MidTree Church

Consecration Before Conquest | Will Hawk | 14 Sept. 2025

• MidTree Church

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Joshua 5 demonstrates God's perfect timing as Israel pauses for a week in enemy territory after crossing the Jordan River, showing that weakness doesn't necessitate timidity and that God's people can find peace even in opposition.

• Israel enters the Promised Land and immediately sets up camp at Gilgal while surrounded by enemies
• Joshua circumcises all the men, making them temporarily vulnerable but recommitting them to God's covenant
• The celebration of Passover reminds the people of God's promises and faithfulness
• God stops the manna after 40 years, teaching that His provision may change while His faithfulness never does
• Joshua encounters the commander of God's army who teaches him that God doesn't take sides—He takes over
• When facing challenges, our strength isn't in our strategies but in our worship and surrender

The primary question isn't "Is God on our side?" but rather "Are we on His side?" Take off your shoes and worship Him—He doesn't need your sword or shield, but He will take your worship.


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.

Lilly:

Good morning. If y'all would join me in the reading of God's word from Joshua 5, verses 10 through 15. And if you're using a pew Bible, that's going to be page 180. While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes, and parched grain, and the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land, and there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his sworn his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, Are you for us or for our adversaries? And he said, No, but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshipped, and said to him, What does my Lord say to his servant? 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. This is the living and true word of the Lord.

Will:

Amen. Thank you, Lily. Hey guys, I I'd like for everybody to do something uh quickly. Uh part of being a pastor is being a shepherd. Part of being a shepherd is leading, and part of leading is asking people to do things maybe that they don't necessarily want to do. This is a very easy one. Uh some of you are note takers. If you're a note taker, you're already set up. You've got something to write on, you've got something to write with, you got your phone out. If you are not a note taker, I'd like you to take one of the prayer cards, one of the visitor cards in front of you with a pen if the ushers did their job. And uh I would like for you to grab your phone if you don't have one of those. And I want you to write down three scriptures. Let me tell you why I want you to write down these three scriptures. Because it's going to seem to you when you leave today that we have such a sharp staff that we weave together this the service so beautifully that Psalm 46, that Psalm 23, and that Ephesians 5 are just going to weave themselves through. We did not prepare that. I did not know Stokes was going to open with that. Thomas did not know that Ephesians 5 was going to be in my sermon, and I didn't know that Psalm 23 was going to come out when I wrote it. And so I take these three scriptures in a time like this, and I think if I'm paying attention to the Holy Spirit, which I believe that I am, it would be a wise thing for the believer to do to jot down those three scriptures. I don't have a slide for you because, again, this wasn't prepared. Psalm 46, Ephesians 5, 16 and 17, and Psalm 23. You'll you'll see it as we continue to move forward in the service, but I feel like those in particular are a gift from the Holy Spirit to us as we navigate the week ahead. And I don't want you to miss out on that. So go ahead and write those things down. Cannot tell you how excited I am to spend time with you, especially in the midst of what things have looked like and how things have gone, because I can think of no better time for a group of people to sit down and say, okay, God, I need your word, I need your spirit, I need to be worshiping you. And if you have ever doubted that working through books of the Bible is gonna get you disjointed with things that are going on in the world, prepare yourself to be excited at God's perfect timing and order in all things because it is very clear and apparent. So we've been in Joshua. Let me show you where we're coming from. This is Joshua 4, two weeks removed, because Larry, brother, thank you. I'm still planning on wearing my African attire. I think we're gonna do it next week when we do the update. Um, phenomenal sermon. Check it out. It's already on our social media and on our podcast. But this is where we left the book of Joshua a couple of weeks ago. The people had come up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month. They encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho, and verse 20, Joshua is told to take 12 stones uh as they're going through the river and to set them up. Why? This is so cool. Because God is saying to Joshua, what I am about to do with you is so certain. I want to give you the trophy ahead of time. All right, that my girls have just started playing soccer, we're two games in, they're doing very well. Can I tell you what would confuse them a lot? If I walked up to them before the first game of the season and I said, Girls, great news, I've got your trophies. And they would be like, Coach, what are you talking about? And I'm like, for the season ahead, I've already got your trophies. They would say, Coach, we've got to win games. We've got to get into the playoffs, we've got to make it to the end. We have to do it. No, not when God is your commander, you do not. They are setting up these stones, verse 24, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that they would fear the Lord your God forever. He gives them the trophy in advance. He says, I want you to put it on the mantle for the season that is coming is a guaranteed win. It is a guaranteed victory. Now they walk in, don't miss this. Joshua and God's people have 12 stones behind them, trophies on the mantle. They're looking at Jericho, which would have been one of the greatest fortified cities of its day and age, in front of them, and they are standing in enemy territory. I don't know if you picked this up or not when we were in Joshua chapter 4. As soon as they get on the other side of the river, they're in bad guy land. Okay? If you've ever played Capture the Flag, you're looking around a little bit more quickly because you can get tagged. In their case, arrows could start flying at any moment, spears could be flung, swords and shields brandished as horses and chariots poured over the hill in front of them. And they walk right into enemy territory. Why is Israel not attacked the moment they step foot into enemy territory? Stokesy, where you at? Hey, I didn't even have this in my notes. Like you were singing, I was trying to worship with you, but I had to get this text which you prayed over us, like led us through, because watch how cool this is. Psalm 46. The nations rage, kingdoms, totter, politics, and life are sideways and askew and a mess. But when God utters his voice, the earth, wrong tool, melts. Remember that word. Remember that word. You only have to remember for 45 seconds, but remember that word. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. And then this word, 10 points to the camp store. If anybody can tell me what Salah means. Oh, y'all, okay. All right, left side, we're gonna need to step up your game. Right side, heavy. Too many people, but I'm gonna assume you all got it right. It means pause, reflect, think. Now watch what is happening here. The nations, the kingdoms, God steps in and the earth melts. And then he says, pause. God speaks, the earth melts, and then he says, pause. Why was Israel not attacked the moment they set foot in enemy territory? Verse 1 of chapter 5. As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, when they heard that the Lord had dried up the waters, when they heard that God had already given his people the trophy, when he heard that they were stacking stones in victory, the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over their hearts melted. That's Psalm 46. God utters his voice, and the earth melts. And who was this? Was this like one king? Was this like one commander? No. Every king of the Amorites, every king of the Canaanites, every evil leader looks at what God has done, and their heart melts. There was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel. Now I will tell you what would happen to me if I found out that the enemy who had done me so much harm was weak and wounded and fearful and scared. That is when I would advance. When they are cowering, when their hearts are melting, when their courage has fled. That's the time you look at your men and you say, pull out your sword, get out your shields. These guys are crushed in spirit. Take the hill. That's what you would say. But what happened after God uttered his voice and the earth melted, he said, Selah, now pause for a moment and reflect. What happens after this is not what you would expect. You would expect Joshua to say, Let's go. Probably the two words most uttered on a football field, or watching it, when things start going your way and momentum switches. Let's go. Let's go. But watch God make them wait. And as he does, I want you to ask yourself this question: where in my life do I want to rush in when God is calling me to pause and reflect and be renewed? Keep in mind to get to this point, all of them had just buried their parents. I don't know if you forget this. We get pretty amped up once you get to Joshua 5. Everything gets good. Remember, they weren't able to go into this land until the previous generation had died. And we think about it as, well, this is the good generation. That is the bad generation. Keep in mind, it's their parents, okay? They've just buried their last parent in that generation. They're ready to go, they want to move forward, but God is going to make them wait. This is uh 30 boxes intended to make you think of a calendar. On it is the word Nasan. That is the first month of the Hebrew calendar. This is when they would have entered the promised land. And for seven days, for one full week, God looks at his people and he says, I know you want to go. I know you want to take the hill. I know that their hearts have melted. I know that everything looks like you should charge forward. Selah, my people, pause for a moment and reflect. There's going to be a week that bears itself out in chapter 5 this way. Now you have to pay careful attention when you read your Bible, and you need to read it with a pencil or pen in hand to probably notice this. But something's going to happen on the tenth day, a gap between the 14th, 15th, and the 16th. And in these seven days, God does something very formative in his people. Here's what we see on the tenth day. I already read it to you at the end of chapter four. The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, which is Nasan, and they encamped. So here on day 10, they go camping. They set up a tent, they're in enemy territory. Arrows could begin flying at any moment. And God says, Hey guys, we're going to camp out here for just a moment. I did Lily a big favor. Lily just came up and read. She was one of my youth kids for ages. I love her dearly. I get to select the uh scriptures that are read whenever we're like on Sunday morning. And I don't know where Lily is right now, but I told her in the pre-service meeting. I said, Hey, I want you to know I did you a big favor. The word circumcision comes up like 38 times in this chapter, and you don't have to say it one time. But the very next thing that happens somewhere in the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th day is there is this odd, gross, awkward command that we read. And the command is for Joshua to circumcise the sons of Israel a second time. There's a big point in here about the difficulties of leadership, okay? I'm not going to preach that point, but I'll just tell you, as a guy who's leading a church, I am grateful that this has never been something that the Lord has called us to in the New Testament church. Now, I will tell you this. The closest thing that we have to circumcision in the New Testament church is three points to the camp store baptism, and why? Because circumcision was an outward sign of an inward reality. We're God's people, we're committed to him, we are trusting in him. Baptism is very similar. And Carrie, I did not miss my note, and I had it written into my own notes. We have a baptism class on the 21st. I've had a number of conversations from you guys. And so if you have not been baptized and you're trusting in Christ, you should probably come and check out this class as God calls us to an outward sign of an inward reality. And that's exactly what he does here. In fact, it's the first thing he tells them to do once they start camping. Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time. I'm not trying to be gross here, but what's happening is not that an individual male has been circumcised and it just didn't take. And now he needs to be circumcised a second time. God's word goes on and it explains to us what is happening here. And I love this about the Bible. The Bible doesn't always have to do what it does in verse 4, but I love it when it does. Verse 3, Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel, A Gibeharah. And this is the reason why. Don't you love it when the Bible says that? Hey, here's something a little bit uh complicated, might seem out of context to your day and age. This is the reason why Joshua circumcised them. All the males of the people who came out of Egypt, the parent generation, all the men of war had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. They were not going to enter the promised land. Verse 5, though all the people who had come out had been circumcised, yet all the people who were born on the way, the second generation, those born in the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt, had not been circumcised. Do you know the Bible never explains why? The Bible never explains. And the closest thing I've ever read in a commentary is uh they said, Well, they were so busy moving around that they couldn't pull it off. And I'm like, flag on the field, Joshua just got the call by God, and he's like in the back corner breaking flint knives so that he can, like, if you're committed to something, you can make this happen. Might it be that the generation of the parents had not passed down this ritual, this rite, this command to their own children? Could it be that God had intentionally said, I don't want you to do that yet? I know I've told you to do this, but you have so long not been my people that until we get to this special week, I'm not going to reconvene that you are my people. The Bible doesn't explain how that whole thing played out. But what we do know is this, verse 6 the people of Israel walked 40 years in the wilderness until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, all the parents buried, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord. Parents, you want to be effective in the lives of your children. You think about the schools they go to, and you think about the sports they play. You think about the attire they wear. And if you have a daughter, you think about the attire they wear and the attire they wear. Like everything about your kids runs through your head all the time. Can I just give you the best instruction the Bible is going to give you as a parent? Obey the voice of the Lord. And when God calls you and He convicts you, when He says, Hey, your kid just asked for more time on Instagram, and I want you to say no for a moment so that you can pause and meet with them and shepherd their heart. When you hear the voice of the Lord, listen to the voice of the Lord. And if you feel like you never hear the voice of the Lord, pick up the voice of the Lord. Parents, I can give you no better advice in leading your children. The Lord swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give us a land that was flowing with milk and honey. So it was their children who he raised up in their place that Joshua circumcised. For they were uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. I think we got to the end of all the circumcisions. Okay. If we didn't, we at least got through the lion's share of it. There's this group of young people. They want to live differently than their parents did. Their parents probably want that for them as well. And God says, before you take that hill, before you charge ahead, pause, reflect, and think. I want you to pause and I want you to reflect and I want you to think because generations carry a character. This is something we actually get right in our world. We talk all the time about the greatest generation and baby boomers and Gen Z and millennials and everything. The Bible actually uses terms like that. Now keep in mind, just because you're born into one doesn't mean that you are stuck in sort of the character of that generation. But in Matthew 17, Jesus looks at the generation he's living in and he says, You faithless, twisted generation, how long do I have to be with you? That's the generation that Jesus was with. Does that mean everybody was faithless? No. But it means generally speaking, that's what he saw. In Psalm 112, we see a positive generation. His offspring will be mighty in the land. The generation of the upright will be blessed. You'll see more of that in chapter 6. But why circumcision? Why this sign? Tim Keller is one of my favorite pastors. He's gone on to be with the Lord. Um I feel like he does such a good job about taking complicated things and making them very simple. Uh and so here are a couple of words from him on circumcision. Why couldn't God ask for a tattoo? Don't we all agree? That just feels better. By the way, they could have pulled that off back then. I don't know where Kenny is. I saw him. Uh Kenny, one of our tattoo artists in the area. Yeah, they could have. Do you know the history of tattoos? They go way, way back. Way, way back. Why couldn't God ask for a tattoo? What is this circumcision thing about? It is gross and bloody, and of course, that's the point. Circumcision is gory, it's gross, it's bloody and it's intimate to show you the penalty of sin. Because your sin, when God sees it, is gross. It requires a bloody mess to fix. It is incredibly intimate. When you love the things that God has made and not the God who has made them, it is gory in its expression and evil in all ways. This is why he gave them this sign, because it aligned them with their brokenness, but it did something else. Or another way to put it is in the Garden of Eden, out goes Adam and Eve because of their sin. And who is put at the door? A cherubim, an angel, with a sword guarding the way to the tree of life. Why? Well, because it means the only way back into the tree of life is to undergo the sword. Some of you have been coming to Midtree and you have no clue why our church is called Midtree. You think it's because we're in Harris County or because the cross Jesus was on was the one in the middle. Those are both great things, and they're both wrong. The reason this church is called Midtree is because in the beginning God planted a tree, and it was to be a tree of life and goodness. But instead of us taking that life and that goodness, we thought we had a better plan. So we turn our back on the life that God had offered in that tree. Revelation tells us that there is a tree in heaven that brings healing to the nations and life. Well, how do we go from the tree of death that we chose to the tree of life that lasts forever? Through the mid-tree that God provided and put his son on. Why circumcision? Because it is bloody and gory and gross and intimate, just like your sin. Why circumcision? Because something had to be cut off so that we could enter back into life. And I'm not talking about a piece of male flesh. I'm saying the Son of God had to be cut off from the Father so that you could be stitched back in. Those who belong to Christ have crucified. Crucifixion is a bloody, gory, bad thing. Do you know that's the way the Bible calls you to deal with your sin? That's why it says if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. I'm not saying be literal here. If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. But I'll tell you what Jesus says. Be better for you to enter heaven without an eye and without a hand than not to enter it at all. Because by the time you get there, you're gonna get new eyes and new hands anyway. So the point of walking and trusting God, one of the points of circumcision, is that we would realize in our sin its grossness and we would want to crucify it and cut it off from us. But this did more than just give God's people a reason to pause and reflect and recommit themselves to God. They did. They would have felt recommitted to God, but it didn't just show their commitment, it made them incredibly vulnerable. Let's just have a real talk moment for a second here. When, oh, sorry, one more. When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. Duh. Can I tell you when you don't want to go on a march? Right now for them. Hey, quick timeout, Joshua, if we could just get a couple days, maybe? Yes. They are, don't forget this, in enemy territory. And instead of charging, God says, pause, reflect, recommit myself to you. Cut yourself off from this world. Draw near to me, and you're going to make yourself vulnerable. The timing could not have been worse by worldly standards. They're in enemy territory, and every defender of God's people is now weakened and immobilized. The women were better fighters on this day than the men were. The 10-year-olds were better fighters on this day than the men were. And they had to wait. Why? Because God is giving them the gift of a week when they want to charge forward. They want to take their stand. And instead, he says, No, we're pausing and we are reflecting. We're going to camp out. We're going to painfully recommit ourselves to our God. We're going to remember what he has done for us, that he would become our God. And then the next three stack up together. On the 14th day, God is going to say, I've made you a promise. On the 15th day, he's going to tell them, I keep my promises. And then finally, on the 16th day, he's going to look at him and he's going to say, Are you ready? This is what happens on that 14th day. While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, probably recovering, they kept the Passover on the 14th day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. Hey, I made you a promise years ago that death would pass over you, that you would eat this meal every year on the 14th day of Nasan. And when you did, you would remember that my God overcomes evil and death and darkness. And even though we were enslaved in a nation that hated us, our God led us out. And it the enemy passed right over us. His wrath passed right over us because God made them a promise. Ephesians 3, Exodus 3:8. I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians. But that was not the whole promise. He said, And when you get the trophy, I'm gonna bring you up out of that land to a good land, to a broad land, to a land that is flowing with milk and honey. So do you know what happens on the 15th day? On the 14th day, he reminds them of his promise. Verse 11, and the day after the Passover, I love it when the Bible does this. You do not need a comma and four verses here or four words here for it to make sense. Follow along in verse 11. I'm gonna read it incorrectly. And the day after the Passover, they ate of the produce of the land. Oh, that's pretty cool. Yeah, but God wants to make a point here. And the day after the Passover, on that very day, all these years ago, God said, I want you to remember the 14th day. I want you to remember that I led you out. I want you to remember I gave you a promise. And on the day after it, standing in enemy territory, they start nibbling on the good of the land, which by the way, they didn't even plant. The heart of the enemy has melted at God's power. To the point that Israel eats the food of its enemies while Jericho watches on. I went over to a buddy's house last uh yesterday so my kids could go swimming. We put on uh a handful of football games. It was a beautiful day, everything's wonderful. I couldn't help myself. Where's Keller? I saw him walk in. John, where are you? I'm not gonna make you talk. Oh, hey, okay. I said I'm not gonna make you talk. I was at uh Robbie and Kim Jones' house yesterday. Kids are swimming, everybody was outside, I was in the kitchen, so I went and I got a Sharpie so that I could color on the produce in their pantry and write semi-inappropriate things. Which by the way, I have done at their house since I was 13 years old. All right. Uh, if you are a teenager to me, it is one of the most wonderful things you can do. Uh uh let people know I'm here, I feel at home. I what y'all are like, Will, how on earth does this have anything to do with Joshua? It's okay, I'll get you there. This brain connects a lot of things very quickly. Give me just a minute. You may feel at home when you go to somebody's house and you hang out with them. You are going to feel more at home if you eat a meal with them. But do you want to know how I know that you are truly at home there? You walk in the pantry whenever you want and you get whatever you want. That's what God's people are doing. They are an enemy, I just imagine this. Enemy territory. You walk into a stranger's house who, by the way, hates you, and then you walk into their pantry and start filing through to see if they have double-stuffed Oreos. Okay? That's what's happening here. How confident are God's people of his goodness? Incredibly confident. They are surrounded by the enemy, arrows, spears, at any moment, and they're digging through Jericho's pantry. That's what's going on in this text. They are comfortable in the midst of their enemies. And then something amazing happens. Now, I I told you I was gonna point to this. There's not one arrow notched, one spear thrown. God has literally, listen carefully to my words, prepared a table for his weakened people in the presence of their enemies. And in the event that you have never noticed this, I don't want you to miss it. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. I know you want to take the hill, and I know you want to move on. I know you want to look at all of the brokenness that has come before this day, and you just want to get past it. Saylah, sit down, reflect. We are camping out here. He makes me sit down as he leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He is the one who says, Do you want to draw near to me? Because it's gonna be a bloody awkward mess to do so, because you have made a bloody awkward mess of your life. And here he restores the soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. This by in case you're not picking up on it, this is Joshua chapter 5. He made them lie down, he made them restore their soul to him, he made them. Walk through the valley of the shadow of death, reminding them of the Passover on the 14th. And then what does he do? He prepares a table before them in the presence of their enemies. So what should happen next? What should happen next is their cup would overflow. What should happen next is goodness and mercy is going to follow them all the days of their life. Do you want to see it happen? Too bad. Because in verse 12, here's what happens instead. And the manna ceased the day after they ate the produce of the land. Guys, I've done my absolute best. I know that my mind moves quickly. I know that my words move quickly as well. I have tried to walk you all the way through this week so that you don't miss what God is showing them. Camp out here. Commit yourself to me. Remember the promises that I have made to you. I have fulfilled those promises now. Are you ready to move? But the way God asks them if they're ready to move is by stopping provision. The manna stops falling. God could not have stopped providing for them at a worse time. They're in the land of their enemies. They haven't even secured the crops. They've literally walked through and grabbed some food out of the pantry. For 14,599 days, manifell, manifell, manifell. What are we going to eat? Manafel. What are we going to do? Manafel. 14,599 days. And the moment they walk into the promised land, the moment they open the pantry door of Jericho, the moment they grab the double-stuffed Oreos with no fear in the presence of their enemies, the heavens dry up. Do you know why? One, to tell us that God is in control of our calendars, our times, the events, the circumstances of our lives, and the circumstances of our world. But, Christian, you are not allowed to keep looking for yesterday's bread. Or to put it a little bit differently, don't confuse the method with the provider. God's provision may change, but his faithfulness never does. Some of you think that the way God connected with you and the way you connected with God when you were 13 is the same way he's going to do it now. Or the way that you worship him and draw near to him in your 20s is going to be the way that you do in your 30s. I hope you're more sanctified than that. I hope you have grown from that. I hope that you haven't always assumed that however God has provided must be the way he will only ever provide. No, I think there's something for God's people here when he says, How are you going to respond when I change the way that I provide? It is not as though God was shutting up the heavens. It's not as though he was pulling back his blessing from them. God's people were weak, and yet they were the ones who were feared. Believer, do you believe that weakness should cause timidity? God does not. Do you believe that the weakness in your body, the weakness in your family, the weakness in your mind, the perceived weakness of your future should cause you to be timid? God does not. They were looking upon a fortress of their enemy in hostile land, and do you know what they decide to do? Have a picnic? That's what they choose to do. Believer, do you allow the presence of opposition and evil to take away peace and bring about doubt? Let me ask you that again. Do you, believer in the room? I can't talk to the unbelievers in this moment because Psalm 23 and Psalm 46 and Ephesians 5, they are not true of you yet. If you're an unbeliever in the room, I'm pleading that you would come to the cross of Christ and that you would cut yourself off from sin and that you would find true life. But for those of you who have walked with the Lord for some period of time, do you allow the presence of opposition, do you allow the presence of evil to take away peace and bring about doubt? This week has had an abundance of evil on display. And what Scripture makes plain is two things the presence of evil in this world and the proximity of Christians to it. We are not insulated from it. You do not find God's people on the other side of the river, you find them in enemy territory, and you don't see them scared. You see evil being perpetrated all around them, and they're having a picnic. Because they're great? No. Because the God who has always provided, the God who has made every single promise and kept every single promise, his plans are not negated when our worlds seem upside down. The murder of the Ukrainian woman on the train, shooting of Charlie Kirk, the next day, the remembering of 9-11. Christian, you better look carefully how you walk. You better not get lured into a sense of security. You better remember you've crossed the river of the blood of Christ and you are standing in enemy territory. He's already given you the trophy. It is a guaranteed win. You can set up a picnic in the presence of this kind of evil. But when you walk in it, please don't be unwise. Be wise. Make the best use of your time. These days that we live in, they are evil. So do not be foolish. You must understand what the will of the Lord is. And I don't think this means like the secret specific will for you. That certainly could be applied. What Paul is saying is do you know who God has always been? Do you know who God will always be? Do you know that we are living a blip in this world? These days are evil. Don't be foolish. Make the best use of the time that you can. And this is exactly what God's people are doing. I've made you a promise, I've kept my promise. Now are you ready? And God literally shows up. This is cooler, by the way, I'm a history guy, so I love the calendar. I love the dates. I love the points that build. There is nothing cooler than what's about to happen in this text. Nothing cooler. And Joshua comes across in beast mode fashion. Like, this is the guy you want to be. Check this guy out. When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked. And behold, a man was standing before him. Okay, this fee does this not feel like a different chapter? Doesn't it just feel like something huge just changed? Let me tell you what's happening. After this week of God saying, pause, stop, think, reflect, recommit, make sure you're right with me, Joshua goes on a walk. He goes on a walk in a land he hasn't been to in 40 years. He probably picked something to play on the radio or on his phone that has some kind of a nostalgic feeling. Because it's been a long time since Joshua and Caleb walked through this land this way. And he's walking through it 40 years later, knowing that God made promises and keeps promises, and on this nostalgic walk, a man was standing before him with a drawn sword in his hand. Okay. If I am walking through my property, if I am, and I'm just having this beautiful day, God is good, I'm having a picnic, just raiding my neighbor's pantry, double stuffed. I don't like the double-stuffed Oreos. I'm the freak that likes like the teeniest little bit of the cream in the middle, the thins. Those are my favorite. Y'all can hate me if you want, whatever. He's walking through, raiding the pantry, and this dude shows up and he pulls out a sword. You know what Joshua has in his hands? Oreos. Not really, but that's what he's got. Did you see what Joshua does next? And Joshua went to him. I'll tell you what, I'm not doing. If I see a guy I don't recognize with a sword in my property, I'm not going, oh, hello. Let's just spend some time together. Joshua couldn't care less. He's been camping in enemy territory, raiding their pantry, trophies already on the shelf. He sees a guy with a sword, he's like, Well, I definitely want to meet this guy. And he said to him, Are you for us? Or are you for our enemies? Why does he have this kind of a confidence? I'm gonna walk right up to you. Which means he didn't know if he was for him. He doesn't know. Are you on our team or not on our team? I see you've got a sword. I got my Oreos. What's up? Right? Where does this confidence come from? Here's where his confidence comes from. His confidence comes from the fact that God had given him a promise. Everywhere your foot treads, I'm gonna give you that land. His presence is assured. I'm gonna be with you, Joshua 1, 5, and 9, the same way that I was with Moses. For the first time that we see, basically in the Old Testament, all of God's people are aligned and they're like, Joshua, lead us. We're gonna do whatever you say. We're not gonna grumble, we're not gonna complain. We are the best generation, is what they would be saying here. The enemy tremble as their heart melts. They are led by the presence of God in the Ark of the Covenant, and the river gets ripped open. They stack stones, their covenant is renewed, they have a celebration, and the future is no longer coming from above them, it is right in front of them. Why is Joshua confident? Here's why. Because who God is, what he does. And the commander of the Lord's army answers this question Are you for us or are you for our adversaries? Now I would like to step on your toes as we wrap this up. Stokesy, you can go ahead and come on up. Are you for us or are you for our adversaries? No. Nah. Wait, wait, wait. Are you for us? There's a battle coming. It's an A or a B decision here. Are you for us or are you for our enemies? No. No. You silly little simple-minded person. No. I am the commander of the army of the Lord, and I have come. Joshua fell on his face to the earth and he worshiped. Let me tell you why this matters. In Revelation 19, John stands before an angel. When the angel appears, John falls on his knees, and the angel says, Do not worship me. Get up. I'm a created being just like you. Do you see Joshua being reprimanded for worshiping here? No, because he's standing before God, potentially before Christ. Joshua, Yeshua, the Savior, is actually standing before the Savior. And he looks at Jesus potentially and he says, Are you for us or are you against us? And Jesus says, No. No, no, no. That's not how this works, buddy. What do you mean you're not for us or against us? The Lord is for his own purposes. The Lord is for his own name. The Lord is for his own greatness. And the Lord is for his own glory. We operate in this world as though God has picked certain people, he has picked certain nations, and he has not picked others. And we do see blessing in some nations more than others. And we do see blessing in some people more than others. But the question is not, is the Lord on our side or is he not? The question is, are we on his side? This is the question. I highly doubt that you are going to find anyone in this life that is better than Joshua. I doubt it. But even Joshua puts on display that there is no nation and there is no power, there is no movement and there is no party. There is no leader that is always on God's side. The question is, are you on God's side? Joshua looks and he says, Are you for us or are you for our enemies? No. Joshua walking on a land with 40 years of nostalgia. The commander takes out his sword and he says, I'm not here to take sides. I'm here to take over. And son, I'll take it from here. Joshua, you're not going to need a sword for this. You're not going to need a shield for this. Do you know how to worship me? That's what you're going to need for this. And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy. And Joshua did so. He's ready to move on. He's ready to conquer. And God says, Son, I'll take it from here. If you are not a Christian in this room, there's no better message I can give you than Christ saying, I'll take it from here. You've made it to church and you've heard the gospel. You've realized you need to be cut off from your sin. Please let Jesus take it from here. You don't need to be impressive. You don't need to show me or anybody else your good deeds. All you need to do is say, God, would you take it from here? All I need to do is fall down and worship you. Would you take it from here? And Christian in the room, whether you've been walking with the Lord for one holy week or for 40 or 50 years, do you know what your job is to do? Take off your shoes and worship Him. He does not need your sword, he does not need your shield, but He will take your worship. This is the hope that we have in Christ. I put up a few questions for you to reflect on. And then Stokes, when you're ready, if you'll call us to worship, certainly the God who deserves it and not only deserves it, wants nothing more from us than that. Let us be this kind of people today.