Follow the Promises: Second Chances

Ever faced a place you wish you could erase? We return to Ai with Joshua and uncover why God answers the sting of failure with a promise before a plan: do not fear; I have given it into your hand. That order changes everything. We talk through how grace, not grit, restores courage, and why the gospel never says try harder but go again with Me.

We unpack the living power of Scripture and the role of the Holy Spirit in turning words on a page into strength in our bones. You’ll hear why human reasoning—small city, small force—missed the point, and how humility unlocked a strategy that worked because it came from a faithful God. We connect Joshua’s leadership to our daily lives: community matters, pride blinds, and obedience grows from trust. From ambush to victory, the story shows that success isn’t the result of better tactics but of walking with the One who keeps His word.

Anchored in Romans 8, we press into a fearless truth: we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us, and nothing can separate us from that love. Even when feelings fade, the cross stands as proof that love has the final word. Second chances aren’t a new try at self-salvation; they’re invitations to humility and faith—like the thief on the cross who could only look and trust. If you’re standing at your own Ai, carrying regret or fear, this conversation offers a clear path forward: listen to the promise, lean on the Spirit, walk with your people, and let grace take the lead.

If this encouraged you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs a second chance, and leave a review telling us the promise you’re holding onto this week.

Transcript

Second Chances After Failure

SPEAKER_01 0:27

So continuing our journey through the book of Joshua, which is called Follow the Promises, we now get to Joshua chapter 8. And today's sermon is called Second Chances. Second Chances. I love Second Chances, right? Well, we just talked about I. Ai, ay, ay. That's what the name of the city was. And you know, they tried to go in and attack I and they failed miserably. And we're gonna see their second chance today. You know, every one of us has an I. An I, I, I, every single one of us. It's a place we wish we could erase from the map. It's a moment that we we remember, every time we remember it, we're filled with regret or pain or sorrow. It's a failure that whispers, you should have known better by now. For Israel, Ai was not just another city, but it was a bloody scar. And then there's 36 graves where their friends and their family rushed forward in self-confidence and fell because of their pride. And they instead of the God confidence or faith that they could have had, they they they moved in pride. They were see they were God's special people in God's promised land, but they still fell flat on their face. They're not invincible, right? In but God said, You you will win, you can win, but they didn't. But their failure did not mean that God was finished with them. If failure disqualified us, the Bible would be a very short book. And our lives would have lasted about two and a half years. If shame had the final word, then grace wouldn't mean anything. It would have never needed to show up. And in Joshua chapter 8, we are gonna discover that God does not begin with a strategy, a new strategy. It begins with a voice and a promise that God makes to his people. Reassurance and love. He says, Do not be dismayed, do not fear. I have given I into your hands. Before Israel goes in there with swords and to win this battle, you know, God speaks promises to them. And this is where the the gospel with this promise, you know, the gospel goes before us into the battlefield. God doesn't say try harder this time. You know what your problem was you didn't try hard enough. He doesn't say that. He doesn't say don't mess it up again. He doesn't say, I want you to earn your way back. You got a penalty to pay.

SPEAKER_00 3:43

He says, go again, but this time go with me. Go with me. And this morning is not about pretending that we have never failed.

Courage Through God’s Word

From Self-Effort To Grace

Led By The Spirit, Not Pride

The Ambush At Ai

Victory Belongs To God

More Than Conquerors In Love

SPEAKER_01 3:58

It's about learning how to move forward when we have failed. Amen. Amen. It's could be one of the hardest things we ever ever do, but it's where grace meets obedience and fear meets a promise of God. It's where self-effort steps aside and we let God take the lead. And that's how to walk by faith. All right, so let's let's see what it says in Joshua chapter 8. It says, Now the Lord said to Joshua, Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed. Take all the people of war with you, and arise and go up to Ai. See, I have given it into your hand, the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. And you shall do to Ai and its kings as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its cattle you shall take as booty for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it. Alright, so first thing he says, do not fear. Why do you think he says that? Probably because Joshua was afraid. Then God reiterates his promise that he's already made to him, and this teaches us that the victory over fear, because has anyone uh been afraid before? Oh gosh, we're afraid all the time, right? Uh the victory over fear is not found in trying harder not to fear, or trying to be stronger. Ooh, I should be better, I should be stronger. Or looking at the enemy, or looking necessarily at the problem for a solution, how I can figure out how to beat it this time, how to do better this time. It's through God's promises that we can have courage to overcome fear. And that's really, really important to understand. Fear isn't because the circumstances are just so bad. Circumstances are circumstances. Fear doesn't change them at all. God's promises is how we can overcome fear. Because we learn to replace fear of the unknown with a known God who reveals himself through his promises. God wants you to know him, his character, your circumstances, all unknown outcomes, unknown stuff. God known. Following God's instructions is believing his promises. That means his instructions and his promises are both found where? In the Bible. In his word. And Jesus is his own name, his own nickname in the book of John is the word. So what we're seeing here is the Bible equals the word, which equals Jesus, which equals promises. These things all connect together and they're all they're all inseparably linked. What does Jesus say about his word? Well, in John chapter 6, verse 63, Jesus says, It is the spirit who gives life, the flesh profits nothing, the words I speak to you are spirit and they are life. So when you buy a Bible and you start reading it, it is not like any other book you you could ever read. The words on the page are truly alive because they contain the promises of God. And that is a truly supernatural thing. But it's the Spirit who makes those things come alive. And so does everyone who read the Bible just magically become alive with the life of God? No, it has to be mixed with the heart of belief. And we see Jesus tell that story when he talks about the seed being planted in the different types of soil. Those are the different types of hearts that people have. Some people read the Bible and they're like, this is junk. I'm not gonna believe any of this. Well, it's obviously not gonna work then, right? Some people read the Bible and they're like, oh, this is great. But then when it's tested in their life, when difficulties come, they don't hold on to it. Other people read it, they meditate on it, they they believe it from the very heart inside them, and it produces fruit in their life. It says it Jesus says his words are not just mere sayings or you know, but they are filled with life and spirit. So when we believe his words, we're really trusting in him. That's what it's really about. And he gives us this thing called the new covenant, which we're learning about, the new covenant of grace. And it's that is not about our human effort, because he says here the flesh profits nothing, but it's about life and part and power being given to us as a free gift by the Holy Spirit as we trust or build confidence in his words are for us. His words are for us. Not my granny taught me this, and so I do it. Not my I grew up learning this from my parents, but I have read the words from myself and I believe them for myself and I cling to them, and so they are effective and life-giving to us. So as believers, we rest in assurance that his words have the power to save us and change us. It's never about what we try to accomplish. It is all a free gift from beginning, starting a relationship with God, all the change that happens in our life through the whole part of our life, even to death, all of it is given to us as a free gift of grace. So God starts to give them some instructions now. He's like, I want you to do an ambush this time, to lead them into battle. Why does this matter to us? Because Jesus also leads us, right? He doesn't say you're you're on your own to live your life. In John 16, 13, he says, However, when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak, and he will tell you things to come. So Jesus promises that the same way he led Joshua, he will lead you, he will guide you, and it's through that Holy Spirit. He doesn't say you have to be smart. Amen. That's great news for us. He doesn't say we have to be worthy, amen. That's great news for us. He doesn't even say you have to be an American. Any man or woman, any failure, any is invited by Jesus into this relationship where Jesus will lead us by his spirit. This is called the kingdom. Jesus asked us to spread his kingdom, and that is that he desires to personally be the guide, the leader, the father of all people in the world. Look at verse uh back in chapter 8, verse 3. So Joshua arose and all the people of war to go up against Ai. And Joshua chose 30,000 men of valor and sent them away by night, and he commanded them, saying, Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready. Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city and will come about it. When they come out against us, as at the first, and we shall flee before them, for they shall come out after us till we have drawn them from the city, for they will say, They are fleeing from us as they did at first. Therefore we will flee before them. Then you shall arise from the ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God will deliver it to your hands, and it will be when you have taken the city that you shall set it on fire. According to the commandment of the Lord, you shall do, see, I have commanded you. So I want you to remember last week their reasoning, their human reasoning is, oh, this is not a very difficult city. Let's just send three thousand men. Okay? That's human reasoning. They used their human reasoning. It's not about the numbers, it's about that they didn't even bother to ask God what they should do. So they're like, but they could have said sent 30,000, and God still would have caused them to flee and fall. Why? Because there's an overarching principle in God's kingdom, which is God gives grace to the humble, but he opposes the proud. And if you walk in pride, God will trip you up. Pride comes before the ooh, 20 Jesus points for all of you. Although the numbers kind of symbolize, eh, we're awesome. Let's only send 3,000. But they were still trying to do God's will, right? I mean, they were oh, but that's the thing. Did you hear the word? Try. But they they were trying, which means they're they're they're depending on themselves. We don't get brownie points if we're trying to do God's will. Oh, you tried to win the hundred-yard dash in the Olympics, but you failed. You don't get a prize for that. Trying doesn't work in God's kingdom because God is holy and he demands perfection. He's willing to give that victory to us for free, but it's never done through trying. And this is so hard for us to accept because we're Americans. We've been told since we were in kindergarten, just try your best and it'll be good enough. Just do your best. And so we've grown up, and that's the culture, and it's not just our culture, it's every culture. Because we all descend from the same rebel named Adam. And he's like, I think I can think better about what is good and bad than God my Father. And so we all have been doing this. At least I'm trying my best, and we think if we give God our best, he'll be happy with that. Why do we think that? Maybe because people have wrongly interpreted the Bible to us. And they've said, it's like a scales, and if you try hard, at least harder than your don't try, and you're just a little bit better than your badness, and it's like these scales, and then you'll be alright. And all of that is total junk. That is not the gospel, and it's not what the Bible says. The Bible says God is perfectly holy and righteous, and there is no trying hard enough to meet that standard. The law is perfect and holy and just, and we are not, not because you're so terrible, but because your daddy, daddy, daddy, granddaddy Adam was. We inherited this rebellion from him. So we need a new life, which is the gospel, and Jesus gives us that. But trying our best doesn't make this happen. Okay? And that's what we're seeing here in I. Look at Proverbs 3, 5 and 6. It says, Trust in the Lord. Have you guys heard this verse before? Yeah, it's pretty popular, right? Trust in the Lord with all your heart. So why do none of us do this? Just kidding. Uh trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths. This is the entire philosophy of grace and the gospel of Jesus Christ hidden in this treasure in the Old Testament. This was before Jesus came, but it describes exactly what grace is: learning to trust in Him instead of ourselves. We can't do it. We can't be perfect, but He is giving perfection as a gift. He is a God of grace, sitting on a throne of grace, dispensing grace like candy on Halloween to everyone who knocks and asks. That's really how this works. He loves to give grace. It's trust over self-effort. And we talk about this all the time, but under grace, our relationship with God is based on trust in the finished work of Jesus. I have to, in every situation, I have to remember what Jesus has already done instead of thinking of what do I need to do? And trust me, this is going to fix so many things that you worry about and you stress about and you are bothered by as you go through life. Instead of our first thought being, what can I do to fix this situation? What can I do to to change it? What can I do to augment it? It's Jesus, what have you done? And what does that speak into my life and this situation? This situation hurts, but you tell me that you love me. This situation is difficult, but you say you can raise dead things. So I'm gonna put my hope and trust in you instead. And I'm gonna look at your wisdom. It says that we trust in the Lord and lean not on our own understanding, we acknowledge him and he will direct our paths. He gives us his Holy Spirit to do this leading and guiding in our lives. There's no more trying or striving, there's no more slavery or an identity of failure. It's only grace. That is, our entire life is grace. And it's a totally free gift. There's nothing you have to do, there's nothing you have to earn. It is all free. Jesus says, put your trust in me exclusively, humble yourself, and it's all a free gift. He says he'll make your path straight. What does that mean? That that's this is what we're talking about. Under grace, it's comforting to know that God is always working for your good and he's always guiding you, no matter what it feels like, no matter what you merit, what you earn, because he said, You are in my love, and I am in you. You cannot be plucked out of my Father's hand, because I have sealed you in there by the Holy Spirit. These are very encouraging things to think about when we're going through unknown challenges and you know difficult times. Look at back in Joshua chapter 8. He says, Joshua therefore sent them out, and they went to lie in ambush and stayed between Bethel and Ai on the west side of Ai. But Joshua lodged that night among the people. Now remember, as we've been going through Joshua, we've seen that Joshua himself is a picture and a type of Jesus many times. And I love that here because this reminds me of Jesus again, when his presence, Joshua is like, I'm not gonna sit in my king house, like up on stilts above the people, separated. His presence, he's like, I am with you in this thing you're about to do. His presence is what they care to do. We get the exact same presence like Joshua with the children of Israel. We get that exact same presence, and it's called the Holy Spirit. It's God's very presence that dwells inside us. Before, during, after every battle, he never leaves us. When we fail, he still doesn't leave us because he is devoted to you, he's committed to you like a ring on the finger of someone who's married. He says, I my relationship with you is committed. It's okay. All right, verse 10. And then Joshua rose up early in the morning and mustered the people and went up, he and the elders of Israel before all the people to Ai. And then all the people of war who were with him went up and drew near. And they came before the city and camped on the north side of Ai. Now a valley lay between them and I. So we took about five thousand men and sat them in ambush between Bethel and Ai on the west side of the city. And when they had uh set the people, all the army was on the north of the city and its rear guard to the west of the city. Uh now Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley. Now it happened when the king of Ai saw it, that the men of the city hurried and rose early and went out against Israel into battle, he and all the people at an appointed place before the plain. But he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city, and Joshua and all the Israel made as if they were beaten before him, and they fled by the way of the wilderness. So all the people who were in Ai called together, called together to pursue them. Then they pursued Joshua and were drawn away from the city. There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel. So they left the city open and pursued Israel. So what I see in here that's kind of interesting is the entire community is involved and played a part in the victory over I. Similarly, we are a whole community, the entire body of Christ. Even if you're just visiting a church, you're just as much a member of the body of Christ as anyone else or the people who are in charge of the church or the servants of the church. It doesn't matter. All of us are a part. And we we thrive and we overcome as we depend on each other and encourage each other and depend on each other in faith. And so that's why I love our life groups. And I want you guys, I'm encouraged, I'm gonna always encourage you to get involved in a life group, start life groups because it's a really amazing way for you to be part of the church. And it may be scary and it may be uh intimidating, but it's really not because everyone's equal and everyone has the same worries you do, the same fears you do, and everyone has the same Holy Spirit you do, and you'll find that that encouragement and that love is such an incredible uh part of your life if we grow in these life groups. So I just want to plug those again. They're really amazing. Because in 1 Corinthians 12, 27 says, you are the body of Christ and members individually. That means you matter. You matter. Like on Sunday, we get up here, you know, Nate sings, we all love it. I preach, and that's that's a gift that God has given us as a church, and those are cool. But the real business of the church happens when we get together and we meet together in our homes and in our closets and when we love on each other. So I'm always gonna encourage us to connect in these ways. All right, back to Joshua chapter 8, verse 18. Then the Lord said to Joshua, Stretch out the spear that's in your hand toward I, and for I will give it to your hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear that was in his hand towards the city. And those in ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand, and they entered the city and took it, and hurried and set the city on fire. And when the men of Ai looked behind them and saw, behold, the smoke of the city ascended to heaven. So they had no power to flee this way or that way. And uh the people who had fled to the wilderness turned back on their pursuers. So now Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned back and struck down the men of Ai. Then the others came out of the city against them, so they were caught in the midst of Israel, some on this side and some on that side, and they struck them down, so that none of them remained or escape. But the king of Ai they took alive and brought him to Joshua, and it came to pass when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness where they pursued them, and when they had all fallen by the edge of the sword until they were consumed, that all Israel returned to Ai and struck to the edge of the sword. So it was on that day, all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand, all the people of Ai. For Joshua did not uh draw back his hand, which he stretched out the spear, until they had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. Only the livestock and spoil of the city Israel took as booty for themselves, according to the word of the Lord which he commanded Joshua. So Joshua burned Ai and made a heap forever, a desolation to this day. So the king of Ai he hung on a tree until evening, and as soon as the sun was set down, Joshua commanded that they should take his corpse down from the tree, and he cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city and raised up over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day. This is great stories to tell your kids before bed. Gives them great dreams. What do we see here? All right, so ultimate victory, like total victory, is always from God. It's a gift from God. And this victory over I, it's not just the result of military tactics, although we're given what those were, but it's all just God's promise and his power being displayed. So God gets the glory, right? So in our lives today, we need to recognize that every victory over life's challenges and over sin it doesn't come through self-effort, but through Christ's finished work on the cross. When Jesus was on the cross and he's hanging there, the last thing he said is, Oh, you guys have so much work to do. No, that's not what he said. He said, It is finished, right? All the that that is what the work is, is he has finished the work. He died on the cross, he was buried, and he rose. And what does that mean? It means in him we are more than conquerors. In him, we can't lose. Just like they couldn't lose this. Because they walked forward in humility and with their eyes on Jesus, it really didn't matter the strategy, but the strategy they picked worked great. Okay. Okay, as a church, do we have a strategy? Eh. Kinda. We meet in a bar. Yeah. It could work, it could not work. I don't know. It's not the the strategy doesn't matter. The strategy does not matter. We could have a really fancy stained glass church. It doesn't matter. The place we meet in does not matter. Are we gonna walk forward with humility and with our eyes on Jesus? That literally is the entire swivel on whether victory or failure happens. Are we gonna walk forward with humility saying, I am nothing, Jesus, you are everything, and my eyes are on you. And when I get up in the morning, it's not about what can I do to build this thing, it's about Father, take me by the hand and lead me. Because I'm a child and I don't know which way to go. That's the heart that we need to have as a church, as his body, the head leads the body, and that's that's where humility really fits into our life. So I'm gonna read to you Romans chapter 8, verse 37. It says this yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Where's the victory? It's through him, right? Verse 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Where's that victory?

SPEAKER_00 28:18

Our truest victory is that you know, you know, you know, and you know that you are loved by God. Do you know that? Do you believe it?

Humility And Faith Over Trying

SPEAKER_01 28:35

Do you believe that his love for you is not based on your performance or your lack of performance, that his love for you is based on his love for you, his own character, his own love is so vast and great that he says, I choose you to pour out all my love. I choose you. If all other people in the entire world reject me, and you alone accept me and accept my love, but you are worth it to me. He would have still gone to cross the cross for just you.

SPEAKER_00 29:20

We are loved by God.

SPEAKER_01 29:23

That is our victory, and we can know it. We don't feel it all the time. Do you feel loved by God when they say it's cancer? Do we feel loved by God when people reject us or when when people are mean to us? We don't feel love at that moment. Do we feel love? It doesn't matter what we feel. It doesn't matter. Feelings are not truth all the time. We must learn that feelings are feelings, but truth is greater, and we can depend on truth and walk in truth even when we don't feel it. God loves you and every day wants to pour out his love on you through his word, through his spirit. That's why we get up and read the Bible, not because we have to, and not to try to get a feeling, but because we know that he loves us. If you doubt that he loves you, where do you look? You look at the cross, and his love is proven. It's proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. And all of this works especially well when we fail. Oh man, we fail sometimes, and we need a second chance when we fail. That's when we need God's love the most, right? Because God is a God of second chances. And I want you to remember the sentence. God loves you so much that He has given you a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance. In fact, if you're still breathing, you have another chance.

SPEAKER_00 30:55

A chance for what? To do better, to try harder? No, not to do better, try harder.

Prayer And Invitation To Trust

SPEAKER_01 31:06

To place our confidence in him and his love first, allowing that love to work through us things that are good. Okay? You always have a chance to trust in him even till your last breath. It's not a second chance to try in your own strength, but a second chance to fix your eyes on Jesus and his grace. And as we close, I just want to remind you of one final like thing that happened with Jesus. Remember, he's dying on the cross, and there's the two the two thieves on either side of him. And the first thief mocks him and says, If you're the son of God, why don't you get down off this cross and show everyone how powerful you are? And the other one starts arguing with him and says, Dude, this is the son of God, and he's done nothing to deserve this. And I'm starting to think he needs to do this to save me. And so that thief looks to Jesus and says, I when you come into your kingdom, would you, because I believe in you obviously, would you remember me? And Jesus said, I I wish you could get baptized. If you don't know the scriptures, that's fine. That's a joke, because he did not say that. He said, Today you will be with me in paradise. Not because you are gonna start trying really hard to get off that cross that you're on. Sometimes your cross isn't gonna change. Sometimes we cannot overcome our addictions, we cannot overcome our problems. It doesn't mean his promises aren't true and for you. He will deliver you. And he's not asking for perfection, he's asking for your heart. He's always asking for your heart. He's never asking for more than your heart. And if you want to know what it means to give him your heart, two words. I want you to rememorize these two words: humility and faith. Because a heart that says is humble is a heart that says, I need you, Jesus. I know I acknowledge I need you, I feel that I need you, I know that I need you, I believe that I need you. That's true humility. And faith is I'm gonna put my confidence in you instead of me. That is the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that's what he offers to everyone today. You want to be in his kingdom, you want to be confident and assured, believe that. You want to walk and make a difference for his kingdom today, walk in that also. Humility and faith, that's what it always is. Father, we love you, we worship you. Jesus, you are our God and our savior, you're the Messiah of the world, the one who was sent from the Father in heaven to forgive all our sins and set us free. And Jesus, we worship you. We bow to you, we need you. Our self-focus and our self-confidence that denies what we were made for. We were made to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. We're made to be your dwelling place. Father, we invite you into our hearts. The whole heart is your home and belongs to you. We give you all our heart. Forgive us for all the mistakes we've made, Jesus, and renew us and take us by the hand and lead us into our second chance, our third chance, or our millionth chance. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.