Cornerstone Christian Center
Cornerstone Christian Center
Joshua | Build
The Lord is Good
Today we're continuing our theme of "build," exploring what it means to build our lives on Jesus Christ. I’ve always been the family photographer, capturing moments so we can remember the great story of our lives. These pictures serve as highlights, reminders of God’s blessing and His constant presence on our journey.
Just as photos help us remember, the Bible tells us to remember what God has done. We don't live in the past, but we look back to remember God’s goodness and faithfulness so we can walk forward in what He has for us. The Psalmist says, "For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations".
Building and Fighting
Our church is named Cornerstone because Jesus is the cornerstone of our lives. Ephesians 2:20 says we are "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone".
We see this idea of building and fighting in the life of Joshua. As he prepared to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, the Lord told him, "Be strong and courageous". God promised He would not leave or forsake them, but they had to be willing to fight for what was theirs. The first thing Joshua commanded the people to do was not to sharpen their swords but to consecrate themselves and cleanse their hearts before God. Our actions follow from the condition of our hearts.
Dry Ground and Holy Places
When the people were ready, the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant stepped into the Jordan River, and the water was pulled back, allowing all of Israel to cross on dry ground. To remember this incredible miracle, Joshua told the leaders to take 12 stones from the middle of the river and build a monument. These stones were a sign for their children, so that when they asked what the stones meant, the parents could say, "Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground… so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of God is mighty".
When Joshua later met a man with a drawn sword, he asked, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?". The man, who was the commander of the Lord's army, replied, "No... I am the commander of the army of the Lord". Joshua immediately fell to the ground in worship, and the commander said, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy".
Friends, if we realize that God is with us, then wherever we place our feet is holy ground.
If you have never made the decision to follow Jesus, I challenge you to make that decision today. As the apostle Paul wrote, "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved".
Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Edition. I'm Elijah Vance and with me is Deborah Sterling. We have an extraordinary update A people, after 40 years of wandering, have finally arrived at the doorstep of the promised land. Our field reporter, sarah Jenkins, has the exclusive interview with their leader, joshua live at the Jordan River. Sarah, what can you tell us?
Speaker 2:Thank you, Elijah and Deborah. The sun is just rising and the morning air is filled with a sense of awe and relief. A momentous day. Joshua, Can you describe the journey it took to get to this very spot?
Speaker 1:It was a long road.
Speaker 2:We stumbled. Our own lack of faith and disobedience kept us in the wilderness for a generation. The Lord never abandoned us. He provided for our needs and prepared us for this day. You've built this monument of 12 stones. What is the meaning behind them?
Speaker 1:It's so. They never forget His miracles. It's a testament to His power and His promises.
Speaker 2:A powerful message of trusting in the Lord's plan even when the path is uncertain.
Speaker 1:For so long we wandered. There were moments of doubt, but he was always with us providing for us. We learned that His timing is perfect and that true strength comes from faith, not from our own power.
Speaker 2:This is Sarah Jenkins. Live at the Jordan, back to you in the studio. True strength comes from faith, not from our own power. This is Sarah Jenkins. Live at the Jordan, back to you in the studio. True strength comes from his power. How many people would say amen to that? Amen. Today we're talking about and continuing this theme of build. We've been taking a look at what it means to build our life on Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2:Now, in my family, I am the person that takes the pictures. Every person there's a family that has a picture taker. Right, maybe you are the person. Maybe you are the person that goes and connects to the other person because they don't have you don't have any photos in your phone, so you need their photos. How many people know what I'm talking about? And so it's like that's how it goes. You're also the person. If you take the pictures, you're in none of the pictures. If you take the pictures, you're in none of the pictures. How many people know what I'm saying? And so that's how that works.
Speaker 2:But I was talking to a friend, ernie, shout out to him but we were talking about how many pictures you can compile on your phone so quick, and I had just purged the pictures out of my phone and when I looked down, it told me that I have 56,000 pictures in my phone as of yesterday, and I thought that was a lot. And then Ernie opened his phone and he has over a hundred thousand. I was like what? But you know, I do love pictures, because pictures are a way for me. It helps me to remember the great story and the great part of the things that we've got to experience, and so a lot of the pictures of our family, especially as we lived abroad, were selfies like this one. So this was from Easter this year and, you know, we got to the end of it. We realized, oh, we should get a picture of our family, and so we took a quick selfie together, and it's one of those kind of things that it's a highlight, because I'm like Lord thank you for your blessing, thank you for your continued hand upon us, thank you, lord, for being with us in our journey and through all the things that we have traversed and what we've endured.
Speaker 2:One of the highlights a picture like this one is of our daughter, amelia, and it was the day before we moved to Egypt, and so that was everything we had were in those blue bins from Walmart and in a few suitcases. And you know, she didn't know her whole world was about to flip upside down. She didn't know that she was about to not have grandma and grandpas and everyone in her life, and she didn't know that she was about to go live in a whole other country with culture and language. And, to be real honest, this is a picture that both brightens my heart because I see her when she was teeny, tiny, squishy face heart because I see her when she was teeny, tiny, squishy face. And it also sparks all the feelings I was feeling as a dad as I was taking my family again across from what they know to the unknown and being obedient to God, taking them now into the Middle East, taking them to places that are dangerous for Christians, taking them and being obedient to the unknown to say yes to God. But what I can tell you, friends, is that God is faithful and that whenever I look back at these images and these highlights, it's something that's so amazing. It speaks to me about God's faithfulness.
Speaker 2:You know, a few years ago, a while ago now, but whenever I was a youth pastor here serving with my parents, it was amazing. We started to kind of realize that our society was really pushing it. Here, serving with my parents, it was amazing. We started to kind of realize that our society was really pushing it. Like you know, the marketing gurus, they really got to it and everything was escalating during those Christmases and kind of everybody was getting the bigger, better gift and the newer this and that and all the Christmas season. It all turned to this idea of getting stuff.
Speaker 2:And what we realize is that we're not here to live for stuff. Instead, we want to cherish our family, we want to cherish experience together, and we started talking about that. And so one of the things that we started doing is giving as a gift was, you know, pretty meager, but we started making these photo books of our family and so every year we would give a photo book like this to our family and it was a way for us to stay connected with them, but it's also a way for them to have the memories as well as what we had gone through and what we lived in the journey. And it's pretty great because on any given note or any given page, you could just kind of look through and see what the highlights might be and what the picture might become. And so, just opening one here, it's like, okay, what is here? Where were you at, what was the country? What did it look like? Where were you going, what was the story?
Speaker 2:And it's amazing how each one of these could spark a memory, could spark something in your heart to think about, and if you really dive deep, you can see that God is with you and that you are not alone. And friends, that's, to me, is why we remember. It's why we look back, is so that we can look forward. We don't live in the past, but we remember the goodness of God and what he's brought us through, and then we walk forward in what he has for us. The psalmist says this in Psalm 105, for the Lord is good, his steadfast love endures forever and his faithfulness to all generations.
Speaker 2:Friends, I could tell you this that I am someone, that it is in my heart and it's, I hope it's in yours as well that we would say the same statement, that is, if we're going to live for something, the thing we're going to live for is not for yesterday, it's not to try to live for tomorrow, but I am going to live for the Lord. I am for the Lord. Somebody say it with me. I am for the Lord, amen. Hey, if we haven't met, my name is Jay. We're so thankful that you're with us here at Cornerstone Welcome, and we're so glad that you're our guest. Welcome home.
Speaker 2:If you're joining us online, connect with us. We want to be able to connect with you and share in this life together. We very much see ourselves on a journey following after Jesus. You know, we talk about how none of us is perfect, how all of us are in need of a savior. How many people can identify with that. And so that's the journey that we're on is that we each one of us want to be more like Jesus, and so that's our ambition is to be more like him and to walk after him where he's leading us to go through that. We use this imagery of Jesus walking with his disciples because that's how we are, it's how we picture ourselves, we envision ourselves of walking after him where he's leading us to be. It is our heart that we collectively would love God and make disciples and reach the world. Let me challenge you in this as well that you would be someone that, in this season, you'd be intentional in your walk with God, that you would go and become part of a life group. It's a way to grow, it's a way to connect with friends. It's a way to serve with your gifts and abilities.
Speaker 2:I was a part of a connect group last night and the men's connect group was having an event and it was really fun. Dave absolutely crushed it by making some amazing smoked brisket. So those who missed out, that's too bad for you. There was more for us and it was awesome. We got a chance to throw some bags and cornhole and just have a fun time together. But it wasn't. Even though the brisket was amazing and the cornhole bags was fun, it really the highlight was really connecting with people. It's really what it's about. It's building that relationship. That's there. So let me challenge you in this that you would be intentional. Get involved in a life group. Let it change your life. This next week we have a unique one for all of our young adults, both those who are married, those who are single, and that we have a young adults gathering this very next Wednesday as one of those life groups. So let me challenge you to get involved and find out what's going on. Now. We're talking about this idea of build and we've been looking over the previous weeks.
Speaker 2:How Cornerstone the name of our church but specifically from scripture, how the Cornerstone is something that you set your life and if you're building a building, it's what you set first for everything else to come off of. And for us, jesus is the cornerstone of our lives. It's where we're building our life spiritually. You'd see it in Ephesians 2, 20. If you have your Bible, your tablet, your phone, you could highlight that scripture. If you already haven't. It says built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
Speaker 2:We talked about how the Lord used Solomon and charged him to build the temple. It was a meeting place between God and mankind. You can see a depiction of what it would look like here. This is a model from Israel. It's inside also very intricate, each piece of it reflecting what the garden was like whenever God created the garden and he walked amongst his people, and that's very much the reflection of it. It's the glory of the Lord and the shining of the glory of the Lord and the depiction of some of those things. It was a way for his presence to be in the middle of his people and though he was holy and his purity would otherwise decimate us and destroy us, he made a way for us to draw near, to be close to him and for him to be close to his people.
Speaker 2:We've also saw in scripture, and we use Ephesians 2.22 as a kind of a theme here In him you are also being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. So what we see and what we know is that Jesus came and fulfilled the law and as he did, the veil that was separating God's presence from his people was torn. It said that later, as the church gathered together, holy Spirit blew in like a wind and tongues as a fire set upon them, indicating the presence of God resting on each person. Friends, that is, the God that we serve is one that draws near to us and empowers his people. We were called, as we looked at Nehemiah last week, to build and fight. We saw in the scripture that it's not about fighting a physical enemy of someone around us, but instead being those that fight in spiritual places, in the spiritual realm. Ephesians 6, 12 says for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against authorities against the cosmic powers over this dark, present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places. As we continue, we would start to see how that applies to us today and how we want to be those that are living for God.
Speaker 2:Today, as we look to scripture, we're looking to the story of Joshua. So, backing up a few generations and you can start there in Joshua 5.15. You have your Bible, your tablet, your phone, it says. And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy. And Joshua did so. Today, this is the statement that we want to say I am for the Lord. Jesus, we just pray over your word today by your spirit, asking Lord that you would breathe upon it, make it alive and challenge us, lord, that we would be those who become more like you. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Speaker 2:So, as we're looking to this ancient part of Israel where the story picks up, it's an interesting idea, right, because we've had this ancient part of Israel where the story picks up. It's an interesting idea, right, because we've had this whole series of events that have happened and actually we're backing up a generation because, as we started, kind of with Solomon and him taking over from David and those that followed and restoring the wall of the city, we actually have to back up before the city even existed, and that was as Joshua was leading the children of Israel out of the desert and into the promised land. If you think about it within that context, joshua was one that he had been mirroring and following after Moses. He was brought up and became the commander of the armies and was one leading the people into battle as they fought different groups, and you would see where Moses and the leaders would be praying and they would be fighting in the field. But at the same time, joshua was also one that would stand alongside Moses and would even be there beside him as Moses met with the Lord, in the sense of meeting. As you go back through the Old Testament, you would see where he started to emulate Moses and he was right there beside Moses, getting to experience the seeing Moses walk with the Lord and being led by the Lord, and then him himself leading others. And so that's where this picture in this story picks up is in the beginning of Joshua as he's charged to take over, leading the children of Israel and now into the promised land to fight many battles to establish the land that the Lord had given to them. And so we pick up here, and the challenge that you've heard before from us is here, in the beginning of Joshua, that he should be strong and courageous for the things that are ahead.
Speaker 2:Picks up in Joshua 1, 5, and 6,. No man shall be able to stand before you with all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Somebody say amen to that fathers to give them. Somebody say amen to that the promised land. See, I love the promises that are even in this one statement.
Speaker 2:He says again and again to him to be strong and courageous. But the first is this, and I felt very strongly, someone needed to hear this today I will not leave you or forsake you. See, friends, the promise of God, the one that he made in Genesis 12 to Abraham all those years ago, when he said I will bless you and I will bless those that bless you. I will make you a blessing to all nations. Through you, you will become a mighty people. He's saying this to a man without an heir, and the promises of God are fulfilled in Isaac. And then to Isaac again, he makes the promise. Later, to Isaac's son, jacob, who becomes Israel, he makes the promise and he keeps on coming back and saying I will fulfill my promise to you.
Speaker 2:Friends, god keeps his promises. His statement to you is I will not leave you or forsake you. But here's the thing you have to be strong and courageous. That means you have to be willing to fight for what God gives you, not just to give up, but to fight for what is the way that he has for you, the path that he has set you on. You have to be strong and courageous to hold on to Jesus, to hold on to what God wants you to do. And in this way, that's what Joshua was having to experience. Is that, lord, where you lead me, I will follow and I will lead your people to go into these places. So, as Joshua's doing this, they're preparing to cross the Jordan River and to go into Canaan, into the modern day of the Levant of that area, and see what was going to happen.
Speaker 2:And so it picks up with this story here in Joshua 3, where he's talking to the people of Israel. And Joshua said to the people consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow, the Lord will do wonders among you. And Joshua said to the priests take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people. So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. This is interesting because the first thing that Joshua challenges the people, it's not tactics, it's not sharpen your swords and shine your shields or any of this kind of stuff. What does he say? He says consecrate yourselves, clean your hearts before God and friends. This is something that, as Christ followers, we keep coming back to. It's what we talked about this summer with the minor prophets.
Speaker 2:Everyone with their message was to return your heart back to God. Here the message that he's telling to his people before we go into the land, before we go into the battle, before you put your actions into work, first your heart has to be with God. First your heart, first your heart needs to be clean before him. What does it say? To go and to be one that cleanse yourself, make yourself ready for sacrifice, because first you sacrifice your heart and saying, lord, all I have is yours, and then your actions follow.
Speaker 2:See, sometimes we get it out of sorts because we are really good at, you know, kind of dividing it up in our head and so we can put on the plastic face God bless you brother, god bless you sister, but your heart isn't in it and your heart isn't his, don't we? Whereas he's saying hey, it's not about the actions, the thing is first I want your heart. If I have your heart first and your heart is clean before me, you're not cleaning your heart, he's cleaning your heart as we come to him. He is the one that makes us righteous. We are filthy rags. The scripture says before God. He is the one that makes us righteous. We are filthy rags. The scripture says before God, he is the one that makes us righteous, he's the one that cleans us.
Speaker 2:And so, as they went and purified themselves in the way of their day of making, getting ready to make a sacrifice, he was preparing them for what God was going to have them to do, which was to step out in faith to a great challenge that was in front of them. And so it picks up here in Joshua 3, and it says Now the priest bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan and all of Israel was passing over on dry ground until the nation finished passing over the Jordan. This is a miracle of God and it's what happened whenever the priests were carrying the Ark of the Covenant, and as they started to walk towards the water, and in the water it says that the river was pulled back away from them. This is the flood season. It's pulled back away from them, and the priest says they walked to cross the river. They walked across on dry ground.
Speaker 2:Friends, that's a miracle of God, it's an amazing thing and what it was being made here, though, this is not the Red Sea. If you've ever been to the Red Sea, it's a sea. It's deep, it's wide, it's a grandiose thing, the one thing we thought about before, with Moses and that whole situation. They had heard those stories, but this generation didn't live it. That was the last generation, and they died in the desert. And so now this generation, as they're walking forward into the promises that have been told by the generation, before they see that the God who opened the waters before is opening the water in front of them. Here they're seeing that the God who opened the waters before is opening the water in front of them. Here they're seeing that the God of provision there is now the God of provision. Here they're seeing that the God who opens the way and doesn't just open the waters but also dries the ground in front of them, is the God who makes a way for them. You can see, this is the modern day Jordan. You can see the ravines that come down. You can see the water, even in this next piece, as you can see the meandering of the river. It's wide, it's marshy land.
Speaker 2:I don't know if you've ever walked through mud Hard to keep clean. Walking through mud, can we agree? Have you ever, like tried to run through mud and it was deeper than you thought? How many people have been gutsy and really tried to run through mud? And it's like you immediately lose a sneaker right. You ever try to do it like big galosh boots on, like the big welly boots, and you stick them in the mud. And what happens? The boot doesn't go, does it? And you just pull your sock right out of the boot and there's that big suction sound and it's stuck. Baby, you're in the mud, it's stuck there.
Speaker 2:And so God didn't have that intention for his people. No, he said I want you to cross this river. They're getting ready. They're like we just cleaned our hearts, we just cleaned ourselves ceremonially for this thing and now we're going to walk through the mud. He's like no, you're not. No, you're not. You're walking through on dry ground. See, the provision of the God was the obedience of God, was the provision of God. They came hand in hand. So the more we're in step with God's provision for our life through obedience to him, you'll see that it's in hand in hand. How many times do we want the provision of God for an idea that we had? Notice how they're not together, notice how the provision of God is over here and our idea was over here. And so he's saying no, no, no here. If you listen to what I'm saying, I will bring provision for you, for the obedience of what you, when you align yourself with me. We look here.
Speaker 2:In Joshua 4 it continues forward in this story. It says when all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua take 12 men from the people and from each tribe a man, and command them saying take 12 stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priest's feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in a place where you priest's feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in a place where you lodge tonight. And it continues in verse eight. It says the people of Israel did as, just as Joshua commanded, and took up 12 stones out of the midst of the Jordan, according to the number of tribes of the people of Israel, just as the Lord had told Joshua. And they were carried them over and laid them in the place where they had lodged. And laid them down there Twelve stones.
Speaker 2:It's interesting because this number keeps coming back in Scripture. You see it again and again and you see the numbers that are there. You see the twelve stones, the twelve tribes, later the twelve apostles, and these things are important because each one of these stones was representing something. It was representing God's faithfulness, not just to one, but to all of his people, as they said yes to him. It's not just to one individual. That's why later, as you look in the scripture, it actually confirms it. It says and Joshua set up 12 stones in the midst of the Jordan, the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood.
Speaker 2:They're there till this day, representing all 12 tribes of the children of Israel. He's saying listen, I will be the one who keeps my promise. And so all of the 12 tribes of Israel were brought out of the desert, out of all the places before that, and into the promised land. And what he does is he starts to talk about all these things and the reason on why they were setting them up for these 12 tribes. To remember. He said to the people of Israel when your children ask their fathers in times to come, what do these stones mean, then you shall let your children know. Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground, for the Lord, your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord, your God, did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of God is mighty and that you may fear the Lord, your God, forever. Friends, that's what he's calling us to. A fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
Speaker 2:It says those who live with humility and hold him in such high reverence, they will do well. Why? Because we're aligning ourselves in the correct position that God should be in our life. He is our creator, god, he is our source. He is our life. He is our creator. God, he is our source, he is our strength. He is all those things. He is outside of time and space. He is eternal, he is all powerful, he is all knowing, and we are not. And so often we want to put ourselves in this place, above him. But instead, if we understand exactly where we are, then we can walk with him where he's taking us to go. He'll take us higher than the place that we try to put ourselves when we start.
Speaker 2:That's why he talks about teach them the ways. I will say in our generation, in my generation, one of the errors that we have made is that, because of the way we were reared, because of the way we were brought up which is a little bit more bootstraps than just go do it we started to be the people that, oh, I'm just going to let my kids make whatever decision they want, and I understand where they're coming with that idea. But I'll tell you this it's a mistake in this that if you know the love of God, if you know the truth of God, then you should teach your children the truth of God and the love of God. Why? Because it's the way of scripture. It's the way that we should live, and if you wait till they're an adult to try to invest in them, they're not listening to you by then. What they need to do is see the consistency of your life, of going and living after Jesus and instilling that inside of them.
Speaker 2:Friends, I read the Bible every day, study every week and guess what? I can't tell you exactly what I read last week, but I can tell you all the scripture verses I learned when I was a kid and I could do the song and the dance movements with it. You guys know what I'm talking about. And why is that? Because it got deep down inside of who I am. And so what happens? You start to understand that it's the truth of where it's at.
Speaker 2:Because I had parents who valued living Christian values, not just when they were on a stage, but even whenever they were having heartbreak at home. They still were those who modeled what it meant to trust God and walk forward and whenever we mess up and if we mess up, when we mess up, it's our heart, it's Celestina's heart that we would be those that are able to dialogue that with our kids. Why? Because we're not perfect, we're not gonna get it right all the time, but that we would understand and say, hey, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said those things, I shouldn't have acted that way, I shouldn't have done these things. That's not what I should be doing.
Speaker 2:Friends, we do those things. The more that we train and raise up our children, our grandchildren, to understand the values of God, they will live for God. We can slingshot them past all of that garbage that we made decisions to do. They don't need to live in the heartbreak and in the side of the road, messed up, kind of slumps of dirt and the dumpster fire of decision making that I made. I want them to go right past all that stuff and just live for God. They don't need addiction, they don't need to have all these other things in their life. No, they don't. What do they need? To trust God, live for God and just jump over all that stuff and thrive in Jesus Christ. And so see, that's my heart, is that we would be those that don't just teach our kids, but we remember how God has brought us through the difficult places, remember the good places where God has brought us to, and those be highlights for us and not to live in yesterday. As we said, it's not about that. It's that we understand what he brought us through so we can trust him for the things that we're going through and we could trust him for our future. Think about it from this perspective.
Speaker 2:As Joshua is putting these stones here, he's telling a story that's greater than the stone in front of them. He's telling them about the prison that they lived in in Egypt, how they were people that were actually enslaved and they were forced to do work and to build things. He was talking about the persecution that they expected and they experienced and how, on all sides, they were treated this way and how they cried out for a liberator and how God raised up Moses and he brought him in and he charged him to be one to bring his people out of Egypt and out of slavery, out of the prison they were in. He provided protection for them that, even as they fled, they were given gold and everything to take off with. It's amazing protection and then provision from God, the water swallowing up the army that was chasing after them.
Speaker 2:And as they got to the next place. Now they're complaining because there's no food here in Saudi Arabia. No, instead, what is it Now? We need provision from God, and God brings manna, he brings quail, he brings water from a rock. He does all these things so they can not just survive but thrive. But that time in the desert was one of purification for his people, because all those that doubted, all those that said we should go back to slavery, all of them, that mentality had to die out of them. And so it was a process of purification for the people of Israel. It was a process of shifting to the next generation so that they could do the next thing. And so that's what they were experiencing, so that they could experience the promise of God. It's these six, these seven different statements that you see here that lead us to the promised land, and each one of these things is something that brings us the fulfillment of God, keeps his promises. Somebody say amen to that.
Speaker 2:You see here in Joshua, as it continues forward in Joshua 5.13,. When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked and behold a man who's about to go into battle. You could imagine, as the Lord has provided all this way, he just experienced a miracle. But now he sees this man who's full of this power and has this sword in his hand and he's like who is this guy? Are you for me or are you for them? And I can tell you it's interesting because so much of our society today. We're on that precipice right now, where we're fighting.
Speaker 2:Are you for me or are you for them? Are you with us or are you with them? Are you for my ideas or are you with their ideas? Are you for them? Are you with us? Are you with them? Are you for my ideas or with their ideas? Are you with my group or are you with that group? Are you with my color of the thing I'm voting for or the other color of the thing we're voting for?
Speaker 2:But I love his answer here. See, his answer is not what he expects. His answer is a little bit more divine than that. He says no, I am the commander of the army of the Lord. And now I have come. What is he saying? He says I'm not for you, I'm not for them, I am for the Lord. That's who I'm for. I am for the Lord, and so that's the statement. Say it with me, I am for the Lord. That's the statement he's saying.
Speaker 2:And so, as Joshua realizes this is the divine, this is coming to help him, to assist him, he lays down on his face and says what, how can I serve you, how can your servant serve you? And so, declaring those things, the commander of the Lord's army says to Joshua take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you're standing is holy. And Joshua did so. See, they were just on the other side of the Jordan. It wasn't anything special, it wasn't a mountaintop this isn't the moment with the burning bush next to Moses.
Speaker 2:But what is it he's saying? Listen, god is with you here in this place, and wherever God is with you, that place is holy. And so, friends, as we now on the other side of Christ's sacrifice, for us, on the other side of the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, as you walk, full of the Spirit of God, where you place your feet is holy ground, because the Most High God is with you in that place, in the middle of your destruction, in the middle of your heartbreak, that place is holy ground. God is with you when you're at your workplace, when you're in these places where you're like, well, god's? Yes, he is, god is with you. That is holy ground. It says that Lord, open my feet, light my path In front of me, says the psalmist. That is holy ground, friends. If we realize that he's with us in the midst of everything, if we realize that he's with us in the midst of everything, everything, then we'll realize that he is right near us, that this very place he cares about what's happening, that this place is holy ground and that what we do next is be obedient to him and what he asks us to do, so that we can go forward in what he has for us, amen.
Speaker 2:Now here's the interesting thing. They're about to face Jericho and there's a really cool sub story with all sorts of things before they crossed over the Jordan River, with spies in the walls and Rahab the prostitute letting them out through it. There's a cool story, so go ahead and read it in your Bible. But we pick up here where they're going to go and start this fight against Jericho. Jericho has walls so thick they would ride chariots around the top. I mean, it's serious, serious thing. These are people they came from across the river. They don't have anything to take this place down. So what are they doing? They go and be obedient to what God calls them to do.
Speaker 2:And it picks up here in scripture, in Joshua 6. It says and Joshua rose early in the morning and the priests took up the ark of the Lord, and the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of ram's horns before the ark of the Lord walked on and they blew the trumpets continually and the armed men were walking before them and the rear guard was walking after the ark of the Lord while the trumpets blew continually. What were they doing? They were leading their army. They were leading their attack first by worshiping God and proclaiming who he was, that the God who brought them out of Egypt and out of slavery, out of prison and provision for them, the one that brought them through the Red Sea and brought them through the Jordan. That God was gonna take down this place, just like he took down those obstacles as well.
Speaker 2:And so what we're going to do is we're going to praise the Lord before the prayer is answered, before the answer to what they're praying about, before the big move of God, because they know that their God is capable. And if we're with God, then we are already victorious. We are more than conquerors. Through him who loved us, somebody say amen to that. The call is to proclaim the goodness of God as we proclaim what he is doing, as we live for him, as we build our life on him doing as we live for him, as we build our life on him, as we do these things, as we remember what he's brought us through Friends, then that means that you're going to be walking in step with the most high and we proclaim the goodness of God, we proclaim the glory of God, we worship God with everything we have.
Speaker 2:What does it say? Continually, like the trumpets did, that we would continually, even in the difficult times. I know what my circumstances say, but I choose to worship the Lord because he is my source and he is my God. In him, you are also being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Friends as we look to him. Today, our statement, the thing that we say, is I am for the Lord. Say it with me. I am for the Lord.
Speaker 2:As we talk about building our life on him, there's an opportunity that each one of us have, and that's the question that we need to answer is have you embraced Jesus? See, for us, the decision to follow Jesus is what makes us a Christian. It means little Christ or Christ follower. And so today, your question, the one that you have to answer, is have you embraced Jesus? See, for us, the symbol of the cross is one of freedom, it's one of forgiveness, it's one where Jesus took all of my sin and my mistakes upon the cross and he paid for it once and for all. He did that for you, he did it for me. He took your brokenness and your mistakes and mine, and he paid for them so that we wouldn't have to.
Speaker 2:And so that's why we can't earn our way into the righteousness of God. We can't do enough good works, we can't do enough and follow enough things to make ourselves right with him. We can't do it. It's only through his grace poured out on us, his sacrifice for us. It's his sacrifice that makes us clean. It's the blood of Christ that washes away our sin. And so, for us, we place our faith and trust in him and say Jesus, I believe you are who you say you are. I believe you are the living son of God and that you came and became a sacrifice for us all, but that death could not hold you in that you are alive and because of that we have an active relationship with him, and so that's what makes us Christ followers.
Speaker 2:Today, my friends, I would challenge you that you would make the same decision, that you would live this life with Jesus Christ, that you wouldn't do it as a get out of hell free card. There is a real judgment for our lives. It's not some fire insurance, spiritually speaking. No, that you would live your life for Jesus and that you would make him the Lord of your life. The apostle Paul. He writes to the church in Rome. It says this because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified. With the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Speaker 2:Prince, today is your day. It's your opportunity to say yes to Jesus. I'm gonna ask if everyone would, if they'd stand at their feet right where they're at here in the room, christians are praying as heads are bowed and friends, if you're online, wherever you are under the sound of my voice, if you just take a moment to respond to what God wants to do in you. Maybe you're here and you've never made a decision to follow Jesus. We had some people like that in the first service. They made a decision to follow Jesus and we rejoice with them in the decision they made. In the same way, maybe you're someone who has made that decision in the past, but you need to recommit your life to God. You've been away from him.
Speaker 2:Friends, let me challenge you that you would make that decision today to live for Jesus Christ as heads are bowed here in the room, as Christians are praying. If that's you, friend, and you'd like to make a decision to follow Jesus today, I'm not gonna embarrass you, just raise your hand right where you're at. I just wanna see with you so I can agree with you today and just making those prayers for the Lord. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus as people making decisions for him. Thank God. Thank you God. Amen. Thank you God. Friends, wherever you are, you as well. Thank you, jesus.
Speaker 2:I'm going to ask if everyone would, if they would pray this prayer out loud after me. Lord, thank you for loving me. Thank you for sending Jesus. I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I believe he rose again, forgive me of my sins. I surrender my life to you. In Christ's name. I pray Amen, amen. Friends, we rejoice with you. Make a decision to follow Jesus today. What a powerful decision. Praise the Lord. Hey, if that was you and you made that decision in this room. If you connect with us, we want to put some materials into your hand. Or if you're online, message us. We want to be able to connect with you so you don't do this life alone.
Speaker 2:Friends, today, as we head into communion, we do so with intentionality, with a heart turned towards God. As we come to his table, we want to do so with clean hearts and clean hands, just like the children of Israel before they crossed at Jordan. We come and we remember the great sacrifice that he poured out for us. Maybe you're someone that needs more of the Lord, more of an impartation of his spirit, maybe you just need provision, maybe you need wisdom. Whatever it is that you need from the Lord today, as we sing this song and this worship song, preparing our hearts before we take communion, that you would do so and draw near to the Lord, make an altar with God and come forward, lord.
Speaker 2:We thank you for your word today, lord, and we thank you for the example that you give to us in Joshua. Lord, we thank you that you make a promise to him and to us, lord, that you will not leave us, that you are with us and, lord, that we're called to be those that are strong and courageous, that we're obedient to what you call us to do. Lord, we remember what you have done for us. Lord, we remember the good God. Lord, we remember what we come from and, lord, how we are no longer those things. We are a new creation in you. Lord, I thank you for the future you have for us and so, lord, today, lord, we bow our knees, our hearts, our heads to you. Lord, we worship you with all that we have, lord, and we turn our faces, our hands and our countenance towards you, lord, and we just worship you with all that we have.
Speaker 2:Lord, as we come to this altar, we do so, Lord, to make an altar with you and draw near to you to have an impartation of your spirit. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. Hey, just as a challenge to each one of us. One of the things that we are doing is we're having a fall family day that's coming up in November, and so I want to challenge you in this that you would invite three people to join you for fall family day. And the reason I say that is because, even though we set out on social media and ads and other things, most people come to church because of a personal invitation to them. So why don't you prayerfully consider who you would invite and then invite them to come alongside you and be a part of that special day?
Speaker 1:And today is party with the pastor. So if you are new to the church you've been a guest of ours for the last few months we would love to meet you. Our team will be in there. It is on the east side of the building. There's a hallway and a conference room. If you have children, go ahead and go and check them out first and bring them with you. We will have snacks and we just want to be able to introduce ourselves to you and answer any questions you may have.
Speaker 2:Before we go, I'm going to pray this blessing over us. The Lord bless you and keep you. Lord, make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. Lord, lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Lord, I pray a blessing upon your church, your people. Lord, you empower us by your spirit to live your love out to those around us. For all this in the powerful name that is jesus christ. Amen, amen, know this. We love you very much here at cornerstone. God bless you and have a great week.