"Dangerous Independence" | The Promised Life | Joshua 9 | Russell Cravens

Success can be more dangerous than failure.

In Joshua 9, Israel isn't defeated because they're weak—they're deceived because they stop depending on God. After a season of incredible victories, Joshua and Israel rely on their own judgment instead of seeking the Lord, and one prayerless decision carries lasting consequences.

What if the greatest danger in your spiritual life isn't obvious rebellion, but quietly replacing dependence on God with confidence in yourself?

In this message, Pastor Russell Cravens explores Joshua 9 and reminds us that the goal of the Christian life isn't simply making wise decisions—it's making every decision in the presence of God.

In this message you'll discover:

•  Why success can tempt us toward self-reliance 
•  What it actually looks like to seek God's guidance 
•  How God's grace meets us even after costly mistakes 
•  Why it's never too late to choose obedience today 

Key Takeaway:
Don't let experience replace dependence.

If this message encourages you, be sure to subscribe, share it with a friend, and join us in person at Neartown Church in Houston, Texas.

#Joshua #ChristianSermon #Faith #TrustGod #NeartownChurch #BibleTeaching #HoustonChurch #ExpositoryPreaching #ChristianLiving

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

So we're in this series through the book of Joshua. And as we come to Joshua chapter 9, God's people are in a really good place. They've learned some hard lessons along the way. In fact, they've just won a great victory. If you were here last week, we talked about that, Joshua chapter 8. And if you're watching from the outside, the people of God, we would probably say, like, they're doing pretty well spiritually. Maybe that's where you are today. You're walking with the Lord, and relatively speaking, like you're in a good place. If that's you, this message is for you. The big idea for my talk this morning is this don't let experience replace dependence. Success often tempts us to trust ourselves more than God. And what Joshua 9 is going to teach us is that one of the greatest dangers in the Christian life often comes in periods of relative stability and ease. And so we're going to get into it. And so as we begin thinking about this, I want to pray, and then I'm just going to teach right through the chapter. God Almighty, we love you. And God, I hope that there are some in the room today that feel like things are just kind of going pretty good. God, I want to just ask that they would listen intently to this passage as we ask you and your spirit to open up our minds to what you want to teach us. God, I'm also aware that there are people here that are struggling. God, I pray that your Holy Spirit would just use the teaching of this passage to encourage them, to instruct them. And God, so though I'm standing on this stage and I'm the one with the mic and the one speaking, God, I know I cannot order my words in such a way that life change will happen. And so, God, I surrender myself and this message to you in this moment for your glory and for our good. God, we love you and trust you. And I pray all this in Christ's name. Amen. Well, so chapter 9 zooms out and kind of gives us a picture as to what's going on. So at this point, the word has spread that God's people are beginning to move into this promised land and that Israel as an army is just wiping out city after city. Any city unwilling to surrender to God is defeated. So as the word gets out, the enemy kings begin to talk to one another and they begin forming alliances. They've heard about what God has done and they know they can't ignore it. So they're going to begin kind of getting together and see if they can defeat Israel's army. Most of these enemy kings prepare for war. But there's one group, the Gibeonites, who choose a different strategy. Jeannie read the passage, and so if you didn't catch it, here's what happened. The Gibeonites live only a few miles away. They're one of the enemies living in the promised land. They know they can't defeat Israel in battle. And so instead of sharpening their swords and becoming an ally with the other enemy kings, they sharpen their strategy. They gather old clothes that are torn and faded, they find cracked wineskins and worn-out sandals, and they pack bread that's dry and moldy. Now, last week I used some images, especially for the kids, to tell the story. We use Roblox, and this week I'm going to use anime. So how many raise your hand if you're into anime? I'm not at all, but I hear it's popular, and so here we go. So the story goes that they load everything onto their donkeys and they make themselves look like weary travelers who've been walking for weeks. Then they arrive at Israel's camp and they say in verse 6, We've come from a distant country. Please make a covenant with us. The request was that Israel would promise not to kill them as they took possession of the promised land. So I want to pause here and just think about two contextual questions that are important. First of all, why was this treaty such a big deal to the Gibeonites? And why was the concept of covenant such a big deal to Israel? And then the second question that will answer both of these at the same time: why did God command Israel to destroy all of the Canaanite nations? If you're reading these stories about Israel's army going into the promised land and just annihilating all these people, if you're like me, you're kind of like, okay, God, what's up here? Two questions. Why is treaty such a big deal and why all the destruction? Well, the answer to that is that Israel could make treaties according to their law. They could make treaties with distant nations, but never with the pagan nations living in the promised land. God had patiently endured with these pagan nations for hundreds of years in the time of judgment, according to God's sovereignty, had come. And at the same time, he's protecting Israel from becoming like them. But here's what's important I want you to hear right from this point. Even so, mercy is still available to anyone that'll turn to him. Think about the story of Rahab, which we were in a few weeks ago, and we're about to see it with the Gibeonites. So the Gibeonites called the Hivites in the next verse, find and introduce themselves to Joshua and Israel's leader. Let's look there together in verse 7. It'll be on the screen. But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, again, the Gibeonites, perhaps you live among us. Then how can we make a covenant with you? Verse 8. They said to Joshua, We are your servants. And Joshua said to them, Who are you and where do you come from? So Joshua is sensing that something isn't quite right. I can almost picture Joshua with one eye slightly squinted, not quite convinced. His instincts tell him something isn't adding up. In fact, he asks exactly the right question in verse 7. Perhaps you live among us. I mean, you look like you've come from a long way away, but perhaps you live among us. He's sensing that there may be more to this story than they're telling him. And he asks, Who are you? Where have you come from? And you know, we've we've seen that the Gibeonites claim that they traveled from a distant country because they've heard about the fame of Israel's God and his mighty acts. And then they point to the proof of their clothes. They looked bedraggled. They're trying to convince Joshua, they're trying to trick him into believing that they've been traveling for weeks. Every detail seems to support their story. And in this moment, Joshua has a decision to make. Usually it shows up when we're facing a decision that isn't obviously right or wrong. But but most of life isn't lived there. Most of life is lived in the gray areas, wouldn't you say? Like, should I take this job or stay where I am? Should I allow my kids to spend time with this person? How exactly should we spend our money? These are gray zone decisions. And those are the moments when God's people have a choice. Will I simply trust my own ability to figure it out, or will I slow down long enough to seek the counsel of the Lord? Here's what Joshua 9 wants us to see. Something can look good and still not be what God wants. Something can look good and still not be what God wants. Scripture reminds us of this over and over. Eve looked at the fruit in Genesis chapter 3 and saw that it was good, it was attractive, it was desirable, it appeared to offer exactly what she wanted. The writer of Proverbs warns us there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Time and time again, God's people discover that what looks right isn't always what is right. So the pressing question in the gray areas of life is this Am I inviting God's presence into the decisions I make? Or am I too dependent on what my eyes can see? This is exactly what's happening in this story. And in verse 14, we read one of the shortest, most devastating sentences in the entire book. Verse 14. It says this. So Israel's leaders took some of their provisions. Now listen, but did not ask counsel from the Lord. They inspected, they evaluated, they talked, they reached a conclusion, but they never stopped to seek the Lord. Can you remember the last big decision you made without ever really asking God what he wanted? Verse 15. And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them. Remember what I said about covenant or treaty to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them. So Joshua and Israel's leaders make this promise to the Gibeonites. They're swearing by God's holy name not to conquer them. We're going to come back to that promise in just a moment. But before we move on, I do want to pause here and just consider what does it actually look like to consult with the Lord, to ask the Lord? Because you may be thinking, like, oh, I don't do this as often as I should. And I want to give you some real practical questions to consider. It doesn't mean waiting for a voice from heaven. Three things, three questions that I would put before you as you're thinking about the decisions that you get to make in the gray areas of life, the gray zone of life that will help you hear from the Lord. Three questions. First of all, has God already spoken about this in Scripture? Now, if He has, that's the answer. That's how we think about it. Like the written word, the Bible, reveals the living word Jesus. We trust it as God's word to us. Now you may say, I don't know what the Bible says about that particular thing. Well, you go find it. Go find the answer. Has God already spoken about this in Scripture? So, like this week I was driving, I got frustrated with while I was driving. Somebody cut in front of me and I thought, should I murder them? And I remembered that the Bible says that you're not to murder, and so I didn't do it. I'm gonna ride out that laughter. Second question, have I honestly prayed about it? Have I honestly prayed about it? Like, ask the Lord, like, God, I'm I need some direction in this area. Should I take this job? Should I take that job? Should I move here or there? Should I date this person or not that person? Should I spend my money in this area or that area? Should I let my kid hang out with that person? Should I make this business deal or not? Have I honestly prayed about it? Thirdly, have I invited wise believers to speak into it? I've been amazed in the history of this church how many times I'll hear about somebody, for instance, saying, Hey, I'm moving to another city for a different job. And I ask them, and I kind of ask around, and nobody knew that they were even thinking about it. And I wonder, like, I did they actually like seek why wisdom from other believers? Have invited wise believers to speak into it. See, I I don't think Joshua woke up the morning of this story thinking, I'm gonna leave God out for the day. I don't think he was trying to be rebellious, and and I certainly don't think he was thinking or saying to himself, I don't need God anymore. It's much more subtle than that at times. He was lulled into independence by a period of life that was good. Like things are going pretty good, and so we're a little less like concerned with, okay, God, where are you? What are you doing? What are you saying? I mean, like things are going good. I'm not so sure. If we're honest, I need God in my life as much as I do when I'm in a moment of crisis. That's the problem Joshua 9 addresses. He grew confident in himself because of the fallen walls and the wars won. I mean, experience is a wonderful teacher, but until it replaces dependence. And instead of seeking God's perspective, Joshua trusted his own. Can I tell you how this is showing up in my life right now? So over the past few months, our leadership team has had to make countless decisions as we prepared for this next chapter in the life of the church. Now, some of you, like this is the first church you've ever really been a part of. I want you to know that like the last couple years, the last year, for us is there, it's not common in church world. And we we've had a lot of decisions to make as a leadership team. I'm like, in this season, like, which date are we going to move our Sunday gatherings back to the council? Or which staff should we hire? Or how much money do we want to spend here and there? Like, what should be our priorities in the midst of a kind of congregation where you can't do everything? And none of those decisions from our perspective is obviously right or wrong. These are the kinds of gray area decisions that Joshua is facing in this chapter. And as I've read this week and studied and spent hours in this passage, I found myself praying like, Lord, don't let me confuse experience with dependence. We have been here before. I've led for many years, multiple decades. Don't let me assume that I know what you want to do simply because I've been doing this a long time. Keep me, keep us close to you. We want our ears turned towards you and go, God, what do you want? You see, the goal isn't simply to make wise decisions in life, it's to make every decision in the presence of God, which is the point of the story in Joshua. Joshua 9 is a warning for us all. Very few of us wake up one morning and decide that we're done depending on God. It happens more quietly than that. Somewhere along the way, we begin trusting our experience more than his presence. And Joshua 9 is warning us against self-reliance, hidden self-reliance. And that's harder to see because often it looks like maturity. But underneath it is this quiet assumption, I've got this. This is a costly decision for Israel. So the story goes, starting in verse 16, that three days later the truth comes out. So Israel breaks camp, they begin to move further into the promised land, and after a very short trip, do you know where they arrive? Gibeon. To their surprise, and they realize like we've been tricked. The Gibeonites are among the people that Israel is supposed to conquer. And the entire nation of Israel is furious and they want to like obliterate these liars. But Joshua and the leaders stop them. They say, We can't. We made a treaty with them, swearing to keep it in the name of the Lord. So the story goes that Joshua and the leaders they own their mistake, but what a painful moment. And then even though they admit their fault, they can't undo what they've already done without breaking their promise to the Lord. Which makes this another thing worth considering. A single prayerless decision can have consequences that regret cannot immediately erase. Have you ever like walked up to the stove about to cook something, not knowing that somebody else had just used the pan, and so you go to grab the pan, you didn't assess it properly, and you just made an impulsive decision. I mean, you can regret having grabbed it, but the consequences still exist. Sometimes we imagine that if we go about life and we make all these decisions independent of the Lord, and we realize, oh, I made a mistake, and we say, Oh, I'm sorry, God, I made a mistake, that everything is immediately going to return to the way it was before. And sometimes it does, but often it does not. God forgives instantly, but the consequences of our choices often remain. But the good news is that while God doesn't always remove the consequences, he always offers his presence in the middle of them. This we're making a turn here to the beauty and majesty of God in the gospel as revealed in Christ. So the crescendo of this story is not the deception. It's not the moment where Israel goes, We've been tricked. The crescendo of this story is God's grace. In verse 22, Joshua asked the Gibeonites, like, Why did you deceive us? And look at verse 24, their answer. Because it was told to your servants for a certainty that the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you. So we feared greatly for our lives because of you and did this thing. We lied because we were scared. And now, behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight, do that to us. They don't make excuses. This is Gibeon speaking here, the Gibeonites. They simply own it. We were afraid, we knew that you were going to destroy us, and so we lied. Two groups here that have made major mistakes. Israel had forgotten for a moment to consult the Lord. Their self-confidence kept them from dependence. And then the Gibeonites were fearful, and it drove them to deception. Both parties act wrongly. Both are in need of grace. Look at verse 26. So Joshua did this to them and delivered them out of the hand of the people of Israel, and they did not kill them. But Joshua made them that day cutters of wood and drawers of water, drawers of water for the congregation. Listen, where is where are they going to do these menial tasks? Listen, for the altar of the Lord to this day in the place that he should choose. This is a really important part of the story. Joshua tells the Gibeonites that because he made a covenant in the name of the Lord to them that he would not destroy them, that he wasn't going to. However, they were going to be assigned to cut wood and carry water, not just for Israel, but for the entire house of God, for the altar. The altar is the place where God is choosing to dwell among his people. The very people who tried to Saved themselves through deception are now placed near the worship of the one true God. And interestingly, if you were to fast forward in the history of the Gibeonites in this location, this like place in the promised land, actually, in this place, on this place of land is eventually where the tabernacle of God will be built. And this is where we begin to see the fingerprints of God's grace. The Gibeonites deserve judgment. Israel deserved judgment. The Gibeonites lied, Israel acted independently, neither side gets what they deserve. But only after they admit their need for God's ongoing presence. Isn't this the story of the gospel? None of us entered to experience God's grace because we deserve it. None of us are welcomed into God's family because we deserve to be there. We have all got chapters we'd rather leave out of our stories. Raise your hand if you're like, I got a chapter that I would like to leave out of my story. Can I get you by a show of hands? All over the room. We've all made decisions that we wish we could undo. And yet the gospel tells us that Jesus welcomes into his kingdom, into God's kingdom, even those, especially those who will own up to their need for forgiveness. And he doesn't simply forgive sinners. What God is doing in Christ is bringing them near. Catch this. As a consequence, the Gibeonites live out their days near the altar where God's presence meets people. The message of Christianity, as we think about the whole story of the Bible, is that because of Jesus, we're brought near not just to an altar like the Gibeonites, but into the very presence of God Himself. Listen to what Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once very far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. That's our story. If you're a follower of Jesus, what this means is that you've come to a place in your life where you're like, I lived independent of God or I deceived God and I will recognize and acknowledge my error, my sin. I need forgiveness. And then you hear that God made a way for your sin to be forgiven by sending his only begotten son, Jesus, to the cross who shed blood erases sin. And if you'll repent of your sin and turn in faith to Jesus, you can be brought nearer to the presence of God and experience the peace of life with Christ. If you've never done that, you've never made that decision, then the invitation is yours. But it first requires that you acknowledge that you've been living independent of God or you've deceived God. You have to be aware of your need for Jesus and a Savior. You say, How do I do that? It's so simple. God knows your heart. You just say, God, I need you. I've lived much of my life without you. I need you in my life. I want to experience your presence. That's our story. So where does Joshua 9 leave us? I think it leaves us asking two questions. The first one is this. Where have you stopped asking God? And remember, if you're feeling like, oh, life's pretty good, things are going pretty good. I like my job. Things are kind of hitting all the cylinders in the home. I've got enough money in the bank account. I mean, like, you know how this goes, and I do too. You if you're honest, it just becomes a little easier to kind of leave the conversation with God out of the day. But where does that show up for you? Where have you stopped asking God? Now, hear me on this. I'm not saying every time you wake up in the morning, you're trying to decide whether or not to have, you know, eggs or a protein shake that you're like, Lord, you know, I come to you, I beseech you in the name of Jesus. Should I have a protein shake? I mean, you could, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the kind of gray zone decisions where you're like, should I do this business deal? Should I let my kids hang out with these people? I've already listed these. Should I take this job or that job? Should I spend money here or there? Where have you stopped consulting God? Because, you know, if you're honest, you just feel pretty smart. I mean, you can make decisions, and they don't won't always sort of prove to be bad decisions. But you know what you miss out on when you when you leave out the consulting with God, the verse 14 of Joshua 9? You miss out on the presence of God in your everyday life. The competence is a terrible substitute for communion with God. The presence is the prize of the promised life. The deeper we walk into this promised life, the more aware we become of our need for God. So, first question: where have you been leaving out, consulting, or talking to God? Second question is this what do you do after you've made the wrong decision? Joshua 9 teaches us something beautiful. When you can't undo yesterday's decision, you can still choose to obey today. I know many people over the 30 years but I've been in ministry and leading that unlike they made a bad decision, and that just sort of like breaks this, breaks loose this pattern of just continuing to pour on and make more and more and more bad decisions. But just because you've made a bad decision, because you didn't consult with the Lord and get a word from the Lord, you didn't get wisdom and input from others, just because you didn't think about what does the Bible say about this thing, just because you made a bad decision and you get on the other side, you realize, like, oh, I should have made a different decision, it doesn't mean you have to continue making bad decisions. You can still choose to obey today, and that's the point. And this, in the midst of all of this, no matter what decisions you make, good or bad, God's grace is gonna meet you there when you acknowledge your need for Him. So here's what I know tomorrow and this week, you're gonna make lots of decisions. Some of you have in your mind right now a decision that you need to make. And maybe before Joshua 9, you were kind of not so sure in your pattern of thinking whether or not you were gonna consult with the Lord, and I hope you will now. You'll make lots of decisions this week, some big, some small. And the question for you is that will you depend on your own intellect, your own reason, or will you surrender to God and go, God, is the answer to this in your word? I'm praying, I'm asking for you to help me think about this in the way that I should. And maybe I ought to consult some others who can speak to this. What will you do with God's word today and this week? Let's think on and pray about these things. Would you bow your head? God, thank you for your word. It is so rich. And though it was written thousands of years ago, God, we just recognize how relevant it is for our day today. God, I pray that each person in this room would have an amplified sense in their heart of longing for your presence in their everyday decision making. God, we need you. And God, for those in the room that are feeling some regret and shame because they made a bad decision independent of you, God, I pray that you would just meet them there. And if there are consequences that are lasting because of that bad decision, God, I pray that they would draw close to you as you walk with them through it. And God, I do pray for our church, God, we're in the midst of getting to make a lot of decisions. God, we are, and I say this publicly, we're consulting you. What do you want us to do? You're so good, God, and we love you, and thank you for what this word has done in my own heart. I pray that with courage I would obey, and I pray the same for all those that are listening. So we're gonna continue in this posture of response. And the way we do this at Neartown Church is we just give you a minute or so just to ask two questions. We don't want you to leave here having heard the word, sung some songs, without thinking about how it actually applies to your life as you go from here. So, two questions. What did I hear, and what must I do? And that could be very practical in the what must I do? Like, you know what? I need to seek some wise counsel for this decision I'm about to make. Or I need to commit 15 minutes every morning to just praying about this one thing. What did I hear? What must I do? So we're gonna leave a minute of silence here for you to think about those two questions.