19 December Joshua 5

This is a war; choose whose side you are on

Joshua 5:13-14(MSG) And then this, while Joshua was there near Jericho: He looked up and saw right in front of him a man standing, holding his drawn sword. Joshua stepped up to him and said, “Whose side are you on - ours or our enemies’?” He said, “Neither. I’m commander of GOD’s army. I’ve just arrived.” Joshua fell, face to the ground, and worshiped. He asked, “What orders does my Master have for his servant?”

Matthew 12:30(MSG) “This is war, and there is no neutral ground. If you’re not on my side, you’re the enemy; if you’re not helping, you’re making things worse.

This is a war! Yes, it is. We must take a side. It must be the side of Jesus. There is no neutral ground. Either I am for Jesus, or I am against Him. I don’t get to remain impartial; it’s not an option.

John 8:42-47(MSG) “If God were your father,” said Jesus, “you would love me, for I came from God and arrived here. I didn’t come on my own. He sent me. Why can’t you understand one word I say? Here’s why: You can’t handle it. You’re from your father, the Devil, and all you want to do is please him. He was a killer from the very start. He couldn’t stand the truth because there wasn’t a shred of truth in him. When the Liar speaks, he makes it up out of his lying nature and fills the world with lies. I arrive on the scene, tell you the plain truth, and you refuse to have a thing to do with me. Can any one of you convict me of a single misleading word, a single sinful act? But if I’m telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Anyone on God’s side listens to God’s words. This is why you’re not listening—because you’re not on God’s side.”

The question proposed to you today is, are you on God’s side? The Bible is clear if you are not on God’s side, you betray yourself.

John 15:5(AMP) I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for [otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.

Hebrews 3:7-8(AMP) “Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS [your fathers did] IN THE REBELLION [of Israel at Meribah], ON THE DAY OF TESTING IN THE WILDERNESS.”

During the Civil War, one of President Lincoln’s advisors said he was grateful God was on the Union’s side. Abraham Lincoln told him: “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.”

Joshua, the leader of the Israelite army, was about to battle Jericho, and he fell into the same trap as Lincoln’s advisor.

The most important question is not who is on your side, the most important question is: Are you, on God’s side?

Joshua 5:13-14(MSG) And then this, while Joshua was there near Jericho: He looked up and saw right in front of him a man standing, holding his drawn sword. Joshua stepped up to him and said, “Whose side are you on - ours or our enemies’?” He said, “Neither. I’m commander of GOD’s army. I’ve just arrived.” Joshua fell, face to the ground, and worshiped. He asked, “What orders does my Master have for his servant?”

“There is no neutral ground in the universe. Every square inch, every split second is claimed by God, and counterclaimed by Satan.” - CS Lewis

“A man in the right, with God on his side, is in the majority, though he be alone, for God is multitudinous above all populations of the earth.“ - Henry Ward Beecher

If we’re on God’s side, we cannot fail. If we’re on God’s side then God will be on our side, and our victory is guaranteed.

This is not just a story from Scripture or a philosophical debate—it is a spiritual war, and it is real. There is no neutral ground, no middle path, and no sitting on the fence. The question is not whether God is on your side, but whether you are on His. As the Commander of the Lord’s Army told Joshua, _“Neither… I’ve just arrived.”_ God doesn’t take sides—He is the side.

Jesus said, _“If you’re not with Me, you are against Me.”_ That means silence is surrender. Indecision is a decision. Delay is disobedience. If you’re not actively standing for Jesus, you are already standing against Him.

Today, the Holy Spirit says: “Do not harden your hearts.” The voice of truth calls you to choose—to choose the side of life, of truth, of righteousness, of Jesus. You can’t win apart from Him, for “apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 AMP). But if you remain in Him, and stand on His side, your victory is certain.

So the question remains: *Whose side are you on?*

Fall on your face like Joshua. Surrender. Worship. Ask the only question that truly matters:

*“What orders does my Master have for His servant?”*

Choose today. Choose Jesus. Choose God’s side—*and never lose.*