Heroes of the Faith, Part 3Sample

God's Side

Hero: Joshua - Joshua 5:13-15, Hebrews 11:30-31

Theme Verse: John 1:12

Remember how Joshua built his faith? God chose Joshua to lead the nation and promised him that He would always be with him. After wandering for 40 years, it was time to take the promised land. Joshua sent two spies to the city of Jericho. A prostitute named Rahab hid the spies and helped them escape through a window in her house, a part of the city wall. They agreed to save her and her family only if she tied a red cord in the window.

To cross the Jordan river, the priests carried the ark of the covenant, a symbol of where God was, and walked straight into the middle of the river. The river at food stage miraculously piled upstream. Imagine trying to hold a pile of water in your hand. Israel walked across on dry ground and took 12 rocks from the riverbed to always remember what God did. We can write about what God is doing in our lives, too. Then Israel celebrated the Passover festival: remember when they put the blood of sheep on doorposts in Egypt to be saved?

One day Joshua saw a man with drawn sword. He asked if he was on Israel’s side or on their enemy’s side. The man said that he was on neither side, but that he was the commander of the Lord’s army.

The man was Jesus!

Sometimes we assume God is on our side just because we call ourselves Christian or go to church. Sometimes we do wrong, like not studying for a test or even sin, then pray to God for whatever we want and wonder why He doesn’t answer. But we must join God’s side, not the other way around. The Israelites joined God’s side with the Passover celebration, a picture of believing in Jesus. Rahab joined God’s side by helping God’s people and tying the red cord in her window, another picture of believing in Jesus.

The pharisees, Israel’s religious leaders in Jesus’ time, assumed they were on God’s side but made Him mad by not believing in Jesus and by pushing other people away from God. Jesus told them that the tax collectors and prostitutes were entering the kingdom of God ahead of them by believing and repenting (Matthew 21:31-32). We cannot put our trust in our parents’ faith or in going to church, and we must not judge others because of where they come from. No matter where you come from, YOU must believe in Jesus to be saved.

The Israelites marched around the city and shouted. The walls fell except Rahab’s house, and the Israelites burned the city. Rahab not only joined God’s people, but she became the great-great-grandmother of future king David and great-great-many-more-great-grandmother of Jesus (Matthew 1:5-6, 16). And Joshua led the nation for the rest of his life.

I recognize that being among Christians does not mean that God is on my side. I choose to join God’s side by believing in Jesus and obeying Him.

Questions:

1. What was the last time that you asked for God's help in something that was not his will?

2. God is so big; how can he be my best friend?

3. What does God want from me?

Application to Life:

Your assignment this week is to think to yourself whether you are pretending to be a Christian to be part of a group or if you really believe in Jesus. If this is your first time or you are unsure, ask your Sunday school teacher how you can join God’s family by believing in Jesus.