I DIDN'T START THE FIGHT, BUT I WILL FINISH IT Pastor Johnnie Simpson Jr

Joshua 10:9-15

9So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. 

10And the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who inflicted a great slaughter on them at Gibeon, chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 

11As they fled before Israel, while they were going down the slope of Beth-horon, the Lord threw down huge stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died because of the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.

12 On the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the Lord; and he said in the sight of Israel,

‘Sun, stand still at Gibeon,

  and Moon, in the valley of Aijalon.’

13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,

  until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.

Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in mid-heaven, and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. 

14There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded a human voice; for the Lordfought for Israel.

15 Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

Growing up I did not like to get in trouble. I tried to learn the rules and follow them as best as I could as long as they made sense to me. I would try to go months if I could without getting a whooping…I mean getting in trouble. I would clean my room, make sure to wake up as soon as I heard my mother say get up its time to get dressed and go to school, I kept my nose clean. I had some siblings, won’t call any names but it seemed as if some of my other siblings didn’t feel like the day started off right unless they got in trouble. I didn’t like getting in trouble but most of the time when I got in trouble I understood why I got in trouble, I didn’t wash the dishes when I was supposed to, I didn’t take out the trash when I was supposed to. That I understood, however there were times I didn’t agree with getting in trouble, I was the oldest male child on both sides of my family for my whole generation. So that meant when other cousins were acting up and got some of that 80’s and 90’s kid discipline, I had to get that too. Why apparently because I was the oldest and I should have done something to stop them. I would also get in trouble if I started a fight, I wasn’t supposed be going around putting hands on other people. But you know what else I got in trouble for? Not finishing a fight, it would be one thing to fight someone unprovoked, but if someone started something with me or one of my family members I was under the obligation to finish it, I couldn’t come home and look my mom and dad, aunts and uncles, grandparents in the eye and tell them that someone had messed with me or mines and I did nothing about it. If something like that happened I needed to be prepared for two things, to either be heading back out to finish that fight, or be prepared for another one inside the house. I was raised not to start fights, but I was raised to finish them.

Joshua was a finisher, Joshua who was first mentioned in Exodus 17 and is now making moves in a book of the Bible named after him was a finisher. There are those that call this generation the Joshua generation, Moses was not able to enter to promised land, Joshua had to take up the mantle and lead the people into the promised land. We are all Moses sometimes and we are all Joshuas, we just have to recognize that and treat the people right that we deal with. You have to be careful how you treat people, you never know where God is going to elevate them later. In Exodus 17, Joshua gets told what to do for others, by the time we get to the Book of Joshua, Joshua is now the leader. You have to watch how you treat people because the same people you see on the way up may be the same people you see on the way down. God elevated Joshua and just like God elevated Joshua he can elevate you. Zechariah 4:10 tells us not to despise small beginnings. Matthew 25:23 tells shows us that if you are faithful over a few things the Lord will make you ruler over many.  Just keep putting your hand to the plow and your time will come. Just keep working on yourself keep improving yourself and your time will come. But understand that when you try to get better, you are going to run into some opposition.

a. The pagans in Chapter (10:1-5): we learn that Five kings determine to attack the Gibeonites for signing a peace treaty with Israel.

These Gibeonites were trying to improve their land, signing peace treaties, getting travel pathways created so they could trade supplies and grow they were trying to get get better and the five kingdoms didn’t like that. People like you when you are on their level or worse off, but let you try to get a little promotion, let you try to go back to school, let your relationship with your spouse improve, let you try and buy a new house. Let your children start doing real good for themselves, let you try and start a new business, you will see who your real friends are, they will show their true colors. The Gibeonites were minding their own business and that made them a target for attack. I would have trouble trying to understand if I wasn’t in this world today, minding your business sleeping in your bed can get you shot now, somebody thinking you gave them a fake 20 bill, telling someone to put their dog on a leash, eating ice cream in your own apartment, people minding their own business and they are targets for attack. School to prison pipeline target for attack, redlining and white fight, target for attack, predatory lending, target for attack, disparities in medical care for people of color, target for attack, food deserts, target for attack, trying to take apart the voting rights act, target for attack, trying to send people back to work before their is a vaccine, consensus on treatment, or any new advances in the fight against this virus, target for attack, purposely ending negotiation for another round of stimulus until after the election target for attack. The enemy is out here forming alliances against you just because you exist.

b. The plea (10:6-7): The Gibeonites appeal to Joshua for military help.

When the trouble comes you have to be willing to ask for help and ask for the right kind of help. We have to go to people who have are best interest in mind, not those who hang around us just because they want feel good about themselves. We need to be able to ask for help. I said in my sermon last week that the enemy wins when we keep our suffering a secret. We don’t know everything and we can’t do everything ourselves we have to be willing to ask someone else to help us in our times of trouble. Pride comes before the fall, and there are plenty of people with dreams unfulfilled, challenges that are not conquered, all because they did not want to ask someone else for help.

c. The promise (10:8): The Lord reassures Joshua of victory.

You know when you have asked the right kind of help, when your help is willing to take to the Lord. The Gibeonites needed help, and Joshua did what good church folk say they are going to do all the time. “Well I’m praying for you” and that might have been the prayer right there. But Joshua actually went and talked to the Lord. The Gibeonites went to Joshua for help in verses 6-7 and he started talking to God in verse 8. When we need help we need to talk to God and talk to friends who talk to God. When someone comes to us for help we need to talk to God. No matter what the situation is, if we want to conquer it, if we want to finish it, we need to talk to God.

Isaiah 55:6 New King James Version (NKJV)

6 Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.

Matthew 7:7 New King James Version (NKJV)

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Philippians 4:6-7 New King James Version (NKJV)

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Oh what peace we often forfeit, Oh what needless pains we bear All because we do not carry, Everything to God in Prayer

Joshua got the promise because he was willing to go to God in prayer.

d. The provision (10:9-14): The Lord gives the Israelites victory by sending a hailstorm upon their enemies. He also miraculously lengthens the day to ensure total victory.

Once you have that divine support you have to be willing to take the fight back to them. I didn’t start the fight but I sure can finish it for you. Joshua and the army marched all night so they could get there that much faster. You have to be willing to work as well. Joshua didn’t say lets wait this out, didn’t say give me a few weeks and I will get back to you. God gave him the promise and they went right then. They marched all night, you may not have an army in the physical to march all night but you do have an army in the spiritual, you may not be be able to march your feet all night long to you reach the enemy camp but you can march the fruit of your lips in prayer all night long until it reaches the ears of God. The Lord will fight your battles for you, you just have to be willing to some work on your own. Joshua and the army started to defeat the enemy, they went into a panic, there are going to be some well crafted plans made and when the enemy tries to execute them, they will seem as confused and unorganized as they can possibly be. The text says that the sun and moon stood still, some scholars think that might have been an eclipse, others have different opinions. I don’t care, what I say to that is the enemy came looking to start a fight and that made a long day for them. When kids used to talk trash about how they were going to beat me I would tell them bring a lunch, you going to be here a long time then. The people fought and the sun stood still and the day was long.

And on top of all that once the Israelites fought, the enemy started to run away, but God caused the hail storm and large rocks to finish the battle. The work that God did was greater than the work that the people did. God doesn’t need your help to defeat the enemy, God wants to see if you are going to be a participant in your own deliverance, God is here take your natural and put some Super on that natural for supernatural work. the Bible is full of miracles and when you see those miracles there are instructions. God told Moses to pick up staff, the widow with Elijah had to find some jars, Abraham had to get out of his country, Jesus told the people when he turned water to wine to bring him some barrels of water. Miracles in the Bible

Are you willing to participate in your deliverance? I will ask my children sometimes to do some things I know they can’t do all by themselves, I ask because I want to see them try, if they are willing to put in the effort, I will help them finish it. And by the time it is done I will have done more work than they did, but I want them to get in the mindset of putting something into it so they don’t just take the help for granted. The hard work is already done by the Lord.