JOSHUA 7:1-13

1. WE NEED HELP WHEN WE FAIL MISERABLY:
1. Israel experienced terrible failure. The Israelites had easily destroyed and defeated Jericho. But they kept some of the forbidden spoils and God was not with them when they attacked Ai. "Approximately three thousand warriors were sent, but they were soundly defeated." On the heels of success, humiliating failure.
2. We will also fail ourselves, we fail others and we fail God when:
1. We disregard God and His Word and do things to suit ourselves.
2. We set unrealistic and impossible goals.
3. We try to do God's work in our own wisdom and power.
4. We try to do what other people impose upon us, but what is not God's work for us to do.
3. Better is he who tries to do much and succeeds in little of it than he who tries to do nothing and succeeds in achieving all of it. One thing to remember though, is "It is not failure to fail." With God there is always another chance. Failing becomes failure when
1. We allow it to dominate our thoughts and we become inordinately depressed and remorseful.
2. We devalue ourselves, thinking that only those who succeed are worthy individuals.
3. We do self-destructive things to punish ourselves or to somehow compensate for our failure.
4. We shut down shop and we fail to try again.
4. Charlie Brown is in bed lamenting his failure to hit the ball in a game. He struck out. He failed his team, he is convinced. His self-talk goes like this, "I'm just no good. I shouldn't ever try to do anything. I'm no good. I should just stay in bed for the rest of my life, and sleep." The next frame shows him looking at the ceiling and saying, "I can't even sleep good." He feels like a total failure. He needs help. So do we when we fail and feel like Charlie Brown.

2. WE NEED HELP WHEN WE ARE OVERWHELMED BY FEARS:
1. The men of Ai thoroughly routed the soldiers of Israel. "The Israelites were paralyzed with fear at this turn of events, and their courage melted away." Joshua was devastated by the defeat and lost hope. He cried out, "When the Canaanites and all the other people living in the land hear about it, they will surround us and wipe us off the face of the earth." Fear gripped the nation and its leader.
2. Fear, unchecked and undealt with is negative and destructive. It is harmful when
1. It paralyzes us from further positive action and we are afraid to take another step forward.
2. It panics and terrorizes us and makes us make unwise, impulsive decisions without thought or prayer.
3. It blows problems out of proportion and makes them seem larger than they are, larger than we are, and even larger than God is.
4. It robs us of peace and joy and assurance in our faith.
5. It makes life look like a hopeless end rather than an endless hope.
3. Fear can be healthy when it keeps us from doing foolish and reckless things. But fear that overwhelms and masters and crushes us is an enemy. To those anxieties and distresses, Jesus always says, "Fear not!"
4. Charlie Brown sees the little red haired girl being shoved around by a bully. He laments, "Oh, why aren't I tough? Why can't I rush over there and save her? Because I'd get slaughtered, that's why! I'm not tough; I'm not anything at all." Whereupon Linus goes the rescue, snapping the bully with his blanket. He says, "You can relax, Charlie Brown. He won't bother her any more." Charlie then laments, "That's very comforting. I'm the friend of a hero." Never the hero; fear prevents that as it prevents all good things if we let it.

3. WE NEED HELP WHEN WE RECOGNIZE OUR SINS:
1. God revealed the basis for the Israelite failure. "Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen the things that I commanded to be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them; they have also lied about it and hidden the things among their belongings. That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now Israel has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction."
2. We must recognize our sins to receive God's help. We may only come to recognize our sins when:
1. We have to suffer the consequences sin brings. Psalm 32 shows that happening with David after his sin of adultery and murder: "When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable, and I groaned all day long. Day and night Your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat." Psalms 32:3-4 (NLT). He was sick and afflicted, and we know that the child born to his illicit dalliance with Bathsheba died. He suffered the consequences of his sin.
2. The Holy Spirit deals with our spirit convincing us that we have fallen short, have deviated from right, and have disobeyed God. Jesus said of the Spirit, "When He comes, He will convince the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment." John 16:8 (NLT). He indicts us with the intention of turning us around.
3. A loving Christian brother or sister courageously points out our error. Paul wrote to the Galatians, "Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself." Galatians 6:1 (NLT).
3. Many try to help themselves with guilt. They want to resolve it in their own way. They want to acquit themselves. Now, there is something we must do to obtain God's help and to appropriated forgiveness. We must recognize our sin, turn from sin in repentance, confess sin to God and move on. But
1. To rationalize and excuse sin doesn't bring forgiveness.
2. To minimize and tolerate sin doesn't bring forgiveness.
3. To blame others for sin doesn't bring forgiveness.
4. To try to balance our sins with more good works doesn't bring forgiveness.
5. Only Jesus provides forgiveness and that to the sincerely repentant.
4. Charlie Brown lost his cool and yelled at his teacher. We find him in the principal's office. He says, "My teacher sent me in. I guess I yelled at her. I didn't mean to yell at her, I was sort of upset at the time and, well ... now I'm supposed to see the principal." There is an accountability for our sins. But when we sin, we are not sent to the principal; we are invited to the cross; we are called to the throne of mercy and grace to receive forgiveness and restoration.

Sure you have failed; so have I; but that's not final. We get to try again. That's what grace and mercy are all about. God doesn't say, "Well, you blew it; it's over for you." Our greatest successes may grow out of our most miserable failures. Sure there are things in life that intimidate and overwhelm us; but God is greater than any problem we face and stands ready to give us peace for our panic and comfort for our weakness. Sure we have sinned; there is none righteous. But the grace of God is more than sufficient for the worst of us. Paul said he was the worst of sinners and the least of saints but he wrote, "I hunted down His people, harming them in every way I could. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. Oh, how kind and gracious the Lord was! He filled me completely with faith and the love of Christ Jesus. This is a true saying, and everyone should believe it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - and I was the worst of them all. But that is why God had mercy on me, so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of His great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in Him and receive eternal life." 1 Timothy 1:13-16 (NLT). You need help, Charlie Brown, and that help is amply provided in Jesus Christ. What a Friend He is to those who fail; what a Friend he is to those who live their lives in fear and anxiety; what a Friend He is to those who realize their sins. What a Friend to those who need Him most. Come and receive His friendship and His help, as we sing.

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