Whose Side are You On?
It is important to Learn How To Rely On God And Not Ourselves.
George Wright
Feb 28, 2021 39m
When things are going well in our lives we tend to become self-reliant, but this message reminds us of the importance of learning how to rely on God and not ourselves. God's power is available to all who trust in Him and give Him the power in our lives. Video recorded at Columbia, South Carolina.
TranscriptionmessageRegarding Grammar:
This is a transcription of the sermon. People speak differently than they write, and there are common colloquialisms in this transcript that sound good when spoken, and look like bad grammar when written.
This is a transcription of the sermon. People speak differently than they write, and there are common colloquialisms in this transcript that sound good when spoken, and look like bad grammar when written.
George Wright: 00:02 Well, man, I can tell you, I needed that this morning. What a gift it is to be able to gather together and to lift our voices, to be reminded of who God is and what he has done for us and the incredible gift of Jesus Christ our Lord.
George Wright: 00:15 Let me encourage you now to grab your Bible, or turn on your Bible app, and join me in the Old Testament. Joshua chapter 5 is where we're going to be spending some time here this morning. And if you're new to Bible study today, Joshua's near the beginning of the story, so go back close to the beginning of the Bible, the beginning of the Old Testament, you'll find the Book of Joshua. And we're going to be in Joshua 5 beginning in verse 13.
George Wright: 00:41 But before we go there today, I do just want to, in a very personal way, say thank you for your prayers over this past week or so. As many of you know, this past week has been challenging in a lot of different ways, and so I just can't thank you enough for the encouragement and the prayers that have been so effective and have certainly been felt by myself and our team here at Shandon. I also want to thank you for praying for our friends at Steel city church in Pittsburgh, I had the privilege of being with them for a couple of days this past week, and there is a lot of prayer and a lot of encouragement surrounding them right now, as we seek together to know what the Lord wants next. And so I just ask that you continue to pray as they stand on their commitment to see a church of Jesus Christ flourishing in a city where the need is so great, so continue to pray for Pittsburgh and for Steel city in these days ahead.
George Wright: 01:38 Now, let me turn your attention to the Word of God, and let me invite you if you're willing and able to stand with me as I read from God's Word, Joshua chapter 5. And if you're new to Shandon and you wonder why are we standing around the room. We do this each week at the beginning of our message, so that we all can be reminded when we gather together as a people of God, the Word of God is our authority, the Word of God is what we stand on as the people of God. And so we look to the Word of God with expectation, we look to the Word of God with longing, believing that the Word of God lays before us, what God says is right and good and true and this is what we need to hear. And so we look to the word, to hear from the Lord.
George Wright: 02:27 And this is what the scripture reveals in Joshua 5:13, it says, "When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with 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 worshiped 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."
George Wright: 03:29 Today, as we conclude our focus in what has been our Live Sent month, this is our mission, what we are all about, to go out into the world as the people of God to share the good news of who God is and what he has done. We're going to invite you into a step of faith here today. But before we even go there, I just want to ask you to join me in prayer right now that God would use this time and this message and his word in our lives to show us what we need to hear as it relates to living by faith. So let's pray together to that end. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time, and as we stand before you now, as we turn our attention to your word, I pray that your spirit would be what guides us through this time together. We would not be distracted by the things that we have brought into this room, the things that are swirling around in our lives, but no in this moment, this sacred moment, that we would be in attuned and attentive to that which you say. So I pray that you'd have your way among us, that you would open our eyes to see what we need to see, and I pray, Lord God, that you would use this time for your glory. We need to hear from you. So we commit this time to you in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, it's in his name we pray. Amen. Amen. You may be seated, thank you for standing.
George Wright: 05:11 And I do want to turn your attention to a card that is in your seat today, perhaps it's in the back of the seat there, or it's on your row right where you're seated. If everybody could grab one of these cards, this is significant for a couple of reasons. First of all, this is significant because this is the first piece of paper we have passed out in worship since March of 2020, when the pandemic began. So this is a big day, all right? So these are sanitary cards, I want you to know that, I know you don't like spit them and rub them on people. But they are sanitary cards, so grab one of these. You may want to go ahead and begin filling out the top portion with just your name and your information, but we're going to step into this at the end of the service. This is an opportunity for every person here to make a commitment of some kind as it relates to the mission that God has called us to as a church. And if you're joining us online right now, we want you to know that if you just text the word GO to the number that you see on the screen there, you will be sent a text with a prompt for you to pull up this card, even as you engage with us during this service. So we want everyone to be able to have access to one of these cards, and we'll get to that at the end of the service.
George Wright: 06:25 But let me just tell you what we're stepping into here in Joshua chapter 5. If you're new to Bible study, you need to understand this about Joshua, Joshua is one of the greatest leaders that we see anywhere in the scripture. Joshua is a man who is faithful to the end, Joshua is a man that God uses in tremendous ways, but Joshua had a very challenging leadership assignment because he was following the iconic leader of the people of God, Moses. Moses is who led the people into the Exodus out of Egypt. And so right at the beginning of Joshua's book, what we see here in the scripture, Joshua 1, is when Moses dies, Moses passes away, and the mantle of leadership is passed from Moses to Joshua. This young leader that has been mentored by Moses to step into this very important role. And God uses Joshua to have the privilege of leading the people of God into the promised land, after wandering in the desert for 40 years, it is Joshua who has the privilege of leading the people to this land that God has laid before them.
George Wright: 07:45 And here in Joshua 5, there is a tremendous transition that happens for the people of God, and Joshua gets to lead the people through this transition. You see for 40 years as they were wandering in the desert with nothing and to eat or drink, every single day as they were in the desert, God provided what is called manna from heaven. The bread of heaven was given to the people of God every single day, so that they could have what they needed to survive that day. It was just enough for that day, this is where we get the term daily bread, God provided daily bread from heaven for the people of God.
George Wright: 08:31 But now as they've come into the promised land, God is going to make provision for the people of God in a different way. And now they're living in a land that is bountiful, a land that is prosperous, a land where the soil is strong, and is good, and can produce a great harvest. And so now for the first time in 40 years, the people are going to have the provision that they need through the land, God is making a new way for the people to have their provision. We see this in Joshua 5, in fact, let's look there together verses 10 through 12, right before where we started this message as we see what the scripture says. It says, "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." Now this is a significant milestone for the people of God, in this moment God's provision has now been made readily available and abundant from the harvest that can come through this promised land. They now have an abundance of provision, they now have more than they need. This is the first time again in 40 years that there is an abundance through the harvest of the land for the people of God, what an incredible gift.
George Wright: 10:23 But God knows in the midst of this significant milestone, as he delivering on his promise and providing abundantly for the needs of his people, that in the midst of this abundant provision, there is also going to be now a temptation for the people of God. And the temptation for the people of God, in the midst of this abundant provision is simply this, it is easy for us to allow an abundance of provision to lead us to self-dependence. This is important, God knows that this temptation is here for his people. For 40 years, they had to wake up every single morning, knowing the only way we will survive this day is if God provides. And now all of a sudden, they find themselves in this place of promise where every single day they can wake up and there is an abundance at their fingertips. As great as this gift is, it also provides a temptation that all of the sudden the people can start to drift away from their dependence on God. They can start to drift into this mentality that says, okay, we are working the land, we are harvesting from the land, so this abundance of provision is a result of what we are doing. This is the abundance of our hard work, this is all about the work of our hands, God knows that temptation is there. And so God is leading their leader, Joshua, to a place where he can be reminded of his true dependence on God.
George Wright: 12:25 Now isn't this something that we wrestle with all the time if we are honest. I mean, here we live in a place of abundant provision, especially in comparison to the rest of the world, and it is so easy for us to lose sight of the fact that all of the provision at our fingertips is actually a gift from God. It's so easy for us to conclude that we are the provider of this provision, even as we say we trust God, it is easy for us to move from living dependent on God, to having a mentality that we are self-dependent or self-reliant. I love the way it is said in James chapter 1 in the New Testament. Look at these verses, James 1:16-17, "Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." See, God knows how dangerous it is for us to begin to live self-reliant instead of God dependent. And so please hear this, don't miss this because this is important, because God knows how dangerous it is for us to live self-reliance instead of God dependent, God continually, in his love and grace, invites his people into circumstances where they can see clearly how much we need him. This is what God does, he wants us to understand how dependent we are on him, so that then we can see how abundant his provision truly is, and then we will give credit where credit is due.
George Wright: 14:25 So God has Joshua in this place, a place where he will get to see how dependent on God he truly is, even in the midst of this abundance of provision. That's what we step into today, verse 13, where we began this message. Again, "When Joshua was by Jericho, it says, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” This place where Joshua, the leader of God's people finds himself, is a place of tremendous pressure, a place of tremendous stress, for he knows that if the people of God are truly going to live at peace in the land that God has provided, they are going to have to overtake, overthrow, the city of Jericho.
George Wright: 15:32 The city of Jericho is a city of mighty warriors, a city surrounded by a magnificent wall, a city that appears to be unconquerable. So Joshua is in a place where he can see the city, and as the leader, he's feeling this weight of leadership on his shoulders, recognizing that there is a battle that is coming and this battle is going to be very difficult. In fact, it feels impossible to win, and so he's trying to figure out what are we going to do? How are we going to take Jericho? I know this must be done, I don't know how to do it, I don't even know if we can win. And in the midst of this moment where he's trying to come up with a plan and a strategy, and he's feeling the weight of the world as a leader, all of a sudden he looks up and there's a warrior, a mighty warrior, standing in the path with his sword drawn. And this moment Joshua doesn't know is the battle about to start right now. So before he draws his sword, Joshua asks a very logical question of this mighty warrior in the path. Hey, I need to know, are you for us, or are you for our adversaries? Are you for us, or are you against us? Whose side are you on?
George Wright: 17:04 To which the response is pretty incredible, right? Joshua 5:14 says, "He said to him, no." I'm sure Josh was thinking, well, maybe you didn't understand the question. Like, this is not a real hard question, are you with us or are you against us? Are you for us, or are you for our adversaries? The answer is, neither. Hold on now, is there a language barrier? Maybe I need to like write it out on the path, or maybe I need to sign. I mean, what is going on, this is not a hard question, I just need to know before I draw my sword, are you with us or are you against us? No, no, I'm not, you're missing the point altogether. And then verse 14, "But I am the commander of the army of the Lord. And now I have come." What Joshua doesn't realize most likely in this moment is something that Bible commentators talk about with this passage, this is one of the moments in the Old Testament where we are given a vision of the pre-incarnate Christ. This is Jesus standing before Joshua, a Christophany, right in front of Joshua. He has no idea that he's standing in the presence of the son of God, but he realizes in this moment, this mighty warrior has come with a very strategic plan in mind, and this question that Joshua has posed to the commander of the Lord's army has now been flipped back on Joshua. For the commander of the Lord's army is saying, hey, Joshua, I know your tendency because the tendency of everybody else in the world, when we find ourselves in a tense moment, when we find ourselves in a difficult moment, when we find ourselves in the midst of an argument or a disagreement, we want to try to position ourselves so that God will be on our side. This happens all the time in the church, two sinful people not getting along in the midst of a difficult situation, each trying to position themselves with spiritual talk, to convince themselves, hey, God has got to be on my side.
George Wright: 19:41 I love what happens in verse 14 actually, the commander of the Lord's army says, no, no you've missed the point all together, for I am here to ask you, will you trust me? I know you want to believe that you're doing everything right, I know you want to believe that you've got this great plan all figured out, and I know you want God to join you in your plan, but God is saying to you, don't forget who's in control. I want to know if you'll trust me, I want to know whose side you're on. This is a pivotal moment for Joshua in his leadership, as he realizes that God has a great plan in store for him, but it is a plan that is going to require tremendous faith, it is a plan that is going to require Joshua, and the people of God, to be dependent on God. For the question is not, is God on our side? In fact, that question's already been answered, if you are familiar with the gospel at all, please don't miss this, the answer of is God on our side has already been answered through what Christ has done. The finished work of Jesus says, God has invited you into something that you could never do for yourself, he has made a way for you and for me, when there was no way. This is what the cross and the power of the resurrection provides, new life in Christ and invites us on to God's side. But what God is saying to Joshua, and what I believe God lays before us as well right here, is will you trust me? Will you be dependent on me? And here's why this is so important, especially as it relates to the mission. For God will use us the most for his glory when we are the most dependent on him. We want to come up with our plans, we want to come up with our strategies, we want to scheme and try and figure this whole thing out. And God is saying, hold on, hold on. I want to know, will you trust me, will you be dependent on me, because that's when I will use you.
George Wright: 22:42 Look how Joshua responds here in verse 14, it says, "And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” Whatever you want. Joshua says, I'll do it wherever you lead. I will fight. And please don't miss this, this is so important, because God is about to lay out the battle plan for this fight against Jericho. You can read this in Joshua chapter 6, in fact, this is probably the most famous moment in Joshua's leadership, The Battle of Jericho. If you, if you grew up going to vacation Bible school like I did as a preacher's kid, this is one of the first stories we learned. Joshua led the people around Jericho, they marched around the city, they marched around the city, they marched around the city, and the walls came tumbling down. It was a great song at VBS, do you remember this one, those mighty walls of Jericho came a tumbling down,
George Wright: 23:50 But Joshua was going to hear a plan, a plan that doesn't seem to make much sense, in fact, a plan that doesn't seem like it's full of great battle strategy at all. A plan, in fact, on the surface that doesn't even look logical. God is saying, Joshua, do you trust me? Will you be dependent on me? Because I'm going to lead you to lead the people to March around the city and shout, and that's how the battle will be won. This battle plan seems a little crazy, unless, unless this is the battle plan led by the commander of the army of God. For if this is the battle plan of the God of angels armies, the maker of heaven and earth, if this is the battle plan of the Lord of Hosts, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, this is a battle plan that cannot fail. And so God brings Joshua to this place where Joshua can see that this battle can only be won by the power and authority of God. The only way this battle can be victorious is if the people of God choose to be God dependent instead of self-reliant, and then the battle plan will make perfect sense.
George Wright: 25:37 Growing up in a preacher's home, my preacher father had a line that he used often. It's a statement I heard many times growing up, he said, there is a fine line between faith and foolishness. Have you ever heard anything like that? That's the kind of stuff you hear in a preacher's home, there's a fine line between faith and foolishness. And I love this statement for a couple of reasons. Number one, just plain and simply this statement reminds us that there are certainly many things that people may do in the name of faith that are just stupid. Okay, just know that there's just things that people are going to do, and they're going to say, God told me, and it's just going to be foolish. And here's how you know it's foolish, because it goes against what God says in his word.
George Wright: 26:28 I remember years ago, I'm sitting in my office and I got someone coming in for counseling and they sit down in my office and they say, Pastor, I know God wants me to be happy, so I know God is telling me to leave my wife. And I said, no, he's not. He had no reason whatsoever, other than I'm just not happy right now. No you're missing the point, God will never lead you to do something that goes against his word, God will never lead you to do something that goes against his will or his perfect plan and design. And we certainly need wise voices speaking into our lives when we're wrestling with how is God leading, and how is God prompting? But please know this, God gets blamed for a lot of foolishness, because there's a fine line between faith and foolishness. But at the same time, and this is what I want you to hear in this moment. At the same time, this very simple statement, there's a fine line between faith and foolishness reminds us that the most foolish thing that we can do is to refuse to step out on faith when God calls us clearly to live by faith. The most foolish thing that we can do is to think that we know better than God. God, I know that you've got a mission. God, I know that you've called me to live by faith. God, I know that you've told me to do this, but do you know what? I've got a lot of reasons why now's not a good time. That's just foolish, because when God calls, the only step of wisdom to make is to follow.
George Wright: 28:14 Joshua is at this crossroads where he is on this fine line between faith and foolishness, and there is always a decision to be made on this line. And the decision is, will I be God reliant or self-reliant, will I be God dependent or self-dependent? So the commander of the army of the Lord gives Joshua an opportunity to demonstrate how he will follow. Look at verse 15, Joshua 5:15, it says, "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 such a beautiful scene, such a beautiful invitation. I mean, think about this, logically again, it makes no sense for the leader of the army of the people of God to take off his shoes right before a battle. I mean, unless you're in the UFC, all right, it makes no sense to take off your shoes right before a fight, like your shoes are going to help you in the fight. Now why in the world is the commander of the Lord's army saying to the commander of the people of God, Israel, hey, now that the battle's about to begin, take off your shoes? Because again, he wants Joshua to understand, the only way this battle is going to be won, is if you are fully dependent on God. This is not about your strength, this is not about your plan, this is about God's strength and God's plan.
George Wright: 30:15 So Joshua takes off his shoes, acknowledging that he is standing on Holy ground, and showing that he is truly dependent on God. He's acknowledging his need for God, and acknowledging that he trusts in God to meet his need. And this is what we see, this is so important, our greatest joy, our greatest joy is found, and our greatest impact is made, when we live fully dependent on God. Our greatest joy is found, and our greatest impact is made, when we live fully dependent on God. And some of you need to hear this today, because you have been trying to fight some battles for a long time in your own strength and in your own power, and you've been praying, you've been asking God to move, but you still been holding on to control and you still been keeping on your shoes. So perhaps God is inviting you today to take off your shoes and to declare, I am going to be God dependent in this battle, instead of being self-reliant. I've been trying, I've been fighting, but if you're honest, it's just exhausting. You may have been knocked down over and over again, and God is inviting you to take off your shoes and declare your dependence on him.
George Wright: 31:56 As Joshua says to the commander of the Lord's army, what do you say to your servant? Maybe that's exactly what you need to be asking today, God, what do you want me to do? Whatever you ask, I'll do. Wherever you lead, I'll follow. However you want me to leverage who I am and what I've been given for the sake of this mission, your gospel, I will do it. Wherever I am, wherever you take me, I'm in. For our greatest joy is found, and our greatest impact is made, when we live fully dependent on God. So are you living God dependent, or are you living self-reliant? The question posed to Joshua, is really the question for us all, whose side are you on?
George Wright: 33:11 As we close this time together, we are stepping into a moment of commitment, and this is a sacred time for us here at Shandon. There are going to be baskets at the doors as you leave, so you can drop these cards in the baskets. But I want to ask you to go ahead and pull this back out. And again, if you're joining us online and you don't have access to one of these cards yet, just text the word GO to the number on your screen, and the link will be sent to you so you can pull this up. There's a lot of different ways you can respond, and if God's prompting you to step out on faith in a way that's not on this card, hey, there's space on the back for you to write in what your step of faith may be today. But we want to encourage everybody right now, pull out this card, for we believe there's a step of faith for every single one of us.
George Wright: 33:57 And so for you, it may be something like, hey, I'm going to go on a mission trip over this next year as things open up, I'm ready to go wherever the opportunity comes. You may be saying, I'm ready to partner here locally, just like the video testimony we saw from [inaudible] Taylor, that was so beautiful. We need to be reminded, there are opportunities all around us to live the mission. Maybe you're here today saying I'm ready to do something here in my community, in my city, I'm going to serve in such a way that it advances the mission right here at home. Perhaps you're here today saying, you know what, I'd love to be able to talk about Jesus with my neighbors or my family, I don't really know how to do that or what to do that, I'd love to learn how to have a gospel conversation. We're going to have some training times in evangelism and having gospel conversations, we'd love for you to join in on that with us. Maybe today, you're saying, you know what, I really need to have a heart for the world, I need to have a heart that is praying beyond myself, and so I'm going to pray for a missionary in some form or fashion. We'd love to connect you with one of our partners, where you can specifically and intentionally be praying for them in what God has called them to do. Maybe you're here today though, and you're saying, you know what, I believe God's stirring something in my heart to lay it all on the line and to explore a long term opportunity as it relates to ministry or mission. If that's you, we'd love to join you in that conversation, we'd love to be able to walk along with you as you discover where it is and how it is that God might be calling you to live the mission on more of a long-term, full time basis. Maybe you want to sign up for our newsletter as it relates to the mission in our partnerships and opportunities.
George Wright: 35:53 And then most importantly, there's a spot on there where you today I know, might know that you need a relationship with Jesus Christ. Every time we gather, there are people with us, friends and family, that are still exploring this journey of faith. And maybe you feel like you're spiritual, maybe you feel like you're religious, but there's just something that's missing, there's something that doesn't feel personal. Maybe you've been trying to do this all on your own, and you recognize today that you need a real personal relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior. We believe that's the most important decision that you could ever make, and so if you're here today and you have not made that decision to trust your life to Jesus Christ, to follow him in faith, I would just want to encourage you check that box on the card. We'd love to follow up with you, and just come alongside you and pray for you in this most important decision that you can make.
George Wright: 36:55 Whatever it is God is prompting, we encourage you to step out on faith. And we also one that reminds you that today is an opportunity to give a special offering to our Live Sent Offering. The Live Sent Offering goes to fuel and to fund a portion of our missions focus that goes beyond the walls of the church here at Shandon. I know many of you have come ready to give a special gift to the Live Sent Offering. You can give those gifts as you leave as well with the cards, you can drop them in the baskets at the door, and of course you can give online and through text as well.
George Wright: 37:29 As we think about these commitments and whatever God may be stirring in your life, I just want to have a closing prayer over you. And then we'll go into a moment of worship before we leave and we drop our commitment cards at the door. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, I'm so grateful for what you are doing among your people, your family here at Shandon. We just declare on this Live Sent Sunday, in this Live Sent month, that it is a privilege to be a part of your mission. We are so thankful for the opportunities that you have given us as a church to see how you are at work changing lives, doing great things beyond even what's happening here. Lord, thank you for inviting us into something that's so much greater than ourselves. So Lord, as we pray about and wrestle with the step of faith today, Lord, would you make it clear what step of faith are you prompting us individually to make?
George Wright: 38:42 And, Lord, for those who are among us, who have never received the good news of the gospel, what Jesus Christ has done through his death on the cross that offers forgiveness for sin, and his resurrection from the grave that invites us into new life in Christ, forgiven and covered in the grace of God. Lord, for those who are with us who have never received this good news, we pray that today would be the day that they would step out on faith and say, Jesus, I'm ready to follow you, I'm trusting life to you.
George Wright: 39:22 Lord, we praise you, we praise you for the gift of salvation that you have provided for us, we praise you for the beautiful gift that you've given us to be involved in your mission. Lord, we pray that our joy would grow even greater and our impact would go even further as we live fully dependent on you. So give us the faith to be God dependent, and to follow as you lead. It's in Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Recorded in Columbia, South Carolina.
George Wright: 00:15 Let me encourage you now to grab your Bible, or turn on your Bible app, and join me in the Old Testament. Joshua chapter 5 is where we're going to be spending some time here this morning. And if you're new to Bible study today, Joshua's near the beginning of the story, so go back close to the beginning of the Bible, the beginning of the Old Testament, you'll find the Book of Joshua. And we're going to be in Joshua 5 beginning in verse 13.
George Wright: 00:41 But before we go there today, I do just want to, in a very personal way, say thank you for your prayers over this past week or so. As many of you know, this past week has been challenging in a lot of different ways, and so I just can't thank you enough for the encouragement and the prayers that have been so effective and have certainly been felt by myself and our team here at Shandon. I also want to thank you for praying for our friends at Steel city church in Pittsburgh, I had the privilege of being with them for a couple of days this past week, and there is a lot of prayer and a lot of encouragement surrounding them right now, as we seek together to know what the Lord wants next. And so I just ask that you continue to pray as they stand on their commitment to see a church of Jesus Christ flourishing in a city where the need is so great, so continue to pray for Pittsburgh and for Steel city in these days ahead.
George Wright: 01:38 Now, let me turn your attention to the Word of God, and let me invite you if you're willing and able to stand with me as I read from God's Word, Joshua chapter 5. And if you're new to Shandon and you wonder why are we standing around the room. We do this each week at the beginning of our message, so that we all can be reminded when we gather together as a people of God, the Word of God is our authority, the Word of God is what we stand on as the people of God. And so we look to the Word of God with expectation, we look to the Word of God with longing, believing that the Word of God lays before us, what God says is right and good and true and this is what we need to hear. And so we look to the word, to hear from the Lord.
George Wright: 02:27 And this is what the scripture reveals in Joshua 5:13, it says, "When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with 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 worshiped 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."
George Wright: 03:29 Today, as we conclude our focus in what has been our Live Sent month, this is our mission, what we are all about, to go out into the world as the people of God to share the good news of who God is and what he has done. We're going to invite you into a step of faith here today. But before we even go there, I just want to ask you to join me in prayer right now that God would use this time and this message and his word in our lives to show us what we need to hear as it relates to living by faith. So let's pray together to that end. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time, and as we stand before you now, as we turn our attention to your word, I pray that your spirit would be what guides us through this time together. We would not be distracted by the things that we have brought into this room, the things that are swirling around in our lives, but no in this moment, this sacred moment, that we would be in attuned and attentive to that which you say. So I pray that you'd have your way among us, that you would open our eyes to see what we need to see, and I pray, Lord God, that you would use this time for your glory. We need to hear from you. So we commit this time to you in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, it's in his name we pray. Amen. Amen. You may be seated, thank you for standing.
George Wright: 05:11 And I do want to turn your attention to a card that is in your seat today, perhaps it's in the back of the seat there, or it's on your row right where you're seated. If everybody could grab one of these cards, this is significant for a couple of reasons. First of all, this is significant because this is the first piece of paper we have passed out in worship since March of 2020, when the pandemic began. So this is a big day, all right? So these are sanitary cards, I want you to know that, I know you don't like spit them and rub them on people. But they are sanitary cards, so grab one of these. You may want to go ahead and begin filling out the top portion with just your name and your information, but we're going to step into this at the end of the service. This is an opportunity for every person here to make a commitment of some kind as it relates to the mission that God has called us to as a church. And if you're joining us online right now, we want you to know that if you just text the word GO to the number that you see on the screen there, you will be sent a text with a prompt for you to pull up this card, even as you engage with us during this service. So we want everyone to be able to have access to one of these cards, and we'll get to that at the end of the service.
George Wright: 06:25 But let me just tell you what we're stepping into here in Joshua chapter 5. If you're new to Bible study, you need to understand this about Joshua, Joshua is one of the greatest leaders that we see anywhere in the scripture. Joshua is a man who is faithful to the end, Joshua is a man that God uses in tremendous ways, but Joshua had a very challenging leadership assignment because he was following the iconic leader of the people of God, Moses. Moses is who led the people into the Exodus out of Egypt. And so right at the beginning of Joshua's book, what we see here in the scripture, Joshua 1, is when Moses dies, Moses passes away, and the mantle of leadership is passed from Moses to Joshua. This young leader that has been mentored by Moses to step into this very important role. And God uses Joshua to have the privilege of leading the people of God into the promised land, after wandering in the desert for 40 years, it is Joshua who has the privilege of leading the people to this land that God has laid before them.
George Wright: 07:45 And here in Joshua 5, there is a tremendous transition that happens for the people of God, and Joshua gets to lead the people through this transition. You see for 40 years as they were wandering in the desert with nothing and to eat or drink, every single day as they were in the desert, God provided what is called manna from heaven. The bread of heaven was given to the people of God every single day, so that they could have what they needed to survive that day. It was just enough for that day, this is where we get the term daily bread, God provided daily bread from heaven for the people of God.
George Wright: 08:31 But now as they've come into the promised land, God is going to make provision for the people of God in a different way. And now they're living in a land that is bountiful, a land that is prosperous, a land where the soil is strong, and is good, and can produce a great harvest. And so now for the first time in 40 years, the people are going to have the provision that they need through the land, God is making a new way for the people to have their provision. We see this in Joshua 5, in fact, let's look there together verses 10 through 12, right before where we started this message as we see what the scripture says. It says, "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." Now this is a significant milestone for the people of God, in this moment God's provision has now been made readily available and abundant from the harvest that can come through this promised land. They now have an abundance of provision, they now have more than they need. This is the first time again in 40 years that there is an abundance through the harvest of the land for the people of God, what an incredible gift.
George Wright: 10:23 But God knows in the midst of this significant milestone, as he delivering on his promise and providing abundantly for the needs of his people, that in the midst of this abundant provision, there is also going to be now a temptation for the people of God. And the temptation for the people of God, in the midst of this abundant provision is simply this, it is easy for us to allow an abundance of provision to lead us to self-dependence. This is important, God knows that this temptation is here for his people. For 40 years, they had to wake up every single morning, knowing the only way we will survive this day is if God provides. And now all of a sudden, they find themselves in this place of promise where every single day they can wake up and there is an abundance at their fingertips. As great as this gift is, it also provides a temptation that all of the sudden the people can start to drift away from their dependence on God. They can start to drift into this mentality that says, okay, we are working the land, we are harvesting from the land, so this abundance of provision is a result of what we are doing. This is the abundance of our hard work, this is all about the work of our hands, God knows that temptation is there. And so God is leading their leader, Joshua, to a place where he can be reminded of his true dependence on God.
George Wright: 12:25 Now isn't this something that we wrestle with all the time if we are honest. I mean, here we live in a place of abundant provision, especially in comparison to the rest of the world, and it is so easy for us to lose sight of the fact that all of the provision at our fingertips is actually a gift from God. It's so easy for us to conclude that we are the provider of this provision, even as we say we trust God, it is easy for us to move from living dependent on God, to having a mentality that we are self-dependent or self-reliant. I love the way it is said in James chapter 1 in the New Testament. Look at these verses, James 1:16-17, "Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." See, God knows how dangerous it is for us to begin to live self-reliant instead of God dependent. And so please hear this, don't miss this because this is important, because God knows how dangerous it is for us to live self-reliance instead of God dependent, God continually, in his love and grace, invites his people into circumstances where they can see clearly how much we need him. This is what God does, he wants us to understand how dependent we are on him, so that then we can see how abundant his provision truly is, and then we will give credit where credit is due.
George Wright: 14:25 So God has Joshua in this place, a place where he will get to see how dependent on God he truly is, even in the midst of this abundance of provision. That's what we step into today, verse 13, where we began this message. Again, "When Joshua was by Jericho, it says, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” This place where Joshua, the leader of God's people finds himself, is a place of tremendous pressure, a place of tremendous stress, for he knows that if the people of God are truly going to live at peace in the land that God has provided, they are going to have to overtake, overthrow, the city of Jericho.
George Wright: 15:32 The city of Jericho is a city of mighty warriors, a city surrounded by a magnificent wall, a city that appears to be unconquerable. So Joshua is in a place where he can see the city, and as the leader, he's feeling this weight of leadership on his shoulders, recognizing that there is a battle that is coming and this battle is going to be very difficult. In fact, it feels impossible to win, and so he's trying to figure out what are we going to do? How are we going to take Jericho? I know this must be done, I don't know how to do it, I don't even know if we can win. And in the midst of this moment where he's trying to come up with a plan and a strategy, and he's feeling the weight of the world as a leader, all of a sudden he looks up and there's a warrior, a mighty warrior, standing in the path with his sword drawn. And this moment Joshua doesn't know is the battle about to start right now. So before he draws his sword, Joshua asks a very logical question of this mighty warrior in the path. Hey, I need to know, are you for us, or are you for our adversaries? Are you for us, or are you against us? Whose side are you on?
George Wright: 17:04 To which the response is pretty incredible, right? Joshua 5:14 says, "He said to him, no." I'm sure Josh was thinking, well, maybe you didn't understand the question. Like, this is not a real hard question, are you with us or are you against us? Are you for us, or are you for our adversaries? The answer is, neither. Hold on now, is there a language barrier? Maybe I need to like write it out on the path, or maybe I need to sign. I mean, what is going on, this is not a hard question, I just need to know before I draw my sword, are you with us or are you against us? No, no, I'm not, you're missing the point altogether. And then verse 14, "But I am the commander of the army of the Lord. And now I have come." What Joshua doesn't realize most likely in this moment is something that Bible commentators talk about with this passage, this is one of the moments in the Old Testament where we are given a vision of the pre-incarnate Christ. This is Jesus standing before Joshua, a Christophany, right in front of Joshua. He has no idea that he's standing in the presence of the son of God, but he realizes in this moment, this mighty warrior has come with a very strategic plan in mind, and this question that Joshua has posed to the commander of the Lord's army has now been flipped back on Joshua. For the commander of the Lord's army is saying, hey, Joshua, I know your tendency because the tendency of everybody else in the world, when we find ourselves in a tense moment, when we find ourselves in a difficult moment, when we find ourselves in the midst of an argument or a disagreement, we want to try to position ourselves so that God will be on our side. This happens all the time in the church, two sinful people not getting along in the midst of a difficult situation, each trying to position themselves with spiritual talk, to convince themselves, hey, God has got to be on my side.
George Wright: 19:41 I love what happens in verse 14 actually, the commander of the Lord's army says, no, no you've missed the point all together, for I am here to ask you, will you trust me? I know you want to believe that you're doing everything right, I know you want to believe that you've got this great plan all figured out, and I know you want God to join you in your plan, but God is saying to you, don't forget who's in control. I want to know if you'll trust me, I want to know whose side you're on. This is a pivotal moment for Joshua in his leadership, as he realizes that God has a great plan in store for him, but it is a plan that is going to require tremendous faith, it is a plan that is going to require Joshua, and the people of God, to be dependent on God. For the question is not, is God on our side? In fact, that question's already been answered, if you are familiar with the gospel at all, please don't miss this, the answer of is God on our side has already been answered through what Christ has done. The finished work of Jesus says, God has invited you into something that you could never do for yourself, he has made a way for you and for me, when there was no way. This is what the cross and the power of the resurrection provides, new life in Christ and invites us on to God's side. But what God is saying to Joshua, and what I believe God lays before us as well right here, is will you trust me? Will you be dependent on me? And here's why this is so important, especially as it relates to the mission. For God will use us the most for his glory when we are the most dependent on him. We want to come up with our plans, we want to come up with our strategies, we want to scheme and try and figure this whole thing out. And God is saying, hold on, hold on. I want to know, will you trust me, will you be dependent on me, because that's when I will use you.
George Wright: 22:42 Look how Joshua responds here in verse 14, it says, "And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” Whatever you want. Joshua says, I'll do it wherever you lead. I will fight. And please don't miss this, this is so important, because God is about to lay out the battle plan for this fight against Jericho. You can read this in Joshua chapter 6, in fact, this is probably the most famous moment in Joshua's leadership, The Battle of Jericho. If you, if you grew up going to vacation Bible school like I did as a preacher's kid, this is one of the first stories we learned. Joshua led the people around Jericho, they marched around the city, they marched around the city, they marched around the city, and the walls came tumbling down. It was a great song at VBS, do you remember this one, those mighty walls of Jericho came a tumbling down,
George Wright: 23:50 But Joshua was going to hear a plan, a plan that doesn't seem to make much sense, in fact, a plan that doesn't seem like it's full of great battle strategy at all. A plan, in fact, on the surface that doesn't even look logical. God is saying, Joshua, do you trust me? Will you be dependent on me? Because I'm going to lead you to lead the people to March around the city and shout, and that's how the battle will be won. This battle plan seems a little crazy, unless, unless this is the battle plan led by the commander of the army of God. For if this is the battle plan of the God of angels armies, the maker of heaven and earth, if this is the battle plan of the Lord of Hosts, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, this is a battle plan that cannot fail. And so God brings Joshua to this place where Joshua can see that this battle can only be won by the power and authority of God. The only way this battle can be victorious is if the people of God choose to be God dependent instead of self-reliant, and then the battle plan will make perfect sense.
George Wright: 25:37 Growing up in a preacher's home, my preacher father had a line that he used often. It's a statement I heard many times growing up, he said, there is a fine line between faith and foolishness. Have you ever heard anything like that? That's the kind of stuff you hear in a preacher's home, there's a fine line between faith and foolishness. And I love this statement for a couple of reasons. Number one, just plain and simply this statement reminds us that there are certainly many things that people may do in the name of faith that are just stupid. Okay, just know that there's just things that people are going to do, and they're going to say, God told me, and it's just going to be foolish. And here's how you know it's foolish, because it goes against what God says in his word.
George Wright: 26:28 I remember years ago, I'm sitting in my office and I got someone coming in for counseling and they sit down in my office and they say, Pastor, I know God wants me to be happy, so I know God is telling me to leave my wife. And I said, no, he's not. He had no reason whatsoever, other than I'm just not happy right now. No you're missing the point, God will never lead you to do something that goes against his word, God will never lead you to do something that goes against his will or his perfect plan and design. And we certainly need wise voices speaking into our lives when we're wrestling with how is God leading, and how is God prompting? But please know this, God gets blamed for a lot of foolishness, because there's a fine line between faith and foolishness. But at the same time, and this is what I want you to hear in this moment. At the same time, this very simple statement, there's a fine line between faith and foolishness reminds us that the most foolish thing that we can do is to refuse to step out on faith when God calls us clearly to live by faith. The most foolish thing that we can do is to think that we know better than God. God, I know that you've got a mission. God, I know that you've called me to live by faith. God, I know that you've told me to do this, but do you know what? I've got a lot of reasons why now's not a good time. That's just foolish, because when God calls, the only step of wisdom to make is to follow.
George Wright: 28:14 Joshua is at this crossroads where he is on this fine line between faith and foolishness, and there is always a decision to be made on this line. And the decision is, will I be God reliant or self-reliant, will I be God dependent or self-dependent? So the commander of the army of the Lord gives Joshua an opportunity to demonstrate how he will follow. Look at verse 15, Joshua 5:15, it says, "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 such a beautiful scene, such a beautiful invitation. I mean, think about this, logically again, it makes no sense for the leader of the army of the people of God to take off his shoes right before a battle. I mean, unless you're in the UFC, all right, it makes no sense to take off your shoes right before a fight, like your shoes are going to help you in the fight. Now why in the world is the commander of the Lord's army saying to the commander of the people of God, Israel, hey, now that the battle's about to begin, take off your shoes? Because again, he wants Joshua to understand, the only way this battle is going to be won, is if you are fully dependent on God. This is not about your strength, this is not about your plan, this is about God's strength and God's plan.
George Wright: 30:15 So Joshua takes off his shoes, acknowledging that he is standing on Holy ground, and showing that he is truly dependent on God. He's acknowledging his need for God, and acknowledging that he trusts in God to meet his need. And this is what we see, this is so important, our greatest joy, our greatest joy is found, and our greatest impact is made, when we live fully dependent on God. Our greatest joy is found, and our greatest impact is made, when we live fully dependent on God. And some of you need to hear this today, because you have been trying to fight some battles for a long time in your own strength and in your own power, and you've been praying, you've been asking God to move, but you still been holding on to control and you still been keeping on your shoes. So perhaps God is inviting you today to take off your shoes and to declare, I am going to be God dependent in this battle, instead of being self-reliant. I've been trying, I've been fighting, but if you're honest, it's just exhausting. You may have been knocked down over and over again, and God is inviting you to take off your shoes and declare your dependence on him.
George Wright: 31:56 As Joshua says to the commander of the Lord's army, what do you say to your servant? Maybe that's exactly what you need to be asking today, God, what do you want me to do? Whatever you ask, I'll do. Wherever you lead, I'll follow. However you want me to leverage who I am and what I've been given for the sake of this mission, your gospel, I will do it. Wherever I am, wherever you take me, I'm in. For our greatest joy is found, and our greatest impact is made, when we live fully dependent on God. So are you living God dependent, or are you living self-reliant? The question posed to Joshua, is really the question for us all, whose side are you on?
George Wright: 33:11 As we close this time together, we are stepping into a moment of commitment, and this is a sacred time for us here at Shandon. There are going to be baskets at the doors as you leave, so you can drop these cards in the baskets. But I want to ask you to go ahead and pull this back out. And again, if you're joining us online and you don't have access to one of these cards yet, just text the word GO to the number on your screen, and the link will be sent to you so you can pull this up. There's a lot of different ways you can respond, and if God's prompting you to step out on faith in a way that's not on this card, hey, there's space on the back for you to write in what your step of faith may be today. But we want to encourage everybody right now, pull out this card, for we believe there's a step of faith for every single one of us.
George Wright: 33:57 And so for you, it may be something like, hey, I'm going to go on a mission trip over this next year as things open up, I'm ready to go wherever the opportunity comes. You may be saying, I'm ready to partner here locally, just like the video testimony we saw from [inaudible] Taylor, that was so beautiful. We need to be reminded, there are opportunities all around us to live the mission. Maybe you're here today saying I'm ready to do something here in my community, in my city, I'm going to serve in such a way that it advances the mission right here at home. Perhaps you're here today saying, you know what, I'd love to be able to talk about Jesus with my neighbors or my family, I don't really know how to do that or what to do that, I'd love to learn how to have a gospel conversation. We're going to have some training times in evangelism and having gospel conversations, we'd love for you to join in on that with us. Maybe today, you're saying, you know what, I really need to have a heart for the world, I need to have a heart that is praying beyond myself, and so I'm going to pray for a missionary in some form or fashion. We'd love to connect you with one of our partners, where you can specifically and intentionally be praying for them in what God has called them to do. Maybe you're here today though, and you're saying, you know what, I believe God's stirring something in my heart to lay it all on the line and to explore a long term opportunity as it relates to ministry or mission. If that's you, we'd love to join you in that conversation, we'd love to be able to walk along with you as you discover where it is and how it is that God might be calling you to live the mission on more of a long-term, full time basis. Maybe you want to sign up for our newsletter as it relates to the mission in our partnerships and opportunities.
George Wright: 35:53 And then most importantly, there's a spot on there where you today I know, might know that you need a relationship with Jesus Christ. Every time we gather, there are people with us, friends and family, that are still exploring this journey of faith. And maybe you feel like you're spiritual, maybe you feel like you're religious, but there's just something that's missing, there's something that doesn't feel personal. Maybe you've been trying to do this all on your own, and you recognize today that you need a real personal relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior. We believe that's the most important decision that you could ever make, and so if you're here today and you have not made that decision to trust your life to Jesus Christ, to follow him in faith, I would just want to encourage you check that box on the card. We'd love to follow up with you, and just come alongside you and pray for you in this most important decision that you can make.
George Wright: 36:55 Whatever it is God is prompting, we encourage you to step out on faith. And we also one that reminds you that today is an opportunity to give a special offering to our Live Sent Offering. The Live Sent Offering goes to fuel and to fund a portion of our missions focus that goes beyond the walls of the church here at Shandon. I know many of you have come ready to give a special gift to the Live Sent Offering. You can give those gifts as you leave as well with the cards, you can drop them in the baskets at the door, and of course you can give online and through text as well.
George Wright: 37:29 As we think about these commitments and whatever God may be stirring in your life, I just want to have a closing prayer over you. And then we'll go into a moment of worship before we leave and we drop our commitment cards at the door. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, I'm so grateful for what you are doing among your people, your family here at Shandon. We just declare on this Live Sent Sunday, in this Live Sent month, that it is a privilege to be a part of your mission. We are so thankful for the opportunities that you have given us as a church to see how you are at work changing lives, doing great things beyond even what's happening here. Lord, thank you for inviting us into something that's so much greater than ourselves. So Lord, as we pray about and wrestle with the step of faith today, Lord, would you make it clear what step of faith are you prompting us individually to make?
George Wright: 38:42 And, Lord, for those who are among us, who have never received the good news of the gospel, what Jesus Christ has done through his death on the cross that offers forgiveness for sin, and his resurrection from the grave that invites us into new life in Christ, forgiven and covered in the grace of God. Lord, for those who are with us who have never received this good news, we pray that today would be the day that they would step out on faith and say, Jesus, I'm ready to follow you, I'm trusting life to you.
George Wright: 39:22 Lord, we praise you, we praise you for the gift of salvation that you have provided for us, we praise you for the beautiful gift that you've given us to be involved in your mission. Lord, we pray that our joy would grow even greater and our impact would go even further as we live fully dependent on you. So give us the faith to be God dependent, and to follow as you lead. It's in Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Recorded in Columbia, South Carolina.
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