to go more on the aggressive, (oftentimes for me it means even becoming more assertive in ordinary everyday matters) we have been promised that the gates of hell will not be able to hold out against us.  We don’t want to see the consequences of our passivity flooding the lives of our children and grandchildren, and their children and grandchildren,  for generations to come!  No, we definitely don’t!
The story comes to mind from the Normandy invasion of WWII when the commanding officer questioned one of the U.S captains, "You haven't taken that building yet?" It happened to be heavily armed and fortified and opening fire fiercely on anyone approaching. The captain admitted that he didn't know how to take it. The commanding officer asked for a few men and some grenades and offered to demonstrate one time how it was done. We need commanding officers like that and captains teachable in spiritual warfare today to obliterate some stubborn enemy strongholds (bases of operation)that have hung around far too long!

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