WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.399 Welcome to Gateway Churches Podcast. 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:06.879 Wherever you're tuning in from, we hope you're encouraged by today's message. 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:18.239 Um I wouldn't normally do this, but since the series is called From Death to Life, I I was thinking about a death that happened this past week. 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:23.120 And I'm sure every one of you have heard about this, and um, it is the the death of Pope Francis. 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:32.159 And again, I wouldn't typically do this, but just because of this week and the name of the series, can I just tell you for a moment um the time that the Pope invited me to the Vatican? 00:00:32.320 --> 00:00:45.439 Uh I got invited in 2017, and he wanted to have a little bit of a conversation with a few pastors, and so I went, and as I was preparing to go, I didn't know what I should bring. 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:47.280 I was like, should I bring him a Bible? 00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:49.439 But I thought he probably has enough Bibles. 00:00:49.679 --> 00:00:51.359 Uh should I bring him a candle? 00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:53.920 Um he probably has enough candles. 00:00:54.159 --> 00:00:56.320 And then I decided, you know what I'm gonna do? 00:00:56.479 --> 00:00:59.039 I'm gonna bring him a Chicago Cubs jersey. 00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:04.239 And so this is me handing the Pope. 00:01:04.319 --> 00:01:07.920 Uh, and then he looks at me, and this is no joke what he says. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:09.359 I have it recorded on my phone. 00:01:09.439 --> 00:01:12.480 He says, he looks at me and he goes, preach. 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:15.439 Don't ever stop preaching. 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:18.799 The world needs better preaching. 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:25.359 Preach Jesus, preach good news, and then he walks away with my cubs jersey. 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:29.439 And I find myself going, I have you ever brought a gift to someone? 00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:34.079 And then what they give you back is wildly more. 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:37.359 And that's honestly how I feel every time I come to Gateway. 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:43.359 I get to preach, but man, what you all put into me such, such an honor. 00:01:43.519 --> 00:01:50.000 And so today, what I want to do is um, because some of you know this, I played college basketball, and play is not the right word. 00:01:50.079 --> 00:01:52.239 I sat the bench, but I got free shoes. 00:01:52.480 --> 00:02:00.719 Um, you know, I there are these these moments where you find yourself at the end of the first quarter and the coach just kind of calling you into the huddle. 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:02.319 And that that's what I really believe. 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:04.480 You've just finished the first 25 years. 00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:06.079 You finished the first quarter. 00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:13.039 And if I could just have a moment where we just kind of huddle up and just say, hey, well, what is actually gonna be our plan for the next 25 years? 00:02:13.199 --> 00:02:15.360 What is actually gonna be our call for the next 25 years? 00:02:15.520 --> 00:02:18.479 What kind of people are we gonna be that move from death to life? 00:02:18.639 --> 00:02:21.439 What kind of people will we choose to be? 00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:27.759 And so what I want to do today is I want to look at four stories from the life of Joshua. 00:02:27.919 --> 00:02:34.080 Because I believe that these four stories will be a clarion call for every single one of you. 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:44.879 Wherever you are in your faith journey, you will know the play when you leave this place, the kind of people the gateway is and will be for decades to come. 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:55.280 So if you have a Bible, turn with me to Exodus chapter 33, and we're gonna just kind of walk through um the entirety of Scripture. 00:02:55.360 --> 00:02:57.280 We'll get done about 415 today. 00:02:57.360 --> 00:02:58.400 It's gonna be awesome. 00:02:58.639 --> 00:03:02.800 But um Exodus 33, verse 7 says this. 00:03:03.039 --> 00:03:12.560 Now Moshe, Moses, used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp, some distance away, calling it the tent of meeting. 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:15.360 Very, very clear, Captain Obvious. 00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:17.840 This is the tent of meeting with God. 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:22.560 Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:33.759 And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:43.919 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of clouds, so like the presence of God, would come down and stay at the entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses. 00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:54.479 Whenever the people saw the pillar of clouds standing at the entrance to the tent of meeting, they all stood and worshipped, each at the entrance to their own tent. 00:03:54.719 --> 00:04:03.120 Verse 11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face as one speaks to a friend. 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:17.839 Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide, Joshua, son of none, not son of a nun, because that'd be weird, but son of none, did not leave the tent. 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:18.560 So get this. 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:19.680 This is the scene. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:37.920 Moses leaves his tent, and he's walking outside of the camp, and everyone stands to their feet because he knows he's gonna actually go to the tent of meeting, he's gonna have a conversation with God, and they stand in sheer expectation, and they wait and they wait and they wait, and then all of a sudden, Moses leaves the tent. 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:42.160 He's heard from the Lord, and now he's gonna deliver that message to the people. 00:04:42.319 --> 00:04:54.879 But that one verse, it's the first time we ever meet Joshua in the scriptures, and it says, This young aide Joshua did not leave the tent. 00:04:55.920 --> 00:05:03.519 It's like Moses, his leader left, but Joshua didn't want to leave the presence of God. 00:05:04.639 --> 00:05:05.839 Gateway church. 00:05:06.160 --> 00:05:12.560 My brothers and sisters, may you crave the presence of God. 00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:19.600 May you never stop craving and yearning and longing for the presence of God. 00:05:19.920 --> 00:05:40.240 May you find yourself getting swept up, not just on a Sunday morning, on a Tuesday afternoon in the marketplace, and a Wednesday lunch in the cafeteria, and a Thursday walk in the neighborhood, and a Friday watching your Texas Rangers win. 00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:50.639 Whatever it is, may you find yourself swept up just going, God is already here, and crave his presence. 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:52.319 But it continues on. 00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:56.639 Turn with me to the chat the book of Numbers, which I know you all were reading this morning. 00:05:56.800 --> 00:05:58.639 Uh, Numbers chapter 13. 00:05:58.879 --> 00:06:01.040 This is another story of the life of Joshua. 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:06.319 And Numbers chapter 13 is fascinating because this is a little bit like the Hebrew hunger games. 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:15.759 And what I mean by that is you're gonna have a moment where Moses and the Jewish people are about to go and take possession of the land that God had promised. 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:18.160 But they didn't know what it looked like. 00:06:18.399 --> 00:06:21.600 All they had was what God had told them this land was like. 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:24.879 It's a land overflowing with milk and honey. 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:31.680 So Moses chooses one man from each of the 12 tribes, and these 12 spies go. 00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:36.480 But before they go, Moses says, Hey, bring me back some grapes. 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:39.519 Tell me, is it like what God told us to be? 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:45.360 There's no Wi-Fi, there's no drones, all they have will be the reports of these spies. 00:06:45.519 --> 00:06:47.600 And so these 12 spies go. 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:59.199 And can you imagine for decades and decades and decades, hundreds of years, hearing about the land of promise, what it would be like. 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:01.920 You would never actually ever ventured in. 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:05.680 And now 12 spies, you see them coming back. 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:12.000 The entire like Hebrew nation comes together to listen to their account. 00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:18.160 And this is what they say in Numbers chapter 13, verse 33. 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:27.680 But the men who had gone up with him said, We can't attack these people, they are stronger than we are. 00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:33.120 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:37.439 They said, The land we explored devours those living in it. 00:07:37.600 --> 00:07:41.199 All the people we saw there are of great size. 00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:46.959 We saw the Nephilim there, the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim. 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:53.920 We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them. 00:07:54.240 --> 00:08:03.439 So the majority of the spies, 10 of the 12 spies, start to proclaim, we can't attack them, we can't go into the land of promise. 00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:05.680 We're like grasshoppers. 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:08.800 And then what they're gonna do is they're just gonna step on us. 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:10.399 We can't do it. 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:24.879 But Caleb and Joshua have another word, and what's so beautiful as we see in chapter 14, starting in verse 6, it says Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephune. 00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:34.159 And if you're ever just reading the Bible publicly and it comes to a word that you cannot pronounce, just read it quickly and with authority and move on. 00:08:34.480 --> 00:08:40.480 Caleb, son of Jephune, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes. 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:43.679 So they're the two spies that are going against the other ten. 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:54.080 They tear their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, The land we pass through and explored is exceedingly good. 00:08:54.320 --> 00:09:03.840 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us only. 00:09:04.559 --> 00:09:12.080 Do not rebel against the Lord, and do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. 00:09:12.240 --> 00:09:19.600 Grasshoppers are going to devour the giants, their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. 00:09:19.840 --> 00:09:22.000 Do not be afraid of them. 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:28.320 And the next verse in verse 10 it says, But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. 00:09:28.960 --> 00:09:31.919 So in this moment, Moses is watching. 00:09:32.080 --> 00:09:34.720 All of the Hebrew nation is watching. 00:09:34.960 --> 00:09:37.600 Ten people say, We can't do it, man. 00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:38.480 We can't do it. 00:09:38.639 --> 00:09:42.879 And then two people stand up and they say, Yes, we can. 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:44.159 Yes, we can. 00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:47.600 And it's not because of us, it is because of our God. 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:52.159 It is because of what God can do in and through us. 00:09:52.639 --> 00:10:01.679 And I think in that moment, Moses must have been watching his young aid and going, Man, I'm so grateful he didn't leave the tent. 00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:08.799 Because that that took guts, that took courage to go against where culture was going. 00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:12.080 And nobody often will drift towards holiness. 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:14.879 Nobody drifts towards doing the harder right. 00:10:15.120 --> 00:10:19.519 It is a conscious day-by-day choice. 00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:21.440 And Joshua shows this. 00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:23.360 And so Gateway Church. 00:10:23.679 --> 00:10:27.519 My prayer for you as you enter into the second quarter. 00:10:27.679 --> 00:10:30.240 Number one, may you crave God's presence. 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:34.399 And number two, may you own the moment. 00:10:34.559 --> 00:10:35.840 And here's what I mean. 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:41.919 For many of us, we live our lives in the past, the present, and the future. 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:46.080 But do you know you only have control over one thing? 00:10:46.559 --> 00:10:51.200 You only have control over one thing, and that's the present reality. 00:10:51.759 --> 00:10:55.519 See, the enemy wants to make you go back to the past. 00:10:56.159 --> 00:11:01.600 The enemy wants you to live in the past, and when you live in the past, you live in shame. 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:06.879 When you live in the past, you look and your eyes are fixated on what once was. 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:13.039 Many people, good sincere Christ followers, I've been pastoring for 20 plus years. 00:11:13.360 --> 00:11:24.240 Many good, sincere Christ followers, they're fixated eyes, heart, mind, body, soul, onto the past, and they are like moonwalking into the present. 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:28.080 And they are missing all that God has for them. 00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:33.200 They are missing the whispers because they're fixated on the shame of yesterday. 00:11:33.519 --> 00:11:40.720 And some people, though, aren't even able to actually live in the present because they're so caught up in what tomorrow will be. 00:11:40.960 --> 00:11:44.159 You have no control over tomorrow, it isn't here yet. 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:48.960 And when you live in tomorrow, you are often living with anxiety. 00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:50.000 What's it gonna be like? 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:50.879 It's uncertain. 00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:51.440 I'm not sure. 00:11:51.519 --> 00:11:51.919 I don't know. 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:53.039 What is it gonna be? 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:54.159 I don't know. 00:11:54.480 --> 00:12:04.720 And all the enemy wants you to do is live either in the past or the future and to not be here in the present. 00:12:04.799 --> 00:12:10.399 Because when you're not here in the present, then it's hard for you to be aware of God's presence. 00:12:10.799 --> 00:12:18.799 And when you are not aware of God's presence, it is very, very difficult for you then to go and own a moment. 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:27.440 I remember a number of years ago, I was in Nashville, and we are huge Johnny Cash fans in our family. 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:31.679 Um, my daughter, uh her name is Mercy June Carter. 00:12:31.759 --> 00:12:37.519 Um, June Carter is the woman who sh who gave the gospel message to Johnny and he received it. 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:44.159 And so I went to go to this uh house that Johnny used to live in. 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:56.399 It's on this lake outside of Nashville, and and right next to this house is a house where Roy Orbison, the famous singer, songwriter, pretty woman, had his family house. 00:12:56.559 --> 00:13:05.279 And then right next to that was a party house of Roy Orbison's where much of the music in the 50s and 60s actually were written out of. 00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:16.639 And there was no electric tools that went into building this old rustic fam like party singer-songwriter house. 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:23.120 And then you had the same architect who built Roy Orbison's, and then the same architect who built Johnny Cash's. 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:25.200 Well, one day Roy Orbison's on tour. 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:29.600 In his life, there was a lot of just trial, struggle. 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:40.639 Uh, he lost his wife in a motorcycle accident, but he gets a call and he finds out that his two boys were playing with fireworks in the property and burned the house down and died. 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:47.600 So Roy Orbison returns back to his house and it's just a pile of rocks. 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:51.600 And he looks at Johnny and goes, I can't rebuild here. 00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:54.639 I lost my wife, I lost my I lost my boys. 00:13:54.960 --> 00:13:58.480 And he sells the property to Johnny for a dollar. 00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:02.799 And he says, Promise me you won't build on this land. 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:04.720 And Johnny says, I promise. 00:14:04.960 --> 00:14:11.039 So Johnny clears the entire property, gathers some pastors, and what do they do? 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:18.960 They circle around this property and they just can we pray that somehow this will be a garden where new life will grow. 00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:45.919 And so, if you go to this garden, you still have the party house, you have this garden, and then before Johnny Cash dies, he sold his house to Barry Gibb from the Bee Gees, and Barry Gibb was either working his family too or workers too hard that someone out of bitterness uh fell asleep and burned the house down, or purposely burned Johnny Cash's house down. 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:54.480 So now you walk on this property and you have Johnny Cash's house, that's a pile of rocks, you have this beautiful garden, and you have this picture of the past. 00:14:55.200 --> 00:15:02.480 And I think it's fascinating because sometimes in church and sometimes in our faith journey, we just want to go back to that day. 00:15:02.720 --> 00:15:05.039 Oh man, when those good songs were written. 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:06.879 We want to live back there. 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:09.759 And then some of us, man, we just want to live out in the future. 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:10.799 We want to live out in the future, man. 00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:13.840 This someday we can just do all of this, and that comes crumbling down. 00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:17.360 And all you can do is recognize you're just a garden. 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:27.360 And when you begin to start to pray and you start to own the moment, you start to live within the presence of God, new life can actually grow in a beautiful way. 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:34.960 What's beautiful about the life of Joshua is that Moses isn't able to enter into the land of promise because of his sin. 00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:39.200 And Moses has to think of who will succeed him. 00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:50.559 And I imagine watching Joshua and Caleb stand up against the entire Israel assembly, he said to himself, I think Joshua is the one. 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:58.960 But can you imagine being Joshua and you've got to follow the greatest leader in the history of the Hebrew nation? 00:15:59.519 --> 00:16:05.039 Can you find yourself like wondering, who was the shooting guard that followed Michael Jordan? 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:06.559 We don't know his name. 00:16:06.799 --> 00:16:10.399 Who was the coach that followed John Wooden at UCLA? 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:12.080 We don't know their name. 00:16:12.320 --> 00:16:15.120 And now Joshua's like, wait, wait, me? 00:16:15.519 --> 00:16:17.120 To follow after Moses? 00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:20.320 And look what God says in Joshua chapter one. 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:25.440 He says these words that I think are so important for each of us. 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:36.000 It says this, verse one, after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua, son of Nun, Moses' aide, Moses, my servant, is dead. 00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:44.559 Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I'm about to give to them, to the Israelites. 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:49.440 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 00:16:49.919 --> 00:17:02.720 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates, all throughout the Hittite country, to the Mediterranean Sea and to Jackson Hole in the west. 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:07.440 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. 00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:11.039 And as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:13.759 I will never leave you nor forsake you. 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:15.759 And Joshua's like, Okay, thanks. 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:16.480 Thanks. 00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:27.359 And then verse 6 it says, Be strong, God says to Joshua, and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. 00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:31.200 And then he says in verse 7, Be strong and very courageous. 00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:35.519 Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you. 00:17:35.599 --> 00:17:46.640 Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go, and keep this book of the law always on your lips. 00:17:46.880 --> 00:17:56.000 Meditate on it day and night, so that when you may be careful to do everything written in it, then you will be prosperous and successful. 00:17:56.160 --> 00:18:09.200 See, when I write a sermon, I ask questions of the text, but when I meditate on the scripture, I let the text ask questions of me, my heart, my mind, my body, my soul, my way. 00:18:09.599 --> 00:18:11.680 And what's amazing is what God is saying. 00:18:11.839 --> 00:18:13.920 He's saying, Joshua, I need you to be strong. 00:18:14.079 --> 00:18:15.440 I need you to be courageous. 00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:16.960 I'm not asking you to be Moses. 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:20.400 I'm just telling you what I promised Moses, I'm promising to you. 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:24.720 But you have to live under the authority of this book. 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:26.640 You can't go to the right, to the left. 00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:32.079 You've got to be fixated on the word, and you've got to be fixated on the promises of God. 00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:39.599 See, I tell you, Gateway Church, as you enter to the second quarter, number one, may you crave God's presence. 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:43.200 And number two, may you own the moment. 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:48.400 And number three, may you declare God's promises. 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:51.920 May you never stop declaring God's promises. 00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:54.400 And yes, there'll be moments that don't make sense. 00:18:54.559 --> 00:19:06.000 There will be moments that are difficult, but it's in those moments where the resilience showcases itself because you find your faith, your trust living in this book and not in yourself. 00:19:06.319 --> 00:19:12.000 But I need you to see one thing, one thing that literally changed everything for me. 00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:31.839 Verse 9, God says these words have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. 00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:41.839 And this is this is powerful stuff, friends, because three times in four verses, God says, Be strong and courageous. 00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:44.640 Be strong and very courageous. 00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:51.440 Have I not commanded you, Joshua, be strong and courageous, do not be afraid. 00:19:51.759 --> 00:19:54.000 I will be with you. 00:19:54.160 --> 00:20:03.039 And what you might not know is that phrase in Hebrew for be strong and courageous became the battle cry of the Hebrew nation. 00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:11.519 You know, like jock jams before like a basketball game, they're like hyping themselves up with like their favorite song as they they go through the layup line. 00:20:11.839 --> 00:20:14.400 This is what the whole nation would begin to do. 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:22.880 They would sway and they would say the phrase in Hebrew for be strong and courageous, which is rock shazak. 00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:25.359 It's just so fun to say. 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:31.039 And the whole nation would be like rock, shazak, rock, shazak. 00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:41.440 And what they were saying is to be strong and courageous, not in themselves, but in the God that was with them, God that was for them. 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:49.839 And so now Joshua, and God's told him, you are gonna lead the people across the Jordan River. 00:20:50.079 --> 00:20:55.359 Now Joshua has to go tell the priests and the people what is about to happen. 00:20:55.519 --> 00:20:58.720 And can you just imagine the insecurity this man must be feeling? 00:20:59.039 --> 00:21:00.079 Wait, wait, wait. 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:07.119 You're gonna have us go across as your first act of a leader, a river? 00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:08.240 Like, who do you think? 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:09.440 You think you're Moses? 00:21:09.920 --> 00:21:11.759 My man doesn't even have a staff. 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:14.160 Like, what are you what are you thinking? 00:21:14.319 --> 00:21:16.400 And and this is what Joshua has to do. 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:22.799 And I imagine people saying to him, What what word were you given to tell us that we can do this? 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:25.920 And Joshua's like, um, rock Shazak? 00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:28.240 Be strong and courageous. 00:21:28.319 --> 00:21:30.960 And I imagine the priest going, Well, I'll rock Shazak. 00:21:31.279 --> 00:21:32.640 Like, what are you talking about? 00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:34.240 He's saying, No, no, no, no, man. 00:21:34.319 --> 00:21:39.039 Like, I need you to actually step out and do this. 00:21:39.440 --> 00:21:45.680 But he even gets more complicated because the adversity so many of us begin to see. 00:21:45.920 --> 00:21:50.160 But we don't actually see the opportunity that the adversity provides us. 00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:59.759 And this is a moment in Joshua, if you turn to actual chapters 3 and you read 15 through 17, this is where it gets even more difficult. 00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:12.160 It says this now the Jordan, which actually started at the highest point in Israel and goes down to the lowest point, is at flood stage all during the harvest season. 00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:24.720 Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:37.200 It piled up in a heap a great distance away at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarathon, while the water flowing down to the sea of the Arabah, that is the Dead Sea, was completely cut off. 00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:41.599 So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:55.519 The priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground. 00:22:55.839 --> 00:23:00.559 So you have this sense where the Ark of the Covenant, and we've been taught this so many times. 00:23:00.720 --> 00:23:02.880 Don't put God in a box, don't put God in the box. 00:23:03.039 --> 00:23:06.319 Actually, God put Himself in a box, and it was called the Ark of the Covenant. 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:12.000 And you would carry this ark, and it was literally like the presence of God. 00:23:12.160 --> 00:23:18.400 And so imagine these priests, and these priests are walking, and they're like, dude, do you think like Rakshazak, man? 00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:18.799 Do you think? 00:23:18.880 --> 00:23:19.200 Do you think? 00:23:19.279 --> 00:23:22.720 Do you think I mean I know we got the presence of God right here by me in like Rakshazak? 00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:26.000 That water is moving so fast, so fast. 00:23:26.640 --> 00:23:30.319 Joshua, if I die, you better take care of my kids, man. 00:23:30.640 --> 00:23:33.759 And literally puts that first foot in and the water stop. 00:23:34.079 --> 00:23:39.920 And they go halfway through, and then the entire nation crosses over. 00:23:40.559 --> 00:23:47.359 Now, you have to understand, whenever God did something, the Jewish people wanted to celebrate it. 00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:54.799 So sometimes they would name a place based on God doing something, and they would name that city after what God did. 00:23:54.960 --> 00:23:58.319 Or sometimes they would build an altar, or they make a sacrifice. 00:23:58.480 --> 00:24:05.440 Sometimes, like Exodus 15, when they cross over the Red Sea, they started and wrote the first worship song. 00:24:05.839 --> 00:24:17.119 But there was another thing that they would often do to allow for the story of what just happened to be retold and retold and reembodied and re-embodied. 00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:20.960 Look what it says in Joshua chapter 4, verse 4. 00:24:21.119 --> 00:24:21.759 It says this. 00:24:21.920 --> 00:24:33.440 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. 00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:42.240 Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. 00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:47.039 See, in the future, when your children ask you, What do these stones mean? 00:24:47.359 --> 00:24:52.240 Tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. 00:24:52.480 --> 00:24:56.000 When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. 00:24:56.160 --> 00:25:00.240 These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever. 00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:06.720 So before the priest with the Ark of the Covenant can get to the other side, Joshua says, Stay there, stay there, guys, stay there. 00:25:07.200 --> 00:25:15.200 And then he chooses twelve men from each of the tribes, and he says, Go and pick up the biggest stone that you can find from within the Jordan. 00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:24.559 And now we're gonna take those stones and we are gonna set them up on the side of the Jordan because they're gonna be this reminder. 00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:32.319 Now, if you go to Israel, you will see all of these moments where these massive standing stones are. 00:25:32.799 --> 00:25:52.559 And and this is this is the story of what would happen is you would have a rabbi who would be walking with his Talmudin, that's the Hebrew word for disciple, or you'd have a father and mother walking with their children when all of a sudden the kid or the disciple would look at the standing stones, and what would they say? 00:25:52.720 --> 00:26:05.039 They'd say, Masa vot, Papa, Masavot, Rabbanai, Masavot, Mama, Masa vot, and Masa vot literally mean what happened here. 00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:08.400 What happened here? 00:26:08.559 --> 00:26:29.599 And this is when the rabbi would say, Ah, this is when Rakshazak, Joshua, had the priests, and we crossed over the Jordan into the land of promise, and it became these disciples' stories, or the father or the mother would tell it to their kids, and it would be their children's stories to carry on and share with the next generation. 00:26:29.920 --> 00:26:38.240 But if you've ever read 1 Peter, have you ever seen how 1 Peter chapter 2 talks about living stones? 00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:43.519 And he's talking about the kind of people that we are called to be. 00:26:43.759 --> 00:26:56.640 He says, as you come to him, the living stone, rejected by humans, but chosen by God and precious to him, you also, like living stone, standing stones, are to be built into a spiritual house gateway. 00:26:56.799 --> 00:26:57.759 It'll continue on. 00:26:57.839 --> 00:27:08.319 It says, But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:12.240 See, once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. 00:27:12.400 --> 00:27:17.119 Once you had not received mercy, but now, gateway, you have received mercy. 00:27:17.359 --> 00:27:21.200 And then it says this the kind of life we're called to be. 00:27:21.359 --> 00:27:42.160 It says, Dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and exiles to abstain from sinful desires which wage against your soul, live such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 00:27:42.559 --> 00:27:45.440 What is Peter saying? 00:27:45.599 --> 00:27:57.119 Peter's saying that your life in the marketplace, in your school, in your home, in your neighborhood, in traffic, wherever you are, you are a standing stone. 00:27:57.200 --> 00:28:09.119 And the way that you choose to forgive, the way that you choose to love, the way that you choose to declare God's promises, the way that you choose to encourage, someone should look at your life and say, Masa vote. 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:11.680 What happened here? 00:28:11.839 --> 00:28:14.000 And 1 Peter chapter 3, what does it say? 00:28:14.240 --> 00:28:18.160 Always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that you have. 00:28:18.480 --> 00:28:18.960 Why? 00:28:19.279 --> 00:28:22.480 Because your life ought to demand an explanation. 00:28:22.640 --> 00:28:33.359 So, my brothers and sisters of Gateway Church, as we enter into the second quarter, may you crave God's promises and God's presence. 00:28:33.839 --> 00:28:36.240 May you own the moment. 00:28:36.799 --> 00:28:39.599 May you declare God's promises. 00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:45.519 And number four, may you live a life that demands an explanation. 00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:49.839 May you live a life that makes people say, moss vote. 00:28:50.079 --> 00:28:59.039 Now, what's incredible though about this entire thing is I think you all are in a unique spot. 00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:09.839 Because how you choose to enter into the second quarter has huge significance for the third quarter, the fourth quarter, and what God has in store. 00:29:10.160 --> 00:29:11.759 Any coach would tell you that. 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:18.799 And what's amazing is sometimes you might feel like we're down by eight points, or sometimes you feel that you might be up by nine points, whatever it is. 00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:29.279 You have in a second quarter moment, you are with the coach, you are getting in this huddle, and the coach is beginning to say some words to you to try to encourage you to go to another level. 00:29:29.680 --> 00:29:31.039 How do you know that? 00:29:31.599 --> 00:29:35.920 There was only the thought that white swans existed. 00:29:36.640 --> 00:29:38.960 Nobody had ever heard of a black swan before. 00:29:39.759 --> 00:29:41.839 But can we just ask you one question? 00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:46.799 How many black swans do you need to see to believe that they exist? 00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:48.559 One. 00:29:49.119 --> 00:29:50.559 Why do I say this? 00:29:51.759 --> 00:30:00.960 Because I think the world needs to see a church who changes adversity into opportunity. 00:30:01.279 --> 00:30:04.720 I believe that the world needs to see a church that craves God's presence. 00:30:04.880 --> 00:30:19.119 I believe that the church needs to see people who own the moment that they're in, that they won't stop, can't stop declaring God's promises and live a life that demands an explanation. 00:30:19.839 --> 00:30:23.680 And what's wild is I started to think about this. 00:30:24.160 --> 00:30:38.480 And all I could like think about is this moment where Joshua didn't feel like he had what it takes to follow Moses, but tells these priests, I heard from God. 00:30:39.119 --> 00:30:44.640 And God told me Roch Shazak, and he told me that we're gonna cross the Jordan River. 00:30:45.119 --> 00:30:56.400 But he told me that you, as the priest holding the Ark of the Covenant, you all have to walk to the edge and put your feet in the water. 00:30:56.640 --> 00:31:00.640 And for the last few weeks, I've been praying for this church. 00:31:00.799 --> 00:31:06.480 I've been praying for a word that God would give me to speak to you as you enter into the second quarter. 00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:14.559 And I just had this visual, and I wonder if this hits any of you watching online, any of you in this room or at our campuses. 00:31:14.720 --> 00:31:16.079 I just wonder. 00:31:17.920 --> 00:31:19.680 I wonder if you were there. 00:31:20.400 --> 00:31:24.240 And Joshua said to you, God's not done with us yet. 00:31:24.720 --> 00:31:30.559 He's taking us farther, he's taking us deeper, he's having us cross over. 00:31:30.640 --> 00:31:38.240 And I wonder if there would be a moment where Joshua just looked at you and just said, Would you put your feet in the water? 00:31:38.799 --> 00:31:43.200 Would you have the faith to put your feet in the water? 00:31:43.279 --> 00:31:56.400 And I'm asking you right now, and I'm not looking, I'm just asking you right now, if Joshua were to ask you, would you put your feet in the water, believing that God is not done with us yet? 00:31:56.559 --> 00:32:00.720 I'm gonna ask you that you would stand if you are able to your feet. 00:32:01.519 --> 00:32:03.039 If that would be you. 00:32:04.400 --> 00:32:09.759 If God would just whisper to you to say, Man, like I you were holding on to his presence. 00:32:09.920 --> 00:32:19.200 You are gonna walk towards the edge because you believe that God has something in the second quarter for Gateway Church. 00:32:22.319 --> 00:32:26.480 Okay, I didn't expect that to happen, but now we're gonna have some fun. 00:32:27.599 --> 00:32:28.640 Here's the deal. 00:32:28.799 --> 00:32:31.920 I might never get invited back, but we're it's okay. 00:32:32.160 --> 00:32:33.680 Here's what I'm gonna do now. 00:32:33.839 --> 00:32:38.720 Because the truth is, you're about to leave this space and you are going into battle. 00:32:39.359 --> 00:32:48.240 And you are going in where the enemy is gonna want to wage war against your soul, the enemy is gonna want you to live in the past or live with anxiety in the future. 00:32:48.319 --> 00:32:50.000 And I have this sense. 00:32:50.319 --> 00:33:00.559 I have this sense that if we were going to do this, and maybe we should just scream Rakshazak at the top of our lungs. 00:33:00.960 --> 00:33:07.359 And so I know in kids' ministry, they're loud and crazy, and sometimes we hear that. 00:33:07.599 --> 00:33:11.519 Now they're gonna hear us, and they're gonna be like, What's mom and dad doing? 00:33:12.079 --> 00:33:13.920 But here's the thing I think about. 00:33:14.079 --> 00:33:33.039 I'm gonna, I'm gonna just pray a blessing, and I'm gonna say something over a handful of opportunities that I believe Gateway has in Q2 in the second quarter, and then I'm gonna scream at the top of my lungs, Rak Shazak, and then I'm gonna point at you, and if you believe that, scream it back at me. 00:33:33.279 --> 00:33:33.920 Deal? 00:33:34.160 --> 00:33:35.839 Alright, so here we go. 00:33:36.160 --> 00:33:37.839 Gateway church. 00:33:38.559 --> 00:33:41.599 This church is about people. 00:33:42.960 --> 00:33:43.599 People. 00:33:44.079 --> 00:33:46.319 And I'm gonna start with the young people. 00:33:46.640 --> 00:34:09.840 I'm gonna start with the kids, I want to start with the students, I want to start with the passion that our job as men and women is to pass on the story of God to the next generation, and this next generation is walking into a season that is so difficult, so uncertain, so hard. 00:34:10.239 --> 00:34:22.800 But we gotta proclaim to those kids and those students, the future leaders, the future pastors, the future people who will carry the banner of this church to be strong and courageous. 00:34:23.039 --> 00:34:26.639 We need to remind them Rock Shizu. 00:34:29.119 --> 00:34:32.639 And see, church, I'm telling you what, now we're getting really good now. 00:34:32.880 --> 00:34:41.199 Church, I'm telling you, when I saw that video and there were 540 global partners, 106 countries represented. 00:34:41.440 --> 00:35:13.840 This story is not just for Texas, this story is for every country, every tribe, every nation, this word to be strong and courageous, but it requires you having the faith, the faith to believe that the good news, the good news must go on beyond these walls, these doors, to continue the good work, and we need to remind our partners to be strong and courageous. 00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:19.440 We need to remind the churches that we share and partner with to be strong and courageous. 00:35:19.599 --> 00:35:52.400 We need to remind our global brothers and sisters, rock Shazak! And I'm telling you, church, I'm telling you, you're gonna go in, and whenever you find yourself walking into battle, the enemy just wants to get you, and you're gonna walk out, and you're gonna find yourself just getting on blessed way, and you're not gonna feel like giving someone the blessed way. 00:35:53.679 --> 00:36:09.920 Something else is gonna come over you, and I'm just reminding you no, no, no, no, no, we are people who crave God's presence, we are people who will own the moment, we are people who will declare God's promises, and we are people who will live a life that demands an explanation. 00:36:10.079 --> 00:36:54.639 We are people who are strong and courageous, we are wrong! Shazak! And so, with that, my brothers and sisters, this is the prayer I wrote a couple weeks ago, and I've just been saying it over and over again, my brothers and sisters of Gateway, may you crave God's presence, may you own the moment, may you declare God's promises, may your life demand an explanation, and as you enter into the second quarter, may you never stop screaming, Rock Shazak, grace and peace. 00:36:57.679 --> 00:36:59.199 Thanks for joining us today. 00:36:59.360 --> 00:37:04.800 If you'd like to connect with us, text Connect to seven ten ten or visit gatewaypeople.com. 00:37:04.960 --> 00:37:06.239 We hope you have a great week.