MidTree Church
The sermon audio of MidTree Church in Harris County, Ga. BEHOLD // BELIEVE // BECOME
MidTree Church
Be Strong and Courageous: Four Times for a Reason | Pastor Will Hawk | August 10, 2025
The journey from the wilderness to the Promised Land represents one of Scripture's most pivotal transitions—and in this illuminating exploration of Joshua 1:1-9, we discover how God orchestrates leadership transitions that advance His unchanging mission.
When Moses dies, God doesn't pause to mourn or reassess. Instead, He immediately commands Joshua: "Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go." This remarkable moment teaches us that while leaders may change, God's purposes never falter. Four times in this passage, God commands Joshua to "be strong and courageous"—a refrain that echoes through the ages to every believer facing uncertainty.
The backstory makes this moment even more profound. Forty years earlier, twelve spies explored Canaan, but only Joshua and Caleb trusted God's promise despite seeing formidable obstacles. That failure of national faith resulted in an entire generation missing their inheritance. Now, Joshua leads a younger generation (everyone under 20 except himself and Caleb) into their destiny.
What does follow-worthy leadership look like? Through Joshua's example, we discover four essential qualities: immediate obedience without hesitation, complete dependence on God while taking action, willingness to invite necessary sacrifice, and openness to meaningful encouragement. These same qualities appeared perfectly in Jesus, whose name in Greek is the equivalent of "Joshua" in Hebrew—a connection that reveals God's consistent character across Scripture.
Most compelling is Joshua's challenge to the tribes that had already received their inheritance east of the Jordan. Though they had settled into comfort, he called them to leave everything behind temporarily to help their brothers secure their inheritance. This powerful picture reminds us that receiving God's blessings isn't our final goal—helping others experience His promises is our ongoing mission.
As we navigate our own wilderness-to-promise transitions, remember that every Christian is called to lead somewhere. Your next step of courage might be someone else's pathway to freedom. Where is God calling you to be strong and courageous today?
If you want to learn more about the MidTree story or connect with us, go to our website HERE or text us at 812-MID-TREE.
Please turn in your Bibles to Joshua 1, 1-9. It's on page 178 in the Pew Bibles, and follow along as I read God's Word. After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua, the son of Nun, moses' assistant, moses, my servant, is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I'm giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses, from the wilderness in this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. All the land of the Hittites to the great sea, toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you 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.
Speaker 1:Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses, my servant, commanded. You Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left that you may have good success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it, for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous, do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go. This is the word of the Lord.
Speaker 2:Amen. Thank you, olivia, much appreciated. Well, guys, I thought we would start with this. If you picked up a Bible journal or if you grabbed one of the Bible memory bands on your way in we do have plenty of these, by the way so if you didn't get a journal, we have plenty of Bible memory bands. You'll see these on the table on your way out. I thought this would be a great way for us to start this morning because it simultaneously gets us ready for the book of Joshua moving forward, but it also helps us celebrate the past seven years. In the event that you walked through the parking lot and through the building and into this room with your eyes closed and your ears plugged, you may not have realized that prep for celebration. This is Midtree's seventh birthday. Praise God, yeah.
Speaker 2:And while we have been working through books of the Bible, we always want to recommend things for you to commit to memory. We're going to be in the book of Joshua for a few months, basically until Advent, until Christmas, and so instead of giving you one verse, we gave you two. Okay, the first one is a little bit shorter, a little bit easier. Second one it's a little bit harder in the reading, but if you grabbed one of the scripture journals or one of the bands, you will see these. We got pretty sneaky with the band. If you get the easy one, you have to flip it over upside down and then you'll see that there's a scripture on the underside as well. But I wanted to begin with this as we jump into Joshua, because it's a perfect little tension point for where we're going and where we've come from. Joshua 1.9,. Have I not commanded you be strong and courageous, do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go. If you don't know the story of Midtree, I'm not gonna give you the whole thing. We've got a video that we're making. You'll see it in the months ahead. But Midtree wasn't always here. In fact it's been through a number of iterations, so I thought this would be a little fun by show of hands.
Speaker 2:How many of you remember meeting in a farmhouse, a pole barn? Yeah, praise God, all right, good stuff. How many of you guys were around after we left the farm and we moved to Impact 360 in Pine Mountain? How many folks remember that? Okay, good stuff. Who remembers COVID digitally? We actually picked up a few folks. Yeah, okay, good stuff. And then there was like this short stint for a couple of months where we would invite one MCG because it met the like the spacing precautions to sit on my porch while we recorded the online digital service. Does anybody remember that? A couple, okay.
Speaker 2:Then we moved to Christ Community in the evening. Anybody remember that? Anybody there for that? Okay. And then, jimmy, I'm looking at you just because I see you. Then we ended up here, right, okay, but we actually met here before the building was done. We didn't have CEO. We snuck in. Was anybody here? Was that a Christmas Eve service For Christmas Eve, when it was just systems in danger and you had to keep your kids close? Anybody remember that? Okay, and then, out of curiosity, you don't have to raise your hand if it's gonna make you embarrassed. How many folks are new to Midtree? As of the past two months, by show of hands, you've been coming for, hey, welcome, we're so glad that you guys are here. Yeah, praise God, I glad that you guys are here. Yeah, praise God, I will be with you wherever you go.
Speaker 2:Promise number two that we think would be good to commit to memory Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed. All came to pass. This is where we live. We live in the middle of a coming and a going. A coming of Christ, who has come and given his life, died on the cross, opens an invitation to any who seek the forgiveness of their sins, right standing with God, a life of purpose and adventure and meaning, and we are waiting on a savior to return. So as you begin looking, here is what you will see in Scripture. If you go all the way back to Numbers, y'all can flip there, or you can just trust me that I didn't edit any Scriptures.
Speaker 2:Numbers 13 tells us how Joshua got to be Joshua. Now, I'm not going to give you the whole redemptive story, but if you don't know, the book of Genesis is the first book of the Bible. Creation, fall, rebellion. Adam and Eve are kicked out of the garden, but God gives them a promise I'm going to bring you back into a land, into a kingdom that has no problems, where righteousness dwells. Well then, we have Exodus. Moses leads God's people out of slavery, and here is where we pick up after they have left Egypt.
Speaker 2:Numbers 13, moses sent them. Anybody wanna know anybody wanna guess how many people is them? Bonus points for those of you who had Sunday school. How many is them? 12, all right, he sends 12 folks to spy out the land of Canaan, the promised land, and Moses gives them this one big command and if you were listening to Olivia read it, you heard it repeated over and over and over. Moses looks at the 12 and he says be of good courage. Why would he say that? Because they're going into a large land with large people, with large fortresses, and God has told them this is going to be yours. Well, these are folks who have been enslaved for years. Can they really trust that God is going to give them this land that he has promised? So Moses says be of good courage. Let's see how they did.
Speaker 2:At the end of 40 days, the spies, the 12 spies, returned after spying out the land and they create a little bit of a hubbub. They say we look like grasshoppers compared to these guys. There's no way it's going to happen. I mean, god's good. He's 10 plagues good. He's ripping open the Red Sea for us good, but these are pretty tall people. That's kind of how it plays. You should laugh at that. It is sort of silly. But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and he said let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are able to overcome it. Then the men who had gone up with him said we're not able to go up against the people. They are stronger than us.
Speaker 2:If I were to personalize the book of Joshua, it would be with one or two questions. The first question would be are you prone to think that you have made a mistake that God cannot, will not or has been very slow to redeem in your life? Because what you're about to see is a massive mistake. And the book of Joshua is God saying even in the midst of your most massive mistakes, my promises are still good. The second thing that I would say is faithfulness is something you can actually achieve if you're trusting in the right thing. So Caleb gets him quiet. He says listen, guys, we need to have a little bit of faith.
Speaker 2:And in Numbers 14, here is what they respond with why would the Lord bring us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt? In case you're curious, this is God's people sort of slapping at God. He goes through all the trouble to lead them out, to give them his word, to give them his promises. They hit one hurdle and they're like let's just go back to being slaves.
Speaker 2:So Moses and Aaron fall on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. But they're not the only ones. And Joshua, here's our guy. He shows up here with Moses and Aaron and Caleb and these four men in an entire nation of people. Four guys are willing to do this. They fall on their faces before the Lord and Joshua, the son of Nun, caleb, the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes. It's a sign of like mourning, repentance, anger, frustration. And they said to all the congregation of the people of Israel do not rebel against the Lord, do not fear the people of the land. Are they going to listen? All the congregation said stone them with stones. They look at the four guys, the four guys who were praying, the four guys who are submitting to God, and their solution is we need to get rid of these guys. We're going to kill them.
Speaker 2:Notice how rescue comes in. The glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting and all the people see this and everything changes. God looks at him and he says here's the deal. I sent 12 guys into a land I'd already promised you. When I sent you, I told you be of good courage, and you came back like little pansies and you're scared, even though you've seen me do incredible things. So here is going to be the penalty for your lack of faith. It's going to get real Old Testament in here.
Speaker 2:Okay, here you go. Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness and all of your number listed in the census, from 20 years old and upward, who have grumbled against me. Not one shall come into the land that I swore I would make you dwell, except Caleb and Joshua. Your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness 40 years. You want to know why they were there? For 40 years they shall suffer for your faithfulness until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness, according to the number of the days in which you spied out the land 40 days a year. For each day, you shall bear your iniquity 40 years and you shall know my displeasure. This is how we get to the book of Joshua. It's okay for you to be a little heavy, don't worry, it gets better. All right, the Bible keeps getting better. This is rough.
Speaker 2:They spend 40 days looking at a land that God was saying this is what I've got for you. This is your inheritance. I have built you for this. I've showed you how to depend on me, how to trust on me. You're going to walk into scary places, but it's going to be okay. By the way, that's the story of every church. That's the story of every Christian. I am going to lead you into places that look too big and they look too scary, and you're not sure how it's going to work out, but if you will just trust me, I will write an incredible story. Guys, we're celebrating seven years as a church, but for every Christian in this room hopefully you're celebrating five years having faith in God 10, 15, 20, 40, 50 and beyond, and every one of us who has walked with the Lord knows this. When we have faith, when we trust him, when we walk instead of our fearful, he writes an incredible story.
Speaker 2:But here I circled the age 20, everyone who was of military fighting age and decided I can't trust Lord with danger. God looked and he said you're not gonna make it. You're not gonna make it in the promised land because you have doubted me. And for every day I showed you my promise that you said I don't know that I can buy into it. Despise are in there.
Speaker 2:Day three Ah, it just feels a little too good. Day 29, this feels like a little bit much. God looks and he says for every day, I gave you a vision of what I wanted your life to be, what I desired for your adventure to play out. It's going to cost you a year, and only Caleb and Joshua and the 19 year olds and younger are going to see this happen. This is one of my favorite youth ministry realities.
Speaker 2:Everything, where is it? Somebody took my Bible journal. How dare you? Everything, everything you're going to read in the book of Joshua, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, was done by a youth age student. Every story you're gonna read when they make it into the promised land had to be somebody 19 years or younger for God to begin this, and so when we think about ourselves and God using us, it isn't how smart we are, it isn't how much we know. It certainly is not how old we are. It's how much we're willing to follow the Lord. Now notice.
Speaker 2:I know you can't read this whole thing, but I did want you to see in Joshua 1 that four different times be strong and courageous. Be strong and very courageous. Be strong and courageous. The last verse in the chapter be strong and courageous. This is be strong and courageous, version 2.0.
Speaker 2:Version 1.0 was in Numbers 13. And God said hey, I want you to be courageous, go into the land. Did they succeed or did they fail? They failed, they failed. It cost them 40 years. So now Joshua receives this from the Lord.
Speaker 2:Left hand column is God talking to Joshua? Right hand column is Joshua talking to the people? The question is will version 2.0 fare any better? Will Joshua do better than his predecessors? And the short answer is, amazingly, yes.
Speaker 2:Joshua 1, after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua, the son of Nun, moses' assistant, moses, my servant, is dead. Now, then go. This is one of my favorite parts of the entire book of Joshua. Moses is dead. Now let's get to work. Just so you know, that is not typically how leaders of countries or organizations deal with a predecessor, right, they don't deal with the next guy by saying let's just say I get hit by a truck. Okay. Usually, when you arrive on the next Sunday, it might feel a little heavier. Okay? Some people experience this in every presidential election, as though, oh well, I'm either going to celebrate or I'm going to be in sackcloth and ash and ripping my clothes apart. Tell me I'm wrong. We've got a couple more Novembers and we'll see how you pan out. Okay, every time leadership changes, we are prone to panic. I'll prove it to you again.
Speaker 2:Try so hard, those of you who are public school like myself, to remember a first day of school in a new class. Do you remember meeting that teacher? Within the first couple of hours, you were extrapolating what the next year was going to look like. Is she nice or is she mean? Does she like wild boys and she's going to be cool with that, or does she favor girls who bring their notebooks to class every single week? Is this going to be a lot of hard work? Is this going to be a lot of fun? Is there going to be a story time? How is this going to pan out? Who am I going to sit with at lunch? Are any of my buddies in this class? You have all of this excitement and all of this anxiety all at the same time, because your teacher changed from Miss Newton to Miss Watson in Will's case or whatever it was for you. Same thing happens when you get a new coach. Same thing happens when a church gets a new leader, when a business takes on a new CEO. But can I show you what faith in the Lord looks like? Moses is dead. Let's get to work. It feels cold.
Speaker 2:The book of Deuteronomy ends by talking about how incredible Moses was, but the mission of God never stops. God lovingly and joyfully utilizes people, but he is not dependent on them. The death of Moses is not the death of the mission, and nor is the death of any leader in your life. And to make sure that his people know, to make sure that Joshua knows that God hasn't left or forgotten them, he gives them a gift in the next couple of verses. Notice this. It's more fun, I think, to work backwards. He starts and he says look, be strong and courageous, but built on top of that is hey, joshua, just as I was with Moses, I'm gonna be with you. Don't fear, I am with you. And when you look even further back, he says look, I am giving and I have given. This is my nature as a God. How can you doubt, as we move into this new promise, this new future, this new step? I am a giving God. I have given to you. Just as I've been with Moses, I'm going to be with Joshua. People of God, be strong and courageous, he says to a group of 19 year olds and younger.
Speaker 2:When this began, I've been debating how to how to do this next little piece, because there's a chance you get lost here. I want to go to a New Testament verse, but I don't want you to miss the narrative. But if you miss this, you're going to miss out on a lot in the entire book of Joshua. There is no way to follow Jesus, no way to follow Jesus, no way to follow Jesus and not lead in certain areas of your life. There's no way. We are called to be servants, we are called to be followers of Christ. There is no way for Joshua to lead this people if the people he is leading do not begin becoming leaders themselves. The reason I point to this and I want to prove it to you real quick so this is Ephesians 4.
Speaker 2:God gave leaders to the church. They're going to change all the time. He gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers. What is this saying? God gave leaders and leaders and leaders and leaders and leaders so that the people of God today and in Ephesians would know what it is that they are supposed to do. One of the greatest mistakes that we can make in the church today is to look at Ephesians 4.11 and nod our head and then begin saying all of the leaders of God's people are going to look like those five things. Does anybody know what I've covered up in verse 12? I'm not going to make you answer out loud. I want you to get it wrong. I want you to notice what happens right after. God says he gave leaders to the church to equip all of us for the work of ministry.
Speaker 2:You will not be able to appreciate the book of Joshua. You will not be able to get much out of the rest of our time this morning. You will not be able to get much out of the Christian life if you don't resolve to believe Ephesians 4.12. Some of you never want to stand on this stage. Some of you never want to read a scripture. Some of you never want to sing in a microphone. Some of you never want to lead in a kid's ministry. And it isn't because you're lazy, it's because you don't trust yourselves. Be strong and courageous, be strong and courageous, be strong and courageous. In fact, if I'm going to mimic Joshua 1, be strong and courageous.
Speaker 2:The concept here is every single Christian is called to lead in some capacity. You cannot follow Jesus and not lead in something. In fact, the saints being equipped, being called into leadership, taking ownership of the coming kingdom of God, of the church that he has you in, of the neighborhood that you live in, of the family that you are born in, this is the mission of the Christian and it builds up the body of Christ. And when do we quit? We quit in verse 13. When we all attain the unity of Christ. And when do we quit? We quit in verse 13. When we all attain the unity of the faith, when we all attain the knowledge of the son of God, when we are all mature to the measure and stature of Christ. So you get to quit when you are as good as Jesus. That's when you get to stop. Guys, I can't go any further in Joshua until you take a moment to realize this. Guys, I can't go any further in Joshua until you take a moment to realize this.
Speaker 2:None of us were called to sit in pews. Not only, none of us were called even to be just good studiers of the word of God. Every one of us is expected to be eyes on it, equipped for the work of the ministry. And that is my job, that is the elder's job, that is the staff's job to do everything that we can to equip you. I can give you a couple of fun wins. We are working right now on a way to help you know where you are in your path of following Jesus and being a disciple of Christ. You will see that in about three weeks, so that you can say, okay, well, I want to live this, I want to do this. Where am I actually at?
Speaker 2:The second thing, and this one's very tangible how many of you guys, on the way in, saw a big trailer with a bunch of yellow tools that we painstakingly all bought to walk? I need to know, did y'all see it? Yes, okay, it's for you, it's for MCGs to be able to say, hey, who's got a two inch ball on the back of their? Whatever? Go link that thing up. We wanna go care for the orphan, we wanna care for the widow, we wanna care for the elderly. Just take it. Please bring it back with the stuff inside, all right, but take it, use it, feel equipped for the work of the ministry. If we're gonna be a people who care about our Bibles, if we're going to be a people who pick up a pen, let's also be a people who pick up a rake and love on those who need to be loved and then, from this, god shows us who Joshua is. Now, I never do this because I feel like some of you guys are going to check out, but I'm just trusting you. Today. I'm giving you everything I'm gonna do for the next 10 minutes to close out. Here you go. This is what you see in the book of Joshua. I'm giving it to you because, instead of building like I usually do and hoping that you're just on pins and needles to see what the next thing is, that Will says I don't want you to miss any of this, and I'll tell you why I don't want you to miss any of this. This is follow worthy leadership from the second half, primarily as Joshua turns and talks to God's people.
Speaker 2:Little bit of trivia. The Old Testament is written in what language? One, two, three go Hebrew. Okay, if you don't know the answers. That's great. Church is a place to learn things, not to show that you know everything. The If you don't know the answers. That's great. Church is a place to learn things, not to show that you know everything.
Speaker 2:The New Testament was written in Greek. Okay, joshua is a Hebrew name. Do you know, if we were to translate Joshua from Hebrew into the Greek, what the name would be? Jesus, you're reading the book of Jesus, and so when we see why is it that, like when you think of Joshua or when you think of Moses, which one's a bigger deal? And be honest, like which one's a bigger deal? Moses, except why is Joshua given this name? Because Moses gives God's people the law of God. Joshua is the one who leads them home. Joshua does all of these things so similar to Moses, leads them through a sea that is ripped open, stands before God, does all of these incredible things, but, unlike Moses, joshua gets his people all the way home.
Speaker 2:So the reason I'm showing you this is because every time I show you one of these points, I'm going to ask you the same question when you look at your pursuit of Christ, do you hesitate in obedience? And I want you to look at Joshua and see his standard. I want you to see how that shows up in Christ and then I want you to apply it to yourself. I'm taking it away, but only for a minute. It'll come right back. Point one Joshua commanded the officers of the people pass through the midst of the camp.
Speaker 2:Moses is dead Now, then go. So he says pass through the midst of the camp, command the people. Prepare your provisions within the three days. I love this. He doesn't say in three days, because I can tell you what happens to a procrastinator. If you say in three days we're leaving. When do they pack their bags? Yeah, like night two, on the 11th hour. That's when they do it.
Speaker 2:Joshua's smart, good leader. He's like, hey, within three days we're leaving, and the procrastinators are like, darn it, all right, let's go back. All right. How much time does Joshua wait? It's been 40 years. This is a massive group of people. He says three days sounds about right. Everybody, get ready to move. There are things that God has for us to do. You're going to pass over the Jordan to go in, to take possession of the land that the Lord, your God, is giving you to possess. Joshua hears from the Lord and he gets moving. His obedience is not theoretical or theological, it's childlike. God says go and he says let's get moving. What would obedience right now in your life look like? What would it look like for you to immediately be obedient to the Lord today?
Speaker 2:Delaying obedience is always disobedience, and this is the negative way to say it. Whenever you delay obedience, don't just call it obedience light. It's disobedience. When God says go and you don't go. When he says stop and you don't stop. When he says move and you don't move, that is not obedience light, god. I just got to pray about it a little bit. Let me bring some wise counsel around. Memorize a couple of scriptures. Joshua hears from God and he says you guys got three days. Maybe it might be even sooner than that.
Speaker 2:Delaying obedience is always disobedience and for some of us, your next faithful act may simply be not stalling. Now, when I say that two things should probably happen to you, those of you who are stalling should feel convicted. You should have sort of a eh, kind of a moment right now, because you know God has been telling you to do something. You're not doing it. Well, aren't we grateful for the grace of God? Aren't you grateful that, as you've delayed, he hasn't said well, for every day you've delayed, it will be one year of emptiness in life, like, all right, I'm gonna quit stalling. Some of you need to know this, for what's happening tomorrow? You don't even know it yet. You have no idea what's coming on Thursday. But today the word of God is saying your next faithful act may simply be not stalling.
Speaker 2:Can I put this in the positive? This is where the best stories come from, the best stories in your life of faithfulness to God. The most incredible things don't just happen when God shows up. It happens when God shows up and you have already determined to say you got it okay. Whatever it is you want, I'm not stalling, I'm not dragging my feet. No, follow worthy leadership. Doesn't hesitate in obedience.
Speaker 2:Do we see this in Joshua? Check, yes, did you see this in Christ? You better believe it. That for the joy set before him he endured the cross. That at precisely the right time, god sent his son to make propitiation and payment for our sins. This was perfectly time when Jesus is in the garden of Gethsemane and he's praying so much that blood is falling like sweat from his head. What is Jesus saying? I'm not stalling, god, I'm not going to make your promise wait one more moment than what you desire. Do we see this in Christ? You better believe we do. What about leading through dependence? Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 2:This is, by the way, my favorite theological reality of chapter one. The top one is when God is speaking. The bottom one is when Joshua is speaking to his people, and here's what we see. God says to Joshua be strong and courageous, you shall cause this people to inherit the land. Joshua, you got this. I built you for this. I've equipped you for this. This, by the way, is what God would say to every believer. I've built you for this. I've equipped you for this. Don't stall in this. You are not too small for this. I have made you for this. But watch what happens when Joshua turns to the people. He's called to love, called to serve. Pass through the midst of the camp, command the people, prepare your provisions. Within three days, we're gonna pass over and go, take possession of the land that the Lord is giving you. God looks at Joshua and he says, hey, you are going to do this. But when Joshua looks at God, he says God's actually the one who is going to pull this off. This is dependency on God, it's humility in action. It's similar.
Speaker 2:Out of curiosity, how many of you guys typically drive with your GPS Like you use your GPS? Come on, how many of you use your GPS? Even if you know, how many of you use your GPS, even if you know where you're going and you could get there anyway? Right, got to keep an eye on the speed. Maybe you use Waze? You want to know where the cops are? I'm with you, you're my people. Whatever, it doesn't matter how many wrong turns I make. So long as I keep it on and I keep listening, I'm going to end up in the right place. Sometimes I make a wrong turn because I don't trust the GPS. Sometimes I make a wrong turn because I'm not paying attention. Sometimes I make a wrong turn because I'm distracted by something I ought not be distracted by Sin, sin, sin. But God lovingly keeps speaking. He keeps the final destination in front of me and if I turn, I will eventually make it. Do you know what? That also makes you Somebody worth following?
Speaker 2:Have you ever followed somebody who said they knew that, like how to get where they were going? And you found out very quickly. They didn't know how to get there and you're making all of these U-turns and you're kind of irritated and you're like just pull out the GPS. This guy didn't know what is it. We were on a youth trip. I will I have forgiven Will Varner for this, but there will always be consequences for Will Varner, for me, 40 years worth probably.
Speaker 2:We're on a youth ski trip and, bennett, you may have been there for this one. We're on a youth ski trip and like I'm in front of five or six cars that are driving and all of a sudden my GPS just starts acting so screwed, but I trust it. Like I'm bought into this thing and I'm like turning wrong on one-way streets with a trail of cars behind me and a bunch of teenage boys in the back are giggling like little school girls. And it turns out that Will Varner, when I went in to get gas, had taken my GPS. He had not changed the destination, he had changed it from automotive to pedestrian Pedestrians can walk up one-way streets and for about an hour I was trying not to cuss out loud, nor in my head, with a van full of youth kids. Why? Because somebody had messed up the message.
Speaker 2:God never does. All we need to do is say hey, if the Lord has sent me, he will bring me all the way there. I am wholeheartedly dependent on him. Do we see Christ lead through dependence? Yes, we see him pray. We see him ask the blessing of his father. We see him submit to the will of the father, even as he goes toward the hardest thing in life. What about inviting and expecting sacrifice? This is my favorite part.
Speaker 2:To the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh, joshua said he's almost done with his instructions to the people of God. There are these three groups of people that he has a special instruction for. Hey guys, do you remember the word that Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you Verse 13, saying the Lord, your God, is actively providing you a place of rest and will give you this land. These groups of people that you see here the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh. They had already arrived in what was going to be their promised land. They had been there for a number of years. You can imagine that, while most people are setting up tents and just trying to figure out how they're going to get by, getting their campers plugged in and figuring out their stuff, these folks are building houses, how they're gonna get by, getting their campers plugged in and figuring out their subject. These folks are building houses, they're starting families, they're starting businesses To these three groups of people who had already received the promise.
Speaker 2:This is what God says through Joshua your wives, your little ones, your livestock, this is the Bible saying you're about to leave your life behind, everything that matters to you, everything that counts, everything that you cherish and hold valuable. They're gonna remain in the land that Moses gave you, beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you. This is a sacrificial call. Joshua has to look at people who have already arrived. They've erected fences and businesses and houses and lives and he says listen, guys, if you're a Reubenite, a Gadite or a Manassehian, here's your deal. You have arrived and God has been faithful to you.
Speaker 2:It would be easy for you to get comfortable. It would be easy for you to say look at what God has done. We have a property, we have a place, we have air conditioning, when we don't have to open up the back and all sweating here. And if you're bothered by it. Just know I think I'm probably sweating more than you are right now. Look at what God has done. Let's just enjoy, but that isn't the message of the gospel.
Speaker 2:Do you see that there are brothers who are not yet resting? Are there brothers and sisters of the Lord that are not yet in the kingdom of God? Are there people in your world that God is calling to himself? I am calling you to leave your comfort, I'm calling you to leave behind what is easy, and I want you to go find those who do not have this kind of rest. It gets hard when God's blessed you, though. Have yesterday's blessings blunted me against being on mission today? Has he filled your spirit so much that you have become sluggish and slow? Has your life become so abundant that you have lost your drive for what is next? You see, follow worthy leadership invites and expects sacrifice and faith, and that's exactly what Christ expects of us. When people look at your life, do they see someone who is inviting and expecting sacrifice and faith? And, finally, follow. Worthy leadership welcomes encouragement. They answered Joshua. Now, finally, the people turn back to Joshua. They have something to say to him. All that you have commanded us we will do. Wherever you send us, we will go just as we obeyed Moses.
Speaker 2:A little bit of a flag on the field here. How well did God's people obey Moses? Not bad. What is this? This is the 18-year-old who said my mom or my dad may not have done this well. This is the eight-year-old who remembers 40 years of difficulty and mom and dad saying sorry, son, I'm sorry, daughter, it was on us. We didn't have faith. There were these four guys who had a vision for something great and our faith was too low.
Speaker 2:But now there's this new group of people. There's this young group of people who are hearing from God and they're hearing the third version of be strong and courageous. They're looking at Joshua and they're saying we're seeing in you something that is special, something that is bigger, a leader worth following, and we are going to do whatever it is that you call us to do in all things. So we will obey you. Only one thing, hey Joshua, we don't care how well you speak and we don't care that you get every single decision right, but we do care about this. May the Lord, your God, be with you, as he was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your word. Whatever you command him will trust you, even to the point of death.
Speaker 2:And then the people finally say what God has been saying to them all along this is the people taking up the ministry of the gospel. Moses said it to them and they were fearful. Then Moses says it to Joshua. Joshua turns around and gives it to them and here, in version 3.0, they finally give it back. Joshua, we're going to be strong and courageous. Will you be strong and courageous as you lead us? Will you display that you have faith in something that is bigger than yourself? Can this not just be your leadership that leads us and guides us?
Speaker 2:Encouragement is what they give him, and it isn't flattery. When we encourage people, not in little trivial things, when we encourage their soul, their being, their personality, who God is building them to be. Encouragement isn't flattery, it is covenantal reinforcement. It is you looking at someone who is following Christ and saying this is how I see Christ in you, this is how I see in you somebody worth following, whose GPS is actually working right. And here's the reality If you're a Christian, all of you are called to lead and all of you are already able to lead. Maybe not in all ways, in all places, but certainly in some. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who gave his life for a mission that God called him. To put it this way, the Christian needs another Christian who speaks God's word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged.
Speaker 2:Pause, this is a room of people. Some of you know each other. Some of you in this room know nobody, but if any of you know Jesus, you can do this. If any of you know Jesus, you can do this. If any of you know Jesus, you can begin looking actively, looking for the evidences of Christ in the people around you. One of the most beautiful things you could say is I don't know your name, but I can see your patience in dealing with your children. It encourages me. I don't know who you are I've seen you once or twice before but I want you to know. I am encouraged that every time I see you in church, you are Bible open, pen out and diligent. I am wanting to grow in loving God's word the way that you love it. This is not flattery, this is reality.
Speaker 2:Dietrich goes on and he says for the weaker brother, the one who is struggling by the way, they're all around you right now For the weaker brother, the one who is struggling. By the way they're all around you right now. The Christ in his own heart is weaker than the Christ in the word of his brother. It's the same Christ, but when we share it, when we give it, when we speak truth and encouragement to one another, that same savior seems bigger, more real. Why? Because we're sharing our faith with one another. His own heart is uncertain, but his brother's is sure.
Speaker 2:Follow worthy leadership welcomes encouragement. Now, does Jesus welcome your encouragement? Yes, but it's a little different. I can encourage you, but I should never worship you. However, when we encourage Christ, what we call that is worship. King of kings, lord of lords, greater than everything, above and beyond every reality. In my heart, in my mind, in my calendar, in my schedule, in my life, the turns in the road I don't even know are coming. Yet, christ, you are bigger than that and I know it. And when I say it and when I believe it, and when I sing it, I am worshiping.
Speaker 2:Jesus didn't hesitate in obedience. Jesus led through dependence. Jesus invites you to and expects sacrifice and faith. And here is the great news he gives you everything he expects of you. He just gives it to you, he gives you his word, he gives you his spirit, he gives you a life worth living. So, mitri, as we get ready for the next seven years, I do hope I get to be a part of it.
Speaker 2:This was not hey, leaders, come and go. It's been great. Hope it works out for you. Next week, I'm planning on showing up. Okay, I've heard, as far as I know, all the elders are still. Larry, you're gonna be here next week. Okay, as far as I know, we're all still planning to show up. But here's what I want you to hear. You don't need any of the people in this room, but, boy, does he love using you and he doesn't just love to use you. You will love being utilized by God. Every one of us are called not to just follow worthy leadership, but to be follow worthy in our leadership. Take a moment, think through these questions, and then we'll stand and respond in worship. We'll finish a bit early. Celebrate what God has done. Don't rush out. Grab your kids. There's gonna be a lot of fun stuff going out there, meet people that you don't know, but let us be these kind of people as we pursue this kind of God.